On Tour: Vicious by Andrea Murray #VividTrilogy
Andrea Murray will be on tour March 16-23 with her novel Vicious She can’t escape her past . . . or her future. After Vivian…
In My Mailbox: Week of September 15
Title: The Three Month Plan
Author: Kimberley Patterson
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Kelly Callahan had everything going for her. Everything that is, except for a relationship. It wasn’t for the lack of trying, it just seemed like she was a magnet for all the wrong ones. But all of that was about to change the minute she laid eyes on Jake.
On a dare from her close friend, Michelle, Kelly accepts a challenge to date and become Jake’s girlfriend within three months. The consequence of losing is global humiliation, and she refuses to lose.
Enlisting the help of her childhood friend and confidant, Brian, Kelly manages to catch Jakes attention. She also unknowingly hooks Brian who tries to sabotage the plan. Kelly finds herself with a dilemma; take the final step with Jake and win the plan or follow her heart and reveal her feelings for Brian.
The Vintage Teacup Club by Vanessa GreeneTitle: The Vintage Teacup Club
Author: Vanessa Greene
Received: Penguin Group
Synopsis: Three women’s lives are about to change because of a few delicate pieces of china…
When Jenny Davis comes across a beautiful vintage tea set at an outdoor market in the English countryside, she’s convinced it’s fate. A young bride on a budget, she has her heart set on a vintage tea-party theme for her wedding—and the gorgeous gold-rimmed china before her is perfect. There’s only one problem. Two other women have fallen in love with it, too. So they come up with a solution: They’ll share it.
They establish a sisterhood, sharing the ups and downs of their lives—from broken hearts and weddings, to family drama and career dreams. When a figure from Jenny’s past threatens to ruin her big day, Alison’s teenage daughter pushes her to the limit, and Maggie’s romantic life is thrown into turmoil, the members of the Vintage Teacup Club band together—proving their newfound friendship will last a lifetime.
Facebook Jeanie by Addison WestlakeTitle: Facebook Jeanie
Author: Addison Westlake
Received: Addison Westlake
Synopsis: It’s Bridget Jones meets Groundhog Day…
Ever wonder if you made the right choice? What if you could go back and find out?
31-year-old Clara is in a steady relationship—with Facebook. Every night after her depressing bureaucratic job (so much for saving the world), after coming home to her empty apartment Clara settles down with a pint of ice cream for some good, old-fashioned Facebook stalking. It’s her college boyfriend, The One Who Got Away. He now has a perfect marriage, perfect house, perfect life—everything she could have had if she hadn’t been so, so stupid.
But, wait. Jeanie from Facebook shows up at Clara’s job. There’s a new app they’re beta-testing and Clara’s perfect for it. That night she clicks on it and… nothing happens. But the next morning when Clara wakes up at noon, hung over, listening to her roommate blow-drying her hair and singing “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It”, she realizes she’s back in college. With the chance to do it all over again.
Back in the world of frat parties, BFFs, and long-suffering, overlooked lab partners, join Clara as she discovers what it really means to hit the reset button on life. What could possibly go wrong? And, this time, can she get it right?
Kiss of Fire by Rebecca EthingtonTitle: Kiss of Fire
Author: Rebecca Ethington
Received: Mark My Works Book Publicity
Synopsis: Joclyn Despain has been marred by a brand on her skin. She doesn’t know why
the mark appeared on her neck, but she doesn’t want anyone to see it,
including her best friend Ryland, who knows everything else about her. The
scar is the reason she hides herself behind baggy clothes, and won’t let the
idea of kissing Ryland enter her mind, no matter how much she wants to.
The scar is the reason she is being hunted.
If only she knew that she was.
If only she had known that the cursed stone her estranged father sent for
her 16th birthday would trigger a change in her. Now, she is being stalked
by a tall blonde man, and is miraculously throwing her high school bully ten
feet in the air.
Joclyn attempts to find some answers and the courage to follow her heart.
When Ryland finds her scar; only he knows what it means, and who will kill
her because of it.
Little Island by Katharine BrittonTitle: Little Island
Author: Katharine Britton
Received: Penguin Group
Synopsis: The Little family has a dark secret.
Joy Little’s grandmother left these last words: “Grace. Flowers. By the water. Have fun!” A note that Joy’s mother, Grace, has interpreted as instructions for her memorial service. And so, the far-flung clan will gather at their inn on Little Island, Maine, to honor her.
Joy can’t help dreading the weekend. Twenty years ago, a tragedy nearly destroyed the family—and still defines them. Joy, Grace, her father Gar, and twins Roger and Tamar all have their parts to play. And now Joy, facing an empty nest and a nebulous future, feels more vulnerable than ever to the dangerous currents running through her family.
What lies beneath the surface of this tragedy is the terrible secret that haunts them all. And it’s only when that secret is revealed that every member of the family can honestly reappraise the past and come to a deeper understanding of who they are and what they mean to each other.
For fans of Anita Shreve and Elin Hilderbrand, this richly evocative contemporary novel explores the family dynamic and ultimately examines what can break us apart and what can keep us together.
Hunka Hunka Nursing Love by Kathryn MaeglinTitle: A Hunka Hunka Nursing Love
Author: Kathryn Maeglin
Received: Kathryn Maeglin
Synopsis: Valerie Palka is a savvy businesswoman who is obsessed with keeping her elderly mom, Helen, safe from all the lethal disasters that can befall widows living alone. Helen thinks the workaholic Valerie should focus on having as much luck in the bedroom as she does in the boardroom. But when Helen takes a spill and is rushed to the ER, a handsome male nurse, Keith Nuber, strikes her fancy, and she tells her daughter, “If you could get a handsome devil like that to take care of me, I’d be willing to consider it.” So Valerie creates a care agency, Home Health Hunks, staffed by attractive younger men.
Valerie’s idea is filled with potential . . . and potholes. As she navigates the tricky road to satisfying her mom as well as her own ambition, she finds herself falling for one of her employees—Keith—and is forced to examine her beliefs about the true meaning of success.
In My Mailbox: Week of September 8
Title: The Mountain’s Shadow
Author: Cecilia Dominic
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: First it was ADD. Then pediatric bipolar. Now the hot behavioral disorder in children is CLS, or Chronic Lycanthropy Syndrome. Public health researcher Joanie Fisher was closing in on the cause in hopes of finding a treatment until a lab fire and an affair with her boss left her without a job.
When her grandfather leaves her his multimillion-dollar estate in the Ozarks, though, she figures her luck is turning around. Except her inheritance comes with complications: town children who disappear during full moons, an irresistible butler, and a pack of werewolves who can’t seem to decide whether to frighten her or flirt with her.
Joanie’s research is the key to unraveling the mysteries of Wolfsbane Manor. However, resuming her work means facing painful truths about her childhood, which could result in the loss of love, friendship, and the only true family she has left.
Unscripted by Jayne DenkerTitle: Unscripted
Author: Jayne Denker
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: One of Hollywood’s hardest working women is about to discover there’s a lot more drama behind the camera than in front of it. . .
Faith “Freakin'” Sinclair probably shouldn’t have called her boss a perv. . .or grabbed his “privates.” But as creator of the hit dramedy Modern Women, she’d had enough of his sexist insults. Now she’s untouchable in the industry–not in a good way. The only way to redeem herself is to convince Alex, the wildly popular, wildly demanding former star of her show, to come back. But there’s one obstacle in her way–one very handsome, broad-shouldered obstacle. . .
Professor Mason Mitchell is head of the theater department where Alex is studying “real” acting. The only way he’ll let Faith anywhere near Alex is if she agrees to co-teach a class. It’s an offer she can’t refuse–and as it turns out, the professor just might end up teaching Faith that there’s more to life than work–and that real-life love scenes are way more fun than fake ones. . .
Dandy Day by Annie WoodTitle: Dandy Day
Author: Annie Wood
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Dandy Day is a thirty-five year old free-spirited, commitment-phobic, Venice Boardwalk roller skating waitress.
When Dandy is suddenly dumped by her therapist, right when they were on the brink of figuring out why her relationships last only a whopping three months, Dandy decides to take her relationship issues into her own hands.
With the reluctant help of her lifelong best friend, Simon, Dandy tracks down her exes one by one and does a relationship autopsy on each of them in order to get to the bottom of her relationship challenged life.
Swimming Pool Summer by Rebecca FarnworthTitle: Swimming Pool Summer
Author: Rebecca Farnworth
Received: Unsolicited
Synopsis: Three women, three secrets, one holiday… a lot of baggage.
Tamsin, Tor and Leila have been friends since University. Now in their mid thirties they are finding that life can be very complicated indeed.
Tamsin is single and has never had a relationship lasting longer than a year, the reason being that she has been secretly in love with someone her friends would disapprove of for years.
Tor doesn’t think she will ever have children after a doctor told her that she had more chance of winning the lottery than conceiving naturally. For the last six months she has been seeing Ed, who is ten years younger than her. But on the morning they are about to go on holiday she discovers she is pregnant.
On the outside Leila seems to have it all — a happy family and a successful career. She is married to Tom and mother of three-year-old Gracie. But one night she slept with a colleague from work. Crippled with guilt, she wonders if she should she tell her husband before he finds out.
Over the course of two weeks, emotions run high as the three women try to work out where on earth their lives are going. But secrets are hard to keep when you’re living together, and it’s only a matter of time before the men find out.
Happy Any Day Now by Toby DevensTitle: Happy Any Day Now
Author: Toby Devens
Received: Penguin
Synopsis: Every five years my mother had her fortune read by Lulu Cho, owner of the Golden Lotus Massage Club for Men. Now it was my turn. And Lulu predicted one hurricane of a future for me!
Judith Soo Jin Raphael’s childhood was shaped by her hardworking immigrant mother, her father who left them, and her struggles to fit in as a half-Korean, half-Jewish kid in a tough urban neighborhood. But music lessons gave her a purpose and passion. Now, as Judith’s fiftieth birthday nears, she has rewarding work as a cellist with the Maryland Philharmonic, an enthusiastic if uncommitted lover, and a quirky but close relationship with her mother.
Then chaos strikes: Judith’s first love, who dumped her decades ago, returns to dazzle her with his golden pedigree and brilliant career. Her long-absent father arrives out of the blue with a snazzy car and a con man’s patter, turning her mother into a love-struck flirt whom Judith barely recognizes. All this while her mentor at the orchestra falls seriously ill. No wonder Judith develops a paralyzing case of stage fright.
Judith finds herself feeling—and sometimes acting—slightly unhinged, but she’s convinced that happiness will arrive any day now. She’s just got to hold on tight during this midlife shake-up…and claim the prize that life surely has in store for her.
Life in Plan B by Jennifer VessellsTitle: Life in Plan B
Author: Jennifer Vessells
Received: Jennifer Vessells
Synopsis: When twenty-eight year old Haley Simpson, a sales associate for her best friend’s clothing boutique in Columbus, Ohio, begins a secret affair with the boutique’s potential New York City business partner, she digs a cavernous hole of deception that not only threatens to end her blossoming career, but to destroy a life-long friendship.
Jennifer Vessells’s debut novel, LIFE IN PLAN B, encompasses everything classic chick lit should: the dynamics of friendship, the nuances of high-reaching career aspirations, and the struggles – both usual and unique – presented by romantic and familial relationships. An entertaining story at every turn, LIFE IN PLAN B is identifiable for readers of any age. In short, Ms. Vessells hits her debut novel out of the park!
In My Mailbox: Week of September 1
Title: Arcadia’s Curse
Author: Jesi Lea Ryan
Received: Jesi Lea Ryan
Synopsis: Think high school sucks? Try being an empath who has to experience everyone else’s suckage on top of your own. (Literally.)
In the months since her family life imploded and her psychic gifts began to arise, Cady has struggled to figure out how she can fit into her normal life without going crazy from the constant presence of emotional energy. Her grades have tanked. Her best friend is afraid of her. And she begins to have doubts about why her boyfriend, Bryan, is really keeping her around. But a chance meeting with another gifted girl online opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Unfortunately, this new world comes at an awful price.
The Bridesmaid’s Best Man by Susanna CarrTitle: The Bridesmaid’s Best Man
Author: Susanna Carr
Received: Harlequin
Synopsis: Every bachelorette party has a surprise…
Angie Lawson is in Bridesmaid Hell—if Hell was a strip club filled with screaming women in stilettos. But her night’s about to get a whole lot worse. Now her ex-boyfriend is standing right in front of her—every sexy, delicious inch of him—and Cole Foster isn’t the kind of guy that any woman can just ignore….
Cole’s working undercover, but he certainly wasn’t expecting the intimate reminder of the wicked heat that he and Angie always shared. But when the maid of honor—silver stilettos and all—is knocked unconscious, Cole realizes he needs Angie’s help to get into the bridal party. And if getting there means getting her in bed, too, then he’s definitely the best man for the job!
It’s All In Your Mind by Ann HerrickTitle: It’s All in Your Mind
Author: Ann Herrick
Received: Ann Herrick
Synopsis: “I looked deep into his eyes, and thought I saw my future there.”
17-year-old Vija Skalbe wants to be an all-American girl—no matter how hard her parents try to impose their strict Latvian standards on her. She feels unsure of herself with one foot in each country.
Then Nolan, a folksinger, steals her heart at a coffeehouse. When Nolan stops at their table, it’s Vija’s friend, Caprice, who does all the talking. But it is Vija who gets his phone number—and later the back seat of his motorcycle. Soon she is cruising from one adventure to another, dizzy with joy, her new-found freedom and the excitement of being with the kind of guy who is a challenge.
However, when Vija’s father has a heart attack, she must take over running the family lawn-care business. She feels overwhelmed until sweet brainiac Joel volunteers to help. He shares the workload and lifts her spirits with his humor. But it is Nolan who fills her heart.
It doesn’t matter that Nolan wants everything his way. Or that he’s constantly eyeing other girls. Or that he can be pouty and punitive. Or that he says she’s seeing things all wrong. Until it does matter. But Vija’s in so deep. Will she deal with Nolan’s controlling tactics, or is she too far under his spell?
Double Mayhem by Sam BerrettiTitle: Double Mayhem
Author: Sam Berretti
Received: Sam Berretti
Synopsis: Action, mystery, intriguing subplots, humor, heartwarming moments and a cast of highly memorable characters combine to introduce this unlikely and believable female heroine to a genre dominated by male-centric stereotypes. She is not a super spy, she is not a trained assassin, she is someone real and much more dangerous, a smart woman pushed into a corner.
Doris, a reclusive engineer, goes on a blind date, kills a syndicate hit man, acquires a psychic child, and gets recruited as a spy. Some days you just shouldn’t leave the house.
Partner TrackTitle: The Partner Track
Author: Helen Wan
Received: Wunderkind PR
Synopsis: A young attorney must choose between the prestige of partnership and the American Dream that she—and her immigrant parents—have come so close to achieving in The Partner Track, a riveting debut from Helen Wan.
In the eyes of her corporate law firm, Ingrid Yung is a “two-fer.” As a Chinese-American woman about to be ushered into the elite rank of partner, she’s the face of Parsons Valentine & Hunt LLP’s recruiting brochures–their treasured “Golden Girl.” But behind the firm’s welcoming façade lies the scotch-sipping, cigar-smoking old-boy network that shuts out lawyers like Ingrid. To compensate, Ingrid gamely plays in the softball league, schmoozes in the corporate cafeteria, and puts in the billable hours—until a horrifically offensive performance at the law firm’s annual summer outing throws the carefully constructed image way out of equilibrium.
Scrambling to do damage control, Parsons Valentine announces a new “Diversity Initiative” and commands a reluctant Ingrid to spearhead the effort, taking her priority away from the enormous deal that was to be the final step in securing partnership. For the first time, Ingrid finds herself at odds with her colleagues—including her handsome, golden-boy boyfriend—in a clash of class, race, and sexual politics.
Revealing Us by Lisa Renee JonesTitle: Revealing Us
Author: Lisa Renee Jones
Received: Lisa Renee Jones
Synopsis: You’ve discovered Rebecca’s secrets. You’ve discovered Sara’s secrets. Now Sara will discover “his” deepest, darkest secrets…but will those secrets bind them together–or tear them apart?
Happy Any Day Now by Toby DevensTitle: Happy Any Day Now
Author: Toby Devens
Received: Penguin
Synopsis: Chaos in Judith’s life begins with the return of her first love, the judge who originally dropped her because her blood wasn’t blue enough, the sudden arrival of her Jewish father, who left when she was a young child, and her beloved mentor at the Maryland Philharmonic Orchestra is dying of cancer. With all of the turmoil in her life, it’s no wonder Judith develops a paralyzing case of stage fright.
With the help of Jeff and her mother, Judith just might figure out what the fortune teller meant when she advised Judith to work for her successes in time to make her 50th birthday the best one yet. Funny and heartfelt, this engaging novel will speak to every woman in midlife who has faced a major shake-up, whether she was ready or not.
In My Mailbox: Week of August 18
Title: Everybody’s Got a Story
Author: Heather Wardell
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Both personally and professionally, Alexa knows all too well the power of words. Two years after her boyfriend Christophe’s vicious attack, she’s still trying to see herself as more than simply ‘his victim’, still trying to figure out her own story.
After his trial, she moves from New York City to Toronto in an attempt to start over, but his words cling to her and even in a new country she can’t see how to move into relationships with the new people in her life while hiding the secret of Christophe’s worst offense.
She can’t hide that secret from her coworker Jake, though, because the news buff has recognized her from the coverage of the assault and trial and knows every word she can’t bring herself to say about her ordeal.
With Jake’s help, can Alexa reclaim her story and her life?
Title: The Girl You Left Behind
Author: Jojo Moyes
Received: Penguin/SheReads
Synopsis: From the New York Times–bestselling author of Me Before You, a spellbinding love story of two women separated by a century but united in their determination to fight for what they love most
Jojo Moyes’s bestseller, Me Before You, catapulted her to wide critical acclaim and has struck a chord with readers everywhere. “Hopelessly and hopefully romantic” (Chicago Tribune), Moyes returns with another irresistible heartbreaker that asks, “Whatever happened to the girl you left behind?”
France, 1916: Artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. When their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Edouard’s portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer’s dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie will risk everything—her family, her reputation, and her life—to see her husband again.
Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. A chance encounter reveals the painting’s true worth, and a battle begins for who its legitimate owner is—putting Liv’s belief in what is right to the ultimate test.
Like Sarah Blake’s The Postmistress and Tatiana de Rosnay’s Sarah’s Key, The Girl You Left Behind is a breathtaking story of love, loss, and sacrifice told with Moyes’s signature ability to capture our hearts with every turn of the page.
Title: Chase
Author: Jill Knapp Zitron
Received: Media Connect
Synopsis: When Amalia Hastings first came to New York to get her master’s degree at NYU, she didn’t think life could get much better – a perfect boyfriend, a great apartment, solid friends, and the pursuit of a successful career in medicine. One by one, she starts to lose the people and things she cherished most. Having never imagined life without them, it becomes a struggle for her to get back on track. But when a break-up, a new love interest, and several unexpected events test her strength, she comes to realize she’s a lot stronger than she would’ve ever imagined.
Title: Love and Happiness
Author: Galt Niederhoffer
Received: St. Martins Press
Synopsis: Jean Banks’ life is middling to poor. Her job as a film producer largely involves cold calling investors. Her sex drive for director husband Sam has all but vanished. Her children are a delight, but also a constant reminder that she’s not an unattached, twenty-something artist anymore. Put simply, Jean is in a midlife rut.
…until she clicks a button. Until the cache of unsent emails she’s written to Doug, her college flame, blasts across the World Wide Web. Until she meets handsome stranger Benjamin Kraft on a business trip and falls truly, madly, deeply for him. Now the cornerstone of a love quadrangle, Jean must choose—either the safe, day-to-day equilibrium she’s come to inhabit, or a liberation that will split her life open at its seams.
This is Forty for the Park Slope set, LOVE AND HAPPINESS perfects the balance between the Victorian and the modern that Niederhoffer first achieved in A Taxonomy of Barnacles. Her third novel artfully examines relationships, family, and the film world, with a style that winks at both Madame Bovary and Miranda July.
Title: Maybe I Will
Author: Laurie Gray
Received: Novel Publicity
Synopsis: It’s not about sex.
It’s about how one secret act of violence changes everything–how best friends can desert you when you need them most, how nobody understands. It’s about the drinking and stealing and lying and wondering who you can trust. It’s about parents and teachers, police officers and counselors–all the people who are supposed to help you, but who may not even believe you.
It’s about how suddenly all of your hopes and dreams can vanish, and you can find yourself all alone, with nothing and no one. Your only choice is to end it all or to start over… and all you can think is Maybe I Will.
Author Laurie Gray presents a compelling picture of the realities of sexual assault in Maybe I Will, drawing on her years of experience as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, dealing with crimes against children. The twist in the story is that we never know for sure if the victim is a boy or a girl, and we realize that it doesn’t matter, because it’s not about sex.
Title: Bargain Struck
Author: Liz Harris
Received: Choc Lit
Synopsis: Does a good deal make a marriage?
Widower Connor Maguire advertises for a wife to raise his young daughter, Bridget, work the homestead and bear him a son.
Ellen O’Sullivan longs for a home, a husband and a family. On paper, she is everything Connor needs in a wife. However, it soon becomes clear that Ellen has not been entirely truthful.
Will Connor be able to overlook Ellen’s dishonesty and keep to his side of the bargain? Or will Bridget’s resentment, the attentions of the beautiful Miss Quinn, and the arrival of an unwelcome visitor, combine to prevent the couple from starting anew.
As their personal feelings blur the boundaries of their deal, they begin to wonder if a bargain struck makes a marriage worth keeping.
In My Mailbox: Week of August 11
Title: Secrets of a Spiritual Guru Author: Tamara Lee Dorris Received: CLP Blog Tours Synopsis: Meet Melissa Murphy: wine-drinking real estate agent who finds herself…
Book Review: When Girlfriends Chase Dreams by Savannah Page
I received a copy of When Girlfriends Chase Dreams by Savannah Page in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Claire Linley is finally a bride! After nearly ten years with her college freshman sweetheart, Claire is going to become Mrs. Conner Whitley. She’s got her bridal magazines, is the biggest Martha Stewart fan, and subscribes to all the major wedding blogs. She’s been dreaming of this moment for years! How could planning her dream wedding be anything but perfect?
The easy-going and bubbly type, Claire will obviously have a blast planning, and with her fantastic group of girlfriends-made-bridesmaids she just can’t go wrong. Whether it’s wedding gown shopping, makeup trials, or cake-tasting, Claire’s friends are there in a pinch.
But how big does the pinch get? All Claire wants to do is get married, but at every turn something seems to go awry and she’s starting to lose it. How is a girl supposed to remain cool and collected when the pricey dream wedding planner isn’t turning out to be so dreamy? When DIY projects and the perfect venue are going up in smoke? How is Claire supposed to marry Conner when the special day that’s supposed to join them together, forever, is slowly tearing them apart?
This is the charming story about how sometimes the biggest events in life are defined by the smallest acts of kindness and love. It’s a love story about dreaming large, loving deeply, and, in the end, truly having the happiest day of your life, no matter what happens (or doesn’t). About what happens when girlfriends chase dreams.
Review:
I’ve been a big fan of Savannah Page and her lovely books for quite sometime and am so honored that she allowed me to read and review her latest, When Girlfriends Chase Dreams. Needless to say, I had pretty big expectations with this book given how much I loved her previous ones, and I am glad to say that it doesn’t disappoint. This book is about what it takes to follow your dreams and finally settle down and live your love story, instead of always imagining what it will be like. I think Savannah paints a realistic picture about love and what it means to be a wife and as a happily married woman, I couldn’t have appreciated her honesty any more. Overall, this book is a great read and might actually be my favorite of the series!
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
In My Mailbox: August 4
Title: What Would Kate Do? Author: Fiona O’Malley Received: Fiona O’Malley Synopsis: What Would Kate Do? follows Cathy Dover who idolizes The Duchess of Cambridge…
In My Mailbox: July 28
Title: Adela Arthur and the Creator’s Clock
Author: Judyann McCole
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: To Whom Ever This May Concern;
I wish I could tell you the contents of this book were purely fictional. That I, Adela Arthur, was just a normal sixteen year old from Portland and that dragons, giants, elves and mermaids were just myths. I wish these were legends shared from crazy old grandparents to crazy old grandparents around campfires. After all, that is what I used to believe.
I never would have thought they lived on the other side of our mirrors in a world called Cielieu. But they do…
I never would have thought there were humans, better known as Volsin that lived among them with the ability to create light from a single thought. But there are…
I never would have thought I was one of them… But I am…
I am the last Arthur and I was brought to the human world after a Volsin, filled with greed, began to strip the light from our kind.
The human world was supposed to be a safe haven… but he’s found us and the only way to stop him is to go back to Cielieu and begin training as a student in the Elpida Castle of Light.
Like I said I wish the contents of this book were purely fictional and not my life…
ADELA ARTHUR
Title: Blogger Girl
Author: Meredith Schorr
Received: Meredith Schorr
Synopsis: What happens when your high school nemesis becomes the shining star in a universe you pretty much saved? Book blogger Kimberly Long is about to find out.
A chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kim, with her blog, “Pastel is the New Black,” has worked tirelessly by night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the claim that “chick lit is dead” once and for all. Not bad for a woman who by day ekes out a meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless, legal secretary in a Manhattan law firm.
While Kim’s day job holds no passion for her, the handsome (and shaving challenged) associate down the hall is another story. Yet another story is that Hannah Marshak, one of her most hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book that’s turning heads–and pages–across the land. And it’s also popped into Kim’s inbox–for review. With their ten-year high school reunion drawing near, Kim’s coming close to combustion over all the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her seems to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a “blogger girl” makes the grade in her off-line life.
Title: Frisky Business
Author: Clodagh Murphy
Received: Clodagh Murphy
Synopsis: Romy Fitzgerald’s life is firmly on track. She runs a successful business, has great friends and knows what she wants. That was until her father died. Suddenly she’s not sure about anything anymore. So when she has a one-night stand at a party with a stranger dressed as Darth Vadar, she tells him things she’s never told anyone before about herself and her father’s death. They’ll never see each other again so her secrets are safe, right? Until Romy realises that she’s pregnant with Darth Vadar’s baby and now she has to face some awkward questions about what really happened the night of Luke’s conception. Romy’s going to have to come clean, but when her ex-boyfriend Kit Masterson returns from New York and seems happy to go along with the charade of playing the part of Luke’s father, it seems like the answer to her prayers. Kit was the love her life, and maybe her secrets, and the true identity of Darth Vadar, can stay hidden forever. But Kit has his own reasons for coming home and buying into the ready-made family. And as masks slip and true identities show, Romy and Kit quickly discover that in real life secrets never stay hidden, especially when it comes to love.
Title: While We Were Watching Dowton Abbey
Author: Wendy Wax
Received: Orion Books
Synopsis: A warm and witty novel about four friends, and a shared passion that will change their lives.
When Edward, the concierge of a historic Atlanta apartment building, invites his fellow residents to join him for weekly screenings of Downton Abbey, four very different people find themselves connecting with the addictive drama, and – even more unexpectedly – with each other . . .
Join Samantha, Claire, Brooke and Edward for a season full of surprises.
Title: Rome For Beginners
Author: Fiona Coughlin
Received: Fiona Coughlin
Synopsis: The girls had read all about living in Rome. The way it worked in all those pink, glossy novels was: woman comes to Rome. Woman buys farmhouse in Tuscany. Woman’s toilet overflows. Woman has a good cry. Woman achieves self-realization.
Living in Italy was no vacation, as Lilian would say. As a fifty-something academic living in Rome, she didn’t feel any closer to self-realization, and she had bigger problems than plumbing. Her professor ex-husband had just started dating her boss (the Chair of the department), and if that weren’t enough she’s just found herself in an Italian Emergency Room, where the people around her seem “to be speaking some dialect of squirrel”. Language problems won’t hold her back, as she’s got her friends Brennan (an athlete constantly risking deportation), and Suzanne (a newly divorced, single mother) to translate.
This story follows these three unlikely friends in different stages of life over the course of a year: broken bones, dates in the Catacombs, multiple boyfriends named Massimo, spelunking into cavernous Roman ruins, killing one’s own turkey in a country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, explaining to a nun how adorable one’s own child is after he is expelled, learning how to get some sleep when you’ve rented a room in a church directly under the church bells.
As things get ever more messy these women will discover if they can get it all sorted, with or without all the “ciao bellas”.
Rome for Beginners is skosh heavier than an average Chick Lit book, yet a smidgen lighter than normal Women’s Fiction. Readers who love quirky reading or summer fare, who like satire, who like a biting sense of humor, and who are curious about Italian life should love this book. Lovers of Rome should also love the book, as the city is a character unto itself.
Title: Two of a Kind
Author: Yona Zeldis McDonough
Received: Penguin Group
Synopsis: Christina Connelly lost her husband to a devastating fire ten years ago but has managed to work through the grief and build a lovely life for her teenage daughter and a small yet successful interior design business in Brooklyn. While attending a wedding, she is introduced to Dr. Andy Stern, a handsome widower with a troubled son. Andy’s egotistic demeanor is irritating to Christina, but she’s willing to work with him when he hires her to decorate his Upper East Side apartment. It comes as a shock to everyone when the two fall in love and decide to marry. Combining their families is certainly not without obstacles. Will they be able to overcome the difficulties and achieve their happily ever after?
