Saturday, August 28, 2010

The Loving Kind by Sarah Webb


****4 stars
Sarah Webb does it again! I have found that her books are quick paced and always enjoyable. I was very excited to see this book in my mail box as I had pre-ordered it back in spring. I loved the characters as well as the girl-power that Celeste and Libby shared. It's always great to know your friend has your back. It was very interesting and had me smiling throughout. I also loved the little touches, like mentioning Marian Keyes and other references. Great touch. I think my only negative was how it ended, would have like to see it done differently. It felt as though the books was 3/4 written and then there was a race to finish, so everything got thrown into place. Otherwise, great read as always, and will look forward to her next.

Book Jacket Summary:
Two months to write a raunchy bonkbuster set in the glitzy world of modelling should be easy. Right? Wrong!

Life can’t get much worse for romance writer Libby Holliday. She’s been dumped by her agent and her publisher, and now she’s discovered her fiancĂ©, Jeremy, is seeing their mutual friend, the shameless Ruth-Ann, behind her back.

So when broken-hearted Libby’s offered the chance to ghost-write a novel for model and reality show darling, Lulubelle Ryan, she leaps at the chance. Lulubelle is in the middle of filming a new TV show about plastic surgery – which means five star travel for her entourage to San Francisco, Paris and Antigua. And even better, Libby’s best friend spiky-mouthed journalist, Celeste O’Connor, is coming along for the ride.

Lulubelle proves to be the diva of divas, but there are some benefits – her handsome and enigmatic manager, Leo, to name just one. If only Libby could forget about her other male addiction . . .

Katy Carter wants a hero by Ruth Saberton


***3 stars
I really loved the title of this book and was quick to pick it up. I actually ended up with two copies somehow. I learned that this is a debut book for Ruth Saberton, but you can see more of her writing through her pseudonym Jessica Fox. I have read her other books under the name of Jessica fox. I like her quick writing style, but found that I was almost frustrated at time with the characters or how certain aspects took so long to be unveiled. As the reader, we caught on much sooner and wonder why Katy can't seem to catch up! lol. I think that I will definitely finish out the series of 5 books by Jessica Fox and Little Black Dress Publishing, and will be waiting to see what Ruth Saberton has for us next.

Book Jacket summary:
Katy Carter is a sucker for romance. A teacher by trade, she dreams of becoming a bestselling novelist, secretively writing a steamy historical bonk buster in staff meetings. She knows she's no supermodel or domestic goddess, but Katy fantasies about a hero of her own and she thinks she's found him in fiance James.

But when a dinner party with Jame's boss goes disastrously wrong - by wan of a manic dog a suggestively shaped cactus and a runaway lobster - Katy finds herself newly single. Determined to change her ways and win James back, she sets off on a journey that sees her living the celebrity lifestyle, selling sex toys from under a vicar's roof and finally catapulted into the arms of her true hero....

Monday, August 23, 2010

Love at First site by Jane Moore


****4 stars
Great read. It is a plot that you have heard before in chick lit but has a fresh wit that will have you laughing at her disastrous dates and routing her on. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did see the end coming but enjoyed the read anyway. Definitely an optimistic take on finding the right one!

Book Jacket Summary:
Spunky, sweet-natured Jessica Monroe is thirty-four years old and perfectly happy being single. Her girlfriends, however, disapprove. And when they secretly place a personal ad on a hot singles Web site on her behalf, Jess is reluctantly hurtled into the topsy-turvy world of online dating. A laugh-out-loud whirlwind of disastrous dates ensues, from Simon, who seems dreamy over e-mail but ditches her at the dinner table, leaving her with the bill, to Graham, a self-described "Ferrari driver" who turns out to be a car salesman - with several (old, fat, bald, creepy, cheap, stuck-up)men in between. When an unforeseen event turns her world upside down, Jess starts to wonder if the qualities she thinks she wants in a man - gorgeous, wildly successful, with a taste for fun and the finer things - really are what she ultimately needs...and whether, as a new mystery suitor appears in her e-mail inbox, Cupid has other possibilities up his sleeve.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Pictures of Lily by Paige Toon


*****5 stars
I loved this book. I don't know what it is that talked to me, but I was unable to stop reading and was anxious to get back and finish it. I loved the characters as well as the way she began the book. I have read this sort of storyline before, but Paige Toon begins this book by showing Lily moving to Australia and beginning life in a new country as a 15 year old turning 16. I was worried that it would be more of a teen lit book, but found myself delightfully surprised. It jumps to the now, and shows you Lily's life so that you can see who she is, at each time in her life. I really enjoyed this book, it had the right touch of romance and anticipation to keep me completely enthralled. It will definitely be one I pass on to a friend!

Book Jacket Summary:
"Will you Marry me?"
I think of you, then, I think of you every day. But usually int he quietest part of the morning, or the darkest part of the night. Not when my boyfriend of two years has just proposed. I look up at Richard with his hopeful eyes.
"Lily?" he prompts.
It's been ten years, but it feels like only yesterday that you left. How can I say yest to Richard with all my heart when most of it has always belonged to you? I take a deep breath and will myself to speak...

Ten years ago when Lily was just sixteen, she fell in love with someone she really shouldn't have fallen in love with. Now, living in Sydney and engaged to another man, she can't for the one that got away. then her past comes back to haunt her, and she has to make a decision that will break her heart - and the heart of at least one of the ment who love her.

Ready or Not by Chris Manby


***3 stars
I have heard of the author and happened across this book. I decided to give it a read. I enjoyed reading it although, I found it took me a little more to get through it. The writing style and plot were good. I think that I had a hard time with the characters. I almost saw Ed as physically looking like George, Jerry's best friend in Seinfeld. I do have to say the story was the norm of chick lit and endearing. I would say a good read, but not altogether memorable.

Book Jacket summary:
Every bride is entitled to some pre-wedding jitters. And what girl wouldn't think twice about marriage when her fiance gets his eyebrows shaved off just in time to look horrendous for the photographs?
But what id it's not the ceremony that freaks you out but the happy ever after? Heidi Savage is wondering whether she can really forsake all others for macho, beer-swilling Ed. And how can a couple who've never even been babysitters be ready to start a family of their own?
Will the answer come in the form of her ex-boyfriend Steven? Gron-up, gorgeous, and good-with-children. Is Heidi's dilemma simply a case of right shoes, right dress, wrong husband?

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Nobody's Perfect by Pat Ballard


****4 stars
I was a little disappointed when I received this book in the mail and saw that it was so slim. I had read the book description and went with an author I hadn't read before. Let me just say as with everything to do with this book "Sizes can be very deceiving". Although this is shorter than the normal books I read, I loved every bit of it and was sad to see it end. It was a book of being who you are and proud of it. It was warm and engaging. I guess by other reviews on books by Pat Ballard, she writes mainly about plus size characters. I was quick to buy it on that surmise alone, Jemima J by Jane Green being one of my favorite earlier books. It was a quick read, but left me wanting to read another by this author. I would have to say it is geared more toward the romance genre than chick lit, but still made me a fan.

Book Jacket Summary:
Nella Convington can't believe she's agreed to marry the arrogant Samuel L du Cannon even if it is only a marriage of convenience. He needs a mother for his small son and she needs to keep her beloved childhood home. Will she be able to stand his egotistical attitude? His domineering manner?
But Jake is such a darling little boy, and he's already captured her heart. What does she have to lose? If Sam's work keeps him on the road enough, she won't have to deal with him much at all. Maybe, just maybe, this might work.
All Sam du Cannon wants is a good mom for his son. He's had it with women. Doesn't ever plan to get involved with another woman again. That makes Nella perfect for him. He's never been attracted to a plus-size women, so if Nella agrees to marry him, he won't have to worry about being tempted to have a relationship with her.
At least, that's what he keeps telling himself.

Chasing Daisy by Paige Toon


*****5 stars
I LOVED this book! I couldn't stop reading it. It had a great plot and was very well written. I didn't want to put it down to take care of anything around the house. I think my only complaint was I didn't realize the order in which they were written. I received my copy of this before Johnny be Good came in the mail, so I started this one. In the book it makes references to Johnny and now I wish I had read that one first. I feel that my image of him may be a bit destroyed when I start Johnny be Good and it may ruin it for me. I guess I will have to read and see.
If you haven't read a Paige Toon book, they are a must. It reminds me of the old school writing of Chick lit that originally brought me to reading this form of fiction. With the constant hidden secrets being revealed it is a real page turner.

Book Jacket Summary:
If you fall too fast...you might just crash.
"You don't have to worry about me. I have no intention of getting my heart broken again."
Of course, I'm lying. I feel like Will is chipping a little piece of it away,day by day. It's killing me...
Daisy Rogers is in love - and that's no good thing. It's not just that her very famous ex is neither our of sight nor out of mind, but that the man of her dreams, William Trust, has a girlfriend - a childhood sweetheart, no less. And as a Formula 1 racing driver, her puts his life at risk every day he goes to work.
From Melbourne to Monte Carlo, and Sao Paulo to Singapore, Daisy and her best friend Holly travel the world as hospitality girls on the Grand Prix scene. But with more secrets between them than Paris Hilton has shoes, life promises to be nothing short of a whirlwind.