In My Mailbox: Week of August 11
Title: Secrets of a Spiritual Guru Author: Tamara Lee Dorris Received: CLP Blog Tours Synopsis: Meet Melissa Murphy: wine-drinking real estate agent who finds herself…
Book Review: When Girlfriends Chase Dreams by Savannah Page
I received a copy of When Girlfriends Chase Dreams by Savannah Page in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Claire Linley is finally a bride! After nearly ten years with her college freshman sweetheart, Claire is going to become Mrs. Conner Whitley. She’s got her bridal magazines, is the biggest Martha Stewart fan, and subscribes to all the major wedding blogs. She’s been dreaming of this moment for years! How could planning her dream wedding be anything but perfect?
The easy-going and bubbly type, Claire will obviously have a blast planning, and with her fantastic group of girlfriends-made-bridesmaids she just can’t go wrong. Whether it’s wedding gown shopping, makeup trials, or cake-tasting, Claire’s friends are there in a pinch.
But how big does the pinch get? All Claire wants to do is get married, but at every turn something seems to go awry and she’s starting to lose it. How is a girl supposed to remain cool and collected when the pricey dream wedding planner isn’t turning out to be so dreamy? When DIY projects and the perfect venue are going up in smoke? How is Claire supposed to marry Conner when the special day that’s supposed to join them together, forever, is slowly tearing them apart?
This is the charming story about how sometimes the biggest events in life are defined by the smallest acts of kindness and love. It’s a love story about dreaming large, loving deeply, and, in the end, truly having the happiest day of your life, no matter what happens (or doesn’t). About what happens when girlfriends chase dreams.
Review:
I’ve been a big fan of Savannah Page and her lovely books for quite sometime and am so honored that she allowed me to read and review her latest, When Girlfriends Chase Dreams. Needless to say, I had pretty big expectations with this book given how much I loved her previous ones, and I am glad to say that it doesn’t disappoint. This book is about what it takes to follow your dreams and finally settle down and live your love story, instead of always imagining what it will be like. I think Savannah paints a realistic picture about love and what it means to be a wife and as a happily married woman, I couldn’t have appreciated her honesty any more. Overall, this book is a great read and might actually be my favorite of the series!
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by …
Becky Monson is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Thirty-Two Going on Spinster
Summary:
Julia Dorning is in a rut. She has lived in her parent’s basement for ten years, been at the same mundane boring job for ten years and she has no self confidence.
When handsome hunky Jared Moody is hired in HR at her company, her life begins to change in ways she never saw coming. Is Jared the catapult to get her moving again?
Review:
Oh my gosh, what a hilarious book! The cover drew me in right away (I am not one to resist anything pink!) and the story flew by in a fit of giggles and smacking of my lips. Julia is hysterical, so concerned about becoming a spinster because she’s single and living in her parent’s basement. I love how she gets it – she understands that she needs to make a change, shake things up a little, but she just can’t pull the trigger. It made her human. I love all the baking talk though I was constantly hungry while reading, and I thought the relationship between Julia and her sister Anna really added a depth to the story. Of course the romance is there as well – and how mysterious it was! I knew something was off about Jared when he was first introduced, and I enjoyed all the intrigue around him. This really is not a chick lit book to miss!
4.5 stars
On Tour: Masterpiece of Murder by Evelyn Cullet
Evelyn will be on tour August 12-19 with her novel Masterpiece of Murder Heartbroken American art student Charlotte Ross is so intent on locating her…
August 2013 New Releases
Contributor: Allie Sadly, summer is almost over, but we still have a handful of chick lit books to look forward to before the leaves begin…
Book Review: Justice for Sara by Erica Spindler
Reviewer: Kate I received a copy of Justice for Sara by Erica Spindler in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: When seventeen-year-old Katherine McCall awakened one…
Author Profile: Samaire Provost
Author Name: Samaire Provost
Website: http://samaireprovost.tumblr.com/
Bio: Born naked. Clothed and fed shortly thereafter by adoring parents who looked on in bemusement as their daughter became a reading, writing, free-spirited, feral, animal loving, bleeding-heart chocolate lover who laughs easily. Samaire Provost is a California writer of Young Adult novels. Her love of paranormal stories, odd plots, and unique tales as well as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, E.A.Poe, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Stephen King has deeply influenced her writing.
Titles: Mad World: Epidemic, Mad World: Sanctuary
See my 5 star review for Mad World: Epidemic
See my 5 star review for Mad World: Sanctuary
Connect with Samaire!
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/samairep
Twitter – https://twitter.com/samaireherself
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6453849.Samaire_Provost
Amazon author page – http://www.amazon.com/Samaire-Provost/e/B008PVTXMW
Amazon book page – http://www.amazon.com/Mad-World-Epidemic-1-ebook/dp/B008PO969O/
Blog – http://samaireprovost.tumblr.com/
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
Blog Tour Sign Up: The Mountain’s Shadow by Cecilia …
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.
