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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Little Bird Publicity is giving one lucky winner

A print copy of On Second Thought by Kristan Higgans

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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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Kensington Books is giving one lucky winner

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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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The Dial Press is giving one lucky winner

A print copy of Sophie Kinsella’s new book

My Not So Perfect Life

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The Housekeeper - Review - Part of the BookSparks #Wintervention #WinterReadingChallenge

With no family, Anne Morgan tends to cling to the people in her life.  But when her boyfriend, and boss, cheats on her she’s left picking up the pieces and in need of a job.  Thankfully the daily affirmation emails that she gets from Emma Helmsley are still one positive that she gets to look forward to. 

Emma Helmsley is the English version of Martha Stewart.  Through her books and social media, she offers her readers advice on how to live a less stressful life while living in a stressful world.  Married with two children, they appear to be the poster family for the perfect life. 

When Anne comes across a post online that Emma is in search of a housekeeper it becomes her mission to get in with the family.  And, when she does, her love and admiration for the Helmsleys keep her from seeing the truth behind the perfect façade. 

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About the author:

Suellen Dainty is the author of the novel After Everything. An Australian, she is a former writer for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian and worked for the ABC before moving to London more than 25 years ago to work for Sky News, where she was a producer and director of the original series of The Book Show. She has studied Creative Writing at the University of Oxford and Bath Spa University. She lives in London. Find out more at SuellenDainty.com.

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BookSparks #wintervention winter reading challenge.

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The Things We Keep - Paperback Giveaway

Anna Forster is only thirty-eight years old, but her mind is slowly slipping away from her. Armed only with her keen wit and sharp-eyed determination, she knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. But Anna has a secret: she does not plan on staying. She also knows there's just one another resident who is her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke.

Eve Bennett, suddenly thrust into the role of single mother to her bright and vivacious seven-year-old daugher, finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind house. When she meets Anna and Luke, she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna's and Luke's families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them. Eve has her own secrets, and her own desperate circumstances that raise the stakes even higher.

With huge heart, humor, and a compassionate understanding of human nature, Sally Hepworth delivers a page-turning novel about the power of love to grow and endure even when faced with the most devastating of obstacles. You won’t forget The Things We Keep.

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About the author:

Sally Hepworth is a former event planner and human resources professional. A graduate of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, Sally started writing novels after the birth of her first child. She is the author of Love Like The French, published by Random House Germany in February 2014. Sally has lived around the world, spending extended periods in Singapore, the U.K., and Canada, and she now writes full-time from her home in Melbourne, where she lives with her husband and two young children.

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St.Martin’s Press is giving one lucky winner

A print copy of The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

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Pretty Little World - Pub Week Review & Giveaway

Review by Deb Czajkowski

Pretty Little World is the story of three families that geography brought together.  Moving onto one of Philadelphia’s best row house streets, these three families─all strangers when each family purchased their tiny row house─quickly formed a unique bond that is so strong, it’s like family─the best kind of family.

Midwesterners Mark, Celia, and their three children, Ted, Lu, and Ollie, live on the left side of the triplex row house.  Chris, Stephanie, and their son, Harvest, bought the center home. East Coasters Leo, Hope, and their daughter, Shoshanna, complete the triplex on the right side.

Until the day comes that Mark and Celia announce that they are selling their house.  “Our house was tiny and crowded before we had Ollie,” they explain, “but now we really need more room, a larger space.”

“NO! You can’t move!”

“That will break up our family!”

“We can figure this out!”

So the idea begins to form: take down the inside walls that separate the three houses and make it one big house!  The first floor would be shared space; the upstairs bedrooms would remain as they are, separate and still private.  The three families who are as close as family would live together as one family, one big family in one big house.

Like a modern day Kibbutz?  Interesting thought. But wouldn’t that change the family dynamics?  Won’t familiarity breed contempt? Or at least seriously threaten the present harmony?  And that’s only addressing the friendships between the three families.  What impact might this communal living have on each individual family? On each marriage?

Pretty Little World is co-authored by Elizabeth LaBan and Melissa DePino.  Is there a clear division of labor between the two authors?  Is it obvious that each author wrote certain chapters?  Are there two distinct plotlines that intertwine and converge? Not even a little!  Pretty Little World is a well written, consistent, and entirely fluid novel.

But do authors LaBan and DePino make this concept─ three families who jell like, well, jello─ work?  Is their Pretty Little World actually plausible?  I say yes! Perhaps, though, more like tapioca─still jelled, but not quite so smooth, maybe a bit messier. Yes.  Like a real family (or families, as the case may be).

I have a friend who is my sister in all the ways that truly count: not by blood, but heart-to-heart.  We click─have from day one─on a level that not even blood can promise. I believe this concept would have worked for our families. So yes, I can envision the scenario.

Do you have a heart-sister?  Does your family have an always together family?  Does one of your kids have a bestie that she/he has had forever, and it seems like you hardly ever see one without the other? If yes, you can picture it, the bond.  If not, imagine the possibility. Then read Pretty Little World for a peak in the window. You’ll love the view.

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About the authors:

Elizabeth LaBan is the author of The Tragedy Paper, which has been translated into eleven languages; The Grandparents Handbook, which has been translated into seven languages; and The Restaurant Critic's Wife. She lives in Philadelphia with her restaurant-critic husband and two children.

Melissa De Pino is the founding partner, principal, and editorial director of Leapfrog Group, a branding and marketing firm for nonprofits, and a former high school English teacher in Camden, New Jersey. She grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and earned degrees at both Villanova and Temple universities. She lives in Center City, Philadelphia, with her two sons. Pretty Little World is her first novel.

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Lake Union Publishing is giving one lucky winner

A print copy of Pretty Little World by Elizabeth LaBan

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