Month: June 2016

Book Spotlight: The Adjustments

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In the postcard Connecticut town of Cannondale, financial status is followed closely by social standing. Nowhere is this battle more fiercely contested than among the housewives of Fairfield County. THE ADJUSTMENTS (FULL FATHOM FIVE), a debut romance/women’s fiction title by Ann Lineberger, airs the deliciously dirty laundry hidden behind one town’s picture-perfect facade.

In Cannodale, attending yoga classes at the trendy studio in town—taught by the sexy and mysterious Yogi Jack—is part of every elite woman’s routine. But the inner peace that yoga brings is only part of the appeal: many of the women come only for Jack and his seductive in-class adjustments. And in his private sessions, Jack provides services far beyond the usual realm of warrior pose, downward-facing dog, and shavasana.
Drama, jealousy, and intrigue will emerge as readers delve into the town’s greedy underbelly, and when one dark secret finds the light of day, it will threaten to change everything.
Fans of Desperate Housewives and Revenge will find a romance/women’s fiction story with an unhealthy dose of dirty scandal; yogis will find themselves yearning for their own kundalini awakening; and as a veritable realty expert, Lineberger’s layers of architectural detail will have design junkies salivating with property lust.

A yoga teacher with a dark side; broken families hidden within impeccable McMansions; and an insightful take on the importance of authenticity—in THE ADJUSTMENTS, Lineberger has deftly weaved a compelling story that touches on one inescapable truth: nobody is perfect, and nothing is ever what it seems.

This novel contains mature content.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE ADJUSTMENTS

Ann Lineberger cooks up a devilishly delicious blend of yoga, sexcapades, McMansions, videotapes and a roaring bonfire of intrigue in The Adjustments, as she rips open the underbelly of contemporary suburban life. This scalding novel speaks to one indelible truth: people are rarely who or what they seem to be. ~ Mark Rubinstein, award winning author of The Lovers’ Tango

Eastern holistic practice collides with Western materialism in Fairfield County! Ann Lineberger’s keen awareness of the insecurities that quake behind wealthy facades allows her to both tweak and empathize with her subjects. Yoga isn’t the only thing tying the women of Cannondale in knots in this saucy, sexy, and insightful debut novel. ~ Jacques Lamarre, Playwright and Director of Communications, The Mark Twain House & Museum

Are those well-heeled suburbanites flocking to their fancy yoga classes because they’re honestly searching for inner peace–or for something more exciting? You’ll find the scandalous answer in The Adjustments, a scorching page-turner that shows how a Connecticut town can be as hot as L.A. or Miami. ~ Alan Deutschman, author of A Tale of Two Valleys: Wine, Wealth, and the Battle for the Good Life in Napa and Sonoma.

It’s often said that good fiction is grounded in reality and Ann Lineberger’s first novel is no exception. Set in Cannondale, a picturesque bedroom community in Fairfield County, CT, The Adjustments is anything but sleepy. Ann seductively captures the loneliness and drama that boil directly beneath the surface when husbands commute an hour each way into the city to maintain a lavish lifestyle of decorators, charitable balls, fancy schools and personal trainers. In each perfectly manicured home resides a perfectly manicured woman hiding her own imperfect story. The only place the women of Cannondale feel truly “recognized” is at the local yoga studio of handsome Yogi Jack. However, the women soon find that awakening they seek under the spell of Yogi Jack is anything but spiritual. One by one each woman learns that fantasy is just fantasy until someone finds out. Then they understand that dirty laundry is even more unsightly when in a picture perfect place like suburban Cannondale. ~ Annie Heisler, Founder of Fairfield County’s Hello Yoga

imageAUTHOR INFORMATION

Ann Lineberger is the author of New Spaces, Old World Charm (McGraw-Hill) and has worked as a reporter, editor, and writer for numerous publications, including Fortune, Entertainment Weekly, Cottages & Gardens, and Home Remodeling. She earned a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from New York University and an associate’s degree from the New York School of Interior Design. Her independent studies program undergraduate degree is from Providence College. In addition to writing, Ann is an interior designer and Halstead Property realtor. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two daughters, and two very silly dogs.  You can connect with Ann on her website.

Book Spotlight: A Girl Like You

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Synopsis from Amazon:

Henrietta Von Harmon works as a 26 girl at a corner bar on Chicago’s northwest side. It’s 1935, but things still aren’t looking up since the big crash and her father’s subsequent suicide, leaving Henrietta to care for her antagonistic mother and younger siblings. Henrietta is eventually persuaded to take a job as a taxi dancer at a local dance hall—and just when she’s beginning to enjoy herself, the floor matron turns up dead.

When aloof Inspector Clive Howard appears on the scene, Henrietta agrees to go undercover for him—and is plunged into Chicago’s grittier underworld. Meanwhile, she’s still busy playing mother hen to her younger siblings, as well as to pesky neighborhood boy Stanley, who believes himself in love with her and keeps popping up in the most unlikely places, determined to keep Henrietta safe—even from the Inspector, if need be. Despite his efforts, however, and his penchant for messing up the Inspector’s investigation, the lovely Henrietta and the impenetrable Inspector find themselves drawn to each other in most unsuitable ways.

image About the author:

Michelle Cox has a BA in English literature from Mundelein College, Chicago. While her heart might lie in the eighteenth century with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy or in the crooked streets of Little Dorrit’s London, she tends to write of a slightly more recent age, a time closer to the World Wars, when all was not yet lost and the last roses of summer were first coming into bloom. Cox lives with her husband and three children in the Chicago suburbs. This is her first novel.

Thank you to BookSparks for allowing us to share this book with our readers.

No Ordinary Life Review

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I rushed through Suzanne’s first novel, Hush Little Baby, when it came out.  Impossible to put down, I was recommending it to everybody.  So as soon as I found out she had a new book, I knew I had to read it.

No Ordinary Life does not disappoint.  Once again, Suzanne captures motherhood in a new and enlightening way, all with a pace that has you quickly flipping the pages.

She tells the story of Faye, a single mother, down on her luck and money, struggling to keep her kids fed and happy after her truck driver husband takes off for the millionth time.  She knows she can’t afford to stay where she is, so she packs the kids up from the one place they know to move in with her mom in Los Angeles.  When her youngest daughter, Molly, is discovered when a video of hers goes viral, Faye has to determine whether the sacrifices she’s making in order to earn money are worth it to keep her family together.

While not a single mother, with a husband working two jobs, I can certainly relate to Faye’s feelings about trying to keep it all together.  It’s a feeling I struggle with on a daily basis because there is barely any time for yourself.  And no matter how many kids a mother has, it’s almost impossible not to feel guilty that you’re paying more attention to one than any other.

I loved the short chapters in this novel because I was able to just tell myself “One more chapter” just to get back to it.  And with a Hollywood curiosity, I was fascinated reading about it from the perspective of a star’s mother, a unique approach to what we see in the magazines and tabloids.  So while most people cannot relate to the storyline, they absolutely can relate to being a sibling or a mother.

As usual, I cannot wait to get my hands on Suzanne’s next novel.  She has a loyal reader in me.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Suzanne’s publicist for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

image About the Author

Suzanne Redfearn is the author of No Ordinary Life, a Target Emerging Author selection, and Hush Little Baby, a Target Recommends selection and a Target Emerging Author selection.

She graduated summa cum laude from California Polytechnic University and, prior to becoming an author, was an architect. She is an avid surfer, golfer, skier, and Angels fan. She lives with her husband and children in Southern California. No Ordinary Life is her second novel.

Connect with her on Facebook, Goodreads, and her website.