Tag: fiction

The Chick Read: Rejected Writers Take the Stage (Southlea Bay #2) by Suzanne Kelman

As I started this book I prepared for another madcap caper by the ladies in the Rejected Writers Book Club and I was not wrong. It starts off much like the previous novel with Librarian Janet Johnson getting roped into another startling adventure by alpha book club leader Doris. However, this caper is for a very good cause. Book club member Annie, who runs a kennel for dogs without homes on her family farm, is behind on mortgage payments and has to come up with a large sum of money quickly or her farm will go into foreclosure. Doris and the other ladies of the book club are determined to hold a theatrical fundraiser to help her come up with the sum of money needed. Janet gets hoodwinked into directing a hilarious musical production. As you can imagine with this zany cast of characters this production does not go smoothly, but it is fun entertainment and great reading.

I like this cast of characters a lot. Although everyone seems to be afraid of Doris, she has a big heart and is always helping out others, even if she is bulldozing over them while doing so. I enjoyed the continuation of the love story started in the first book between Flora and Dan, but did get a little frustrated that Flora continued to have such little self esteem when facing the very annoying Marcy who was also vying for Dans love, when it was really clear that he only had eyes for Flora. Janet, as the straight man in this group of crazies, seems to have finally accepted her role and even as she grumbles to her husband about all of the silly things she has to do, you can see that being a part of this group has allowed her to have fun and that was something she needed in her life. Fun.

If you like women’s fiction with a crazy cast of characters then this is the book for you. Read the first in the series called The Rejected Writers Book Club as it will explain a lot of back story and I think you will enjoy this book more for having read it. I did enjoy the adventure a bit more in the first book but this was a solid follow up. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

I was given an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review, and yep, I was honest.

If you’d like to read my review of The Rejected Writers Book Club click HERE.


Click the link to purchase! Rejected Writers Take the Stage (Southlea Bay)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Seeking Mansfield by Kate Watson

Finley Price is in love with her best friend Oliver, but doesn’t have the self confidence to see that he also loves her. A victim of child abuse, Finley has a tough time speaking up or being the center of attention. She lives on the fringes of life, trying to contribute as much as possible to Olivers family who has taken her in after her father dies and her mother is incapable of raising she and her brother. When two famous teenage actors move in next door, Finley watches Oliver fall under the spell of Emma, and is forced to spend more time with Harlan, Emma’s brother, than she’d like. Added to that teenage friction is the fact that Finley’s father was a famous actor, and that industry is in her blood. Seeking Mansfield uses the situation of teenage love and pain as an engine for Finley to grow within herself, face her fears and go after the life she wants, which is an admission to prestigious Mansfield Theater.

I was totally surprised by the depth in what looked at first glance to be a lighthearted romance. Finley has a lot of inner demons she needs to work through so at times this book was pretty dark. The storyline revolved around alcohol, physical abuse and broken hearts, but the story did balance those dark moments with laughter, a loving brother, and solid friendships. Her relationship with Oliver changed very slowly and I’ll admit that I got a little impatient with how the author used misdirection to make us believe that they had moved on from their feelings. Finley had suffered so much up to the start of this book, that once I found out her back story I just wanted to see her happy. Harlan, as her love him/hate him relationship didn’t ring true, so I had trouble buying into it, but he was a fun character to read, and an integral part to how Finley grew in this book. For that reason I’ll forgive this author the time she spent on that plotline. This novel is the first book in the series, so I can only hope the next one follows Finley on her education at Mansfield Theater, because she was a fascinating character and I want to know more about her!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review, and it was honest!

❤️❤️❤️❤️


Buy it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo!

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads1 Comment

Blog Book Club : Kulti by Mariana Zapata (A three blog review!)

A few weeks ago on my Sunday Commentary I asked for my fellow bloggers to help me choose a book to read off my TBR. That post started a discussion with Donna @ Heron There & Everywhere about the book Kulti. It’s been sitting on my kindle for a couple of years and funny enough it was sitting on hers too! Recently I read and reviewed Zapata’s Wall of Winnipeg and Me and was loving her slow burn love stories. It wasn’t very hard for Donna to convince me to read that book together. We asked if anyone else wanted to join in and Sarah Ferguson and Choppy chimed in and we all decided to post our reviews on the same date, today!

If you would like to read all of our reviews, click on each name.

Donna @ Heron There and Everywhere

Sarah @ Travels with Choppy

This Chick’s review of Kulti by Mariana Zapata

Sal Casillas grew up idolizing star soccer player Reiner Kulti and dreaming of one day playing pro soccer. She works hard for that dream and when the story starts she is in fact an aging (at 27!)  pro soccer player whose team just hired Reiner Kulti as their assistant coach. Sal is beyond excited, never believing she’d get the chance to meet her idol in person, and be coached by him. Well, things don’t start off that well. Kulti comes to all the practices but doesn’t interact with the team at all, he’s actually kind of an ass! One day, her dad comes to watch her play, excited that he has the chance to meet Kulti. Sal hadn’t had the heart to tell her father how awful Kulti was being to the team. When Kulti is rude to her father Sal hits the wall. She walks up to him and very precisely, and with the utmost respect (he was her coach after all!) tells him off. After that moment something changed in him and they slowly started to become friends. Until they became more.

First I have to exclaim over how much fun it was to read a sports romance where the female protagonist was the pro player! It gave a whole different vibe to the story. We were given some backstory about Sals rise up through the ranks of pro soccer and a ton of backstory between she and a girl on the National team. I won’t spoil the story but I will say ” what a bitch!” I wanted to give Amber a big kick! Growing up playing soccer myself, and having those same kind of dreams about going pro I wonder if that is part of the reason why I loved this book so much. Then, I’d keep reading and realized I was really enjoying the building friendship between Sal and Rey. Sal was so surprised at their relationship, and the fact that this man wanted to be her friend that she wore blinders to the fact that he was deeply in love with her. Totally clueless and I loved her for that.  And him. After a rough start Rey ended up being my dream guy too.

If, like me, you have put this book on the back burner, PICK IT UP! It will not disappoint!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I’m going to pop on over to Donna and Sarah’s blog to see if they liked this book as much as I did. If you have read Kulti and want to chime in with your thoughts, we’d love to hear them!


Buy this book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo!

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads3 Comments

This Chick Read: The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

The Garden of Small Beginnings was about your every woman.  Lilian Givran has faced life’s difficulties and has soldiered through finding light raising her two small girls, and unexpectedly also finds passion while gardening. I couldn’t believe this was Abbi Waxman’s debut novel. Lili’s voice was solid, funny, exasperating, sad and sarcastic. I laughed out loud multiple times and also cried softly as Lili struggled to find her way after the loss of her husband in a tragic accident. The fact that Lili finds that path while taking a gardening class is a great analogy for how each moment in life starts with a seed.

The cast of characters in this book added to the comedic highlights. The two daughters who say everything that comes into their heads, distracted, in a good way, from some of Lili’s more serious moments. Lili’s sister, Rachel, avoids serious relationships (sleeps around) because she wants to be available if Lili needs her. Her alcoholic mother who is narcissistic and says inappropriate things that embarrass her daughters. The class full of gardener wanna be’s who don’t have anything in common but end up being great friends with each other. Then there’s the teacher who makes her think there may be a little life left in her. This was a dream ensemble cast with a ton of personality.

Each chapter started off with a note about how to grow a vegetable. You could hear Lili’s voice speaking sardonically about why strawberries or carrots, I can’t remember, should not be planted in a bed after you’ve grown dill. These charming and funny intro’s set the stage for a really enjoyable, uplifting, love your family and keep your friends close kind of story. I don’t know if I’ve done a very good job of portraying why the book was so good, or even what the plot was like, but if you are a fan of women’s fiction, like humor, and like chick flicks, then put this on your TBR. Read it.

I received an Arc of this book, through NetGalley, for my honest review, and it was honest. 

 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


Buy it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo!

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe A Chick Who Reads All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Laini Taylor Book Signing for Strange the Dreamer #Sundayblogshare

Laini Taylor
Authors Sharon Cameron (left) and Laini Taylor (right)

Laini Taylor, author of the the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, had a book signing at my local bookstore, Parnassus Books. For an hour before she signed her newest book, Strange the Dreamer, she and fellow author Sharon Cameron asked and answered questions.  I was excited to see Sharon Cameron, who I’d forgotten would be at this signing. She is the author of one of my favorite young adult books from last year, The Forgetting. If you haven’t read that book, I highly recommend it!  You can read my review of The Forgetting, here.  I think she was supposed to be the moderator for Laini’s book signing, but she ended up answering some questions, as well as asking a few. Continue reading “This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Laini Taylor Book Signing for Strange the Dreamer #Sundayblogshare” →

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read : Canary by Duane Swierczynski

Sarie Holland is at a college party nursing one beer all night long. She can usually avoid temptation, doesn’t do drugs, and is a very responsible girl. However, on this night she lets herself take one hit off a bong. That one hit sets her down a path that changes her life forever. At this party, because of that bong hit, she is approached by a cute guy and asked for a ride across Philly to “pick up a book” from a friend. She doesn’t realize until after she is waiting for him in her car, how stupid she was. The apartment her friend has gone in to retrieve his “book” was under surveillance for drugs. The cop, Ben Wildey, takes Sarie in for possession, her friend D, having run away, leaving her holding the stash. Continue reading “This Chick Read : Canary by Duane Swierczynski” →

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads1 Comment

This Chick Read: Carnival Tricks (A Double Helix case files #1) by Jade Kerrion

In a world where genetically mutant humans are the norm, Sofia’s telekinesis skills are too mild to be called anything but Carnival Tricks. Waitressing while going to nursing school, Sofia finds herself in the middle of an illegal exchange of data between some scientists and the mob.  During the exchange she is shot up with the microchip and finds herself on the receiving end of a massive manhunt-for her. Kyle Norwood, hired to protect the scientists stays one step ahead of the mob in finding Sofia and ends up helping her keep the information out of the wrong hands. Continue reading “This Chick Read: Carnival Tricks (A Double Helix case files #1) by Jade Kerrion” →

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Feversong (Fever #9) by Karen Marie Moning

Atten: slight spoilers ahead!

Feversong, the final installment in the Fever series, wraps up Mackayla and Barrons storyline. At the end of Feverborn, Mackayla has to use the Sinsar Dubh to save Jada/Dani’s life, and becomes possessed. Finally!  We knew we were heading to this conclusion and that Mac would have to be possessed in order to conquer this evil. She did it in spectacular cannibalistic fashion. Yuck! However, after becoming evil incarnate, the rest of the Scooby gang led by the incomparable Barrons, is determined to help her overcome the odds and get free. Continue reading “This Chick Read: Feversong (Fever #9) by Karen Marie Moning” →

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chick Read: Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop

From the first scene, as Meg Corbyn is running in the snow towards the lights of the Lakeside Courtyard, I was gripped with tension, my eyes moving rapidly over the words that would take me to the next step in this plot. When Meg meets shapeshifter Simon to apply for the Human Liaison job, this authors words filled me with hope that he would give it to her, to help keep her from the people chasing her. That was before I even knew what they all were! Anne Bishop set the stage for an amazing new world of shifters, vampires, elementals, etc. and  most importantly what Meg is, a Cassandra Continue reading “This Chick Read: Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop” →

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads1 Comment

This Chick Read: Denial (Careless Whispers #1) by Lisa Renee Jones

Ella wakes up in a hospital, in Italy, with amnesia. Sitting next to her bed is a handsome stranger who claims to have found her beaten in an alley. Ella doesn’t have her passport or any ID, and can’t remember her name or where she is from. The stranger, Kayden Wilkens, is determined to offer her protection until her memory returns. Continue reading “This Chick Read: Denial (Careless Whispers #1) by Lisa Renee Jones” →

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments