Book Review: The One That Got Away

By Melissa Amster

Whether we want to admit it or not, we all have that one who got away. Even if it was a crush we never acted upon. So we're all bound to relate to Sarina Mahler, the heroine of Bethany Chase's debut novel, in one way or another. That's what makes her so lovable.

Sarina Mahler thinks she has her life all nailed down: a growing architecture practice in Austin, Texas, and an any-day-now proposal from her loving boyfriend, Noah. She’s well on her way to having the family she’s hoped for since her mother’s death ten years ago. But with Noah on a temporary assignment abroad and retired Olympic swimmer—and former flame—Eamon Roy back in town asking her to renovate his new fixer-upper, Sarina’s life takes an unexpected turn. Eamon proves to be Sarina’s dream client, someone who instinctively trusts every one of her choices—and Sarina is reminded of all the reasons she was first drawn to him back in the day. Suddenly her carefully planned future with Noah seems a little less than perfect. And when tragedy strikes, Sarina is left reeling. With her world completely upended, she is forced to question what she truly wants in life—and in love. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Bethany Chase has a natural and genuine voice for writing. I can easily see why so many authors are already singing her praises. While I don't normally gravitate toward novels about girls pining for guys they liked a long time ago, I had been keeping up with Bethany on Facebook and knew I had to read anything she produced. After all, she and I are both chick lit lovin' Weird Al fans!

The One That Got Away is a charming novel wrapped in a deceiving cover. (I look at the cover and think of something I would be required to read in high school. Of course, if this novel were on the inside back then, I would have been in for a major treat. Maybe high schoolers can use the cover to throw off their teachers by letting them think they're reading a classic piece of literature while secretly dishing over who Sarina is going to end up with.)

While I felt it was hard to agree with what Sarina was doing by flirting with a past flame even though she was in a serious relationship, I was also secretly rooting for her to be with Eamon because they just had so much chemistry and sexual tension between them. And then I'd feel bad because Noah seemed like a good guy overall and he was serious about his relationship with Sarina. So complex, right?!? This led to lots of twists and turns in the story and made the book very hard to put down. In fact, the only thing that I had trouble wrapping my head around was the pronunciation of Eamon's name. (I thought it was E-min and later learned it was AY-min. That "E" at the beginning threw me off, even though I did the same thing with my son's name. I'm saving you all from my confusion!)

Bethany Chase has a winner on her hands and I am already excited to read her next novel, which features Sarina in a secondary role and gives a new narrator a chance to shine. (Just don't be like me and look past the final chapter before finishing this book or you'll find a spoiler in the way the relationships of the new characters are presented.)

I was casting this in my head for a while, but it took me the longest time to choose someone to play Sarina because I kept picturing Bethany. (I hope my choice of actress does justice to both Sarina and Bethany....)

Sarina: Jordana Brewster
Eamon: Harry Lloyd
Noah: Eric Winter
John: Fred Ward
Danny: Andrew Rannells

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

Spotlight and Giveaway: I Take You

We're pleased to feature one of the hottest new books of the spring...I TAKE YOU by Eliza Kennedy. The website for this novel is set up like a wedding website, so it's a perfect fit for our party-themed month!

Our author liaison, Cindy Roesel, enjoyed I TAKE YOU for its humorous element and suggested it for a beach read this summer. See her review from last month. While her giveaway is closed now, we have a copy for a lucky US reader, thanks to Crown Publishing. 

You can also enter to win a Girls' Weekend Getaway in Key West this autumn! (US only. Ends May 17th.)

Meet Lily Wilder: New Yorker, lawyer, and Manhattan’s most inappropriate bride-to-be. Lily loves men, a lot, and has no business getting married. But when she meets archaeologist Will—funny, good looking, and the nicest guy she’s ever dated—and he asks her to marry him, she can’t resist saying yes. Now she’s counting down the days until her wedding while simultaneously prepping a witness who just happens to be vacationing in the Florida Keys, where she’s planning to tie the knot. As the wedding approaches, Lily’s nights—and mornings, and afternoons—of booze, laughter and questionable decisions become a growing reminder that the happiest day of her life might turn out to be her worst mistake yet. After all, not everyone thinks Lily is marriage material (including, at times, Lily herself). Her bevy of stepmothers and hellish mother-in-law have plenty to say about her plan to become a Mrs. But, with drink in hand and the help of her best friend, Freddy, Lily plans to defy them all and make it to the altar on her own terms.

Brilliantly executed and driven by the irrepressible voice of its unforgettable heroine, I TAKE YOU (Crown; May 5, 2015), Eliza Kennedy’s page-turning debut, showcases one of the most engaging commercial voices since Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones. Kennedy, who attended the University of Iowa and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor at the Harvard Law Review, clerked for a federal judge and practiced litigation at a prestigious Manhattan law firm for several years before she turned to writing. With no formal training, she’s managed to pen one of the most compulsively readable, laugh-out-loud novels you’re bound to read all year.

While Kennedy insists she is nothing like her saucy protagonist, she does know a thing or two about wedding disasters. Much like the nuptials at the heart of her debut, her own wedding to writer Joshua Ferris in Key West was a bit of a debacle: there was a tropical storm menacing the coast of Florida, her maid of honor missed her flight and showed up moments before the ceremony, one of their readers was hospitalized with chest pains, and a drunken family member tried to assault the DJ (she is now an ex-family member).

I TAKE YOU is edgy, smart, and wickedly entertaining, but it is more than just a sexy romp. Through Lily’s experiences, Kennedy teases out larger questions, such as the nature of choice, gender politics, the implications of desire, the insidiousness of cultural expectations, and the pursuit of the most undervalued idea of all: pure fun.

Eliza Kennedy attended the University of Iowa and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation she served as a law clerk for a federal judge, then practiced litigation for several years at a prestigious Manhattan law firm. She lives in New York with her husband and son. I Take You is her first novel.

Thanks to Crown Publishing for sharing this book with our readers.


Before entering our giveaway, stop on over to the International Chick Lit Month blog and don't forget to complete their survey by Saturday, in order to be entered into a special giveaway!

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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US only. Giveaway ends May 12th at midnight EST.

Guest Book Review and Giveaway: The Royal We

By Michelle Drodge

Even though I’m not a huge follower of everyone’s beloved Royal Family, I was very intrigued to read this story that is ‘loosely based’ on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The authors of this novel are two American women who admit in the acknowledgments that they toured Buckingham Palace and spent an extended period of time researching. Still, I somehow had a shred of hope that they knew something we didn’t – could this actually be the true story of Will and Kate disguised as a Chick Lit Novel?

Bex is an American studying at the prestigious Oxford University in England, an ocean away from her twin sister Lacey. It’s no secret that Prince Nicholas of Wales is also studying at Oxford, but to Bex’ surprise, he was also living with her in the same dorm called Pembroke, and it wasn’t long before they fell into the same crowd.

Nick and Bex became close friends long before they fell in love – but falling in love with a Prince is far less glamourous than it sounds. Amidst the elaborate functions and expensive clothing also comes a slew of paparazzi hounding their every move around the clock, and a family less than excited about a Prince falling in love with an ‘ordinary American’.

The question is simple: Will Bex and Nick make it to the altar, or will they let outside influences tear them apart?

The answer isn’t as simple as one might think in this book.

There is certainly not a lack of ‘fullness’ in this book, as it’s almost as chaotic as this story may be in real life. The amount of characters introduced sometimes led to confusion (who is that again?), but definitely contributed to a colourful cast. I especially enjoyed the dynamic between Bex and Lacey but felt that some of the more insignificant characters could have been left on the editing table.

The length is also something I struggled with. The middle section has some pivotal moments taking place, but I felt this section could have been omitted almost entirely. I had to return to this section to re-read it after I finished this book because I knew the outcome and really wanted to continue with the turmoil surrounding Nick and Bex's relationship.

As I earlier mentioned, my knowledge of the Royal Family is minimal at best, and when I began this book, it felt like I was reading somewhat of a tabloid. The language seemed very relaxed and I wondered if these authors were completely inexperienced. However, I stumbled upon some literary gems throughout the book that stood out so much I actually highlighted them purposefully for this review. One of my favourites: “We’d bought last minute tickets in the back row after a long Sunday at the Bodleian, and watched agape as the legendary musical unfolded like a disjointed feline fever dream.” Another: “My favourite urban legend about Freddie (Nick’s brother) claims he got caught in flagrante delicto with the daughter of a Russian political leader, a week before she was to be married off as part of a covert alliance. But the very best part is that it isn’t an urban legend at all. Every word of it is true.” This prose is not that of fledgling wanna-be writers, it is that of truly talented authors and is what makes this book a success.

Although this book is a very entertaining, light read, I do think these women will have a long, successful career. If this is the type of book they can pen with no actual experience but simply skillful research, I have no doubt their next book will be even better. I’d actually like to see them write a more serious drama and think they would do well in crime-based novels. Congrats to Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks on a successful debut!

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the book in exchange for an honest review. They have FIVE copies for some lucky readers in the US and/or Canada!

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 Restaurant Development 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!

Don't forget to check out the International Chick Lit Month blog to see who is visiting and enter any current giveaways going on!

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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US/Canada only. Giveaway ends May 11th at midnight EST.

"Jammin" with Kristy Woodson Harvey...plus a book giveaway

It's May, which means two things....it's International Chick Lit Month AND our five year blogoversary! To celebrate both this year, we're all about having parties and have asked our visiting authors to throw parties for their books or characters. 

Our first party host is the lovely and charming Kristy Woodson Harvey. She's celebrating her debut novel, Dear Carolina, and has an event you won't want to miss! 

Melissa A just finished Dear Carolina this past week and enjoyed the sweet and light-hearted story about how one person can never have too many people who love them. If you're a fan of Beth Hoffman's novels, give Kristy a try. She won't disappoint! 

Kristy lives in North Carolina and graduated from UNC. She spends her free time in Beaufort with her husband and their two year-old son. She blogs over at Design Chic about creating a beautiful home, and is proud to now call herself an author, as well. You can find out more about Kristy at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Stop on over to Kristy's party. TWO "guests" from the US will be able to take home copies of Dear Carolina!

You're invited to Kristy's party for Khaki and Jodi from Dear Carolina:

Characters you will also get to meet:
Lucy Peterson from The Dog Year, Grenady and Cade from What I Remember Most, Destiny from Adria Cimino’s Close to Destiny (she’ll bring champagne as a hostess gift!), Amy Reichert's Chef Lou from The Coincidence of Coconut Cake will be catering and will bring along Al and John, Helen from Sonja Yoerg’s House Broken, Sarah from Katie Moretti’s Thought I Knew You, Lanie and Beth from Amy Sue Nathan’s The Glass Wives (They’ll drag Evie along too!). We’ll let guests bring friends too. It will be that kind of party!

The theme:
It will be a joint launch party for Khaki’s new interior design book and Jodi’s new cookbook. Maybe a “Desserts, Decor and Dancing” theme!

The specialty beverage:
The Strawberry Jam-tini. Jodi is all about making jam, and it’s strawberry season right now! Yum!

What time?
Nighttime! Khaki loves a black tie event, so we’ll be pulling out all the stops for this one!

Special musical guest:
The Chairmen of the Board, a legendary shag band, will be playing all night long! They did write the song “Carolina Girls,” Carolina’s namesake, after all! The ladies can kick off their heels and dance all night!

Location:
Outdoors, please! Preferably somewhere by the ocean, just like Dear Carolina’s cover.

Thanks to Kristy for celebrating with us and sharing her book with our readers!

While we're celebrating International Chick Lit Month here, you can also visit the ICLM blog to celebrate some more over there and see who is visiting!

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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US only. Giveaway ends May 10th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Oh! You Pretty Things

By Jami Deise

There’s a saying that Hollywood is like high school with money – meaning that all the cliques, weird love triangles and petty backstabbing are here, just being performed by people who drive hundred thousand dollar cars and have assistants who specialize in buying the right toilet paper. So what happens if you’re in Hollywood but don’t have any money? Well, then you’re the one buying the toilet paper. Yes, Los Angeles is home to movie stars, TV personalities and studio chiefs. But most people who live there have regular, ordinary lives like the rest of us. Only they are constantly reminded that they are not the one percent.

Shanna Mahin’s Oh! You Pretty Things is a tutorial on life for regular people in Hollywood. Basically, it sucks much more than being a regular person in, say, North Carolina, because you’re surrounded by people who work “in the industry,” or who are trying to break into the industry, or who look down on you because you’re not in the industry. Your worth in Hollywood is determined by one thing: Where you are on the industry ladder. If you’re not a celebrity, how close are you to one?

We meet Jess, Mahin’s heroine, the day she finds out she’s losing shifts at her barista job because, at 29, she’s too old and not pretty enough to be behind the counter during the coveted daytime hours. It’s just the latest of slights Jess has dealt with her whole life. A third generation Los Angelino, Jess was never pretty enough for her grasping wannabe actress mother Donna, nor for any of the casting agents Donna forced her to meet with, nor her ex-husband. These slights have left Jess too eager to please, and when she gets a job as the assistant to Hollywood B-lister Eva, she’s so happy to be appreciated, she lets Eva’s needs take over her life.

"Pretty" is like The Devil Wears Prada for the Hollywood set, only Jess is too besotted with Eva to realize the woman is evil. It’s an up close and personal look at the glamour of being a Hollywood assistant – cleaning up after those purse-sized dogs, who are never house-trained. Being on call to retrieve abandoned cars in the middle of the night, because your boss can never be bothered to get gas. Having a standing order at Starbucks for a very specific kind of latte. And ignoring the evidence that your boss is sleeping with your best friend’s boyfriend.

While Mahin has crafted a very specific tale on the peculiarities of living on the edge of Hollywood, it’s the universality of Jess’ relationships that really resonated with me. Jess is figuratively in high school, with a best friend who has suddenly ditched her to spend all her time with her new boyfriend. And she’s caught in a friend triangle between Eva and Scout, Jess’ friend who got her the assistant job to begin with. Eva pits them against each other in a war over who Eva likes better. Is there a woman alive who doesn’t clearly remember the pain the first time she saw her best friend eating lunch with another girl? Or having her cancel plans to hang out with her hot new boyfriend, while she sat home watching The Love Boat? It doesn’t matter whether these slights take place in Hollywood, California or Hollywood, Maryland – the pain is the same.

If you’re a fan of the Real Housewives of Hollywood, any of the Kardashian shows, or just like to have E TV on in the background, you’ll definitely appreciate Oh! You Pretty Things. But the next time the camera zooms in on Khloe walking down the street, keep an eye out for the woman barely in range, holding two phones. Her life off-screen is just as important as the one on TV.

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

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

Melissa A:

Good Girl by Sarah Tomlinson from
Reading with Robin

The Canterbury Sisters by Kim Wright from Gallery Books

Melissa P:

The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza from Doubleday

Becky:

We Are All Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman from Ebury Press

The Dress by Kate Kerrigan from Head of Zeus

A Good Catch by Fern Britton from HarperCollins UK

Gail:

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher from St. Martin's Press

Borrow-a-Bridesmaid by Anne Wagener from Gallery Books (e-book)

The Legacy of Us by Kristin Contino from BookSparks PR (e-book)


The Far End of Happy by Kathryn Craft from Sourcebooks (e-book)

Jami:

What Matters Most by/from Dianne Maguire (e-book)

The Lives Between Us by/from Theresa Rizzo (e-book)

Sara:

Post Traumatic Brazilian Wax Syndrome by/from Tamara Lyon (e-book)

Help Wanted by/from Barbara Valentin
(e-book)





What could be in YOUR mail...but first a commercial break:

Before we move on to our giveaway, we first want to tell you that International Chick Lit Month starts TODAY and will be going on through May 31st. Visit the blog EVERY day to meet authors and potentially win books!

Back to our regularly scheduled giveaway...

We're featuring The Beautiful Daughters by Nicole Baart.

Nicole has two copies for readers located in the US and/or Canada!

Synopsis:

From the author of Sleeping in Eden, described as “intense and absorbing from the very first page” (Heather Gudenkauf, author of The Weight of Silence), comes a gripping new novel about two former best friends and the secrets they can’t escape.

Adrienne Vogt and Harper Penny were closer than sisters, until the day a tragedy blew their seemingly idyllic world apart. Afraid that they got away with murder and unable to accept who they had lost—and what they had done—Harper and Adri exiled themselves from small-town Blackhawk, Iowa, and from each other. Adri ran thousands of miles away to Africa while Harper ventured down a more destructive path closer to home.

Now, five years later, both are convinced that nothing could ever coax them out of the worlds in which they’ve been living. But unexpected news from home soon pulls Adri and Harper back together, and the two cannot avoid facing their memories and guilt head-on. As they are pulled back into the tangle of their fractured relationships and the mystery of Piperhall, the sprawling estate where their lives first began to unravel, secrets and lies behind the tragic accident are laid bare. The former best friends are forced to come to terms with their shared past and search for the beauty in each other while mending the brokenness in themselves.

Nicole Baart’s lush and lyrical writing has been called “sparkling” (Publishers Weekly), “taut and engrossing” (Booklist), and “evocative and beautiful” (Romantic Times). The Beautiful Daughters is another exquisitely rendered, haunting story that will stay with readers long after the last page. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

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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US/Canada only. Giveaway ends May 6th at midnight EST.

For another chance to win The Beautiful Daughters, visit Goodreads. (US only. Ends 5/12.)

Book Review: Bellamy's Redemption

By Sara Steven

The opening scene in Bellamy’s Redemption reminds me of a typical Monday evening at my house. Sitting in front of the television, eagerly anticipating the drama and chaos that will ensue when The Bachelor broadcasts. I’m sure that's why I was undeniably hooked just a few pages in while reading "Bellamy." In fact, much of this novel made me feel as though I was getting a behind-the-scenes look at what really goes on when dealing with reality television.

Emma Van Elson, the sweet and kooky female lead, is just as hooked as I am. She’s waiting to see who Alanna Rutherford will choose for her husband, on a show quite similar to The Bachelor. When Alanna doesn’t pick the man of everyone’s dreams, Bellamy Timberfrost, it feels as if the whole nation, including Emma, has let out a collective gasp. What was Alanna thinking?

Bellamy now has the chance to seek out love in front of millions of viewers on his own show, “Bellamy’s Redemption”. Emma has to get on the show. She’s never met Bellamy, but she has to discover if he’s just as dreamy in person as he is on the small screen. Emma has complete and total tunnel vision, even blocking out a potential love interest who lives just down the hall from her in her apartment building, all in the name of romance.

The road to romance is never easy. Emma is up against some fierce competition when she is accepted onto the show. It seems as though all the other women are gorgeous and much better suited for Bellamy, although the majority of them don’t seem to be there for the “right” reasons. And, where do Emma’s loyalties lie, anyway? While she’s finding herself becoming more and more infatuated with Bellamy, she can’t seem to get her hunky neighbor out of her head. Is she getting sucked into the limelight, or is Bellamy the one for her?

"Bellamy" was absolute fun from start to finish. I loved the catty scenes with the other female contestants, including a surprise guest that no one saw coming, throwing a huge wrench into Emma’s plans. What I also appreciated: the blindsides. Many times I’ve had an inkling as to which direction a book was headed, but "Bellamy" is an absolute surprise. It keeps you guessing, all the way through.

Thanks to Holly Tierney-Bedord for the book in exchange for an honest review.