Tag: Sourcebooks Landmark

Review: Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

Posted October 23, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny ColganReviewer: Rowena
Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe (At the Cupcake Cafe #1) by Jenny Colgan
Narrator: Michelle Ford
Series: At the Cupcake Cafe #1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: April 14, 2011
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 427
Length: 12 hours, 54 minutes
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two-half-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

A sweet and satisfying novel of how delicious it is to discover your dreams

Issy Randall can bake. No, Issy can create stunning, mouthwateringly divine cakes. After a childhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe's bakery, she has undoubtedly inherited his talent. She's much better at baking than she is a filing so when she's laid off from her desk job, Issy decides to open her own little café. But she soon learns that her piece-of-cake plan will take all of her courage and confectionary talent to avert disaster.

Funny and sharp, Meet Me at the Cupcake Café is about how life might not always taste like you expect, but there's always room for dessert!

Thanks to Holly, I’m really getting into the swing of this audiobook business. I signed up for the Audible Romance Package and I have been going to town on listening to multiple books a week while I’m at work. Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe is one of the books that I listened to and honestly, it was a bit of a snoozefest. I actually enjoyed the narrator’s accent but the story she was reading was super slow. It felt like nothing happens throughout most of the book. Izzy gets sacked, opens up a bakery and is trying to figure her way out with that whole thing at the same time that she’s starting to develop a crush on the guy from the bank but still hanging out with her ex boyfriend that did her dirty.

Now that I think about it though, there was a lot of stuff going on but none of it was all that interesting to me and because I wasn’t reading along in the book, I kept getting confused at the different POV’s thrown at me. It gave me a case of whiplash and still, I wasn’t fully invested in the characters, what was happening and the romance. I think because Izzy kept bouncing back to her ex-boyfriend who proved at the beginning to be a total asshat, it killed any excitement I had for her to move on to the bank dude. This had a bit of a chick lit feel to it because the actual romance took a back seat to everything and everyone else. At least that’s the way that it came off to me. I was much more invested in those recipes and am really curious about the Nutella cupcakes.

I also thought the ending left a lot to be desired as it felt rushed and was more a string that readers pulled to get more books. Though I didn’t hate this book, it was just okay to me and I doubt I’ll be finishing out the series.

Grade: 2.5 out of 5

two-half-stars


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Review: This is Our Song by Samantha Chase

Posted January 26, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: This is Our Song by Samantha ChaseReviewer: Rowena
This Is Our Song by Samantha Chase
Series: Shaugnessy Brothers #4
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: December 6th 2016
Pages: 339
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

She knows him by reputationRiley Shaughnessy knew that to stand out in his large family, he'd have to go big. Making a name for himself as a musician wasn't easy, but he followed his dreams to rock-star success. But the relentless expectations of fans is not helping the slump he's in now. So of course the person who attracts him is the woman who is not impressed by fame.

Which gives Riley Shaughnessy a lot to proveEntertainment reporter Savannah Daly is completely unfazed by pretty-boy rock stars. She's just here to get her interview and write her story. But spending an entire month with the Shaughnessys is going to show Savannah a side of Riley she never could have guessed.

This was my very first book read by Samantha Chase. It was a cute read and while I liked it, I didn’t absolutely love it. I liked that I went into the book completely blind to Chase’s writing style, the characters and previous books in this series but it didn’t take me long at all to catch up.

Riley Shaughnessy is struggling, creatively and he’s feeling the pressure from everyone to get his solo album done. When his managers push him into doing an in-depth interview for a big shot magazine, Riley is stuck. He’s not all that wild about reporters, so he’s not at all happy about spending time with entertainment reporter, Savannah Daly. The feeling is completely mutual where Savannah’s concerned. She’s not a fan of Riley’s music and she’s equally unimpressed with his persona.

That all changes once they meet. There’s an instant attraction on both sides and the more time they spend together, the harder it is for them to deny these feelings. Riley’s got some issues that he’s working through and Savannah has her own stuff to handle throughout this book and I found myself smiling throughout the entire time I was reading. This book is cute, with charming characters, a colorful cast of secondary characters and an adorable romance between two characters with loads of chemistry. There were some things that were predictable, situations that had me thinking “yeah right!” but for the most part, it was an entertaining read and I’m glad that I read it.

I need to get the rest of the series added to my TBR list and then read them. I’m mighty curious about the rest of the Shaugnessy brothers.

three-half-stars


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Review: Solo by Jill Mansell

Posted January 23, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Solo by Jill MansellReviewer: Rowena
Solo by Jill Mansell
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: January 1st 2017
Pages: 480
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"Mansell's...gentle humor and enormous heart always ensure a treat for her readers." -RT Book Reviews for Making Your Mind Up 4 Stars
It all starts at a party, as these things often do...
- A one-night stand with far-reaching consequences - Momentarily enamored guests going home with all the wrong people- An unfaithful wife struck by jealousy and getting a dose of her own medicine- A shocking family secret revealed at the worst possible moment
One fling follows another, and now the whole community is embroiled in a great big web of deceit, the untangling of which will charm you, amuse you, make you laugh and make you cry.
Whatever's going on in your life, Solo by Jill Mansell is the perfect distraction right about now...
"A graceful blend of heartbreak, humor and redemptive love." -Kirkus for The Unexpected Consequences of Love

Jill Mansell is a master at writing contemporary romances set in English small towns. They’re always filled to the brim with characters, storylines, and laughter. This book was no different…except that the more that I read this book, the more pissed off I got. The different stories worked for me and while I was more invested in Max and Holly, I was still interested in what was happening with everyone else. Everything was going swimmingly until about halfway through and the stuff that worked was still happening with no kind of growing happening. There was a lot of infidelity, a lot of boneheadedness and the characters that showed promise in the beginning, I started to hate.

Ross and Tessa drove me nuts, I wanted to knee Max in his balls every time he went running back to that old hag, hurting Holly in the process and then the whole thing with Antonia, Richard, Mattie, Grace, all of it made me either roll my eyes around the room or seriously pissed me off. I was Team Max for Holly until he kept right on hurting her because then he stopped deserving her. Same with Ross. I was frustrated with Tessa’s inability to ride things out. She was always running away and that annoyed the snot out of me.

By the time the end came, I was glad to be done with these characters. Ross was a huge disappointment, and while Max came around, I thought Holly let him off the hook too easily. The character that I probably liked the most was Grace. Her story was funny because she fell in love with her Dad before she knew that he was her Dad and then once she found out, she was so grossed out. That was funny.

Overall, this was a miss for me. It started off great but kind of veered off into the OMG what the hell is going on right now? land. I just couldn’t get behind all of the dumbass antics of everyone involved. Such a disappointment.

Grade: 1 out of 5


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Review: The Other Sister by Dianne Dixon

Posted December 5, 2016 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: The Other Sister by Dianne DixonReviewer: Rowena
The Other Sister by Dianne Dixon
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: November 1st 2016
Genres: Women's Fiction
Pages: 386
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two-half-stars

One sister has everything. Her twin hates her for it.

Would life be better without Ali? Probably. At least then people might think about Morgan. Ali's always gotten everything ― she doesn't even realize how much Morgan resents her.

Ali also doesn't realize that when she shuts Morgan out entirely, she will unleash a chain of events that show just how dangerous the underside of love really is. As their lives spin toward something neither one of them can control, a terrifying crime reveals how those who know us best can destroy us...or save us.

It’s been a couple of days since I finished this book and already, I’ve read 3 books. I zipped right through the books that followed this one but it took me for-ever to finish this one. I couldn’t figure this one out for a little bit. It starts off as Women’s Fiction but then veers into Suspense and Thriller and then back at it again with the Women’s Fiction so with all of that madness, it was no wonder that it took me so long to get through. I read The Girl on the Train a couple of months ago for my book club and I didn’t like one person in that book. That entire book was filled with unlikeable characters and I found that I felt the same way about this book. There were just a whole lot of unlikeable characters in this book.

We have fraternal twins Morgan and Ali. Ali is the golden twin while Morgan is the forgotten one. Morgan is insanely jealous of Ali and while Ali feels bad at first, their relationship is just one hot mess. There’s a husband that I wanted to sock in the nuts, a Mom that I wanted to punch in the throat and just a whole lot of different things going on that I wasn’t a fan of. I’m a fan of multiple storylines and lots of things going on in a story if it helps the story along or really, if it’s done right and I just didn’t feel it in this one. I kept having to take a break from reading this one because there was just too much of everything. Too much hatred, too much dark and while some of it was compelling, for the most part, my thoughts ran along the lines of…meh. I guess because I hated everyone in the story, I was never invested in what happened. I almost DNF’d it and I’m glad that I didn’t because the last part of the book was good. You see some character growth, you understand some things but unfortunately, I still didn’t like anyone.

There’s a darkness to everyone in this book that I couldn’t connect with and that really messed with my interest as the story progressed. So while the ending was good, it didn’t really make up for everything else so this isn’t a book that I would re-read or even recommend easily. I also couldn’t really tell if this was a mystery suspense or a dark Women’s Fiction novel and so I couldn’t even properly prepare myself for the kind of story I was going to get and I like to be prepared.


2.5 out of 5

two-half-stars


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Review: Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell

Posted October 4, 2016 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Three Amazing Things About You by Jill MansellReviewer: Rowena
Three Amazing Things about You by Jill Mansell
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: October 1st 2016
Genres: Chick Lit
Pages: 384
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three-half-stars

Jill Mansell's enchanting new novel will drive readers to seize life with both hands and make the most of every minute...Hallie has a secret. She's in love. He's perfect for her in every way, but he's seriously out of bounds. And her friends aren't going to help her because what they do know is that Hallie doesn't have long to live. Time is running out...Flo has a dilemma. She really likes Zander. But his scary sister won't be even faintly amused if she thinks Zander and Flo are becoming friends - let alone anything more. Tasha has a problem. Her new boyfriend is the adventurous type. And she's afraid one of his adventures will go badly wrong. THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU begins as Hallie goes on a journey. A donor has been found and she's about to be given new lungs. But whose?

Jill Mansell writes great contemporary stories that promote strong female characters and Three Amazing Things about You is no different. She also writes stories that will break your heart but mend it right back up by the end of the book.

Three Amazing Things about You follows Hallie, a young woman suffering from cystic fibrosis and Flo, a young woman who inherits a cat after her boss dies and who has to move into her boss’ house since the cat inherited a house and last but not least, Tasha, the serially single Tasha who falls in love with a man while she’s digging into a trash can looking for her credit card.

Each woman was as different as can be but over the course of the book, you see their lives come together through a shared connection and the book ends with all loose ends tied together and a great big smile on your face.

Each woman falls in love, gets their heart broken and then put back together again and each story wiggled its way right into my heart and stayed there. I think of the three women, Hallie’s story was the one that broke my heart the most. She’s in love with her doctor and he doesn’t seem to reciprocate her feelings she’s bogged down with this disease and just wants to live a normal life. Flo’s story also hurt my heart but I was thrilled to see her grow and count her blessings with each passing day. Tasha was probably my least favorite of the three women as I was a bit frustrated with fear of adventure. I was mostly frustrated with it because I didn’t understand it and I can’t even remember where those fears stemmed from but alls well that ends well. I was really happy with the way that this story came together and then the way that it ended was just great.

This is a heartwarming story of three women and the directions their lives take toward each other. It was another hit from Mansell for me and I’m looking forward to more from her.

Grade: 3.75 out of 5

three-half-stars


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