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Book Reviews

Review: Is This What I Want?

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Four difficult months have passed since Beth’s husband Rick discovered her affair with a former student. The couple has worked hard in therapy to salvage their marriage and understand their roles in everything that happened. Things are looking up until Dave reappears, awakening Beth’s fantasies of what could have been had she taken their affair to the next level. Now that she is faced with another opportunity, Beth battles an even more impossible dilemma than the first time she was caught in Dave’s web.

Amidst the trouble in her marriage and pressure to shield her children from the discord, Beth is also called upon to help her two best friends, both with serious problems of their own. The stress sparks temptation to seek comfort in her favorite vices. But she knows she can’t hide if she wants to save what matters most. The question is, what does she want?

(Blurb from Goodreads)

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****This is book two of a series so this review will definitely be a spoiler if you have not read book one, Is This All There Is?****

See my review for Is This All There Is?

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As you read in the synopsis, Beth and Rick are working things out, and then BAM, Dave ends up in Beth’s class!!  Beth is honest to Rick about it though, but it obviously doesn’t help their marriage.  But just like the title suggests, Beth really still doesn’t know what she wants.

You know if you’ve read the first book, right before Beth was about to sleep with Dave, Rick called so it never happened.  So Beth has been building up that moment in her head.  The thing is, the grass usually seems greener on the other side doesn’t it?  Usually your imagination is way better than the real thing. But Beth still isn’t seeing clearly, and one of her new friends isn’t really the best influence which also doesn’t help her out.

So, I was shocked at what happened in this book, to be honest.  I wasn’t expecting it.  But again, that’s what makes it so good.  And just like the first book, I totally didn’t agree with Beth’s decisions.  But again, that’s what makes it a good book.

So yes, I really liked it and definitely recommend.

My Rating: 4 stars 

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***I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.  I work for Booktrope Publishing which is also the publishing company of this book.  However, I receive no monetary or any kind of compensation for sales of this book, or for writing a positive review.  This review was my honest opinion.*** 

Review: Is This All There Is?

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Beth Thomas’ seemingly perfect life is about to take a detour. At thirty-five, she’s married to her college sweetheart, has two adorable kids, and finds fulfillment teaching part time at the local university. 

But when a friend persuades her to go dancing on a rare night out, a chance meeting with a handsome former student changes the course of her life. Loud music, too much to drink, and the thrill of feeling young again lead to an unforgettable kiss that was never supposed to happen. Beth feels wanted again, listened to, cared for, but she knows it’s wrong. 

She tries to put the memory behind her, but he pursues her, drawing Beth back to temptation. As she travels deeper into Dave’s world, Beth struggles to choose between what her mind says is right and what she truly craves.

(Blurb from Goodreads)

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It’s funny how as you grow up your tastes change. Maybe you start to like coffee when  you hated it before.  Healthy food is more appealing.  And the genres you read switch as do the phases in life.  I’m not really a *Women’s Fiction* reader, but this book hit home with me on so many levels.

As I was reading it, I felt like, oh my God, someone who feels like me!  And I’m not talking about the cheating aspect AT ALL.  I’m talking about the loneliness of motherhood.  The part of motherhood that no one seems to talk about.  Because it is lonely, especially if you don’t take time for yourself to take care of you; and that is what started Beth’s dilemma.

I really enjoyed this book and was easily pulled into Beth’s world and thoughts.  I definitely did not agree with her choices, at all.  But if I did agree with what she did all the time, that would be a pretty boring book now wouldn’t it.

Thank you Patricia Mann for helping me get lost for a little while.  I definitely recommend.

My Rating: 4 1/2 stars 

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Find the Book

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Goodreads

***I downloaded this book for free on Amazon while it was on promotion. I also want to disclose that I work for Booktrope Publishing, the same company that published this book. I do not get compensated in any way for writing a positive review of this book. My thoughts are entirely my own and not swayed in any way.***

Review: How Do You Know?

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

What if you were approaching the end of your thirties and all of the life milestones you took for granted in your youth suddenly seemed out of reach?

On the eve of her thirty-ninth birthday, Maggie Piper doesn’t look, act, or feel much different than she did at twenty-nine, but with her fortieth birthday speeding towards her like a freight train, she wonders if she should. The fear of a slowing metabolism, wrinkling of her skin, and the ticking of her biological clock leaves Maggie torn between a desire to settle down like most of her similarly-aged peers and concern that all is not perfect in her existing relationship. When a spontaneous request for a temporary “break” from her live-in boyfriend results in a “break-up,” Maggie finds herself single once again and only twelve months from the big 4.0. In the profound yet bumpy year that follows, Maggie will learn, sometimes painfully, that life doesn’t always happen on a schedule, there are no deadlines in love, and age really is just a number.

Meredith Schorr, best-selling author of light women’s fiction, digs deep in her newest novel and raises the age old issue of the ‘proverbial clock’ that haunts many women, in a way that is refreshing and sassy no matter your age or relationship status.

(Blurb from Goodreads)

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Maggie has the perfect boyfriend…she just doesn’t know it.  Usually the grass isn’t greener on the other side, but it takes some people venturing over on that other side of grass to see that.

Maggie doesn’t have the excitement and butterflies with her live in boyfriend Doug anymore.  They’ve been together a long time.  He’s a great guy and all, she’s just starting to doubt their relationship.  And it doesn’t help that her 40th birthday is looming in the near future.  So Maggie decides to tell Doug her feelings and they break up.

I loved how real this book was.  I got into the story so much, I was legit scared for Maggie.  I was silently screaming in my head, “No!  Don’t do it!  Don’t break up with him; you’re going to regret it!”   I honestly felt nervous for Maggie that she lost her chance and wasn’t going to find happiness with another guy again.

I loved how I didn’t know where this book was going and where it would end up.  And I’m not going to spoil it and tell you either.

See how I used the word “love” a few times in this review?  That pretty much sums up how I feel about it.

This is my second Meredith Schorr book, and you can definitely call me a fan.

My Rating:  4 1/2 stars

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Find the book:

Goodreads

Amazon

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***Disclosure.  I work for Booktrope Publishing which is also the publishing company of this book.  However, I receive no monetary or any kind of compensation for sales of this book, or for writing a positive review.  This review was my honest opinion. And I was given a free copy in exchange for my honest review.***

Review: Relapse by S.L. Stacy

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Jasper might be gone for good, but Siobhan can’t escape the memory of him.

Or, rather, Psyche’s memories of him—memories of a kinder, gentler man, not the one who lied and manipulated her. She should have tried harder to reach him—to save Jasper from the darkness consuming him. Guilt—maybe that’s the reason why she still sees his face everywhere she turns. That, or she’s going crazy.

And Siobhan really doesn’t have time to lose her mind. Her best friend is in love with their enemy and is addicted to an alien drug. The Alpha Rhos blame her sorority for their sister’s death and take their quest for vengeance too far. Desperate, the Gamma Lambda Phis call on the help of the most deceitful Olympian of all, making her a promise they’re not even sure they can keep.

Once again, Siobhan finds herself not knowing who she can turn to or who she can trust. She comes to realize that her greatest enemy is the darkness within herself.

(Blurb from author S.L. Stacy’s page)

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This is the second book in the Reborn Series.  You can see my review for book 1 here.

First off, I want to give a big thank you to Ms. Stacy for putting the pronunciation of Siobhan, the main character, right at the front of the book.  Seriously; I didn’t know how to pronounce it throughout the first book and was making up ways to say her name in my head.  I really did appreciate that it was added to the front of the book to refresh my memory for Relapse.  🙂

Alright, so the story continues from where it left on from book one, then all of a sudden, halfway into the book, BAM, another point of view.  Siobhan’s friend and housemate, Carly.  At first I thought, noooooooo, it’s already so good.  Why the sudden change?  Then I read, and oh Mylanta.  Honestly, I like Carly’s point of view better.  Forget about Siobhan.  Just kidding.  Kind of.

The writing style that Stacy had with Carly’s point of view reminded me of Karen Marie Moning.  This is a HUGE compliment.

If you’re looking for a fresh new series like nothing you’ve ever read before, try this one.  I can’t wait to see what comes next.

My Rating: 4 1/2 stars

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 Favorite Quote from Book:

Take us to the in-between, 

Where earth meets sky, and wake meets dream.

And time rushes by, unseen.

Take us to the infinite night,

Where up is down, and left is right,

And dark vanquishes light…

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Find the Book

Goodreads

Amazon

***I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.***

Review: Blogger Girl

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

What happens when your high school nemesis becomes the shining star in a universe you pretty much saved? Book blogger Kimberly Long is about to find out. A chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” Kim, with her blog, “Pastel is the New Black,” has worked tirelessly by night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the claim that “chick lit is dead” once and for all. Not bad for a woman who by day ekes out a meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless, legal secretary in a Manhattan law firm. While Kim’s day job holds no passion for her, the handsome (and shaving-challenged) associate down the hall is another story. Yet another story is that Hannah Marshak, one of her most-hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book that’s turning heads—and pages—across the land. It’s also popped into Kim’s inbox – for review. With their ten-year high school reunion drawing near, Kim’s coming close to combustion over the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her seems to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a “blogger girl” makes the grade in her off-line life.

Blurb from Goodreads

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When I saw the title of this book I knew I had to read it.  I mean, come on, I’m a blogger girl myself.  I was never really into chick lit, but I find myself being drawn to it lately.  Or maybe it’s just because the chick lit books I’m reading lately are better books.  Either way, this was the second Meredith Schorr book I’ve read (I still need to write a review for the 1st) and I really enjoyed it.

Besides being a blogger myself, I didn’t really relate to Kim, the main character, at all.  But that didn’t bother me.  After all, I like to read to escape, not to read about myself.  And Kim was a confident, likeable character to read about.

Schorr pulled me into the story with ease, a story in which I read in two nights.  I have a five year old and one year old twins, so take that into consideration.  I don’t waste my limited free time.  Honestly, the last thing I thought after reading this book was contacting her book manager to say send me all of Schorr’s books for review.  🙂

My Rating: 4 stars

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Find the Book

Goodreads

Amazon

***Disclosure.  I work for Booktrope Publishing which is also the publishing company of this book.  However, I receive no monetary or any kind of compensation for sales of this book, or for writing a positive review.  This review was my honest opinion. And I was given a free copy in exchange for my honest review.***