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Book Review: What Happiness Looks Like by Karen Lenfestey
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: What Happiness Looks Like by Karen Lenfestey

I received a copy of What Happiness Looks Like by Karen Lenfestey in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Joely Shupe had a vision of what her thirties would look like: she’d be the mother of two, finger painting with her kids during the day and cooking dinner for her loving husband at night. Instead she’s a single mother struggling to provide for her only child.

To make matters worse, her ex-fiancé, Jake, shows up–unemployed and reeling from a personal tragedy. He claims he’s ready to parent the daughter he abandoned five years ago. Joely is more interested in Dalton, a devoted father to his own son, who offers to take care of her the way no man ever has. Should Joely risk her daughter bonding with someone new or with the man who broke her heart?

Meanwhile, Joely’s sister, Kate, has the husband and the home, but no baby. After several failed attempts at fertility treatments, Kate’s husband is ready to give up. Kate believes his solution to their problems will tear them apart.

For Joely and Kate, one thing is for sure: this is not the life they expected. Is it time to adjust their idea of what happiness looks like?
Review:
I enjoyed about the first 3/4 of the book. The family dynamic between sisters Joely and Kate was interesting to read about, and I like books that have a very real feeling towards them. I like reading about women’s situations, and this story definitely fit that bill. I actually didn’t even realize this was the second book in a series until about halfway through, when Kate was talking about how her husband Mitch had left her previously. I thought something more should be said about that, then looked it up to realize it’s book two, and I’m sure that situation had been discussed in the first book. That being said, I really didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not having read A Sister’s Promise, so that’s good! Now, I said I enjoyed the first 3/4 book – the ending just fell flat to me. I got confused by the relationship Joely had with both Dalton and Jake, and Kate’s struggle with infertility had me scratching my head at points. I almost felt like maybe it was being rushed, because all of sudden everything is wrapped up and I was a bit lost. Overall a good read and I would like to check out the first book as well.
3.5 stars

May 28, 2013
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Book Review: Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke

I received a copy of Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
April is a busy time for Hannah Swensen and her bakery; the warm weather makes folks in Lake Eden, Minnesota, go wild for something sweet. When Hannah hears that the Cinnamon Roll Six jazz band will be playing at the town’s Weekend Jazz Festival, she’s more than happy to bake up a generous supply of their namesake confections to welcome the band to town.
Before the festival even begins, tragedy strikes when the tour bus overturns. Among those injured is Buddy Neiman, the band’s beloved keyboard player. Buddy’s injuries appear minor, until his condition suddenly takes a turn for the worse–as in dead. Hannah’s no doctor, but she suspects that the surgical scissors someone plunged into Buddy’s chest may have something to do with it. Hannah isn’t sure just how she’ll unravel the mystery, but one thing’s for sure: nothing’s sweeter than bringing a killer to justice. . .
Review:
While I normally enjoy a mystery novel (and baked goods!) I had trouble getting into this book. I think a large part might have been because this book is a part of a series, and I haven’t read anything else in it. I always felt like I was one step behind everyone else, or the person sitting outside the gossip circle looking in. It was also a bit predictable, which almost feels weird to say knowing that I wasn’t familiar with the characters or the previous storylines, but even then I knew what was going to happen before it did. There were some humorous parts and sections that piqued my interest, but in the end, it fell a bit flat for me.
2.5 stars

May 27, 2013
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Blog Tour Sign Up: Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by Becky Monson
CLP Blog Tours

Blog Tour Sign Up: Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by Becky …

“According to Webster’s dictionary,
A spinster is:

1: an unmarried woman of gentle family
2: an unmarried woman and especially one past the common age for marrying
3: a woman who seems unlikely to marry
4: me

Julia Dorning is a spinster, or at least on the road to becoming one. She has no social life, hates her job, and lives in her parent’s basement with her cat, Charlie.

With the arrival of Jared Moody, the new hire at work, Julia’s mundane life is suddenly turned upside down. Her instant (and totally ridiculous) crush on the new guy causes Julia to finally make some long-overdue changes, in hopes to find a life that includes more than baking and hanging out with Charlie.

But when the biggest and most unexpected change comes, will the new and improved Julia be able to overcome it? Or will she go back to her spinster ways?”

May 25, 2013
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GIVEAWAY: Summer’s Song by Lindi Peterson
Updates

GIVEAWAY: Summer’s Song by Lindi Peterson

All she has to do is
prove that she’s changed . . . completely.

Pop-star princess Summer Sinclair doesn’t know what to do with herself now that she’s cleaned-up and sober. She knows God’s been nudging her, but since God is unfamiliar territory, she feels scared and alone. Everything changes when she meets Levi Preston, a Christian musician who’s falling for Summer and wants her to be who God created her to be. But when the reality of her life takes Levi to places he’s vowed to stay clear of, will Summer’s newfound freedom be what breaks her heart as she does what is best for Levi?

Giveaway!

I have one Kindle copy of Summer’s Song by Lindi Peterson up for giveaway! To enter, please just leave a comment below sharing your favorite moment(s) of summer. The winner will be chosen on Tuesday, May 28. Thanks to Lindi Peterson for sponsoring this giveaway. Good luck!

May 25, 2013
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CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Cookies for Dinner by Pam Johnson-Bennett and Kae Allen
Chick Lit Review

CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Cookies for Dinner by Pam …

Pam Johnson-Bennett and Kae Allen are now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Cookies for Dinner

Summary:
Pam and Kae are good friends but total opposites. Pam is a worrying germophobe and Kae stands by the philosophy that everyone will eat a pound of dirt in their lifetime. In this collection of humorous essays, Pam and Kae come clean on motherhood…
• No one tells you that your breasts will be treated like a fast food take-out window or that a ravenous infant can create more suction than industrial-grade vacuum cleaners.
• I went into labor with my first child four months after my soon-to-be ex-husband moved out to live with his girlfriend, six months after my 20th birthday and precisely the morning that I was having my house tended for ticks. Yes, ticks.
• Jumping off the cliff into potty training makes you realize that you didn’t truly appreciate the diaper years. Once you begin potty training, a toddler’s backside becomes a loaded gun, ready to launch its missile in whatever direction it happens to be pointing.
• No matter how we got on this ride, at some point we all end up standing on the checkout line at Walmart, totally unaware of the fact that we’re still wearing our pajama top.

Pam and Kae are living proof that even though every mother is different, we’re all on this roller coaster without a seatbelt. Scary? You bet, but it’s the ride of our lives.
Review:
I was worried for a hot second that I might not be able to connect with this book since I have yet to enjoy motherhood for myself. But that doubt flew out the window immediately. Pam and Kae take readers on a journey of their own experience, talking about the good, the bad, and the real ugly site of parenting. Their stories made me laugh out loud, text my girlfriends with the ‘OMG do you think this will happen to us?’ moments, and I whipped through book. Definitely one for mothers, future mothers, or really anyone who wants to get inside a mom’s head for a while. I will definitely think twice about shooting a mother a dirty look in the grocery store if their kid is bawling in the cart, for fear of her following me around the store in revenge 😉 Terrific read!

May 24, 2013
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On Tour: Where’s the Groom? by Sophie Meyer
CLP Blog Tours

On Tour: Where’s the Groom? by Sophie Meyer

Sophie will be on tour May 27-June 17 with her novel Where’s the Groom? Ashley, just turning thirty, is stuck with a string of bad…

May 23, 2013
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Cover Reveal: After Math by Denise Grover Swank
Chick Lit Authors

Cover Reveal: After Math by Denise Grover Swank

Denise Grover Swank is on tour now with CLP Blog Tours and sharing the brand-new cover of her latest novel After Math!

Summary:

Scarlett Goodwin’s world is divided into Before and After.

Before she agreed to tutor Tucker Price, college junior Scarlett was introvert, struggling with her social anxiety disorder and determined to not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.

After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him. Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.

But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?

**Everyone who leaves a comment on Denise’s tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of After Math before June 3 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**

May 23, 2013
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Book Review: Changing Lanes by Kathleen Long
Chick Lit Review

Book Review: Changing Lanes by Kathleen Long

I received a copy of Changing Lanes by Kathleen Long in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Abby Halladay has the perfect life. Or, rather, she will…as long as everything goes exactly according to plan. Abby never leaves anything to chance—not her job as a syndicated columnist, not her engagement to her fiancé, Fred, and certainly not her impending wedding in Paris (New Jersey, that is).
Unfortunately for Abby, even the best-laid plans often go awry—like when Fred runs away to Paris (France, that is), her column is canned, and her dream home is diagnosed with termites. Forced to move back in with her parents and drive her dad’s cab, Abby’s perfect life has now officially become the perfect disaster.
Then a funny thing happens. Slowly but surely, Abby begins letting go of her dreams of perfection. As she does, the messy, imperfect life she thought she never wanted starts to feel exactly like the one she needs.
Poignant and heartfelt, Changing Lanes celebrates the unexpected joys of everyday life—and the enduring promise of second chances.
Review:
I have also read Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long, and absolutely adored it. I was looking forward to reading another offering from her, and am pleased to say I highly enjoyed Changing Lanes as well. I thought it was interesting that we never get a clear picture of her relationship with fiancé Fred. We learn right off the bat that he’s fled to Paris, France claiming “boredom” and Abby doesn’t go into a lot of details about him, or have flashbacks of their relationship. I liked that because I think it kept the story moving without having a lot of back story for readers to grasp. Sometimes I almost forgot that Abby was engaged and weeks away from walking down the aisle, but I still thought that part of plot was well-orchestrated. I loved the family dynamics in the story, from her parents and her dad’s well-kept secret, her grandmother who is also trying to move on, and her sisters – especially Frankie – who give an oomph to the story. I appreciate that the story is about second chances and truly living the life you want to live, and I would recommend this book!
4 stars

May 23, 2013
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Future Tour: Tales From the Laundry Pile by Kathleen Kole
CLP Blog Tours

Future Tour: Tales From the Laundry Pile by Kathleen Kole

Kathleen will be on tour July 8-29 with her women’s fiction novel Tales From the Laundry Pile Claire Jamieson has moved back home to Boxwood…

May 22, 2013
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