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Book Review: Deceptions of the Heart by Denise Moncrief
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: Deceptions of the Heart by Denise Moncrief

I received a copy of Deceptions of the Heart by Denise Moncrief in exchange for an honest review.
Summary

What would you do if one morning you awoke in someone else’s body? Surviving as Jennifer Cristobal isn’t easy for Rhonda Prentiss. Three years ago, a sudden, fatal trauma stripped Rhonda of her middle-class, stay-at-home mom existence. A brand new shock prompts Rhonda’s essence to invade Jennifer’s soul, suppressing the other woman’s memories and replacing them with her own. When Jennifer’s heart transplant surgeon, Dr. Crane, can’t—or won’t—help her understand her unusual body-swapping dilemma, she turns to the only man she can trust. But can she fully trust Jennifer’s husband, Anson? Multiple threats from her past shake her fragile hold on mental stability. If one of her enemies succeeds, he will kill Rhonda’s soul… or Jennifer’s body… or both.
My Review:

This book was a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed the twist that Denise presents on a story that is often retold. I think Denise does a wonderful job at creating very real characters with a lot of heart and I definitely felt every emotion that was the main character feels. I finished the book in a few days and I was completely enthralled in the story and couldn’t read the book fast enough. I was wrapped up in all the twists and turns and definitely surprised by the ending. Overall, this book is a quick, entertaining and very suspenseful read. It will definitely leave you rethinking things once you finish. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a suspenseful read.

February 5, 2013
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CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Next Year I’ll be Perfect by Laura Kilmartin
Chick Lit Review

CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Next Year I’ll be …

Laura Kilmartin is on tour now with CLP Blog Tours and Next Year I’ll be Perfect. This novel is a breath of fresh, realistic, and sometimes harsh air. Sarah is feeling good about her life – until her 29th birthday and the discovery of the list. The list is something Sarah wrote at 25, outlining all the goals and expectations she expected herself to achieve by thirty. Now that the deadline is 365 days away and counting, Sarah is feeling the pressure to check things off her list – including buying a home and becoming partner at a firm. But will Sarah realize that goals can shift over the years, or will trying to check off items be Sarah’s only key to happiness?
I had such a fabulous time reading Next Year I’ll be Perfect. As a list-maker myself, I understood Sarah’s drive to be able to cross those items off her list. And she really wanted to be happier, and she thought by completing the list she would be. Her journey throughout the year was at times hilarious, at times sad, but always very realistic. There are stop-and-go romances, a best friend that will always dish it to her straight, and the story flowed with ease. This was also quite the page-turner, as I was curious up until to the end to see how Sarah’s journey would come to a close. One for your to-read list!
5 stars

February 5, 2013
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Blog Tour Sign Up: Breathe by Kate Bishop
CLP Blog Tours

Blog Tour Sign Up: Breathe by Kate Bishop

Alex thought she had married the man of her dreams: successful, gorgeous, and delighted by her small-town charm. When he walks out six months later, proclaiming to have ‘found himself’ (with the help of a stunning yoga teacher), she ‘finds herself’ alone in an unfamiliar city, vengefully drinking through his prized wine collection, living on takeout, and refusing to answer the door. When this fails to cure her broken heart and bruised ego, she reluctantly allows her new friends to intervene. Slowly, Alex learns to define success on her own terms; she discovers the secret to love in all its forms, and the perfect flying crow pose, one breath at a time.

February 4, 2013
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Future Tour: Swan Story by Priya Narendran
CLP Blog Tours

Future Tour: Swan Story by Priya Narendran

Priya will be on tour April 22-29 with her fairytale romance novel Swan Story Soon to be married Daniel Macgregor meets mysterious beauty Sarah Mitchell…

February 4, 2013
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Author Profile: Sarra Manning
Chick Lit Authors

Author Profile: Sarra Manning

Author Name: Sarra Manning
Website: http://www.sarramanning.co.uk/index.php
Bio: Sarra Manning has been a fashion, lifestyle and entertainment journalist for over fifteen years. Her writing career started on the music paper, Melody Maker and involved a long stint on the legendary teen mag, Just Seventeen, before she went on to launch and edit Elle Girl and What To Wear, as well as consulting on a number of magazines including The Face, Look and More.
Her first adult novel, Unsticky, was heat magazine’s book of the week and Sarra is also a best-selling teen novelist. Her YA titles include Adorkable, Guitar Girl, the Diary Of A Crush trilogy, Let’s Get Lost, and Nobody’s Girl, which made the shortlist of the BookTrust Teenage Prize in 2010.
Sarra also writes for Grazia, Red, The Guardian, Stylist, Fabulous, Stella, You Magazine, and InStyle.
She lives in North London and prides herself on her unique ability to accessorise.
See my review for Nine Uses For an Ex-Boyfriend!

February 4, 2013
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CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Love at 11 by Mari Mancusi
Chick Lit Review

CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Love at 11 by Mari Mancusi

Mari Mancusi is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Love at 11. This story follows Maddy, a producer for the local News 9 in San Diego. While she had high hopes for obtaining a position at Newsline, she hasn’t gotten any further than producing fluff pieces that either no one cares about or is dangerously close to not being factual. When she manages to snag a promotion and land a super-hot camera guy all in one fell swoop, Maddy wonders if her luck might turn around. But the promotion comes with an arrogant anchor, no better stories, and her hot camera guy Jamie turns out to be engaged – to a gorgeous model/actress living in LA. With her parents getting a divorce and her wild-child younger sister moving in with her, Maddy is wondering if she can keep it all together. When the chance for an exclusive exposé gets thrown into her lap, Maddy tries to get her priorities straight once again – but can she have it all?
Love at 11 is a fabulous look into a newsroom and the chaos and characters that come with. This story is very modern, fast-paced, and so realistic. Maddy makes mistakes, but she works hard on not letting them define here. There are two great stories written into one here – the issue with Maddy’s family, especially her sister Lulu, and Maddy’s career and love life, and how the two mix together. I was on the edge of my seat during many parts of this book, and I couldn’t wait to see how it ended. I don’t want to give the ending away, but I was really glad to see not everything worked out so smoothly with Jamie. Sometimes I come to expect stories that wrap up in a neat little bow, and we all know life doesn’t really work out that way. I loved this book, and give it 5 stars!
5 stars

February 4, 2013
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Blog Tour Sign Up: Identity Break by Stifyn Emrys
CLP Blog Tours

Blog Tour Sign Up: Identity Break by Stifyn Emrys

“How far would you go to find yourself?

Imagine everything you thought you knew about yourself turned out to be a lie, and you didn’t know who was telling the truth. Imagine you possessed a secret so dangerous that, if it were exposed, it would reshape the entire world. What would you do if that secret were your very identity?

“In almost every way, Palo Vista seems like a typical California city, with office buildings, schools, and homes sprawled out across suburbia, filled with families making a life for themselves at the dawn of the new millennium.

“But two seniors at Mt. MacMurray High are about to find out that nothing is as it seems. Jason Nix is a star athlete and honors student who can’t seem to remember anything about his childhood. Elyse Van Auten is a budding artist from a broken home whose father left her mother two years ago – or so she’s been led to believe.

“Like most teens entering adulthood, Elyse and Jason just want to find out who they really are. For them, however, the stakes go far beyond their own personal quest. Join them on a journey of self-discovery that becomes a desperate fight for survival against enemies determined to conceal the truth … and find out what happens when that fight becomes personal.”

February 3, 2013
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In My Mailbox: Week of February 3
Chick Lit Plus

In My Mailbox: Week of February 3

In Samantha’s Mailbox:

love-in-translationTitle: Love in Translation

Author: Sara Palacios

Received: Via CLP Blog Tours

Synopsis: Still reeling from an unexpected breakup, Emily nurses her broken heart by spending time with her best friends and taking one-too-many vodka shots. After one long night, she takes a hard look inside herself and doesn’t like what she sees. She realizes that she has sacrificed too much in her failed relationships from the past and vows to never settle for anything less than almost-perfect again. As she picks up the pieces and regains her confidence, a sexy Spanish chef moves in across the hall and knocks her off her feet. What ensues is an unexpected and tantalizing affair that opens her eyes – and her heart – to a whole new world and leaves her feeling sexier than she has ever felt. Emily finally sees how easy love is supposed to be. Is happily-ever-after actually possible? Just when she starts to think so, she realizes that sometimes life gets more complicated before it gets easier. And complicated is an understatement when Steven (her best and oldest friend in the world) confesses his love for her. Everything spirals out of control as Emily must make a choice between love and friendship, and in doing so, possibly risk it all.

LOVE IN TRANSLATION is a modern day love story about following your heart to unexpected places and taking chances in life … because sometimes you will find exactly what you are looking for.

swanTitle: Swan Story

Author: Priya Narendran

Received: Via CLP Blog Tours

Synopsis: Soon to be married Daniel Macgregor meets mysterious beauty Sarah Mitchell on the day his father gives him a ballet company as a present. Although at first reluctant to take responsibility, he changes his mind when he realizes Sarah dances for the same company. Over the course of the production of “Swan Lake” they fall head over heels in love. Unknown to Daniel, Sarah is cursed to turn into a swan from sunset to sunrise and only true love will break the spell. So it makes Sarah wonder, what will happen when he finds out what she is.

eighty eightTitle: Eighty-Eight Keys

Author: Catherine Lavender

Received: Via CLP Blog Tours

Synopsis: Leah is a young woman who is trying to break free from a strict religious background and pursue her dream as a pianist in the world of show business. While trying to find her independence her heart is held captive by Jason Rowe a local basketball star who established an organization to help troubled youth. When Jason is found murdered in his home, Leah is determined to get answers from a closed investigation. During her state of emotional turmoil, Leah finds comfort not only in the melody of her music, but in the arms of a married man named Calvin. With her dreams at her fingertips, Leah is tangled in a web of lies and deceit. Despite the fear of learning the truth, Leah has to realize that only the truth can set her free.

A dead lover, with a trail of broken hearts…
A married man, with a double-life…
A dream chaser, with a killer at her heels…
A piano, with eighty-eight keys…

katieTitle: A French Affair

Author: Katie Fforde

Received: Randomhouse

Synopsis: Gina and Sally Makepiece have inherited a stall in the French House – an antiques centre nestled in the heart of the English countryside.

Gina is determined to drag the French House and its grumpy owner into the twenty-first century. Bearing all the attributes of a modern-day Mr Rochester, Matthew Ballinger is less than happy with the whirlwind that has arrived on his doorstep.

The last thing either of them want is to fall in love.

But will a trip to France change their minds?

Essex GirlsTitle: Essex Girls

Author: Laura Ziepe

Received: Avon

Synopsis: You can take the girl out of Essex …

You’ll be well jel over the adventures of three good-hearted, strong-willed, fake-baked Essex Girls. Fun, fresh and always ream, this novel Perfect for fans of TOWIE and the novels of Katie Price.

Jade did everything she could to fit in at university – toned down her tan, gave up on her favourite fake lashes, swapped designer dresses for jeans. And it seemed to make her boyfriend Tom happy. But obviously not quite happy enough.
When Jade finds Tom’s been cheating she heads home: to Essex. Reunited with her best mates Kelly and Lisa, even a night out at The Sugar Hut isn’t enough to put a smile back on her face. So they hatch a plan to get away from it all, to a place so ream it’s unreal – Marbella. Sun, sea, men, vajazzles: what could possibly go wrong?

In Sara’s Mailbox:

mooseTitle: The One-Way Bridge

Author: Cathie Pelletier

Received: Source Books

Synopsis: Cathie Pelletier draws readers back to the beloved town of Mattagash, a seemingly quiet New England outpost in Maine. Yet Mattagash is anything but tranquil. While its citizens bicker publicly over small-town theft or their neighbors’ offensive mailboxes, they privately struggle through deeper life issues: scandal, loss, failed ambitions, and the scars of war.

Reaching across the vastness of America and into the jungles of Vietnam, The One-Way Bridge is an unforgettable portrait of loneliness, family, and community—and the kinds of changes we make for love.

white windTitle: A White Wind Blew

Author: James Markert

Received: Source Books

Synopsis: When the body fails, you’ve got two choices. Send a doctor in, or send a prayer up. And if neither works?

You’ll find Dr. Wolfgang Pike at his piano.

Music has always been Wolfgang’s refuge. It’s betraying him now, as he struggles to compose a requiem for his late wife, but surely the right ending will come to him. Certainly it’ll come more quickly than a cure for his patients up at Waverly Hills, the tuberculosis hospital, where nearly a body an hour leaves in a coffin. Wolfgang can’t seem to save anyone these days, least of all himself.

Sometimes we just need to know we’re not the only ones in the fight. A former concert pianist checks in, triggering something deep inside Wolfgang, and spreading from patient to patient. Soon Wolfgang finds himself in the center of an orchestra that won’t give up, with music that won’t stop. A White Wind Blew delivers a sweeping crescendo of hope in a time of despair, raising compelling questions about faith and confession, music and medicine,and the undying force of love.

February 3, 2013
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Future Tour: Nobody’s Damsel by E.M. Tippetts
CLP Blog Tours

Future Tour: Nobody’s Damsel by E.M. Tippetts

E.M. will be on tour April 29-May 20 with her chick lit novel Nobody’s Damsel Chloe has finished her masters degree and taken a job…

February 1, 2013
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