Release Day Blitz: Clutch

Release Day Blitz: Clutch 

by Lisa Becker 

 

About clutch: a novel

clutch: a novel is the laugh-out-loud, chick lit romance chronicling the dating misadventures of Caroline Johnson, a single purse designer who compares her unsuccessful romantic relationships to styles of handbags – the “Hobo” starving artist, the “Diaper Bag” single dad, the “Briefcase” intense businessman, etc. With her best friend, bar owner Mike by her side, the overly-accommodating Caroline drinks a lot of Chardonnay, puts her heart on the line, endures her share of unworthy suitors and finds the courage to discover the “Clutch” or someone she wants to hold onto.

Please visit CLP Blog Tours for the full tour schedule and Giveaway. 

About the Author: 

In addition to clutch: a novel, Lisa Becker is the author of the Click Trilogy, a contemporary romance series comprised ofClick: An Online Love Story, Double Click and Right Click.  She’s written bylined articles about dating and relationships for “Cupid’s Pulse,” “The Perfect Soulmate,” “GalTime,” “Single Edition,” “Healthy B Daily” and “Chick Lit Central” among others.  She lives in Manhattan Beach, California with her husband and two daughters.  To learn more, visit www.lisawbecker.com. 

Social Media Links for Lisa Becker

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Book Blitz: Unravelled in New York

Book Blitz: Unravelled in New York 

by Suzanne Nicole 

Sydney journalist Charli Cooper is making major changes in her life. She has no idea what destiny has in store for her as she moves half way around the world for a fresh start. 

Jack Manning is everything Charli shouldn't want. He is arrogant, cocky and use to getting what he wants. He has no time to deal with an inexperienced journalist who has no idea of the New York social hierarchy. 
As she unlocks the truth about Manning and his empire, she realises all is not as it seems and if she digs deep enough, she might just find the story she has been looking for. She has to make a decision between her ambition and her heart. 
Will the secrets they both hold cause their delicately poised relationship to crumble? Can one mistake unravel their lives?  

My Review:

 

What a fun book to read. The focus of this story is on Charli, a self-assured, strong, smart girl who is finding her center after ending a toxic relationship. She leaves her hometown of Australia in order to do so and ends up with her best friend and confidante Mia in New York City. Immediately after arriving in NY her paths cross with Jack Manning. He was one of those characters who you love and then hate just a few pages later just to love him again.  There are fantastic twists and turns and even a hint of mystery as we see her relationship with Jack Manning develop. There are also other great characters that you just want to cheer on because quite frankly, they are just lovable (e.g. Clark).  The story line is smart but fun and not overly complicated. Fantastic weekend read!!!

Author Bio 

With a passion for reading and writing Suzanne has been creating stories all her life through both her writing and dance teaching. Suzanne is a graduate from IMEB (Aus) and is a member of Romance Writers, Australia, she is also a qualified and registered dance and drama teacher. When she is not bombarding family and friends with story ideas she can be found in front of a class of students teaching dance or curled up with a good book. She loves romantic stories, angsty reads and dark-haired heroes. She also loves travelling, her recent highlights have been her trips to Los Angeles, New York and Boston and she dreams about going back there soon. Suzanne lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and three gorgeous boys.

Links 

https://www.facebook.com/Suzanne-Nicole-Author-1698891897005531/timeline/

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25863173-unravelled-in-new-york 

Book Link **99 CENTS DURING TOUR**

http://www.amazon.com/Unravelled-New-York-Suzanne-Nicole-ebook/dp/B010ZGGPMK

Mademoiselle Chanel

by C.W. Gortner

Synopsis:

 
Born into rural poverty, Gabrielle Chanel and her siblings are sent to orphanage after their mother’s death. The sisters nurture Gabrielle’s exceptional sewing skills, a talent that will propel the willful young woman into a life far removed from the drudgery of her childhood.

Transforming herself into Coco—a seamstress and sometime torch singer—the petite brunette burns with ambition, an incandescence that draws a wealthy gentleman who will become the love of her life. She immerses herself in his world of money and luxury, discovering a freedom that sparks her creativity. But it is only when her lover takes her to Paris that Coco discovers her destiny.

Rejecting the frilly, corseted silhouette of the past, her sleek, minimalist styles reflect the youthful ease and confidence of the 1920s modern woman. As Coco’s reputation spreads, her couturier business explodes, taking her into rarefied society circles and bohemian salons. But her fame and fortune cannot save her from heartbreak as the years pass. And when Paris falls to the Nazis, Coco is forced to make choices that will haunt her.

An enthralling novel of an extraordinary woman who created the life she desired, Mademoiselle Chanel explores the inner world of a woman of staggering ambition whose strength, passion and artistic vision would become her trademark.

My Review:

Simply a brilliant example of excellent historical fiction. I enjoyed every page of this wonderful book. Much to my surprise, I did not care for Coco Chanel very much. Beyond her fashion savvy she was a very controversial person. She seemed to have a complicated way of approaching things which may have worked for her in her decisions towards her couturier empire but made a lot of enemies for her in the long run. I had always thought of Coco Chanel as a kind of wild, free-spirited woman who almost seemed to have been born way too early in history for her way of thinking. She endured a very tough childhood after her mother died, her father abandoned her and her siblings and the siblings were then separated. That is enough to lead someone down a not so illustrious life. However, she rose from her misfortune and created an empire that changed the face of fashion by focusing on simplicity and utility; but above all class. 

Her personal relationships were very guarded and she was known among her friends as tough and stubborn. Which from Mr. Gortner's account it seems to have been her greatest weakness. She was very supportive of those who were outcasts due to their lifestyles (primarily artists of all kinds). For herself, she despised the social expectations made of her simply because she happened to be born a woman and not a woman of the aristocracy at that.  She challenged men in business and in her personal life. She did not want to be a mother, a wife nor be reliant on anyone to support her financially nor emotionally. But the times being what they were, it proved to garner her a great deal of criticism from everyone including her closest friends. One cannot ignore her great accomplishments in her industry. I do have a great deal of respect and admiration for her for that. 

Gortner did not create a fictional character in Coco Chanel, he beautifully and eloquently took his research about the controversial Mademoiselle Chanel and created a thoroughly engrossing reading-experience for his readers. It is what every reader hopes for at the beginning of any book. 

The Knockoff

by Lucy Sykes, Jo Piazza  

 

Synopsis:

When Imogen returns to work at Glossy after six months away, she can barely recognize her own magazine. Eve, fresh out of Harvard Business School, has fired “the gray hairs,” put the managing editor in a supply closet, stopped using the landlines, and hired a bevy of manicured and questionably attired underlings who text and tweet their way through meetings. Imogen, darling of the fashion world, may have Alexander Wang and Diane von Furstenberg on speed dial, but she can’t tell Facebook from Foursquare and once got her iPhone stuck in Japanese for two days. Under Eve’s reign, Glossy is rapidly becoming a digital sweatshop—hackathons rage all night, girls who sleep get fired, and “fun” means mandatory, company-wide coordinated dances to Beyoncé. Wildly out of her depth, Imogen faces a choice—pack up her Smythson notebooks and quit, or channel her inner geek and take on Eve to save both the magazine and her career. A glittering, uproarious, sharply drawn story filled with thinly veiled fashion personalities, The Knockoff is an insider’s look at the ever-changing world of fashion and a fabulous romp for our Internet-addicted age.

My Review:

This book is so relevant. In its hilarious dialogue and witty story line is the most poignant cautionary tale I have read in a long time. My mom used to tell me when I was a kid "Be respectful of people older than you as they have traveled a long road - the same road you too will travel one day!" In a nutshell this is what this book is about. Just because there is innovation, technology and a different way of thinking and accomplishing tasks, it does not mean that those that came before us are "dinosaurs" awaiting inevitable extinction. Not to mention the importance of the often overlooked golden rule: "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you." 

Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza's brilliant depiction of how commerce has changed and is going to keep changing over time makes a brilliant statement about how disconnected we have  become in the age of connected technology where the irony is so evident it is ridiculous. We opt for technology as an exclusive means of interaction in place of genuine human interaction. Instead of pairing the two, we become so engrossed in the technology that we are no longer capable of genuine face-to-face communication. Those of us who have grown up between the two worlds of technology and a time when technology was in its inception will relate to this book. I find myself lately (now that I'm in my 40's) that everything has become about what the tech world decides it should be. I am told what I should like, how I should like it and what I should think through the fast and furious world of Twitter, FB, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. But, because this wasn't always my world, I am able to discern between what I feel is right and what I feel is wrong without always having to rely on what is posted on the Internet. Subliminal messaging seems to be a thing of the past. Messages are quite blatant and those that have been born and grown up in this way of thinking seem to take the Internet and all of its self-proclaimed purveyors of "truth" as gospel instead of as just another viewpoint that helps us analytically and intelligently formulate our OWN viewpoints and way of thinking. This, in my opinion, is what differentiates us from the technology. 

Don't get me wrong, I love, absolutely love, technology, but it is not the end-all. It is simply the result of human ingenuity born of critical thinking and human interaction. Which brings me back to Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza's brilliant book. When it is said and done, we control the role technology has in our lives. And, technology should not be the reason we forget the best qualities of humanity: kindness, warmth, companionship, friendship - human interaction. I did not give a synopsis of this book in my review because I think it would give away too much of the story unnecessarily. Also, I feel that this book will impact every reader differently and I don't want to ruin that experience for any reader. But, I will say, as I said at the beginning, this book is relevant and brilliant. 

You won't regret reading it.

Tiny Little Thing

by Beatriz Williams

Synopsis:

In the summer of 1966, Christina Hardcastle—“Tiny” to her illustrious family—stands on the brink of a breathtaking future. Of the three Schuyler sisters, she’s the one raised to marry a man destined for leadership, and with her elegance and impeccable style, she presents a perfect camera-ready image in the dawning age of television politics. Together she and her husband, Frank, make the ultimate power couple: intelligent, rich, and impossibly attractive. It seems nothing can stop Frank from rising to national office, and he’s got his sights set on a senate seat in November.

But as the season gets underway at the family estate on Cape Cod, three unwelcome visitors appear in Tiny’s perfect life: her volatile sister Pepper, an envelope containing incriminating photograph, and the intimidating figure of Frank’s cousin Vietnam-war hero Caspian, who knows more about Tiny’s rich inner life than anyone else. As she struggles to maintain the glossy façade on which the Hardcastle family’s ambitions are built, Tiny begins to suspect that Frank is hiding a reckless entanglement of his own…one that may unravel both her own ordered life and her husband’s promising career

My Review:

Beatriz Williams writes the most enjoyable books. Her characters are so lovable because of their wittiness and cheekiness.  I would highly recommend that if you enjoy audio books, pick this one up as an audio book. As with The Secret Life of Violet Grant, the narrator is fantastic in relating the right tone for each character. This book is a fun book as was TSLVG. This is the story of Tiny Schuyler, a Manhattan socialite in the mid-1960s who marries a Massachusetts up and coming politician. As with the lives of those in politics, there are secrets and scandals to be dealt with. However, little does Tiny realize that she is the subject of the secrets and scandals as a result of a moment of spontaneous living just two years before.  There are pictures being used to blackmail her and potentially ruin her husband's future bids for the White House. Or, is the real scandal not hers but rather her husband's secret life? There is also the fact that Tiny's younger, sassier sister Pepper has come to visit and is forcing Tiny to think of herself and question what seems to be an ideal life. Pepper's character is fantastic. She is honest and cheeky but considering that this is a story that takes place in an upper crust setting of the 1960s her outbursts and logic is refreshingly bold and pleasantly unexpected. 

Great book with what Beatriz Williams does best - an intelligently delightful story with witty dialogue.

Circling the Sun

by Paula McLain  

 

Synopsis: 

Paula McLain, author of the phenomenal bestseller The Paris Wife, now returns with her keenly anticipated new novel, transporting readers to colonial Kenya in the 1920s. Circling the Sun brings to life a fearless and captivating woman—Beryl Markham, a record-setting aviator caught up in a passionate love triangle with safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton and Karen Blixen, who as Isak Dinesen wrote the classic memoir Out of Africa.

Brought to Kenya from England as a child and then abandoned by her mother, Beryl is raised by both her father and the native Kipsigis tribe who share his estate. Her unconventional upbringing transforms Beryl into a bold young woman with a fierce love of all things wild and an inherent understanding of nature’s delicate balance. But even the wild child must grow up, and when everything Beryl knows and trusts dissolves, she is catapulted into a string of disastrous relationships.

Beryl forges her own path as a horse trainer, and her uncommon style attracts the eye of the Happy Valley set, a decadent, bohemian community of European expats who also live and love by their own set of rules. But it’s the ruggedly charismatic Denys Finch Hatton who ultimately helps Beryl navigate the uncharted territory of her own heart. The intensity of their love reveals Beryl’s truest self and her fate: to fly.

Set against the majestic landscape of early-twentieth-century Africa, McLain’s powerful tale reveals the extraordinary adventures of a woman before her time, the exhilaration of freedom and its cost, and the tenacity of the human spirit.

My Review:

Paula McLain is a brilliant writer. I read the Paris Wife a few years ago and it was the book that fueled my love for reading historical fiction. When I found out she had written Circling the Sun, although I knew nothing about Beryl Markham, I couldn't imagine a better story-teller to educate me about the amazing life of such a strong and admirable woman. In the 1920s and 1920s, Beryl Markham re-defined everyone's idea of what a woman can accomplish. She wore slacks, didn't wear makeup nor jewelry and didn't need the adornments women of society used to announce her social status or define herself as a woman. She was a strong, driven, confident person who happened to be a woman. Her gender did not limit her expectations of herself and that is something that even now, almost 30 years after her death, many women still struggle with. Although this book is promoted as the story of her most famous accomplishment, the first woman to make a solo transatlantic flight from Europe to the U.S., the book is more about her life in Kenya and her struggles to prove herself as an equally qualified and certified horse trainer (the first female to achieve this very difficult test of skill and aptitude). She, unfortunately, rejected education as she did not want to be molded into the "perfect" package of the good English girl. After 2 years in boarding school in Nairobi, all attempts to "tame" her stopped and she returned to her father's farm to hone her skills as a horse trainer and farmer. Also, the story puts a spotlight on her love affair with Denys Finch Hatton who was also the Karen Blixen's (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen - writer of the famous memoir Out of Africa)lover. Markham's life was tragic and full of adventure but in reading McLain's account, you can only deduct that regardless of tragedy and consequence, Beryl Markham lived an amazing life.

Excellent read for anyone but particularly for those who are interested in historical fiction that is intelligent and not overly dramatized.

Pretty Baby

by Mary Kubica

Synopsis:  

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...


Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

My Review:

Mary Kubica is such a great suspense writer. I was so impressed with Good Girl and so looked forward to the next book by this brilliant writer of psychological suspense. 

Pretty Baby is a totally different story from Good Girl. Here, we explore the impact of losing a child to uncontrollable circumstance. Also, the effects of child and sexual abuse. It's hard to re-cap the story without giving away any of the many twists and turns Mary Kubica has cleanly and seamlessly intertwined in the two stories of Claire and Heidi. Heidi is a product of privilege. With a seemingly perfect life, Heidi has the opportunities that Claire can't even imagine. Claire is a runaway who shows up in Chicago along the miracle mile with a baby in tow.  She's mysterious and sad. She is the image and embodiment of the life of struggle and homelessness.   But, both of their stories are riddled with bones neatly and inevitably tucked deep in the closet.  Their completely dissimilar lives become connected in ways that are greatly needed in order for each to move forward and away from frightening and life-threatening pasts. 

I read this book in 2 days and it only took me that long because I have a full-time job. Otherwise, I would have read the entire book in one sitting. It grips you from the beginning and engages you in ways that make reading so thoroughly enjoyable. The stories are both sad and disturbing but I can't help but think how lucky I am because there are people who truly experience these horrors. I appreciated Kubica's spotlight on the horrors of sexual abuse, cancer, and the loss of a child (and a parent). These are all subjects that are hard to understand and deal with but Kubica is brilliant in presenting the consequences and the unfortunate reality of its effects. The only thing I had issue with in Pretty Baby was that the ending seemed rushed and too tidy.  I don't think most of these situations are this neatly settled. But, with that said, I do have to admit that it would have been really tough to end it more realistically as we relate to stories with a tidy ending. Great read however and I would highly recommend it.