The Regulars Review

August 26, 2016August 19, 20161 Comment

In today’s society, we all know the value placed on being pretty. Magazines are Photoshopped so even supermodels look better on the page than they do in real life. Actors get styled and made up before television appearances and red carpets. With the ability to see a picture taken immediately, how many of you have had a redo when the angle is wrong or you need to reapply your lipstick?

That is the concept Georgia Clark brings us in The Regulars. It tells the story of three friends (Willow, Evie, and Krista) who are ordinary 20-somethings trying to navigate life in New York City. Willow is a photographer trying to make a name for herself outside of her famous dad’s shadow. Evie dreams of a life writing rather than editing the glossy Salty. And Krista aspires to be an actress, if only she can make it to her next audition on time.

Until one day someone gives Krista a jar of Pretty, a magical elixir that will change the girls’ appearance to make them look like supermodels. What will happen if they take it?

I was entertained by this book a lot more than I expected to be. Think of it as a fairy tale for adults. After reading an interview about how this book came to be, I couldn’t help but suspend disbelief for the few days I was immersed in this story. It made me think of the pressure placed on women today just based on looks. Girls as young as preschool age putting way more thought than necessary into their clothes and their hair. Little girls telling their moms they look fat when compared to their friends. So what can we do to change it?

Unfortunately, I think we have a long way to go before red carpets become more about the roles women play in movies rather than what designer they’re wearing. Props to Reese Witherspoon for starting the trend with #AskHerMore last year. Hopefully, the generation of young girls will start following Evie’s attitude from this book a lot sooner.

About the author:

Georgia Clark is the author THE REGULARS (Emily Bestler Books/Simon & Schuster), and two YA novels, SHE’S WITH THE BAND and PARCHED. THE REGULARS is her debut adult fiction and is being released around the world.

Georgia was born in Sydney, Australia. Her BA in Communications (Media Arts & Production) saw her becoming active in the student movement and blow way too much money on making short films and music videos.

After graduating she became a professional hipster for a while as Editor of The Brag, an excellent weekly music street press magazine. This also involved being in a band, the seminal electropop trio, Dead Dead Girls. She went on to become an Online Producer for a soapie called Home & Away, and Online Writer for Fremantle Media Australia.

In 2008 her first novel, She’s With The Band was published by Australia’s largest independent publisher, Allen & Unwin. She’s With The Band was released in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2011. It attracted five-star reviews.

Georgia has worked as a freelance journalist and copywriter for ten years. She is published in Cosmo, CLEO, Daily Life, Sunday Life, Girlfriend and more. She has attended writers’ residencies in Martha’s Vineyard and Portugal, and has also received grants for her work.

Georgia moved to from Sydney to New York in 2009 just for fun. Here, she performs improv and enjoys meeting new and interesting cheese platters. She writes from the New York Writers Room, which involves macaroons and many, many cups of tea. She lives in Brooklyn and is hard at work on her next book.

Thank you to BookSparks and their #bestsummerever for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Monster’s Daughter Review & Giveaway

August 18, 2016August 16, 20162 Comments

I applaud author Michelle Pretorius for this novel. She managed to teach me about a completely new to me culture in an interesting way. This novel takes place in South Africa from 1901 to the present. For someone like me with no previous background on the subject, she wrote a historical thriller that managed to shock me at times.

There are dual storylines at play here. We start out during war in 1901 with a doctor performing unethical medical experiments on people. Fast forward to 2010 where we meet Alet, a constable for the Unie police, called to investigate a burned body. The story alternates between Alet’s search for a current killer and the flashbacks of how this murder relate to what happened in the past.

At one point I gasped out loud with a twist I did not see coming. Pretorius has a knack for pacing and knows just how to drop the right clues when, an amazing feat for a debut novelist. It was incredibly researched. However, this is not a novel to read when you are doing multiple things at once. You need to pay attention and focus. There’s a lot of characters and how they relate to each other is essential to your enjoyment of the story.

I did love the South African terms and titles I was unfamiliar with interspersed throughout the story. Aside from the central mystery to solve, I was learning about scientific advancements, race relations, and politics of what seems to be a corrupt system in Africa. Both storylines keep you glued to the page as the mystery unravels for both the reader and our protagonist.

About the author:

Born and raised in South Africa, Michelle received a B.A. at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. She has lived in London, New York, and the Midwest and holds an MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. She is currently a doctoral student in creative writing at Ohio University.

Connect with Michelle
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks to TLC Book Tours, I have one copy of The Monster’s Daughter to give away to a lucky winner. U.S. and Canada residents only, please. Click on the Rafflecopter to enter.
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Book Spotlight: A Girl Like You

June 15, 20161 Comment

Synopsis from Amazon:

Henrietta Von Harmon works as a 26 girl at a corner bar on Chicago’s northwest side. It’s 1935, but things still aren’t looking up since the big crash and her father’s subsequent suicide, leaving Henrietta to care for her antagonistic mother and younger siblings. Henrietta is eventually persuaded to take a job as a taxi dancer at a local dance hall—and just when she’s beginning to enjoy herself, the floor matron turns up dead.

When aloof Inspector Clive Howard appears on the scene, Henrietta agrees to go undercover for him—and is plunged into Chicago’s grittier underworld. Meanwhile, she’s still busy playing mother hen to her younger siblings, as well as to pesky neighborhood boy Stanley, who believes himself in love with her and keeps popping up in the most unlikely places, determined to keep Henrietta safe—even from the Inspector, if need be. Despite his efforts, however, and his penchant for messing up the Inspector’s investigation, the lovely Henrietta and the impenetrable Inspector find themselves drawn to each other in most unsuitable ways.

About the author:

Michelle Cox has a BA in English literature from Mundelein College, Chicago. While her heart might lie in the eighteenth century with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy or in the crooked streets of Little Dorrit’s London, she tends to write of a slightly more recent age, a time closer to the World Wars, when all was not yet lost and the last roses of summer were first coming into bloom. Cox lives with her husband and three children in the Chicago suburbs. This is her first novel.

Thank you to BookSparks for allowing us to share this book with our readers.

Center Ring Review

April 13, 2016Leave a comment

If you are a mother, have a mother, or want to be a mother. If you have a job, had a job, or want a job. If you are married, used to be married, or want to be married. If you relate to any of those categories, you will find a relatable character in this debut read. Grab your girlfriends and your wine because this is a book you’ll want to read with company.

Center Ring is the first in The Circus of Women trilogy by Nicole Waggoner. It features five best friends:

Norah, an ob-gyn struggling with her own infertility and marriage

Camille, a photojournalist at a crossroads in her career

Leila, mother of two and former professor

Ellison, a publicist for Hollywood’s elite and unlucky in love

Kate, brand-new mother struggling with trying to be perfect

As the girls get together for a night out, Norah lets out a secret and the book follows each woman share her story as they rally around her. The book continuously changes point of view from woman to woman, but the chapters are short so it’s easy to read large portions at a time.

As a working married mother, I completely related to multiple stories in this book, especially those when the characters were trying to balance it all, just like the “circus” theme suggests. Nicole does a fabulous job of bringing readers back to that concept throughout. You’ll be rooting for each woman as she experiences her highs, and sympathizing with them as they experience their lows.

This book would make a great addition to your beach bag, but I guarantee you’ll want to share the story with your friends. It will be hard having time pass by as you immerse yourself in the lives of these women. What will be harder is waiting for Book 2 in the trilogy to find out what happens next.

Thanks so much to Nicole Waggoner for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Be sure to follow her on Facebook and Twitter!

Come Away with Me Review & Giveaway

March 24, 20165 Comments

This emotional book made my top reads of 2015 list because months and months after finishing it, I still am thinking about it. It blew me away with the the storyline, especially considering it is a debut by a new author. I cannot wait to read her newest release this summer.

If you liked the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, think of this as a fictional version. Here is the Amazon synopsis:

An unexpected journey leads one woman to discover that life after loss is possible, if only you can find the courage to let go…

One minute, Tegan Lawson has everything she could hope for: an adoring husband, Gabe, and a baby on the way. The next, a patch of black ice causes a devastating accident that will change her life in ways she never could have imagined.

Tegan is consumed by grief—not to mention her anger toward Gabe, who was driving on the night of the crash. But just when she thinks she’s hit rock bottom, Gabe reminds her of their Jar of Spontaneity, a collection of their dream destinations and experiences, and so begins an adventure of a lifetime.

From the bustling markets of Thailand to the flavors of Italy to the ocean waves in Hawaii, Tegan and Gabe embark on a journey to escape the tragedy and search for forgiveness. But they soon learn that grief follows you no matter how far away you run, and that acceptance comes when you least expect it. Heartbreaking, hopeful and utterly transporting, Come Away with Me is an unforgettable debut and a luminous celebration of the strength of the human spirit.

If you do not experience complete wanderlust after finishing this book, you didn’t read it correctly. It’s obvious Karma writes from experience as she describes these amazing cities.

And because I don’t want to give away any spoilers, I don’t want to say much else. Just keep tissues handy and message me on my Facebook page when you finish because I can’t wait to hear what you think! Read it with a friend so you can chat about it together. Thanks to Book Sparks, I have one print copy to give away to one lucky winner. Click the link below to enter to win. Giveaway ends 3/28/16 at 12:00 am CST. Good luck!

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Losing the Light Review

March 17, 2016Leave a comment

A book about a wine-filled excursion to France? Sign me up. What I loved about this novel was that it doesn’t take place in the part of France we hear about so often, Paris, but rather the coastal town of Nantes with escapes to the glamorous Cap Ferrat. It was a completely new setting for me, one which satisfied my wanderlust every time I picked it up.

Losing the Light tells the story of two college students, Brooke and Sophie, who study abroad for a year. Brooke is sent away after an affair with a college professor her school needs to pretend didn’t happen, and Sophie is longing for a place where she isn’t just known as just the pretty girl. At a mixer when they arrive, Brooke meets Veronique, who soon introduces both girls to her handsome cousin Alex. And that’s where the trouble starts.

Dunlop easily portrays Brooke as an insecure and jealous woman who falls for Alex quickly and is seduced by his good looks and charm. Several get-togethers have the girls alone with Alex and while Brooke is pining for him, her friendship with Sophie is tested when her paranoia seems to take over. I just had a wish for more tension throughout, all to set the stage for what we learn in the opening chapter about how everything ends.

This book would be perfect to throw in your beach bag or grab for a quick read over spring break where you can get lost in a world countries away and think back on your 20s as a time you thoght the whole world was at your feet.

You can read more about Andrea here. Thank you to BookSparks for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

19 Can’t Miss Debut Reads

March 5, 2016March 5, 20162 Comments

Oftentimes with the first book of an author, you might not be very impressed and hope that in time their writing and stories improve. In the cases of these talented novelists, I couldn’t wait for their next release because the debut was incredible. Here are my 19 Can’t Miss Debut Reads in no particular order.

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler

As soon as I finished this one, I wanted to give it a hug and never let go. This was the best women’s fiction novel I had read in years. It broke my heart and comforted me at the same time. Aside from the main story focusing on race relations, it tells a story of an unlikely friendship between a young and old woman as they take a road trip.

The Magician’s Lie by Greer McAllister

I’ve always been fascinated by illusionists and magicians, so I knew this story of a female illusionist would be a perfect match. I read this in 24 hours because of how compulsively readable it was. If you liked The Night Circus, don’t miss this one. So excited to see a movie in the works too!

Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Imagine being a teenager and having to move to a new city. You’re the kind who doesn’t intentionally draw attention to yourself but now you are befriended by the most popular girl at school. Would you trust her to keep your secrets? This is a true “not everyone is who they seem” story.

Julia’s Chocolates by Cathy Lamb

Once I finished this book, I became a lifelong fan of Cathy Lamb. She puts so much love and personality into her characters. After leaving her abusive fiancé at the altar, Julia is on the run. This novel has a hopeful message but is filled with funny and unusual characters and scenarios along the way.

Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson

A legal thriller and a story of a family torn apart during the Holocaust, this book had me flipping the pages to discover what happens next. It was originally self-published but came so highly recommended and popular that St. Martin’s Press had to publish it under their imprint. If the WWII era is a must read for you, don’t miss out on this one.

What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross

This novel asks the question, What defines “motherhood”? Is it the act of giving birth or raising a child? Can it be one or the other? Book clubs will have lively discussions surrounding those questions as they learn a 4-month-old baby is kidnapped from a shopping cart and raised by a woman eager to have a baby.

Before I Go by Colleen Oakley

Have tissues handy. The protagonist in this novel, Daisy, beats cancer once only to find out it has returned and she only has months to live. In her short time left, she wants to make sure her husband is taken care of, so she sets out to find him a wife. Oakley sprinkles some humor throughout so the book isn’t a complete downer and had me thinking of what I would do in a similar situation.

The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley

Another great read for book clubs, this thought-provoking novel is a ripped from the headlines story and has you questioning your beliefs. Sibley is a former nurse and writes from experience. As a family is torn apart dealing with an ethical dilemma, the reader is left wondering how it will play out.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

This disturbing thriller put Stevens on the map for page-turning mysteries and now I won’t miss one. If you want an easy to read book, the short chapters make for one that won’t take you forever. If you like shows like CSI and Criminal Minds, be sure to give this author a try.

A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable

Art, antiques, love, Paris. That was enough to win me over. But I loved how Gable combined two storylines, one historical and one in the present to unearth the truth. So much of that reminded me of a favorite author, Sarah Jio.

Shelter Me by Juliette Fay

I was worried a book about a widower and her young children wouldn’t be able to hold me captive but I was glad I was wrong. You will find yourself cheering for this flawed mother as she takes the year to reflect on heartbreak and forgiveness and realizes you don’t have to do it all alone.

Letters from Home by Kristina McMorris

In this day and age, when we so commonly communicate with emails and texts, reading this historical fiction told through handwritten letters was refreshing. The story is based in part on the love story of her grandparents. So if you need a book to pull you out of your fast-paced and hectic life into a romance of an earlier generation, this is it.

The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin

As soon as I finished reading this one, I started recommending it to friends. It is absolutely going on my best reads of 2016 list, as it had the most unique storyline I’ve ever read. I was completely caught up in this spellbinding premise and loved how Guskin was even able to incorporate a mystery.

Roses by Leila Meacham

Roses is a saga in every sense of the word, one that spans three generations of three families over the 20th century. Even though it’s hefty at over 600 pages, it reads quickly because you’ll be eager to learn the fates of these families. Gone with the Wind fans will especially enjoy this one.

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

When you see a psychological thriller debut being compared to Gone Girl, you are likely to be skeptical. But Kubica really hit it out of the ballpark with this novel and did it with such ease. New writers will be having their books compared to hers in the future. Read more about this book and Kubica’s writing process in my interview with her here.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

I did not know what to expect when I received this book. Hailed as an international bestseller, this novel from Sweden didn’t seem like it was up my alley. It follows Ove, a grumpy widower not sure how to spend his days other than doing daily neighborhood inspections. As the book quickly grew on me, so did Ove. I dare you to read this and not feel good when you’re done.

A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison

This is a beautifully written story about an extremely ugly topic, human trafficking. Addison seamlessly weaves an important message throughout this story. With a background in law and activism, his books always teach me something new.

Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer

When a new book is blurbed by Jodi Picoult, I know I’m in for a treat. And sure enough, this didn’t disappoint. Told in two separate storylines of two characters with five days left before the world they know is changed forever. This novel constantly had me asking myself, what would I do in their situation?

Hush Little Baby by Suzanne Redfearn

This emotionally charged story of domestic violence had me so captivated that I neglected my responsibilities while reading it. It was one of those books where you know what’s going to happen, but you don’t know when or how, like a car crash you can’t turn away from. All the characters felt so real to me. It’s impressive when fiction reads like it could be nonfiction.

What debut novels did you love that didn’t make the list? I would love to hear your recommendations and your reviews on the ones I loved.

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