United Authors of Chick Lit

How much fun is this idea: all this week (October 21-25) chick lit authors from the US, Canada, and the UK are virtually crossing the ocean to spread the word about their novels with a different audience. When author Anna Garner asked me to feature their promotion I immediately said yes. You all know I'm a chick lit supporter and the more people who discover this genre, and learn to love it like I do, the better. I hope you check out the posts that are coming up this week on the authors' blogs...I know I will be!

Fasten your seatbelts and put your tray tables in the upright and locked position. Over the next few days, some of your favourite Chick Lit characters will be jetting across the Atlantic to visit with fictional friends on the other side of the pond.

The event kicks off on Monday, Oct. 21.

On Tuesday, Oct. 22, read about Stella from Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes and Chloe from Lying to Meet You as they travel across the Atlantic to visit each other.

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, it’s time to discover what happens when Emma from The Pollyanna Plan and Kim from Blogger Girl meet.

On Thursday, Oct. 24, Izzy from Izzy’s Cold Feet and Jamie from Finding Lucas will be taking you on a trip alongside their characters.

And on Friday, Oct. 25, Kate from Sealed with a Kiss and Pilar from In Need of Therapy will be chatting about their overseas experiences.

Here’s a little sneak peek at the fun, frothy books and sassy gals featured in our international promo, all of which are priced at $3.99 or less:

Finding Lucas by Samantha Stroh Bailey – Daytime talk show producer Jamie Ross is beyond fed up with her toxic bad boy turned metrosexual boyfriend. Spurred on by her gang of quirky friends, she goes on a hilarious, at-times disastrous, and totally life-changing hunt to track down the ”one who got away.” But are some loves best left behind? Available on Amazon.com, Amazon UK and Kobo.

In Need of Therapy by Tracie Banister – Handling the problems of hysterical hypochondriacs, lovelorn neurotics, and compulsive man whores is all in a day’s work for super-shrink Pilar Alvarez. But can she deal with her crazy Cuban family, a trio of unsuitable suitors, and a threat to her practice without ending up on the couch herself? Available on Amazon.com, Amazon UK, and B&N. 

Lying to Meet You by Anna Garner – Overworked New York fashion girl Chloe Lane has no time for a real relationship, but when her childhood pal asks her to play the part of his girlfriend in order to test a theory, she decides to go for it. The lies start piling up and things start getting crazy. Will Chloe be able to keep it together? Available on Amazon.com, Amazon UK and B&N.

Sealed with a Kiss by Rachael Lucas – Kate breathes a sigh of relief when she's dumped at her best friend's wedding. When she takes a job on the island of Auchenmor, she's determined to have a year off men, but that's before she rescues Flora the seal pup with the help of Roddy, her mysterious new boss... Available on Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

The Pollyanna Plan by Talli Roland – Emma Beckett has always looked down on 'the glass is half full' optimists. But when she loses her high-powered job and fiancé, Emma makes a radical decision: from here on in, she'll attempt to see the upside, no matter how dire the situation. Can adopting a positive attitude give Emma the courage to build a new life, or is finding the good in everything a very bad idea? Available on Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

Blogger Girl by Meredith Schorr – Kimberly Long has two passions: her successful chick lit blog and Nicholas, her handsome colleague down the hall. But when her high school nemesis pops onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book and eyes for Nicholas, Kim has to make some quick revisions to her own life story. Available on Amazon.com, Amazon UK, B&N, and Apple iTunes. (Blogger note: this is probably one of my favourite books of 2013!)

Izzy’s Cold Feet by Sarah Louise Smith – Izzy is engaged to Greg, who is everything a girl could want. The trouble is – all she can think about is the men she loved before she met him. In the week leading up to her wedding day, Izzy is forced to ask herself who she loves the most. And, given the choice, who would she want to spend her life with? Available on Amazon.com, Amazon UK, B&N, and UK Nook.

Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes by Sue Watson – TV Producer Stella is over worked, over weight and under fire battling to balance family, career and those weighing scales. In the past she’s always found comfort at the bottom of her mixing bowl but now the most delicious lemon sponge with zesty frosting has no effect. However, life is about to get even tougher... and Stella has to face some truths about herself, her life and her future. Available on Amazon.com and Amazon UK.  

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Tuesday, Oct. 22

Stella will be on Anna Garner’s blog and Chloe will be on Sue Watson’s blog.

Wednesday, Oct. 23

Emma will be on Meredith Schorr’s blog and Kim will be on Talli Roland’s blog.

Thursday, Oct. 24

Izzy will be on Samantha Stroh Bailey’s blog and Jamie will be on Sarah Louise Smith’s blog.

Friday, Oct. 25

Kate will be on Tracie Banister’s blog and Pilar will be on Rachael Lucas’s blog. 

Just Finished: In Need of Therapy

I need to confess something. I did not, in fact, "just finish" Tracie Banister's fabulous novel In Need of Therapy. I read it at the end of November. Yikes! It happened to be in that bad time of finishing up school work, preparing for Christmas, and having a few other reviews on the go. Obviously I really need to start working on my bookish resolution of being more organized!

Here's the synopsis:

Lending a sympathetic ear and dispensing sage words of advice is all part of the job for psychologist Pilar Alvarez, and she’s everything a good therapist should be: warm, compassionate, supportive. She listens, she cares, and she has all the answers, but how’s the woman everyone turns to in their hour of need supposed to cope when her own life starts to fall apart?
While working hard to make a success of her recently-opened practice in trendy South Beach, Pilar must also find time to cater to the demands of her boisterous Cuban family, which includes younger sister Izzy, an unemployed, navel-pierced wild child who can't stay out of trouble, and their mother, a beauty queen turned drama queen who’s equally obsessed with her fading looks and getting Pilar married before it’s “too late.” Although she’d like to oblige her mother and make a permanent love connection, Pilar’s romantic prospects look grim. Her cheating ex, who swears that he’s reformed, is stalking her. A hunky, but strictly off-limits, patient with bad-boy appeal and intimacy issues is making passes. And the sexy shrink in the suite across the hall has a gold band on his left ring finger.
When a series of personal and professional disasters lead Pilar into the arms of one of her unsuitable suitors, she's left shaken, confused, and full of self-doubt. With time running out, she must make sense of her feelings and learn to trust herself again so that she can save her business, her family, and most importantly, her heart.

I had so much fun reading this novel! Pilar was such an interesting character to read about. Main characters who are psychologists are always interesting because, as we all know, no one is perfect and it's nice to read about how someone finally starts taking the advice they've been giving out. Does that make sense? Pilar, as a psychologist, helps her patients grow and work through their issues. I loved reading about how she finally took a good, hard look at her life and realized that she had some issues herself.

Pilar's family plays a fairly large part in this novel and they're...something else. Talk about a big and crazy family! I think I sometimes wished that there wasn't quite so much involving her family (especially when her mother was insistent that she was throwing away a good thing by breaking up with her seemingly perfect boyfriend - so frustrating!) because I wanted to get back to her career and romance issues.

Speaking of romance issues, I loved Ford. Just loved him. And his son? My goodness, he was so adorably awesome! I really enjoyed watching the romance begin between Pilar and Ford and wondered how Banister would have everything turn out. Would they get together? Was he actually still married? When are they going to smarten up and tell each other how they feel?!? There was enough happening to keep me guessing and I definitely appreciated that.

One final note - I loved Pilar's best friend Sara. She was just the kind of BFF a girl needs and I loved that we got to know just enough about her. Too often novels will focus too much on a secondary character and it takes away from the main story. I really liked how the ending featured her work and we got to know what happens to her in the end as well.

I would definitely recommend In Need of Therapy by Tracie Banister to my fellow chick lit fans. I have yet to read Tracie's first novel, Blame It on the Fame but it has moved up my to be read list after reading this novel!

Happy reading :)

*A copy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*