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Letter from a Stranger by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Letter from a Stranger by Barbara Taylor Bradford is an immensely captivating read that will leave you leafing through the pages to see what happens next. The story begins when award-winning film maker Justine Nolan returns to her idyllic childhood home and stumbles upon an envelope perched on her absent mother’s desk. The envelope peaks her curiosity and she opens it, unraveling a startling secret … and sending her on a quest into an unknown past where she uncovers the truth about her life and her family history.

I thoroughly enjoyed Letter from a Stranger and found myself entranced from the very beginning. I think Barbara Taylor Bradford did an exquisite job weaving factual and fictional details together, as well as moments from the past and the present. The characters are flawless: Justine is fantastic as a strong, independent woman, and her grandmother Gabriele is a true heroine with a kind soul. My heart ached as Justine relived the ancient memories of Gabriele’s past and I couldn’t imagine how she felt reading about all of the things that she had witnessed, or been apart of, during World War II.

This one is a page turner for sure. It is a wonderful read that beautifully weaves together woman’s fiction with historical facts.

[Rating: 4.5/5]

The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson

The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson is a deeply engrossing debut about love, loss, family, and forgiveness.  The story opens with Ella, devoted…

Challenge 2012:Post Reviews:April

April Reviews

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Prize for April: Three (3) winners will be chosen at random and will win an eBook copy of either Paradise Cove, Soap Dreams, or Karma Kameleon by Stephanie Haefner. You must post the link to your review in the Mister Linky below. This can be to your blog, GoodReads page, or other sources such as Amazon.

In My Mailbox: Week of April 1

In My Mailbox: Week of April 1
In Samantha’s Mailbox:

Title: Misfortune Cookie
Author: Michele Gorman
Received: From Michele Gorman
Synopsis: “Following your heart will pay off in the near future”

The fortune cookie had spoken, affirming Hannah’s decision to move to Hong Kong to be with her boyfriend. She’s no stranger to rash decisions – after all she moved from the US to London on a dare, and that worked out, didn’t it? Ever the optimist, she’s determined to make a success of her move, no matter what anybody says.

Unfortunately, anybody seems to be everybody and her life isn’t going exactly to plan.

Sure, she’s found a career in fashion that she loves, her best friend Stacy moved to be with her, and they’re exploring the weird and wonderful in Hong Kong. It’s her love life that’s not quite living up to expectations. It isn’t easy having a relationship with a boyfriend who’s been posted to a job in another country. Particularly one who seems a bit too cosy with his new boss.

When things also start going wrong at work, Hannah begins to think her friends and family were right. Has she made the worst mistake of her life?

Title: The Darker Side of Mummy Misfit
Author: Amanda Egan
Received: From Amanda Egan
Synopsis: THE SEQUEL TO ‘DIARY OF A MUMMY MISFIT’

Think you knew Mummy Misfit?

Well, you might be in for a surprise.

After a year of struggling with school fees, trying to become pregnant and feeling like she didn’t belong amongst the prep-school ‘Meemies’, Libby is back.

Only this time, she’s got it all.

But how long can it last and will she ever be truly happy?

Join Libby on her hilarious, yet sensitive journey as loyalty, friendships and values are tested in ‘The Darker Side of Mummy Misfit’.

Title: True Love Way
Author: Nancy Scrofano
Received: From Lucie @ Simon and Fig
Synopsis: Marlo Spencer relishes all things retro. Old TV shows, classic movies, and even the collectible lunch boxes to go with them. In fact, she’s quite cozy in her Malibu apartment, surrounded by her treasured knick-knacks and vintage memorabilia. It’s her best friend, Nik, who doesn’t get her fascination with all that “old junk,” as he calls it. He especially doesn’t understand why she’s so keen to get back to their hometown of Napa when her high school sweetheart, Josh, suddenly returns after twelve years in Paris and nary a single phone call, eager to reunite with her. So, when Marlo heads up north to wine country to rekindle her relationship with Josh, Nik tags along, claiming he was already planning to visit his sister, Savannah, Marlo’s gal pal. Once they reach Napa, however, dreams of a blissful reunion are shattered as old secrets and past betrayals are revealed, leaving an unsuspecting Marlo to pick up the pieces. Can she forgive and forget, or will true love find a different path to her heart?

Title: Willow Pond
Author: Carol Tibaldi
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: The Roaring Twenties crumble into the Great Depression. Bootlegging is flourishing. Virginia Kingsley, New York’s most successful speakeasy owner, is queen of that castle. Rudy Strauss wants to help with her business. Virginia, wisely suspicious, refuses. He shifts his trademark toothpicks to the other side of his mouth and asks about her niece, Laura, and Laura’s nineteen-month-old son, Todd. Virginia warns him off, but Rudy is intrigued. Laura is movie star beautiful but it is her ex-husband, Phillip, who is an actor. Laura, a writer, is devastated when Todd’s nanny calls, hysterical, saying Laura’s son has been kidnapped.

Title: Escape
Author: Barbara Delinsky
Received: From Laura @ Laura Sherlock PR
Synopsis: Publication Date: July 5, 2011
In her luminous new novel, Barbara Delinsky explores every woman’s desire to abandon the endless obligations of work and marriage—and the idea that the most passionate romance can be found with the person you know best.

Emily Aulenbach is thirty, a lawyer married to a lawyer, working in Manhattan. An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse, but she spends her days in a cubicle talking on the phone with vic¬tims of tainted bottled water—and she is on the bottler’s side.

And it isn’t only work. It’s her sister, her friends, even her husband, Tim, with whom she doesn’t connect the way she used to. She doesn’t connect to much in her life, period, with the exception of three things—her computer, her BlackBerry, and her watch.

Acting on impulse, Emily leaves work early one day, goes home, packs her bag, and takes off. Groping toward the future, uncharacteristically following her gut rather than her mind, she heads north toward a New Hampshire town tucked between mountains. She knows this town. During her college years, she spent a watershed summer here. Painful as it is to return, she knows that if she is to right her life, she has to start here.

In Sara’s Mailbox:

Title: When You Were Older
Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
Received: Unsolicited
Synopsis:
I was doing my best to get out the door. And then the phone rang. I almost let it go.

New York, September 11th 2001
Russell Ammiano is rushing to work when he gets a phone call that saves his life. As the city he loves is hit by unimaginable tragedy, Russell must turn his back and hurry home to Kansas.

Kansas, September 14th 2001
Ben Ammiano is mentally disabled, and a creature of habit. Any change to his routine sends him into a spin. But now his estranged brother has reappeared, and Ben’s simple, ordered world has turned upside down.

In a story as heartbreaking as it is uplifting, two brothers must bury their pasts and learn from each other, if they are to survive.

Author Profile: Heather Hummel

Author Name: Heather Hummel
Website: http://www.heatherhummel.net/

Bio: Heather Hummel is a “photonovelist” who blends her love for photography with her award-winning career as an author. Her published works include:
Journals from the Heart Series:
Whispers from the Heart (2011)
Write from the Heart (2011)
Nonfiction
GO BIKE & Other Signs from the Universe (2011)
Gracefully: Looking and Being Your Best at Any Age (McGraw-Hill, 2008),
Essays:
Messages of Hope and Healing ( Sunpiper Media, 2006)
Blue Ridge Anthology (Cedar Creek, 2007) with David Baldacci and Rita Mae Brown
Awards:
2009 Mature Media Awards, Merit Award
2009 New York Book Festival, Honorable Mention

Heather’s books have appeared in newspapers such as: Publishers Weekly, USA Today and the Washington Post; and in magazines that include: Health, Body & Soul, First, and Spry Living, a combined circulation of nearly 15 million. A graduate with High Distinction from the University of Virginia, Heather holds a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree with concentrations in English and Secondary Education. She is currently earning a Ph.D. in Metaphysical Sciences.

See my reviews for Heather’s books!
Whispers from the Heart
Write from the Heart

Check out Heather’s blog tour for Write from the Heart on CLP Blog Tours!

Visit Heather on Facebook & Twitter!

Momnesia by Lori Verni-Forgarsi

I may not have experienced Momnesia yet in my life, but I really enjoyed this book by Lori Verni-Fogarsi! I could relate to the MC in other aspects – always being busy with work, clients, family and friends. I can only imagine adding what the stress would feel like adding children and then a divorce into the mix. I thought this book was really engaging and eye-opening, and I thought it was really unique how readers don’t learn the main characters name until the very end. Honestly – I thought the reading was smooth that I actually never noticed until that last page that her name wasn’t disclosed all the way throughout! I think that means major kudos for the author. I started to feel that the book was getting a bit long towards the end, but other than that, I thought it was a very enjoyable read. Though the husband did make me want to poke my eyes out from time to time. “Cat-face” is an expression I’m definitely taking away from this book! I agree with the synopsis: I would recommend Momnesia to “anyone who has ever been a mother, had a mother, wanted to be a mother, judged a mother, or even just wondered about mothers.” I’ll be looking forward to more from this author!
[Rating: 4]

Future Tour: Interview with a Jewish Vampire by Erica Manfred

Erica will be on tour May 14-June 4 with her novel Interview with a Jewish Vampire The last thing zaftig middle-aged journalist, Rhoda Ginsburg, expected…

Blog Tour Sign Up: Unlocked by Rachael O’Bryan

In Unlocked The main character Rebecca takes the reader on a journey through a collection of short stories concerning nine guys she met while being a tutor in college for the football team. She recounts her struggles with love, friendship, self-confidence, trust, acceptance, and heartache. The stories indicate how people and relationships can really shape a person’s life.

The story is told in first person and Rebecca introduces herself to the reader in the beginning by providing some background about herself. Delving into the actual stories, the first story of the book, “The Costly Answer” finds Rebecca wondering if her answer to one question asked by her crush cost her a chance at a relationship after she spots him a few years later in a different city. In the second story, “He Better Not Touch My Doughnuts,” she shares her experiences dealing with trust in a friendship. In the third story, “Big Brother (Sometimes),” Rebecca shares her love for her quasi-big brother, but also admits that she could never truly let go of any doubts surrounding their friendship. In the following story, “The Truth Does Set You Free,” Rebecca discusses her relationship with a guy she had a crush on for quite awhile until she finally gives their friendship an honest review. The next story, “A Necessary Goodbye,” discusses naturally letting a friendship go. That story is followed by “The Perfect Imperfect Person to Love,” where Rebecca shares her deep love and commitment to a friend she fell for and her struggle to let go. “The Best Player on the Team,” is a story about Rebecca’s friendship with one of the football players that she admired on and off the field. Next is the story, “Words Can Hurt,” which discusses the pain of being there for someone and then realizing he may never have appreciated her. And finally, “Good Guys Always Finish Last” is a story where Rebecca realizes that there are decent guys out there, and sometimes they get overlooked.

The Bungalow by Sarah Jio

The Bungalow by Sarah Jio is a unique and fantastical piece of historical chick-lit that is truly one-of-a-kind. With the world in chaos around her and the country at war, twenty-one year old, Anne Calloway, questions her future as the bride-to-be of a man that she has known her whole life and wonders if this is all life has in store for her. Having always taken the safe, logical route, Anne makes the decision of a lifetime and joins her best friend and enlists as a nurse, heading to Bora-Bora and embarking on a journey that will change her in more ways than one.

Shortly after arriving, Anne meets a fellow service man named Westry. Together, they work to repair an abandoned bungalow on the beach, and in doing so, their friendship blossoms into a romance. Then one night, they witness a shocking event that changes everything. With the crime lingering overhead, the timing couldn’t be worse as Anne’s tour is wrapping up and Westry is being redeployed. What will become of their love? Will Westry be able to find her once the war is over? Will the world ever go back to the way that Anne remembers? Only time will tell but I for one, loved being a part of the journey.

I absolutely adored The Bungalow. When I first picked up the book to read, I was quickly reminded of Sarah’s debut novel and how similar the two are, yet so very different. Sarah does a fantastic job at weaving together a historical backdrop, an enduring romance and a taste of mystery. I loved the progression from friendship to something more between Anne and Westry and I found myself leafing through the pages quickly to find out what would become of them. I was swept away by the visuals and descriptions that Sarah painted and found myself reading in fluid color as if I were there, right along with Anne on her journey. Overall, this book is an absolute GEM. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. This book is one of my new recommendations for an enchanting, enthralling summer-read. Kudos to you Sarah, you’ve done it again and have created yourself another winner!

[Rating 5/5]