CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Cookies for Dinner by Pam Johnson-Bennett and Kae Allen
May 24, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review
Pam Johnson-Bennett and Kae Allen are now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Cookies for Dinner
Summary:
Pam and Kae are good friends but total opposites. Pam is a worrying germophobe and Kae stands by the philosophy that everyone will eat a pound of dirt in their lifetime. In this collection of humorous essays, Pam and Kae come clean on motherhood…
- No one tells you that your breasts will be treated like a fast food take-out window or that a ravenous infant can create more suction than industrial-grade vacuum cleaners.
- I went into labor with my first child four months after my soon-to-be ex-husband moved out to live with his girlfriend, six months after my 20th birthday and precisely the morning that I was having my house tended for ticks. Yes, ticks.
- Jumping off the cliff into potty training makes you realize that you didn’t truly appreciate the diaper years. Once you begin potty training, a toddler’s backside becomes a loaded gun, ready to launch its missile in whatever direction it happens to be pointing.
- No matter how we got on this ride, at some point we all end up standing on the checkout line at Walmart, totally unaware of the fact that we’re still wearing our pajama top.
Pam and Kae are living proof that even though every mother is different, we’re all on this roller coaster without a seatbelt. Scary? You bet, but it’s the ride of our lives.
Review:
I was worried for a hot second that I might not be able to connect with this book since I have yet to enjoy motherhood for myself. But that doubt flew out the window immediately. Pam and Kae take readers on a journey of their own experience, talking about the good, the bad, and the real ugly site of parenting. Their stories made me laugh out loud, text my girlfriends with the ‘OMG do you think this will happen to us?’ moments, and I whipped through book. Definitely one for mothers, future mothers, or really anyone who wants to get inside a mom’s head for a while. I will definitely think twice about shooting a mother a dirty look in the grocery store if their kid is bawling in the cart, for fear of her following me around the store in revenge 
Terrific read!
4.5 stars
**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of Cookies for Dinner before May 27 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**
Author Bios:
Kae Allen
Connect with Pam & Kae!
our website: http://www.twoloonsandabook
Buy the Book!
On Tour: Where’s the Groom? by Sophie Meyer
May 23, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under CLP Blog Tours
Sophie will be on tour May 27-June 17 with her novel Where’s the Groom?
Ashley, just turning thirty, is stuck with a string of bad dates that keep getting worse. The last of her group of friends to be single, she’s quickly becoming hopeless about finding The One.
When a friend convinces her to attend a new-age workshop on making your dreams come true, she gets onto a roller coaster she can’t get off of. The poignant and hilarious comedy of errors begins. The workshop sweeps through her life like a tornado and turns her reality upside down. She is told: visualize it, and he will come. But Ashley takes it seriously, and before she knows it, she’s planning a wedding. There’s only one problem: there’s no groom.
Things quickly spiral out of control as one misunderstanding after another occurs, and Ashley’s friends and family find out a wedding is happening, and want to know who the groom is. Backed into a corner, she finds herself having to lie, and to make her wedding planning more and more a reality. Things intensify as Ashley chooses her bridesmaids and is caught in a whirlwind of looking for dresses, choosing a venue, finding a band, and everything else. Soon a date is set, invitations are sent out, and there is no backing out!
In the meantime, Ashley is desperately dating, hoping for The One to show up in time! In a shocking ending with a twist, Ashley draws true love into her life in the most unexpected way.
Please visit CLP Blog Tours for all the tour stops! **Everyone who leaves a comment on Sophie’s tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of Where’s the Groom? before June 17 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**
Author Bio:
With a background in psychology, philosophy and theater, she’s helped many find love, avoid detours and climb out of inevitable pitfalls. The essence of her life and work are exploring the wonderful, spontaneous and unpredictable surprises life loves to provide. She also offers talks and workshops on finding and living a life of love.
Cover Reveal: After Math by Denise Grover Swank
May 23, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Authors, Updates
Denise Grover Swank is on tour now with CLP Blog Tours and sharing the brand-new cover of her latest novel After Math!
Summary:
Scarlett Goodwin’s world is divided into Before and After.
Before she agreed to tutor Tucker Price, college junior Scarlett was introvert, struggling with her social anxiety disorder and determined to not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.
After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him. Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.
But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?
**Everyone who leaves a comment on Denise’s tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of After Math before June 3 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**
Book Review: Changing Lanes by Kathleen Long
May 23, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review
I received a copy of Changing Lanes by Kathleen Long in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Abby Halladay has the perfect life. Or, rather, she will…as long as everything goes exactly according to plan. Abby never leaves anything to chance—not her job as a syndicated columnist, not her engagement to her fiancé, Fred, and certainly not her impending wedding in Paris (New Jersey, that is).
Unfortunately for Abby, even the best-laid plans often go awry—like when Fred runs away to Paris (France, that is), her column is canned, and her dream home is diagnosed with termites. Forced to move back in with her parents and drive her dad’s cab, Abby’s perfect life has now officially become the perfect disaster.
Then a funny thing happens. Slowly but surely, Abby begins letting go of her dreams of perfection. As she does, the messy, imperfect life she thought she never wanted starts to feel exactly like the one she needs.
Poignant and heartfelt, Changing Lanes celebrates the unexpected joys of everyday life—and the enduring promise of second chances.
Review:
I have also read Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long, and absolutely adored it. I was looking forward to reading another offering from her, and am pleased to say I highly enjoyed Changing Lanes as well. I thought it was interesting that we never get a clear picture of her relationship with fiancé Fred. We learn right off the bat that he’s fled to Paris, France claiming “boredom” and Abby doesn’t go into a lot of details about him, or have flashbacks of their relationship. I liked that because I think it kept the story moving without having a lot of back story for readers to grasp. Sometimes I almost forgot that Abby was engaged and weeks away from walking down the aisle, but I still thought that part of plot was well-orchestrated. I loved the family dynamics in the story, from her parents and her dad’s well-kept secret, her grandmother who is also trying to move on, and her sisters – especially Frankie – who give an oomph to the story. I appreciate that the story is about second chances and truly living the life you want to live, and I would recommend this book!
4 stars
Future Tour: Tales From the Laundry Pile by Kathleen Kole
May 22, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under CLP Blog Tours
Kathleen will be on tour July 8-29 with her women’s fiction novel Tales From the Laundry Pile
Claire Jamieson has moved back home to Boxwood Hills… And, she’s not alone. Trailing behind her overworked laundry basket is her husband and their energetic twin boys.
Claire had always thought that once she’d left the nest, she’d never return. Now that she has, she’s wondering what type of bird that makes her… Cuckoo?
When she has a moment to pause and catch her breath, she’ll let you know.
Please visit CLP Blog Tours for the full tour schedule! **Anyone who purchases their copy of Tales From the Laundry Pile before July 29 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five entries in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon gift card!!**
Book Review: The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs
May 22, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review
I received a copy of The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Tess Delaney makes a living restoring stolen treasures to their rightful owners. People like Annelise Winther, who refuses to sell her long-gone mother’s beloved necklace—despite Tess’s advice. To Annelise, the jewel’s value is in its memories.
But Tess’s own history is filled with gaps: a father she never met, a mother who spent more time traveling than with her daughter. So Tess is shocked when she discovers the grandfather she never knew is in a coma. And that she has been named in his will to inherit half of Bella Vista, a hundred-acre apple orchard in the magical Sonoma town called Archangel.
The rest is willed to Isabel Johansen. A half sister she’s never heard of. Against the rich landscape of Bella Vista, Tess begins to discover a world filled with the simple pleasures of food and family, of the warm earth beneath her bare feet. A world where family comes first and the roots of history run deep.
And in a season filled with new experiences, Tess begins to see the truth in something Annelise once told her: if you don’t believe memories are worth more than money, then perhaps you’ve not made the right kind of memories.
Summary:
Tess Delaney was a really fascinating character to read about. At only twenty-nine she has fallen in love with her career – and is also highly successful with it! It was so interesting to read about her line of work and I’ll be honest – I really didn’t even know finding stolen objects and connecting them with their rightful owners was a thing! There is a lot of history and charm to this book, but then there is also drama. Tess’s family life has a lot of holes included and as she starts to sew pieces together, even more drama plays out. This book is captivating from beginning to end, and I highly recommend!
4 stars
On Tour: Catching the Bad Guy by Marie Astor
May 22, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under CLP Blog Tours
Marie will be on tour May 27-June 10 with her novel Catching the Bad Guy
Janet Maple and Dennis Walker make a good team: she is a top-notch white collar crime investigator, and so is he. Both Janet and Dennis are thrown in for a loop when Janet’s treacherous snake of an ex-boyfriend, Alex Kingsley, is appointed as their new boss, and the case that was supposed to be the highlight of their careers is dismissed for lack of evidence.
To make matters worse, Alex is asking Janet to get back together, and the one man she wishes would ask her out sees her as nothing more than a coworker. Janet’s love life soon becomes the least of her worries, as she begins to suspect that Alex’s rekindled interest in her is driven by ulterior motives. She is determined to get to the bottom of things, but she can’t do it alone.
Together, Janet and Dennis team up to solve a tangled white collar crime web that leads to powerful politicians and corporate executives. Armed with their keen instincts and skills, Janet and Dennis are bound to succeed. There is just one glitch: both are attracted to each other, and both refuse to admit it. Will Janet and Dennis solve the biggest case of their careers or will their attraction to each other get in the way?
*Catching the Bad Guy is book two of the Janet Maple Series, but it can easily be read on its own.*
Please visit CLP Blog Tours for all the tour stops! **Everyone who leaves a comment on Marie’s tour page will be entered in the giveaway! Anyone who purchases their copy of Catching the Bad Guy before June 10 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will receive 5 bonus entries! Want to receive more bonus entries? Get 1 point for liking Marie’s Facebook page, and one point for becoming Marie’s fan on GoodReads! Please leave your points in your comment section below. Five individual winners will receive a piece of jewelry shown to the right, and one bonus winner will receive a $20 Amazon gift card! Please note this is open to US residents only.**
Author Bio:
Buy the Book!
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Identity Break by Stifyn Emrys
May 22, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review, Samantha's Favorites
Stifyn Emrys is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Identity Break
Summary:
How far would you go to find yourself?
Imagine everything you thought you knew about yourself turned out to be a lie, and you didn’t know who was telling the truth. Imagine you possessed a secret so dangerous that, if it were exposed, it would reshape the entire world.
What would you do if that secret were your very identity?
In almost every way, Palo Vista seems like a typical California city, with office buildings, schools, and homes sprawled out across suburbia, filled with families making a life for themselves at the dawn of the new millennium.
But two seniors at Mt. MacMurray High are about to find out that nothing is as it seems. Jason Nix is a star athlete and honors student who can’t seem to remember anything about his childhood. Elyse Van Auten is a budding artist from a broken home whose father left her mother two years ago – or so she’s been led to believe.
Like most teens entering adulthood, Elyse and Jason just want to find out who they really are. For them, however, the stakes go far beyond their own personal quest. Join them on a journey of self-discovery that becomes a desperate fight for survival against enemies determined to conceal the truth … and find out what happens when that fight becomes personal.
Review:
This book is near impossible to put down. While the genre isn’t my go-to, I was fascinated by this story and hooked right from the beginning. Emrys builds up a post-apocalyptic world that had me saying “what if” to my friends, and the characters were so intriguing to read about. I know there is a sequel coming, and I can’t wait to see how the story continues. Identity Break is definitely worthy of a 5-star review!
5 stars
Connect with Stifyn!
Book Review: Girl Three by Tracy March
May 21, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review, Mystery Lit Review
I received a copy of Girl Three by Tracy March in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Jessie and Michael must unravel a mystery rife with political agendas, deceit, and betrayal. When confidential papers reveal a fertility scandal surrounding the enigmatic Girl Three, the two realize the danger of exposing the truth. Who is Girl Three? And will the murderer kill again to keep a secret?
Review:
If it’s one thing that I don’t understand but still find myself fascinated with, it’s politics. So when this blog tour request came through my inbox, I had to accept – and I’m glad I did! Girl Three is a fast-paced thriller novel that involves some complicated love triangles, plenty of political scandals, romance, and head-scratching family dynamics. Jessica Croft made for a fabulous MC, and I easily connected with her from the first page. There are plenty of plot twists that get thrown in the way while reading, and it took me pretty close to the end to figure out who was behind Jessica’s sister murder. But even then the twists don’t stop coming! A very tough book to put down and if you enjoy a little mystery in your reading, this one is for you!
4.5 stars
Award-winning author Tracy March writes romantic thrillers influenced by her career in the pharmaceutical field, and her interest in science and politics. She also writes lighthearted romances inspired by her real-life happily ever after.
Always up for travel and adventure, Tracy has flown in a stunt plane, snowmobiled on the Continental Divide, ziplined in the Swiss Alps, and been chased by a bull in the mountains of St. Lucia. She loves Nationals baseball, Saturday date nights, and Dairy Queen Blizzards—and rarely goes a day without Diet Coke and Cheez-Its.
Find Tracy March at:
Website: http://www.tracymarch.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4575285.Tracy_March
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Tracy_March
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracy-March/151834621538910
Find Girl Three on:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Three-Tracy-March/dp/1620612895/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16100943-girl-three?ac=1
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/girl-three-tracy-march/1108930785?ean=9781620612897
Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Girl-Three-Tracy-March/9781620612897
Book Review: The Comedy Diva Diaries by Kirsten Van Ritzen
May 21, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review
I received a copy of The Comedy Diva Diaries in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
The Comedy Diva Diaries is the tale of a twenty-nine year old comedienne who gives herself an ultimatum: achieve success before her next birthday, or die trying.
Our sassy, deluded and insecure heroine endures disastrous stand-up gigs and humiliating TV commercial auditions. Her rich boyfriend, pampered pooch, flamboyant agent, dysfunctional family and back-stabbing rivals aren’t much help. On the brink of emotional collapse, Diva finds inspiration in a self help book, and makes the fateful decision to move across the continent in pursuit of the Hollywood dream.
Will Diva admit defeat? Or will she find fame and fortune before turning thirty?
Review:
This book is written in a diary-like format almost, with different entries making up the chapters. I struggled a bit with Diva. While I thought she was funny (I mean, she was a comedienne!), snarky, and at times seeming to be a bit of an air head, she could also come across quite rude, crass, and selfish. About halfway through the book I started to lose steam with her story. She didn’t seem to want to take the blame for anything going wrong in her life, she didn’t treat her boyfriend with any sort of respect, and her antics just got a bit old. I’ll point out again that I did enjoy parts of the story, but the struggle do connect with the main character was my downfall.
2.5 stars
