One Good Man by Emma Scott . Excerpt and my 4,5 stars review!

Synopsis

It’s spring, 1970. The Vietnam War has been raging for years with no end in sight. Janey Martin, a California college student and aspiring journalist is tired of writing puff pieces about her university men’s sports teams. She wants to be taken seriously as a journalist and as a woman. With riots at their doorstep, her wealthy father sends Janey to the Sorbonne in Paris to finish her college education away from the chaos.

Janey is reluctant to leave the Big Story that is Vietnam, but vows to prove herself. Much to her dismay, her first assignment is to interview the hotshot star forward of a local soccer team. Janey is sure Adrien Rousseau is going to be like every other playboy jock she’s ever dealt with, but quickly learns there is much more to Adrien than meets the eye.

The mysterious, sexy footballer just might be the biggest story of Janey’s life.

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I reached over and pushed ‘stop’ on Janey’s tape recorder and turned to her. “Saturday then?”

She coughed in surprise. “What happens Saturday?”

“We conclude the interview. You need to see a football match firsthand or your article is going to sound like a bunch of amateurish gibberish. You want to be taken seriously?”

She pressed her lips together for a moment. “Yes.”

“So do I. Saturday at noon at Stade Jean-Marc. We’ll finish the interview after.”

“Antoine wants the article in two days,” she said.

“Tell Antoine I said to wait.”

She took another long pull from the lemonade, her pride not letting her say yes to me so quickly.

“Saturday then,” she said. “For the article.”

“Right,” I said, holding her gaze. “For the article.”

She finished off the lemonade and set the glass down. “Thank you very much, Sophie. It was just what I needed.” She gathered her belongings and turned to me. “See you.”

“You have a drop of lemonade on your chin,” I said.

“Where?” Her hand flew to her mouth. “No, I don’t…”

I held out the cocktail napkin with my sketch of her, my brow raised.

Janey dropped her hand from her dry chin, fuming. I expected her to flounce away. But she snatched the napkin out of my hand, dropped it into her bag, and coolly walked away.

I wasn’t in love with her, but in that moment, I knew someday I would be.

Review

“Find that story, Janey. Find one that looks like nothing on the outside, but once you crack it open…” She shrugged with a smile. “…Something incredible comes out.”

4,5 emotional stars

I got an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest opinion and I can say that I’m still swooning inside.

If you crave stories:
-with the same “feel” as The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks;
-with love at nearly first sight;
-featuring a swoony and worthy hero;
-with a prickly and strong heroine;
-sad but “Oh so beautiful!”;
-broaching some very serious topic with romance as background;

THIS IS YOUR NEXT FIX!

I love Emma Scott’s stories! They are romantic, emotional, often sad, meaningful and utterly gorgeous!

One Good Man does not fail her reputation.

Adrian Rousseau is the local star football player in Paris and a medical student. He is gorgeous, immensely gifted on the field and harboring a secret that’s weighting heavily on his shoulders. To the outside world he is this playboy football player who’s the next wonder in French football.

That’s how Janey sees him at first.

Janey is studying journalism and has been sent by her dad from California to France as she was too involved in the protests taking place in the USA regarding the Vietnam war.
Janey does not want to interview some football player even up and coming star just to write mush stories. She wants to make a difference. To awaken people to big stories happening in the world like wars, hungers, etc.
“I was going to graduate UCSB in a year with a double-major in journalism and French. My scene was following the Big Story. The biggest stories. And Vietnam was the biggest story of them all.”

I admired Janey as she knows what she wants and goes for it! Her dad is rich but she wants to work, to matter. In a men’s world she has to work twice as hard and show no weakness to earn her place. Her dedication, her ambition is admirable. She is ambitious but she cares! The golden combination in my book.

As a good journalist Janey is perceptive and soon realizes Adrian is a complex man with hidden layers. He has sadness hidden behind his eyes.

Janey made it her mission to discover who the true Adrian was. By the end of the book she had her story.
“I waited for the pride to swell in me for the praise, but it was the story that needed to be told, and that’s all that mattered. And I decided, then and there, those were the only kinds of stories I would ever tell.”

I guarantee that you will fall in love with Adrian! Not for his high cheekbones, cut jaw, blue eyes and bulging muscles, well not only, but for his loyal, protective and worthy personality. He is a true good man! Janey is the spunk of the story. The spark igniting Adrian and awakening his long forgotten dreams.

I loved the instant connection. This recognition of two souls. Eyes meeting for the first time. The thrill racing down the spine. Heartbeat accelerating… Yet God knows Janey fought the attraction! She did not want to be one more notch on Adrian’s belt!

This story is not only a romance. It relies on a grave historical background distilled with small brush strokes.In a relatively short read Emma Scott managed the high feat of showing the aftermath of war. This was paired with the inner conflict of doing what’s expected of you instead of what you really aspire to do. All wrapped up in a lovely romance! If that does not deserve praise I don’t know what will satisfy you!

Added bonus for my French speaking friends (hint, hint “A” it’s you I’m speaking of) Emma Scott’s French is stellar! And she does know many curse words in French LOL.

Author’s bio

Emma Scott is a bestselling author of emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy thoughtful, realistic stories with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy my novels.

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