CLP Blog Tour: The Green Ticket

I cannot tell you guys how excited I was to read The Green Ticket. This is the second novel from the fabulous Samantha March - author and book blogger extraordinaire (she runs the popular site Chick Lit Plus). I read and loved her debut novel, Destined to Fail late last year (check out my review here if you missed it). So, did her second novel live up to the expectations I had? Oh yeah. I loved it.

Here's the synopsis:

College junior Alex Abrams scores her dream job at the ripe age of twenty – manager to a successful salon and spa. Thrilled to finally have a real adult job, Alex enthusiastically jumps into the world of schedules, conference calls, and getting a massage when interviewing prospective employees. What she doesn’t expect are the very grown-up issues that comes with a demanding boss. Kevin Dohlman quickly becomes Alex’s worse nightmare – covering up his affairs, dealing with his enormous ego, and trying to protect her female staff from him becomes a full-time job in its own right. Alex has also befriended Kevin’s wife and co-owner, Dani, and is trying to keep Kevin’s secrets hidden from her. The situation only worsens when Kevin starts paying Alex off to make sure she keeps her insider knowledge to herself. 

While struggling to keep her wits and stay happy with her new grown-up job, Alex is juggling college courses, a new love interest, and keeping up with her close group of girlfriends. When her roommate and best friend Lila gets offered an opportunity to move to Los Angeles and sign with an agent, Alex realizes her life truly is changing, and everyone around her – including herself – is growing up. Knowing she is faced with some hard decisions ahead, Alex struggles with keeping her job at Blissful. But does she really want to throw away what she dreamed of as a career – or will the secret-keeping for Kevin become too much to handle? The Green Ticket is a story about morals versus money, and how one young woman navigates the shaky line between the two.

One of the things I remember liking about Destined to Fail was that I could really relate to the characters. The girls were college students and it hasn't been that long since I graduated from university. The Green Ticket was just the same way. I could completely relate to Alex's lifestyle at school. She and her girlfriends all lived in the same dorm at their college. That brought back fond memories of my dorm in first year and then living with some of my closest friends for the next three years. It was so much easier to hang out when they were just upstairs or down the hall - instead of 3 hours or 6 hours or...apparently Google can't calculate the directions from where I live now to where one of my old roomies is in Nunavut. OK, a ridiculously long way away. Point is, I miss the days when my friends lived close enough that I didn't have to put on real shoes to see them (something Alex mentions in the book). I really liked that aspect and I think March does a great job of writing some really real friendships - so much so that I wish I could be one Alex's friends, too!

What I also liked about this book was that the romance wasn't the central storyline. This is a minor spoiler as you'll notice that it's not even mentioned in the synopsis. Now, don't get me wrong, I love that there was a (wonderfully written) romance with Alex and Henry but I'm glad it wasn't the main focus. I do think that they are an adorable couple and am glad they found each other.

The only negative I found with this book was that there was a chunk of time that was just skipped over - from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve. March caught me up and let me know what happened during that period of time but I just found it odd that over a month was just bounced over.

I couldn't believe the...well...crap, that Alex had to put up with at Blissful. I don't know what I would have done if I had been in her position. Though, I doubt I'd ever be in her position because there's no way that I would have had enough confidence in myself to run a spa when I was in my third year of university. I really admired Alex and I thought she was a fabulous main character.

I'm sure I could continue gushing about The Green Ticket, but I won't. Instead, I'll urge you all to buy a copy of it so you can see for yourselves how fabulous it is. I'm so glad I was able to take place in this tour and I'm happy to let you know that I'll have a guest post from author Samantha March herself, as well as an interview coming up later in the week. While you're waiting, hop on over to the main tour page and check out some of the other reviews. Maybe they'll help convince you to buy this book!

Happy reading :)

Guest Post: Cara Alwill Leyba

CLP Blog Tours is currently hosting a tour for the book Sparkle by Cara Alwill Leyba. While I have not read the book (I knew things were going to be crazy busy this week!), I find the idea of it really interesting and I wondered how Cara came up with it. I think you'll really enjoy this guest post, and maybe find it inspiring, too! 

Cara Alwill Leyba

Behind the Scenes of Sparkle: How the Book Came About

Sparkle was a work in progress up to the last minute. When I first wrote my book, it was originally titled The Champagne Diet. It later became The Champagne Diaries, and eventually, it turned into Sparkle.

Let me explain.

The book’s original concept was a humorous weight loss memoir about how I lost “the dead weight” both physically and emotionally after discovering and falling in love with champagne (check out my blog for more on that!). After about a year, many changes took place in my life. My blog readership grew and the things I started to write about evolved. I found myself immersed in motivational topics and spent the bulk of my time writing inspirational pieces for my readers. It was less about food and fitness and more about lifestyle as a whole.

I decided to change the book from a memoir to a narrative nonfiction all about how to live your most effervescent life. Champagne was a huge focus in the book and I included all sorts of chapters from “How to Throw the Perfect Champagne Girl’s Night In” to “The Marvelous Magic of Champagne” which chronicled the numerous health benefits of bubbly.  I got a literary agent and we began working on my proposal. As much as I loved the book, I faced one issue yet again: I was evolving.

During the time that my agent began pitching the book to mainstream publishers, I made a huge decision to become a life coach. I always knew I wanted to work with women one on one to help them live their most sparkling lives, but up until this point it never really extended beyond my writing. When I discovered life coaching, I found a whole new avenue to connect with women. As a trained coach, I could do private coaching, create workshops, and really understand the women who were reading my words.

The Champagne Diaries was not as well received as I had hoped, mainly because publishers were nervous to put out a book with such a heavy emphasis on champagne. I like to think this was a blessing in disguise, because my true book, Sparkle, was within me and would finally have the chance to be born – my way.

Rather than changing things again and pitching the book again as Sparkle, I decided to self-publish - for many reasons. First, the process of traditional publishing can be daunting. I wasn't up for another go-round and I was craving the creative control. I wanted to prove that I could write the book the way I wanted to and it would sell. I wanted to prove that my fans would love it exactly as it was. And they did. To date, I've sold nearly 500 copies of Sparkle in just 12 weeks, and I truly credit that to the creative freedom and enthusiasm that came along with my journey and experiences.

My advice to anyone (a writer or not) is simple: don’t be afraid to grow. Just because you write one genre doesn't mean you can’t try out another. Just because you self-published one book doesn't mean you should turn down (the right) traditional deal. And just because you feel one way about something doesn't mean you can’t change your mind. Freedom is power.

Author Bio:

Cara Alwill Leyba is a best selling author, and certified life and wellness coach from New York City who empowers women to live their most effervescent lives and celebrate themselves. She encourages women to indulge in the things that make them happy, and swears that every woman can live a "champagne life," no matter how busy she is or how tight her budget.

Her blog, The Champagne Diet, boasts a following of thousands of loyal readers and has been featured in Glamour, Shape, Cafe Mom, Daily Mail UK, MSN Australia, AOL UK Lifestyle, and a host of other publications worldwide. Cara's writing has been featured in The Huffington Post, xJane, Mind Body Green, MTV News, and many other sites.

Cara regularly appears on the “Ask Dr. Fritz” radio show on WWRL New York, where she helps host Dr. Fritz answer questions from callers about love, career, family, relationships and more. She also hosts her own lifestyle and wellness show, "Uncork Your Best Self" on Blog Talk Radio.

Cara's first book, SPARKLE, became an immediate #1 bestseller on Amazon in both the Happiness and Self-Esteem categories upon hours of its release. She celebrated the release of her book with a book signing in New York City this past fall.

When she’s not popping bubbly, blogging, or working with her coaching clients, Cara spends her days leading a digital advertising team at MTV Networks. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and dog-child. For more on Cara visit www.LiveCreateSparkle.com

Connect with Cara!

Cara's website: www.LiveCreateSparkle.com
Cara's blog: www.TheChampagneDiet.com
Want to learn how to sparkle? Join Cara's "Sparkling Start" workshop next month and kick off 2013 in glittering, shimmering style! http://www.livecreatesparkle.com/group-workshops.html 

Just Finished: Unmasking Maya

I really enjoy stories that have a twist or two that are unexpected. The characters in Unmasking Maya had a few secrets and author Libby Mercer revealed them at just the right times. I really enjoyed this novel!

Here's the synopsis:

Defamed, Disgraced and Displaced...
Fresh from a career-killing scandal, New York fashion girl, Maya Kirkwood, arrives in San Francisco to reinvent herself as a fine artist. She's offered the opportunity to create an installation at the Silicon Valley headquarters of a hot new tech company. Fabulous, right?
Not so much.
She can't stand Derek Whitley - wunderkind software genius and CEO of the company. Hot as he may be on the outside, inside the man is a cold, unemotional, robotic type. Way too left-brained for her right-brained self.
As Maya and Derek get to know each other, however, their facades begin to crack. She catches her first glimpse of the man behind the superhuman tech prodigy, and he starts to see her as the woman she used to be. But is this a good thing? Once that last secret is revealed, will it bring them closer together or will it tear them apart?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. It had some art (I loved that Maya was an artist), some secrets (on all sides), some romance, and some humour. Mix all that together and you get a really great read. I found myself laughing out loud while reading at the gym and I thought the humour really lightened up some of the story. Those secrets I mentioned? Kind of heavy. So the joking around between characters was welcome.

I loved watching the romance begin between Maya and Derek. The butterflies and the "does he or doesn't he" thoughts Maya has - so much fun to read about. I won't go any further than that so use your imagination on how that relationship may or may not turn out :)

Maya was a great character. She was sweet and strong and just a little bit spunky. I really connected with her and I desperately wanted things to work out for her. I was hoping that she kept landing good jobs, like the one at Derek's company, so she could get out of her crummy apartment. I'm also really glad she found a friend at the tech company. Life is so dull without good girlfriends!

Unmasking Maya was a fabulous read. I definitely recommend it for chick lit lovers and I, for one, will be trying to get my hands on Libby Mercer's other novel, Fashioning a Romance. Stay tuned for a lovely guest post from Libby herself coming up on Wednesday!

Happy reading :)

December Chick Lit Challenge Read: Mistletoe in Manhattan

I have to tell you all how amazing Talli Roland is. I knew she had a new holiday novella out this year, Mistletoe in Manhattan, and had heard lots of good things about it. I have also read and loved Build a Man and Construct a Couple so I thought this would be a great Christmas read to buy. I don't have a Kindle, unfortunately, so I wasn't able to get it through Amazon. Off I hopped to kobo aaaand...nothing. Smashwords? Nada. Apparently it was just not meant to be and, guys, I was so distraught! I mentioned on Twitter that I wasn't able to find and buy the book and Talli, the fabulous person that she is, emailed me a copy and didn't expect a single thing in return. I, of course, thanked her profusely and am giving back by posting this review.

Here's the synopsis of the novella:

As Little Missington's first Christmas baby in fifty years and the daughter of 'Christmas When You Like It' party-planners, Holly West has been surrounded by the holiday spirit since birth. Trouble is, she's not exactly filled with festive cheer. In fact, Holly can't wait to ditch the tinsel and Santa suits for champagne and celebs, and become a party-planner to the stars.
When British film star Dean Layton hires her parents' company to throw his holiday bash in Manhattan, Holly jumps at the chance to help, confident she can handle a little Christmas in exchange for access to Dean's exclusive world.
But New York and Dean's over-the-top demands are more than Holly bargained for. Can Holly deck the halls and make it a party to be proud of, or will this Christmas be one she'll never forget . . . even if she wants to?

I thought this was just such a fun Christmas read. Well, I suppose I should say holiday since it doesn't really feature Christmas too much. But that was fine with me. The Christmas aspect came with the party Holly was throwing and the fact that her parents want her home for Christmas (which is also her birthday).

I really liked the party planning aspect of the story. I have a diploma in event management so I've always had an interest in any wedding or party planning stories. Holly's story was really fun and different than anything else I had read before. A British party planner transplanted to New York City to plan a "real" Christmas party? Sounds like fun to me!

I do wish that the ending was a little different. I obviously won't say much because I don't want to give anything away so please forgive the vagueness. Holly meets a ridiculously good looking bar tender and they really hit it off. But what's going to happen when she goes back to England?

Overall, Mistletoe in Manhattan was a fabulous holiday read and I definitely recommend it. If I can find some time before now and Christmas, I'm also going to try to read Talli Roland's Christmas novella from last year,  Miracle at the Museum of Broken Hearts.

Side note: I meant to have this post up earlier today but then this happened...

This, my friends, is my new bunny. I've been wanting ones for awhile and today my boyfriend came home with this little one for me as an early Christmas present! I'm not sure if it's a boy or girl (apparently they didn't know at the pet store) but I think I'm going to name it Tonks. As in Nymphadora - from Harry Potter. If I had known it was for sure a boy, it would have been Willoughby :) Anyway, just wanted to share!

Author Interview: Heather Thurmeier

Today is my last post for the Falling for You tour organized by CLP Blog Tours! So far I've already reviewed  Heather Thurmeier's novel (loved it!) and she wrote a great guest post for the blog yesterday. Today's treat is an interview with the lovely Heather! Enjoy :)

Favourite movie?

Oh, so, so hard to pick just one. So here’s my current top 5:

Die Hard

Armageddon

40-Year-Old Virgin

Tommy Boy

The Notebook

Favourite author/book?

OMG, this is like picking a favorite child. Again, you get my top 5:

Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor series

Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series

Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook

JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series

**I'm actually going to stop at the top 4 instead because I think there are way too many books/series/authors that could be my number 5.

Favourite (or dream) travel destination?

Paris. I went once with my husband and we have the best week ever! We really want to go back with our girls.

Favourite indulgence (food to eat, store to shop in, etc.)?

Books. Lots and lots of books. Was there supposed to be another answer? Handbags. I really love handbags. I don’t own that many of them (regardless of what hubs says!) but I covet many. It doesn't matter what size or shape you are, a new handbag always fits!

Favourite reality TV show?
I have a top 3 (and a whole bunch of other that I love *almost* as much!):

The Amazing Race

Survivor

Bachelor/Bachelorette

What made you want to write romances?

I don’t know. I wanted to write a book for a long time, but never thought I could. I didn't have an idea for a book, just a desire to write one. Then one day an idea came to me, and it sort of festered in my brain for a while, taking shape. When I finally thought I had an overall idea and characters come together, I couldn't wait to write it. It just so happened to be a romance! I'm not surprised really. I love to watch romantic comedies, I love to read romance and chick lit, and I'm a huge romantic in real life!

Do you ever find characteristics of yourself or your friends and family creeping into your characters?

Yes! I think there is a little piece of me in every single one of my characters in some way or another. None of my characters are based entirely off of people I know in real life… that would be awkward! But each character has a little trait from someone I know, or in most cases, from many people I know.

What is your writing process like? Do you have a favourite place or time of day to write?

I write mostly in the morning and early afternoon while the kids are at school and the house is quiet. I find I'm very motivated in the morning to get my word count in and I usually have lots of energy to sit and focus on writing for a few hours. Once the kids come home, it gets harder to focus because they need a lot of attention. And after they go to bed, I'm beat! I get very little to nothing done in the evenings!

What’s your favourite thing about being an author?

I have two answers to this. First, I love that being an author allows me to set my own schedule. I like working as much or as little as my family life allows. It great to be able to work and still be home with my kids after school, to run them to activities and take them for playdates. And I love being able to do the job I love from the comfort of my home.  Secondly, I LOVE creating characters and telling their stories. It’s such a good feeling to be able to put down on paper these stories I have in my head and to have people actually read my books and enjoy them! I didn't realize how fulfilling this career would be when I started my first book, but every time I finish a book it gives me a sense of accomplishment I've never felt any other way. Being an author is incredibly rewarding and satisfying. I can’t imagine doing anything else as a career and I feel blessed that this is my job.

What kinds of things do you like to do when you’re not writing?

When I'm not writing I like spending time with my family and friends. We enjoy going to movies, hiking, bike riding, and playing video games. One of our favorite outdoor activities is geocaching. We use a handheld GPS unit and a set of longitude and latitude coordinates to find hidden ‘caches’. Caches are containers that people hide and inside is always a logbook we sign with our geocaching name and usually there are other little trinkets inside too. Sometimes there are tiny toys for the kids that they can take, and sometimes we bring little things with us to leave in the cache as well. The kids call it treasure hunting! The second book in my reality TV romance trilogy is called Stuck on You and it’s a reality show loosely based on The Amazing Race but with a geocaching twist! I can't wait to see what readers think of it! 

Guest Post: Heather Thurmeier

As promised, today I have a guest post from the lovely Heather Thurmeier as part of the CLP Blog Tour for her new novel Falling for You. If you read my review from the other day, you'd know that this book features a show that is similar to The Bachelor so I wondered what her inspiration was for her trilogy and what it is about reality TV that we love so much. I hope you all enjoy this post as much as I did! A big thank you to Heather for writing this post. Stay tuned for an interview with Heather coming up on the blog tomorrow!

Hi, Kaley! Thank you so much for having me here today to chat about my ridiculous love for all things reality TV and especially The Bachelor/Bachelorette!

What is it I love so much about those shows that I was inspired to base a romance novel on the idea of a reality TV show cast and crew? Ah, so many things!

First, I love the drama of the show. I know, it’s awful, but I do. I love watching the drama between contestants each week. Sometimes there’s even drama between the contestants and the bachelor/bachelorette! I love to see the daggers get thrown as contestants clash. Tensions run high on these show and it almost always results in memorable TV moments!

Second, I love the challenges and dates! I love to watch each week to find out what crazy things the contestants have to do next. I love when they do something exciting like bungee jumping or rock climbing. I’m always amazed when contestants who are scared face their fears and do the challenge! The only challenges or dates that I don’t like are the ones where the contestants have to act or sing. I think it’s kinda cruel and unusual punishment to put them through that in such a publically humiliating way! And one of my favorite things to watch is when the Bachelor/Bachelorette takes a contestant on a fabulous date that would never happen in real life. Maybe they get whisked off in a helicopter to some remote island for snorkeling with dolphins and a sunset dinner on a private yacht. Or maybe they hike up the side of a mountain and have a picnic in the crater of a dormant volcano. Whatever they do, these dates are always unbelievable and I love to see what they’ll do next!

Last, I love to watch romance blossom. I love to watch as those initial sparks of attraction ignite. And when they start to come together as a couple, opening up to each other and sharing pieces of their lives with someone they just met… it just makes me happy! Is there anything better than watching two people fall in love? No, probably not. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. I think I like reading about two people falling in love even more! You can read all about Cassidy falling in love in FALLING FOR YOU, but she may not fall in love with who you think!

CLP Blog Tour: Falling for You

Welcome to my stop on the Falling for You blog tour! I'm so glad I decided to take part in the CLP Blog Tour for Heather Thurmeier's latest novel. I loved it!

Here's the synopsis:

Newly single Cassidy Quinn is thrilled to be a contestant on the new reality dating show, The One.
But her excitement turns to horror when the gorgeous bachelor turns out to be her ex-boyfriend. Seeing Brad again makes Cassidy realize she might not be as “over him” as she thought—and then she meets hunky cameraman Evan Burke.
After watching his brother lose his wife in a tragic accident, Evan vows never to fall in love. But following Cassidy around as her personal cameraman makes him question his decision, and resisting her gets harder with every sunbathing, bikini-wearing day.
Cassidy and Evan begin a forbidden affair while her ex-boyfriend tries to win her heart back one groping, awkward moment at a time. If Cassidy can manage to stop falling off horses (literally), stop falling onto her ex-boyfriend, the bachelor (yes, literally), and stop falling in love with backstage playboy Evan, she might still make it through the show without becoming a tabloid sensation.
But soon Cassidy must choose between the ex who broke her heart and the cameraman who might never love her back. For Cassidy, this reality show just got real.

I don't watch a lot of reality TV but the franchise I do watch is The Bachelor/Bachelorette (I draw the line at The Bachelor Pad) so it was a lot of fun to read this novel. I really liked the "behind the scenes" sort of look I got at a similar reality show. Even though I know Thurmeier essentially made up the show, she would have done some research so it was a believable story. As believable as novels and "reality" TV is, of course (and that's not a knock at the book!) :) I watch these shows for the outlandish dates and to see if the contestants can actually find love. This novel was that and so much more. Reading about Brad and the other girls was hilarious - and just what I imagine those shows to actually be like.

I really liked Cassidy. She was a spunky girl and it was quite amusing to read about her adventure as a reality show contestant. I couldn't believe she had ever been with Brad. He was a bit of a...let's call him a twit, shall we? :) Evan, on the other hand, was delightful and their romance was so much fun to read. It was a lot steamier than I expected - an added bonus!

I am so excited that this is a series. The next book, Stuck on You, features Paige, another one of the girls on The One with Cassidy. She was such a sweet character and I really can't wait to read more about her - and find out what Cassidy and Evan are up to.

Even though Falling for You is more of a contemporary romance, I think chick lit lovers would really enjoy it as well. Heather Thurmeier is now one of the authors I stay up to date on because I've now enjoyed two of her novels. I can't wait to read the second book in her reality TV series! Stay tuned for a guest post from Heather and an interview with her coming up in the next couple of days!

Happy reading :)