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Blog Tour Sign Up: Meeting Miss Mollie by Di Jones

Blurb

She’s the Agony Aunt who has it all. Except for one small problem – her life is a disaster.

Annabelle is a hard-nosed writer with a good marriage, a nice flat, a thriving career at Adorn magazine and a busy social life. She has only one ambition – to be the best known Agony Aunt in the UK.

When her world is turned upside down by her husband’s infidelity she strikes out on her own and goes flatting with a jet-setting businessman. But things in her new house aren’t quite what they seem and her problems mount.

Through her ups and downs, Annabelle forges a relationship with the strangest of friends and discovers the best things in life are those she always avoided.

About Di

Born in Liverpool, I started my working life as a librarian, and have worked in a variety of jobs since, but none were as much fun as the one that allowed me to write and get paid for it. That was a few years ago, and each year it’s become more and more apparent what I want to do is write full time, a dream that first occurred to me at seventeen.

Like my characters, I love my family and friends, beautiful shoes, anything sparkly, the ‘occasional’ drink, parties, and a good belly laugh. I’m addicted to shopping, chocolate, bubble bath and anything else that smells nice, and the sort of TV programmes you’d never publicly admit to watching.

I’ve lived in England, Canada, the Unites States, but now call New Zealand home. I live in a lovingly renovated home overlooking Auckland’s beautiful Waitemata Harbour, with my trusted friends Bronson Boxer and Dolce Dane. They keep me fit and exercised, scare the burglars away, sit loyally by my side throughout my late night writing sessions, and hang on my every word when I read final drafts aloud. They truly are my biggest fans, and I theirs!

I love my life, but not so much that there’s not room to live a load of other lives, through the hearts and minds of my characters, all of whom I adore, and some of whom I’m fortunate enough to call friend.

On Tour: Becoming Mrs. Walsh by Jessica Gordon

Jessica will be on tour January 21-February 11 with her novel Becoming Mrs. Walsh Shoshana Thompson is 26 years old, miles from home, and engaged…

Blog Tour Sign Up: Staged by Ruby Preston

Aspiring Broadway producer Scarlett Savoy has almost everything she needs to make her first musical a huge success- millions in financial backing, a talented (not to mention handsome) young director, and a big-name Hollywood starlet as her female lead. But with none of the theater owners in town willing to back a novice, she’s missing one final piece of the puzzle: a Broadway theater. Just when Scarlett thinks her show might never see the footlights of day, an unexpected meeting with the young, eligible son in the Stewart theatrical empire changes Scarlett’s Broadway prospects forever.

Staged is the much anticipated follow up to Ruby Preston’s juicy Broadway novel, Showbiz.

Book Review: How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donohue

I received a copy of How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donohue in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Free-spirited Annie Quintana and sophisticated Julia St. Clair come from two different worlds. Yet, as the daughter of the St. Clairs’ housekeeper, Annie grew up in Julia’s San Francisco mansion and they forged a bond that only two little girls oblivious to class differences could—until a life-altering betrayal destroyed their friendship.
A decade later, Annie bakes to fill the void left in her heart by her mother’s death, and a painful secret jeopardizes Julia’s engagement to the man she loves. A chance reunion prompts the unlikely duo to open a cupcakery, but when a mysterious saboteur opens up old wounds, they must finally face the truth about their past or risk losing everything.
Review:
What a home run of a book! It gives me chills when I find a book that I find irresistible from page one, and this exactly what happened with How to Eat a Cupcake. The dynamic between Annie and Julia was tense, loving, troubled, and supportive –all wrapped into one. These characters really leapt off the pages and made this impossible to put down. I loved the mystery surrounding the death of Annie’s mother and also with the cupcakery break-ins. I think I could go on and on about how much I loved this novel, but I’ll just say go read it – and grab yourself a cupcake!
Rating: 5 stars

CLP Blog Tours Book Review: A State of Jane by …

Meredith Schorr is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and A State of Jane. Meredith quickly made it on my Authors to Watch list, and is someone I can even credit with being a “virtual” friend. I was very much looking forward to reading A State of Jane and sure enough – it did not disappoint! Our MC is Jane Frank, someone I easily connected with right off the bat. It helps we are around the same age (twenties) and that I could understand easily what Jane was going through in her dating life. She feels like she should be settled down already, but she just can’t seem to hold on to a guy long enough to get that far. The novel follows her through her dating disasters, the flakes of New York City, and Jane trying to date like a guy.
I laughed my way through this novel. Schorr brings some fabulous comedy to the pages, but she also brings an element of empathy to her characters. I liked that Jane was not perfect, and even got a little mad at her myself while reading. But that is what makes her a real character, and I think this book will be very relatable to a lot of readers. A must-read from Meredith Schorr!
[Rating: 4.5]

Future Tour: When Girlfriends Step Up by Savannah Page

Savannah will be on tour March 25-April 1 with her chick lit novel When Girlfriends Step Up A novel about love and support, and learning…

CLP Blog Tours: Guest Post from Meredith Schorr

Thanks to Meredith Schorr for sharing this guest post on New Year’s Resolutions from her character in A State of Jane, Jane Frank. Please visit…

Book Review: The Pollyanna Plan by Talli Roland

I received a copy of The Pollyanna Plan by Talli Roland in exchange for an honest review.
Ah, Talli Roland. Her books are always a treat to read, and she never fails to win me over with her sassy writing and loveable characters. Our heroine this time around is thirty-something Emma Beckett, who embodies a non-optimist life. She firmly believes in being realistic and not getting wrapped up in fantasy or hope. Her fiancé is a safe man, she works in insurance (everyone always needs that!) and she doesn’t trouble herself with silly time-wasters such as decorating her apartment. But when she gets fired and loses her fiancé back-to-back, Emma is shaken to say the least. When a friend challenges her to think like Pollyanna: glass half full, always seeing the upside, Emma takes it on. But will her decision turn out positively…or will Emma realize her old way of thinking was the best?
Emma literally cracked me up throughout this book. I was always laughing over her meticulous thought plans, her carefully constructed life. This book whizzed by for me, filled with snappy dialogue, a crew of some pretty fun characters, and a fab story-teller at the helm. I adored the skiddy romance between Emma and Will, and enjoyed the sub-plots that Rolland built in for her characters. The ending was right-on, and this is another chick lit book you must add on your to-read list!
[Rating: 4.5]

Blog Tour Sign Up: When Girlfriends Make Choices by Savannah …

A novel about forbidden love, the choices you make, and discovering what’s important in life.

Lara Kearns has it all. She has her MBA, a successful career in advertising in Seattle, and she’s even living with her best friend and single mom, Robin. Reliable, dedicated, and eager, Lara is the resident go-to-girl, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Lara’s that girl who has everything going for her…everything, that is, except for true love. With the big 3-0 on its way and no man in sight, Lara wonders if she’ll always be married to her career, or her cat, and never find the One.

But then, when she least expects it, a handsome and suave executive at her firm, Paul Mackenzie, makes a pass at her. Hesitant at first about striking up an office romance, Lara eventually finds herself falling for her charming colleague. And the best part? Paul is falling in love with Lara, too!

What happens, though, when the man of your dreams loves you…and his wife?

Battling with what the head and the heart want, Lara finds herself in a precarious situation. Life is spiraling out of control, but with the support of her therapist and friends, Lara must make a choice. Is she really prepared to chase after love…at all costs?

This is a provocative story about struggling between right and wrong. About what you will or won’t do for true love. About what happens when girlfriends make choices.