Book Review & Giveaway: Totlandia (The Onesies, Book Three)

By Melissa Amster

**Giveaway is now closed**

This past autumn, my best friend and I were walking around Georgetown and found a pie shop. My best friend loves baking pies and is so good at it too. We decided right then and there that "pie is the new cupcake!" So when one of the characters in Totlandia: The Onesies (book three) said the exact same thing, I immediately e-mailed my best friend to tell her. It makes me wonder if Josie Brown is spying on our conversations. After all, her characters are good at espionage....

Spring comes in like a lamb as the exclusive Pacific Heights Moms & Tots Club welcomes its newest members. But that tranquility belies a storm brewing, as new tensions and old rivalries come to a head.

The surviving moms are ready to reap the rewards of membership, but none of them counted on club founder, Bettina Connaught Cross, needing a pick-me-up from a bitter betrayal. While lesser women might cry into their pillows, Bettina finds comfort in exerting control over her domain.

With Bettina on a rampage, the new Onesies are trying to stay out of sight long enough to deal with their own issues: Lorna wants to tell her family about Dante’s autism, but keeping it on her own terms could be difficult when her hippie mom and socialite mother-in-law meet for the first time. Jillian fights to regain her financial footing and confront her own insecurities, finding comfort in an unexpected place. And Ally can’t bear the thought of hurting Jade, so she continues to bury her feelings for Brady. But when another desperate housewife stirs the mix, Jade could become a pawn in an even more devious game.

It’s no ordinary spring in Totlandia, as emotions build to a fury and end with a roar. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Just when I was running out of some good scandalous reading material, Josie Brown is back and she brings it with even more intensity. Who will stab someone in the back first? Who knows something that the others don't? Who is in for a big shock? All will be answered and there will still be a cliffhanger in the end! It's a real page turner...kind of like having a marathon of Desperate Housewives or 90210 (but you could replace these with Revenge, Gossip Girl, or a number of other shows involving sex and scandal.) There's an expectation at this point that you've already read the first two books. Josie doesn't give as much back story as other books in a series would do. I don't mind this because that just takes up space and you really SHOULD read this series in order. It's meant for people who are already familiar with the characters and plot lines. Even so, there's an ease to the story where you don't feel like you're missing out if this is the first book you've read. (Kind of like jumping into the middle of a TV show halfway through the series.) However, the suspense will be gone if you read this before you read the other two. If that's the case and you want to know what you're missing out on before delving in, please read my previous spoiler-free reviews for the series.

Once again, Josie Brown does a great job reminding me why I'm so happy with my own community, considering the number of judgmental and snooty back-stabbers that the newest members of the "Onesies" have to deal with! Now I'm going to layer on the sunscreen to get ready for the summer heat, of both the weather and scandal variety.

Thanks to Coliloquy for the e-book in exchange for an honest review. They have THREE e-books of Totlandia: The Onesies (book three) to share with some lucky readers worldwide!

Mark your calendars for THIS Tuesday night (10 pm EST/7 pm PST) for a special Twitter party where you can win Totlandia e-books! Use #Totlandia and @JosieBrownCA to join in on the fun!

How to win Totlandia: The Onesies (Book three):
Let's talk about spring! Tell us anything you want about the upcoming season (which will hopefully be here soon if the groundhog is right)....favorite things about it, what you're looking forward to most, what it makes you think about, etc. Let's bring some May flowers to CLC while it's still freezing in February!

One entry per person.

Please include your e-mail address or another way to reach you if you win.

Giveaway ends February 24th at midnight EST