#BookReview: Shadows Over Paradise by Isabel Wolff
Reviewer: Mary I received a review copy Summary: For readers of Kate Morton and Jamie Ford comes a captivating novel of two very different women,…
CLP Blog Tours #BookReview: Beauty and the Bridesmaid by Lisa …
Reviewer: Samantha I received a review copy Summary: Could love be a nip/tuck away? Having endured her mother’s fourthwedding, hypnotized by makeover shows and tempted by…
On Tour: Vicious by Andrea Murray #VividTrilogy
Andrea Murray will be on tour March 16-23 with her novel Vicious She can’t escape her past . . . or her future. After Vivian…
Help Wanted!
Chick Lit Plus is on the lookout for a few more reviewers/writers to add to the family! I am looking for people who can read…
Book Review: Sweet Expectations by Mary Ellen Taylor
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Summary:
Daisy McCrae knows that change can be sudden—and devastating. And while it doesn’t have to be a bad thing, change has the power to turn your whole world upside down….
Running the family bakery and living in the store’s attic might not be Daisy’s dream life, but she’s beginning to understand what being content feels like. And then she gets some unexpected news. In one moment, Daisy’s calm existence turns into chaos. Now she’s struggling to keep it together, especially with renovations at the bakery spiraling out of control.
But when a box of recipes and mementos is found hidden behind a wall in the bakery, Daisy suddenly has something to cling to—a mystery that echoes her own troubles and gives her the opportunity to figure out what she really wants out of life….
Review:
I read the first book in this series, Union Street Bakery, and thought it was marvelous! There was a good storyline and a bit of ghost aspect as well, and I read it quickly. Finally getting my hands on Sweet Expectations, I was looking forward to seeing how Daisy’s story continued to play out. Let me tell you – there is a quite a twist right at the beginning to really throw you for a loop! Once again we are introduced to a mystery that is hidden in the walls of the bakery, found when the sisters start to do renovations. I loved the sub-plot of that took Daisy on a search and find mission, and both sisters got a little more limelight in this one as well. The only thing I didn’t like as much was constantly being reminded that Daisy was abandoned by her mom and the fact that she really can’t seem to move past it. But other than that, really good book and I recommend the first one as well!
4.5 stars
Book Review: Rescue Me, Maybe by Jackie Bouchard
I received a copy of Rescue Me, Maybe by Jackie Bouchard in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
If you lost both your spouse and your dog to cancer within weeks of each other, but you were sadder about the dog, would you tell anyone? Maybe your closest friends. Unfortunately, Jane Bailey’s closest friends are on the other side of the country. That’s where Jane plans to go now that she’s free to leave Philadelphia, the too cold, beachless, street taco-deficient city her husband dragged her to six years ago. But with no job prospects in her hometown of San Diego, Jane is roped into helping out temporarily at her uncle’s southwestern small-town B&B. En route to her new role as innkeeper and breakfast chef, she finds a stray at a rest stop. With her heart in pieces from the loss of her dog, she’s determined not to let this mutt worm its way into her affections. She’s also determined to have next-to-no interaction with the B&B’s irritating guests, and the even more annoying handyman who lives next door. Can Jane keep her sanity–and her secret that she’s not really a grieving widow–while trying to achieve her dream of getting back to the place she thinks is home?
Review:
When Jackie contacted me to read/review her latest book, Rescue Me, Maybe, I was so excited. Ever since I read her debut novel, I have been a huge fan of Jackie and her fido-friendly writing. As a fellow dog lover myself, I always appreciate it when another person is so loving and kind toward them, and Jackie definitely meets that criteria. Despite this book being fairly sad, I found it to be very sweet and heartwarming, really displaying what it means to love another, whether human or not. The book begins on rather rocky territory and things stay that way for a while, but Jackie handles the transitions and the emotions with ease. There are so many things to love about this book but I think mostly, you can feel the heart and the love on each page, and that is what I loved the most. If you are looking for a touching book with a lot of heart, I highly recommend this one.
Rating: 5/5 stars
In My Mailbox: Week of September 8
Title: The Mountain’s Shadow
Author: Cecilia Dominic
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: First it was ADD. Then pediatric bipolar. Now the hot behavioral disorder in children is CLS, or Chronic Lycanthropy Syndrome. Public health researcher Joanie Fisher was closing in on the cause in hopes of finding a treatment until a lab fire and an affair with her boss left her without a job.
When her grandfather leaves her his multimillion-dollar estate in the Ozarks, though, she figures her luck is turning around. Except her inheritance comes with complications: town children who disappear during full moons, an irresistible butler, and a pack of werewolves who can’t seem to decide whether to frighten her or flirt with her.
Joanie’s research is the key to unraveling the mysteries of Wolfsbane Manor. However, resuming her work means facing painful truths about her childhood, which could result in the loss of love, friendship, and the only true family she has left.
Unscripted by Jayne DenkerTitle: Unscripted
Author: Jayne Denker
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: One of Hollywood’s hardest working women is about to discover there’s a lot more drama behind the camera than in front of it. . .
Faith “Freakin'” Sinclair probably shouldn’t have called her boss a perv. . .or grabbed his “privates.” But as creator of the hit dramedy Modern Women, she’d had enough of his sexist insults. Now she’s untouchable in the industry–not in a good way. The only way to redeem herself is to convince Alex, the wildly popular, wildly demanding former star of her show, to come back. But there’s one obstacle in her way–one very handsome, broad-shouldered obstacle. . .
Professor Mason Mitchell is head of the theater department where Alex is studying “real” acting. The only way he’ll let Faith anywhere near Alex is if she agrees to co-teach a class. It’s an offer she can’t refuse–and as it turns out, the professor just might end up teaching Faith that there’s more to life than work–and that real-life love scenes are way more fun than fake ones. . .
Dandy Day by Annie WoodTitle: Dandy Day
Author: Annie Wood
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Dandy Day is a thirty-five year old free-spirited, commitment-phobic, Venice Boardwalk roller skating waitress.
When Dandy is suddenly dumped by her therapist, right when they were on the brink of figuring out why her relationships last only a whopping three months, Dandy decides to take her relationship issues into her own hands.
With the reluctant help of her lifelong best friend, Simon, Dandy tracks down her exes one by one and does a relationship autopsy on each of them in order to get to the bottom of her relationship challenged life.
Swimming Pool Summer by Rebecca FarnworthTitle: Swimming Pool Summer
Author: Rebecca Farnworth
Received: Unsolicited
Synopsis: Three women, three secrets, one holiday… a lot of baggage.
Tamsin, Tor and Leila have been friends since University. Now in their mid thirties they are finding that life can be very complicated indeed.
Tamsin is single and has never had a relationship lasting longer than a year, the reason being that she has been secretly in love with someone her friends would disapprove of for years.
Tor doesn’t think she will ever have children after a doctor told her that she had more chance of winning the lottery than conceiving naturally. For the last six months she has been seeing Ed, who is ten years younger than her. But on the morning they are about to go on holiday she discovers she is pregnant.
On the outside Leila seems to have it all — a happy family and a successful career. She is married to Tom and mother of three-year-old Gracie. But one night she slept with a colleague from work. Crippled with guilt, she wonders if she should she tell her husband before he finds out.
Over the course of two weeks, emotions run high as the three women try to work out where on earth their lives are going. But secrets are hard to keep when you’re living together, and it’s only a matter of time before the men find out.
Happy Any Day Now by Toby DevensTitle: Happy Any Day Now
Author: Toby Devens
Received: Penguin
Synopsis: Every five years my mother had her fortune read by Lulu Cho, owner of the Golden Lotus Massage Club for Men. Now it was my turn. And Lulu predicted one hurricane of a future for me!
Judith Soo Jin Raphael’s childhood was shaped by her hardworking immigrant mother, her father who left them, and her struggles to fit in as a half-Korean, half-Jewish kid in a tough urban neighborhood. But music lessons gave her a purpose and passion. Now, as Judith’s fiftieth birthday nears, she has rewarding work as a cellist with the Maryland Philharmonic, an enthusiastic if uncommitted lover, and a quirky but close relationship with her mother.
Then chaos strikes: Judith’s first love, who dumped her decades ago, returns to dazzle her with his golden pedigree and brilliant career. Her long-absent father arrives out of the blue with a snazzy car and a con man’s patter, turning her mother into a love-struck flirt whom Judith barely recognizes. All this while her mentor at the orchestra falls seriously ill. No wonder Judith develops a paralyzing case of stage fright.
Judith finds herself feeling—and sometimes acting—slightly unhinged, but she’s convinced that happiness will arrive any day now. She’s just got to hold on tight during this midlife shake-up…and claim the prize that life surely has in store for her.
Life in Plan B by Jennifer VessellsTitle: Life in Plan B
Author: Jennifer Vessells
Received: Jennifer Vessells
Synopsis: When twenty-eight year old Haley Simpson, a sales associate for her best friend’s clothing boutique in Columbus, Ohio, begins a secret affair with the boutique’s potential New York City business partner, she digs a cavernous hole of deception that not only threatens to end her blossoming career, but to destroy a life-long friendship.
Jennifer Vessells’s debut novel, LIFE IN PLAN B, encompasses everything classic chick lit should: the dynamics of friendship, the nuances of high-reaching career aspirations, and the struggles – both usual and unique – presented by romantic and familial relationships. An entertaining story at every turn, LIFE IN PLAN B is identifiable for readers of any age. In short, Ms. Vessells hits her debut novel out of the park!
Book Review: Shake Down the Stars by Renee Swindle
I received a copy of Shake Down the Stars by Renee Swindle in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
When you’re in trouble and sinking fast, whom do you call?
Piper Nelson is stuck. She can’t quite stay away from the husband she divorced. She isn’t always attentive to the high school students she teaches. And even she admits that she’s been drinking too much and seeking out unsuitable men. Piper’s mother, married to a celebrity evangelist, and her sister, who’s immersed in plans to wed a professional football player and star in a reality TV show, are both too self-absorbed to sympathize with Piper’s angst. They tell her to get a grip. But how can Piper ever really recover from the blow she suffered five years ago, when a car accident took the life of her young daughter?
When Piper’s ex-husband announces that his new girlfriend is pregnant, Piper is forced to take stock. Realizing that it’s time for a change is one thing, but actually making it happen is quite another. And despite what she thinks, Piper can’t do it alone Lucky for her, a couple of crazy, funny new friends are ready to step in when she needs them most and show her how to live and laugh again.
Review:
Whew, this book is quite the read! When I first started reading I didn’t realize how deep and intense Piper’s journey would be. Losing her daughter in a car accident has clearly scarred her, her divorce from her husband took an emotional toll, and not being able to connect with her mother and sister really impacts her life. We see Piper turn to alcohol and men to fill the void, and the story only becomes more absorbing as it continues. It is easy to empathize with Piper, easy to see how she fell into such a self-destructive path, and it’s impossible not to cheer once she finally realizes how she has been destroying her life and works to make it better. The love interest is a great angle because he seems to be such an unlikely candidate (and unlikely love story really) and I thought that made the story even more fresh and relatable. One I highly recommend.
4 stars
In My Mailbox: July 28
Title: Adela Arthur and the Creator’s Clock
Author: Judyann McCole
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: To Whom Ever This May Concern;
I wish I could tell you the contents of this book were purely fictional. That I, Adela Arthur, was just a normal sixteen year old from Portland and that dragons, giants, elves and mermaids were just myths. I wish these were legends shared from crazy old grandparents to crazy old grandparents around campfires. After all, that is what I used to believe.
I never would have thought they lived on the other side of our mirrors in a world called Cielieu. But they do…
I never would have thought there were humans, better known as Volsin that lived among them with the ability to create light from a single thought. But there are…
I never would have thought I was one of them… But I am…
I am the last Arthur and I was brought to the human world after a Volsin, filled with greed, began to strip the light from our kind.
The human world was supposed to be a safe haven… but he’s found us and the only way to stop him is to go back to Cielieu and begin training as a student in the Elpida Castle of Light.
Like I said I wish the contents of this book were purely fictional and not my life…
ADELA ARTHUR
Title: Blogger Girl
Author: Meredith Schorr
Received: Meredith Schorr
Synopsis: What happens when your high school nemesis becomes the shining star in a universe you pretty much saved? Book blogger Kimberly Long is about to find out.
A chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kim, with her blog, “Pastel is the New Black,” has worked tirelessly by night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the claim that “chick lit is dead” once and for all. Not bad for a woman who by day ekes out a meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless, legal secretary in a Manhattan law firm.
While Kim’s day job holds no passion for her, the handsome (and shaving challenged) associate down the hall is another story. Yet another story is that Hannah Marshak, one of her most hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book that’s turning heads–and pages–across the land. And it’s also popped into Kim’s inbox–for review. With their ten-year high school reunion drawing near, Kim’s coming close to combustion over all the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her seems to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a “blogger girl” makes the grade in her off-line life.
Title: Frisky Business
Author: Clodagh Murphy
Received: Clodagh Murphy
Synopsis: Romy Fitzgerald’s life is firmly on track. She runs a successful business, has great friends and knows what she wants. That was until her father died. Suddenly she’s not sure about anything anymore. So when she has a one-night stand at a party with a stranger dressed as Darth Vadar, she tells him things she’s never told anyone before about herself and her father’s death. They’ll never see each other again so her secrets are safe, right? Until Romy realises that she’s pregnant with Darth Vadar’s baby and now she has to face some awkward questions about what really happened the night of Luke’s conception. Romy’s going to have to come clean, but when her ex-boyfriend Kit Masterson returns from New York and seems happy to go along with the charade of playing the part of Luke’s father, it seems like the answer to her prayers. Kit was the love her life, and maybe her secrets, and the true identity of Darth Vadar, can stay hidden forever. But Kit has his own reasons for coming home and buying into the ready-made family. And as masks slip and true identities show, Romy and Kit quickly discover that in real life secrets never stay hidden, especially when it comes to love.
Title: While We Were Watching Dowton Abbey
Author: Wendy Wax
Received: Orion Books
Synopsis: A warm and witty novel about four friends, and a shared passion that will change their lives.
When Edward, the concierge of a historic Atlanta apartment building, invites his fellow residents to join him for weekly screenings of Downton Abbey, four very different people find themselves connecting with the addictive drama, and – even more unexpectedly – with each other . . .
Join Samantha, Claire, Brooke and Edward for a season full of surprises.
Title: Rome For Beginners
Author: Fiona Coughlin
Received: Fiona Coughlin
Synopsis: The girls had read all about living in Rome. The way it worked in all those pink, glossy novels was: woman comes to Rome. Woman buys farmhouse in Tuscany. Woman’s toilet overflows. Woman has a good cry. Woman achieves self-realization.
Living in Italy was no vacation, as Lilian would say. As a fifty-something academic living in Rome, she didn’t feel any closer to self-realization, and she had bigger problems than plumbing. Her professor ex-husband had just started dating her boss (the Chair of the department), and if that weren’t enough she’s just found herself in an Italian Emergency Room, where the people around her seem “to be speaking some dialect of squirrel”. Language problems won’t hold her back, as she’s got her friends Brennan (an athlete constantly risking deportation), and Suzanne (a newly divorced, single mother) to translate.
This story follows these three unlikely friends in different stages of life over the course of a year: broken bones, dates in the Catacombs, multiple boyfriends named Massimo, spelunking into cavernous Roman ruins, killing one’s own turkey in a country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, explaining to a nun how adorable one’s own child is after he is expelled, learning how to get some sleep when you’ve rented a room in a church directly under the church bells.
As things get ever more messy these women will discover if they can get it all sorted, with or without all the “ciao bellas”.
Rome for Beginners is skosh heavier than an average Chick Lit book, yet a smidgen lighter than normal Women’s Fiction. Readers who love quirky reading or summer fare, who like satire, who like a biting sense of humor, and who are curious about Italian life should love this book. Lovers of Rome should also love the book, as the city is a character unto itself.
Title: Two of a Kind
Author: Yona Zeldis McDonough
Received: Penguin Group
Synopsis: Christina Connelly lost her husband to a devastating fire ten years ago but has managed to work through the grief and build a lovely life for her teenage daughter and a small yet successful interior design business in Brooklyn. While attending a wedding, she is introduced to Dr. Andy Stern, a handsome widower with a troubled son. Andy’s egotistic demeanor is irritating to Christina, but she’s willing to work with him when he hires her to decorate his Upper East Side apartment. It comes as a shock to everyone when the two fall in love and decide to marry. Combining their families is certainly not without obstacles. Will they be able to overcome the difficulties and achieve their happily ever after?
