Author Brenda Janowitz is back with JACK WITH A TWIST, the sequel to last year's comical SCOT ON THE ROCKS, and this one's just as funny as the first! Attorney Brooke Miller, who fell for her coworker Jack after asking him to pose as a kilted Scot for her ex-boyfriend's wedding in the first novel, is now engaged to marry Jack. But as she's planning their elaborate wedding, she takes on her first major legal case . . . and finds herself squaring off against her groom-to-be! As Jack begins to fight dirty, Brooke begins to wonder what she's really getting herself into. Will she make it down the aisle? Or will the biggest case of her life eclipse the love of her life?
Deliciously entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny and fraught with disaster after hilarious disaster, JACK WITH A TWIST is engaging, fast-paced and thoroughly delightful. Janowitz's pitch-perfect second novel is a hilarious look at the not-so-holy side of holy matrimony. It will either make you want to try on bridesmaids dresses immediately . . . or run screaming from your nearest bridal shop.
See the book here. Visit author Brenda Janowitz here.
***
JUNE 2008 PICKS!
Good morning! Here are my picks for June 2008. I loved Melissa Senate's latest! And Karen Quinn's book is a great pick for any fan of Audrey Hepburn; it's overflowing with hidden movie references. Click on the book covers below to find out more!
And while we're at it, here's an invitation to a party skirt! magazine is throwing for me on Wednesday, June 18 in Atlanta! Join us!
MRS. PERFECT is the follow-up to September's ODD MOM OUT, which was the story of single mom Marta Zinsser, who has trouble fitting in when she moves to an upscale Seattle suburb. Marta's nemesis in the first book, Taylor Young, is actually the main character of this book, and we see her world from an entirely different viewpoint. Porter, an incredibly gifted writer, does a wonderful job of letting us into Taylor's world, peeling back the layers, and showing us that underneath, perhaps she's not so bad after all. Fans of ODD MOM OUT will enjoy the cameos by Marta in MRS. PERFECT, but even if you haven't read the prequel, this book certainly stands on its own as a wonderful exploration of female friendship, suburban competition and, ultimately, personal growth. I loved it!
HOW TO BE BAD is a fantastic pick for teens this summer. Its three authors, Sarah Mlynowski, E. Lockhart and Lauren Myracle, teamed up for a unique collaboration in which each of them penned a different character. The three critically-acclaimed, bestselling writers then sent their three fictional heroines -- Vicks, Jesse and Mel -- on a wacky and wonderful road trip through Florida in which their beliefs in love, friendship and possibility are tested. A truly delightful read, HOW TO BE BAD has already received some great reviews. It's the perfect read for girls ages 14 and up who are just getting out of school for the summer.
Don't forget to check out my latest novels, THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING (about a woman who rediscovers herself in Paris, with the help of a crazy rock star) and WHEN YOU WISH (a teen novel about a pop star who runs away from her life of fame to discover what it's like to simply be a normal girl).
Happy reading!
**
January 2008: THE GOOD LIAR and SEEING ME NAKED
Two of my favorite authors are back this month with excellent releases. Liza Palmer (Conversations with the Fat Girl) has released her second novel, Seeing Me Naked, and Laura Caldwell (The Year of Living Famously) has put out an amazing international crime thriller called The Good Liar. Both books were amazing!
In Palmer's Seeing Me Naked, pastry chef Elisabeth Page is living in the shadow of her famous family. Her dad is Ben Page, a world-renowned novelist whose Vietnam-era novel is quoted endlessly by academics and pop culture geeks alike. Her brother is Rascal Page, a new novelist whose debut has shaken the literary world. And Elisabeth, gamely living up to the family name, is following her own creative ambition as the head pastry chef in one of LA's top restaurants. But she feels both confined and defined by her family's expectations, and when the opportunity arises to do something different with her life -- something her father might not approve of -- she has a difficult decision to make. The path she'll choose will define her life and will open the door to all sorts of other things that weren't part of the approved "Page plan," including a potential romance with a charming NCAA basketball coach named Daniel who doesn;t quite fit into her family's white-collar-only world. It's a lovely novel of self-discovery -- and as a bonus, Liza includes five terrific recipes at the end of the book! I can't wait to try Elisabeth's cherry clafouti!
The Good Liar is just as satisfying. Caldwell, a veteran of the chick lit world, is a master at creating realistic characters with complex emotional lives, and this novel is no exception. But she takes it much, much further by putting these well-drawn characters into a fast-paced international thriller that will keep you turning the pages late into the night. When newly-divorced Kate Livingston falls fast for Michael Waller, seemingly her soul mate, she thinks he's a businessman hoping to open a new restaurant. But as she moves away with him to St. Marabel, Canada and starts her life anew in what she thinks is newlywed bliss, something begins to feel off. What Kate soon discovers is that she has married into a world of secrets and that Michael isn't what he seemed. It takes her nearly the whole book to uncover the truth (which the reader knows all along), but Michael is an employee of The Trust, a clandestine organization that carries out assassinations to help protect the United States from those who wish its citizens harm. But something has gone wrong with The Trust in the past few years, and what Kate finds might just put her life at stake...
Also, don't forget to look for my new novels this month! WHEN YOU WISH (from Random House), my first novel for teens, comes out Feb. 12. It's the story of a teenage pop star who runs away from her life of fame to find out what it feels like to simply be a normal girl. It's perfect for fans of Hannah Montana. "Harmel has created a character and a story that will have wide appeal," says the review journal KLIATT.
THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING (from Hachette Book Group), my third women's fiction novel, is about a 29-year-old woman who relocates to Paris on a whim after her fiance breaks up with her. In Paris, with the help of a zany friend and an infuriatingly cute journalist, she begins to redefine who really is -- all the while dealing with the crazy -- but endearing -- antics of her crazy rock star client. Author Johanna Edwards says it's "a sweet, funny tale about losing love and finding yourself," and Lynda Curnyn calls it "a fun, lively story that made me fall in love with Paris all over again."
Happy reading!
**
Cecelia Ahern's THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HERE
In THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HERE, author Cecelia Ahern has another delightful hit on her hands with the story of missing persons investigator Sandy Shortt, who has dedicated her life to finding lost people since her neighbor went missing when they were kids. Now 34, Sandy has built a life that revolves around people who are lost instead of the people who are still here. She finds herself pushing away friends, family and potential dates and instead obsessing over the fate of people she never knew.
Then one day, while out for a jog, Sandy stumbles upon a far off land filled with many of the people she has dedicated her life to finding. Caught in a sort of parallel universe, they've been unable to find their way home and thus have formed a sort-of community in this magical world. It's the answer to nearly everything Sandy has been searching for . . . but she finds herself suddenly missing the world she left behind. As she struggles to find meaning in her life and escape from this in-between world of contentedly missing persons, she begins to learns some lessons about the real world, and she wonders if she'll ever make it home.
Ahern has delivered another magical fairy tale for adults in her latest, which debuted in hardcover on Dec. 19. The talented Irish author (who is the daughter of Irish prime minister Bernie Ahern) also wrote P.S. I Love You, the poignant novel on which the movie of the same title (starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler) is based. Her If You Could See Me Now is being turned into a movie starring Hugh Jackman, and she is the creator and producer of this year's biggest comedy series debut, Samantha Who on ABC. All this, and Ahern is just 26 years old!
If you discover just one new author to love in 2008, I hope it is Ahern, whose novels sparkle with wit and charm. Long a fan favorite in Ireland, she is just beginning to make a splash Stateside. Check her out at www.cecelia-ahern.com!
**
2007 HOLIDAY BOOK GUIDE
Nothing makes a better gift than a good book. Here's my list of the best gift books for the 2007 holiday season, as seen on The Daily Buzz. Click on the book names to go straight to amazon.com.
HOLIDAY CLASSICS, OLD AND NEW: * A Christmas Memory (by Truman Capote): The 50th anniversary edition of a classic holiday tale from one of the twentieth century's legendary literary talents. * The Soldiers' Night Before Christmas (by Trish Holland and Christine Ford): Perfect for any child whose mom or dad is in the military, this is a new spin on Clement C. Moore's classic 'Twas The Night Before Christmas poem. * An Idiot Girl's Christmas (by Laurie Notaro): An absolutely hilarious collection of 13 holiday stories that will women will love. * Holidays Are Hell (by Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Vicki Pettersson and Marjorie M. Liu) Four holiday horror novellas from a collection of top-selling authors.
PERFECT GIFTS FOR KIDS & TEENS * Soupy Saturdays with The Pain & The Great One (by Judy Blume): Seven brand-new stories from the beloved children's author. * The Night Tourist (by Katheribe Marsh): The magical tale of a ninth-grade prodigy who finds a hidden world beneath New York's Grand Central Terminal. * Love, Stargirl (by Jerry Spinelli): Stargirl's story continues in Newbery medal-winning novelist Spinelli's latest novel for teens.
NOVELS FROM THE LIT CHICK * How To Sleep With a Movie Star (by Kristin Harmel): My debut novel, which Cosmpolitan magazine called "hilarious" is the story of a magazine reporter who gets involved in a situation that makes the world think she's having a fling with a movie star when, in reality, her love life is a disaster. * The Blonde Theory (by Kristin Harmel): My second novel tells the story of Manhattan attorney Harper Roberts who feels that her intelligence and job intimidate men, so, at the urging of her friends, she dumbs herself down to see if it changes her dating luck. Along the way, she learns a lesson about the importance of being true to herself.
**
October '07 pick: LITTLE LADY, BIG APPLE by Hester Browne
The sequel to the April 2006 Lit Chick pick THE LITTLE LADY AGENCY (Browne's debut novel), LITTLE LADY, BIG APPLE is new in paperback this month (after coming out in hardcover earlier this year). Nearly 400 pages of madcap adventures pick up where Browne's heroine left off last year.
In the prequel to LITTLE LADY, BIG APPLE, Londoner Melissa Romney-Jones launched the Little Lady Agency, a London-based "freelance girlfriend" business where she posed as the self-confident and seductive "Honey" and helped men do everything from matching their socks to buying holiday gifts for their mothers. While posing as Honey, Melissa met American bachelor Jonathan Riley who, by the end of the first book, had become her boyfriend.
In LITTLE LADY, BIG APPLE, Melissa follows Jonathan across the pond to New York and eventually (and somewhat inadvertently) starts to use her dating expertise on American men. A delightful look at dating in America from an outsider's viewpoint, LITTLE LADY, BIG APPLE will have you laughing at scenario after madcap scenario. And if you've ever dated on this side of the Atlantic, you'll find yourself laughing along with some of the dead-on observations Browne's Melissa makes about American society.
While trying to appease American clients and associates, Melissa is also trying to juggle her business back in London, her wayward sisters, her loose-moraled Parliament member father, her new boyfriend's demanding ex-wife, and a yippy little dog named Braveheart whom she might just come to love. Fun, frothy and fast-paced, LITTLE LADY, BIG APPLE is BRIDGET JONES meets SEX AND THE CITY. Browne deftly juggles hilarity and heartbreak and she steams forward to a very satisfying conclusion indeed, leaving the door open for the third novel in the trilogy, THE LITTLE LADY AGENCY AND THE PRINCE, coming in February.
SHOPAHOLIC author Sophie Kinsella calls the novel "deliciously witty," and Redbook magazine calls in "hilarious." You won't be disappointed. It's a steal at just $11.20 on amazon.com.
** READER QUESTIONS (for your book club):
1. How do you think American men differ from British men? Do you agree with the observations that Melissa makes in the book? 2. Melissa sometimes has trouble standing up for herself, instead choosing to smother people with kindness and politeness. Does this ultimately work for her, or does it backfire? 3. Jonathan, Melissa's boyfriend, doesn't always think things through fairly, especially when it comes to her business dealings. Should Melissa stand her ground earlier in the book, or does she play her cards correctly? 4. In what ways are Jonathan's and Melissa's views of the perfect future different? How does this impact their relationship?
