REVIEW - Connectivity and Q&A with author Aven Ellis

This is my first ever Q&A with a review :) So stay tuned at the end of my review to get some inside knowledge about author Aven Ellis!

BLURB: Overachiever Mary-Kate Grant (who is indeed named after an Olsen Twin) has followed every rule to the letter to pursue her dream of working in TV programming. Ripping a page from the “hard work pays off” playbook, she takes an assistant level job at a Chicago sports network to break into the industry.

MK has no time or desire for a relationship right now—she is totally focused on her career and being independent, unlike the other women in her family.

But MK’s plans are run through the shredder when she finds herself working for William Cumberland, a British media mogul who made his fortune with Connectivity, a social media site. William blows into Chicago just like the winds off Lake Michigan and purchases the group of networks MK works for—and makes her his personal assistant in the process.

Suddenly MK finds her career plans in jeopardy. William makes her question everything she has ever thought and has the uncanny ability to see right through her. And for the first time in her life, MK finds herself not only questioning what she wants for her career but for her personal life as well…

My Review

I really liked both characters from the beginning. MK was just so damn clumsy that I couldn´t help but laugh. I am glad that William was never a jerk towards her like most books portray the man. Most of the time the guys are jerks first then turn into this amazing person. But not William. He was amazing from the start. 

Mary Kate, yep like the Olsen twin, is an assistant trying to work her way up in the company so she can work at Beautiful Homes Network. She blogs, and has a knack for decorating. She´s focused and career driven. Until William Cumberland enters the picture. It doesn´t happen right away though. They begin to fall into a simple easy friendship. The only problem is MK is William´s assistant. But right or wrong, it is hard to hide from your feelings. Especially unexpected ones. Mary Kate´s friends really began to piss me off, as did her sister and mother. No one took a minute to see how she was doing. Her sister is so self absorbed that I just wanted to smack her. She thought that MK didn´t have a life because she enjoyed her work and didn´t want to quit and rely on a man. Her friends, I don´t even know where to start with them. I have no idea why they got their panties in a twist over Mk and William speaking. So it was no shock that they flipped their lid when they dated. Anyways. I loved William and MK´s relationship. They kept up their witty banner with one another throughout the story and they didn´t jump into anything. Their relationship grew over time. I love that neither one of them had to give up their dreams. I think they also helped each other grow as well.

**Copy provided via Author in exchange for an honest review**

4 Stars! ★★★★

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Getting to Know Aven Ellis:

Jenna: Coffee or tea? 

Aven: Coffee. Definitely coffee. With flavored creamer. You don’t want to know how many are in my fridge right now...

Jenna: Okay, well now I have to ask! Just how many flavored creamers are in your fridge right now?

Aven: Let’s see: Pumpkin Pie, Mudslide, Irish Cream, and Cinnamon. Four!

Jenna: What is your favorite holiday? 

Aven: Thanksgiving. I love that it is all about the food and hanging out with family and friends.

Jenna: You recently just told me about cornbread dressing gone wrong, lol. Just so you know I wouldn't even know where to begin on making it! :)  What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? 

Aven: Bah ha ha! I make a maple-mustard glazed turkey that is awesome. That’s my favorite thing on the table. Pumpkin pie is a very close second.

Jenna: Do you like reality TV programs? 

Aven: I am obsessed with Top Chef and Project Runway...and I confess to loving The Bachelor. 

Jenna: How long can you go without talking? 

Aven: HA!! I’m a talker. The only thing that shuts me down is losing my voice or if I’m watching TV and Benedict Cumberbatch is on. That gets my complete--and silent--attention. 

Jenna: Well we have that in common for sure! I pretty much don't shut up, unless I am reading or into a show too. We talkers have to stick together! ;)

Aven: Jenna, I think we would never be silent if we met for coffee! :)

Jenna: Now I am sure everyone is dying to know a little more about Connectivity because I sure am!

So how did you come  with the idea for Connectivity?

Aven: I was watching an episode of Sherlock on PBS and Benedict Cumberbatch (who plays Sherlock) has this crazy, wild, wavy hair. And the idea of William started forming in my head from that moment. So really, it came down to the hair, ha ha! Side note: William’s looks are actually like those of my two favorite actors: Henry Cavill and Benedict Cumberbatch. Wavy dark hair, blue eyes, great cheekbones, British...sigh.But I knew the story I wanted to write was about a driven young woman who didn’t think she needed love until she found it with William, and how love didn’t distract her or derail her professionally, but helped her blossom. So once I had William, the rest of the story fell into place.

Jenna: What is your favorite thing about Connectivity? 

Aven: My favorite thing about the book is that I made the 

hero, William Cumberland, an un-tortured, non-sex crazed billionaire. Different, right? LOL! I know that is not the norm for the genre, but he is the man I wanted to write. He has his issues, of course, but he a good man with an even better heart—once he opens it up to let someone in, like he does with Mary-Kate.

Jenna: Yes, it is very different for this particular genre, but I think it works. Not everyone is a tortured, nymphomaniac after all :) I like that by not giving into the norms for this genre we got to know William and Mary-Kate a little better instead of focusing on everything else.

Aven:I am so glad you like that this wasn’t the norm. In fact, it is about as opposite as you can get, due to the fact that they really had a courtship prior to taking the relationship into the bedroom.

Jenna:  What is your favorite scene in Connectivity? 

Aven: I really love the scene where William and Mary-Kate have drinks in the hotel bar. It’s sexy, it’s flirty, and they’re getting to see who each other really is for the very first time. I love that scene.

Jenna: What is your favorite kind of hero to write? The Bad Boy or the Good Boy?

Aven:  Give me the good boy!I write heroines who know a good, solid man when they see one. My heroes aren’t tortured souls. They are good guys who have problems like we all do. My heroes simply grow and evolve once they meet their matches. And good boys can be crazy sexy, too. I’m just saying. William Cumberland is a badass mogul in the boardroom in Connectivity, but loving and respectful to Mary-Kate. And I dare say he’s a very sexy man.

Jenna: What is your favorite thing about writing?

 Aven: I love bringing characters to life and giving them a journeyto take. To me, seeing a character grow emotionally and come to a stronger place within by the end of the story is immensely rewarding to me.

Jenna: Okay Aven, last question! Can you give us some hints about your next two books? 

Aven: I’m very excited about my April release, Waiting For Prince Harry. This story is about Kylie Reed, a young Dallas woman who finds excuses as to why she can’t life her life in the present--she doesn’t have the career job, she hasn’t met her future husband, etc. and always puts things off until the future out of fear. Of course, if she had a chance to run away with Prince Harry she would live in the future now, as he is her ideal man. But when she meets a hot ginger stranger--one even more gorgeous than Prince Harry--her world is changed...and she might just learn how to face her fears and live in the present after all.

Chroincles of a Lincoln Park Fashionista follows Avery Andrews, a career woman simply 
to pay the bills, as she has no interest in a career path--she wants to be married, have children, and volunteer in her community. She lands her first job out of college working for an airline (even though she is terrified of flying), and life outside of the university is proving harder than she thought. Things aren’t the way they are supposed to be, like her having horrific debt and no way to pay it...until she is chosen to participate in a reality show documentary about the lives of airline employees. But Avery gets more than extra money from the project, as the mysterious and gorgeous Deacon Ryan is assigned to be the cameraman for her story--and challenges her idea of what she is supposed to want in life in more ways than one...

Jenna: Thank you for joining me today Aven and letting me pick your brain a little! :)

About the Author:

 Aven Ellis has been writing fiction since she was sixteen. She studied communications at a large Midwestern university, and after graduation, Aven worked as a reporter for a community newspaper, followed by a stint at a public relations agency. But writing about city council meetings and restaurant franchises was not as much fun as writing for young women trying to figure out their careers and potential boyfriends. So Aven got herself a job in television that allowed her to write at night. Connectivity is Aven’s debut novel; Waiting For Prince Harry and Chronicles of a Lincoln Park Fashionista (New Adult romantic comedy) will be published next year.Aven lives in Dallas with her family. When she is not writing, Aven enjoys shopping, cooking, connecting with friends on social media, and watching any show that features Gordon Ramsay.