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!