What's in the mail

Melissa A:

Facebook Jeanie by/from Addison Westlake (e-book)

Real by Katy Evans from Gallery Books

The Theory of Opposites by Allison Winn Scotch from Get Red PR

True Hollywood Lies by/from Josie Brown (e-book)

Amy:

The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon from Touchstone




Jami:

Back to You by/from Susy McPhee (e-book)





Becky:

Step Back in Time by Ali McNamara from Sphere

The French Postmistress by Julia Stagg from Hodder and Stoughton

The Confusion of Karen Carpenter by Jonathan Harvey. Won in a competition.


Kathryn:

This Fragile Life by/from Kate Hewitt (e-book)

Book Review: Frisky Business

By Becky Gulc

Frisky Business is the first book that I’ve read by Clodagh Murphy but it won’t be the last after thoroughly enjoying this book from start to finish. I love the blue cover (there are several cover styles) and the synopsis was immediately enticing, even though I don’t generally warm to ‘baby’ themes within novels. Here it is:

In the past year, Romy Fitzgerald learned three valuable lessons.

One: Never have sex at a party with a stranger dressed as Darth Vader.

Two: Don't tell him things you've never told anyone else.

Three: Find out the stranger's name because you never know when you might need it....Like nine months later when the baby arrives.

While Romy is happy to raise Luke on her own, one day he'll need to know the truth about his father, and Darth deserves to know that he has a son. Will Romy find her dark knight or will she be left to raise Luke (Han) solo? (Synopsis courtesy of Clodagh Murphy's website.)

Even from the synopsis, I could tell I was going to like Romy and that the book was going to offer fun and intrigue with the ‘Darth’ aspect capturing my attention. It’s a book that definitely lives up to its title, definitely very ‘frisky’ in places (I don’t think I’ll ever think of Darth Vader in quite the same way again…blush, blush) and I didn’t mind this. The sexual chemistry between some characters was really well written. I was pleased when some of the characters actually got it together!

I thought the pace of the book worked really well, from the initial Halloween party ‘encounter’ with Darth Vader then moving forward to when Romy’s son Luke is a few months old when she and her friends take on the mission of finding Darth…which at times seems like "Mission Impossible." It was definitely a book that I looked forward to picking up each evening.

The book is very funny and it really has a wonderful set of characters, each could be a lead in a book of their own which is a real compliment to the character development from Clodagh. From Romy’s friend (wannabe detective), Lesley; her brother, Danny; her very sexually active (and doesn’t she let people know..) tenant, May through to her old boyfriend, Kit. Kit comes back into her life at a poignant time, and seems to resemble Luke quite a bit too…but as he and Romy become close once more something just doesn’t feel right for Romy, but can she pinpoint what it is?

There are some hilarious scenes when Romy is trying to find out who the real Kit is. For the reader as well, the book keeps you guessing in various ways, even though we tap into Kit’s viewpoint we aren’t much the wiser ourselves than Romy is; indeed I found Kit really frustrating at times.

I didn’t see things coming, and when I did towards the end this was the way I wanted things to go so I was happy. There was a stage at which I forgot about the secret Romy tells Darth when they first meet, but this re-emerges towards the end of the novel in a clever way which helps the story comes to its conclusion.

Although in a way the essence of this book is about finding out who Luke’s father is, I didn’t feel this was ever written with too highly a focus, there’s a lot more to it and Romy as a character is fully rounded, we get to know her as a person, as a career woman, as a friend and not just as a mum.

This is a light-hearted fun read that will have you laughing out loud and feeling a bit sad when you have to say goodbye to the characters at the end. Definitely an author I’d like to read more from.

Thanks to Clodagh Murphy for the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Go-To-Gay: Happiness

Introduction by Tracey Meyers

For a long time, the word "happy" was considered a four letter word in my world.  I didn't believe that "happiness" was possible for me.  Then, one day I made a conscious decision to pursue things that I was passionate about and brought me joy.

One of those things that I am passionate about and brings me joy is running races.  Last weekend, I completed a half marathon.  As I went into the last two (or so) miles of the race, I promised myself that I would never, I mean NEVER-EVER, attempt such a thing again.  At that moment, my friends, this was going to be a one time only event as far as I was concerned.  My feet were killing me, my legs were getting tired and I was starting to get hungry.  I began to question what about this experience could ever bring someone (including myself) joy.  As I approached the finish line, my spirit changed and as I crossed it the overwhelming joy could be seen by all looking at me.  As I received my finishers medal I felt an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment.  So much so that as I was sitting on the shuttle to head home I began to cry tears of joy.  Something I couldn't ever recall doing before.

More than anything I wish there was some magic formula to achieving happiness.  It would be a hell of a lot easier than some of the paths we have to travel to get there.  However, when we do get there I feel we appreciate the moment of realization that much more.

This month, we at Chick Lit Central have been asking authors to share with readers things that brings them happiness and CLC's Go-To-Gay, Wade Rouse is no exception.

Happiness

"Happiness" is a loaded word. It sounds so sunnily simple (I always think of the Peanuts cartoons … "Happiness is … "), but it can be a deceptively difficult thing to achieve. We are all told, "Be happy!” but fully embracing, and embodying, happiness is a long process built mostly by achieving the internal rather than the external.

The top 5 things that make me happy? Here goes:

1) Writing

I don't just love to write, I live to write. Writing is how I make sense of the world. It is a way for me to teach, entertain and change the world through words. Writing humorous memoir allows me to bring deeply personal issues to the table, and make readers laugh and learn, giggle and grow, while uniting, no matter how different we may be. Writing fiction allows me to take deeply personal themes and issues, and bring those to light via my characters' viewpoints.
Writing is hard work, but it also my passion. I was not truly, deeply, achingly happy until I began to write full time. And I don't think most of us achieve true, lasting happiness unless our work becomes our passion.

2) Risk

Inherent to happiness is risk. Great risk. It's easier to take the path of least resistance, but it's also less rewarding. It's not until we get off the path, and choose our own, do we find happiness. But that is filled with incredible risk, and many fear the unknown.

For me, writing as a career was filled with risk: Could I get published? Could I earn a living? Would readers like my work? And the daily job of writing – sitting alone for hours on end, filling those blank pages – is filled with even greater risk.

But, every day, I race for my laptop. My heart races as I write. Every day is filled with risk – on micro- and macro-levels – but I cannot imagine living this short, blip of a journey we call life without taking a risk every single day.

3) Gary

My partner, Gary, is largely the reason I write and take risk. He is the yin to my yang. The hot fudge to my sundae. The Captain to my Tennille. He is my happiness.

When I said I could not write for a living, Gary asked, "Why not?"

When I said we could not reinvent our lives, Gary asked, "Why not?"

I am happy because I fought long and hard to find my one, true love. Sounds corny, I know, but Gary and I endured incredible sadness, grief, loneliness and rejection until we found each other. We fought to find love: Not just love, but the right love. We knew what we were looking for, and we wouldn’t compromise until we found it.
We base our relationship on those of our parents and grandparents, all of whom were married for 50-plus years: We respect one another. We laugh with one another. We support one another. We complete one another. As a result, we are happy.

4) Running

At one point in my life, I weighed nearly 260 pounds. I wasn't just unhappy, I was miserable. I didn't like myself. I felt as if I were trapped in someone else's body, living someone else's life.

When I began to write in earnest, I also began to run in earnest. I started slowly with both. But over time, my mile walk became a mile jog, which turned into a three-mile run. Eventually, I lost over 100 pounds and completed a marathon.

Happiness is intricately tied to all components of our lives being in synch: The emotional, the spiritual, the creative, the physical must all be in balance. When they are, happiness sings.

Running is my release: After sitting at a laptop for hours on end, I need a physical release to center me. As I run, I unwind. I work through what I've written and focus on what is to come. Often, along mile four or five, I begin to tire, and my mind frees: That's when the best ideas come. When I finish a long run, I'm rarely tired. I'm usually exhilarated. I am whole.

5) Coffee/Wine

Happiness in life requires a few sins, right?

Mine tend to center around great coffee and wine.

Over the years, I have become obsessed with kickass caffeine and wonderful wine, and have learned the subtle nuances of what makes a memorable sip. My mornings require a truly terrific cup of coffee (the town in which we live has one of the best coffee houses, which roasts its own amazing beans) or an expertly-crafted latte (I prefer a quad shot white chocolate latte).

Most weekends and great meals require a wonderful white or robust red.

A dash of decadence is required for my happy life, and I will always love a buzz, whether it comes via coffee or wine.

The writings of bestselling humorist Wade Rouse – called “wise, witty and wicked” by USA Today and the lovechild of Erma Bombeck and David Sedaris – have been featured multiple times on NBC’s Today Show as well as on Chelsea Lately on E! and People.com. His latest memoir, It’s All Relative: Two Families, Three Dogs, 34 Holidays and 50 Boxes of Wine (reviewed here) launched in paperback February 1st from Broadway, and he is creator and editor of the humorous dog anthology, I’m Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship: Hilarious, Heartwarming Tales about Man’s Best from America’s Favorite Humorists (NAL). The book features a Foreword by Chelsea Handler’s dog, Chunk, essays by such beloved chick lit authors as Jane Green, and 50 percent of the book’s net royalties go to the Humane Society of the United States. His first memoir, America's Boy, has been re-published by Magnus Books for paperback and Kindle. For more, visit his website, or friend him on Facebook or Twitter.

Book Review & Giveaway: You Knew Me When

By Miriam Plotinsky

**Giveaway is now closed**

Female friendships are tricky. Women get very close in a pretty short period of time, and though the bonds of sisterhood can be beautiful, they can also be devastating. Breaking up a romantic relationship isn’t usually as heartbreaking as losing a close girlfriend. The raw pain associated with this kind of sadness sets the tone for You Knew Me When, Emily Liebert’s novel about a woman named Katherine who is forced to return to a painful past, face the people she left behind, and figure out who she used to be.

Katherine, an intimidating makeup executive, has to return to Manchester, her hometown, after the death of Luella Hancock, an eccentric and enigmatic woman whose elegance was matched by her generosity. As a shy and awkward child, Katherine moved to Manchester and instantly became close with both Luella and a neighbor girl her age, Laney. Luella exerted major influence on Katherine, eventually encouraging her to leave her bubble and attend NYU, while Laney stayed behind in Manchester and followed a more traditional path. For various reasons (no spoiler alert necessary!), Katherine and Laney had a major falling out. Now, years later, Katherine is thinner, prettier, and more confident about herself. When she shows up in Manchester for Luella’s funeral, Laney greets her with open hostility. However, when both of them learn that they have to clean out Luella’s house together in order to benefit from her will, they begin to unravel their pasts and find ways to reconnect.

The story is appealing and well-written, but what makes this book stand out is the palpable vulnerability of the two lead characters. Laney and Katherine demonstrate that, no matter how many years pass, it’s hard to get over hurt feelings and missed chances. Both of the women may be grown up, but on the inside they are still the girls who were like sisters until their friendship met a sudden end.

Because You Knew Me When is fiction, the relationship between the two women is more salvageable than it probably would be in real life. Still, it’s nice to think that old rifts can be repaired and that people can go back to where they used to be without sacrificing who they’ve become. Liebert tackles the delicate balance of female friendship with obvious experience, and the result is an absorbing read with enough surprises and good characters to make You Knew Me When a memorable experience.

Thanks to Sarah Hall Productions for the book in exchange for an honest review. They are giving away FIVE copies, along with Zoya nail polish (limited edition, named after characters in the book) to some lucky US readers.

How to win:
Tell us if you ever had a falling out with a close female friend and if your friendship has been repaired since then.

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 only. Giveaway ends September 17th at midnight EST.

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Jane Porter has a lot to smile about...plus a book giveaway

Photo credit: Kira Stewart Photography

As you may already know, we absolutely love Jane Porter over here at CLC. What's not to love though?!? She's kind, down-to-earth, generous, funny and, of course, an incredible writer.

Amy and Melissa A. got to meet her in person this past year (see pictures here) and she's even more wonderful when you meet her face-to-face. Her personality just shines through in her writing, as she really knows how to connect with her readers. In fact, we even nominated her for the International Chick Lit Month Hall of Fame this year.

Jane is here today because the third and final novel from her Brennan Sisters series, The Good Wife (reviewed here), was published last week. Oh, yeah...and she's going to tell us the top five things that make her happy, in honor of "Happiness Month" here at CLC. Thanks to BookSparks PR, we have one copy of The Good Wife for a lucky US reader! If you haven't read The Good Woman and The Good Daughter, you'll definitely want to check those out, as well!

What's next for Jane? She's part of the Copper Mountain Rodeo series from Montana Born Books (Tule Publishing), along with another chick lit author we adore...Megan Crane! Her novella, Take Me, Cowboy will be released in late October.

You can find Jane at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Top Five Happy Things for Jane Porter:

1 – My boys. I love my boys and would be lost without them. (And I could include my husband as one of my boys!)

2 – Books. I'm a reader before anything else. Couldn't live without a stack of books next to my bed, waiting to be read.

3 – My writing. I’m a storyteller. I hear voices...characters talking, wanting to be brought to life. I couldn't imagine not writing.

4 – Peeps. I have a real weakness for them. I could eat them by the boxful.

5 – Travel. I love to get in the car or on a plane and just go somewhere---anywhere. A little motel in a beach town. A posh hotel in the desert. International. An hour away. Just love to go. Travel is my poison. I live to travel.

Special thanks to Jane for making US smile and to BookSparks PR for sharing The Good Wife with our readers.


Synopsis of The Good Wife:

Is it possible to love someone too much?

Always considered the beauty of the family, the youngest Brennan sister, Sarah, remains deeply in love with her husband of ten years. Boone Walker, a professional baseball player, travels almost year-round while Sarah stays home and cares for their two children. Her love for her husband is bottomless—so much so that her sisters say it will end up hurting her.

Living apart most of the time makes life difficult, especially since Sarah often wonders whether Boone is sharing his bed with other women on the road, even though he swears he’s been true to her since his infidelity three years ago. While she wants to be happy and move forward in her life, Sarah constantly fears that Boone will break his promise. Now with Boone facing yet another career change, tension rises between the two, adding more stress to an already turbulent marriage. Emotionally exhausted, Sarah can’t cope with yet another storm. Now, she must either break free from the past and forgive Boone completely, or leave him behind and start anew... (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)


How to win: Use the Rafflecopter to enter. If you have questions on how to use it, e-mail us. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


US only. Giveaway ends September 16th at midnight EST.

Book Review: The Good Wife

By Melissa Amster

I've been keeping up with the Brennan Sisters ever since I read The Good Woman last autumn. At that time, readers were introduced to Sarah, the youngest sister, and heard about some of her marital anxieties and how they affected her relationship with her oldest sister, Meg. This time around, we get to hear more about Sarah's story and find out what the other sisters are up to in The Good Wife, the third and final novel in the Brennan Sisters trilogy.


Despite Sarah's husband's infidelity three years ago, he has remained faithful ever since. However, Sarah doesn't know whether she can trust him or not and the tension is building in their marriage as a result. In the meantime, her husband is facing changes and questions in where his career as a professional baseball player is going and Sarah is wondering if she gave up too much of herself when they got married. As her husband's career continues to affect their family, as well as Sarah's shaky trust, will their marriage become stronger than ever or is it doomed to fall apart at the seams?

After meeting Jane Porter this past spring, I got a stronger feel for her literary voice. I could almost hear Jane narrating the story out loud as I was turning the pages. She writes so genuinely and authentically that I forget I'm reading a book and feel like the characters are sitting right next to me, telling me about their joys and fears, as well as their deepest secrets. I even felt like I was right in the action at the baseball games and could practically taste the peanuts and smell the hot dogs cooking nearby. Jane's use of detail is fantastic, as always, without ever taking away from the story. The narrative and descriptions go hand-in-hand throughout.

There is another story taking place within this novel. Lauren Summer is grappling with whether she should stay and put all her money into a restaurant that isn't profiting or go back to work with her sister at the restaurant they own jointly in their hometown, where a lot of painful memories are awaiting her. In some ways, I liked this story the most out of the novel, even though some parts were heartbreaking to read. The balance of the ultimately satisfying parts made it even more worthwhile to shed some tears. However, Lauren's story overshadowed Sarah's story and pushed it in the backseat until the novel was getting close to the final 100 or so pages. Then it was Sarah's turn in the spotlight. By that time, it felt rushed. I still liked reading about Sarah, and her paranoia over her husband possibly having another affair felt so real that I almost took it on personally.

In the meantime, we also get to find out what is going on in the lives of Meg, Bree, Kit and their brother, Tommy (with Cass). I don't want to spoil anything, but I feel like some of the stories were left hanging for more novels to be written about them later, even though it doesn't sound like any more are on the horizon. I can only hope that they'll make cross-over appearances in other novels, the same way Shey Darcy from She's Gone Country appeared in The Good Daughter.

Jane Porter never fails to impress me and I hope she'll continue to write compelling contemporary romance novels like she did with the Brennan Sisters trilogy and her previous books.

Until I read The Good Wife, I had trouble coming up with a movie cast. This time around, I think I figured it out.

Movie cast suggestions for an epic Brennan Sisters film:
Sarah: Sarah Chalke
Meg: Angie Harmon
Kit: Christina Hendricks
Bree: Leslie Mann
Cass: Jennifer Morrison
Boone (Sarah's husband): Jason Lewis
Jack (Meg's husband): Jon Hamm
Lauren: Maggie Lawson

Thanks to BookSparks PR for the book in exchange for an honest review. They're giving away a copy of The Good Wife with Jane Porter's interview. (US only.)

More by Jane Porter:

Book Review and Giveaway: Blogger Girl

By Melissa Amster

**Giveaway is now closed**

Most women in chick lit novels have careers in culinary arts (especially baking), public relations, law, journalism or even cosmetology. So it's nice to come across a novel about a chick lit book blogger (even if it's not actually her career...it just seems that way). Thanks to Meredith Schorr, I've finally met my literary match.


Kimberly Long is a legal secretary by day and a chick lit book blogger by night (and usually day too, given that her boss lets her get away with blogging on the job). Her blog, "Pastel is the New Black," has become well-known, especially for the pink champagne flute rating system. So it's no surprise that her nemesis from high school would contact her, seeing that she wrote a hot new chick lit novel and is looking for reviews from popular blogs. Adding to this is anxiety over her upcoming high school reunion and stress about a guy she likes at work, who seems to have a new girl with him every day. Soon, various factors cause Kimberly to question whether running a book blog is really the high point in her professional life.

It's nice to know that someone "gets" me. This someone is Meredith Schorr, through the voice of Kimberly. This is because Meredith is not only a writer, but she also has a blog. She usually features books and authors there, especially of the indie variety. Blogger Girl is like a celebration of book bloggers. Kimberly addresses the time and effort that goes into maintaining a book blog and also the feelings of inadequacy over just being a book blogger and not even getting paid for it. Kimberly is modest about her blog the same way I am, especially around people who don't read as much. (I get that way when my husband tells people about CLC. I'm fine telling people about it if they read chick lit, but get embarrassed when people ask about it and they've never picked up a chick lit novel.) She'd have to field snarky comments about chick lit that would belittle it in some way or another and have to defend it. It's hard to explain this phenomenon, but if you get into Kimberly's head, you'll know what I'm talking about! I actually did an experiment to get into Kimberly's head in a different way. While I haven't been given a book written by a nemesis or even thought of attending my high school reunion (*sigh of relief* over both), I recently came across a video on YouTube from my senior class party. Oh, the anxiety it provoked! It allowed me to really understand how Kimberly was feeling about having to attend her reunion and face her nemesis, Hannah Marshak, again. Especially since her own sister was suddenly friends with Hannah on Facebook and telling Kimberly to read her book already.

Blogger Girl is snarky, humorous and comforting all at the same time. I love the characters (well, not the evil ones, but they're written well enough to make me want to dislike them with a passion). Kimberly's camaraderie with her closest friends is great and I enjoyed "watching" them interact. I felt like I could easily fit in with her group. I just wish that they didn't smoke pot. It didn't fit that well with the story and I don't feel all that comfortable with drug use in books (nor do I ever really appreciate when a main character smokes cigarettes). I think they could have relaxed just by drinking wine and it would have fit better with the story too. The only other concern I had was over proofreading, as I found a bunch of typos throughout the book. To balance out those issues, the story never becomes predictable. Even when I thought I had everything figured out, Meredith managed to throw in a few twists to keep me guessing.

I loved Blogger Girl and it has become another top favorite of 2013! I consider it the Girls Just Want to Have Fun of books. I love that movie and it never fails to make me smile anytime I watch it. I watched it after finishing Blogger Girl and was making comparisons between the characters and also the way I felt after watching the movie vs. reading this book. Kimberly would be Janey, Bridget would be Lynn, and Hannah would be Natalie (I could even see the actress who played Natalie in that role, had this taken place in the 1980s...which wouldn't make sense considering it's about a blog!) Having said that, I have a few movie casting suggestions for Blogger Girl.

Kimberly: Amanda Seyfried
Bridget: Ari Graynor
Nicholas: Ron Livingston
Hannah: Leighton Meester

Thanks to Meredith Schorr for the book in exchange for an honest review. She has one e-book for a lucky reader anywhere in the world!

How to win:
Tell us about your favorite book blog (aside from CLC, not that we're assuming anything here... ;) ) Share the link too!

One entry per person.

Please leave your e-mail address or a way to reach you if you win. Entries without contact information will NOT be counted.

Open worldwide. Giveaway ends September 15th at midnight EST.

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