From the shelf: After You

Title: After You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance, Chick-Lit
Date read: January 20-24, 2016
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

11 hours, 6 minutes

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

After You is quintessential Jojo Moyes—a novel that will make you laugh, cry, and rejoice at being back in the world she creates. Here she does what few novelists can do—revisits beloved characters and takes them to places neither they nor we ever expected.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Lookback: Me Before You

This is 18 months after the events in "Me Before You". I was one of those fans waiting for a sequel but at the same time I dreaded it. I have a lot of disappointments in sequels. But just like Lou, I needed the closure. I wanted to move on from Will Traynor's selfish decision to move on. Yes, I was that bitter. Luckily, Jojo Moyes announced that she is doing the aftermath sequel and here we are. This was the most real way I could think of on how Lou would cope up with Will's death. I know that some might judge her for being that way since she has known Will for just a short time, but for me it doesn't matter how long they have known each other...what they had was real and because of that decision, it was a sad love story. It was a big 'Might have been'. I don't blame Will though. He just wanted to escape from the life he had after having the life he supposed he had. The downside from that decision is the chance to have his happy ever after. This is a story about how people around Will did cope up with the aftermath of them all. How Lou tried to move on with her life just as she promised and how she failed to do so. She was like a shell of herself and because of that a reminder of Will came to remind her that she should move on with her life. I loved how this became a sort of closure to that part of her life. I think I also had my closure when I read the last page. For me what happened at the last scene was telling us that life is full of possibilities and that the future is bright ahead, its just that we needed that closure.

Till the next read...

Author Spotlight: Suzie Tullet's "The Trouble with Words" Blog Tour

Hi readers and bibliophiles alike, I am grateful to be given a chance to host Suzie Tullet's book blog tour for her upcoming book "The Trouble with Words" today. I also have been given the opportunity to have an ARC of the book. Thanks Suzie!

Brought to you by:

Suzie Tullett is an author of contemporary humorous fiction and romantic comedy. As well as The Trouble with Words, her novels include Going Underground and Little White Lies and Butterflies, which was short-listed for The Guardian's 2013 Not the Booker Prize. She has a Masters Degree in Television & Radio Scriptwriting and worked as a scriptwriter before becoming a full-time novelist. And when she's not tapping away on the computer creating her own literary masterpiece, she usually has her head in someone else's.

Reach her at:

Website: http://suzietullett.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/suzietullett

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzie-Tullett-Author/221204154583599?fref=ts

Title: The Trouble with Words

Author: Suzie Tullet

Genre: Romance, Chick-Lit

Date read: September 25, 2015

Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Promises are easy to make but hard to keep. 

Having long made a promise to her husband, young widow Annabel has no intentions of breaking it. What she does plan to do, though, is have a baby. Not the easiest of tasks for a woman with a deceased other half, and having explored all her options, her only choice is to take the unconventional route. Setting out to find her own donor, Annabel meets Dan. Single, fun-loving and definitely not looking for commitment, this unruly blonde, blue-eyed man seems perfect for the job. 

Dan wants nothing more than to find his dream woman. But with a mother intent on sabotaging his every relationship, he can't help but think he's destined to remain single. Of course, he knows his mother doesn't really want him all for herself, why else would she keep insisting he meet Maeve? Why else would she insist Dan promise to find himself a wife before she meets her maker? 

Forced to negotiate matters of love, life and death, Annabel and Dan seem the answer to each other's prayers. But will they really be able to keep the promises they made? And is having a baby really the answer?

My Review: (also in goodreads)

It's always an honor to receive a book from the author asking you to give an honest review about it. It means they value your review and your ability to review without any pretense. Therefore, I'm going to give this an honest review:

This book has been a breeze to read. It is one of those books I could read just to pass the time while on a long bus ride. This is about second chances. Annabel and Dan badly need their chances to have their happy ending. Annabel who always have been hung up with the death of her husband finally had the balls to try to move on. Although there were times she think that it would betray her promise to her husband, she is in the part of her life where she wants to desperately want a baby. So desperate that being a single mom would be okay despite her sister and best friend's effort to stop her. Dan is someone who I think wants to have his happy ever after without his mother breathing down his neck and partnering him up with her friend's daughter. An unfortunate circumstance might befall him but when a great devastation comes, there's always hope in the end and I think that is what Annabel would symbolize for Dan. Its nice to see that both of them would get their second chances and that they compliment each other. The future may be uncertain but at least they took the chance.

October 1, 2015

September 21 - October 11, 2015

Follow "The Trouble with Words" Book Tour:

Blog Tour

21/09/2015 Krysten Lindsay Hager blog http://www.krystenlindsay.com/blog

22/09/2015 ChickLit Club Connect http://www.connect.chicklitclub.com

23/09/2015 Writing Pearls http://writingpearls.com

24/09/2015 The Pen & Muse http://thepenmuse.net

25/09/2015 BringTheBestsideOut https://bringthebestsideout.wordpress.com/

26/09/2015 Tea, Books, Crannies and Nooks http://hikarulibrary.blogspot.com/

28/09/2015 Comet Babes Books http://cometbabesbooks.blogspot.com/

29/09/2015 BB's Book Reviews & Promotions http://bbsbookreviews.com

Release Day Blitz 01/10/2015

BringTheBestsideOut https://bringthebestsideout.wordpress.com/

Books With Wine And Chocolate http://bookswithwineandchocolate.blogspot.com

Comet Babes Books http://cometbabesbooks.blogspot.com/

Portobello Book Blog https://portobellobookblog.wordpress.com/

Writing Pearls http://writingpearls.com

Cup of tea with that book, please https://cupofteawiththatbookplease.wordpress.com/

Bookish Bits http://bookishbits.blogspot.co.uk/

An Accidental Blog http://paulita-ponderings.blogspot.com/

Tea, Books, Crannies and Nooks http://hikarulibrary.blogspot.com/

01/10/2015 Just Contemporary Romance http://justcontemporaryromance.com/

02/10/2015 Books4u http://nikkis-books4u.blogspot.co.uk

03/10/2015 Spoonful of happy endings http://spoonfulofhappyendings.blogspot.com

05/10/2015 Portobello Book Blog https://portobellobookblog.wordpress.com/

06/10/2015 Bookish Bits http://bookishbits.blogspot.co.uk/

06/10/2015 Jera's Jamboree http://www.jerasjamboree.co.uk/

07/10/2015 Books With Wine And Chocolate http://bookswithwineandchocolate.blogspot.com

07/10/2015 Chick Lit Central http://www.chicklitcentral.com

08/10/2015 An Accidental Blog http://paulita-ponderings.blogspot.com/

09/10/2015 Reviewed The Book http://www.reviewedthebook.co.uk/

10/10/2015 Cup of tea with that book, please https://cupofteawiththatbookplease.wordpress.com/

11/10/2015 Brook Cottage Books www.brookcottagebooks.blogspot.com

Thank you for following The Trouble with Words Book Tour!

Till the next read...

From the shelf: The Geography of You and Me

Title: The Geography of You and Me
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Life, Chick-Lit
Date read: February 7-8, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★ (3/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too. 

My Review: (also in goodreads)

This is the 3rd book that I have read by Jennifer Smith (The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, This is what Happy Looks Like) and as per chick-lit standards, it didn't disappoint..although there were parts that I was bored. This story is about unexpected meetings, the value of change and holding on. Owen and Lucy were two people coping with change, one moving on from a loss and the other leaving her safe zone doing something she really wanted to do. Both of them literally have worlds apart between them geographically and they start to grow up as they experience life.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: The Girl You Left Behind

Title: The Girl You Left Behind
Author: Jojo Moyes
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Chick-Lit
Date read: September 5-9, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

France, 1916. Sophie Lefevre must keep her family safe whilst her adored husband Edouard fights at the front. When she is ordered to serve the German officers who descend on her hotel each evening, her home becomes riven by fierce tensions. And from the moment the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie's portrait - painted by Edouard - a dangerous obsession is born, which will lead Sophie to make a dark and terrible decision.

Almost a century later, and Sophie's portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston, a wedding gift from her young husband before he died. A chance encounter reveals the painting's true worth, and its troubled history. A history that is about to resurface and turn Liv's life upside down all over again . . .

In 'The Girl You Left Behind' two young women, separated by a century, are united in their determination to fight for what they love most - whatever the cost.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Other books: Me Before You

The reason I tried to read this book is because of the love I felt in reading her other novel, "Me Before You". I didn't try to read reviews of this book so that I would be in constant surprise and there were some scenes that made me feel exactly that. The story takes place in two time dimensions, a hundred years apart, bound by a painting threaded by different circumstances: 1916, a place where ware ensues in a little town in France and 2006, a time where a widow is struggling to make ends meet after the sudden loss of her husband. Just as I was curious on what happened to Sophie, time suddenly skips to Liv. The ending was really interesting and as the story unfolds on what really happened to the owner of the painting, Liv finally lets go of everything that binds her to the past and finally gives Sophie the justice she deserves.

Till the next read...

From the Shelf: The Distance Between Us

Title: The Distance Between Us
Author: Kasie West
Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Chick Lit
Date read: April 8, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★ (3/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

 My Review: (also in goodreads)

The protagonists, Caymen and Xander happen to meet because of an errand for his.grandmother. I was amused at Caymen's sarcasm. I was also quite weirded out at how fast the pace was and I didn't guess her mom's secret. Although, I was confused at why Xander's relatives were too nice to her eventhough she wasn't rich. All in all, it was a light, funny chicklit read in one sitting.

Till the next read...

From the Shelf: The Plan

Title: The Plan
Author: Qwen Salsbury
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick-Lit
Date read: March 31 - April 2, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★ (3/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Day of Employment: 359

11:05 a.m.

Location: Cubicles outside Canon’s office.
Co-workers: Betting on how long Canon’s new PA will last.
Me: No doubts. Ms. Gum-smacker won’t last the day. I need to place my bet.
Manolo Blahnik’s New Fall Shoes: Mine. As soon as Madeline hands over my winnings.

Emma Baker has never spoken a word to Alaric Canon, nor has he to her. But she’s studied him every day across the office tundra for almost a year. Canon is hard and fierce, terrifying and beautiful. He’s also the most stern, unforgiving person Emma has ever seen. Emma’s co-workers run a betting pool for Personal Assistant terminations. There’s a separate pot for the day one leaves without crying. Not likely…Canon made a former Navy SEAL cry.

He has high standards and low tolerance. Everyone knows it. Everyone stays away. Everyone who can, that is. Except Emma. She can’t look away. Alaric Canon is the single most attractive man she’s ever seen. Bar none.

Canon has never noticed her. Not once in almost a year. She’s not even a blip on his radar. But she will be. His radar will be blipless no more.

It is a goal. Emma has a plan.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Aside from the fact that Emma is kind of creepy and stalker-ish, I guess this book is quite funny. And because the genre is chick-lit fiction, expect the guy to be perfect. And when I mean perfect, everyone's dream and rich at that too. At first I had the impression that the writer portrays Emma as a nerd, with her use of sentences (yes, it is in her POV) and the way she sees Alaric Canon. All in all, I did enjoy it.

Till the next read...

From the Shelf: Seeing Red

Title: Blue Flame
Author: Jill Shalvis
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick-Lit
Date read: March 26-28, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Summer Abrams nearly died trying to save her father from a warehouse fire that, in the end, took his life. Consumed by guilt, she never set foot back in the town where her world fell apart. But now, twelve years later, another fire has ripped through that very warehouse, drawing Summer back to Ocean Beach--and to the man who was once her best friend...and is now a wildly sexy fire marshal who ignites her deepest desires.

Joe Walker has spent most of his life keeping people at bay. Summer was the only person he'd ever let in, but she'd broken his heart--and then took off without a word. After all these years, she's back--and she won't leave until they track down the arsonist responsible for this latest fire. Now Walker, who swore he'd never fall for Summer again, discovers he can't resist the scorching heat between them--and suddenly he's wondering if all these hot nights could become something more lasting...

My Review: (also in goodreads)

For some reason I felt bad in judging this firefighter series based on my review of the free book: Blue Flame. When I saw the plot for this novel, I was interested. Yes, I am originally biased to stories that involve childhood friends separated for a long time and reconnecting once again. That feeling of familiarity is soothing and somewhat calming. I like how Summer and Joe resolved their differences and sorted out their feelings. One thing that caught me off guard is the real culprit of all the fires happening. I guessed and all were wrong not until the later part of the story. That was good.

Till the next read...

From the Shelf: Blue Flame

Title: Blue Flame
Author: Jill Shalvis
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick-Lit
Date read: March 22-26, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★ (2/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

After San Diego firefighter Jake Rawlins is injured in a heroic, high-profile rescue, he decides to hide from the media and recover in solitude. So he retreats to the Blue Flame, the Arizona guest ranch he inherited from his father. The remote oasis under a clear azure sky might seem like a bit of heaven, but Jake finds himself longing to return to the city, where he can be lost in a crowd instead of alone with his thoughts--or-his spread's tempestuous manager.

Callie Hayes has put into the Blue Flame her heart and soul--both of which are shaken when her wildly sexy employer returns, rekindling memories of the stormy past they shared. But Jake's a different man, and soon he's setting off sparks that could lead to a love hot enough to change both their lives.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

This was a free book at the end of Lucky Harbor #7 'It Had To Be You' and naturally I would be curious. This was the author's way of thanking the readers I guess. This was one of those firefighter novels. A romance novel situated in a farm called Blue Flame given to Jake by his estranged father? Interesting. His means of escape from all the city life drama? Okay. A woman managing the farm that he has chemistry with? Okay. A brother he used to have a connection with? Okay. But I guess this story for me was dragging. I finished this for the sake of finishing a novel. Overall, it was just okay.

Till the next read...

From the Shelf: Once In A Lifetime (Lucky Harbor #9)

Title: Once In A Lifetime (Lucky Harbor #9)
Author: Jill Shalvis
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick-Lit
Date read: March 21-22, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

SOMETIMES WRONG IS OH-SO-RIGHT

After a wrenching loss, Ben McDaniel tried to escape his grief by working in dangerous, war-torn places like Africa and the Middle East. Now he's back in his hometown and face-to-face with Aubrey Wellington, the hot-as-hell woman who is trouble with a capital T. Family and friends insist she's not the one to ease his pain, but Aubrey sparks an intense desire that gives Ben hope for the future.

Determined to right the wrongs of her past, Aubrey is working hard to make amends. But by far, the toughest challenge to her plan is sexy, brooding Ben - even though he has absolutely no idea what she's done . . .

Can this unlikely couple defy the odds and win over the little town of Lucky Harbor?

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Lookback: Traeger Sisters: Simply Irresistible, The Sweetest Thing, Head Over Heels
               Chocoholics: Lucky in Love, At Last, Forever and A Day
               Short story (Traeger Sisters): Under the Mistletoe
               Downtown Business: It Had To Be You, Always On My Mind

The last book of the 3rd Lucky Harbor trilogy goes to Aubrey, the owner of the bookstore beside Leah's bakery and Ali's flowershop. Well, she has seen her friends discover love while she is trying her best to right her wrongs. At the same time she is trying her best to restore the bookstore just in time for the grand opening day. And by then her uncle hired Ben to help her restore. Ben is Jack's cousin and the third musketeer in their group (Luke, Ben and Jack) and who is also still devastated by his wife's death 5 years ago. Just like Jack and Leah there is that history between these two. I feel for Aubrey though, everyone misunderstands her and she is too tired to right what they think of her. Honestly, I couldn't pick between 'Always on my Mind' and this book. But the general winner here: In the third trilogy of the Lucky Harbor series, this has been my favorite book.

Till the next read...