Show Me 5 Saturday: Hollywood is Like high School with Money

That's A Novel Idea has started a new MEME called Show Me Five Saturday. This meme will give each blogger an opportunity to give a brief description of a book they have read or reviewed during the week.It will work like this: Each Saturday You will post the answer to these questions. The number indicates the number of answers you will provide.

1. Book you read and/or reviewed this week
2. Words that describe the book
3. Settings where it took place or characters you met
4. Things you liked and/or disliked about it
5. Stars or less for your rating?

Here's mine:

• Hollywood is Like High School with Money by Zoey Dean
• comedic, chicklit.
• Hollywood major movie studio, Taylor Henning : main character who quickly loses her naivete after she lands a job as second assistant to Iris, Quinn: Iris's jaded teen daughter who teachs Taylor how to get ahead in this cutthroat business but has her own agenda that comes back to bite Taylor in the hindquarters. Ouch!
• Comedy, friendships fake and real, movie business inside scoop, the ending
• 4 stars

Blog Tour and giveaway: Summer of Two Wishes by Julia London

(from the author's web site)
"Macy Lockhart's life shattered in a moment with the news that her husband, Finn--serving in the military overseas--has been killed in the line of duty. Their ardent and devoted marriage is over, leaving Macy alone and directionless. But while she tries to sustain herself with memories of Finn, the quiet, strong man who made her and their small Texas ranch the center of his life, it is wealthy Wyatt Clark who slowly brings joy back into her life. Her love for Wyatt may be less romantic than the breathless passion she'd once shared with Finn, but she vows to cherish him, and their marriage is happy and solid as a rock. Until the day that Finn, miraculously spared from death, returns home to claim his bride...
How can a woman choose between the two men she loves? And how will she make the right choice--for herself and everyone involved? "

My thoughts: The day the army showed up at Macy Lockhart's door and told her that her husband Finn was dead, her world just fell apart. After grieving for several years she is introduced to Wyatt Clark, a very wealthy and respected developer. Although Finn is always in her thoughts, Wyatt brings Macy some happiness and eventually she falls for him. After Seven months of marriage to Wyatt, the army drops another emotional firestorm on Macy when they tell her they were mistaken three years ago; Finn is still alive and will be home soon. He was captured by the Taliban and kept in prison.

Her mother, who is a lawyer, tells her she can either divorce Finn and continue on with Wyatt or declare her new marriage to be void. These are her legal choices, but what about her emotional choices? Although she is happily married to Wyatt, Finn is and has always been her true soul mate. Macy knows it is impossible not to hurt one of them in the process, but who will she choose? Can she just easily pick up the pieces of her old life or continue with the new and forget about the old?

London really knows how to portray her characters' feelings. This is one passionate, emotional roller-coaster of a romance book. I got caught up in Macy's story right from the beginning. Her anguish in making a decision is so evident and well written. There is also a serious side to Finn's story. As a returning vet he is suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. This is not a huge element of the book but it does give an authentic voice to Finn's character. The one thing that kept him going while he was imprisoned was the thought that Macy was waiting back in Texas. His heartbreak at her indecisiveness is almost palpable. So much heart-ache!

At the end of the book you will find a readers group guide, a conversation with Julia and an excerpt from her book, A Courtesan's Scandal. Summer of Two Wishes is a thoroughly enjoyable read and I gave it a 4**** rating.

About the author: (from the back cover) Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of numerous romantic novels, including the Scandalous series: The Book of Scandal, Highland Scandal, and A courtesan's Scandal; The Desperate Debutantes Trilogy: The Dangers of Deceiving a Viscount, The Perils of Pursuing a Prince, and the Hazards of Hunting a Duke; and the Lockhart family trilogy: Highlander Unbound ( a finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for best historical romance), Highlander in Disguise, and Higlander in Love (also a finalist for the RITA Award). She is also the author of Guiding Light: Jonathon's Story, the NY Times bestsellingnovel based on the Emmy Award-winning daytime drama Guiding Light. A native Texan, Julia lives in Austin.

Visit Julia at her website here to read an excerpt of Summer of Two Wishes. She has a contest there you can enter for some delightful gifts.

Since the book Summer of Two Wishes debuts today, I am giving away my gently read copy to a much appreciated follower ( US and Canada only this time) who comments what you would do if you were in the same situation as Julia: stay married to your second husband or go back to your first husband and the reason why.

Winner will be selected by random.org. Deadline to enter is 5 PM August 23rd. Just a quickie little contest, so enter now and be sure to leave e- mail contact info. Thanks for visiting and good luck!

A big thank you to Sarah at Pocket books for a review copy.

Where to go from here; other blogs participating in the tour:deleted

Review: The Chocolate Lovers' Club by Carole Matthews

Lucy Lombard and her three friends Autumn, Nadia and Chantal all have diverse life styles and seemingly have not much in common but one thing: their love of chocolate. When one of them has a problem, and it is generally man related, they call the others and all meet at Chocolate Heaven, a small gourmet cafe that specializes in their addiction.

Let's take a look at the characters :
Lucy, a somewhat hapless temp has been dating serial cheater Marcus for some years now. Despite her friends telling her to dump the loser, she is holding out for Marcus to change his ways and become a permanent fixture in her life. Ha! On a whim without calling first, Lucy visits Marcus to find him in flagrante delicto with another woman. Lucy gets her revenge by visiting his flat ( yes, she still has a key) when Marcus is not home and leaves some "surprises" in his very expensive suit pockets, his Italian loafers and under the couch cushions. Marcus keeps tellling her he loves her and his wandering will never happen again. Lucy feels bad about what she did to his clothes. Hmmm, sort of.

Autumn works at a drug rehabilitation center for teens. Unfortunately, she cannot seem to get her brother off of drugs and he wrecks havoc with her lifestyle. Autumn is somewhat of a wishy-washy character and didn't get too much response from me other than to wish she would grow a spine.

Nadia is married to Tim who has an addiction to on line gambling. When she can't take anymore, she packs up her son and moves out despite Tim's protestations that he has kicked the habit and will attempt to stick to his plumbing business. I liked Nadia. She seemed to be a strong woman who really cared about her family and did what had to be done.

Ah, now we come to Chantal, a very successful and sexy woman whose husband doesn't care too much about their floundering, almost non-existent love life. Chantal decides to seek out what she has been missing and on her next business trip picks up a handsome stranger in the hotel. When she wakes the next morning, her jewelry, purse and laptop are all missing. How on earth is she going to explain this to hubby?

She calls the other members of the Chocolate Lover's Club and tells them the whole story. After virtually calling her an idiot, Lucy comes up with a plan to make it all right again. The four friends will pull off a heist of their own and extract a little vengeance after they lure the thief to a very upscale hotel.

This is where the book started to become very amusing to me. Up to this point it was sort of just okay chick- lit but the hotel caper had me in hysterics. Matthews starts hitting her comic stride with the revengeful antics and from then on there are several more humorous happenings to Lucy at work that made the book redeemable and go from an initial 2* (eh, can take it or leave it) rating to a 3*. A lot of the book is predictable and I'm not too sure I would read a sequel but it is still an enjoyable read with an ending that does wrap up nicely. If you like romantic comedy, chick- lit or just want to read something very light and amusing, you might try this one. 3***

Review: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Rachel and Darcy, best friends since elementary school, are always there for each other even though they seem like opposites in many way. Rachel is focused and goal oriented while Darcy likes to have a good time and luckily, things just seem to fall into place for her. Rachel felt that Darcy was always the "pretty one, the lucky one, the charmed one". You just know at some point maybe a hint of resentment will come into the picture.

Fast forward to Rachel's 3oth birthday party given by Darcy. Rachel is now an associate in a Manhattan law firm which, by the way, she hates. Darcy has a glamorous, fun job in public relations and is engaged to an absolutly gorgeous guy named Dex who she met through Rachel. A few too many drinks at the festivities finds Darcy not feeling well and heading for home without Dex. Rachel and Dex stay after the party to have one final drink together and end up in Rachel's apartment for the night. Dex cannot believe he cheated on Darcy and the two of them come up with elaborate excuses for where they were.

Now the unexpected happens. Rachel finds herself really in love with Dex and miraculously he returns the feelings but what will he do about it? Now only two months before the wedding, will he leave Darcy to be with Rachel or will he go through with the nuptials leaving Rachel with a broken heart?

Actually I was afraid this book would be too predictable but I was wrong, I kept wondering what was going to happen because the wedding was getting closer and closer and Dex hadn't made any moves yet. Rachel visits her old friend Ethan in London to discuss the situation. Will Ethan be a wild card in this triangle? Well, I guess you'll have to read the book and see!

Giffen does a great job building up the characters of Rachel and Darcy. There are some other supporting characters that really add to the story. Although chick lit is not my first genre of choice, I did enjoy this one a lot. Recommended for fans of chick lit and romance. 3.5 stars

Emily has written several other novels. Author's website can be found here

A big thank you to Goodreads for a copy of this book.

Book Tour: The Mating Rituals of the North American Wasp by Lauren Lipton

Category:
FICTION
Format:
TRADE PAPERBACK
Publish Date:
5/29/2009
Price:
$13.99/$15.50
ISBN:
9780446197977
Pages:
368
Size:
5-1/4" x 8"

Peggy Adams is comfortable in her New York life, until she makes an unusual agreement with Luke Sedgwick, the last scion of an old New England family. The deal: Stay married for a year, and the two will inherit the Sedgwick mansion in New Nineveh, a quaint, preppy Connecticut town.But entering Luke’s world isn’t easy. Peggy must quickly learn how to pass herself off as a proper Connecticut wife and a perfect WASP.(Hint: At parties, nobody actually eats the food.) To make matters worse, she finds herself falling in love with the man she’s married to—despite that he seems to have no feelings for her.

My Thoughts:
Peggy is a wonderful character with such a heart. She is the type of person you want to root for. I like the way she quickly acclimated herself to being a weekend WASP "wife" and how she seemed to genuinely care for Luke's aunt along with the Sedgewick mansion. Her life during the week is spent in NY in her bath care products store. Her best friend Bex is also her business partner. This part of the book is also very enjoyable. I found all the characters in the book to be very believable.

I did get a chuckle and could easily relate to the WASP's feelings about newcomers. My father used to jokingly call my mother's family a bunch of Johnny-Come-Latelys. After all, her family didn't set foot in New England until 1635!

There are so many elements to this story that women can relate to; the desire to find true love, settle down, be successful and find fulfillment in life. Family and friendships are an integral part of the story.

Are there parts of the book that are reasonably predictable? Yes, but that does not take away from the sheer enjoyment factor of this romantic comedy. Plenty of humor in this perfect summer read. Maybe I'm just partial to books set in New England, but I really enjoyed this one. 4****

Author website: http://www.laurenlipton.com/
Author blog: http://laurenlipton.blogspot.com/
Facebook fan group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=64715506150&ref=ts

For a complete list of links to others participating in the tour, please visit Drey at http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/2009/04/get-ready-for-lauren-liptons-mating.html

Sweet Waters by Julie carobini

When Tara, a young woman in her mid twenties, who has just lost her boyfriend and orchestrated her mother's weding to a younger man, feels at a loss, she decides to go back to a simpler and happier place and time. Tara decides to move from Missouri back to Otter Bay in California with her youngest sister Camille. The middle sister, Liz, decides to try her luck in the big city of Manhattan.

While eating breakfast in a diner in their new town, Tara is offered a job as desk clerk at the inn where she and Camille are staying. She accepts and the two girls begin life in Otter Bay. Unfortunately, it is not the happy place she remembers and when she hears negative stories about her father, she is deeply disturbed. Her happy memories of her father and of his marriage to her mother do not jive with the stories she is hearing. Even though the family always considers Tara the responsible, uptight one, she does have an interest in soap operas and one character in particular. Throughout the story she wonders what would soap opera vixen, Eliza Carlton do? This plot schtick gets old really fast.

When she meets a young fireman, Josh, to whom she feels an attraction, the relationship seems to be getting off to a good start but also has some mystery to it. It seems Josh has issues of his own. Will they work them out? Will Tara reconcile the memories of her father and mother? Will she find happiness in Otter Bay? There are numerous twists and as many revelations in this book to rival any soap opera Tara watches. An underlying Christian theme throughout the book becomes overly preachy (in my opinion) toward the end. A reasonably predictable book more geared toward teen agers or women in their twenties just looking for some light, very light reading. 2 1/2 **

Karen at Bookin' with Bingo also reviewed Sweet Waters here.

Review: The Christmas Edition by Robin Shope

At the Turtle Creek Newspaper Christmas party, Lucy Collins wishes for a new editor to save her small family newspaper from extinction. Rumor has it a big corporation newspaper is coming to town. Almost as if conjured out of thin air, a young man named Joe McNamara appears at the front desk. Lucy immediately assumes he is there for the advertised editor’s job. After Joe is hired and starts to make real improvements to the paper, Lucy finds her jaded heart starting to fall for him. When she sees him having lunch with one of the owners of the rival news corporation, she begins to have her doubts. What looked like to be the best Christmas ever is not looking too promising.

This would not be a book I think I would have picked up until Wendi B raved about it and said she couldn’t put it down. I entered her contest and won. Thanks again, Wendi! She was right. I started to read and yes, maybe, the storyline might be little corny but the book did engage me immediately. I wanted to know what happened with these characters. All the characters at the newspaper were very likeable and believable. The story flowed quite easily with good pacing. Ms. Shope did a great job of supplying a little mystery and just giving enough clues to the characters'actions that I absolutely had to keep reading.

There were quite a lot of twists to this book. What was the significance with the Christmas ornaments? What letters did Joe keep reading? What secret was he hiding? What were his real intentions? Will romance flourish in Turtle Creek? Intrigued yet? Well, you’ll just have to pick this one up and see for yourself. A quick, easy read and perfect for the chick lit challenge. For it’s genre, I would rate this book 4*

Review: Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani

Lucia Sartori has it all, a loving family, a budding career as a designer in B. Altman’s custom department and a wonderful fiance , but in the early 1950’s most women couldn’t have it all. Especially if she was from a traditional Italian family, then she would be expected to give up her career and become a housewife, one usually subjugated to her mother-in-law. Daughters and daughters-in-law knew how to be dutiful. This is not how Lucia envisioned the future. She made a life altering decision to defy convention. Somewhat later her head is turned by an extremely handsome man she meets by chance in the store. He is the beginning and end of her best expectations, causing her and all the Sartoris much heartbreak.

This book is a wonderful period piece set in Greenwich Village with the central family, the Sartoris, a very large Italian family with four sons and one daughter, bound not only by blood but love and tradition. All the sons worked with their father, Antonio, in the Groceria , the family owned business. Lucia follows after her grandmother with her exceptional sewing abilities and eye for design. The story tells of the loyalty and duty to family that was taken for granted by Italian parents and children of the era. All of the family interactions are so spot on, described perfectly as to attitudes and social customs of the day. It is extremely easy to feel the emotional impact of all that happens to these characters. No one can write about Italian families as well as Trigiani. She grew up with such a family and all her writing seems to come straight from the heart. Everything from locations to objects of clothing, and everyone she describes is done to perfection, all the characters being well fleshed out. Her adjectives are constantly right on with just the perfect nuance. Whether it is joy or sorrow, Trigiani makes the reader feel all the emotions to their very core. As usual, there are numerous sub plots that are so interesting, the reader is constantly charmed by the scenarios. Another not- to- be-put- down- until- it- is- finished book. I really liked it, maybe just a tad less than Very Valentine but nevertheless it is definitely a 4 1/2*

Review: Scot on the Rocks by Brenda Janowitz

It is a scientific fact that falling in love makes people act irrationally, or so Brooke Miller read in the NY Times. Brooke is a young, successful attorney with a vivid imagination and has a tendency for over the top fantasies. Unfortunately, some of these flights of fantasy go in the wrong direction. After leaving work one night and doing some errands, she blithely walks home imagining the sensual greeting by her live-in boyfriend, Douglas. She imagines her Scottish hottie will sweep her off her feet with words of love and afterwards they will go to a fabulous restaurant with equally fabulous friends, then return home for some moments of private bliss. Not! Happening! The minute she walks in the door he tells her it is over and that he is leaving. No, wait a minute, it is his apartment. She is leaving!

A little glitch in the works because in two weeks time Douglas was supposed to escort her to the wedding of her ex boyfriend Trip. Now she will be totally humiliated unless she can come up with a plan. The plan is a “can’t fail” or can it kind of plan. Her friend Jack, who works in the same law firm, agrees to be Douglas, complete with Scottish accent. Too bad he’s better at an Australian accent. Along with Jack , aka Douglas, her best friend Vanessa will be going along for moral support. All the while Brooke is convinced Douglas will come to his senses and want her back.What ensues are numerous hilarious scenarios prior to and during the wedding. Brooke got a lot more than she bargained for and a whole new perspective on what she really wants.

This book is an easy, quick read with a lot of laugh out loud moments along with some groan out loud moments. Ms. Janowitz has developed some great characters, although if I were Brooke’s boss, I think she would be looking for another job! A really enjoyable bit of brain candy. 4*

Chick-lit challenge list:

Chick lit challenge for 2009 is to read 10 books in this genre from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st . You can change your list at any time. To sign up, go here.

1. Scot on the Rocks by Brenda Janowitz 4***

2. Hollywood is Like High School with Money by Zoey Dean

3.Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin 3.5

4. The Christmas Edition by Robin Shope 4***

5. The Summer of Two Wishes by Julie London 3.5***

6. Sister Chicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Gunn Jones

7. The Chocolate Lovers' Club by Carole Matthews

8. Mating Rituals of the North American Wasp by Lauren Lipton 4****

9. Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigani 4.5****

10. Sweet Waters by Julie Carobini 2.5**