Blog Tour: Three Fun Fall Reads

When I was first offered to sign up for the newest books to review for WaterBrook Multnomah I didn't like my options at first. I didn't want to read the Melody Carlson book - What Matters Most which is book #3 in one of her Diary of a Teenage Girl series. However, in order to read Limelight (which I really did want to read), I had to take them both. And the irony of it all? I loved What Matters Most & only liked Limelight. Go figure!

Melody Carlson has a series of book geared towards teenage girls fittingly called "Diary of a Teenage Girl." This is her fourth series. Of course, once I realized I would be reading book #3, I went to the library & took out books #1 & #2. I couldn't put them down. I loved them. They are written in a first person narrative as if we as readers are given a glimpse in to Maya's actual journal. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I will be checking out the other books in the series.

Summary:

Maya’s Green Tip for the Day: Recycled fashion is one of the most fun ways to go green. A pair of jeans could be transformed into a denim skirt. A sweater into a vest. A bunch of old ties into a dress. A blanket into a poncho. Accessorize it in new way–with beads, buttons, appliqués, buckles, stencils, or ribbons…your imagination is only the limit. (65 words)

Sixteen-year-old Maya Stark has a lot to sort through. She could graduate from high school early if she wants to. She’s considering it, especially when popular cheerleader Vanessa Hartman decides to make her life miserable–and Maya’s ex-boyfriend Dominic gets the wrong idea about everything.

To complicate matters even more, Maya’s mother will be released from prison soon, and she’ll want Maya to live with her again. That’s a disaster waiting to happen. And when Maya plays her dad’s old acoustic guitar in front of an audience, she discovers talents and opportunities she never expected. Faced with new options, Maya must choose between a “normal” life and a glamorous one. Ultimately, she has to figure out what matters most.

Click HERE to read an excerpt.

The second Melody Carlson book that I read is called Limelight. I found this one a touch annoying simply because of the main character. She is an older woman who once had it all - riches & pseudo-fame. Then her husband dies and she finds that she is pretty much broke. She has to move back to her childhood home and how she has to learn to live a real life without servants. Obviously she learns lots of lessons along the way and there is some good to the book. I did enjoy it - just not as much as first one.

Claudette Fioré used to turn heads and break hearts. She relished the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle because she had what it takes: money, youth, fame, and above all, beauty. But age has withered that beauty, and a crooked accountant has taken her wealth, leaving the proud widow penniless and alone.

Armed with stubbornness and sarcasm, Claudette returns to her shabby little hometown and her estranged sister. Slowly, she makes friends. She begins to see her old life in a new light. For the first time, Claudette Fioré questions her own values and finds herself wondering if it’s too late to change.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from Chapter 1.

A bio of Melody Carlson can be found on her blog, The View from My Window.

The last book I was given to check out was called Leaving Carolina. It reminded me a lot of the movie Sweet Home Alabama. It was about a woman named Piper Wick who leaves her hometown, state, and family behind & makes a name for herself as a prominent PR person L.A. She likes her life. Or so she thinks. Then family circumstances force her home & she begins to see her family in a different light - one as a adult rather than through the eyes of a child. I really enjoyed the book.

Summary:

Piper Wick left her hometown of Pickwick, North Carolina, twelve years ago, shook the dust off her feet, ditched her drawl and her family name, and made a new life for herself as a high-powered public relations consultant in LA. She’s even “engaged to be engaged” to the picture-perfect U.S. Congressman Grant Spangler.

Now all of Piper’s hard-won happiness is threatened by a reclusive uncle’s bout of conscience. In the wake of a health scare, Uncle Obadiah Pickwick has decided to change his will, leaving money to make amends for four generations’ worth of family misdeeds. But that will reveal all the Pickwicks’ secrets, including Piper’s.

Though Piper arrives in Pickwick primed for battle, she is unprepared for Uncle Obe’s rugged, blue-eyed gardener. So just who is Axel Smith? Why does he think making amends is more than just making restitution? And why, oh why, can’t she stay on task? With the Lord’s help, Piper is about to discover that although good PR might smooth things over, only the truth will set her free.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from Chapter 1.

You can read a bio of the author on her website by clicking HERE.

Disclaimer: I am not paid for these reviews. I am given copies of the books to read in exchange for my review. Of course, this arrangement works well for me since I love to read!