Chick Lit Central

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Book Review: The Flood

By Sara Steven

One bet, four girls, eight weeks, multiple dates. What could possibly go wrong?

Following his traumatic eight month dry spell, Dan Hilles is back in the driving seat and ready to put his dating disasters behind him.

But if only it were that simple.

After a drunken afternoon in the pub, fuelled by the confidence of alcohol, Dan makes a bet with his three best pals that will complicate his love-life more than ever when he brazenly declares that he could juggle multiple women all at the same time.

With just eight weeks to prove his point, Dan is about to find out how hard it is to date a flood of women without them all finding out about each other, especially when they come in the shape of an ex-girlfriend, a stalker, the office ice queen and the one that got away. (synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

The Flood takes us on a journey inside the mind of a man, a man who is tired of being labeled as the “nice guy” within his group of friends. In Dan’s world, being the nice guy hasn’t gotten him very far where the ladies are concerned. He can’t help feeling as though everyone else is moving forward, while he’s still stuck lamenting over a certain someone, the one who got away. The way that relationship (if it can even be called that) ended is something he can’t get out of his mind, but maybe making a bet with his cronies can save him from his doldrums. Maybe it’s time for Dan to see what it’s like, when you’re everything but the nice guy.

I had an enjoyable time living vicariously through Dan. Sure, I’m a woman, but how often are we privy to a man’s thoughts? That’s how I felt every step of the way. Some of it was cringe-worthy, some of it made me ponder the inner workings of the male species, but it was all written from an honest perspective. In the end, Dan is just a person, like you or I, looking for acceptance, and dare I say it, love, during a time in his life where it’s nearly unacceptable to admit to wanting to find that special someone. It’s more acceptable to have flings and never get too attached.

Will nice guys finish first? Or, will it be the old adage of, “nice guys finish last?” Steven Scaffardi tells this story perfectly and candidly, making me appreciate the Lad Lit genre all the more! I haven’t read the first book in this series, The Drought, as of yet, but I’m going to make it a must-read on my list.

Thanks to Steven Scaffardi for the book in exchange for an honest review. Visit the other stops on his blog tour. Both books are 99 cents for Kindle!

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Mary Kubica has nothing to cry about...plus a book giveaway

Mary Kubica has been receiving a lot of acclaim ever since her debut novel, The Good Girl, was published in 2014. Her novels are suspenseful, but also have characters that are easy to sympathize with. Melissa A really enjoyed Mary's latest, Don't You Cry (reviewed here), which published today. Let's wish her a happy pub day and learn more about her main character Quinn's childhood. Thanks to Mira, we have one copy for a lucky reader!

Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL and PRETTY BABY. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (where Melissa A's husband went to college), in History and American Literature, and lives outside of Chicago (close to where Melissa A and Melissa S grew up) with her husband and two children, where she enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter. Her first novel, THE GOOD GIRL, received a Strand Critics Nomination for Best First Novel and was a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards in Debut Goodreads Author and in Mystery & Thriller for 2014. She is currently working on her next novel. (Bio adapted from Mary's website.)

Visit Mary at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Synopsis:
In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate Quinn Collins to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she's the person Quinn thought she knew.

Meanwhile, in a small Michigan harbor town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her charm and beauty, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more dark and sinister than he ever expected.

As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under Pearl's spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us in the end. (Courtesy of Goodreads.)

Thank you to Chick Lit Central for including DON’T YOU CRY on today’s blog. I love this theme of regression, and had so much fun diving into the inner psyche of a young Quinn Collins. In DON’T YOU CRY, Quinn is only twenty-three, not too far past her childhood days. She’s bridging that gap between the dependent teenage years and becoming an independent adult – recently graduated from college and living on her own for the first time in her life, in a dead end job she doesn’t like, learning financial responsibilities and navigating her way out into the world. She makes plenty of mistakes throughout the novel, but I hope readers will love her for her vulnerability nonetheless, and that they will see her personal growth through the pages of the book.

As a child:

What did your character want to be when they grew up?
Quinn suffers from a learning disability and doesn’t put much stake in her own intelligence. Her self-esteem is low, and though she tries to laugh it off and not let people think it bothers her, deep inside it does. I’m quite certain Quinn wouldn’t have had enough faith in herself to believe she could be a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher. She lacks ambition. As sad as it sounds, I don’t think that Quinn would not have striven to pursue a dream job, but more likely settled on that which she considered within her reach, mainly a menial position like the one she finds herself in in DON’T YOU CRY.

What was something your character found funny?
Her family. Though she pretends not to love her mother and father and younger sister, Madison, she absolutely does. They are a close knit family, and in it, Quinn is extremely loved and protected. It takes her struggles throughout DON’T YOU CRY to realize this, but her family is one thing as a child she would have adored, and the one place she was undeniably safe.

What was your character's favorite TV show?
Quinn certainly would have preferred comedies or a teen series laden with drama and gossip. She doesn’t take life too seriously; in fact, even after her roommate goes missing it takes some time until she realizes that she has a serious problem on her hands. Quinn would have gravitated to shows like One Tree Hill or Malcolm in the Middle as her favorite programs growing up.

What was your character's favorite food?
This is an easy one – pizza and popcorn! They’re two of her favorite foods even as a young adult, and Quinn makes it clear that one of the best parts of being independent is not having to eat the more healthful foods her mother would like for her to eat.

Who was your character's celebrity crush?
Zac Efron

What was your character's favorite thing to do?
Hang out with her friends. Quinn tends to be a social butterfly and, though socially awkward at times, having friends and that sense of belonging is so important to her both as a child and a young adult.

Thanks to Mary for chatting with us and to Mira for sharing her book with our readers.

DON'T YOU CRY is part of BookSparks' Summer Reading Challenge 2016!

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 May 23rd at midnight EST.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Guest Book Review: Letters for Scarlet

By Michelle Drodge

Many a time have I read a brief synopsis and found myself somewhat interested in a novel - but something about the words describing this book pulled me in from the start.

“Pain can take a lifetime to heal, but hope lasts even longer…

Corie Harper is twenty-eight years old when she is first visited by a ghost—in the form of a graduation letter she forgot she wrote. Although she spent a decade burying that desperate girl and her regrets, each page resurrects the past, dragging Corie back to a time when all she craved was Scarlet Hinden’s friendship and Tuck Slater’s heart. But she couldn’t keep them both and keep her word.

Scarlet is haunted in her own way, by memories of Corie and of a night that left her wishing she were dead. But Scarlet is not only alive, she’s carrying new life: a baby she never wanted and is terrified to have. Convinced she would be a disastrous mother, she questions whether or not she deserves the love of any man. Especially the father of her child.”

I'm not sure I've ever been this addicted to a novel from a first time author, and I didn’t have it in my inbox for more than a few hours before I started reading it. I suppose the combination of my curiousity, and the unusual plot peaked my interest.

In order to preserve the tidbits of joy you will find in this book, this review will avoid giving a detailed play-by-play and a deep character overview. Letters for Scarlet is a well-written, perfectly paced story altering between two former best friends Corie and Scarlet - two women who haven't seen each in over a decade. The reasons why they are reunited aren't typical of a chick lit novel; in fact nothing about this book is. The language is strong with precise portrayal of each scene, both past and present. It has a somewhat gothic undertone which is quite different from a typical 'fluffy' chick lit read. There is also no token 'hunk' walking around trying to gain the affections of the protagonist – something that also never happens. The only man in a main role would be Corie's husband Tuck, the former third component of the three high school friends.

The absolute best part about this novel is that nothing appears as it seems. There is a dark secret that the reader is not privvy to until the very end, and there are several possibilities that I myself came up with - none of which were correct. I kept waiting for secret affairs, a love child, divorces, and many other life events that didn’t unfold at ALL as I presumed they would.

Saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book would be an understatement. It is quite possibly one of the best submissions I’ve ever been lucky enough to review in my time with Chick Lit Central. Not only do I hope I read more from Julie C. Gardner, I will be searching high and low for her next novel.

Thanks to Julie C. Gardner for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Michelle Drodge is 29 and lives in a small town north of Toronto in Canada with her daughter, who is five going on fifteen. She works in Management Communications during the day, but moonlights as an aspiring writer after her daughter goes to sleep. One day she hopes to see her own book on the shelf alongside her favourite Chick Lit authors!

More by Julie C. Gardner:

Friday, May 13, 2016

5000 Likes Giveaway!

Thanks for helping us reach 5000 likes! We love having you at CLC and learning about your reading interests. Stick around...there's a lot more fun in store.

First things first...
1. All our giveaways are now open WORLDWIDE (except when prohibited by law or if e-books can't be sent to overseas accounts).

2. We're doing another HUGE giveaway! We have a lot of books both in print and digital. Since Melissa A will be mailing out the print books, those are limited to US/Canada, but anyone can enter the digital giveaway. The number of print and digital sets being given away will be determined when the giveaway closes. There are TWO Rafflecopters below, so if you are able to enter both giveaways, please do so separately. Entries only count toward the Rafflecopter you participated in.

Books you could possibly win:

More print being sent to us to include:
Redesigning Rose by/from Lydia Laceby
Come Away with Me by Karma Brown, plus a notebook from Thailand, thanks to Barbara Khan
Family Trees and Branching Out by/from Kerstin March
Pen and Palate by Lucy Madison and Tram Nguyen from Grand Central Publishing
Always the Bridesmaid by Lindsey Kelk
The Right Design by/from Isabella Anderson (plus swag)
The Island House by Nancy Thayer
Books from the "It's Reigning Men" series by/from Jenny Gardiner
Some more surprise titles...

E-books are from:

(All links are to Twitter accounts)

Print books and swag (US/Canada):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

E-books (Worldwide):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: Live for This

Live For This
By Author – Kathryn R. Biel

Blurb:

Samirah Lundgren is living the party girl life. While she’s trying to forget about her past and put off having a meaningful future, her lifestyle catches up with her, leaving her in a wake of personal destruction. Alone and homeless, she encounters Michael Salinger, a man carrying his own baggage in the form of a spinal cord injury, not to mention his former fiancé is marrying his former best friend.

Can a man with a broken body and a woman with a broken soul help each other find the redemption they need to become whole again?

Buy the Book:

Amazon US
Amazon UK

About the Author:

Kathryn Biel hails from Upstate New York, and is a spouse and mother of two wonderful, but exhausting kids. In between being Chief Home Officer and Director of Child Development of the Biel household, she works as a school-based physical therapist. She attended Boston University and received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from The Sage Colleges. After years of writing countless letters of medical necessity for wheelchairs, finding increasingly creative ways to encourage the government and insurance companies to fund her client’s needs, and writing entertaining annual Christmas letters, she decided to take a shot at writing the kind of novel that she likes to read. Her musings and rants can also be found on her personal blog, Biel Blather.

Find her here:

Visit All the Tour Stops:

May 9th

Enrayn - https://enrayn.wordpress.com/ - Review/Promo
Hello Beautiful Book Blog - http://hellobeautifulbookblog.com - Excerpt
Book Lover in Florida - https://bookloverfl12.wordpress.com/ - Review/Promo

May 10th

Sweet Little Pretties - sweetlittlepretties.com - Review/Promo
I Read What You Write - https://ireadwhatyouwrite.wordpress.com - Review/Promo
Hello Chick Lit - http://hellochicklit.com - Excerpt

May 11th

The Writing Garnet - https://thewritinggarnet.wordpress.com - Author Guest Post

May 12th

ItaPixie's Book Corner - https://www.facebook.com/itapixiesbookcorner/ - Excerpt

Around the World in Books - https://aroundtheworldinbooksblog.wordpress.com/ - Guest Post

May 13th

Book Groupies - http://bookgroupies2.blogspot.com/ - Promo

Tour Organized by HCL Book Tours & HCL Author Services
an extension of Hello...Chick Lit
Now booking tours for June/July/August

Thursday, May 12, 2016

May Reader Spotlight: Tatum Rangel

We're doing a new series at the blog for readers to do either guest posts or interviews. One reader will be featured each month, and if it's a theme month, that will be the focus.

We've noticed Tatum commenting on our posts and we enjoy her frequent visits to CLC. We're glad to have her here today to talk about this month's theme: Regression. Read her interview to find out what she was like as a kid.

Tatum Rangel lives in Los Angeles, California. She is a volunteer literacy tutor for the Adult Literacy Service, at the Los Angeles Public Library. When she learned that millions of adults have struggled with reading and writing—and because reading has been a life-saver for her—she knew she wanted to give back by becoming a tutor. She enjoys reading various genres, such as spy fiction, chick lit, thrillers, suspense, etc. She loves to promote literature on her social media pages. Her blog is all about book reviews, including other reading- and writing-related topics. She’s been a journal-writer since her childhood and is currently an aspiring novelist. Libraries and bookstores are her favorite places to visit, and she loves good coffee. Follow her on Twitter and visit her blog.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be so many things, I suppose. Although I don’t remember how old I was, I’d wanted to be a model. There were occasions when I’d sneak into the bathroom to sample my mom’s make-up. I liked the smell of her make-up and moisturizers, as well. My mom would tell me I was too young to wear make-up, at that time, but I still enjoyed trying it out.

What was something you found funny?
What I found funny were the times my dad would create his own song parodies. Anytime we’d go out for a drive and whatever familiar song played on the radio, he’d just throw in his own lyrics. It amazed me how he did that, because the lyrics were so random, but it was always good for a laugh.

What was your favorite TV show?
My favorite TV show was The Simpsons. I loved watching it every week. Every now and then, I like to watch their reruns.

What was your favorite food?
Although I was a picky eater, I’d have to say that burgers and fries were my favorite food.

Who was your celebrity crush?
To be honest, I didn’t really develop any crushes on celebrities when I was a kid; however, I admit I did have a bit of a crush on Matthew Broderick. It was his voice I also found attractive. And I like him as Ferris Bueller.

What was your favorite thing to do?
When I received my first diary, I wrote all the time. That became my favorite thing to do.

Book Review: While My Eyes Were Closed

By Jami Deise

Everyone has asked the question at one point: What kind of mother would do that?

What kind of mother would give her two-year-old juice in a bottle?

What kind of mother would forget to pick up her kid at daycare?

What kind of mother would leave her sleeping child in the car?

Even people who have never had children feel free to judge those who have. And those of us who are mothers know we’ve done something, at some point, that has others judging us.

But hopefully they aren’t lurking in the woods, waiting to take our child away when we’re not looking.

In Linda Green’s While My Eyes Were Closed, when Lisa Dale takes her four-year-old daughter Ella to the park, she only closes her eyes for a moment to play hide-and-seek. But then a client calls, and Lisa lets go of Ella’s balloon, and by the time she goes seeking for Ella, Ella is gone. At first, Lisa thinks Ella is just very good at hiding. When she finally calls her husband Alex in a panic, he thinks she’s overreacting. By the time the police are called, Ella isn’t in the park anymore.'

Lisa has no idea that Muriel – her son Otis’s piano teacher – was in the park, watching as Lisa made light of Ella falling down, and then turning to her phone as Ella ran off. What kind of mother is she? Muriel asks. Certainly not a woman who deserves a child like Ella. And since Ella already knew Muriel from accompanying her brother to his piano lessons (oddly enough, Lisa never did), Ella goes with her willingly. As Lisa and Alex grow more and more frantic, Muriel cuts Ella’s hair and changes the girl’s clothes, so she looks just like Muriel’s son Matthew. Matthew, Muriel tells Ella, is a grown-up boy now, living on his own. But why is Muriel still calling for him?

The book has three points of view: Lisa’s, Muriel’s, and Matthew’s from a year-old diary. Muriel’s point of view dominates, and because of that decision, there isn’t really a lot of suspense around the question of what will happen to Ella. Instead, the mystery is what happened to Matthew, and how much his fate impacts his mother’s current state of mind.

There is really nothing surprising about Lisa or her story. The police investigation unfolds predictably; her family reacts as a typical family would react in these circumstances. I had expected Lisa to be the focal character – the book blurb is written from her point of view – but the author spends a lot more time with Muriel. Muriel’s mind is a little muddy, which isn’t surprising, considering her actions. The secondary characters – Alex, Lisa’s older daughter Chloe, Otis and the police woman Claire – all seem very real. I was impressed by Green’s ability to authentically portray children of different ages. I never doubted Ella was four-going-on-five, and 5th grader Otis handled his sister’s disappearance with a believable mixture of bewilderment and bravado.

My only complaint is that for a suspense thriller, the pacing is quite slow. The writer reveals very early on that Muriel has taken Ella, and her reasons for doing so. Most of the book depicts Muriel’s attempts at winning over the child, and Muriel’s thoughts about Matthew and how to manipulate Ella. However, there is an interesting twist when the book is almost over that tied things together neatly, albeit coincidentally. While My Eyes Were Closed could have had a much faster pace had Green laid out this coincidence at the beginning and made it Muriel’s motivation, rather than having Muriel take Ella on impulse.

Kidnapped children and their frantic mothers seem to be a trend in suspense novels these days, and While My Eyes Were Closed offers an interesting take on the plot. And I have to admit, I did judge Lisa. The question going through my mind was: What kind of mother doesn’t know her son’s piano teacher?

Thanks to Quercus for the book in exchange for an honest review. Visit all the stops on Linda Green's blog tour.

More by Linda Green: