Nora Roberts - Private Scandals

Deanna Reynolds had it all planned: She'd start out in the newsroom of a small Chicago station, then move up to one day host her own talk show. When her mentor Angela Perkins leaves for the big time in New York, Deanna risks everything for the chance to replace Angela on the air. Now, the TV talk show host finds herself competing with her former friend and mentor, Angela, over success in the world of television Finn Riley, Angela's former lover, and the network's sexiest journalist, falls for the risk-taker in the small town girl. But soon they are caught up in the bitter backlash of Angela's revenge... Together Finn and Deanna must unmask the hidden betrayals of Deanna's fiercest rival by taking the biggest risk of all...

Comment: I have had this book by Nora Roberts for a long time, since my "obsession" with her work begun. I've kept some books unread, though, exactly for this, to have things to savor for a long time.
This book is about Deanna, a young journalist turned tv host and Finn, a reporter. They come together when Deanna's career as tv host is yet to start and they face an opponent that doesn't want them to succeed, Angela. She is the prime star of the tv channel where they all work and she wasn't it all, never stopping in her pursue of bigger and better, even when she crushed others under her foot.
When Angela goes away to New York to be a national star, it seems things will get better and it looks like it, but when Deanna slowly starts to be successful not only Angela is against her, someone else too, even with love messages spread around...
The story is interesting but the identity of the mystery guy who's obsessed with Deanna is really obvious from the start even for me, notoriously weak in guessing the bad guy's in books. The way he pursues her and slowly gains intensity in his "devotion" is very intriguing especially because - Nora Robert's trademark style - he does it in moments where the reader isn't very concerned with it. In the end it kind of jumps in front of us and because it's not a surprise, it gets the feel it's very staged. But still...
The Angela storyline is actually interesting. She's mean, but we don't see her doing things all the time, we see a lot of planning and anger from her but actions are few, which helps, in my opinion, I think I'd be very bored and tired of watching her.
I liked the details about the tv business, the backgrounds...I wonder if it's really like that in the world... tv shows always present us with perfection, I wonder what's in those people minds every time they smile for the camera...
Deanna is a good protagonist. She comes from a humble home, she tried her best to be someone and she's rather strong for someone who had a not so perfect past. Finn, on the other had, comes from money but the lack of love from his parents roughed him up a bit, although I liked seeing his more vulnerable side.
Now...about their relationship. I liked how it progressed and how it ended, it was sweet. But I really disliked how Finn pursued Deanna when she was in another relationship in the beginning of the story and how insistent he seemed. I was a bit put of by the way he always had to push her at first. I mean, couldn't the guy wait? Then he grew on me but I couldn't just forget the initial image of him.
In the end, a entertaining read, as always, but it's not one my favorites. Still, way better than the ones I didn't really like (Public Secrets and Blue Smoke). Anything is better than those.