Chick Lit Plus by Samantha March

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Wedding Update: Less Than One Month!
Chick Lit Plus

Wedding Update: Less Than One Month!

In twenty-four days, I become a wife. Holy buckets, where has the time gone? This year has flown by, and now my days are filled with last minute details – confirming with my vendors, making a play list for the DJ, planning the rehearsal dinner. We just applied for our marriage license last week and now have that bad boy in our possession. My mom will get to Iowa in just two weeks and I will be so glad to finally have her here and going through this with me. The week before the wedding is started to get filled with appointments – hair, nails, soldering the rings, final dress fitting and pick up. Our ceremony outline and songs have been confirmed, our decorations are being delivered, and the RSVP’s are still trickling in. We have a spare room in our house that was dubbed “The Wedding Room” once we moved in, and now you can barely cross the threshold because it’s jam packed with boxes. I have my second dress fitting tonight and my maids will be learning how to bustle my dress. I’m so excited for this one because I’m curious to see how it will look. My train is quite large and there are seventeen hook and eye boppers for the bustle, so it’s going to take some time to get done! But I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product 🙂 I have to make this post short because well…I’m getting married in twenty-four days and up to my eyes in stress and my to-do list 😉

August 14, 2013
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Book Review: Lake Como by Anita Hughes
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: Lake Como by Anita Hughes

I received a copy of Lake Como by Anita Hughes in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Hallie Elliot has a perfect life. She is an up-and-coming interior designer in one of San Francisco’s most sought after firms, and has just recently become engaged to Peter, a brilliant young journalist. But when she stumbles upon Peter and her boss in what seems to be a compromising position, her trust in her perfect life is shaken.
So Hallie escapes to Lake Como, Italy to spend time with her half-sister, Portia Tesoro, an Italian blueblood dealing with the scandal of a public estrangement from her cheating husband. While staying in the Tesoro villa, Hallie falls in love with the splendor and beauty of Lake Como, and finds work designing the lakeside estate of a reclusive American tech mogul. The caretaker of this beautiful estate is a handsome man named Angus, and Hallie finds herself drawn to his charm and kindness, despite hints of a dark secret in his past.
But just as Hallie is beginning to find her footing on Italian soil, she uncovers a family secret that upends all the truths she’s believed about herself, and calls into question the new life she’s built in Lake Como.
Sisterhood, family, career, and sumptuous descriptions of Italian life fill the pages of this newest offering by Anita Hughes. Lake Como is a heartbreaking and heartwarming story of love, self-discovery, and the quest for truth.
Love, sisterhood, and sumptuous descriptions of la dolce vita fill the pages of Anita Hughes’ Lake Como, a heartwarming story of romance, self-discovery, and the quest for truth.

Review:
What a fabulous read that had me wishing I had cocktail in hand and a pair of heels on my feet while reading! Lake Como whisked me away and wrapped me up in Hallie’s story, beginning with her suddenly rocky relationship with Peter and ending with a touching love story. In between we have royalty and family secrets and the intrigue and mystery surrounding the Tesoro family had me unable to put this book down. Hughes writes with a grace and elegance that had me devouring this story and I highly recommend this book!
5 stars

August 14, 2013
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Future Tour: Riverstar by Tess Thompson
CLP Blog Tours

Future Tour: Riverstar by Tess Thompson

Tess will be on tour September 2-9 with her romantic suspense novel Riverstar After ending an affair with a married movie producer, feisty Hollywood makeup…

August 13, 2013
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On Tour: Adventure to Love by Bethany Ramos
CLP Blog Tours

On Tour: Adventure to Love by Bethany Ramos

Bethany will be on tour August 19-26 with her novel Adventure to Love In a “Bachelor” meets “Survivor”-style reality TV show, twelve women are flown…

August 13, 2013
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Novel Spotlight: Winter at Death’s Hotel by Kenneth Cameron
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Novel Spotlight: Winter at Death’s Hotel by Kenneth Cameron

Blurb: New York, January 1896. Arthur Conan Doyle, the renowned created of Sherlock Holmes, arrives with his wife Louisa at the Britannic Hotel in New…

August 13, 2013
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Book Review: All My Restless Life to Live by Dee DeTarsio
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: All My Restless Life to Live by Dee …

I received a copy of All My Life to Live by Dee DeTarsio in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Life is a soap opera, especially for Elle Miller, who writes for one. (Ellen dropped the “n” in her name in hopes of finding a better ending for herself.) When her laptop crashes, she borrows her recently deceased dad’s computer and gets way more than she bargained for.

Elle unravels mysterious communications from his computer, while her mom decides to give Internet dating a try. As Elle tries to save her career at I’d Rather Be Loved with a storyline featuring a trip through Atlantis, she takes a trip to the Emmys, and finds herself in the middle of a romance between a real doctor and a hunk who just plays one on TV. Friends, family, and clues from “the other side” all help Elle figure out the difference between living the good life and living a good life.

Fans of Marian Keyes and Jennifer Weiner will delight in Dee DeTarsio’s sparkling prose and lively dialogue as she takes readers into the heart of women’s lives. Filled with friendship, love, loss, betrayal, and challenges that force her characters to find their place in the universe, Dee’s novels give us that hopefully-ever-after we’re searching for.
Review:
I have been a big fan of DeTarsio’s for a while now, and I’m always excited to read her books. I love the fantasy aspect that she brings to each one, and this was no different. Elle, a writer for a soap opera, is still struggling with the death of her dad. When she “borrows” his computer from her mother, she starts to see signs from the beyond. She thinks her dad is trying to help her through her complicated love life and trials from her job. I enjoy opening my mind to new ideas, such as getting these signs from the other side. It was fun to read her story, and the supporting cast was really a hoot. From her mother and her boyfriend to her best friend to her boss, all the characters were interesting and really pretty comical. I liked the romance aspect and the sort of tug a war she gets into between a doctor and the actor who plays a doctor. The ending was very sweet and a good way to wrap up the mystery of her father. If you haven’t read any of her books yet, I highly recommend you start!
4 stars

August 13, 2013
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Blog Tour Sign Up: Hijack in Abstract by Larissa Reinhart
CLP Blog Tours

Blog Tour Sign Up: Hijack in Abstract by Larissa Reinhart

Cherry Tucker’s love life has shifted into neutral. And her siblings, Grandpa, and sort-of-ex-husband have flipped her personal life to greasy side up. But life in Halo, Georgia, isn’t all bad for the sassy, Southern artist. Her career has pushed into full throttle. A classical series sold. A portrait commissioned. Then Uncle Will, Forks County Sheriff, calls in a favor to have Cherry draw a composite sketch of a hijacker. Suddenly, life takes a hairpin when the composite leads to a related murder, her local card sharking buddy Max Avtaikin becomes bear bait, and her Amazonian nemesis labels the classical series “pervert art,” causing Cherry to be shunned by the town.

Cherry’s jamming gears between trailer parks, Atlanta mansions, and trucker bars searching for the hijacker who left a widow and orphan destitute and Max Avtaikin in legal jeopardy. While she seeks to help the misfortunate and save her local reputation, Cherry’s hammer down attitude has her facing the headlights of an oncoming killer, ready to grind her gears for good.

August 12, 2013
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Future Tour: Killer Image by Wendy Tyson
CLP Blog Tours

Future Tour: Killer Image by Wendy Tyson

Wendy will be on tour September 30-October 21 with her mystery novel Killer Image Philadelphia image consultant Allison Campbell is not your typical detective. She’s…

August 11, 2013
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CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by Becky Monson
Chick Lit Review

CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by …

Becky Monson is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Thirty-Two Going on Spinster
Summary:

Julia Dorning is in a rut. She has lived in her parent’s basement for ten years, been at the same mundane boring job for ten years and she has no self confidence.
When handsome hunky Jared Moody is hired in HR at her company, her life begins to change in ways she never saw coming. Is Jared the catapult to get her moving again?

Review:
Oh my gosh, what a hilarious book! The cover drew me in right away (I am not one to resist anything pink!) and the story flew by in a fit of giggles and smacking of my lips. Julia is hysterical, so concerned about becoming a spinster because she’s single and living in her parent’s basement. I love how she gets it – she understands that she needs to make a change, shake things up a little, but she just can’t pull the trigger. It made her human. I love all the baking talk though I was constantly hungry while reading, and I thought the relationship between Julia and her sister Anna really added a depth to the story. Of course the romance is there as well – and how mysterious it was! I knew something was off about Jared when he was first introduced, and I enjoyed all the intrigue around him. This really is not a chick lit book to miss!
4.5 stars

August 9, 2013
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