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CLP Blog Tours Book Review: The Wisdom of Hair by …

Kim Boykin is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and The Wisdom of Hair. What a charming little read! The book is set in 1983 and follows the life of Zora Adams, who leaves her home in the mountains on her nineteenth birthday to escape her man-loving alcoholic of a mother. A teacher helps her get enrolled at the Davenport School of Beauty and her own place to live. Zora befriends the boisterous Sara Jane Farquhar almost immediately, and is accepted in Sara’s prestigious family as one of their own. She also falls hard for Winston Sawyer, a young widower who is forgetting all the pain with his excessive drinking. Zora learns lessons during her time at the Davenport School of Beauty not only about hair – but about love, friendship, family … and forgiveness.
The Wisdom of Hair was a cute read but also deeply explored the subject of self-discovery. Readers meet Zora when she is pretty low in her life, and watch her as she slowly becomes less and less shy and finds her backbone. The beauty school sections were a hoot to read about, and the whole novel really embodied what I envisioned the ‘80’s to be like. I adored the friendship between Zora and Sara, and Sara’s character in general was so fun to journey with. Sometimes I felt a little disengaged with the characters, in particular with Zora and Winston’s relationship, I think just because it is so very complicated. Sometimes I just wondered what in the world she saw in the man – but I guess we can’t choose who we love, can we? Overall, a very fun and spirited chick lit book!
4 stars

Blog Tour Sign Up: Meltdown by Tara Thompson

NYSSA, internationally renown supermodel, is accustomed to turning heads. As a young girl, her flawless face attracted the wrong kind of attention. She escaped an abusive father and successfully navigated life’s seedy underbelly to become a runway renegade, although not without leaving her share of enemies behind. Lately she’s caught the eye of….

STEVE, handsome hometown hero and soon-to-be Governor of Texas. Unfortunately he’s already married. As Steve publicly dumps his perfect, former Miss Texas wife for Hollywood’s latest ‘It’ girl, his state faces the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Will he be able to turn things around, or is he too embroiled in his political sex scandal? His good friend and business partner….

DEMETRI, sexy hedge fund manager, is at the top of his professional game and tries to save his friend from near financial ruin. Yet he’s distracted by Steve’s new girlfriend, who just happens to be Demetri’s old flame. Years ago, Nyssa ran from him and he’s never forgotten her. But why is he still interested? Demetri’s dating….

AISLINN, a woman as brilliant as she is beautiful. Enjoying all the perks of having a billionaire boyfriend, she’s falling fast for Demetri and has no idea that she might be the one getting played. Although she bets big on Wall Street, the largest casino in the world, nothing is more risky than giving her heart away.

In this fun, juicy, glamorous novel, no one is exactly who they appear to be…
And all of them are heading for a MELTDOWN.

Who will rise from the ashes?

On Tour: Staged by Ruby Preston

http://www.clpblogtours.com/2013/02/staged-by-ruby-preston.html

Book Review: Why Can’t I Be You by Allie …

I received a copy of Why Can’t I Be You by Allie Larkin in exchange for an honest review. How many times do you wish you were someone else, even if for just a few days? Jenny Shaw is about to get the chance to actually be someone else when she hears “Jessie!” being called out across a hotel lobby. Not knowing why, she responds, and is thrust into the life of Jessie Morgan, who’s high school is hosting a reunion at the same location of Jenny’s work conference. Jenny transforms into Jessie and is welcomed into her old clique, and finally feels a sense of belonging that she never got from her own life. But how long can she pretend to be someone else – and what will happen when the friends find out the truth?
I thought Why Can’t I Be You was a really interesting read, because it made me think while I was following Jenny’s journey. Would I take a chance to become someone else? Who? How would I finally spill the beans? Larkin gives readers a short and sweet story that I anxiously followed along, wondering at each turn when Jenny would be busted for not being Jessie. Sometimes I wondered how the friends could not possibly see it – but then, sometimes we are too blind to realize what we don’t want to see. The romance in the story was what really left me questioning, and I’m almost glad we don’t get the full conclusion at the end – I liked leaving that up to my imagination, and I definitely kept thinking about Jenny after I was done reading. An entertaining story, and one for chick lit fans to check out!
4 stars

On Tour: The Wisdom of Hair by Kim Boykin

Kim will be on tour March 11- April 1 with her novel The Wisdom of Hair Life can be beautiful, but it takes a little…

Book Review: A French Affair by Katie Fforde

I received a copy of A French Affair by Katie Fforde in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:
Gina and Sally Makepiece have inherited a stall in the French House – an antiques centre nestled in the heart of the English countryside.
Gina is determined to drag the French House and its grumpy owner into the twenty-first century. Bearing all the attributes of a modern-day Mr Rochester, Matthew Ballinger is less than happy with the whirlwind that has arrived on his doorstep.
The last thing either of them want is to fall in love.
But will a trip to France change their minds?
My Review:
I thought A French Affair was a cute read, but a bit predictable and sometimes on the dull side. I never quite got fully invested in the story, but it was able to keep my interest enough to finish reading. Gina and Sally make a great pair, and their antics gave me a few laughs along the way. The romance was the predictable part, but sometimes that just is how it is. I liked the parts about the French House and how they are trying to learn the antique business. That seemed fun and original, but sometimes a few of the plot points didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. In all it was a cute book, but not a favorite of mine.
3.5 stars

Future Tour: Appetites by Karen Frankola

Karen will be on tour May 6-June 1 with her chick lit novel Appetites When Sarah suddenly hears from Harry, the Brit she almost married…

Future Tour: Transplanting Holly Oakwood by Di Jones

Di will be on tour April 15-May 6 with her chick lit novel Transplanting Holly Oakwood Finding her lover in bed with her best friend…

Book Review: Neurotically Yours by Bonnie Trachtenberg

I received a copy of Neurotically Yours by Bonnie Trachtenberg is exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Smart, attractive, and ambitious, thirty-seven-year-old Dara Harrison is, nonetheless, still single—and on sabbatical from dating. Ironically Los Angeles’ most renowned relationship advice columnist, Dara has become a Southland sensation with her “tell-it-like-it-is” approach to the mating game.

Parlaying her success into a new business, Dara launches a revolutionary dating service geared for the perennially single and romantically challenged. Its no-holds-barred theme soon makes the company a roaring success, even catapulting Dara onto the national talk show scene—until, of course, it all backfires.

With her company under threat and a publicity stunt gone haywire, Dara is forced to join the ranks of her lonely heart clientele, and suddenly realizes that saving the business she cherishes, means facing her lifelong fears—and maybe even falling in love again.

Witty, poignant, and immensely engaging, this romantic comedy from the bestselling author of Wedlocked: A Novel features sparkling dialogue, colorful characters, and a story that pulls you in and never lets you go.
Review:
I loved this book! It only took me a day to read because it is fast-paced, funny, and I had to see how it ended. Dara is a great MC, a smart woman with a large vocabulary that will make you laugh, and someone that thinks she doesn’t need a man to complete. It’s quite funny that she is a relationship advice columnist, and then goes on to create an online dating service. I liked the intrigue in her relationships, and wondered how they would end. Her cat, Mallory, is such a star in this book! There is humor, love, sadness, quirky characters, and a happy ending that will make chick lit lovers highly enjoy this book. One for your shelves!
5 stars