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Tina Fey Pregnant

Congratulations are in order for power woman Tina Fey. The 30 Rock star announced on a Wednesday taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show that she is expecting. This will be the second child for Fey, 40, and her husband, composer Jeff Richmond. The baby will join five year old daughter Alice. Reps confirmed to People.com that Fey is five months along. The taping of Fey’s appearance on Oprah will air April 12th.

Beauty Review:Biore Clay Mask

I have been searching for a good mask to use in my beauty regime, as my Mary Kay was all gone and didn’t prefer to re-order it. Of course, I first turned to my trusty Biore pals, since I own almost all their products anyways. While browsing Biore products on Amazon, I found the Biore Clay Mask. It is for shine control, which I do have problems with, and is described as an “oil-absorbing clay mask with skin-refreshing extracts” that “absorbs dirt, oil and shine.” It also promises to leave “skin tingly-cool and naturally matte.”
This four ounce bottle only cost $2.99, which I couldn’t believe, and I quickly snatched it up- or placed it in my virtual shopping cart. I have used the mask twice so far, and have had great results. The green mask is easy to apply to the face, and I leave it on for about eight minutes while it hardens. It was easier than other masks that I have tried to take off, instead of rubbing vigorously at my skin, I simply dampened a washcloth and wiped off smoothly. That was probably my favorite part. My skin did feel tingly cool afterwards, and have noticed a definite cut down on the shine- which is great because I am not using my oil blotting sheets as much! One off thing though that I will point out- this item is not on Biore’s website. I have no idea why, because you can buy it on Amazon or other sites such as Overstock.com, but I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t on Biore.com. But I would definitely recommend this product if you are looking for a good mask and need help with shine.
[Rating: 4.5]

Author Profile: Laurie Frankel

Author Name: Laurie Frankel

Website: http://www.lauriefrankel.net/

Bio: Laurie Frankel lives in Seattle where it’s sometimes hard to find a day on which to take an author photo without an umbrella. Originally from Columbia, Maryland, she often fails to understand why it won’t stop raining here. Then it becomes summer in Seattle, and she remembers why she loves it. She teaches writing, literature, and gender studies at the University of Puget Sound. She roots for the Orioles and the Mariners (and thus is often very frustrated during baseball season). She makes good soup. She lives in the city with her wonderful husband, her wonderful baby, and her wonderful border collie. The Atlas of Love is her first novel.
Titles: The Atlas of Love
See my review of The Atlas of Love
Visit Laurie’s Blog! http://lauriefrankel.blogspot.com/
Bio Retrieved from lauriefrankel.net

Health Tidbit: Breast Cancer Genes

As genetic testing is becoming more popular, there is an increased number of individuals that need to make the decision to go through the testing process. Because genetic testing can be highly expensive and a positive test can increase stress, it is important to examine all reasons why or why not you want to be tested. If there are several members of your close family (parent, sibling, grandparent) that have a disease such as breast cancer, it can be beneficial to be tested to see if you carry a BRCA gene. The March issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine touched one an important topic when it comes to breast cancer. Cosmo uncovered a scary fact- according to a study done in the Lancet Oncology journal, “doctors are five times less likely to refer women with a paternal history of the disease to a genetic counselor than they are those who had it on their mom’s side.” Because both mother and father have a fifty percent chance of passing on the gene, it is important to tell your doctor if anyone in your family had the disease.
Source: Cosmopolitan Magazine, March 2011

Personally, I Blame My Fairy Godmother by Claudia Carroll

What girl doesn’t love the Cinderella fairy tale? A young woman coming from nothing, living with her horrible stepmother and retched step-sisters, only to fall madly in love with Prince Charming and live happily ever after. Jessie Woods believes her life rivals the one of Cinderella. She didn’t have much as a child, but with the love and support from her father, she determinedly made something of herself. Working as a daredevil TV host, living in a mansion, and dating one of the most eligible bachelors, Jessie’s life couldn’t get better.
But it could get worse. When Jessie gets offered to accept a free car after one of her daredevil shows, she greedily accepts- on live TV. She is immediately sacked from her position, and with no job and the credit card bills becoming more and more demanding, Jessie is forced to cut back on her lavish lifestyle. Way back. And then more. After losing her house, she is forced to move in with her stepmother and her two grown daughters- still living at home with no husbands or social lives to speak of. To make it all worse, Jessie’s boyfriend will no longer return her calls. Can she still find a happy ending after all?
Personally, I Blame My Fairy Godmother by Claudia Carroll is a riot! I was laughing out loud at the crazy situations Jessie finds herself in- from working fast food to breaking and entering her ex’s house. The stepsister’s are a story in themselves, and the stepmother and her start-up internet business- genius! Though the story might be seem all light and comical, there is a lesson to be learned from many of the characters. The only part that sometimes got under my skin was the constant complaining about Jessie’s failed relationship. But I loved the stereotypes and the many comparisons to fairy tales. I thought that really worked for what Carroll was trying to achieve, and I definitely recommend this Brit Chick Lit novel!
[Rating: 4.5]

In My Mailbox: Week of April 3

In My Mailbox: Week of April 3rd

Title: The Gin and Chowder Club
Author: Nan Rossiter
Received: From Kensington Books
Synopsis: Set against the beautiful backdrop of Cape Cod, “The Gin & Chowder Club” is an eloquent, tender story of friendship, longing, and the enduring power of love…The friendship between the Coleman and Shepherd families is as old and comfortable as the neighbouring houses they occupy each summer on Cape Cod. Samuel and Sarah Coleman love those warm months by the water; the evenings spent on their porch, enjoying gin and tonics, good conversation and homemade clam chowder. Here they’ve watched their sons, Isaac and Asa, grow into fine young men, and watched, too, as Nate Shepherd, aching with grief at the loss of his first wife, finally found love again with the much younger Noelle. But beyond the surface of these idyllic gatherings, the growing attraction between Noelle and handsome, college-bound Asa threatens to upend everything. In spite of her guilt and misgivings, Noelle is drawn into a reckless secret affair with far-reaching consequences. And over the course of one bittersweet, unforgettable summer, Asa will learn more than he ever expected about love – the joys and heartache it awakens in us, the lengths we’ll go to keep it, and the countless ways it can change our lives forever…

Title: Sweet Valley Confidential
Author: Francine Pascal
Received: From St. Martin’s Press
Synopsis: It’s been ten years since the Wakefield twins graduated from Sweet Valley High, and a lot has happened. For a start, Elizabeth and Jessica have had a falling out of epic proportions, after Jessica committed the ultimate betrayal, and this time it looks like Elizabeth will never be able to forgive her. Suddenly Sweet Valley isn’t big enough for the two of them, so Elizabeth has fled to New York to immerse herself in her lifelong dream of becoming a serious reporter, leaving a guilt-stricken Jessica contemplating the unthinkable: life without her sister. Despite the distance between them, the sisters are never far from each other’s thoughts. Jessica longs for forgiveness, but Elizabeth can’t forget her twin’s duplicity. Uncharacteristically, she decides the only way to heal her broken heart is to get revenge. Always the ‘good’ twin, the one getting her headstrong sister out of trouble, Elizabeth is now about to turn the tables…

Title: Already Home
Author: Susan Mallery
Received: From Eric @ Planned Television Arts
Synopsis: After nearly a decade as a sous-chef in a trendy eatery, Jenna is desperate for a change. She’s supported her ex-husband’s dreams for so long that she can’t even remember her own. Until she sees a for-lease sign near her parents’ home and envisions her very own cooking store.
Her crash course in business is aided by a streetwise store manager and Jenna’s adoptive mother. But just as she’s gaining a foothold in her new life, in walk her birth parents—aging hippies on a quest to reconnect with their firstborn.
Now Jenna must figure out how to reconcile the free-spirited Serenity and Tom with her traditional parents, deal with her feelings for a new love interest and decide what to do about her ex’s latest outrageous request. In the end, Jenna will find that there is no perfect family, only the people we love….

GIVEAWAY: The Journey Home by Michael Baron

Joseph, a man in his late thirties, awakens disoriented and uneasy in a place he doesn’t recognize. He sets out on a journey to find his home with no sense of where he’s going and only the precious, indelible vision of the woman he loves to guide him.

Antoinette is an elderly woman in an assisted living facility who has retreated inside her head. There, her body and mind haven’t betrayed her. There, she’s a young newlywed with a husband who dotes on her and an entire life of dreams to live. There, she is truly home.

Warren, Antoinette’s son, is a man in his early forties going through the toughest year of his life. With far too much time on his hands, he decides to try to recreate his memories of home by attempting to cook his mother’s greatest dishes and eat them with her.

Joseph, Antoinette, and Warren are three people on different searches for home. How they connect with each another at this critical stage in their lives, is the heart and soul of this story.

One lucky winner will receive a paperback copy of The Journey Home by Michael Baron. To enter, email your name and full mailing address to Samantha(at)chicklitplus.com. For bonus entries, comment below, on Facebook, or RT on Twitter. The winner will be chosen on Sunday, April 10th.

Spinning by Michael Baron

I usually veer to the chick lit/woman’s fiction genre, but every once in awhile I will take a chance and step outside the box. A few months back, I was asked to read The Journey Home by Michael Baron. I read it, and fell in love. When I was recently asked to read Baron’s latest novel, Spinning, I knew I had to accept. And again, I am glad I did.
The story follows Dylan Hunter, a playboy public relations executive that specializes in “spinning” or bending the truth to suit his or his client’s needs. But Dylan is thrown when a former lover, Diane, shows up on his doorstep. Diane has moved her and her young daughter, Spring, to New York City for a change of pace. After first worrying Spring could possibly be his, Dylan doesn’t know how to handle the sudden change in his life. Diane assures him he is not the father, but won’t go into any further details on Spring’s father. Dylan falls into a comfortable pattern with Diane and Spring, and enjoys having more to live for than just his job, money, or his next fling. But his new shiny life is soon smashed to pieces when Diane is killed in a car accident. With no other family members stepping forward, it seems Dylan is the only person young Spring has left in her life. Dylan has to decide if he can handle the sudden responsibility of parenthood, understand the legalities of adopting a child, and see if he can handle spinning all the plates at once.
Spinning was such a wonderful read. Dylan isn’t the most likeable character at first, but you can see he is only human. Spring breaths fresh air into the novel, and I broke down at several points when reading thinking about how she lost her mother at such a young age. Baron explores deep and sensitive topics- single parenthood, death, adoption- just to name a few. This book promises to touch a nerve with all readers, and will leave you thinking about the character’s lives after you have finished. Another must read from Michael Baron.
[Rating: 4.5]