Winners of "Bond Girl"

To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry and had Random.org choose five numbers.


Congrats to:

9-meandmom
36-Cassandra (Book and Movie Dimension Blogger)
78-Erica (wordywon)
80-karenk
89-Kristilyn (Reading in Winter)

Reminder:If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.

Thanks to everyone for participating and for all your romantic movie recommendations.
Thanks to Erin for a lovely interview and to HarperCollins for sharing "Bond Girl" with our winners.

More giveaways to enter! All are worldwide!

 700 Follower Giveaway
Ends 3/1 at midnight EST

"Summer Daydreams" by Carole Matthews
Ends 3/5 at midnight EST


"Valentine Delights: Be Mine" by Jen Daiker (e-book)
Ends 3/4 at midnight EST

Blogs of the week

Our recent feature is "Blogs of the Week." Each week, we feature a reader blog (which was sent to us) and an author blog (which could either be sent to us, or we'd pick one at random). Please check out the blogs we are sharing. We're sure the bloggers would love some friendly comments on their posts or a follow.

Important: This is our LAST "Blogs of the week" post. We will be doing some new posts where other bloggers will have a chance to participate, as well, so stay tuned! Thank you for participating and sharing your blogs with us, as well as visiting the blogs that have been shown here.

Reader:

Vegetarian at LARGE

Mari, also known as "Heavy Hedonist" is an atheist, an animal lover, and a fan of soup. She may also be known as Exploding Mary, or The Exploding Mary Collection, who writes songs, novels, stories and poetry. Currently, Kenmore NY is where she calls home, with a Star Wars supergeek and a ragamuffin cat for company...their circa 1969 bathroom is famous on Facebook. She also has a makeup-over-40 blog called Aging Ophelia.

You can find her on Facebook.

Author:

Chicki Brown

She is a published fiction author who loves G-d, treasures her family and friends and spends her free time reading, as well as enjoying her music collection. Her latest novel, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" is available for $2.99 in Kindle format.

You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Winners of Carol Mason's books and "The Underside of Joy"

To find the winners of Carol Mason's books and "The Underside of Joy," we assigned each entry a number (one entry per person for Carol's books) and had Random.org pick four numbers.


Congrats to...


"The Love Market": Lilian (6)
"Send Me a Lover": Na (18)
"The Secrets of Married Women": Kim W. (17)

*and*

"The Underside of Joy": Paula (41)


Here is a message from Carol Mason:
Thanks to Chick Lit Central for the fun opportunity to post. Readers, I recently re-released all three of my novels as Amazon e-books. I was thinking of a way to really make my sales count for something so I decided that for the month of March I will donate 50% of the net proceeds of my e-books to the breast cancer foundation. If you'd like to join in with your support, you can purchase any of my e-books on Amazon for $2.99 - "The Love Market," "Send Me A Lover" or "The Secrets of Married Women" - then just email me through my website with proof of purchase. I'll post an update there at the end of March!


Here's a message from Seré Prince Halverson:
Thanks to Chick Lit Central for generously hosting this giveaway, and to all of you who entered! I so appreciate your interest in "The Underside of Joy." I've been writing for many years, but this is my first published novel. It means a great deal to me to know it' s getting into the hands of readers. Congratulations to the winner! I sincerely hope you enjoy the novel.

Reminder:If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.

Thanks to everyone for participating!
Thanks to Seré and Carol for visiting Chick Lit Central and sharing their thoughts with us.
Thanks to Penguin and KMSPR for sharing "The Underside of Joy" with our winner.
Thanks again to Carol for sharing her books with our winners.

Don't miss out on our current giveaways:

 700 Follower Giveaway
Ends 3/1 at midnight EST

"Summer Daydreams" by Carole Matthews
Ends 3/5 at midnight EST


"Valentine Delights: Be Mine" by Jen Daiker (e-book)
Ends 3/4 at midnight EST


"Bond Girl" by Erin Duffy
US/Canada only
Ends 2/28 at midnight EST

Daydreaming of romance with Carole Matthews, plus a book giveaway

Introduction by Cindy Roesel

**Giveaway is now closed**

Welcome the 2012 Romance Novelist’s Association Romantic Comedy of the Year Nominee, Carole Matthews, who was nominated for her novel "Wrapped Up in You!"

Carole Matthews can do it all. She’s written over twenty novels in over fifteen years. More than three-and a-half million copies have been sold world-wide in thirty countries. She’s able to wear sleeveless blouses because she has incredible shoulders, and well-toned arms.

And if this isn’t too much, she’s bakes. You have to check out her website, she often posts the most fabulous cupcakes which she not only whips up, but decorates like a pastry chef.

And Carole Matthews has a new novel, "Summer Daydreams," coming out in May (currently available for Kindle though), but we get to visit with her here at Chick Lit Central first. YEAH!

Have you ever dreamed of doing something more with your life? In "Summer Daydreams," Nell wonders if it’s possible to have it all. She’s a juggling a job and her personal life but gets the opportunity to live her dream. If you want to learn more about what happens, you can enter to win a copy right here! Carole has one to give to a lucky reader anywhere in the world!

If you want to know more about Carole, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Favorite chick lit novel couple: 
Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy. The ultimate chick lit couple!

Favorite romantic movie: 
 Four Weddings and A Funeral. I think has to be my favourite. I love all of the British romcoms - Notting Hill, Love Actually, Bridget Jones’s Diary. Basically, anything scripted by Richard Curtis.

Favorite romantic song: 
Everything by Mary J Blige. Music is really important to me and I always listen to music while I’m writing. I find song lyrics very inspiring. I particularly like listening to George Michael, Prefab Sprout and Vampire Weekend. A bit of Michael Buble never goes amiss either

Favorite place to go on a date: 
On a picnic, anywhere sunny. Sometimes we’ll just have a picnic in our living room if the weather is awful - well, I do live in Britain! We just put a blanket on the floor, have all kinds of lovely picnic food and, of course, some fizz! Can’t beat it.

Most memorable date: 
Afternoon tea at the Ritz Hotel in London. Such a romantic thing to do. The setting is beautiful, the tea is first class, very gentile and there’s a pianist plays throughout the afternoon. We went for my birthday last year and it was wonderful. Everyone really dresses up and the women all put on their finery and men have to wear suit and tie. It instantly turns the occasion into something very special.

Guy you would date from a chick lit novel:
I think my hero, Dominic, from my last book WRAPPED UP IN YOU would have to be on the list. He’s a Masaai warrior and quite unusual for a hero. He’d be wonderful to spend time with though. I’d also like a date with Daniel Cleaver from "Bridget Jones’s Diary." I do like a bad boy!

Favorite Valentine's Day memory: 
My partner, Lovely Kev, took me to a lovely hotel in the Cotswolds in England which is home to The Pudding Club. We stayed in their chocolate suite and it was divine.

Best movie kiss: 
Hmm. So many of them! I think I’ll plump for Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts in Notting Hill.

Special thanks to Carole for visiting with us and sharing "Summer Daydreams" with our readers.

How to win "Summer Daydreams":
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: Who is (or was) your favorite celebrity couple?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

Giveaway ends March 5th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Saved by Cake

By Becky Gulc

Good things come to those who wait in terms of Marian Keyes' novels; I love her work and am delighted she’s felt well enough to share newsletters twice this year already. Your fans are still here, Marian! As well as a new novel due for release in the Autumn, "Mercy Close," she has just released a baking book, "Saved by Cake." No it’s not a novel but to be honest I doubt many of you mind, we could not resist covering this!

"Saved by Cake" is aimed at baking novices, the same as Marian was not long ago. Within the book Marian writes about how learning to bake has helped her in her efforts to live with depression. One day in the midst of a dark period in her life, Marian had a sudden urge to make her friend a birthday cake, even though she didn’t own a single piece of baking equipment. That was it then, she was hooked.

‘Since then I’ve gone on to acquire cookie cutters in the shape of cars, hearts, circles, flowers, fairy wings, stars, owls, moose, bats, beer mugs, football boots, rabid dogs, gangrenous legs, rotten teeth...and still I want more.’

The book opens with a very honest account of depression: ‘To be perfectly blunt about it, my choice sometimes is: I can kill myself or I can make a dozen cupcakes. Right so, I’ll do the cupcakes and I can kill myself tomorrow.’

It’s sad to read at times, enlightening, but it never fails to shine with Marian’s witty humour. I own a lot of baking books and even though I cherish them I often don’t pay much attention to anything other than the recipes themselves, with this one you’ll want to read every word if you’re a fan of Marian’s.

The book is full of mouth watering recipes, with sections for classics, cupcakes, cheesecakes, and chocolate...to name just a few. I felt the only way to provide an informed review of the recipes themselves was to test drive one of them, so last night I made the ‘No Bake Ginger and Lime Cheesecake’. I found the recipe straightforward to follow and even though I regularly bake (but by no means am I a technical baker) the language was fine and I enjoyed the way Marian’s words guide you through in a friendly and informed way. So how did it turn out? See below!

How did it taste? Lovely, even if I do say so myself! So refreshing with all the lime in it. I was giddy with excitement at how sparkly the topping was too, it looked very special indeed, although my picture doesn’t get across just how sparkly it was. That’s a plus point too, all the recipes look so tasty and colourful, and I love the fact Marian uses edible glitter freely (or ‘non-toxic’ glitter as I was told to say in a shop once!) and various other sparkly gems.

I liked the fact that Marian guides you through the recipes and emphasises things that she’s tripped up on when fine tuning the recipes. She answers questions within the book I’ve often asked myself, e.g. if I only have salted butter in the house but a recipe requires unsalted do I have to go running to the shop or will it taste funny? You don’t often get that in recipe books, it’s almost expected you know these seemingly little things.

As for the look of the book...beautiful and girly. It’s pink, bright and inviting. There’s also, pretty much, an accompanying picture for each recipe, I don’t know about anyone else but I often never end up making recipes when you can’t see what you’re aiming for, so I do like that about this book.

This is a book that will sit proudly amongst my other baking books and I know that soon enough it will be splodged just like the rest as it will be put to good use. For anyone who enjoys baking (you really don’t have to be new to baking to enjoy this) and anyone who loves Marian’s humour this is a real treat of a book. Happy baking!

Winners of "The Angel at No. 33"

To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry and had random.org choose TEN numbers.


Congrats to:
6-Kritter
12-Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf
39-Marybelle
43-Bonnie Y.
59-Anjana Vasan
62-Jel
71-Margaret
73-Sheena
79-Jilleen
101-Lucie Simone


Reminder:If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.


Thanks to everyone for participating. Congrats to Kritter of Kritters Ramblings on recently becoming engaged! (And now she'll have a book to read during wedding preparations.)
Thanks to Polly for a lovely interview and to Headline UK for their generosity!


Don't forget to enter these giveaways!


 700 Follower Giveaway
Ends 3/1 at midnight EST


"Valentine Delights: Be Mine" by Jen Daiker (e-book)
Ends 3/4 at midnight EST


"Bond Girl" by Erin Duffy
US/Canada only
Ends 2/28 at midnight EST

"The Love Market," "Send Me a Lover" or "The Secrets of Married Women" by Carol Mason
North America
Ends TONIGHT at midnight EST


"The Underside of Joy" by Sere Prince Halverson
US only
Ends TONIGHT at midnight EST

Jen Daiker is all about romance and she has an e-book to give away!

**Giveaway is now closed**

Today, we welcome Jennifer Daiker. Jen is a Houston-based writer, and when she’s not engrossed in her laptop she can be found enjoying the latest episode of The Real Housewives. She also spends her days devouring great reads, and having strange conversations with her two cats and overly patient husband. Thanks to a dream of trying every profession, she put pen to paper and realized while writing, a person truly can have it all.

She has one e-book of "Valentine Delights: Be Mine" (which contains her short story, "Latte Love") to give to a lucky reader anywhere in the world!

Visit Jen at her blog, Twitter, Facebook and Still Moments Publishing.


Favorite chick lit novel couple:
Heath and Annabelle from "Match Me If You Can" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Favorite couple from a TV series:
Jess and Nick from "New Girl" (even though they're not a couple... yet).

Favorite romantic song:
"Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane (it's a special one with my hubby and I).

Favorite place to go on a date:
The Drive-In.

How you met your spouse:
Worked together.

Tell us about your marriage proposal:
I'd just jumped out of the shower, hair damp, body wrapped in a towel, and my husband beckoned me. I walked out to a wall of colored printing paper blocking me from the living room with a poem attached. Needless to say I cried...and he was down on one knee, teary-eyed too.

Guy you would date from a chick lit novel:
Dan Calebow from "It Had To Be You" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Favorite Valentine's Day memory:
The year I had rose petals in my bathtub... any year that happens will be labeled my favorite.

Best movie kiss:
The Notebook... rain, water, and Ryan Gosling. Yum, yum, yum.

Special thanks to Jen for sharing her romantic favorites and her e-book!

How to win "Valentine Delights: Be Mine":

Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Tell us about your marriage proposal. (If you're not engaged or married, tell us about your favorite proposal that you either witnessed or saw on a TV show or movie.)
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

Giveaway ends March 4th at midnight EST.

What's in the mail today?

Melissa A:

From Carole Matthews:



Carole will be at CLC next week to talk about romance and do a giveaway for this novel!

From HarperCollins UK:



e-books:

Free deals on Amazon:



Becky:

From FMcM:



From Transworld:



From HarperCollins UK:

"One Night Only" by Sue Welfare

Book Review: Four of a Kind

By Melissa Amster

There's something so "delicious" about a story where women have secrets. It allows the reader to eavesdrop into their lives and escape for a few hours at a time. When I found out that "Four of a Kind," by Valerie Frankel, was about four women who exchange secrets with each other, I knew I had to check it out!

Alicia, Bess, Robin and Carla are the four members of the diversity committee at their childrens' upscale private school. However, instead of planning events, they decide to play poker and make it interesting by putting their secrets on the table. Alicia's marriage is on the rocks and all she can think about is her attractive colleague. Bess is stuck in the middle of trying to please her mother and her teenage daughter. Robin knows who her daughter's real father is, but her daughter has no idea. And Carla is caught between doing what's best for her family and following her dream. These women's lives are followed throughout the year and their secrets are the glue that holds them together when everything else is falling apart around them.

This is the first time I've read a novel by Valerie Frankel, so I didn't know what to expect. I was swept up into the lives of all four women as soon as they started revealing truths about themselves. The dialogue and banter was snappy and humorous, while also staying true to a natural flow. They all had real problems and even if I couldn't relate to them, I still felt like I could be friends with them anyway. The story had a "Desperate Housewives" feel to it, minus the murder mystery. It had the same flair that has kept me watching the show since the first season. Ms. Frankel had a great use of description, which allowed me to visualize people and places throughout. I liked how realistic the interactions felt between the women, as well as those with people in their lives. I found myself hoping things would work out for them and was satisfied with how things ended up for each of them.

I did have some concerns though. The first was with the language, which got pretty vulgar at times. After a while, I didn't notice the vulgarity as much or it tapered off, but I felt like in the beginning they were just using words for male anatomy over and over again. I wasn't offended, but I could see how someone else might be. Also, I know absolutely nothing about how to play poker, especially Texas Hold 'Em. While I appreciated that Ms. Frankel included a guide and some terminology at the end, I didn't know about it until I was finished and even then it was over my head. I would have appreciated a bookmark that had pictures of each of the types of winning hands and that it would also show what pocket cards and river cards were. I also thought there were way too many play-on-words involving cards or poker moves. (Ex. "She laid all her cards out on the table and didn't fold," referring to something in one of the character's personal lives.)

Overall, this was an engaging story and I had a genuine interest in what was happening in everyone's lives. I loved how the women took a genuine interest in each others' lives, as well. If you're looking for a fun story about female friendship, juicy secrets and sex, then "Four of a Kind" is the novel for you!

More by Valerie Frankel:

Books of the Week-February 23rd

Thanks for checking out our newest feature...Books of the Week! There are six of us and we can't keep up with the many review requests we receive, even though we'd love to read everything sent our way. Therefore, we have decided to give some books their time in the spotlight and introduce you to them through this new blog feature. Starting this week, we will feature twobooks a week. We hope you will take the time to check these books out. (Click the titles to find them on Amazon.) If you read them and want to write a guest blogger review for us, please e-mail us and we'll be glad to work with you!

Authors: We will let you know whether or not we'll be able to review your book upon your request, and hope you'll be interested in this feature as an alternative.

"Year of the Chick"
By Romi Moondi

An awkward family homecoming at Christmas.

A humiliating public weigh-in, with two judging parents as the audience.

The announcement of a deadline for arranged marriage doom.

And that's just the first two chapters.

In "Year of the Chick," Romi Narindra must find love before her parents find her a husband. This is a difficult task in a world where self-consciousness is at an all-time high, and dating experience at an all-time low.

Severely lacking in seductive skills and uninspired by her corporate job, Romi turns to what she loves, by writing about her quest to find love on her brand new blog.

From whiskey-breath scum bags to uni-brow creeps and everything in between, Romi and her wingmen come up empty time after time. Just when giving up seems like the thing to do, she meets a fellow writer unexpectedly.

On the Internet.

So will it be arranged marriage doom, or an Internet affair that's not as creepy as "To Catch a Predator"?

Time will tell in the "Year of the Chick," a twelve-month quest to find love.

Tick-tock.

You can find Romi Moondi on Facebook and Twitter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tallis' Third Tune"
By Ellen L. Ekstrom

Alice Martin discovers herself in a quaint English shop. Iconic historical figures appear no sooner than she thinks of them; they come and go, offering advice – unwanted, but always interesting. While there, Alice learns that she can change definitive moments in her history, to correct mistakes made in two important relationships: with her first love, Quinn Radcliffe, a sensitive classical musician destined for the concert halls of the world, and with Donovan Trist, a charming archeologist with New England blue-blood and expensive scotch in his veins. Each has a hold on Alice, and what she is compelled to undertake begins a momentous and sometimes painful journey. Throughout her travels, Alice is linked to love by a melody, the luminous and evocative Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. As she seeks answers and happiness, Alice knows one thing is for certain – this is not a trip to Wonderland, but deep into her heart and soul.

You can find Ellen L. Ekstrom on Facebook and Twitter.

Amy and Cindy share their thoughts on romance

This week, Amy and Cindy are talking about their experiences with love and romance. Their stories are sweet and we hope you will enjoy reading them!

Amy:

The first couple of times I went down to meet Jason’s parents, in the town he grew up in, we passed a billboard advertising a jewelry store and it said “Amy, Will You Marry Me?” in fake looking graffiti. We found it funny every time we passed it.

Before Jason proposed, he and his father gave me a bunch of black and white family photos to look through. You would think this is odd right? The next thing I knew there was a doctored photograph from the billboard reading “Amy Lazarus, will you marry me?” Jason and his father took a picture of the billboard and inserted my last name!

At first I thought it was a joke because both Jason and his father are big jokesters. When I realized that neither of them were moving and then when Jason pulled out the ring box I knew this was not a joke. Words can't even begin to describe how happy and excited I was!

The happy couple

Cindy:

This Valentine’s Day my ex-husband and I would have been celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary. Instead, we've been divorced for thirteen years, and back together for six. Did you follow that? Lord knows, it's taken me some time to figure it out.

We’ve just gone through a tough time following his mom passing away after a long illness. It wasn’t easy, but we were by each other’s side strong and silent when appropriate but always lovingly. The bottom line is I’m blessed to be in a relationship with my soul mate, even if we’re no longer married.

Five years ago, I fell into a coma and he was my advocate and helped me rehabilitate so that counts for the through sickness and in health thing even without a ring on my left hand.

Sure we’ve have issues, we’re divorced, but more importantly, we’re there for the other no matter what. What I’ve learned together and apart is we’ve grown to experience unconditional love. It’s a different, perhaps a higher level of love. It’s not about romance, gifts and flights of fancy. It takes work, but it’s worth the result. I’m truly at home and at peace when I’m with my Ken.

Bonding over romantic stuff with Erin Duffy, plus a book giveaway

**Giveaway is now closed**

Today we have the debut author of "Bond Girl," Erin Duffy, here to chat about romance. A 2000 graduate of Georgetown University, Erin has spent over ten years in fixed income sales on Wall Street. Her experiences inspired this novel, which allowed her to put her B.A. in English to good use. (The writers of "Avenue Q" won't be too happy with her though! See here for more details.)

Thanks to HarperCollins, we have FIVE copies of "Bond Girl" for some lucky readers in the US and Canada.

You can find Erin on Facebook.

Favorite date in a novel:

There’s an impromptu date between Alex and Andy in “The Devil Wears Prada” that I love because it’s nothing fancy. After Andy’s first brutal week at work her boyfriend shows up at her apartment with an impromptu fast food picnic complete with burgers, candles, and cheap wine and they eat it on garbage bags on the floor. It was sweet and thoughtful and proved that not everything needs to be some big grand gesture. Sometimes, the simplest things are the best. I’d take that over some big stuffy dinner in a restaurant, gladly.

Favorite romantic movie:

The Holiday. I could watch this movie for twenty-four straight hours and never tire of it. I love how it’s a story about romance through heartbreak, and how both couples were unconventional and had geographical obstacles to overcome. Plus, Cameron Diaz’s wardrobe in that movie was insane.

Favorite couple from a TV series:

I’m sorry, I seriously think Ross and Rachel from Friends were just great. I think a lot of times couples start as friends so it was very realistic. Plus, it wasn’t easy most of the time, and they fought like cats and dogs, but still you had to root for them. I like that the road for them being together was not only filled with bumps, but with giant potholes.

Favorite romantic song:
Lady Antebellum’s "Need You Now," which is a bit depressing probably, but I love the sentiment. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m noticing a pattern here. I seem to like romantic things that have some embedded tragic element to them. I should probably examine that.

Most memorable date:
Well that depends if you want memorable for a good reason or a bad one? This is going to make me sound pathetic, but last Valentines Day, I played pool for a few hours and then had dinner and went home to play cards. Yes, it’s not exactly romantic, but it was a ton of fun and the date lasted the entire day. I think that is one that I will remember for good reasons.

Guy you would date from a chick lit novel:

I know it might seem strange, but I kind of love Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones’ Diary. He’s a little square, but he’s smart, successful, cute, and oddly thoughtful. He’s solid, and that I think is the type of guy you want to date. Nice guys don’t always have to finish last! You can keep Daniel Cleaver!

Best movie kiss:
Does it get any better than Scarlet O’Hara and Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind? (There’s that tragic theme again). The classics never die.

Favorite Valentine's Day candy:
It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate. Has anyone ever been disappointed by a box of Godiva? It’s fool proof.

Special thanks to Erin for indulging our sweet tooth and to HarperCollins for sharing "Bond Girl" with our readers.

How to win "Bond Girl":
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: What is your favorite romantic movie?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

US/Canada only. Giveaway ends February 28th at midnight EST.

Book Review: The Stag and Hen Weekend

By Becky Gulc

"One couple. Two weekends. And you’re invited to both." And you really are with Mike Gayle’s latest novel, "The Stag and Hen Weekend." This is the story of Phil and Helen, a couple in their thirties who’ve been together for years. After many an unaccepted marriage proposal, they’re finally engaged and soon approaching what should be the happiest day of their lives. Before they do, they have to get through their respective stag and hen weekends, a doddle right?

This book is unique in that it’s divided into two separate stories. The reader can choose to join Phil and his friends on the stag do in Amsterdam first....or they can opt to join Helen and her friends on the spa break in a grand country house in the Peak District first, take your pick! It’s very cleverly written so that you can read one half without anything integral being given away which would spoil your enjoyment of the other half. I loved the premise of this book, and I loved the bright cover(s), I wanted to dive straight in.

I decided to go on the Stag do first, and I say ‘go on’ because I did feel like I was in Amsterdam with them. Phil is instantly likeable, a good man who loves Helen with all his heart, the problem is he’s not completely convinced Helen feels the same. I enjoyed the pace of Phil’s story, the escapism to Amsterdam, the escapades, which were comical at times. The story acknowledged there is more to Amsterdam than the stereotypical legal highs and prostitution, as someone who visited Amsterdam on a trip round Europe once I enjoyed being transported back to places like Vondelpark.

As part of Phil’s story a woman who he and Helen both have an important connection with emerges, and Phil finds himself having to spend time with her over the weekend to try and get some of his longstanding questions answered which could have implications for his future. If I was one of Phil’s friends, I wouldn’t have been very happy with the amount of time he spends away from the other stags if I’d forked out for the trip, but I guess it was key for the story development!

I also enjoyed Helen’s hen do although it didn’t feel as much fun as Amsterdam. That could have been related to having read Phil’s story first; I didn’t think I would like Helen even though he adores her. Thankfully I was wrong; I did find Helen a likeable character and her best friend Yaz too. The appearance of Aiden, Helen’s celebrity DJ ex, causes no end of problems. He’s the one who hurt her so many years ago she questions whether she ever really got over him. This creates some interesting twists along the way. I thought Helen’s story really picked up towards the end, I was frustrated with her at points and felt like I’d been led up the garden path a bit in terms of getting to know a character, but without wanting to say too much I was satisfied with the ending, and I did shed a few tears.

The fact that you can read either one of the stories first means that Mike obviously had a challenge on his hands not to give the ending away when you’re midway through. I finished Phil’s story thinking, now what? I was convinced there must be a separate section in the middle for reading after both stories which would tie everything up. There wasn’t. Both endings are a little ambiguous and it’s left up to the reader to decide what they think happens next. Whilst some people might find that extremely frustrating, and I did a little bit, overall I enjoyed the experience of reading the two separate stories enough to accept this. And if the ending is in my head, it can be whatever I want it to be! Mind you, I’d be intrigued to see if the characters crop up in another of Mike’s novels. There are also a few inter-connected characters and stories between the two different parties which makes the stories all the more interesting when you read the each part, again this is cleverly done so nothing gets spoilt in my opinion. My only real criticism is that there were a few typos that could have been avoided.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I think the fact that it was in a different format to the norm made a difference. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another Mike Gayle book.

Whilst I’m here, I thought I’d share this little trailer for the novel that’s on Mike Gayle's blog. I always find it interesting to see how books are being newly promoted nowadays and I quite like it!



You might also like:

Winners of The Cupcake Club books and "The Yoga Club"

To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry and had random.org choose four numbers.


For "Sugar Rush," it chose 94. Congrats to faithspage!
For "Sweet Stuff," it chose 62. Congrats to Poof...books!
For "The Yoga Club," it chose 9 and 39. Congrats to Marthalynn and Anjana Vasan!


Here's a message from Donna Kauffman:
Thank you, Chick Lit Central for having me as a guest. It was a blast reading everyone’s responses. Lots of walks down Memory Lane, seeing what everyone was posting as their favorite romantic song. (And my iTunes playlist just got longer!) For those of you who give my new Cupcake Club series a try, I sincerely hope you enjoy your trip to Sugarberry island, and the time spent with the cupcake baking ladies...and the men who intrigue them, frustrate them, but, somehow, ultimately win them over. And congratulations to the lucky winners of the giveaway! Happy reading, everyone. Bon apetit, Cupcakes!

Here's a message from Cooper Lawrence:
I am beyond grateful that I was one of the lucky few who have been chosen by the wonderful team at Chick Lit Central. As a new novelist, you wonder how your book will be received and whether anyone will really be interested in reading it in the first place. So, it’s a complete thrill when I hear back from those who’ve read and enjoyed "The Yoga Club;" nothing gives me greater joy than to know there are those willing to take a chance on an unknown author and that chance has paid off.

Chick Lit is a genre that introduces us to new friends and is designed specifically for who we are as women and what we want to read about. It gives us community. I am incredibly indebted to Chick Lit Central for being the doyenne of that community.

Congratulations if you’ve won a copy of "The Yoga Club." I hope you have fun reading it and that Coco, CJ, Olivia and Bailey make you laugh! A really big thank you for participating in the giveaway, showing interest, and, most of all, taking time out of your busy schedule to spend time with fun new literature. Namaste.

Reminder:If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.

Thanks to everyone for participating!
Thanks to Donna and Cooper for their lovely interviews about love.
Thanks to Kensington and Simon and Schuster for sharing the books with our winners!

Check out these giveaways!

 700 Follower Giveaway
Ends 3/1 at midnight EST

"The Love Market," "Send Me a Lover" or "The Secrets of Married Women" by Carol Mason
North America
Ends 2/27 at midnight EST


"The Underside of Joy" by Sere Prince Halverson
US only
Ends 2/27 at midnight EST

"The Angel at No. 33" by Polly Williams
Ends 2/26 at midnight EST

Winners of "The Last Blind Date"

Everyone who entered this giveaway wins a copy! Congrats!


See the comments at the original post to find out who was in this lucky mix!


Here's a message from Linda Yellin:
Sending a big chocolate-covered thank you to all my chick lit lovers who won copies of "The Last Blind Date." Loved your Valentine’s Day stories! I spend ridiculous amounts of time worrying about publishing with a last name at the end of the alphabet. I figure by the time anyone gets to the ‘Y’ section of the bookstore they’ve already bought two other books and gone home. But making up another last name just feels wrong. “Hello, I’m Linda Yellin. No wait! I mean Linda Aabba.” So Yellin it is, and Linda Yellin is mega-pleased that my memoir landed in your hands.


Thank you Chick Lit Central for making it possible in such a delightful happy way!

Reminder:If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.

Thanks to everyone for participating and sharing your Valentine's Day stories. Sometimes it really pays off to comment on our posts. ;) Thanks to Linda for an entertaining interview and Simon and Schuster for such a generous giveaway!




Don't miss out on these giveaways!

 700 Follower Giveaway
Ends 3/1 at midnight EST

"The Love Market," "Send Me a Lover" or "The Secrets of Married Women" by Carol Mason
North America
Ends 2/27 at midnight EST


"The Underside of Joy" by Sere Prince Halverson
US only
Ends 2/27 at midnight EST

"The Angel at No. 33" by Polly Williams
Ends 2/26 at midnight EST

Blogs of the week

Our recent feature is "Blogs of the Week." Each week, we feature a reader blog (which was sent to us) and an author blog (which could either be sent to us, or we'd pick one at random). Please check out the blogs we are sharing. We're sure the bloggers would love some friendly comments on their posts or a follow. Important: We are no longer taking submissions for blogs, as we are trying to phase out this feature. Thank you for participating and sharing your blogs with us, as well as visiting the blogs that have been shown here.

Important: We are no longer taking submissions for blogs, as we are trying to phase out this feature. Thank you for participating and sharing your blogs with us, as well as visiting the blogs that have been shown here.

Reader:

Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

We always love having Melissas at Chick Lit Central and this one is no exception! She's a 30-something Vegetarian, Nature Lover, Animal Lover, Book Lover, Blogger & Reviewer. She lives in central New Jersey with her fiance and two cats. Melissa fell in love with books at an early age and loves to curl up with a cup of tea, her cats and almost anything printed that I can lay her hands upon. She loves almost all genres and will read almost anything that catches her interest. When she's not blogging, she's working her 9 to 5 job or photographing the beautiful things in nature. Her personal blog is called Melissa's Meanderings. You can also find her at Facebook and Twitter.

Author:

Shimmers in the Darkness

Mary Vensel White was born in Los Angeles and raised in Lancaster, California. She graduated from the University of Denver and lived for five years in Chicago, where she completed an MA in English at DePaul University. She lives in southern California with her husband, four children and two badly trained dogs in a chaotic but happy home. Her husband is an attorney and she is the mom with a book or laptop at the little league game, soccer field or dance studio.

"The Qualities of Wood" is her first novel (available at $1.99 for Kindle). Mary is currently at work on a second, set again in the Midwest, a place that lives and flourishes in her imagination despite her current sunny surroundings. She is also working on a collection of interrelated stories, a method of writing which the esteemed women of her book club refuse to acknowledge as a novel. Watch for news about these two projects.

You can find Mary on Facebook and Twitter.

Keeping the magic alive with Carol Mason, plus a book giveaway

**Giveaway is now closed**

In honor of romance month and "The Love Market" being released as a Kindle e-book, Carol Mason has come back to share her thoughts about love. She was here in August and we're glad to have her here again!

Carol Mason is the author of "The Love Market," "Send Me A Lover" and "The Secrets of Married Women" all recently re-released as Kindle E books. She is giving all THREE books away in paperback to some lucky readers (one book per reader) anywhere in North America.

You can find Carol at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is harder.
Confessions of a Women's Fiction Novelist.

I was travelling with my husband in Italy. We were dining in an authentic Roman restaurant when I noticed that seated at the next table was the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. As though magnetically drawn by the heat of my gaze, his eyes met mine, and for several moments neither one of us could look away. As silent fireworks went off between us for the duration of dinner, I caught myself wondering what might have been if I had been single.


Four years later, I still remember the effect he had on me. I was even going to pen a novel inspired by his face. Perhaps another “what if” that would appeal to women much like me – happily married, generally content with life, able to count their blessings, but not immune to the occasional escape fantasy – a fleeting window onto life without him.

In fiction, this is hardly unchartered territory. How it’s handled is what separates the real fluff from the real stuff. There was a time when women’s fiction was mostly about single girls searching for Mr Right, as though achieving that goal were an end, instead of a beginning in itself. When I began writing my first novel, "The Secrets of Married Women," I wanted to explore the marriages of three best friends with the kind of brutal, and often amusing scrutiny and honesty that Candace Bushnell did with "Sex and the City." I wanted to make the point that the universal quest for romance lives in all of us whether we are single or married. We are all on different paths to the same destination. Even though social scientists say that romance lasts between 18 months and 3 years, a secret part of us wants it to last forever. Nobody truly aspires to be in a relationship that needs to be worked at. And when we find ourselves having to put up a little effort to keep the magic alive, it’s an easy leap from there to wondering if less work would have been required with some other person – perhaps my handsome Italian. After all, the intensity of our attraction was huge, and we’ve all been led to believe that true love requires this; that our love story should be as epic as humanly possible - with a latent promise that, if you start out head over heels in love, your relationship will be stronger in the long run. Yet experts tell us that living compatibly together can happen whether or not you found the person who set off all those firecrackers in you, and put you off your bowl of spaghetti carbonara, the instant you looked at him. Quite a change from what a lot of romantic fiction has suggested over the years: that it’ll never work out if we marry the short guy.


At some point in our lives many of us feel the need to swim against the current whether in our jobs or relationships. We become bored of bobbing along, and need to experience the rip tide of change and adventure. Married women apparently fantasize about having their freedom again – even temporarily – more than any other thing. Yet, marriage is supposed to be forever. And even if it’s not, it usually starts out with the right intention. So when we are in a relationship – generally a very good one, one in which we have invested every cell of our being, one-hundred percent – perhaps we have to be content with changing, if not our partners, then our outlook.
Valentine’s Day isn’t long gone, and apparently more people join Ashley Madison – an Internet dating site for marrieds looking to cheat - on February 15 than at any other time of the year. I have friends who belittle romance and loathe Valentine’s Day. Usually those whose husbands would rather buy the family dog a heart-shaped cookie with its name written on in carob, than make a romantic gesture toward their wife. Others boast of the grand gifts they’ve received from their partner, on a mission to “best” you in the marital department. I have friends who can’t find anything romantic, or even positive, in their relationships and want out. And others who would not hesitate to say that they would marry the same person all over again – which, notwithstanding the flirtation with the handsome Italian – would be me.

The way I see it is, we chose what - and who - we chose in life for reasons we sometimes may forget, especially when it feels convenient to forget them. If it wasn’t a bad choice, then there’s a good chance that it was the right choice. Mr Right doesn’t have to be reduced to Mr Good Enough. He is Mr. Right in All the Ways that Really Matter.

Whether this is romantic enough, often enough, is a bit like having a honking slice of triple-layered red velvet cake and bemoaning its lack of creamy vanilla frosting.

Post script: When the handsome Italian got up to leave, he was tiny. I’ve seen taller pepper mills. I could have taken him on a date in my pocket. So I’ll believe what I’ve been told over the years: we’d never have stood a chance.



Special thanks to Carol for visiting with us again and sharing her books with our readers!

How to win one of Carol Mason's books: Tell us which celebrity you fantasize about the most these days. Please include your e-mail address or another way to contact you if you should win. One entry per person.

North America only. Giveaway ends February 27th at midnight EST.

Joining the 700 club with a giveaway!

**Giveaway is now closed**

No, not that 700 club! We're talking about the club for blogs with 700 followers! We're thrilled that you have helped us reach this monumental occasion with all your enthusiasm, participation, interest in our posts, shares on Facebook and Twitter, etc. We wouldn't reach this point without you!!! So we're having a special giveaway in YOUR honor!

Rules for this giveaway:
1. Open WORLDWIDE
2. You have until March 1st at midnight EST to enter....**UPDATE** We're extending it to March 4th at midnight EST. :)
3. Tell us what you'd like to see more of at CLC and leave us an e-mail address or another way to reach you.
4. Only one entry per person.
5. You must be a follower of our blog to enter. Please let us know how you follow us and what name you use in order to qualify. (It's not too late to follow us, so please do so if you haven't already.)

Good luck!

Seré Prince Halverson shares the "joys" of love and has a book to give away

**Giveaway is now closed**


Today we welcome debut author, Seré Prince Halverson, and her novel "The Underside of Joy" (reviewed here). Seré worked as a copywriter and creative director for 20 years while she wrote fiction and raised kids. She and her husband have four grown children, and live in Northern California.

Thanks to Penguin and KMSPR, we have one copy of "The Underside of Joy" to giveaway to a lucky reader anywhere in the US.

You can find Seré at her website, blog and on Facebook.

Favorite date in a novel:
My dear friend, Elle Newmark, wrote two gorgeous date scenes in her novel "The Sandalwood Tree." One involves a couple in the 1940s and a moon dial. The other takes place in India, and includes a Victorian woman waiting in the dark, a Sikh arriving on horseback, and a small chest filled with silk moths. Not your average dinner and a movie.

Favorite romantic movie:
Love Actually. And When Harry Met Sally. And Children of a Lesser God. And Stranger Than Fiction. And Il Postino. And...and...and...

Favorite couple from a TV series:
I’m loving all the couples on Parenthood right now.

Favorite romantic song:
"In My Life" by The Beatles

Most memorable date:
The first time my husband took me camping. He made this delicious dinner—stuffed pork tenderloin and ravioli with a pepper cream sauce, a salad, even dessert. It worked. The next year, all the kids came so the ambience was a bit different. But he still makes me amazing dinners on a regular basis.

How you met your spouse:
This is a fun one. Stan and I met in 8th grade history class. I was the new girl and immediately developed a big crush on him but he already had a following, which included more than a few pretty blonde cheerleaders. I didn’t get to really know him well until our senior year, and he asked me to the homecoming dance. We both wrote in our yearbooks that it was one of the best nights we’d ever had, but there was one of those weird high school miscommunications and we didn’t go out again, though we remained really good in-crush friends.

Flash forward to our 10-year high school reunion. We were both married to other people. We introduced our spouses, talked a bit, and went on our unmarried-to-each-other way.

Flash forward to our 20-year high school reunion. We’d both been divorced for three years. We both had two kids. We were the last to leave the reunion. At the picnic the next day, I brought my boys. Stan, smart guy that he is, horsed around with them, and later helped me tuck them into the car, so we could make the 10-hour drive back to San Diego. As we were leaving, my youngest, who was eight, said, “Mommy? You gotta maewwy that guy.” I told him that protocol required that guy to call me and ask me on a date first. And I reminded my son that Mommy wasn’t going to get married again. But when we got home, the phone was already ringing like blessed church bells.

Favorite moment from your wedding:
Oh, this is easy, though it will be another long answer to a short question. When I was a kid, living on the Puget Sound in Seattle, my mom taught me about wishing rocks. They’re rocks with an unbroken circle of white. Close your eyes, make a wish, and throw the rock into the water. When Stan and I were first getting reacquainted, we were walking along the beach (sorry for the cliché) and I told him about wishing rocks. So he started collecting them for me, and by the time we got married four years later, we had a boatload.

I wrote up a story (how unusual of me!) about our family and the rocks and printed it up on cards. We even had a circle of six wishing rocks(each circle on the rock part of the bigger circle) on our wedding invitation. The guests received wishing rocks when they arrived. We got married in a big circle, our four kids beside us, and family and friends around a beautiful pond on my sister-in-law’s property. At one point in the ceremony, everyone made a wish for us and threw their rocks into the pond. I wasn’t sure how it would go, but it was such a poignant, lovely moment—we felt all those unbroken circles and good wishes from our loved ones as the rocks splashed into the water.

Guy you would date from a chick lit novel:
Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones’ Diary. The Colin Firth version.

Favorite Valentine's Day memory:
This isn’t romantic, but it’s sweet. I remember making homemade Valentines with my boys when they were little. They were all boy, but they loved art projects, and the messier the better. We went all out with the white doilies and red paper and Victorian stickers. They put their hearts and souls into them and were so proud to take them to school. Now they’re big college guys, but they’re still sweet.

Best movie kiss:
There are too many. I cannot pick one. I tried, but I have to leave this one blank. If it had only been a multiple-choice question...

Special thanks to Seré for her long, but lovely answers to our questions and to Dutton for sharing "The Underside of Joy" with a lucky reader.

How to win "The Underside of Joy":
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: What is your most memorable date?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

US only. Giveaway ends February 27th at midnight EST.