Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel

Danielle Steel’s newest novel, Happy Birthday, follows three individuals marking milestone birthdays. Valerie Wyatt is top notch in the business of home décor and weddings. She has written numerous books and hosts her own television show and this year she is turning sixty.  Jack Adams is a former NFL superstar and now anchors a sports show at the same network as Valerie. He is turning 50 this year and realizing his fast lane lifestyle is no longer working for him. Last, April Wyatt who owns and operates a successful restaurant in New York. She is turning the big 3-0 and is taking stock of her life.

Over the course of 6 months, the three characters face a number of life changing events. Valerie is held hostage by terrorists who take over her network and realizes life is about living on purpose. Jack realizes it’s time to slow things down and find a meaningful relationship. April finds she is pregnant after a one night stand and has to decide how to proceed. For all three characters they start their milestone birthdays leading them down a new path in life and finding age is just a number.

I love a story where the characters embrace life and learn to walk through doors, which offer them new opportunities. And Happy Birthday was all about that. There were a number of twists and turns for the characters and even though things with Valerie and Jack come across as a little obvious I still really enjoyed reading about it. I was definitely more interested in April’s story and how it would end. One thing I have found from reading Steel is the happily ever after her characters end with has more to do with the development of the characters. I guess what I mean by that is they learn to find happiness.

This was the first Danielle Steel book I’ve read in over a decade. My mom and I were avid Steel readers and would take turns buying her newest books. Ten years ago my mom lost her battle to breast cancer. Over the years I’ve seen a number of Steel’s books come out and stop and think how I believe my mom would have really liked this one or that one. My mom and I both loved to read and Danielle Steel was her favorite author. Happy Birthday is now one of my favorite books by Ms. Steel. I’m really glad I decided to read Happy Birthday.  My two favorites by Danielle Steel are Mixed Blessings and Heartbeat (and loved the movies too).

I would recommend this book!

I am so excited to kick off A Novel Review's birthday celebration with Danielle Steel's Happy Birthday!!! I am giving away 2 copies of Happy Birthday! That's right 2!!! This is also an International giveaway, so all A Novel Review followers can enter! Make sure you are a follower and post a comment leaving me your email address. The giveaway closes September 21 at midnight est. The winners will be picked by random.com and the winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email with their address. Good luck!!!

http://daniellesteel.com/

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, A NOVEL REVIEW!!!

glitter-graphics.com

Celebrating six months of blogging book reviews! I can’t believe the last six months have gone by so quickly. I have absolutely loved blogging. Thank-you to everyone who is following my blog! This has been a really exciting adventure. I’ve met some really incredible people since I’ve started this blog. There are so many bloggers, authors, publishers and followers who have helped me along the way. I’m looking forward and excited to see what new opportunities the next six months bring. Thank-you to everyone!

Make sure to come back often this month for a number of giveaways!!!

VIDEO GUEST BLOG By Cynthia Ellingsen

I am so excited to introduce, Cynthia Ellingsen, to A Novel Review! Cynthia is the author of the newly released novel The Whole Package. She has been gracious enough to put together a video guest blog for us today.  

The 5 W's of Cynthia Ellingsen:

I want to thank Cynthia so much for putting this together and for joining us here today at A Novel Review!

Make sure to stop back and read my review of The Whole Package September 29th for your chance to win a copy of this fabulous book! Can't wait to read it? Just click on the image below to purchase your copy!

To learn more about Cynthia Ellingsen you can visit her website:

http://www.cynthiaellingsen.com/

INCOGNITO by Gregory Murphy

I absolutely love the Gilded Age. It just seemed like such a beautiful time in history. My favorite movie of all time is Somewhere in Time and when I lived in Newport, RI I made sure to tour the Vanderbilt summer house The Breakers. I would have loved to live in the Gilded Age, if I was exceptionally rich. Either way, Incognito is everything a girl like me wants in a book. It was rich (not just the characters) in story; there was love, betrayal, mystery, fantastic character development and beautiful descriptions.

William Dysart, is a lawyer working on a case where he is to try a purchase some land from a young unmarried Sybil Curtis. His client will not take no for an answer, in fact she will have the property condemned in order to seize it. When William meets Sybil he is taken aback by her unwillingness to sell her property to him (Sybil realizes who really wants it) and is rather willing to be thrown out of her home than to sell. Neither woman will tell William what their previous relationship was. William can’t help but attach himself to the young Miss Curtis and wants nothing more than to help her.

As William struggles with his feelings for Sybil Curtis, his home life begins to unravel. His beautiful socialite wife, Arabella shows her manipulative ways making William realize she is not the woman he thought she was. His lost memories surrounding the death of his mother make him question his father and the things he’s been told his whole life. All the seams of William’s life begin to unravel, leaving William with truths more disturbing than he had ever suspected.  

This is a dramatic story of New York high society in 1911 that you will not want to put down.  The further I read the more captivated I became by the story. I would have thought a man who becomes so entangled with another woman would enrage me as a married woman, but truthfully I felt nothing but compassion for William. I was absolutely fascinated with every twist and turn of the novel. The only negative about this book is I had trouble keeping a number of the supporting characters straight.

I highly recommend this book!

To learn more about GregoryMurphy:
http://gregorymurphy.com/GREGORY_MURPHY/GREGORYMURPHY.COM.html

Just Friends with Benefits by Meredith Schorr

Thirty-something year old Stephanie Cohen is looking for the love of her life and she’s afraid she may have already met him. Once upon a college campus, Stephanie had a thing for hottie Craig Hillie, but ended up dating one of his best guy pals for years. Ten years after college and she still carries a torch for him. Stephanie goes on a mission to hook up with Craig. Craig turns hers down and then comes back the next day and they hook up. Stephanie soon believes “Hillie” and her are meant to be.

Shortly after they hook up, Craig tells her they are just friends with benefits. Stephanie finally realizes this might not be good enough for her. Moving on, Stephanie ends up meeting Ryan. Ryan seems like a perfect match for her. Everything between them is going great. Well, they were going great until Stephanie and her friends get together for their week long summer vacation at the beach. Leaving Ryan behind, Stephanie goes and has lots of fun with Craig (who is showing her how much he cares) and is having lots to drink. Stephanie realizes maybe she’d been right and Craig really is the one. Believing Craig is jealous and makes a go of it, Stephanie makes a monumental decision. You’ll have to read it to see if she regrets it or gets her happily ever after!

This is a Chick Lit novel if I ever read one! Now I felt some of the language was a little crude for my personal taste, but Schorr used the language in a way to really portray the characters and lifestyle. Not my thing, but it worked. It also seemed to me the actions of Stephanie and the rest of the characters are more likely how I picture twenty year olds behave and not as much thirty year olds. However, I really really enjoyed the book! It was funny and the characters seemed so believable. I loved all the 90s pop culture and music. I couldn’t help, but sit there saying out loud, “you are delusional!” when dealing with Craig and when she met Ryan! I was so excited for her, but sadly some girls don’t see what they got when they’ve had eyes on some guy for forever ago. This is one of those books you don’t want to put down. I know I read most of it in one day!

Really, a fun fun read. I highly recommend this book to any and all lovers of Chick Lit!

I know you want to read it, so order your copy today!

Wanna learn more about Meredith http://www.meredithschorr.com/

Q&A

Today I'd like to introduce to you Meredith Schorr, author of a fantastic new book Just Friends with Benefits. I'm very excited to have Meredith here at A Novel Review to tell us what are: 

THE FIVE W’S  OF Meredith Schorr

WHO? Who is Meredith Schorr?

As both a writer and a woman, I view myself as someone who always strives to be happy, to make the people I love happy, to learn from my mistakes, to treasure the good times and find some way to improve as a result of the bad times.  When asked to describe myself in five words, I usually go with kind, sensitive, passionate, quirky and loyal!  On the flip side, I'm messy, klutzy, over-sensitive, over-analytical and impatient!
 
WHAT? What do you enjoy doing other than writing in your spare time?

I love running - am training for my first half marathon.  My favorite sport is baseball and I am a die-hard New York Yankees fan.  I love to read and am the organizer of a chick-lit book club.  And sleeping, eating, watching tv, listening to music and chilling with my friends and loved ones are among my favorite pastimes.

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

When I discovered that writing, whether a story, in depth email to a client or a blog post, gave me almost the same kind of "high" as running and I started to receive positive feedback and encouragement from folks who read my work, I knew I had found my calling. 

 
WHERE? Where do you write?

I tend to write in short increments of time wherever and whenever I get the chance.  Sometimes it is a coffee shop, sometimes it is a park, sometimes it is at the beauty parlor waiting my turn.  I don't enjoy writing in my apartment all that much, except for revisions. 

WHY? Why do you write?

That's simple: because it makes me happy and is one of the best escapes from my own overactive 'noggin.  My brain never shuts down except, maybe, when I'm sleeping and writing allows me to forget my own issues and concentrate on those of my characters, even if it's just for a little while.

I hope everyone enjoyed getting to know The Five W’s of Meredith Schorr. Make sure to stop back on Thursday this week to read my review for Meredith's new book, Just Friends With Benefits.


Thank-you so much for joining us today at A Novel Review, Meredith! 


To learn more about Meredith you can visit her at her webpage:

http://www.meredithschorr.com/

Little Black Dress By Susan McBride + Giveaway

Every woman deserves to have the perfect little black dress.  McBrides’ newest release is about a magical black dress, which enhances the figure of any and every woman’s body who slips it on. But the magic of this special black dress doesn’t stop there. Sisters Evelyn and Annabelle couldn’t be any more different, but when they each slip on the magical black dress from the gypsy shop they both get a glimpse of their future.

Antonia Ashton gets word her mother, Evie, has had a stroke and is in the hospital in a coma. Leaving her successful wedding coordinator business and boyfriend Greg behind in St. Louis she returns home to Blue Hills. Having not been back since her father’s death two years earlier she begins to see how her mother’s life was beginning to spiral out of control. As she begins digging into her mother’s affairs she unearths questions about her mother’s past and finds a mysterious little black dress at the heart of it all.

The novel shifts chapters between Evie and her daughter, Antonia. Evie’s stories are first person accounts from the past leading the reader to the present, while Antonia’s story is what is currently going on and in third person.  I loved going back and forth getting to know Evie in a way her daughter, Toni doesn’t know her, while at the same time getting to see Toni realizing some her own mistakes and seeing her mother in a new light. 

I wasn’t sure about the whole idea of a future seeing black dress, but it worked! This is a story about how three women respond when getting a glimpse, how it can change everything in a moment. More than that it’s a story of family and sisters and the love they have for one another. It was heartwarming and beautifully written. I’d love to go on and on about this book, but I don’t want to say too much and ruin the story!

This was one of my favorite books I’ve read this summer.  I am definitely recommending you go and buy a copy! You can pre-order your copy at amazon.com today!

GIVEAWAY

Not only do I recommend the book I’m giving a copy away! Want to win it? All you need to do is be a follower, post a comment saying so and leave me your email address (sorry US only). I will choose one winner at random and email them. Giveaway ends August 30. The winner has 48 hours to respond with their address if the winner doesn’t respond within 48 hours I will choose another winner. Good luck!

also by Susan McBride

Get to know about Susan at her website: http://www.susanmcbride.com/index.html 

SILVER GIRL By Elin Hilderbrand

Start with Bernie Madoff type scandal, toss in a backdrop of Nantucket, mix an old friendship turned bad, add a sprinkle of love story with a hint of mystery and you have Silver Girl. Meredith Martin Delinn is living a dream life with her financial wizard of a husband Freddy. Only he ends up being a liar who is running a huge ponzi scheme. After Freddy ends up in jail, Meredith finds herself and her son under Federal investigation. Meredith finds herself completely alone (even her hairstylist won’t do business with her). She makes a desperate phone call to her high school best friend, Connie Flute. Connie dealing with her own share of tragedy agrees to take Meredith with her to her summer home in Nantucket to escape the media frenzy.

The book goes back and forth between Connie and Meredith, but it doesn’t stop there. Both ladies take us back in time to get back story. We know from the beginning there is tension between them, but there are also a number of other relationships clouded with questions. The story for Meredith seems to go from bad to worse, finding no peace and no escape in Nantucket from the scandal surrounding her. Meredith needs to decide who she is and who is she going to be.

If you have read Elin Hildrebrand books before, you will notice straight away this is different than her other novels. I have to be honest I’m a huge fan of hers, but when I first started reading I wasn’t excited about the book. I felt like I was so suppose to feel bad for Meredith, who had it all and because she kept her head in the clouds during her marriage she was sideswiped by her husband’s misdeeds. Even the shocking revelation that comes later in the story I picked up on right away (though I believe Hilderbrand expects the reader to, but also to show us how clueless Meredith was when it came to Freddy).

On the other hand, I really liked Connie. Wish I had a Connie in my life. Not only does she have her own issues she is dealing with, but she comes in and saves Meredith. Then I like her even more when I learned the back story between the two women. It really showed her character. As the story progresses over the summer, we do see Meredith slowly evolve then she seems to go backwards a bit than grows again and by the end of the book I really liked her.

I found this to be a great book of how friendship can carry us and help us to be our best. I would recommend this book.

http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/authors_Elin-Hilderbrand-(1079401).htm

Before Ever After Book by Samantha Soto

Here's a link to order a copy!

MISSING PERSONS BY CLARE O’DONOHUE + Giveaway

Kate Conway is a television producer working on crime shows, but she never thought she’d find herself smack-dab in a murder mystery. In the midst of a divorce to her husband of twenty years, she gets a call from her soon-to-be ex husband Frank’s new girlfriend in the middle of the night. Racing to the ER, Kate discovers Frank has passed away from a heart attack. The doctor is suspicious, and suddenly the police

are investigating Frank’s cause of death, and the soon-to-be ex-wife, Kate, is the prime suspect. 

While the investigation into Frank’s death is going on, Kate gets a call to produce a new show called Missing Persons. This is a perfect distraction from her life. Her first Missing Persons case involves twenty-two year old, Teresa Moretti. Teresa seems to be almost saint like, but the deeper Kate digs the more questions arise and the list of suspects grows. Suddenly, it seems both cases intertwine in Kate’s life and she begins to fear if she doesn’t solve the mysteries she might just be the next victim.

I thoroughly enjoyed Missing Persons. This was a fast paced action filled book. Since O’Donohue herself is a producer, I felt like I really got an idea of how some television shows are made. I loved Kate. She seemed so real to me, going through all sorts of emotions and self-examination. I also really enjoyed all the supporting characters. But most of all, I enjoyed the ending. I was surprised by the outcome of the mysteries. This isn’t some dark dreary who did it book, but a fun entertaining who did it. I highly recommend Missing Persons.

GIVEAWAY

Not only do I recommend the book I’m giving a copy away! Want to win it? All you need to do is be a follower, post a comment saying so and leave me your email address (sorry US only). I will choose one winner at random and email them. Giveaway ends August 18. The winner has 48 hours to respond with their address if the winner doesn’t respond within 48 hours I will choose another winner. Good luck!

Want to make sure you get a copy you can order your copy today!

Q&A

Clare O'Donohue has worked on shows for The History Channel, truTV, Food Network, A&E, Discovery, and TLC. She has also written a numerous novels and we welcome her today on A Novel Review. She has been gracious enough to tell us what are:

THE FIVE W’S  OF Clare O'Donohue  

WHO is Clare O'Donohue

Underneath the sarcasm, I’m pretty shy. I spend a lot of time with family and friends, and pride myself on having close friendships that pre-date grade school. I prefer tea to coffee, staying up late to getting up early, and flats to high heels. I’m not outdoorsy, but I have things like, “go camping” on my bucket list. I have a bucket list. This is mainly because I’m kind of anal retentive and I’d hate to be on my death bed and realize I I’d forgotten to do something really cool because I didn’t make a list.

WHAT do you enjoy doing other than writing in your spare time?

I love creating things –so I quilt, I draw, I bake. I like being around artists. I go to the weekend art fairs and I take classes in things like pottery and glassmaking. I also love to travel. I think it’s so easy to be on automatic pilot, doing the same things in the same way every day, and travel is one way to wake up the brain. So is learning a new skill. And since writers don’t just write what we know, we write about what we want to know, learning something new or traveling to a new place is research for a possible book. 

WHEN did you know you wanted to be a writer?

When I was about five I used to tell my older sister stories about the good people who lived under the bed, who protected us from the evil people who lived in the closet. I made up my own endings to Cinderella and Snow White, and read every book I could from the time I learned how to read. When I was fifteen, I wrote a novella, a mystery, just to see if I could follow through on the story to the end. I majored in International Politics in college to become a political speechwriter, but ended up working as a newspaper reporter and then TV writer/ producer. So I guess I’ve always been a writer, and since I was about 24, I’ve made a living as one. It helped that my mom was an English teacher, so words and stories are important in my family. My sister has written a parenting book and both my brothers have published articles.

WHERE do you write?

At the moment, I’ve got my laptop propped on my bed. I usually write on a chair in the living room or at the kitchen table. Sometimes I write at Starbucks, or a local coffee shop that doesn’t mind me sitting there for hours. I travel a lot for my day job as a TV producer, so I write in airports, hotels, and often at a shoot while I’m waiting for the crew to set up the lights. A lot of Missing Persons was written that way. I don’t as yet have a home office dedicated to my writing. That’s the dream.

WHY do you write?

There is no non-pretentious way to say this. I have to write. I really find the writing process to be so fun and joyful, even when it’s frustrating and hard. I can’t imagine not writing and I feel grateful that I’ve been able to do this for a living, especially since I have so few other marketable skills. 

Thank-you so much for stopping here at A Novel Review and sharing with us, Clare!

I hope everyone enjoyed getting to know The Five W’s of Clare O’Donohue. Make sure to stop back on Thursday this week to read my review for Clare’s book plus your chance to win a copy of her new book!

The Last Letter By Kathleen Shoop

This is a story about a mother and daughter’s relationship at the cross roads. Jeanie Arthur is dying of cancer and she wants her daughter’s forgiveness, not as much for herself but for her daughter, Katherine. Her daughter doesn't even want her dying mother in her home, let alone ready to forgive her. The Last Letter centers on Jeanie’s pioneer life and what brought about her daughter’s bitterness towards her. As the reader we are allowed to see (read) the whole story as it unfolds to understand a mother's plight. 

Jeanie finds herself and her family living in the Dakota Territory, after having lived the good life in Des Moines, Iowa. Her father and husband Frank and brought disgrace to their family and had lost the family fortune. She and Frank are running headlong into a new life…a life Frank has dreamt about. Jeanie having lived her entire life privilege is far from pleased about this new life. Between her discontentment, Frank’s laziness and facing the elements, life is more difficult than any of them could have imagined. 

I had anticipated The Last Letter would mostly be written in the form of letters, but instead numerous letters were discussed during the book and in the end Katherine finds the last letter she’d not read before and finally is able to make sense of the things she didn’t understand as a child. I had a hard time really getting into the beginning of the book. It’s very well written, but it took some time before the story really gets moving. On the flip side, after completing the book I gained a stronger appreciation for the beginning of the book and Jeanie’s dilemma and choices at the end of the book. I would add the last 100-150 pages moved very quickly where I didn’t want to stop reading. There were so many shocking discoveries at the end of the book, all twists and turns were very impressive.

I was disappointed with how little information we are given during Katherine’s adolescent years, it just felt as if the story ended too swiftly. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I found myself reflecting how lucky we are as women it today’s world. For so many years women had little to no rights and I think we sometimes take for granted.  I would recommend this book. 

http://kshoop.com/

The Fist Husband By Laura Dave

Annie Adams has spent her entire life moving around. It’s no surprise when she lands a job traveling the world writing a syndicated travel column. She is living with good looking long term boyfriend, Nick and their dog. Nick’s career as a film director is about to take off. They seem to have it all…or so Annie thought. Nick pulls the rug under her when he reveals he has reconnected with an old flame and needs to see where it leads. Reeling over his announcement, her best friend Jordan tells her to go have fun. He’ll be back! Feeling as if she has no idea how to be fun, Jordan tells her to be the opposite of herself…and she does exactly that.

Three months later, Annie is living in a small Massachusetts town married to Griffin. She took her friends advice all right. Suddenly, Annie is in a world she has never known. Her brother-in-law and his twin sons live with them, her new mother-in-law appears to wish Griffin had chosen his once upon a time long term girlfriend that oops Griffin forgot to mention how long they dated! Could their marriage really just be a rebound relationship for both of them?  Jordan thinks so and so does Nick who comes back to claim the women and the life he wants back.

All this sends Annie moving, the only thing that feels safe to her. She has to ask herself who is the man she is really meant to spend her life with.

The story itself was not all that different than other books I’ve read. But what this book has is the protagonist, Annie do some self exploring. She asked herself some tough questions and looked for real answers. She had a best friend giving her advice counter to what I would have said to her—something I can’t say I’ve seen a lot of. Usually the best friend acts as an agent of the readers, I found this completely refreshing! This is a book that has everything a good book should have and more.

I have heard fabulous things about Laura Dave. This was my first Laura Dave book, and it did not disappoint. This was such a great book and I know I’m going to be reading Laura Dave’s books from here on out. Not only am I going to recommend this book, but I’ll go one further and say if you can’t get your hands on a copy of this book read one of her others! This isn’t just a good book this is a good author.

With Just One Click by Amanda Strong

The lives of three women are drastically changed after they decide to sign-up for the social networking site, Facebook. Amanda Strong explores the ‘what if’s’ most people have thought about as they enter the social networking world, but never succumb too. The lives of Chloe, Morgan and Brynn explore what happens when your past friend requests your present life.

Chloe, an up and coming movie reviewer in New York, surrenders to her roommate and good friend Bianca and finally creates a Facebook profile. Slowly gaining the all important friends and enjoying stalking their lives she receives the most shocking friend request. Kyle Woodward. Kyle, her first love, the teenage boy she gave her virginity to, the boy who broke her heart. To accept or decline was the question. Chloe accepts his friendship request and Kyle comes back into her life. Chloe opens those old wounds as the relationship goes from highs to lows.

Morgan, stay-at-home mom of two little sweethearts enjoys posting with the instant feedback of friends and ability to post pictures of her family on Facebook. She convinces her husband to sign-up for Facebook too. After he does, his ex-girlfriend Julie makes her way onto his friend list and she just loves to post semi-suggestive comments. When Morgan presses her husband to delete her, he doesn’t and red flags are raised. She finds herself stalking him and hacking into his account causing him to defriend his own wife.

Brynn is also a stay-at-home mom. Her kids are in high school and no longer need her as much and the distance between her and her husband seems to be growing. After finding Facebook, she gets a friend request from her bad boy ex-boyfriend from high school. Slowly little comments, turn into online chats, until ex-boyfriend Timothy asks her to meet him for coffee. He’s been nothing but a respectful and supportive friend as she tries to decide what’s next. She begins relying on his online semi-real friendship more than her real life friends.

To know me is to know I love Facebook. Strongs’ exploration of taking the Facebook what if’s and really allowing those stories to be explored, was fascinating to me. The three stories are separate (or are they). I was completely engrossed. I enjoyed reading each of these women’s’ stories.

I felt Chloe’s story was slightly predictable, but suddenly as the book was drawing to a close I was no longer sure it would end the way I wanted it too. I related mostly to Morgan. I could see myself becoming the crazed stalker wife and my husband would respond similarly to her’s. Now I had a hard time relating to Brynn. I actually am very careful, not to look backwards. I kept waiting for her to realize she was headed for trouble. I believe the combination of the three stories together showed how easily and innocently Facebook or any social networking site can, without a doubt change everything about your real life with just one click. 

I loved this book. It was funny, witty, and touching. I didn’t want to put this book down. I thought the ending was perfect. I am a fan of Amanda Strong and I highly recommend her book.

 

The Beach Trees and the Meaning of Home

When Julie Holt was only twelve years old the unimaginable happens. While watching her younger sister, her sister disappears without a trace. Karen White examines the after effects of tragedy with her protagonist Julie. After her sister’s disappearance her mother devotes her life to finding her, while her father and brother move on. When her mother dies Julie takes over where her mother left off… never allowing herself to feel rooted in one place, because she knows everything can change in a heartbeat. To read the rest of this review follow this link over to Blogher.com http://www.blogher.com/bookclub/beach-trees-karen-white-0?from=bookclub