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Book Review: Take a Look at Me Now by Miranda …

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
How far would you go to make a new start? Heart-warming and romantic, Take a Look at Me Now will make you laugh, cry and cheer Nell on from start to finish.
What a difference a day makes…
Nell Sullivan has always been known as ‘Miss Five-Year Plan’. But when she finds herself jobless and newly single on the same day, Nell decides it is time to stop planning and start taking chances.
Nell blows her redundancy cheque on a trip of lifetime to a place where anything is possible – San Francisco. There she meets a host of colourful characters, including the intriguing and gorgeous Max. Very soon the city begins to feel like Nell’s second home.
But when it’s time to return to London, will she leave the ‘new Nell’ behind? And can the magic of San Francisco continue to sparkle thousands of miles away?
Review:
I quite enjoyed this book, though the plot twist left me with mixed feelings. But let me tell you what I really loved about this book first. The San Francisco descriptions have left me begging my husband to let us book a trip there. Really nice work by the author setting the scene and giving us a taste of the wonderful city. It was so great to read about the relationship between cousins. It reminded a bit of my relationship with one of my cousins, someone who has been there for me so many times throughout our lives and I know I can turn to when I need advice or an ear. I did like the plot twist because I really didn’t see it coming, and it gave a good shakeup to what I thought would be a predictable ending. What I didn’t like so much was after the plot twist and the predictability that followed there. It was quite obvious what the reasoning was behind Max’s secret, so Nell came off pretty silly after that. One other thing – I understand the author is British and it would make sense for Nell and even her cousin to use British slang and terms, but everyone did in the book, including those living in San Fran who should not. That bothered me a bit and made it feel a little less realistic. But there was still so much I liked about the book that I can’t help but give it 4 stars!
4 stars

In My Mailbox: Week of October 27

Title: The Art of Being Rebekkah
Author: Karoline Barrett
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: When Rebekkah Gelles suspects her husband, Avram of not only lying to her, but also contriving not to have the children she so desperately wants and embezzling money from his business, she wants out of their marriage. Her life gets complicated when she falls in love with detective Nick Rossi. Convinced Nick’s wrong for her—he’s not Jewish for one thing—she walks away after they share a night of passion. Nick warns her even though he loves her, he won’t beg. Their budding relationship seems to have ended. When Rebekkah finds herself staring at a positive pregnancy test, she wavers between joy and sadness. Motherhood wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

Title: The Sister Season
Author: Jennifer Scott
Received: Penguin Group
Synopsis: Sometimes coming home for the holidays isn’t as easy as it seems….

It’s December 21, and the Yancey sisters have been called home. When the girls were young, holidays at their family farm meant a tinsel-garnished tree, the scent of simmering food, and laughter ringing through the house. But as the years unfolded, family bonds fractured, and the three sisters scattered and settled into separate lives. Until now. The Yancey sisters are coming to spend the holidays with their mother. They’re also coming to bury their father.

Claire, the youngest, a free spirit who journeyed to California, returns first. Then comes Julia, the eldest, a college professor with a teenage son of her own. And finally there’s Maya, the middle child, who works so hard to be the perfect mother and wife.

During the sisters’ week together, old conflicts surface, new secrets emerge, and the limits and definitions of family are tested. And as the longest night of the year slips by and brightening days beckon, the sisters will have to answer one question: When you’re a sister, aren’t you a sister forever?

Title: Where the Pink Houses Are
Author: Rebekah Ruth
Received: Rebekah Ruth
Synopsis: When unthinkable tragedy strikes, will Brenna and her mother-in-law, Anna, find healing half a world away amid the green Irish hills? Brenna begins to think she may be able to build a new life in a new land when Anna’s eccentric family welcomes her with open arms. But it’s in the arms of the town heartbreaker, Luke Dillon, that she begins to wonder if she can truly fall in love again.

Luke is a handsome charmer who’s used to getting what he wants. Just talking to him ties Brenna’s stomach in knots and sets her cheeks ablaze. He’s persistent too. She tells him she’s not interested but he doesn’t listen. Secretly, she loves his attention but something tells her to be careful. Is he good for her or will a relationship with him lead her straight into more heartbreak?

As if one confusing relationship isn’t enough, when Brenna meets Ryan Kelly she’s instantly drawn to him. He’s like no guy she’s ever met. While every guy in town has been asking her out, Ryan doesn’t seem to have any romantic interest in her at all. He’s much older than she is and he’s only interested in friendship–yet she can’t stop thinking about him.

Brenna questions her sanity when she finds herself falling for two very different men at the same time. As always, Anna has comforting and wise advice but Brenna needs to decide for herself as she struggles to understand God’s plan for her life. Should she give in to Luke’s attentions? Will her new friendship with Ryan become something more? Or will events that none of them can foresee take her life down a frightening new path?

Title: Suburban Underbelly
Author: Michele Theron
Received: Michele Theron
Synopsis: For suburban moms Quinn, Jill, and Lucy, freedom from motherhood as a competitive sport starts innocently enough: three hours a week without kids. And what could be the harm in indulging a fantasy or two? Before they know it, things are careening way out of control. Sexy, snarky, smart, and laugh-out-loud funny, SUBURBAN UNDERBELLY takes you on the ride of a lifetime with the best friends we all wish we had.

Title: Because of You
Author: Kathryn Starke
Received: Kathryn Starke
Synopsis: Lilly, the main character, never wanted to settle, not in her education, her career, and especially not in her relationships. She observes the countless number of couples in her circle of family and friends, but is unsure if marriage is actually for her. At thirty-one, she is convinced she has finally found the man of her dreams. It is not until her actual wedding day, when she shares a conversation with a mysterious stranger in a hotel elevator, that she begins to question her “happily ever after.” An instant connection with this new male leads her to doubt what and who she believes in. She recalls flashbacks of her courtship with fiance Patrick Wellington and begins to wonder if she is indeed settiling for the first time in her life, which scares her to no end. Lilly struggles internally with her decision and begins debating between two lifestyles. Will Lilly marry Patrick or will she ultimately start her search for love all over again?

Book Review: Coming Home For Christmas by Jenny Hale

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a sweet story centered around Christmas time…the time of miracles, sometimes a miracle is something as simple as someone getting a broken family to heal and remember how much they love each other. Sometimes the miracle is disguised as a strong headed woman that doesn’t understand why a family that obviously loves each other so much can’t seem to mend broken fences. Allie is the miracle in the story and her part in their story was refreshing.
This was also a sweet love story, one that throughout the book it is hard to tell which brother Allie will end up falling in love with. In the end, it is of course the one meant to be.
This was a great read and refreshing from so many that I often read that are listed as romance. There was true romance in this story and it was a refreshing innocent one that you can help but fall in love with.

Book Review: What Happens to Men When They Move to …

Reviewer: Samantha I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Summary: The question that 23-year old Amalia Hastings desperately wants…

Book Review: For the Love of Cupcakes by Anita Kushwaha

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Priya Patel has wanted to become a baker since the first time she saw the light of her Easy Bake Oven. However, working as an assistant baker at Sugarplum Fairy Cakes isn’t the glamorous life she dreamed about. Priya tries to impress her boss, Helen Bouffant, with creative twists on traditional recipes but her culinary skills are completely ignored as she is forced to scrub toilets and clean up everyone else’s mess. After Priya is blamed for a major screw up at Sugarplum Fairy Cakes, she decides to throw in her apron. With the support of her husband, Arj, and a kick in the pants from her best friend, Mae, she decides to start her own cupcakery.

Just when Priya thinks she’s washed her hands of Helen once and for all, they both enter a charity bake off with a grand prize of $10,000. Priya will have to cook the most creative, delicious cupcakes of her life and defend herself against Helen, who will stop at nothing to see Priya and her cupcakery fail. The competition gets heated but there is one thing that will keep Priya going- the love of cupcakes. Does she have what it takes to win the bake-off? Whose talent will prevail?

For the Love of Cupcakes will leave your mouth watering for cupcakes and your cheeks sore from smiling.
Review:
What a cute read! I loved the style Kushwaha wrote in: fast, breezy, yet personal. Watching Priya come up with her cupcake recipes was fun to watch, and following her on her journey of finding her backbone and entrepreneurial spirit was fabulous. This was a spot-on chick lit book, and I hope other fans of the genre enjoy it as much as me. There were just a few issues that made me not rate it five stars. One was that I didn’t quite understand how Priya’s ex-boss could get away with stealing her recipes when they were so unique to Priya’s store and her vision, and Helen’s had never been that way. It seemed really obvious to me, yet apparently no one in the community could get it. Another is so small, but I actually have experience with this so it stuck out to me. Priya teams up with Victoria Secret to help with her marketing, and big chain stores like that would never typically do what they did. I wished she would have used a fictitious store instead, because it distracted me. Those are two smaller critiques I have, and I really did enjoy the book from beginning to end!
4 stars

Book Review: The Runaway Actress by Victoria Connelly

I received a copy of The Runaway Actress by Victoria Connelly in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
When the stresses of being an A-list actress get too much for her, Connie Gordon decides to escape to a tiny Scottish village. But little does she realise that whilst Lochnabrae might be quiet, it’s far from sleepy…
Connie kisses goodbye to her ex-boyfriends, stalkers and double-crossing agents, and prepares herself for complete relaxation.
But swapping the Hollywood Hills for the Highlands of Scotland doesn’t make for the easiest of transitions, and when she meets local playwright Alastair McInnes, who’s sworn he’ll never become involved with another actress again, sparks fly. The quiet little village of Lochnabrae will never be the same again…
Get your running shoes on to catch the latest hilarious, charming and utterly engaging novel from Victoria Connelly.
Review:
Sometimes British chick lit books can be hard for me to get into. They seem longer and sometimes more drawn out, so I started reading this book a bit apprehensively. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one! It was easy to slip into the charming village of Lochnabrae and enjoy the slow pace and friendly – and some eclectic – inhabitants. Connie is a fabulous MC to follow, and her life swap was interesting and intriguing to watch unfold. And we have to romance dabbled in there as well, and the cute little tale between her and Alastair was a lot of fun to read about. I love that this novel captured my attention right off the bat and left me engaged throughout. One I highly recommend!
4.5 stars

Book Review: Life in Plan B by Jennifer Vessells

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had all my favorite things! Shoes, Clothes, secrets, hot sex, a fantastic gay couple, and did I mention shoes???
This is a great story about what one does after your dream life doesn’t happen. The first chapter drew me in perfectly with the comparison of life to shoes. I am a shoe fanatic and believe that shoes are a very important and personal part of a person.
There are so many fun parts to this book! But the relationship between Haley and Nick and how it grew and changed over the course of the story was by far one of my favorite parts of the story. I also loved the tight friendships between Haley and her friends. It was unique to see even close relationships can have their up’s and down’s-but in the end that love for a friend can beat just about anything in a person’s troubled life.
I loved the reality of that going to New York to make it big didn’t happen, but hard work and loyalty produced far better results. It is fun to see how a dynamic duo can make a boutique such a success!
This book covered so many things, from friendship, to love, to how to deal with adult family member’s in your life…and the disappoint that they can leave you with. I also think that as the book went along, Haley’s character grew and changed and truly grew up. This was fun to read and “watch”.
I believe the only thing that was a little disappointing was the very immature relationship that she developed quickly with Keegan. But I understood by the end of the book it was part of watching her grow and change. It was a relationship I would compare to a much younger person having, and for her age it seems off.
I was satisfied by the end of the book that the author covered all sides to the story. It was a very well developed story and really kept my interest throughout the book.

Book Review: Frisky Business by Clodagh Murphy

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
In the past year, Romy Fitzgerald learned three valuable lessons.

One: Never have sex at a party with a stranger dressed as Darth Vader.
Two: Don’t tell him things you’ve never told anyone else.
Three: Find out the stranger’s name because you never know when you might need it …
Like nine months later when the baby arrives.

While Romy is happy to raise Luke on her own, one day he’ll need to know the truth about his father, and Darth deserves to know that he has a son.

Will Romy find her dark knight or will she be left to raise Luke (Han) solo?
Review:
I’ll be honest – when I first started reading this book, I wasn’t quite sure why it was written. There didn’t seem to be any intrigue, any mystery, and I was really actually disappointed. While I don’t like giving much away in my reviews, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that maybe the plot wasn’t as straight-forward as I thought in the beginning. As I kept reading, I kept getting more and more excited and intrigued by the characters. There are some hilarious moments, especially in regards to Romy’s elderly neighbor and all the miscommunication the characters keep seeming to find themselves in. Once I was just a few chapters in I was really hooked and I highly recommend this book!
4.5 stars

Book Review: What Would Kate Do? by Fiona O’Malley

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
What Would Kate Do? follows Cathy Dover who idolizes The Duchess of Cambridge and tries to follow her footsteps in life but fails miserably. Instead of ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ her motto in life is ‘What Would Kate Do?’ It’s a romantic comedy with an emphasis on comedy. If you enjoyed Bridget Jones and The Devil Wears Prada you will love this!
Review:
As a big (huge, giant, monstrous, etc) fan of the Royal Family and especially Kate Middleton, I couldn’t turn down this book! I won’t lie – I’ve been in situation myself and have thought “What would Kate do?” I’ve been staring into my closet and thought “What would Kate wear?” I was excited to see how this book played out, and I’m quite happy to report that I really enjoyed it. It moved along quickly, had plenty of laugh out loud moments, and had a depth that can sometimes be missed or lacking in cute chick lit books. One I recommend!
4 stars