Chick Lit Plus Blog Tour: The Last Page

Welcome to another blog tour review! I was able to take part in the tour Chick Lit Plus organized for Lacy Camey and her novel The Last Page.

Let's start with the synopsis from Goodreads:

Norah Johnson is at a crossroads and is in desperate need to heal after a highly publicized breakup from her major league baseball player boyfriend. To escape, she moves to her summer home at the beach with her sister and best friend where she journals, attends therapy and works on her pending clothing line. When a gorgeous stranger finds her lost journal, he seeks to find the author and make her fall in love with him. But is Norah ready to love again?

Book 1 in the romantic comedy trilogy of living, loving, and laughing again; a Norah Johnson story.

This was a cute, fun novel that was perfect for an end of summer read (yes, I know it's October but I actually read the book over the September long weekend :) ) In the guest post Camey wrote for Books Etc. on Friday (read it here) she says "Where in my chick lit, light chick lit in my opinion, is just that, -light. Sometimes things aren’t explained as thoroughly, in attempt to keep a light story. They’re just cute stories, where you feel good, nothing major." That is exactly what The Last Page is like. Sometimes you need a light, feelgood chick lit novel and Camey definitely delivered with The Last Page.


There were a couple of things in this novel that had me...well, not annoyed but sort of wishing I could change them. The first thing was the overall flow of the book. At one point Norah makes a Gilmore Girls reference because she and her friends were all talking quickly and interrupting each other. I know my Gilmore Girls and the dialogue in The Last Page couldn't quite compare to the conversations between Lorelai and Rory. Instead of the quick pace that's easy to follow in Gilmore Girls, I was left a little bit confused with what the heck was going on between Norah and her friends. It wasn't enough to make me dislike the book but it was something that could have been smoothed out in the editing process. 

The other thing that had be slightly irked had nothing to do with the writing or even the story, it was more that Norah wasn't paying attention to the clues around her and wasn't making connections that I had already made. (Yes, I know that sounds kind of vague but I don't want to give these clues away!) There were actually a couple of points where I found myself shaking my Kobo and saying "Why can't you figure this out?!?" Like I said, I had already figured out who was who and had to wait for the slightly slower Norah to figure it out.

Even though Norah was a little slow on the uptake (and I understand why she needed to be - it would have ruined the story otherwise), I found myself becoming fond of her. She's on a real journey, therapist and all, and by the end of the novel she's become a better and more self aware person. I have to say though that I was totally jealous of her being able to work on her clothing line at a beach house. Where her sister and best friend were also able to be. Does no one have a "real" job? That's it - must find a way to be able to work at a beach house and bring my sister and best friend with me. :)

Overall, I had fun reading The Last Page and think that other chick lit fans will enjoy it as well. I'm looking forward to reading more from Lacy Camey, including the next book in the "Living, Loving, and Laughing Again" series.

Happy Reading :)

Author Guest Post: Lacy Camey

I read Lacy Camey's novel The Last Page for a blog tour organized by Samantha at Chick Lit Plus. You'll get my review on Saturday but today you get to read a guest post that Lacy so kindly wrote for Books Etc. Read on to find out why she writes so many different genres. And don't forget to check back for my review of The Last Page!

The Lovely Lacy

Thanks for having me today. When it comes to watching entertaining stories via film, I’d rather watch a psychological thriller, like “Shutter Island” with Leo DiCaprio or “Inception”. (Ha, again with Leo. He’s such a good actor!) Surprising, huh? A girly girl who loves psychological thrillers over chick-lit romantic comedies? But when it comes to relaxing and watching a favorite repeat movie, I’ll watch a good chick-lit at home any day with a nice cup of tea.

There is a part of me that loves mysterious, thought provoking stories. I’m also a huge lover of researching secret societies and conspiracy theories. In 2010, I’m pretty sure I spent over 100 hours of my free time researching!

It was out of my research that I felt compelled to outline the story for “The Chosen Alpha”. The main character is 18 and a freshman in college. So, this book may be released as YA. All she wants in life is to be a respected songwriter and stay true to her personal musical style. However, she gets introduced to a powerful secret society and thinks it’s nothing but a harmless fraternity of sorts. How wrong she is…

Because I’m very impressionable, I dream every night. I have to be careful what I surround myself with because I feel it affects me. That’s why I like to stay positive because I feel it helps me stay creative, focused and on track-hence fun, light chick-lit. But a part of me can’t help but be drawn to writing this story!

Finishing the supernatural thriller will need to be written during a special time where I have the proper strength, endurance and focus. I feel torn at times with writing it because there is an element of writing about darkness that can be challenging. Yet, sometimes the only way to show light and good prevailing is to have it around the darkness, exposing it in the first place. I want to show how good triumphs over evil. I know I have a story to tell, now it’s just up to if I can handle writing it!

On other genres, my husband and I are writing currently, “The Grape Picker” – a classic love story that will be out in February 2012.

I think the writing style in “The Grape Picker” is more intricate and explanatory. There is a lot to explain in the story. Where in my chick lit, light chick lit in opinion, is just that, -light. Sometimes things aren’t explained as thoroughly, in attempt to keep a light story. They’re just cute stories, where you feel good, nothing major.

But “The Grape Picker” is a huge process, very intricate, with lots of back story. I think that will be seen physically, as well, as it’s twice the length of The Last Page! Picture the movie “A Walk in the Clouds” meets “The Notebook”. -  Lots of heart, lots of love, lots of obstacles, and lots of prejudices to overcome, but beautiful love in the end.

So why do I write in many genres? I just can’t help the so many stories I have in me to tell. I also have a modern sci-fi YA romance book idea. Imagine that. It originated out of a dream I had.

I hope if you like classic love stories like Nicholas Sparks, you’ll check out my book in February with its tentative release. If you’d like to stay up to date, please visit my website. I’d love to hear from you!