The Guest House by Erika Marks + Giveaway!

Reviewed by Laura Kay

The guest house that sits on the Moss property is so much more then what it appears. For one mother and daughter in Harrisport it is a place where love begins and ends.

In 1966, Tucker Moss a summer kid on Cape Cod broke local girl Edie's heart, while her team was building the guest house on the Moss property. Years later, her very own daughter didn't heed her advice. Her daughter, Lexi endured the same end with Tucker's son, Hudson. Eleven years later Lexi's heartbreak, Hudson's brother Copper arrives back in Harrisport. Copper's arrival opens up old wounds for both Wright women--a long held truth is finally revealed!

Take a trip back in time...to a moment, a kiss to the path you didn't choice. Then eleven years later, the path suddenly opens up again. Do you take it or has the past taught you a lesson?

Beautiful Cape Cod summers filled with townies and summer people. A warm soft spoken love story. A Story about family and making your own way.

A story of a mother and her daughter, the paths they choose. Get ready to fall in love with THE GUEST HOUSE.

THE GUEST HOUSE is mostly about Lexi, but we get to know her brother a little and we get flashbacks of her mom's story. The family seems stuck in the past, none of them really moving forward. Lexi has had no luck in love, her brother still reeling from a divorce. When Copper Moss returns to Harrisport to prepare the family summer home to sell, he begins to pursue Lexi. Not only was Lexi burned by his older brother, but Copper's father had hurt her own mother. How can Lexi let go of the past to be with Copper?

I really enjoyed getting to know the Wright women and their stories. I have to admit I was very surprised by Edie's story, but happily surprised! I kept wondering...and I was pleased. I really understood Lexi, I mean she was hurt horribly when she was young and never really moved beyond that, so it makes sense love would continue to elude her until she could close the door to her past. This is a story you are going to want to throw in your beach bag, slap on some sunscreen, and lay back and enjoy reading. I'm recommending THE GUEST HOUSE!

Buy a copy of The Guest House by Erika Marks

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

GIVEAWAY!

This giveaway is for one copy of the book, THE GUEST HOUSE. The winner must have a US mailing address (No PO Boxes!) and has only 48 hours to respond to my email. Please make sure to check all your email accounts and check those junk folders! 

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Suburban Days by Aaron U. Bolin

Reviewed by Charlotte Lynn

Taken from Goodreads:

Trapped in obscurity, Eric Sage must establish his own identity. He battles a host of dangerous foes including his own self-destructive tendencies. In the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye, this book explores the difficulties of making the transition from adolescence into adulthood. The action takes place in an Illinois suburb. Mild violence, language, and sexual themes are explored

Review:

I have to be honest.  I live in Rockford, went to school at Harlem High School, and I know the author of this story.

I enjoyed the character of Eric Sage.  As I kept reading I recognized, or thought I did, many of the escapades in the story as real happenings.  Many of the “fun” the boys got into had me shaking my head and chuckling with the thought boys will be boys popping into my head.

Angie touched my heart.  Losing the boy she loves first to another woman and then to the military.  I was concerned when she fell in with Dan, the bully.  In high school I probably would have avoided Dan, but as a mom with teenagers I felt sorry for Dan.  Sorry that he had no way to make friends other then intimidate them and force them to be “friends.”   The fact that Eric stayed friends with Angie, even when she was in tough spots, made him a good friend during a time that friendships were not always easy.

Aaron Bolin wrote a fun book for me to read.  The fact that it was written in my hometown with places and people I could recognize.  I could over look the tough themes and truly enjoy this story.  It is definitely an adult story, not for the young adult.  I will happily share this with my fellow readers. 

Purchase Suburban Days by Aaron U. Bolin

Smashwords   |   Goodreads | Barnes & Noble

Meet Me At Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan

Reviewed by Charlotte Lynn

Issy Randall grew up in her grandfather’s bakery.  That means she can bake.  When Issy’s boyfriend, Graeme (who is also her boss) fires her she is at a loss of what to do.  On a whim she signs a lease for a store front and opens her own bakery, Cupcake Café.

This is a warm and funny story that I could not put stop reading.  Although the story was a little off-the-wall.  Issy was warm hearted and a little annoying.  She was blind to a lot of what was happening in her world.  She was blind to what a jerk (that is a nice word) Graeme was and how horribly he was using her.  She was blind to how unfit she was for her office job.  She was blind to a lot of other things happening in her life.  But I have to say she had a heart, a huge heart, for everyone she encountered whether a stranger, customer, or friend.  I’m not sure I know anyone like Issy.

Immediately you could tell who the bad guy and good guy would end up being.  It didn’t matter to me.  I enjoyed getting to know them, especially the good guy Austin.  He won me over when it was shared that he gave up his dreams to raise his baby brother when his parents passed away.  Austin had his moments but for the most part I love him.

Meet Me at Cupcake Café is an entertaining novel that I certainly recommend to all my friends.

Purchase Meet Me At Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

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Follow Jenny Colgan

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The books we review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to us by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice.  We never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are our own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced.

Sea Glass Island by Sherryl Woods

Reviewed by Charlotte Lynn

With all the kids home again Cora Jane is thrilled.   Emily and Boone are getting married.   Gabi and Wayne are happy with their newborn Daniella.     Samantha is the next project for Cora Emily and Gabi.

Samantha has been in New York as an aspiring actress.    Lately things have not been going so well.  She has come home for Emily's wedding and found out the best man is none other than Ethan.  The star football player, war hero and local doctor who Samantha has had a crush on since forever.    When they spend time together sparks fly but can they each get over their own stubbornness and past?

Sherryl woods manages to pull you right in with each novel in this series.    It helps to have read the first two as the story refers back to the happenings but each novel has its own story and is beautifully told.    The sisters in this book are as close as sisters can be and always have each others back. Even if that means laying it all out there whether good or bad and then standing back and hoping for the best.    I loved how they stood up for each other but also told them how it was.  Knowing that feeling could be hurt but that their relationship was strong enough to pull through.  I'm sure I said this in my other reviews of sherryl woods series but that is the relationship my sister and I have and I cherish it so much.

Cora Jane is my favorite character in all three books but especially this one.    In sea glass island Cora is given a backseat in the meddling and the other girls take over.    I can see Cora coming to terms that her whole family is happy and in love.   I feel her settling down and being comfortable in her world as every grandma should be.

This is a novel for every family girl and romantic.   I will highly recommend this and look forward to sharing it when it is released.

Purchase Sea Glass Island by Sherryl Woods

Barnes and Noble   |   Amazon   |  Goodreads

Follow Sherryl Woods

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The books we review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to us by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice.  We never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are our own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced.

The 5w's of Liz Rosenberg

By Charlotte Lynn

Liz Rosenberg is the author of 4 novels, 5 books of poems and more than 20 award winning books for children.  She has edited five prize winning poetry anthologies and her picture book, THE CAROUSEL was featured on PBS’ Reading Rainbow.  Her newest picture book, TYRANNOSAURUS DAD, illustrated by brilliant newcomer Matthew Myers, is a Children’s Book of the Month Club bestseller, has garnered praise from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, School Library Journal and elsewhere, and was an Amazon top 10 children’s book.

WHO? I'm Liz Rosenberg, not Madonna's publicist, the other one. I'm the author of more than 25 award-winning books for young people, 4 books of poems, and one other novel for adults, called HOME REPAIR. I also teach at Binghamton University, and have written a book review column for the Boston Globe for the past 20 years. I'm the wife of a wonderful man I've known since we were teenagers and the mother of Eli, an actor and magician, age 25, and Lily, age 9. 

 

WHAT? This must be the world's most boring answer, but I really love reading. When I'm not writing, I'm generally reading. I also have a few sneaky addictions, like Scramble, Scrabble, and shopping at second-hand resale stores. 

 

WHEN? It's the only thing I can remember wanting to be. I must have gone through a ballerina phase, but don't remember it. 

 

WHERE? The easy answer is, I write in my study, right next to a window. The room is very important and precious, and so are the two windows. My study is painted pumpkin color, with butternut trim. But I've also written in parked cars, in bed, on trains, and walking around, in my head.

 

WHY? Books for me have been a life saver, a raft I could cling to. I want to provide that kind of comfort for other people.  I try to write the kinds of books I want to read. Also, I love it. 

Purchase Laws Of Gravity by Liz Rosenberg

Amazon   |   Barnes and Noble   |  Goodreads

5w’s of Stephanie Elliot.

5w’s of Stephanie Elliot.

WHO?

I was born in Tampa and have lived in the following states and in this order: Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Illinois again, and now Arizona. I never thought I would live in the west but here I am. I am the oldest of four children and we all have names that begin with the letter S. I answer to the name of Stacy all of the time since my mom called me by my sister's name (and my brothers' names too!) all of the time. I'm a mom to three kids, a wife to a husband of 20 years, which still cracks me up that I have done something THAT long!

WHAT? 

I love reading of course, and also connecting with writers. I have my own book blog, Booking with Manic so I love to share awesome books with other writers. I love doing yoga but haven't done it in forever and I need to get back into it. I love the beach. I LOVE napping. I love cool mornings and taking walks where there are no bugs - and there are no bugs in Scottsdale. Things I hate: grocery shopping, cooking, shopping for clothes, makeup, shoes - I get majorly stressed out over these things.

WHEN?  When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I used to make up poems in second grade and then decorate the background of the page. I wrote short stories in high school and had poems published in the school literary journal. I took Creative Writing junior year in high school and then audited the class senior year. In college I studied journalism so I think I always knew I would write some way or another.

WHERE?  Where do you write?

When my kids were little (they are currently 15, 14 and 11), I would write in my office late at night with a good-smelling candle and could crank out a ton of pages and stay up until 1 or 2 a.m. Then more recently I would go to Starbucks to write. Now I will write mostly in my office. It's not too exciting, but I do it whenever I can.

WHY?  Why do you write?

Because the stuff needs to come out. I really don't want to say this because it's gross but it's like having diarrhea. Other writers will understand. And sometimes, yes, it is just as messy and horrible. But that is what editing is for. Or a garbage can.

Synopsis of What She Left Us:

Jenna and Courtney are dealing with the unexpected death of their mother in different ways. Jenna broke off her engagement to the man she thought she'd love forever, while Courtney headed back to college to take charge of a dorm-floor full of college students as a resident assistant.

Six months later, Jenna is fueled by panic over the news that the sisters may have the same disease that caused their mother's death and she makes an irrational decision - she packs it up and heads to college to be with Courtney. The timing couldn't be worse for Courtney, who's discovering love for the first time with Mitch, a sexy guitar player who may just be off limits.

Emotionally unstable, Jenna wonders if she made the worst mistake of her life by breaking off her engagement with Darren, and when he shows up to make amends, she can't help but second-guess her decision. But then there's Clay, the compassionate bartender at Klippy's who seems to understand everything Jenna's going through. And those hazel eyes just seem to see right through to Jenna's soul…

As the girls maneuver through their unpredictable futures, trying to manage their new health risks as well as tumultuous love lives, Courtney finds a disturbing photograph that indicates there may be more to their family than she ever imagined.

This stunning revelation could shatter the sisters to the very core, making them question everything they thought they knew about their family, their faith, their past and, most of all, each other.

Links:

Stephanieelliot.com

Stephanie Elliot on Facebook

Stephanie Elliot on Twitter

Booking with Manic

Available on Amazon for your Kindle: What She Left Us

Available on Amazon for your Kindle:The Cell Phone Lot - a novella

Is This Tomorrow by Caroline Leavitt

Review by Charlotte Lynn

Divorced, mother, and a Jew in 1954 are all working against Ava Lark.  She moves to Boston with her son Lewis and he becomes friends with a brother and sister, Jimmy and Rose.  One afternoon Jimmy goes missing.  The neighbors turn on Rose and Lewis.  Rose and her mother, Dottie, move away leaving Lewis friendless.  Years later Rose and Lewis reconnect and go about solving the mysteries of their childhood.  Will these secrets keep them together or tear their lives apart?

Is This Tomorrow is a mystery with a lot of suspense.  The suspense made me keep reading but the mystery of Jimmy’s disappearance kept me up late at night.

Caroline Leavitt made characters that I could relate to and care about.  I wanted to live next to Ava and Lewis so I could be her friend, a friend she desperately needed.  Lewis needs someone to keep an eye on him when Ava was working.  I could have been that person.  I would have been there for Jimmy and then his family.  While reading I was lost in the neighborhood seeing myself living there.  I wonder what they would be doing now.   How their lives have turned out.  Did they move past Jimmy’s disappearance, but never forgetting?

This novel shows how people’s prejudices against others can affect their lived.  It shows the strength and determination a mother can have and how she can give her family the best life and succeed.  I high recommend this amazing novel.

Purchase Is This Tomorrow by Caroline Leavitt

Amazon   |   Barnes and Noble   |   Goodreads

Follow Caroline Leavitt

Website

The books we review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to us by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice.  We never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are our own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced.

He's Gone by Deb Caletti

Reviewed by Laura Kay

It's a Sunday morning like any other Sunday morning. Or so Dani Keller thought until she realized Ian wasn't in bed with her. She gets up, looks for a note and quickly assumes he went out to grab the breakfast, but soon minutes turn to hours and hours turn to days. Dani realizes, He's Gone. 

Dani contacts the local police station to aid her in her search for her husband. As they begin their investigation, Dani begins to reflect her relationship with Ian. She recalls how they first met, how their relationship started and what lead up to the last time she remembers seeing him. 

The novel begins with Dani talking about a fantasy of just leaving--not that she would. I'm sure a fantasy many people have had for a fleeting moment or two. He's Gone questions what if the person we love the most was just gone. 

The novel is a first person narrative (Dani) realizes her husband, soulmate well, He's Gone. As she and the police search for Ian, she reflects on their former marriages, their getting together and the outcome of their life together--the good and the hidden. As more time passes, the deeper she plunges into her own psyche and begins to see a truth she doesn't want to see. 

I couldn't relate to Dani Keller, as a woman on her second marriage or her past, but her thoughts...made her so human. A character fully flawed. I connected. I felt for her, I wanted resolution for her, but then the further I read I began to be afraid of where the answers may lead. The story moves along at a pretty good pace, but you need to pay attention to all of a sudden you are in a flashback. 

I really loved how I got to know Dani and all the characters through Dani, how she saw everything. I had no idea how the story would end. There are subtle suggestions along the way, but you are always guessing! This is a great book that literally lets you into the protagonists head! I loved the honesty of what a relationship could look like for two people who had an affair. This is one book you won't want to put down, you will need to know what happened to Ian Keller! I highly recommend He's Gone! 

follow Deb Caletti 

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Buy a copy of He's Gone by Deb Caletti 

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Deb Caletti’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, May 13th:  Books a la Mode - guest post/giveaway

Monday, May 20th:  No More Grumpy Bookseller

Tuesday, May 21st:  Peppermint Ph.D.

Wednesday, May 22nd:  Books in the Burbs

Thursday, May 23rd:  WV Stitcher

Friday, May 24th:  The Betty and Boo Chronicles

Tuesdya, May 28th:  Patricia’s Wisdom

Wednesday, May 29th:  Literally Jen

Thursday, May 30th:  Knowing the Difference

Monday, June 3rd:  Kritter’s Ramblings

Wednesday, June 5th:  Life, Love, & Books

Thursday, June 6th:  A Bookish Way of Life

Monday, June 10th:  Sara’s Organized Chaos

Tuesday, June 11th:  Book Chatter

Wednesday, June 12th:  A Novel Review

Thursday, June 13th:  Sweet Southern Home

The books we review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to us by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice.  We never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are our own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced.

An update

Well, I haven't written in awhile. We've been crazy busy with getting all the chicks outside, end of school year and start up of summer sports.

We did find we had a roster among our chickens and so when he reached maturity we got 'rid' of him. We aren't allowed rosters in the city. I have to admit eating a chicken from our backyard to a little adjustment mentally, but truthfully what a freeing experience to know everything your meat has been fed and that they weren't cooped up with a terrible life. Plus it did taste better!

Our little garden is growing very nicely. We've had three types of lettuce (I'll have to get all the names from my husband), but not bad. We've also had some squash. The hubby made some squash bread and it was amazing! I'm looking forward to getting my tomatoes and cucumbers! Oh and my strawberry bush has a couple of strawberries on it!

The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty

Reviewed by Charlotte Lynn

Hypnotherapist, Ellen O’Farrell, has fallen in love with widower, Patrick.  The problem?  He has a stalker, Saskia.   His ex-girlfriend follows him around, sends him texts, and just won’t leave him a one.  This does not scare Ellen.  It intrigues her.   She wants to meet Saskia, what she doesn’t know is that she already has.  The stalker is one of Ellen’s clients.

This was an easy book to read and get into.  The dialogue  was natural and easy to follow.  Even easy to feel as if you are part of the conversation.  By the end of Patrick and Ellen’s date where she learns of the stalker I was needing to know who the stalker was and how Ellen would handle it.   I had more fear of Saskia than Ellen and Patrick seemed to have.  This bothered me.  Especially due to the fact that Patrick has a son, Jack, who was also being followed by Saskia.  I wanted Patrick to go to the police and file charges to be a man and get his life back, and to keep his family safe.  He needed to step up and protect the ones he loves.

I really enjoyed that this story was told from two point of views.   Ellen’s and Saskia’s views were so opposite while telling of the same event.  Ellen’s curiosity about Saskia intrigued me.  I am not sure that I could be as calm as she was if I was in the same situation.  I felt pity for Saskia, which was something none of the other characters in the book felt for her.  Saskia needed help, major help, and everyone seemed to feel that if they ignored her she would go away.

The Hypnotist’s Love Story was a creative story with some dark moments.  I truly enjoyed it and will recommend it to all my friends.

Purchase The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty

Amazon   |   Barnes and Noble   |    Goodreads

Follow Liane Moriarty

Website

The books we review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to us by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice.  We never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are our own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced.

Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara

Reviewed by Laura Kay

Desdemona "Dez" Hart Spaulding wanted nothing more than to go to New York as an artist, but life got in the way. Her father became ill, bankrupt and so she did what she could to help him by marring the town pharmacist, Asa. By marring Asa she had been able to save her father's Shakespeare Theater in the town of Cascade, Massachusetts. Soon after her marriage her father died leaving his theater to Asa and Dez was left in a marriage, in a life she never wanted. 

Dez spends much of her time in the little art studio in her home, when she meets Jacob Solomon another artist. Soon Dez falls for Jacob and dreams of a life with him in New York, but she feels trapped by her word. It's the 1930's and divorce in a small town is a very dirty word. The town of Cascade finds out it is being considered to be destroyed in order to make a reservoir. Dez puts her artwork to use by depicting life in the town in hopes of swaying the government to pick another town to destroy. Saving the town, falling in love with Jacob, her desire to create art, and her loveless marriage builds up and begins to unravel in ways the reader doesn't expect. 

Cascade is one of the most beautifully written stories I've read. Within the first few pages I was drawn into Dez's story. Sometimes I liked Dez and sometimes I couldn't get over her foolishness. I really felt for Dez and you can empathize with her situation with her struggle to do what is right and yet what she desires. I was completely engrossed in this novel not wanting to put it down. 

This is a complex read with well crafted characters and plot.  I highly recommend Cascade if you are looking for a book with a powerful tension filled story. Do not miss this book! 

Follow Maryanne O'Hara

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Buy your copy of Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara

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Praise for CASCADE

"The protagonist is Desdemona Hart, a woman drowning in the choices she's been forced to make: a marriage of necessity to save her father's legacy and put a roof over his head as he dies......trouble escalates, and so will the rate at which you turn the pages. Cascade is perfect for sitting by the fire on a chilly day contemplating the immutability of things." --Slate: 2012 Best Books, Staff Picks

"When state engineers created the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930s, four Central Massachusetts towns disappeared beneath the waters. In her debut novel, Cascade, Ashland resident Maryanne O'Hara chronicles the fate of one such (fictionalized) town and its inhabitants, notably Desdemona Hart Spaulding, an ambitious artist trapped in a loveless marriage. O'Hara, a former Ploughshares fiction editor, shapes her protagonist's story to pose questions like: If art is not lastingly valuable, what is? Ponder that over your next glass of tap water." --Boston Globe, Best of the New, 2012

"Gorgeously written and involving, Cascade explores the age-old conflict between a woman’s perceived duty and her deepest desires, but in O’Hara’s skilled hands the struggle feels fresh and new." --People Magazine

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, April 29

Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages

Tuesday, April 30

Feature & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, May 1

Review & Giveaway at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

Thursday, May 2

Review & Giveaway at Flashlight Commentary

Friday, May 3

Review at Tiny Library

Wednesday, May 8

Review & Giveaway at Confessions of an Avid Reader

Thursday, May 9

Review at A Bookish Affair

Review & Giveaway at The Relentless Reader

Friday, May 10

Guest Post & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair

Monday, May 13

Review at Write Meg

Tuesday, May 14

Review at Kinx’s Book Nook

Review & Giveaway at Bippity Boppity Book

Wednesday, May 15

Review at Raging Bibliomania

Thursday, May 16

Review & Giveaway at Ageless Pages Reviews

Friday, May 17

Review & Giveaway at The Blue Stocking Society

Monday, May 20

Review at Amused By Books

Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Tuesday, May 21

Interview & Giveaway at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Wednesday, May 22

Review & Giveaway at The Worm Hole

Thursday, May 23

Review at A Book Geek

Friday, May 24

Review & Giveaway at The Picky Girl

Monday, May 27

Review & Giveaway at The Novel Life

Tuesday, May 28

Review & Giveaway at Always with a Book

Review, Guest Post & Giveaway at The Lit Bitch

Wednesday, May 29

Review at Turning the Pages

Thursday, May 30

Guest Post at The Novel Life

Friday, May 31

Interview & Giveaway at Cheryl’s Book Nook

Monday, June 3

Review at Words and Peace

Tuesday, June 4

Review at Historical Tapestry & Adventures of an Intrepid Reader

Giveaway at Words and Peace

Wednesday, June 5

Review & Giveaway at A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, June 6

Review at The Little Reader Library

Friday, June 7

Review at A Novel Review

Review & Interview at A Bookish Libraria

The books we review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to us by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice.  We never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are our own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced.