Book Review: Wedding Cake for Breakfast

By Tracey Meyers

Pictures have been snapped. Vows have been taken. Rice has been thrown.

Now it's time for the happy couple to live "happily ever after!" But what does "happily ever after" really mean or look like in this day and age?

In the anthology, "Wedding Cake for Breakfast: Essays on the Unforgettable First Year of Marriage," edited by Kim Perel and Wendy Sherman, 23 acclaimed women writers share a candid glimpse into the first year of marriage, and what their "happily ever after" was made up of.

First I want to start by saying that "Wedding Cake for Breakfast" is the first anthology I've ever read. I like the anthology format a lot. It allowed me to read a book without feeling any pressure of getting through as much as I could in one sitting. I liked that I could read a few essays and put it down without having that nagging feeling that comes with having to stop in the middle of an engaging story.

As for the essays themselves, it was hard for me to choose which ones were my favorites. Obviously I liked some more than others, but I still found myself eager to finish each and every one of them. I liked was the fact that, as with life, no one story was alike and had its own special twist on the topic. Even though the essays were grouped by theme, they were all unique in focus. I also enjoyed the fact that these essays shed light on the challenges newlyweds face while dispelling what I believe to be a widely held myth, that life after marriage is "perfect." Lastly, I felt that the essays were of such quality that they spoke to a wide audience range. Whether someone is single, married, divorced or widowed, there is something in this collection for everyone.

Of all the essays, there are a few that stood out to me....

• Margaret Dilloway's essay, titled "Love in the Time of Camouflage" examined how she not only was only adapting to married life, but also learning about what it means to be a military wife and the self-discovery that came with this role.

• Another military related essay, written by Darcie Maranich, titled, "All the Time in the World" caught my attention because it talked about the challenges her marriage faced when just two months after getting married, her husband, a lieutenant in the Army, got deployed to Iraq.

(I told you, this is real life we're talking about here.)

• Or, how about "Shared Anniversary" by Daphne Uviller. After the tragic events of 9/11 many couples who had just gotten married the weekend before faced immediate challenges - on many levels - as the world around them seemed to be collapsing in. Daphne and her husband were one of those couples. How is that for a rocky start?

But it wasn't just the sad stories that captured my attention....

• Jenna McCarthy's humorous essay, "525,600 Minutes," made me laugh as she talked about the realities of marriage. I LOVED the future conversation she added into the essay regarding a spouse coming into the bathroom while the other is in there.

• And for those of you who still don't believe 1+1 = 3, I recommend you read Claire Bidwell Smith's essay, "The First Year," where she recalls what it felt like to find out she was pregnant just two months after getting married to her husband Greg.

• The most sentimental of them all, for me, was Sophie Littlefield's essay titled, "He Chose Me.". In this essay Sophie talks about what it was like to meet and marry her husband at the tender age of twenty-four and her reflection on her expectations of marriage and what it meant to her own personal growth.

If I didn't list an essay above it's not because I didn't like it or didn't feel it was worth mentioning. (I just don't want to give away the whole anthology!) Like I mentioned earlier, I felt each and every one of the authors chose wonderful stories to share and I enjoyed every minute I spent reading this book.

Lastly, I'd like to extend a huge thank you to Kim Perel and Wendy Sherman for having the vision to put together such a book as "Wedding Cake for Breakfast." To me, this book is a "tasty treat" that I see myself partaking in again and again.

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

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Books of the Week - June 21st

Thanks for checking out our newest feature...Books of the Week! There are seven of us and we can't keep up with the many review requests we receive, even though we'd love to read everything sent our way. Therefore, we have decided to give some books their time in the spotlight and introduce you to them through this new blog feature. We will be featuring two books a week. We hope you will take the time to check these books out. (Click the titles to find them on Amazon.) If you read them and want to write a guest blogger review for us, please e-mail us and we'll be glad to work with you!

Authors: We will let you know whether or not we'll be able to review your book upon your request, and hope you'll be interested in this feature as an alternative.

"Sweet Delicious Madness and the Many Mysterious Deaths of Silvio Berlusconi"
By Julie Sarff

Lily Bilbury is about to fabulously happy. Why? Because she has a theory: economic independence = divorce = happiness. To this end she takes a job at Villa Buschi, a lavish estate harboring more than a few secrets. But when things don’t go her way, and she can’t make ends meet or get a divorce or obtain the object of her affection, she contemplates running around ranting drivel and frightening the whole reserved population of Arona, Italy. Only when fate deals a friend a nasty problem does Lily learn that happiness is a matter of perspective. To save her fellow expatriate from dire economic straits, Lily aligns herself with Francesca di Campo, self-proclaimed psychic and harbinger of doom. Together they will mount a search of Villa Buschi for one of the most famous diamonds ever known – the French Blue.

"Sweet Delicious Madness" is $3.99 for Kindle.

Julie Sarff can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
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"Guns And Roses"
By The Authors at Murder She Writes

In "Guns and Roses," the novelists blogging over at Murder She Writes present a one-of-a-kind romantic suspense anthology with ten all-new, never-before-published short stories and novellas that promise thrills, chills, romance, intrigue, passion, danger, murder…and love. Penned by New York Times and award winning authors, some stories in this exclusive collection will make you laugh out loud, while others will force you to sleep with the lights on.

"Guns and Roses" is $3.82 for Kindle.

Visit the authors at Murder She Writes on Facebook and Twitter.

Catching a matinee with Dawn Tripp, plus a book giveaway

Introduction by Kathryn Hamilton

**Giveaway is now closed**

Joining us today is the critically acclaimed author Dawn Tripp, as she celebrates the release of her third novel “Game of Secrets” which is already a Boston Globe bestseller! This Harvard graduate has made her mark in the literary world with her intelligent, thrilling stories, exquisite writing, and vivid characters. She received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction for her second novel “The Season of Open Water” and will no doubt receive further awards for her latest novel which is being hailed as her best yet. When she is not busy writing novel and contributing essays (featured on NPR and Psychology Today), Dawn teaches workshops on developing story arcs. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter or her personal website.

Dawn is here today to talk about some of her favorite movies and thanks to BookSparks PR, we have one copy of "Game of Secrets" for a lucky US reader.

Favorite action/adventure movie:
Every Indiana Jones movie—I am 100 percent geek, secretly obsessed with archeology, all things arcane, and vintage motorcycles. Indy is the spirit of all of that.

Favorite movie based on a book:
The English Patient because the key aspects of the Ondaatje’s novel were transmuted by director Anthony Mingehlla in such a way that the story—the lives, secrets, and fates of the characters—breathe an entirely different life in the form of a film.

If "Game of Secrets" were made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
Natalie Portman for Marne
Helen Mirren for Ada
Meryl Streep for Jane.
Sean Penn for older Huck and Zac Efron for Huck when he was just a fourteen year old boy with that James Dean kind of doom about him, driving fast down an unfinished highway in a stolen car, heat in his hands on the whale, because he loved a girl.

Most memorable experience involving movies or a movie theater:
Watching Lawrence of Arabia with my father. He had always loved that movie, and I remember when it was re-released and we went to see it together—just the two of us—and I felt in that theater sitting with him that I understood for the first time something profound about who my father was that I had not understood before.

Movie that made you cry the most:
Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders. This film breaks my heart every time I watch it, for what it says about life and death, and the impossibility and necessity of love.

Thanks to Dawn for visiting with us today and to BookSparks PR for facilitating the interview and sharing "Game of Secrets" with our readers.

How to win "Game of Secrets":
Please tell us your most memorable experience involving movies or a movie theater. (One entry per person.) Please include your e-mail address or a way to reach you if you win.

US only. Giveaway ends June 26th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Dear Dad, It’s Over

By Kathryn Hamilton

Many of us have had the gut-wrenching task of breaking off ties with someone we love, but with who we have a toxic and unhealthy relationship. Imagine how you would feel if that person were your parent. M. Dickson begins with her “Dear Dad” letter saying goodbye and then poignantly takes the reader through the events that made her ultimately make what is perhaps the most difficult decision of her young adult life.

M. Dickson is a successful stand-up comic known for her sharp wit. “Dear Dad, It’s Over” is a memoir that takes the reader on a heart-breaking journey where the author experiences disappointment after disappointment and outlines one young woman’s experiences with her father after her parents’ divorce. For someone, such as myself, whose parents are still together and whose closest friends also come from intact parental relationships, this memoir comes as a real eye-opener. The author has a style of writing that allows the reader to feel every emotion she experienced. This allows the reader to feel a great deal of empathy, but you do not at any time pity this strong woman. As a memoir, by nature, the reader never gets to understand the father’s thinking and motivation (which is frustrating for someone like me who always wants to know “why”). Being the daughter, M. Dickson was equally kept in the dark, although was able to surmise her father’s reasoning in some circumstances. While the intention was not to vilify her father, I could not help but want to smack him around and tell him to wake up to what he was doing.

M. Dickson writes in a way that makes the reader feel she is confiding in a friend. The prose flows smoothly and while she is articulate, the language is not pompous. Although at just over 100 pages it is a quick read, this is a book that stays with you long after you’ve closed the cover. I sincerely hope that all parents who divorce read this book as a cautionary tale. No child should ever be made to feel unloved or unwanted. It is also my hope that one day M. Dickson’s father realizes what a talented, intelligent daughter he has (even though I know she has moved on from that “dream,” hence the book).

My only note of contention is this: Although “humour” is one of the tags for the book and other reviews have called it painfully funny, I feel that this is a misleading description. I realize that it is not intended to be humourous in the traditional sense. It simply may be that I was not tuned in to the subtlety.

I admire anyone who has the courage to put such emotions out there for the world to see. Hopefully other children of divorce who have had similar experiences find comfort in the fact that they are not alone. Whether you have experienced divorce or not, make sure you pick up this heartfelt memoir; it will make you see the world differently.

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Winners of "The First Husband"

To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry (from only those that included contact info) and asked Random.org to pick THREE numbers.

Congrats to:
3-CMcGowan
14-The Every Free Chance Reader
85-Maureen (mce1011)

Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.

Thanks to everyone for participating and telling us your favorite movie couples.
Thanks to Laura for an enjoyable interview and to Penguin for sharing the book with our winners.

Check out our latest giveaways and also enter ones from other blogs and websites on our giveaways page.

Eight....HUNDRED!!!

**Giveaway is now closed**

Two years ago, Melissa A. was all frustrated because people wouldn't even look at our fabulous giveaways. Today, we can proudly say that we now have 800 followers!!!

Thank you for helping us reach this number. Your enthusiasm, participation, interest in our posts and shares on Facebook and Twitter are what keeps us going each and every day, motivating us to bring you the best that chick lit has to offer! We wouldn't reach this point without you!!! So we're having a special giveaway in YOUR honor!

Rules for this giveaway:
1. Open WORLDWIDE
2. You have until July 1st at midnight EST to enter
3. Tell us what your favorite interview (of ours) has been so far OR who you'd like to see us interview and leave us an e-mail address or another way to reach you.
4. Only one entry per person.
5. You must be a follower of our blog to enter. Please let us know how you follow us and what name you use in order to qualify. (It's not too late to follow us, so please do so if you haven't already.)

Good luck!

A day at the cinema with Emma and Nicola, plus a book giveaway

From left to right:
Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus.

Intro and interview by Tracey Meyers

**Giveaway is now closed**

Lights! Camera! Action!

In 2007, the bright lights of Hollywood shined upon Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus when their debut novel, "The Nanny Diaries," was released as a major motion picture starring Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney and Alicia Keys. Drawing from their experiences as nannies in Manhattan, this dynamic-duo busted out on the literary scene in 2002 with a tale about a young woman, Annie Braddock, a.k.a. "Nanny," who takes a job on the Upper East Side looking after Grayer, the young son of Mr. and Mrs. X. As time goes on, Nanny has to learn to manage the reality of the world she has been thrust into, and comes to the realization that life on the Upper East Side isn't all it's cracked-up to be.

Prior to teaming up, both Emma and Nicola attended New York's University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and worked in both the public and private business sector. Since their debut, they have written six additional novels and have also contributed to various publications such as The New York Times and The London Times. Additionally, both Emma and Nicola write their own individual blog for The Huffington Post (Click the links for Emma's blog and Nicola's blog.)

Their sixth, and most recent novel, "Between You and Me," (reviewed here) was inspired by Britney Spears and takes a behind the scenes look at the music industry, the true price of fame and what really happens once the lights go down and the cameras stop rolling. They also have a new young adult novel, "Over You," coming out later this summer.

You can visit them at their website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. They also have a store available on OpenSky for a limited time, if you want to purchase the fashions and other items featured in "Between You and Me."

They're here today to talk about movies. If you have a book-themed question for them, stop by Goodreads before Friday to ask them whatever you'd like (as long as it's appropriate for the Internet)! Thanks to Engelman and Co., we have TWO copies of "Between You and Me" for some lucky US readers!

Since it's movie month, it's only fair that we share a trailer!


Who is your favorite Chick Flick character, and what qualities do they possess that makes them so unforgettable?
N: Gigi. Because she's trying to grow up and figure out how to have emotional integrity in a muddy situation. She's been raised to expect less, but she won't settle.

E: With the caveat that her politics are WRONGWRONGWRONG, my first love was Scarlett O’Hara because she wouldn’t take no for an answer on any front of her life right up through the last line.


When they were casting actors for the movie adaptation of “The Nanny Diaries”, what involvement did you have in process? What involvement did you have in the production of the film?
N: We cheered excitedly from the sidelines.

E: We had first seen Lost in Translation together and when he heard Scarlett was going to play Nanny we totally broke down crying because we were so happy.

Fill in the blanks: My favorite movie of all time is ___________ because _____________.
N: My favorite movie of all time is The English Patient, because it's a sweeping, heartbreaking epic about love, war, and loyalty. And incredibly sexy to boot.

E: And on the other end of the spectrum—I can watch Jerry Maguire a thousand times and probably have. I love the writing and think the calibration of warmth and humor is rocket science. Tom Cruise performs a symphony of anxiety. I can’t imagine making a wildly entertaining story about integrity but Cameron Crowe nailed it.

For you, what makes a movie memorable?
N: Now that I have a two year-old--coffee.

E: Ditto!

Favorite Movie Quote:
N: "I brought you flours," from an amazing movie called Stranger Than Fiction starring Will Ferrell in a straight acting role. If you love books see it!!!!

E: There was this moment in the film Courage Under Fire where Meg Ryan is playing a soldier who’s squadron is trapped by the enemy and while in the heat of forming a battle plan she takes a second to cry. One of her men gives her attitude about it and she says something to the affect of “It’s just estrogen, asshole. It doesn’t mean anything.” And then she saves all their lives. Totally badass.

If you could star in a movie that was based upon any Chick Lit book, what book would you choose and what role would you play?
N: Does watching The Notebook a hundred times count? Not that they would ever need to, but if they re-made it, count me in!!!

E: Could we both do it? Could Ryan Gosling take turns with us? He’s young, I think he’s up to it.

If you could meet any movie star, who would it be?
N: Kate Winslet. Because she's awesome. And she fights against photoshopping.

E: And Ryan Gosling. So we could “talk”.

What is movie night at your home like? Are there any special traditions or snacks involved?
N: Every couple has this thing they decide they will not let go of after having children and for us it's opening weekend for a blockbuster. Hunger Games, The Avengers, Snow White & the Huntsmen--we like to buy our tickets and participate in the record-breaking box office. On the rare occasions we watch something at home I have to have a cupcake. And the aforementioned coffee.

E: I am so impressed with Nicki on this front—that is no small task. At our house we're slaves to movies On Demand. It’s all about the cozy pajama and chocolate and praying the baby monitor doesn’t light up just as the music swells

Special thanks to Emma and Nicola for talking about movies with us and to Engelman and Co for facilitating the interview and sharing "Between You and Me" with our readers.

How to win "Between You and Me":
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: Who is your favorite Chick FLICK character, and what qualities do they possess that makes them so unforgettable?
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. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

US only. Giveaway ends June 25th at midnight EST.