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Q by Evan Mandery
Chick Lit Review

Q by Evan Mandery

Sometimes, there comes a book that I am so sure I will love that just doesn’t do it for me. Unfortunately, this happened with Q by Evan Mandery. The story follows an unnamed main character, which right off the bat confused me a little. I have read another book with a no-named MC and got into it just fine, but this wasn’t case here. I was constantly wondering why he couldn’t have a name. Anyway, the MC is in love with Quentina, or Q, and is about to marry her. Before he can watch his bride walk down the aisle, MC is introduced to his future self. His future self warns him that he must not marry Q. Eventually, MC starts to believe his future self is real, and leaves Q before they can tie the knot. After this, his future self continually comes back to give him advice – attend law school, leave law school, marry another woman, travel, change his diet, etc. MC starts living his life based only on what his future self is telling him to do. But what if MC made a mistake from the beginning? What if he wasn’t supposed to leave Q? And could he possibly ever get her back?
I love magical aspects of books, and even time travel. This book had time travel being discovered in the future, which is why the MC’s future self could keep coming back to him and warning him about his choices. Those were the parts that I really liked about this book. It’s fascinating to think how just one moment of difference can change a life. What I didn’t like about this book is that I just didn’t get it. I didn’t connect with the MC, I didn’t see his connection to this amazing Q, and a lot of times I didn’t get the humor that I believe was supposed to be there. The book lagged for me whenever the MC would get on his egotistical rants, and I started speed-reading through sections so I could more about the time travel. I think this book had a really good idea for the plot, but the execution and writing just didn’t do it for me. I found myself more baffled than anything when I finally finished.
[Rating: 2]

January 11, 2012
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Guest Post by Samantha March: When I Grow Up
For Writers

Guest Post by Samantha March: When I Grow Up

I found an old memory book a few weeks ago and let myself get submerged in my past. Big bangs, neon scrunchies, and shirts that said “Princess in Training” dominated the photos. I saw old class photos where I had drawn big red X’s over my enemies and photos with a big red heart over my crush. Some had both. I thought it was interesting that each grade year came accompanied with a fact sheet. I had dutifully filled in who my best friend was, my favorite movie and song, a few other random details about my life, and finally – what I wanted to be when I grew up. From second grade on, my answer remained the same – “author.” Sometimes a more glamorous position would be written in – actress, supermodel, ballet dancer – even the occasionally “mommy” made it on the page, but “author” never disappeared.

Since those dream filled sheets have been filled out, I have worked many different jobs. My first real employment was making pizzas at a Papa Murphy’s. They were not impressed with my acrylic nails. Then there was dressing room “recovery” at a department store during the holidays. I have since learned to loath a messy dressing room. Then my favorite job – working in a concession stand at an event center. I worked with my best friend, my mom, a cousin, and made some great friends at that job. And I met a bunch of hot hockey players, bands, and comedians. And got to eat free food. Then I had my college jobs, where I often worked at multiple places in an effort to not bury myself in student loans. The college gym – terrific job. I could do my homework, work out, and again I worked with some amazing people. A hotel clerk – another awesome job.

I loved my work there and meeting so many different people. A hospital, a restaurant, a bank. I did time as a travel agent, on my own and for a company (I have my AA in travel and hospitality). I managed a massage clinic at only twenty years old, where I had over twenty employees reporting to me and it was my responsibility to make the store run smoothly. Then there was my internship with a wedding planner. Super long hours, my weekends were full and my arms ached from carrying chairs, tables, and other equipment around, but it was incredible to see a wedding start with a seed of an idea and end so beautifully and with such joy. And now, after all the jobs, resumes, interviews, crappy shifts, uptight bosses…I can call myself an author.

I remember just a few years ago feeling so frustrated with myself. I couldn’t find a job I was truly happy with. I loved traveling – I thought a travel agent was for me. I loved going to spas – running a massage clinic should have been my calling. I have an obsession with weddings and love watching all the wedding shows – why wouldn’t I want to be a wedding planner? But nothing stuck. Nothing gave me that sense of satisfaction, that contentment that I thought should come with my career. But now, I have finally figured out why I put myself through so many jobs. Experience. Sure, I have real-world experience and job interviews are helpful to go on, but I have writing experience. I can write books with the main character as a wedding planner. I can write books with the MC as a travel agent or a personal banker or a hotel executive. I can take what I learned and observed from all those jobs and write stories about them. Some true events might find themselves published (all carefully fictionalized, of course). Instead of having to do hours of research on the job background, I can pull what I learned from hands-on experience.

I’m grateful for all those past jobs. I took something away from each one – a friendship, a funny story, and a lesson. I can’t to wait to incorporate more of these into my books. My second novel is due out around April/May of 2012, and the main character is the owner of a salon and spa. Do you think I pulled some of my experiences as being a massage clinic manager and put those into this book? Of course. I feel really lucky that I never gave up on what my second-grade self wanted, and I’m happy to finally say I love what I’m doing.

January 10, 2012
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Blog Tour Sign Up: Children of the Gods by Monica Millard
CLP Blog Tours

Blog Tour Sign Up: Children of the Gods by Monica …

Monica will be on tour in March/April with her YA sci-fi romance novel Children of the Gods. Please use the sign up form below if…

January 10, 2012
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In My Mailbox: Week of January 8
Chick Lit Plus

In My Mailbox: Week of January 8

In My Mailbox: Week of January 8

Title: Chasing Rainbows
Author: Kathleen Long
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Bernadette Murphy likes her life. Really, she does. What’s wrong with carrying around an extra ten pounds from fertility treatments? Or having your dog kicked out of obedience school? Again? What’s that saying about the devil you know? For Bernie, it’s the devil she never expected that changes everything.

Her father’s sudden death leaves a gaping void in her life and is one in a series of events that rock her world. Her husband leaves for another woman, and her best friend announces an unplanned pregnancy at the age of forty-one. Bernie’s behavior goes from acting out to out-of-hand, and she finds herself in trouble at home, out of work and banned from the mall after a confrontation at the cosmetic counter.

When her mother discovers her father’s book of cryptograms, Bernie realizes his encoded lessons in living might be exactly what she needs to survive. From dealing with her family’s grief and bonding with her best friend’s thirteen-year-old daughter, to dieting, dating and mindless almost-sex with the landscaper, Bernie discovers what her father always knew.

In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow, or you don’t.

For Bernie, the singing is about to begin.

Title: Forged in Fire
Author: Trish McCallan
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Beth Brown doesn’t believe in premonitions until she dreams a sexy stranger is gunned down during the brutal hijacking of a commercial airliner. When events in her dream start coming true, she heads to the flight’s departure gate. To her shock, she recognizes the man she’d watched die the night before.

Lieutenant Commander Zane Winters comes from a bloodline of elite warriors with psychic abilities. When Zane and two of his platoon buddies arrive at Sea-Tac Airport, he has a vision of his teammates’ corpses. Then she arrives—a leggy blonde who sets off a different kind of alarm.

As Beth teams up with Zane, they discover the hijacking is the first step in a secret cartel’s deadly global agenda and that key personnel within the FBI are compromised. To survive the forces mobilizing against them, Beth will need to open herself to a psychic connection with the sexy SEAL who claims to be her soul mate.

Title: Favorable Conditions
Author: Kathleen Kole
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Can you imagine being forty-five, your last child has moved on to college and the time is ripe for you to blaze a new trail into your future? Pat Keegan can. Well, except for the tiny detail that all her preconceived notions about how that future was going to shape up are completely out the window. Pat was under the impression that once her child rearing years were complete she and her husband would walk hand in hand toward a rose colored future. Fat chance. Before their daughter had even been accepted by a College, he was blathering about needing space to rediscover himself and made quick strides to the nearest exit. Suddenly, Pat is divorced, rattling around her large house and asking the empty rooms, “What now?” She knows she has to carve out new dreams – after all, forty-five is a far cry from the end of the line – But how? Join Pat as she jumps feet first back into the world outside her door, takes on a new business venture, is pursued by a much younger man and has to muddle her way through more emotions that she knew she had – all to finally attain her goal of rediscovering who she is and what she wants from the next phase of her life.

Title: Idol Hands
Author: Cynthia Hill
Received: From Cynthia Hill
Synopsis: Tara can pinpoint the moment when everything in her life changed: it was when she fell in love with Aidan Forrest – who just happened to be a part of the biggest boy band in the world, Idol Hands. She spent two years as his “secret girlfriend,” hiding from the media to protect his career, until he broke up with her, breaking her heart, and leaving behind a secret that Tara has never shared. Fourteen years after their breakup, she’s in a bad marriage, and a dead-end job. When she sees a television documentary in which Aidan confesses that he still loves her, she makes a life-changing decision: she leaves her husband to go and find Aidan. With no real plan of attack it’s not going to be easy, but Tara knows that she can’t give up.

January 10, 2012
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Future Tour: Binding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx
CLP Blog Tours

Future Tour: Binding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx

Elizabeth will be on tour March 12-April 2 with her novel Binding Arbitration Through the corridors of the Windy City’s criminal courts, single mother, Libby…

January 9, 2012
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Red Hot Libery by Devin O’Branagan
Chick Lit Review

Red Hot Libery by Devin O’Branagan

Red Hot Liberty by Devin O’Branagan is the sequel to Red Hot Property, which I have not read. It can be difficult to read a sequel without knowing the characters and situations from the first book. I did struggle a bit with not being able to relate to all the plot points along the way for that reason, but it didn’t completely hinder my reading experience. The book follows Molly O’Malley, who works in real estate and has a slew of personal problems. She is being sued by a former client, her new assistant is hot and comes with a British accent, her tween daughter is acting like a tween, and her dogs are depressed. There is a lot of focus on the dogs in this book, which sometimes seemed odd, but O’Branagan belongs to the Dog Writers Association of America and is a big advocate for animal rescue, and it’s interesting to see how she can translate that passion into her books. Another quirky character is Liberty True, who doesn’t trust the government and believes in many conspiracies. All these sub plot points can be a bit overwhelming at times, and I again wonder if I could have gotten a better grip on the story if I had read the first book. The conspiracies that Liberty True talks about were really intriguing to me, and I actually looked up quite a few on the internet. Overall, I liked this book and even the writing style, but there was a lot going on and a lot of characters to keep track of. I would still recommend Red Hot Liberty, but I would suggest you read Red Hot Property first.
[Rating: 3.5]

January 9, 2012
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On Tour: Unscripted by Natalie Aaron and Marla Schwartz
CLP Blog Tours

On Tour: Unscripted by Natalie Aaron and Marla Schwartz

  Natalie and Marla will be on tour January 9-30 with their chick lit novel Unscripted As a producer on a reality dating show, Abby…

January 9, 2012
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Beyonce Welcomes Baby Girl
Chick Lit Plus

Beyonce Welcomes Baby Girl

Finally! After rumors and speculation that Beyonce had given birth, it has finally been confirmed that her baby was born on Saturday in New York.…

January 9, 2012
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Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel
Chick Lit Review

Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel

Happy Birthday was the first book I’ve ever read by Danielle Steel. I know, right? Weird. As much as I’ve always heard her name and seen one of her zillion books on the shelves, her latest is my first. I think I had some pretty high expectations going into the novel, and they weren’t quite met. I enjoyed the book, but I wasn’t particularly wowed by the story or characters.
Readers follow three characters: Valerie Wyatt, who reminded me of a sort of Martha Stewart type. She has a successful TV show and is the “queen of gracious living.” Her life is filled with a busy schedule, lots of money, workouts to keep trim, plastic surgeons to look young…but she can’t face the very real fact she is turning sixty. Then we follow Valerie’s daughter, chef and owner of a happening restaurant and who is utterly obsessed with her work. But she is depressed that she is turning thirty, and has nothing to show for it besides her restaurant. No husband, no children, until….And then there is Jack Adams, twelve years retired from the NFL. Fifty year old Jack prefers her women young and flexible…until a particular move leaves Jack with his back thrown out. Feeling old and washed up, and slightly pathetic, Jack realizes that he wants to make some changes in his life. Scenarios unfold that bring these three characters together is some surprising, some predictable ways. I thought the book was nice and it flowed easily from scene to scene, but nothing really captured my attention or stood out for me. I closed the book thinking it was all right. Would I recommend it? Sure. I don’t think it’s something that needs to be catapulted to the top of your list, but you might enjoy a few lessons these characters learn.
[Rating: 3.5]

January 6, 2012
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