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Book Review: The Youth Corridor by Gerald Imber MD
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: The Youth Corridor by Gerald Imber MD

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Dr. Imber shows women and men how to keep the signs of aging at bay with a prescriptive, common sense plan of skin care, exercise, vitamins & diet, stalling & often eliminating the need for surgery. By following the earliest & most basic treatment for skin care & maintenance, you can maintain a youthful appearance for a lifetime. You can return your skin to the exuberance of the youth corridor — the years between 30 & 55 during which the most drastic physical changes occur. Imber’s easy-to-follow regimes & helpful illustrations make timeless beauty a reality. This book also catalogs beauty products that give women the best results & describes successful procedures in plastic surgery.
Review:
I was a bit disappointed by this book. I started reading it with a notebook next to me, ready to jot down notes and get to shopping. Unfortunately, it seems the book is just filled with big words and not a lot of substance. What did I write down? “Alpha Hydroxy Acids.” Bummer. Only one section really interested me, at the end where he broke down skin care routines by ages. But what was said I already know, either from online, or what my best friend (a clinical esthetician) tells me. It also tells us not to run, never to have a second portion at dinner, and to cut out desserts entirely. Ouch. I was hoping for a book to help me better myself, not just turn to Botox, surgery, and be miserable and hungry.
2 stars

October 4, 2013
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Book Review: The Bump List by Miriam Brady and Amber Best
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: The Bump List by Miriam Brady and Amber …

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review……
To start I have to say that seldom do I read a series and like every book in the series…there is often one I prefer over the others…I cannot claim that with this series as I am in love with all 3 so far!
Book one was Maddy’s story and 2 was Kinley’s. Book 3 was a combined story with just as many surprises as well as tears and strong emotions!
This one is the story of the two couples being ousted by a reporter that felt she needed to drag their very private and painful story out in the wide open and expose them much like pouring salt on an open wound. I was angry with the reporter when she showed private video’s taking shortly before Maddy’s family…. I actually wanted to shake her and make her see how utterly painful it would be for a mom to see those moments…not last moments but nearly on public television….The authors help me have such sympathy with these ladies, as well as Cal and Rory over the loss of their band members that I wanted to shelter them for all they went through.
I loved that Kinley and Maddy ended up pregnant together and even more of their fun quirky relationship comes out with that. I am madly in love with Kevin and I believe I have met him…no matter how much it is claimed that all characters in these stories are fictitious. 
I loved Annabelle! She is a refreshing character and seems to be very genuine, and fits in very well friendship wise with the Maddy and Kinley! I was heart broke over the friendship issues that surfaced in this book…although I do feel that I saw it coming in book 2. I think friendships sometimes run their course like this and while that is the way life is and it’s best to mourn it and move on it is never easy to see the other side of it and just simply learn and grow from it.
As for Maddy’s mother, I have no sympathy and applauded her keeping that nasty woman as far from the ones she loves as she can…
The authors did an amazing job with this book! I dreaded the end and I am now sitting on my hands nervous for how they will surprise me with the next book…I have no doubt of a next book as you just can’t leave me hanging like that ladies!
As always so much of what they write, I relate to…to the point where these books are an active topic of conversation with my very best friend, who has read and loved them just as much as I have. I love the relationship between Maddy and Kinley and believe that everyone should have a lifetime friend like Maddy and Kinley have.

October 2, 2013
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In My Mailbox: Week of September 29
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In My Mailbox: Week of September 29

Title: The Bitches of Brooklyn
Author: Rosemary Harris
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: No zombies. No serial killers. No threat of global nuclear warfare. Just life, love, friendships, marriages, work, children, parents, laughs, tears and a fair amount of wine.

Are they really bitches? That depends who you ask…Rachel, Clare, Tina and Jane are four friends awaiting the arrival of a fifth at a secluded Cape Cod bungalow where they spend an all-girls weekend every year since reconnecting at a reunion. But the fifth woman doesn’t show.
Instead she sends a note that reads –
“I’ve run off with one of your men.”

Has she? Is it a prank? Do they run for the phone or try to enjoy the weekend without her? Fast, funny and filled with Harris’ trademark snappy dialogue you’ll recognize friends and maybe a little of yourself as the women are forced to reevaluate their friendships, their marriages and their memories.

Inspired by a classic Hollywood film, The Bitches of Brooklyn is for every woman who’s ever had a best friend and wondered…is she really??

Title: Accused
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Received: Sarah Hall Productions
Synopsis: New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author Lisa Scottoline revolutionized crime fiction when she introduced her all-female law firm of Rosato & Associates, thrilling readers with her twisty, fast-paced plots and capturing their hearts with her cast of strong and relatable female characters. Now Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Anne Murphy are back with all cylinders firing in Accused.
Mary Dinuzio has just been promoted to partner and is about to take on her most unusual case yet, brought to the firm by a thirteen-year-old genius with a penchant for beekeeping. Allegra Gardner’s sister Fiona was murdered six years ago, and it seemed like an open-and-shut case: the accused, Lonnie Stall, was seen fleeing the scene; his blood was on Fiona and her blood was on him; most damningly, Lonnie Stall pleaded guilty. But Allegra believes Lonnie is innocent and has been wrongly imprisoned. The Gardner family is one of the most powerful in the country and Allegra’s parents don’t believe in reopening the case, so taking it on is risky. But the Rosato & Associates firm can never resist an underdog. Was justice really served all those years ago? It will take a team of unstoppable female lawyers, plus one thirteen-year-old genius, to find out.
Title: Bargain Fever
Author: Mark Ellwood
Received: Engeleman & Co.
Synopsis: Bargain Fever is the book you need to survive the new world of shopping. Everything is on sale, all the time. Discounts aren’t the exception – they’re the norm, and everyone wants a steal, a deal, a hook-up or a way to cut costs.

Ten years ago, retailers sold just 15-20% of their inventory at some kind of promo price – today, that number is 40-45%. Put simply, sales of sales have more than doubled in a decade. Bargain Fever looks at the seismic changes in shopping over the last decade, and offers a survival guide full of tips to triumph in this new cut-price world.

Title: Render
Author: Stephanie Fleshman
Received: Stephanie Fleshman
Synopsis: Koldan Holdt knows what he wants. The problem is his future was decided the day he was born—a future void of everything he has ever known. Days before summer vacation, Koldan’s grandfather suddenly dies, leaving the consequences that have followed him since he fled his country to fall to Koldan. As Koldan learns about his new fate, he must accept the terms to which he is bound and live without the one person he wants, or remain true to who he is and risk both their lives repeating the choices his grandfather made. Seventeen-year-old Raya Whitney thought she knew Koldan…until a sudden turn of events threatens both their lives. While she is not willing to give up without a fight, she knows it is a deadly game to stay together.
Title: Looking For LaLa
Author: Ellie Campbell
Received: Ellie Campbell
Synopsis: Looking for La La follows the story of Cathy, a bored, unappreciated housewife and mother of two. Her world of school runs, ferrying children here and there, and the occasional nights out with friends is radically transformed by the arrival of a love postcard to her husband. What follows next takes Cathy on a wild ride of suspicion, temptations, marital breakdown and some very dangerous territory.
Title: Going Home Again
Author: Abby Cavenaugh
Received: Abby Cavenaugh
Synopsis: Alyssa Jones’s high school crush probably never knew she existed.

Twenty years later, when the now-famous pop star returns home to coastal North Carolina, Alyssa gets a second chance to make a first impression on Michael.

On sabbatical from his failing marriage, Michael agrees to an interview with Alyssa, a journalist for the local tourist magazine.

When the chemistry between them ignites, Alyssa and Michael are hit with the harsh reality that he isn’t yet free to love her.

With Michael’s wife and son still very much in the picture, can Alyssa hold out until he ends his marriage for good?

Or will she risk it all for a second chance with the one who got away?

GOING HOME AGAIN is contemporary romance novel set in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.

September 29, 2013
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Book Review : A Bargain Struck by Liz Harris
Chick Lit Review

Book Review : A Bargain Struck by Liz Harris

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
This is a fun romantic read set in the early 1800’s in Wyoming during the late homesteader days. The main character meets her husband through mail, they literally decide through mail written correspondence only that they both have something to offer the other and she travels from back east to marry him. He is seeking a mother for his little girl, someone to run his house and give him a male heir for whom he can pass the homestead farm onto. Quickly he finds out that she didn’t include vital information about herself…her disfigured face. But true to his word he marries her anyways and takes her home to his daughter. This is where the real fun begins as the daughter proves to be very angry with this new mother. The story continues on to tell of how these 3 people learn to heal from their losses and become a family, while that’s not to say they don’t have their troubles. It was a sweet read about love, friendship, healing and that looks aren’t what makes a person good. I loved that this story was so raw and real when it came to the cruel and sweet sides of life. It was a great read and I would recommend for anyone that loves an old fashioned love story.

September 27, 2013
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Book Review: Happy Any Day Now by Toby Devens
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: Happy Any Day Now by Toby Devens

What do you do when you’re staring down your 50th birthday? If you’re Judith Soo Jin Raphael, you go see a fortune teller that your mother sets you up with.

Judith isn’t looking forward to her upcoming milestone birthday. As a matter of fact, she’d almost let it pass with no pomp or circumstance, only her Korean mother insists she go see a fortune teller. When the fortune teller sees tragedy on the horizon, Judith’s mother halts the reading and they leave. It isn’t long before a medical tragedy ensues, she runs into an ex-lover, and Judith’s life is turned upside down – in both good and bad ways.

Filled with funny moments, Toby Devens hits a home run with this story. I absolutely loved this book. Maybe it’s because I’m 40 and ready to have my own mid-life crisis any day now, or maybe it’s just that the characters are quirky & funny, yet very believable, or it could be that I fell in love with learning about Asian and Jewish culture – but I loved this book. It’s probably going to go on my top 10 list of all time faves. If you’re 40 or older, and especially if you’ve ever not quite gotten over an old love, but find that you’re ready to try to move forward with new loves, I recommend this. If you, too, have a loving, caring, meddling mother….you’ll appreciate this even more.

September 25, 2013
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Book Review: Revealing Us by Lisa Renee Jones
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: Revealing Us by Lisa Renee Jones

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:
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?

Review:
Compared to the first two books in this trilogy, Revealing Us is my least favorite. I loved the first two books! I liked Revealing Us but it didn’t suck me in the way If I Were You and Being Me did.
Revealing Us picks right up from where Being Me left off. Sara goes to Paris with Chris and we eventually find out about Chris’ past. New characters are introduced in Paris but some of my original questions were left unanswered. Where is Rebecca’s body? What’s going on with Ella?
Sara and Chris are a great couple and they finally learn to trust each other despite Sara’s jealousy and Chris’ dark past. Although, I thought there would be more to Chris’ past since it took over half the book before anything is actually “revealed”.
I have mixed emotions about Amber and I want to know more about Tristan! Will something happen with Chantal and Rey?
There were so many loose ends in the book that it was quite frustrating! I was expecting this last book in the trilogy to answer everything and it didn’t.
I don’t like cliffhangers. I despised the cliffhanger in If I Were You but I had Being Me to pick right up and continue with. Now, I have to wait for the next book…
Lisa Renee Jones has become one of my favorite authors and I will definitely be checking for information regarding more Inside Out books to come.

I would absolutely recommend Revealing Us to anyone who likes a hot, steamy story with a twist of mystery and adventure.

4 stars

September 24, 2013
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Book Review: The Bridesmaid’s Best Man by Susanna Carr
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: The Bridesmaid’s Best Man by Susanna Carr

Reviewer: Samantha I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Summary: Working undercover as a stripper at a hen party…

September 23, 2013
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In My Mailbox: Week of September 22
Chick Lit Plus

In My Mailbox: Week of September 22

Title: Christmas Carol
Author: Michele Gorman
Received: Michele Gorman
Synopsis: One winter wedding, two happy couples, three ex-boyfriends… And a very uncomfortable weekend.

Carol hates Christmas. Being recently dumped, she’s not crazy about weddings either. So her sister Marley’s nuptials, over the Christmas weekend, are making her positively Scrooge-like. When she arrives for the weekend at the stately home in rural Scotland to find her three ex-boyfriends in attendance, Carol has no choice but to face her ghosts to discover what really happened in those relationships, learning a lot about herself in the process. As the snow falls outside and the fire crackles in the hearth, might one of the wedding guests become the harbinger of Christmases to come?

Title: Spirits of Christmas
Author: Nicky Wells
Received: Nicky Wells
Synopsis: At one time, up-and-coming rock singer Jude had it all: a great band, a platinum record, a loving girlfriend. This Christmas, however, he is well down the road towards spontaneous self-destruction.

Unwitting at first, Jude has progressively alienated his band and driven away the love of his life. Tonight, the night before Christmas Eve, he has broken the final taboo during a disastrous gig. Yet Jude doesn’t see how badly his life has derailed, not until a ghostly procession of legends passes through his bedroom with a series of vivid and powerful wake-up calls.

Will the Spirits help Jude put the friendship, love, and rock music back into his Christmas?

Spirits of Christmas is a modern-day rock’n’roll adaption of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. This novella will enchant romance readers, rock lovers, fans of ghost stories, and everybody who adores the festive season.

Title: Someone Else’s Love Story
Author: Joshilyn Jackson
Received: SheReads
Synopsis: Someone Else’s Love Story is beloved and highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson’s funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness; about falling in love, and learning that things aren’t always what they seem—or what we hope they will be.
Shandi Pierce is juggling finishing college, raising her delightful three-year-old genius son Nathan, aka Natty Bumppo, and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced parents. She’s got enough complications without getting caught in the middle of a stick-up and falling in love with William Ashe, who willingly steps between the robber and her son.
Shandi doesn’t know that her blond god Thor has his own complications. When he looked down the barrel of that gun he believed it was destiny: It’s been one year to the day since a tragic act of physics shattered his world. But William doesn’t define destiny the way others do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in facts and numbers, destiny to him is about choice. Now, he and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head on, making choices that will reveal unexpected truths about love, life, and the world they think they know.
Title: The Youth Corridor
Author: Gerald Imber, MD
Received: FSB Associates
Synopsis: Dr. Gerald Imber shows women and men how to keep the signs of aging at bay with a prescriptive, common sense plan of skin care, exercise, vitamins & diet, stalling & often eliminating the need for surgery. By following the earliest & most basic treatment for skin care & maintenance, you can maintain a youthful appearance for a lifetime. You can return your skin to the exuberance of the youth corridor — the years between 30 & 55 during which the most drastic physical changes occur. Imber’s easy-to-follow regimes & helpful illustrations make timeless beauty a reality. This book also catalogs beauty products that give women the best results & describes successful procedures in plastic surgery.

Title: The Bump List
Author: Amber Best & Miriam Brady
Received: Amber Best & Miriam Brady
Synopsis: Murder of Crows, greatest band of all time, are used to living in the limelight. They know what comes with the territory, however, their families have always been off-limits, until now. Super-stardom has come at a high price. Madison Hunt is finding her past exposed for all the world to see. Her best friend and sister-in-law, Kinley is being dragged through the mud as well. Things they thought were secret are now on display, thanks to a tell-all reporter and her show- Celebrity Dirt. Their private joke- the back-up list- has now been made public, while Cal and Rory’s names have been ‘bumped’ from the list. Madison and Kinley appear to be gold diggers who schemed to marry rock star brothers, and don’t mind disposing of them if someone better comes along; at least that is becoming the popular point of view. Will their marriages survive the mistrust, and can their friendships survive the media firestorm from hell?

Title: The Debt and the Doormat
Author: Laura Barnard
Received: Laura Barnard
Synopsis: Poppy and Jazz have been best friends from the first week of uni. Whenever these two get together trouble isn’t far away and things haven’t changed much. When Jazz gets herself into financial trouble Poppy, being a good friend, offers to help. She instead ends up being talked into swapping lives, with Jazz insisting it will be good and help her get over her broken heart.

Poppy is thrown into a new life, full of crazy housemates; there’s fitness freak Izzy, horrendously beautiful bitch Grace and the slightly gorgeous, if not incredibly grumpy Ryan. Quickly, with the help of Jazz, her life is thrown upside down. Madness ensues and her need to please everyone gets her in more trouble than she could ever imagine.

Before she knows it she’s got a fake boyfriend and is hiding so many secrets she’s scared they’ll spill out any minute. With a bullying boss, a sex crazed colleague, a mental mother and three brothers each with their own dramas, life has gotten pretty difficult for Poppy. And all of this would be much easier, if she could just stop falling over.

Will she get her life back to normal before her brother’s upcoming wedding? And will she want to?

September 22, 2013
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Book Review: The Partner Track by Helen Wan
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: The Partner Track by Helen Wan

Ingrid Yung is an Asian American woman who’s living her immigrant parents’ American dream. She graduated top of her class from Yale, and then followed up with a law degree from Columbia. Right after graduation she’s hired by the world renowned law firm, Parsons Valentine. For the last eight years she’s literally slaved away in her quest for partnership. In addition to her credentials and dedication, Ingrid is also a “twofer.” With Ingrid on staff, the firm can check two boxes in the diversity column because she’s Asian American and a woman – the only woman left from her freshman class of colleagues. Ingrid has mixed feelings about this. Several of her coworkers think this makes her a shoe-in for partner, because she’d be the first woman or minority whom the firm has ever made partner. Times are changing and the firm may need those bragging rights. Understandably, Ingrid wants to get there based on merit and hard work.
The old ways don’t necessarily die off, just because a man of color has made it to the White House. After an incident at Parson Valentine’s annual summer outing casts an ugly light on the firm’s practices and attitudes about diversity, Ingrid finds herself caught in the crossfire. The firm wants to take advantage of her “twofer” status to save its reputation, but Ingrid doesn’t care to be marched around as their diversity show dog. All this is happening while she’s working to close an incredibly high-profile deal that should secure her partnership. Complicating matters further are incidents of professional sabotage and a clandestine office romance. Can she remain unscathed while reaching for the partnership pie in the sky?
This book was fun and fast paced and all about girl power! I loved the inside scoop of life in a big city law firm. The author, a lawyer and an Asian American woman, insists that the story isn’t autobiographical. I believe her, because I imagine there would be a case for slander here, with all the juicy tidbits throughout the book. Having once worked at a nationally, well known corporation and faced the boys’ club myself, I was intrigued by the story. The writing is excellent, although there is considerable legal jargon and discussion of industry practices, which I fear might lose some readers. Hang in there, because the plot keeps you guessing and the ending is reminiscent of the movie Working Girl. I was so excited reading the climax scenes that I was pumping my fist in the air, chanting “You Go Girl!”
5 Stars

September 20, 2013
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