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Book Review: Tempting Fate by Jane Green
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Book Review: Tempting Fate by Jane Green

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
From Jane Green, the New York Times bestselling author of such beloved novels as Jemima J, The Beach House, Another Piece of My Heart, comes an enthralling and emotional story about how much we really understand the temptations that can threaten even the most idyllic of relationships….

Gabby and Elliott have been happily married for eighteen years. They have two teenaged daughters. They have built a life together. Forty-three year old Gabby is the last person to have an affair. She can’t relate to the way her friends desperately try to cling to the beauty and allure of their younger years…And yet, she too knows her youth is quickly slipping away. She could never imagine how good it would feel to have a handsome younger man show interest in her—until the night it happens. Matt makes Gabby feel sparkling, fascinating, alive—something she hasn’t felt in years. What begins as a long-distance friendship soon develops into an emotional affair as Gabby discovers her limits and boundaries are not where she expects them to be. Intoxicated, Gabby has no choice but to step ever deeper into the allure of attraction and attention, never foreseeing the life-changing consequences that lie ahead. If she makes one wrong move she could lose everything—and find out what really matters most.
A heartfelt and complex story, Tempting Fate will have readers gripped until they reach the very last page, and thinking about the characters long after they put the book down.
Review:
Get ready for an emotional read! This book gave me a range of feelings, from anger to disgust and sadness to hope. I often struggle to read books where there is an affair, most likely because I am a newlywed, and this was no exception. I think Green did an excellent job building up why Gabby let herself go down a dangerous path with Matt, and showed that she didn’t just throw respect for her husband and her vows away without any thought. But there was still times where I wanted to scream at Gabby, because her life really did seem so great. Why do it? Why risk it? There is a plot twist that I don’t want to give away because my jaw dropped when I read it, and it gives the book a whole other dimension and a lot more depth to just being a story about a wandering wife. A little on the long side, it will take you some time to read, but it’s a good and complex story that you can’t help but get lost in. I’ve been a fan of Jane Green for many years now, and her latest didn’t disappoint.
4 stars

March 26, 2014
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New Book Releases: March 2014
Chick Lit Plus

New Book Releases: March 2014

Contributor: Allie I don’t know about you, but for me this winter has been long and cold.  We’ve had lots of snow and too many…

March 5, 2014
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In My Mailbox: Week of February 3
Chick Lit Plus

In My Mailbox: Week of February 3

Title: How To Get a (Love) Life
Author: Rosie Blake
Received: Novelicious
Synopsis: Some people book last-minute holidays, walk barefoot in the grass or party on a week night. Not Nicola Brown. Nicola is the kind of girl who double-locks the front door, leaves the plastic covering on new furniture, sticks to a super-strict diet and definitely, absolutely Does Not Date.

Her colleague Caroline – loopy, warm and exasperated by her, knows that Nicola’s reluctance to lose control means she’s living only half a life. And so she lays down the gauntlet: Nicola must cast aside her hang ups and go on as many dates as it takes to find true love in time for Valentine’s Day.

The pick of local men is, quite frankly, a bit rubbish. And there are only three months until February 14th. Surely it’s an impossible task? But, as Nicola is about to find out on her dodgy dates, letting go isn’t quite as scary as she imagined. In fact, it’s rather a lot of fun…

Title: Tempting Fate
Author: Jane Green
Received: St. Martin’s Press
Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of such beloved novels as Jemima J, The Beach House, Another Piece of My Heart comes an enthralling and emotional story about how much we really understand the temptations that can threaten even the most idyllic of relationships….

Gabby and Elliott have been happily married for eighteen years. They have two teenaged daughters. They have built a life together. Forty-three year old Gabby is the last person to have an affair. She can’t relate to the way her friends desperately try to cling to the beauty and allure of their younger years…And yet, she too knows her youth is quickly slipping away. She could never imagine how good it would feel to have a handsome younger man show interest in her—until the night it happens. Matt makes Gabby feel sparkling, fascinating, alive—something she hasn’t felt in years. What begins as a long-distance friendship soon develops into an emotional affair as Gabby discovers her limits and boundaries are not where she expects them to be. Intoxicated, Gabby has no choice but to step ever deeper into the allure of attraction and attention, never foreseeing the life-changing consequences that lie ahead. If she makes one wrong move she could lose everything—and find out what really matters most.
A heartfelt and complex story, Tempting Fate will have readers gripped until they reach the very last page, and thinking about the characters long after they put the book down.
Title: One Night at the Jacaranda
Author: Carol Cooper
Received: Carol Cooper
Synopsis: One man dying of cancer. One struggling journalist. A group of single Londoners. One night that changes everything.

The trouble with speed dating is that three minutes can last a lifetime, and ever since he was diagnosed, Sanjay doesn’t have a lifetime to waste.

For one booze and hope-fuelled night, the lives of a group of 30-somethings criss-cross. As well as Sanjay, lawyer Laure, divorced doctor Geoff, beleaguered mother-of-four Karen and traumatised ex-con Dan all face each other across the Jacaranda’s tables in their quest for love, solace or amazing sex.

Undercover journalist Harriet is after a by-line, not a boyfriend. She’s a struggling freelance with a live-in lover, who unexpectedly has to choose between the comfortable life she knows and a bumpy road that could lead to happiness.

As Laure, Sanjay, Geoff, Harriet, Karen, Dan and the rest of the bunch discover, it’s not just about finding someone who’s dynamite between the sheets. It’s about finding yourself, and that’s not always where you expect.
Title: Cider Brook
Author: Carla Neggers
Received: Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc
Synopsis: Being rescued by a good-looking, bad-boy firefighter isn’t how Samantha Bennett expected to start her stay in Knights Bridge, Massachusetts. Now she has everyone’s attention –especially that of Justin Sloan, her rescuer, who wants to know why she was camped out in an abandoned old New England cider mill.

Samantha is a treasure hunter who has returned to Knights Bridge to solve a 300-year-old mystery and salvage her good name. Justin remembers her well. He’s the one who alerted her late mentor to her iffy past and got her fired. But just because he doesn’t trust her doesn’t mean he can resist her. Samantha is daring, determined, seized by wanderlust –everything that strong, stoic Justin never knew he wanted. Until now…

New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers’ books have been called “riveting,” “magical” and “stunningly effective.” Now she returns to the lush Swift River Valley with the irresistible story of one woman’s quest for treasure and redemption.

February 3, 2014
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Interview with Carla Neggers
Chick Lit Authors

Interview with Carla Neggers

Q: When did you decide to get serious about writing?

I’ve always been serious in the sense that I’ve always been dedicated to writing the best book I can — even when I was eleven and climbed a tree with pad and pen! I entered college as a music major but graduated with a degree in journalism. After college, I freelanced and kept writing fiction. I finished a manuscript and finally got up the courage to submit a query letter to a New York literary agent. That was a big step! She took me on, and now here I am.

Q: You have over fifty novels published! Where does the inspiration for your stories keep coming from?

I’ve asked myself this, too, and I think coming up with new stories is a natural, intuitive process for me. I don’t have to hunt up ideas so that I can write. I write because I have ideas! For example, I was on vacation in Ireland a few years ago. No writing! But we visited a stone ruin and an ancient stone circle…and next thing I knew, I had a stories and characters percolating that eventually became THE ANGEL, THE MIST and THE WHISPER.

Q: Can you describe your latest novel, Cold Dawn, in twenty words or less?

Okay, let me give this a shot: A search-and-rescue expert and a smokejumper go after a deadly serial arsonist who strikes the small Vermont town of Black Falls. How’s that?

Q: Do you have a certain writing schedule you stick to?

Yes and no. I write most days and work hard, but I’m not regimented. I don’t write X number of pages a day or work X number of hours. What I get done and how long it takes depends on where I am in the book. At the beginning of a book, I tend to work more in fits and starts. I need little breaks for the story to meander and then settle. Toward the end of a book, I’ll write for longer periods at a stretch.

Q: What are you currently reading?

I just re-read the last 100 pages of MJ Rose’s THE HYPNOTIST. Fascinating book!

Q: What are your thoughts on the rise of technology for the writing industry- e-readers and self-publishing?

It’ll be what it’ll be. I love to write and I love to read, and that’s not going to change.

Q: When writing, do you often start from Chapter 1, or do you work backwards, or start somewhere in the middle?

Chapter 1, but I’ll jot down scenes or snippets of scenes that occur to me as I write. Sometimes I’ll start in on Chapter 1 with no synopsis, just to get a feel for the story; other times I’ll have a brief synopsis before I start.

Q: Are you currently working on a project?

Yes, I am. I’m deep into my latest work-in-progress. It’s a brand-new world, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it!

Q: You have been to some amazing locations around the world. Where is your favorite place to vacation?

My husband and I adore the southwest Irish coast. We stay in the pretty village of Kenmare and wander the hills of the Iveragh and Beara peninsulas. Stunning scenery, great food, wonderful people. Just love it there!

Q: What is your advice for aspiring writers?

Write what you’re driven and love to write, but don’t postpone happiness until you achieve a certain goal. Be happy now! It’s too easy to say to yourself, “I’ll be happy when I finish a book.” Then it’ll be, “I’ll be happy when I’ve sold a book.” Then…”I’ll be happy when I make the bestseller lists.” Then…see how it works? It’s corrosive. Focus on writing the best book you can and living your life. Easier said than done some days, but,, FWIW, that’s my advice.

October 26, 2010
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