Lock, Stock and Over a Barrel

When Daphne Ballinger learns that she has inherited her Aunt Dee's estate, she is completely at odds at why her Aunt would leave everything all to her. She lives in New York and though she was fond of visiting her Aunt, she can't come to terms with why everything is now in her name. Unfortunately it's not quite a cut and dry proposal either. There are a few conditions before Daphne can lay claim to not only her Aunt's fortune but gain possession of the old home and everything in it. The first condition is that Daphne must be willing to live in the home and care for her Aunt's two cats, Lucy and Ethel. For Daphne that is a no-brainer since writing for the New York Times for the last few years she isn't going to ever gain a promotion working with her current boss who seems to have it in for Daphne.

The second condition is that Daphne must be willing to assume taking over her Aunt's advice column for the local paper, Dear Daphne as well as in the New York Times. This is an easy decision since all Daphne's been writing at the New York Times is engagement announcements so she feels this is a simple step up in her writing career.

The third stipulation is that she has to fall in love and get married within a year. Not that one may just in fact be the biggest challenge for Daphne to face since she has no prospects on the horizon either in New York or moving back to her Aunt's hometown of Appleton. If she doesn't follow all the stipulations in the will, the house and all the estate holdings will go back to The Cat House, a pet rescue facility where her Aunt Dee adopted Lucy and Ethel.

Looking for a prospect of a new future on the line, Daphne agrees to the conditions of the will and hopes that in time she may just find someone she can love. But if she can't she'll be both homeless and jobless and have to find a way to start over again quite literally from nothing. Good thing for her that Appleton is a small town and she seems to have no problem finding men who are interested in learning more about Daphne from her Aunt's gardener, to the local organic produce owner, and even her Aunt Dee's attorney seem to be lining up willing to date the latest heiress in their small town. In fact Daphne thinks things are fine until the man she fell in love with ten years ago that broke her heart suddenly shows up at her front door. Oh what's a girl to do?

I received Lock, Stock and Over A Barrel by best selling author Melody Carlson compliments of Shelton Interactive and B and H Publishers for my honest review. This is definitely one you want to add to your summer's reading list and features a list of characters you find yourself rooting for Daphne to chose as her potential husband. I was rooting for the local gardener with the Australian accent that stops by to help keep her landscaping looking amazing and enjoy a cup of coffee or lemonade if she has it available. I've been a huge fan of Melody Carlson's books and this one has found a permanent home on my library shelf. I'd rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Lock, Stock and Over A Barrel, Melody Carlson or where to pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Lock, Stock and Over A Barrel by Melody Carlson

You can also find Melody Carlson on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: B&H Books (June 1, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433679302
• ISBN-13: 978-1433679308
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches 

This book is available in paperback and ebook formats from your favorite book retailer.

Home For the Summer

There is a reason for Lucy Sinclair to stay away from her childhood home in St. Dennis, it simply holds too many memories she wishes desperately to forget. It's also a reason she hasn't told anyone and doesn't plan on it if she can help it. If only the nightmares didn't keep her up all night and her mother didn't want her to come home for the holidays more. Being a successful wedding planner as a joint owner in her own company Shaefer & Sinclair, she stayed more than busy in her office in Los Angeles. Now after the biggest celebrity wedding she hosted for Dallas MacGregor in her hometown of St. Dennis, the phones were literally ringing off the hook with business.

But things are going to get even more interesting as Lucy gets another big boost to her business when billionaire Robert Magellan wants the exact same wedding set up for her new bride Suzanna and he will spare no expense to ensure she has the true wedding of her dreams. Their's won't simply be a one day affair, they want a week long event and they want it all to take place at her family's historic inn in St. Dennis. Knowing she can't possibly turn down an opportunity this grand, Lucy does what she can to hop back and forth from L.A. to St. Dennis to attempt to coordinate this wedding. However Susanna isn't the type to deal with phone calls and emails. She wants the personal face to face contact with Lucy and she won't deal with anyone else.

Now Lucy has to try and find some way to work through the many details of pulling together a wedding of a life time in only 5 short months while trying to manage her ever increasingly busy business back in L.A. Her partner Bonnie is now commuting to Sacramento to help her ailing ex-husband back to health and finds herself falling in love with him once more. Will Lucy be able to handle all the increasing work load on both coasts or will she have to find a way to cut something lose before she loses her sanity.

In book 5 of The Chesapeake Diaries series by Mariah Stewart, Home for the Summer will require a balancing act for poor Lucy Sinclair of epic proportions to make her business a success and still give her elite clients exactly what they desire. Along the way, Lucy befriends her childhood friend, Clay Madison and soon finds that there is more there than simply friendship with someone she has grown up to respect and possibly love. But is that enough to warrant leaving her successful business in L.A.? Only time will tell as the romance continues to grow between some of the most wonderful characters in St. Dennis. If you haven't had the opportunity to pick up this series, may I suggest starting at the beginning with Coming Home? This is an unforgettable series and I for one am more than thrilled that Mariah is keeping this one going when most authors end a series after three books.

I received Home For The Summer by Mariah Stewart compliments of Ballantine Books and TLC Book Tours for my honest review and the saddest part about her books is when you get to the last page. It's hard to let go of the characters you honestly come to love and get to know. From the always quirky Inn owner and editor of the St. Dennis Gazette Grace, to the fun-loving ice cream shoppe owner, Stef, you are just bound to connect to someone in this delightful and truly charming series. I personally rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and while it's not a stand alone book there is certainly enough given in the book, that you could read it as a first, but trust me you'll want to pick up the entire series! I absolutely LOVE it and highly recommend it! Now I'm am anxiously awaiting, the Long Way Home which is due out in January 2013!!!

For more information about Home For The Summer, Mariah Stewart or where to pick up a copy of this book, please click on the links below:

Home For The Summer by Mariah Stewart

You can find Mariah Stewart on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest books.

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 29, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345531221
• ISBN-13: 978-0345531223
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1 x 6.9 inches

Outside The Ordinary World - Giveaway and Review

Is the saying true like mother like daughter?

Sylvia Sandon is hoping that this isn't the case. Remembering back on her not so happy childhood days, she spent many of those years moving from place to place while her father completed his residency program to become a doctor. When they finally did settle down in California they began with a dump of a duplex and along the way upgraded into a custom 5 bedroom home through hard work and her father's eventual graduation of becoming a doctor.

Through her childhood she remembers her mother, Elaine and her "secret friend," Mr. Robert that would take her and her sister for cream sodas while visiting her mother. They were told never to mention this times to her father and even after moving away to California, Mr. Robert told Elaine he would find her no matter where she went.

Sure enough, years later one afternoon at a church potluck, Mr. Robert walked back into her mothers life pretending like nothing had happened at all along the way. Even though it appeared to her that her mother spent countless nights and days alone waiting on her father, she didn't seem like the kind to cheat and she certainly had no plans to follow in her mothers footsteps.

Now that she is grown, married and has children of her own, Sylvia is beginning to walk those very same footprints as her mother. At a local coffee shop one day, her daughter Emmie accidently spills coffee on a younger man named Tai and she finds herself agreeing to meet him again for coffee if only to sell him another one of her painted landscapes. Will she wind up exactly like her mom?

In the book, Outside the Ordinary World by Dori Ostermiller, the reader is transported back and forth in Sylvia's memories from present day to childhood and see just how her path parallels her mothers along the way. This book shows the effects that infidelity can have on the entire family and not just between the couple involved.

I received this book from TLC Book Tours for my honest review and even as a Christian, I found the book honest as it portrays the self-destruction that can come from illicit affairs among married couples and not like the happily ever after version that Hollywood would have us come to believe. I think most readers would find this book a great read to be able to see things from a different perspective and see just how affairs begin with the innocent offers of coffee. I chose to give this book a 5 out of 5 stars for it's ability to show things from both sides of the fence.

For more information on this book, the author and where to get a copy of the book, please click on the link below:

Outside the Ordinary World

Thanks to the generosity of TLC Book Tours and the Dori Ostermiller, they are offering a giveaway copy to one lucky follower of my blog. Here are your guidelines:

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.

2. You must be a resident of the US or Canada with No P.O. Boxes please.

3. I must have a way to contact via email, so please include it with your comments. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

4. Leave a comment why you'd love to win a copy of this book and let me know how you found me! The giveaway will end on November 24th and I will notify the winner by email.