Book Review & Giveaway: The Book of Someday

By Melissa Amster

**Giveaway is now closed**

Livvi never had a proper childhood and is now trying to make up for it by becoming a bestselling author. She's also experiencing all the joys and frustrations of her first love. In the meantime, she can't get the image of a screaming woman in a shimmering dress out of her nightmares and before she knows it, she'll come face-to-face with her.

Micah is a famous photographer who receives devastating news and tries to redeem herself for a tragic mistake she made in the past.

AnnaLee is a young mother experiencing disappointment in her marriage and trying to make a positive impact on a surly teenager.

These women's lives are about to intersect in ways they never thought imaginable.

When I first received The Book of Someday, by Dianne Dixon, I did not know what to expect. All I knew was that I wanted to read it because one of the characters had the same name as someone very special to me (and if you know me personally, you'll know who that is). To my pleasant surprise, this novel was impossible to put down. I found myself breezing through it with nervous anticipation of what was to come, while trying to piece the story together. There were moments when I thought I had it all figured out and that it would be predictable, but then Dianne Dixon found ways to surprise me and keep me on my toes. The narrative and dialogue were strong throughout the entire story and the descriptions painted a powerful picture. There wasn't a pretty ribbon tying everything up, leaving some questions unanswered and allowing me to make my own conclusions of what would happen after I turned the final page.

The Book of Someday is equally haunting and mesmerizing and I definitely recommend it to readers who want an unforgettable story. Fans of Sarah Jio's novels will especially enjoy it, as it had a similar feel. I could definitely see it on the big screen and have a few casting suggestions to offer:

Livvi: Dianna Agron
Micah: Idina Menzel
AnnaLee: Natalie Portman

Thanks to Sourcebooks for the book in exchange for an honest review. They have one copy for a lucky reader in the US or Canada.

How to win:
Since Livvi makes a list of things she'd like to do or have "someday," tell us what you'd like to do or have someday.

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/Canada only. Giveaway ends October 13th at midnight EST.

You might also enjoy:

Book Review: The Publicist and Shelf Life

By Jami Deise

One of my favorite mini-genres is the industry insider book – that funny, behind-the-scenes, detail-laden novel that shines with authenticity. Books like The Nanny Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada, The First Assistant and Bond Girl. And as a writer, I’m fascinated with the publishing industry. So when the opportunity to review The Publicist, as well as its sequel, Shelf Life, came up, naturally I jumped. These two books by Christina George set inside the publishing world are marketed as “the story only an insider could tell.”

While author George has created a strong story, unfortunately it wasn’t the snarky “Devil Wears Prada” type that I was looking for. The book starts with a compelling hook – publicist Kate Mitchell is awoken in the middle of the night to talk her distraught author off the roof – but the momentum quickly changes from a satire about crazy authors and the insane publishing world to a more run-of-the-mill romance. Therefore, the book is probably a better fit for readers who prefer romance to workplace satires.

Publicist Kate Mitchell lives in New York City and works for the publishing company Morris & Dean (MD), which used to be a factory for bestsellers but whose president, Edward, now seems more infatuated with non-fiction tell-alls by crazies, celebrities, and crazy celebrities. Kate has a best friend, artist Grace, and a father figure in author Allan Lavigne, whom MD has been waiting for years to produce a second book. But it’s MD editor MacDermott “Mac” Ellis who really has her attention, despite his marriage and reputation as a serial adulterer. As Kate tries to get publicity for her sane authors and keep the crazy ones from self-destructing, can she keep her hormones in check where Mac is concerned?

Kate’s story unfolds over Book One, The Publicist, and Book Two, Shelf Life. I’m not sure why George decided to divide it into two books, as book one stops abruptly and the material could have easily been combined into one volume. Although this is Kate’s story, George also writes chapters from Mac’s point-of-view, which is the hallmark of traditional romance. She also occasionally dips into the POV of other characters, which is generally considered a no-no by editing professionals. (The books are self-published.) There’s also a love triangle and a lot of sex.

Kate’s career is a roller coaster of highs and lows, and reading about these twists and how she deals with them were the best parts of the books for me (although in the second book, there is quite a bit of “telling” rather than “showing” when Kate moves effortlessly into a new phase). Still, with Kate being a publicist and Mac an acquiring editor, there was no talk at all about the process of finding, acquiring, and editing fiction. For a work of fiction, this feels like an oversight.

In short, The Publicist books are not The Devil Reads James Patterson. But for readers who prefer a hot romance set in the publishing industry, they might be just the right books.

Thanks to Christina George for the books in exchange for an honest review.

Guest Book Review: Starstuck

By Sara Steven

As a wife and mother, I identified with Starstruck, by Yael Levy. The main character, Abby Miller, has her hands full with her family, and has placed her dreams and aspirations of becoming a writer on the back burner. She rarely sees her husband, and questions whether the marriage they have is solid. Abby yearns for romance- the kind you’d find in her novel, a definite work in progress.

Abby stumbles upon a severed hand (yes, a hand!) one day while out for a walk in a nearby park, and contacts her best friend Sara, the assistant D.A. for the local police department. Sara is a loner, but secretly wants someone to share her life with. She has her own romance roadblocks, and no time to devote to love. She's too busy searching for clues that will lead her to the owner of the missing hand.

While assisting Sara, Abby is convinced she’ll have to do some clue searching of her own- she’s sure her husband is cheating on her with his very attractive assistant. While wallowing in self-pity (and not paying attention while driving) Abby runs her car into a sexy soap opera actor, the same one she drools over from the comfort of her living room, the one who gives her inspiration for her novel. She befriends the actor, and he becomes Abby’s aide in bringing back some romance into her marriage, but not with the best results.

I enjoyed this book immensely! It was refreshing to read something with a focal point on religion. Abby and Sara are both Jewish, and you get an opportunity to read about the customs that are part of the Jewish faith, as well as the guidelines and rules that accompany love and commitment.

Is Abby’s husband cheating? Will Sara find the missing hand, and catch the perpetrator (and a love interest)? What happens to the sexy soap star? The climactic ending is perfection!

Thanks to Crimson Romance for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Sara Steven is a wife and stay-at-home mother of two rambunctious boys in Bellevue, NE. When she’s not running marathons, or working on her novel, she takes a break and opens up a good book (or turns on her Nook). Find her at her blog.

You might also enjoy:

Book (Mama) Review: Little Island

By Marlene Engel

All of the members of the Little Family are meeting up at the family owned Inn for the memorial service of their late grandmother. After her passing, a note was found that read … Grace. Flowers. By the Water. Have fun! They took this note to be instructions of how the grandmother wanted her service to be held. But no one is overly excited about the little reunion that is about to take place. With each family member dealing with their own issues, this is about the last thing that they want to be doing. Not to mention, it’s on the anniversary of a life altering event that happened twenty years ago. An event that almost destroyed the family.

Joy’s son just left for college and she is already suffering from empty nest syndrome. Trying to alter the pain from emotional to physical, she starts self-mutilating. An even that she has done in the past. Her twin siblings, Tamar and Roger, are going through some personal issues as well. Tamar is having a hard time juggling all that she has going on in her life, a marriage that isn’t going well and not being the involved parent that her husband is. While Roger is struggling with sobriety, he is constantly trying to come up with the next great money making idea. Then there’s their parents, Grace and Gar. Grace is trying her hardest to get everyone together for a nice weekend, but knows that the chances of having a stress free weekend isn’t likely. Gar is suffering from some memory loss and tends to be spacey at times. But the weekend together may be just what they all need to bond as a family without the outside distractions of others.

From the first page, this book had a strong grip on me and didn’t let go until the very last page. The emotional struggles, personal issues and family drama had me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I really loved Little Island. It was brilliantly written with such true to life characters. Katharine Britton has a life-long fan in me. I can’t say enough wonderful things about this book. I would definitely recommend it to others and can’t wait to see what she has in store for us (readers) in the future!

Thanks to BookSparks PR for the book in exchange for an honest review. As part of their Baker's Dozen, they paired this novel with a hearty vegetable chowder recipe.

Marlene Engel is the owner of Book Mama Blog, which is our sister blog. Visit her there to get to know her, read reviews, enter contests and learn about free e-books.

You might also enjoy:

Jackie Bouchard is barking up the RIGHT tree...plus a book giveaway

The title of Jackie Bouchard's sophomore novel, Rescue Me, Maybe, makes me think of that popular Carly Rae Jepsen song from last year. Perhaps it's just the word "maybe" at the end. Every time I say the title, I get "Call Me, Maybe" in my head. However, I don't think Carly Rae's song features a dog (unless dogs have miraculously learned how to use phones). Jackie, on the other hand, loves to write about dogs, as apparent from her picture.

Last year, Jami reviewed Jackie's debut novel, What the Dog Ate. Given that she's a tough critic (but we love her for it), knowing that she held this book in high esteem gives us enough confidence to believe that Rescue Me, Maybe will also be an instant hit!

Jackie Bouchard used to be trapped in the hamster wheel of corporate America, but she was lucky enough to escape and now fully understands the term "struggling writer." Jackie loves: reading, writing, and, yes, even 'rithmetic (seriously, algebra rocks); professional cycling; margaritas; blogging (she never thought she'd say that, but she does and here's proof); dogs in general, and her crazy rescue pup specifically; and her hubby. (Not in that order.) Jackie dislikes: rude people and writing about herself in the third person. After living in Southern California, then Bermuda, then Canada, then the East coast, Jackie and her husband settled in San Diego. American Jackie, her Canadian hubby, and her Mexican rescue mutt form their own happy little United Nations. (Adapted from Jackie's bio on her website.)

You can connect with Jackie on Facebook and Twitter. Don't worry, she won't bite...or bark, for that matter! She's here to answer some of our most pressing questions and has TWO copies of Rescue Me, Maybe to share with some lucky readers (e-book is worldwide and print version is US/Canada only).

What did you learn from writing What the Dog Ate and were you able to apply that knowledge to Rescue Me, Maybe?
I learned that, for me anyway, middles are hard, but you have to persevere. I'm not one who plots out my stories ahead of time. I get an idea for the incident that sets the story in motion (e.g. in What the Dog Ate, what would happen if the vet surgically extracted a pair of panties from your dog that weren't yours...), and start running with it. I usually know how I want the story to end, but I don't know how to get from A to B. So, I start flailing my way toward that point B. Sometimes I go off on a tangent for a while and have to reel the story back in. I end up deleting a lot of scenes! I can get bogged down and discouraged while deep in the thick of the middle of the story, but I've learned I just have to keep plugging away. And, usually, the characters do or say something that I didn't know was going to happen, and that's the best part of all! It's fun to see what's going to happen, just as the reader does.

What is the easiest thing about writing a dog as a character? Most challenging?
The easiest thing for me is that I've been around a lot of dogs. I've had my own dogs, my family members mostly have dogs, I volunteer at a shelter, and I've read a lot of non-fiction books about dogs. I wouldn't say I'm an expert on them, but I probably understand them better than I understand most people. They wear their hearts on their sleeves... er, if they had sleeves... and don't have hidden agendas.

The most challenging thing is making their different personalities really come across, which is hard when you have a character that doesn't express him/herself through words. (Some books, including some big best sellers, do have dogs that "talk" or even narrate the entire story, but so far I've only written from the point of view of a two-legged, human main character who can only guess at what her dog thinks. Maybe one of these days I'll write a story with a dog that speaks!)

What is the best or most memorable feedback you received for your writing?
The best and most memorable feedback I got was from a reviewer on Amazon who said What the Dog Ate brought her back to her love of books! I'm not an overly sentimental type but her review made me teary-eyed. She wrote: "After quitting smoking, I no longer sat on the patio devouring novel after novel. At that time I was reading probably five to six books weekly. (I would read while doing everything, makeup, cooking, walking...) When my husband died, I stopped reading books altogether...reading only magazines, specific pet journals and the Readers Digest. When someone suggested What the Dog Ate by Jackie Bouchard, I figured it would probably just be another novel I purchased then gave away. I have DEVOURED this book, laughing out loud, turning pages as fast as I could speed through Maggie's story and the best thing of all, I was PISSED when the story ended....looking vainly through the couple of blank pages after the last "." thinking maybe, just maybe there was another chapter hidden away (in very very small print). I cannot tell you what a joy it was not only to read a book again, but to read one that was so delightful and had characters you liked and believed in...."

My goal when I wrote the book was simply to make the reader forget her/the world's troubles for a little while. So, to have someone say it helped her return to her love of books was a huge thrill for me!

If you could choose one of your books to be turned into a movie, which would you pick and who would you cast in the lead roles?
Well, I can't say why I wouldn't choose Rescue Me, Maybe without giving away a spoiler (that book would be pretty much impossible to make into a movie), so I have to pick What the Dog Ate. But that's the easier answer for me anyway because I had specific people in mind while I was working on the book, whereas for Rescue Me, Maybe I never pictured any particular actors.

The main character, Maggie, is 41 and a redhead so I always pictured Debra Messing in that role. For Maggie’s best friend, Helen, I pictured Holly Hunter from day one, but with a silky, blonde bob haircut. Helen is in her early 50s and in killer shape, just like Ms. Hunter. I could totally see someone like Mark Ruffalo playing Maggie's husband, Dave. For Brian, the younger guy Maggie starts dating, I could see Ryan McPartlin, “Captain Awesome” of Chuck fame. Brian looks older than he is, so I think Ryan (who's in his late 30s) could pull off playing 30-year-old Brian, but they might have to age him a little with some premature gray streaks. For Maggie's hot, new cycling buddy, Russell, I think Bradley Cooper would be perfect. (I get to be on set while this is filming, right?!)

And the cherry on top would be Betty White to play Maggie's spunky grandma!

Now that October is here, what is your favorite thing about autumn?
Autumn is my favorite season! There are so many things I love about it (the cooler weather, the colors, the holidays, anything pumpkin-related) that narrowing it down to one is hard. But since I live in San Diego, we only get a little of that lovely leaf-changing color, and we don't necessarily get cooler weather. Sometimes we get nasty, hot, dry "fire weather" in the fall. So, I guess my favorite thing (since the colors and the cool weather are not guaranteed) is the fact that fall means my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, is coming soon! I can really get behind a holiday that's almost all about the food!

Tell us about a favorite childhood memory or something that makes you nostalgic.
I am the youngest of six kids and my family generally has a lot of fun when we get together. We all live pretty close, so now at Christmas we all get together for a meal (usually Christmas Eve dinner), and then everyone goes back to their own homes that night. But when I was little, I have really fond memories of my whole family being at our house, or even when we were all older and my parents had retired to Arizona, we'd all drive over there to stay for a few days and the house would be packed. On Christmas Eve, we'd always have this fabulous seafood chowder for dinner and then exchange our "sock presents", as we like to call stocking stuffers. On Christmas morning when we were little, "Santa" would have come while we slept and left a small pile of unopened presents. Then we'd have a huge breakfast and open the rest of our presents. We'd spend the day pigging out, playing cards, and visiting each others' piles of gifts to see what everyone got.

What is the last thing that you had a really good laugh about?
Oh, gosh, I love to laugh and usually laugh every day, mostly at funny things our dog, Rita, does. But there is one thing that stands out... and I hope this doesn't sound bad, but... when I was at the shelter where I volunteer on Monday, I was out in the field playing fetch with this Chihuahua-mix. This dog loves to fetch so I was throwing all kinds of things for him - a ball, a rope toy, this little stuffed donut-shaped thing. Well, at one point, he picked up the stuffed donut in such a way that his snout was through the hole, and the toy was over his eyes. I was calling for him to bring it, but he was running blind so he veered off and ran right into a nearby post! It just looked so darn funny - like something out of a slap-stick comedy movie. He practically bounced backwards! Then he dropped the toy and shook it off. He was fine - honest! He wasn't hurt at all, since the stuffed toy took the brunt of the hit - but I was doubled over laughing. I was all by myself in the field, so I imagine people thought I was a little crazy. (Really... that sounds bad, doesn't it? "Oh, yeah, claims to be this big dog-lover, but then she laughs at a little homeless dog!" I swear he was fine!)

Since you and your dog enjoy reading together, what is your dog's favorite book?
Well, of course Rita devoured What the Dog Ate and she (almost literally) tore through Rescue Me, Maybe (**open-mouthed smile**), but I'd say her favorite book is... wow, this is tough. So many good ones. She has a bit of a crush on Enzo, the narrator from The Art of Racing in the Rain; and she loves The Gift of Nothing, by Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the Mutts comic strip; and Good Dog, Carl is one she can read by herself, since it's all pictures. But her favorite, since we were talking about nostalgia before, is How Fletcher Was Hatched. It's a book I still have from when I was a kid that tells a cute story about a farm hound and his girl. Rita loves the moral of the story which is about being loved for who you are!

~Introduction and interview by Melissa Amster

Thanks to Jackie for visiting with us and 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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Print version: US/Canada only
E-book: Worldwide
Giveaway ends October 8th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Me & You

By Becky Gulc

Having read and really enjoyed Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? a couple of years back, I was excited to receive Claudia Carroll’s latest novel, Me & You, for review.

Me & You is a story about friendship, love and so much more. We join Angie as she’s waiting for her best friend, vivacious, generous Kitty, to join her on her birthday celebrations at a spa, all arranged by Kitty herself. The problem is Kitty doesn’t show up and is nowhere to be found, even her loving boyfriend Simon doesn’t know where she is. When she’s left her phone behind and her passport the panic quickly sets in for both Angie and Simon and they do everything in their powers to try and find her. But will Kitty be found safe and well? Could there be more to this story than meets the eye?

When I read the blurb for this book (which includes the line, “I’m fine. I’m sorry. Please take care of him for me. And maybe one day I’ll get to explain.”), I had my own assumptions about what this could mean for Kitty’s disappearance, but it turned out to be nothing related to what I thought it was and that made the book all the more interesting, the teaser line could insinuate different scenarios.

The narrative is really strong in this book. For a good chunk of the book we are just presented with Angie’s viewpoint, how she copes with the sudden disappearance of Kitty and what steps she takes to try and find her. This really helps build a tense picture, I became more and more worried for Kitty the more I read (despite that teaser line suggesting she may not be at harm) and I was desperate to read about what had happened to her. I think if Kitty’s story had been presented sooner than it was there would be less tension, and I found the tension was a real asset of this book and the reader forming a strong bond with Angie, who is lovely.

By the time we do start to learn something of Kitty, it’s her back story rather than her present, so again we’re not sure where Kitty is or if she is ok. We slowly build up a picture of Kitty and we learn the person Angie and Simon think they know isn’t necessarily the same person we, as the reader, get to know. Eventually we find out Kitty’s current circumstances, and by this point as a reader you love her as much as Angie.

There is only one very minor criticism I have with this book which is the use of ‘v’ instead of ‘very’ which was quite frequent during the early stages of the book. I may have found this less annoying had it featured in dialogue, but it wasn’t, so I found it unnecessary.

This book has mystery, sadness, tension, light-relief and a bit of a love-triangle when Kitty’s disappearance leads to Angie and Simon growing closer day by day. It was a book I could barely put down and was a thoroughly rewarding read from start to finish. I don’t want to give anything away about what ultimately happens to Kitty, but all I can say is I thoroughly enjoyed the final chapters of the book when one way or another there is resolution which I personally found satisfying. A fantastic read!

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

More by Claudia Carroll:

Book Review & Giveaway: Love Rehab

By Jami Deise

**Giveaway is now closed**

I’ve often thought it was a good thing I went to college in the 1980s, rather than now. I was a horrible prospective/current/ex-girlfriend, having perfected ways to stalk my romantic prey that I thought were quite forward-thinking, if not soap operatic (dating the brother really does work). If I were in dating mode now, with texting and Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, I’d probably end up getting arrested.

None of the women featured in Jo Piazza’s novel Love Rehab end up in jail, although one of them is on probation for drunk driving. Love Rehab is an incredibly real, rip-roaringly funny look at all the ways women in the digital age have for obsessing over their ex-boyfriends. Sophie, having been dumped by her boyfriend Eric in favor of the assistant whom she refers to as Floozy McSecretary, texts him constantly and keeps track of his comings and goings by creating sock puppets to friend the Floozy and follow her on Twitter. When her best friend Annie is forced to attend AA, Sophie tags along and realizes she is as addicted to love as the 12-steppers are addicted to alcohol. After confessing to the group leader, Joe, that she isn’t really an alcoholic – that all the crazy stories she told were prompted by a man, not by a bottle – Joe suggests she start her own group – for love addicts.

Sophie’s New Jersey home (which she inherited from her grandmother) quickly becomes overrun by women addicted to love. There’s the yoga instructor, the pregnant Indian woman whose fiancé is living with another woman, the woman whose boyfriend is starring on a Bachelor-like TV show. As Sophie works to help these women, she starts to realize how her own behaviors – and her addiction to love – contributed to the ugly deaths of her relationships. Love Rehab is “a novel in 12 steps,” and Sophie seeks to use them to recover from her addiction. As she gets closer to the women in the group, Sophie makes headway in getting over Eric. But now Joe is starting to look pretty good. Is their connection real, or just another symptom of Sophie’s love addiction?

Love Rehab is a comedy, but the book addresses real issues. Why do women feel such pressure to be in a relationship? How does a diet of romantic comedy movies and TV shows like The Bachelor affect the way women perceive the development of relationships? Why do we wonder what our children will look like when we’re on a first date? Author Piazza doesn’t necessarily have the answers to these questions, but they are questions worth pondering.

I loved the book, and only had two quibbles with it. One, there were so many women coming and going out of that New Jersey house that I had trouble keeping track of who they were and their stories. Two, Sophie’s best friend Annie doesn’t seem to have any of the love issues that any of the other women have. She also happened to be gay. I would have enjoyed a deeper exploration of Annie’s character – who takes to AA without ever looking back – in contrast to the other women. Did she have the same issues with the women she dated? If not, what did she know that the other women didn’t? Sophie’s high school boyfriend was happily married to a man. I would have found it interesting, with so many stories about love-addicted heterosexual women (and later, one man), to read about what those issues looked like for same-sex couples.

Other than those nitpicks, the rest of the book was wonderful. If you’ve recently been dumped and you’re stalking your ex through his new girlfriend’s Facebook posts, please pick up this book instead. You’ll laugh and you’ll heal.

Even though I was dating during the days of rotary phones in the dorm hallways, technology can have an uncanny way of peering into your past. Yes, I’ve looked up ex-boyfriends on Facebook. I even friended the one – the only one! – from whom I parted on friendly terms. But the other day, after a former neighbor connected with me through LinkedIn, I scrolled through the page of people LinkedIn thought I might know. And that one ex-boyfriend who never showed up on Facebook was right there.

And no, I didn’t send him a request to connect. But I did change my profile picture to a much more flattering one, while scratching my head wondering how LinkedIn knew I knew him. The addiction never does go away.

Thanks to Open Road Media for the book in exchange for an honest review. They also have FIVE e-books for some lucky readers anywhere in the world!

How to win:
Tell us the craziest thing you ever did to win over a potential or past love interest.

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.

Open worldwide. Giveaway ends October 6th at midnight EST.

You might also enjoy: