This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Diane Michaels is a harpist and the author of the Ellen the Harpist series (Ellen the Harpist, Ellen at Sea, and Ellen the Bride), Pet Peeves, Watching the Grass Grow, From Here Comes the Bride to There Go the Grooms, and the King & Queen series. When she is not spying on the world from behind her harp to collect ideas for her next book, she and her husband make up stories and songs about and for their miniature poodle, Lola. You can find our more about Diane at dianemichaelsbooksandharp.com
Reviewed by Tracy Young for Readers' Favorite
Pet Peeves: An Oral History by Diane Michaels begins on the set of a medical drama, Another Day to Live. Here we meet Kendra Lewis-Frost, breakdown writer and queen of amnesia plot lines. Austin Hughes is a comedian booked for a bit part on the soap opera who decides he must make people notice him. Fast forward to a different project, Pet Peeves, a new idea for a comedy show where we find Kendra and Austin. Along with some of the cast of Another Day to Live, they are working with Elvin Shatsky to produce a pilot show that will be picked up by the network. The pilot receives mixed reviews and it looks like it may be scrapped when fate steps in and Pet Peeves is given the chance to shine.
This is an awesome book! Pet Peeves is written in dialogue form and takes readers behind the scenes of a comedy show and the people that come together to make it. Diane Michaels has created a cast of people that it is impossible not to love. The egos, the personalities, their hang-ups, and their relationships are all laid bare with hilarious consequences. Kendra is your typical Brit trying to make it in the US, reserved and unwilling to push herself at first. Austin is delightful and he is brutally frank about his relationship with Bronwyn. There is a stellar cast to this book, and you will love getting to know them and becoming truly invested in the show. This is exactly how I imagined the cast of The Big Bang Theory and the creators of the show interacting and I loved being a fly on the wall. The writer’s room and the interaction between them reminded me of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, one of my favorite ever TV programs. A great read; I was so sad when I finished it.
