Guest Book Review: Baby Girl

By Shana Javery

When young Cheryl Ann leaves home, she thinks her path is straight…until she’s forced to make a choice she could never have imagined. The man in her life makes it clear: either pick your baby or pick me, he says. Suddenly, Cheryl finds herself at a crossroads. She makes a decision that will change her life forever, and that decision causes a chain of events that will lead Cheryl to a completely unexpected place.


Baby Girl is a mother’s story. It’s about the greatest sacrifice a mother can make when she wants only the best for her child. It’s about falling in and out of love, of losing and finding one’s self. It’s about the perilous journey from passionate young love to happy true love and understanding the differences between the two.

Baby Girl is a book that readers won’t want to miss because it’s a story they won’t forget. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

Note from the Author:
This book is based on a true story…a story that is heartbreaking at times but will leave readers with a better understanding of what a woman will do to protect her child. When I first heard this birth mother’s story I was touched by it, so much so that I needed to know more. When I knew more, I knew I needed to write my novel. The result is Baby Girl.

Normally, I don’t like to include book descriptions with my review. In this case, however, I love the Goodreads description. And I also love the note from the author. If only I’d known this book was based on a true story! (Yes, I didn’t read any of the above before starting the book.) The only thing I can add to everything above is that I really enjoyed this book. Before I started this book I learned that it was the fourth book in a series. I was told that the book could stand alone, and It most certainly did! (Now I also look forward to reading the first three books in the series.)

I’m so glad that I read this novel because I loved every page. The author’s writing style was so effortless. I felt like she was sitting by my side and telling me a story. I fell in love with the main character Cheryl Ann. Knowing that her story is true just blows my mind. What a resilient woman. I felt every heartache that she experienced and I didn’t want to put the book down. You will be swept up in Cheryl Ann’s journey as you cheer for her to triumph. I encourage you to grab a cup of tea (you’ll see why when you read the book) or a glass of wine (my personal favorite) and treat yourself to a few hours reading this very special book.

Thanks to Bette Lee Crosby for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Shana Javery is an attorney mediator with a background in employment law. She is thrilled to have renewed her lifelong love of reading over the past few years. Shana & her husband reside in Plano, Texas. She is grateful to all the fabulous authors out there who unknowingly have eased her heartache from becoming a recent empty nester. 

More by Bette Lee Crosby:

Nikki LeClair's brag-able life...plus a book giveaway

We're pleased to feature Nikki LeClair today and feature her latest novel, Reuniting Reality. As part of her blog tour, you can enter to win an Amazon gift card or a signed copy of this novel!



Nikki LeClair lives in Canada with her loving husband and their two rambunctious children. When she isn’t ordering her children to behave or begging her Border Terrier to listen to her, she sits behind her lap-top plotting out the next adventure of her new characters. She’s a fan of a good glass of Pinot Noir, and can’t live without her favorite Tea blends.

She enjoys hearing from readers and fans of her work.

Visit Nikki online:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

Synopsis:
Starring opposite her best friend in hit reality TV show Daughter of Famous Mothers, Julie Duncan was riding high, clouded with adoring fans and cozily married to an ambitious plastic surgeon. One day, everything changed. Betrayed by not only her husband, but someone she completely trusted, Julie disappeared from that life and left it all behind.

Four years later, Julie’s life is far from brag-able. Living with her sister and scraping by doing D-list gigs, Julie is given an opportunity to fix her pathetic life. The only catch? Spending a week on camera with the people who destroyed her life. 

So what’s a girl to do when her back is against the wall? 

✓ Create a new, improved version of herself—a version that has moved on and let go the trials of the past. 

✓ Invent a hopping new social life and a hot Olympian boyfriend. 

✓ Beg forgiveness from her former best friend.

Simple enough until her fake new boyfriend suddenly shows up, her former best friend gives the cold shoulder, her ex-husband is as shady as ever, and butterflies she thought had died long ago begin to flutter alive. 

Will Julie be able to keep up her ruse? Or will the cameras catch something she won’t ever be able to escape?

Which authors have inspired you?
Definitely Sophie Kinsella. When I was about thirteen, Confessions of a Shopaholic was the first chick lit I ever read, so her impact on me was pretty major. Helen Fielding is another. Janet Evanovich. Gillian Flynn, A.J. Finn, and Oscar Wilde. I've worn out three copies of Dorian Grey in the last decade.

Why did you decide to write Chick Lit?
I love things that make me laugh. That make me feel life can be humorous, it's suppose to not be taken so seriously. I think that's why I love to write chick lit. It can be light, funny, quirk, and romantic. Often times a good chick lit leaves you in a positive mood and I think people need that. Not everything has to be so heavy all of the time. Life's not meant to be that way.

If Reuniting Reality were made into a movie, who would you cast as the lead characters?
Funny enough, before I even begin writing, sometimes I'll cast the characters in my head. I picture them as an actor I saw recently or even someone I've come across in my life. For Reuniting Reality, I had casted Charlie Cox as Declan, Kathy Najimy as castmate supermom Brooke, Jason Priestley as Jule's brother Finley, and Julian McMahon as Jule's ex-husband Adam. Funny enough, I don't know who would play Jules herself, or her best friend Reagan.

What is your most unique trait?
Does thriving in chaos count? If so, that's it. I can find anything in a mess. A mess I created, or someone else has created. Like a sixth sense. My work space is a mess, but I write better that way. If not, then its discipline. Especially when it comes to writing, or working out, or working towards
a goal but that took years to get a grip on. Sometimes I still lose it.

What piece of clothing have you owned the longest?
My communion gown. From the mid 90's. It's got puff sleeves and a high neck and Anne of Avonlea would just love it.

What TV series reminds you the most of your life?
Oh man, this is hard as I watch a lot of TV...but I'd have to go with Parks and Recreation. Only because people have compared me to Ann on the show, and I once worked for a small county. Sometimes I feel like Ron though.

Thanks to Nikki for visiting with us and to Karan and Co for sharing this giveaway with our readers. Visit the other stops on Nikki's tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Those Other Women

UK cover

By Becky Gulc

‘Poppy's world has been tipped sideways: the husband who never wanted children has betrayed her with her broody best friend.

At least Annalise is on her side. Her new friend is determined to celebrate their freedom from kids, so together they create a Facebook group to meet up with like-minded women, and perhaps vent just a little about smug mummies' privileges at work.

Meanwhile their colleague Frankie would love a night out, away from her darlings - she's not had one this decade and she's heartily sick of being judged by women at the office as well as stay-at-home mums.

Then Poppy and Annalise's group takes on a life of its own and frustrated members start confronting mums like Frankie in the real world. Cafes become battlegrounds, playgrounds become warzones and offices have never been so divided.

A rivalry that was once harmless fun is spiralling out of control.

Because one of their members is a wolf in sheep's clothing. And she has an agenda of her own.’ (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon UK.)

Those Other Women was completely refreshing, modern and engaging from the very beginning.

US print cover

Based on the title alone, I assumed this book would be about fidelity and to be honest, I wondered if I would have read this type of book numerous times before. I was so pleasantly surprised to have it all wrong.

Whilst yes Poppy experiences infidelity, and yes it knocks her for six, the plot doesn’t reside on this for long before the real gist of the story begins. As a new friend/colleague, Annalise has a huge impact on Poppy and she doesn’t let her dwell on what’s happened to her. The pair share a contentment at being non-mothers, and a shared distaste of ‘smug mummies’ who they feel are getting away with and monopolizing everything. Soon this dynamic duo are setting up their own members only Facebook group, NOP, an alternative to MOP, a popular local mum’s Facebook group. Whilst it was maybe innocently set up as a small local online community for those not intending on having children, just to discuss what’s going on locally and connect with like-minded people, it is surely never going to stay this innocent and simple is it? No.

I enjoyed the premise of these Facebook groups as a basis for a novel. I use Facebook, I know these kinds of groups, and the good points and bad points were cleverly written. Whilst our main characters are team NOP, I thought the writing worked well in terms of making me empathize with both groups. And whilst these non-mums and mums often can’t see each other’s viewpoints, I could always see both sides to a story. That felt so important as a reader, as you need to bond with the characters regardless of your own personal circumstances. It helped that it was often supporting characters that were a bit more extreme in their viewpoints, although our main characters also made some poor and hasty decisions at times.

US Kindle cover

The pace worked well for me and I was kept interested throughout, not only in finding out if and how the conflict between NOP and MOP (which becomes very much offline as well as online) would be resolved, but finding out more about our characters; particularly Annalise, as someone we knew little about. A further core character, Frankie, is also not introduced properly to the reader until around the half-way mark, I thought this shift in narrative worked and kept it interesting. There’s a lot going on with the social media groups as a consistent core.

Whilst I thought the big reveal of the ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ could have been more shocking, by this point I knew it wasn’t going to be a real surprising reveal. This didn’t matter overall as there was lots going on elsewhere to keep tensions and intrigue high. I would definitely read more by this author, a great read!

Thanks to Penguin Random House UK for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Nicola Moriarty:

Release Blitz: On the Road to Love

 

On the Road to Love by Melissa Baldwin

Published by Gemma Halliday Publishing on April 17, 2018

Genres: Romantic Comedy

From bestselling romantic comedy author Melissa Baldwin comes the road trip of a lifetime! 

Successful Manhattan accountant Stacy Brown is shocked when her almost perfect life unexpectedly crumbles around her. Blindsided by her husband when he serves her with divorce papers and tossed aside by the women she considered her best friends, devastation and depression hit her hard. But when her mother sends her an old photograph of her and two childhood friends, Candace and Olivia, it fuels a desire in Stacy to find that person she once was. What starts as a chance to reconnect turns into an unforgettable road trip back to her childhood home and an encounter with a man from her past.

Gavin Kingsley, son of Stacy's old piano teacher and former annoying boy next door, sparks something in Stacy that she hasn't felt in a long time…maybe never? Despite her hesitation to jump into a relationship, Stacy can't help being drawn to him as she and her girlfriends take a journey of self-discovery, laughs, tears, and hysterical moments. 

Can returning to her past give Stacy everything she's been searching for in her future?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Melissa Baldwin

Melissa Baldwin is an avid runner, planner obsessed, and has always had a love for writing. She is a wife, mother, and avid journal keeper who took her creativity to the next level by fulfilling her dream with her debut novel, An Event to Remember…or Forget. Melissa writes about charming, ambitious, and real women and is now a published author of ten Romantic Comedy novels and novellas.

When she isn’t deep in the writing zone, this multi-tasking master organizer is busy spending time with her family, chauffeuring her daughter, traveling, running, indulging in fitness, and taking a Disney Cruise every now and then.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Pinterest

Book Review and Giveaway: Can't Help Myself

By Jami Deise

When I reviewed Flying at Night, I began the review by mentioning my addiction to advice columnists like Carolyn Hax at the Washington Post. Even before that review was published, Chick Lit Central was pitched a memoir by Boston Globe advice columnist Meredith Goldstein. Kismet! I had to have it.

Goldstein begins Can’t Help Myself by referencing her Maryland childhood and affinity for Hax, so right away I knew her memoir was a good choice. Goldstein and Hax have similar credentials for the advice-giving profession—both are journalists who took up the mantle based on their ways with words rather than any kind of therapeutic background. Goldstein pitched the column as a web-based feature to drive more traffic to the Globe’s site and generate user comments; it was so successful that it found life in the paper’s dead tree version. Goldstein solicits user feedback after every question she answers, further investing participants in the site. (Hax has her own Greek chorus as well.)

The book is a great mix of Goldstein’s personal life and the questions that she receives and answers, along with her followers’ responses as well. As the memoir begins, she is reeling from a break-up she didn’t see coming and looking for a way to broaden her impact at the paper. She starts the column, and right away it becomes more successful than she or the paper had anticipated. At the same time, her personal life remains rocky. As she writes about her personal challenges in the memoir, she runs letters from folks in similar situations, along with her response and the advice her followers offered.

Goldstein addresses the reader directly, and is very upfront about what she sees as her personal shortcomings. (Although I think the desire to stay in and binge-watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an asset, not a liability.) As her home life gets more complicated, her column becomes more circumspect. While I thought there was a little too much about her sister’s love life, overall Can’t Help Myself is a quick read with a charming narrator.

Can’t Help Myself should be a big hit among readers of Goldstein’s "Love Letters" column. But now that she turned the spotlight on herself, readers might ask for more and more personal details. I imagine followers writing in, offering to set her up with old friends or at least borrow some DVDs to binge on. I hope Goldstein keeps her fans updated.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the book in exchange for an honest review. They have TWO copies to give away!


How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway ends April 22nd at midnight EST.

More by Meredith Goldstein:

What's in the mail...plus a giveaway

Melissa A:
Rush by Lisa Patton + swag from St. Martin's Press
You Me Everything by Catherine Isaac from Viking
The Neighbors by Hannah Mary McKinnon from Thoughts on This 'n That (won giveaway)
My Ex-Life by Stephen McCauley from Flatiron Books

Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb from Lake Union
When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica from Harlequin (e-book via NetGalley)
The Not So Perfect Mother by Kerry Fisher from Bookouture (e-book via NetGalley)

Jami and Melissa A:
Can't Help Myself by Meredith Goldstein from Grand Central Publishing (Jami got an e-book via NetGalley. Melissa A got a print copy.)

Jami:
Dreams of Falling by Karen White from Berkley (e-book via NetGalley)

Becky:
The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland from Zaffre
Missing Pieces by Laura Pearson from Ipso Books

Sara:
Audacity on the Water by/from L.R. Smolarek (e-book)



What could be in YOUR mail:

A Lady's Guide to Selling Out by Sally Franson

Random House has THREE copies to give away!

A brilliant young woman navigates a tricky twenty-first-century career—and the trickier question of who she wants to be—in this savagely wise debut novel for fans of Younger, The Bold Type, and The Devil Wears Prada.

Casey Pendergast is losing her way. Once a book-loving English major, Casey lands a job at a top ad agency that highly values her ability to tell a good story. Her best friend thinks she’s a sellout, but Casey tells herself that she’s just paying the bills—and she can’t help that she has champagne taste.

When her hard-to-please boss assigns her to a top-secret campaign that pairs literary authors with corporations hungry for upmarket cachet, Casey is both excited and skeptical. But as she crisscrosses America, wooing her former idols, she’s shocked at how quickly they compromise their integrity: A short-story writer leaves academia to craft campaigns for a plus-size clothing chain, a reclusive nature writer signs away her life’s work to a manufacturer of granola bars.

When she falls in love with one of her authors, Casey can no longer ignore her own nagging doubts about the human cost of her success. By the time the year’s biggest book festival rolls around in Las Vegas, it will take every ounce of Casey’s moxie to undo the damage—and, hopefully, save her own soul.

Told in an unforgettable voice, with razor-sharp observations about everything from feminism to pop culture to social media, A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out is the story of a young woman untangling the contradictions of our era and trying to escape the rat race—by any means necessary. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)


“Truly beautifully observed, A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out is a gorgeous treat. Sally Franson’s voice is addictive: whip-smart, biting, and clever. I kept pausing to reread parts of it with a huge smile on my face.”
—Jane Green, author of The Sunshine Sisters

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway ends April 18th at midnight EST.

Spotlight: A Home at Honeysuckle Farm

A family secret
One shocking argument and ten-year-old Alice Parker’s world was turned upside down. Her peaceful life at Honeysuckle Farm in the quiet rural village of Brook Bridge swapped for the bustling metropolis of New York City. Alice’s life was changed forever…

A second chance
Now, thirteen years later, Alice’s American dream is over. With her life in tatters, there is only one place Alice wants to be… home at Honeysuckle Farm. So, when Alice learns her beloved Grandie is ill, she knows this is her last chance to heal the family rift.

A forever home?
But secrets still swirl in Brook Bridge, and Alice is no closer to discovering the truth. And for some reason her new friendship with local heartthrob Sam Reid seems to be making the locals tense.

Sick of the lies Alice knows it’s time to lay the past to rest once and for all. But could the truth ruin her hopes of ever calling Honeysuckle Farm home again?

Purchase A Home at Honeysuckle Farm:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty's Countryside Dream, Lizzie's Christmas Escape, Evie's Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream and A Home at Honeysuckle Farm. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia.

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organisations to improve their well-being as well as Literary Editor for www.mamalifemagazine.co.uk bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the book world.

She loves to hear from her readers and you can get in touch via her website, Twitter, and her Facebook page.

Visit the other stops on Christie's blog tour: