Talking about marriage with Sarah and Greer...plus a book giveaway

Photo by Bill Miles
L to R: Sarah and Greer

We're pleased to have Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks at CLC today to feature their joint debut, The Wife Between Us (reviewed here). Thanks to St. Martin's Press (who did some amazing build-up for this novel), we have TWO copies for some lucky readers!

Sarah Pekkanen has been a regular visitor to CLC since her debut, The Opposite of Me, came out in 2010. She is the internationally and USA Today bestselling author of seven previous novels. A former investigative journalist and feature writer, she has published work in The Washington Post, USA Today, and many others. She is the mother of three sons and lives just outside Washington, D.C.

Greer Hendricks spent over two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. Prior to her tenure in publishing, she worked at Allure magazine and obtained her Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and Publishers Weekly. Greer lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children. THE WIFE BETWEEN US is her first novel. 

They're both here to dish on our January theme...Romance!

Visit Sarah online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Visit Greer online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:
When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.
You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.
You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.
Assume nothing.

Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage - and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

Read between the lies. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Favorite celebrity couple:
Sarah: Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux. I read an interview a while back in which they talked about the importance of kindness in their relationship, and I’ve always been impressed by the emphasis they place on that value.
Greer: Barack and Michelle Obama. They still seem completely in love and as if they manage to have an intellectual, playful and romantic relationship.

Favorite romance novel (or author, if you can't pick just one book):
S: I adore Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale. It’s an epic love story, gorgeously told.
G: While technically Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot isn’t a romance, I love the idea that you can reclaim a seemingly lost romantic relationship.

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word "romance"?
S: My mind goes not to a glitzy event with champagne and diamonds, but to a more intimate and meaningful setting - some of the most romantic nights I’ve experienced are quiet evenings in front of a fireplace.
G: When you’ve been married for almost 20 years and have two teenagers, romantic moments are often stolen ones. Some of my most romantic moments with my husband involve taking our dogs for a long walk or our weekend boozy brunches.

Most memorable Valentine's Day:
Sarah: I’d like to think it’s still ahead of me!
Greer: When I was six months pregnant with my first child, my husband surprised me with a bubble bath filled with rose petals and chocolate covered strawberries.

Best movie or TV show kiss:
Sarah: Jim and Pam on The Office - I can’t believe it took those two that long to get together!
Greer: Debra Winger and Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman. That last scene when he picks her up in the factory always makes me cry.

Who is your book boyfriend?
Sarah: I just re-read Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger and have a book crush on the mysterious Jake (this could be because I have a little weakness for dark-haired guys with tattoos)!
Greer: I’m actually beginning to fall in love with one of the characters in the new book Sarah and I are working on. But I won’t say more for fear of giving anything away.

Thanks to Sarah and Greer for visiting with us and to St. Martin's Press for sharing their book with our readers.

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. 

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Giveaway ends January 16th at midnight EST.

January and February 2018 Book Giveaway

Every two months, we're featuring EIGHT books we're interested in checking out. (We know there are many, many more, but we're just highlighting a few that haven't received their time in the spotlight yet.) Here are the books we've chosen for January and February. There is one copy of each book available to give away and we will choose FOUR winners to each receive TWO books at random.

See our previous bi-monthly posts for some other great reads you might have missed.

 (Mini teasers/synopses are all courtesy of Amazon.)

January:

Happiness for Humans 
by P.Z. Reizin (January 9th)

When Tom and Jen, two lonely people, are brought together by an intriguing email, they have no idea their mysterious benefactor is an artificial intelligence who has decided to play Cupid. 

*Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the giveaway copy.

This Love Story Will Self Destruct by Leslie Cohen (January 23rd)

With an acerbic edge and heartwarming humor, debut novelist Leslie Cohen takes us on a tour of what life looks like when it doesn’t go according to plan, and explores the complexity, chaos, and comedy in finding a relationship built to last.


*Thanks to Gallery for the giveaway copy.

Talk to the Paw 
by Melinda Metz (January 30th)

Inspired by the true story of a Portland, Oregon, cat who stole from his neighbors—and stole America’s heart...


*Thanks to Kensington for the giveaway copy.

The Girlfriend 
by Michelle Frances (January 30th)

The Girlfriend is a taut and wickedly twisted debut psychological thriller—a novel of subtle sabotage, retaliation, jealousy and fear, which pivots on an unforgivable lie, and examines the mother–son–daughter-in-law relationship in a chilling new light.

*Thanks to Kensington for the giveaway copy.

February:

As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner (February 6th)


From the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Bridge Across the Ocean comes a new novel set in Philadelphia during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which tells the story of a family reborn through loss and love.


*Thanks to Berkley for the giveaway copy.

By the Book 
by Julia Sonneborn (February 6th)

An English professor struggling for tenure discovers that her ex-fiancé has just become the president of her college—and her new boss—in this whip-smart modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic, Persuasion.

*Thanks to Gallery for the giveaway copy.

Dreaming in Chocolate 
by Susan Bishop Crispell (February 6th)

Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell is a heartwarming story of love, hot chocolate, and one little girl’s wish for her mother.

*Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the giveaway copy.

Next Year in Havana 
by Chanel Cleeton (February 6th)

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity--and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution...

*Thanks to Berkley for the giveaway copy.


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. 


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Giveaway ends February 7th at midnight EST.

Love is in the air for Allison Winn Scotch....plus a book giveaway

Photo by Kat Tuohy

Allison Winn Scotch was one of the first authors we featured at CLC back in the summer of 2010. Today, she's celebrating the publication her seventh and latest novel, Between Me and You (reviewed here), and we are thrilled to have her here to kick off our first theme month of 2018. She's helping us revisit the theme of "Romance" and her book is a perfect fit. Thanks to Kathleen Carter Communications, we have THREE copies to give away!

Here are some fun facts about Allison, for your reading enjoyment:



In addition to fiction, she primarily focuses on celebrity interviews and profiles, which indulge her pop culture obsession and give her an excuse to read junky magazines and watch lots of TV.

When she is not planted in front of the computer, Allison is hiking, running (at least she was before breaking her leg last year, so now she's trying to go running), doing yoga, reading, serving as an Uber service for her kids, or hanging out with her family and their pooches, Pele and Paco.

Allison moved to Los Angeles in 2012 and loves it. She often writes about dysfunctional parents (but hers are really awesome). She's always, always listening to music and is on the lookout for bands or songs that will resonate with her writing.

Visit Allison online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:
When their paths first cross, Ben Livingston is a fledgling screenwriter on the brink of success; Tatum Connelly is a struggling actress tending bar in a New York City dive. They fall in love, they marry, they become parents, and they think only of the future. But as the years go by, Tatum’s stardom rises while Ben’s fades. In a marriage that bears the fallout of ambition and fame, Ben and Tatum are at a crossroads. Now all they can do is think back…

A life of passion, joy, tragedy, and loss—once shared—becomes one as shifting and unpredictable as a memory. As the pieces of their past come together, as they explore the ways love can bend and break, Ben and Tatum come to see how it all went wrong—and wonder what they can do now to make it all right. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Favorite romantic movie:
Love, Actually! I didn’t even have to think about this one. ☺ We watch it every year around the holidays, and honestly, it delights me so much every time. The kiss at the end! The proposal in broken Portuguese! The flash cards (which admittedly could be a little creepy). Anyway. I love it.

Romantic gesture that happened to you:
I don’t know if this is a standard answer, but here it is: a few years ago, I was in a very bad ski accident. I couldn’t walk or drive or do anything for three months. It was harrowing, and one of my biggest concerns (beyond the physical recovery) was how my family would function without me. Well, my husband, who had often left the bulk of the family stuff (for lack of a better word) to me, totally stepped it up and took care of me and the entire household in ways that really demonstrated what deep love and long-term marriage are. Have I had spontaneous romantic moments throughout my life? Sure. But this was the ultimate sign of partnership and devotion.

Most romantic song:
Oh, I have so many! I am a music junkie. Ok, I’m going to offer two. My daughter just said “Cowboy Take Me Away” by the Dixie Chicks because I learned it on the guitar and surprised my husband with it at our wedding (he didn’t know I could even play). So that is for sure a good one. But for this book, I also have to say “Between Me and You” by Brandon Flowers. I listened to the song on repeat while writing it – thus the title – and it is all about the highs and lows of love and all the ways – metaphorically – you stay together. I have listened to it a thousand times by now, and it still cuts right to my heart every time.

TV show characters you are shipping:
I’m deep into Riverdale right now, so I gotta say Jughead and Betty!

Favorite marriage proposal that you witnessed (okay if it's your own):
Wait, is this a common thing? I honestly can’t even think of a marriage proposal that I’ve witnessed! (Other than mine!) What am I missing out on? I feel like there is a big romantic section of my life that I have gone without!! Ok, on my 2018 list: see more marriage proposals!

How did you meet your significant other?
Ha, this is a funny story. We met at the gym. Really! I saw him on the treadmill and thought he was super-cute. We used to play eye hockey all the time, and I was determined to meet him. Thus…I went to the gym SEVENTEEN days in a row in an attempt to run into him and screw up the nerve to talk to him. (Yes, I can see how this makes me sound crazy, but we got married, so….???)
Anyway, I finally was so sick of working out that I walked up to him one day at the water fountain and said, “Hey, did you go to Penn?” He was wearing, literally, head to toe Columbia gear (his alma mater), and it was clear (to everyone) that he had not, in fact, gone to Penn. ☺ But it was just an opening line!!! Anyway, he was so flustered that he just no and walked off. (Not a huge A-game, right?)
A few weeks later, I waved to him again (listen, I really thought he was very cute), and he came over and started talking to me. He STILL didn’t ask me out after forty-five minutes, and I was sick of it, so I handed him my card and said, “you should really call me sometime,” and then he stood there slack-jawed, while I finally got on the Stairmaster. (That’s what we did back then.) And then, thank the sweet lord, he finally did call the next day! I thought it would be a fun little fling, and eighteen years later, here we are. ☺

Thanks to Allison for visiting with us and to Kathleen Carter Communications for sharing her book with our readers.

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. 

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Giveaway ends January 14th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Just Between Us

By Jami Deise

Things are not as they seem is the standard mystery plot. Today’s suspense authors have added a caveat to that description: People are not as they seem. Nothing is as it seems in suspense writer Rebecca Drake’s fourth novel, Just Between Us.

Despite its romantic-sounding title, it’s not romance that is central to the novel’s plot, but friendship. And technically, the title should be Just Among Us, as there are four friends and four (first person) points of view in the book. Heather, Julie, Alison, and Sarah become friends through their pre-school aged children. It’s a mostly superficial friendship until Alison spies bruises on Heather’s wrist. Then the women band together to try to protect Heather and encourage her to leave her wealthy surgeon husband. Things don’t exactly go as planned.

Just Between Us is an interesting combination of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies and Lois Duncan’s I Know What You Did Last Summer. While Drake doesn’t have the prose chops of Moriarty, the plot turns are roller-coaster worthy. And although I figured out a few of the twists, I envied Drake for coming up with them.

I did have two minor quibbles with the novel: One, the voices for the four characters are way too similar for first-person narration. Rather than distinguishing her characters through the uniqueness of their internal monologues, Drake uses job status and personal foibles. Except for Heather’s chapters, I had to keep reminding myself who was who. Two, the first few pages drag on for far too long, as Alison goes through paragraphs of “what if’s.” That’s a little troubling because many readers decide whether to continue with the book based on those pages, and I was a little tempted to put it down after the tenth or twentieth “what if.”

But I’m very glad I kept going, as the novel soon became a page-turner. Occasionally funny, sometimes unbelievable, Drake exposes the danger of becoming too friendly with people before getting to really know them.

Just Between Us was my first introduction to Drake. I’m impressed enough to look up and read her back list.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Rebecca Drake:

Book Review: Miss Mary’s Book of Dreams

By Becky Gulc

A book set in my hometown of York! Yay! I have to say this was a very good reason to pick up this novel for me. But it’s not all about the setting... Here is the synopsis:

‘Ella runs Happily Ever After, a bookshop nestled in the cobbled streets of York.

She's a wife, a mother and a successful novelist. But something is missing . . .

One day a strange girl comes into Ella's shop. Bryony is shy and unsure, and Ella feels a strange connection to her.

With the help of one very special book - and a little touch of magic - can these women help each other find the fairy tale endings they've been searching for?’ (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon UK.)

So there have certainly been a lot of novels about people running bookshops in the past year, and I’ve read a few of them but Miss Mary's Book of Dreams certainly offers something unique.

I found it took a while to get going; it was lacking the ‘touch of magic’ I’d been promised. It certainly wasn’t a book I was quickly engaged in, but one that slowly built, and it was worth it. In actual fact, the slow build-up was key for engaging with Ella as a character (a busy mother, running a business and trying to write her second novel whilst battling mental health issues), and the lovely bookshop which was so vivid in my mind and almost a character in itself. This build-up was also important in retrospect to making the plot believable, I was convinced!

The characters are wonderful, Ella’s small family, Bryony, the eccentric wider family, the dastardly Selina. I loved the instant and mysterious connection between Ella and Bryony and how the realisation of this connection slowly panned out keeping me engaged throughout.

I’ve seen it mentioned on the Amazon page that this book is perfect for those who enjoyed Chocolat, and I definitely agree with this. It’s not ‘chick lit’ in a traditional way but it’s a lovely, uplifting and different read.

Thanks to Zaffre for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Wrong Side of Twenty-Five

By Sara Steven

With news feeds full of perfect pouts, hot-dog legs and the self-proclaimed hashtag-blessed, it’s hard not to feel inadequate. How has everyone figured out how to live their best life except you?

That’s what Kylie wants to know. She thought she would spend her twenty-fifth birthday having a mini-break not a mini-breakdown. After an evening of finger-food and snide remarks, Kylie decides that things must change. Naturally, Alexa disagrees. She doesn’t think anything needs to change and is quite happy plodding on with her best friend by her side.

So, when everything changes for the better for Alexa, while it’s going from bad to worse for Kylie; will it tear them apart? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

I can’t speak for the life experience of all twenty-somethings, but I felt as though Kylie and Alexa really showcased what women in that age bracket go through, at least from my own viewpoint. I can recall not feeling as though I was where I wanted to be at twenty-five, that I wasn’t as successful or accomplished as I felt I should have been. That there were a lot of expectations and pressure put upon me to “grow up” and “prepare for the future”. I’m not even sure if I was quite ready to be a proper adult at that age, a struggle these two young women deal with constantly.

The two personalities are like night and day, with Kylie and her need to reject stability at all cost, and Alexa and her desperate need for order and balance. It’s why their friendship works so well, leaning on one another, Kylie allowing Alexa to let loose a bit and enjoy life, and Alexa literally picking up the pieces of Kylie’s fragmented existence. And when there is too large of a shift in the delicate balance that has supported this relationship for so long, it forces both women to face up to who they are not as friends, but as individuals.

While there are plenty of romantic nuances within The Wrong Side of Twenty-Five, what I appreciated most about this novel is showcasing the inner strength and ability both main characters discover from within. It’s a process, and one they have to come to on their own, and not from outside influences like family, or friends, love interests, society. It can be hard to really go for the life you want to live, even if it means it displeases others, and it was nice to see those interactions, the struggle that segues into that sort of growth and change. Ultimately, we want to see our characters end up with the man they’ve been pining for, or finally stand up to a bully who has plagued them for most of their lives, or discover they can truly find happiness within their deep-desired passions, but it’s in the pot holes and rock-bottom experiences where real growth can begin, and I found those experiences in Twenty-Five to be real and more than relatable for all women, no matter what age bracket you reside in.

Thanks to HCL Author Services for the book in exchange for an honest review. Visit the other stops on the tour!

Tour Schedule:

Thursday, December 28th 

ItaPixiesBookCorner - Book Review
Steamy Book Momma - Book Excerpt
BookLoverWormBlog - Book Review

Friday, December 29th

Authors & Readers Book Corner - Book Excerpt

Saturday, December 30th

Book Lover in Florida - Spotlight Post
Sweet Little Pretties - Book Review

Sunday, December 31st 

Jena Books - Spotlight Post
Inked Book Dragon - Book Review

Monday, January 1st

Sparkles at Midnight - Book Review
Reviews by Crystal - Spotlight Post

Tuesday, January 2nd

NovelGossip - Author Guest Post

Wednesday, January 3rd

Living Life with Joy - Book Review

Thursday, January 4th

Heartale Fix (GoodReads) - Book Review

He Said Books or Me - Author Guest Post

2017 Favorites

A few of us are here today to share our favorites from 2017. There were so many great books and it was definitely hard to choose from the ones we read and loved. (And we set a limit to five books each, or we'd be working on this all day.)

Hope we can help you find your next favorite book! And, of course, we'd love to hear what were your favorites from this past year. Please share in the comments section.

**Links are to reviews, unless noted otherwise**

Melissa A:
1. Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley
2. Crimes Against a Book Club by Kathy Cooperman
3. Before the Rain Falls by Camille Di Maio
4. The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr
5. Virtually Perfect by Paige Roberts

Sara:
1. Who We Were by Lindsay Detwiler
2. G*d-Shaped Hole by Tiffanie DeBartolo
3. The Party by Robyn Harding
4. A Hundred Thousand Worlds by Bob Proehl
5. Holly Freakin' Hughes by Kelsey Kingsley

Becky:
1. The House of New Beginnings by Lucy Diamond
2. The Cows by Dawn O’Porter
3. The Good Girlfriend’s Guide to Getting Even by Anna Bell
4. The Woman at 72 Derry Lane by Carmel Harrington
5. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (review not available)


Jami:
Ordinarily I’ve chosen two books to feature – my favorite reviewed book and my favorite personal read. With a cap of five books, this year I’m expanding that list…

Favorite Overall Read of 2017 – Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere. This book landed on a lot of publication’s “best of” lists. I fell in love with every character, the setting, the examination of two different types of mothers in Elena and Mia. This is women’s fiction through and through, and to see it garnering such critical praise is a win for the entire genre.

Favorite “I Didn’t Know Who My Husband Really Was Until He Died or Disappeared” Read -- Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke’s The Good Widow. The writing duo’s first foray into suspense fiction is a winner in a crowded category, in which even gritty Bostonian Dennis Lehane has an entry. With a last-minute plot twist (true, it left a huge plot hole, but sometimes characters don’t act in rational ways) that changed everything, The Good Widow defied expectations.

Favorite “Ripped from the Headlines” Read – It’s hard to believe Alisyn Camerota wrote Amanda Wakes Up before the 2016 election. Read my review here.

Favorite Debut and Favorite YA – Angie Thomas’s The Hate You Give could also win the “ripped from the headlines” award. Dominating the New York Times YA bestseller list all year, THUG was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and has been banned by a school district in Texas. But its carefully drawn protagonist, Starr, makes this book more than a political battle cry. Torn between her family and neighborhood and her private school, Starr’s personal dilemma is the foundation of every worthwhile coming-of-age story. It may be banned in Texas schools, but other schools will someday be teaching this book in English classes.

Favorite “The World Is Ending, Now What?” Read – So many books could fall into this category, not to mention many news articles. Aussie writer Amanda Hickie penned my favorite, Before This is Over, about an Australian family coping with a virus that’s killing all their neighbors as well as everyone else in the entire world. Read my review here.