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Favorable Conditions by Kathleen Kole

I was thrilled to host Kathleen Kole’s third blog tour via CLP Blog Tours, this time with her latest novel Favorable Conditions. Her books have been fun reads – short, sweet, direct and always with some great characters. This story follows Pat Keegan, who is forty-five and suddenly finds herself very alone in a big house. After dedicating years of her life to being a good wife and mother, her two children are now both moved out, and her husband has left her. Pat knows she needs a new direction for her life, but can she achieve her goals of rediscovering herself – and her happiness?
Age-wise, Pat and I are not close. But that factor really never even came up for me while I was reading. I was invested in her story and how she would pick up those crumbling pieces and make something better for herself. I loved that she decided to open a business for herself, and how self-sufficient she became. I’m all about girl power and making opportunities for yourself, so I really felt connected with Pat throughout the story. The supporting cast is just as good – from BFF Melanie, Pat’s daughter who gets engaged, and of course, the love interest Ian. I thought the relationship with Pat and Ian added a great element to the overall story. Another book from Kathleen Kole to get on your to-read list!
[Rating: 4]

Amber Eyes by Jolyn Palliata

I received a review copy of Amber Eyes by Jolyn Palliata via CLP Blog Tours. Once I read the synopsis, I knew I would be interested in this story. The premise of the book is all about soul mates and past lives, two concepts that I love reading about. This is classified as a YA/paranormal novel, and I’m happy to say I’m really getting invested into this genre. The main character is Lexi, a high school student who has some strange occurrences happen once she meets Dez. Dez, the boy with the unique amber eyes that seem to give Lexi vivid dreams after glancing at them. When Dez finally lets Lexi know they are actually soul mates, entwined from their past lives, Lexi finally feels at peace with her life. But will she and Dez be able to stay together – or is an evil being just waiting to tear them apart?
I was really captured by this story, and loved learning about the past lives Lexi and Dez had lived. The supporting cast – from family, friends, even Neeko the cat – really helped make the story. I thought the characters really jumped off the pages, and I was thinking about them even when I wasn’t reading. The only thing that stopped me from giving Amber Eyes a five star review was the ending was a little confusing to me. I was so wrapped up in Lexi and Dez, and though I knew this evil spirit was lurking amongst the pages, I didn’t quite expect him to get the ever important ending. This is the first book in a series so the cliff hanger makes sense, I just wished Lexi and Dez got the ending instead. Other than that, I think this book is a must read! Looking forward to more from Jolyn Palliata.
[Rating: 4.5]

Death on Heels by Ellen Byerrum

I received my copy of Death on Heels by Ellen Byerrum via CLP Blog Tours. I was really excited for this tour because I had heard of the Lacey Smithsonian mystery series but had never had the chance to read one of the books. Byerrum and her books are super popular and have such a loyal fan base. Some of her novels were even adapted to film by the Lifetime Movie Network! So, needless to say, I was thrilled to have the chance to work with such an accomplished author.
Diving in the book, I was immediately wanting to be friends with Lacey, fashion reporter living in Washington DC. She moved there from the rugged little town of Sagebrush, Colorado, where she never wanted to return. But with her former boyfriend accused of murdering three women, Lacey is hot on the case. She knows Cole Tucker would never harm another woman, much less murder them. Until he abducts her right from the courthouse. Is Lacey in danger with Cole? Or is there a bigger ploy going on in the small town of Sagebrush?
This was such a fun story! I love a good mystery, and this book featured so many possible suspects. I loved the touch that Lacey was a reporter trying to track down a murderer, but could always be counted on for her fashion forward thinking as well. This was the definition of a chick lit murder mystery. If you haven’t yet picked up a Lacey Smithsonian novel, I suggest you do!
[Rating: 4]

GIVEAWAY: Gossip by Beth Gutcheon

“Did you know that the origin of the word gossip in English is ‘god-sibling’? It’s the talk between people who are godparents to the same…

Blog Tour Sign Up: Dewitched by Ellen L. Sarnoff

Ellen will be on tour in April/May with her chick lit/fairy tale novel Dewitched. Please note this novel will be available for Kindle devices only.…

Your Eight O’Clock is Dead by Kat Jorgensen

Kat Jorgensen is on tour with Your Eight O’Clock is Dead at CLP Blog Tours. Becca Reynolds doesn’t have a good start to her morning when she is late for work, ruins patient files with the oil from biscuit breakfast, and oh yes – finds a dead client in the waiting room. Becca works as an office manager (not really, but she think it sounds better than “gopher” or “door mat,” at a struggling psychiatrists office, and the murder only makes things worse for business. Becca, in danger of losing her only income, decides to take on the murder case herself. While trying to figure out whodunit, Becca gets tied up with a sexy accountant (or is he?) and mixed up with the Russian mob. Can Becca crack the case before the killer sets their sights on her?
I thought Your Eight O’Clock is Dead was a super cute cozy mystery. Light-hearted, humorous, but still with action. Becca was a fun heroine, though sometimes a bit too ditzy – for example – how many times she corrected her inner thoughts and dialogue about calling patients “clients.” I loved the grandfather and his many list of rules, and even the tuxedo cat who seemed to steal the show for me. Overall, a cute mystery that I would recommend to chick lit fans!
[Rating: 4]

Future Tour: Taking Shots by Toni Aleo

Toni will be on tour May 14-28 with her novel Taking Shots Elli Fisher has never thought she was good enough. Let it be her…

In My Mailbox: Week of March 18

In My Mailbox: Week of March 18

Title: Interview with a Jewish Vampire
Author: Erica Manfred
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: The last thing zaftig middle-aged journalist, Rhoda Ginsburg, expected when she signed up for JDate was to fall in love with a vampire. But when she meets drop-dead gorgeous Sheldon, a Hasidic vampire, she falls hard. She rationalizes that he may not be alive, but at least he’s Jewish.

She learns that back in the nineteenth century Sheldon was a rabbi who was turned into a vampire by Count Dracula, an anti-Semite who got his kicks from turning Orthodox Jews into vampires because then they’d have to drink blood, which isn’t kosher.

Soon after she meets Sheldon, she discovers her beloved mother, Fanny, is terminally ill, so she comes up with the crackpot idea of getting Sheldon to turn Fanny and her friends, known as “the goils,” into vampires. Once she becomes a vampire, Fanny tires of her boring life in Century Village, Florida, and, seeking thrills, she goes clubbing and disappears into the nightlife of South Beach in Miami. When Fanny and her goil posse “go rogue” and start preying on the young, Rhoda and Sheldon must track them down to keep them from killing again.

Interview with a Jewish Vampire turns vampire lore on its head, proving that not all vampires are young and beautiful and it IS possible to be undead and kosher.

Title: Kiss Me, Dancer
Author: Alicia & Roy Street
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: A roller coaster of a romance between a divorced dad and a dance teacher.

Ballet instructor Casey Richardson takes an immediate dislike to the brash, arrogant Drew Byrne when he pulls his nine-year-old son out of her “silly” dance class. Still, she cannot help noticing his smoking hot body and bedroom eyes.

A working class girl raised in the small fishing and farming community on Long Island’s rural North Fork, Casey knows all too well how easily a girl can get hurt by the notorious womanizing hunks that flourish on the South Fork in the Hamptons. Men like Drew Byrne.

The last thing she needs is for him to be the only one who can save her from losing her dance academy, the dream she has worked so hard to turn into a reality.

Remarrying is definitely off Drew’s list of things to do. As head of his Fortune 500 trucking company, he enjoys his wealth and has no problem keeping it a game with some of the world’s most beautiful women. So why should his son’s challenging, straight talking dance teacher get under his skin in a way no other female has?

Sure, Casey Richardson has luminous brown eyes and a lean, taut body that drives him nuts, but he’s seen plenty in his day with the supermodels he is used to dating. He tells himself it is because Casey is the only one who was able to bring his shy, uncommunicative son out of his shell. But even that isn’t it.

Bewildered, Drew decides he just might make use of those ridiculous psychic readings he won at North Cove’s Annual Fourth Of July Bazaar raffle. Little does he know the local psychic who donated the readings has taken off last minute for some trekking in Tibet —and Casey was swayed into substituting for her with phone readings to the anonymous winner.

Add in a stint on a hit TV dance-off series, a cozy local coffee shop, a narcissistic rock star and a protective big brother to make KISS ME, DANCER a sexy, heartfelt and fun read.

Title: Skin Rules
Author: Debra Jaliman, M.D
Received: From Leyane @ FSB Associates
Synopsis: Skin Rules is a concise and practical instruction manual from a renowned Fifth Avenue dermatologist on how to attain beautiful skin, a taut and sculpted body, and a much younger appearance. Actors, models, and newscasters go to Dr. Jaliman for her cutting-edge technology and the latest in skin care, as well as for her reputation for being the “last stop” doctor, the one who fixes what others can’t.

Skin Rules has something for everyone, no matter where they live or how much money they have to spend. This small, invaluable guide supplies the same advice Dr. Jaliman gives to her celebrity patients, from lasers to remove sun damage and turn back the clock to suggestions for simple products and habits anyone can adopt for a small outlay of time and money.

In Sara’s Mailbox:

Title: Prince Charming, Inc
Author: Jamie Brazil
Received by: Jamie Brazil
Synopsis: From long haul drivers to plumbers, matchmaker Elyse Tobin refurbishes and retrains men then sells them off as husbands to wealthy San Francisco socialites.

Womanizing lothario Nick Salvatore is a millionaire restaurateur with looks, charm and wit. He’s the man Elyse models all her fixer-uppers after…the man who seduced her three years ago…and the one man in San Francisco she wants nothing to do with, despite his ongoing efforts to woo her.

But when Elyse’s latest groom goes south, the IRS audits her, and her home is about to be foreclosed, she discovers the one man she can count on is the one she’s spent years avoiding.

Title: Letters from a Stranger
Author: Barbara Taylor Bradford
Received by: Ann-Marie Nieves @ Get Red PR
Synopsis: Justine Nolan is a documentary film maker who lost her beloved grandmother a decade ago—the person who was the only source of love and comfort in her life. Her own mother Deborah had always been distant and uninvolved, following her own agenda in pursuit of her career as an interior designer. But when Justine inadvertently opens a letter addressed to her mother, she discovers that not only is her grandmother Gabri alive, but that Deborah has deliberately estranged the family from her for all these years. Justine’s search for her grandmother takes her to Istanbul where she begins to uncover the family’s secrets that stretch all the way back to World War II. As the layers of deception peel away, Justine begins to understand a woman she never really knew…and she begins to ask questions about the true desires of her own heart.

Title: Words Get In The Way
Author: Nan Parson Rossiter
Received by: Unsolicited
Synopsis: The modest ranch house where Callie Wyeth grew up looks just as she remembers it – right down to the well-worn sheets in the linen closet. But in the years since Callie lived here, almost everything else has changed. Her father, once indomitable, is in poor health. And Callie is a single mother with a beautiful little boy, Henry, who has just been diagnosed with autism. Returning to this quiet New Hampshire community seems the best thing to do, for both her father and her son’s sake. Even if it means facing Linden Finch, the one she loved and left for reasons she’s sure he’ll never forgive. Linden is stunned that Callie is back – and that she has a son. Yet in the warm, funny relationship that develops between Henry and Linden’s menagerie of rescued farm animals, Callie begins to find hope. Not just that her son might break through the wall of silence separating him from the world, but that she too can make a new start amid the places and people that have never left her heart…

Title: The Boy Who Fell To Earth
Author: Kathy Lette
Received by: Unsolicited
Synopsis: Meet Merlin. He’s Lucy’s bright, beautiful son – who just happens to be autistic. Since Merlin’s father left them in the lurch shortly after his diagnosis, Lucy has made Merlin the centre of her world. Struggling with the joys and tribulations of raising her eccentrically adorable yet challenging child, (if only Merlin came with operating instructions) Lucy doesn’t have room for any other man in her life. By the time Merlin turns ten, Lucy is seriously worried that the Pope might start ringing her up for tips on celibacy, so resolves to dip a poorly pedicured toe back into the world of dating. Thanks to Merlin’s candour and quirkiness, things don’t go quite to plan…Then, just when Lucy’s resigned to a life of singledom once more, Archie – the most imperfectly perfect man for her and her son – lands on her doorstep. But then, so does Merlin’s father, begging for forgiveness and a second chance. Does Lucy need a real father for Merlin – or a real partner for herself?

Title: The Cinderella Blues
Author: Obren Bokich
Received by: Austine Martin @ Black Bear Media
Synopsis: The Cinderella Blues (Thuh Sin’dur-rel’uh Bluze)
The phenomena whereby otherwise intelligent, capable, successful professional women are convinced they need rescuing by a prince.
A smart character-driven romantic comedy about a young professional woman with a hyperactive fantasy life, “Romancing The Stone” meets “The Office.”

On Tour: Children of the Gods by Monica Millard

Monica will be on tour March 19-April 9 with her novel Children of the Gods For as long as seventeen-year-old Reka Cushing can remember, she…