Twin Piques

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon): Forensic accountant Sloane Tobin and kooky pet psychic Willa may have the same face, but that’s the only thing these identical twins have in common. 

How she can read the hearts and minds of animals has always been a mystery to Willa, and her rotten luck with men is equally baffling. Although she’s been looking for “The One” for what feels like forever (A teenage marriage to a French mime and dating a guy named Spider seemed like good ideas at the time!), optimistic Willa refuses to give up on love. When she meets Brody, the handsome rose expert hired to save her grandmother’s garden, she’s instantly smitten, but why does he keep sending her mixed signals? Does he return her feelings, or is their attraction all in her fanciful head? 

Unlike her twin, Sloane has zero interest in romance. Her passion is her job, where she uses her gift for numbers to take down slimy embezzlers and asset-hiding spouses. When she’s assigned two high profile cases, Sloane feels confident the promotion she’s been angling for is within her grasp. But will her plan to climb the corporate ladder be thwarted by difficult clients, her co-worker-with-benefits, or – most surprisingly of all – her own sister? And how’s she supposed to stay focused on the drama at work when her childhood friend, Gav, moves in next door and the spark between them becomes impossible to ignore? 

To get what they both want, can Willa and Sloane band together and rely on each other’s strengths? Or will their differences drive them apart once and for all?  

Purchase now for only $1.99 at Amazon.

One (or more) Sentence Summary: I am on a reading roll!  Another amazing book and I loved it.  Sloane and Willa are so different (just like my own twins) and together they make a great story.  I really enjoyed how they both found love and neither were expecting it.  One never wanted it and one had bad luck.  Brody and Gav round out the story.  

There are also a lot of one/two liners throughout the book that are absolutely hilarious.  Keep your eyes open for them….Twin Piques is loaded with them.

Favorite Character(s):  Sloane….no doubt about it.  I am a CPA and just connected with her so much!  I love books when one of the main characters is an accountant….it seems so rare.

Setting:  San Fran, but could take place anywhere and it wouldn't have mattered.  

Fast read/slow read:  Fast.  Even though this is my busy season time and I couldn't wait to steal five minutes and read!

Cover:  100% perfect!  Sums up both girls just as I see them.

Would I Read Other Books by the Author:  Give me more.  I must read Blame It On The Fame and In Need Of Therapy.

An avid reader and writer, Tracie Banister has been scribbling stories since she was a child, most of them featuring feisty heroines with complicated love lives like her favorite fictional protagonist Scarlett O'Hara. Her work was first seen on the stage of her elementary school, where her 4th grade class performed an original holiday play that she penned (Like all good divas-in-the-making, she, also, starred in and tried to direct the production.) Her dreams of authorial success were put on the backburner when she reached adulthood and discovered that she needed a "real" job in order to pay her bills. Her career as personal assistant to a local entrepreneur lasted for 12 years. When it ended, Tracie decided to follow her bliss and dedicate herself to writing full-time. Her debut novel, the Hollywood-themed BLAME IT ON THE FAME, was released in January, 2012. And she's following that up with the fun summer read, IN NEED OF THERAPY. 

Tracie blogs about books and other fun stuff at http://traciebanister.blogspot.com/

The Bride Stripped Bare TLC Book Tour and $1.99 e-Book!

~ I received a copy of this book from the publisher or author to facilitate this review.  I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon): A woman disappears, leaving behind an incendiary diary chronicling a journey of sexual awakening. To all who knew her, she was the good wife: happy, devoted, content. But the diary reveals a secret self, one who's discovered that her new marriage contains mysteries of its own. She has discovered a forgotten Elizabethan manuscript that dares to speak of what women truly desire, and inspired by its revelations, she tastes for the first time the intoxicating power of knowing what she wants and how to get it. The question is: How long can she sustain a perilous double life?

My Review: 

One (or more) Sentence Summary:  I am really struggling with The Bride Stripped Bare.  It was very well written and tells a good story, but I am really bothered it.  There has to be a sequel - it just can't end the way it did.  

After many, many hours spent thinking about The Bride Stripped Bare, there are several things that just have me worked up. The first was her being dependent on her husband.  I was raised to be independent and to be able to take care of myself and my family.  I have daydreamed about not having to work and to be a stay-at-home mother.  Given that I have never lived that life, I can't judge the main character, but it really bothered me that she gave up her career when she got married.  

I am also bothered by her relationship with Gabriel and yet, I am sure it happens more than I even can imagine.  It is probably happening within my own neighborhood!  But I honestly have to say the taxi drivers....I can't imagine it and it broke my heart.  Emotionally, I felt I was right there with her....a very well written scene.

The Bride Stripped Bare really had me on an emotional roller coaster, that I am not sure I have gotten off yet. This would be a GREAT book club book - the discussion would be pretty deep!

Favorite Character(s):  I was surprised that it took me up to now to realize we don't know the name of the main character.  As I am sitting here, trying to think of my favorite character, I was going through all of them....Cole, the husband, Theo (the best friend), Gabriel (the lover), Martha (the friend), Mother (the main character's mother) and Jack (the baby). 

I have to say, I don't have a favorite character.  They all have their place in the story, but I didn't connect with any of them.

Setting:  London (which I love), but there really wasn't a focus on the setting.  The focus is more of a bored housewife and her sexual awakening.

Fast read/slow read:  For me it was a slower read. However, it was an easy read. I liked the format....diary style broken down into 138 lessons.  It was easy to put down and pick up.

Cover:  I like it, but I don't get it.  I actually really like this one....

What Others Are Saying:  'Starkly explicit...richly descriptive with a fast-paced narrative' Sunday Telegraph.

'Nikki Gemmel's prose has a wonderful sensuousness...witty...a subtle portrait of a modern and rather alienating marriage' Lisa Appignanesi, Independent Magazine 

'Must read...A tale of sexual awakening for the dark horse in all of us' Tatler 
'The sex is well-written...Gemmell is refreshingly straightforward about the act' Melanie McGrath, Evening Standard 

'Easy to read, hard to put down. Keep an extinguisher handy' Closer 

'A page-turner' Evening Standard 

'A bored housewife embarks on a life of sexual pleasure...The sex is rude and raunchy and "exactly where you want it"' Elle 

'Personal dilemmas are bravely explored; thoughts and fantasies about sex and infidelity, which most women have learned to keep to themselves, are laid bare on the page in all their shocking glory...brutal, brilliant and addictive' Glasgow Herald


Would I Read Other Books by the Author: Yes, but not in a row. I am still processing this one.

Meet the Author:  Nikki Gemmell's unmasking as the 'anonymous' author of The Bride Stripped Bare sparked tremendous media interest in the book, which went on to become an international bestseller. Reviewers have hailed the freshness and power of her writing.

Connect: You can connect with Niiki online at her website, Twitter and Facebook.

Purchase it:  You can purchase The Bride Stripped Bare online at Amazon for $13.95 ($1.99 Kindle version - you can't beat this!!)

TLC Book Tours:

Please make sure you check out other reviews on the TLC Book Tour.

Monday, December 2nd: A Chick Who Reads

Tuesday, December 3rd: Seaside Book Nook

Wednesday, December 4th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Thursday, December 5th: Mom in Love With Fiction

Thursday, December 5th: Bodice Ripper Novels

Friday, December 6th: Cruising Susan Reviews

Friday, December 6th: Lovely Reads

Friday, December 6th: BookNAround

Friday, December 20th: The Feminist Texican [Reads]