This book was so good. I really enjoyed the whole thing start to finish. It's gripping and interesting.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me listen to an advanced audiobook.

I absolutely love “backstage” or “industry” books and expected to like this, but the heroine/protagonist was truly such an unlikeable individual she detracted from the story. I know she represented how cut throat and determined journalists were but at the expense of justice, tampering or contaminating evidence and crime scenes, and harassing her cop friends? It was very frustrating to read.

The story itself was well written, well narrated, and developed I just really wanted the protagonist to be checked.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

Wow this book was fun! I read a lot of thrillers but I don't think I've ever read a mystery quite like this.
I really enjoyed Jolene a lot. I liked how driven she was and that she really just gave no f***s.
When a book has a main character that you either really like or can see how others might dislike them, for me that makes the story that much better.
This was a page turner for me 100%, I read it over and could not put it down.
I cannot wait to read more from Christina in the future!

🎧📖 note: the narrator did a FANTASTIC job bringing this story to life. I read this twice once with my eyes and once with my ears and the audiobook version was even better.

“Off the Air” was a fun, whodunnit. But it became very media and sourced heavy read where the mystery story seemed to get bogged down by the journalistic angle. As a result, the novel started to drag and lose a bit of focus during the last third of the book. It was a good, but not great read, so 3 stars ⭐️ seems to be appropriate for this one. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy for review.

Funny, intellectually engaging, and blended with sharp references to real-life politics and popular culture, this fast-paced mystery is a delight to read. Jolene Garcia is a likeably ambitious, empathetic protagonist, laboring in local television news in a realistically complicated Phoenix, Arizona. She has a talent for networking and making friends -- or at least friendly acquaintances, essential for TV news research and reporting. Jolene is dedicated to getting the full story even when it puts her at risk, and readers will enjoy the ways that Estes weaves together storylines and vivid characters. As a Librarian, I'd recommend OFF THE AIR to cozy mystery fans, readers that usually read thrillers but are seeking variety, former media workers, and readers seeking variety in the ethnicities and careers of mystery protagonists.

This book was an interesting mix. On one hand, it's a mystery - who killed the controversial radio talk-show host? On the other hand, it's a peek behind the curtain of local TV news, from a new author who knows all about the subject - she is herself an award-winning television reporter who has spent more than 20 years covering a wide variety of stories in Phoenix, where her book is set. I enjoyed the mystery of the story - there was no shortage of potential perpetrators, and I didn't guess who "dunnit" until it was revealed. Equally interesting was to learn just how much journalism has changed in recent years, not only for print journalism (which is mightily struggling in this digital age, as documented in a couple of my recent reads), but also for broadcast journalism. This explores radio and television, and how social media has (for better or worse) changed the focus of modern local radio and TV news. It also didn't hurt that I lived in Phoenix for a year or so many, many years ago, so the geography was familiar to me, as was the mention of the late, great Metrocenter Mall. Both aspects kept me listening and engaged, as did the narration by Marcella Black. If Estes continues to write (she did seem to leave things wide open for a sequel) I'd certainly be ready to jump into her next book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing a digital copy for an unbiased review.

Did Not Finish @20%
Ebook - 1 Star

This was just not for me.

I disliked the MC almost immediately [she gives off HUGE mean girl vibes and is fine being critical [at a couple points, extremely critical/judgemental] of others], but calls foul when the critisism is directed at her and she whines about her job a LOT all while being willing to do whatever she needed to to win an Emmy, which got annoying fast. The introduction of divisive politics right at the beginning [I DO NOT want to read a book where "let's go Brandon" is part of any text] totally put me off as did the minutiae of detail that was just so boring I almost fell asleep [I didn't need to ever know all that I now know about the whole journalism world and its inner workings]; all of this happened before I hit my quitting point of 20%, which just made me realize that I couldn't finish.

I am sure there will be others that love this book and to be honest, I wish I could be one of them. I have had a bad run of books as of late and this one being such a disappointment as well is discouraging.

Audiobook narrator: 4 Stars
The BEST part of this book was the narrator. I really, really, enjoyed her narration and only wish I could have continued, if not just to listen to her. She was excellent and I will be looking for other titles that she narrates in the future. I highly recommend listening to her.

I was invited to read/review this book by the publisher St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and I thank them, NetGalley, the author, Marcella Black - Narrator, and Dreamscape Media for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

It's so odd to read a mystery book where the random fun facts throughout the book are much more interesting than the mystery itself. Part of it is because the mystery, figuring out who killed the controversial talk show host Larry Lemmon, seems to be secondary to the overall storyline. Yes, Jolene and her competitors are going through all the emotions of discovering different avenues of Larry's life, but this book borderlines with more the dramatics of reporting than the mystery itself.

There are also sprinkles of politics in there, which can be unnerving for some, but it's also our decision to keep reading it or not. This took a while to get moving, and it didn't keep me wanting to know what actually happened to Larry. But I liked the author's writing and wouldn't mind checking out more of her stuff since this was a debut, but this one just simply didn't hold my attention enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Off the Air would be a good palate cleanser between denser, darker, graphic thrillers. It definitely gives you a behind the scenes look at how local television news stations work if that's something you've ever wondered about.

A little bit of a warning though: There's a lot of seemingly unnecessary background information. For example, the characters turn onto Indian School Road and then you are given several paragraphs on the history of the schools. Is this stuff necessary for everyone to know about? Of course. Is it necessary to the plot of this novel? Not at all. These little tangents of information started to get a little cringey after awhile. It was as if the author really wanted to make sure that everyone knew which side of the political aisle she leans towards. Since the main character is a journalist, all of the extra background could theoretically be intentional. The way it was written did sort of remind me of how newspaper articles are written at times.

All in all, the story did keep my attention until the end but if you are the type to avoid politics (of either side) when you read, I would maybe skip this one.

🎥unhinged Book Review🎥
*
Summmary: Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona, splitting her time between covering general assignments—anything from a monsoon storm to a newborn giraffe at the zoo—and special projects. Stories that take more time to research and produce. Stories that Jolene wants to tell.

When word gets out about a death at a radio station, Jolene and other journalists swarm the scene, intent on reporting the facts first. The body is soon identified as Larry Lemmon, a controversial talk show host, who died under suspicious circumstances. Jolene conducted his final interview, giving her and her station an advantage. But not for long.

As the story heats up, so does the competition. Jolene is determined to solve this murder. It’s an investigation that could make or break her career—if it doesn’t break her first.
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫
*
My thoughts: thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the advanced copy of this debut book! This one definitely had potential, the premise was really unique. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book from the perspective of an on air anchor. I really enjoyed diving into that world. I didn’t however love the overall character in this one, it really glamorized the idea of not eating, only living for your job under the guise of a strong female character ? I just found her to be annoying and was unable to relate to her as a character. The premise was cool and this had potential if the character was created to be an actual real human being.
*
QOTD- what is the job of your main character in your current read ? I’m planning to start daughter of mine tonight so I have no idea 😂
*
#offtheair #christinaestes #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #booksofig #booksofinsta #bibliophile #booklover #bookworm #bookwormsunite #bookish #readersofinstagram #readersgonnaread #readmorebooks #readersofig #readersofig #booknerd

Off the Air seemed like a great premise, but maybe it just wasn't the book for me. The mysteriousness of the book kept getting covered up by the journalism and politicalness. No thanks.

Thanks to NetGally and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was just so... boring. For being a novel about a murdered radio talkshow host, it didn't feel very exciting or exhilarating. I can definitely see how Christina Estes was probably a good journalist, but it just didn't translate well into telling a fictional story.

There was far too much emphasis on small details regarding Phoenix, AZ that had nothing to do with the underlying plot. The book felt more like an advertisement to come visit Phoenix rather than read about a fictional journalist trying to uncover who committed a murder.

Jolene was also a really unlikable character. Was she just doing her job as a reporter? Yes - but it made me realize how thankful I was that I didn't end up going into journalism because reporters truly will just harass anyone to get I story, I guess. I hated how often she called her police source and heckled him to give her answers. HE HAS A JOB TOO GIRL! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!

Honestly, I have to just leave a short review because that's how I felt about the book anyways - not really worth my time.

2 stars
Thank you to NetGalley & Christina Estes for the audiobook arc
I'm going to be honest and say that this book was boring. It didn't grab my attention at all, from the characters to the plot there wasn't really anything that captured my attention or interest in this murder mystery. The characters seemed flat and no one really stands out as a likable character or a character you're rooting for.

The plot felt more like a day in the life of a journalist than an actual story about the murder of a talk show host. I kept reading in hopes that as the story would build more and that the twist or reveal would really shock me but unfortunately that didn't happen. This book almost feels like it was originally meant to be a short story but was just dragged out in order to be a novel.
I really wanted to like this book, the synopsis of the book was pretty intriguing but unfortunately the actually story doesn't hold up.

I love the fun cover of this book and I appreciated the narration of the audiobook. The voice of Marcella Black is a delight to listen to and she really brought life to the story. With a lot of content about journalism and social media, and less about the mystery I did find my mind wandering a bit as I listened. I also didn't really connect with Jolene or any of the other characters. If you like politics mixed in with a cozy mystery that is very descriptive about the field of journalism this may be the book for you.

First read by this author and I would definitely add them to my rotation. The book follows a young journalist trying to make a name for herself in a daunting field. Trying to get a scoop while remaining ethical she’s tossed and turned on a wild adventure to uncover the truth. Production of the audio book and narrator were both solid. Would recommend as a quick easy read.

I love reading debut novels from new authors! It's fun to see where they begin and how they evolve in future writings. This story involved an inside look at investigative journalism and how far reporters will go to get the scoop. The story was definitely political as well which might not be for everyone. Although there was a lot of depth in the journalism side, I didn't feel like I got to know the main character, Jolene, well enough. I got a great sense of her job, but not enough of her personally to connect with her.

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media and Christina Estes for this ALC.

*3.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"Getting it right is more important than getting it first."

"... isn't that unethical? Journalists are supposed to present the facts and other people's opinions. Not our own opinion."

"...he's moving faster than disinformation on Facebook."

The above quotes are what I expect from an ethical investigative TV reporter like Jolene Garcia in Off The Air by award winning debut author Christina Estes. What confused me was that her actions didn't always match these thoughts.

Jolene is an ambitious local TV reporter in Phoenix and when a controversial radio host dies under suspicious circumstances Jolene has an edge since she was the last one to interview him.

The premise is excellent and written by an experienced reporter gives us insight into the workings of a local news studio. As a journalism major in college I have to say this cut throat world made me glad I minored in business.

Voice actress Marcella Black gives an exceptional performance of Jolene trying to prove herself in an extremely competitive field. But the decision to make this all about her desperation to succeed took away her empathy and my connection to her. It wasn't about justice to find a killer; it was about being first to get the story. Jolene has no personal life, not even a best friend, and forget about a hint of romance.

The murder wasn't really mysterious despite many suspects but I appreciated the minor twist of how he was done in. I would've loved for Jolene to have had an "aha" moment that life is more than a career and it might be healthy to be "off the air" once in a while. Still looking forward to the next book from this promising debut author.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I liked this mystery involving reporters. However, it really shows the disgusting side of the media, so I don't know that I would continue the series if there are more.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

As a TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona Jolene is constantly trying to beat the clock to share the latest update on the death of a popular, or some would say unpopular host.

While this one was an easy listen. I found the characters hard to connect with. I found Jolene unlikeable, but there wasn't enough character development for me to appreciate her unlikable character. I would have appreciated more development to better understand her flaws. I would have loved to learn more about Jolene's relationship with her source within the Police Department. Previous cases, and news stories were sprinkled in, but I would have loved more.

There were also random snippets of information that didn't seem to tie back to the story or build upon the plot. (i.e. Residential schools).

I did appreciate the insight into reporting and how it's changed over the years.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed all the current real life events that were mentioned in this book along with how it showed how cut throat the journalism world is. This was a cozy mystery and I really enjoyed it.