Smile and Look Pretty by Amanda Pelegrín’s

I loved these real and relatable women who choose to take on the stereotypes and injustices of their industries.

Lauren works with producers and wants to write scripts. Cate wants to set the publishing world on fire by finding the next great novel. Max is the magician behind the television camera and Olivia is a personal assistant to a star.

As these smart and spunky women begin to see the writing on the wall they hatch a plot to bring all the women like them together and expose their bosses bad behavior to the world.

As time passes and their plan grows they have to face what might happen if their true identities are revealed.

Along the way they discover things about themselves that they never realized and face the future together.

The Kids are Gonna Ask By Gretchen Anthony

 

 

How do you handle all those questions that come up when you are the child of a single parent who has never been married?  Especially when she dies in a car accident when you haven’t even thought about them yet?  For Thomas and Savanah McClair, those questions send them on the adventure of a lifetime.

The twins take the questions to their grandmother Maggie, who has done her best to fill the empty spot left by their mother Bess.   Then they reach out to Bess’s college friends, and then they take them to the world at large through a podcast.  Their well-intentioned plans go awry, and they end up thrown into a spotlight and a controversy that no one could have seen on the horizon.

 

The popularity of their podcast throws them into a hot spotlight that isn’t all they hoped.  As their story and their questions gain national attention, the twins must guard their privacy while sharing with their fans.  One too close for comfort incident reinforces this point.

 

While the twins manage their fans and try to hold the line in the sand between public and private lives, they also question the motives of the team that started the project with them.  After a heart to heart talk with Maggie, hilarity gives them a much-needed respite as their business dinner has unexpected consequences for their guest.

 

Their search will help them narrow down the possibilities.  I will not tell you more than that; you need to read it and see what happens; I am doing my best to make this spoiler-free.  😊

 

The search for their father will lead the twins and their grandmother on a journey full of unexpected twists, turns, and loops.  Bess will become a person separate from the Mother they knew.  The search will also make all three McClair’s see themselves differently.

 

This story of a family who is tried and tested and strong will warm your heart and remind you to be careful what you wish for.

 

Start reading here, bet you have trouble stopping.

TKAGA_excerpt

 

 

The Memory Jar by Elissa Janine Hoole

When Taylor and Scott have a snow mobile accident on top of all the other things going on in their lives it is more that Taylor can take, but at least she is awake, the problem is she doesn’t really remember what happened, did she cause the accident and if so than whatever happens to Scott is her fault.  Taylor must decide how to make peace with her past and decide what she wants for her future, but at the moment it takes all she has just to get out of bed and shower and attend a class or two.  Taylor’s therapist gives her a memory jar so she can write down and store her memories and hopefully figure out the puzzle her life has become, but like everyone else Taylor learns life is never as simple as it could be, but it might not be as hard as she wants it to be either.  A touching portrait of life and lost and hope and dreams. 

The Midnight Watch by David Dyer April 5th

The Midnight Watch is the story of the night the Titanic sank as you have not heard it before.  A reporter happens on a report that one of the ships in the vicinity of titanic did not imediately rush to her aid and the story unfolds told by the reporter and also by the crew members of the SS Californian.  The story unfolds bit by bit as these kinds of stories do and  Steadman the reporter who knows there is more to this than meets the eye and refuses to give up even years later.  The story of Steadman and his search interweaves with the story of the crew of the SS Californian and some of the passengers of the doomed ship as well.  It is a story that is unique.

Chance Harbor by Holly Robinson

Chance Harbor is the story of a family that like all families faces it share of challenges.  Zoe was a rough and tumble teen and finally left her daughter Willow behind so that she could start over and make a better life for herself.  Her sister Catherine and her husband become Willows legal guardians until Zoe comes home and Catherine’s husband turns their world upside down.  In the mist of the upheaval in Willow’s life her grandmother has decided to sell the family’s summer home in Chance Harbor and they journey there for one final visit as a family.  Each of the characters faces adversity and unexpected circumstances and must decide not only to do what is best for them but what is best for Willow who must figure out who she is and who she wants to be.  This story is full of funny and touching moments.  I found  the bond that forms between Willow and Nola to be comical and heartwarming, but I loved all the characters and their dynamics.

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens July 7th 2015

Those Girls is the story of three sisters who escape their tough love father only to land in a deeper darker place, but eventually they find a new start and try to build a happy life, but the past is not done with them it lies just beneath the surface simmering until it pulls them back in and they can finally put it to rest and move on.  I found the dynamic between the sisters who love each other very much despite all they have been though.  The bond between them and their determination to build a better life made them so real and honest.  I do have to say that this story has lots of dark elements to it,but seeing the love between the sisters reminds us that even in a rough life there are rays of sunshine and hope.

That Night Chevy Stevens June 17th

Toni and Ryan are a typical small town high school couple.  They are looking forward to graduating and starting a life of their own, but those dreams are cut short when Toni’s sister Nichole is murdered and everyone thinks that Toni and Ryan did it.  Life gives them no choice but to follow the rules and serve their time, but once that is done both of them vow to find the truth.  They find that their small town has stayed the same in some ways and changed in others.  As they unravel the past and try to find the truth they must also decide if they still have a life together and if they still want to.  I loved the characters in this story, The characters play a key role for me in the books i read and these guys stayed with me after the book was finished as good characters do.  The story is also told in alternating chapters of present time and the past.  The story encompasses love, friendship, loyalty, family, truth and justice and does it well.

The Other Half by Sarah Rayner Out Today

As you may have guessed from the title The Other Half is about a love triangle.  Jamie meets Chloe through work, he works for the publisher of the magazine where she works.  She has a great idea for a new kind of magazine and she tries to sell Jamie on her idea, not only does he love her idea but sparks fly between them.  Jamie it turns out is married to Maggie who is a chef and a food writer, and they have a school aged son named Nathan.  Maggie finds out about Jamie and Chloe and tells him to end it if he wants to come home, but Chloe ends up making his choice for him and Maggie realizes that what she really can’t stand is that Jamie can’t make a decision.  The book is told in alternating viewpoints some from Chloe and some from Maggie.  Oddly Jamie doesn’t get his own chapters we only see him though what he tells the people in his life.  I wonder if he was written that way on purpose to point out that he really isn’t all that important or not as important as he likes to think he is as the case may be.   The characters feel real and genuine and I wasn’t sure how things were going to work out when it was all said and done, but i enjoyed being able to see things unfold and build and change.  If you like stories about women in tough situations give this one a try,

The Divorce Papers A Novel Susan Rieger Mar 18 2014

I liked this book, not because of the characters or the story although those things did masterfully show us how our personal and professional lives overflow and how we are all linked together somehow if one looks hard enough.  What really caught my eye with this novel was the style it was written in.  The novel basically reads like the file a divorce attorney would keep and the pages contained emails, letters, transcripts, legal documents, and all manner and means of communicating during such a proceeding.  I found the style engaging and creative.  It reminded me of Celia Aherns book where the two friends communicate and tell the story though letters, emails and such, i think it might have been called Rosie Dunn?  The format of this book sets it apart and makes it an even more enjoyable and engaging read.

The Tyrants Daughter by J.C. Carleson Available Feb 11th

I loved this book, it flows well, the pacing is great and I love the narrator the “Invisible Queen”.  I think she often does feel invisible and not just because she is a teenaged girl.  Her brother is constantly told he will be king, which makes her at least in her own mind an invisible queen.  Not only goes she have the normal teen issues, first dances, boys, the social groups and rules, but she is a stranger in a new land, she must learn to navigate super sized packaging, junk food and just the pure abundance that America provides.  Let’s not forget that she fled her county after her father was killed, and her new friends have a different view of her father, and in an effort to prove them wrong she reads up on her family and the history of her country at the library which makes her wonder what the truth really is since she can’t make what she reads in the press mesh with her memories.  Her mother is helping the CIA and she must do what she can to help with this project.  The Tyrants daughter is a beautifully told story of finding one’s place in the world and being comfortable with it which means reconciling the past and finding hope for the future.