Mandalay Florentino isn’t your average Hollywood producer. She’s far more delicate than she would like and is often intimated by her new boss, an imposing Swedish woman with a penchant for ruining people’s lives. In Lisa Wingate’s charming Talk of the Town, Mandalay finds herself in tiny Daily, Texas, trying to put together a segment for the singing show sensation American Superstars.
Amber Anderson is the fresh off the farm singer who grew up in Daily. She’s young, idealistic, a tad bit on the naive side and reminiscent of Carrie Underwood. Amber has also been linked up with one of the most notorious womanizers in Hollywood and its Mandalay’s job to keep her out of his clutches. Mandalay’s job is on the line as she tries to keep the segment secret in a town that seems to know more about American Superstars and Amber than she could ever hope to. Throw in a defunct hotel, an older woman who is making life changing personal discoveries and a gorgeous mysterious stranger who sticks out in his Hawaiian shirts and Jeep, and you’ve got yourself the perfect summer’s read.
Be sure to stick this book in your beach bag. It’s light, laugh-out-loud funny in passages and just the right size for a lazy afternoon by the pool. You’ll find yourself ready for the next book in the series.
Reviewed by: Caitlin Muir
Posted by admin, in Reviews, Women's Fiction
It had been years since Sam had been back on the island. If she had had her way, she wouldn’t have ever gone back—there were too many shattered memories of her years in Nantucket. There’s a reason she left without a second backward glance. The pain was too great for her to bear. Surrender Bay follows Sam back to the island where she is forced to face abandoned problems head on—like the man she left behind years before.
Denise Hunter does a good job of drawing the reader into the world of Sam and her young daughter, Caden. Sam’s faults and fears are shown without being judgmental. Her weaknesses are exposed by not exploited. Readers are taken on the rough journey of forgiveness and the discovery of faith. It’s a tangled journey full of memories and hurt feelings but there is always a glimmer of hope waiting to be received.
Surrender Bay is a beautiful allegory of hope and redemption. After finishing the story, readers are given review questions to work through individually, or with a group of friends. This would be an excellent book for a summer book club. It’s not a light and fluffy book but one that you want to pick up and absorb in small pieces.
Reviewed by: Caitlin Muir
Posted by admin, in Reviews, Women's Fiction
Calling all business women! Take your business from flats to stilettos with the bible for business women seeking success in style, entitled The Chic Entrepreneur – Put Your Business in Higher Heels by Elizabeth Gordon. Her trendy theme “Chic Entrepreneur” is sweeping across the states landing in the hands of business women and MEN everywhere. Though her book is geared toward the feminine gender, surprisingly men have been reading the book as well. Their reasoning behind it is due to the fact that it provides them with valuable insight from a different point of view. The men seem to be impressed with the book enough to purchase copies of it for the women in their lives seeking to start (or who have already started) their own business.
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Posted by admin, in General Market, Misc, Reviews
Congratulations to Stamped with Grace! She entered to win a free copy of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Trish Ryan. Keep posting those comments, you never know when your name will be randomly drawn to win a free prize. Stay tuned for more giveaways.
Posted by admin, in Contests
Post a comment on my new “Radiant Readers” blog to win!
Posted by jill, in Contests
Part history, part armchair travel-guide, and part memoir, A Walk With Jane Austin by Lori Smith put my travel bug in overdrive. Being a big Jane Austen fan, I can easily imagine what it might be like to walk where she once lived. A Walk With Jane Austin gave me a glimpse of the UK from the comfort of my couch.
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Posted by jill, in Non-Fiction, Reviews
It’s official. I want to be a SisterChick when I grow up. I hope I might be so lucky. Robin Jones Gunn’s SisterChick series is centered around the lives of two “midlife mamas”, Elizabeth (Liz) and Kellie. The two friends have been through ups and downs together and know each other almost well enough to read the other’s thoughts.
Sisterchicks Go Brit, the seventh book in the series, finds Liz and Kellie on their way to see Big Ben. How they end up traveling to the UK is a story in itself, but I’ll leave that a mystery because what’s best about the book is what’s in the middle - the trip itself. The gals visit all of the places I’d like to go if I were cross the pond - the old haunts of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, the sights and sounds of London, shopping at Portabella Road in Knotting Hill. Ahhh, I could envision myself alongside them as they bopped from place to place. (and bop they did)
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Posted by jill, in Chick-lit, Robin Jones Gunn
I’m excited to share with you that I have a new blog called “Radiant Readers” on PreciousMoms.com. I’ll be sharing insights from books I’m reading and I hope it will stir up some conversation with other readers.
If you want to take part, I’d love for you to take a look: PreciousMoms.com.
~ Jill
Posted by jill, in Misc
This is a comical memoir of author Trish Ryan’s journey of finding love and spirituality.
In her quest she endures life’s challenges through one unfulfilling relationship after another while delving into various religious escapades. Her frustration grows as she stumbles through stages of her life no closer to being satisfied (soul and body) than she was on the first day her hunt to find more begin when she was in college.
She exposes her vulnerabilities allowing herself to become transparent not only for the humor in truth but also for the reader’s edification.
This book sheds light on the dark shadow that some think singles carry if they are not married by some predetermined age. Waiting to marry can prevent regretful woes, especially if you’re trying to win a race against the overrated term “biological clock.” Waiting for love is ALWAYS worth it.
Post a comment below for your chance to win a free copy of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
Posted by admin, in Misc
