Chick Lit Challenge WrapUp

Chick Lit Challenge is finished! Challenge was to read 10 chick lit books and I ended at 23. I just have too many challenges going on to keep track off the ones that I am actually done with!

1. Be Strong and Curvaceous - Shelley Adina
2. The Red Siren - M.L. Tyndall
3. For the Love of Pete - Julia Harper
4. Lost in Las Vegas - Melody Carlson
5. Scrapping Plans - Rebeca Seitz
6. The Valentine Edition - Robin Shope
7. It's All About Us - Shelley Adina
8. John's Quest - Cecelia Dowdy
9. Simple Wishes - Lisa Dale
10. The Spring of Candy Apples - Debbie Viguie
11. Age Before Beauty - Virginia Smith
12. The Fruit of My Lipstick - Shelley Adina
13. Marked by Passion - Kate Perry
14. Katt's in the Cradle - Ginger Kolbaba and Christy Scannell
15. Deadly Charm - Claudia Mair Burney
16. Yesterday's Embers - Deborah Raney
17. An Offer You Can't Refuse - Jill Mansell
18. The Girl She Used To Be - David Cristofano
19. The Lost Hours - Karen White
20. So Not Happening - Jenny B. Jones
21. Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man - Claudia Mair Burney
22. New York Debut - Melody Carlson
23. Wild Highland Magic - Kendra Leigh Castle

Chick Lit Challenge

Wild Highland Magic by Kendra Leigh Castle (Book Review)

Title: Wild Highland Magic
Author: Kendra Leigh Castle
Publisher: Sourcebooks
ISBN: 9781402218569
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Available: May 1, 2009
This ARC was provided to me by Sourcebooks - Thanks Danielle!

First sentence: The dungeons stank of death.

Catriona MacInnes, along with her sisters Skye and Poppy, are half werewolves, half witches growing up in sunny California with their father, Freddie. Never taught how to use or control their powers, never knowing they weren't unique - they were surprised when their father announced a family trip to the Scottish Highlands. A trip to meet his brother Duncan, Alpha of the MacInnes Pack.

Upon arriving at Iargail, the ancestral home of the Macinnes', Cat could see that it was going to take some time to mend the rift between Duncan and her father. Uncle Duncan immediately warmed to the three sisters though.

Cat soon runs into Bastian an Morgaine, a wizard prince staying in a cottage on Duncan's land. Hiding out would be how Duncan sees it, but since he is his daughter-in-law's brother, he lets him stay.

Bastian is hiding things though. The first being a narial - this is a shadowy creature that only prowls in the dark and has been tormenting Bastian's family for years. He slowly takes chunks of their soul until they break. Bastian's family had this curse put upon them by the king of the daemons. He is also hiding Lucien Andrakkar, a dragon. Bastian rescued Lucien from the Blighted Kingdom where he had been held and tortured by the daemons for a year. He is hoping that this dragon will help rid him of the narial. If Lucien will just give Bastian some of his blood, by his own free will, Bastian might have a chance to defeat the curse.

Things heat up quickly between Cat and Bastian and their kisses leave "marks" on their bodies - and souls. Unbeknownst to Cat, she has mated with Bastian for life. Bastian soon realizes that by mating with Cat, he has doomed her to his fate.

I adored this book. I loved the way that it was set in the Scottish Highlands, which you immediately think "past-times" - but it is set in the present, so there are different references to pop culture which made it amusing. The characters were werewolves, or dragons, or wizards - but this didn't read like a fantasy novel. The characters were so human, the emotions so strong, that this is who I would expect to run into in the Scottish Highlands! I was 2/3rds of the way through the book, when I mentioned to Danielle that I hoped it was the beginning of a series. She told me it was actually the third book! It read very well as a stand alone. Now I can't wait to get my hands on the first two books of this series - Call of the Highland Moon and Dark Highland Fire!

To meet Kendra and read a little more about the book - please hop on over to Yankee Romance Reviewers where the celebration is just starting!

New York Debut by Melody Carlson (Book Review)

Title: New York Debut

Author: Melody Carlson

Publisher: Zondervan

Available: May 1, 2009

Genre: YA Fiction/Christian

ISBN-10: 0310714931
ISBN-13: 978-0310714934

I read this for the First Wild Card Tour April 30, 2009.

First sentence: "Where is our Taylor?" asked Grandmother pleasantly.

Book 6 in the Carter House Girls series picks up as DJ is being picked up from the airport on her return from Las Vegas (see my review of book 5, Lost in Las Vegas). Taylor is noticeably absent and DJ has to share with her grandmother that she is at a rehab facility in California for alcohol abuse. Grandmother is upset and disappointed because she is afraid that Taylor won't make it back in time for Fashion Week in NYC.

As school starts up again after New Years, DJ, Rhiannon and Casey begin to notice that Kriti seems to be eating less and working out more. They do an intervention and Kriti confesses that Eliza has been influencing her to lose weight. They convince her she doesn't need to and move her in with DJ - away from Eliza.

Grandmother begins having classes on Saturday mornings to teach the girls about etiquette, manners and how to "own" the cat walk. She opens these up to the community and the Carter House girls find themselves spending time with Daisy, a new friend, and Madison and Tina, two old enemies.

I had only read book 5 prior to this book (other books in the series include Mixed Bags, Stealing Bradford, Homecoming Queen, and Viva Vermont). Again, it was hard to differentiate all the girls at first, and I would not have had a clue had I not read Lost in Las Vegas. I don't think it reads well as a stand alone. That being said, it does have good lessons and values for a teenage Christian girl to follow and illustrates how one can turn to God in all sorts of situations. I hope to eventually be able to go back and read the first 4 books in this series. Bikini Breakdown is book 7 of this series and it is due out in October 2009.

Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man by Claudia Mair Burney (Book Review)

Title: Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man (an Amanda Bell Brown mystery)
Author: Claudia Mair Burney
Genre: Mystery/Christian
Available: Now
ISBN-10: 1416551948
ISBN-13: 978-1416551942

I read this book for fun.

First sentence: I had every reason to be peeved, and I told Carly so.

Amanda Bell Brown was celebrating her 40th birthday with her sister Carly when it was interrupted by murder. You see, Carly is a medical examiner and she was the one on call. The victims were two men whose house Bell had been to years before when she was working/investigating cults. But if it wouldn't have been for those murders, Bell would never have met Jazz Brown - lieutenant with the Detroit Police Department.

And so begins Bell and Jazz's friendship - courtship - headlong tumble into love - whatever you want to call it. As they work together to try to solve these murders (Bell is a forensic psychologist) they learn how much they really care for each other.

One of the cult members, Susan, "escapes" and ends up at The Rock House. This is the church Bell attends, where the pastor, Rocky, is also her ex-boyfriend. Susan appears to be in a catatonic state, so Bell goes to visit her to see if she can get her to talk. After waiting hours, Susan doesn't move or speak so Bell goes home. The next day Susan writes Bell's name, so she called in again. She doesn't say much, but what she does say seems to implicate someone for the murders. Susan soon leaves the Rock House and nobody can find her.

Bell gets Rocky to tell her the addresses/phone numbers that Susan gave them when she showed up - before she went catatonic. Bell sets out to find the leader of the cult. She puts her life on the line to try to save the women and children involved. You see - 10 years earlier, she was actually in a cult where she was beaten and de-humanized - where she eventually lost a baby she was carrying. She has a hard time separating the present from these haunting memories in her past.

When the cult leader and Susan show up at her apartment, what will she risk to save Jazz, who she believes might be "The One?"

I recently read Deadly Charm (review here) which was the third Amanda Bell Brown mystery. I loved this one as much as that one and can't wait to get book 2 - Death, Deceit and Some Smooth Jazz. There is something about the way the author writes that just stays with me. I love the sarcastic flirting that goes on between these two - it keeps me smiling all the way through the book. Sometimes, reading as many books as I do, the characters can get mixed up or the plots can be confusing - but I don't find this happening when I read the Amanda Bell Brown books. Keep them coming!

So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones (Book Review)

Title: So Not Happening
Author: Jenny B. Jones
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: YA Fiction/Christian
Available: May 5, 2009

ISBN-10: 1595545417
ISBN-13: 978-1595545411
I read this for the First Wild Card Tour.

First sentence: One year ago my mom got traded in for a newer model.

Bella's life has been turned upside down. In the blink of an eye she has gone from living in NYC with her "plastic surgeon to the stars" father and her charity, fund-raising mom - to living in Truman, Oklahoma. On a farm, no less, with her mom, new step-dad, and two step brothers. The oldest which seems to be going to great lengths to make her life impossible.

To make matters worse, she manages to alienate herself further when she blogs at her old school's website (Hilliard School for Girls) about the lack of fashion, brains and everything in between at Truman. This information spreads quickly throughout Truman High School, her new alma-mater.

As a form of punishment she is placed on the school's newspaper staff, where she meets the 'sorta hot' editor Luke. His first assignment for her is to sit in the school's trash dumpster and see if she can dig anything up.

She manages to overhear a conversation between two football players which puts her on the scent of a real story. A story that may or may not explain the apparent suicide of a player the previous year, a car crash that landed one student in a nursing home wasting away and why her stepbrother is so hostile to everyone.

Even though Luke tells her to stay out of the story she thinks she has uncovered and stay focused on her "trash" story, Bella can't seem to contain her nosy nature.

Come join her in an adventure which threatens her life as well as her younger stepbrother's, takes her to a sweaty wrestling gym and to a railroad overpass.

This was a cute read. Although Bella is a Christian, you don't see a lot of evidence to support this. She spends a lot of time lamenting about her suddenly awful life and why everyone should feel sorry for her. She doesn't bother to consider that her presence in her new home may make others uncomfortable as well. She was in many instances where she could have called on God, but just sort of relied on luck. (It also seems to be missing how her mother went from her somewhat shallow life in NYC to becoming a Christian and marrying this man in Oklahoma because she felt it was God's will.) I do sort of think that a lot of Christian teens live this sort of self-centered life these days. I think that part of being a teen is learning to let go of believing you are the center of the universe. There also seems to be a lack of good role models for today's teens. Bella was a good person, but she could have taken a more "cross-centered" approach to many of her problems.

The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano (Book Review)

Title: The Girl She Used To Be
Author: David Cristofano
Publisher: Hachette Books
Available: Now
Genre: Fiction
My ARC was provided to me by Miriam at Hachette Books.

First sentence(s): Name me. Gaze into my eyes, study my smile and my dimples and tell me who you see.


Melody was six years old when she and her parents witnessed the brutal slaying of a man by Tony Bovaro. Thought to be the only witnesses, they fled the scene and returned to their home. Somehow the FBI tracked them down and convinced them to testify against this Mafia boss. Even though they lost the case, Melody and her parents were forced to go into the Witness Protection Program.

She has had eight names in the last 20 years - not including the one she was born with. Since her parents where killed by the mafia when she was in high school, whenever she becomes bored with her life - she calls up her federal contact and claims that she has been "found." She has no friends, no family, no freedom, no career, no security, no past and she feels no future.

But then she meets Jonathan Bovaro, the son of Tony Bovaro. Jonathan gives her something her federal agents have not been able to - security and freedom to be "the girl she used to be."

I liked this book. I can't say that I fell in love with it, but I did like it. It was a very original story - or maybe an original take on a story - with an ending that I did not see coming. I think the author did a good job of expressing Melody's feelings of loneliness and despair. Despair in the sense that she would never be able to live her own life, but would always be in this invisible prison.

Jonathan was quite a surprise for her, and I think his feelings for her were a bit of a surprise for him, too. He had tracked her down many times - on orders to kill her - but was really trying to keep her safe. Their relationship had a lot of undercurrents to it involving safety, trust, family. Their lives were so irrevocably intertwined though that I think it was inevitable that they would eventually meet.

If you want a nice, easy story, with a surprise ending - then this one is for you.

The Lost Hours by Karen White (Book Review)

Title: The Lost Hours
Author: Karen White
Publisher: Penguin
Genre: Fiction
Available: Apr 7, 2009
This book was made available to me by Dorothy for the Pump Up Your Book Virtual Tour.

If you missed Karen's guest post - you should go back and take a look - It was fabulous!

First sentence: When I was twelve years old, I helped my granddaddy bury a box in the back garden of our Savannah home.


Piper Mills has been raised by her grandparents since the age of six, when her parents were killed in a car crash. A crash that she walked away from. She goes on with her life, believing that she will be free from tragedy. Living in Savannah, her grandparents encourage her to become an equestrian. On the eve of realizing her dream of going to the Olympics, Piper takes a fall off her horse that almost kills her. Her broken bones heal, leaving her with a limp, but her broken spirit does not.

All Piper remembers of her grandmother is a woman in the background, with no spirit, no opinions, no life. She has been in a nursing home due to Alzheimer's for years. When Piper's granddaddy dies, she is give clues that lead her to believe there is more to her grandmother's story. Sadly, her grandmother dies before she can learn what that might be.

Armed with a tin box full of scrapbook pages, a key to a hidden room, an angel charm, and a knitted blue baby sweater and blanket, Piper sets off to discover the grandmother she never knew. Along the way, maybe she will reawaken the Piper that has been sleeping for so long.

This was my first Karen White book, though The House on Tradd Street has been on my TBR list for awhile. I really, truly enjoyed this book. It was so easy to become immersed in the story and to visualize Asphodel Meadows and Savannah.

Gripping the wheel tightly, I angled the car and turned, finding myself suddenly enveloped in the canopy of an ancient live oak alley. I stopped the car, looking at the old trees that barely resembled the live oaks of Savannah's squares despite the generous shawls of Spanish moss. These trees were darkened and withered, despite enough leaves to show that they were alive. But the limbs were bent and gnarled, the knobs at the forks like the bent shoulders of mourners at a funeral.(p54)

Ms. White combines tragedy, family, mystery and a touch of romance for a heartwarming story that life does go on.

And now for a little bit about the author:

They had her at hello. From her first moments in Charleston and Savannah, and on the South Carolina and Georgia coasts, novelist Karen While was in love. Was it the history, the architecture, the sound of the sea, the light, the traditions, the people, the lore? Check all of the above. Add Karen’s storytelling talent, her endless curiosity about relationships and emotions, and her sensitivity to the rhythms of the south, and it seems inevitable that this mix of passions would find its way into her work.

Known for award winning novels such as Learning to Breathe, the recently announced Southern Independent Bookseller Association’s 2009 Book of the Year Award nomination for The House on Tradd Street, and for the highly praised The Memory of Water, Karen has already shared the coastal Low country and Charleston with readers. Spanning eighty years, Karen’s new book, THE LOST HOURS, now takes them to Savannah and its environs. There a shared scrapbook and a necklace of charms unleash buried memories, opening the door to the secret lives of three women, their experiences, and the friendships that remain entwined even beyond the grave, and whose grandchildren are determined to solve the mysteries of their past.

Karen, so often inspired in her writing by architecture and history, has set much of THE LOST HOURS at Asphodel Meadows, a home and property inspired by the English Regency styled house at Hermitage Plantation along the Savannah River, and at her protagonist’s “Savannah gray brick” home in Monterey Square, one of the twenty-one squares that still exist in the city.

Italian and French by ancestry, a southerner and a storyteller by birth, Karen has lived in many different places. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she has also lived in Texas, New Jersey, Louisiana, Georgia, Venezuela and England, where she attended the American School in London. She returned to the states for college and graduated from New Orleans’ Tulane University. Hailing from a family with roots firmly set in Mississippi (the Delta and Biloxi), Karen notes that “searching for home brings me to the south again and again.”

Always, Karen credits her maternal grandmother Grace Bianca, to whom she’s dedicated THE LOST HOURS, with inspiring and teaching her through the stories she shared for so many years. Karen also notes the amount of time she spent listening as adults visited in her grandmother’s Mississippi kitchen, telling stories and gossiping while she played under the table. She says it started her on the road to telling her own tales. The deal was sealed in the seventh grade when she skipped school and read Gone With The Wind. She knew—just knew—she was destined to grow up to be either Scarlet O’Hara or a writer.

Karen’s work has appeared on the South East Independent Booksellers best sellers list. Her novel The Memory of Water, was WXIA-TV’s Atlanta & Company Book Club Selection. Her work has been reviewed in Southern Living, Atlanta Magazine and by Fresh Fiction, among many others, and has been adopted by numerous independent booksellers for book club recommendations and as featured titles in their stores. This past year her 2007 novel Learning to Breathe received several honors, notably the National Readers’ Choice Award.

In addition to THE LOST HOURS, Karen White’s books include The House on Tradd Street, The Memory of Water, Learning to Breathe, Pieces of the Heart and The Color of Light. She lives in the Atlanta metro area with her family where she is putting the finishing touches on her next novel The Girl on Legare Street.
You can visit Karen White's website at www.karen-white.com.

An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell (Book Review)

Title: an offer you can't refuse

Author: Jill Mansell

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Genre: Romantic Fiction

Available: April 2009

ISBN: 9781402218330

This book was made available to me for review from Sourcebooks. Thanks Danielle!

First sentence: There are some places where you might expect to bump into your boyfriend's ultra-posh mother.

Lola and Dougie were very much in love. Though only 17 and 18, they had promised each other forever. This changed in the blink of an eye. Dougie's mother was not a big fan of Lola's. She didn't think that Lola belonged in her son's "privileged" life, so she offers Lola 10,000 pounds to leave Dougie and convince him that it is over. Lola is outraged and is bound and determined to tell Dougie what kind of mother he has. Before she has a chance to speak with him, her circumstances change and she is forced to accept his mother's bribe.

Now, 10 years later she is working as a bookstore manager and living in Notting Hill. Coming to the aide of a woman in distress manages to land her face to face with her old love. Can she fan the flames and reignite his desire for her? Or will the truth of what she did keep them apart forever?

This is a great chick-lit book! The story has a host of secondary characters that are just as entertaining as Lola. They also each have their own story to add to the mix! We have Blythe, Lola's fashion-challenged mother; Malcolm- Blythe's monopoly-loving boyfriend; Gabe - the neat-freak, next door neighbor - who also happens to be Lola's best friend; Sally - Dougie's sister and Gabe's eventual flatmate - and she is as messy as Gabe is neat. Let's not forget Dougie himself and his current girlfriend Isabel - who is both beautiful and intelligent. Throw in a couple of celebrities and a long lost relative and you have a delightful read. I found this book hard to put down. If you like Sophie Kinsella, I think you will like Jill Mansell.

Jill is a current sensation in the UK - this is her first book to be published in the U.S. She has a second one due out in June - Miranda's Big Mistake.

Come back later this week as I will be interviewing Jill Mansell - my first author interview! You can find out how to win a copy of her book then!

For other reviews:

Diary of an Eccentric

My Friend Amy

Bookopolis

Savvy Verse & Wit

A Bookworm's World

Booking Mama

Yesterday's Embers by Deborah Raney (Book Review)

Title: Yesterday's Embers
Author: Deborah Raney
Publisher: Howard Books/Simon & Schuster
Genre: Christian Fiction
Available: Now
Read for First Wild Card Tour

First sentence(s): "You sure you guys'll be okay?" Doug Devore leaned over the sofa to plant a kiss on his wife's lips. (go here to read the first chapter)

Doug Devore loses his wife Kaye and daughter Rachel, tragically, on Thanksgiving Day. He doesn't know how he is going to raise his remaining five children - ranging in age from Harley at age 2 to Kayeleigh who was 12. He was already working two jobs and Kaye had worked part-time. Together they had just barely covered the bills.

Mickey Valdez is the director at Doug's daycare. He becomes habitually late in picking up the kids and so she offers to bring them home one night. Doug invites her to stay for the take-out he had picked up for dinner. The kids seem thrilled to have her there and Doug is reminded what it is like to have a woman in the house.

Mickey and Doug next meet outside of daycare at a wedding in town. Doug had only gone at the insistence of his daughter Kayeleigh, who wanted to wear the pink dress her mom had made for the Christmas program. A program that she never attended. He hadn't done any socializing since his wife had died 2 1/2 months earlier. He preferred living in his grief-stricken fog - only surfacing for his job and his kids.

Well-meaning townsfolk pushed the two of them together for a dance. This led to them spending most of the evening together dancing and Doug taking Mickey home afterwards. This was all very upsetting to Kayeleigh. She did not want to see her dad laughing and dancing with anyone like he used to with her mom.

After a few weeks Mickey and Doug are seeing each other regularly - but it has only been a few months since Kaye died. As they grow closer, Kayeleigh continues to pull farther away. Is the spark between Doug and Mickey really love? Or is it taking the place of something else?

I enjoyed this story very much. It was very realistic with characters that were full of warmth and feeling. It pulled at my heartstrings when Doug lost his wife and daughter. I struggled with him as he tried to go on with his life and help his kids adjust to their new reality. I felt as anxious as Mickey when they began "courting". Wondering if it was too much of a good thing too soon. I wanted Mickey and Doug to come through everything as a couple - but you must read the book yourself to see what happens!

Deadly Charm by Claudia Mair Burney (Book Review)

Title: Deadly Charm (an amanda bell brown mystery)
Author: Claudia Mair Burney
Publisher: Howard Books/Simon & Schuster
Genre: Christian Fiction
Available: Now

First sentence: Rocky showed up at my apartment door with an offer that, in his words, I "no coulda refuse."

Dr. Amanda Bell Brown, or Bell to her friends, has been pretty lost without her husband Jazz. He had left her the day after they got married when he found her kissing her ex-boyfriend Rocky. Well, actually Rocky had kissed her. He did not know that she had gotten married and she was trying to let him know without causing more hurt.

Rocky was the pastor of the Rock House. Ezekial Thunder and his family were staying with Rocky while Ezekial was trying to jump start his ministry again. He had made a shambles of it a few years back when he had an affair with an intern. Since then his wife had passed away and he had married the intern, Nikki. Together they had a little boy, almost 3, by the name of Zeke or Little Zeekie. Ezekial had other children - all of whom were named some form of Ezekial.

Bell does not really care for Ezekial and Nikki, especially after her "exorcism" of her "interracial dating and adultery" demon at Ezekial's Crusade. It had ended badly with her vomiting right at the feet of Ezekial. This episode made it on CNN when they began covering the Thunders after Little Zeekie accidentally dies while taking a bath at Rocky's. Or was it an accident?

Bell decides that it is up to her to find out. She teams up with her detective husband, Jazz, whom she is still separated from, to try to find out the truth.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Bell was full of quick wit and a sarcastic tongue which brought a smile to my face quite often. I loved the banter between Jazz and Bell. They clearly loved each other but were both very proud and independent. Here is an excerpt of that banter:

I didn't move. "What are you doing?"

"Opening the door for you."

"Why didn't you drive over to where your car is?"

"I'm not ready to leave yet, Bell."

"What if I've had enough of you for one day?"

"Oh, I happen to know you can take more of me than that." He said this with a wicked grin.

"Is your head always in the gutter?"

He leaned toward me, his arm resting on the top of the Love Bug. "Get out of the car, baby."

"No."

"I know you're mad. We can talk inside."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"You asked me to look into this for you, and that is what I did. Will you get out of the car so I can tell you whatI accomplished this evening?"

I took a peek at him. "You were just working?"

"I was."

"You're not attracted to that Cruella De Vil stick figure?"

"Hardly"

"And you don't think I'm too fat?"

"Bell, get out of the car. It's cold out here."

"You were supposed to say something romantic that made me believe you don't think I'm fat."

"Bell, if you don't step out of the Love Bug right now, I'm going to drag you upstairs."

"That fell way short of romantic, not to mention you still haven't said I'm not fat."

He sighed and rake his fingers through his hair. "You're not fat. I think you're stunning. You're so hot that I can hardly resist you, even though I'm still mad at you."

I grinned. "You think I'm hot?"

"Perhaps you should focus on my saying I'm still mad at you."

"You'll get over it. About me being hot. . ."

"You'll be hotter inside your apartment."

"Do you want to ravish me?"

"No. I want to throttle you. Please get out of the car."

I stepped a leg out. "I'm only letting you inside so you can report what happened with your girlfriend Nikki."

He moved back, took my hand, and helped me out of the car. "Fine."

"I don't want you getting fresh just because you're my husband. We're separated."

"You grill me about whether or not I want you, and now you insist that I not flirt with you."

"I have my standards." (pg 135-137)

This goes on all the way through the book. It cracked me up because I could so see arguing like this with my husband. Come back tomorrow for the First Wild Card Tour and read the first chapter!

Katt's in the Cradle by Ginger Kolbaba and Christy Scannell (Book Review)

Title: Katt's in the Cradle
Author: Ginger Kolbaba & Christy Scannell
Publisher: Howard Books/Simon and Schuster
Genre: Christian Fiction
Available: Now

First sentence: "I can't believe it!" Felicia Lopez-Morrison waved as she ricocheted through the tables, heading toward her three friends seated in their usual booth in the back right-hand corner of Lulu's.

When you are in the trenches, sometimes you're up to your neck in mud. That's the not-so-glamorous life of a pastor's wife.

Felicia's family is. . .complicated. That's putting it nicely. Now they're flying in from LA - all at once - to stay with her. . .just when her brother-in-law, Javier, and Mama aren't even speaking to each other. And the whole church will be there to witness the feud.

Mimi has a lot on her mind with her four energetic kids - especially Milo the screamer, with his Pavarotti voice. Then her live-in alcoholic dad starts to mow their lawn at midnight.

Lisa has her hands full with loudmouth Tom Graves and the other troublemakers at Red River Assembly. Then vicious rumors start to fly about the Barton family. . .and the attacks and threats get increasingly personal.

Jennifer is pushing her adopted daughter, Carys, in a stroller, when she notices a black town car - the same car she's seen several times over the past week. Could someone be following her?

The PWs plunge into an unnerving mystery. . .and discover what "family" really means.

(Description from book cover)

This book was just okay for me. But in all fairness, I think it would have made a tremendous difference if I had the opportunity to read the first two books Desperate Pastors' Wives and A Matter of Wife and Death first.

I liked the writing style - it was very flowing and easy to read and understand. The problems that the four wives were having were things that have probably happened somewhere at sometime - so it was realistic, except that I am not sure they would all be going on at the same time.

When I first started reading the book, the characters kept getting jumbled up in my mind. Again,I attribute this to not reading the first two books. There is a nice synopsis of each wife at the beginning of the book, though, so I referred to it quite often in the beginning.

I did like that it made me think about how I treat or even think about my friends and family. I hope that I do not devalue their feelings or ambitions just because it might be different from my own. It also showed me how necessary it is to show Christ's love in all encounters.

You can go here to read the first chapter!

Marked by Passion by Kate Perry (Book Review)

Title: Marked by Passion (Book 1 in Guardians of Destiny Series)

Author: Kate Perry

Publisher: Hachette

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Available: Now

Read courtesy of Hachette Books!

First sentence: Gabrielle Sansouci Chin?

Gabe had left her family and her heritage behind 15 years ago - after her mother had died - for which she was responsible. She was now a bartender at The Pour House and an aspiring artist. With her first showing in a few weeks, all she had to worry about was finishing the paintings in the series - or so she thought.

When the package arrived, she assumed it was the contract for her showing - until she discovered it was accompanied by a ghost! The ghost of her father, Wu, no less. It came as a shock to her to realize that her father was dead, but she had put her family and heritage behind her long ago - and now they were back.

The package contained a scroll and she had just become it's guardian. Tu ch'i - the power that accompanied the scroll - began to surge inside her. Wu had come to teach her how to control her power before it controlled - or worse - destroyed her.

Two more men entered her life within days of receiving the scroll. Her older brother, Paul, who had always felt he should be the one destined to be the Guardian, but without the birthmark, it was not his destiny. And then Rhys - who was handsome, rich, powerful - and could calm Gabe's tu ch'i with just a kiss.

I have not read a lot of paranormal books, but they are quickly becoming my favorite. Kate Perry gives her characters such life. Even though it was a paranormal - I felt like these were people you could actually find at the corner bar. The chemistry between Gabe and Rhys sizzled off the page!

In addition to Gabe, Wu, Paul and Rhys there is also Jesse - Gabe's ex-boyfriend from a year ago, Carrie - another bartender and the epitome of the Midwestern girl next door and Vivian, the buxom bartender you love to hate. These people rounded out the story and helped to give it a realistic flair.

If you like paranormal, you will like this book - if you like romance, this book will also appeal to you. If you like both - then this will be a true winner!

The second book in the series - Chosen by Desire is due out in the winter of 2010.

The Fruit of My Lipstick by Shelley Adina (Book Review)

Title: The Fruit of My Lipstick (Book 2 in the All About Us Series)
Author: Shelley Adina
Publisher: Faith Words/Hachette Books
Genre: YA/Christian fiction

First sentence: The New Year. . . when a young girl's heart turns to new beginnings, weight loss, and a new term of chemistry!

Christmas break is over and we are back at Spencer Academy with Lissa, Gillian, Carly, and Shani. Since Lissa was able to tell her story about Callum in It's All About Us (and Carly will share her story in book 3 - Be Strong and Curvaceous) it is Gillian's turn to come clean about her infatuation with Lucas Hayes - the smartest guy at Spencer Academy.

Lucas is working towards the Physics Olympiad when he and Gillian hook up. Gillian has never had a boyfriend before and is pretty quick to get swept up in the moment. While she likes Lucas, and always looks forward to seeing him, she doesn't always feel quite happy after her time spent with him - but it is nothing that she can put her finger on, so she just chalks it up to not having anything to compare it to. At the same time, though, she needs to concentrate on her own grads or her Type A dad will be coming down on her pretty hard!

Most of the other juniors are studying hard also, except for those that have been buying exam sheets from Source10. Nobody knows who this person is - but the whole junior class is going to be punished with F's if they are not caught!

First, one of Gillian's friends is suspended for the deed - then Gillian herself is put on house arrest as a suspect! They give their problems to God and pray that the truth will come out - but will it happen in time to save the semester? And where will this leave Gillian in her relationship with Carly, Lissa and Shani - not to mention Lucas!

I enjoyed this book as much as I did the 1st and 3rd books in the series. I like the way they gradually lead you into Christianity without being preachy. I think this series would definitely be good for those teens/young adults struggling with their faith.

The fourth book in the series - Who Made You a Princess? is due out in May 2009!

Age Before Beauty by Virginia Smith (Book Review)

Title: Age Before Beauty (Book 2 in the Sister to Sister Series)
Author: Virginia Smith
Publisher: Revell (Baker Publishing Group)
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Christian

First sentence: The mirror had to be warped.

How many times have we said that to ourselves? Or moved the bathroom scale because it must not be level to read that much? This book touched home with me greatly - as I became a stay-at-home mom after my third child (current ages 16,14,and 4). I kept telling myself - why did I work so hard to get those A's? Why did I go to college if I was just going to stay at home? Like Allie from the book, I researched some work-from-home "deals". I even cross-stitched for a company out of New York and was paid as an independent contractor. So after 4 1/2 years of being at home - what do I do? I love every minute with my son and I blog about books! :)

Allie helped to drive the point home with me, that staying at home was me doing my part for our own little team. I had struggled with the some of the same issues - losing that post-baby weight, earning my share, being okay with someone else watching my baby, and wondering if my husband was trustworthy. I have conquered some of these, still struggle with others but daily have been learning that if I trust in God, my Father, that the worries seem less and the blessings more.

Hmmm.. this has turned into not so much a book review but a review of my past 5 years! To the book - Allie and her husband Eric are parents to 2 month old Joanie Leigh (named after her two sisters Joan and Tori - and this is where it gets weird - my oldest daughter's name is Tori Leigh. . .). Allie is due to go back to work in a few weeks and is struggling with the decision to put her daughter in daycare. She attends a Varie Cose party and thinks she has found the answer to her problems - she will start her own Varie Cose business! (Think Amway). About this time Eric's mother, Betty, shows up on their porch needing a place to stay as she has moved out on her husband because "he did not appreciate her" anymore. Not what Allie needed - she dislikes her mother-in-law as much as her mother-in-law dislikes her.

Come and see how Allie progresses with her business, deals with her mother-in-law, and makes it all work - and who helps her in the end!

This was a quick read that I really could relate to and enjoyed immensely. Even though it is the 2nd book in the Sister to Sister series, it read absolutely wonderfully as a stand alone. Highly recommend this book for any new mom!

The Spring of Candy Apples by Debbie Viguie (Book Review)

Title: The Spring of Candy Apples (Book 4 in Sweet Seasons Series)
Author: Debbie Viguie
Publisher: Zondervan
Genre: Teen Fiction/Christian

First sentence: Candace wondered how every couple of months she managed to wind up seated across the desk from a Zone executive.

The Spring of Candy Apples is the 4th book in the Sweet Seasons series, but it read well as a stand alone, as I have not had the opportunity to read the first three books.

We catch up with Candace during her interview for The Zone's college scholarship to Florida Coast College. The interview is with John Hanson, the owner of The Zone, an amusement park in California. Candace was entered into the running by her friend, Josh, for her rendition of a new amusement park ride called Balloon Races. During the interview, Candace also gets promoted from a seasonal employee to a regular part-timer working at The Candy Counter.

Candace's life is getting busy. She enjoys working at The Zone and is also involved in a talent show that is coming up there. Add to that the lead in her school play, Man of La Mancha, boyfriend, best friends, and her church youth group.

Over the course of the book we meet Tamara, her best friend and fellow castmate in Man of La Mancha. She and Tamara have been best friends for a very long time and have planned to go to UCLA together. Candace does not know how she is going to tell her friend that she is considering going to Florida Coast.

Kurt is her boyfriend whom she met after she started working at The Zone. He used to be Lisa's boyfriend, another Zone employee, and this has brought out a host of problems and animosity in Lisa.

She also met Josh working at the Zone and he quickly became a good friend. It also benefited her friend Tamara as she is seriously dating Josh's brother James. Josh always seems to be around when Candace needs reassurance or someone to talk to - and he is also a Christian.

Join Candace as she decides if Kurt is "the one", which college to choose, and how Josh figures into all this!

This was a very cute story and a quick read. It was definitely not preachy, but was able to get across the story of salvation through it's characters. It was a light read but covered romance, touched on family issues, values, and handling important choices. I would recommend for girls 14-18 years old.

Simple Wishes by Lisa Dale (Book Review)

Title: Simple Wishes
Author: Lisa Dale
Publisher: Forever/Hachette Book Group
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Available: Now

First Sentence: For her twelfth birthday, a classmate gave Adele a book of New York City in photographs.

Adele Matin is a woman with a problem. She made a careless mistake that cost her job in New York City at an art gallery. Without a job, her apartment soon followed. She returned home to Grumble Knot on Notch Lane (don't you just love these names!), a house which her mother Marge had left to her in her will. She hadn't been back to rural Pennsylvania since she was seventeen - when she had left with these thoughts - to make it in New York City and be rid of her past and her demanding and unloving mother for good. So her return to Grumble Knot seemed to her the worst possible thing that could happen, but she had no where else to go.

Jay Westvelt had been taking care of the cabin in the years since her mother had died. He was a recluse and an artist who lived in a cabin called Tarpaper - next to Grumble Knot. He and Adele soon become close, even though they both seem to have issues from the past that are threatening their future.

Beatrice is Adele's Korean neighbor who was also Marge's friend. She knows the secret that Marge did not want her daughter to find out. She also has a secret of her own. She does her best to keep Adele from digging into the past.

As Adele and Jay grow closer, Adele also begins closing in on the secrets that she is sure everyone is keeping from her. When she finally uncovers the truth, will it send her back to New York City where a new job in a new art gallery awaits? Or will she finally learn to trust and believe in love?

I enjoyed this book very much. It had conflict, romance, mystery, heartache. The characters were great and I felt like they were people I could actually meet! They were dealing with issues that are relevant today - conflicts between mothers and daughters, teenage sex, family skeletons. As for the romance factor, I enjoyed reading a book that wasn't "love at first sight - sparks flying" and then "happily ever after". Jay and Adele had to learn to trust each other and had fights and misunderstandings along the way. This was a good read for right before Valentine's Day!

John's Quest by Cecelia Dowdy (Book Review)

Title: John's Quest
Author: Cecelia Dowdy
Publisher: Heartsong Presents
Genre: Christian Fiction/Contemporary Romance

First sentence: The loud banging at Monica Crawford's front door awakened her.

Monica's life changed when her younger sister Gina dropped off her seven-year-old son Scotty in the middle of the night. She claimed she was going on the road with her circus boyfriend and needed Monica to take care of him while she was gone.

Monica didn't have a choice. She was a Christian and had always been the more responsible sibling. She had thought that at her age she would be married with children of her own - but it hadn't worked out that way. Kevin, her last boyfriend, had dumped her 2 years before, and was already married to someone else and had a baby.

Scotty, her nephew, was blind and Gina hadn't made it a priority to see that he attended school regularly. Monica soon found out that he was behind. She promptly hired a tutor.

John was an agnostic, but had spent most of his free time during the last 10 years working with blind children. Scotty immediately took to him and Monica also felt a pull towards him.

As their friendship grows, Monica is torn as she knows she cannot date a non-believer. John is struggling with his beliefs also. His parents had raised him to be an agnostic, but then they had accepted Christ six months before they were killed in an auto accident. He had never gotten to talk with them about why they changed their beliefs.

Can Monica handle raising a blind child? How will she deal with her growing attraction to John? Will John come to understand and accept Christ? And when Gina comes back in the picture, will she take Scotty and run?

I liked this book and it was very quick to read. I wish that it would have dug deeper into John's issues with Christianity and how/why things ended the way they did with him (not going to spoil it for you!) It was fun to read a Christian romance though!

It's All About Us by Shelley Adina - Book Review

Title: It's All About Us - (Book 1 in the All About Us series)
Author: Shelley Adina
Publisher: Faith Words
Genre: YA fiction

First sentence: Some things you just know without being told.

Lissa Mansfield is having a tough time adjusting to her junior year at Spencer Academy. She had agreed to attend boarding school as her parents were going to be doing a lot of traveling for business. Her dad is a famous movie director and her mom is currently working on a charity campaign with Angelina Jolie. So she left behind her best friend Kaz, her ex-boyfriend, and the popular crowd that knew she was a Christian and accepted it.

She gets paired with Gillian Chang for a roommate and it doesn't take long for them to clash. Before long though, they discover that they are each Christians. Gillian wants to organize a weekly prayer circle. Lissa reluctantly goes along, hoping that Vanessa (most popular girl in school) or Callum (the hottest guy she has ever seen) won't see her there.

Without trying too much she wins the attention of Callum -but will she submit to his pressure and compromise her beliefs? Vanessa soon targets her to bring in a big celebrity for the Benefactor's Day Dance. Does that mean they are finally accepting her? And will her and Gillian ever become the friends that roommates should be?

Trying hard to find where she belongs and wanting to be accepted, Lissa and her faith hit some stumbling blocks. With the help of Gillian and bestfriend from back home, Kaz, they get her back on track. Great read for teen girls!

Side note: I read the 3rd book (Be Strong and Curvaceous) as part of a First Wild Card Tour. You can go here to read my review and here to read the first chapter of Be Strong and Curvaceous.

The Valentine Edition by Robin Shope (Book Review)

Title: The Valentine Edition (2nd book in Turtle Creek Edition series)
Author: Robin Shope
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Available: Now
Genre: Christian/Romantic Fiction

First sentence: Jodi Williams sighed for the hundredth time as she waved goodbye to the Chicago skyline, catching the last of the city in her rearview mirror.

Robin Shope has done it again with The Valentine Edition(and I just love the cover!) It follows on the heels of The Christmas Edition which came out last fall (see my review here). We get to travel to Turtle Creek, Wisconsin and visit the Turtle Creek newspaper staff. In addition to Lucy, Joe and Ullila - we are introduced to Jodi - a new reporter from Chicago, Josh- the town's veterinarian, and Della - Josh's secretary/assistant.

On Jodi's first day in town, she stops to assist what appears to be an abandoned dog, just in time to see him get hit by a car! As luck would have it, the next vehicle by is the town vet, Josh. He helps her take the dog (which she names Cupid) to his office. Thankfully, he is not seriously hurt (Cupid - not Josh), but does need some recovery time. Well, actually Josh needs some recovery time also because he is instantly smitten with Jodi!

As the sparks fly, Jodi helps the Turtle Creek newspaper plan their first matchmaking Valentine's Day dance, Cupid continues to recover, and Della puts her "make Josh mine" plan into motion!

Can Jodi get over past heartbreaks to let Josh in? Can Josh stay strong and win Jodi over - or does Della get her man? You have to read The Valentine Edition to find out! Great read just in time for Valentine's Day! You can read the first chapter here!

Scrapping Plans by Rebeca Seitz (Book Review)

Title: Scrapping Plans (Book 3 in the Sister, Ink series)
Author: Rebeca Seitz
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Genre: Christian Fiction
Available: Feb 2009

First sentence: I've tried to be happy.

This book is about 4 adopted sisters, Kendra - who is currently planning her upcoming wedding, Tandy -who is newly married, Meg - who is married with children, but experiencing frequent headaches, but mostly it is about Joy and her journey with her husband to conceive a child.

Along the way we meet their widowed father who is the pastor of Stars Hill Church. He is currently dating Zelda and the sisters aren't too happy about this.

Whenever there is a conflict, the sisters call for a "scrapping night" so that they can hash out ideas and figure out what to do. In the beginning of the book I was left feeling that these conflicts were being resolved too easily and unrealistically- but stuck with it only to see the conflicts rear back up - so they were not fully resolved!

The sisters are very close, more like best friends and are very involved in each other's lives. They share all the joy as well as the heartache with each other. They are also very protective of their father and are not ready for someone new in their mother's place! This book did a wonderful job of showing the care and respect that they have for one another. It is not too preachy, and would be a good book for a non-believer to read. It might not lead them to Christ, but might show them that when bad things happen, that God will be there and maybe it is because He wanted you to go down a different road.

This was a good book and a quick read - but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous two books in the series! You can go here to read the first chapter!