Archive for February, 2011

Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, she realises that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life. Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood.

Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbour, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, offering them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth - but also in the hope of rekindling a love she fears might be lost forever. Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

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Newsreader Kay Burley is another celebrity to turn her hand to writing, and she appears this year with her debut novel First Ladies on 12th May 2011. I have to be honest and say I really am not keen on this cover - it looks a little bit generic to me and certainly doesn’t stand out but hopefully the story within will be a lot better. Here’s the synopsis:

“What happens when the power of love challenges the love of power?

‘So, have you met the Prime Minister before?’

Suave PM Julian Jenson has just been re-elected. The nation’s darling, he has an elegance and natural charm in public. But in private the cracks are starting to show.

At his side is his wife, Valerie. Trim, tall, well educated but deeply unhappy – with her son and daughter away at school, alcohol is becoming a trusted friend.

Sally Simpson is at the peak of her game. Powerful editor of the bestselling magazine Celeb, she can’t wait to take her rightful place by Julian’s side.

Sexy TV reporter Isla McGovern has caught Julian’s eye, and she will do anything (or anyone) to get to the top.

When the three women meet, so begins a perfect storm, and only one can emerge as the First Lady.”

Thanks to the lovely Talli Roland and her publishers Prospera, we have TWO copies of her debut novel The Hating Game to give away! It’s a brilliant novel, I’ve read it myself and we’ll be reviewing it within the next few weeks along with interviewing Talli! All you need to do to enter is to fill in the form below with all your details and tell us which reality show you’d star in if you had to! The giveaway is open until March 6th at midnight and is open to UK residents only!

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she’s confident she’ll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she’s perfected from years of her love ‘em and leave ‘em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £50,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it’s revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end? Who will win The Hating Game?

Zoe Baxter has spent ten years trying to get pregnant, and after multiple miscarriages and infertility issues, it looks like her dream is about to come true – she is seven months pregnant. But a terrible turn of events leads to a nightmare – one that takes away the baby she has already fallen for; and breaks apart her marriage to Max. In the aftermath, she throws herself into her career as a music therapist – using music clinically to soothe burn victims in a hospital; to help Alzheimer’s patients connect with the present; to provide solace for hospice patients. When Vanessa – a guidance counselor — asks her to work with a suicidal teen, their relationship moves from business to friendship and then, to Zoe’s surprise, blossoms into love. When Zoe allows herself to start thinking of having a family, again, she remembers that there are still frozen embryos that were never used by herself and Max.

Meanwhile, Max has found peace at the bottom of a bottle – until he is redeemed by an evangelical church, whose charismatic pastor – Clive Lincoln – has vowed to fight the “homosexual agenda” that has threatened traditional family values in America. But this mission becomes personal for Max, when Zoe and her same-sex partner say they want permission to raise his unborn child.

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I was such a huge fan of the last Mary Kay Andrews novel I read, The Fixer Upper, that when I discovered she has a new novel coming out I got extremely excited! Due to be released June 7th and with a title of Summer Rental, it’s sure to make it into my beach bag for the summer! I’m still wavering on the cover, but the synopsis sounds like exactly the type of read I enjoy while relaxing in the sun! Take a look…

Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction….Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she’s made over the past decade of her life. Julia—whose caustic wit covers up her wounds—has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can’t hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life. And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina’s Outer Banks is just what each of them needs.
Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he’s hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he’s ever cared about.
Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs?
Five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month that might just give it to them.

Publishing with her given name, Madeleine Wickham, the author most of us refer to as Sophie Kinsella has another book being released here in the US. For now, it’s title here in the US is 40 Love: A Novel, but as far as I can tell it’s the basic premise as the title published in the UK called The Tennis Match. I hate to say this, but I’m wondering if they are changing the title because the reviews based off of the original weren’t very good (on Goodreads at least). Also, there is quite a bit of a page difference from 336 pages on the UK edition to 288 pages for the US edition. So, it’s possible it’s been edited or reformatted for printing here in the US. Either way I’m still really interested in reading 40 Love, which is due out August 30th, as I quite enjoyed reading A Desirable Residence not too long ago.

Here’s the summary and cover for the original, The Tennis Party…

Everyone wins this game of literary tennis, a comedy of manners about envy in which Wickham skewers the nouveau riche. At their country estate, Patrick Chance and his wife host a weekend tennis party. As four couples gather on the sunny terrace, it seems obvious who among them is succeeding, and who is falling behind. But by the end of the party, nothing will be quite as certain. While the couples’ children amuse themselves with pony rides and rehearsals for a play, the adults suffer a series of personal revelations and crises. Wickham’s nonstop action reveals at every turn that matters may not be as they seem, and in the end one thing is crystal clear: the weekend is about anything but tennis.

What do you think? Have you read The Tennis Party? What did you think?

As Gus Curtis approaches thirty, she has everything that she feels she needs to really become a proper grown-up. She has a great job, good friends and a good boyfriend. Until she walks in on her so-called ‘good’ boyfriend Nate lip-locked with her so-called ‘good’ friend Helen sending Gus’s life into a bit of a tailspin.

Gus keeps telling everybody that she’s fine but it’s proven that she’s clearly not when she makes a fool of herself one night, all thanks to Janis Joplin. One inadvertent hook-up later and Gus’s life is looking more like a teenage drama than the grown up life she’s trying to achieve. Is the reason for Gus’s lack of adulthood really down to Nate and Helen’s betrayal, or does Gus need to look closer to home to learn what it takes to become an adult?

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Some of you may have heard about this new site being offered by the publisher HarperCollins, Bookperk! Working much the same way as sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, except Bookperk is specifically for those of us bookish types. From the Bookperk site…

Bookperk is a site for all of us book lovers. For the first time, readers get access to exclusive merchandise and experiences from their favorite authors and books.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with HarperCollins about this fabulous new site and what’s in store for readers. The exciting news is that in the coming weeks and months I’ll be able to share with Chick Lit Reviews readers some amazing exclusive offers you’ll love!

So, what’s the fuss? Well, take a look at this brand new offer they just released today for the novel Low Country Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank:

• Signed hardcover of Lowcountry Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank.

• The much-beloved New York Times bestselling author follows the recent success of Return to Sullivans Island, Bulls Island, and Land of Mango Sunsets with a tale rich in atmosphere and unforgettable scenes of Southern life. Once again placing her at the dais, alongside Anne Rivers Siddons, Sue Monk Kidd, Rebecca Wells, Pat Conroy, and other masters of contemporary Southern fiction.

• Free UPS Ground shipping.

This was a novel I absolutely adored that’s being released in paperback in the very near future (March 29th) and particularly wonderful if you enjoy a good Chick Lit book with a Southern feel.

If Southern Chick Lit isn’t your cup of tea and you’d rather have something a little more glamorous…take a look at this offer from Bookperk:

In celebration of the release of her thriller Hush in paperback, Kate White, Editor-in-Chief at Cosmopolitan Magazine in New York City, will host a private tour of the iconic magazine’s offices - including The Beauty Closet! Enter for a chance to win one of five seats on her special tour, a signed copy of Hush and a bag of beauty goodies.

What an incredible opportunity! Wouldn’t you just die to be able to tour the offices of Cosmopolitan Magazine?! Not to mention, it’s free to enter!

So, what do you think? Is learning about exclusive offers and limited editions of books something you’d be interested in? If so, are there any authors or books you’d love to see make the list of offers? I know I’m personally tempted to pick up the Signed First Edition of the recently released Pioneer Woman’s novel, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels!