Future Tour: Chasing China by Kay Bratt

Kay will be on tour February 13-March 5 with her novel Chasing China

Mia is beautiful, talented and has the world at her fingertips. But what makes her different than the average college student who juggles a heavy workload and a rat of a boyfriend? Many years ago she was born to an unknown family in China but soon discarded to fend for herself in a busy train station.  Fate stepped in when Mia was taken to the local orphanage and adopted at the age of four by her American family. Life has been good for her, or at least as much as she has allowed it to be while pushing her deep feelings of abandonment to the back of her mind. Finally she has decided that in order to move forward, she must confront her past. Mia takes a journey to the mysterious land of her birth and embarks on a mission to find answers. As she follows the invisible red thread back through her motherland, she is enamored by the history and culture of her heritage–strengthening her resolve to get to the truth, even as Chinese officials struggle to keep it buried. With her unwavering spirit of determination, Mia battles the forces stacked against her and faces mystery, danger, a dash of romance, and finally a conclusion that will change her life.

Please visit CLP Blog Tours for the full tour schedule. **Anyone who purchases their copy of Chasing China between December 31-March 5 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five entries in a drawing to win a $10 Amazon gift card!!**

Favorite Books of 2011

Samantha’s Favorite Reads of 2011!

As another year comes to an end, a fun thing we book bloggers like to do is look back and crown our favorites of all favorites when it comes to books we read. Throughout 2011, I read and reviewed 143 books, a twenty-two book increase compared to 2010. Not too shabby considering I also published my own novel and started CLP Blog Tours! I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for me, but for now, let’s reflect on my Favorites of 2011!

Help Wanted: Associate Reviewer

The time has come. Chick Lit Plus is officially looking to add an associate reviewer to the roster. I (Samantha) just cannot keep up with the workload that comes with the blog, due to publishing my own book and running CLP Blog Tours. I am looking for someone to be able to read my overflow and provide honest, thoughtful, and well-written reviews. Please read below for all the details and how to apply.

Job Description:

Chick Lit Plus is looking for an avid reader to join the team and provide book reviews at least once a week. All books will be provided by Samantha. If you would like to review a book that isn’t provided, permission must be granted by Samantha beforehand. Reviewer should submit one book review a week. Reviewer will only be responsible for the reviews, Samantha will handle the posting to Chick Lit Plus. Reviewer will be expected to drive traffic to Chick Lit Plus.

Compensation:

This position will not have monetary compensation, but the selected reviewer will be able to keep all books they receive for reviews, as well as a featured spot in the About section of Chick Lit Plus.

Further Information:

All candidates should have eReader capabilities. You may have a book blog, but all reviews for this position need to be original and will not be published on a personal blog. Reviewers will also be expected to post reviews on Amazon and GoodReads. Other review sites are optional. The selected reviewer will be given thirty days to start reading, and then reviews will be expected on a weekly basis. Number of reviews may go up if an agreement is made between Samantha and hired reviewer. Reviewer will be expected to read all books sent to them by Samantha. This can include the following genres (not a full list): chick lit, women’s fiction, romance, contemporary, mystery, paranormal, and YA. Genres will never include erotica, self-help, or non-fiction. Reviews should be consistent with Chick Lit Plus reviews, which means offer a brief original synopsis, thoughts and feedback, if you would recommend, and a rating of 1-5.

To Apply:

Please send a resume to Samantha (at) chicklitplus (dot) com. Please make sure the following information is included:

Full Name

Address

Phone Number

Email

Blog (if applicable)

Preferred Genres

eReader Capability

Please answer the following questions in addition to your resume:

Why do you think you would make a great addition to Chick Lit Plus?

How many reviews can you provide a month?

Do you have social media pages? If yes, please provide links.

Do you have an account on Amazon/GoodReads? Other review sites?

What do you think makes a great book?

**Please provide two book reviews, one for a book you would recommend, and one for a book that you would not. I would like to get an idea of your writing style. These can be reviews that you have already written.**

**This position has been filled. Thank you to everyone who applied!**

Russel Brand Files for Divorce from Katy Perry

I was really hoping all the reports on this one was wrong, but turns out another Hollywood couple is heading for splits-ville. People.com has reported that Russell Brand has filed for divorce from Katy Perry in Los Angeles on Friday, citing irreconcilable differences. He said in this in his statement to PEOPLE, “Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage. I’ll always adore her and I know we’ll remain friends.” Perry, 27, and Brand, 36, were married last year in a lavish, fairy-tale wedding in India, and were often gushing about one another and their union. Recently, both stars had been spotted without their wedding rings, and Perry spent the holiday in Hawaii while Brand was in the UK.

Are you as shocked as I am with this news?

Photo Credit: Usmagazine.com

Star Struck by Jane Lovering

Skye Threppel was in a horrific car accident that took the lives of her fiancé and best friend, and left Skye without all her memory. Skye has more than physical scars to remind her of the accident – she has the internal ones that haunt her as well. The memories that have been lost, the confidence that was stolen, and a new life that she is trying to adjust to. Felix, her best friend’s brother who is also still trying to deal with the accident and death of his sister, suggest the two of them head to Nevada where a TV convention is being held. Skye has the chance to meet her favorite actor, and possibly the trip could help the both of them move on. But once there, Skye meets sci-fi writer Jack Whitaker, and a possible romance blooms. But will Skye be able to overcome Jack’s past? And when Skye is suddenly filled in on her own past and the way she was before the accident, everything changes.

As I was reading Star Struck by Jane Lovering, I didn’t quite know what to think. I really liked Skye as a main character, I thought she was nice girl that went through something terrible and I thought she was brave and relatable on some level. Felix I wasn’t quite sure what to make of.  A raging sexpot ready to jump in bed with either man or woman, and sometimes I wasn’t sure how good of a friend he was to Skye. The romance between Skye and Jack was pretty hot, but when the big plot twist came, I again just didn’t know what to think. When Felix confronts Skye about her past, it’s actually very dark and downright depressing. I was a little put off with Felix and the whole revelation, not sure which direction I was about to be taken in. But in the end, Lovering did a great job at pulling me back in, keeping the suspense up, and giving a proper resolution to all the characters. This book was a bit of a roller-coaster to me, but overall the story stuck with me and I would recommend.

[Rating: 4]

Blog Tour Sign Up: Favorable Conditions by Kathleen Kole

Kathleen will be on tour in March with her novel Favorable Conditions. This will be worldwide as an eBook or US/Canada for a print book. Please note your preference on the form below. Kathleen will also be available for a guest post or interview. I will contact everyone chosen to participate. Thank you!

Can you imagine being forty-five, your last child has moved on to college and the time is ripe for you to blaze a new trail into your future?  Pat Keegan can.  Well, except for the tiny detail that all her preconceived notions about how that future was going to shape up are completely out the window.

Join Pat as she jumps feet first back into the world outside her door, takes on a new business venture, is pursued by a much younger man and has to muddle her way through more emotions than she knew she had – all to finally attain her goal of rediscovering who she is and what she wants from the next phase of her life.

**Kathleen’s blog tour is now full. Thank you to everyone who signed up!**

Guest Post by Samantha March : Reviews

Then came the two star. A short little blurb on Amazon that said there were too many heavy topics and my main character was “contradictory.” Not much more was said – only six lines, so I really didn’t know what to take away from the review. It wasn’t really constructive feedback in my opinion, because it was so short and didn’t explain why they thought this. But hey, that’s okay. And you know what? It really was okay. I honestly expected myself to have a meltdown when the first “bad” review came in. I thought I would cry and yell and tell myself I would never write again (okay, maybe not that last one, but you see what I mean). But…I didn’t. I was strangely calm. So strangely calm I wondered if perhaps I was getting sick. Or if I didn’t read the review properly. Or something – anything!

Future Tour: Your Eight O’Clock is Dead by Kat Jorgensen

Kat will be on tour March 19-26 with her novel Your Eight O’Clock is Dead
Becca Reynolds is having a bad day. Her grandfather’s lecture (#405: Eat a Healthy Diet or Die Not Trying) makes her late for her job at Daley and Palmer, the psychiatrists’ office where she works as the office manager–her title, not theirs. Then her sausage and egg breakfast biscuit creates an oil slick that takes out half her desk, along with that day’s patient files. But she knows the day has taken a really bad turn when she discovers the firm’s eight o’clock patient dead with Dr. Dick Daley’s letter opener opening the patient instead of the mail.

With the fledgling firm in danger of an early demise, Becca appoints herself the unofficial investigator since the police seem to be looking in all the wrong places and doing a half-assed job of solving the crime. She begins a journey to find the killer, keep the practice afloat and with it, her job. In the course of her interfere–er, investigation–she finds a virtual cast of characters who could have done it, including the fancy side piece of the murder victim, his wife, his business partner, and even his psychiatrist.

The case takes Becca from the sordid depths of the Russian mob, to the upscale West End of Richmond, Virginia (known locally as River City), and even to her own backyard. In the course of the story she finds herself in hot water, hot danger, and with dreams of hot men.

Please visit CLP Blog Tours for the full tour schedule.

Off Leash by Jenna Anderson

I have a read a handful of short stories and my general consensus is…meh. I usually struggle to get invested in the character, or when I am intrigued by the story, it ends abruptly and I feel cheated. I tend to stay away from them as a personal preference, but when my friend Jenna Anderson asked me to read and review her short story Off Leash,  I didn’t want to turn her down. And actually, I’m glad I didn’t! Sure this was a short story, about 27,000 words, but I really enjoyed reading it. The main character is Candice Gunderson, who is driving through Indiana with her dog Phoebe. They are on their way to a dog breeder to introduce Phoebe to another purebred and hopefully make a beautiful liter of award winning puppies. But the situation takes a wrong turn after Candice is lost – without a GPS or a phone. They finally find a farm where they can possibly get some help, but the stop proves to be more trouble than useful. At least there is a cute farmer around…

I was hooked on the story from the beginning, and really didn’t feel cheated at all. I got to know Candice and her quirks and the fact that she really wanted to prove her independence, and I enjoyed the romantic connection between her and the farmer, Bull. Some of the scenes between Phoebe and Bull’s dog, Jack, were pretty hysterical, and there was enough some great suspense in there when the dogs go missing. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I thought Anderson did a great job with this short story, and I would definitely recommend this quick read.

[Rating: 4]

Blog Tour Sign Up: She Tells All by Judah Lee Davis

Judah will be on tour in March with her contemporary adult fiction/chick lit novel She Tells All. This book will be available as an eBook worldwide, or a print book to US/Canada residents only. Please select your preference on the form below. Judah will also be available for a guest post or interview. I will contact everyone chosen to participate. Thank you!

Her magic stilettos ensure that she will get lucky tonight, while her big mouth ensures she will stay in trouble. This sleepy little southern town just isn’t big enough for the adventures of mischievous Madison Miller. But when tragedy strikes, she is forced to learn important lessons about life, love and why she should NEVER sleep with strangers.

**Judah’s blog tour is now full. Thank you to everyone who signed up!**

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