My First 5K: Week 13: Cotton Balls
Last week I was talking about my ears, and the issues that I have with pain when I am running outdoors. Well, last week the…
In My Mailbox: Week of September 9
In Samantha’s Mailbox:
Title: The Bloody Mary Club
Author: Debbie Dyke
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis:
Stock market meltdown. United States housing bubble. Global financial crisis. Chief executives cooking the books. Who can you trust for financial advice? Gina Van Story, a savvy 40ish investment advisor to the rescue. She can spot a trend on the market and jump on it like a cat. She dreams of grabbing the bull by the horns and is on the hunt for one final big score. Gina and her three best friends form the Bloody Mary Investment Club and come face-to-face with corruption in a David and Goliath struggle when their stock portfolio turns deadly…literally.
Over made-to-order Bloody Mary cocktails at historic Gadsby’s Tavern, Gina takes her friends under her wing and teaches them the ins and outs of the stock market. Trouble begins when, following Gina’s bullish advice, they become majority owners in the local bank and then stubbornly turn down a lucrative buyout offer. Not only will money and greed challenge their friendship, they will have to get smart fast and figure out how to turn the tables on the charmingly seductive, yet evil, banker who wants control of their stock by any means necessary – including murder!
Title: The Seven Steps to Closure
Author: Donna Joy Usher
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Tara Babcock awakes the morning after her 30th birthday with a hangover that could kill an elephant – and the knowledge she is still no closer to achieving closure on her marriage breakup. Things go from bad to worse when she discovers that, not only is her ex-husband engaged to her cousin – Tash, the woman he left her for – but that Jake is also running for Lord Mayor of Sydney. Desperate to leave the destructive relationship behind and with nothing to lose, she decides- with encouragement from her three best friends – to follow the dubious advice from a magazine article, Closure in Seven Easy Steps.
The Seven Steps to Closure follows Tara on her sometimes disastrous- always hilarious – path to achieve the seemingly impossible. A credible and amazingly touching debut novel from Donna Joy Usher, this is a solid, light-hearted and honest read with plenty of laughs.
Title: Magnolia
Author: Caroline Garcia-Aguilera
Received: From Jessica Jonap PR
Synopsis: MAGNOLIA (B&B Press; November 2012), the new book by award-winning author, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, is a clever, witty and engaging story where two American pastimes — sports and sex — come together. In this book, readers will follow the story of Magnolia Larson, a beautiful, twenty-two year old woman from a conservative, Catholic Minneapolis family, as she transforms herself into a kind of “sports geisha,” a high priced hooker for elite athletes.
In Sara’s Mailbox:
Title: Twelve Months
Author: Steven Manchester
Received: Lou @ The Story Plant
Synopsis: Don DiMarco has a very good life – a family he loves, a comfortable lifestyle, passions and interests that keep him amused. He also thought he had time, but that turned out not to be the case. Faced with news that might have immediately felled most, Don now wonders if he has time enough. Time enough to show his wife the romance he didn’t always lavish on her. Time enough to live out his most ambitious fantasies. Time enough to close the circle on some of his most aching unresolved relationships. Summoning an inner strength he barely realized he possessed, Don sets off to prove that twelve months is time enough to live a life in full.
A glorious celebration of each and every moment that we’re given here on Earth, as well as the eternal bonds that we all share, TWELVE MONTHS is a stirring testament to the power of the human spirit.
Title: The Boots My Mother Gave Me
Author: Brooklyn James
Received: Brooklyn James
Synopsis: AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD QUARTER FINALIST 2011 Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk through life in someone else’s shoes? Strong-willed tomboy Harley LeBeau puts you in the boots her mother gave her, as she takes you along her journey of escape from an abusive childhood and the desire to find herself as she comes of age. Made to feel a burden to her father simply by her gender, Harley is determined to prove her worth and independence, leaving the small town she grew up in and the one boy who gave her a soft place to fall, Jeremiah Johnson. Torn between saving herself and abandoning her mother and younger sister, Harley chooses her own life in hopes they will choose theirs, too. A mature, candid read for everyone. A must for women. The Boots My Mother Gave Me explores the dynamics of abuse and dysfunction, the courage to overcome, the strength in sisterhood, and the ongoing conflict and unconditional love between mothers and daughters. Climb into Charlene the Chevelle for a fast-paced story about a girl who is tough enough to survive and tender enough to learn to trust in love.
Author Profile: Ashley Ream
Author Name: Ashley Ream
Website: http://ahream.com/
Bio: Ashley Ream got her first job at a newspaper when she was 16. After working in newsrooms across Missouri, Florida and Texas, she gave up the deadlines to pursue fiction. Her debut novel, Losing Clementine, which sold at auction, was a Barnes & Noble debut pick and a Sutter Home Book Club pick. She and her books have appeared in L.A. Weekly, Los Angeles Magazine, Bust Magazine, the Kansas City Star and Marathon & Beyond Magazine. She lives in Los Angeles where she works at a nonprofit, runs ultramarathons and is finishing her next novel.
Titles: Losing Clementine
Bio retrieved from ahream.com
Blog Tour Sign Up: The Saint’s Devilish Deal by …
Esmerelda Quinn has been looking for a place to belong since her parents were killed in a car crash when she was young. The closest thing to home has always been Aunt Constance’s villa in Puerto Vallarta, so after a string of hotellier jobs, she’s coming home to run the villa.
Santiago Cruz has called the villa home for as long as he can remember. In between surfing events, Constance has always had a room for him. Color him surprised when Constance leaves him with a joint interest in the villa – along with her niece Esmerelda.
Esme isn’t thrilled to share ownership of the villa with the the youngest Cruz brother – especially as the Cruz family has been after the villa for years. But Santiago has grown up while she’s been away and soon she finds herself falling for the rich boy down the hall – all over again.
Rosy George’s Convention Conundrum Book Excerpt by Polly Young
The next fortnight was a whirlwind of drinks, meals and house visits as Rosy said goodbye to friends and colleagues. It was fun but as she drew breath on the bus between engagements, the revelry made it harder to leave her beloved life. Sod it, she thought, on the day of departure. It’s probably the last chance to shop properly so I may as well splurge. And she did – on a pair of strappy vertiginous heels that made her look like a celebrity hippy.
It was these she was wearing in Lytton Farm Shop as the bell ‘ding’ed behind her on her first Tuesday in the village. Looking up from the wheat-free pasta, she reddened. Angus Hart stood before her in corduroys and a faded polo shirt, holding a baby’s head.
She screamed. Not just a scream; a screech a banshee would have been proud of. On the far side of the shop, a bottle smashed. People stared. Angus blinked.
“My God! What the …?”
“It’s not real.”
She looked again and saw it was true. It was incredibly life-like … but plastic.
She’d been less disturbed by David’s Speedos. “What on earth are you doing?”
Smirking, he raised an eyebrow. “Shopping with a friend.”
He was too weird for words. She picked up a basket and made to go, but he fell into step beside her and the aisles were too narrow to run.
He cornered her by the soft fruit. “I’m sorry I scared you.” He gestured towards the doll’s head, which sat like a curious pineapple, gazing up through the bars of his trolley. “It’s just a prop. I use it with the children in drama. It prompts interesting discussion.”
God help the children; who knew what sort of conversation he was into. She hurried on, but he followed.
“I thought you’d be in the beauty section.” She steeled herself for the inevitable. “Buying nail varnish.”
She threw him a withering look. “I have enough left, thank you. It was only a very small scratch.”
“The tree wasn’t quite so lucky.”
Boy, was he hard work. She turned to face him. “I’m sorry. Again. But it’s a tree. It’ll live.”
He explored her with his eyes. “Why are we arguing?”
She was temporarily thrown. Because you scared me. Because of your arrogance. Because you like to fuck people in the bushes. “I don’t know.”
“I’m sorry if I scared you.” His hair curled into his neck at the back, she noticed. Just at the back. Otherwise it was quite straight.
She exhaled slowly. “That’s ok.”
The Good Woman by Jane Porter
I received a copy of The Good Woman in exchange for an honest review. Jane Porter is a fabulous author, and I could not wait to pick this one up. Disappointment? Not here! I loved every second of this book, and my only regret was that I was reading it over a holiday weekend and couldn’t dive into it as often as I could. What makes me even happier is that it appears to be the first in a series about the Brennan family, and I can’t wait for the next book!
While the plot touches on each of the Brennan sisters – Meg, Kit, Sarah and Brianna, the main focus in on Meg. Mother of three, a doting wife, and a career woman, Meg has suddenly found herself unfilled with life. Her lacking passion in her marriage and the feel that she is always the one keeping the family together may have something to do with that feeling. When offered to attend a work conference in London with one her bosses, Meg accepts – and it changes everything.
Like I said, I just wish I had more time so I didn’t need to keep putting this down! I loved the family dynamic, the relationships between the sisters, and getting to know Meg. It is easy to see how conflicted she becomes, and it’s interesting to watch her make decisions and get to know her inner thoughts. Porter writes with a trait that makes her characters very genuine and very realistic, and that goes not just for Meg, but her three sisters as well. I absolutely cannot wait to read the rest in this series, and suggest you pick this one up!
[Rating: 5]
Future Tour: Mary Indiana by Anneke Campbell
Anneke will be on tour October 22-29 with her novel Mary Indiana. She’s eighteen and pregnant, but with a twist–the new kid in town’s barely…
Lasik Surgery: The Day is Here!
Lasik is paid for, forms are signed, contacts have been out, no makeup is on, fiancé is by my side…and I’m ready for Lasik surgery!…
Finding Out by Sheryn MacMunn
Finding Out by Sheryn MacMunn follows Sheila Davenport who in the beginning of the book, believes that her life is on track. Then … she gets dumped by her boyfriend of seven years and shortly afterward, realizes that he nearly emptied their joint savings account. Weighed down by reality, the financial woes of the bills that she can no longer afford to pay, and a psychotic boss, Sheila loses grip and realizes that life is no longer what she once imagined it to be. Stuck with no immediate solutions to her problems, her friends urge her to date but she realizes that dating only causes more woes but she wonders what to do next. An unexpected twist brings in an elderly neighbor who shares some insight on love, loss, and most importantly, a solid perspective on living life. What will happen to Sheila? Will she be able to move on and forward with her life? Or will she continue to dwell on all that has gone wrong? You must turn the pages to find out.
Finding Out is a true eye opener and I loved every second of it. Early on in the novel, Sheila loses everything and is so lost that she doesn’t know which way is up and which is down. But, that all changes once she meets Ruth and gets a fresh perspective on life. This is a story of second chances, love found and lost, and the strength of redemption. A page-turner until the very last second, I enjoyed this debut from Sheryn immensely. Overall, a fantastic read.
[Rating: 5/5]
