Abby's Journey - Pub Day Review & Giveaway

Raised by her father after her mother’s passing shortly after her birth, Abby’s only connection with her mother is through the books she wrote with Abby’s father along with some videos, postcards and journals.  Having suffered from a potentially life threatening condition, her father has sat by her hospital bed numerous times praying that he doesn’t lose his daughter, as he lost his wife.  Because of this fear, Abby at times felt like she wasn’t able to live life as others her age.  But as she gets older, the need to branch out intensifies. 

After going almost a year without her typical health issues, Abby’s doctor feels that she is out of the woods.  She takes advantage of this new diagnosis and, with reluctance from her father, ventures to Europe with her grandmother to retrace her mother’s footsteps through her journal. 

Abby realizes that she not only shares physical characteristics of her mother, but also her love of adventure and travel.  Just as her mother did, Abby documents her adventures and writes blog posts about her experiences.  She also gets to meet some of the people who knew her mother.

As a mother, this story touched me.  I could relate to the father wanting to protect his child, but at the same time could understand Abby’s need to spread her wings.  The author writes in such a way that you feel connected with each character.  You take away from this story a sense of love of family and friends.  What a beautiful story.  What better day than Valentine’s Day for such a heart-warming story to hit the shelves!

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About the author:

Steena Holmes grew up in a small town in Canada and holds a Bachelors degree in Theology.. 

She currently lives in Calgary with her husband and three daughters and loves to wake up to the Rocky Mountains each morning.

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I Liked My Life - Giveaway

A story from debut author Abby Fabiaschi that is "as absorbing as it is illuminating, and as witty as it is heartbreaking."

Maddy is a devoted stay-at-home wife and mother, host of excellent parties, giver of thoughtful gifts, and bestower of a searingly perceptive piece of advice or two. She is the cornerstone of her family, a true matriarch...until she commits suicide, leaving her husband Brady and teenage daughter Eve heartbroken and reeling, wondering what happened. How could the exuberant, exacting woman they loved disappear so abruptly, seemingly without reason, from their lives? How they can possibly continue without her? As they sift through details of her last days, trying to understand the woman they thought they knew, Brady and Eve are forced to come to terms with unsettling truths.

Maddy, however, isn’t ready to leave her family forever. Watching from beyond, she tries to find the perfect replacement for herself. Along comes Rory: pretty, caring, and spontaneous, with just the right bit of edge...but who also harbors a tragedy of her own. Will the mystery of Maddy ever come to rest? And can her family make peace with their history and begin to heal?

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About the author:

ABBY FABIASCHI is a human rights advocate on the board for Her Future Coalition, an international nonprofit organization with a unique prosperity model that uplifts victims from human trafficking and extreme abuse. In 2012 Abby resigned from her executive post in high tech to pursue a career in writing. I Liked My Life is her first novel. She and her family divide their time between West Hartford, CT and Park City, UT.

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Always - Pub Day Review & Giveaway

Review by Melinda Garza

New York Times bestselling author, Sarah Jio, writes a compelling story about the undeniable love of one Kailey Crane and Cade McAllister. The story takes place in Seattle. Kailey is a writer for the Herald. Cade is part owner of Element Records.

This gripping story goes back and forth between present day and ten years prior. In the past Kailey lived with her roommate, Tracy. One night they went out as Kailey was set up on a blind date. Instead Kailey meets Cade. When they meet, their love is intense. She loves him and he loves her. Suddenly Cade is gone. Kailey is devastated and has to learn to move on without him and without any answers or closure.

In present day, Kailey is engaged to Ryan. Ryan is the perfect guy in every way. He is a hard worker, loving, and so proud of Kailey despite them really being complete opposites.

Ryan's parents come for a visit and they go out to eat at Le Marche, a French restaurant. Once they leave the restaurant, Kailey spots a homeless man. When she locks eyes with him, she realizes it is Cade. Cade, unfortunately, does not recognize her and devours the leftovers that were provided to him instead by Kailey.  Kailey is beside herself that she has laid eyes on him.

From that time on, Kailey makes it her mission to find and save Cade. What happened to him those 10 years ago? Why did he vanish?  Did he vanish because he wanted to leave Kailey or did something else happen? Why did Cade never contact her? Meanwhile, Ryan is in the dark about this situation. Even though Cade is homeless and dirty, he is still handsome but his mind is not what it used to be.

As Kailey ventures out to help Cade and to get to the bottom of his disappearance, Kailey has to relive some of her past and piece things together, such as realizing that it is really Cade by the tattoo that he has. They both got the same tattoo in the same place many years ago. The tattoo is one word. That word is toujours which means always.

What ends up happening to Cade and Kailey or Kailey and Ryan? Whose love prevails? Is Kailey able to help Cade and get the answers she so longs for? Is she willing to sacrifice the present for the past?
Sarah Jio wrote a gripping love story that kept me wanting more. The story satisfied and was thought provoking. I cannot wait for the next Sarah Jio novel.

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About the author:

A magazine writer and former columnist for Glamour magazine, Sarah has written thousands of articles and blog posts for national magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, Redbook, O, The Oprah Magazine, Cooking Light, Glamour, SELF, Real Simple, Fitness, Marie Claire, Hallmark magazine, Seventeen, The Nest, Health, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, The Seattle Times, Parents, Woman’s Day, American Baby, Parenting, and many others. She has also appeared as a commentator on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Sarah recently signed a three-book deal with Random House (Ballantine Books). She lives in Seattle with her three young sons and elderly golden retriever.

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Forever is the Worst Long Time - Pub Week Giveaway

When struggling novelist James Hernandez meets poet Louisa “Lou” Bell, he’s sure he’s just found the love of his life. There’s just one problem: she’s engaged to his oldest friend, Rob. So James toasts their union and swallows his desire.

As the years pass, James’s dreams always seem just out of reach—he can’t finish that novel, can’t mend his relationship with his father, can’t fully commit to a romantic relationship. He just can’t move on. But after betrayal fractures Lou’s once-solid marriage, she turns to James for comfort.

When Lou and James act on their long-standing mutual attraction, the consequences are more heartbreaking—and miraculous—than either of them could have ever anticipated. Then life throws James one more curveball, and he, Rob, and Lou are forced to come to terms with the unexpected ways in which love and loss are intertwined.

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About the author:

Camille Pagán is the author of the bestselling novel Life and Other Near-Death Experiences, which was recently optioned for film, and the international bestselling novel The Art of Forgetting. Her work has appeared in Forbes; Men’s Health; O, The Oprah Magazine; Real Simple; WebMD.com; and many other publications and websites. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two children, and too many animals.

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On Second Thought - Pub Day Review & Giveaway

Review by Deb Czajkowski

Ainsley O’Leary, sometimes mistakenly called Annie, Amy, Abby, Allie, met Eric when she was nineteen and they were both in college.  For the past eleven years (and counting!) they’ve been building a life together, and now, finally, Ainsley finds her heart’s desire─ the ring of her dreams─hidden in Eric’s sock drawer.  So, yes, the question constantly on her mind is: On which day will Eric pop the Big Question?  Perhaps this isn’t the question she should be asking?

Kate O’Leary is single and a successful photographer. For years, dating (i.e., trying to find her perfect match) has been her second career.  After just celebrating her thirty-ninth birthday, Kate decides to have just one career─photography. And then she meets─ and marries!─ Nathan. Kate is blissfully married to Nathan ….for exactly one hundred and two days.  Oh, what a difference a day─just one day─can make!

Nathan Coburn is the beloved son and brother in the wealthy Coburn family and a very successful architect in his own right.  He couldn’t have constructed a better scenario for himself than meeting and marrying Kate.  And then the unforeseen happens.  No one saw this day coming.

Eric “Cancer Chronicles” Fisher has just beaten testicular cancer─apparently the best kind of cancer to get for its survival rates.  Blogging about his journey─in way too much detail and with great liberties taken regarding the facts─is giving Eric notoriety. To what lengths will Eric go to extend his day in the sun? Could he do the unthinkable? Could he publicly break up with the woman who has stood by him for eleven years, the woman who nursed him through cancer? And could he blog about it?

Jonathan Kent is the publisher of the Hudson Lifestyle magazine and Ainsley’s boss.  At the office, his nicknames are, to his face, Mr. Kent (indicative of his formal demeanor) and, behind his back, Clark (as in ever-in-control Clark Kent).  But spend a few days with him outside the office, and you might just be calling him Mr. Darcy!

Daniel Breton is the name he gives when introducing himself.  Anyone else introducing him calls him Danny the Hot Firefighter.  One day─or perhaps more accurately, one night─is about to change his life. 

Author Kristan Higgins intriguingly illustrates that a day can make a difference in each of the lives of her captivating cast in on second thought. Days are tricky that way.  One day can be ordinary, another is extraordinary.  One day life is normal, mundane even.  And the next day the extraordinary hits.  The good extraordinary: amazing, stunning, incredible.  And then there’s the unbelievable, unusual, memorable extraordinary days─days you wish you could forget but instead your life will forever be changed by that one extraordinary day. 

Each of Higgins’ characters in on second thought is ordinary and extraordinary, in other words, human. They all have events that have shaped their lives, shaped the person each has become, guiding them forward in life’s journey.  And the author wonderfully unfolds the stories of these unforgettable characters.  I found on second thought to be enthralling, starting from page one, and the pages that followed did not disappoint. 

 Turn your day into an extraordinary day with a copy of Higgins’ latest hit.  Don’t give it a second thought; do it today!

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About the author:

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author and two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award, Kristan lives with her family in a small Connecticut town that boasts a wonderful library, a great agricultural fair, a really good ice-cream stand and not much else. She is the mother of two lovely kids and the wife of a brave firefighter who is also (perhaps more important) a fantastic cook. 

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What Makes a Family - Pub Week Giveaway

Nestled in the Chesapeake Bay, Brodie Island  is charming, remote, and slow to change. For three hundred years, Abby Brodie’s farming family has prospered there. Now, years after leaving to make her way on her own terms, Abby is coming home to see her ailing grandmother, with her teenage daughter and a wealth of memories in tow. Yet as family members gather at the old farmhouse, Abby realizes this visit offers more than a chance to say goodbye. 
 
After decades of feeling she was a disappointment as a daughter, Abby is beginning to see that her mother, too, has struggled to feel a sense of belonging within the Brodie family. Celeste, Abby’s self-centered sister, is far from the successful actress she pretends to be, and needs help that only Abby and their half-brother, Joseph, can give. But most surprising of all is the secret that Grandmother Brodie has been carrying—one that will make each woman question her identity and the sacrifices she’s willing to make to gain acceptance.
 
With her trademark emotional honesty and insight, Colleen Faulkner lays bare the challenges at the heart of a family—learning how to forgive, connect, and let ourselves be truly known at last.

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About the author:

Colleen Faulkner lives in Delaware, where her family settled more than three hundred years ago. She comes from a long line of storytellers and spends her days, when she’s not writing, running the family farm, reading, and traveling the world. She’s still married to her high school sweetheart and has four children and six grandchildren.

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My Not So Perfect Life - Pre-release Giveaway

Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie’s life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle—from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she’s trying to negotiate. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she's desperate to make her dad proud.

Then, just as she’s finding her feet—not to mention a possible new romance—the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to stay positive, Katie retreats to her family’s farm in Somerset to help them set up a vacation business. London has never seemed so far away—until Demeter unexpectedly turns up as a guest. Secrets are spilled and relationships rejiggered, and as the stakes for Katie’s future get higher, she must question her own assumptions about what makes for a truly meaningful life.

Sophie Kinsella is celebrated for her vibrant, relatable characters and her great storytelling gifts. Now she returns with all of the wit, warmth, and wisdom that are the hallmarks of her bestsellers to spin this fresh, modern story about presenting the perfect life when the reality is far from the truth.

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About the author:

Sophie Kinsella has sold over 36 million copies of her books in more than 60 countries, and she has been translated into over 40 languages.

Sophie wrote her first novel under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, at the tender age of 24, whilst she was working as a financial journalist. The Tennis Party was immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike and became a top ten bestseller. She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham: A Desirable Residence, Swimming Pool Sunday, The Gatecrasher, The Wedding Girl, Cocktails for Three and Sleeping Arrangements.

Sophie was born in London. She studied music at New College, Oxford, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She now lives in London, UK, with her husband and family.

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My Not So Perfect Life

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