Book Review: Moonlight in Odessa

By Melissa Amster

"Moonlight in Odessa" was one of those books that I was hesitant to pick up at first because I wasn't sure that a book about the Ukraine would interest me. Then I remembered that it won the Melissa Nathan award for Comedy Romance and that piqued my interest. When I finally picked it up and gave it a chance, I found that it was nearly impossible to put down!

In "Moonlight...," Janet Skeslien Charles introduces us to Daria, a young woman living in Odessa, Ukraine with her grandmother and working as a secretary because engineering jobs (for which she obtained a degree) were scarce and even more impossible for women to obtain. Her boss' first demand is that she sleep with him, leading to a lot of interesting scenarios and some crazy decisions on Daria's end. To supplement her income, she moonlights as an English translator for a matchmaking company that pairs American men with Ukrainian women. Soon she realizes what America has to offer in comparison with Odessa and gives in when presented with the opportunity to enjoy the American dream. However, the opportunity comes with a few challenges and more decisions that she is forced to face.

I really enjoyed "Moonlight in Odessa." Daria was very easy for me to relate to, not only because she was Jewish, but because she was down-to-earth and non-pretentious. She spoke her mind and displayed her tough side, but also allowed me to see her vulnerabilities. I liked that Ms. Charles fit in some history lessons without interrupting the flow of the story. It was interesting how she painted America and Odessa as contrasts of one another. Her characters were very colorful and interesting and I love how Daria interacted with them, allowing me to see their relationships take a natural course throughout the novel.

The one thing that threw me off a bit was that I was expecting more of a laugh-out-loud comedic approach, but most of the story was a bit dark in nature. There were some times when I did burst out laughing, but not as often as in novels that I pegged as overly humorous. This could be due to the fact that comedy overseas is different than comedy in the US. (I don't get the humor in most British shows, so that could be a cultural difference.) It could also be that Ms. Charles intended it as more of a dark comedy with some subtle humor. I guess everyone's interpretation of humor is different. I know she mentioned a few times that Odessa was the humor capital of the world, but I didn't get the jokes that were being made.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent piece of literary fiction and it reminded me of a cross between novels from Jennifer Weiner and Marian Keyes. I hope Ms. Charles will continue to produce such fantastic work in the future and I know I'll be the first to read it when she does!

Winners of "Welcome to My Life"

To pick the winners, I assigned each entry to a number and then asked Micheline McAllister to pick two random numbers in the specified range I gave her. She chose 4 and 44.

Congrats to...
Laura Rachel Fox, whose favorite animated film is "Beauty and the Beast"
and
Jerrica Knight-Catania, whose favorite animated film is "The Princess and the Frog"

Thanks to everyone for participating with your comments, Micheline for participating in this interview and offering the books to give away and Melissa P. for doing a fantastic job on her first solo interview!

There's another book up for grabs right now, open to anyone regardless of location:
"Girl in a Spin" by Clodagh Murphy.
Giveaway closes Monday at 6 pm EST.

Interview with Clodagh Murphy and book giveaway!

**Giveaway is now closed**

Clodagh Murphy was raised in Dublin with her two brothers and two sisters. She didn't like attending school, but then had fun spending a few years living in London in her twenties. She's now living in Dublin again and is the author of "The Disengagement Ring" and "Girl in a Spin." Melissa P. and I got to ask her a few questions and enjoyed reading her answers. She has a great sense of humor and we hope you will enjoy learning more about her, as well. In addition, she has offered to send out three signed copies of "Girl in a Spin" anywhere in the world.

MP: “Girl in a Spin” is about a girl with a not so ideal past in a relationship with a politician, what inspired you to write a political romantic comedy?
CM: I had a bit of a crush on Alastair Campbell, and I loved his book "The Blair Years", about his time as Tony Blair's spin doctor, so that's what initially sparked it off. I find the whole business of spin fascinating, and I thought the basic premise of a politician, his spin doctor and a girl who's a bit of a loose canon had a lot of potential for comedy. On the one hand you have Richard, a politician whose public image is very carefully managed and who never does or says anything that isn't thoroughly thought out; and on the other hand you have Jenny, who is quite naïve in ways and doesn't know how to be anything other than herself. She can wreak havoc in Richard's world without meaning to, just by being who she is and I thought I could have a lot of fun with that.

MP: Do you have a specific place where you go to write?
CM: I do most of my writing at my desk in my apartment, but I'm actually more productive when I'm away from home, and I'd love to be able to go away somewhere to write. It's easier to concentrate when I'm not surrounded by my day-to-day life. I also find travelling inspiring, and I have lots of ideas when I'm rolling along on a train or bus, watching the world go by. Daydreaming is an important part of the writing process for me.

MP: What do you do when you aren’t writing?
CM: I still have a day job, so I go to work. In my free time I like to hang out with family and friends, go to the movies or theatre, read, watch TV - all the usual things. I adore eating out and do it far too much. Travelling is a big passion, and I do it as much as I can. I have such itchy feet, I think I must have been a nomad in a former life.

MA: How did you come up with the titles of your books?
CM: I try to come up with something snappy and witty that encapsulates the story and also sets the tone of the book. "The Disengagement Ring" is about a girl whose family team up to try and break up her engagement, so I think the title sums it up pretty well. Finding the title for "Girl in a Spin" was a longer process and more of a joint decision between me and my editor. It was originally called "Spinning Jenny", but my publishers didn't feel that was the right title, so after a lot of brainstorming, we eventually we came up with "Girl in a Spin".

MA: If "Girl in a Spin" were made into a movie, who would you cast in the main roles?
CM: I'm always a bit reluctant to answer these kinds of questions because one of the beauties of books is that readers can have their own images of the characters, and I don't want to impose mine on them. However, since you ask, I'd have to cast Richard Armitage as Dev because he's who I always saw as Dev while I was writing it. Rupert Penry-Jones would be good as Richard, I think. Jenny would be more difficult to cast. Carey Mulligan would be lovely and she has the right vibe, but she'd have to dye her hair platinum blonde – and shrink. She's much too tall for Jenny. You can tell I've hardly thought about this at all, can't you? Would you like to know what I'll be wearing on the red carpet?

MA: Although you live in Dublin and are well known amongst the Irish chick lit crowd, do you plan to make yourself more well-known to readers in North America?
CM: I'd love to! Unfortunately, though, I don't have a U.S. book deal so far. Hopefully that will change in the future. But I'm told chick lit is having a hard time at the moment in the U.S.

MP: What is your favorite thing about living in Dublin?
CM: There are lots of things I love about it, but my favourite thing about living here is that my family all live here too and I'm within easy reach of them.

MA: Are you friends with other Irish chick lit authors (Cecelia Ahern, Marian Keyes, Claudia Carroll)?
CM: I'm friends with quite a few on Twitter and Facebook. Claire Allan is a 'real life' friend. We first met in an online writing group, but I've met her in real life since then.

MA: Have you ever used your own dating experiences in your stories?
CM: No, I don't write misery lit! Seriously, though, I might use small details and fragments of things, but nothing substantial.

MA: What is the most unusual activity you have participated in over the past few years?
CM: I attended a virtual Christmas party a couple of years ago in my online writing group. It was really good fun – and no worrying about what to wear or how to get home! Is that unusual? Maybe people go to virtual parties all the time now, but it was unusual for me.

Special thanks to Clodagh for taking the time to answer our questions and offering the books to give away.

Thanks always to Melissa P. for her fun and thought-inspiring questions.


How to win "Girl in a Spin":
Please comment below with your e-mail address.
(Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted.)

For additional entries (each as a separate comment including your e-mail address, as well):
1. Please tell us: What is the most unusual activity you have participated in recently?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)

Giveaway ends Monday, August 23rd at 6:00 pm EST.

Winners of "Perfect Blend"

To find the winner, I assigned everyone numbers by the order in which the entries came in and used the Custom Random Number Generator.

The winners are:
2: Monica
8: Jonita
15: Sarah
18: Colleen
31: Christy
58: Pia

Congrats!!!

Thanks to everyone for participating. I hope you will check out "Perfect Blend," along with all of Sue Margolis' other novels.

Thanks again to Sharon Propson from Random House for providing the books for the giveaway.

Don't forget to enter for your chance to win "Welcome to My Life" by Micheline McAllister!. Open to US/Canada residents only. Ends Friday at 8 am EST.

Winners of "The Cougar Club"

For this giveaway, I assigned a number to each entry and then had Susan McBride pick the winners. Here's what she had to say:

"Yay to the wonderful peeps who entered to win "The Cougar Club!" I so enjoyed reading the comments about longest friendships and celeb Cougar crushes! As for drawing numbers, how about these:

4 - because it's always been my lucky number
10 - because October's my birth month
46 - because that's how old I'll be turning when October rolls around!"

Congrats to Heather, Sarah and Tiffany!

Thanks again to all who participated, Susan for the interview and giveaway and Melissa P. for her help with the questions.

Please enter these other giveaways:
Win one of six copies of "Perfect Blend" by Sue Margolis. US/Canada only. Ends tomorrow at 6 pm EST.

Win a signed copy of "Welcome to My Life" by Micheline McAllister. US/Canada only. Ends Friday at 8 am EST.

Guest Blogger Book Review: The Beach House

Guest Blogger Jencey Gortney reviewed "The Beach House" by Jane Green:


"The Beach House" is the story of Nan Powell who owns a house in Nantucket after having to sell a lot of the property. She has had to sell because of the debt left by her husband. One day she meets with her financial person and he tells her she is still has financial problems. So Nan decides to rent out rooms in her house to boarders for the summer. The hope is that it would bring enough money to help her get by.

The other characters in the book are the boarders that end up at her house. She has a son Michael who is in desperate need of a change. He comes back and helps his mom with the boarders. Next there is Daff who is recovering from a divorce and ends up bringing her daughter to the island. Then there is Daniel who is dealing with his own crisis of identity. A surprise guest also makes an appearance that affects everyone at the house.

I have not read many of Jane Green's books. The only other book I have read is "Bookends." I was interested in reading more of her books and so "The Beach House" became the next choice. I liked the book. I liked how Jane brought together people from different walks of life to this beach house in Nantucket. Through the experience they were united in helping Nan. Jane gives the book a family sort of feel to it. I look forward to her next book.



Jencey Gortney has loved reading ever since she was little. More recently, she has developed a love for Chick Lit. She is a teaching assistant in her everyday life. She lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area. She started writing a year ago and has started working on her first novel.

Book Review: Simply from Scratch

By Melissa Amster

When I first heard about the premise of "Simply from Scratch," I thought it was going to be another "Good Grief" (by Lolly Winston). It focuses on a young widow who befriends a young girl and they bake together. "Good Grief" is also about a young widow who bakes a lot and befriends a young girl. However, that's where the similarities end. For starters, Sophie (the widow from "Good Grief") is skilled at baking and decides to open a bakery. Zell (the widow from "Simply from Scratch"), on the other hand, has never used her oven, as her husband was the cook. Also, the young girl in "Good Grief" had a crazy and inattentive mother. The young girl in "Simply..." has a loving, single father who worries he's not doing a good enough job.

Alicia Bessette weaves an intricate web of interesting characters and story lines in her debut novel. She handles grief in such a touching and honest way that the reader is able to easily sympathize with Zell. There are so many things I love about this story. First is the small town of Wippamunk, MA, where this takes place. She paints such a descriptive picture that I felt like I actually went there for a visit instead of just reading about it. Think Punxsutawney, PA, like in "Groundhog Day" and you'll get the feel of Wippamunk too. Then there is the way she changes the focus from Zell to EJ (the last guy to see her husband alive) and then to past e-mails from Nick (her husband). There's also the way she twists in a real event that only happened a few years ago and allows the reader to see what effects the devastation of the event had on ordinary people. Finally, there are the baking experiments that just leave me laughing and mortified for Zell at the same time.

The character of Zell has so many interesting layers. I found out new things about her at every turn of the page. She has an interesting job as a medical illustrator and talks to her dog in "pirate-speak." She also wears her husband's apron all the time and plays "Gladys Knight and the Pips" albums throughout the novel. Aside from Zell, there is so much depth to each character in the story and it is interesting to see her interact with them.

The two things that could have been different are that some story lines felt open-ended and it got a bit sappy at times. (I almost expected to hear the music that plays at the end of "Full House" during the sappy moments.) The former could have been due to the fact that the story was about getting closure on her husband's death and nothing else really mattered as long as that was accomplished. However, I would have liked some answers that I didn't really receive. As for the sappiness, it's hard not to get sappy when it comes to a serious subject, especially if it involves death of a loved one.

Overall, Ms. Bessette did an amazing job with a topic that some people (including myself) are afraid to approach or fathom. She kept the story interesting from beginning to end, especially after drawing me in right away. I highly recommend this novel and I look forward to reading whatever she comes out with in the future.