Archive for February, 2011

Juliet was desperate to buy a home with her boyfriend Simon, and when she lays her eyes on Lovelace Avenue she knows that is her home. However, things go badly wrong for Juliet when she finds out that Simon has been sleeping with her best friend Hanna. She throws Simon out, and starts living as a bit of a slob, unsure that she even wants a home without anyone to share it with. Juliet is heartbroken and so she turns to the homemaking books of her beloved grandmother Violet to get her through. She finds herself making beautiful aprons and other homely goods that make her feel like she has a purpose. Juliet finally feels like she has a little control back in her life, and like she’s ready to move on from Simon. Is Juliet going to find true love, and her real home, ever again?

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Thanks to the lovely people over at Simon & Schuster, we have a fabulous giveaway for you this week! We have 5 copies of Matt Dunn’s brand new novel The Accidental Proposal up for grabs - I reviewed it last week and loved it, so you’ll definitely want to be getting your hands on a copy of this! All you have to do is fill in the Google form below, and we’ll choose 5 winners at random using random.org after the closing date.

Open to UK residents only, competition closes at midnight on February 27th 2011. One entry per household - multiple entries will result in all your entries being removed. Please read our Terms and Conditions before entering. Good luck!

Last year I read and reviewed Sheila O’Flanagan’s latest novel Stand By Me when it came out in hardback and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The paperback version will be out on 14th April 2011 and as is becoming the way these days, Sheila now has an entirely new cover look. Don’t get me wrong, the new cover is absolutely stunning, but I liked Sheila’s old cover look and I like my covers to match (I’m actually writing an article about this so look out for that later this week). Here’s the synopsis:

Dominique (‘Domino’) lives a charmed existence as wife to one of Ireland’s most successful businesssmen, Brendan Delahaye – until the day Brendan disappears, leaving his company in disarray and Domino and their daughter alone to face the music. STAND BY ME is the story of Domino’s recovery and her journey from obliging and dependent wife to a stronger and happier woman, with a new man ready to step into the gap left by her deserting husband. And that’s when Brendan comes home, handsome and charismatic as ever, expecting life to carry on just as it was before...

Julia and Michael meet in high school in their small, poverty-stricken West Virginia hometown. Both products of difficult childhoods — Julia’s father is a compulsive gambler and Michael’s mother abandoned his family when he was a young boy – they find a sense of safety and mutual understanding in each other. Shortly after graduation they flee West Virginia to start afresh. Now thirty-somethings, they are living a rarified life in their multi-million-dollar,Washington D.C. home. From the outside it all looks perfect – Julia has become a highly sought-after party planner, while Michael has launched a wildly successful flavored water company that he sold for $70 million.
But one day Michael stands up at the head of the table in his company’s boardroom — then silently crashes to the floor. More than four minutes later, a portable defibrillator manages to jump-start his heart. Yet what happened to Michael during those lost minutes forever changes him. Money is meaningless to him now - and he wants to give it all away to charity. A prenuptial agreement that Julia insisted upon back when Michael’s company was still struggling means she has no claim to his fortune, and now she must decide: should she walk away from the man she once adored, but who truthfully became a stranger to her long before his near-death experience - or should she give in to her husband’s pleas for a second chance and a promise of a poorer but happier life?

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It’s no secret, Lucy Dillon is big news in the UK and here at Chick Lit Reviews she’s received numerous positive reviews. On March 1st she’ll be publishing for the first time with Berkley, an Imprint of Penguin USA, with her very popular novel Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts. Chloe reviewed it back when it was released in 2009 in the UK and I’m extremely eager to see if I take to it as well as she did. It sounds fantastic! Though I do have to say I’m more of a fan of the UK cover than the new US cover, although I do love the doggies! So, adorable! What do you think, US readers, are you excited for this new release?

An irresistible novel about women, men, and the dogs that own them.

Thirty-nine year old Rachel is having a really bad year. After losing her job and breaking up with her boyfriend, Rachel has inherited her late aunt’s house, her beloved border collie, and a crowded rescue kennel, despite the fact that she knows almost nothing about dogs. Still, considering her limited options, she gamely takes up the challenge of running the kennel. And as Rachel starts finding new homes for the abandoned strays, it turns out that it might not just be the dogs that need rescuing.

What makes a family? That’s what nineteen year old Veronica is wondering. Her family have always made her feel safe and protected but that’s all been snatched away from her and she’s beginning to wonder if she really knows her family at all . . . With a homeless mother and a missing father Veronica has to grow up fast. Real life is a frightening wake-up call and as truths and tensions percolate and bubble to the surface there are devastating consequences. Can Veronica save those she thought she loved? Will her best intentions lead to her worst transgressions? And who will be left to catch Veronica when she falls?

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Just yesterday I posted my review of the fabulous Born Under A Lucky Moon by Dana Precious. Thanks to the wonderful publisher we are able to offer a copy to one of our US/Canadian readers! I’m afraid the competition is open to US/Canada residents only and will end Saturday March 5th, 2011 at 12pm (mid-day) GMT. Thank you!

Take a look at a bit about the book, possibly even jump back over and re-read my review and then enter to win below by completing the form!

Born Under a Lucky Moon is the tale of two very important (but distant) years in the lives of Jeannie Thompson and her (embarrassing, crazy) colorful family members to whom “things” just seem to happen. From the Great Lakes of Michigan to Los Angeles and back again, it is a story of surprise marriages, a renegade granny, a sprinkler system cursed by the gods, and myriad other factors Jeannie blames for her full-tilt, out-of-control existence. But it’s also about good surprises—like an unexpected proposal that might just open Jeannie’s eyes to her real place among the people she loves most in the world . . . the same ones she ran far away from to begin with.

Earlier this week Jojo Moyes tweeted a sneak peak at the cover for her upcoming US release of Last Letter from Your Lover. When Leah mentioned this to me I couldn’t help but want to share it once I took a look at it. I’m absolutely in love with this cover, it’s stunning. When I initially clicked on the link to look at it I stopped what I was doing and blankly stared at the cover. It’s gorgeous and I absolutely cannot wait to read it when it’s released on July 7th. Have you read it? Are you planning to? What do you think of the new cover? Take a look at the synopsis and let me know…

When journalist Ellie looks through her newspaper’s archives for a story, she doesn’t think she’ll find anything of interest. Instead she discovers a letter from 1960, written by a man asking his lover to leave her husband – and Ellie is caught up in the intrigue of a past love affair. Despite, or perhaps because of her own romantic entanglements with a married man.

In 1960, Jennifer wakes up in hospital after a car accident. She can’t remember anything – her husband, her friends, who she used to be. And then, when she returns home, she uncovers a hidden letter, and begins to remember the lover she was willing to risk everything for. Ellie and Jennifer’s stories of passion, adultery and loss are wound together in this richly emotive novel – interspersed with real ‘last letters’.