On Tour: Royal Secrets by Kathleen Irene Paterka
Kathleen will be on tour July 22-August 12 with her novel Royal Secrets ROYAL SECRETS is the story of the Royal Wedding Chapel in Las…
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Looming Murder by Carol Ann …
Carol Ann Martin is now on tour with Looming Murder and CLP Blog Tours
Summary:
Della Wright has come to peaceful and picturesque Briar Hollow, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, to realize her lifelong dream of owning a weaving studio. To promote her new business, Dream Weavers, Della is offering weaving workshops for all levels of ability. In her first class, she meets half a dozen of the town’s colorful characters, who seem as eager to gossip as to learn how to work a loom.
But when a shady local businessman is found murdered, Briar Hollow suddenly appears a lot less idyllic. And when one of her weaving students is suspected of the crime, Della can’t help getting entangled in the investigation—with some help from her criminologist friend, Matthew. But can she weave together clues as well as she weaves together yarn—and stop a killer from striking again?
Review:
I tend to enjoy cozy mysteries, and Looming Murder was no exception! The beginning started off just a tad slow for me, but it was easy to get into Della’s life and follow her story. Mysteries are fun for me and I like trying to figure out whodunit while enjoying the story. I thought Della was interesting to read about, especially when it came to her love life – and shoe choices! I loved that nod to chick lit 🙂 I also thought she was a strong heroine and someone who was independent, so more points for Della. Briar Hollow was a cute little community to immerse myself in, the supporting case was interesting to read about, and I recommend the book!
4 stars
Blog Tour Sign Up: Shake Down the Stars by Renee …
Renee will be on tour in late September with her women’s fiction novel Shake Down the Stars. I am looking for book bloggers to post…
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Getting Skinny by Monique Domovitch
Monique Domovitch is on tour now with CLP Blog Tours and Getting Skinny Summary: Owning a restaurant is as crazy for Nicky Landry as an…
Wedding Update: Here Comes the…Stress
Don’t call me a bridezilla. This is the sentence that I say in my head over and over as my wedding date gets closer. I don’t like yelling at people and I am very non-confrontational, but this wedding has brought out a whole new side of me. Why am I yelling at people? The latest fiasco (in the line of many) is that our jewelry store forgot to order our wedding bands. Yes, we went to the jewelry store in May, looked at bands for two hours, had three people including a manager help us, yet no one went ahead and pushed the order through. So when I thought to myself, where is our phone call about the bands being in, and decide to stop off at the store, imagine my extreme pleasure in being told, “I’m sorry, it looks like the order didn’t get put through.” Cue yelling. We’ve also had salespeople “forget” to order the bridesmaid dresses so now my maids barely have time for alterations, and even a hotel simply decided our contract and deposit to block off rooms for our guests wasn’t good enough and gave it to a different wedding party. So please, don’t call me a bridezilla when I yell. I wouldn’t have to be yelling if these errors weren’t being made. The wedding planning would still be stressful, don’t get me wrong, but now I have zero confidence in any of my vendors. I have now becoming the paranoid bride that is calling all of her vendors – from the officiant, cake lady, florist, reception hall manager, etc – to check, double check, confirm and re-confirm everything is set and I will get no more surprises along the way. Is stuff still going to go wrong? Yes, I have no doubt. That happens. But I have to say the amount of human error that has happened so far has me quite displeased, stressed, and not sleeping well at night. But that’s why I have this blog – so I can vent – right? I’ve been putting a few charming tidbits of what’s going wrong on Facebook and Twitter, and I love the email messages I am receiving from other past brides regaling me with their horror stories. They are helping me calm down, see the light at the end of the tunnel, and show me that one day I will look back and laugh and hopefully tell another woman all my sad stories so she can feel relief. I accept that no wedding is perfect and that the planning process will put stress on any bride-to-be.
Well, that was quite the rant! Can you tell this latest miscue just happened and is fresh on my mind? Let’s talk about something more uplifting…like my invitations! I haven’t shared them with the virtual world yet, so I’m happy to use this post to show them off. My first dress fitting is next week, and I finally purchased my shoes as well, so I’m all set for that appointment. Some items we are working on now: our wedding slideshow, buying gifts for our wedding party, and finalizing our ceremony timeline and vows. Less than two months to go and no matter how stressful this has become, I’m still so excited to become a wife and marry my best friend. Just don’t call me a bridezilla.
On Tour: When Girlfriends Chase Dreams by Savannah Page
Savannah will be on tour July 15-29 with her novel When Girlfriends Chase Dreams A novel about chasing dreams, for better or worse, and living…
Book Review: Down and Out in Bugtussle by Stephanie McAfee
I received a copy of Down and Out in Bugtussle by Stephanie McAfee in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
With her fiancé now her ex-fiancé, Ace has hightailed it back to Bugtussle, Mississippi, and back to her Gramma Jones’s house. Her best friends, Lilly and Chloe, are delighted she’s back, but Ace still has some challenges ahead of her.
For one thing, her replacement as Bugtussle High School’s art teacher, Cameron Becker, refuses to vacate the position. So Ace is stuck working as a substitute teacher while harboring fantasies of running Miss Becker out of town. On top of that, Lilly and Chloe are obsessed with setting her up on less-than-romantic blind dates—even though all she wants is a break from her pitiful love life.
To ease her troubled mind, Ace resolves to restore her grandmother’s gardens to their former glory. But in the well-worn gardening book she’s dug out of her grandmother’s attic there are a series of suspicious notes that indicate her grandmother may have had a special someone in her past. Now, with her faithful chiweenie, Buster Loo, by her side, Ace is determined to get to the bottom of her grandmother’s secret life, all the while hoping her own life isn’t about to implode….
Review:
I’ve been having a lot of fun read Ace’s series, and I was just as excited to get to Down and Out in Bugtussle. I wondered how Ace was going to be now that she is back in Bugtussle after fleeing her seemingly-charmed life in Florida. I supported her decision in moving but was still curious how the pieces would fall into place for her. With the same wit, charm, and crass that readers are sure to know and love by now, Ace’s journey will continue to keep you laughing through it all. From trying to get her job back to being made over into an eighties chick, Ace also takes on uncovering her grandmother’s secrets and trying to find love…kind of. Such a fun series and I hope there is more!
4 stars
More reviews from this series…
My 5 star review for Diary of a Mad Fat Girl!
My 5 star review for Happily Ever Madder!
I received a copy of Down and Out in Bugtussle by Stephanie McAfee in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
With her fiancé now her ex-fiancé, Ace has hightailed it back to Bugtussle, Mississippi, and back to her Gramma Jones’s house. Her best friends, Lilly and Chloe, are delighted she’s back, but Ace still has some challenges ahead of her.
For one thing, her replacement as Bugtussle High School’s art teacher, Cameron Becker, refuses to vacate the position. So Ace is stuck working as a substitute teacher while harboring fantasies of running Miss Becker out of town. On top of that, Lilly and Chloe are obsessed with setting her up on less-than-romantic blind dates—even though all she wants is a break from her pitiful love life.
To ease her troubled mind, Ace resolves to restore her grandmother’s gardens to their former glory. But in the well-worn gardening book she’s dug out of her grandmother’s attic there are a series of suspicious notes that indicate her grandmother may have had a special someone in her past. Now, with her faithful chiweenie, Buster Loo, by her side, Ace is determined to get to the bottom of her grandmother’s secret life, all the while hoping her own life isn’t about to implode….
Review:
I’ve been having a lot of fun read Ace’s series, and I was just as excited to get to Down and Out in Bugtussle. I wondered how Ace was going to be now that she is back in Bugtussle after fleeing her seemingly-charmed life in Florida. I supported her decision in moving but was still curious how the pieces would fall into place for her. With the same wit, charm, and crass that readers are sure to know and love by now, Ace’s journey will continue to keep you laughing through it all. From trying to get her job back to being made over into an eighties chick, Ace also takes on uncovering her grandmother’s secrets and trying to find love…kind of. Such a fun series and I hope there is more!
4 stars
More reviews from this series…
My 5 star review for Diary of a Mad Fat Girl!
My 5 star review for Happily Ever Madder!
Future Tour: Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by Becky Monson
Becky will be on tour August 5-26 with her chick lit novel Thirty-Two Going on Spinster Julia Dorning is a spinster, or at least on…
Author Profile: Cara Alwill Leyba
Author: Cara Alwill Leyba Website: http://www.livecreatesparkle.com/ Bio: Cara Alwill Leyba is a best selling author, and certified life and wellness coach from New York City…
