Saturday, May 29, 2010

Such A Pretty Face by Cathy Lamb (ARC)

Such A Pretty Face

Such A Pretty Face by Cathy Lamb

In this warm, funny, thoroughly candid novel, acclaimed author Cathy Lamb introduces an unforgettable heroine who's half the woman she used to be, and about to find herself for the first time-

Two years and 170 pounds ago, Stevie Barrett was wheeled into an operating room for surgery that most likely saved her life. Since that day, a new Stevie has emerged, one who walks without wheezing, plants a garden for self-therapy, and builds and paints fantastical wooden chairs. At thirty-five, Stevie is the one thing she never thought she'd be: thin. 

But for everything that's changed, some things remain the same. Stevie's shyness refuses to melt away. She still can't look her neighbors' gorgeous great-nephew in the eye. The Portland law office where she works remains utterly dysfunctional, as does her family-the aunt, uncle, and cousins who took her in when she was a child. To top it off, her once supportive best friend clearly resents her weight loss. 

By far the biggest challenge in Stevie's new life lies in figuring out how to define her new self. Collaborating with her cousins to plan her aunt and uncle's problematic fortieth anniversary party, Stevie starts to find some surprising answers-about who she is, who she wants to be, and how the old Stevie evolved in the first place. And with each revelation, she realizes the most important part of her transformation may not be what she's lost, but the courage and confidence she's gathering, day by day. 

As achingly honest as it is witty, Such A Pretty Face is a richly insightful novel of one woman's search for love, family, and acceptance, of the pain we all carry-and the wonders that can happen when we let it go at last.  (From Amazon)


I absolutely LOVED this book. There I said it. And would you like to know why? It’s simple really. The characters are real, the places are real, the rulings are final – oh wait, that’s Judge Judy! They are true, and they are believable. They are you, they are me, and they are your mother, your father, your neighbor, your cousin, or even your teacher.  They are the people that are hiding from their pasts, that are struggling with day-to-day life and the people looking towards a better tomorrow.

Stevie Barrett is not the same person she used to be. After suffering a heart attack at 32, primarily caused by her severe obesity, she knows that it’s now or never to get her life on track. So she makes the life-altering decision to have gastric bypass surgery and is now 170 lbs lighter. But this doesn’t really solve all of Stevie’s problems. Yes, it solves the weight issue, but not what caused her to almost overeat herself to death.  She has many new challenges she must now face.  She is grappling with a past that no child should ever have to live through, while at the same time trying to adjust to a life in her new body, deal with family issues, a moral dilemma at work, and, of course, there is that crush she’s got on her gorgeous neighbor.  There is also her obsession with chairs.  Yes, chairs. Chairs that speak to her and tell her how they’d like to be designed. Chairs that fill her garage yet are kept hidden from the rest of the world. How is this a key to her past and how will it open the door to her future?

Stevie lived with her mother Helen, her baby sister Sunshine (whom she named) and her grandparents. We find out at the beginning of the story the tragedy that befell this family, the one that defines her life, and through flashbacks we learn more and more about what happened to Stevie and her immediate family when she was young. Aunt Janet was Stevie’s mother’s sister who, with her husband Herbert, and cousins Lance & Polly, Stevie went to live with when she was a young girl. Herbert (she refused to call him Uncle) was a tyrant. Aunt Janet was dominated by Herbert their entire married life and she has become a weak, shell of a person. Lance is a former football star who has made millions coming up with new business ideas and launching them (but only if his ankle twitched).  Polly is a well known newscaster struggling with eating issues of her own.  Cherie is Stevie’s boss. She is the managing partner of the law firm that Stevie works in as a legal assistant. She is absolutely hysterical and adds the humor that Stevie needs in her life.  Zena is her crazy co-worker who frequently finds Stevie outside on her way to work begging a piece of clothing with which  to  freshen up her night-before clothes so that it doesn’t look like that she’s just finished clubbing. Unfortunately Stevie is forced to work with a bitch of a woman on the case of a young boy permanently injured by a botched surgery. They are representing the hospital and refuse to settle with the family. Stevie finds some incriminating evidence against their client, but will she do the right thing and turn it over to the other side? Then there is Eileen, her BFF, who claims that Stevie cheated her way in losing the weight by having the surgery. She torments Stevie to no end. But what it really comes down to is that Eileen is overwhelmed with jealousy because Stevie is now thin. Can this friendship possibly survive the changes in both women? And then there is Jake, her hunky neighbor who Stevie avoids at all costs. She’s known to jump a hedge or two when she sees him coming just so she won’t have to speak to him. But he’s on to her game and slowly the two form a relationship that might just provide Stevie with the happiness that she’s looking for, and rightfully deserves.

This book is loaded with tough topics like anorexia, overeating, gay marriage, divorce, self-esteem issues, mental illness, abuse, and death. It is not for the faint of heart. BUT, it is also filled with love, hope, humor, honesty, devotion, trust and forgiveness.  You will want to reach right into the pages of the book to comfort those who are hurting. Does being skinny and having a “pretty face” mean you have it all? Nope. As the saying goes – beauty is only skin deep. From an opening that will tear your heart to pieces to an ending that will sew it back together again, Such A Pretty Face will make you laugh and it will make you cry.  It will make you feel. Because that’s exactly what a great book does.


Release date ~ August 1st.  (click the link above to pre-order your copy today!)





FTC Full Disclose ~ The author sent me this book in hopes I would review it.


Friday, May 28, 2010

Friday Fill-Ins


And...here we go!

1. Fresh Fruit -- the best food to take on a picnic.

2. Summer rocks.

3. Always make sure you have a pedicure for when you wear  flip flops.

4. To love someone is a beautiful thing.

5. I'm not one for taking a long hike.

6. When I crave food, it's usually chinese food.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing & catching up on TV, tomorrow my plans include a waxing, pedicure, reading, reading, reading.  and Sunday, I am going to see Snow White with my 2 nieces, SIL and mom!

Book Blogger Hop ~ May 28th-31st

In the spirit of the Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky at Crazy-For-Books!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun!  This is a weekly event!

Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

Make sure you hop on over to Crazy-For-Books so that you can find some great blogs like I have done!  You won't be disappointed.

Uprinting - 100 Postcards Giveaway - WINNER

Congratulations

 Bobbie

I've sent an email requesting their address. If I don't hear back in 48 hrs, I'll choose another winner. Thank you to those that have entered :)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Book Giveaway - The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum

The Stormchasers

The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum


Blum (Those Who Save Us) visits Tornado Alley in this vivid novel about a set of twins with a dark history. At home in Minnesota, Karena Jorge gets an unexpected call informing her that her twin brother, Charles Hallingdahl, whom she hasn't seen in the 20 years since something went very wrong during a storm chase, has been admitted to a Kansas mental hospital. Charles suffers from rapid cycling bipolar disorder, and all Karena knows is that he refuses medication, he can be a danger to himself and others, and he is still obsessed with storm chasing. When she rushes to the clinic and finds he has already left, Karena joins a professional storm-chasing tour company, hoping to find her brother in the caravan of watchers who follow major storms. In the course of the tour, Karena confronts the past and the way it has shaped her life. The unpredictable and dangerous storms provide a framework for an exploration of the bond between siblings (and its limitations), and Blum renders the stormy backdrop as richly as she does her nuanced characters.

"A somber, effective portrait of twins [and] a meticulous portrait of bipolar disorder and the heartbreaking damage it does to those it affects. . . . Beautifully rendered. . . . A strong second novel."
-Kirkus Reviews

"This is an honest depiction of mental illness told with all the pain, humor, hubris, and guilt that the "healthy" sibling bears...women's fiction fans and those with a special interest in extreme weather should welcome Boston resident and creative writing instructor Blum's second novel (after Those Who Save Us )."
-Library Journal
  

To enter to win, simply fill out the form below. 
You must be a follower to enter.
Extra entries for Twitter, Facebook and other promotions of this contest.
The contest is open to USA residents only!
The contest will end on June 4th, and the winner will be announced on June 5th.




Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection this week is ~
 
Chapter & Hearse (A Booktown Mystery) 
 

Mystery bookstore owner Tricia Miles has been spending more time solving whodunits than reading them. Now a nearby gas explosion has injured Tricia's sister's boyfriend, Bob Kelly, the head of the Chamber of Commerce, and killed the owner of the town's history bookstore. Tricia's never been a fan of Bob, but when she reads that he's being tight-lipped about the "accident", it's time to take action. 
 
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Berkley
  • ISBN-10: 0425236013 / 9780425236017
  • Release Date: August 2, 2010
  • Amazon Price: $7.99
Click on the link above to pre-order your copy TODAY!
 

And Then There Was One by Patricia Gussin (ARC)

And Then There Was One

And Then There Was One by Patricia Gussin

One is the loneliest number.

Nine years ago, Katie and Scott Monroe were blessed beyond their wildest dreams with identical triplets, Sammie, Alex, and Jackie. Three beautiful daughters and two adoring parents formed the picture-perfect party of five. But this tight-knit family unravels when the three little girls go to see a movie, but only one emerges from the darkness of the theatre. How could Sammie and Alex vanish without a trace?

Plunged into the abyss of a parent's worst fear, Katie and Scott hang by a thread-waiting, worrying, not knowing, and confronting the terrifying realization that the kidnapping may not have been a random act.
Who took Sammie and Alex? Why? Where are they? When will they be found? And what if they're never found, or not found alive? When Jackie, the remaining triplet, crumbles under the weight of grief and survivor's guilt, Katie and Scott struggle to hold out hope and hold on to what remains of their family.

Until-or unless-Sammie and Alex are found safe, this picture-perfect family can't be put back together again.

 Release date ~ October 4th. Click on the link above to pre-order your copy today!

Check back soon for my review!

FTC Full Disclosure ~  The publisher sent me this book in the hopes I would review it.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Here's what I got ~




Death in Show: A Dog Walker MysteryDeath in Show: A Dog Walker Mystery by Judi McCoy (For Review) ~ Professional dog walker Ellie Engleman doesn't know much about the ins and outs of dog shows. But when one handler is killed, Ellie will learn that it's a dog-eat-dog world. Especially since the killer might now have it out for her. She and her sometime boyfriend, Detective Sam Ryder, will have to dig up the truth faster than a speeding bulldog... (Release date June 1st)

A Cast-Off Coven: A Witchcraft MysteryA Cast-Off Coven: A Witchcraft Mystery  by Juliet Blackwell (For Review) ~ Lily Ivory is not your average witch. She runs a vintage clothing store called Aunt Cora's Closet and has the magical ability to sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry. When students are spooked at the San Francisco School for the Arts, Lily is called in to search for paranormal activity. She finds a dead body00and a closet full of old clothes with some very bad vibes. (Release date June 1st)

Reel Murder: A Talk Radio MysteryReel Murder: A Talk Radio Mystery  by Mary Kennedy (For Review) ~ Florida's newest talk show radio psychologist Maggie Walsh has no sooner gotten involved with a local movie production than the leading lady turns up dead. Now Maggie has to find the killer before the credits roll-or it might be her final performance. (Release date June 1st)

Death Threads (Southern Sewing Series)Death Threads (Southern Sewing Series)  by Elizabeth Lynn Casey (For Review) ~ Yankee librarian Tori Sinclair is basking in the warmth of her new circle of friends from South Carolina's Sweet Briar Ladies Society sewing circle. That is until local author Colby Calhoun reveals an unflattering secret about the town's historic past-and then disappears, leaving a bloody trail behind him. And when Tori begins to see a pattern of the townsfolk's age-old Southern pride standing in the way of justice, she knows it's time to unravel the mystery.

Beachcombers: A NovelBeachcombers: A Novel  by Nancy Thayer (For Review) ~ After her husband leaves her for one of her best friends, middle-aged Marina Warren takes a friend's advice and retreats to Nantucket, the stomping grounds of her youth. She rents a cottage from handsome local widower Jim Fox, who has recently welcomed back his two older daughters, Emma and Abbie, into the house he shares with his third daughter, Lily. Emma has recently lost her job and been left by her fiancĂ©, while Abbie has decided to start an odd-jobs company servicing the wealthy summer crowd. Lily, meanwhile, earns a living as a society reporter for the local magazine and stews in her resentment toward her sisters (who return the sentiment) and newcomer Marina, who clearly has eyes for her father. As each search for fulfillment (and a man), they encounter vexing villains, class struggle, and good old-fashioned romance. (Release date June 22nd)

Small ChangeSmall Change  by Sheila Roberts (For Review) ~ These Heart Lake, Wash., neighbors become divas living on a dime when harsh economic times hit. Still recovering from a miscarriage, Tiffany Turner is a shopaholic who becomes frantic when her out-of-control credit card spending prompts her husband, Brian, to leave her. Rachel Green is a struggling divorcĂ©e with two children who's just lost her teaching job and professes to not need a man until she meets Chad Alvarez. And stay at-home wife and former musician Jess, when informed by her banker husband that he might lose his job, wonders if she can be a rocker chick again. To cope, the Small Change Club members decide to simplify their lifestyles and take control of their future. Homing in on issues many readers can identify with, Roberts's women search for practical solutions to a common challenge with humor and froth

Such A Pretty Face Such A Pretty Face by Cathy Lamb (For Review) ~ In this warm, funny, thoroughly candid novel, acclaimed author Cathy Lamb introduces an unforgettable heroine who's half the woman she used to be, and about to find herself for the first time. Two years and 170 pounds ago, Stevie Barrett was wheeled into an operating room for surgery that most likely saved her life. Since that day, a new Stevie has emerged, one who walks without wheezing, plants a garden for self-therapy, and builds and paints fantastical wooden chairs. At thirty-five, Stevie is the one thing she never thought she'd be: thin. But for everything that's changed, some things remain the same. Stevie's shyness refuses to melt away. She still can't look her neighbors' gorgeous great-nephew in the eye. The Portland law office where she works remains utterly dysfunctional, as does her family-the aunt, uncle, and cousins who took her in when she was a child. To top it off, her once supportive best friend clearly resents her weight loss.By far the biggest challenge in Stevie's new life lies in figuring out how to define her new self. Collaborating with her cousins to plan her aunt and uncle's problematic fortieth anniversary party, Stevie starts to find some surprising answers-about who she is, who she wants to be, and how the old Stevie evolved in the first place. And with each revelation, she realizes the most important part of her transformation may not be what she's lost, but the courage and confidence she's gathering, day by day.As achingly honest as it is witty, Such A Pretty Face is a richly insightful novel of one woman's search for love, family, and acceptance, of the pain we all carry-and the wonders that can happen when we let it go at last. (Release date August 1st)


Sometimes MineSometimes Mine by Martha Moody (For Review) ~ Genie Toledo is a spitfire who too young married the wrong guy, had a daughter, quickly divorced, and now, in her forties, has filled the emotional gap by throwing herself into her work and holding friends and family at arm's length-even her college-age daughter. The only person to penetrate her thick shell is Mick Crabbe, with whom she's had a decade-long affair. He's a charming guy-famous even, a well-known college basketball coach-but the fact that they live in different states and see each other only once a week, and that Mick is committed not only to his wife and kids, but also to his basketball team and all those fans, suits Genie just fine. She can take care of herself. She doesn't need him.That is, until Mick becomes fatally ill and the nature of their relationship is forced to change. Genie sets her heart free for the first time and is ultimately altered by the experience. As she becomes intimately involved in Mick's care, and makes herself known to his family, Genie finally understands the importance of making connections with others, and earns, even from the outside world, the extremely moving validation of her significance in Mick's life.Narrated with the warmth, humor, and compassion that readers have come to expect from Martha Moody, Sometimes Mine is an emotionally engaging story of learning to appreciate the value of the people in your life, and the realization that sometimes the most meaningful relationships are those that go unrecognized.

And Then There Was One  by Patricia Gussin (For Review) ~ One is the loneliest number.
Nine years ago, Katie and Scott Monroe were blessed beyond their wildest dreams with identical triplets, Sammie, Alex, and Jackie. Three beautiful daughters and two adoring parents formed the picture-perfect party of five. But this tight-knit family unravels when the three little girls go to see a movie, but only one emerges from the darkness of the theatre. How could Sammie and Alex vanish without a trace?
And Then There Was OnePlunged into the abyss of a parent's worst fear, Katie and Scott hang by a thread-waiting, worrying, not knowing, and confronting the terrifying realization that the kidnapping may not have been a random act.
Who took Sammie and Alex? Why? Where are they? When will they be found? And what if they're never found, or not found alive? When Jackie, the remaining triplet, crumbles under the weight of grief and survivor's guilt, Katie and Scott struggle to hold out hope and hold on to what remains of their family.Until-or unless-Sammie and Alex are found safe, this picture-perfect family can't be put back together again. (Release date October 4th)

How to Crash a Killer Bash: A Party-Planning Mystery (Party Planning Mystery)How to Crash a Killer Bash: A Party-Planning Mystery (Party Planning Mystery)  by Penny Warner (For Review) ~ Presley Parker is hosting a Murder Mystery party thrown by a notorious yet benevolent curator, Mary lee Miller. But when the role play becomes terrifyingly real, and Mary Lee is found dead, Presley kicks her sleuthing into high gear-only to find that someone wants the life of the party dead too... (Release date August 3rd)

In Winter's GripIn Winter's Grip  by Brenda Chapman (For Review) ~ Maja Cleary has turned her back on her family and her hometown of Duved Cove, Minnesota, after her mother s suicide. Now in her early forties and a successful plastic surgeon in Ottawa, she ignores the dreams that disturb her days and the growing dissatisfaction with her marriage and unfulfilled life. She is not brave enough to make changes until a desperate phone call one cold February evening reveals that her father has been murdered in his backyard. Her brother Jonas arrest for her father s murder forces her from her safe world in Ottawa. Even as she works to prove her brother innocent, Maja discovers that others had equally good reason to want him dead. The frigid, stormy Minnesota landscape sets the mood as Maja battles against time, the local police, and the relentless snow. All the while, the murderer prepares to kill again. (Release date September 25th)

Murder on Lexington Avenue (Gaslight Mystery)Murder on Lexington Avenue (Gaslight Mystery)  by Victoria Thompson (For Review) ~ In Thompson's fine 12th mystery set in turn-of-the-20th-century New York City (after 2009's Murder on Waverly Place), Det. Sgt. Frank Malloy investigates the murder of Nehemiah Wooten, who was bludgeoned with a loving cup Wooten won for sculling at Harvard more than 30 years earlier. A follower of Alexander Graham Bell's views on eugenics, Wooten was opposed to two deaf people getting married on the grounds that such unions would produce only deaf offspring, an attitude that earned him an enemy within his own home. Wooten's attractive 16-year-old daughter, Electra, who could not hear, was hoping to marry a deaf teacher. When Malloy visits Wooten's pregnant widow and her water breaks, he calls in midwife Sarah Brandt. Thanks to her access to the victim's household, Sarah proves invaluable in helping him uncover the killer. (Release date June 1st)

Skein of the Crime (A Knitting Mystery)Skein of the Crime (A Knitting Mystery)  by Maggie Sefton (For Review) ~ While Kelly's romance with her longtime architect boyfriend, Steve Townsend, suffers, she helps her IT consultant friend, Megan Smith, plan Megan's upcoming wedding and teach a House of Lambspun knitting class. When Holly Kaiser, a college student who had been dating the son of a Lambspun knitting teacher, dies of a drug overdose, Kelly once again turns amateur sleuth. The more Kelly learns about Holly, who was far too fond of Ecstasy, the more she suspects the fatal overdose was no accident. The action builds to an intriguing cliffhanger. Directions for a braided knit scarf and a carrot cake recipe are a bonus (Release date June 1st)