{Happy Release Day - July 11th!}

>>Hey y'all! 

I hope everyone had a fabulous Fourth and that everyone's Summer is just as relaxing and delightful as ever! Remember when we were off and we hadn't a care in the world? Laugh with me in sorrow as we remember the way back when! Just Kidding! Well, not really, but ya know... #Adulthood

As you may have noticed I have been a little MIA the last two weeks, I am still working out the life-balance of all of this! So bear with me! 

But, let's get to reason you are really here: BOOKS! Or is it me?! AWE, you are my favorite! 

 
Tonight, I am going to review three books that came out today! They are Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave, The Perfect Recipe for Love and Friendship by Shirley Jump, and Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza! 

HELLO, SUNSHINE by LAURA DAVE
Blurb: "Sunshine Mackenzie has it all…until her secrets come to light.
Sunshine Mackenzie is living the dream—she’s a culinary star with millions of fans, a line of #1 bestselling cookbooks, and a devoted husband happy to support her every endeavor.
And then she gets hacked.
When Sunshine’s secrets are revealed, her fall from grace is catastrophic. She loses the husband, her show, the fans, and her apartment. She’s forced to return to the childhood home—and the estranged sister—she’s tried hard to forget. But what Sunshine does amid the ashes of her own destruction may well save her life.
In a world where celebrity is a careful construct, Hello, Sunshine is a compelling, funny, and evocative novel about what it means to live an authentic life in an inauthentic age."
Y'all - I COULD NOT put this book down! This was my first Laura Dave novel, and I as soon as I have a break, I will be reading EVERY. SINGLE. THING. SHE. HAS. WRITTEN!  
​Sunshine Mackenzie has it all, and then suddenly she has nothing. But what she actually has is far more valuable than the empire her lies cost her. This is a brilliant and captivating story of finding oneself when all you have left is yourself (and maybe the help of an adorable 6 year old, who is wise beyond her years!). Hello, Sunshine is a perfectly-written cautionary tale of how a web of lies will eventually crush you, how hiding your true self will always have damaging consequences - especially when you are in the public eye.
>>I am sure it will come as no surprise to you that I gave this ​★★★★★ on Goodreads! This is a fast-paced novel with a lot of heart, with a very of-the-moment message. Pick it NOW! 


THE PERFECT RECIPE FOR LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP by SHIRLEY JUMP
Blurb: "Bridget O'Bannon is ready for a do-over. After years of pretending she had a happy marriage and denying that she missed the friends and family she'd left behind, she's headed home to restart her life.
But working alongside her family every day at their bakery isn't as easy as whipping up her favorite chocolate peanut butter cake. Her mother won't give her a moment's peace, and her sister Abby is keeping secrets of her own. And there doesn't seem to be enough frosting in the world to smooth over the cracks forming between them. 
Bridget can see the recipe for a happy life- including the possibility of a new romance- written out before her, but first she and her family will need to lay bare their secrets and rediscover the most elusive ingredients of all: forgiveness, laughter, and love."
This was a super-sweet first book in what is going to be a SERIES!, so if you enjoy this as I did, you will be happy to know that you will get more, more, more of this wonderful, crazy family! This was a Hallmark movie of a novel, a quick read with wonderful characters that your heart goes out to. After the death of her husband, Bridget's world is turned upside down. Working next to her mother and sisters at their Bakery is a little more than she can take at times, especially since everyone is trying to comfort and Bridget, and she just doesn't know if she needs all that right now. Thank you very much. #JustLetMeNetflixAlone If you love a character-driven story embedded in a chaotic family, you will love this! 
I gave this ★★★.5 stars on Goodreads! 


FITNESS JUNKIE by LUCY SYKES and JO PIAZZA
Blurb: "When Janey Sweet, CEO of a couture wedding dress company, is photographed in the front row of a fashion show eating a bruffin--the delicious lovechild of a brioche and a muffin--her best friend and business partner, Beau, gives her an ultimatum: Lose thirty pounds or lose your job. Sure, Janey has gained some weight since her divorce, and no, her beautifully cut trousers don't fit like they used to, so Janey throws herself headlong into the world of the fitness revolution, signing up for a shockingly expensive workout pass, baring it all for Free the Nipple yoga, sweating through boot camp classes run by Sri Lankan militants and spinning to the screams of a Lycra-clad instructor with rage issues. At a juice shop she meets Jacob, a cute young guy who takes her dumpster-diving outside Whole Foods on their first date. At a shaman's tea ceremony she meets Hugh, a silver fox who holds her hand through an ayahuasca hallucination And at a secret exercise studio Janey meets Sara Strong, the wildly popular workout guru whose special dance routine has starlets and wealthy women flocking to her for results that seem too good to be true. As Janey eschews delicious carbs, pays thousands of dollars to charlatans, and is harassed by her very own fitness bracelet, she can't help but wonder: Did she really need to lose weight in the first place? 
A hilarious send-up of the health and wellness industry, Fitness Junkie is a glorious romp through the absurd landscape of our weight-obsessed culture. "
This novel was darker than I had imagined it would be, but the grit was so necessary. This is a hilarious and heart-breaking tale of one woman's journey to hell and back for the sake of a size. This was a highly eye-opening romp through every fad diet and workout craze  NYC has to offer, and she did it all - or attempted to! When Janey's bestie and business partner, Beau tells her to not come back to work until she has lost 30 lbs, Janey doesn't hesitate, it isn't until she has an extreme wake-up call that she is faced with what she has been doing to her body is hurting and not helping, giving her the time to realize that a size isn't what gives a women her power, it is her confidence and self-love, whatever the number on your tag says. This is such an important coming-of-age story, the right book at the right time! And my two-cents: The version of "beautiful" that society berates us with is completely and wholly corrupt, and let's face it - engineered by a man in a suite trying to make a dollar. 
I gave this ★★★.8 stars on Goodreads! 

Look for the second part to this in a few days - I have more reading to do! 

Happy Reading! 

xx
​AMG