Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Standalone
272 p.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: Nov. 1, 16
Source: From publisher and NetGalley for review

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt. 

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night. 

Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing, that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who’s ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a roadmap.

First... Happy Halloween! Not a part of the review, but wanted everyone to have a fun and safe time. :)

My thoughts:

I wasn't sure if this was going to have an element of magical realism in it or not and in the beginning of the book I was certain it would be more magical. It, in fact, is not and is more about Shelby and how one moment in time can devastate a person and how we harm ourselves more than what anyone else can do to you. As dark as this is, it is also the story to the road back to oneself and figuring out how to value oneself. It isn't a sappy story at all, but one where a woman finds pieces of her self and slowly puts them together.

All characters in the story have a purpose. Even the mysterious ones who you aren't at first sure aren't magical. However, the magic fades but that is a good thing as real life takes over and Shelby find that it isn't others who save her but she who saves herself even though others had a big part to play in it. I think the secondary characters were mostly there so she wouldn't slip further into the dark but to hold her head up until she could do it herself.

If you are an animal lover and love stories where animals get saved, than this book is for you. One of the things that helps Shelby is taking care of a motley crew of mutts she has saved throughout the tale. In saving them she is saving herself and eventually finds a calling though it all.

My biggest problem with the book would be the romance at the end. I think there is so much more to tell there and we get the barest mentions about this relationship. I would have loved that part to be much longer and it really needed to be longer. There were aspects of the boyfriend which mirrored her own and I think it would have enhanced the story further.

Now I will give this book 4 stars but toyed with the idea of knocking off a star for every time this book made me cry. I hate to cry and I had 3 times toward the end where I was crying and needing a tissue. This both makes me love it and hate the book for it. Okay, so I loved the compassion and love through those scenes so I'll be good and leave the rest of the stars up there for the book. *sigh* I do recommend it to those that love a journey story where a character hits close to bottom but finds away to her own redemption. It is also a story filled with rescue animals and humans as well as a bit of art around the edges. I did enjoy my time in the book despite the tissues I needed to get through it.

The Mermaid's Secret by Katie Schickel

Standalone
288 p.
Publisher: Forge Books
Published: 6/14/16
Source: From publisher for review

Life on land is suffocating for Jess Creary, who wastes her summers flipping burgers for tourists on a fishing boat off her quaint resort island home off the coast of Maine. After all, her older sister Kay died in a boating accident two years ago, her mother has disappeared, and her father isn't exactly dealing with things so well. Surfing and the handsome Captain Matthew are about the only bright spots in her life. 

Then, on her twenty-third birthday, Jess catches the perfect wave--a wave that transforms her into a mermaid. Under the sea, a startlingly beautiful, dark place, Jess is reborn into a confident, powerful predator with superhuman strength --finally she is someone to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, back on land, Jess's relationship with Captain Matthew heats up, and so does her search for justice for Kay. 

Jess has thirty days to choose between land and sea; legs and fins; her humanity and her freedom. Who could ignore the freedom of the sea? Yet, the ocean is a dark, wild, lonely place. Is this a gift or a curse? Will Jess choose family and love, forgiveness and truth, or will she be seduced by the wild call of the sparkling sea forever?

My thoughts:

Okay, I'm a mermaid fan. I admit it. So, when this book found it's way into my hands, I knew I was going to read it. Not all mermaid books have been a success for me, but it is still a mythological creature we have stayed in the shallows and not gone much into the deep end (see what I did there? I crack myself up sometimes...). Yea, I still want more books with this mythos and this one had a paranormal, chick lit, magical realism vibe to it.

This was mostly about a family who endured a tragedy and how they all dealt with the death of Jess's sister. Her father became overprotective, her mother took off, and Jess refused to reach for her future and become less of herself. This is more of Jess's journey and for a relatively short novel, it does a pretty good job of it.

There were times when Jess annoyed me. She was a bit on the whiney side and was too easily overcome by anger. It made sense but at the same time you still wanted her to wake up and stop hurting herself more than the person she accuses of her sister's death. It might have been easier to deal with if we had spent more time with her and knew the girl she was before the tragedy but honestly it was a minor niggle that wasn't that hard to swallow. She does grow in the end and there is also a romance brewing in the background that helps with her transformation. I think it was the acceptance of those around her that led to her biggest growth.

I give this book 4 stars. While it isn't the best mermaid story out there, those that like chick lit and magical realism might like this twist in the storyline. I wanted to know more about some of the secondary characters but in the end was satisfied with what I got in this book.

Cancel the Wedding: A Novel by Carolyn Dingman

Standalone
416p.
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Published: 8/5/14
Source: From publisher for review

On the surface, Olivia has it all: a high-powered career, a loving family, and a handsome fiancé. She even seems to be coming to terms with her mother Jane’s premature death from cancer. But when Jane’s final wish is revealed, Olivia and her elder sister Georgia are mystified. Their mother rarely spoke of her rural Southern hometown, and never went back to visit—so why does she want them to return to Huntley, Georgia, to scatter her ashes? 

Jane’s request offers Olivia a temporary escape from the reality she’s long been denying: she hates her “dream” job, and she’s not really sure she wants to marry her groom-to-be. With her 14-year-old niece, Logan, riding shotgun, she heads South on a summer road trip looking for answers about her mother. 

As Olivia gets to know the town’s inhabitants, she begins to peel back the secrets of her mother’s early life—truths that force her to finally question her own future. But when Olivia is confronted with a tragedy and finds an opportunity to right a terrible wrong, will it give her the courage to accept her mother’s past—and say yes to her own desire to start over?

My thoughts:
This is a mystery book that does not solve a murder but solves the questions they always had of their mother's childhood and life before she met their father. When upon her death she asks them to scatter her ashes on a lake near her hometown and on a burial plot of an unknown person questions of Jane's life (the mother) arise. Olivia is escaping her life of marrying a person she is no longer in love and decides on the spot to investigate her mother's life. Her onery but lovable niece decides to also go along for a ride. While there she discovers more about her mother than she thought possible and also starts to find herself.

I don't want to give too much away but there is also romance within the pages. One that seems to be quick, but also makes sense. The mystery is engaging and you want to know as much as all the players. You enjoy peeling back layers of this woman's life.

I give this book 4 stars. It is a book of self-discovery through another woman's past. It is a great summer read and I recommend it to those that enjoy a different kind of mystery (with no murder), romance, and personal growth.

Evening Stars (Blackberry Island #3) by Susan Mallery

Series: Blackberry Island #3
368p.
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

Small-town nurse Nina Wentworth has made a career out of being a caretaker. More "Mom" than their mother ever was, she sacrificed medical school—and her first love—so her sister could break free. Which is why she isn't exactly thrilled to see Averil back on Blackberry Island, especially when Nina's life has suddenly become…complicated.

Nina unexpectedly finds herself juggling two men—her high school sweetheart and a younger maverick pilot who also wants to claim her heart. But as fun as all this romance is, Nina has real life to deal with. Averil doesn't seem to want the great guy she's married to, and doesn't seem to be making headway writing her first book; their mom is living life just as recklessly as she always has; and Nina's starting to realize that the control she once had is slipping out of her fingers. Her hopes of getting off the island seem to be stretching further away…until her mother makes a discovery that could change everything forever.

But before Nina and Averil can reach for the stars, they have to decide what they want. Will Averil stay? Will Nina leave? And what about the men who claim to love them? Does love heal, or will finding their happy ending mean giving up all they've ever wanted?

My thoughts:
 I had not read the other books in the series, but there was no problem as it can be read as a standalone. Each book is about different characters on the island. In this book we follow 2 sisters and a mother with a Peter Pan complex. Each sister has her own issues stemming from the way they grew up. All in all this is a story about finding what you truly want in your life and then taking the steps to achieve the new goal.

In this story we do get a love triangle, but in the story it is used more as a way to break one kind of habit and really putting a magnifying glass to the life Nina was living. So, in this book it works because it has a purpose. I did enjoy the characters in this book and did root for them, but I didn't feel as connected as I really wanted. I had a better connection to Nina who took on more than her fair share of the responsibility despite the life lessons it costed those around her. Her sister seemed more bratty to me, but toward the end of the story, when she really started to find herself, is where I started connecting to her. I never really connected to the mother, but she was more of a side character so it worked out fine.

I give this book 3 stars. It is a nice chick lit kind of read where epiphanies reign and romance is found. I recommend it to those who enjoy small town stories.

My Bluegrass Baby by Molly Harper

A brand-new novel in an original eBook series from popular romance author Molly Harper! When Sadie & Josh compete for the same Kentucky Tourism Commission job, sparks fly—turns out Kentucky really is for lovers. 

Sadie Hutchins loves her job at the Kentucky Tourism Commission. Not only could her co-workers double as the cast of Parks & Recreation, but she loves finding the unusual sites, hidden gems, and just-plain-odd tourist attractions of her home state. She’s a shoo-in for the director’s job when her boss retires at the end of the year…until hotshot Josh Vaughn shows up to challenge her for the position.

Josh is all sophisticated polish while Sadie’s country comfort, and the two have very different ideas of what makes a good campaign. So when their boss pits them against each other in a winner-takes-all contest, they’re both willing to fight dirty if it means getting what they want. But it turns out, what Josh and Sadie want could be each other—and Josh’s kisses are the best Kentucky attraction Sadie’s found yet!

 I love Molly Harper's vampire and werewolf series so I was curious about this one when it came wandering in the review request pile. I really didn't hesitate and dove into the book quickly. Now for those that also love her paranormal books, do realize that this is chick-lit and not her paranormal fare. This is a contemporary romance set in her home state of Kentucky and it is not only a romance for our main characters but also a love letter to Kentucky itself.

In this we have Sadie who has found work that she loves promoting the state that she loves. In walks in Josh who is after her almost newly appointed job as director. She was a shoe in until Josh showed up and almost had the rug pulled out from her. Their current boss who is about to retire decide to hold a competition and let the people decide at the state fair who gets the job. With both of them having two completely different tactics no one knows who will win. Plus, with all the smexy tension, will it work out if one wins and the other doesn't?

I have to say that I did like both characters and some of the secondary ones as well. I admit I had more problems with Josh than Sadie mostly because Sadie would come clean when she flubbed up something and Josh had to be pushed to admit his failings. However, when he did come clean, he did so with complete honesty. Still, I had a bit of a problem with him at times.

I also have to say this one is a bit dry as compared to her paranormal books. Perhaps this is because you can go completely off the deep end in humor and adventure and it works. Within a contemporary you are restrained to what is believable. Still, I did enjoy the tension and romance between our two and did find myself chuckling a bit at Sadie and her snark.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars. I recommend it to those that really want and HEA and enjoy chick-lit. This book is also $1.99 for a limited time.

I received this ebook from the publisher and Edelwiess and no compensation for my review was given.

Imperfect Bliss by Susan Fales-Hill

Jane Austen meets the Bachelorette in this twenty-first-century comedy of manners about a suburban family, their four eligible daughters, and what happens when reality TV comes to town.With her acclaimed first novel, One Flight Up, author Susan Fales-Hill is on a roll, already leaving her chick-lit predecessors “in the dust,” as the New York Post put it. Now, in Imperfect Bliss, she offers up a hilarious take on genteel family life with a cast of irresistibly eccentric characters. Meet the Harcourts of Chevy Chase, Maryland. A respectable middle class, middle-aged, mixed-race couple, Harold and Forsythia have four eminently marriageable daughters—or so their mother believes. Forsythia named her girls after Windsor royals in the hopes that one day each would find her true prince. But princes are far from the mind of their second-born daughter, Elizabeth (AKA Bliss), who, in the aftermath of a messy divorce, has moved back home and thrown herself into earning her Ph.D. All that changes when a Bachelorette-style reality television show called The Virgin takes Bliss’s younger sister, Diana, as its star. Though she fights it at first, Bliss can’t help but be drawn into the romantic drama that ensues, forcing her to reconsider everything she thought she knew about love, her family, and herself.

I have to admit I was a bit worried I wouldn't like this one because of the reality tv angle, but still wanted to give it a try since it was supposed to be a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I did see many of the similarities within the characters as it contrasted those within Jane Austen's novel, but it was a story of it's own. I also didn't mind the reality show angle as it brought to the surface "selling" oneself in marriage as Jane felt in the original. I thought it was a cleaver way of doing just that.

I loved the fact that Bliss's family was of mixed race and dealt with all types of prejudice. Even the kind we direct at ourselves. That in itself really makes the book for me, more so than the relationships within the book. In fact, that brings me to my biggest complaint... the relationships.

If you are looking for an uplifting book about relationships, this may not be your book. Now, don't get me wrong, there is an HEA in that area. Our intrepid "Darcy" known as Dario and Bliss are perfect in that regard and so is Victoria with her mate (I don't want to spoil who that was, but I did love the twist!). However, the rest is full of cheaters, gold diggers, and liars. It sort of makes you wonder if love really exists in this book's world. The ending does give you hope, but after so much, I think I just needed a bit more.

I give this book 3 stars. It's a good retelling of Pride and Prejudice and I have to say I love the way the author brings it into the contemporary scene. I suggest this book for those that love these sorts of retellings as well as those who enjoy chick-lit.

I received this book from Atria Books and no compensation for my review was given.

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly

Description:

With her older sister, Emma, planning a wedding and her younger sister, Sophie, preparing to launch a career on the London stage, Lulu can’t help but feel like the failure of the Atwater family. Lulu loves her sisters dearly and wants nothing but the best for them, but she finds herself stuck in a rut, working dead-end jobs with no romantic prospects in sight. When her mother asks her to find a cache of old family recipes in the attic of her childhood home, Lulu stumbles across a collection of letters written by her great-great-grandmother Josephine March. In her letters, Jo writes in detail about every aspect of her life: her older sister, Meg’s, new home and family; her younger sister Amy’s many admirers; Beth’s illness and the family’s shared grief over losing her too soon; and the butterflies she feels when she meets a handsome young German. As Lulu delves deeper into the lives and secrets of the March sisters, she finds solace and guidance, but can the words of her great-great-grandmother help Lulu find a place for herself in a world so different from the one Jo knew? Vibrant, fresh, and intelligent, The Little Women Letters explores the imagined lives of Jo March’s descendants—three sisters who are both thoroughly modern and thoroughly March. As uplifting and essential as Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Gabrielle Donnelly’s novel will speak to anyone who’s ever fought with a sister, fallen in love with a fabulous pair of shoes, or wondered what on earth life had in store for her. 

Some things, of course, remain unchanged: the stories and jokes that form a family’s history, the laughter over tea in the afternoon, the desire to do the right thing in spite of obstacles. And above all, of course, the fierce, undying, and often infuriating bond of sisterhood that links the Atwater women every bit as firmly as it did the March sisters all those years ago. Both a loving tribute to Little Women and a wonderful contemporary family story, The Little Women Letters is a heartwarming, funny, and wise novel for today.

Little Women was a book for me as a small child that I identified with "big" reading. It was my goal as a child to learn to read. I used to carry that book around me like a precious gift until I hid it and my mom got rid of my hiding place (she didn't know I hid my treasure there). I did get another copy and had watched the movies made of the book and by the time I could read it and I was a fan. So, I approached this book with a bit of cynicism hoping to like it but worried I wouldn't.

I was first disappointed that this book was set in London. Hey, I have no probs with England or London for that matter, but this book was always decidedly American for me. I wondered if the author placed it there because she felt the language was more "proper" than the bad American english I'm used to hearing. ;) Anyway, the story still took me along. It read like a good chick lit book; one where the family is important as in the book it champions. These girls and mother are descendants of the March family but unfortunately the book, Little Women, has been lost to history. We get to know all of the characters especially Lulu who is supposed to emulate Jo. I felt it read fine but still wasn't sure how I felt about it until Liam came into the story. He really brought out Lulu's snarky side and then I enjoyed the book even more.

I give this book 4 stars. I wouldn't place it on the level of Little Women, but I say it is a great tribute to the book. If you are looking for a good chick lit book that references a classic in a fun way, then this might be the read for you. And I think I was a hard sell. :)

Favorite quote from Fee (mother) to Lulu:

"...if you have a good heart~ as I think we tend to, in our family~ then the rest of the world will start to be aware of that, and it'll become more important to them. And the people worth having around will like you accordingly. And as for the others, quite frankly, screw 'em."

I received this ARC from the publisher and no compensation for my review was given.

Born Under a Lucky Moon by Diana Precious

Description:

Born Under a Lucky Moon is the tale of two very important (but distant) years in the lives of Jeannie Thompson and her (embarrassing, crazy) colorful family members to whom "things" just seem to happen. From the Great Lakes of Michigan to Los Angeles and back again, it is a story of surprise marriages, a renegade granny, a sprinkler system cursed by the gods, and myriad other factors Jeannie blames for her full-tilt, out-of-control existence. But it's also about good surprises—like an unexpected proposal that might just open Jeannie's eyes to her real place among the people she loves most in the world . . . the same ones she ran far away from to begin with.

 The story is about a woman who believes she has an unusual family, so much so that no one will be able to accept it. She is proposed by her boyfriend whom she loves but is scared. She hasn't had the best luck with others accepting her family and so uses it as an excuse to put him off. She begins to tell him the tale of her crazy family to show him why she had good reason to say "maybe".

As the story unfolds you find out how eccentric her family is within the small community in which she grew up. However, I didn't see what was so awful about the family and agreed with Aidan, her intended, that they were more entertaining than horrible. I kept thinking that this girl needed to get out of her own head and really look around at what a horrid family could entail. Might put some perspective on the situation. She also needed to trust Aidan to handle her family. Things she never thought could be possible in life. She still wore her small town blinders and her work which perpetuated blinders didn't help much either. I won't tell you how things worked or didn't work out, so you will have to read the book to find out for yourself. *evil laugh*

I give this book 3 1/2 stars. If you are looking for a cute, funny book for the summer you will enjoy this book. Even though there were times I wanted to shake sense into Jeannie, you laugh and root for her and really hope for her HEA in the end.

I was given this book for review and no compensation was given.

Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Mederios Blog Tour

From Goodreads:
Abigail Donovan has a lot of stuff she should be doing. Namely writing her next novel. A bestselling author who is still recovering from a near Pulitzer Prize win and the heady success that follows Oprah’s stamp of approval, she is stuck at Chapter Five and losing confidence daily. But when her publicist signs her up for a Twitter account, she’s intrigued. What’s all the fuss?

 Taken under the wing of one of her Twitter followers, “Mark Baynard"—a quick witted, quick-typing professor on sabbatical—Abby finds it easy to put words out into the world 140 characters at a time. And once she gets a handle on tweets, retweets, direct messages, hashtags, and trends, she starts to feel unblocked in writing and in life. After all, why should she be spending hours in her apartment staring at her TweetDeck and fretting about her stalled career when Mark is out there traveling the world and living?

Or is he?

 Told almost entirely in tweets and DMs, Goodnight Tweetheart is a truly modern take on a classic tale of love and loss—a Griffin and Sabine for the Twitter generation.

 Okay... let me try this in 140 characters...

A former bestselling author joins twitter and meets former prof for fun and snark. Lies told, truth descovered. Will love be in final chpt?

Heh. Did it. :) So, is it true, if you can't say it in 140 characters it's not worth saying? Well, not exactly, but I still think the concept is innovative and fun. And while I enjoyed the quick banter I wondered why they stayed in DMs on twitter. I mean, most would have moved to Skype which does not have the limit of characters that has the added security of a private conversation. Might be an idea for another book. ;) The story moves in a good clip, and my only criticism is that the transition of friend to love isn't quite as smooth as most books in this genre. However, bringing it to a new format might be what threw me a bit as a reader. Still, it didn't distract from the enjoyment of the novel.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars. It was a fun and enjoyable book with a bit of bittersweet toward the last fourth of the book. So, if you are curious as to reading a chick lit book that is innovative, you might enjoy Goodnight Tweetheart.

Go HERE to see a deleted scene of tweets and some of the pictures they give each other in the book. It also gives you an idea of how the snarkiness flies with each other. There is also a place to send ecards. :)
Teresa Mederios:
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Thieves Like Us by Starr Ambrose

From Simon and Schuster (Pocket):

The last thing Janet Westfield needs in her life is an ex-con.  But when she's accused of trying to pass stolen jewelry, the only one who can help her is the extremely charming ex-jewel thief she's been avoiding, Rocky Hernandez.  Unable to deny her attraction, she falls for him, hard.  Unfortunately, his past is putting her in even greater danger, and the best way for Rocky to save her might be to leave her.

This is actually a spin-off book from another Starr Ambrose book called, Lie to Me. I haven't read that book, but it isn't necessary to enjoy this book. However, it is obvious when reading that this was part of a series, but the background is supplied in a sufficient way so I did not feel like I was missing too much.

In this book Janet is an ex-wife of a drug-running, thieving, attempted killer. In fact he had tried to kill her in the past. She was strong enough to not wait for the white knight to save her and stood up to her would be killers. This interested an charming ex-jewel thief, Rocky Hernandez. Tall dark and handsome, Rocky thinks he has finally met his match but knows that her heart has been put through the ringer. So, he decides to wait and play it cool until she is ready to love again. As Janet tries to get rid of the old life to make room for the new, she finds herself in the middle of a jewel thieves nightmare and tries to pawn a very valuable and very old piece of jewelry. She becomes the focus of several outlaws trying to get at the jewels at any cost. This enrages Rocky and he wants to protect her. As the two put the pieces of her ex's shenanigans together the question becomes if this adventure will draw them together or pull them apart.

I give this book 3 stars. It's entertaining and fun. If you love animals, you will also love this book as 2 cats and a dog also enter this story. It does pretty much follow the formula but it is entertaining to find out which way the story will go. Janet is a capable woman and Rocky is very sexy. And with that combination, you know that there will be some sexy fun time in the book as well.

This book was given to me by the publisher and no compensation was received for my review. This book will be published Nov. 30, 2010.

The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate Blog Tour

From Goodreads:

Camilla's Cucinotta: 

Italian Cooking Classes 

Fresh take-home pastas and sauces daily 

Benvenuti (Welcome!) 

Holly Maguire's grandmother was the Love Goddess of Blue Crab Island, Maine–a Milanese fortune teller who could predict the right man for you, and whose Italian cooking was rumored to save marriages. Holly has been waiting years for her unlikely fortune: her true love will like sa cordula, an unappetizing old-world delicacy. But Holly can't make a decent marinara sauce, let alone sa cordula. Maybe that's why the man she hopes to marry breaks her heart. So when Holly inherits Camilla's Cucinotta, she's determined to forget about fortunes and love and become an Italian cooking teacher worthy of her grandmother's legacy. 

But Holly's four students are seeking much more than how to make Camilla's chicken alla Milanese. Simon, a single father, hopes to cook his way back into his daughter's heart. Juliet, Holly's childhood friend, hides a painful secret. Tamara, a serial dater, can't find the love she longs for. And twelve-year-old Mia thinks learning to cook will stop her dad from marrying his phony lasagna-queen girlfriend. 

As the class gathers each week, adding Camilla's essential ingredients of wishes and memories into every pot and pan, unexpected friendships and romances are formed–and tested. Especially when Holly falls hard for Liam . . . and learns a thing or two about finding her own recipe for happiness.

This was a fun chick lit book to read. In the beginning of the book Holly is heartbroken once again but this time she really wanted it to work out. She seeks out the warmth and wisdom of her grandmother who passes away shortly after she came to "visit". After inheriting the cooking school and small pasta shop Holly, who cannot cook, decides to not let her grandmother's legacy go down in flames. She works hard and finds 4 lost souls to take her cooking class. In doing the class the same way her grandmother had done, each learns things about themselves and their relationships around them. Even without her grandmother's gift of knowing, Holly finds herself an apt teacher and even better friend. As the school and her cooking gains her own "touch", Holly finds who she is and what she truly wants in life. This journey and the journeys others partake with her is what the book is all about.

I give this book 4 stars. It's a fun, light book and I can see this hitting the theaters as Senate's other books, most recently "Must Love Dogs". This book just came out in publication and is available now. Oh, and for those that like to cook (no, not me... lol) there are a few Italian recipes included at the end of the book.

The Home for Broken Hearts by Rowan Coleman Blog Tour

From Goodreads:

THE DOOR IS OPEN . . . For young widow Ellen Wood, her Victorian home is a refuge—a place to feel safe with her eleven-year-old son, Charlie. But when money grows so tight that Ellen could lose the house, her sister, Hannah, makes a radical suggestion . . . rent out some of the rooms. Soon Ellen has three lodgers: Sabine, a German coworker of Hannah’s, recently separated from her husband; Allegra, an eccentric but wise novelist; and Matt, an up-and-coming young journalist in search of his voice, who has just landed a plum job in London. Ellen thinks three strangers are the last complication she needs, but they make her realize just how isolated she has become. Their presence exposes a secret she’s been keeping hidden, as well as a conflict with her sister that is both shocking and revealing. And while a love affair with a younger man seems like a fantasy powered by her imagination, Ellen can’t deny her deep connection to Matt, or the changes he inspires in her and her relationship with Charlie. Outside her home’s sheltering walls lies a world of opportunity as well as danger. Now that she’s had the courage to open the door, does Ellen dare step through?Witty, moving, and deeply insightful, The Home for Broken Hearts celebrates everything that makes life worth living, from an author who knows just how to speak to the heart. 

I haven't always been one for the genre "chick lit", however sometimes you find a gem I like. The Home for Broken Hearts has become one I did enjoy. Also, as a full American person, I also have to say I loved the English slang within this book. Imagine "Bridget Jones" movies and you have some of the lingo us US chaps find so fun. As for the story it really revolves around a group of people, but more so around two in particular, Ellen and Matt. It is their story that is also the most interesting. Of course, the two would be nothing without a ornery almost 12 year old boy. Without him I don't know if we would have had our HEA.

Ellen and Matt's growth into their true selves is heartfelt and heartwarming and it is their faults that really make them interesting. What is also wonderful is that every one's faults become the impetus for further growth and insight into their own true beauty. Yes, there were people within the book you did not like and I'd have to say, Hannah, her sister was one for me. Even though I did soften a bit (and I mean a bit) toward her at the end, I still understood her place within the book.

All in all I give this book a surprising 4 stars and I might have to look up more of Rowan Coleman's books when I'm in a bit of a chick lit mood.