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Good-Bye To All That by Margo Candela

I received a copy of Good-Bye To All That in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
When her Hollywood career goes haywire, a young woman must say good-bye to all that . . . or must she?
Raquel Azorian has worked her way from temp to executive assistant and is this close to a promotion to junior marketing exec at Belmore Corporation, the media behemoth she’s devoted herself to. She’s learned to play the Hollywood game—navigate office politics, schmooze the right people, avoid the wrong ones, and maintain a sense of decorum even in the craziest of times. All she needs is for her boss to sign her promotion memo. Instead of putting pen to paper, he suffers a very public meltdown that puts not only his professional future but also Raquel’s on the line.
Getting to the next rung on the Belmore ladder will require every ounce of focus, but that’s not going to be easy. Raquel’s mom has decided to leave her husband and move into Raquel’s apartment, and her older brother seems to be sinking deeper and deeper into depression. Raquel has to keep her job, stop her parents from divorcing, and save her brother. In the chaos of juggling so much, she finally reaches a breaking point: there’s just not enough time for everything or for everyone. She’s going to have to choose—success at work or happiness at home. But then a chance encounter at a bookstore café leads Raquel to start planning her own Hollywood ending . . . on her own terms.
My Review:
I highly enjoy books that are set in LA, and Good-Bye To All That is a fun read filled with cute and quirky characters. Raquel is a smart and determined heroine, who has learned how to play the Hollywood game to get her deserved promotion. She was almost overshadowed by her mother Marlene, who moves in with her while threatening to divorce Raquel’s father, and her sister-in-law Cricket (seriously!) and her barrage of issues. Those characters and a few others bring the funny, but Candela’s writing also shows how a strong female can take control of her life. I recommend!
[Rating: 4]

All At Sea by Heather Wardell

I received a copy of All At Sea in exchange for an honest review. This is Heather Wardell’s tenth novel – what a feat! And I’ve read all ten – what a …feat? 🙂 But she is an author whose books I have highly enjoyed, and I hope she keeps them coming. All At Sea is part of the Toronto series, but these books can be read on their own, they just bring back past characters that you might get a kick out of revisiting if you’ve read the previous novels. The story focuses on Melissa and Owen, who met New Years Eve and were engaged by Valentine’s Day. The month is now March, and they are preparing to get married on a cruise ship. Melissa has her mom with her along with her best friend Wendy and Wendy’s boyfriend Mark. Not the big wedding party she once imagined, but she is fine with it. She also didn’t picture getting married in the chapel of a cruise ship, but she’s fine with it. A big thing she is not fine with – having dated both of Owen’s brothers. Melissa gets a shock when she meets Nicholas and Austin and realizes that she had a fling with Austin and something more serious with Nicolas – and then broke his heart. Owen doesn’t seem to have a problem with the awkwardness, as he’s too busy spending every waking hour in the casino. Melissa wasn’t aware of his love for gambling either, but she’s fine with it. As the cruise ship chugs along, Melissa realizes that she might be making a mistake – and that being “fine” in a marriage just might not be enough.
What a fun and unique read! Finding out you’ve dated both of your fiancé’s brothers – what a hoot! This is a book where I really liked the supporting cast- from the brothers to Wendy and Mark to Nicholas’s girlfriend and even some randoms Melissa met on the ship. The details were very spot-on throughout, and I was invested the whole way through. I have been known to be shocked at some of Wardell’s past endings, and that made me unsure what choice Melissa was going to make at the end, which I enjoyed. The suspense was killing me! All At Sea is a very cute read that also dives deep into relationships and what is takes to make a marriage work, and I highly recommend this book and more from Heather Wardell!
[Rating: 4.5]

Blog Tour Sign Up: The Darling Girls by Emma Burstall

Emma will be on tour in December/January with her commercial women’s fiction novel The Darling Girls. I am looking for bloggers to post reviews, guest…

Reese Witherspoon Welcomes Son

It’s a boy! One of my favorite actresses, Reese Witherspoon, welcomed son Tennessee James Toth on Thursday. People.com shared this statement from her rep: “Reese Witherspoon and husband Jim Toth welcomed Tennessee James into their family today. Both mom and baby are healthy and the entire family is thrilled.” This is Reese’s third child, but the first with new husband Jim Toth. The couple married in March 2011. I have to ask – what do you think of the name?

Lasik Surgery: My Final Thoughts

Over the past few weeks, I’ve chronicled my Lasik surgery that I had done in January. From making the decision, the weeks before surgery, the eye drops, etc – I’ve now come to my last post: my final thoughts on Lasik. Immediately after surgery, I had dry eye in both eyes. The multitude of eye drops helped, and eventually my left eye was deemed 20/20 and had no issues. My right eye was a different story. It took two months for the dry eye to clear up and for the doctor to announce is was finally at 20/20. I’ll admit – I was pretty scared for a while. I was getting tired of constantly having to put drops in my right eye, and wondered if the dry eye would never go away – which can happen. I was extremely relieved when I started noticing a difference, and when I was told that both eyes were at 20/20. I can’t remember the last time I used an eye drop, but I do have a bottle handy in my purse just in case.
Lasik surgery was one of the best decisions I’ve made. It’s pretty incredible not to deal not only with glasses and contacts and the hassle they bring, but also the money I save by not having to buy contacts every few months and cases and solution, etc. I love being able to wake up in the morning and not fumble for my glasses, or take a nap in the middle of the day without having to take my contacts out. Lasik surgery worked for me, and I am one happy customer.

The Darling Girls by Emma Burstall

The Darling Girls by Emma Burstall begins as Leo, a world famous conductor, dies and his three lovers meet for the first time at his funeral. The three women realize that they have an abdundant amount of unanswered questions and wonder about the man who was capable of juggling his brilliant career and three women all at the same time, whilst none of them ever had a clue.

Victoria, his partner of twenty years and mother of two of his children, relishes the fact that she thinks she knew Leo best, but when secrets start to come forward, she begins to question whether or not she knew him in the first place. Maddy, mother of Phoebe, is a typical career woman who creates trouble of her own when she becomes involved with someone off limits. And then there is Cat, the youngest of the trio. She is dealing with some emotional and family issues and seems to be the most wounded of the three. All three of the “Darling Girls” couldn’t be more different … but you soon realize that they couldn’t be more similar as well.

The Darling Girls is a heartbreaking story that touches on loss, heartache, love and friendship and I absolutely adored every second of it. Emma magically orchestrates the tale of the three women in a way that makes them like puppets in the grand scheme of things in Leo’s world, and you wonder if he will forever control their worlds. Luckily for us, and for the trio, everything works out for the best, but we see how connected everything in the story truly is. I found myself putting pieces of the puzzle together until the very end. Beautifully written, heartbreaking and honest – a truly magical tale.

[Review: 5/5]

Blog Tour Sign Up: Whispers in Autumn by Trisha Leigh

In 2015, a race of alien Others conquered Earth. They enslaved humanity not by force, but through an aggressive mind control that turned people into contented, unquestioning robots.

Except sixteen-year-old Althea isn’t content at all, and she doesn’t need the mysterious note inside her locket to tell her she’s Something Else. It also warns her to trust no one, so she hides the pieces that make her different, even though it means being alone.

Then she meets Lucas, everything changes.

Althea and Lucas are immune to the alien mind control, and together they search for the reason why. What they uncover is a stunning truth the Others never anticipated, one with the potential to free the brainwashed human race.

It’s not who they are that makes them special, but what.

And what they are is a threat. One the Others are determined to eliminate for good

Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

I received a copy of Blackberry Winter in exchange for an honest review. This book is a 5 star – a must-read. That’s all I have to say……Okay, not really, of course. But wow, what a book! I actually got up out of bed one night because I couldn’t sleep without knowing what would happen. That does not happen often. The story switches back and forth between 1933 and present day, set in Seattle, and both during a blackberry winter. In 1933, Vera Ray’s three year old son Daniel disappears one night while she is working the nightshift. Vera makes it her mission to get her heart back. In present day, reporter Claire Hanson gets assigned to write a story about the blackberry winter – a late-season snow storm. Her research takes her to the story of Vera Ray and her son Daniel, and Claire soon becomes obsessed with finding how her story ended. What happened to Vera? Was Daniel ever found?
Like I said, you must read this book. I had goosebumps almost the entire way through, and the way the writing flowed with such ease yet intensity makes this a top read of 2012, hands down. The ending left me breathless, in tears, and wanting to literally jump into the book and be with the characters and this inspiring tale. I can keep raving about this book all day, but I’m too afraid I’ll give even the slightest detail away, and I would hate doing that. Read this!
[Rating: 5]

Blog Tour Sign Up: Bouquet Toss by Melissa Brown

Melissa will be on tour in December/January with her chick lit/contemporary romance novel Bouquet Toss. I am looking for bloggers to post reviews, guest posts,…