Book Review: The Kiss Test

Nancy’s Review of The Kiss Test by Shannon McKelden

Can’t help falling in love with The Kiss Test by Shannon McKelden. This hilarious novel follows two best friends, Margo and Chris, on a road trip to Graceland and Los Angeles. The Elvis-themed ebook is McKelden’s third after Venus Envy and Venus Guy Trap.

Margo Gentry is a country music DJ in New York, lives with her boyfriend, Kevin, and is obsessed with all things Elvis. Her life seems to be going well until she loses her job. As if that’s not enough, she has a huge fight with Kevin when she refuses his marriage proposal and he kicks her out. Reluctantly, Margo turns to her lifelong best friend, Chris, for a place to stay. He is a player, to say the least, but he agrees to let her stay with him even if it could present problems when he wants to bring random women home who have passed his "kiss test." When Margo tries to make a quick getaway so she won’t ruin one of Chris’s dates, she has an accident on the stairs that leaves her with a concussion. Determined to make the best of her unemployment, homelessness, and head injury, Margo decides to go on a road trip to Graceland. Since she can’t drive, Chris invites himself along to be her chauffeur and personally escort her all the way to Los Angeles after Graceland to ensure that she goes to her mother’s eleventh wedding. The road trip is anything but smooth. By the time they reach Los Angeles, Margo wonders how everything got so complicated.

The Kiss Test is laugh-out-loud funny. McKelden’s quirky dialogue adds a flow to the book that pulls readers right into Margo’s story. The banter between Margo and Chris is expertly crafted. McKelden has the ability to make scenes so vivid and believable that readers will feel like they are there with the characters. Adding some fun new twists, McKelden successfully tells the classic story of two best friends trying to figure out if they are really just friends. This book is definitely worth reading.   

The Kiss Test is available now from Carina Press, Harlequin’s digital imprint.
 
For more information about Shannon McKelden and her books, please visit:
http://shannonmckelden.com/ 
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Book Review - Time of My Life: A Novel

Elise’s Review of Time of My Life: A Novel by Allison Winn Scotch

We all take certain paths in life and occasionally look back and wonder…what if I had taken the other path? In Allison Winn Scotch’s Time of My Life: A Novel (a New York Times bestseller!!) we see firsthand what happens when Jillian Westfield is given the opportunity to escape her “boring” life as a suburban wife and mother and find out what might have happened if she had chosen to take a different, maybe more exciting, path.

Jillian is transported (via massage table) into the past to a time before she met her husband when she was dating the exciting Jackson and working as an advertising executive in Manhattan. As a suburban mom Jillian idealized this time in her life, and relishes the chance to relive it again and maybe even change her future. Jillian is faced with old (and new) choices as she navigates her past and is given the chance to really see what might have happened had she never married Henry or given birth to the lovable Katie.

This book is for anyone, in any stage of life, who has ever wanted a “do over.” Scotch carefully depicts the excitement, anxiety, and agony that Jillian experiences as she relives her past decisions. She creates a lovable, yet conflicted, character that you can root for. Jillian’s journey isn’t an easy one, and Scotch guides readers through an emotional and poignant roller coaster ride. 

Allison Winn Scotch has contributed freelance articles to many magazines, including InStyle, Glamour, Self, Shape, Parents, and American Baby, and is also the author of The Department of Lost & Found  and The One That I Want. For more information about the author or Time of My Life you can visit the book’s website or the author’s blog or follow her on Twitter. To learn more about other books published by Random House you can visit their website.
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Book Review: The Divorce Party

Nancy’s Review of The Divorce Party by Laura Dave

How hard should you work to be with the person you love? Laura Dave’s The Divorce Party, published by Penguin Books, follows the stories of Gwyn Huntington and Maggie Mackenzie who ask themselves this question. Gwyn is throwing a party to celebrate her divorce and Maggie is planning to marry Gwyn’s son, Nate. The novel is written from both Gwyn’s and Maggie’s perspectives, alternating by chapter. Both perspectives give readers a clear picture of how the lives of these two women intersect, despite their differences.

Gwyn has been married to Thomas Huntington for nearly thirty-five years. They live wealthy lives in a Victorian home called Hunt Hall in Montauk, New York. Maggie has been dating Nate for eighteen months and they live in Brooklyn, New York in a modest apartment above the restaurant they plan to open together. Nate decides to bring Maggie home to meet his parents for the first time on the day of the divorce party. That same morning, Nate also decides to tell Maggie that his family is wealthy, a fact that he has kept from Maggie throughout their relationship. As a result, Maggie is confused by the news and does not understand why Nate kept his upbringing and his family’s wealth a secret from her. She begins to question their relationship and a chance encounter on the bus to Montauk with one of Nate’s ex-girlfriends leaves Maggie with even more questions. Meanwhile, Gwyn is struggling to let her marriage go. Despite her husband’s lies, which she tells him she believes, she actually knows his real reason for ending their marriage. She knows the secret that he has been hiding from her and their children. As she relives memories of happier times and acknowledges that she has devoted her life to their marriage and to Hunt Hall, she can’t help but wonder what happens next. What will happen after the divorce party?

The Divorce Party questions whether or not you can truly know someone. It is an insightful novel filled with honesty, humor, and charm. The relationships are believable, making it easy to jump into the lives of the characters and feel what they are feeling. This novel also has some unexpected twists that will keep readers absorbed in the story, eagerly wanting to see where each page will take them. The Divorce Party is highly recommended for anyone who has ever been in love.

Laura Dave is also the author of London Is the Best City in America and the forthcoming The First Husband. Her writing has been featured in several publications including The New York Times, Redbook, and Glamour. The film rights for The Divorce Party have been picked up by Universal Studios and the film will be produced by Echo Films, Jennifer Aniston’s production company. For more information about Laura Dave and her novels, please visit her Web site and follow her updates on Twitter.
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Book Review: Italian for Beginners

Nancy’s Review of Italian for Beginners by Kristin Harmel

Italian for Beginners is a fun getaway from author Kristin Harmel, who has written six novels, four for adults and two for teens. Published by 5 Spot, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, Italian For Beginners takes readers on Cat Connelly’s journey as she goes outside of her comfort zone to visit her former lover, Francesco, in Italy. 

Prompted by an embarrassing incident at her sister’s wedding where she is painfully reminded just how single she is, Cat goes to Rome after exchanging emails with Francesco. However, reuniting with him is not what she thought it would be, leaving her stranded. Luckily, Cat meets Karina, a waitress who is willing to help her out and give her a place to stay. Karina and Cat become sources of support and encouragement for each other. Together they form an unlikely friendship and help each other realize what family really means.

The opening wedding scene is far-fetched, but it is worth reading to get to the Italian adventure. Rome is described in vivid detail and it will make readers wish they were on their own getaway in this beautiful city. The references to American popular culture, including nods to the Audrey Hepburn movie Roman Holiday, are clever and amusing. Harmel has the ability to write stories that are entertaining and funny but are also filled with emotion and self-discovery.

For another exciting European escape, be sure to also check out Harmel’s The Art of French Kissing. To learn more about Harmel, you can visit her Web site, become a fan on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter. You can also learn more about the books published by 5 Spot on their Web site.
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Book Review: The Finishing Touches

Nancy's Review of The Finishing Touches by Hester Browne

Hester Browne has done it again with her fourth novel. The Finishing Touches is another expertly crafted story to come from the New York Times bestselling author of The Little Lady Agency trilogy. Published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, The Finishing Touches is a story about finding yourself amidst uncertainties in various aspects of your life. It is a story anyone can relate to.

Betsy Phillimore is the adopted daughter of Lord and Lady Phillimore who operate a finishing school in London. At twenty seven years old, Betsy comes back to the school after the loss of her mother. She finds the school in danger of closing and in desperate need of attention. She sets out to update the curriculum and bring the school back to life because she knows it is what her mother would have wanted. Betsy has always been curious about her birth parents and also decides to look for her birth mother. She feels lost and uncertain of who she truly is because she does not know the background of her biological parents or why they gave her up. Like many chick lit protagonists, Betsy has a lackluster love life that needs as much attention as the finishing school. She secretly desires her best friend Liv’s brother, Jamie, and has had a crush on him since they were kids. She struggles with his playboy lifestyle and the fact that the fantasy of being with him might be better than actually being with him. The students at the finishing school add a lot of fun to this novel. These girls are spoiled but they are trying to find their way in the world just as much as Betsy is, despite coming from wealthy backgrounds. Everyone is trying to figure out where they fit in.

Like Browne’s other novels, the relationships in The Finishing Touches are written incredibly well with believable, fresh dialogue. Browne really knows her characters, conveying them as endearing and witty. Betsy is a lovable protagonist who narrates the novel but it is Jamie who is the bright spot in this story. Browne truly has a knack for developing male characters, as also seen in her other novels. The Finishing Touches is a charming and unique story that is sure to touch readers. The Little Lady Agency trilogy is preferable but The Finishing Touches is a solid effort from Browne as her first departure from the Little Lady stories. The Finishing Touches is another winner among British chick lit.

For more information about The Finishing Touches, check out Simon & Schuster’s Web page for the novel where you can read about how Browne came up with the idea for it. You can also follow updates from Browne on Twitter. Her next novel, Swept Off Her Feet, is set for release in March of next year.
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