Future Tour: Your Eight O’Clock is Dead by Kat …
Kat will be on tour March 19-26 with her novel Your Eight O’Clock is Dead Becca Reynolds is having a bad day. Her grandfather’s lecture…
Off Leash by Jenna Anderson
I have a read a handful of short stories and my general consensus is…meh. I usually struggle to get invested in the character, or when I am intrigued by the story, it ends abruptly and I feel cheated. I tend to stay away from them as a personal preference, but when my friend Jenna Anderson asked me to read and review her short story Off Leash, I didn’t want to turn her down. And actually, I’m glad I didn’t! Sure this was a short story, about 27,000 words, but I really enjoyed reading it. The main character is Candice Gunderson, who is driving through Indiana with her dog Phoebe. They are on their way to a dog breeder to introduce Phoebe to another purebred and hopefully make a beautiful liter of award winning puppies. But the situation takes a wrong turn after Candice is lost – without a GPS or a phone. They finally find a farm where they can possibly get some help, but the stop proves to be more trouble than useful. At least there is a cute farmer around…
I was hooked on the story from the beginning, and really didn’t feel cheated at all. I got to know Candice and her quirks and the fact that she really wanted to prove her independence, and I enjoyed the romantic connection between her and the farmer, Bull. Some of the scenes between Phoebe and Bull’s dog, Jack, were pretty hysterical, and there was enough some great suspense in there when the dogs go missing. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I thought Anderson did a great job with this short story, and I would definitely recommend this quick read.
[Rating: 4]
Blog Tour Sign Up: She Tells All by Judah Lee …
Her magic stilettos ensure that she will get lucky tonight, while her big mouth ensures she will stay in trouble. This sleepy little southern town just isn’t big enough for the adventures of mischievous Madison Miller. But when tragedy strikes, she is forced to learn important lessons about life, love and why she should NEVER sleep with strangers.
In My Mailbox: Week of December 25
In My Mailbox: Week of December 25
Title: She Tells All
Author: Judah Lee Davis
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Her magic stilettos ensure that she will get lucky tonight, while her big mouth ensures she will stay in trouble. This sleepy little southern town just isn’t big enough for the adventures of mischievous Madison Miller. But when tragedy strikes, she is forced to learn important lessons about life, love and why she should NEVER sleep with strangers.
Title: The Baby Trap
Author: Sibel Hodge
Received: From Sibel Hodge
Synopsis: Based on her own experiences with infertility and two attempts at IVF, Sibel Hodge’s latest novel The Baby Trap will have you laughing and crying at the ups and downs of modern baby-making…
When Gina turns thirty-three her body clock unexpectedly begins clanging in her ear with annoying persistence. The only problem is, having a baby isn’t as easy as she thought. Whether she’s feng shui-ing the house to death with fertility symbols, throwing out her husband’s tight boxers in favour of baggies, swapping wine and chocolate for green tea and yams, popping fertility drugs like M&M’s, or having sex so precision-timed it makes international warfare manoeuvres look unorganized, her life is turned upside down. And when nothing seems to be working, her quest for the B-word turns into an obsession.
Can Gina stay sane, get pregnant, and keep her marriage together? Or will her baby trail become a baby trap?
Title: The Look of Love
Author: Judy Astley
Received: Unsolicited
Synopsis: Bella has given up on men. Happily divorced, her latest boyfriend just omitted to tell her about his current wife, so she’s back on her own again. Then her ex-husband turns up, wanting to sell the family home in which she and their two teenage children are well settled. But all their lives are changed when a television company rents the house for a reality TV fashion makeover programme.
Against her better judgment Bella finds herself taking part in the programme, and while she learns a little bit too much about what really goes on behind the scenes, she also discovers that love can appear in the most unexpected places….
Recession Proof by Kimberly S Lin
Kimberly S. Lin is on tour with CLP Blog Tours and her novel Recession Proof. I really enjoyed this book because the topic is one that was and still is so heavy on the majority of people after the recession. The main character is Helen Jennings, a young professional who has been working her tail off as a financial fund analyst. She knows she doesn’t love her job or have any sort of passion for it, but it pays the bills and looks good on paper. Helen also feels like she is settling in her love life. She doesn’t have the spark with boyfriend Mark, but he’s a nice guy and they work well together. When Helen is let go from her job and struggles to find another in the struggling economy, she finally opens her eyes and decides she can’t let her life pass her by. Her and Mark break up, she moves in with best friend Sophie, and starts to focus on a career she loves – writing.
I saw a lot of myself in Helen, and I connected with her character right off the bat. The beginning was a bit awkward with her and Mark, who so clearly should not have been together, but I could understand why she wasn’t taking the leap and letting him go. Helen showed me that even if you spend years settling, you can still turn your life around and make situations happen that are positive. She was very inspiring to read about and I took a lot away from Recession Proof. The only real downfall to the story was some editing issues, especially lack of commas. For me, being an avid reader and editor, it was pretty obvious and distracted me from the story. Overall though, great story and I highly recommend this book!
[Rating: 4]
On Tour: A Heart in Sun and Shadow by Annie …
Annie will be on tour December 26- January 9 with her novel A Heart in Sun and Shadow In an ancient Wales that never was……
Twang by John Schlimm
Twang, the latest novel from former country music publicist John Schlimm gives readers a backstage pass to some of the biggest country superstar’s secrets. Maybe. That’s what we get to try to figure out as we read about Salome and Willa Field, a sister sensation that are legends in the country music scene. With a whole lot of devious secrets buried underneath their carefully thought out images. And while we read about Thad Evans and Hope Tanner, country music’s biggest celebrity power couple – but one of them is living a lie. And Billie Blotter, columnist and “friend” to every celebrity is about to bust open their biggest secrets in his tell-all book. Who will be spared? And whose images will be changed forever?
Twang was a lot of fun to read, and to try to figure out if Schlimm is calling on his true insider knowledge between the pages. I thought I saw some similarities between the real stars, but who knows? I’m not much of a country fan, so maybe more of you will be able to find more storylines that just may be real. Regardless of what’s true or not, it was a fun book to read that was full of intriguing secrets and storylines that seemed to grow with each chapter. I would recommend it!
Blog Tour Sign Up: Death on Heels by Ellen Byerrum
Ellen will be on tour in March with her chick lit mystery novel Death on Heels. This will be a print book tour, available for US/Canada residents only. Please use the form below if you would like to be included. Ellen will also be available for a guest post or interview. I will contact everyone chosen to participate. Thank you!
D.C. style scribe Lacey Smithsonian swore she’d never return to Sagebrush, Colorado, the scruffy hard-luck boom town where she earned her reporter’s spurs. Yet when rancher Cole Tucker is accused of murdering three women—all left barefoot on lonely country roads—Lacey grabs her cowboy boots and heads West to prove her former boyfriend’s innocence. And possibly to resolve old feelings. However, this doesn’t sit well with her current beau, private investigator Vic Donovan, who has his own agenda in Sagebrush.
It takes only one look for Tucker to change Lacey’s game plan by abducting her in a daring courtroom escape. Tucker turns her world upside down, in stolen vehicles, on horseback, and into the wilderness, leaving Lacey not knowing who to trust. With a vicious killer on her trail, it’s a whole new—and potentially fatal—frontier for this fashion reporter.
Lacey’s Fashion Tip of the Day
Beware of Killer Heels: The ones you wear and the ones you date. Choose high heels that fit and lift your spirits, and kick those other heels to the curb!
Future Tour: Write from the Heart by Heather Hummel
Heather will be on tour February 27- March 19 with her novel Write from the Heart Journals are a woman’s best friend… When Samantha Sounder…
