On Tour: The Lies That Save Us by JL Redington
JL will be on tour February 17-March 10 with her novel The Lies That Save Us Alexa is beautiful, smart and alone in the world, a…
Book Review: Impossible Things by Kate Johnson
Reviewer: Andrea I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. The Summary: Kael Vapensigsson is one of the elite Chosen—a…
In My Mailbox: Week of February 10
Title: Paper Phoenix
Author: Michaela Thompson
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: First comes divorce, then comes murder…
…or at least sweet thoughts of murder. Maggie Longstreet has plenty of them after slimy, ambitious Richard trades her in for a more recent model. She’s so depressed she can barely get out of bed when Larry Hawkins, a seemingly not-at-all depressed acquaintance, commits suicide out of the blue. Suddenly Maggie goes on high alert, remembering something her evil ex said about Larry—something highly suspicious.
And from there, it’s just a short segué to a bracing new development:
“When some women get divorced they go back to school, I thought. Some do volunteer work at the hospital, or join communes and learn to birth calves. Some have affairs with inappropriate men. My new interest is burglary. Maggie Longstreet, former wife and mother, past president of the Museum Guild, now starting a career as a second-story woman.”
Fortunately, Maggie isn’t alone in her adventure—a very attractive, much younger man proves a lot more fun than Richard ever was. In fact, the real delight of this witty, sly mystery is seeing Maggie come alive again after a suffocating marriage. Set in the’70s, it has a bit of that Mad Men feel of women on the brink of something big. And completely unexpected.
You know Maggie’s going to be okay when she says: “I’d rather have had one of those cute little guns with a mother-of-pearl handle, but this (diamond pin) would have to do. I concealed it in my hand. At least now I was armed—or pinned.”
Title: The Seduction of Miriam Cross
Author: WA Tyson
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Can Delilah Percy Powers figure out who killed Miriam Cross before she becomes the killer’s next target?
Miriam Cross, author, feminist and philanthropist, disappears from her Philadelphia home. A year later, a lonely recluse named Emily Cray is brutally murdered in her bed in a small Pennsylvania town. Miriam and Emily are one and the same. As Delilah and her staff of female detectives – a militant homemaker, an ex-headmistress and a former stripper – delve into Miriam’s life, they become submerged in an underworld of unfathomable cruelty and greed with implications that go far beyond the gruesome death of one woman or the boundaries of one country. Eventually Miriam’s fight for justice becomes Delilah’s own…until Delilah’s obsession with finding the truth may prove just as deadly.
Title: The Brazilian Job
Author: Michelle Vernal
Received: Michelle Vernal
Synopsis: Nobody’s Perfect Are They?
Rebecca Loughton’s bumbled her way through her thirty something years making a few cock-ups along the way. Of course, these wouldn’t be so glaringly obvious if it wasn’t for her golden haired, older sister Jennifer.
In a bid to escape Jennifer’s lengthy shadow and to find her happy ever after Rebecca, high-tails it out of her hometown of Christchurch to the other side of the world landing a legal secretary job in the buzzing city of Dublin. A few drinks later, all she has to show for her new life is an embarrassing one-night stand and a dollop of flirtatious banter with her boss Ciaran who just happens to have a predatory receptionist in hot pursuit of him.
Amidst plans of preventing such a merger, Rebecca receives news that Jennifer’s picture perfect life has a big, fat crack down the middle of it in the form of a philandering husband. Summoned home to look after her sister’s children and cooking school while she works on her marriage, Rebecca finds the reality of looking after two young children along with the bizarre array of guests booked into the cooking school grim. The only bright spot on her horizon are Ciaran’s e-mails but then she meets David Seagar whom she thinks might just be the ending to her happy ever after but will he prove to be far from perfect too?
Title: The Perfect Affair
Author: Claire Dyer
Received: Quercus Publishing
Synopsis: What happens if you fall in love with the wrong person?
Rose knows only too well the exhilaration and devastation of loving a married man. So she watches with a keen eye as Eve – her closest companion, the granddaughter she never had – meets Myles, the new tenant in her downstairs flat.
Quietly and softly and against the backdrop of their own unsatisfactory marriages, Myles and Eve fall in love and, as they try to have the perfect affair like Rose did before them, they come to learn about the pain of lost opportunities, to decide whether it is ever better to follow your head or your heart, to know what it is to be torn between love and duty.
Blog Tour Sign Up: When Girlfriends Take Chances by Savannah …
A novel about exploring love and life’s path, and taking chances along the way.
Emily Saunders has never thought twice about grabbing her passport, rucksack, and camera and trekking across the globe. If there’s an NGO, a study abroad program, or simply the travel itch, Emily’s on the first plane out. Free-spirited, open-minded, and eager to explore, it’s no wonder Emily’s hardly in one spot (or relationship) for long.
For the past year and a half, though, Emily’s found herself planted in her college hometown of Seattle. She’s surrounded by her best friends, has steady work as a photographer and at her friend Sophie’s café, and is certainly kept busy by the wild antics of her BFF Jackie. Life’s enjoyable, but Emily’s looking for something more. She’s ready for a change, for adventure!
But when Emily tells her girlfriends she’s ready for something new she does not expect Operation Blind Date!
Sure, Emily’s single. Sure, she hopes to some day find true love. But being thrown into an insane challenge like this is not exactly the adventure she had in mind! Couldn’t she just travel and focus on her photography? Or volunteer in Africa? Will a string of eligible bachelors lined up by her friends–a shot at finding a real and lasting love–really be that change she’s searching for?
This is a spirited story about seeking adventure while being true to yourself, wherever you are in life. It’s a story about love, risk, and self-discovery. About what happens when girlfriends take chances.
While this New Adult Contemporary Romance is Book #5 in the When Girlfriends collection, it can be read as a stand-alone.
Book Review: To Tempt a Viking by Michelle Willingham
Reviewer: Andrea I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. The Summary: She’s Testing His Resolve! Warrior Viking Ragnar Olafsson…
Book Review: The Dr. Pepper Prophecies by Jennifer Gilby Roberts
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars
This book is a fun read! If you are looking for a light, funny read this is the one! From the very start you can just tell that Mel is going to keep you laughing til the end! Poor Mel seems to find trouble where ever she goes! But then she also seems to create a lot of her misery as well. From dating worthless guys, to trying to fix up everyone she meets or even just sternly steer her friends in the direction that she feels they should be. She means well, but often times each of these “fixes” end in total disaster. Especially so the ad dates she sets her roommate up with!
Poor Mel seems to be doomed to be stuck in a bad job dealing with her ex that seems to have it out for her in a bad way. She has a rocky sad relationship with her family, and to boot her best friend is dating a woman that hates her. She really does have it pretty bad!
This was seriously one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. I giggled through the whole thing and I really did not think she would ever turn anything around. I too am a chocolate lover so I loved that Mel used chocolate as a way to deal with her problems, albeit she was a little excessive with her chocolate, but hey who doesn’t overdo it sometimes?
Book Review: Confessions of a Wild Child by Jackie Collins
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Lucky Santangelo. A fifteen-year-old wild child ready to discover life, love and independence. Daughter of the notorious Gino, Lucky discovers her mother’s murdered body floating in the family swimming pool at the tender age of four. Since then Gino has kept her protected from life closeted in their Bel Air mansion. But in Jackie Collins’ Confessions of a Wild Child, Lucky finally breaks free, and running away from boarding school the adventures begin. Boys, sex, drugs and rock n’ roll – Lucky explores it all in preparation for the strong, kick-ass woman she eventually becomes. Delve into the world that Lucky rules!
Review:
I’ve been reading Jackie Collins for years, and am very familiar with Lucky Santangelo. Even though this was a flashback book and not one to move her story forward, I was still interested in reading about her childhood and how she came to be who she was today. I enjoyed this book and reading about Lucky’s wild years, yet I kept getting a niggling feeling that I had already read the majority of the book. A lot of the story wasn’t new to a reader who has been following the series, so it was more like brushing up on my knowledge. Not everything was that way though and I still learned a few new details about her childhood, and I loved the way it ended with her wedding day – at sixteen! The Santangelo story is a fascinating one, and I hope you can read the books!
4 stars
New Book Releases: February 2014
Ah February, the month of groundhogs, Valentines and presidents. I don’t know about your weather, but where I live it’s been very, very chilly. As a consequence, I’ve been indulging in quite a few books and I’m ready for some new material. Here’s a sample of the fun chick lit books that will be published this month.
Twisted Sisters by Jen Lancaster – February 4, 2014. Lancaster is one of the funniest authors I’ve ever read. Her latest fiction book is a humorous and sometimes sarcastic story of Reagan Bishop, a successful psychologist with her own cable show. Despite all her success, Reagan feels as though she never measures up to her younger sister, Geri, who is her parents’ favorite. When her show gets picked up by a network, the pressure of prime time proves to be too much. With the help of a New Age healer, and a Freaky Friday-like plot twist, Reagan finds herself addressing her sibling rivalry issues once and for all.
The Curl Up & Dye by Sharon Sala – February 4, 2014. Once upon a time LilyAnn Bronte was her high school’s Homecoming Queen, with a quarterback boyfriend and a bright future in front for her. Then her boyfriend was killed in Iraq and she spent the next eleven years mourning his loss. During this time, LilyAnn’s childhood friend, TJ, supports her, while harboring his unrequited love for her. When a handsome stranger comes to town, LilyAnn begins to reawaken, which doesn’t go unnoticed by TJ. After she gets a makeover that TJ realizes isn’t for him, he pulls away. Will LilyAnn pursue a new life or realize that she had love all along?
The Dream Dress by Janice Thompson – February 19, 2014. Gabi Delgado is a seamstress at a fancy bridal salon in Texas who dreams of being the next Vera Wang. After she’s fired from her job, in front of a reporter for Texas Bride magazine, she must decide if the time is right to pursue her dreams. The reporter who witnessed her humiliation is surprisingly helpful, and handsome. Gabi may have to take a chance on love, too.
A Questionable Friendship by Samantha March – February 18, 2014. Brynne and Portland have been best friends since college. Now both twenty-five, married and living in Maine, they find their friendship strained. Brynn is happy with her fulfilling marriage and the small café and bookshop she owns. She’s also excited about her plans for motherhood. The problem is Brynne is having trouble getting pregnant. Portland, whose marriage is falling apart, envies her friend’s apparently perfect life. This novel explores what really makes someone a true friend, a support system, a sister.
Evening Stars by Susan Mallery – February 25, 2014. This is another book about sisters. Nina took care of her younger sister Averil, practically raised her, because their mother lived her life so recklessly. Nina sacrificed her dreams, so that Averil could break free from their home on Blackberry Island. When Averil returns with her husband, Nina is none too happy, because that’s not what she envisioned for her sister. Since Nina is also juggling two different admirers and dealing with their mother, Averil’s return leads Nina to wonder if it’s time for her to reach for the stars.
In My Mailbox: Week of February 3
Title: How To Get a (Love) Life
Author: Rosie Blake
Received: Novelicious
Synopsis: Some people book last-minute holidays, walk barefoot in the grass or party on a week night. Not Nicola Brown. Nicola is the kind of girl who double-locks the front door, leaves the plastic covering on new furniture, sticks to a super-strict diet and definitely, absolutely Does Not Date.
Her colleague Caroline – loopy, warm and exasperated by her, knows that Nicola’s reluctance to lose control means she’s living only half a life. And so she lays down the gauntlet: Nicola must cast aside her hang ups and go on as many dates as it takes to find true love in time for Valentine’s Day.
The pick of local men is, quite frankly, a bit rubbish. And there are only three months until February 14th. Surely it’s an impossible task? But, as Nicola is about to find out on her dodgy dates, letting go isn’t quite as scary as she imagined. In fact, it’s rather a lot of fun…
Title: Tempting Fate
Author: Jane Green
Received: St. Martin’s Press
Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of such beloved novels as Jemima J, The Beach House, Another Piece of My Heart comes an enthralling and emotional story about how much we really understand the temptations that can threaten even the most idyllic of relationships….
Gabby and Elliott have been happily married for eighteen years. They have two teenaged daughters. They have built a life together. Forty-three year old Gabby is the last person to have an affair. She can’t relate to the way her friends desperately try to cling to the beauty and allure of their younger years…And yet, she too knows her youth is quickly slipping away. She could never imagine how good it would feel to have a handsome younger man show interest in her—until the night it happens. Matt makes Gabby feel sparkling, fascinating, alive—something she hasn’t felt in years. What begins as a long-distance friendship soon develops into an emotional affair as Gabby discovers her limits and boundaries are not where she expects them to be. Intoxicated, Gabby has no choice but to step ever deeper into the allure of attraction and attention, never foreseeing the life-changing consequences that lie ahead. If she makes one wrong move she could lose everything—and find out what really matters most.
A heartfelt and complex story, Tempting Fate will have readers gripped until they reach the very last page, and thinking about the characters long after they put the book down.
Title: One Night at the Jacaranda
Author: Carol Cooper
Received: Carol Cooper
Synopsis: One man dying of cancer. One struggling journalist. A group of single Londoners. One night that changes everything.
The trouble with speed dating is that three minutes can last a lifetime, and ever since he was diagnosed, Sanjay doesn’t have a lifetime to waste.
For one booze and hope-fuelled night, the lives of a group of 30-somethings criss-cross. As well as Sanjay, lawyer Laure, divorced doctor Geoff, beleaguered mother-of-four Karen and traumatised ex-con Dan all face each other across the Jacaranda’s tables in their quest for love, solace or amazing sex.
Undercover journalist Harriet is after a by-line, not a boyfriend. She’s a struggling freelance with a live-in lover, who unexpectedly has to choose between the comfortable life she knows and a bumpy road that could lead to happiness.
As Laure, Sanjay, Geoff, Harriet, Karen, Dan and the rest of the bunch discover, it’s not just about finding someone who’s dynamite between the sheets. It’s about finding yourself, and that’s not always where you expect.
Title: Cider Brook
Author: Carla Neggers
Received: Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc
Synopsis: Being rescued by a good-looking, bad-boy firefighter isn’t how Samantha Bennett expected to start her stay in Knights Bridge, Massachusetts. Now she has everyone’s attention –especially that of Justin Sloan, her rescuer, who wants to know why she was camped out in an abandoned old New England cider mill.
Samantha is a treasure hunter who has returned to Knights Bridge to solve a 300-year-old mystery and salvage her good name. Justin remembers her well. He’s the one who alerted her late mentor to her iffy past and got her fired. But just because he doesn’t trust her doesn’t mean he can resist her. Samantha is daring, determined, seized by wanderlust –everything that strong, stoic Justin never knew he wanted. Until now…
New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers’ books have been called “riveting,” “magical” and “stunningly effective.” Now she returns to the lush Swift River Valley with the irresistible story of one woman’s quest for treasure and redemption.
