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In My Mailbox: Week of November 17
Chick Lit Plus

In My Mailbox: Week of November 17

Title: The Hole in the Middle
Author: Kate Hilton
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: I Don’t Know How She Does It for the This Is 40 generation.

Sophie Whelan is the epitome of the modern super woman. When she operates at peak performance, she can cajole balky employees, soothe her cranky children, trouble-shoot career disasters, throw a dinner party for 10, and draft an upbeat Christmas letter—all in the same day.

But as Sophie’s 40th birthday looms, her seamless life reveals disturbing web-like fractures. Conflict with her boss, blossoming jealousy of her husband’s femme fatale business partner, and her feelings of hopeless inadequacy as a mother and daughter, are cracking the edifice of her life.

Rescue may be at hand when Lillian Parker, a wealthy widow who befriended Sophie during her university days, makes Sophie an irresistible offer. Why, then, does Sophie hesitate? The answer is the reappearance of Lillian’s nephew, Will Shannon, the great unresolved love of Sophie’s life. As she remembers the vivid drama of their college romance, Sophie confronts the choices she has made in life and in love and looks for the one answer that has always eluded her: what does she really want?

The Hole in the Middle is a heartbreaking love story, a laugh-out-loud portrayal of the twin demands of work and family, and a fresh take on the hot debate about having it all. It is not to be missed.

Title: Just For Christmas
Author: Scarlett Bailey
Received: Unsolicited
Synopsis: Her best friend’s wedding…
When Alex Munro learns that the love of her life is getting married to another girl, all she wants is to be alone – and as far away from Edinburgh as possible.
Moving to a Cornish cottage, which comes complete with the world’s scruffiest dog, Alex finds that her new neighbours are determined to involve her in their madcap Christmas festivities.
Then she meets her sexy neighbour Ruan – and somehow Alex doesn’t want to be alone this Christmas after all. But having lost one fiancé, Ruan has no intention of letting anyone get close to him again…
Title: Fallen
Author: Traci L Slatton
Received: Traci L Slatton
Synopsis: As chaos descends on a crippled Earth, survivors are tormented by strange psychic gifts. In this time of apocalyptic despair, love is put to the test. One woman with mysterious healing power guides seven children to safety. Charismatic Arthur offers her a haven. Slowly Emma falls for him. But at the moment of their sweetest love, his devastating secret is revealed, and they are lost to each other.
Title: There’s More to Life Than Cupcakes
Author: Poppy Dolan
Received: Novelicious Books
Synopsis: A romantic and deliciously witty bestseller, perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Jenny Colgan and, of course, The Great British Bake Off.

Ellie Redford has a husband, a job and a home. According to the rest of the world, it’s baby o’clock already. Shame life doesn’t come with a recipe…

Ellie knows that starting a family with lovely husband Pete would be an amazing adventure. Pete would make a brilliant dad and she’d have an excuse to eat shed loads of Cherry Bakewell. But Ellie’s bestie would rather she was up at 3 a.m. with a bottle of Malibu, not formula. And with redundancies looming, Ellie’s boss isn’t exactly going to throw her a shower if she disappears for a year, with pay.

While Ellie juggles her feelings (and everyone else’s) as competently as a drunken clown, she finds herself signing up for a baking class, alongside the young, free and sizzling hot Joe. As they work buns and shape tarts, is there more to their friendship than a shared appreciation of Paul Hollywood?

Ellie’s soufflés may be rising, but her personal life is one big soggy mess. If she doesn’t make a decision soon, she may just lose everything that matters to her. Maybe it’s time to take off the pinny and face up to the truth: there’s more to life than cupcakes…
Title: Undressing Mr. Darcy
Author: Karen Doornebos
Received: Penguin Group
Synopsis: Taking it off in the name of history…

Thirty-five-year-old American social media master Vanessa Roberts lives her thoroughly modern life with aplomb. So when her elderly Jane Austen–centric aunt needs her to take on the public relations for Julian Chancellor, a very private man from England who’s written a book called My Year as Mr. Darcy, Vanessa agrees. But she’s not “excessively diverted,” as Jane Austen would say.

Hardbound books, teacups, and quill pens fly in the face of her e-reader, coffee, and smartphone…

…Until she sees Julian take his tight breeches off for his Undressing Mr. Darcy show, an educational “striptease” down to his drawers to promote his book and help save his crumbling estate. The public relations expert suddenly realizes things have gotten…personal. But can this old-fashioned man claim her heart without so much as a GPS? It will take three festivals filled with Austen fans, a trip to England, an old frenemy, and a flirtatious pirate re-enactor to find out…

November 17, 2013
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Book Giveaway: Sweet Nothings by Janis Thomas
Chick Lit Plus

Book Giveaway: Sweet Nothings by Janis Thomas

I have one copy of Sweet Nothings by Janis Thomas for giveaway! To enter, please use the Rafflecopter below. This is open to US residents only, and thanks to…

November 16, 2013
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Book Review: The Sister Season by Jennifer Scott
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: The Sister Season by Jennifer Scott

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Sometimes coming home for the holidays isn’t as easy as it seems….

It’s December 21, and the Yancey sisters have been called home. When the girls were young, holidays at their family farm meant a tinsel-garnished tree, the scent of simmering food, and laughter ringing through the house. But as the years unfolded, family bonds fractured, and the three sisters scattered and settled into separate lives. Until now. The Yancey sisters are coming to spend the holidays with their mother. They’re also coming to bury their father.

Claire, the youngest, a free spirit who journeyed to California, returns first. Then comes Julia, the eldest, a college professor with a teenage son of her own. And finally there’s Maya, the middle child, who works so hard to be the perfect mother and wife.

During the sisters’ week together, old conflicts surface, new secrets emerge, and the limits and definitions of family are tested. And as the longest night of the year slips by and brightening days beckon, the sisters will have to answer one question: When you’re a sister, aren’t you a sister forever?
Review:
I have been quite lucky with my books lately, as they all have been such page turners. The Sister Season continued that trend, and this book delivers an emotional read that left my tearing up, shaking my head, but also smiling through it all. The Yancey’s are one dysfunctional family, I don’t think anyone can argue with that. Years of abuse on all four women – Elise and her three daughters – leaves no one sad when their father passes away. But the family comes together around Christmas time for his funeral and for a final good-bye. All the sisters are in the middle of their own drama – some worse than the others – but it makes for a terrific and fast-paced read. I thought this book was very honest. Family isn’t easy. Being a mother or sister or wife isn’t easy. Their problems were thrust out there – bare and raw and at times hard to wrap my mind around, hard to understand why certain decisions were being made. I read this book in one day because I had to find out how the story ended, had to see if the sisters could stick together, and had to find out the truth about Robert’s death, which is a bit of a mystery since the beginning. Highly recommend.
4.5 stars

November 15, 2013
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Book Review: Where The Pink Houses Are by Rebekah Ruth
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: Where The Pink Houses Are by Rebekah Ruth

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review
Where the pink houses are is a story about 2 women who lost their husbands and are learning how to heal from their heartbreaking loss. Brenna and her MIL Anna travel to Ireland in their effort to heal their hearts. It turns out to be a life changing experience and an amazing journey for them both. For Anna is it a story of coming home. For Brenna it is more of discovering her home.

Most of the story is Brenna’s and how she moved on from losing her husband at such an early age. She begins to really come into herself throughout the story and it was amazing to watch her grow and change.

Brenna decides to get out and work and meet people and fun enough she really starts to come out of her shell and develop her adult self. She makes friends and an enemy or two as well. She starts attending the local church and is amazed to find she wants to develop her spiritual self as well.

This story is a romance story, but it is also a well written lesson as well. There is talk about god and church, but it is not so overwhelming that you are put off from it. Mostly it’s sweet to see how during a dark time getting closer to your spiritual self can actually help you through it and help you to grow from it.

I LOVED this story; it was an amazing love story without the bedroom stuff. I believe the greatest love stories don’t need to be all about the intimate stuff and this author proves that. This is a great story for young adults and as a mature audience, it was written in a way that both can read and enjoy it.

November 15, 2013
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CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Diner Impossible by Terri L Austin
Chick Lit Review

CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Diner Impossible by Terri L …

Terri L Austin is on tour now with CLP Blog Tours and Diner Impossible
Summary:
After shunning her overbearing parents’ wealthy lifestyle, waitress and part-time college student, Rose Strickland, is drawn back into their world when she tries to prove the impossible: the innocence of the town’s crooked police chief. He’s suspected in the gruesome death of Delia Cummings, his secretary and mistress, and all the evidence points to him. While she tracks down clues with the aid of her anime-loving bestie, Rose’s pal, Axton, and his Klingon gang are feuding with their Starfleet rivals. Things get hairier than a pile of well-fed Tribbles, so Rose gets involved. In between interrogating Trekkies and quizzing socialites at high tea, she discovers the secrets Delia Cummings took to her grave. Suspects abound, but when Chief Mathers threatens to bring down Rose’s criminally mischievous and maybe boyfriend, Sullivan, she makes it her mission to find the real killer before Sullivan finds himself in prison. Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you’ll probably like them all! Diner Impossible is the third in the Rose Strickland humorous mystery series. In case you missed the first two, check out Diners, Dives & Dead Ends (#1) and Last Diner Standing (#2). Plus, Diners Keepers, Losers Weepers, a Rose Strickland novella, will be in the mystery anthology The Heartache Motel (December 2013).
Review:
I have been loving this series, and it was great to pick right back up and continue on with Rose’s life. The newest murder mystery she finds herself in has a bit of a twist – her mother also wants her to get involved and figure out the real murderer. Rose’s family is known to disapprove of her antics – not finished with school, working as a waitress, solving crimes, etc, – so when her mother calls on her for a favor, it throws Rose through a loop. I loved watching as she went to the country club with her mother and tried to fit in, it gave me a few good laughs. Focusing on the mystery aspect, I loved loved loved that I honestly was shocked when the murderer was revealed. When it’s obvious from the beginning (which I have read quite a few that way) it’s so hard to hold my interest. And there was another side mystery thrown in there that added another layer to the book as well. Of course Ma, Roxy and Ax are all there as well, and Ma just cracks me up and Roxy even showed a softer side in this one. This is a terrific series that I hope you’ll read!
4.5 stars

November 14, 2013
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Book Review: Lies You Wanted to Hear by James Whitfield Thomson
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: Lies You Wanted to Hear by James Whitfield …

Summary:
Alone in an empty house, Lucy tries to imagine the lives of her two young children. They have been gone for seven years, and she is tormented by the role she played in that heartbreaking loss. You can hardly see a glimpse of the sexy, edgy woman she used to be. Back then, she was a magnet for men like Matt, who loved her beyond reason, and Griffin, who wouldn’t let go but always left her wanting more. Now the lies they told and the choices they made have come to haunt all three of them.
With shattering turns, Lies You Wanted to Hear explores the way good people talk themselves into doing terrible, unthinkable things. What happens when we come to believe our own lies? And what price must we pay for our mistakes?
A searing story that will leave you wondering what choices you would make, Lies You Wanted to Hear is a stunning debut.
Review:
I really enjoyed reading this one! What a fantastic debut novel. Lies You Wanted to Hear kept me reading late into the night. From the very beginning of the book, I knew that things were going to happen and I had to keep turning pages to find out. I was surprised and intrigued by the twists in the story.
The book alternates between Lucy’s and Matt’s point of view. The reader gets to know what both main characters are thinking and why they act as they do. Lucy and Matt both made poor decisions and told lies but you could tell that they also loved each other and their family despite their failed marriage.
Once I finished the book, the story kept coming back to me and I found myself pondering what I would have done if I was Matt or Lucy…and I still don’t know.
I would definitely recommend this book.
5 stars

November 14, 2013
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Blog Tour Sign Up: Sometimes Ya Gotta Laugh by Timothe Davis
CLP Blog Tours

Blog Tour Sign Up: Sometimes Ya Gotta Laugh by Timothe …

Timothe will be on tour in February with his adult contemporary novel Sometimes Ya Gotta Laugh. I am looking for book bloggers to post reviews, guest posts,…

November 13, 2013
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On Tour: Miss Kane’s Christmas by Caroline Mickelson
CLP Blog Tours

On Tour: Miss Kane’s Christmas by Caroline Mickelson

Caroline will be on tour November 18-December 9 with her novel Miss Kane’s Christmas With Christmas only three days away, Carol Claus agrees to her father’s…

November 13, 2013
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Book Review: The Theory of Opposites by Allison Winn Scotch
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: The Theory of Opposites by Allison Winn Scotch

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
What happens when you think you have it all, and then suddenly it’s taken away?

Willa Chandler-Golden’s father changed the world with his self-help bestseller, Is It Really Your Choice? Why Your Entire Life May Be Out of Your Control. Millions of devoted fans now find solace in his notion that everything happens for a reason. Though Willa isn’t entirely convinced of her father’s theories, she readily admits that the universe has delivered her a solid life: a reliable husband, a fast-paced career. Sure there are hiccups – negative pregnancy tests, embattled siblings – but this is what the universe has brought, and life, if she doesn’t think about it too much, is wonderful.

Then her (evidently not-so-reliable) husband proposes this: a two-month break. Two months to see if they can’t live their lives without each other. And before Willa can sort out destiny and fate and what it all means, she’s axed from her job, her 12 year-old nephew Nicky moves in, her ex-boyfriend finds her on Facebook, and her best friend Vanessa lands a gig writing for Dare You!, the hottest new reality TV show. And then Vanessa lures Willa into dares of her own – dares that run counter to her father’s theories of fate, dares that might change everything…but only if Willa is brave enough to stop listening to the universe and instead aim for the stars.
Review:
I am a big fan of Allison Winn Scotch, and I was crazy curious to read her latest title. Allison recently made the decision to go from traditionally published to self-published, so of course my interest was even higher for her new offering. I was pleased that the same writing and same inspiration from her characters is there. She does a great job at giving readers a meaty story and forcing us to ask ourselves some of the same questions she is asking her characters. I connected with Willa immediately, though I have to say I never really liked her husband Shawn. Her story was interesting and pretty intense, thanks in part to her “break” from marriage, meeting back up with an ex, going on a reality show, and her insane family – seriously, they are crazy! I highly recommend you check this author out if you haven’t yet!
4 stars

November 13, 2013
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