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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.

Blog Tour Sign Up: Nobody’s Damsel by E.M. …

Chloe and Jason are back in Albuquerque where Chloe’s just taken a job in the Albuquerque Police Department’s crime lab. Things are off to a rough start when the press follow her to her first crime scene, eager for a comment on the persistent rumor that Jason is cheating on her. When Chloe discovers that the crime is against a child roughly the same age she was when she became an assault victim, it’s more emotional baggage than she can bear, but to quit would be to give up on a little girl in desperate need of a rescue. Can Chloe face the paparazzi and step into the limelight to rescue a little damsel in distress, or has she bitten off more than she can chew?

Book Review: Horse Play by Jo Carnegie

I received a copy of Horse Play by Jo Carnegie in exchange for an honest review. Summary: Churchminster village – picturesque, quaint, sleepy – or…

Book Review: The Baby Planner by Josie Brown

I received a copy of The Baby Planner by Josie Brown in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
The Nanny Diaries “meets “The Wedding Planner “in this smart, dishy novel from the author of “Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives”–featuring a woman who runs San Francisco’s premier baby planning company and the mommies-to-be who seek out her services. Katie Johnson may make her living consulting with new moms on the latest greatest baby gadgets no parent should be without, or which mommy meet-ups are the most socially desirable, or whether melon truly is the new black, but the success of her marriage to her husband, Alex, depends on controlling her own urges toward motherhood.

He’s adamant that they stay childless. Sure, Katie understands that he’s upset over the fact that his out-of-town ex-wife rarely lets him see their ten-year-old son, Peter. But living vicariously through her anxious clients and her twin sisters’ precocious children only makes Katie resent his stance more deeply.

While helping a new client–Seth Harris, a high tech entrepreneur who must raise Sadie, his newborn daughter, as a single parent after the tragic death of his wife in childbirth–maneuver the bittersweet journey from mourning husband and reticent father to loving dad, Katie’s own ideals about love, marriage, and motherhood are put to the test as she learns ones very important lesson about family: “How we nurture is the true nature of love.”
Review:
Josie Brown is a hands-down a favorite author of mine. The first two books in the Totlandia series had me stitches, and I absolutely adored The Baby Planner as well. Whenever I read mom-lit I always point out in my reviews that I am not yet a mother myself, as sometimes that can cause a disconnect with the characters. Not in Brown’s books. Katie was my new BFF, and I loved reading her story. She was savvy, smart and my kind of heroine, and I devoured this book in a couple of quick days. Another 5 star review for a marvelous Josie Brown book!
[Rating: 5]

Blog Tour Sign Up: Elly in Bloom by Colleen Oakes

Surrounded by lush flowers and neurotic brides, chubby 32-year old Elly Jordan has carved out a sweet little life for herself as the owner of Posies, a boutique wedding florist in St. Louis. It’s not bad for a woman who drove away from her entire life just two years ago when she found her husband entwined with a red-headed artist.

Sure, Elly has an embarrassingly beautiful best friend, a terribly behaved sheepdog and a sarcastic assistant who she simply calls “Snarky Teenager”, but overall her days are pleasantly uneventful. As a bonus, her new next door neighbor just happens to be an unnervingly handsome musician who has an eye for curvy Elly. Just when she feels that she is finally moving on from her past, she discovers that an extravagant wedding contract, one that could change her financial future, is more than she bargained for.

With the help of her friends, staff and the occasional well-made sandwich, Elly bravely agrees to take on the event that threatens to merge her painful history with her bright new life, and finds herself blooming in a direction she never imagined.

Elly’s voice, both charming and hilarious, will appeal to those readers who have been looking for a new voice in chick-lit, and will give women of all sizes the realistic heroine they’ve been waiting for.

Quote about the book: “Colleen Oakes is a crisp, intelligent new voice in chick-lit fiction, adept at handling both a character’s inner and outer world. Her dialogue is brisk and clever and her plotting is a smooth invitation to keep turning pages…” – Andrea (Ande) Waggener, Author of Alternate Beauty

Book Review: Nine Uses for an Ex-Boyfriend by Sarra Manning

I received a copy of Nine Uses for an Ex-Boyfriend by Sarra Manning in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:
Hope Delafield hasn’t always had an easy life. She has red hair and a temper to match, as her mother is constantly reminding her. She can’t wear heels, is terrified of heights and being a primary school teacher isn’t exactly the job she dreamed of doing, especially when her class are stuck on the two times table. At least Hope has Jack, and Jack is the God of boyfriends. He’s sweet, kind, funny, has a killer smile, a cool job on a fashion magazine and he’s pretty (but in a manly way). Hope knew that Jack was The One ever since their first kiss after the Youth Club Disco and thirteen years later, they’re still totally in love. Totally. They’re even officially pre-engaged. And then Hope catches Jack kissing her best friend Susie…Does true love forgive and forget? Or does it get mad …and get even?
Review:
I thought this book was going to be a slam dunk for me. When I first started reading, I was wrapped up in Hope’s world and the drama of what the heck is happening between Jack and Susie. But not even halfway through, things just started going downhill for me. The pace slowed down and everything just seemed very long and drawn-out, and I thought quite a few scenes really didn’t belong in the story. The ending didn’t save it for me either, so just a novel that fell flat for me unfortunately.
[Rating: 2]

On Tour: A State of Jane by Meredith Schorr

Meredith will be on tour January 2-21 with her chick lit novel A State of Jane Jane Frank is ready to fall in love. It’s…

Blog Tour Sign Up: Someone Else’s Fairytale by E.…

Jason Vanderholt is the hottest actor in Hollywood. Chloe Winters is a college student who hasn’t bothered to watch most of his movies. When they meet by chance, he is smitten and she becomes the woman every other woman in America is dying to be, but it just isn’t her fairytale.