Mini Review: Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Published: September 2014

Publisher: Random House

Format: paperback purchase

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

"There is nothing gutsier to me than a person announcing that their story is one that deserves to be told," writes Lena Dunham, and it certainly takes guts to share the stories that make up her first book, Not That Kind of Girl. These are stories about getting your butt touched by your boss, about friendship and dieting (kind of) and having two existential crises before the age of 20. Stories about travel, both successful and less so, and about having the kind of sex where you feel like keeping your sneakers on in case you have to run away during the act. Stories about proving yourself to a room of 50-year-old men in Hollywood and showing up to "an outlandishly high-fashion event with the crustiest red nose you ever saw." Fearless, smart, and as heartbreakingly honest as ever, Not That Kind of Girl establishes Lena Dunham as more than a hugely talented director, actress, and producer it announces her as a fresh and vibrant new literary voice.

My Thoughts

When it comes to Lena Dunham you either love her or you don’t, me I’m on her side! I think she is a wonderful writer and director and definitely speaks for her generation so it came to reading this book I was all ready to love it. However, I’m sort of in the middle when it comes to this review. I didn’t hate it I loved her points on being in a man dominated field and on how one should feel about yourself but the rest felt like I’ve already seen in through episodes of Girls. So when I give it three stars it doesn’t mean it’s a bad read I just felt like I didn’t actually “learn” anything new when it came to her. It is a quick read and her stories are funny and some are informative, I think if you haven’t seen the series or if you don’t know much about her then you will find out some interesting things.

Release Blitz: Lost Rider by Harper Sloan

In Lost Rider, the first Western romance in New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Harper Sloan’s Coming Home series, an injured rodeo star encounters an old flame but will she be just what he needs to get back in the saddle? Maverick Austin Davis is forced to return home after a ten-year career as a rodeo star. After one too many head injuries, he’s off the circuit and in the horse farming business, something he’s never taken much of a shine to, but now that it’s his late father’s legacy, familial duty calls. How will Maverick find his way after the only dream he ever had for himself is over? Enter Leighton Elizabeth James, an ugly duckling turned beauty from Maverick’s childhood—his younger sister’s best friend, to be exact, and someone whose heart he stomped all over when she confessed her crush to him ten years back. Now Leighton is back in Maverick’s life, no longer the insecure, love-stricken teen—and Maverick can’t help but take notice. Sparks fly between them, but will Leighton be able to open her heart to the one man who broke it all those years ago? Written in the vein of Diana Palmer and Lindsay McKenna, this Texas-set series is filled with sizzle, heart, and plenty of cowboys!      

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Harper is a NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL and USA TODAY bestselling author residing in Georgia with her husband and three daughters. She has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books, hibachi, tattoos and Game of Thrones. When she isn't writing you can almost always find her with a book in hand. 

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Release Blast: Caught Looking by Jody Holford

Sometimes loving enough means letting go…

CAUGHT LOOKING

Jody Holford

Releasing April 25, 2017

Sometimes loving enough means letting go…

Major league baseball player, Ryan Walker, takes a mandatory leave of absence to escape the paparazzi and the false drug charges against him. All he wants is a little peace of mind out in the middle of nowhere.

Eager to rid herself of the empty socialite life, Frankie Vaughn moves to a rundown home in Minnesota that she inherited from her aunt. But Frankie is shocked at what she discovers inside: three young boys. When Ryan discovers that Frankie, his new neighbor, has taken on the three homeless kids as her own, he has a new hope for humanity.

Despite how easily and lovingly Ryan takes to Frankie and the boys, his past just might be the reason Frankie can't adopt the boys. Now, Ryan must choose between loving them or letting them go. Can he walk away from what he's been looking for all along?

Excerpt

As he edged near the property line, he caught sight of toned, shapely legs swinging from the branch of a tree. His neighbor was doing pull-ups. On a tree.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ryan said the words to himself, his finger sliding off of the trigger. Frankie hadn’t heard him. Her earbuds’ cord was connected to the iPod strapped to her arm. He repeated his question, louder, and she startled, dropping from the limb she’d been holding. Pulling her earphones out, she smiled and gave a surprised laugh. Lust curled tight in his stomach at the sound. Which pissed him off since he didn’t need more complications in his life.

“Hey. Didn’t see you there, neighbor.”

She wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. Strands of hair were escaping the ponytail sitting high on her head. She put her hands on her hips, gulping in air, still smiling. His eyes roamed over the tone and definition of her arms. Arms weren’t supposed to be a turn on. They were just something to have wrapped around you. Along with legs. But legs were a turn on. Still, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her arms. They led up to sleek shoulders and a graceful collarbone. When his eyes met hers, she was grinning and he knew he’d been caught looking.

“You’re doing pull-ups on a goddamn tree?”

“Um, it’s my tree,” she said, looking back and forth between him and the tree. Small as she was, the tree didn’t look like it could hold its own branches, never mind a person’s weight.

“Actually, it’s smack in the middle of our property line. So stay the hell off it and get a pull-up bar.”

She rested a hand on the bark and smiled at him with something like fire flashing in those blue eyes. Her breath was a bit uneven, but firm. “I’ve never shared a tree with anyone. It feels like a big step.”

He bit back a smile. “Funny. This tree needs to be cut down. It’s rotted.” He kicked at the trunk to show her what he meant.

“Don’t kick our tree,” she said, not even trying to hide her smirk.

“It’s not safe.” Jesus. She was hard to be irritated with. Which, oddly, only irritated him more.

“And as much as I appreciate your neighborly concern, Ryan, I can take care of myself. And our tree. See, my home gym isn’t quite set up yet so I’m using what’s available. If you want, we can work out a schedule for tree use.”

There was as much sarcasm in her stance as in her tone. This time, the grin spread before he could stop it.

“You’re feisty.”

“You’re a jerk.”

“Yeah. But it’s still not safe. I have an extra pull-up bar in my garage. You put it in the frame of a doorway. I’ll grab it and bring it over,” he said, hoping the gesture served as an apology.

Which he was man enough to admit she deserved from him.

Frankie’s eyes widened and she took a step back, wariness overshadowing her amusement.

“No thanks. I’m not ready for visitors.”

He arched an eyebrow. “I wasn’t planning on coming for tea.”

She gave a rough laugh. “I don’t need anything from you, Ryan. I’ll pick another tree. Or do push-ups.”

She backed away, the unease in her eyes fascinating the hell out of him. She didn’t want him over. And not because he was a jerk. She waved one perfectly shaped arm over her head as she went back to her house.

He turned the weed trimmer back on, purposely turning his body in the other direction. He wasn’t going to stand around and watch her go, even across her yard. He’d never watch a woman leave again. Once was enough.

Jody Holford is a multi-published author who has a soft spot for happily ever after. So much so, she tattooed the words on her arm. She’s a mom and a wife, a friend, sister, daughter, teacher, and book-lover. Her stories have a little bit of heat and a lot of heart. And maybe, some swoon-worthy moments that will make you smile.

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Review: The Forever Summer by Jamie Brenner

The Forever Summer by Jamie Brenner

Published: April 25, 2017

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Format: via publish

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Marin Bishop has always played by the rules, and it's paid off: on the cusp of thirty she has a handsome fiancé, a prestigious Manhattan legal career, and her father's hard-won admiration. But with one careless mistake at work, Marin suddenly finds herself unemployed and alone. Before she can summon the courage to tell her parents, a young woman appears, claiming to be Marin's half-sister. Seeking answers, Marin agrees to join her on a soul-searching journey to Cape Cod, to meet the family she didn't even know she had.

As the summer unfolds at her grandmother's beachside B&B, it becomes clear that her half-sister's existence is just the first in a series of truths that will shake Marin's beliefs--in love, and in her own identity--to the core. Filled with shocking revelations, heartfelt romance, and resilient women banding together against the most unexpected twists of fate, THE FOREVER SUMMER is an emotionally resonant page-turner and a delicious escape for any season.

My Thoughts

We enter Marin’s life just when it seems it is falling apart. She has dumped her fiancée after an affair with a co-worker, her parents are divorcing and she just got an email saying she has a half-sister she never knew existed. After having to deal with all of this she gets fired and doesn’t know what to do next. Her sister comes by and wants her to join her in meeting their grandmother whom she just found out about. Marin not believing any of this decides to go and get away from all her troubles and just see where and what she wants to do next. I truly felt for Marin she just discovered that her father isn’t really her father and that she has a whole family she never knew but she just lost her job and soon finds out she is pregnant and doesn’t know who the father is, can her life get any worse?

I also was really drawn into the story about her grandmother that storyline was amazing! We see why her relationships with her kids were strained and how her wife tied into it. I truly enjoyed this read it is indeed the quintessential summer read. While it has its share of drama it also has a great story about family. It shows us that family isn’t just the one you are born into but it's much wider than that. That family isn’t just about DNA but it's also about building one with the ones you love no matter if you are related or not. The Forever Summer is a wonderfully written novel one that demands to be on everyone's summer reading list.

Blog Tour: The Makeup Test by Vanessa M. Knight

The Makeup Test by Vanessa M. Knight
Published: April 4, 2017
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Parker Breckinridge is a sophomore in college and already running her own internet cosmetics business. She doesn’t apologize for her successes—or anything else. She’s worked hard to get what where she is. She’s had to. It’s not like there was anything else in her life, despite her rich family.
Cade Adler doesn’t do relationships—especially relationships with uptight princesses. Been there. Done that. Destroyed the T-shirt. Besides, what with working full-time as a police officer and going to school, who has time for women? Not him.
With his tattoos and overall attitude, Cade is exactly what Parker doesn’t need. And between her father’s money and her piss-poor attitude, Parker is exactly what Cade doesn’t need.
So why is it they can’t stay apart?

Goodreads / Amazon

Excerpt

Parker’s hands flew up in the air, over her head. There. Was. A Gun. Pointed. At. Her. She didn’t move. She was pretty sure she wasn’t breathing. Every fiber in her body stopped as she watched the barrel wobble in her face. Back and forth. The barrel rising and dipping.

“Weh-wah.” The old man’s lips moved but Parker wasn’t sure what he said. She couldn’t hear anything over the fear rushing past her ears and thumping in her chest. All he had to do was sneeze and she’d be a statistic.

“Get down.” He waved the gun, his face turning a deep shade of red.

Or maybe he was going to have a heart attack. Did muscles spasm when a person had a heart attack? Another way for her to end up a casualty.

“Down!”

“Okay. Okay.” She kneeled down on the floor, dropping to her hands and finally lying face-down eating carpet—not exactly something she was familiar with. Thank goodness her roommate was dirt-adverse. Parker rolled her head to the side on the pristine floor.

His hands wrapped around her arms and pulled. His knee pressed into her back. Her chest molded to the ground. Her shoulders popped. “Ow.” Cold metal slid against her wrists and pinched along her skin. The campus cop got up, but now her arms were stuck behind her.

She tried to wiggle free—to stand up—and her arms couldn’t help her. She was flopping around like a mermaid out of water. How pathetic. And she didn’t do pathetic.

Did this guy even know who her father was?

Dammit. She stopped floundering long enough to hear the dorm-trooper on the phone. It wasn’t eavesdropping, since the guy was in her room—uninvited. And he’d left her in a very compromising position.

“… I did. I did. I got her. Yes, Mrs. Yeardley…”

Mrs. Yeardley? The Dean of Student Activities? Why was the campus cop calling her? And why did the dean want Parker?

           About Vanessa
Vanessa M. Knight has always enjoyed writing and once she found romance, she was addicted. She props her laptop in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband, son and menagerie of 4-pawed, claw-babies (AKA cats and dogs.) That laptop has partnered-in-crime to write contemporary romances with a dash of humor and splash of snark.
When she has a few moments to spare, you can find her singing off key (but she assures us it’s still considered singing), reading, kickboxing or killing a few brain cells as she stares at the many sitcoms and dramas available through the Internet and TV.
For more information on Vanessa, including her Internet haunts, contest updates, and details on her upcoming novels, please visit her website at www.vanessamknight.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Release Blast: The Right Fit by Daphne Dubois

Maxine and Antony are about to discover a game of casual hook ups can 
lead to something neither one of them thought they deserved—the right fit.

THE RIGHT FIT

Daphne Dubois

Released April 12th, 2017

The Wild Rose Press

When Maxine Nicholls discovers her fiancé is cheating, she turns to fast food and nighttime soap operas, but her sister has a plan—unbridled rebound sex with a stranger.

As one of Toronto's hottest players, Antony Laurent tallies scores on and off the ice, but when the chiseled defense man hits a slump, rumors of a trade to the minor league send him to ambush a managers meeting at a posh club.

That night a chance encounter ends up as an unforgettable evening of passion. But Maxine and Antony are about to discover a game of casual hook ups can lead to something neither one of them thought they deserved—the right fit.

Excerpt

She dropped her gaze and stared at his hands. God, they are big hands. Big hands, big… “Do you want a coffee?” she blurted out.

“A coffee? Non.”

“Or maybe you need the washroom?” She pointed down the short hallway that lead to her bedroom.

He looked down the hallway, then back to Maxine. “You want me to use washroom?” he asked seriously.

“No.” She backed up a few steps until she reached the kitchen counter. The heat under her dress was now slick and uncomfortable. She glanced down and saw a mint leaf sticking out of her cleavage. Classy lady.

The romance cover model ran a hand through his hair again, making his biceps strain under the t-shirt sleeve. Maxine suspected he’d practiced that move in the mirror a few times. “Then what do you want?” he asked.

A burst of nervous laughter escaped, but then her smile faded. “No one has asked me that in a very long time,” she said. Slipping off his jacket, she laid it on the counter, letting her finger trace the stitching along the zipper, trying to build up her courage. “Why did you follow me into the cab?”

“Because no one has ever run away from me before.”

Rolling her eyes, Maxine looked up and saw that he was smirking. “Rejection is a new thing for you, I’m guessing.”

“Is that what you call inviting me here?” He tossed the ball cap and it landed perfectly on the dining table. The floorboard creaked as he took a step closer to her. There was a spark of anticipation in his eyes.

“Hold on, cowboy,” she said, putting a hand on his chest. My God! His muscles are rock hard under his shirt. Who the hell is this guy? She cleared her throat. “What makes you think you can kiss me again?”

He was still as stone under her touch, but Maxine could feel herself falling into his stare. “You kissed me,” he said, his voice ridiculously smooth. “There is a difference, I promise.”

It wasn’t only the French accent, but the confidence in his voice that made her knees almost unhinge. Her hand was flat on his chest; his racing heart was keeping time with hers. “That sounds like a proposition,” she said.

“It can only be decided one way.” Then he repeated his earlier question. “What do you want?”

He was so close she could see the faint brown and black colors of his stubble. There was a cleft in his chin. What do you want? An image of the long white box hidden in the closet was ignored; all Maxine wanted at that moment was to mold herself into his arms and forget about the last four years. “Kiss me,” she said.

His fingers grazed her cheek, tucking a wave of hair behind her ear. “Un moment,” he said. “A man should be prepared.” He peeled the last mint leaf off her chest then placed it in his mouth.

Maxine giggled through a surprised expression, which faded into a sigh.

Then, with deliberate care, he brought his lips down to hers, perfectly fitting their mouths together. He gently moved his chin starting a slow pace, controlled but with a sense of held back urgency.

This was nothing like the hastily stolen kiss at the club.

The cautious seduction was almost too much for Maxine. She wanted to taste him fully, kiss him back hard—tackle this moment like Alexis Colby.

Daphne Dubois writes contemporary romance and believes the right book at the right time can make all the difference. When she's not putting her characters in compromising positions (ahem), she works as a registered nurse. A member of the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia, she lives in Eastern Canada, the most romantic place in the world.

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Virtual Tour: A Charmed Little Lie by Sharla Lovelace

Spinning a story of a joyous marriage to make 
a dying woman happy is forgivable, isn’t it?

A CHARMED LITTLE LIE

Charmed in Texas #1

Sharla Lovelace

Releasing April 18th, 2017

Lyrical Shine

Lanie Barrett didn’t mean to lie. Spinning a story of a joyous marriage to make a dying woman happy is forgivable, isn’t it? Lanie thinks so, especially since her beloved Aunt Ruby would have been heartbroken to know the truth of her niece’s sadly loveless, short-of-sparkling existence. Trouble is, according to the will, Ruby didn’t quite buy Lanie’s tale. And to inherit the only house Lanie ever really considered a home, she’ll have to bring her “husband” back to Charmed, Texas for three whole months—or watch Aunt Ruby’s cozy nest go to her weasel cousin, who will sell it to a condo developer.

Nick McKane is out of work, out of luck, and the spitting image of the man Lanie described. He needs money for his daughter’s art school tuition, and Lanie needs a convenient spouse. It’s a match made . . . well, not quite in heaven, but for a temporary arrangement, it couldn’t be better. Except the longer Lanie and Nick spend as husband and wife, the more the connection between them begins to seem real. Maybe this modern fairy tale really could come true . . .

Excerpt

There are things a girl hopes to hear in her lifetime, and a marriage proposal definitely tops that list. A proposal offered as a business deal, probably thrown out in desperation to stop my meltdown and pending dehydration, however, was not what most women have in mind.

             “Don’t, Nick,” I said, hiccupping through my sobs, trying to make it stop. “Don’t play with that. Don’t make fun.”        

“I’m not,” he said, still facing Ralph, the dog’s face in his hands as if it were all addressed to him. “I’m dead serious.”

I waited for more and it didn’t come. Um, I needed more explanation than that.

Wiping at my face in vain, I leaned against the post and looked down at possibly the hottest man I’d ever met. Sitting on my porch in a black-on-black suit, asking me to marry him by proxy of Ralph.

“Why?”

Finally, he let go of Ralph’s large head and stood, turning to face me as though it was with his last dying breath.

“You need this house,” he said, his words slow and precise. His dark eyes didn’t blink, didn’t look away uncomfortably, didn’t falter. “You may or may not need the money, I don’t know. I don’t see you getting all emotional about that, but you’re hugging the house, so I’m guessing the money’s not an important factor.”

“I didn’t even know about that money.”

“Which brings it to me,” he said, closing his eyes briefly. “I need a job.”

“Are you saying—”

“I’m saying I just got in a car with a stranger for five hundred dollars,” he said. “That’s how far I’ve fallen. Three months of my life—what would that be worth?”

My tongue felt as swollen and stuck as my eyelids.

That sentence, along with the glazed over look his eyes got and the hard set of his jaw, was possibly the saddest thing I’d ever witnessed. To be followed closely by the strong possibility of my saying yes.

Sharla Lovelace is the bestselling, award-winning author of sexy small-town love stories. Being a Texas girl through and through, she’s proud to say she lives in Southeast Texas with her retired husband, a tricked-out golf cart, and two crazy dogs. She is the author of five stand-alone novels including the bestselling Don’t Let Go, the exciting Heart Of The Storm series, and the fun and sexy new Charmed in Texas series.

For more about Sharla's books, visit www.sharlalovelace.com, and keep up with all her new book releases easily by subscribing to her newsletter. She loves keeping up with her readers, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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