Book Review: Save Me

By Melissa Amster

I have to admit that the topic of infidelity in chick lit and women's fiction has become quite popular. However, coming up with a new twist on the concept takes a special writing talent and Kristyn Kusek Lewis demonstrates this with her sophomore novel, Save Me.

Daphne Mitchell has always believed in cause and effect, right and wrong, good and bad. The good: her dream job as a doctor; Owen, her childhood sweetheart and now husband; the beautiful farmhouse they're restoring together. In fact, most of her life has been good--until the day Owen comes home early from work to tell her he's fallen head over heels for someone else.

Unable to hate him, but also equally incapable of moving forward, Daphne's life hangs in limbo until the day Owen's new girlfriend sustains near-fatal injuries in a car accident. As Daphne becomes a pillar of support for the devastated Owen, and realizes that reconciliation may lie within her grasp, she has to find out whether forgiveness is possible and decide which path is the right one for her. (Synopsis courtesy of Grand Central Publishing.)

I sometimes shy away from novels about infidelity because they seem to follow a certain pattern after a while. Since I liked Kristyn's debut novel, How Lucky You Are, I decided to give this one a fair chance. I was pleasantly surprised at the direction in which she took the novel, as well as the twist she added, causing not only her characters to think and react on different levels, but also causing readers to question each decision Daphne made. "Would I have made similar decisions in her shoes? Am I allowed to judge Daphne, Owen, and their marriage the way her family and friends do?" The characters in Save Me are well developed and seem to jump off the pages. The dialogue is genuine and feels realistic. While there were times when I felt like parts of the story were hitting a stalling point, Kristyn still found a way to move things along. I think it was more the circular effect of Daphne and Owen's relationship that could get frustrating sometimes. Like she was really mad at him one moment and then wanted him back shortly after, and then it would go back into the same pattern a few times.

Overall, Save Me is well-written and great for book clubs to discuss, as there are a lot of ups and downs, as well as gray areas. In terms of casting for the movie version in my mind, I chose Rosamund Pike for Daphne and Orlando Bloom for Owen.

Thanks to BookSparks for the book in exchange for an honest review. This is part of their 2014 Fall Reading Challenge. (#FRC2014)

What's in the mail...plus a giveaway

Melissa A:

Early Decision by Lacy Crawford  from Harper Collins (won from Liz and Lisa)

Wynn in Doubt by/from Emily Hemmer (e-book, currently 99 cents)

A Second Bite at the Apple by Dana Bate from Kensington and BookSparks

Save Me by Kristyn Kusek Lewis from BookSparks

12 Daves of Christmas by Juliet Madison from Harlequin AU

Party Girl by Rachel Hollis from Lake Union Publishing

The Resurrection of Tess Blessing by Lesley Kagen from BookSparks

How Do You Know? by Meredith Schorr from Booktrope

The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward from Random House/Ballantine (e-book)

Amy:

House Broken by Sonja Yoerg from Penguin Random House

Gail:

Caching In by/from Tracy Krimmer (e-book)

Becky:

I'll Take New York by Miranda Dickinson from Avon Books

Now that I've Found You by Ciara Geraghty from Hodder and Stoughton

The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah from Doubleday

Wake by Anna Hope from Transworld

What could be in YOUR mail:

Party Girl by Rachel Hollis and a fun swag package! Lake Union Publishing has one set for a lucky reader in the US or Canada!

Synopsis of Party Girl:
Landon Brinkley’s dreams are all coming true. She’s landed an internship with the fabulous Selah Smith, event planner for the Hollywood elite, taking her from small-town Texas to the bright lights of LA. Landon soon finds herself in a world in which spending a million dollars on an event—even a child’s birthday party—is de rigueur and the whims of celebrity clients are life-and-death matters. At first, the thrill of working on A-list parties and celebrity weddings is enough to get Landon through the seventy-five-hour workweeks and endless abuse at the hands of her mercurial boss. But when the reality of the business reveals itself, she’s forced to make a choice: do whatever it takes to get ahead, or stay true to herself.

Drawing on the author’s real-life experiences as an event planner to the stars, Party Girl takes readers on an adventure among Hollywood’s most beautiful—and most outrageous—people, revealing the ugly side of Hollywood’s prettiest parties. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Looking for a fun recipe to make for your next gathering? Try Rachel's recipe for chocolate coconut cream pie!

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


US/Canada only. Giveaway ends December 16th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Confessions of the Sausage Queen

By Sara Steven

I wasn’t sure what I’d find when delving into Confessions of the Sausage Queen. It’s hard to fathom a story that centers around meat products. From page one, however, I discovered a storyline that offers up kitschy small-town ambiance with big time laughs! It’s told from Mandy Minhouser’s perspective, a woman who is blunt and holds nothing back. You feel as though she’s sitting right next to you, filling you in on all the latest gossip and scandal in her little town of Kassenburg. It’s all about dishing the dirt and taking names!

When Big BIll Ludowski dies from a sudden heart attack, the town is in an uproar. Big Bill and Mandy’s grandmother, Gran Lila, had been as Mandy puts it, “doing their best Adam and Eve imitation” under hydrangea bushes, which led to his demise. Gran was Big Bill’s mistress and had been for many years. It’s no big secret to Kassenburg about the affair, but when Big Bill leaves his sausage factory the Big and Tasty in the hands of Mandy and Gran, all hell breaks loose, especially for Big Bill’s estranged overbearing widow and emotionally stunted grandson, Hughes. Hughes is currently running the sausage factory and doesn’t take kindly to having to take orders from anyone, especially from newly appointed CEO Mandy.

What happens next is a roller coaster ride of drama, chaos, kidnappings and debauchery. Hughes will stop at nothing to keep Mandy and Gran from touching his sausage (no pun intended), and although Mandy has no clue how to run a factory, she’s won’t allow Hughes to run the Big and Tasty into the ground.

What I liked most of all are the characters Ute Carbone has created, allowing them to weave their way in and become unforgettable. Mandy’s sister Mindy reminds me a lot of my own sister. There’s sibling rivalry and an “if she can do it, I can do it too” mentality. Randy, Mandy’s husband is down-home and organic, throwing her chocolate pie looks (code for bedroom eyes) which had undoubtedly led to their son, Sammy, who they’ve nicknamed Hammy. You’ve got Mindy’s cop husband who knows how to pick locks because he hadn’t always started out on the straight and narrow, and Mandy’s office manager at the Big and Tasty paints murals on walls that replicate the Sistine Chapel, all while wearing extravagant outfits fit for a queen. He’s pretty that way. They are all lending comic relief and support to Mandy while she’s working hard at being the best CEO of a sausage plant that she can be, besting Hughes and taking him down one metaphoric punch at a time.

If you’re looking for fun, do like Gran Lila would: drink some margaritas, eat a few cookies, and settle in with this book. Get acquainted with Kassenburg and the Big and Tasty crew!

Thanks to Bridging the Gap for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Ute Carbone:

Book Spotlight: Perfect Girl

Cinderella meets Falling Down in this wickedly funny tale about having it all

Carol is perfect… at least that’s what everyone thinks. In reality she’s sinking fast – her family treats her like their personal assistant and her boyfriend is so busy with work that he’s got her single-handedly running their relationship. Not that her job is any easier. As the only woman on the bank’s trading floor she spends twelve-hour days trying not to get sworn at or felt up by colleagues who put the "W" in banker.

How long can she go on pleasing everyone else before she snaps and loses it all?

With humour and empathy, Perfect Girl lays bare the balancing act that working women face in a man's world


Check out the book trailer:



Purchase Perfect Girl:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble
Book Depository

Visit Michele Gorman on Facebook and Twitter.
Visit Notting Hill Press on Facebook and Twitter.

Reader Spotlight: Book Queen

This year, we're doing "Reader Spotlight" posts on a bi-weekly basis. We want to feature readers who have been actively following CLC for a while. We're hoping you can get to know some new friends this way. One of the joys of having CLC is that readers have connected with each other, as a result. That's one of the reasons it was started up in the first place...to bring chick lit fans together from all over the world! We've made some amazing friends because of this blog and we hope you'll get to do so too!

See our previous Reader Spotlight posts.

Note from Melissa A: I can't resist an opportunity to connect with someone named Melissa who likes chick lit. It's like we're instant soul sisters. After seeing a rather interesting answer to one of our bonus questions, I e-mailed her to ask more about it and we ended up sending e-mail novels back and forth, even if a month goes by between each one. Melissa is a total sweetheart and she posts the funniest things on Facebook, where her friends call her the "Book Queen." (That even goes along with people calling me a "Book Fairy." See...soul sisters!) You can also reach out to her on Twitter and Goodreads. I hope you all get a chance to connect with her!

Name: Melissa Seng
Age: 39
Location: Morris County, NJ

What are your top FIVE favorite chick lit novels of all time? 
1) Getting Over It by Anna Maxted 
2) Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
3) Bitter is the New Black by Jennifer Lancaster
4) Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
5) This is actually a 3-book answer, all by Wendy Markham: Slightly Engaged, Slightly Settled, and Slightly Married. I can't decide which of the three I liked the best, so I'll just say the trilogy.

What do you do when you're not reading?
When I'm not reading, I'm either eating, sleeping, or sipping on an iced chai latte from Starbucks. Seriously. I'm currently unemployed. Three years ago, I very severely broke my leg and went out on disability. When I finally had recovered, my position could no longer be held open for me. Then I had a whole barrage of other illnesses and injuries happen, all within the last two years...yes, there's a black cloud right outside my window. (kidding) -- So, when I'm not reading, I'm doing all that I can to keep busy, find a new job, and make some money for books...I mean, bills!!!! I enjoy crafting. My Mother is a Stampin' Up rep, so I am busy making greeting cards, book marks, and invitations with her. Something I really, really enjoy is editing and proofreading. I started a little side gig within the past two years. I edit research papers for friends, college students, high school students, etc. My latest project is helping a doctor I used to see edit a novel she is currently writing. I'm finding that I really, really enjoy doing that, which is kind of why I found your site and Jennifer's and have befriended tons of authors, etc. via Facebook. I want to get my name out there, and maybe read, review, write summaries and reviews, or even help edit new manuscripts and books for authors. It's a stretch, but who knows what will happen. Prior to all of this, I was a life insurance underwriter...zzzzz! Throughout high school and college, I was a nanny and pre-school/pre-k teacher. I try to spend as much time as possible with my two beautiful nephews, as well.

Book Review: Secret Santo

By Jami Deise

As a writer myself, I am particularly careful in crafting reviews. A good review can be the best thing to happen to a writer all day. A bad review can drive her to pulling out her hair. One famous author (who shall remain nameless) has a husband who was so upset by a negative review on his wife’s latest book that he wrote a scathing reply, breaking the internet before Kim Kardashian got her hands (and other parts) onto it. And here’s this famous story (not the original article, but it includes reactions) about author Kathleen Hale, who was so upset about a one-star review that she stalked the reviewer right up to her front doorstep before coming to her senses. Clearly, reviewing can be dangerous business.

At Chick Lit Central, we’re sidestepped the problem by not running negative reviews. If we don’t like the book, we take that old advice about not saying anything. We’re here to introduce good books to good friends, not tear anyone down.

Others, like Holly Plume, heroine of Carla Caruso’s Christmas novella Secret Santo, take a different tack: reviewing anonymously. As Sultry Scarlet, she blogs about romance novels, and she’s particularly steamed about the last one she’s read. Whomever CE Felix is, he – and Holly is convinced he’s a man – knows nothing about women or romance either. She crafts a scathing review, even though she’s set to attend the book’s publisher’s Christmas Eve party that night. Holly has her eye on another writer – thriller writer AJ Ruffo, whomever he really is. She’s convinced the mysterious author is handsome, charming, adventurous, and witty. And when she meets Santo Randolfi by literally falling into his arms, she knows that he’s really AJ. But when Santo confides that he writes romance, Holly realizes that the man she’s quickly falling for might be the same one she just eviscerated on her blog! Can love bloom when everyone’s under cover?

Secret Santo is a quick, fun, romance – a perfect read for standing in line at the post office or the mall. It’s soaked in the Christmas spirit, with lots of friends, a frenemy or two, many references to Love, Actually, and fireworks. It delivers everything a romance reader would expect from a Christmas novella. And it also serves as a subtle warning – those mean-spirited reviews can come back to haunt you.

Want to spread the holiday spirit? Take a minute to post a complimentary review on Amazon and other book-buying sites of your favorite books this year. You will make the author’s day – guaranteed!

Thanks to Penguin Random House Australia for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Carla Caruso:

Book Review: 12 Daves of Christmas...plus an e-book giveaway

By Melissa Amster

Abby Solomon may write happy-ever-afters for a living, but doesn’t believe she’ll have her own. But then a surprise visit from her grandmother’s ghost sets her off on a journey she’ll never forget.
Grandma Charlotte wants to find her first love, Dave, who she mistakenly thought had died in World War II. A quick trawl through the Yellow Pages yields a list of twelve possibilities, and Abby and Charlotte set off on a Christmas road trip — twelve Daves over twelve days along the sun-drenched east coast of Australia.

With just over a week to make the meeting happen, Abby has to meet a dozen Daves — some sweet, some quirky, some downright dangerous — while trying to honour her book deadline and enduring the awkward challenges of having a ghost as a travelling companion.

But when she comes across a young doctor who looks like the hero in one of her novels, Abby has the chance to discover that true love transcends time and space, and that happy endings aren’t only to be found between the pages of a book.

Normally, I'm not into Christmas novels, but will sometimes make an exception if a favorite author writes one. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read 12 Daves of Christmas, as it was a delightful story from beginning to end. At a little over 60 pages, it's a quick read; perfect to fit in between all the holiday preparations. And since it's light and humorous, it's even easier to breeze through as it never drags. It didn't really carry a Christmas feel other than some song references and one scene involving Santa Claus. The main point of the story was for Abby to help her deceased grandmother find a loved one. Along the way, readers can pick up some important advice about love and living life to its fullest. Ironically enough, I liked the "realistic" aspect of a ghost not being able to touch things. I thoroughly enjoyed 12 Daves of Christmas from beginning to end and laughed out loud a bunch of times (or just sat there with a goofy grin on my face)! As for casting (which I know Juliet also loves doing), I'd suggest Betty White as Grandma Charlotte's ghost, Dave (!!!) Franco as McHotty, and if I want to go authentically Australian for Abby, I'd pick Eliza Taylor. Otherwise, Candice Accola would be good in the role. I could definitely see it as a cute, romantic, made-for-TV holiday movie.

Thanks to Escape Publishing for the book in exchange for an honest review. Juliet is giving away an e-book of one of her previous titles (winner's choice) to a lucky reader anywhere in the world! (TEN bonus points if you buy an e-book of "12 Daves".)

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


Worldwide. Giveaway ends December 15th at midnight EST.

More by Juliet Madison: