GIVEAWAY: Kissing My Old Life Au Revoir by Eliza Watson
Event planner Samantha Hunter is prepared for a few challenges when escorting a group of good ole boy beer distributors to Paris, the city of…
Book Review: Kissing My Old Life Au Revoir by Eliza …
I was lucky to be able to work on Kissing My Old Life Au Revoir by Eliza Watson during the editing stages, and I’m excited to bring you my review today! Let’s dive right in…
Summary:
Event planner Samantha Hunter is prepared for a few challenges when escorting a group of good ole boy beer distributors to Paris, the city of haute cuisine and fine wines. However, she doesn’t foresee being passed up for a promotion because she is too professional and doesn’t knock back beers with her clients. Her focus soon switches from landing the well-deserved promotion to finding her free-spirited sister, who lives in Paris and has disappeared, leaving behind family secrets to be uncovered. A sexy puppeteer helps Samantha search for clues to her sister’s whereabouts and teaches her to embrace her inner child. And a funeral-crashing psychic demonstrates the importance of living life to the fullest. It takes Samantha’s life spiraling out of control for her to finally get a life.
Review:
This book was great fun to read! The story starts off right away with a ton of intrigue, and it only gets better from there. I enjoyed the story between Samantha and her wild-child sister, and the other family issues (and secrets) they must work through. It was nice to Samantha as an independent woman with a career-mind, and her journey with her company was interesting – and frustrating at times – to read about. I loved the Paris setting, the mysterious hottie neighbor, and how fast-paced the book could move. One to read!
4 stars
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Tales From the Laundry Pile …
Kathleen Kole is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Tales From the Laundry Pile
Summary:
Claire Jamieson has moved back home to Boxwood Hills… And, she’s not alone. Trailing behind her overworked laundry basket is her husband and their energetic twin boys.
Claire had always thought that once she’d left the nest, she’d never return. Now that she has, she’s wondering what type of bird that makes her… Cuckoo?
When she has a moment to pause and catch her breath, she’ll let you know.
Tales from the Laundry Pile, an engaging, thoughtful story of motherhood, family tangles, new friendships and self-discovery.
The Boxwood Hills novels take place in the same picturesque mountain town, they have been written to stand alone; each story one in a set of many. That being said, don’t be surprised to see characters you recognize from other books within each other’s tale. They love to make cameos. Welcome to Boxwood Hills!
Review:
Kathleen Kole has been one of my favorite authors – and people! – since I first started reading her books. She does a terrific job at creating fun and cute stories that sucks me in no matter how different I might be from the main character, something I think speaks volumes for an author. With her latest novel we meet Claire, a bit of a neurotic mother to twin boys who has just moved to Boxwood Hills. She always feels overwhelmed by all of her duties and trying to keep her sons out of trouble, to stop them from getting scraped knees and bothering the neighbors. But when she starts making new friends and getting back to her old self – who she was before motherhood came along – Claire finally begins to loosen up and find happiness again. While I might not be a mother yet I thought this book provided good future lessons. It was easy to see how Claire let becoming a mother take over her own self-happiness, and it was great to journey along with her and see how she able to start making steps towards improvement. I also enjoyed that this wasn’t too serious of a book even though the topics could be serious at times – Kole writes with a light-heartedness and humor that makes her books a breeze to read! My only issue with the book – I wished it were longer!
4.5 stars
**Everyone who leaves a comment on Kathleen’s tour page will be entered to win a four print books from Kathleen! Titles are: Breaking Even, Dollars to Donuts, Favorable Conditions and Tales From the Laundry Pile. One bonus winner will win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of Tales From the Laundry Pile before July 29 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**
Connect with Kathleen!
www.kathleenkole.com
Buy the Book!
http://kathleenkole.com/kathleensbooks/tales-from-the-laundry-pile
Future Tour: Bachelor’s Special by Christine Warner
Christine will be on tour August 19-26 with her contemporary romance novel Bachelor’s Special Jill Adgate wants three things from life: a successful catering business,…
On Tour: Between Friends by Amanda Cowen
Amanda will be on tour July 29-August 19 with her novel Between Friends The only way to have a friend is to be one…especially between…
Wedding Update: The Countdown is REALLY On!
Have I said before the countdown to the wedding is on? It’s REALLY on now! With just about 40 days left until I say I Do, it seems the amount that was being put into the wedding plans is now doubled. A day doesn’t go by where I’m not confirming with vendors (let’s not get me started on that sore subject!), putting together a DIY project like our cardbox, or one of the other many preparations that goes into pulling a wedding off. I’ve had my first dress fitting, complete with shoes, veil, and jewelry, and my second fitting will be in just three weeks. My maids learned how to lace up my corset at the first fitting, and the next will be all about the bustle My bachelorette party will be August 10 so the final plans are getting in place for that. I’ve had meetings this last week with our florist to see her designs for our bouquet, and with the officiate to go over the final ceremony outline. My family who lives out of state has booked their flights and the bridesmaid dresses are all in. It might seem like what could possibly be left on my list – but there is a lot! Pocket squares need to be ordered for the guys, gifts for our wedding party needs to be ordered, we need a final count on who gets a flower (who is a VIP), we need to secure our marriage license, decide on reception songs to be played, and make our rehearsal dinner invites. And that’s just stuff that should have ALREADY been done, I’m just behind on. Whew! That honeymoon is looking better and better as the day get closer and my stress levels rise. But I’m trying my hardest to keep the end goal in sight – that in almost less than a month I get to marry my best friend…and steal his last name!
On Tour: The Legacy of the Key by S.L. …
SL Morgan will be on tour July 29-August 5 with her novel The Legacy of the Key Prepare to journey into a captivating new world…that…
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: When Girlfriends Chase Dreams by …
Savannah Page is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and When Girlfriends Chase Dreams
Summary:
A novel about chasing dreams, for better or worse, and living your love story.
Claire Linley is finally a bride! After nearly ten years with her college freshman sweetheart, Claire is going to become Mrs. Conner Whitley. She’s got her bridal magazines, is the biggest Martha Stewart fan, and subscribes to all the major wedding blogs. She’s been dreaming of this moment for years! How could planning her dream wedding be anything but perfect?
The easy-going and bubbly type, Claire will obviously have a blast planning, and with her fantastic group of girlfriends-made-bridesmaids she just can’t go wrong. Whether it’s wedding gown shopping, makeup trials, or cake-tasting, Claire’s friends are there in a pinch.
But how big does the pinch get? All Claire wants to do is get married, but at every turn something seems to go awry and she’s starting to lose it. How is a girl supposed to remain cool and collected when the pricey dream wedding planner isn’t turning out to be so dreamy? When DIY projects and the perfect venue are going up in smoke? How is Claire supposed to marry Conner when the special day that’s supposed to join them together, forever, is slowly tearing them apart?
This is the charming story about how sometimes the biggest events in life are defined by the smallest acts of kindness and love. It’s a love story about dreaming large, loving deeply, and, in the end, truly having the happiest day of your life, no matter what happens (or doesn’t). About what happens when girlfriends chase dreams.
Review:
I have been absolutely loving this series, and I was so excited to get to Claire’s story because…I am a future bride just like her! I knew this book would be amazing for me to read because of the timing, and it simply turned out to be one of my favorites of the year. I could relate so well to Claire’s journey – all the things going wrong and turning out different than she expected, along with all the stress that comes with planning a wedding. I felt like we were two peas in a pod all the way through, when I laughed, when I had tears in my eyes, and when I was so thrilled for her in the end that she got her happy ending – just not the way she might have expected it! This book also taught me a lot of really good lessons when it comes to planning my own wedding, the stress and headaches that I am now dealing with on a daily basis, and what it truly means to be a wife. I’m really excited for the next book and to keep reading about this group of girlfriends!
5 stars
Connect with Savannah!
Website/Blog: http://www.savannahpage.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/savannahpageauthor
Twitter: @Savannah_Page
Buy the Book!
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/When-Girlfriends-Chase-Dreams-ebook/dp/B00BXQN8P4
BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-girlfriends-chase-dreams-savannah-page/1115851584?ean=2940016423326
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/When-Girlfriends-Chase-Dreams/book-vW5C2kDxfky2eju0sdDrbw/page1.html?s=gtiZD02Wy0CGViiox-QR0Q&r=1
iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/book/when-girlfriends-chase-dreams/id666442923?l=en&mt=11
Book Review: Love in Darkness by E.M. Tippetts
I received a copy of Love in Darkness by E.M. Tippetts in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Alex had everything when he was with Madison. But the darkness within him wouldn’t go away. After two years apart, he returns to Pelican Bluffs and to the girl he never wanted to leave.
Madison wants to give their love another chance, but Alex can’t fight fate. He is what he is. Ruined. Crazy like his mother. And Madison deserves so much more. When his secrets spill out into their small town, Alex has a choice to make. Hide away in the darkness forever, or let love in.
Review:
I have another varied review today! I have read past titles from Tippetts, but they were her chick lit books. I was interested to read what else she had put out there, so I accepted a review request for Love in Darkness. Clearly this is not my niche genre, which is fine. I like to read outside of chick lit too, but sometimes I was having trouble identifying with the book and really getting invested in it. I also kept feeling like I was missing something. There was a little voice niggling at me the whole time that clearly I was down a puzzle piece, and finally as I looked at the Amazon page I realized this is a sequel, so that explains that feeling. But while I might have been out of the loop and reading outside the norm, I still was able to enjoy the story. It goes by quickly – I had it read in just over a day. The characters had depth and a journey was to be had with them, that was evident from page one. I also really respect Tippetts for writing a book that can shed light on a subject that is often shied away from. If you’re a chick lit fan looking to go a bit deeper, give this one a read!
3.5 stars
See my review for Someone Else’s Fairytale –¬ 4 stars!
See my review for Nobody’s Damsel ¬– 5 stars!
