I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool by Lisa Scottoline & Francesca Serritella

The bestselling and “perennially hilarious” mother-daughter team is back with a new collection of stories from their real lives, guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Join Lisa and Francesca as they regret drunk-shopping online, try smell-dating, and explore the freedom of a hiatus from men – a Guyatus. They offer a fresh and funny take on the triumphs and facepalm moments of modern life, showing that when it comes to navigating the crazy world we live in, you’re always your own best lifeguard. - scottoline.com

Lisa and Francesca are back with another great collection of humorous real life essays.  As a mother-daughter, best friend duo, I could easily relate to all of these stories as my mother is one of my best friends.  However, I think almost anyone could find something to relate to here.  My personal favorite was Lisa's piece on how she finds the 70MPH speed limit on the PA Turnpike absolutely terrifying.  I know that white knuckle grip on the steering wheel all to well from visiting friends in PA.  Lisa's take on that popular twisty fitness board also made me snort with laughter as mine is currently parked under a lounge chair in my living room.  Fortunately no one will experience any buyers remorse from purchasing "I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool."  Pick up a copy at your local bookstore or favorite online retailer.

You may also wish to meet these lovely ladies on their book tour!

Also, because I love this book so much, I'd love to give a copy away to one of our lovely readers!! To enter, head on over to the Rafflecopter and kindly comment below by telling us your favorite "beach read."  Please note due to shipping costs, you must be a US resident and/or use a US mailing address to win.

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Special Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for review in exchange for a honest review and again to the publisher for providing this blog with a giveaway copy.

Blog Tour: As You Lay Sleeping by Katlyn Duncan

Today we're proud to be one of the stops on the "As You Lay Sleeping," by Katlyn Duncan blog tour.

As You Lay Sleeping 
by Katlyn Duncan 
Published by: HQ Digital
Publication date: February 20th 2017
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult

I did it all for you…

Cara’s boyfriend is dead.

When fingers start pointing at her, she knows she’s in more trouble than she originally thought. Because Cara can see that something isn’t right.

As her carefully constructed life begins to crumble, Cara isn’t sure who she is anymore.

But maybe that’s exactly what someone wants her to think…

"As You Lay Sleeping," is a great teen mystery.  The action is fast paced and you're kept guessing as to who the killer really is until the very end as there are a lot of red herrings throughout the book.  I especially loved Cara's character growth throughout the novel.  At the onset, she's unnecessarily mean and selfish but once she connects with Ryan, she starts to change for the better and the story really takes off.  What I would've liked to have seen was more background involving Cara's sister Alice.  Alice's secret is revealed but not really explored. Overall this was a fun, quick read that I'd recommend to fans of contemporary YA mysteries.

For additional reviews and information of "As You Lay Sleeping," please visit the rest of the stops on the blog tour.

Xpresso Book Tours is also sponsoring a tour wide giveaway. Visit Rafflecopter for your chance to win!

Tour-wide giveaway (INTL) ends March 2, 2017

• 1st prize: $25 Barnes & Noble egift card
• 2nd prize: ecopy of Soul Taken, This Summer, or Darkest Dawn
• 3rd prize: ecopy of Elixir Bound by Katie Carroll
• 4th prize: ecopy of Cruel Summer by K.R. Conway
• PLUS:
• 1000 entries will unlock: paperback copy of That Moment When: An Anthology of Young Adult Fiction (Katlyn's short story 'Reflection' is included among 40 other stories from YA authors in all different genres)
• 2000 entries will unlock: signed paperback copy of Undertow by K.R. Conway
• 3000 entries will unlock: paperback copy of Tell Me No Lies by Lisa Hall
• 4000 entries will unlock: paperback copy of Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog 

Special Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours, NetGalley, and HQ Digital for providing an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.

Little Lit and GIVEAWAY!: Becoming Maria by Sonia Manzano

Usually I lean heavily toward fiction over non-fiction, but I've been trying to read more non-fiction and this book, which I picked up at BookExpo America this year, looked really intriguing.

Summary:
Sonia would grow up to be best known as Maria on Sesame Street. But what happened on the journey that led her there? Manzano writes about her rather chaotic childhood growing up in the South Bronx, her bumpy high school career, and the first steps that would eventually lead her to the Sesame Street audition.

Want a chance to win my advanced reader copy? Just enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of the post. You've got 2 weeks, so spread the word! (unfortunately we have to limit this to our US followers, but know that we love you ALL)

What I Liked:

• I really liked the way Manzano dealt with her childhood memories. Rather than trying to package it in a clean, chronological narrative, she titled it "Fragments" and allowed it to be messy and rough, which perfectly reflected the events taking place as well. In the Acknowledgments, Manzano says this: "lives are more often shaped and colored by how we remember those events and the series of feelings that went along with them." This is completely true, and Manzano is more concerned with getting the feeling, the jumble, the mix of emotions and events and she does it well.
• Even though the narrative begins to feel more cohesive as she recounts more recent events, the style stays consistent. Narrating in first person present tense makes each event seem more immediate and significant.
• She doesn't sugar coat anything. Her rocky family relationships, her parents' significant problems, her own fears and insecurities are laid out but it isn't all grim. Manzano also doesn't shy away from the good, either, even when the happiness and good things are mixed up in the upsetting or bad.
• I thought it was so interesting how much she perceived herself struggling with the acting and drama, especially once she goes to the Performing Arts high school. It also shed light on how important teachers are, particularly in inner city areas. A teacher can make or break their students. Sonia had both good and poor teachers, but enough of them encouraged her, or at least gave her opportunities to move forward in her life.

What I Would Have Liked:

• I honestly don't have anything to add. I enjoyed it completely.

Verdict:

• This seems to be written to include a teen audience, which is refreshing. It's nice to see good non-fiction books being published with teens in mind.
• However, this is definitely able to be enjoyed by anyone who likes a good memoir.
• Highly recommended

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this at BookExpo America - quoted line above comes from this uncorrected proof. This title is now available for sale at your local book store, or you can enter to win my ARC below.

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The Mistress by Tiffany Reisz (and Giveaway!!)

"Nora Sutherlin is being held, bound and naked. Under different circumstances, she would enjoy the situation immensely, but her captor isn't interested in play. Or pity. 

As the reality of her impending peril unfolds, Nora becomes Scheherazade, buying each hour of her life with stories-sensual tales of Søren, Kingsley and Wesley, each of whom has tempted and tested and tortured her in his own way. This, Nora realizes, is her life: nothing so simple, so vanilla, as a mere love triangle for her. It's a knot in a silken cord, a tangled mass of longings of the body and the heart and the mind. And it may unravel at any moment. 
But in Nora's world, no one is ever truly powerless-a cadre of her friends, protectors and lovers stands ready to do anything to save her, even when the only certainty seems to be sacrifice and heartbreak...."  - tiffanyreisz.com

The Mistress is the fourth book in Tiffany Reisz's best-selling "Original Sinners" series.  The book is so amazing that I had to hold off on compiling this review because it was just so incredible that no adjectives seemed adequate enough to describe it properly.  The Mistress picks up right where "The Prince" left off and successfully brings together characters from the previous installments and ties up all the loose ends in a masterful fashion. This series gives you so much more than just the wild sex seen in other erotica novels.  Although there are plenty of hot, intense, and sexy scenes, Reisz writes with such detail and passion that her characters come to life.  You become invested in what they do both in and out of the bedroom. 

While "The Mistress" concludes the "Original Sinners: The Red Years" series, there is much more to come.  I was lucky enough to attend Tiffany's reading in New York City last week where she read from her forthcoming "The Saint," the first in the "Original Sinners: The White Years" quartet.  This quartet will take us back in time to when Eleanor first met Soren up to the events in "The SIren."  Plus, Tiffany announced she has even more tricks up her sleeve.  She is penning the scripts for a series of graphic novels.  I can't wait to see how my visions of Nora, Soren, Kingsley and the rest of the sinners match up with the illustrations.  "The Devil and Danielle Webster," the first of the graphic novels will be released in the Fall of 2014.

In addition to having Tiffany sign my copy of "The Prince," in which she wrote something hilarious and unrepeatable on a family friendly blog, I had her sign a book for you lovely blog readers.  Because you can't jump into this series in the middle, I'm giving away a copy of "12 Shades of Surrender," a short story collection which features "Seven Day Loan," by Tiffany Reisz the first story about Nora Sutherlin. So head on down to the rafflecopter for your chance to win.  Then get out to local bookstore to pick up the rest of the series today!

For more about Tiffany Reisz and her books, visit her website.

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My blogging bestie Jen (l), me (center) and Tiffany (r)

Please note that I received no financial compensation for this review.  Special thanks to Net Galley and Harlequin Mira for providing me with a digital copy of The Mistress in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Blogoversary! Giveaways! Rory the Bookclub Cat!

Yesterday was our blogoversary! We can't believe we've been having fun sharing books and stories and experiences with you guys for a whole year. Even though the closing of Borders was sad and we would love to have our store back again, this blog is one good thing that's come out of it.

We never imagined that a book club/monthly get together to keep in contact would turn into something like this, but we are so glad it has. And we are so glad there are so many of you who have come along with us!

Rory came along right about the time the book club started and he's grown as much as our blog has! Check out the new tab up top to see all of his escapades!

To celebrate we have a whole bunch of fun stuff to give away. We corralled all the rest of our BEA goodies and put together 6 (yes, you read that right, 6!) fabulous book bundles - we've got a little something for any kind of reader.

So check out the bundles and then enter the contest below! You can enter just by answering our question in a comment on this post and letting us know which book bundle you've got your eye out. Then you can earn plenty of bonus entries by doing things like following us on Twitter or Facebook, spreading the word about the contest, or even making a video about what bookstores mean to you!

And check back over the next couple of weeks as we hope to have some updates on where some of our former booksellers are now, book reviews, and all the quirky fun you've come to expect of your lovable BWOBNY group :)

Kool Kid and Terrific Teen Bundle
includes the following:
How to Train Your Dragon Mix & Match book
Operative by Kate Kaynak
Vegas Tryout by Lorena Schultz Nicholson
STAT: Double Team by Amar'e Stoudemire
The No Dogs Allowed Rule by Kashmira Sheth
Assorted Swag

Tantalizing Teen Titles Bundle
includes the following:
Operative by Kate Kaynak
Skinny by Donna Cooner
Surviving High School by M. Doty
My Own Revolution by Carolyn Marsden
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Starting from Here by Lisa Jenn Bigelow
Assorted Swag

Non-Fiction Novelties Bundle
includes the following:
Change Your Words, Change Your Life by Joyce Meyer
Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? by Rhoda Janzen
The World's Gone Crazy an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader
Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man by Brian McGrory
Assorted Swag

Marvelous Mysteries Bundle
includes the following:
Live By Night by Dennis LeHane
The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
Beauty to Die For by Kim Alexis & Mindy Starns Clark
Schroder by Amity Gaige
The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg
The Hollow Man by Oliver Harris
Assorted Swag

Fabulous Fiction Bundle
includes the following:
Zoo by James Patterson
Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay
Oil by Jeff Nesbit
Murder by Moonlight by Vincent Zandri
Schroder by Amity Gaige
The Hollow Man by Oliver Harris
Assorted Swag

Riveting Romance Bundle
includes the following:
The Lost Prince by Selden Edwards
Wicked Pleasures by Penny Vincenzi
Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? by Rhoda Janzen
In Her Sights by Robin Perini
Diamond Dreams (autographed!) by Zuri Day
Courting Justice (autographed!) by Brenda Jackson
Sweet Southern Nights (autographed!) by Rochelle Alers
Assorted Swag

We're giving you plenty of time to spread the word and maybe even play with a video, so get going! Tell us how a bookstore impacted your life in the comments below!

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The Longest Way Home

Almost everyone is familiar with actor Andrew McCarthy who rose to fame in the 80's film hits, "Pretty In Pink," "Weekend at Bernie's," and "St. Elmo's Fire," to name a few.  However, few people may have heard of Andrew's second career, travel writer.  When Andrew isn't acting or directing, he travels the world and writes about his travels for publications such as "National Geographic Traveler."  "The Longest Way Home," is Andrew's heartfelt memoir which focuses not on his acting career but how his love of travel helped him overcome his apprehension of settling down and marrying his fiancee without sacrificing his fiercely independent spirit.



I loved this book.  I was fortunate to receive an advance copy from the publisher, Free Press (a division of Simon & Schuster).  I couldn't put it down and I read certain passages several times to truly savor the book.  Andrew is a phenomenal storyteller.  His descriptions of his travels to places like Patagonia, the Amazon, and Mt. Kilimanjaro are vivid and make it easy to visualize these foreign sites in clear detail.  I also related to Andrew's relationship struggles.  All relationships require compromise and commitment but how do you compromise and commit without losing yourself?  Andrew did an excellent job of describing his emotions and thoughts as he tried to sort this out for himself.  Andrew may be a successful actor and a world-traveler but I, a 31 year old paralegal/book blogger was able to relate very well and I think most readers will relate to him easily as well.  This was a terrific book and I can't wait to read through Andrew's previous travel writings as linked on his website.  I recommend everyone travel to their local bookstore today and pick up a copy!

I also participated in a webchat recently with Andrew and some other bloggers from around the world.  Andrew read from his book and we were able to ask him questions via the web chat.  I asked him what places he would like to visit that he hasn't the opportunity to visit yet.  He replied Burma and the Atacama Desert and added that he really loves deserts. I then inquired as to what advise he'd give someone like me who was on a tight budget but was anxious to see the world.  He said world traveler is cheaper than you think, that it can be done with little money if you're determined and you should just go.

So today, I set off, not to any foreign city but to Ridgewood, NJ to meet Andrew McCarthy at his signing at Bookends.  Bookends is great little bookstore with lots of events.  I was lucky enough to not only get a signed copy for myself but to get one autographed copy to raffle off right here on the blog!  Please comment below and tell us where in the World would you like to visit, then follow through the Rafflecopter prompts.  Now, off to the Rafflecopter we go.  Raffle is open to US residents only.

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Andrew McCarthy and I

 

Note, I received no financial compensation for this review, webchat, author visit etc.  I simply love to promote great books and meet adorable, talented writer/actors.

Young Adult Giveaway Hop ~ Signed Witch & Wizard + ARC of Angelfall

The fabulous Reading Teen and I'm a Reader Not a Writer are hosting this amazing blog hop where you have the chance to win books at every blog you go to! We are so excited to be a part of this and we have a great giveaway for you here :)

We live in the Newburgh area and very recently James Patterson came back to his hometown to speak at the library and do a book signing. So we managed to snag an autographed copy of the first book in his paranormal series Witch & Wizard for one of you lucky entrants!

Co-written with Gabrielle Charbonnet, Witch & Wizard is about brother and sister Whit and Wisty who find out quite suddenly that their parents have been keeping some pretty big secrets: mainly that the two siblings are a witch and a wizard. And on top of that The New Order has decided their whole family is its biggest threat. If Whit and Wisty can figure out how their powers work and who they can trust, The New Order just might be right.

ClaireBear absolutely loved this book and raved over it from the moment she read it. She's been working fifteen hour days at her day job, but we hope to have a fuller review of the book later this week so check back for that :)

But wait! There's more!

We're also giving away an advance reader's copy of Susan Ee's Angelfall. I (Rebecca T) picked this up at BEA and devoured it pretty quickly. It's a sort of dystopian/fantasy/Supernatural (the TV show that is) mix that was intense, engaging, and just overall a really enjoyable read.

Penryn is trying to survive the apocalypse with her little sister, Paige, who is in a wheelchair and a mother who probably belongs in a mental hospital rather than roaming the war torn streets. When Paige is kidnapped by angels Penryn finds herself with an unlikely ally and a burning desire to do anything it takes to get her sister back. Ee develops the characters and relationships really well. Penryn is a kick butt heroine with a legitimate (if bizarre) reason for being well trained in self-defense and quite a bit of offense and the adventure never lets up.

This book is available in both print and e-book format and you can check out Ee's website HERE where there are also links to buy the book!

So how do you win these fantabulous books? Simply leave a comment on this post telling us a good book you read recently (this is the only mandatory part and we love to hear from our readers!) and enter the Rafflecopter form (where you have other options to increase your chances if you so choose) so we can get hold of you when the contest ends! This contest is open to anyone in the US and ends at midnight EST on August 14th.
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And here are the other blogs taking part in the blog hop too!

Laydown Lowdown

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and took a moment to remember the true meaning of Memorial Day and honor those who sacrificed for our freedoms.  Now that we've had unofficial start of summer, you may want to spend your days laying out reading in the wonderful weather.

"Summer Days," the latest romance by Susan Mallery sounds like the perfect summer read.  You may also enjoy "Hot for Fireman," by Jennifer Bernard, "Along Came a Duke," by Elizabeth Boyle, or "Against the Sun," by Kat Martin.

Mystery fans may want to take "Tattooed" by Pamela Callow or "The Yard," by Alex Grecian to the beach with them.

Meanwhile Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans may enjoy "Tangle of Need" by Nalini Singh or "All Spell Breaks Loose," by Lisa Sherman.

YA buffs will want to tote the latest novel by Susanne Colasanti, "Keep Holding On," or "Dark Frost," by Jennifer Esteep.

Happy Reading !  We're also pleased to announce a winner in our "Fifty Shades," giveaway.  Congratulations to Eva T.  You've won a copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey," signed by the author, E L James.  You should receive an email from us shortly.  We'd also like to thank all those who participated in the raffle.  Please stay tuned this blog for more chances to win great books. 

As you being to load up your summer reads, remember to support your local bookstores whenever possible. 

Darker and Freed

A few weeks ago, I reviewed the New York Times Bestseller and the most buzzed about book of the moment, "Fifty Shades of Grey."  The sequels were just as entertaining if not more so than the first.

"Fifty Shades Darker" begins just a few days after "Grey" left off.  Ana is determined to stay away from Christian but he's just as determined to win her back.  I don't think it's a spoiler to confirm that they reunite.  This wouldn't be much of an erotic romance if you didn't have a romantic couple.  However, new complications threaten and deepen their relationship.  I actually think a better title for this book would've been Fifty Shades Deeper as it took you deeper into Ana and Christian's personal lives, family backgrounds, and the structure of their relationship.  And of course, being an erotic romance, there are a ton of fun, frisky sex scenes. As well as the continued, unintentional humor I found with the terms "inner goddess" and the one I can't write here, but I'll just abbreviate it as KF.

"Fifty Shades Freed," is the conclusion to the trilogy and just when Ana and Christian seem to have found their happily ever after, unexpected complications jeopardize their relationship and their lives.  This book really upped the ante on dramatic events and the sex.  I wasn't really pleased with one of the obstacles Ana and Christian faced and I found the conclusion a little too neat.  However, I really enjoyed the edgier sex scenes in this book and the dramatic events moved at such a frenetic pace, that it was hard to put this book down.

This is honestly the most entertaining and fun series I've read in a long time.  It's no fine work of literature and it's not extremely well written but if you're just looking for a good time, give them a read you won't be sorry.  I read through "Darker" and "Freed" in just a matter of days.

I recently had the privilege, to meet the author E.L. James.  My awesome dad agreed to take May 8th off of work to take me and our friend to meet E.L. James at a signing at the Barnes & Noble in Paramus, NJ.  Paramus isn't too far away from where we live in NY and the event didn't start until 7:30PM.  However, Barnes & Noble began handing out wristbands at 9AM that day to the first 300 guests.  So to ensure we got in, we embarked on our adventure early that morning.  We arrived at the store a little after 9AM and about 100 ladies were already waiting to get in the store to buy the book and obtain a wristband.

The line moved pretty quickly and one woman, who had already gotten her wristband, was passing out coupons for her store.  She said, "everything that is in the book is in my store."  I appreciate her marketing skills but unfortunately her shop, which we visited later, did not include everything mentioned in the book.  For example, there was no Charlie Tango and even sadder, no Christian Grey.

Anyways, back to the line, we got in around 9:30 and got our books and our wristbands. We spent the rest of the day cruising around the Paramus area.  My dad took me and our friend to IKEA for awhile because we had both never been to one.  It was pretty awesome.  I considered moving into the one mock apartment.

Later we headed back to the store and my dad patiently waited with us and a few hundred other woman and only a couple other guys.  Seriously, if there are single guys out there looking to meet women, an E.L. James signing is good place to look.   We were able to enter the "event space" at 6:30 and they had 300 chairs for the wristband folks.  Anyone who did not have a wristband could line up outside the event space.  They weren't guaranteed a signature but odds were good Ms. James would stick around until she had signed everyone's book(s).

Needless to say E.L. James is the one signing my book.

Finally, at 7:30, Ms. James came out and greeted the crowd with the sweetest english accent I've ever heard.  Due to the size of the crowd, you couldn't pose for photos but someone, like your awesome dad, could try and snap a picture while you got your book signed.

I didn't just get a book signed for myself, I got another copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey," to give away, right here on our blog !

So, if you haven't read the book yet, here is your chance to get find out what all the fuss is about.  Or, if you've already devoured the book, here is your opportunity to have a copy of a book signed by the author herself.  This giveaway is open to US residents who are 18 or older as of today's date. Now to Charlie Tango, I mean the Rafflecopter we go !






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