In Samantha’s Mailbox:
Title: Rum Punch Regrets
Author: Anne Kemp
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: In just a few short weeks, thirty something Abby George has endured the death of her mother, was dumped by her fiancé, and got laid off from her job.
Stunned and seeking a shoulder to cry on, she turns to her perfect older sister, Leigh. But instead of comfort, Abby receives a surprise: Leigh needs her in the Caribbean to help with some mysterious personal business.
While assisting in the sale and repair of a bed-and-breakfast, Abby uncovers a few huge family secrets as she juggles an unexpected roommate, quirky locals, and nasty centipedes.
Abby’s world is further complicated when two potential suitors enter her life. Can Abby get beyond her own psycho drama long enough to open her heart to someone new? Or will she neurotically make her romantic life worse?
Packing nothing but her suitcases and a sense of humor, Abby George travels down an unfamiliar road, but it’s all she can do to hang on for the ride…
Or will she wake up with “Rum Punch Regrets?”
“Humor, mystery, romance and a beautiful island paradise. Throw in a lovable and spirited protagonist and you have Rum Punch Regrets, the perfect summer read.” – Kyra Davis, Women’s Fiction Author
Title: Haole Wood
Author: Dee DeTarsio
Received: From Dee DeTarsio
Synopsis: When San Diego weathercaster, Jaswinder Park, is mysteriously summoned to the island of Maui in Hawaii to help her grandmother, she ends up losing her job. This fair-haired, light-skinned foreigner, called haole by the natives, decides to stay in Maui for a couple of days until she can figure out what to do with her life. She realizes that her quick trip to Maui may not be all she’s hoping for when:
-She has to bail her Hawaiian/Korean grandmother out of jail for possession of pakalolo.
-The only thing she can understand her grandmother say is: “Not that.”
-She can’t decide which hurts worse, her sunburn, hangover, or memories of the night before.
-She’s labeled the “Liquor Licker” on the front page of the Maui News in a photo that shows
her doing a shot of tequila with a hunky Hawaiian who’s been found dead.
-It seems she’s had orgasms that have lasted longer than her career.
-She scrapes the bottom of the barrel to find her guardian angel.
Beautiful fabric found in her grandmother’s closet unfolds a future for Jaswinder as she designs sensuous silky wraps called sunshminas that provide sun protection. She tries for a Hollywood connection, but her company, Haole Wood, has some growing pains. From trying to find a killer, to selling her sunshminas, to lusting after Dr. Jac, the island dermatologist, to trying to ignore her so-called guardian angel, can Jaswinder learn to embrace the island way of life? Aloha!
Title: Don’t Let Me Go
Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis:
Former Broadway dancer and current agoraphobic Billy Shine has not set foot outside his apartment in almost a decade. He has glimpsed his neighbors—beautiful manicurist Rayleen, lonely old Ms. Hinman, bigoted and angry Mr. Lafferty, kind-hearted Felipe, and 9-year-old Grace and her former addict mother Eileen.
But most of them have never seen Billy. Not until Grace begins to sit outside on the building’s front stoop for hours every day, inches from Billy’s patio. Troubled by this change in the natural order, Billy makes it far enough out onto his porch to ask Grace why she doesn’t sit inside where it’s safe. Her answer: “If I sit inside, then nobody will know I’m in trouble. And then nobody will help me.”
Her answer changes everything.
By the bestselling author of WHEN I FOUND YOU, SECOND HAND HEART, and PAY IT FORWARD, DON’T LET ME GO is the heart-breaking, funny, and life-affirming story of a building full of loners and misfits who come together to help a little girl survive—and thrive—against all odds.
Title: India’s Summer
Author: Thérèse
Received: From BookSparks PR
Synopsis: India Butler, single and about to turn forty, travels to LA in an attempt to reinvent her life.
In a world rarely illuminated by the flashbulbs of the paparazzi, she discovers the true meaning of “having it all.”
In Sara’s Mailbox:
Title: Before I Met You
Author: Lisa Jewell
Received: Najma @Cornerstone Publicity
Synopsis: Having grown up on the quiet island of Guernsey, Elizabeth Dean can’t wait to start her new life in London. On a mission to find Clara Pickle – the mysterious beneficiary in her grandmother’s will – she arrives in bustling and grungy 1990s Soho, filled with hope, excitement and dreams. She has the world at her feet and is ready for whatever life has to throw at her. Or so she thinks…In 1920s bohemian London, Arlette – Elizabeth’s grandmother – is starting her new life in a time of post-war change. Beautiful and charismatic, Arlette is soon drawn into the hedonistic world of the Bright Young People. But less than two years later, tragedy strikes and she flees back to Guernsey for the rest of her life. As Elizabeth searches for Clara, she is taken on a journey through Arlette’s extraordinary time in London, uncovering a tale of love, loss and heartbreak. Will the secrets of Arlette’s past help Elizabeth on her path to happiness?
Title: Free Gift With Purchase
Author: Jackie Pilossoph
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Emma and Laura are about as different as two sisters can be. Emma’s always been the party girl, Laura, the hardworking doctor. But now, the two have something in common. Both are newly single and trying out the dating scene after marriage.
Emma’s a widow and a single mother with a guilty secret she can’t let go. Laura’s husband just dumped her for one of four women he’s been sleeping with. A dispute over the house forces Laura to move in with her sister and that’s when the fun begins.
Go on some dates with these 42 and 44 year-old adorable sisters who are both looking for love and your jaw will surely drop! Laura’s mixed bag includes Dan, a selfish womanizer, Ari, a stalker, and Tim, a compulsive liar. For Emma there’s gorgeous, sexy Preston, a self-proclaiming “fun guy,” beautiful Alice, who’s a lesbian, and a string of Matts who go from bad to worse. Then there’s separated, charismatic, wealthy Luke Sullivan. Luke’s carrying some baggage, but he makes Emma’s heart stop every time he appears. Free Gift With Purchase is a book about two sisters who have always seen things from an entirely different perspective, but who as women in need of each other learn to consider that instead of judging, looking through each other’s eyes might make their lives a lot richer. In other words, when you buy into opening your heart and believing in yourself, you might just end up with a Free Gift With Purchase.
July 1, 2012
