Gina Rae Mitchell

The Juggle by Ellie Barker | Review – Exceprt

A book blog tour from Rachel’s Random Resources.

Thank you to the author, publisher, & Rachel for providing me the information for this tour.

 

Book Details

The Juggle by Ellie Barker
Series: Cherry Blossom Park #2
on July 23, 2021
Genres: ChickLit, Fiction, Family Life, Humorous, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Satire, Marriage or Divorce
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 492

When married couple Molly and Dan are forced to swap lives - will it bring them closer together or drive them further apart?

It was only a blip. Just a little mistake. But in the world of television, Dan Whitehead’s little slip could cost him his career.

His only chance is to swap roles with his wife, Molly, who works part-time behind the scenes at the show. It’s just for a few weeks. Easy. What’s so hard about looking after their twins and taking a step away from the limelight for a bit? Only, it’s not quite as simple as Dan may think. With more time, his past begins to haunt him.

Then, when a friendly school-mum makes him an offer he can’t refuse, is she everything she seems?

Meanwhile, Molly is more than happy in her hoodie and yoga leggings - not that she ever does yoga. She’s more of a stay at home and listen to self-help kind of girl. Why would she want to go back on-screen when she doesn’t even like leaving the house? But she needs to save her husband’s job, after all, it is all her fault. Then, when she’s offered an exclusive interview on the other side of the world, her life in Cherry Blossom Park is under threat.

Why is she the only person to ever be offered this interview? Dan must never know the
truth.

The Juggle is more than just a story about parents keeping everything in the air. It’s about
secrets from the past and hopes for the future.

Is a marriage ever big enough for two dreams to come true?
Molly, Dan and their friends in Cherry Blossom Park are about to find out.

Source: Amazon Purchase, Kindle Unlimited, Rachel's Random Resources, Received from the author or publisher for review.

 

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Purchase Links for The Juggle

Amazon     Amazon UK

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Excerpt from The Juggle

INTRO:

Hello there! Thank you so much for taking the time to read The Juggle. This extract is from the opening scene. Dan is a reporter on The Daily Blossom and his wife Molly is a producer. She put him off before they went on air, and he didn’t hear the director cue him, and he was instead ranting and said Father Christmas does not exist. The couple are already in trouble for bringing their marriage problems to work, they have already been given warnings. But this has broken too many rules and their boss Diane calls them in to give them one last chance, a job swap or they both lose their positions.

Thank you so much again!

Ellie x

 

“Molly, I will need to see you and Dan in my office.” Diane’s voice was low and confirmed what she already knew. “No debrief tonight, everyone,” she said before closing the door again. None of her colleagues looked at her, as they collected their pencils and scripts – not even Patsy who normally always stayed for a chat about her cat and the twins. 

She thought of Eric and Evie. What kind of mother was she, behaving like this? They deserved so much better. Oh, how she wished she was back home next to them, a duvet pulled over her head. 

The irony wasn’t lost on her. Dan’s report was about a business called Rock Bottom and now that’s where they both were.

Soon it was just her and Hilary left in the gallery. Trust Hilary to stay. 

“See, you’re useless at this. At everything,” she whispered, and Molly couldn’t argue back.

Instead, she collected her own scripts, and walked to the door.

“I know,” she said out loud as she looked back at the black monitor, because it wasn’t only the star reporter who had committed career suicide; he was her husband too.

Her husband.

She had not just watched the life of a colleague unravel, she had watched her own life and marriage fall even more apart. 

DAN 

Dan Whitehead parked his BMW in a side street, around the corner from the studios. Of course, he could have used his allocated space in the car park, but this way he would avoid his milling colleagues and the inevitable buzz about what had happened. 

‘You’ve got to take the good and the bad, son.’ That’s what his dad always says. 

The good he could take. 

“Great job, Dan.” 

“You nailed it.” 

“I don’t know how you do it.” 

Even when he made a rare stumble he could shrug it off. 

But this was different, and he wasn’t going to take any looks of pity. 

He sat back in his car and reclined his seat, noticing how much his body ached. His legs, his arms, his head – they all hurt, and a sickening wave of exhaustion swept over him. 

Dan closed his eyes, but it flashed before him again. Him standing there, in front of Rock Bottom. He was supposed to be there for their disaster, not his. This was the problem with live television: a single sentence – and one career down the pan. 

Of all the people to ruin his career. An uptight politician maybe, or the angry family member of a victim of a crime? But Father Christmas? He almost laughed. How could he let Father Christmas or Spiderman destroy it all?

And in front of a jeweller’s called Rock Bottom? 

His phone beeped and he jumped. 

She wants to see us in two minutes. x

He slammed his fist on the steering wheel. Great. So, it was all his fault now. It was okay for all of them, including Molly, sitting in the safety of the gallery. It wasn’t them out there, with the camera pointing, the blazing lights, the words whirring around your head, the weight of live television on your shoulders. Let them do it for once. 

He breathed for a minute. 

“It’s never as bad or as a good as you think” Dan said the words out loud – the words his boss often reminded him of. He breathed out again. It was only a job.

Who was he kidding? He wanted this job. He needed this job. It was his job. The feeling of standing out there, on the frontline, the show depending on him. All eyes watching. The buzz, the glory, the people coming up to you on the street telling you what great work you do. 

He loved it when Molly produced every Tuesday. Her shows were different somehow. More thoughtful, more real. 

But when the opening titles rolled, everyone knew he was the star reporter, the one who brought the stories to life.

Molly. 

What was she thinking, talking to him like that as he went on air? 

Dan was just putting his phone back in his pocket when he felt it. 

Not now.

He knew there was nothing he could do. It had a mind of its own. It lived in the pit of his stomach, lurking back and forth, every now and then, just to remind him it was there. 

He felt it sliver from his stomach, up into his chest. Up, up, up, until bam. There it was. He clutched his chest, trying to push it away, but he never could. He felt the sweat on the side of his face. 

He tried to breathe again, but he knew this wouldn’t work either. He had to let it pass even if his wife and boss were waiting. It would pass, wouldn’t it? It normally did.

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My thoughts on The Juggle

In The Juggle, author Ellie Barker returns to Cherry Blossom Park. This lovely town and its citizens absolutely make this book work. While this is the second book in the series, it works well as a stand-alone.

The book is told from the dual perspectives of Dan and Molly. This adds to the feelings of connection to the story.

The pacing is good throughout the book and the descriptive style pulls the reader into each scene.

You can enjoy this story as simple entertainment or you can look deeper into how couples grow and change. The swapping of jobs creates introspection into what identifies us.

I recommend The Juggle to readers of RomCom to contemporary fiction.

 

I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.

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Purchase Links for The Juggle

Amazon     Amazon UK

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