Root, Petal, Thorn - Pub Day Review & Giveaway

Review by Deb Czajkowski

Fifteen years ago Ivy and Adam bought an old bungalow: old as in one hundred years old; old as in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Salt Lake City, Utah; old as in it should be on the Historical Registry. To this day, Ivy loves the old porch swing, the original old world design and charm, and the heirloom rose bush ─the Emmeline Rose─ named for the home’s original owner. The flip side to this collector’s coin is the requisite home-improvement projects, labors of love for both Ivy and Adam.

Until the fateful day Adam leaves for his morning run and is hit by a car.

Adam’s unexpected and untimely death shatters Ivy’s world.  At first Ivy succumbs to overwhelming depression and isolation.  But finally her brother intervenes, reminding Ivy that her two children need her to be present and functioning for them, if not for herself.  He suggests that she create goals ─small goals, doable goals─ that will give her focus and purpose each day.  Reasons to get out of bed.  Reasons to live.

And so begins an unforeseen journey; make that journeys.  When Ivy resumes the home projects list, she soon stumbles upon clues about her home’s previous inhabitants:  a young Mormon woman who is torn between her heart and her beliefs, a Greek immigrant woman who struggles with the terrors of World War II, a troubled single mother whose desperate desire is to raise her daughter.  As Ivy uncovers the journey that each of these women traveled, she realizes their stories provide lessons for her own journey. 

Will Ivy listen to these voices from the past? Will she hear that no one’s life is free from sadness, difficult decisions, tragedy, or struggles?  Will Ivy, like the Emmeline Rose, see the possibility of blooming again?

Author Ella Joy Olsen tells not one story in Root, Petal, Thorn but four stories, taking us back and forth in time from1913 to the present, uniting four lives, four stories, through one common bond ─the beloved bungalow. While each of the women has a very different story to tell, Olsen cleverly weaves another common thread through all four women, once again connecting all four lives: each of these women had her own difficult decision to make, each with consequences, each with historical or personal intrigue. 

I really enjoyed Root, Petal, Thorn, traveling back in time with Ivy. I also enjoyed watching her find her way back from death to life. Root, Petal, Thorn is a great reminder that no one’s life is strife-free.  It’s also a great reminder to choose life, to choose hope.  Lemonade, anyone?

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About the author:

Ella Joy Olsen was born, raised, and currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah - a tidy town tucked against the massive Wasatch Mountain Range. Though Utah is known mostly for Mormons and skiers, Ella is neither. But she loves her town! She lives in a historic brick bungalow on a tree-lined street in a sweet neighborhood called Sugar House. From her front door she can reach mountain trails in five minutes flat, passing an indie bookstore, a library, and a local food market en-route. Ella is the mom of three kids ranging from pre-teen to edge-of-the-nest teen, the mama of two dogs, and the wife of only one husband (just to clarify - she lives in Utah, after all).​​

Though she's crazy about words, Ella is also practical, so she graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Finance (ages ago). After years spent typing boring stuff, Ella eagerly gave up her corner cubicle and started writing fiction. Most at home in the world of the written word, Ella spent nearly a decade on the Board of Directors of the Salt Lake City Public Library system (and four decades browsing the stacks). She's a member of Women's Fiction Writers Association & the best book club ever (Salt Lake Bibliophiles). She's also lived in Seattle, Washington & Savannah, Georgia. 

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Root, Petal, Thorn

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Damaged - Pub Week Giveaway

One boy. One lawyer. One chance for justice.

Ten-year-old Patrick O'Brien is a natural target at school. Shy, dyslexic, and small for his age, he tries to hide his first-grade reading level from everyone: from his classmates, from the grandfather who cares for him, and from the teachers who are supposed to help him. But the real trouble begins when Patrick is accused of attacking a school aide. The aide promptly quits and sues the boy, his family, and the school district. Patrick's grandfather turns to the law firm of Rosato & DiNunzio for help and Mary DiNunzio is on the case. Soon Mary becomes Patrick's true champion and his only hope for security and justice. But there is more to the story than meets the eye and Patrick might be more troubled than he seems. With twists at every turn and secrets about the family coming to light, Mary DiNunzio might have found the case that can make her a true protector, or break her heart...

With Lisa Scottoline’s trademark emotional depth and fast-paced action, Damaged will have readers riveted to the last page as they root for the beloved characters and their fight for justice.

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About the author:

Lisa Scottoline is the New York Times bestselling author of seventeen novels including her most recent, THINK TWICE, and also writes a weekly column, called Chick Wit, for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Lisa has won many honors and awards, notably the Edgar Award, given for excellence in crime fiction, and the Fun Fearless Female Award from Cosmopolitan Magazine. She also teaches a course she created, called Justice and Fiction at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and regularly does speaking engagements. There are twenty-five million copies of her books in print, and she is published in over thirty other countries.Lisa graduated magna cum laude in three years from the University of Pennsylvania, with a B.A. degree in English, and her concentration was Contemporary American Fiction, taught by Philip Roth and others. She graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She remains a lifelong resident of the Philadelphia area, where she lives with her array of disobedient pets.

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The Lucidity Project - #SRC2016 #BestSummerEver

Depression has haunted twenty-five-year-old Max Dorigan her entire life. After years of unsuccessful treatment and a failed suicide attempt, Max agrees to join “The Lucidity Project,” a program at a mysterious health and wellness resort in the Caribbean―where, she soon finds, the people are just as troubled as she is, only in a different way. They claim to have psychic powers. They claim they can see ghosts. They claim Max is one of them. 

Max refuses to pay much attention until Dr. Micah McMoneagle, the charismatic head of the project, reveals he’s found a way to allow people to enter each other’s dreams. Now, instead of discussing their issues in talk therapy, Max and her new gifted friends can symbolically work through their problems on the astral plane. Together they embark on a magical, transformational journey through dreamtime to reveal the causes of the things that are holding them back―an adventure that ultimately awakens them to who they really are, and what they came to earth to do.

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About the author:

Abbey Campbell Cook studied creative writing at UC Berkeley. She now writes (and sometimes sings and dances) about her ongoing quest for spiritual and physical wellness on her blog, Adventures in Woo Woo Land, which often includes pictures of Channing Tatum in his underwear (Ryan Gosling too, if you’re lucky). The Lucidity Project is her first novel.

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Truly Madly Guilty - Giveaway

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty turns her unique, razor-sharp eye towards three seemingly happy families.

Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit, busy life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other.

Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite.

Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone?

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm.

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About the author:

Liane Moriarty is the Australian author of six internationally best-selling novels, Three Wishes, The Last Anniversary, What Alice Forgot, The Hypnotist’s Love Story and the number 1 New York Times bestsellers: The Husband's Secret and Big Little Lies.

The Husband's Secret has sold over three million copies worldwide, was a no. 1 UK bestseller, an Amazon Best Book of 2013 and will be translated into over 40 languages. CBS Films has acquired the film rights. 

With the launch of her novel, Big Little Lies, which has sold over one million copies in the US alone, Liane became the first Australian author to have a novel debut at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. An HBO series based on the book is currently in production with Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley playing the three lead roles.

Liane lives in Sydney with her husband, son and daughter.

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Truly Madly Guilty

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Where Love Lies - Giveaway

When Felicity steps off the train on the way to meet her husband, she is so sure of everything in her life. Where she is headed, what she will order at the restaurant, the first words her husband will say to her when she arrives, their happy future together.

But then she catches a scent of perfume in the air, and suddenly she is overcome by forgotten emotions-passionate memories of another man she loved many years ago.

As the feelings continue to surface again and again, Felicity begins to question the life she thought she knew so well. She doesn't doubt that she loves her husband, but does she owe it to herself to explore these overwhelming emotions that have taken hold of her? Or is her mind simply playing tricks on her heart?

How can she know where love truly lies? And when she finds out, will it be too late?

Julie Cohen's Where Love Lies is a novel that will capture both your heart and mind.

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About the author:

Julie Cohen grew up in Maine and studied English at Brown University and Cambridge University. She then moved to England permanently, where she taught before becoming a writer. Her books have won or been shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association Award, the National Readers' Choice Award, the HOLT Medallion, and more. She now writes full time and teaches creative writing. She lives with her husband, son and dog in Berkshire, where she is teased daily about her American accent. When she's not writing, she's on Twitter as @julie_cohen (and sometimes when she's meant to be writing, too).

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Swear On This Life - #SRC2016 #BestSummerEver

From USA TODAY bestselling author Renée Carlino (Before We Were Strangers), a warm and witty novel about a struggling writer who must come to grips with her past, present, and future after she discovers that she’s the inspiration for a pseudonymously published bestselling novel.

When a bestselling debut novel from mysterious author J. Colby becomes the literary event of the year, Emiline reads it reluctantly. As an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego with her own stalled literary career and a bumpy long-term relationship, Emiline isn’t thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of a young and gifted writer.

Yet from the very first page, Emiline is entranced by the story of Emerson and Jackson, two childhood best friends who fall in love and dream of a better life beyond the long dirt road that winds through their impoverished town in rural Ohio.

That’s because the novel is patterned on Emiline’s own dark and desperate childhood, which means that “J. Colby” must be Jase: the best friend and first love she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Far from being flattered that he wrote the novel from her perspective, Emiline is furious that he co-opted her painful past and took some dramatic creative liberties with the ending.

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About the author:

Renée Carlino is a screenwriter and bestselling author of contemporary women's novels and new adult fiction. Her books have been featured in national publications, including USA TODAY, Huffington Post, Latina magazine, and Publisher's Weekly. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, and their sweet dog June. When she's not at the beach with her boys or working on her next project, she likes to spend her time reading, going to concerts, and eating dark chocolate.

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The Book That Matters Most - Pub Week Giveaway!

An enthralling novel about love, loss, secrets, friendship, and the healing power of literature, by the bestselling author of The Knitting Circle.

Ava’s twenty-five-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group’s goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them. Ava rediscovers a mysterious book from her childhood―one that helped her through the traumas of the untimely deaths of her sister and mother. Alternating with Ava’s story is that of her troubled daughter Maggie, who, living in Paris, descends into a destructive relationship with an older man. Ava’s mission to find that book and its enigmatic author takes her on a quest that unravels the secrets of her past and offers her and Maggie the chance to remake their lives.

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About the author:

Ann Hood is the editor of Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting and the best-selling author of The Book That Matters Most, The Knitting Circle, The Red Thread, Comfort, and An Italian Wife, among other works. She is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes, a Best American Spiritual Writing Award, a Best American Food Writing Award, a Best American Travel Writing Award, and the Paul Bowles Prize for Short Fiction. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

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The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood

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Results May Vary - Pub Week Review

Review by Darcie Czajkowski

Caroline Hammond believes she knows everything about her husband, Adam. They have been together since they were in high school and married for ten years. They are both in the art world, Caroline an art curator, and Adam a writer. They share everything with each other and do so happily.

Until Caroline learns that her husband is having an affair…with a man. This revelation is mind-boggling for Caroline—she never once questioned her husband faithfulness, let alone his sexuality. Immediately, she banishes him from their home to allow herself time to think. After some time apart, she decides that she can’t let go of everything they’ve built together and agrees to work on their relationship.

But their progress hits a snag when Adam can’t answer the question of why he did it. He seems defensive about his behavior, urging Caroline to stop punishing him and just forgive him already.

And so Caroline decides to divorce him, but must wait six months before filing, per the laws of New York which state that couples must try to work things out and think through their actions before committing to divorce.

During those six months, Caroline reignites her relationship with her young sister, Ruby, a girl to whom she was never very close, partially because of the five years that separate them in age, but mostly because Ruby and Adam never clicked. But now Caroline realizes what she’s been missing, how much fun the two of them have together despite their differences, and just how much of herself had been tamped down while she’d been part of a twosome with Adam.

Caroline is also dealing with a sudden attraction to her co-worker Neil, a father of two girls who lost his wife suddenly and tragically. He has his own issues with heartbreak, but he has expressed an interest in getting to know Caroline romantically and she has a hard time saying no, given that the only man she’s ever dated was her husband.

As the six month waiting period comes to a close, Caroline has a decision to make: divorce Adam or try again to make it work. She’d been so set on divorcing him in the far distant future, in the abstract, but when the time comes to get an attorney and file, she begins to wonder if it’s the right decision. Will Caroline actually be able to let go of their long and mostly loving history, or will she change her mind and decide that their past means still something to her in the present, enough to forgive Adam for his indiscretions and do whatever it takes to make their marriage work?

Bethany Chase in “Results May Vary” tells an honest and raw story about love, loss, and heartbreak. Loving someone else is one of the hardest things we will ever do. Chase does a tremendous job of capturing sincere reactions to this situation and weaves thoughtful and interesting characters to accompany Caroline on her journey to making a decision about her future. I read this book quickly and with interest in knowing what decision Caroline would make in the end and what lessons she would learn about life along the way. For a compassionate and thought-provoking take on the question of “do you ever really know someone?” spend some time with Bethany’s Chase’s “Results May Vary.”

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About the author:

After growing up in the foothills of the Northern Virginia Blue Ridge, I headed to Williams College for a degree in English. Only in the spring of my senior year did I begin to consider how exactly I might earn money with a degree in English. And this gave rise to the logical answer: interior design!

I've been working in the architecture & design industry for over eight years now, but when I'm not hanging out with mess-makers and paint-slingers, I'm writing. And when I'm not writing, I enjoy photography, karaoke, and complaining about being flat-chested.

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Slightly South of Simple - Cover Reveal & Giveaway

From the next “major voice in Southern fiction” (New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand) comes the first in an all-new series chronicling the journeys of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past that has the potential to tear them apart and reshape their very definition of what it means to be a family.

Caroline Murphy swore she’d never set foot back in the small Southern town of Peachtree Bluff; she was a New York girl born and bred and the worst day of her life was when, in the wake of her father’s death, her mother selfishly forced her to move—during her senior year of high school, no less—back to that hick-infested rat trap where she'd spent her childhood summers. But now that her marriage to a New York high society heir has fallen apart in a very public, very embarrassing fashion, a pregnant Caroline decides to escape the gossipmongers with her nine-year-old daughter and head home to her mother, Ansley.

Ansley has always put her three daughters first, especially when she found out that her late husband, despite what he had always promised, left her with next to nothing. Now the proud owner of a charming waterfront design business and finally standing on her own two feet, Ansley welcomes Caroline and her brood back with open arms. But when her second daughter Sloane, whose military husband is overseas, and youngest daughter and successful actress Emerson join the fray, Ansley begins to feel like the piece of herself she had finally found might be slipping from her grasp. Even more discomfiting, when someone from her past reappears in Ansley's life, the secret she’s harbored from her daughters their entire lives might finally be forced into the open.

Exploring the powerful bonds between sisters and mothers and daughters, this engaging novel is filled with Southern charm, emotional drama, and plenty of heart.

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About the author:

Kristy Woodson Harvey is a born-and-bred North Carolina girl who loves all four seasons—especially fall in Chapel Hill, where she attended college, and summer in Beaufort, where she and her family spend every free moment. The author of Dear Carolina and Lies and Other Acts of Love, Kristy is also the founder of the popular interior design blog Design Chic.

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Head over to Kristy’s website and enter to win a $100 Amazon gift card or one of several book bundles.  Click HERE to get redirected.

A House for Happy Mothers - Spotlight #SRC2016 #BestSummerEver

A stunning new novel—full of wit and warmth—from the bestselling author of The Mango Season.

In trendy Silicon Valley, Priya has everything she needs—a loving husband, a career, and a home—but the one thing she wants most is the child she’s unable to have. In a Southern Indian village, Asha doesn’t have much—raising two children in a tiny hut, she and her husband can barely keep a tin roof over their heads—but she wants a better education for her gifted son. Pressured by her family, Asha reluctantly checks into the Happy Mothers House: a baby farm where she can rent her only asset—her womb—to a childless couple overseas. To the dismay of friends and family, Priya places her faith in a woman she’s never met to make her dreams of motherhood come true.

Together, the two women discover the best and the worst that India’s rising surrogacy industry has to offer, bridging continents and cultures to bring a new life into the world—and renewed hope to each other.

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About the author:

Amulya Malladi is the author of six novels, including The Sound of Language and The Mango Season. Her books have been translated into several languages, including Dutch, German, Spanish, Danish, Romanian, Serbian, and Tamil. She has a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in journalism. When she’s not writing, she works as a marketing executive for a global medical device company. She lives in Copenhagen with her husband and two children.

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The Last Treasure - Pub Day Giveaway

From the author of It Comes in Waves and The Guest House comes a novel of three lives entangled in the secrets of the sea and the enduring bonds of love.

As students with a shared passion for shipwrecks, Liv, Sam, and Whit formed a close bond searching for the mysterious Patriot, a schooner that disappeared off the Carolina Coast in 1812 with Aaron Burr’s daughter Theodosia aboard. But as the elusive ship drew them together, love would bring them even closer—and ultimately tear them apart.

It’s been nine years since Liv left Sam to be with Whit, and the once close-knit triowent their separate ways. Liv has given up her obsession with Theodosia Burr to focus on her career as a salvage diver and her passionate but troubled marriage to the reckless and hedonistic Whit. But when a diary of Theodosia’s is discovered in a collector’s estate, she is pulled back to the world of the Patriot, this time with startling new clues to what might have really happened. 

Diving back into the lost history of the Patriot could be just what Liv needs to find closure to a mystery that still haunts her. But when she and Whit reunite with Sam for one last salvage in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, buried romantic tensions begin to resurface, and once again Liv must choose between two men with very different hearts.

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About the author:

I am a native New Englander, raised in Maine, who went to New Orleans to study architectural preservation and promptly fell in love with a man named Ian when we were each walking our dogs on the levee in the rain. We now live in North Carolina with our two children. I have worked as a carpenter, an illustrator, an art director for a woodworking magazine, and a cake decorator, and after many years of marriage to a native New Orleanian I am proud to say that I can make a mean gumbo and a praline that peels cleanly off a sheet of waxed paper.

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The Last Treasure

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