#MMBBR #Highlight Bashert by Herb Freed #FirstLine @BookTrib ‏

If your bashert is that soul mate who was always meant for you, what happens after you lose that person? Filmmaker and former rabbi Herb Freed takes us on an intoxicating journey into the deepest dimensions of the heart and spirit on one man's quest. 

Would you recognize your soul’s complement in another? Beyond the bliss of actually finding your soul mate, there is a belief that the universe hinges on predetermined people finding their other half, their bashert, to maintain cosmic balance. In BASHERT the author immerses us in the heady intoxication and thunderous losses of what it really means to be bashert.

Dan Sobol and Marion Gladstone meet by chance at a screenwriter’s event in Los Angeles. He’s a rabbi turned director known for his cinematic television commercials; she’s a writer and film editor who is recovering from a tabloid-headline screaming Hollywood divorce. From the moment Marion hears Dan’s voice, she knows—and so does he. It’s bashert.

But when did the course of true love ever run smooth? Dan and Marion are soon partners in business as well as life, traveling the world to create movies. He directs, she writes and edits, and life becomes an amazing adventure—until Cancun. There, among the ruins of the Mayan civilization, Marion has an eerie premonition that has the potential to change everything.

Drawing upon his own personal experience, Freed spins a tale unflinching in its examination of life, but weaving along the edge of magical realism. From the bright lights of Hollywood to Mexico, Israel, Paris and the dreamy exhilaration of Jamaica, BASHERT is a love story about transcending life, loss and the boundaries we mistakenly place on our lives and our hearts.

#FirstLine ~ "MY GOD!" Dan laughed out loud.

HERB FREED started his adult life as an ordained rabbi and became the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Lake Mahopac, New York while producing and directing three shows at the Maidman Playhouse in New York City. Eventually, he resigned his pulpit to become a movie director. He has directed and produced 15 feature films most of which have had psychological, spiritual and/or social themes in spite of their commercial categories. He is best known for Graduation Day, a horror film, and Tomboy, a teenage romp, as well as the psychological drama Haunts, and CHILD2MAN, a story of survival during the Watts riots.

#MMBBR #Review All the Best People by @SonjaYoerg ‏ #FirstLine @BerkleyPub ‏#Berkley Books

An intricately crafted story of madness, magic and misfortune across three generations from the author of The Middle of Somewhere and House Broken...

Vermont, 1972. Carole LaPorte has a satisfying, ordinary life. She cares for her children, balances the books for the family’s auto shop and laughs when her husband slow dances her across the kitchen floor. Her tragic childhood might have happened to someone else. 

But now her mind is playing tricks on her. The accounts won’t reconcile and the murmuring she hears isn’t the television. She ought to seek help, but she’s terrified of being locked away in a mental hospital like her mother, Solange. So Carole hides her symptoms, withdraws from her family and unwittingly sets her eleven-year-old daughter Alison on a desperate search for meaning and power: in Tarot cards, in omens from a nearby river and in a mysterious blue glass box belonging to her grandmother. 

An exploration of the power of courage and love to overcome a damning legacy, All the Best People celebrates the search for identity and grace in the most ordinary lives.

 

Sonja Yoerg grew up in Stowe, Vermont, where she financed her college education by waitressing at the Trapp Family Lodge. She earned her Ph.D. in Biological Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley, and studied learning in blue jays, kangaroo rats and spotted hyenas, among other species. Her non-fiction book about animal intelligence, Clever as a Fox (Bloomsbury USA) was published in 2001.

While her two daughters were young, Sonja taught in their schools in California. Now that they are in college, she writes full-time. 

She currently lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband. Her novels, HOUSE BROKEN and MIDDLE OF SOMEWHERE, are published by Penguin/NAL.

#FirstLine ~ Carole was ten when her mother was committed to Underhill State Hospital.

That first sentence will grab you immediately and you will be hooked until the very past page!  Yoerg is a master storyteller.  I literally read this book within one and half days.  I stayed up well past my bedtime (even after a super long day at work) because it was so good.  The way she draws in the reader while fleshing the characters out, building the story layer by layer and creating a reading experience that is so vivid you actually feel the characters deep in your bones.  I was completely engrossed in this tale of love and struggle.  It was honest and raw and real and just so dang good!  It was one of those reads that you want on the big screen or turned into a mini series because you feel like the story needs to be told to a broader audience.  I am telling you this will be a book club hit!  a perfect spring/summer read and one you will want to discuss with others.  Don't delay, buy it today!  

#MMBBR #Review From Mother to Daughter: Advice and Lessons for a Good Life by Sherry Conway Appel

When Sherry Appel asked hundreds of women to recall the most memorable and valuable words their mothers had told them, there came an outpouring of things practical and indispensable, some familiar and many surprising.

From Mother to Daughter celebrates the special relationship between mothers and daughters and captures the wisdom and common sense that comes from many lifetimes of experience. It is a gift that no one can give without remembering something her own mother said. Advice like: “If you don’t love it in the store you’ll never wear it;” “Make friends with people who encourage and inspire you;” and “When you fall, pick up something while you’re down there!”

I am a sucker for anything sentimental when it comes to gift giving. It is known in my family that I strive for happy tears when the wrapping comes off and the gift giver see the gift. FROM MOTHER TO DAUGHTER: Advice and Lessons for a Good Life is a perfect gift for Mother's Day and it is sure to bring many happy tears to both mother and daughter. Mother's Day is about becoming a mother and this book is a perfect gift for a mother to give to her daughter to make it special for both.  It is also good for any other reason you want to celebrate your daughter, as well.  There are so many great pages of great advice within this book.  You can allow the book to say the things that may be hard to say or the things that are hard to articulate. You can make notes on the pages or write your own notes of thanks or advice within the text or on blank pages provided, which allows you to personalize it even further.  Plus, you get to sign the front cover to make it special for your daughter.  I love that there are vintage black and white drawings to accompany the advice and wisdom. It is an amazing gift that any daughter would love.

#MMBBR #Giveaway #Review The Beach House #Cookbook by @mkayandrews @StMartinsPress

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Perennial New York Times bestselling novelist Mary Kay Andrews brings to your kitchen a cookbook full of her favorite recipes. Presented with the breezy air that have made Mary Kay Andrews’ novels a summertime favorite, THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK is sure to find a place at your kitchen table. From an early spring dinner of cherry balsamic pork medallions and bacon-kissed green beans, to Fourth of July buttermilk-brined fried chicken, to her New Year’s Day Open House menu of charcoal-grilled oysters, home-cured gravlax, grits n’ greens casserole, and lemon cream cheese pound cake, this cookbook will supply ideas for menus and recipes designed to put you in a permanently carefree coastal state of mind all year long. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

MARY KAY ANDREWS is the New York Times bestselling author of 24 novels, including The Weekenders, Beach Town, Save the Date, Ladies' Night, Spring Fever, Summer Rental, The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish, Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues. A former features writer for The Atlanta Journal Constitution, she finds an outlet for her passion for cooking, entertaining, and decorating with vintage finds at the homes she shares in Atlanta and Tybee Island, Georgia, with her husband, Tom, and their two grown children, Katie and Andy, as well as grandchildren Molly and Griffin. THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK is her first cookbook.

• Website: http://marykayandrews.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marykayandrewsauthor
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marykayandrews/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mkayandrews
• http://us.macmillan.com/author/maryka...

GIVEAWAY:

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THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK TOUR:

Atlanta, GA | April 30 | Launch Party at The Cook’s WarehouseAtlanta, GA | May 1 | Atlanta Botanical Garden
Atlanta, GA | May 2| Book Exchange
Savannah, GA | May 4, 11:30am| Savannah Golf Club w/ E Shavers Booksellers
Savannah, GA | May 4, 5:30pm | Brice Hotel w/ E Shavers Booksellers
Charleston, SC | May 5 | High Cotton Author Series w/ Blue Bicycle Books
Atlanta, GA | May 6 | Food that Rocks w/ Bookmiser
Houston, TX | May 8 | Murder by the Book
Fairhope, AL | May 9 | Page & Palette
New Orleans, LA | May 10 | Octavia Books
Red Bank, NJ | May 11, 12pm | AAUW Luncheon, Molly Pitcher Inn
Sea Bright, NJ | May 11, 7pm | Ama w/ River Road Books
Richmond, VA | May 12 | Berkley Hotel w/ Fountain Bookstore
Atlanta, GA | May 13 | Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Showhouse, Eagle Eye Book Shop
Chapel Hill, NC | May 14 | Southern Seasons
Raleigh, NC | May 15 | Quail Ridge
Winston-Salem, NC | May 16, 1pm | Clemmons Library w/ Bookmarks
Greensboro, NC | May 16, 7pm | Greensboro Library w/ Bookmarks
Greenville, SC | May 17 | Fiction Addiction
Newberry, SC | May 18 | Library Benefit Luncheon w/ Books on Main
Florence, SC | May 18, 6pm | Florence County Library w/ Books-a-Million
Pawleys Island, SC | May 19 | Litchfield Books
Tybee Island, GA | May 20 | Seaside Sisters
Savannah, GA | May 22 | Hadassah Fundraiser
Birmingham, AL | May 23 | Piggy Wiggly w/ Alabama Booksmith
Birmingham, AL | May 23 | Alabama Booksmith
Destin, FL | May 25 | Barnes & Noble Crystal City
Destin, FL | May 25 | Emerald Beach House
Rehoboth Beach, DE | May 27 | Browseabout Books
Bethany Beach, DE | May 27 | Bethany Beach Books
Manteo, NC | May 28 | Duck’s Cottage
Cleveland, OH | May 30 | A Cook And a Book
Cleveland, OH | May 30 Cuyahoga County Public Library
Boonsboro, MD | June 3 | Turn The Page Bookstore
Macon, GA | June 17 | Design, Wine and Dine

I am obsessed with cookbooks, but I am no cook.  With MKA's new cookbook I can actually make the recipes and host great summer parties!  I cannot wait for the weather to warm and to get cooking. My son is also excited about this book because he loves to cook and this book will give us something to go together this summer.  I promise you there is something for EVERYONE  in this cookbook!  I love that you can make stuff for a picnic or a big bash and even for a game night.  This book is super versatile with refreshing food to comfort food and everything in between!  A must for every kitchen!!!  The meal I am most excited to make it the Souper Supper...but the book to see what it all entails!  

#MMBBR #Review I Know What I'm Doing... @JenKirkman ‏@simonschuster #FirstLine

New York Times bestselling author and stand-up comedian Jen Kirkman delivers a hilarious, candid memoir about marriage, divorce, sex, turning forty, and still not quite having life figured out.

Jen Kirkman wants to be the voice in your head that says, Hey, you’re okay. Even if you sometimes think you aren’t! And especially if other people try to tell you you’re not.

In I Know What I’m Doing—and Other Lies I Tell Myself, Jen offers up all the gory details of a life permanently in progress. She reassures you that it’s okay to not have life completely figured out, even when you reach middle age (and find your first gray pubic hair!). She talks about making unusual or unpopular life decisions (such as cultivating a “friend with benefits” or not going home for the holidays) because you don’t necessarily want for yourself what everyone else seems to think you should. It’s about renting when everyone says you should own, dating around when everyone thinks you should settle down, and traveling alone when everyone pities you for going to Paris without a man.

From marriage to divorce and sex to mental health, I Know What I’m Doing—and Other Lies I Tell Myself is about embracing the fact that life is a bit of a sh*t show and it’s definitely more than okay to stay true to yourself.

#FirstLine ~ Ugh, my parents are going to read this.  

If you want to laugh and look into the life of a woman who showcases the best and worst of herself to make sure you, as a reader, feel true laughter and joy Kirkman's book is for you!  She gives advise worth taking.  This is one of those books you want to buy for every girlfriend and force them to read so you can talk about it.  Comedy at its best, storytelling with heart and a book I know for sure I will read again (which I rarely do) I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING AND OTHER LIES I TELL MYSELF will become a new favorite go to book on a bad day (or any day)!  A MUST read!!!

Jennifer Ann "Jen" Kirkman is an American stand-up comedian, television writer and actress. She is known for her regular appearances as a round-table panelist on Chelsea Lately, as well as for her appearances on the Funny or Die sketch series Drunk History and its 2013 continuation television series on Comedy Central.

http://jenkirkman.com/

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#MMBBR #Review Always a Bridesmaid (for Hire) by @jenglantz #FirstLine @AtriaBooks

In the tradition of Sloane Crosley, Mindy Kaling, and Katie Heaney, a hilarious and insightful memoir about one New York City Millennial’s journey to find herself, her dream career, and true love, all while juggling a truly unique job as the world's only professional bridesmaid.

After moving to New York City in her mid-twenties to pursue her dream of writing—and not living on the “Upper East Side” of her parents’ house anymore—Jen Glantz looked forward to a future of happy hours and Sunday brunches with her besties.

What she got instead were a string of phone calls that began with, "Jen, I have something exciting to tell you!" and ended with, "I'd be honored if you would be my bridesmaid." At first she was delighted, but it wasn’t long before she realized two things: all of her assets were tied up in bridesmaid dresses, and she herself was no closer to finding The One. She couldn't do much about the second thing (though her mother would beg to differ), but she could about the first.

One (slightly tipsy) night, Jen posted an ad on Craigslist advertising her services as a professional bridesmaid. When she woke up the next morning, it had gone viral. What began as a half-joke suddenly turned into a lifetime of adventure for Jen–and more insight into the meaning of love than she was getting from OKCupid—as she walked down the aisle at stranger after stranger's wedding.

Fresh, funny, and surprisingly sweet, Always a Bridesmaid (For Hire) is an entertaining reminder that even if you don't have everything together, you can still be a total boss—or, at the very least, a BFF to another girl in need.

#FirstLine ~ When you live in New York City, it's almost expected that people will see you at your very, very worst, very, very often.

Inspirational, funny and honest...and so much more!  This book was pure fun.  I adored all the candid talk and the fact that Glantz took control and became what she wanted...a boss of her own.  You will laugh and love being on this journey with Jen.  By the end of the book (or way sooner than that) you will want to be her BFF or at a minimum part of her tribe!!!  

http://www.jenglantz.com

Jen Glantz is the world’s first professional bridesmaid and founder of Bridesmaid for Hire. She’s the heartbeat behind the website The Things I Learned From, and the author of the Amazon-bestselling ebook, All My Friends are Engaged. She can be found in New York City wearing old bridesmaid dresses to the grocery store, on first dates, or double-fisting slices of one-dollar pizza.

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#MMBBR #Highlight The Purple Grumblies by Mike Marsh

The Purple Grumblies are determined to find Bumboo after she goes missing in the hurricane. In the heroic search for Bumboo, Gancy and Gertie get tangled up with Percy the sea monster and caught in shark infested waters. Can the Grumblies escape Percy and the sharks to find Bumboo? Great reading for children 3- 7 years old.

The evil Skyrats throw the Purple Grumblies and the Pixiecats into a windmill prison on Skeleton Island. Gertie Grumblie flirts with Captain Von Trasch. "If you let me go, I'll give you my earrings and some of my purple cheesecake..." But he's not buying it. There seems to be no escape. Then... the Pixiecats to the rescue! They discover the pirate's secret cave and escape back to Volcano Island with the Skyrats in hot pursuit.

The poor Grumblies! It's not enough that they have to deal with a dreaded sea-monster named Percy, and a well-meaning efelant called Bumboo; now suddenly they're attacked by a hurricane and Skyrats dressed as pirates!

Mike Marsh is retired and lives in Bermuda with his wife, Sandy. He has four children and nine grandchildren.

Mike decided to publish some of the bed-time stories that he had created over the years for his own children and grandchildren. The adventures of "The Purple Grumblies" gradually evolved from these original stories, with characters like "Old Pete", "Grumpy Jack", "Gertie", "Bumboo", "Captain Vermin von Trasch" catching the imagination of young minds.

Mike is a Member of the Society of Authors, London, England

http://purplegrumblies.com/

BUY THE BOOKS:  HERE