So Damn Lucky by Deborah Coonts
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…
Chasing China by Kay Bratt
Kay Bratt is on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Chasing China Mia is a young college student who sets off on a journey to…
Write From the Heart by Heather Hummel
Heather Hummel is on tour with her novel Write from the Heart. I did a tour with Heather for her first book in the Journals from the Heart series titled Whispers from the Heart, and really enjoyed the story. I was eager to read another from her. Write follows Samantha Sounder, who abruptly quits her job as an office manager and decides to really get what she wants out of life. During her therapy sessions, her therapists encourages her to go through past journals. Samantha is trying to figure out why so many of her relationships with men have failed. While immersed in that project, Samantha also decides that she needs to take her dream of becoming a novelist seriously. She determinedly starts writing her first novel, Winter’s Truth, and receives help from a Craig, a man she meets at a coffee shop. Samantha and Craig are soon heading into their own romance, but Samantha isn’t sure if that is the right decision. After much soul-searching, journaling, and never giving up, Samantha’s life finally seems to be turning around, all because of her go-get it attitude and some positive thinking.
I liked what Samantha’s journey was all about – taking life in your own hands and making something happen for yourself. I harp on that lesson all the time. Samantha was a very sweet main character, someone who always wants to do the right thing but has a hard time finding a break. Craig was a delicious male lead, I was a big fan of his right when he entered the story. Sometimes, I thought the writing was a bit too loose and I had to question some of the dialogue, and how many times the word “Universe” was written. I also thought the ending came together really easily for Samantha. As a writer myself, I thought her journey to being published seemed very easy. But I don’t want to get on that subject too much, because really the focus of the story is about being positive, and how little moments of reflecting on positive thoughts can really help change a life. I really believe in that lesson as well, and I’m glad Hummel wrote such a fine story about it.
[Rating: 3.5]
The Pub Across the Pond by Mary Carter
The Pub Across the Pub by Mary Carter follows Carlene Rivers, a reliable young woman living in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother passed away at a young age, and Carlene helps watch over her father – who is living with an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Carlene is someone definitely in need of a break, and that break comes when Carlene wins a raffle – and the prize is a pub on the west coast of Ireland! Carlene packs her bags and hops on the plane, nervous and excited for this new chapter in her life. While in Ireland she meets Ronan McBride, the black sheep of the McBride family who owned the pub Carlene has just won. Ronan places too many gambling bets, and one caused him to lose the pub. Carlene and Ronan try to fight the romance brewing between them, and Carlene tries desperately to fit in with the Irish community.
The Pub Across the Pond wasn’t my favorite book. The prologue had me a bit baffled, and I thought it was a pretty typical romance novel with no real surprises along the way. A decent read, but nothing really popped out at me. Besides the bizarre fact of how Carlene wins a pub – in Ireland. I think I was drawn more to the supporting cast then to Carlene or Ronan, but I did like the bit of mystery that was thrown in. I don’t think this is a bad book, just nothing that really sparked my interest and made me want to keep reading. If you like a sweet romance novel, then I would recommend this book.
[Rating: 3]
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Julia’s Child by Sarah Pinneo
Julia Bailey is a true mompreneur, a wife and mother of two boys who is desperately trying to get her business off the ground. After…
Idol Hands by Cynthia Hill
Well. Huh. Okay then. I’d like to point out that it’s usually a good thing when I start off my reviews in a bit of a baffled state. This one is going to be hard to write given I try to stay away from spoilers. But I will say before I begin that I would recommend this book. In fact, I’m going to add it to my Favorites List! It had me literally squealing and slapping my head at the end. Idol Hands by Cynthia Hill is a story written in diary format by MC Tara. We meet her and can quickly see that she is in an unhappy marriage to a jerk of a guy. While watching TV one night, Tara sees a former boyfriend, Aidan, giving an interview. Aidan and Tara dated while she was in high school, and he was on his way to becoming a pop star in a boy band. Due to increasing fame, their relationship had to stay under wraps. Aidan says in the interview that he is still in love with an old girlfriend, and Tara believes he means her. She sets out on a journey to find him again – one that takes her from Canada to Philadelphia, then hitchhiking her way across the US to get to California. Her journey is harrowing, frustrating, and at times dangerous. But what will Tara discover when she finally makes it to Aidan? Is her that he still loves?
Without giving away the ending, I will say there is an incredible twist that I never saw coming! I was eating up the last chapters, frantically scanning the pages and trying to figure out what really happened. Idol Hands is definitely not a typical story, and I think I would use the word psychological when describing this twist in events. I do wish that maybe a little more was revealed, but I think Hill wrote the ending so readers can interpret it the way they would like. The writing was great, the diary format flowed along, and I would definitely recommend this book. Just be ready to talk about it – a lot – once you’re finished!
[Rating: 4.5]
I Hate You, Kelly Donahue by Mark Svartz
I Hate You, Kelly Donahue: DO NOT OPEN! Nothing to See Here, Just Boring Stuff or Empty Pages by Mark Svartz is an artistic, and very creative, portrayal into the life of a man struggling to come to terms with his feelings. It is often said that young boys will bully the girls that they like…and in this book, we have the perfect example of how some men never seem to grow past that stage. On the first day of a new job, Mark Svartz meets several interesting people, one of whom happens to be Kelly Donahue. He vows at that moment to plan her ultimate demise and fight her to the death; just how and when becomes the real question. We follow Mark for the next eight months and sixteen days, as he chronicles every hilarious thought, note, email, Post-it, and Craigslist ad used in planning her demise.
I LOVED everything about this book- the creativity, the uniqueness, the hilarity, and the extent of the planning. I laughed as I turned each page, devouring plot details and graphics, wondering where Mark would take me next on his journey through love and his relationship with Kelly. This book was pitched as the “perfect Anti-Valentine’s day book” and although that statement is true, it is so much more. I would recommend I Hate You, Kelly Donahue to anyone looking for a good laugh, or a good gift for a male friend. I give it a 5/5.
Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long
Kathleen Long is on tour with CLP Blog Tours. I absolutely adored Chasing Rainbows. Once I started, I simply could not put it down. If it weren’t for work beckoning my name, I would have sat and read this is one sitting. The main character is Bernadette Murphy, a woman who has been having some rough years. From the death of her daughter to her husband leaving her for another woman to her dad passing away, Bernie finally snaps under the pressure. I think it would have been easy for Bernie to come off as whiny or even pathetic – she lets herself binge eat and gain weight, she lashes out her best friend, she seems to always be rude to the friendly next door neighbor – but she didn’t seem that way to me at all. For everything she has been through, the breaking point has to eventually come. I believe it’s what happens after you reach that point. Bernie may struggle throughout the novel, but she learns and is opening to the life lessons, many which come through a series of cryptograms that her father left her before he passed. Bernie’s story really touched me. I was laughing during the book, I shed a few tears, and it’s a book that just made me sit and think. Long is an exceptional writer, and Chasing Rainbows is the latest novel to be added to my Favorites List. A must read for women!
[Rating: 5]
Mad About the Boy by Suzan Battah
Suzan Battah is on tour with CLP Blog Tours. Mad About the Boy follows Julia Mendoza, a workaholic widow in her late twenties, who spends all her time building up her business instead of having fun. A panicky moment in the grocery store with an ex-friend causes her to ask the stranger next to her to be her boyfriend. Julia doesn’t realize the stranger is Christophe Augustine – the Christophe Augustine who is set to take over his father’s super-luxe chain of hotels. Christophe is immediately taken by Julia, but she isn’t so sure. Losing her husband Carlos at such a young age has closed off a part of Julia’s heart. Can Christophe find a way to let Julia love again, and will these soul mates be able to get through the struggles to find true happiness?
I enjoyed reading Mad About the Boy, but at times I also struggled. It’s a super cute romance idea, and I thought it was very intriguing that Julia is such a young widow. Christophe is a fine gentleman, who made me swoon throughout the book. I struggled when the plot started to go a bit all over the place. Julia is in a terribly car accident, Christophe is trying to adopt his little brother, Julia’s ex-mother-in law likes Julia then seems to not like her so much…a lot happens and it was a little difficult to keep up with. But I did like that this didn’t seem like a typical romance book. The characters were deep and had many layers, and overall, I read recommend this book to chick lit and romance fans!
[Rating: 3.5]
