Blog Tour – When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal (Author Guest Post)

July 29, 2019July 29, 2019 karenjo463 Comments

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whenwebelievedinmermaids

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Published: July 16, 2019

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Genre(s): Women’s Fiction

Format: Paperback: 352 pages

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Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

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From the author of The Art of Inheriting Secrets comes an emotional new tale of two sisters, an ocean of lies, and a search for the truth.

Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news…

Josie Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone forever. It’s what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has always believed. Yet all it takes is a few heart-wrenching seconds to upend Kit’s world. Live coverage of a club fire in Auckland has captured the image of a woman stumbling through the smoke and debris. Her resemblance to Josie is unbelievable. And unmistakable. With it comes a flood of emotions—grief, loss, and anger—that Kit finally has a chance to put to rest: by finding the sister who’s been living a lie.

After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who’d become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives.

Now, if two sisters are to reunite, it can only be by unearthing long-buried secrets and facing a devastating truth that has kept them apart far too long. To regain their relationship, they may have to lose everything.

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How far would you go to change your life?

I’ve always been fascinated by the ways people deal with trauma and change. It’s a cornerstone in nearly all of my books—who gets through trauma? How do they do it?

I once met a woman who had discovered that her husband was having an affair with a secretary in his office. She marched into the office, met the woman face to face, and kissed her. “I just wanted you to know what I tasted like,” she said.

The thing is, it had been ten years since that moment. She was long divorced and sitting with a man who clearly adored her, but she had never really left the past behind. She was still stuck there.

How do you really leave the past behind? How do you escape a life you’re mired in? A life that doesn’t serve you? A life that will almost certainly kill you?

That’s the central question in new book, When We Believed in Mermaids. Sisters Kit and Josie have lived through a sometimes idyllic, sometimes horrific childhood, and each of them have to find ways to make a life after they’ve lost everything. Kit devotes herself to her studies and to surfing with a goal of becoming an ER doctor. Josie…takes a different route. One seems like the right answer, and the other is shocking, but what does it really take to make a new self? To start a new life?

I hope you’ll surf along with Kit and Josie on the beaches outside of Santa Cruz and Auckland, as they twirl with their dog on the sand and learn each other’s secrets after decades of silence. It was a book I loved writing and offer to you with so much love.

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Barbara O’Neal is the author of twelve novels of women’s fiction, including The Art of Inheriting Secrets, How to Bake a Perfect Life, and The All You Can Dream Buffet. Her award-winning books have been published in more than a dozen countries, including France, England, Poland, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Brazil. She lives in the beautiful city of Colorado Springs with her beloved, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent.

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Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Instagram Tour

Thursday, August 1st: @hothanjama

Friday, August 2nd: @girlsinbooks

Friday, August 2nd: @readingbetweenthe_wines

Saturday, August 3rd: @readwithjamie

Saturday, August 3rd: @_ebl_inc_

Sunday, August 4th: @my_book_journey_

Monday, August 5th: @pieladybooks

Tuesday, August 6th: @dropandgivemenerdy

Tuesday, August 6th: @mermaid_ginger

Wednesday, August 7th: @jessicamap

Thursday, August 8th: @kimberleewilliams_realestate

Thursday, August 8th: @booktimistic

Friday, August 9th: @jennblogsbooks

Saturday, August 10th: @wherethereadergrows

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Review Tour

Monday, July 15th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Monday, July 15th: @simplykelina

Tuesday, July 16th: Kendra Loves Books

Wednesday, July 17th: Reading Reality

Thursday, July 18th: Literary Quicksand

Monday, July 22nd: Palmer’s Page Turners

Tuesday, July 23rd: Erica Robyn Reads

Thursday, July 25th: Jathan & Heather

Friday, July 26th: Thoughts on This ‘n That

Monday, July 29th: Sincerely Karen Jo – author guest post

Wednesday, July 31st: Cheryl’s Book Nook and @beastreader

Thursday, August 1st: Amy’s Book-et List

Friday, August 2nd: Not in Jersey

Friday, August 2nd: Lori’s Reading Corner – author guest post

Monday, August 5th: Broken Teepee

Wednesday, August 7th: Girl Who Reads

Thursday, August 8th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Friday, August 9th: Kahakai Kitchen

Monday, August 12th: Openly Bookish

Tuesday, August 13th: Treestand Book Reviews

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Thanks for stopping by loves! Have a wonderful day and don’t forget to add this book on your TBR and follow the rest of the tour.

sincerelykjologo

ARC Review – The Accidental Girlfriend by Emma Hart

July 1, 2019August 14, 2019 karenjo46Leave a comment

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Hello lovelies! The Accidental Girlfriend, an all-new hilarious romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Emma Hart is available now! Check out my review and don’t forget to grab your copy today!

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blurb

Top Tip: Don’t put out an online ad offering your services as a fake date. Someone will take you up on it.

And it won’t just be for one night.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I ended up being Mason Jackson’s fake girlfriend.

He didn’t even want me to be. No—his sister was solely responsible for me being his date for his ten-year high school reunion.

Now, she’s responsible for telling his parents our relationship is real.

We have no choice. We have to act like this isn’t all a mistake, like it’s not all fake, like we’re totally, completely, utterly, head-over-heels in love with each other.

Simple, right?

Wrong.

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Delightfully Charming, Witty, and Romantic

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(Actual rating 4 bumped to 4.5)

A super fun rom-com by Emma Hart, The Accidental Girlfriend is delightfully charming, witty, romantic and heartwarming. It’s the perfect summer beach read that made me swoon and had me laughing out loud at times.

What a delicious treat! This book had me flipping through the pages and I devoured all its yummy swoony goodness in less than 24 hours! Fake relationship tropes are just the best and as predictable as they are, they’re sometimes surprising, incredibly entertaining, and so darn addictive. I absolutely enjoy reading these type of romances and The Accidental Girlfriend is no exception and I enjoyed every moment.

Emma Hart’s writing style is fantastic and flows really well. With an engaging and amusing plot, the story moves along quite fast that I didn’t even notice when I was almost done reading. I guess I was just having too much fun swooning, smiling, and laughing. This book also has the perfect mixture of humor, snark, sexual tension and the feels that I love so much. Everything in this story just made me feel warmth and joy, and with fabulous ending that melted my heart, it’s quite impossible not to fall head over heels in love with this book.

Lauren and Mason are so darn adorable, hilarious, and just so great together. Lauren is the kind of woman I’d want to be friends with and I think her amazing personality is infectious. She’s feisty, vivacious, funny, and confident. I liked that she’s unapologetically comfortable with herself and says whatever is on her mind. I thought Lauren’s honesty is absolutely refreshing and her not having any filter is pretty funny. But aside from those awesome qualities, she’s also really sweet, caring, and loves with all her heart. Mason is such a sweetheart. He has a similar sense of humor as Lauren so he’s definitely the perfect match for her. Mason also seems to understand her, accepts who she is, and has fun riling her up. Together, their chemistry is off-the-charts and I just could not get enough. From their playful bantering, flirty texts, and steamy moments…I loved them all!

The supporting character are great and I really liked them. Lauren’s best friends and sister are blatantly honest like her so their interactions and dialogues are hilarious and so much fun. I loved Mason’s family. They’re weird, but so charming and funny. Emma created such lovable and wildly entertaining characters that made me laugh and I truly adored them all.

The Accidental Girlfriend is packed with so much humor and heart. I had a blast reading this book and could not get enough of Mason and Lauren and the wonderfully charming cast! Emma Hart penned an satisfyingly entertaining, hilarious, romantic, and heartfelt story that will definitely leave readers begging for more. It’s funny, realistic, sweet and swoony and I absolutely recommend you add this rom-com on your Summer TBR list.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the author via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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