Real Chick Lit For Real Chicks - The Meredith Schorr Collection

Real Chick Lit For Real Chicks

The Meredith Schorr Collection

This boxed set brings together three favorites from bestselling chick lit author Meredith Schorr. Blogger Girl follows Kimberly Long, a book blogger asked to review the debut novel of her high school nemesis. In A State of Jane, “good girl” Jane Frank is looking for love, but when all of her dates flake out on her, she decides to turn the tables. In Just Friends With Benefits, Stephanie Cohen is determined to turn the one who got away into “the one” despite advice from a friend not to put all her eggs in one bastard. Meredith Schorr’s characters are believable, relatable, and authentic—women who are easy to root for, despite their flaws. The stories are humorous, heartfelt, and definitely real.

Purchase the collection at:

Amazon * Nook * iTunes

A born and bred New Yorker, Meredith Schorr discovered her passion for writing when she began to enjoy drafting work-related emails way more than she was probably supposed to, and was famous among her friends for writing witty birthday cards. After trying her hand writing children’s stories and blogging her personal experiences, Meredith found her calling writing “real” chick lit for real women.  When she is not hard at work on her next novel, Meredith spends her days as a trademark paralegal.  She is a loyal New York Yankees fan and an avid runner. Meredith is the author of three published novels, Just Friends with Benefits, A State of Jane and Blogger Girl. 

Connect with Meredith at:

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Rushing Amy - Book Tour & Giveaway

Rushing Amy

A Love and Football Novel

By: Julie Brannagh

Releasing Feb 11^th, 2014

Blurb

Julie Brannagh's sparkling and romantic Love and Football series continues!

For Amy Hamilton, only three Fs matter: Family, Football, and Flowers. It might be nice to find someone to share Forever with, too, but right now she's working double overtime while she gets her flower shop off the ground. The last thing she needs or wants is a distraction … or help, for that matter. Especially in the form of gorgeous and aggravatingly arrogant ex-NFL star Matt Stephens.

Matt lives by a playbook—his playbook. He never thought his toughest opponent would come in the form of a stunning florist with a stubborn streak to match his own. Since meeting her in the bar after her sister's wedding, he's known there's something between them. After she refuses—again and again—to go out with him, Matt will do anything to win her heart … But will Amy, who has everything to lose, let the clock run out on the one-yard line? 

Buy Links

Amazon * B&N * iTunes

A few minutes with Amy Hamilton of RUSHING AMY

Amy was minding her own business an hour after her sister’s wedding reception when Matt Stephens strolled into the hotel ballroom: Tall, dark and unforgivably late. He stole Amy’s heart, but it took him a little while to do so. Let’s find out what Amy’s up to, shall we?

JB: I’m glad you had a few minutes to talk with me, Amy. How is Matt?

AH: (laughs a little) Matt’s fine. He made a huge success out of Lifechangers, Inc., the micro-credit firm he started to loan money to women-owned startups. His mother and a couple of other partners are running the business now. Matt’s taken on another challenge, which readers will find out about in an upcoming Seattle Sharks novel. Let’s just say he’s enjoying it!

We’re trying to sneak off for a little time alone whenever we can. It’s a challenge these days! Samantha has a brother, Jonathan, and a sister named Jessica now.

JB: So, you’re still working at Crazy Daisy?

AH: Yes, I am. I took some time off when Jonathan and Jessica were born. I have several employees now, so things run smoothly for the most part. I love my business, but I also cherish every minute with Matt and the children. Samantha will be off to college before we know it.

(Amy lowers her voice.) Samantha met a guy her age at her mom’s styling salon recently. He asked her out for a hot chocolate, and they’ve been talking on the phone a little. Laura and I have been keeping it a secret from Matt, who completely loses his grip every time he even thinks about Samantha talking to a boy!

JB: You’re going to tell him, right?

AH: Oh, I’ll tell him, probably tonight. (Breaks into laughter again.) He bought me some new lingerie earlier this week, and – well, it’s probably TMI, but Matt has a tough time being anything but really, really happy when I wear whatever he bought for me…

JB:  Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers?

AH: I am so in love with my husband and our family. I hope you’ll enjoy reading how Matt and I fell in love in RUSHING AMY, and we’ll be showing up in other Seattle Sharks novels, too.

About the Author:

Julie Brannagh has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She lives in a small town near Seattle, where she once served as a city council member and owned a yarn shop. She shares her home with a wonderful husband, two uncivilized Maine Coons and a rambunctious chocolate Lab.

Julie hasn't quite achieved the goal of owning a pro football team, so she created a fictional one: The Seattle Sharks. When she's not writing, she's reading, or armchair-quarterbacking her favorite NFL team from the comfort of the family room couch. Julie is a Golden Heart finalist and the author of four contemporary sports romances.

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

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At The River's Edge - Review & Giveaway

Review by Marlene Engel

As an attorney, Sophie Enright, is passionate about her job.  But when she finds her boyfriend in the back seat of his car with another woman, she starts to reevaluate what she wants out of life and where she wants to be.  Knowing that she needs to get away for a bit, she decides to go to St. Dennis, Maryland to visit her brother.  While there, he tries to talk Sophie into joining the family law firm.   But it’s not the law firm that has Sophie considering relocating.  It’s the abandoned restaurant, which at first glance isn’t aesthetically pleasing, but that Sophie sees lots of potential in.

There’s just something about that old restaurant that Sophie is drawn to.  Although there’s much work that needs to be done before it can be a full functioning restaurant again, Sophie is up for the challenge.  Now she just needs to convince the owner to sell.  But is Sophie getting in over her head?  Her only experience with restaurants is when she worked at Shelby’s Diner while in college.  But the memories of that job are the most happy and enjoyable of any job she’s ever had. 

I can’t even begin to express how much I love this book!  From the very beginning I found myself rooting for Sophie.  Despite some trials and tribulations, she refuses to allow life to defeat her!  Her strength and determination are infectious and I don’t think that the author could have written her character any better!  This is a must read for any woman desiring a book about strength, courage and following your dreams!

About the Author:

Mariah Stewart is the award-winning New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and their dogs amid the rolling hills and Amish farms of southern Chester County,

Pennsylvania, where she gardens, reads, and enjoys country life.

Connect with the author at:

Website * Facebook

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Bursting With Love - Review

BURSTING WITH LOVE 

The Bradens, Book Five

Love in Bloom series, Book Eight

After having her heart broken by a country music star, Savannah Braden has sworn off men. She takes a break from her fast-paced Manhattan lifestyle for a weekend at a survivor camp to rebuild her confidence and readjust her priorities. But when she meets the handsome guide, Jack Remington, she’s drawn to everything about him—from his powerful physique to his brooding stare—despite the big chip on his shoulder. Powerless to ignore the heated glances and mounting sexual tension, Savannah begins to reassess her hasty decision.

After losing his wife in a tragic accident, Jack Remington found solace in the mountains of Canada. This solitary existence allows him to wallow in his guilt and punish himself for having made a decision that he believes cost his wife her life. He never expected to want to return to the life he once knew—but then again, he never expected to meet gorgeous, stubborn, and competitive Savannah Braden.

One passionate kiss is all it takes to crack the walls the two have built to protect themselves, and allow love to slip in. While Jack fights his way through his guilt, and struggles to get back into the lives of those he left behind, Savannah is there to help him heal, and together they nurture hope that they’ve finally found their forever loves.

Bursting with Love is the eighth book in a nine book series.  Click on the links below to check out the first book in the series, Sisters in Love:

Amazon * B&N * Kobo

                                                             

Review by Marlene Engel

Savannah needed to get away from New York City, away from her busy life as an attorney, and especially away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, Connor Dean.  After reading an article about how to reclaim your life after a break-up, she decides to go on a four day survival retreat.  What better way to clear her head and be free from modern technology than by spending a few days in the mountains?  What she didn’t expect was for her survival tour guide to be a tall, handsome man with lots of muscles, and even more baggage!

                                                                                     

Jack Remington was used to living a recluse lifestyle.  He called the mountains home and enjoyed the company of nature more than that of people.  But Jack wasn’t always like this.  Once a happily married, family oriented man; things changed the moment his wife died in a tragic car accident.  The accident not only took his wife but also his happiness and replaced it with anger and rage. 

It didn’t take long for Savannah’s strong personality and Jack’s angry ways to collide.  But Savannah could see that behind Jack’s rough exterior was an amazing man craving to be loved again.  But was Jack’s heart and spirit broken beyond repair?  Or is Savannah what Jack’s heart has been waiting for to take him out of this funk and back into the real world?

I can’t praise Melissa Foster’s writing enough.  I fell in love with the first book in this series and have been hooked ever since.  She has a way of making you feel like she wrote the story just for you.  Through the ups and downs, smiles and tears, the author has a way of pulling you into the story and embracing you like a familiar hug.  She writes with such real and raw emotions that you can’t help but fall in love with the characters and story.  An absolute MUST read!

About the Author:

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women's fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today's book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, the World Literary Café. When she's not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on  Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine. 

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on The Women's Nest, Fostering Success, or World Lit Cafe. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Connect with the Author at:

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Pinterest * Goodreads

The Sweetest Thing - Review

Blurb

Tully Morgan hasn’t been back to Marietta for anything more than the briefest of visits since the night of the 1996 senior prom eighteen years ago, when the dramatic exposure of a long-held family secret sent her running to her uncle in California in shock. She stood up her date Ren Fletcher that night, and she hasn’t seen him since.

Now she’s here for an extended stay, to help take care of her seriously ill mother. It’s an ambivalent reconciliation. Tully had so much anger toward Sugar Morgan for so long.

But Sugar still has one more secret that needs to be dealt with, and for this she and Tully will both need Ren Fletcher’s help. Has he forgiven Tully for leaving him in the lurch on prom night, when everything later turned so sour? And is there any chance that they can rekindle what they might once have had, when he’s still married to someone else?

Review by Marlene Engel

Tully’s mother, Sugar, is in her final stage of cancer. Growing up, she was led to believe that Sugar was her sister. After finding out the truth, and leaving Marietta for the past 18 years, Tully was asked by her Grandmother to come home and forgive Sugar for deceiving her all those years. Tully’s life has been less than easy and it’s about to get more complicated!

The Sweetest Thing is an emotional book about family, secrets, lies and seeing if you can forgive and move past the hurt of the past. I absolutely loved this book. It took me on a roller coaster of emotions and had me feeling like I was right there living every moment with them. The author did a great job grabbing your attention from the beginning and holding on tight to it all the way to the end. This is a must read book about family and the power of forgiveness.

About the Author:

Lilian Darcy is a five-time Rita™ Award nominee who has written over eighty romances for Harlequin, as well as several mainstream novels. She has also written for Australian theatre and television under another name, and has received two award nominations for Best Play from the Australian Writers Guild. In 1990 she was the co-recipient of an Australian Film Institute award for best TV mini-series.

Connect with Lilian at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

And check out Tule Publishing and learn more about Montana Born Books at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Better - Cover Reveal

  Better

By: Carey Heywood

Releasing Feb 17^th, 2014

Blurb

Aubrey is embarking on a bucket list trip around the world, the last wish of her Aunt Ally. It was supposed to be the trip Ally would take when she got better. Now it's just a chance for Aubrey to say goodbye.

Adam escapes in his solo trips overseas, working just enough to fund the next one. When the opportunity to circle the globe falls in his lap he can't refuse. The only catch, he won't be traveling alone this time.

Unable to hide from each other Adam's overprotective nature thwarts Aubrey's desire to find her own way. Can they move past initial assumptions to find something better?

Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17803289-better

About the Author:

Carey Heywood was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. Ever the mild mannered citizen Carey spends her days working in the world of finance, retreating into the lives of her fictional characters at night.

Supporting her all the way are her husband, three sometimes adorable children, and 9lb attack Yorkie. Inspired by people everywhere her characters sometimes spend chapters learning life lessons while dealing with all the pitfalls that come with falling in love. A self published New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with four books out and many more to come.

In her free time Carey enjoys curling up with a good book. If her family insists she leave the house she has also been known to ski, kayak, and attract Mosquitos. She can make a mean Belgian waffle and has an unhealthy obsession with Swedish fish.

Connect with the author at:

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The Hypothetical Girl - Review & Giveaway

 Review by K.T Sullivan

This book is a compilation of fifteen short stories about love. Love comes in every shape and size. The preconceived notions and romance of love are explored along with dating sites disasters. Three stories resonate with me. The first, The Opposite of Love, is about a college professor who lands her dream job the same day she finds out she has breast cancer. Being new to the faculty and without a friend base, she tells no one about her condition. She’s outed when she meets a fellow employee after a chemo session. After that, her students and the college staff treat her with sympathy and support. She learns love means sacrifice, her health and her job balance her joy and fear. The Man who made Whirligigs is next. An older man decides he would like a child and has made the decision to adopt a five year old girl. He meets a woman and they date for a while. Once the child enters his life, he devotes himself to her. No one else matters. A parent’s love is a selfish love. Dog People explores the notion that pets can open the door to love. Two people meet and their dogs bond. She believes this is a sign of true love, but she’s wrong. All the stories ring true with their emotion and disappointment.

                                                                             

None of these stories are sugar coated. Love is not always acknowledged or returned. The only advice my brother gave me about guys still rings true. “Just because they talk to you doesn’t mean they want to date you.” But it’s always worth the pursuit.

Recommended as a quick read for those who like a dose a realism with their romance.

About the Author:

I am an Assistant Professor of English at SUNY Plattsburgh, where I serve as the fiction editor for the Saranac Review. My memoir, The Family on Beartown Road (Random House, 2003), was a New York Times Notable Book, and my articles, stories, and poetry have appeared in SELF, MORE, Newsweek, People, New York Times Magazine, Salon, Tablet, and the Yale Review, among other publications.

I live in Plattsburgh, New York, with my daughter, Ava, our dog, Samo, and way, way too many cats.

My favorite color is purple, my favorite food is spice cake and I have a thing for cowboy boots and old trucks. In fact, I have an old truck.

Connect with the author at:

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