Spotlight and Giveaway: How to Find Love in a Bookshop

How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry recently published in the US. To celebrate, Viking Books has THREE copies to give away!

The enchanting story of a bookshop, its grieving owner, a supportive literary community, and the extraordinary power of books to heal the heart.

Nightingale Books, nestled on the main street in an idyllic little village, is a dream come true for book lovers—a cozy haven and welcoming getaway for the literary-minded locals. But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open after her beloved father’s death, and the temptation to sell is getting stronger. The property developers are circling, yet Emilia's loyal customers have become like family, and she can't imagine breaking the promise she made to her father to keep the store alive.

There's Sarah, owner of the stately Peasebrook Manor, who has used the bookshop as an escape in the past few years, but it now seems there’s a very specific reason for all those frequent visits. Next is roguish Jackson, who, after making a complete mess of his marriage, now looks to Emilia for advice on books for the son he misses so much. And the forever shy Thomasina, who runs a pop-up restaurant for two in her tiny cottage—she has a crush on a man she met in the cookbook section, but can hardly dream of working up the courage to admit her true feelings.

Enter the world of Nightingale Books for a serving of romance, long-held secrets, and unexpected hopes for the future—and not just within the pages on the shelves. How to Find Love in a Bookshop is the delightful story of Emilia, the unforgettable cast of customers whose lives she has touched, and the books they all cherish. (Courtesy of Veronica Henry's website.)

Photo by Jenny Lewis

Veronica Henry worked as a TV scriptwriter before turning to fiction. In 2014, she won the RNA's Romantic Novel of the Year with A Night on the Orient Express. Henry lives by the sea in North Devon, U.K.

Visit her online:
Website 
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

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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Giveaway ends September 17th at midnight EST.

Book Review: All the Little Children

By Jami Deise

With the country in perpetual crisis, post-apocalyptic fiction is more popular than ever, and not only with teenage boys. Women are coming to the forefront, in titles such as Amanda Hickie’s Before this is Over and Carla Buckley’s The Things That Keep Us Here, featuring female protagonists who put their families’ safety front and center. As one of Amazon Prime’s Kindle First free books for August, All the Little Children features protagonist Marlene Greene, who is forced to answer the question, what about everyone else’s family?

In Jo Furniss’s debut novel, Marlene has taken her three children, a friend of her son’s, and her sister-in-law and niece on a camping trip in the woods somewhere in the U.K. While they’re playing around and Marlene is sulking about the end of her marriage, something bad happens. When the group goes back to town, everyone’s gone but the bodies (and the flies), the electricity’s off, and other post-apocalyptic signs abound. But Marlene and her family aren’t the only ones left alive—there’s a group of schoolboys, and when Marlene’s niece Lola plays Wendy to their Lost Boys, Marlene wonders how much responsibility she has to children she did not birth.

I had trouble getting into the book in the beginning – Marlene is so arrogant, she’s difficult to root for, and I didn’t care about the end of her marriage. I was also tripped up by the quick timeline of events – the world ends pretty much in a day and a half. As the story progresses, Marlene learns that homegrown British terrorists planted multiple bombs containing manufactured Bubonic Plague that killed most of the population instantly. I found the instant death of everyone difficult to believe, as the most deadly viruses don’t kill people right away. If people die immediately, they cannot spread the disease, and the disease is contained.

But as I got deeper into the story, it differentiated itself well enough from other post-apocalyptic fiction (and Marlene became more human) that it become much more engrossing. Furniss deftly raises the stakes and reveals that Marlene’s initial impressions of the calamity were wrong. Not only does Marlene have other people’s kids to look after, she has to determine who the bad guys are, and who’s trying to help.

Near the end of the story, Furniss compares Marlene’s situation with the Lost Boys to the global response to refugees, a metaphor that worked well and that I wished she had used throughout the book. (The fact that the terrorists were homegrown has important ramifications.) What kind of world are we left with if people do not take responsibility for other people’s children? And are refugees not other people’s children?

Furniss refuses to tie up her story in a nice bow, leaving enough material for a sequel if she wishes to pursue one. All the Little Children is a nice addition to the female-driven post-apocalyptic genre, and I look forward to Furniss’s next book.

Thanks to Kaye Publicity for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Kate O'Keeffe is a woman of the world...plus a book giveaway

Today we're glad to feature Kate O'Keeffe as she takes us around the world in eighty seconds (or so). Her latest novel, Two Last First Dates is the second in her Cozy Cottage Café Series and can be read as a stand-alone. This series is also an armchair adventure to New Zealand. Perhaps you'll want to travel there after reading these books. Thanks to Karan & Co, you have a chance to win the first book in this series! Visit all the stops on Kate's tour.

Kate O'Keeffe is an award-nominated author of fun, feel-good romantic comedies. She lives and loves in beautiful New Zealand with her family, two scruffy dogs, and a cat who thinks he's a scruffy dog too. He's not: he's a cat. To date, Kate's written the chick lit series, the Wellywood Romantic Comedy Series, and the new Cozy Cottage Café Series. Visit Kate at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

To Paige Miller, Two Last First Dates sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.Paige is having a rough time. She's unhappy in her career and her One Last First Date ended in total disaster. Now, she has to figure out what to do professionally and personally. Life as a spinster with fifteen cats doesn't sound too bad, though.

Deciding to give up on love, Paige begrudgingly befriends Josh Bentley, the friendly coffee delivery guy, while helping out at the Cozy Cottage Café. His T-shirts make her eyes roll, but their runs have become an important part of her day and a blessing to her waistline, because Bailey's cakes are too good to pass up.

Meanwhile, her best friends offer to find Mr. Right for her, and all Paige has to do is let them. Then, the man of her dreams walks through the door. Marcus Hahn is as good-looking as he is charming, and any thoughts Paige had of being alone with those fifteen cats, fly out the window. Now, she just has to hope her friends choose him as her Last First Date.

But in the end, are Two Last First Dates enough to find The One?

Read the Cozy Cottage Café series
Book 1: One Last First Date 
Book 2: Two Last First Dates--Available now! 
Book 3: Three Last First Dates - coming October 31, 2017 
Book 4: A Final Last First Date - coming early-2018

Countries I’ve visited:
I love to travel! I’ve been lucky enough to have travelled to and lived in a few countries, so here’s my list, in no particular order: New Zealand, Australia, Rarotonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Hawaii, Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, United States, Canada, Mexico, Iceland, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Chzec Republic, The Netherlands, Cyprus, Turkey, Belgium, Austria, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia.
I still feel like I have so much more to see in this wonderful world of ours, particularly South America, which I have yet to get to. One day!

Favorite foreign cuisine:
This has to be a tie between Thai and French. I love the freshness, flavours, and spice of Thai food, but nothing can beat a pastry from a Parisian patisserie with its flaky, buttery, yumminess. Bliss.

Favorite book that takes place in a different country:
That would have to be one of my all-time favourite books, A Room With a View by D.H. Lawrence. It’s set in England and Italy, and I adore Florence where Lucy Honeychurch goes on vacation.

Which languages do you speak fluently:
Really, the truthful answer is only English, although I have enough French to be able to be answered in French while in France, which, if you’ve ever travelled there, you will know is quite something! I would love to be able to speak fluent French, and I have been learning to speak Thai as we adopted our son from there.

Something that interests or fascinates you about another part of the world:
Wow, there are so many things! One thing I am fascinated by is different religions, and love to visit places of worship: The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Notre Dame in Paris, the temples of Thailand. I went to Dharamsala when I was in India where the Dalai Lama lives in exile. Although he was out of town, I got to play table tennis against some Tibetan monks - and was soundly beaten by them, I can tell you!

Closest friend from a different country:
That would have to be my friend, Anna. She’s half English and half Spanish, and she lives in the UK. We met when we worked together in New Zealand, and we clicked straight away. She’s straight-shooting, witty, and fun, and I can always rely on her for a wry comment to bring me out of myself. I miss her!

Thanks to Kate for chatting with us and to Karan & Co for sharing her book with our readers (as part of the blog tour).

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Book Review: The Internet Never Lies (Avery Fowler 2.0, Book 3)

**SPOILER ALERT: Please skip the synopsis if you haven't read the first two books in the Avery Fowler series. The first one is currently 99 cents for Kindle**

Avery Fowler is facing 40 with all the grace you'd expect of someone who once convinced herself that Cheetos were good for her because they're the same colour as carrots. She simply hates admitting defeat.

Now a blogger and aspiring author, she hears the clock ticking on the deadline for her erotica novel, "Venetia: The Story of a Sized-16 Sex Goddess", (erotica for the rest of us) as well as on the possibility of having a child.

As her world grows more complicated, some days, she simply doesn't know where to turn. Should she chance renewing her relationship with Clementine, her Howto.com web advisor—available 24/7 for the low, low price of just $14.95 a month?

Or, should Avery trust her own instincts while searching for the answers to life's latest challenges?

If you enjoy the Shopaholic series, or the charm and sass of Bridget Jones, Avery is right up your alley!

Sara Steven:

I’ve appreciated and enjoyed every single book inside the Avery Fowler 2.0 Trilogy, and here’s why: Jennifer Ammoscato has created an amazing protagonist who is unapologetic in saying what she thinks or how she feels. In fact, Avery often says or does something that we’re all thinking or feeling, but most of us just don’t have the guts to carry it out. In the final book in the trilogy, she’s still as out there as ever, and she’s just as funny as she’s ever been, yet there’s a more sensitive side to Avery, a shift in what matters most to her and her perspective on life. It was refreshing, and honest. I felt closer to Avery and her story. Maybe it’s because she’s turning forty, and I’m on the cusp of that. Or maybe it’s because of the life-altering changes that suddenly surface in her world. Or maybe it’s because, even with all the chaos, she’s still the same wonderfully flawed character we all know and love, the one who still has a very important decision to make - trusting in those around her, or trusting in the all knowing Interwebs, better known as Howto.com. The struggle is very, very real.

My struggle will come from living without another book in this series. It’s been a wild ride, at times a laugh out loud experience intermixed with cringe-worthy moments, moments I highly recommend to anyone. Period. I’m also glad to have had the opportunity to share in those moments and co-write the Avery reviews with Melissa. I’ve had a lot of fun!

Melissa Amster:

I recently asked Jennifer Ammoscato if there would be a fourth book about Avery. Sadly, the answer is "no." I guess I'll just have to dream up what is happening in her life after this book. And now I'm bummed that I rushed through it, since it was such a fun and easy read once again.

Wherever Avery goes, chaos is sure to follow. And turning 40 hasn't changed that for her. There are some really funny and wacky situations that Avery gets herself into, but she always manages to come out on top. Some things got extra tough for Avery at this go-around, but she found a way through it. Did HowTo.com help? I guess you'll have to read the book to find out!

I adore Avery and her snarky sense of humor. She's so relatable that I even found myself getting teary-eyed at one point in the story. I'll miss her and hope you'll read this series so that I can live vicariously through you!

A few more casting ideas:
Elettra: Rebecca Croll
Allie: Leighton Meester
Jane: Heather Burns

Thanks to Jennifer Ammoscato for the book in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase the book here. 

*Book 1 review
*Book 2 review

Kathryn R. Biel's international sugar rush...plus a special giveaway

It's September and Kathryn Biel is here to celebrate the release of her 10th and latest novel, Once in a Lifetime, by participating in our latest theme month, "Around the World!" She has a  $5 Amazon gift card for a lucky reader.

Telling stories of resilient women, Kathryn R. Biel hails from Upstate New York where her most important role is being mom and wife to an incredibly understanding family who don't mind fetching coffee and living in a dusty house. In addition to being Chief Home Officer and Director of Child Development of the Biel household, she works as a school-based physical therapist. She attended Boston University and received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from The Sage Colleges. After years of writing countless letters of medical necessity for wheelchairs, finding increasingly creative ways to encourage insurance companies to fund her client's needs, and writing entertaining annual Christmas letters, she decided to take a shot at writing the kind of novel that she likes to read. Kathryn is the author of ten women's fiction, romantic comedy, contemporary romance, and chick lit works, including Live for This and Made for Me. Please follow Kathryn on her website, Facebook, and Twitter, and sign up for her newsletter.  (Courtesy of Kathryn's website.)

Synopsis:
Ten years ago, the Sassy Cats were at the top of the charts until Callie Smalls walked away to pursue her career in fashion and television. The other four members—Angie, Tabitha, Mandy, and Daphne—were left to fend for themselves and continue on with their lives.

That is, until the day when Callie decides to book a gig for the group at a major music festival, without talking to her former band mates. Scattered across the country, at different points in life, can they rekindle the magic in the music?

A soccer mom who's husband doesn't know about her past. A fading star, sacrificing all to stay in the spotlight just one second more. A party girl, challenged with her most important role yet. A tiger mom, fighting for her son. A desperate woman, unhappy and alone.

A lot can change in the course of a decade. Will it be harmony or hatred for the Sassy Cats? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Countries you'd like to visit:
Scotland, Ireland, England, Germany, Italy. Scotland is a must after reading Outlander.

Favorite foreign food item: 
Éclairs and cannoli. I have quite the sweet tooth.

Favorite foreign film or movie that takes place in a different country: 
Amelie (we went to see it right after returning from our Paris honeymoon so it holds a special place. Plus, it’s delightful.)

Favorite celebrity from a different country: 
Tom Hardy (sigh—fans self)

Something you own from a different country:
I have a beautiful embroidered Christmas table topper from a little shop in Paris, as well as a rug from the Middle East (I like to call it Persian but I think my brother probably got it in Abu Dhabi).

Favorite item from a different country that you can't get in your own country: 
That’s tough because I feel like we can get almost anything here, if we’re willing to pay enough. Probably good old Cadbury chocolate.

Thanks to Kathryn for visiting with us and sharing an Amazon gift card with our readers.

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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Giveaway ends September 11th at midnight EST.

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

Melissa A:
Between Me and You by/from Allison Winn Scotch (e-book via NetGalley)
The Man I Thought You Were by Leah Mercer (e-book via NetGalley)
Bullet It! by Nicole Lara from St. Martin's Press
Enigma by Catherine Coulter from Gallery
The Break by Marian Keyes from Penguin UK (e-book via NetGalley)
A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas from Penguin
Watch Me by Jody Gehrman by St. Martin's Press
Her Last Day by T.R. Ragan from Thomas and Mercer
The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall from Ballantine

What could be in YOUR mail?

The Man I Thought You Were by Leah Mercer
Leah has TWO copies to give away!

One fine autumn evening, Anna returns from work and starts making dinner, eager to welcome home her husband, Mark. It’s just like any other day in their ten-year, Pinterest-perfect marriage—until he says he’s leaving her.

Discovering that the man she thought she knew better than anyone else is capable of abandoning it all sends Anna reeling. She believed the life they’d built together—and the bright future they’d imagined—counted for everything. How can he walk away?

The truth is Mark is battling secrets of his own—secrets Anna knows nothing about. A painful past and an uncertain future threaten to bring his life down around him—and he’ll do anything not to expose her to that.

But unravelling the past is lonelier than Mark could ever have imagined and, as the days turn to months, Anna worries the separation will break them forever. Can she bring him back from the brink of self-destruction before it’s too late, or will she discover that she never really knew him at all?


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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Giveaway ends September 6th at midnight EST.

The sky is the limit for Elisa Lorello...plus a book giveaway

We're glad to have Elisa Lorello back at CLC to feature her latest novel, Big Skye Littleton. She has one copy for a lucky reader!

Elisa hasn't always been a novelist, but she has been a writer and teacher throughout her life. To date, she has written and published eight novels, a memoir about her lifelong love for the band Duran Duran, and The Writer’s Habit, which inspired a blog and website, and courses. In addition to writing, Elisa teaches the craft of storytelling, writing process, and rhetoric, and approaches each with enthusiasm and humor.

In addition to Long Island and Massachusetts, Elisa has also lived in North Carolina. In 2016, she moved to Montana to be with Craig Lancaster (also a best-selling novelist), whom she married in October of the same year.

Some of Elisa's favorite things include reading, walking, spending time with friends and/or family, eating Nutella and baked goods, her cat, and going to the beach.

Visit Elisa online:
Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter

Synopsis:
Skye Littleton said goodbye to her job, her best friend, and her home in Rhode Island to start over in Billings, Montana, with Vance Sandler, a gorgeous guy she met online. On her cross-country flight, Skye shares her happy story with her seatmate, Harvey Wright, a Billings resident who knows Vance—and his reputation for heartbreak. Harvey’s infuriating advice to Skye? Go home.

When Skye arrives, she discovers that Vance has changed his mind and wants nothing to do with her. Despite the setback, Skye is determined to rebuild her life and begin a new chapter in Montana’s largest city, which sometimes feels like a small town. With Harvey’s help, Skye finds a job—and a passion for organizing closets and clearing out clutter. But as she grows closer to Harvey, she finds herself homesick for her former life. Could Harvey be her future, or is she his chance at revenge? Can Skye finally trust her own heart enough to let it show her the way home? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is the inspiration behind Big Skye Littleton?
My husband (a novelist who’s been living in Billings, Montana, for a little over ten years) and I began first as a long-distance friendship, then as a long-distance romance, and then during the first week of 2016, I moved to Billings to be with him full time. I was immediately welcomed and embraced by his community and wide circle of friends when I moved. I wanted to write a story set in my adopted city, but I wanted to flip my experience on its head—a woman who moves across the country to be with her long-distance lover, and arrives to no friends, no community, and no lover, either.

What was the most challenging part of writing Big Skye Littleton? Most rewarding?
I had quite a few challenges—not only did I move across the country, but we bought a house and moved yet again months later. Add to that wedding planning (long distance—we got married in New York!), and promoting two other novels that came out within months of each other (Pasta Wars and The Second First Time)… I was pretty overloaded.

I’d also had trouble making the story work at first. I had wanted Skye to have a dramatic transformation, but in the early drafts I’d gone too far to the extreme, to the point where she wasn’t very likable. There were a couple of plot problems too. Frustrated, I was days away from my deadline when I printed out the manuscript to read it and make notes. By page ten, the light went on and I knew exactly how to fix the story. I begged for an extension, and then I completely overhauled the first half of the manuscript. Made a lot of changes to the second half too, including the ending.

The most rewarding part has been how much positive feedback the book has been getting. So far just about everyone who’s read it has loved it, using words like “feel-good” and “warm and fuzzy.” I think we could all use some of that these days!

Describe your writing in three words.
Smart. Authentic. Crafted.

If Big Skye Littleton were to become a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
I'm always terrible at this sort of thing! In the book I described Harvey to look at little like Robert Downey, Jr., so I would probably cast him (although Harvey is younger). As for Skye… Melissa McCarthy could probably pull it off; not only because of her size, but more because I’d love to see her in a role that doesn’t have so much silly physical comedy (and I loved her as Sookie on Gilmore Girls).

With school starting back up, what extracurricular activities did you participate in during your high school years?
I had a hard time throughout my high school years so I didn’t get involved in much. I was the editor of our literary art magazine called Xanadu, contributing both drawings and writing. It won back-to-back First Place awards in the district. I also won Best Artist in my senior year. Other than that, like just about every other teenage girl in the 80s, I hung out with my friends at the mall, went to every movie John Hughes made, and was devoted to Duran Duran!

What are you looking forward to this fall?
My husband and I will celebrate our first wedding anniversary in October. We’re planning a weekend getaway to Mt. Rushmore. Fall is my favorite season. We honeymooned throughout New England at the peak of the foliage, and I love all the fall comfort food, not to mention the wardrobe!

Thanks to Elisa for chatting with us and for 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. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends September 5th at midnight EST.