CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Fashion Victim by GT Herren
March 8, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review, Mystery Lit Review
GT Herren is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Fashion Victim. First, I just get a kick out of the cover! So fun and cute. I’m also a big fan of chick lit mysteries, so I was in for a treat this one! The main character is Paige Tourneur, a reporter living in New Orleans who gets assigned a personality profile on fashion designer Marigny Mercereau – who winds up dead. Paige takes it upon herself to figure out Marigny’s death while keeping her job and love interest interested in her.
Fashion Victim is a fast-paced and quick read into the life and mind of the quick-thinking and smart-mouthed Paige. She cracked me up with some of her antics, and it was fun to follow along with her journey into finding the murderer. This book really zipped past for me, I finished reading it in one day, and I almost wish it could have stretched on a bit longer because I was having so much fun with it. I definitely want to check into other books from Herren, as it sounds like this isn’t the first appearance Paige makes in his stories. One to check out!
4 stars
Future Tour: Fashion Victim by GT Herren
January 29, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under CLP Blog Tours
GT Herren will be on tour March 4-11 with Fashion Victim, a chick lit mystery novel
To hear her buddy Chanse McLeod tell it, Paige Tourneur is rotund, cute as a button, a truly bad driver, and the best friend a gay P.I. could possibly have.
Now Paige gets a chance to tell it herself in her own witty and worldly-wise way. Please! Is that really her name? Seems like she has quite a past and in FASHION VICTIM, it’s starting to haunt her.
Since his first novel, Greg Herren’s fans have been begging him to spin off their favorite character, the hard-drinking, hard-bitten, smart-mouthed red-headed reporter with the heart of gold and the unlikely name.
In her first solo outing, she’s long since left the Times-Picayune, played out a stint on television, and has now landed a job at Crescent City Magazine, which sends her out to do a personality piece on bitchy fashion designer Marigny Mercereau. Only Marigny ends up dead fifteen minutes before her fifteen minutes of fame.
Twisting through Marigny’s creepy past, Paige is accompanied, as always, by best friend Chanse, her cop buddies Venus Casanova and Blaine Tujague, and ( finally!) by the perfect man: her new boy friend, Blaine’s brother Ryan. So what happens when a woman meets the perfect man and her past comes calling?
FASHION VICTIM is the first in a series of interconnected novellas in Paige’s MISSING HUSBAND SERIES. This spring: watch for THE DEAD HOUSEWIVES OF NEW ORLEANS.
Please visit CLP Blog Tours for the full tour calendar!
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Death Turns a Trick by Julie Smith
January 21, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review, Mystery Lit Review, Samantha's Favorites
Julie Smith is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Death Turns a Trick. Chick lit mysteries are right up there in my fave genres choices, and I’m not surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Rebecca Schwartz is our Jewish lawyer MC, who finds herself in the middle of a city scandal. This happens because A) she is playing piano at a whorehouse, B) The whorehouse is suddenly raided and she finds herself driving away the senator (half-naked) and C) because she finds a dead hooker in her living room. If that doesn’t sound like a juicy novel, I don’t know what does!
Death Turns a Trick was a seriously funny book, all while being mysterious and having romance thrown in between the pages. Smith does a fab job at building Rebecca’s character and also with her comedic timing, and I don’t normally classify something as a “hoot,” but I feel that is the only word suitable for this book – in a good way, of course! If you like chick lit and mysteries, this book needs to be on your list – or just get it on there anyway! A favorite of mine!
5 stars
Author Bio:
New Orleans author Julie smith is a former journalist and the author of some 20 mysteries, including two series set in San Francisco and two in New Orleans. Her 1990 mystery, NEW ORLEANS MOURNING, won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. DEATH TURN A TRICK is the first book in the Rebecca Schwartz series.
Connect with Julie!
www.casamysterioso.com
On Tour: Death Turns a Trick by Julie Smith
January 1, 2013 by Samantha
Filed under CLP Blog Tours
Julie will be on tour January 7-21 with her novel Death Turns a Trick
Rebecca Schwartz, nice Jewish lawyer with a few too many fantasies, is happily playing the piano in a whorehouse when she suddenly finds herself assigned to make sure a near-naked state senator escapes a police raid. That dirty job done, a lovely evening turns even more delightful when she’s picked up by the cops and spends the next two hours at the Hall of Justice. Could this day get any worse? Of Course! Guess who arrives home to find a dead hooker on her living room floor?
Handsome Parker Phillips, Rebecca’s new beau and the most attractive man she’s met in ages, is arrested for the murder. (Worse, she suspects he might actually have done it.)
On the plus side, another very attractive man is following the case–reporter Rob Burns of the San Francisco Chronicle, a possible ally. And there are other possibilities.
Fans of Janet Evanovich, Joan Hess, and Elizabeth Peters will get a kick out of this one.
Please visit CLP Blog Tours for all the tour stops!
Author Bio:
New Orleans author Julie smith is a former journalist and the author of some 20 mysteries, including two series set in San Francisco and two in New Orleans. Her 1990 mystery, NEW ORLEANS MOURNING, won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. DEATH TURN A TRICK is the first book in the Rebecca Schwartz series.
Connect with Julie!
Buy the Book!
Book Review: Cliffhanger by Amy Saunders
December 27, 2012 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review, Mystery Lit Review
I received a copy of Cliffhanger by Amy Saunders in exchange for an honest review. Let me just start by saying I love the cover; it’s so cute! The setting is Portside, Rhode Island and our MC is Belinda Kittridge. Belinda doesn’t expect to be thrown into a murder mystery, but that is exactly what happens when a classmate ends up dead and someone seems out to get Belinda herself. Is the murder connected with a death of a friend years prior? Belinda meets security expert Bennett Tate to help solve the mystery, and a few sparks fly between the two. But is Belinda safe in Portside, or is a murderer out to get her?
I really enjoyed this story, and had troubles putting it down. Belinda is a fun heroine, someone who comes from money and a well-known name but not a snob by any means. The relationship she has with her twin brother was fun to read about, as well as her friendships in town. The murder-mystery aspect had me on my toes, but sometimes I didn’t feel like the characters sensed that urgency, which was only the head scratcher I found. I enjoyed the romance between Belinda and Bennett, and I was excited to learn this is the first in a series. I will look forward to the second book!
[Rating: 4.5]
Blog Tour Sign Up: Fashion Victim by GT Herren
December 17, 2012 by Samantha
Filed under CLP Blog Tours
GT Herren will be on tour in March with Fashion Victim, a chick lit mystery novel. I am looking for book bloggers to post reviews, guest posts, interview and excerpts for this tour. ePub or mobi formats can be sent if you would like to review the book. Please use the sign up form below to join. Thank you!
Summary:
To hear her buddy Chanse McLeod tell it, Paige Tourneur is rotund, cute as a button, a truly bad driver, and the best friend a gay P.I. could possibly have.
Now Paige gets a chance to tell it herself in her own witty and worldly-wise way. Please! Is that really her name? Seems like she has quite a past and in FASHION VICTIM, it’s starting to haunt her.
Since his first novel, Greg Herren’s fans have been begging him to spin off their favorite character, the hard-drinking, hard-bitten, smart-mouthed red-headed reporter with the heart of gold and the unlikely name.
In her first solo outing, she’s long since left the Times-Picayune, played out a stint on television, and has now landed a job at Crescent City Magazine, which sends her out to do a personality piece on bitchy fashion designer Marigny Mercereau. Only Marigny ends up dead fifteen minutes before her fifteen minutes of fame.
Twisting through Marigny’s creepy past, Paige is accompanied, as always, by best friend Chanse, her cop buddies Venus Casanova and Blaine Tujague, and ( finally!) by the perfect man: her new boy friend, Blaine’s brother Ryan. So what happens when a woman meets the perfect man and her past comes calling?
FASHION VICTIM is the first in a series of interconnected novellas in Paige’s MISSING HUSBAND SERIES. This spring: watch for THE DEAD HOUSEWIVES OF NEW ORLEANS.
**The tour is now full. Thanks to everyone who signed up!**
Death on Heels by Ellen Byerrum
March 21, 2012 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review, Mystery Lit Review
I received my copy of Death on Heels by Ellen Byerrum via CLP Blog Tours. I was really excited for this tour because I had heard of the Lacey Smithsonian mystery series but had never had the chance to read one of the books. Byerrum and her books are super popular and have such a loyal fan base. Some of her novels were even adapted to film by the Lifetime Movie Network! So, needless to say, I was thrilled to have the chance to work with such an accomplished author.
Diving in the book, I was immediately wanting to be friends with Lacey, fashion reporter living in Washington DC. She moved there from the rugged little town of Sagebrush, Colorado, where she never wanted to return. But with her former boyfriend accused of murdering three women, Lacey is hot on the case. She knows Cole Tucker would never harm another woman, much less murder them. Until he abducts her right from the courthouse. Is Lacey in danger with Cole? Or is there a bigger ploy going on in the small town of Sagebrush?
This was such a fun story! I love a good mystery, and this book featured so many possible suspects. I loved the touch that Lacey was a reporter trying to track down a murderer, but could always be counted on for her fashion forward thinking as well. This was the definition of a chick lit murder mystery. If you haven’t yet picked up a Lacey Smithsonian novel, I suggest you do!
[Rating: 4]
So Damn Lucky by Deborah Coonts
February 29, 2012 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review, Mystery Lit Review
So Damn Lucky by Deborah Coonts is the third installment in the Lucky O’Toole series. I have read and reviewed both Wanna Get Lucky? and Lucky Stiff, and I’ve been having a fun time with these characters. I love the Vegas setting and all the background information on the city, and I also love reading a good mystery. In this book, Lucky is dealing with a group of magicians that may be intent on murder, her mother drops a bombshell, and her live-in lover is off touring the world with a gorgeous pop star. Lucky is trying to hold down the fort at The Babylon and keep a handle on her personal life. The interest of two other men isn’t helping matters either – former co-worker Paxton Dane is still waiting for his chance, and now the French chef is also trying to wine and dine Lucky. Always the one to fix the problems, Lucky wonders if she will be able to fix her own…
I enjoyed this Lucky book, but I don’t think it was my favorite of the three. That still belongs to Lucky Stiff, but I did like the story. The books are all thick but fast-paced and outrageous. I love a good chick lit mystery novel, and that would be how I classify these books from Coonts. I was a little disappointed to see who Lucky ended up with at the end of the novel. No spoilers, but after reading the previous two books about her, I really didn’t see coming who she had chosen. The supporting cast are all back and being their usual selves, and I think they really add a lot of depth to the plot. I hope there is a fourth Lucky book so I can see her end up with the man who I think she belongs with! I definitely recommend this series.
[Rating: 4]
More Lucky Reviews:
Blog Tour Sign Up: Death on Heels by Ellen Byerrum
December 23, 2011 by Samantha
Filed under CLP Blog Tours
Ellen will be on tour in March with her chick lit mystery novel Death on Heels. This will be a print book tour, available for US/Canada residents only. Please use the form below if you would like to be included. Ellen will also be available for a guest post or interview. I will contact everyone chosen to participate. Thank you!
D.C. style scribe Lacey Smithsonian swore she’d never return to Sagebrush, Colorado, the scruffy hard-luck boom town where she earned her reporter’s spurs. Yet when rancher Cole Tucker is accused of murdering three women—all left barefoot on lonely country roads—Lacey grabs her cowboy boots and heads West to prove her former boyfriend’s innocence. And possibly to resolve old feelings. However, this doesn’t sit well with her current beau, private investigator Vic Donovan, who has his own agenda in Sagebrush.
It takes only one look for Tucker to change Lacey’s game plan by abducting her in a daring courtroom escape. Tucker turns her world upside down, in stolen vehicles, on horseback, and into the wilderness, leaving Lacey not knowing who to trust. With a vicious killer on her trail, it’s a whole new—and potentially fatal—frontier for this fashion reporter.
Lacey’s Fashion Tip of the Day
Beware of Killer Heels: The ones you wear and the ones you date. Choose high heels that fit and lift your spirits, and kick those other heels to the curb!
**Ellen’s tour is now full. Thank you to everyone who signed up!**
A Parfait Murder by Wendy Lyn Watson
October 14, 2011 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review, Mystery Lit Review
When Wendy Lyn Watson asked on Facebook who wanted to review her latest mystery, A Parfait Murder, I signed myself right up. After reading the first, I Scream, You Scream, and thoroughly enjoying the delectable mystery, I knew I wanted to follow the series. I did miss the second book, Scoop To Kill, but I have that on my list to read. For the third book in the Mystery A La Mode series, Tally’s cousin Bree gets an unexpected visit when her ex-husband appears back in town. Sonny shot off seventeen years prior, after Bree got pregnant with her daughter Alice. After never making child support payments, Sonny shows up with a flashy business proposition for the town- and a stunning female on his arm. Sonny hires Kristen Ver Steeg as his lawyer, but she winds up dead- and Bree is holding the gum. Tally knows her cousin is innocent, but with all the evidence and motives pointing straight at Bree, Tally knows she doesn’t have long to clear her cousins name. Meanwhile, Tally is trying to successfully date Finn Harper, a childhood friend and sweetheart who got away, but when a complicated family secret gets revealed, Tally and Finn’s relationship is forever changed.
Once again, I had a great time diving in to this fun mystery series. And seriously- who doesn’t love these covers? They grab my attention right away. Watson brings back heartfelt characters with a lot of personality, and I really enjoyed getting to know Alice. The ending with the family secret simply shocked me, I really can’t say I saw that one coming. There were a few other plot twists that caught me off guard as well, which I love. The suspense was up there, and I think readers will have a great time reading A Parfait Murder. Be sure to check out the rest in the series as well!
[Rating: 4]
