Future Tour: Hungry Mother Creek by Heather W Cobham
Heather W Cobham will be on tour July 21-August 4 with her women’s fiction novel Hungry Mother Creek To the outside world, it looks like Maya…
Book Review: Can We Start Again? by Shirley Benton
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Is it ever too late for a second chance?
Tammy and Alvin had mapped out their entire lives together, including a pre-parental plan – a list of everything they wanted to do as a couple before they had children. But no amount of planning could have anticipated the heartbreaking problems that lay ahead – problems that shattered their once-perfect relationship and led to a traumatic break-up.
Then, after years of trying to move on, Tammy’s world is turned upside down when Alvin comes back into her life asking for a second chance – with a difference. He proposes that they spend time together, doing the things they had once so eagerly planned, in a bid to remember why they felt they’d have children together some day, and ultimately recapture what they had.
Still in love with Alvin, Tammy finds herself powerless to say no, even though their problems are still simmering in the background and threatening to boil over at any moment. Still, what they once had is surely worth trying to save.
But can something that’s broken every truly be whole again?
Review:
I loved the concept for this novel. I can totally see myself creating this pre-parental plan, as I feel I’m kinda doing it now. Right after I got married last September I was bit by the travel bug, and have since either gone on or will be going on trips to: St Lucia, New York, Alabama, Chicago, Kansas City, Green Bay, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. If you think I’m afraid I won’t be able to travel once we have children, you would be correct. I might be going overboard, but I don’t care! Anywho, back to the novel. So I loved the idea, and was even pretty jealous I hadn’t thought of it. The execution though I wasn’t as in favor of. I actually found myself hoping we would come in at a different time, maybe when the breakup was happening, instead of when two years had already passed and have the story unfold a different way. I still enjoyed reading the book and seeing the love these two characters clearly had for another, but I kept getting a twinge of something missing, something that was just within reach but not quite there with the plot. I do have to give props to the writing as it was tight and on-point, and I will definitely read more from this author – looking forward to what she comes up with next!
3.5 stars
On Tour: Tax Cut by Michele Lynn Seigfried
Michele Lynn Seigfried will be on tour June 23-July 14 with her cozy mystery novel Tax Cut “I saw him,” she said. “He handed an envelope…
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Family, Friends and Lovers Collection …
Sophie King is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and her Family, Friends and Lovers Collection
Summary:
Love is a Secret:
Caroline is finding it difficult to trust her husband Roger. Can a marriage really survive an affair? Then a chance meeting makes her wonder if it’s time for a fresh start….
Susan is struggling to bring up her disabled daughter Tabitha on her own, and dreams of a better life for them both. But just when it seems things can’t get any worse, a knock at the door changes everything.
Mark is learning how to be a single dad while his wife Hilary is away. But as he wrestles with the secrets he is keeping from his family, he’s blissfully unaware of the secrets they’re keeping from him.
Lisa is looking forward to the birth of her child. Will a new baby help her get over the past? Whatever that is…
Sometimes you have to keep a secret from the one you love – and sometimes you have to keep the one you love a secret.
Sophie King’s novel The School Run was a recent top ten Kindle bestseller and #1 in Amazon’s Women Writers and Fiction chart. It was also chosen as one of Chick Lit Central’s favourite novels of 2012.
Second Time Lucky:
Second Time Lucky: Another engaging tale of love and life from Sophie King, the bestselling author of The School Run. Meet the residents of Bridgewater House, once a grand stately home, but now converted into apartments which house a host of colourful characters, each with their own desires and secrets.
Louise thought she had everything, then suddenly finds herself as a single mum with an uncertain future. Can she build a new life for her and her children? And has real happiness been right under her nose all along?
Roddy was once the heir to Bridgewater House, but now he’s a drunken lord who’s fallen on hard times. Can he prove to his ex-wife that he has cleaned up his act, or is he about to risk everything in a desperate scheme to show how much he loves his kids?
Molly is a famous actress, coming to terms with retirement and the recent death of her actor husband Gideon. But dare she tell anyone that Gideon still comes to visit her? And how will she react to some unexpected messages from beyond the grave?
American Marcie always fantasised about marrying an English gentleman, just like one of her Jane Austen heroines. But will two resentful stepchildren, and failed attempts to have a baby of her own, get in the way of her dream happy ending? And what would her husband David make of her secret shame from the past?
As each of these neighbours faces their own challenges, their lives are about to become entwined in ways they never could have expected.
Second Time Lucky – doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?
The School Run:
Meet Harriet, Pippa, Evie, Nick, Kitty and Martine as they battle the daily school run. Share their ups and downs during one life-changing week, as they face relationship dilemmas, family dramas, secrets and lies…all leading to surprise events which cause their lives to collide.
‘There is a lot for women to relate to here.’ Katie Fforde
Harriet doesn’t know whether she’ll still have a marriage by the end of the week. But as she waits for her husband’s decision about their relationship, does Harriet have more choices of her own than she realised?
Pippa is waiting too – for the results of medical tests that could bring devastating news about her health and future. But could it be Pippa’s own actions that threaten all she holds dear?
Evie is struggling with her high-pressure job on a magazine and dealing with two step-daughters who hate her. But when her husband disappears can she rise to her biggest challenge yet?
Widower Nick worries about his teenage daughter, Julie, as they approach the anniversary of her mother’s death. Can Nick keep his guilty secret about how she died?
School teacher Kitty needs a man. At least that’s what her friend Mandy tells her. Can she win Mandy’s bet to find one by the end of the week?
Martine is unhappy as the au pair for a famous TV couple. Will she find her escape with a married man?
Meanwhile, Betty watches on, determined to find the hit and run driver who killed her young son…
Seven people living different lives, but their paths are destined to cross in ways they could never have imagined.
Review:
I love finding a good new collection, and a new author at that. All three books are engaging and have full casts of vibrant characters. The School Run interested me the most, especially Nick’s story, which I thought was different as I usually lean towards a woman’s POV. Love is a Secret was also quite intriguing to read, because there is a lot of mystery and well – secrets – that characters are hiding, and it makes the book fast-paced because you want to uncover them. Overall, a wonderful collection of novels and I’ll need to look more into Sophie King after this!
4 stars
Cover Reveal: Six Strings by Jen Sanya Williamson
CLP is happy to host the Cover Reveal today for Jen Sanya Williamson and her debut novel Six Strings. Read below for more information on the YA…
Future Tour: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda, by Tara Lee Reed
Tara Lee Reed will be on tour July 14-August 4 with her women’s fiction novel Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda “The End” is Only the Beginning. Elle Masters is…
CLP Blog Tours Sign Up: The Divorced Not Dead Workshop …
CeCe Osgood will be on tour July 7-14 with her romantic comedy/chick lit novel The Divorced Not Dead Workshop. We are looking for book bloggers to…
Erin Condren Life Planner Review
My review is coming way late, but I recently made another purchase with Erin Condren Design, so I knew I had to let you know how my Life Planner from her worked out for me. As some of you may know I got married this past September, and my schedule was filled with parties and fittings and things-to-do, on top of my regular work schedule, so my sister-in-law referred me to Erin Condren Design. What an adorable site! I wanted to buy one of everything upon getting to the home page. I was able to reel it in and only purchase what I needed –a life planner. And let me tell you, if you are looking for an excellent calendar to help you stay organized, this one is for you.
First, you can customize it to make it truly your own. On the cover (hard, plastic laminate – love because I carry in my purse) I chose to write down a few of my favorite things: notice my name, names of my nieces and nephews, and hobbies I enjoy such as dance and yoga. They have simpler patterns to choose from too if that is more your style. It’s a large calendar, “7.25×9.25” and you will have plenty of space to fill up the pages. You have a few different calendar options, such as a month at a glance and weekly, and I utilized both. You also get a ton of awesome add-ons, which I think makes the planner really special. You get a special dates section, important contact info sheet, a snap-in ruler, fun labels, and 20 pages of simple notebook paper, which I used to make my grocery/shopping lists.
All in all, my planner came in great aide for me in planning my wedding. I recently purchased a desk pad to help with my daily calendar now that I’m going full-time books and have a lot of deadlines to meet, and I was so bummed to see the life planners were out of stock! The will be available for pre-sale in June, and I have it on my reminder list to check into getting one!
5 stars
In My Mailbox: Week of June 16
Title: When Girlfriends Let Go
Author: Savannah Page
Received: CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: A novel about love, self-discovery, and realizing sometimes you have to let go.
Jackie Kittredge is the consummate drama queen living the charmed life. She’s enthusiastic, outspoken, and is always looking for a good time. At twenty-seven she’s got a swanky Seattle townhouse, a wealthy husband, a designer wardrobe, the best of girlfriends, and a calendar filled not with meetings and deadlines, but spa appointments and happy hour reminders. On the outside, she’s got it all.
On the inside, though, Jackie’s charmed life isn’t as it seems. She’s seeing a therapist, battling the demons of coming from a broken home and a past of promiscuity and heavy drinking. She can be selfish and demanding, sometimes even wearing her best friends thin. And now her marriage—what she thought could be her solid foundation—is on the rocks. Her husband Andrew spends nearly all his time at the office (and possibly with his secretary), and apologizes for his absence with lavish gifts and empty promises.
Miserable and desperate, Jackie questions if her marriage is worth fighting for. Then a string of events begins to put things into perspective…into a perspective she didn’t quite anticipate. With her best friends by her side and some tough love, Jackie finds herself not only asking if she’s where she belongs, but if she’s who she’s supposed to be.
This is a passionate story about having to answer some of life’s most important and difficult questions. It’s a story about fear, courage, and personal growth. About what happens when girlfriends let go.
While this Women’s Fiction novel is Book #6 in the When Girlfriends collection, it can be read as a stand-alone.
Title: The Hope List
Author: Chrissy Anderson
Received: Chrissy Anderson
Synopsis: When she was just sixteen, Chrissy Anderson made a life list…
…It’s been long forgotten and replaced by one filled with hope. But with all of Chrissy’s lies, a lover she’s horribly betrayed, and an ex-husband with secrets of his own; it might be too late to rely on her new list for happiness. In fact, it might be too late for Chrissy to ever have the truly, madly, deeply love she has always craved. Follow Chrissy as she hits rock bottom, dusts herself off, and fights harder than ever to finally have her wedding cake and eat it too.
In book THREE of The List Trilogy, Chrissy Anderson is confronted with her worst fears; a fatherless child, the pointless “death” of another friend, and a bump in the road at her beloved business that could destroy all of her hard work. Unlike Chrissy’s challenges in the past, there’s no longer a choice between love and obligation. It’s too late for that. In The Hope List, the only thing that can put Chrissy on the right path is honesty.
Everyone makes mistakes, but all will pause as they follow along on Chrissy Anderson’s new journey to ask, “Is she worthy of forgiveness?”
The Hope List picks up where book TWO, The Unexpected List left us hanging on the edge of our seats. The long-awaited conclusion finally reveals the outcome of a married woman’s chance encounter with her soul mate that took place many years ago in book ONE of Anderson’s romantic saga, The Life List.
CHRISSY ANDERSON spends her life doing exactly what she always wanted: doting on those she loves. A former fashion executive, she is a writer, wife, and mother whose own life events inspired The Life List. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with the love of her life and her beautiful daughter.
Title: Autumn Getaway
Author: Jennifer Gracen
Received: BookTrope
Synopsis: Author Jennifer Gracen brings together a colorful cast of friends and family in Book One of the Seasons of Love series, Autumn Getaway. Newly divorced mom Lydia is just getting back on her feet. Her college roommate’s wedding promises a much-needed getaway weekend with old friends, at a beautiful manor in Connecticut.
When she meets Sam, a handsome friend of the groom, she’s nearly overwhelmed by a confusing mix of hope and trepidation. Their instant connection feels intensely real, to both of them, but the ink is barely dry on her divorce decree. It takes all her nerve, and more than a little prodding from her girlfriends, to convince Lydia to give her heart — and Sam — a chance. But when the magical weekend comes to a close, Sam must return to Chicago, while Lydia heads back to her complicated life and young son in New York. Can their newfound connection survive the trials of physical distance and years of emotional baggage?
Written with an appreciation for the day-to-day struggles of a newly single mom, Autumn Getaway explores the burdens and blessings of family, revels in the spirit of friendship, and celebrates the power of romance and hope as Lydia and Sam take a second chance at love.
Title: After I Do
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Received: BookSparks PR
Synopsis: From the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as “moving, gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching”—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both.
When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.
Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?
This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.
