Title: A Work of ArtAuthor: Micayla LallyPublished: May 2017, She Writes PressFormat: Paperback, 256 pages Letting go after her abrupt break-up with Samson is harder than Julene thought it would be, especially since her ex has wasted no time in burying himself in the local dating scene. But during an extended visit to her parents overseas, Julene rediscovers her love of art, and a burgeoning career develops. Samson, on the other hand, after trying valiantly--and unsuccessfully--to forget Julene, has settled instead on his own new career.
When Julene returns home to Australia, a coincidental meeting leads to an emotional reunion--but her love and patience will be tested when she finds out just how busy Samson has been in her absence. Yes, they have both made mistakes they can work through and move past--but when a specter from Samson's past looms, Julene wonders: Can she trust him again?
What readers are saying: "Romantics should enjoy watching this feisty couple rediscover their love for each other, work through their differences, and start over again with their new baby.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A darling celebration of forgiving and the intricacies of communication, this stunning adventure is the chick lit event of the year.” —PopSugar
“An endlessly charming story about second chances, A Work of Art explores the question we’ve all asked ourselves: is true love worth a second chance?” —Redbook
" A Work of Art by Micayla Lally takes the unusual tack of beginning the story at the end of a relationship. As she paints a renewed love that rises from the ashes of the old, Lally draws two imperfect characters who are growing into the people they need to be. The question is whether their new love is strong enough to survive the mistakes of their past." —Maren Anderson, author of Fuzzy Logic and Closing the Store
"Forget Samson and Delilah, take a romp with Samson and Julene in Lally's witty, whimsical debut. A great escapist pleasure, Lally's sassy, Aussie voice shines, drawing readers in to this gem of a romance that keeps you guessing until the very end." —Jennifer Hillman-Magnuson, author of the award winning travel memoir Peanut Butter & Naan: Stories of an American Mom in the Far East
"A Work of Art is a sweet and sassy look at what happens when couples don’t communicate." —Valerie Ihsan, author of The Scent of Apple Tea
Micayla Lally’s A Work of Art is a delightful romp through modern-day Adelaide’s art world. Samson and Julene are a sexy, funny, quirky couple who struggle to discover who they are and what they really mean to each other, especially when they discover that another little person is on the way. A perfect book-club selection, it is Chick Lit at its best! Highly entertaining! —Michelle Cox, author of The Henrietta and Inspector Howard series
“A fresh and literary spin on traditional chick lit. Micayla Lally has written an engaging, thoughtful story that gives hope to anyone who has ever wished for a second chance.” —Katie Oliver, author of the Jane Austen Factor series
"Micayla’s book is a lighthearted journey that follows the intricacies of a relationship…[A Work of Art] is a playful, easy to read romance story.” —Jann Hill, watercolour and collage artist, Australia
"I was hopeful when A Work of Art appeared in the post. The cover is gorgeous and the blurb intriguing so expectations were high. In short, I wasn't disappointed. Lally makes you like her characters with her frank, engaging style, then runs you through the wringer along with them before leaving you satisfied. I can't say too much without giving away the plot but I will say that I read this book in one sitting and will definitely be revisiting it again. Fans of Liane Moriarty should love this one. I certainly did." —Georgina Penney, author of The Barbershop Girl
"Sexy and a pleasure to read, this is not your typical chick lit. A Work Of Art demonstrates how relationships can get complicated fast. This story of modern love adeptly shows us how the quirky and sympathetic characters of Samson, Julene and the triangulated Victoria navigate pregnancy, career, love, sex and family dynamics all within the vibrancy of Adelaide, Australia. Ms. Lally’s writing lends itself to our understanding of their stories – we feel deeply for each of them. The perfect book club read. I look forward to more from Ms. Lally." —Dr. Kat Van Kirk, licensed sex and marriage therapist
"An emotional, hearty debut and perfect spring read, A Work of Art will hopelessly charm every soul-searcher." —Brit + Co *****************************************************************************A Work of Art by Micayla Lally is one of BookSparks "Summer Reads" reading selection picks.
Follow the #SRC2017 hashtag on twitter to read reviews on this book as well as reviews on the other summer books! Also, be sure to check out the BookSparks Facebook page for the #SRC2017 and other fun links. You can participate in weekly secret missions for chances to win signed copies of selected books and more! There's a new secret mission each week :)
Title: A Game of GhostsAuthor: John ConnollySeries: Charlie Parker, #15Published: July 2017, Atria/Emily Bestler BooksFormat: Hardcover, 464 books Internationally bestselling author John Connolly returns with another “superb fusion of noir and the supernatural” (My Bookish Ways) in this latest thriller in his gripping Charlie Parker series.
It is deep winter and the darkness is unending. A private detective named Jaycob Eklund has vanished and Charlie Parker is assigned to track him down. Parker’s employer, Edgar Ross, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has his own reasons for wanting Eklund found. Eklund is no ordinary investigator—he is obsessively tracking a series of homicides and disappearances, each linked to reports of hauntings. Now Parker is drawn into Eklund’s world: a realm in which the monstrous Mother rules a crumbling criminal empire, in which men strike bargains with angels, and in which the innocent and guilty alike are pawns in a game of ghosts...
What readers are saying: "Connolly creates complicated plots that never unravel. He's just that good."--Kirkus Reviews
"Terrifying."--Publishers Weekly
"Leave it to No. 1 internationally bestselling author John Connolly to deliver a flawless and highly suspenseful cocktail of FBI investigations, mysterious disappearances, and a dark ghost-ridden empire."--Popsugar
“There are a few authors whose novels are my own personal equivalent to comfort food. Stephen King is one; John Connolly is another.”--Michael Patrick Hicks Reviews
"The beauty of John Connolly's Charlie Parker novels is how the characters continue to evolve."--The Jacksonville Times
"The Charlie Parker series is my favorite series of all time. In any genre. Perhaps because it doesn't fit neatly into any one genre. It's gritty crime novels with supernatural elements and a mystery that spans across the entire series."--Cynthia's On Pens and Needles
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A Game of Ghosts by John Connolly is one of BookSparks "Summer Reads" reading selection picks.
Follow the #SRC2017 hashtag on twitter to read reviews on this book as well as reviews on the other summer books! Also, be sure to check out the BookSparks Facebook page for the #SRC2017 and other fun links. You can participate in weekly secret missions for chances to win signed copies of selected books and more! There's a new secret mission each week :)
Tomorrow, Everything We Left Behind, the latest book by Kerry Lonsdale comes out and I'm super excited about this one. This is the sequel to her book, Everything We Keep - which I loved!!! I'll be listening to this book - I'm just waiting for my copy of the audio book to arrive and then once it does, and I have time to listen to it, I'll be posting my review. Because this book is sequel, and you really need to read the first book, and because I was fortunate to have been sent both books, I am going to give them away to 1 lucky reader. See giveaway details below!!! Title: Everything We Left BehindAuthor: Kerry LonsdaleSeries: Everything We Keep, #2Published: July 2017, Lake Union PublishingFormat: Paperback, 348 pagesFrom the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everything We Keep comes the highly anticipated sequel. Told from one man’s two perspectives, Everything We Left Behind effortlessly blends suspense, mystery, and romance in an exploration of loss, resilience, and the compelling need to protect the ones we love at all cost.
Two months before his wedding, financial executive James Donato chased his trade-laundering brother Phil to Mexico, only to be lost at sea and presumed dead. Six and a half years later, he emerges from a dissociative fugue state to find he’s been living in Oaxaca as artist Carlos Dominguez, widower and father of two sons, with his sister-in-law Natalya Hayes, a retired professional surfer, helping to keep his life afloat. But his fiancée, Aimee Tierney, the love of his life, has moved on. She’s married and has a child of her own.
Devastated, James and his sons return to California. But Phil is scheduled for release from prison, and he’s determined to find James, who witnessed something in Mexico that could land Phil back in confinement. Under mounting family pressure, James flees with his sons to Kauai, seeking refuge with Natalya. As James begins to unravel the mystery of his fractured identity, danger is never far behind, and Natalya may be the only person he can trust.
(This book is the sequel to Everything We Keep.)
What readers are saying: “In this suspenseful sequel to Everything We Keep…readers will be captivated as the truth unravels, hanging on every word.” –RT Book Reviews “A stunning fusion of suspense, family drama, and redemption, Everything We Left Behind will hold the reader spellbound to the last sentence.” —A. J. Banner, #1 Kindle and USA Today bestselling author of The Twilight Wife and The Good Neighbor “Love, loss, and secrets drive Kerry Lonsdale’s twisty follow-up to the bestselling Everything We Keep. Everything We Left Behind is an enthralling and entertaining read. You’ll be turning the pages as fast as you can to see how it ends.” —Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, authors of The Good Widow “While Everything We Left Behind, the long-anticipated sequel to Everything We Keep, is page-turning and suspenseful, at its center it is the story of a man struggling to discover the truth of his own identity. A man who is determined above all else to protect his family, a man who is willing to risk everything to find out the truth and to ultimately uncover the secrets of his own heart. For everyone who has read Everything We Keep (if you haven’t go do that now!), this is your novel, answering every question, tying up every thread to an oh-so-satisfying conclusion.” —Barbara Taylor Sissel, author of The Truth We Bury “With one smart, unexpected twist after another, this page-turner is as surprising as it is emotionally insightful. Everything We Left Behind showcases Kerry Lonsdale at the top of her game.” —Camille Pagán, bestselling author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences “Told through a unique perspective, Everything We Left Behind is a compelling story about one man’s journey to find himself in the wake of trauma, dark secrets, and loss. As past and present merge, he struggles to confront fear and find trust, but two constants remain: his love for his young sons and his need to protect them from danger. This novel has everything—romance, suspense, mystery, family drama. What a page-turner!” —Barbara Claypole White, bestselling author of Echoes of Family**********************************************************************************
GIVEAWAY DETAILS - (US only) Thanks to the folks at Lake Union Publishing, I have one copy each of Everything We Keep & Everything We Left Behind to give away to one of my readers. To enter the giveaway, please fill out the rafflecopter below by July10th.a Rafflecopter giveawayThis giveaway is open to US residents only and ends July 10th.
Good Luck!!!
Title: The People We Hate at the WeddingAuthor: Grant GinderPublished: June 2017, Flatiron BooksFormat: Hardcover, 336 pages Relationships are awful. They'll kill you, right up to the point where they start saving your life.
Paul and Alice’s half-sister Eloise is getting married! In London! There will be fancy hotels, dinners at “it” restaurants and a reception at a country estate complete with tea lights and embroidered cloth napkins.
They couldn’t hate it more.
The People We Hate at the Wedding is the story of a less than perfect family. Donna, the clan’s mother, is now a widow living in the Chicago suburbs with a penchant for the occasional joint and more than one glass of wine with her best friend while watching House Hunters International. Alice is in her thirties, single, smart, beautiful, stuck in a dead-end job where she is mired in a rather predictable, though enjoyable, affair with her married boss. Her brother Paul lives in Philadelphia with his older, handsomer, tenured track professor boyfriend who’s recently been saying things like “monogamy is an oppressive heteronormative construct,” while eyeing undergrads. And then there’s Eloise. Perfect, gorgeous, cultured Eloise. The product of Donna’s first marriage to a dashing Frenchman, Eloise has spent her school years at the best private boarding schools, her winter holidays in St. John and a post-college life cushioned by a fat, endless trust fund. To top it off, she’s infuriatingly kind and decent.
As this estranged clan gathers together, and Eloise's walk down the aisle approaches, Grant Ginder brings to vivid, hilarious life the power of family, and the complicated ways we hate the ones we love the most in the most bitingly funny, slyly witty and surprisingly tender novel you’ll read this year.
What people are saying: "Ginder takes family dysfunction to its hysterical limit in this joyously ribald, sharply cynical, and impossible-to-put-down examination of love and loyalty." ― Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"A feast of bitchy characters, dysfunctional family dynamics and hilarious, over-the-top catastrophe."― People"The summer’s most compelling fictional exploration of affluence and envy, it skillfully mingles the introspective ways of a domestic novel with the juicy stratagems of a page turner...Especially well-suited to this summer of our discontent. Like all the best beach reads, it eats the rich like so many frozen grapes." ― Bloomberg BusineesWeek
"An over-the-top dishfest that atones for the sins of its characters with sly humor and a surprisingly big heart."― Departures
"A vibrant celebration of the modern family and all the crazy, hilarious and wild ways we love each other...This is the best wedding drama since My Best Friend's Wedding." ― Redbook"Witty and completely absorbing, The People We Hate at the Wedding is family dysfunction at its best ―full of heart, humor, and jealous siblings. This novel is addicting and entertaining and I couldn't put it down!"― Jennifer Close, New York Times bestselling author of Girls in White Dresses and The Hopefuls"Not only does it have the best title in the universe, The People We Hate At The Wedding is wickedly smart and shamelessly funny. Grant Ginder brilliantly captures privileged Brits clashing against semi-privileged Americans in the most hilariously cringeworthy ways. Cluelessly self-absorbed, appallingly outrageous, and so very endearing, these are characters I hope to be seated with at the next wedding I attend."―Kevin Kwan, New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend
"Don't be fooled by the superbly sardonic title―Grant Ginder's subject is not hate at all: it's love. Ginder expertly and hilariously shows us that real love (whether romantic or fraternal, parental or filial) is always a most complicated matter."―Rumaan Alam, author of Rich and Pretty
"Ginder successfully captures the clash between people who are intimately connected yet deeply at odds. These characters are completely clueless and utterly self-absorbed yet highly likable, their trials and tribulations painful at times and joyful at others but always entertaining. Ginder’s latest is a fascinating exploration of family dynamics and the complex way we interact with those who know us best."― Booklist, Starred Review"It turns out that the people we hate at the wedding are the very people we most love reading about. Grant Ginder's smart, funny novel is madly insightful and contains some of the most delightfully difficult and fabulously flawed characters I've encountered in a long time. I found myself worrying about them as I drove to work, hoping things would turn out well for (almost) all of them." ― Stephen McCauley, bestselling author of The Object of My Affection"Ginder has a gift for the gleefully outrageous, dishing out one over-the-top scene after another... A daisy chain of debacles makes time spent with people we hate good fun."― Kirkus Reviews*****************************************************************************
The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder is one of BookSparks "Summer Reads" reading selection picks.
Follow the #SRC2017 hashtag on twitter to read reviews on this book as well as reviews on the other summer books! Also, be sure to check out the BookSparks Facebook page for the #SRC2017 and other fun links. You can participate in weekly secret missions for chances to win signed copies of selected books and more! There's a new secret mission each week :)
Title: ProofAuthor: C.E. TobismanSeries: Caroline Auden, #2Published: June 2017, Thomas & MercerFormat: Paperback, 348 pages In this gripping sequel to C.E. Tobisman’s legal thriller Doubt, techie turned attorney Caroline Auden struggles to move on with her life after her last case nearly destroyed her career.
Still haunted by the betrayal that forced her to leave a prestigious law firm, Caroline Auden struggles to keep her fledgling practice afloat—and her paranoia in check. When her grandmother dies, she mourns losing the only constant in her life. But grief soon turns to suspicion when she discovers her grandmother left her entire estate—including a valuable antique watch, the family’s sole heirloom—to a charity called Oasis Care. On the surface, Oasis helps society’s outcasts, like Caroline’s alcoholic, homeless uncle. But as she digs deeper, Caroline uncovers a sinister plot that sends her running for her life on the dangerous streets of Los Angeles.
Plunged into a world of addicts and broken souls and operating without a phone or a computer, Caroline finds sanctuary with her uncle and a ragtag group of outcasts while building evidence for her case. As she sifts through the shadowy world of the Goliath nonprofit, Caroline is also forced to confront her own dark shadows, casting doubt on her ability—and her sanity.
Proof by C.E. Tobisman is one of BookSparks "Summer Reads" reading selection picks.
Follow the #SRC2017 hashtag on twitter to read reviews on this book as well as reviews on the other summer books! Also, be sure to check out the BookSparks Facebook page for the #SRC2017 and other fun links. You can participate in weekly secret missions for chances to win signed copies of selected books and more! There's a new secret mission each week :)
Title: Last SeenAuthor: J.L. DoucetteSeries: Dr. Pepper Hunt, #1Published: May 2017, She Writes PressFormat: Paperback, 330 pages Psychologist and police consultant Dr. Pepper Hunt, struggling to deal with the murder of her husband, leaves the private practice they shared and relocates to Wyoming. There, in the stark landscape of the high desert, there is nothing to remind her of everything she lost and left behind. Then her new patient, Kimi Benally, goes missing in a Wyoming blizzard after her last therapy session -- making Pepper the last person to see her.
She knows the secrets Kimi shared in therapy hold clues to her mysterious disappearance, and she joins forces with Detective Beau Antelope to try to discover what's happened to her. But as she follows the trail of Kimi's obsession with the past, Pepper begins to fear the worst for her missing patient--and her own haunted memories surface.
What Readers are saying: "The projected first in a series, Last Seen makes the southwest landscape and culture an integral part of the story. This self-sufficient community is one that readers will be intrigued to visit again." ―Booklist
“Readers will grow enamored with these characters and the twisty dark plot – so much so, they may forget about BLL completely.” ―Redbook, “6 Books to Cure Your Big Little Lies Withdrawals”
"A missing person tale with a strong setting and cast of characters…Doucette’s auspicious first novel puts a welcome focus on the players instead of transgressive twists.” ―Kirkus
"Author J.L. Doucette gives readers a keen sense of Wyoming winters, three-dimensional characters, and taut, descriptive writing. An enthusiastic welcome to Dr. Pepper Hunt!” ―Linda Barnes, Edgar Award-winning author of the Carlotta Carlyle mystery series
“There’s a detective named Antelope, at least two registered sex offenders, a scoundrel in pricey ski gear, his lying mistress, and tellingly, his missing wife. At the middle of this many-sided mess is Dr. Pepper Hunt, psychologist―clear-eyed, intelligent, beautiful, brave. You’ll fall in love with Pepper and with J. L. Doucette’s subtle, immersive, beguiling tale.” ―Bryan Gruley, Anthony, Barry and Strand Award-winning author of the Starvation Lake Mystery series
“With clear, crackling prose, at times breathtaking, and characters so real that I felt flesh and bone back on that wild western landscape, mingling with the people and inhabiting their world. Combine Doucette’s voice and prose with a story that haunts and intrigues again and again, and we know we are in the hands of a very talented writer. I loved these characters. I loved the terrain. I never wanted to leave. This is the kind of writing that stays with me long after the novel is finished.” ―Diane Les Becquets, author of Breaking Wild
“Last Seen is a tantalizing psychological thriller in which J. L. Doucette masterfully weaves a chilling plot around a cast of complex, well-drawn characters led by psychologist, Dr. Pepper Hunt, a woman running from her own nightmare past. As the tiny Wyoming town searches its frigid horizons for a missing local woman, Dr. Hunt and Detective Antelope spark some warmth in an investigation all their own. A suspenseful ride that will keep you turning pages to the very end!” ―Michelle Cox, award-winning author of A Girl Like You and A Ring of Truth, from the A Henrietta and Detective Howard series
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Last Seen by J.L. Doucette is one of BookSparks "Summer Reads" reading selection picks.
Follow the #SRC2017 hashtag on twitter to read reviews on this book as well as reviews on the other summer books! Also, be sure to check out the BookSparks Facebook page for the #SRC2017 and other fun links. You can participate in weekly secret missions for chances to win signed copies of selected books and more! There's a new secret mission each week :)
