USA Today bestselling author of The Givenchy Code Julie Kenner reloads for her second novel of high-heeled thrills as another woman gets pulled into a mysterious world of extreme gaming where she must play or die.
Aspiring actress Jennifer Crane knows all about games -- the games girls play to get a guy; the games actresses play to land a part; and the good old game of credit-card roulette. (How else is a girl supposed to afford her shoes?) But she never expected to be playing a game with life-or-death consequences. Unable to successfully score an acting gig, she has, instead, been cast in the role of reluctant bodyguard to a real-life assassin's target -- a dashing FBI agent of all people! -- and must embark with him upon a scavenger hunt across Manhattan in search of the ultimate prize: survival. Before this, Jenn's definition of fighting dirty has been elbowing her way to the front of the line at a Manolo sample sale. Now, if she wants to stay alive, she's going to have to learn a few new uses for her stilettos. . . and they ain't pretty.
Fast, flirty, and full of great footwear, The Manolo Matrix is another electrifying adventure in this breakout series for fashionistas who love a perfectly appointed mystery.
JULIE KENNER begins a new series for Downtown Press with The Givenchy Code. Her novel Aphrodite¹s Kiss was a USA Today bestseller; her other acclaimed novels include Nobody But You and The Spy Who Loves Me. She lives in Georgetown, Texas, with her husband and daughter.
When Julie was knee-high to a grasshopper (an expression that she would like it known she has never, ever used in real life) she informed her parents that she was going to be a novelist, and proceeded to write Kitty Claws, a bestselling book about a cat as Santa. (The book sold out its entire print-run of one, so lets not split hairs about that "best-selling" thing, okay?)
After that stellar start, Julie continued to dabble in the literary arts, writing short stories on yellow pads that she forced her mother to type, scribbling poems on ruled notebook paper that she forced her mother to type, making up skits and songs that she forced her mother to watch and listen to, and diving head-first into high school journalism, at which point, mom finally got a break.
In college, she continued with the journalism thing, picking that as her major and working at The Daily Texan, the student newspaper for the University of Texas. The idea that she could actually write novels and, oh, buy food too, completely eluded her.
The journalism thing cranked along nicely for about one semester. Then Julie got a job as a production assistant on a movie originally called Splatter, but which was released as Future Kill (and can still be found in Blockbuster and through Netflix), with really great Giger poster art. Julie worked her tail off, appeared as an extra, had a great time, and promptly switched her major to film.
Graduating at the ripe old age of 19, Julie chickened out and didn't move to Los Angeles to become the next Steven Spielberg. Instead, she stayed in Austin and worked as a media assistant until she decided that perhaps law school was the better way to go because, hey, a degree in film slides so seamlessly into law. (Or, more likely, grad school was inevitable and the LSAT seemed doable.) Not one to waste time, Julie took the LSAT in December, and was admitted to Baylor Law School on a full scholarship the following February. Law school and Julie got along great, and after graduation, Julie went to work as a law clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where she had a fabulous time drafting legal opinions, preparing the judge for court, and taking regular trips to New Orleans on a government per diem. During her two year stint as a clerk, the writing bug bit again, and Julie wrote a stage play that will never, ever see the light of day. Really. So don't even ask.
After her clerkship, Julie decided she could handle moving to the Big City, and she took a job with Skadden, Arps in L.A., where she worked on a variety of cases with some very smart lawyers. After a year, she moved on to smaller and smaller firms (and had a short stint as a production exec at a small film company, thus justifying all those credit hours in college). She continued to work with very smart lawyers, one of whom introduced Julie to Julie Garwood (her books, not the woman herself), and the writing bug bit again.
Though Julie had been dabbling with writing in her limited spare time, she'd lacked focus. Now, she'd found it, and she was determined to write an historical romance. You may, after reviewing Julie's book list, note that there are no historical romances on there. Let's just say that she didn't succeed at that task. Julie did, however, discover that while she has a head for contemporary nuances, the ins-and-outs of historical detail are enough to make her head explode.
The in-progress historical was promptly shelved, and Julie turned her attention to fleshing out a contemporary romance, having decided that category romance was the way to go, since with the demands of a legal job, she'd be much more likely to finish 240 manuscript pages than 400.
Finish them she did, and though she got nice feedback on the voice, the novel didn't sell. One editor, Harlequin's Brenda Chin, returned a rejection letter with a note that the hook wasn't enough of a "sexy premise."
Always up for a challenge, Julie came up with the opening line, "You need a man," which she thought had oodles of sexy premise potential. She just had to find a story to go with the line. Eventually, she did, and Nobody Does It Better, Julie's first published novel, was born. She entered the first few chapters in contests, finaled, and was ultimately judged by that same Brenda Chin, who ended up buying the manuscript. (Which is not the reason Julie thinks Brenda is a really cool person. Truly.)
By that time, Julie had realized that 400 pages were manageable after all, and she'd almost completed a paranormal romance along the lines of The Little Mermaid about a cat who is in love with her master. The Cat's Fancy sold just a few months after the original sale. Both books came out in 2000, along with a second Temptation, and Julie has had at least 3 books hit the shelves annually every since, and now has well over twenty books to her credit, crossing over a multitude of genres, most of which are represented in some way by the clever pictures in the collage at the top of this page.
Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a "flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations," Julie's books have hit lists as varied as USA Today, Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and Locus Magazine, all of which has made Julie a happy camper. Julie is also a two-time RITA finalist, both times for books about strong women (a superhero and a demon-hunter). There's probably some deep meaning there, and if you know what it is, feel free to drop Julie a line.
Julie was also the winner of Romantic Times' Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Contemporary Paranormal of 2001, the winner of the Reviewers International Organization's award for best romantic suspense of 2004 and best paranormal of 2005, and the winner of the National Readers' Choice Award for best mainstream book of 2005. Not that she's keeping track or anything.
Julie writes a range of stories including quirky romances, sexy contemporaries, young adult novels, suspense, paranormal mommy lit, and (soon!) darker urban fantasy.
Her initial foray into the urban fantasy mommy lit genre--Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom--proved especially successful, resulting in a Booksense pick, a Target break-out book, other accolades and honors, and a movie deal. Specifically, Carpe Demon, is in development as a feature film with Warner Brothers and 1492 Pictures. Julie frequently pounds on her battered wooden desk (Salvation Army, $25, gotta love it) in order to urge the project from development to screen. (In Hollywood, these things are never certain until you're watching the movie and eating popcorn.)
Julie and her husband moved from Southern California back to Texas in 1995, and Julie quit the practice of law to write full time in 2004. Now, she lives and writes in central Texas with her husband, two daughters, and several cats. She is an active supporter of Love Without Boundaries. Click here to learn more about the charities Julie supports.
This review is from: The Manolo Matrix (Paperback)
I just finished this book and I really enjoyed it, but I have to say that the first book in this series (The Givenchy Code) was definitely better. I don't know if it was the more likeable and real main character (who shares my name!) in Givenchy or what, but I didn't like Jennifer as much as Melanie, she felt a little flat. I felt that this book wasn't as well fleshed-out as the last one, and there was a more exclusive feeling to the riddles that turned me off a little, since they were all Broadway-based, which barred me from even trying to figure out the clues on my own. But never mind that, it was still fun and entertaining and fast-paced, and it certainly kept my attention. I can't wait for the next installment in this series (and I'm bummed that it's to be the last).
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This review is from: The Manolo Matrix (Paperback)
Julie Kenner has a true talent for pacing and characterization. Even though I never completely bought into the evil mastermind concept, the plot itself was engaging and I stayed with it the whole time. With the hero and heroine running all over New York City, trying to solve Broadway-related clues, I even found myself trying to guess what the clues might pertain to, even though they were fairly well over my head.
What really made this book work was the intensely personal relationship Ms. Kenner gives the reader with the two main characters. It's almost as if she's put a camera on extreme close up on them, with only brief pauses for the more panoramic view.
This really makes reader feel extremely connected to both of them-Marcus Devlin, a former Broadway child star, who gave it all up to be a cop, and Jennifer Crane, a talented but not-yet-living the dream Broadway actress get thrown together in this drama where they must race against the clock to stay alive.
Plain and simple, Marcus Devlin is a yummy character. He's a reluctant hero to be sure, but hero he is and he never strays from this path. His internal demons don't detract from the story, and in fact make him a great character for Jennifer to play against.
Jennifer's a Starbuck's lovin', shoe-obsessed wisecracker, and until she finds a time-release toxin has been released in her body, she doesn't take life too seriously. She hunkers down pretty quickly though, and the combination of her joie de vivre and her ability to concentrate completely prove to be a combination too irresistible for Marcus.
The reader should also find her hard to resist because she doesn't sit back and wring her hands, while Devlin does all the hard work. She's an active heroine, doing her own thinking and solving, while still allowing for plenty of room for Marcus' thoughts and actions.
THE MANOLO MATRIX is a novel well-worth reading. Although I was inclined not too like it (I just wasn't looking forward to reading yet another novel about an automaton shoe twit), this book quickly won me over, and I had a hard time putting it down.
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This review is from: The Manolo Matrix (Paperback)
Girls in wonderful shoes, racing around New York City in search of clues and answers to save their lives. Basically the same as the previous novel, except some different characters and of course a different style of shoe. I found the novel to be entertaining, but lacking in comparison to the first. The first one had all of the exciting and intrigue of a new novel. Since this is so similar, well it has fallen short.
The story is about Jennifer, who was the roommate in the first book. And how she gets sucked into the PSW game along with the hunky FBI agent from book one. I can't tell you who is behind it or who "done" it or the outcome, but the novel is a fast and fun read.
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