Monday, July 8, 2013

Book Review & Giveaway: Ladies' Night

By Gail Allison

**Giveaway is closed**

She was the goddess of lifestyle blogging, and Grace Stanton thought she had it all. A flair for decorating, an eye for photography, and a charming blog with deeply dedicated followers were the cornerstones of her peaking career. Her husband was as devoted to her business as he was to her…until Grace caught her husband…um…devoting himself to her assistant in his sports car one night. After unceremoniously drowning the sports car, Grace stormed out of her house in a rage and moved back in with her mother. While doing some damage control on her blog (apparently when a celebrity decides to wash her husbands car in their swimming pool, it makes the news), Grace comes to realize that she had maybe handed over too much to her husband. The beloved blog that she had tended as carefully as a bonsai tree had been hastily handed over to her assistant (by none other than her darling husband and business manager), and Grace has been left out in the cold.

While attending her court-mandated therapy sessions, Grace meets some other folks, all of whom seem to have been cheated on or betrayed in some way. But when their therapist starts acting strangely, the group is forced to work together to figure out not only what’s going on with their therapist, but to all work together to come to terms with their own losses and new beginnings.

Let me start off by saying that I love Mary Kay Andrews’ books. Love them. For me, they’re the perfect summer read. Ladies’ Night manages to combine romance, a tiny bit of mystery, and a rollicking good time to become a book that I’m already looking forward to picking back up and re-reading. I wanted to be in those therapy sessions with those women! I wanted to follow Grace’s blog!!! Every character in this book was multifaceted (yes, even the cheating husband) and absolutely interesting. When Grace was redecorating the beach house, I could see it in my mind's eye. The descriptions were spot-on: not too wordy, but just enough detail so I could see everything exactly the way Ms. Andrews wanted me to. The novel follows Grace through her self-discovery and empowerment and left me feeling so excited for her that I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. There was even one part when I had to take a moment, put the book aside, and say to my husband, “I didn’t think this book could get better. It just did.”

Besides the wonderful and engaging characters, the plotline of this book keeps moving at a fantastic pace. It never picks up so fast that you turn a page wondering what just happened, and it never drags so much that you start skimming just to find some action. I absolutely adored this book, and it completely reminded me of why I love Mary Kay Andrews’ writing. Grab this book, mix up a margarita, and park yourself on a blanket in a sunny spot. You won’t regret it.

Thanks to Tandem Literary for the book in exchange for an honest review. For a lucky US reader, they are giving away a copy of the book along with an event kit that includes:

•FOUR copies of the Ladies' Night discussion guide
•A set of FOUR Mary Kay Andrews bookmarks
•FOUR complete sets of 3 Ladies' Night recipe cards
•A set of FOUR Ladies' Night drink coasters
•A set of FOUR Ladies' Night plastic cups
•A set of FOUR festive drink umbrellas
•One bottle of Ladies' Night custom nail polish
•Four packets of zinna seeds specially branded with Ladies' Night graphics

How to win:
Please tell us where you'd go for a vacation with your closest girlfriends.

One entry per person.

Please include your e-mail address or another way to reach you if you win. Entries without contact information will NOT be counted.

US only. Giveaway ends July 14th at midnight EST.

More by Mary Kay Andrews:




43 comments:

TinaB said...

I'd love to go anywhere there's sand and surf!! Jamaica, Bahamas, Hawaii...anywhere...I'm not picky! Haha!
Brannanflooring@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Me and my girlfriends would do a cruise to any destination. A cruise allows for many different activities.

melinda.garza15@yahoo.com

pascale said...

I would rent a villa in Jamaica and spend a week with my friends. HEAVEN!

pascale.poitras@verizon.net

Kritters Ramblings said...

I am a beach girl, so you could stick me and my friends on any beach with a good pool close by for a change of scenery and it would be a good week!

kdurham2@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I would love to go anywhere with a sandy beach and the ocean! A girls trip sounds so wonderful right now!

sumsum085@aol.com

Pat said...

Any sandy beach, blue ocean, and some good shopping closeby! We are all beginning to retire, and get togethers are so fun.
psnyder15@hotmail.com

susieqlaw said...

We would go to Hawaii!

sendsusanmail at gmail dot com

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I agree that there needs to be a beach! With sun and sand and great restaurants!

nbmars AT yahoo DOT com

Meg Munson said...

I would love to go to Vegas with my closest friends! We hang out by the pool during the day and check out all the fun sites at night!

megmunson@me.com

Anonymous said...

I would definitely go to Europe; either Paris or Italy!

SuzyQ4PR(at)aol(dot)com

Jessica said...

I'd definitely like to go to London with my girlfriends. =]

Thanks!
-Jessica M
walkingcorpse11@hotmail.com

J. B. Everett said...

Anywhere these friends are is the best place on earth. Sun, sand and an abundance of wine wouldn't hurt, however. jnbeverett@gmail(dot)com

rhonda said...

Santa Barbra beautiful city great resturants.lomazowr@gmail.com

Mary Jo Burke said...

A beachfront hotel with a lovely pool.

maryjo(at)maryjoburke(dot)com

Unknown said...

I would be at Duck, NC ( a wonderful beach ) with my friends. I would live there if I could! We would all bring books and swap them during the week. Ahh, I can see it now!

Unknown said...

forgot to leave my email

opesopinions@gmail.com

Susan @ The Book Bag said...

First of all, let me say that I love MKA's books! I can't wait to read this one.

I would love to go someplace in the mountains, in a cabin, where we could all just hang out around the fire. We would eat, drink and laugh.

I actually just got back from a 7 day road trip, in an RV, with 3 of my friends. We drove to ABQ (2 day drive) to visit some friends. We had a blast! Lots of laughs. And lots of chocolate!

suzebomb(at)gmail.com

Lisamarie said...

My girlfriends and I would go to an all inclusive resort in Cancun...where all we do is lay by the pool with our umbrella drinks and READ our stacks of books! :)

tropicalsunlover05(at)yahoo(dot)com

Anita Yancey said...

We would go to Hawaii and spend time on the beach.

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

holdenj said...

I would go to the Oregon Coast. Beautiful! Thanks1
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

I would love to go on a cruise in the Caribbean with my girlfriends!

missamberljohnson at gmail dot com

DD said...

I'd take my girlfriends and myself to the Maldives!

dawndennis66611 at yahoo dot com

Linda Kish said...

I would go to Vegas.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

karenk said...

I would love to go to Charleston, SC :)

karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com

EFC Chrissy said...

To the beach. That's my favorite vacation spot...relaxing with a drink, a book, good conversation, and lots of laughter.

everyfreechance@gmail.com

bn100 said...

We'd go to Miami.

bn100candg at hotmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Perfect question! Right now I am in the beginnings of planning trips with the girls I grew up with and my college roomies...we all turn the big 4-0 next year. One group is considering Nashville and the other Palm Springs. I can't wait for both adventures wherever we decide to go.

monsterhead01(at)comcast(dot)net

TaraSimoneBooks said...

Definitely Vegas, it's an easy flight from where I live so more time for fun. After a day by the pool, the girls would have massages at the Bellagio's amazing spa, then dress to kill, hit the roulette table at Caesars, whiskey sours in hand, play our lucky numbers, then head to a fab dinner at Carnevino at the Palazzo, take in a late show, then finish the evening with drinks at Lavo!

Charlotte said...

Would take off to Paris, come back and go to Boston
CABWNANA1@bellsouth.net

Connie said...

I think a cruise where we could just lounge around the pool all day sipping lovely drinks with umbrellas, reading and gossiping. Follow the day with a lovely dinner, a show and some fun time in the casino and what more could one ask for?

conniecape@aol.com

Erica said...

Santa Fe New Mexico. Love it.

Tiffany Drew said...

I'd love to go to Hawaii with my friends. We all have kids and are in desperate need of some adult time. I can't think of anything better than relaxing on a towel at the beach and just gossiping like we used to about everything and nothing.

jaidahsmommy(at)comcast(dot)net

Laura Kay said...

A beach...any beach! Would be awesome!
Laura Kay
anovelreview(@)yahoo(.)com

Stacie said...

Last October for my 40th, I went with the girls to the Foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There are wonderful wineries there and not as pretentious as Napa Valley. We rented a house and HAD. A. BLAST. I highly recommend!

Anne B. said...

I would love to go to Italy!

amberenson(at)verizon(dot)net

BookLady said...

I'd love to go to Hawaii with my friends.
bhometchko(at)hotmail(dot)com

rubynreba said...

I would go to Norway and Sweden.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

Unknown said...

My best friend (my mom) and I would love to go to Rome. We would both love to see the famous sights; the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps), the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and so on. We'd love to see it all. And Rome looks like a beautiful place, judging from the pictures I've seen.
Rome is our dream; our deepest wish!

jessbair15@gmail.com

Jennifer Huelsebusch said...

I would go to London!!

jhuelsebusch@sbcglobal.net

Jessica said...

Hawaii!

Jessdeleon (at) aol (dot) com

Kristin said...

I would take my sisters (who are my best friends) and my mom and we would find a beach house to rent...something that has a great porch with comfy chairs for reading...my ideal spot would be one of the beaches on the Outer Banks.

Great giveaway!!!
k2reader(at)gmail(dot)com

Melissa said...

Thanks for participating and telling us where you'd go for a girls' getaway.

Thanks to Tandem Literary for sharing the book and event kit with our winner.

Random.org chose ONE winner from all entries with contact info. (One entry per person.)

Congrats to susieqlaw!

Anonymous said...

The Hamptons, Long Island. Jill Broussard; minishoes@msn.com