Saving Abby - Review TLC Book Tour & #SRC2016

Review by Marlene Engel

Claire and Josh have tried unsuccessfully for years to get pregnant.  Trying to come to terms with the fact that they won’t have the child they so desire, they decide to take a trip to Europe in hopes of easing some of their sorrow.  After returning, Claire begins to experience headache and fatigue.  She goes to her doctor only to find that they conceived during their vacation.  Their joy is short-lived when she’s diagnosed with a condition that if she chooses treatment could very well put her child at risk.  But as Claire’s symptoms get worse, they’re forced to make the hardest decision of their lives … start treatment for the illness and potentially harm the baby, or do nothing and risk her own life.

                                                                                           

As a parent, you can’t help but put yourself in Claire and Josh’s shoes.  What would I do if I were them?  Would I save myself?  Or would I do everything I could for the child that I never thought I’d have?  What I love about Steena’s books is that she makes you think.  You are given a tough challenge, but it’s delivered in such a way that you can’t help but relate to the characters.  And, with this novel in particular, you will leave the story with a better appreciation of life and those around you. 

It’s no secret to those who know me, and even to many of my blog readers, that I had a daughter who was totally blind that passed away.  In Saving Abby there is a character by the name of Sami who is blind.  Her name and likeness were taken from my daughter Samantha, who we all called Sami.  I want to thank Steena for not only forever memorializing my daughter in this amazing book, but in writing her character so true to life that I felt like I was given extra time with her through this character. 

Heartwarming, powerful, and honest.  Saving Abby is a book that you will take with you long after you finish the last page.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the Author:

After writing her first novel while working as a receptionist, Steena Holmes made her dream of being a full-time writer a reality. She won the National Indie Excellence Book Award in 2012 for her bestselling novel Finding Emma. Now both a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Steena continues to write stories that touch every parent’s heart in one way or another. To find out more about her books and her love for traveling, you can visit her website at www.steenaholmes.com or follow her journeys over on Instagram @steenaholmes.

Connect with Steena at:

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The Weekenders - Review & Giveaway

Review by Marlene Engel

In North Carolina is an island that few live on full time, but as the warm weather rolls around several families will come to enjoy Belle Isle.  Typically the wives and kids stay on the island while their husbands go to the mainland during the week.  They become known as the weekenders, as they are devoted to their careers during the week, but come back to the island on the weekend.  For many families, this is a tradition that’s been passed down throughout generations.

Riley knows this island well.  It was developed by her great grandfather and carried down through the generations.  But her brother, Billy, chose a different path.  In doing so, when Riley married Wendell, he was welcomed with open arms not only into the family, but also the family business.  Some not so wise business choices puts Wendell’s financials in jeopardy and threatens her marriage. 

Mary Kay Andrews is synonymous for summer, beach reads.  I’ve come to expect something fabulous that I can read by the water while sipping a fruity, paper umbrella clad beverage.  Although this book was a bit darker than her others, it still had a great storyline and complex characters. 

If you’re looking for a great book to kick off the warm summer months, look no further than The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon* Barnes&Noble

About the Author:

A native of St. Petersburg, FL (and a diplomate of the Maas Bros. Department Store School of Charm), she started her professional journalism career in Savannah, GA, where she covered the real-life murder trials which were the basis of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. 

She has a B.A. in newspaper journalism from The University of Georgia (go Dawgs!), and is a frequent lecturer and writing teacher at workshops and book festivals.

Married to her high school sweetheart, she is the mother of two grown children and a proud grandmother. When not on book tour, she divides her time between Atlanta and her two beach cottages on Tybee Island GA.

Connect with the author at:

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Tandem Literary is giving one lucky winner a print copy of

The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews

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White-Hot Hack - Review

Review by Melinda Garza

White-Hot Hack by Tracey Garvis Graves is the 2nd installment of Ian and Kate's love story. The first installment is called Heart-Shaped Hack.

Ian Bradshaw is an undercover hacker, but when he was doxed, he promised Kate Watts, an attorney and his girlfriend, for forgiveness. He also promised he would keep her safe forever. Ian also asks Kate to marry him. They move to Virginia where Ian is self-employed and teaches Kate to help with the business.

Once they are somewhat grounded in their new home, Kate encourages Ian to go back to his prior hacking job. They learn that Ian's hacking expertise can be of great use as hacktivists are threatening to strike.

Through all this, Ian and Kate learn to work together, and boy oh boy, do they have to prove this when things take a turn for the worse.

Will Ian and Kate be able to work together one last time in order to save their marriage?

This book is a sexy thriller. You will not be able to put it down. A Tracey Garvis Graves must read.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the Author:

Tracey Garvis Graves is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author. Her debut novel, On the Island, spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into twenty-seven languages, and is in development with MGM and Temple Hill Productions for a feature film. She is also the author of Uncharted, Covet, Every Time I Think of You, and Cherish. She is hard at work on her sixth book.

Connect with the author at:

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My Fat Dad - Review & Giveaway

Review by Marlene Engel

In this memoir, Dawn tells a story of her childhood in the 70s, living with an over-weight father who tried practically every diet out there, a mother who could care less about food and a grandmother who had a huge influence over her love of nurturing the body with healthy food.  We are given great insight on how insecurities, parents’ views on nutrition, and stress play a role in how we eat.  Although Dawn’s father used food as a crutch, this book is about much more than just an overweight father.  It’s about why people turn to food, the misconceptions of fad diets and how everyday struggles can play a huge role on our diet. 

Written with such honesty, but sprinkled with the perfect amount of humor, the author brings the reader into her world (and in essence, her family) and exposes how easily children can be misguided by what they see during their everyday lives.  But it was the relationship that Dawn had with her grandmother that hit me.  It showed that when people take time to properly educate the youth, it’s amazing how influential they can be on their future.

I grew up with a Filipino mother and Italian father.  Talk about cultures that love to feed others and celebrate with food!  Like Dawn, my father has tried many of the fad diets.  Growing up we were taught to eat what was put on the table, never to waste food and appreciate that our bellies were full.  As I got older, I realized some of the things I would’ve done differently, and do now as a wife and parent.  

I really enjoyed this book.  I was able to relate to much of it and felt like I was brought back to my own childhood. 

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the Author:

I am a board-certified nutrition expert and contributor to the New York Times Well Blog, as well as the founder of Magnificent Mommies, a company specializing in personal, corporate, and school-based education.

I am recognized as a nutrition expert, counseling clients on weight loss, diabetes, high blood pressure, ADHD, and other diet-related conditions. I lecture at schools and corporations as well as contributing to local and national media outlets.

I am the mother of two children, Dylan and Sofia. We live in New York City.

Connect with the author at:

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Dawn is giving one lucky winner a print copy of

My Fat Dad

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The Sweetheart Deal - #SRC2016 Review

As a firefighter, Leo knows that his life is at risk every day that he goes to work.  The possibility that something could happen to him is so real that, on several occasions, he has joked with his best friend about marrying his wife if anything should happen to him.  One night, after several drinks, Leo gets Garrett to agree to this arrangement.  He’s not anticipating something happening, but in the event that something does he’ll be able to go knowing that his family is taken care of. 

Several years later Leo is killed in a skiing accident.  True to his word, Garrett makes arrangements to be with Leo’s widow, Audrey.  In time, friendship turns into romance, but when Audrey gets wind of the pact that the two men made, she’s less than happy about why he came into her life. 

It’s always amazing to me the lengths that we’ll go for our friends.  Many of us don’t stop and think about the love that friends (especially male friends) share.  In this book, that is the relationship that struck me the most.  To know that you have a friend who will not only be there for you during the good times in your life, but to fulfill their promises after you leave this world, is a beautiful thing.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the Author:

Polly Dugan lives in Portland, Oregon, and is a reader at Tin House magazine. A former employee of Powell's Books, she is an alumna of the Tin House Writer's Workshop. Dugan's first published story, "A Matter of Time," was Line Zero's Spring 2012 Literary Contest Winner, "Masquerades" (as "One At a Time"), was Narrative's Story of the Week (December 2012), and "Kitten Season" was an Honorable Mention Recipient in Glimmer Train's Short Story Award for New Writers (August 2009).

Connect with the author at:

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Learn more about BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge HERE.

Mystic Summer - TLC Book Tours Review Stop

Review by Hope Smith

Maggie’s life is content.  She teaches at a private elementary school in Boston, has a loving boyfriend who wants to start living together, and a best friend who is getting married soon.  But when things start to fall apart for her, she decides to go back to her family and the comforts of home in Mystic.  While there she bumps into an old flame and learns that he’s currently raising his daughter as a single father.  The more time Maggie spends in Mystic, the more she reconsiders going back to Boston and her boyfriend. 

I’ve always loved stories of second chances and reuniting with a previous love.  This book gave me that and much more.  I really enjoyed the story and the characters were so likable it left me feeling like I was an extension of their family.  And who couldn’t fall in love with Mystic, Connecticut?  Talk about a romantic location!

Mystic Summer is a great addition to anyone’s summer reading list and one I definitely recommend.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the Author:

Hannah McKinnon is the author of The Lake Season and Mystic Summer. She graduated from Connecticut College and the University of South Australia. She lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with her family, a flock of chickens, and two rescue dogs.

            

Connect with Hannah at:

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You Know Me Well - Pub Week Promo & Giveaway

Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other -- and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

A book told in alternating points of view by Nina LaCour, the award-winning author of Hold Still andThe Disenchantments, and David Levithan, the best-selling author of Every Day and co-author of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (with Rachel Cohn) and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with John Green), You Know Me Well is a deeply honest story about navigating the joys and heartaches of first love, one truth at a time.

Purchase the book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

About the Authors:

David Levithan:

I find it downright baffling to write about myself, which is why I’m considering it somewhat cruel and usual to have to write this brief bio and to update it now and then. The factual approach (born ’72, Brown ’94, first book ’03) seems a bit dry, while the emotional landscape (happy childhood, happy adolescence – give or take a few poems – and happy adulthood so far) sounds horribly well-adjusted. The only addiction I’ve ever had was a brief spiral into the arms of diet Dr Pepper, unless you count My So-Called Life episodes as a drug. I am evangelical in my musical beliefs.

When not writing during spare hours on weekends, I am a publisher and editorial director at Scholastic, and the founding editor of the PUSH imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature. Among the authors I’ve edited and/or published under the Scholastic Press imprint are Suzanne Collins, Maggie Stiefvater, Ann M. Martin, Garth Nix, Patrick Carman, Natalie Standiford, Alice Hoffman, Gordon Korman, M. T. Anderson, Blake Nelson, Cecil Castellucci, and many, many other awesome writers.

Connect with David at:

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Nina LaCour:

Nina LaCour is the author of three critically acclaimed young adult novels published by Dutton Books: Hold Still, The Disenchantments, and Everything Leads to You. You Know Me Well, a novel written in collaboration with David Levithan, is forthcoming from St. Martin's Griffin in June, 2016.

She has tutored, taught, and guest lectured in various places, including Berkeley City College, Maybeck High School, Stanford University, and Mills College, where she received an MFA in Creative Writing in 2006. Her novels have been Junior Library Guild selections, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, and have appeared on many state and regional lists. Nina won the 2009 Northern California Book Award for Children’s Literature, was featured in Publishers Weekly as a Flying Starts Author, and was a finalist for the William C. Morris award. She loves teaching, reading work by emerging and established writers, and talking about the craft of fiction.

She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her wife, photographer Kristyn Stroble, and their daughter.

Connect with the Nina at:

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St. Martin’s Griffin is giving one lucky winner a print copy of

You Know Me Well by David Levithan and Nina LaCour

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