My First 5K: Week Four: Heat Wave
My training for the Color Run continues on. I will say that I haven’t run outside again this week, but not because I was too…
In My Mailbox: Week of July 8
In Samantha’s Mailbox:
Title: Ripple the Twine
Author: Jenn Flynn-Shon
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: A Tomboy-meets-Townie love story and tale about how friendship can save your life. Sara Quinn is a Sportswriter from Boston and over the past year she has started to earn major respect in the local market. In the process, however, she abandoned her personal relationships and put her emotions in the box. Regardless of her self-imposed timeout, a friend introduces her to Ben. With blue eyes, black hair and a brogue, he’s her ultimate triple threat. But they connect just as Sara learns that her friends are facing heavy emotional crises. She starts offering advice, becoming a rock for everyone else, and in the process Sara unearths her own long dormant insecurities. But a bag of peanut butter cups and a hockey game won’t fix her issues. She’s got to move past her emotional past without hiding behind her career for once. She needs her friend’s support as much as they need hers and the four will quickly discover that, when they stick together, their offense is virtually unstoppable.
Title: The Dinner Party
Author: Jenny Brenner
Received: From Jenny Brenner
Synopsis: Sometime back in seventh grade, Lainie and Miya pinky swore to attend the same college, snag gorgeous husbands, and live next door to one another for the rest of their lives. But is post-grad life ever what one imagines? Lainie Silver is twenty-eight, attractive, razor-sharp, and is nonetheless trapped in a mind-numbing job and a romantic slump. Sure, she’s thankful for a steady paycheck, a Fifth Avenue address, and minimal sagging of tenuous body parts. But it doesn’t seem fair that Miya managed to wangle a glamorous career as a celebrity make-up artist and a “perfect” marriage to Jake, a chef at The Union Square Café. Both are unbearable reminders of the novel Lainie can’t seem to write and the elusive love she craves. After hosting a tense dinner party (and throwing back one too many cocktails), Lainie succumbs to bitterness and bad judgment when Jake shows up at her apartment. Though Lainie can’t stand him, this minor detail doesn’t matter in the drunken haze of seduction. Eight minutes later, after mediocre sex and a hard look at the philanderer passed out on her couch, Lainie knows that her friendship—potentially her entire life—will never be the same. Determined to keep her secret, with guilty angst and acerbic wit as her must-have accessories, Lainie tries to resume so-called normalcy. This proves more difficult than she thought: she gets fired for taking too long a lunch, settles into the comfort of a boring relationship only to be cheated on when she least expects it, has a fender bender with her first love on the Long Island Expressway, and realizes she is wildly attracted to her new boss, Noah. Against the warnings of Miya and her nagging mother, Lainie nestles in to Noah’s world of custom suits and imported cars. She even lets him in on her one-night stand with Jake. She never (ok—hardly) suspects he could one day be the cause of all their undoing…
Title: The Silent Treatment
Author: Melanie Surani
Received: From Melanie Surani
Synopsis: While rebuilding her life after escaping an abusive boyfriend, twenty-five-year-old Kat Shergill doesn’t expect to find a piece of forgotten movie history during a bout of retail therapy. But there it is: a coil of long-lost silent film tucked inside an antique from an estate sale. Unfortunately, Peter, the handsome host of the sale, disappears before Kat has a chance to return it to him.
Curious, Kat watches the strip and is shocked to witness the brutal murder of a famous 1920’s star by a fellow actor. Against Kat’s wishes, the head of the department leaks the story of her valuable discovery to the media. Although she has no way of contacting Peter, who she keeps thinking about, guilt at being unable to return the piece, and unwillingness to reveal her idol as a murderer gnaws at her.
After a news article cites Kat as the film’s owner, she’s followed by a strange white car, her apartment is broken into, and she learns why some mysteries should never be messed with.
Title: Inner Circle
Author: Evelyn Lozada with Courtney Parker
Received: From Leigh @ Regal Literary
Synopsis: Against her mother’s wishes and her own reservations, Eve Inez marries Los Angeles Leopard’s superstar wide receiver, Chase Landon, and finds herself in a close-knit circle of friends who are also married to elite athletes.
Each of the wives soon discover their lives aren’t all glitz and glam, and that with wealth and fame there’s always a price to pay. It’s a regular battle of the sexes and Eve quickly realizes her circle needs protection against the everyday drama that keeps coming their way – prenups, baby mamas, scandals, cheating and worst of all, gossip.
In answer, Eve encourages the wives to band together to form The Wives Association. No athlete, no matter how rich, pampered or devious, is going to get one over on her girls – that is, until she herself is confronted with one terrible truth that strikes much closer to home than she could ever have imagined.
Inner Circle is a jaw-dropping peek into the lives of a group of women married to professional athletes. This gripping page-turner will make it impossible for readers to determine where real life ends and fiction begins and is sure to have every reader salivating for more.
Title: Where We Belong
Author: Emily Giffin
Received: From the SheKnows Book Club
Synopsis: Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her.
For the precocious and determined Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to re-evaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light. As the two women embark on a journey to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.
In Sara’s Mailbox:
Title: Midnight Promises
Author: Sherryl Woods
Received: Eric @ Finn Partners
Synopsis: When Elliott Cruz first courted struggling single mom Karen Ames, it it was a romance worthy of any Sweet Magnolia fantasy. The sexy personal trainer made it his mission to restore Karen’s strength—physical and emotional—and to charm her children.
Now, a few years into the marriage, colliding dreams threaten to tear a few years into the marriage, colliding dreams threaten to tear them them apart. Elliott’s desire to finance the business opportunity of a lifetime with their hard-earned “baby money” stirs Karen’s deep-rooted financial insecurities. It’s the discovery that their brother-in-law is cheating on Elliott’s sister—and thinks it’s justified—that puts their irreconcilable differences into perspective. Will their own loving fidelity be a bond so strong they can triumph against all odds?
Title: The Beach Holiday
Author: Anita Hughes
Received: Unsolicited
Synopsis: Have you ever wanted to escape?When Amanda finds her French husband wrapped around his sous-chef, her perfect life comes crashing down Worse, Andre seems to think she should just accept his infidelity and carry on as normal for the sake of their young son, Max Devastated by his betrayal, Amanda accepts her mother’s offer of an holiday and runs away with Max to an exclusive resort in Laguna Beach The St Regis Hotel is heaven on earth and Max is having the time of his life But while Amanda knows she should be using the time to think about what she wants, her life gets more complicated by a meeting with a handsome older man.
On Tour: Pickin’ Tomatoes by JW Bull
J.W. will be on tour July 9-30 with her novel Pickin’ Tomatoes Maggie Malone wants a new life. Who aspires to be a single, forty-year-old,…
New Book Release: Can We Start Again? by Shirley Benton
Shirley Benton’s second novel, Can We Start Again? is now on sale! Grab your copy now, and check out my review of Shirley’s debut novel…
Baby Talk – Top Five Baby Necessities
I became a new mom on May 26, 2012. Since then, my life has become quite the whirlwind and I am constantly learning new things.…
The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner
Ah, a new Jennifer Weiner book. Who wouldn’t be excited to get that in the mail? This is the tenth book from the best-selling author, and one of my many favorites from her. The title is The Next Best Thing, which is also the title of a television series that Ruth Saunders wrote and is about to see on the air. Ruth moved from Massachusetts to LA at age twenty-three with her grandmother, a spit-fire lady with a killer fashion sense and who only wants to see Ruth happy. After six years of mundane jobs and pouring her heart and soul into her vision, she gets The Call. Her sitcom has been green-lighted; her dream is coming true.
Ruth quickly learns that her idyllic vision of a down-to-earth show about a young woman and her grandmother is not what TV execs want. Where Ruth wants a “normal” looking girl (not a twig, not a flawless beauty) the big-wigs want “TV-pretty” (rail thing and flawless beauty). The clashes don’t stop there, and Ruth wonders if she can survive in the cutthroat world of Hollywood and TV sitcoms.
I really enjoyed this book, and had it read in just over a day. What I thought was so interesting was that Weiner recently had her own stint with a TV sitcom; she was the co-creator and co-executive producer on the ABC sitcom State of Georgia, which aired in 2011 (and was later cancelled). So it was great for me as the reader to understand that I was truly getting a behind-the-scenes glance at how a sitcom is made. And wow – I’ve never had an urge to write a TV show, but now I really don’t! All kidding aside, the work, sweat, tears, frustrations, etc, that go into it is just mind-boggling. I found myself being mad as hell alongside Ruth, wanting to cry when she was sad, and tapping my fingers anxiously while awaiting to hear whether the show was going to continue or be axed. Beyond all that, there was also a fabulous love story both with Ruth and her grandmother, and the happy endings were well-deserved. And then there was the story of Ruth’s disfigurement from a car accident when she was a toddler. The tears dripped down my face when Ruth wrote the words I’ll never be beautiful after enduring multiple facial surgeries. There is a lot happening in this book, but the sub-plots click into place with an ease readers have come to expect from Weiner, and this book is on my Favorites List with a 5 star review!
[Rating: 5]
Construct A Couple by Talli Roland
Talli Roland quickly became one of my favorite chick lit writers with her novels such as The Hating Game, Build A Man, and Watching Willow Watts that kept me thoroughly entertained and waiting impatiently for more. Her latest, Construct A Couple, follows Serenity and Jeremy from Build A Man, as the couple tries to get on solid ground after a shaky start to a romance and Jeremy suffering a stroke. Serenity is stoked about her new job at a reputable London magazine…until she finds out that fact-checker doesn’t mean “reporter-in-the-making” it means, well, fact-checker. But when she stumbles upon a lead that could get her out of Death Row (or Fact Check Row, whichever) she can just imagine herself climbing the ranks. But when Serenity discovers that the business she is about to take down is helping fund Jeremy’s charity for stroke victims, her brilliant plan is about to blow up in her face. Can she really run a story that will ruin Jeremy’s chance at running a successful charity? Maybe it would be easier if she could just talk to her boyfriend about what was happening, but after finding out that his ex-girlfriend is the CEO of the company doing the donating, Serenity starts to doubt more than just her story. Is her relationship with Jeremy as stable as she thought, or will that backfire on her as well?
Again – loved the book! It was so fun to catch back up with Serenity, who is just a blast to read about. I also really enjoyed the new character – Lizzie – who worked with Serenity as a fact checker. I thought she really added depth to the plot. It was also nice to get some more insight on Serenity’s best friend Kirsty and her family. Kirsty was having a hard time with husband Tim in the previous book, and a pregnancy shocker had her all sorts of rattled. I was really pleased with how their story turned out. And of course, Jeremy and Serenity’s relationship had me all filled with happiness when I got to the end of the book. Such a cute couple, and hopefully now they will learn to communicate! I believe there is another book in this series, and I will wait (impatiently yet again) for that to be released. If you have yet to read something from Talli Roland – quit reading my review and get on it!
[Rating: 4.5]
Blog Tour Sign Up: Memories by Deanna Sletten
Michael DeCara came home from the Vietnam War a wounded man, both physically and emotionally. He tried putting his life back together, but found civilian life difficult after all he’d experienced in Nam. Raising his young daughter, Vanessa, by himself after his wife left, he found it difficult to commit to one job or one woman for any length of time. Then he met a young woman who made him feel good about himself again and who fell in love with Vanessa as well. But a life-changing event occurred and he had to choose between his past and the present. He chose to leave without a word to the young woman, believing he was doing what was best for her. Now, years later, she has walked back into his life and he believes they may have a second chance at love–except she hates him and he doesn’t understand why.
Danielle Westerly fell in love when she was only eighteen and her heart was broken when he left her without a word. Her heartache was increased when she made a fateful decision that would alter her future, and she blamed him for her loss. Years later, she is single and has built up a successful career when she accidently runs into the man who was responsible for her past pain. Yet, their chemistry is undeniable. Can Dani give up her anger and let go of the pain of the past and fall in love again with the man she has hated all these years?
Dani and Michael share a journey of heartache, loss and painful memories that threaten to keep them apart. Can they break past these and finally find love again?
Author Profile: Kathy Lynn Harris
Author Name: Kathy Lynn Harris Blog: http://www.kathylynnharris.com/blog/ Bio: Kathy grew up in rural South Texas — and comes from people who work hard, love the…
