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Confessions of a Call Center Gal by Lisa Lim
Chick Lit Review

Confessions of a Call Center Gal by Lisa Lim

Madison Lee has graduated from college and is ready to take on the real world…the real world that comes with a ten percent unemployment rate that is only going up. Unable to nab her dream job in print media, Madison settles for the only paying job she can find- a service rep at a call center in Pocatello, Idaho. She gets to work with her BFF all while staring down the delectable foreigner Mika Harket, another co-worker who may be the sexiest man alive. While the phones calls can range from thankful, hilarious, to downright rude (a caller insisting she address him by Dr.) Maddy learns through many trials and tribulations the humbling world of working in a call center.
I had a lot of fun reading Confessions of a Call Center Gal, the debut from Lisa Lim. While I have never worked in a call center, I have held many customer service jobs, and this book reminded me why I hold my tongue when speaking to a service rep. They are just regular people like myself, trying to make a living. Some enjoy working at the call center, others are doing it just to scrape by. Some are young guns trying to make it to the top, others are older women who like to crochet booties for their grandkids on their breaks. This book was a real eye opener to a job that many people either take for granted or look down upon, and I’m glad Lim offered me a copy to read. Maddy and her slew of friends are funny and down to earth. The only thing that lacked for me was the relationship between Maddy and Mika. I really just didn’t get it. I felt it was really awkward and strained the whole time, but other than that, super funny book, great writing from Lim and I would definitely recommend this to chick lit fans. Oh- and my little blog makes a cameo in the eBooks. How fun is that? 
[Rating: 4]

October 10, 2011
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In My Mailbox: Week of October 9
Chick Lit Plus

In My Mailbox: Week of October 9

In My Mailbox: Week of October 9

Title: Yours, Unexpectedly
Author: Susan Fox
Received: From Kensington Publishing
Synopsis: Merilee has planned her wedding to Matt since they were seven. Yet with the big day drawing near, she has serious cold feet. Her three sisters have found sexy new loves and she envies them the passion that has been lacking with Matt. Though Matt is shocked when she calls off the wedding, he has to admit that he, too, has a craving for something more. But there’s no sense letting their Mexican Riviera honeymoon cruise go to waste. So they go: as friends, not as lovers. On a cruise where anything goes, they’ll have a chance to be adventurous and test their limits – including their sexual ones. And they may discover all the excitement they will need to sustain a lifetime together…

Title: Breaking Down
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Received: From a friend
Synopsis: The astonishing conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions. Now that Bella has made her decision to join the dark but seductive world of immortals, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life-first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse-seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed… forever?

Title: The Gilder
Author: Kathryn Kay
Received: From Kensington Publishing
Synopsis: Set against the exquisite backdrop of Florence, Italy, The Gilder is a compelling and beautifully wrought novel of secrets, friendship, betrayal, and the simple choices that change us forever. . .
In Marina Nesmith’s skilled hands, even the most tarnished picture frame or objet d’art can be made perfect once again. Her life, too, seems flawless, at least on the surface. But more and more, Marina is conscious of what she lacks–someone to share her joys and sorrows with, confidence in the decisions she’s made, and the courage to tell her teenage daughter, Zoe, the truth about her father.
Then Marina is invited to return to Florence, where she lived years before while learning her trade as a gilder. In those heady days, she wandered the city’s picturesque streets, marveling at the masterpieces in the Duomo and the Pitti Palace. In the church of Santa Croce, she met Thomas, an American photographer who, along with his wife Sarah, introduced Marina to a thrilling, bohemian world of art and beauty. Through them, she also learned about love, lies, and the way one mistake can multiply into many. Now, as her past and present collide, Marina will finally have to move beyond the intricate veneer she’s crafted around herself, and find the life that she–and Zoe–have been looking for.

Title: Anything
Author: Michael Baron
Received: From Lou Aronica/The Story Plant
Synopsis: With Anything, Michael Baron again draws readers into a world of deep emotion, compelling relationships, and heartfelt humor, and this time he adds a touch of fantasy. Ken and Melissa are at the dawn of a magnificent life together. A passionate romance has led them to the doorstep of marriage. While searching for the perfect wedding present for Melissa, Ken stumbles into a mysterious shop. There, he is given an extraordinary opportunity – to look in on Melissa when she was a girl. Ken has always wished he could have known Melissa from the day she was born and this seems like an incredible blessing.
Until he discovers a terrible secret in Melissa’s past, one so awful she has found it impossible to mention to him.

Now Ken has another extraordinary opportunity. He can go back in time and change the horrible event that has left an indelible mark on Melissa. He can free her of this burden – but doing so could change things so completely that they might never meet.

Ken has repeatedly told Melissa that he would do anything for her. But would he truly do anything?

At once a wildly romantic tale and a compelling human adventure, Anything brings Michael Baron’s storytelling to a dramatic new level.

October 9, 2011
5 Comments
Penguin Group- Read Pink Press Release
Chick Lit Plus

Penguin Group- Read Pink Press Release

PENGUIN GROUP (USA) IS IN THE PINK FOR
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
It’s time to think pink to shrink cancer

What’s black and white and pink all over? The initiative by the Penguin Group (USA) called Read Pink™ in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This literary embrace of a life-saving cause last year resulted in nearly 400,000 best-selling romances shipped with Read Pink seals and information about the charity it supports – the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. In 2010 and 2011, some 12,000 floor displays also carried the Read Pink message. The result raised awareness for BCRF, the only cancer organization to receive A+ from the Institute for Philanthropy.

“We are delighted to be able to continue this initiative in support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation for a second time. We hope that awareness for the Foundation’s work will only grow by bringing more attention to this important cause,” said Leslie Gelbman, President of Mass Market Publishing, Penguin Group (USA). To mark the occasion, Penguin Group (USA) is again making a $25,000 donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

“The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is very grateful to be part of Penguin’s Read Pink program again this year,” said Myra J. Biblowit, President, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. “This visible initiative will certainly raise awareness about BCRF.”

The donation provides vital funds to support the mission of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. As Dr. Laura J. Esserman, director of the Carole Franc Buck Breast Cancer Center at the University of California at San Francisco said,. “[BCRF] awards support leaders in translational science and assume that they will be able to best dispense the funds. This is invaluable. Most grants require a year’s lead time before ideas can be funded. The BCRF funds allow you to plan ideas a few months ahead, and are flexible in support. The awards also come with the promise of continuity to explore new ideas as they arise. I also really appreciate the annual awards ceremony and the expression of thanks to the scientists. We don’t often get that and it really is rewarding and inspiring to see that people appreciate us, even if we don’t come up with all of the answers. It is an expression of thanks for the efforts we put forward to try to find answers.”

The novels chosen for Read Pink 2011 are eight bestselling mass market titles by some of Penguin Group (USA)’s most beloved female authors. Included this year are Nora Roberts, Catherine Anderson, Christina Dodd, Jillian Hunter, Lynn Kurland, Amanda Quick, Bertrice Small and Lauren Willig. More than 300,000 copies of the special editions will be printed featuring Read Pink seals on the covers. In addition, Penguin Group (USA) is including information in the back of each book in an effort to make readers aware of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and encourage them to become actively involved in supporting the organization.

For more details about the Read Pink initiative and to view a complete list of the participating retail outlets, please visit www.penguin.com/readpink.
###

About The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® was founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder as an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative clinical and translational research. In October 2011, BCRF will award $36.5 million to 186 scientists across the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and China. Currently, more than 90 cents of every dollar donated is directed to breast cancer research and awareness programs. With exceptionally low administrative costs, BCRF continues to be one of the most efficient organizations in the country. BCRF has received an“A+” from The American Institute of Philanthropy. For more information about BCRF, visit www.bcrfcure.org.

About Penguin Group (USA)
Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group. Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children’s trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Viking, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, The Penguin Press, Riverhead Books, Dutton, Penguin Books, Berkley Books, Gotham Books, Portfolio, New American Library, Plume, Tarcher, Philomel, Grosset & Dunlap, Puffin, and Frederick Warne, among others. The Penguin Group (www.penguin.com) is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.
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October 9, 2011
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Breast Cancer Awareness: My Donations
Chick Lit Plus

Breast Cancer Awareness: My Donations

So, we all know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and I’m sure plenty of you have seen what I am doing this month to support the cause. Donations through my Chick Lit Challenge, through a donate button on this blog, and with running a contest featuring your stories. I will be walking in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in my city of Des Moines on October 22nd. I am all signed up and waiting to get my shirt in the mail. I received an email from Susan G Komen that I am to distribute to family and friends, and I figured I would post it directly to CLP. This shows how I am working to bring in donations. Thank you to everyone who has already contributed, and to the stories that are coming. Have a great October, and think PINK!
Dear Friends and Family,
I recently registered for the Komen Iowa Race for the Cure on October 22, 2011. As part of this registration, I accepted the challenge to raise funds to support the Iowa Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in its efforts to end breast cancer forever.
Please help support me in this important project by contributing generously to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Iowa Affiliate. Your tax-deductible contribution will fund breast cancer education, screening, and research programs in the Affiliate’s 81-Iowa-county service area.
It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause – you can make your donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution to the address listed below. More information on Komen Iowa and its programs can be found at www.komeniowa.org.
Whatever you can give will help it all adds up! I greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.
Sincerely,
Samantha Robey
To donate online, click here.
To send a donation:
Make all checks payable to: Susan G. Komen for the Cure Iowa Affiliate
Mail to: Samantha Robey
1770 92nd St
Unit 8106West Des Moines, IA, 50266-3219

October 8, 2011
1 Comment
GIVEAWAY: What Came First by Carol Snow
Updates

GIVEAWAY: What Came First by Carol Snow

First comes love, then comes marriage, then . . . things can get a little complicated.
Vanessa wants just one thing for her twenty-ninth birthday: an engagement ring from her longtime boyfriend, Eric. But when the ring turns out to be a mix CD and Eric turns out to be a guy who doesn’t want to get married or have children, Vanessa considers a new path to having a family.
When Wendy and her husband, Darren, couldn’t have children the old- fashioned way, a sperm donor seemed like the perfect solution. She never imagined she’d have out-of-control twins who’d drive her to cookie binges and scrapbooking while Darren escaped into the virtual world of computer games.
Single and career-driven, Laura didn’t need a man to have a baby – at least not one that she ever met. Thanks to an anonymous donor, she shares her life with her adored eight-year-old son, Ian. She’ll do anything for Ian – even fill their backyard with a bunch of noisy chickens. But the one thing Ian really wants is something Laura’s never been able to give him: a sibling.
Now, to grant Ian’s wish, Laura starts a search that will not only change her life but Vanessa’s and Wendy’s as well…

I have two print copies of What Came First by Carol Snow for giveaway! To enter, please leave a comment below. Please note this is for US residents only. The winners will be chosen on Friday, October 14th. Thank you to Alexandra at Penguin Group for sponsoring this giveaway!

October 8, 2011
20 Comments
On Tour: Whispers From the Heart by Heather Hummel
CLP Blog Tours

On Tour: Whispers From the Heart by Heather Hummel

Heather will be on tour October 10-31 with Whispers From the Heart Whispers: The heart’s way of speaking… Madison Ragnar is a high school English…

October 7, 2011
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Blog Tour Sign Up: A Heart in Sun and Shadow by Annie Bellet
CLP Blog Tours

Blog Tour Sign Up: A Heart in Sun and Shadow …

In an ancient Wales that never was…
The twin brothers Emyr and Idrys are cursed to live as hounds; Emyr by night, and Idrys by day. The twins believe they will be trapped this way forever until they meet the fierce and curious Áine, a changeling woman born with fey blood and gifts struggling to fit into a suspicious human world.
Áine unravels the fate of Emyr and his twin as all three of them fall in love. To free her lovers from the curse, she embarks on a journey to the realm of the fey where she confronts her own unique gifts and heritage. Ultimately, she must decide where her heart truly lies and what she’s willing to risk to get what she desires most.

October 7, 2011
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Guest Post by Rebecca Coleman
Chick Lit Authors

Guest Post by Rebecca Coleman

CONTACT: Meryl L. Moss Media Relations – 203-226-0199
Sarah Hausman/ sarah@mediamuscle.com

Before The Kingdom of Childhood

by Rebecca Coleman, author of THE KINGDOM OF CHILDHOOD

It’s difficult to pinpoint the moment when the story that would become The Kingdom of Childhood first kindled itself in my mind. Perhaps it began at the candlelight carol singing I attended at a Waldorf school when I was 14– the first time I had ever seen such a place– when the sensory beauty of the environment and my great fear of all the fire surrounding me came together in a story about both. Or it might have been on the playground of another Waldorf school 11 years later, as I watched my young son play joyfully with his classmates and realized that his teacher– this embodiment of quiet peace and thoughtful nurturing– had it in for him, because her perceptions of my wonderful son were so much at odds with mine. I lost a little of my idealism then, and even as I continued to love the Waldorf way, I never quite forgave that teacher’s ill judgment of my son.
But these impressions remained rootless until the morning when, as I folded laundry in front of the TV news, I saw an item about a teacher arrested for an affair with a young male student and decided that was a story I wanted to tell. Raise the stakes, goes the sage advice about writing fiction– always make the stakes for your characters as high as they can be. And so it didn’t take long for the notion to strike me that a Waldorf teacher would be the best– or worst– to cast in that role, because there is no other philosophy that places such a high value on the purity, even the sacredness, of childhood. The crime Judy commits in The Kingdom of Childhood is not only taboo; in her community, it’s nothing short of anathema.
What intrigued me in equal measure, though, was what it would be like to be the teenage boy playing opposite such a teacher. I knew what I didn’t want him to be– mature for his age, superficial in his thinking, experienced with girls or squabbling with his parents. All of those things would make his motivations too simple, and the joy of writing teenagers is that they are some of the most complex people in the world: so much bravado and pride, so much desire to be perceived as mature, and yet so thoroughly naive. On the news, we hear the names of the teachers involved in these scandals; we learn about their families, their awards, their reputations. Yet the boys remain a mystery, always. We tend to assume their motives are obvious: driven by their hormones, they are unfettered, willing victims. But when are human beings ever so simple?
Somewhere inside all of that complexity I found the story I wanted to tell: one about the collision of naivete and wisdom, comfort and fear. Life is lived in the contrasts, after all– but the stakes are never higher than when the line between those contrasts draws paper-thin.

October 7, 2011
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The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman
Chick Lit Review

The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman

I received an ARC for The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman, and though I agreed to read and review, I was a little worried about what my reaction would be. I do like to explore beyond the chick lit genre, and this one is definitely way out that realm. The main character is Judy McFarland, a typical suburban mom whose profession is a kindergarten teacher. She has one son, a senior named Scott, and a husband that is manic over his doctoral dissertation. Judy’s marriage has already begun to disintegrate, but she takes things to a new level when she begins an affair- with a sixteen year old student. Judy starts to mentor Zach Patterson, a high school student and friend of Scott’s, and they soon enter into a torrid affair. The time jumps around from when Judy is a young girl and key times in her childhood, to her adult life and the decisions she is making. The point of view also switches from Judy to Zach at times, which gives readers a nice insight on his thoughts and feelings on the relationship.
The beginning did start off a bit slow for me but about halfway through the novel, I was unable to put it down. You watch as Judy turns from a typical teacher, to a misguided lover, to an insane predator with just a few flips of the pages. I have seen the words “psychological thriller” being used to describe this book, and I would agree. My emotions were played with, I kept shouting out passages to my boyfriend, and I was engrossed until the end. The writing was masterful, and I thought the sub-plot of Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky was a great addition to the main story. I will say that when I was struggling through the beginning, I couldn’t tell what Coleman’s intentions were. Was she trying to say that teacher-student affairs are okay, that Judy was simply a lost woman looking for love? Was she trying to show why these affairs are common, how people can get away with it, and what happens after the relationship is discovered? I almost felt for awhile that is was the first, that readers were supposed to feel sympathetic with Judy. Her best friend has recently died of cancer, her husband was an absent a-hole and her life seemed to be coming apart at the seams. It wasn’t until the end, where the dots seemed to be connected (at least for me) that showed the disease she was suffering from. The last few chapters gave me goosebumps, but the very last section was a little confusing for me. Overall, a solid story that will make you keep thinking about the characters after you finish the book.
[Rating: 4]

October 7, 2011
3 Comments