Sunday, January 18, 2015

Book Review: Swept Away by Laura V. Hilton & Cindy Loven




About the Book:

Sara doesn’t think she wants love. But her grandmother has other plans.
Sara Jane Morgan is trying to balance teaching with caring for her ailing, stubborn grandmother. When school lets out for the summer, the plans are for Grandma to teach Sara Jane to quilt as they finish up the Appalachian Ballad quilt Grandma started as a teenager. But things don’t always go as planned.
Andrew Stevenson is hiding from his past—and his future. He works as a handyman to pay the bills, but his heart is as an artisan, designing homemade brooms. When Sara Jane’s grandmother hires him to renovate her home, sparks fly between Drew and his new employer’s granddaughter.
Still, it doesn’t take Sara Jane long to see Drew isn’t what he seems. Questions arise, and she starts researching him online. What she discovers could change her life—and her heart—forever.


About Quilts of Love: Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love series focuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family histories. A new book releases each month and features contemporary and historical romances as well as women's fiction and the occasional light mystery. You will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories.

About the Authors:

Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning author and a professional book reviewer. A stay-at-home mom and home school teacher, Laura lives with her family in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. Cindy Loven is active in the church and writes from her home in Conway, Arkansas, where she lives with her husband and their son.


Review:

Swept Away is another Quilts of Love book that I adored.  The authors did a wonderful job in character development.  I loved each and everyone of the characters and their story in their own way.  As a reader you are taken on a emotional journey that has the reader both hoping and praying that the pages would work out exactly they way you wanted it to for the characters.  

Sara and her grandmother have a great relationship and it was great to read about their relationship and how each of them cared for one another greatly.  Although Sara's grandma was ailing she still was so full of life and love and wanted Sara to have a great love.  I also loved the fact that the quilt they were working on had been one that had been working on for many years.  Not only was there a story told among the pages as a reader I could only imagine the story the quilt itself would tell.


Find out what others have to say about Swept Away!








A book was supplied for review purposes and no compensation was received for this post.  View are 100% those of Two Children and a Migraine and not influenced in any way.
 

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Book Review: The Curvy Girls Club by Michele Gorman #50BookPledge









About the Book:



Published 15th January 2015

The Curvy Girls Club is a hilarious and heart-warming story about learning to love yourself, written by best-selling author Michele Gorman.
Pixie, Ellie, Katie and Jane have been best friends since meeting at Slimming Zone. Tired of being judged by the number of calories they consume, they decide to form a different kind of club. The fun evenings they spend together, not worrying about their size, make them happier than they’ve been for years.


But the club doesn’t stop real life from getting in the way and together the girls have to address some much bigger issues than just their weight…

"This is a delightful book of friendship, acceptance, and belonging for anyone who has ever wondered: “What if?”" Publishers Weekly





About the Author:


Michele Gorman is the USA Today best-selling author of eight books, including Bella Summer Takes a Chance and The Expat Diaries (Single in the City) series. Her first book, Single in the City, debuted at number 8 in The Bookseller’s Fiction Heatseekers bestseller chart. She is also a founding member of the publishing collective, Notting Hill Press, and has published upmarket commercial fiction under the pen name Jamie Scott. Born and raised in the US, Michele has lived in London for 16 years. She is very fond of naps, ice cream and Richard Curtis films but objects to spiders and the word “portion”.





Review: 


The Curvy Girls Club is a book that every women can relate to and enjoy tons of laughs along the way.   Pixie, Ellie, Katie and Jane each have characteristics that I could relate to by either going through the same trials during weight loss or have friends that have.  I am personally part of a group online of women that are all trying to loose weight.  These women are all various sizes, but they have one thing in common, no one is satisfied with their current weight.  This is why I feel that no matter your age or size this book is something that everyone would be able to relate to.  The characters although go through many different challenges, there was no point of the story that was not enjoyable.  I read the book feeling as though I was part of the club and one of besties were going through these situations.  Michele Gorman  without a doubt is very talented and I look forward to reading future works of hers!

I really enjoyed The Curvy Girls Club and recommend it no matter if its for yourself to enjoy alone or part of a book club.  It was an entertaining read with real characters going through their journey.  

 




Views expressed are those of Two Children and a Migraine and not influenced in anyway.  A book was supplied for review purposes and not influenced in any way.
 

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Book Review: New York Dolls by Catherine L Hensley



new york dollsCatherine L. Hensley will be on tour January 5-12 with her novel New York Dolls

It’s Fashion Week in New York, and Denton Hodges just got her first big assignment for Glitter magazine. 

Denton’s assignment: Get in the show at the posh Regency Viscount Hotel, and find a story. But a chance encounter with hard-partying starlet Amber Donovan forever changes the course of the night—and Denton’s life. After a night of being chased by the paparazzi, swimming in swag bags, and falling heart over heels for Hollywood hunk Chris West, Denton’s not just on the story. She is the story. 

Suddenly, Denton’s no longer merely a low-level assistant. Amber’s latching on like a BFF from hell, Chris is flirting and cooking her dinner, and as Denton falls for the real people behind the tabloid screen, neither knows about her ties to Glitter. Only Denton holds the secret—or so she thinks. Is Anna Creel, Glitter’s icy beauty editor, on to her? Will Denton be able to write a story exposing her new friends? And is Chris more than just a friend, or did Glitter get the headline right—“Chris and Amber: Hot Nights!”? 

Step into the spotlight, and peek beyond the red carpet in New York Dolls.

Please visit CLP Blog Tours for all the tour stops!
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catherine hensleyBio:

Catherine L. Hensley is a professional freelance editor and writer. From fiction and nonfiction manuscripts to academic pieces, she provides an extensive range of copyediting, proofreading, content editing, and writing services to a wide variety of clients located around the United States and abroad.

A native of south Louisiana, Catherine received her master of arts degree in creative writing and media studies from New York University and her bachelor of arts degree in English from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, with minors in history and mass communication. Her writing has appeared in The Advocate (Louisiana’s largest newspaper), OT Practice magazine, Quiet Mountain: New Feminist Essays, and Mused, the BellaOnline Literary Review. For more, visit www.catherinehensley.com.

Purchase Links:




48fourteen (paperback & e-book): http://48fourteen.com/catalog/new-york-dolls

Contact Links:



Twitter: @NYDollsTheNovel



Book Excerpt:


Chapter 1
2008

“THE SHOW’S AT FIFTY-SEVENTH AND Seventh. Here’s your press badge and mini mic. If you see anyone, just be casual, make chit-chat, see what they think of the show. We’ve heard Amber Donovan may be there, but nothing’s confirmed. Just try to blend in, have some drinks. It starts at five thirty. Oh, and remember...you’re Anna Creel.”
Right. My first assignment! I never thought it would involve false aliases and conversational spying for Glitter magazine, but...my first assignment! At New York City’s Fashion Week nonetheless. Something I had absolutely no experience or serious interest in, but I wouldn’t have to worry about that tonight. I’d be Anna Creel. She knows all about the fashion in-crowd. Right?
“Isn’t Anna...?” I started to ask my boss, Liz. “She’s our fashion and beauty editor,” Liz replied. Right. Then why isn’t she...“We have too many shows booked this week. She already has Malandrino and Posen tonight. She doesn’t have time for Isla Dominici. Just smile and keep your eyes and ears open when you get there. Be yourself!”
“As Anna Creel,” I muttered.“Right!”Liz was friendly. Maybe not one hundred percent genuine, but this was Glitter after all. You don’t get to be chief editorial assistant of the country’s biggest and most popular celebrity magazine by being your real self. I’d heard she was a Manhattan import, just like myself, but from some little town in Michigan. She hid it relatively well. No accent, three-inch stilettos, a skin-tight suit dress, and a conspicuously obvious D&G belt can make anyone look like a tried and true New York power woman. But Liz was plumper and didn’t look quite as polished as some of the other reporters, and she spoke with a monotone, to-the-point voice, all of which kept her from entirely fitting the Glitter mold. If I ever needed someone in the office to watch my back, I knew Liz, with our shared outsider origins, could do the job.
Watch my back? At Glitter? I couldn’t believe I was thinking so ruthlessly. But this place was cutthroat. I could tell after only a few days. (I bet the editorial assistant underlings at Martha Stewart Living weren’t so fearful. On second thought...maybe they were.) You didn’t advance at Glitter through sheer hard work and determination, and it certainly didn’t involve climbing the traditional corporate ladder. Getting the scoop—or the source—was your most important job function. Even if it meant seducing the married hunk who’s on the number-two-ranked drama on television.
“If something like that were to happen...and of course it does not... We obviously don’t condone that kind of behavior here,” Liz had told the other two EAs and myself after the office gossip broke on my second day. “But that wasn’t me.”
To get to the top of the hottest weekly celeb rag, apparently the rules of deception were the rules of the game. Anna Creel I would be then, for tonight at least.


Review:

 I don't know about you, but with the hustle and bustle of the holidays I find I do not have a lot of free time.  I am an avid reader though so I have to find the right book during these times of chaos.  New York Dolls was definitely one of these books.  It was light and entertaining and enjoyable from page to page.  Although I am far from being a fashionista I could feel as though I was one as I went on my journey through this book.  It was a light and entertaining read and I thouroughly enjoyed the journey I was taken on through the pages.  This was perfect book to finish off my 2014 reading year and look forward to what Catherine L Hensley has in store next for her fans!  Without a doubt she is a very talented writer and and has a skill many of us do wish we could master.
 

Views expressed are those of Two Children and a Migraine and have not been influenced in anyways.  A book was supplied for review purposes only.


Monday, January 12, 2015

Book Review: Enlightened (EVE series book 2) by A.L. Waddington


  • File Size: 3735 KB
  • Print Length: 261 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1620153548
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Booktrope (March 24, 2014)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00J8OLGUW

Continuing where Essence, Book 1, EVE series ended, the barrier between Jocelyn Timmons consciousness continues to dissolve as she better understands the two lives she lives and enormity of her newly discovered inherited gift of EVE (Essence Voyager Era) which allows her to fall asleep on one plane of existence and awaken on another as her soul travels nightly.

In Enlightened, Book 2, present-day Jocelyn uncovers the vast wonderment of the Victorian era but soon learns that life then was not as grand for women as she has read in the classics. Still, she finds comfort in the support of family and friends; a bolstering contrast to her overly hectic, career-oriented family in the twenty-first century. Her love for Jackson Chandler strengthens across time and becomes the light she so desperately needs as the world she has always known no longer makes sense. Yet, the closer she is drawn to Jackson by their mutual ability, the more strain develops amongst those she loves in 2009.

On the other side of Jocelyn’s consciousness in 1878, she remains ignorant of EVE. Her life is crumbling around her, yet she finds herself anxiously awaiting the images that invade her dreams. Jocelyn longs to be the woman she portrays in that world yet her jealousy is unbearable. Miscommunication, betrayal and hidden agendas make trust near impossible. The clearer the visions become the more she questions motives of her closest confidants and foregoes revealing the images that plague her perception. As her life seems to unravel, Jocelyn’s two worlds collide, and she is enlightened as the pieces start to fall into place. But is she strong enough to survive the truth? Is Jackson really her destiny? And can their love transcend time?

About the Author: A.L.Waddington


About the Author:


A.L. Waddington completed her undergraduate studies at University of Texas Dallas and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. She graduated from IUPUI with a BS in Psychology. A.L. and her husband, Ty have a son, two daughters, three puppies, and an oversized cat. They reside in Indiana. 


My Review:  

Once again A.L. does it again! The true love and dynamic of these two characters is superb!  What I enjoyed most is comparing the things in one time that would be considered "small things" such as getting married at 18 in the 1800's, or "females getting full education" in the 2000's.  These small things while seemingly innocuous are actually quite boat rockers in the other time periods.  I enjoyed how the love developed further and you also get to know more depth of other characters such as William and Olivia.  I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one and look forward to reading more!  

Easily gained a 5 out of 5 from me.


Views expressed are those of Two Children and a Migraine and not influenced in anyway.  A book was supplied for review purposes only and no compensation was received for this post.