Sugarfiend Review

Sugarfiend was a captivating book about someone who was a complete mess. It really was entertaining to listen to the trials and tribulations of Estelle. It really seems like anything that can go wrong does. Couple that with some good old fashioned bad choice making, it really was an amusing book that also made me shudder at times.

But never fear, redemption does exist! Lessons learned and crisis averted. I liked this book a lot because it was very descriptive, easy to read and I just kept hoping something good would happen to Estelle! I am sure if you give this book a try, you will also be rooting for her!

Caroline Burau is a blogger, two-time author, and a 911 dispatcher. Her first book, Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat was aReader's Digest Editor's Choice and a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award.

When she's not writing or obsessing about writing, she's spending her royalties on yoga classes, strappy sport tops, and used books. She lives with her husband, two geriatric cats, and an excitable yellow lab in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

Connect with Caroline!

http://www.carolineburau.com/

Buy the Book!

 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615595200/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwcarolinebu-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0615595200

Picture Perfect Review

Picture Perfect was one of those perfect type of books where everything just flowed so naturally that it was almost impossible to put down and I often didn't! I don't really know much about the scene in L.A. but I'm fairly sure that Lucie Simone portrayed it pretty accurately which gave an interesting look into the cutthroat world that it is.

The main character was so realistic and very human so it was easy to get to like her and empathize with her. I didn't find myself identifying with the actual situations she was in but I definitely identified with the emotions she was feeling which is a great sign of the authors abilities.

I definitely liked this book a lot and am looking forward to sharing this author with friends!

Lucie Simone has a passion for travel, yoga, and writing. She has a degree in Journalism, a Master of Fine Arts in Television Production, and is a certified yoga teacher registered with Yoga Alliance. Her love of comedy (and living under the delusion that she might one day be an actress) resulted in a stint studying improvisation, which, ironically enough, taught her to be a better writer.

Her short story, A Taste of Italy, won the New York Book Festival competition for best ebook and is a bestseller at Amazon UK. The release of her debut novel, Hollywood Ending, a romantic comedy about life in Hollywood for the not-so-rich-and-famous, marked the launch of her small press, Simon & Fig, which publishes Chick Lit, Lad Lit and Women’s Fiction exclusively.

Lucie lives, loves and writes in the City of Angels, but considers New York City her second home and visits as often as her bank account will allow.  

Connect with Lucie!

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LucieSimone

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lucie-Simone/276425887768

Blog: http://luciesimone.blogspot.com

Websites: http://www.luciesimone.com and http://www.simonandfig.com (small press)

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/luciesimone

Last Minute Love Review

Ever since I read 'Year of the Chick', I have been a huge Romi Moondi fan so I absolutely jumped at the chance to review this book! And of course, I wasn't disappointed.

As in the first book, I just could not put this one down. I loved, loved, LOVED it! I sped through reading the book and hearing of the latest adventures of Romi in such little time that I was almost disappointed I had not made myself savor it more slowly. This book is just so enjoyable and so easy to read plus the character speaks to you, no matter what your ethnic background that it was impossible to do that.

I am so looking forward to the third book coming out next year and hope that Ms. Moondi has plans for more after that!

I am Canadian, and here are some strange personal facts:

-I wore denim-top-to-bottom in high school (there is a direct inverse relationship between how much denim I wore and how few tongues were launched down my throat at school dances...or anywhere in high school at all).
-A homeless lady in New York once told me "You're just a bitch on vacation with no money!"
-I always hated those insufferable couples who would cuddle and make out on the subway...until I became half of one. But now I'm back to being none of one so I hate them again.

The thing I love most in the world is writing. When I first started publishing on Amazon it was my "crazy" humour side ("The Book of Awful," and "NOT Love Poems For Real Life"). Since then, everything has focused on my "Year of the Chick" series, because it's the most important thing to me in the world right now. I guess that would tend to happen, when your writing is inspired by real life, including all the satisfaction and risks that come from that.

My "Year of the Chick" series can be described as "edgy rom-com," which helps me account for the blunt conversations and mortifying family moments in the book ;-).
Book 3 in the "Year of the Chick" series will be written and released in 2013; until then I have some adventures to go on! 

Connect with Romi!


Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/RomiMoondi
Twitter: http:///www.twitter.com/romimoondi
Blog: http://romimoondi.wordpress.com

Buy the Book!


Last-Minute Love (on Amazon): http://www.amazon.com/Last-Minute-Love-Year-Chick-ebook/dp/B0089IG9BY/ref=la_B005W65KWK_1_3_title_0_main?ie=UTF8&qid=1347224655&sr=1-3
Last-Minute Love (on B&N): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/last-minute-love-romi-moondi/1111816576?ean=2940033288311
(Also available for Kobo and iTunes!)

Additional note: "Year of the Chick" which is book one in the series, is available for free at all e-tailers!

Finding Lucas Review

I loved absolutely EVERYTHING about this book. I literally devoured it in one sitting. I can't believe that this is a first attempt by a new author - where has she been hiding all this time?

The characters were likable, believable and endearing. I could often see myself in a lot of similar situations or could at least understand where the character was coming from, even if I had never been in that exact situation myself.

I was extremely happy that this book was not predictable though I suspected at the beginning that it might be. It was anything but formulaic and it definitely kept me entertained, hooked and longing for more!

Please please please go out and read this book - you won't regret it!

Samantha Stroh Bailey has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen. In fact, she even sent her first manuscript, Freddy the Flame, to publishers when she was ten years old. Sadly, it was rejected, but a lifelong passion to write was born.

After 15 years of teaching ESL to adults, including at the University of Toronto, she decided to live her dreams of being a fulltime writer and editor. Now the owner of Perfect Pen Communications, she not only gets to write novels, but also writes and edits for magazines, websites, businesses, students and other writers.

Her work has appeared in Now Magazine, The Village Post, Oxford University Press, Abilities Magazine, on Mommyish.com and many other publications. Samantha also has a Master of Education in Applied Linguistics. 

She lives in Toronto with her husband and two children. Finding Lucas is her first novel.

Connect with Samantha!

Twitter: @perfectpen

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samantha-Stroh-Bailey/420736011289684

Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5832614.Samantha_Stroh_Bailey

Goodreads Finding Lucas Page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13641194-finding-lucas

Blog: http://samanthastrohbailey.blogspot.ca/

Buy the Book!

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Lucas-ebook/dp/B007VIIU6A/ref=la_B007YAN1SC_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346787522&sr=1-1

Don't Let Me Go Book Review

Another fantastic book by a wonderful author! I literally read this book in one sitting and I guess it was a blessing that I had a bout of insomnia last week so I could do so. I had a lot of trouble imagining putting this book down even to go to the bathroom so I just didn't.

I have been acquainted with this author's work for a long time having read some of her previous books and it was great to see that she has kept up the amazing quality of her tales and maintained also that wonderfully human side to things that just doesn't really exist in very many places.

I loved the fact that an unlikely "community" of people banded together to help one child. It was a heartwarming tale and one that I would like to think could possibly exist in this world. The characters were complex and you really got to know them and feel for them as they all had their trials and troubles.

I can't wait for the next book of Catherine's and feel so blessed to have been able to enjoy her talent once again.

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of 18 published and forthcoming books.
Her newest releases are When You Were Older,  Don’t Let Me Go, Jumpstart the World , When I Found You and Second Hand Heart. Forthcoming is Walk Me Home (Transworld UK, Spring 2012). 

Other newer novels are Becoming Chloe, Love in the Present Tense, The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance, Chasing Windmills  The Day I Killed James, and Diary of a Witness. 
Both Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List.  Jumpstart the World was chosen as a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards, received a third place Rainbow Award for Young Adult/Coming of Age Fiction and a tie for first place in Bisexual/Transgender Fiction. Love in the Present Tense enjoyed bestseller status in the UK, where it broke the top ten, spent five weeks on the national bestseller list, was reviewed on a major TV book club, and shortlisted for a Best Read of the Year Award at the British Book Awards.

Older works include the story collection Earthquake Weather, and the novels Funerals for Horses, Pay it Forward, Electric God, and Walter’s Purple Heart. 

Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries.  The mass market paperback was released in October 2000 by Pocket Books and quickly became a national bestseller.  It is still in print, and was rereleased in a trade paperback edition in April of 2010.

More than 50 of her short stories have been published in The Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, The Sun and many other journals, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories  and California Shorts and the bestselling anthology Dog is my Co-Pilot. Her stories have been honored in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and nominated for Best American Short Stories, the O'Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize.  Three have been cited in Best American Short Stories.

She is founder and former president (2000-2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with Americorps members at the White House and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.

 Connect with Catherine!

My website: http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cryanhyde

Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/crhyde

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catherine-Ryan-Hyde/55974126195

Google+: https://plus.google.com/104995498482118293003/posts

Tumblr blog: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/catherineryanhyde

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/cryanhyde/


  Buy the Book!

 ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Me-Go-ebook/dp/B00896POTO

 paperback: https://www.createspace.com/3909105

The Undiscovered Novelist Book Review

The Undiscovered Novelist was a short novella about two women's lives and how they related to each other. The characters seemed quite realistic while some plot points seemed to be very conveniently working out. However, I did enjoy this book as it was exactly the right length for the story it wanted to tell and the author definitely has a talent in telling stories that will captivate the reader.

Sarah Bridgeton never thought she would become a novelist. She has always loved books, but in college she majored in Economics. After college, she held a variety of jobs in the insurance and health care industries. She left the workforce to be a stay-at-home mom when her daughter was born. When her daughter started preschool, she decided to write a novel.

She currently resides in Tampa with her husband, daughter, and two cats. When she’s not reading, writing, or taking care of her family, she likes to exercise.

 Connect with Sarah!

Website: http://www.sarahbridgeton.com/

Buy the Book!

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Undiscovered-Novelist-ebook/dp/B0087G5YXW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346607039&sr=8-1&keywords=the+undiscovered+novelist

Barnes & Noble link:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-undiscovered-novelist-sarah-bridgeton/1112032859?ean=2940014577588

Free Gift With Purchase Book Review

What a great little book. And I only call it little because I was able to race through it in a few hours this past Saturday night. Perhaps it's actually not so little but really just that amazing that I couldn't put it down and read my heart out. 

I loved everything about this book. The characters seemed utterly approachable and normal. They had issues and worries like everyone else (or maybe even more) and there was a lot of witty repartee that I truly enjoyed.

I'd definitely recommend this book and the loveable characters to everyone and I'm definitely going to be checking out Jackie's other books asap.

Jackie Pilossoph is also the author of Jackpot! and Hook, Line and Sink Him. She is a freelance corporate and newspaper reporter, and columnist for the Pioneer Press. Pilossoph holds a masters degree in communication from Boston University, and is currently working on her fourth novel.

Connect with Jackie!

my website and blog: www.jackiepilossoph.net

facebook page: www.facebook/jackiepilossoph

twitter: @pilossophsbooks

Buy the book!

 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=jackie+pilossoph&sprefix=jackie+pilosso%2Caps%2C194