Lucky Harbor: A Series Reviewcy c g

I spent some time in the past couple of weeks reading. It had been nearly two months since I had sat down with a book to read. A lot of things were happening in my real life that kept me from curling up with a good story that I could get myself lost in.

When Reading and Winen interviewed TJ Lutgring she told us that one of her go-to books is Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis. When we looked it up, we realized that it's Book 1 of the Lucky Harbor series. I've read books 1-5 now, this series really brought me in and now I can't wait for Book 6 to be available at my public library so that I may be all caught up.

Simply Irresistible - Book 1

What is on my reading list..

What have I been up to? Well let’s say life has gotten in the way of my reading. I have a wonderful list of books just waiting for me to find some special me time. So I thought I would jump start my reading and let you guys know what will be on my reading list for the next few months.

Author: Christie Ridgway

 Crush on You

 Then He Kissed Me

 Can’t Hurry Love

Author : Laurel K Hamilton

Flirt - Book 18 of the Anita Blake series

Bullet – Book 19 of the Anita Blake series

Hit List – Book 20 of the Anita Blake series

Author : Donna McDonald

The Demon of Synar – Book One of the Forced to Serve series

With a ton of changes going on at work and my son celebrating his birthday this month I’ve been pretty busy but I think it’s time I get back to my special place and curl up with a good book and a good bottle, oops, I mean glass of wine.  

My big problem now is with so many good books waiting for me which one do I pick first?? 

What’s on your reading list as the summer starts to come to an end? Parents, do you find it easier to reads when the school season begins?

Want to know more about me follow me at www.momoftornado.wordpress.com or follow me on Twitter at Katiiz95.

Book Review - Sleeping with Paris

Sleeping with Paris – By Juliette Sobanet

Charlotte Summers quit her job and was ready to begin her new journey in Paris. What a dream, engaged to a hot shot lawyer and ready to spend the next year living her dream of studying at Sorbonne University in France.  What can possibly go wrong? You name it, it happened. No job, no fiancée, no home.

I won’t tell you what happened but let’s just say Charlotte learned many lessons on how to deal with a broken heart. We all find ourselves in self-loathing sadness that comes after a harsh breakup that we never saw coming. I have to give it to Charlotte for having the brass balls to actually get on that plane to Paris, alone. But once she’s there, her anger, her hurt, and her vengefulness get the best of her. Charlotte finds a perfect outlet on how to get her message across on how not to ever get hurt.  Of course you can’t be in the city of love and not find it literally feeding you chocolate…Le sigh.. But once your heart is hurt it is blind to the other possibilities life has for you.

I absolutely adored this book. Having a cheating ex myself I can totally relate and completely understood her reaction to the world. I got to thinking could I have seen the signs? What did I do? But as I read Charlotte’s journey to rediscovery  I discovered that some pains don’t happen because of what we did; some pains happen because there are selfish pricks that just think the world revolves around them. OK so .. I’m still a bit bitter but it’s ok. I was able to laugh and cheer and say YAY, GIRL POWER!  It was beautiful to see just how she turned so many negatives into positives. I would recommend this book as a great, fun, light hearted summer read. I've shared this book with all my friends and hope they like it as much as I did. Not only did it make me laugh out loud as I rode on public transportation or make me cheer for her when she would be so bold but it also made me remember the misery I felt and how I never want to feel like that or let anyone effect me like that again. No matter what happens, in the end we have the ultimate control.  

 

I can’t wait to open up the next book Kissed in Paris.

What did you think of Sleeping with Paris? Would you do what she did if your heart was broken enough? Love is blind.. but so is revenge.

You can find Juliette Sobanet on Twitter, her blog, 

Do you have books you are loving this summer? Tweet us or like us on Facebook... Share your thougts and book recommendations with us.

Don't forget to check out my Blog: Mom of Tornado.

*Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Reading and Winen Interviews TJ Lutgring

We'd like to welcome TJ Lutgring to Reading & Winen, please raise your glass and toast our guest, with our wine glasses raised a big cheers from all of us to you. We would like to thank TJ Lutgring for spending an hour with us.

We had the privilege to interview up and coming author TJ Lutgring, author of The Difference Between Soccer and Football, which she plans to turn into a series. She lives in southern Indiana with her loving pets. She is a feature writer for her local newspaper and a volunteer PR/Communications talent to a local semi-pro indoor soccer team. TJ Lutgring also works as a soccer editor for AerysSports.com. She loves to spend time watching soccer and going to USMNT games. She also religiously follows Manchester United and Columbus Crew. We hope you enjoy reading our interview as much as we had fun interviewing TJ Lutgring.

What inspired you to write a Chick Lit/Romance about soccer?
 I felt that there weren’t any books that represented that particular sport in that genre. I’ve always seen romance books about football & basketball and I felt that the soccer needed a good romance book too.

How many books will the series entail?
I'm thinking the series will contain 3 books. The first book was The Difference Between Soccer and Football, the second book will be Football is Easy. I don't have a title for the third book yet.

Do you have the plot lines figured out for the books?

I have an idea for the second book Football Is Easy, but nothing is set in stone. I'm not a structured writer, I go with the flow. Some writers are good at creating an outline and knowing what kind of dialogue will be discussed. I let the character voice out what they want to say, it's almost as if the character is living and breathing. 

Can we get an inside scoop of who the next book will be about? Who will be the main characters?

In the second book Football Is Easy, the main characters will be Katie & Jack. Someone is getting married! The characters from Difference Between Soccer And Football will make re-appearances and there will be some new characters. (We got the inside scoop as to who it is, but decided not to ruin it for you. It's going to be good! )

We are dying to know who inspired the character Cris?
Cris is a combination of different soccer players. It's not anyone in particular. I just took a little of each player that I like and admire, and developed the character. Once I had the character developed, he just took on a life of his own and became Cris Davis. A lot of people believe it's Cristiano Ronaldo,but it isn't, I just want to clarify that.  

Can you clarify if the character Marisol was at all inspired by Irina Shayak? That character has been bugging me! I can't stand her!
LOL! No, she wasn't the inspiration for Marisol. I get that question a lot also. I can see why the readers would associate her with that character. I don't know how she came about, but she just did. It was actually fun to write her in the book. It's fun playing or should I say writing the bad girl. Well let me just say, you wrote a pretty darn good bad girl. We hated her so much we wanted to slap her! Ugh, she killed us!

When did you fall in love with the game of soccer?
I fell in love with the sport during my freshman year of college. This guy in my speech class was the defender for our university's team and invited us to watch him play. I decided to go see him play and cheer him on. Well, he ended up not playing, but that was okay because I fell in love with soccer. It was the most exciting game I had ever seen. After that, I wanted to know everything about the sport. I went home and researched everything I could and started to watch games. It became a love affair and I have never looked back. I love the sport!

How do you feel about FIFA's new rule of not allowing players to remove their shirts?
LOL! I'm against the rule! I think the players should be allowed to celebrate their goals in any which way, that's not offensive, please. I think the players at the moment of achieving a goal get wrapped up in their emotions.They don't think about what kind of celebratory dance or if they will take off their shirts to celebrate their achievements, they just go with the flow. They should be allowed to celebrate it freely without being penalized. Plus on the other hand it's a great marketing ploy to get more women to watch the sport, so they can admire the players. LOL! Which is a bonus right? We couldn't agree more with you Trista. Let see more fabulous Abs and muscles. Le sigh.

When you write a love scene in your stories, what goes through your mind? How do you mentally prepare for it? Do you listen to a certain song or music? Or watch a romantic movie?
LOL! I honestly write a love scene right before I'm about to go to bed. I take that hour before going to sleep, when I'm in a daze and just write the scene. I don't think about what I'm going to write or the dialogue. I just write the scene out. Otherwise I will over analyze the scene and question if he would do that to her, or if she would say that to him. I would just pick the scene apart. So I just write it out, and then go over it later. I also listen to music. Actually music is a big influence in my writing. I like to listen to classical music to get my creative juices flowing. I also wrote The Difference Between Soccer and Football to particular songs. I made up my own soundtrack, if you will, to the book. I think I will post the list of different songs on my FB page or my video blog. I can also give you guys a list of the songs to you if you want. We would love that! 

What is your favorite curse word?  LOL, Son of a bitch.

What is your favorite Romantic/Chick Flick movie of all time?
I can only pick one?! Oh man that's hard. Okay. We know it’s hard, so we'll give you 2 movies. It would have to be the recent BBC version of Persuasion and also Pride & Prejudice with Kiera Knightly. I'm a huge Jane Austen fan. I love anything by Jane Austen

What is your favorite adult beverage?
I'm normally a wine drinker. In Southern Indiana ther are about 13 wineries. One of the wineries here makes a blueberry wine which is actually really good. I prefer my wine sweet. At times, I enjoy Cranberry Juice, Vodka & Red Bull. I like it because it perks me up.

If you could only recommend one book that is a must read, which one would it be?
Wow! That's a hard one. I have like 3 boxes of books here that I absolute love. One book, huh? Hmmmm, well I guess it would be Simply Irresistible (Lucky Harbor Series #1) by Jill Shalvis. The Lucky Harbor series is fantastic and I absolutely love them. I read the series when I need a pick me up. It's one of those books I can read again and give a collective sigh. Sounds like a fun read! We'll just have to check it out. Okay, I will be the one to ask the embarrassing question. How is the men and the sex in the book? LOL, the men are hot and sex scenes are pretty HOT aslo. Yes! That's what we like to hear, not that we care. Though it's fun to read sometimes. (Blushes)

If you were stuck in a luxurious hotel room with any man, drinks and a book? Who would it be? What drink and what book?
Well the guy would be a soccer player his name is #%$^&*$#^*^^*. LOL! Actually, TJ Lutgring was kind enough, to divulge who it was. We just decided to keep it a mystery. We did look him up and he is HOT. As for the drink it would have to be wine. The book would have to be Simply Irresistible (Lucky Harbor Series #1) by Jill Shalvis.

So what is the difference between soccer & football?
LOL! There is no difference between the two. I think if anything the difference is on how the sport is viewed in America vs internationally. I think I named the book that because Maddie is from America and she viewed soccer from the American stand point. We see what you mean,  little kids playing for AYSO or MLS. Yeah, we get what you are saying. It makes sense! As opposed to internationally where the sport is followed as a religion and with a lot of pride. I do think that America is starting to open up more to the sport. Which is great!

I know that you released the book The Difference Between Soccer And Football last year. Which you know that WE loved it! However you had a couple of not so nice reviews. Which gutted you. Now with your re-release of the book, what made you change your mind? How do you feel now?
Thank you ladies for being so supportive and wonderful about the book. When I released the book I had a lot of positive feedback. It never crossed my mind how I would feel or react to negative reviews. So when I did encounter that, it broke me. I was heart broken and I took the book down. I felt as if all my hard work was not good enough. I doubted myself as a writer. It was the lowest point in my career so far. 

So what made you change your mind and push on thru with the book? Which by the way, pleases us to no end! Since we are dying to know what happens in the series. 
Honestly, I took a moment to let the bad reviews sink in and deal with the emotions. I thought about the bad and the good reviews that were said. I got so much love from my readers, they are awesome. I got so many people complimenting me about the book. I felt I couldn't let you guys down. If anything those bad reviews made me stronger and made me realize that not everyone is going to like my book and that is okay. I'm okay with that.  

We were all taught this as little kids "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all." Perhaps adults should practice that in book reviews or at least be civil about it. Well you know that you have fans here! We love your book and patiently wait for the next book Football Is Easy. We look forward to working with TJ Lutgring for a future fun giveaway. We see great things coming from this author. 


Ciao Bellas,
Molly 

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Love in a Winery

The Three Kisses Trilogy, written by Christie Ridgway, is about two families, the Bacis and the Bennetts. These two families have been business partners & feuding for the past 100 years. The Bacis are winemakers and the Bennetts are silent partners in the vineyard. The Bacis are a hard working family who immigrated from Italy. They came over during the Gold Rush Era. The Bennetts are a family that come from money and a higher social standing. The two families became partners ever since they were searching for Gold. Alonzo Baci fell in love with Anne who was a high society girl, the only problem was that Liam Bennett was also in love with her. In the end, Anne chose Alonzo and Liam was nothing more than a silent partner, rival, and friend. The rest is history and in my opinion it makes good drama. 




Crush On You starts off with Liam Bennett and his brother Seth learning that their dad has an illegitimate child. Actually the whole town learned about their dad’s secret when the will was read. The “Bastard Bennett” as the town of Edenville labeled him, Penn Bennett is the host of the popular tv show “Build Me Up”. Imagine Penn Bennett as Ty Pennington in Extreme Home Makeover. Penn Bennett didn’t have the privileged upbringing that his brothers Liam & Seth had, he had a rather tough upbringing raised by a struggling single mother. He came to Edenville to meet his brothers and to deal with the inheritance his father left him. It had always been him and his mother and the thought that he has a family is very daunting to him. Actually he has his mind set to tell his brothers that he doesn’t want anything to do with the inheritance nor them. While meeting with his brothers he becomes acquainted with the Baci sisters since the two families need to discuss the dire situation of the Tanti Baci Vineyard. At this impromptu meeting Alessandra is all decked out in her wedding dress and flip flops. The sight of this Italian beauty in full vestal wear and flip flops has peaked his interest. As soon as he’s about to bail on his new found family and extra income, his heart and his brain feel otherwise.


Alessandra Baci is set on saving and restoring the Tanti Baci Vineyard. She believes that by restoring the 100-year-old cottage where her ancestors lived happily it can become a wedding venue. A source to bring in much needed cash flow to the struggling vineyard. Everyone is willing to cut their losses and sell the vineyard. Alessandra is one to believe in “Happily Ever After” and is set on trying to save the Vineyard. The Tanti Baci Vineyard legend is that anyone who takes their true love to the cottage will have the ghost of Alonzo & Anne appear to them. No one seems to care nor believe that she’ll be able to pull this miracle off. At the sight of her distress and seeing how everyone is against her, Penn decides to step in and help out. He commits to helping with the construction of the old cottage to become the wedding destination of the vineyard. His only stipulation is that Alessandra must work with him on this project. She is against this arrangement, however she’s willing to do anything to save her family's vineyard. Penn is enjoying the torment and chemistry that he shares with Alessandra, the “Nun of Napa”. Allie was dubbed that unfortunate nickname by the town of Edenville due to a tragic event that happened 5 years before. Ever since that life altering tragedy she has sworn off men and finding her “Happily Ever After”. This has Penn Bennett wondering what it is about this Italian beauty that has him enchanted and wanting to learn more about her. He wants nothing more than to free her from being a “Nun” and start living. Question is, is she really a “Nun”? Can Alessandra let go of her “Nun” like qualities and find her happily ever after? Or will she always live up to the image of the “Nun of Napa”?

Then He Kissed Me


Stephania Baci or Stevie, as she’s affectionately known by everyone, owns her own business, Napa Princess Limousine service. She is the middle sister of the Baci sisters and the tomboy of the family. She is hired to pick up her ex-boyfriend Emerson Platt, his fiancée Roxanne and a tall mystery man. Business is normally slow in the winter so she had no choice but to take the gig to chauffeur her ex, his fiancée and the hot mysterious man. Emmerson broke-up with Stevie a couple of months before. Their relationship wasn’t even cold before she found out that he was seeing someone, let alone that he was engaged to a princess. The tall, hot, mysterious man is Princess Roxanne’s brother Prince Jacques Parnin aka Jack. Not only is Stevie having to chauffeur her ex and company around for New Year’s Eve she also has to play event planner. They decided to have the wedding at the Tanti Baci Vineyard. Alessandra normally handles all the wedding details at the vineyard but due to her broken foot Stephania has to step in and help the struggling vineyard. She’s already trying to be civil about the whole affair, now she has to work closely with the not-so-trusting brother Jack. He has decided to tag along for the nuptial planning to make sure that no one interferes with his little sister’s wedding. By ‘no one’ he means his soon to be brother-in-law’s ex-girlfriend Stephania Baci. He has the feeling that she will do something to sabotage the wedding. In order to prevent this from happening he has informed Stephania that they will be working very closely on all the wedding details. Not only does Stevie have to deal with her ex’s new fiancée but also her brother. She doesn’t want anything to do with him since she becomes unhinged whenever he’s around. Jack not only wants to make sure the wedding goes through but he’s intrigued with Stevie and her tomboy ways. He wants to know if there is a feminine side to this Napa Princess. Will Stevie finally get over her ex-boyfriend or will she wreck the wedding?



Can’t Hurry Love is about the oldest Baci sister Giuliana Bacci. Giuliana has tried her hardest to help her sister out in the Tanti Baci Vineyard. However she has no desire to continue working at the struggling vineyard and deal with the eldest Bennett, Liam. Liam Bennett seems to bring out the worst in her mood and in her personality. At the same time he makes her heart flutter and skip a beat. Liam has no idea what he has done to cause Giulianna to despise him at the mere sight of him. Growing up they were inseparable, the feud began ever since they left for a trip to Italy after high school. Giuliana is trying her hardest to keep so many secrets bottled inside, so much so that all she wants is a life far away. Will her feud with Liam end sourly? Or will the Bacis and Bennetts find harmony and put an end to the family drama?

I hope I didn’t give too much away in my summary of these great books. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this trilogy. I borrowed Crush On You from the public library E-book catalog. I was hooked from the first chapter of the book. So I went to my Barnes & Noble library and decided to buy the 3 books. The way Christie Ridgway describes the Baci girls, the Bennett boys and everyone in the town made me want to visit Edenville. I live in northern California near San Francisco, I would love nothing more than to visit Tanti Baci Vineyards. The story lines she created for each sister were heart warming. Out of the three books, I think my favorite is the second one Then He Kissed Me. I’m partial to that one because the description of Jack Parnin is swoon worthy for me. I love a tall, dark haired, tanned, European and he speaks French. Drool! Ugh the way he treated Stevie is my dream man. The other books were equally good and the sesy (sex) scenes were hot, hot, hot. I found myself wanting more and more after each chapter. Luckily the author gave us a look into what was happening in the main characters lives of Alessandra, Stephania & Giuliana in each book. Which I love! Once I finish a book that I love, I’m always left wondering what happens to the characters? These books left me yearning to visit a winery, drink lots of wine and hoping to meet a great family of vintners. I highly recommend this series, I think you’ll fall in love at the vineyard!


You can find Christie Ridgway's website here for more information about these and other books. You can also follow her on Twitter.



Ciao Bellas,
Molly


Disclaimer: No compensation was received for this post, all books were personally purchased. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Reading & Winen meets Magic Mike

Special Screening event of Magic Mike

I’ve never been to an advanced screening of a movie so imagine my surprise when I received the tickets for the one movie this single mom would have found a sitter to go see. SCORE! Even better was when I would not have to fight the hoard of men and women coming out on opening night to also check out the beauty that is Magic Mike. 


Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum as Mike, the stripper Entrepreneur, and Matthew McConaughey  as Dallas, the Head honcho of his male strip review. The movie also stars, Alex Pettyfer, Gabriel Iglesisas, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez, and a huge surprise to me, Kevin Nash. The movie was directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Reid Carolin.  Magic Mike is a story inspired by Tatum as a young, male stripper. Mike is a hot, business savvy guy enjoying the good life that stripping has afforded him. Women, drugs and money surround his life. The Kid is a down on his luck college drop out who gets wrapped up in Mike's life after a chance meeting.

As soon as the theater went dark and the movie started to roll, the ladies in the audience were ready to see it all. I won’t give up all the juicy details but let’s just say, "LADIES, DON’T BLINK". The hooting and hollering was infections and soon I too was giggling from the excitement of the hotties on the screen. Now, it’s not all strippers and booze; there is a story line. I might actually have to watch it again because for the most part my mind was straight in the gutter. How could it not be with Tatum’s very impressive dance moves that included a lot of belly rolls and hip trusting? For those that have been to male strip joints, it bring back memories and for those that have never been, it might give them the itch to actually check one out. I won’t be surprised if the local male strip joints see a boost in business.

Just like all stripper type movies there is a basic model - stripper gets wrapped up in a life he can’t handle.  Personally, I feel they could have added another 30 min of script to it to evolve the story line a bit more. But you won’t really care much about that once you see the final dance.

Being a single mom I don’t get a chance to see many movies, but I would definitely recommend this flick. Who doesn't want to see glorious smooth and tanned behinds gyrating to the beats of Ginuwine and classics like It’s Raining Men? Make it a night out with your besties because after the movie I guarantee you won’t want to just go home.

Molly & Letty at Magic Mike Screening

Magic Mike (click to watch the official trailer)

In Theaters: Jun 29, 2012 nationwide
Rated R; 1 hr. 50 min.
Warner Bros. Pictures

Want to see more movie reviews? Let us know..

Follow Letty on Twitter at @Katiiz95 

Read my personal blog - www.momoftornado.wordpress.com

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in this article are solely of my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. No compensation was received for this post. Free screening passes were received via gofobo.com and courtesy of KMVQ - 99.7 [NOW!]

Heres whats happening at Reading and Winen

Reading and Winen had another memorable meeting on 5/27/2012. There is a reason I look forward to our meetings. I'm like a kid at Christmas counting down the days untill I meet the lovely ladies of Reading and Winen. We bring great books, fabulous food, wine and spirits, and tons of conversation to fill hours and hours of fun, fun, fun. Between chatting up books and reading passages we squeeze in gossip, singing, and dancing.  We also conducted much needed buisness to help build up our blog. Please feel free to check out our latest review and our updated bios on our current members.

Besides taking care of the behind the scenes and eating, we did go over books we read during the last two weeks. 

·         The Lucky One – By Nicolas Sparks.

·         The Principal’s Office  -   By Jasmine Haynes

·         Always the Baker Never the Bride – by Sandra D. Bricker

·         Three Days to Dead – by Kelly Meding

·         The Difference Between Soccer and Football – T.J. Lutgring

Our goal for this meeting was to catch up on books that we had listed as must reads.  I don’t think we reached that goal but that’s just more reading we need to do. As you can tell we love reading.

 We also went over books to add to our list.

·         Weekend Agreement – by Barbara Wallace

·         Bitter is the New Black – by Jen Lancaster

·         Momnesia – By Lori Verni-Fogarsi

·         Always the Designer Never the Bride – By Sandra D. Bricker

 Gabriela read passages from Bitter is the New Black and I became intrigued. I love her bitter sarcasm and can't wait to read more. Gabriela said “It was great to read a book by someone who writes how I think!”

 We can't forget the food because what is a meeting with out some food. Our theme was more of a back yard BBQ to coincide with Memorial Day weekend and Carnaval weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area. We had a spread that included: jalapeño artichoke dip, salsa, cheese and crackers, chips and bread, hamburgers, french fries, garlic fries and sweet potato fries.  Dessert was a yummy strawberry tart that Gracia brought over. It was DELICIOSO! Drinks included red Chiliean wine, and grapefruit margarita. 

 Can't wait for our next meeting.

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 *Momoftornado is a contributor blogger. Follow @katiiz95 on twitter.

Finding love at any age

The Right Thing, by Donna McDonald was available for free on Amazon this past weekend. I made sure I took advantage of that special offer. I have bought several of her books like the "Never Too Late Series" and The Next Song I Sing and those books did not disappoint. I was excited to see how this book played out.

After reading a couple pages of the book, I have to be honest and say that I was leary to read about senior citizens falling in love. Which wasn't the case, by the way. I prejudged the book just by the 1st chapter. I know it sounds horrible of me to say. I guess romance books to me, is more of young love (20's-50's). Going back to the Senior Citzen romance comment earlier, I thought I would be put off, or get a mental imagine of my parents. Gratefully none of that occurred. The romance and love of the senior citizens in this book was tastefully and respectfully done. It was very endearing actually. Reading that particular story line, I felt so loved. I caught myself "Awww-ing" at times. I hope I can experience the love that she wrote about at that age. Thank you Donna for showing me that at ANY AGE, LOVE is achievable.

So let me give you a quick  breakdown of the book. No worries, I have a no spoilers policy.

Morgan Reed is a man whose job as a fraud agent has jaded him from seeing that people can be good without any motives. He avoids relationships and prefers, umm what do you call that??? Oh yeah, booty calls. Due to a job injury, he decides to recover at his dad's place in Sedona, Arizona. He soon realizes that his dad, Gerald Reed, is the Don Juan of Sedona. His dad has more lady friends than Morgan has had in months. Morgan discovers that his dad withdraws the same amount of cash every month. The fraud agent in him kicks into gear and he desperately tries to figure out who's scamming his dad. Gerald doesn't trust his son's hardening heart to reveal his secret. In the process of Morgan's twisted investigation he becomes acquainted with Thea CarMichael who is lovely, sweet and a widow of 10 yrs. Not to mention that she is 10 yrs his senior. Cougar perhaps? He becomes a support for Thea with her struggling restaurant and her (ahem) personal needs as well. In the midst of all this his dad, Gerald, is going through a love triangle. What can I say the man has a lot of love to give. Actually, that storyline is very moving. My heart did swell up on certain parts. This book was not just about romance but had a good message "To live life to the fullest." In all the chaos and secrecy, did Morgan become a man with a heart? So you'll just have to read to find out. If I keep writing I might just get carried away and divulge more than I should.

 Ciao Bella's, Molly

 **Just on a side note, my new favorite word, courstey of this book is...Wididity. "It refers to widows who grow their virginity back by not having sex for years.(pg. 216)"**

Is it ever too late? A book review of the Never Too Late Series

As a single mom with absolutely no prospects in sight I have been diving head first into books full of love and debauchery. It's woken the romantic in me and it is helping me have hope for my own future of love in my later life. After reading the Never too Late Series by Donna McDonald, I realized that moms, workaholics and prudes can find love in their later lives and have it be as exciting as it was when they were in their 20s. I loved the series and can’t wait for the next book to come out

Dating a Cougar, Book one of the Never Too Late series, is about Alexa, a 50-year-old divorcee, ex-model turned business woman. She owns a lucrative lingerie company and she had practically given up hope to have a normal relationship. Who would have thought that the failing relationship of her daughter Jenna would bring a man into her life that would open up so many possibilities for her? Casey Carter, a medically retired marine who walks with a cane, proved that a cane does not inhibit his sexual desire or his attraction to the opposite sex. Alexa and Casey come together and flames erupt but would their attraction turn to more?

I loved this book and was so eager to move on to the next book. I got wrapped up from the first page, diving head first into Alexa Ranger's life. I love reading about how life does not end after a divorce. Not that Alexa Ranger stop dating after he divorce but what she never  found in all the other guys she found in Casey. I was able to mentally escape into this book and being the Pisces that Iam imagine that I too will find a love like this. Not that I’m a hot ex-model turned business woman but I am a single mom and love and passion have no age or boundaries.  This book gave me everything from doubt, frustration, hope, heartache, and finally ultimate satisfaction. Wink wink.

Dating Dr. Notorious, Book Two of the Never Too Late Series, is about a successful sex therapist, notoriously famous for the content in her books and her seminars. Regina Logan, a spinster going thru pre-menopause, has no problems talking candidly about sex and how to get sex but does she herself enjoy the notorious life the media has assumed she has?? Ben Kaiser is a widower, persuaded to go out and get to know the world again after he secluded himself in his work after his wife passed away. Who would guess that one event would bring the Doctor and the recluse together to begin an affair to remember and envy?

Book Two showed me that not everything is how it seems and even famous people can have their own insecurities in themselves. Again Donna McDonald captured me with the prologue and confusing hot flashes with hot dreams. I adored seeing how a middle age widower and a premenopausal therapis tacted like complete hormonal teenagers. But the difference between teenagers and two grown adults is that eventually they took rein of their hormones and knew life might get in the way. What can be lost and what can be gained?  Is lust enough to establish a relationship with Dr Notorious? After reading this chapter in the Never Too late series, lust is powerful but combine that with love and watch how explosive things really can get.

Dating a Saint, Book Three in the Never Too Late series, is about Lauren McCarthy finding something she never wanted to find, LOVE AND SEX. After losing faith due to her failed marriage she had all but given up on finding love. Jim Gallagher was the only man that could ignite her fire but it was wrong. A married man with a heart made of gold. Would he find a solution to a cause close to his heart?  Would the Saint push aside social decorum and her mother’s ideals and follow what her body and heart tells her?

As Donna McDonald has proven not everything is at it seems. This book truly proved that it really never is too late to find happiness. And once you embrace it, the flood gates open and it just keeps going and going. This had to be one of the best of the series. After reading the other two books, personally I would have jumped on Jim, married or not, but as the true saint Lauren is, she held out and in the end was rewarded.

Dating a Metro Man, Book Four in the Never Too Late series, goes into a story line that was first introduced to us in Dating a Cougar. Meet Jenna Ranger, Alexa Ranger's very stubborn bull-headed daughter. What had Seth done to deserve such loathing from Jenna? Seth Carter, nephew of Casey Carter,and the metro man that got under Jenna’s skin. No matter how many hotties she dated she just could not get Seth out of her mind or her heart. Through the other books you could see how Seth came to the realization that he needed, desired and loved Jenna. Now it was Jenna’s turn to come to that realization.

Jenna's journey was driving me crazy. I literally wanted to shake her to knock the stubborn out of her. Sometimes love can be all consuming and can make us so frazzled; wanting something so much that we can’t see the many other scenarios that bring us to the same conclusion. Book four also brings forward Allen Stedman, one of Jenna’s attempts to forget Seth. The hot, hot, bodybuilder, security personnel for Casey Carter, personal assistant in training to Alexa Ranger. Does Stedman find love? I won’t fill you in too much but let’sjust say... IT’S NEVER TOO LATE.

Sure a great pair of sexy red underwear and fabulous supportive matching bra can make you feel sexy but so can the never too late series.  This series left me feeling giddy and eager to embrace my own sexual awakening with that one great person that comes along.

I am unsure as to why lately all the books I’ve been reading have been about sexual awareness but it’s helped me walk taller and feel sexy in my own skin. As a Pisces, I live day dreaming and having books that help me explore my dreams has been great. But these books are not only about sex. Each of the women in these stories has embraced their age, their looks, their careers and their own paths. Making success out of the lemons the tree of life has given them. They empower me to make my own lemonade.

I am eagerly waiting for book five and see whose story I will get caught up in next. 

Have you read this series?? What did you think?

And don’t forget follow us on twitter at @readingandwinenand follow our blog for more book reviews and updates on meetings.

      

     XoXo,

   Letty

*follow me at www.momoftornado.wordpress.com Tales of a Frazzled Mom. 

** Dating A Cougar, Dating Dr. Notorious , Dating a Saint& Dating a Metro Man all written by Donna McDonald**

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in this article are solelyof my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. No compensation was received for this post. 

Reading and Winen - 50 Shades of Giggle

Our monthly meeting has come and gone. Thanks to Marcia and her Audible books and Molly for lending me her nook I have gotten thru the trilogy by E.L James, Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades Book 1), Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades Book 2) and Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades Book 3). 


Ignore the blazing blush my checks carried since I started this series of books, we started our meeting with giggles and wine. Our book club meeting is not a book club meeting without some spirits. As usual our book club is an all day affair, reviewing books we read, books we want to read and contemplating other subjects that life might bring us. We also enjoy the best homemade fare. I have to say we all made something super mouth watering yummy. We had fried chicken wings, mashed potatoes, turkey meatloaf, garlic bread and yummy mac and cheese. All homemade and all made with love.

I won’t ruin the books for you my darling readers but if you are open minded I would highly recommend this series. I had a mixture of awe, dislike and love for the main character. It opened my mind to possibilities in exploring ones limits. I am glad I found this series once the author finished writing them. I probably would have gone crazy with anticipation for the next book. If you are anything like me, your emotions will be all over the place but as my book club ladies kept saying to me “KEEP READING.”  I did enjoy how the author followed the story from one book to the next not missing a beat, or leaving me feeling like I missed a huge chunk of life. This is definitely not all “Hearts and Flowers”, but it will make your blood boil.

We also had the pleasure of having Gabriela picked to host a Sparks Party by House Party. Giving us our next book to read. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, turned into a movie starring Zac Efron. I will be reviewing this book at our next meeting. We as a group love hosting themed parties, as it gives us a chance to demo products we might not have normally have purchased on our own. I know I have purchased Items I’ve gotten introduced to thru a House Party event.

If you are a part of a book club or love reading let me know if you have any suggestions for our club.

Xoxo,

Letty

**This article was written by Letty, want to know more check out my blog at www.momoftornado.wordpress.com

Hello there!

Welcome to our blog! We are the Reading & Winen Book Club. We meet in the San Francisco Bay Area to discuss our latest reads and share in some good wine and good food.

4 of us went to high school together, life happened and we all went our separate ways. However, we have found each other once again due to Facebook and Twitter. We talked about starting a book club on Twitter and we finally decided to meet in February of 2012.

We've recently decided that we want to be more public with our opinions and experiences. We now have this blog, our own twitter handle @ReadingAndWinen, and our own Facebook page. We're toying around with the idea of recording some video reviews and posting them on You Tube. More on that when we get to it.

Our group is still in it's baby stages, we're excited to build this up and see how much it grows. Feel free to send us any recommendations of books we must read. We look forward to hearing your feedback. Thanks for joining us at this early stage!