Archive for March, 2011

As you might know, I am a huge fan of Tilly Bagshawe’s books and was so excited to see the gorgeous cover for her new book Fame due out on 26th May. It is totally evocative of a fantastic summer and will definitely the perfect beach read, and it’s one I cannot wait for myself! Here’s the synopsis, it sounds fantastic!

“This is not ‘celebrity.’
This is the real deal.
This is Fame.

The raw, sexual beauty of Sabrina Leon demands the attention of all who come into contact with her. Plucked from obscurity at the age of seventeen she’s the new darling of the film scene, bagging lead roles in the hottest blockbusters. But Sabrina Leon has a problem. There’s a youtube sensation on the web that’s set to destroy everything she’s fought for… Hotshot movie producer Dorian Razmirez has struggles of his own. A bitter feud with rival producer and playboy, Harry Greene, has resulted in the plug being pulled on every project he goes near. Casting the disgraced Hollywood diva Sabrina Leon in Wuthering Heights is a risk that might cost him what remains of his career.

Viorel Hudson, with his jet-black hair, high, slanting cheekbones and smooth, coffee coloured skin, was always destined for great things. Now he’s scored a role that every A-lister in Hollywood auditioned for – Heathcliff in Dorian Razmirez’s Wuthering Heights. He may be at the height of his career, but is he ready for his latest role? For a five million pound pay cheque, it’s a risk he’s willing to take. Set against a backdrop of a sumptuous crumbling English country house, the film-set of Wuthering Heights is going to be as salacious as the setting is beautiful.”

Liz and Suzie really wanted their parents 40th Wedding Anniversary Party to be something that Rose and Jack would never forget, and boy did it turn out to be that. Liz, TV Golden’s Girl after hosting hit show “Starmaker” has left all the hard graft to her sister, much to Suzie’s resentment. She’s fine with the fact she’s stumped up the money and has therefore done her bit but Suzie is fed up of doing everything herself, with the help of husband Sam. Their daughters Megan and Hannah seem to be going a bit awry as well, so that just adds to Suzie’s worry. As the party kicks off, huge secrets are suddenly revealed which threaten to thrown Liz and Suzie’s very existence into question, and makes them worry about the foundation of everything they have ever known. Will the family ever be able to get past this, and was the surprise party the worst idea ever… will there be a family left to speak of as the champagne stops flowing?

(more…)

Jane Green’s latest novel The Love Verb originally came out last summer with a somewhat bland and undistinctive book cover, yet for its paperback release, it has had a real makeover with a bold new look, moving from the wishy-washy colours to bolder blues and pink and using a photographic image rather than a hand-drawn style one. I haven’t personally read the book so I can’t comment on which suits the book better, but I can’t decide which cover I like better! The older one (right) does look a little bland but there is something about the new one which looks a tad 90′s! Which do you prefer and why?

Harriet Evans’ first two novels Going Home and A Hopeless Romantic appear to have been updated with beautiful new covers to match her latest book Love Always which we have the new paperback cover for! I absolutely love all three covers and I love the sound of Love Always, I really must get a copy to read! Do you like Harriet’s new look?

Returning to the wild Cornish coast for the funeral of her beloved grandmother, Natasha has no idea of how things are about to change. This trip reunites her with her large and complicated family for perhaps the last time: Summercove, her grandparents’ beautiful house by the sea, is being sold. With it go a generation of memories and the key to the death, many years ago, of fifteen-year-old Cecily, her aunt, a tragedy that no one ever discusses. When she finds the opening pages of Cecily’s diary, written the summer she died, Natasha discovers the family she idealised has secrets that have long been buried. But where is the rest of the diary? Back in London, trying to rebuild her own life, Natasha is haunted by Cecily’s writing and the tragic tale of love, rivalry and heartbreak promised in those scant pages. She has to know what happened, the summer her aunt died. And so she makes some life-changing decisions – and in the process finds out that a second chance at love might be possible…

Charlize “Charlie” Edwards certainly knows, in theory, what it takes to lead a successful and happy life. She owns a nice house in Silverlake, LA’s trendiest neighborhood. She has glamorous and loyal friends who accompany her to the hottest clubs in town. And she works as the personal assistant to Drew Stanton, Hollywood’s sexiest movie star. But she’s also turning 30, chronically single, and faced with serving as maid of honor at her younger sister’s wedding. Charlie finds herself struggling to juggle the chaos of wedding planning (while wondering if she’ll ever wear the white dress herself), her all-consuming job for lunatic boss Stanton, and a serious crush on Jordan, a photographer on the set of Drew’s latest feature-a man who might actually return her feelings.

(more…)

The LA Times Festival of Books is an annual book festival that happens each April in Los Angeles. Up until this year it’s been held at UCLA, but beginning this year they’ve switched the venue to USC campus. I was able to attend last year and had an incredible time! So, needless to say I’m eager to go again this year, not only to meet with authors & publishers, but also to see how things change with the new locale. Here’s a bit of info direct from the The LA Times Festival of Books site for those who haven’t attended before, but might like to:

Dates & Location
The annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will be held Saturday & Sunday, April 30 – May 1, 2026 at:
University of Southern California
Click here for map.
To locate USC on Yahoo! Maps or similar mapping software, you may use the intersection of Exposition Blvd and S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90089.
Tickets & Admission
General attendance is free!
Parking
Parking at the USC campus will be $10.

My question for our readers is, will you be attending?
Are you an author, publisher, publicist, or book blogger who will be there? If so, please let me know! I’d love to schedule time to meet with as many people as possible for interviews or just to chat! Please feel free to email the site at editor{at}chicklitreviews{dot}com to set up a time to chat! Until then, I hope to see you there!

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry, out April 12th, is another one of those books I’ve been looking forward to reading all year! For some reason, the combination of food, a dash of magical romance and a little bit of mystery is just the thing I need after a long day. So far, I’ve been nothing but impressed with my reading of The Kitchen Daughter and I absolutely cannot wait to share my review as well as a guest post from Jael with you! For now, I’ll settle for giving away one copy to a luck Chick Lit Reviews reader!

I’m afraid the competition is open to US/Canada residents only and will end Sunday April 10th, 2011 at 12pm (mid-day) GMT. Take a look at the synopsis and let me know if you’ll be crossing your fingers hoping for a win!

After the unexpected death of her parents, painfully shy and sheltered 26-year-old Ginny Selvaggio seeks comfort in cooking from family recipes. But the rich, peppery scent of her Nonna’s soup draws an unexpected visitor into the kitchen: the ghost of Nonna herself, dead for twenty years, who appears with a cryptic warning (“do no let her…”) before vanishing like steam from a cooling dish.

A haunted kitchen isn’t Ginny’s only challenge. Her domineering sister, Amanda, (aka “Demanda”) insists on selling their parents’ house, the only home Ginny has ever known. As she packs up her parents’ belongings, Ginny finds evidence of family secrets she isn’t sure how to unravel. She knows how to turn milk into cheese and cream into butter, but she doesn’t know why her mother hid a letter in the bedroom chimney, or the identity of the woman in her father’s photographs. The more she learns, the more she realizes the keys to these riddles lie with the dead, and there’s only one way to get answers: cook from dead people’s recipes, raise their ghosts, and ask them.

Reviews have been varying in support of and on the fence about Jodi Picoult’s newest release, Sing You Home. There’s no doubt it’s got the Picoult signature controversial topic as well as courtroom battle, but is it something we’d love to see on the big screen? Thanks to Ellen DeGeneres working with Storyline partners Craig Zadan and Neil Meron that may no longer be a question. It was announced earlier this week that Ellen has optioned it with her own money and is hoping to produce the feature length film sometime in the very near future. Very exciting news! Take a look at this chat Jodi and Ellen had on her show recently, pretty neat info about the book and upcoming movie:

Also, in case you missed it, Jodi’s recently revamped her site! It looks fabulous and has tons of new content. Take a look!

What do think of a movie version of Sing You Home? Would you be dropping everything to check it out?