Guest Post from Tara Reed
Firstly, thank you to Samantha for inviting me to talk about my novel. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: A Novel Approach to Dating is the polygamous union…
Blog Tour Sign Up: Aggravated Circumstances by Michele Shriver
A family can be torn apart in an instant. Putting it back together is a harder task.
A relapsed addict opens the door to find a cop with a search warrant, setting off a chain of events that will cause four lives to intersect.
Devin Lenox has already lost one child to the system and this time she vows it will be different. If she’s going to make it, though, she’ll need something she’s never had before- someone on her side.
Her battle with depression behind her, Elisa Cahill looks forward to resuming her legal career. Devin’s case seems like the perfect opportunity to do that, and bury her own past demons in the process, at least if old grudges don’t prove to be her undoing.
Child protection worker Taylor Ross struggles to balance a social life with her demanding job and has little sympathy for people like Devin, at least at first. When Taylor starts to see Devin in a new light, she finds herself at odds with her superiors. Will she be willing to go to bat for Devin, and what price will she pay if she does?
Sarah Canfield is a compassionate judge who is not afraid to make difficult decisions, but will her past link to Devin undermine her objectivity and cause her to put her own family at risk?
A look inside the child welfare system, the people who work in it and the lives it impacts, Aggravated Circumstances is a story of despair, hope and recovery.
Book Review: Grace Unexpected by Gale Martin
I received a copy of GRACE UNEXPECTED by Gale Martin in exchange for an honest review.
In a cleverly plotted romantic comedy, GRACE UNEXPECTED features thirty-something Grace Savage, who has made her way through terrible job after terrible job and gone through a muddy puddle of bad men who had commitment phobia. In an effort to shake things up, she visits her mother, who conveniently lives in Shaker Village in New Hampshire, and there she finds something completely unexpected. In Shaker Village, she learns that men and women live side by side and work together in complete celibacy. She is intrigued to say the least, but when her boyfriend dumps her instead of proposing, Grace adopts the Shaker way of life. She vows to stick it out with her new lifestyle, but when she returns to her old life, she struggles when begins juggling two bachelors. They test her will but she stays strong. Will Grace finally find the man of her dreams? Or will she crack before then?
I had so much fun reading GRACE UNEXPECTED and was completely surprised by the ending of the book (no spoilers here please). Gale does such an amazing job at crafting realistic characters but adding a fun little flair to each of them. I loved the time that Grace spent in the Shaker village and I found the idea quite interesting and unique – definitely something I’ve never read in a book before. Overall, this book is really fun and quite funny and heartwarming. I think that if you are looking for a contemporary romantic comedy, then this book is for you.
Rating: 4.5/5
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Work For Hire by Margo …
Margo Karasek is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Work For Hire. This novel is full of hard questions, tough conundrums, and I often thought to myself what would I do? Our heroine is Tekla, a law student who is getting top grades and is on the right track to having much success upon graduation. But when she needs more money to keep her up with her rent, a job offer poses a threat to her carefully-planned out life. She gets a job as a tutor for two young children of extremely wealthy – and absent – parents. But tutor is stretching it, and soon Tekla finds herself running into the ground trying to please not only the kids, but the parents as well. While her grades and perfect attendance starts to suffer, Tekla has moral dilemmas about her job – and begins to question herself.
I really enjoyed Work For Hire, and the main message is actually pretty similar to my second novel, so that probably helped me connect with the plot. Tekla has a great high-paying job, but at what cost? The situations that happen throughout the novel will frustrate you, anger you, and make you sad. Karasek did a great job building up her supporting cast, and it was easy for me to become immersed in the story. The ending left me with a bit of a question mark, which I found to be the only downside of the whole book. I was highly entertained throughout, and it was tough to put down. One I recommend!
4.5 stars
Author Profile: Debbie Dyke
Author Name: Debbie Dyke
Website: http://www.debbiedyke.com/
Bio: Debbie Dyke is a novelist and businesswoman from Alexandria, Virginia, and has a background in military intelligence, the stock market, executive recruiting and writing. An Army brat, she’s lived in Turkey, France, Germany, Italy, Albania and Holland. She graduated from the American High School in Naples, Italy then attending University of Maryland, Munich Campus. She graduated from Georgetown University and holds a Bachelors of Science and Masters degree in National Security. Debbie has two grown children, Lisa and Jordan and has been married to Michael for over thirty wonderful years. Debbie has written 5 screenplays, one Wall Street calendar and two novels.
Visit Debbie’s tour page!
See my 4 star review for The Bloody Mary Club!
Connect with Debbie!
My author website is: www.debbiedyke.com
My blog: http://debbiedykebooks.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: DebbieDykeBooks
Book Review: Up Close by Henriette Gyland
I was provided with a copy of UP CLOSE by Henriette Gyland in exchange for an honest review.
The book begins with the unexpected death of Dr. Lia Thompson’s grandmother and she needs to head to Norfolk to pay her respect. But, as she arrives to her grandmother’s house, she gets an eerie feeling that there is more to her death than meets the eye. She begins to dig a little deeper, but along the way she runs into Aidan, who crushed hard on Lia when they were kids. The two get closer the longer that she sticks around, but it is only a matter of time until she realizes that Aidan has been scarred, but internally and externally from his accident when serving in the navy, and he has secrets too. But, as Lia inches closer to the truth, she begins to question Aidan and his motives and wonders if she should even trust him? Or is he too close for her to see the truth?
I started reading UP CLOSE and was instantly drawn in by the suspense, mystery and intrigue. This book is very suspenseful and has a very quick pace which is a great thing for a reader. And, to make things even better, there is a romance on top of all of the mystery and it will definitely leave you wondering until the very last minute whether or not Aidan can be trusted. It seems like there is literally a secret on every page and each of the characters has their own demons to conquer, which makes the book that much more entertaining. Overall, this was a fast paced read that I enjoyed very much.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Future Tour: Transplanting Holly Oakwood by Di Jones
Di will be on tour April 15-May 6 with her chick lit novel Transplanting Holly Oakwood Finding her lover in bed with her best friend…
On Tour: Fashion Victim by GT Herren
GT Herren will be on tour March 4-11 with Fashion Victim To hear her buddy Chanse McLeod tell it, Paige Tourneur is rotund, cute as…
Blog Tour Sign Up: Where’s the Groom? by Sophie …
Ashley, just turning thirty, is srtuck with a string of bad dates that keep getting worse. The last of her group of friends to be single, she’s quickly becoming hopeless about finding The One.
When a friend convinces her to attend a new-age workshop on making your dreams come true, she gets onto a roller coaster she can’t get off of. The poignant and hilarious comedy of errors begins. The workshop sweeps through her life like a tornado and turns her reality upside down. She is told: visualize it, and he will come. But Ashley takes it seriously, and before she knows it, she’s planning a wedding. There’s only one problem: there’s no groom.
Things quickly spiral out of control as one misunderstanding after another occurs, and Ashley’s friends and family find out a wedding is happening, and want to know who the groom is. Backed into a corner, she finds herself having to lie, and to make her wedding planning more and more a reality. Things intensify as Ashley chooses her bridesmaids and is caught in a whirlwind of looking for dresses, choosing a venue, finding a band, and everything else. Soon a date is set, invitations are sent out, and there is no backing out!
In the meantime, Ashley is desperately dating, hoping for The One to show up in time! In a shocking ending with a twist, Ashley draws true love into her life in the most unexpected way.
