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In My Mailbox: Week of December 30

In Samantha’s Mailbox:

savannah pageTitle: When Girlfriends Step Up

Author: Savannah Page

Received: Via CLP Blog Tours

Synopsis: A novel about love and support, and learning that with enduring friendships, no woman is ever alone.

Robin Sinclair is young, determined, and has a promising career at a small publishing house in Seattle. Even though she considers herself unlucky in love, Robin still dreams of eventually meeting Mr. Right and having a happily-ever-after kind of life. And at twenty-five, the world of opportunity is wide. But it’s been a difficult year filled with trials…and it’s only just begun.

While long-time friendships are finally on the mend, and things are starting to look up again, Robin is faced with her biggest challenge yet. She’s single and pregnant.

Uncertain now of her future and scared of being alone, Robin must re-examine her life and choices, and summon the courage to step up.

With the love and support of her best girlfriends from college, especially her best friend and roommate, Lara, Robin will learn that when the going gets tough, the best of friends become family. And, perhaps, with their encouragement, Robin can mature and gain the confidence needed to become a single mother. And, who knows about being unlucky in love. Things are suddenly getting interesting with Robin’s attractive co-worker, Bobby.

This is an endearing story about maturity and perseverance. It’s a story about friends coming together as family, about finding the strength within and around, and about writing your own happily-ever-after. About what happens when girlfriends step up.

Alberta ClipperTitle: Alberta Clipper

Author: Sheena Lambert

Received: From Sheena Lambert

Synopsis: Christine Grogan is a beautiful 28-year-old meteorologist with a loving family, great friends and an exciting career working for an international investment bank. So why does she spend every January 20th crying like her heart might break? As everyone around her appears to be moving on with their lives, Christine wears her past like a pair of concrete shoes. Can nothing, or nobody help her shake them?

Mark Harrington thought he had all he ever wanted. Head of the bank’s Irish operations, he has the career, the house and the relationship any 39-year-old would wish for. But when his seemingly perfectly-planned life suddenly strays totally off course, Mark is confronted with the fact that he isn’t actually in control at all…
…and that he is crazy in love with Christine.

Insider trading, rambunctious Christmas parties, overnight conferences, the modern office environment has it all. But it can also be the stage for a simple, modern love story.

ALBERTA CLIPPER is that story.

It is a story of guilt and forgiveness, trust and betrayal.
And absolute, unconditional love.

The story of two people, each floundering in their own lives, who might just be able to save one another.

Love or MoneyTitle: Love or Money?

Author: Carrie Stone

Received: From Carrie Stone

Synopsis: How does a successful, money-driven woman act when her world is turned upside down and her values are brought into question? Felicity Harroway is about to go on a journey. A long distance one.

Housewife and best friend Zara is also about to undertake new changes with a baby on the way. Just not quite in the way she’s expecting. For husband Steve isn’t as honest as he appears…

Can Felicity’s anxious and downtrodden mother Glenda guide both women in the right direction? Will fellow friend Sylvia lead by example and find happiness with her celebrity boyfriend?

Join the four women as they battle with the trials of work and relationships, and begin to question the all important dilemma… Love or Money? Or can you have both?

Title: Caramel Magnolias

Author: Tess Hardwick

Received: From Booktrope

Synopsis: Ten years ago, Cleo Tanner lost her first and only true love in a fateful motorcycle accident and now leads a quiet, isolated life in Seattle. Sylvia, her best friend from college, is trapped in a loveless marriage, blinded by her desire to have a child.

Both women are living passively on the sidelines of life, longing for that which they cannot have..until Cleo has an unexpected encounter with an adoption agency owner just as Sylvia suffers from another failed in-vitro procedure. Not long after, Cleo is approached by a detective because her phone number found at the same location a missing teenage girl was last seen. As the investigation unfolds, both women find their hearts – and lives – at risk.

A toast to friendship, mended hearts, and new beginnings, Caramel Magnolias reminds us it’s never too late to reawaken the heart.

Calling Me HomeTitle: Calling Me Home

Author: Julie Kibler

Received: SheKnows

Synopsis: Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler is a soaring debut interweaving the story of a heartbreaking, forbidden love in 1930s Kentucky with an unlikely modern-day friendship.

Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle McAllister has a favor to ask her hairdresser Dorrie Curtis. It’s a big one. Isabelle wants Dorrie, a black single mom in her thirties, to drop everything to drive her from her home in Arlington, Texas, to a funeral in Cincinnati. With no clear explanation why. Tomorrow.

Dorrie, fleeing problems of her own and curious whether she can unlock the secrets of Isabelle’s guarded past, scarcely hesitates before agreeing, not knowing it will be a journey that changes both their lives.

Over the years, Dorrie and Isabelle have developed more than just a business relationship. They are friends. But Dorrie, fretting over the new man in her life and her teenage son’s irresponsible choices, still wonders why Isabelle chose her.

Isabelle confesses that, as a willful teen in 1930s Kentucky, she fell deeply in love with Robert Prewitt, a would-be doctor and the black son of her family’s housekeeper–in a town where blacks weren’t allowed after dark. The tale of their forbidden relationship and its tragic consequences makes it clear Dorrie and Isabelle are headed for a gathering of the utmost importance and that the history of Isabelle’s first and greatest love just might help Dorrie find her own way.

Blog Tour Sign Up: Love in Translation by Sara Palacios

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.

On Tour: A State of Jane by Meredith Schorr

Meredith will be on tour January 2-21 with her chick lit novel A State of Jane Jane Frank is ready to fall in love. It’s…

2012 Favorite Reads: Sara’s Picks

The Tragedy Paper Elizabeth Laban White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story Jenna Weber Twelve Months Steven Manchester The Midwife of Hope River: A Novel…

Blog Tour Sign Up: Someone Else’s Fairytale by E.…

Jason Vanderholt is the hottest actor in Hollywood. Chloe Winters is a college student who hasn’t bothered to watch most of his movies. When they meet by chance, he is smitten and she becomes the woman every other woman in America is dying to be, but it just isn’t her fairytale.

Future Tour: Mad World: Sanctuary by Samaire Provost

Samaire will be on tour January 28- February 11 with her YA/paranormal novel Mad World: Sanctuary The year is 2017, and the Black Plague infection…

Dizzy: A Fictional Memoir by Arthur Wooten

I was provided with a review copy of Dizzy: A Fictional Memoir by Arthur Wooten in exchange for an honest review.

Dizzy: A Fictional Memoir by Arthur Wooten follows Angie Styles, a beloved Broadway star, living the dream. At the height of her career, things start to happen to her and she starts to feel things she has never felt before. When the symptoms continue, she seeks medical help and is told that she has a mysterious disease that will be a part of her life, quite possibly until she dies. With the prognosis looming over her head, she is forced to reexamine her life and the people who are a part of it.

I was taken aback when I first started reading the tale of Angie Styles and her inner ear balance disorder. I had never heard of anything like that before and it was heartbreaking to watch as Angie dealt with it and how it greatly impacted not only her life, but her career. This story was definitely entertaining and I think it did a great job at shining light on an unknown disorder that many are not familiar with. I’ve always loved Arthur’s character development and this one shines in that department. Overall, a very good read.

[Rating: 4/5]

Diners, Dives & Dead Ends by Terri L. Austin

I was provided a copy of Diners, Dives & Dead Ends by Terri L. Austin by CLP Blog Tours.

Diners, Dives & Dead Ends by Terri L. Austin is the first mystery novel in the Rose Strickland series and it is a perfect combination of mystery and chick lit. Rose, our main character is a waitress (hence the book title) and is also working her way through school as a part time student. Her best friend and closest confident in the world Axton goes missing one day and what ensues is a mysterious ride. When he doesn’t show up after quite some time, Rose caves and puts herself on the case. Just when she thinks she might have it cracked it turns out that she is being watched by the bad guy, who also happens to be super sexy. Bad and sexy? Not a great combination yet Rose finds herself quite intrigued.

I had so much fun reading this book and am so glad that Terri gave me the opportunity to do so. I loved watching Rose become a sleuth and dive deep into the mysterious disappearance of her best friend. I flipped through the pages quickly in order to find out what would happen next and I must say, I was NOT disappointed. This book is fantastic and I absolutely loved the plot twist – I most definitely did not see that one coming. I cannot wait until the sequel. Overall, a really great mystery/chick-lit that is quite the joyous ride!

[Rating: 4.5/5]

Book Review: Totlandia: The Onesies, Book 2

I received a copy of Totlandia: The Onesies, Book 2 in exchange for an honest review. I gave 5 stars to the first book in this series, and was more than happy to dive into the second. The story picks right back up and finally answered the burning question of who Madame Ovary is. More secrets are uncovered along the way, as the probationary moms (and dad!) try to win their spot in the coveted Pacific Heights Moms & Tots Club. Some of what is revealed had my jaw hitting the floor, and I was once again riveted by this tale of scandal, friendship, and parenthood from Josie Brown. I hope book three in the series is here soon!
[Rating: 5]