Aftertaste by Meredith Mileti

First off, let me give five stars to the cover alone. I could stare at this beauty all day. I’m a big fan of foodie books, and I just knew this book was going to speak to me. Aftertaste, the debut novel from Meredith Mileti, follows Mira Rinaldi as she tries to pick up the pieces of her life after finding her husband cheating on her. Mira and husband Jake are co-owners to the wildly successful Manhattan Italian restaurant, Grappa, the same location where Mira finds Jake with Grappa’s newest waitress. Mira is shocked at Jake’s infidelity, especially since they welcomed their first baby just two months prior. Mira packs up baby Chloe and flees to Pittsburgh to be near her family. She struggles to fight for Grappa, stay sane for Chloe’s sake, and work through her divorce. Along the way, Mira must find what fulfills her life, what makes her happy and content.

Aftertaste makes it on my Favorites List, as this was such a satisfying novel. I found Mira so easy to relate to. Unlike a lot of novels where the woman finds her man cheating and slinks away to rebuild her life, Mira fought back. She attacked the mistress, got arrested, and was ordered to anger management classes. Those scenes made the story really come to life for me. Is it the best thing to turn to physical violence? Of course not. But it really put a human aspect to Mira’s character, and I was with her from the first page. Aftertaste has a ton of drama – I shed tears, I was furious with Jake, and I was rooting on Mira in every scene – and I didn’t want the story to end. Mira’s journey also gave me a sense of empowerment, and I love books that show a strong heroine never giving up. A must read in my opinion!

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Unscripted by Natalie Aaron and Marla Schwartz

Natalie Aaron and Marla Schwartz are on tour with CLP Blog Tours. Unscripted follows loveable heroine Abby Edwards, who works as a reality TV show producer. Abby has been currently burned in a relationship, and has given up on dating. True love couldn’t possibly be true in the land of LA. Abby throws herself into her work, but friction in her friendship with BFF Zoe throws her world off balance. It doesn’t help that her new boss is deliciously hunky but she can’t decipher his attitude towards her. And then there’s the ex-boyfriend, a screenwriter who has just hit it big with a movie based “loosely” on their relationship.  Abby needs to get a handle on her life, and learn that not everything will follow a script. But can she rewrite her own reality for success?

I had so much fun reading Unscripted! Aaron and Schwartz have both worked as producers, and the behind the scenes peeks readers will get are hilarious and border on unbelievable. I absolutely lost it during the scene where the “bachelorette” who submitted her tape as a joke and had no interest in LA went all diva on the workers and decided fame wasn’t something to ignore. The romance between Abby and boss Will was written in a really sweet way. I loved seeing the characters get a second chance ten years later. I didn’t so much like BFF Zoe, she just gave me an ick feeling and I wondered why Abby would put up with that. Strangely, I had a friend that had a lot of Zoe qualities and she tested my patience one too many time. That friendship has since been severed. I was wishing that Abby would see the light with her, but the other two friends were great additions to the cast! Overall, Unscripted is a fast-paced read that chick lit fans must get their hands on! I’m happy to say that Unscripted is my first Favorite of 2012!

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Connect with Natalie and Marla!

**Everyone who leaves a comment on Natalie and Marla’s tour page will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card! If you purchase your copy of Unscripted before January 30 and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, you will get five bonus entries**

Here by Denise Grover Swank

Denise Grover Swank is on tour with CLP Blog Tours. I was so excited to host Denise again – for the third time – because her writing is truly phenomenal. The worlds she creates, the characters that will stick with you, and the way I can just not close her books has made her one of my top authors of 2011. Her latest novel, the YA/paranormal Here focuses on Julia Phillips after she is involved in a horrible car accident, where her best friend Monica is killed. Strange things have happened since the accident – such as Julia’s sudden ability to draw, false memories of the accident where Julia remembers her dying and Monica surviving, and a bracelet engraved with her name – that Julia has never seen before. To add to the strangeness – the most popular boy in school, Evan Whittaker, has now taken an interest in Julia. Where before he paid no attention to her, he is now offering to tutor her and seems to have a crush on her. What Julia doesn’t realize is that Evan is no ordinary boy – and he doesn’t even belong in her world. So what is he doing Here?

All I can say, another great read from Denise Grover Swank. The prologue was terrific – a glimpse into maybe where the storyline could go, but not too much information so I kept wondering how and when it was going to come into the story. The buildup to the big reveal is on point, just enough story with Julia and Evan to get readers ready for a wild ride when she finally discovers who he really is. I enjoy reading paranormal stories because I like to see what the author can come up with. With this parallel universe that Denise creates, I love how the government is created, how the citizens live, and even small details like the elevators move sideways instead of up and down.  It’s fascinating to me. I finished this book in one day because I did not want to put it down. Here has another cliff hanger ending (as did Chosen) and I will definitely want to read the next in the series!

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Connect with Denise!

 http://www.denisegroverswank.com/

 http://www.denisegroverswank.com/blog/blog/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4921525.Denise_Grover_Swank

 http://www.facebook.com/deniseswank

http://twitter.com/#!/DeniseMSwank

 

Build a Man by Talli Roland

Talli Roland is rapidly running up my ladder of favorite authors. I couldn’t wait to read the latest from her, Build a Man, and am grateful she keeps sending copies my way! This story follows Serenity Holland, an American living across the Pond and working as receptionist at her boyfriend’s cosmetic surgery clinic. She really has dreams of being a tabloid reporter, and she is trying desperately to get noticed from a magazine. It is at the clinic that she meets Jeremy Ritchie, a man determined to have a complete transformation. Jeremy wants plastic surgery from head to toe to make over who he has become, and Serenity’s boyfriend Peter is just the man for the job. Serenity catches of the eye of a tabloid with her story about Jeremy––a man so obsessed with plastic surgery––and finally lands a chance to become a real writer! But will going undercover work in Serenity’s favor, or will she watch everything fall apart?

I am happy to put Build a Man on my Favorites List and give it a whopping five stars! Roland has everything right in this story––a sweet but confused heroine, a gripping plot, and lots of laugh along the way. I was invested from the beginning, and had to see how Serenity and Jeremy’s story played out. The only gripe I was about to have was that it ended too quickly––I felt that Serenity and Jeremy were only just beginning when the story came to an end, but then I saw there is a sequel––hurray! If you haven’t read anything yet from Roland, get her on your list!

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With Just One Click by Amanda Strong

Amanda Strong is on tour with CLP Blog Tours and her novel With Just One Click. This book is an attention grabber from the beginning, and will keep you hooked along the way. The story follows three women: Chloe, a successful movie reviewer still looking for love; Morgan, a stay at home wife who is happily married; and Brynn; a not so happily married wife, who has become bored with her workaholic husband. All three women have something in common: Facebook. The social media craze that swept us all is the main focus of the book, and will surely you get thinking- and talking- about your opinions of the media giant.

Each woman has a different journey with Facebook. Chloe friends the man that broke her heart many years ago, breaking up with her in a note because of his overprotective parents. Now, the spark is still there between them, but can they make a relationship work while leaving on different sides of the country? Morgan discovers her jealous side when she sees her husband is friends with a high school girlfriend, the class flirt who constantly writes on his wall. Her once happy marriage turns into one of paranoia and Facebook-wall stalking, until her husband eventually defriends Morgan. And Brynn also finds an old boyfriend through Facebook, but teeters dangerously close to an affair. Her stale marriage and unhappy home aren’t giving her a reason to stay faithful and keep her family together, and with the lines of communication so open and easily available now…..

I was searching my word banks to come up with a one word description of With Just One Click, and I think I got it: riveting. This was a riveting novel. I loved how each character showed a different side to what can happen when you join social media: the good, the bad and the ugly. Trust me when I say this book will get you talking. I’ve talked to my boyfriend, my mom, co-workers, and brought up the story in random conversations with friends, simply because I was so intrigued. I thought Strong’s writing and ability to master three characters was exceptional, and the ending provided a nice twist that I didn’t see coming. This is a must read, and a definite for my Favorites List!

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Little Black Dress by Susan McBride

I love me some books with a magical twist to them. And Little Black Dress by Susan McBride delivers just that in her latest, and spectacular, novel. Even though I appreciate a good paranormal twist in books, sometimes they can be hard to achieve. But McBride manages to pull it off, all while delivering an emotional story that had me cheering and crying at the end. The main character is Antonia Ashton, a workaholic who is forced to move home to Blue Hills after her mother, Evie, suffers a stroke. While going through her childhood home, Antonia stumbles upon secret after secret. Much of the hidden past has to do with her aunt Anna, who mysteriously vanished fifty years earlier the night before her wedding. Through the help of one little black dress, the three women learn lessons about family, love, and even magic.

I just adored this book. I didn’t want to put it down, I wanted it to keep going after I finished; just an all around great read. All three characters are complex and engaging, and I was invested immediately in their stories. The book changes from past to present, and kept giving readers a little taste of what happened between Evie and Anna and why Anna ran away and how that linked to Antonia in the present. I think chick lit readers would have a great time reading this book, and it sure makes you want your own magical LBD! This makes it on my Favorites List for 2011. Get your copy!

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Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger

When I was asked to review Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger, I jumped at the chance. Who didn’t love The Devil Wears Prada?  And I’m happy to report this book was just as great. The story follows happily married couple Julian and Brooke Alter. Brooke is working two jobs with the goal of starting her own nutrition business, and Julian is a struggling singer-songwriter hoping to hit it big. The couple’s world is rocked when Julian snags the attention of Hollywood big-wigs, and overnight becomes the “it” guy in town. Suddenly, Brooke and Julian are holding on tight while they ride the fame coaster, trying to stay grounded and sane. Brooke isn’t interested in celebrities, paparazzi, and the works of being famous. But Julian gets carried up in his new life––the money, publicity….the woman. Not only is Brooke having to deal with that train wreck, but her life, her career, everything she has worked so hard for, is slipping out of her reach thanks to her new high-profile life. Can Brooke and Julian’s marriage survive, or will the cost of fame tear them apart?

When I first started reading this book, I thought Julian was quite an ass-bag. I really thought he was just using Brooke to make ends meet and so he could keep working on getting discovered. As I kept reading, I realized that he did clearly love his wife, and she felt the same way. While their interests may have been different, the love and respect that should be in a marriage were there. It wasn’t hard to guess that something like an affair would be brought up, because come on––who in Hollywood isn’t accused of cheating? When I got to the end of the book, I was sure I was just going to hate what happened. I thought I could guess the ending, but I was wrong. While I won’t give anything away, I will say the ending made me think. It was more than just a typical fluffy let’s be happy ending. The roller coaster ride of emotions that Weisberger took me on, combined with a scandalous chick lit plot and some important lessons we learn from Brooke and Julian, earns this book a five star rating from me!

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A Life That Fits by Heather Wardell

When Andrea returns home from a business trip, she is sure her boyfriend of fourteen years, Alex, is about to propose. Imagine her surprise when instead of diamond ring she gets her heartbroken.  Alex has found someone else, and promptly moves out of their shared home. Andrea is devastated, in shock, and can only think of ways to get Alex back. She doesn’t care that he cheated––she just wants her first love back.

A Life That Fits is another superb novel from Heather Wardell. I didn’t want to give too much away in the synopsis, so I cut myself off short. But let me tell you––there were more than a few times that I gasped while reading. I just love the plot twists that are in there! Wardell shows off her writing and character development skills yet again, especially with her heroine. It could have been easy to view Andrea as a weak, pathetic woman who will gladly take her cheating boyfriend back, but that’s wasn’t how I felt at all. I understood Andrea’s pain and confusion, and even her plan to reinvent herself to try to get Alex back. It didn’t surprise the minute I closed this book that I knew I would give it 5 stars. Keep them coming Heather!

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Chosen by Denise Grover Swank

I am a big fan of chick lit (no, really!) but every once in awhile I like to dip into another genre. When Denise Grover Swank questioned me about CLP Blog Tours being a good fit for her second novel––the paranormal romance Chosen––I immediately jumped at the chance. Denise impressed me on a whole new level when I read her debut Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes for her first blog tour go-round. Not surprisingly, my other bloggers jumped at the chance to host her again––even those who don’t normally go for paranormal reads. So how did Denise do with Chosen?

Stellar! Another page-turner that had me biting my nails and desperately clicking the ‘next’ page on my Kindle. Emma Thompson and her five-year-old son Jake have been on the run from bad men for years. Though Emma isn’t positive what these men want with her son, she knows it has to do with Jake’s ability to see into the future. While on the run, Emma meets Will, who offers to help her escape. Little does Emma know that Will is actually on the job––he is a mercenary who has been given orders to capture Emma.  Chosen is full of twists and turns and gasping and heart-breaking and blushing moments. The paranormal/fantasy aspect of Jake seeing in the future and the tattoos that mysteriously appear on Emma and Will are well written and flow with precision.  I was on my seat almost the entire time reading this, and the cliff hanger ending will leave you wanting to yell at Denise to hurry up with book number two! Another five star review for a Denise Grover Swank novel, who clearly shows her writing skills and ability to work with multiple genres.

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**Everyone who leaves a comment on Denise’s tour page will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card! If you purchase your copy of Chosen from October 31- November 21 and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, you will get five bonus entries!**

http://www.denisegroverswank.com/

http://www.denisegroverswank.com/blog/blog/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4921525.Denise_Grover_Swank

http://www.facebook.com/deniseswank

http://twitter.com/#!/DeniseMSwank

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank

Denise Grover Swank is on tour with CLP Blog Tours, and I am sure glad she is! I could not put down Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes. I started it at eight in the morning, and by eight that night I was already 67% finished- and I worked a full day! I kept pulling my Kindle out whenever I got a free minute because I couldn’t stand not knowing what would happen next. The main character is Rose Gardner, a twenty-four year old woman who seems more like she is a young teen from her sheltered life she has been forced to live. Her ‘Momma’ has been a controlling, overbearing, and quite selfish mother, and Rose’s life revolves around keeping Momma happy.  Rose also has visions, often pretty mundane things like where someone misplaced their keys, but is shaken one day when she sees a vision of herself- dead. Instead of her vision coming true, her Momma ends up dead, and Rose is considered a suspect. Now, Rose has to figure out how to live life on her own, how to clear her name, and how to figure out the delicious next door neighbor Joe, who always comes to her rescue but seems to be hiding a secret.

Rose’s character is super sweet yet painfully shy and seriously clueless about the world. She makes a bucket list when she sees the vision of herself dead, thinking that she doesn’t have much time left. The things she wants to experience are what many take for granted: play in the rain, get a cell phone, get cable TV, kiss a man. It’s a little heartbreaking to read about such a nice person who has lived her life under such tight constraints. I was friends with Rose from page one. The story only gets better as you read on, full of twists and gasping moments and a sweet love story that I wasn’t sure how was going to turn out until the last chapter. This is the debut from Denise Grover Swank, and I know she has three more in the series in the works, and I absolutely cannot wait to read them. Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes has easily topped my Favorites for 2011, and I highly suggest this Southern mystery for your bookshelf, it will not disappoint!

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