Review Tour & Giveaway for Pie Girls by Lauren Clark

Welcome to my stop on the Review Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Pie Girls by Lauren Clark. Please leave a comment or question for Lauren to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You must comment in order to enter the giveaway.  You can follow the rest of the tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  

Pie Girls

By Lauren Clark

Publisher:  Camilla Press

Release Date: August 5, 2014

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Chick-Lit Romance

Length: 338 Pages

ISBN:  9780990623137

ASIN:  B00MGX53RY

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Buy Links:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo |  iBooks

About the book:  

Princess, Southern belle, and spoiled-rotten social climber Searcy Roberts swore on a stack of Bibles she’d never return home to Fairhope, Alabama. After marrying her high school sweetheart and moving to Atlanta, Searcy embraces big-city life—Carrie Bradshaw style.

But now, Searcy has a teeny, tiny problem. Her husband’s had a mid-life crisis. He’s quit his job, cancelled her credit cards, and left her for another man.

Searcy returns to Fairhope, ready to lick her wounds. But when her mother falls ill, she’s is thrust into managing the family business—only to discover the beloved bakery is in danger of closing its doors forever.

Enlisting the help of the adorable bike store owner next door, an array of well-heeled customers, and her soon-to-be ex-husband, Searcy hatches the plan of the century to save Pie Girls.

EXCERPT

"C.C.," I exclaim, standing on tiptoes for an air kiss. "What a lovely surprise."

         

She clears her throat, and I step back. "You haven't greeted my Precious," C.C. warns in a lilting voice, tilting her head toward the pink sequined bag hanging over her left forearm.

         

Precious? Like as in the Lord of the Rings? Surely she doesn't mean...

         

A tiny black nose and beady eyes poke out of the bag.

         

"Eek!" I jump back and squeal, clapping a hand to my chest and dropping the keys.

         

The dog—if you can call it that—begins yipping and complaining like I've just whipped it with a cat o' nine tails.

         

I freeze in place, flush a lovely shade of violet, and want to self-destruct; certain that I've committed what equates to a mortal sin in the world according to C.C. Anderson. She's carrying her new puppy, a tiny Min-Pin; complete with pink collar and matching pink toenails.

         

"I'm so sorry—"

         

C.C. waves her own pink manicured fingernails an inch from my face.

         

"Mama's poor little baby," she coos in a high-pitched falsetto. "Are you okay, my sweetie-weetie, lovey girl?"

         

My jaw drops open slightly. I've never heard the woman utter a word of endearment toward any human being or living creature.

When I first dated Alton, I was almost certain that C.C., in fact, was among the un-dead. Five years ago, when she and Alton’s father decided to move to Atlanta—under the auspices of closer to their only son—I almost had him talked into buying some dove's blood from Marie Laveau's shop in New Orleans just to see if she'd drink it.

         

"Mama's Precious will be all right, won't she?" C.C. continues. "Searcy's just a bad girl. She'll do better, I promise, darling."

AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

 Lauren Clark writes contemporary Southern novels sprinkled with sunshine, suspense, and secrets. A former TV news anchor, Lauren adores flavored coffee, local book stores, and anywhere she can stick her toes in the sand. Her big loves are her family, paying it forward, and true-blue friends.

She is the author of four award-winning novels, Dancing Naked in Dixie, Stay Tuned, Stardust Summer, and Pie Girls, as well as a short story, A Very Dixie Christmas, published in the Merry & Bright holiday collection. Lauren is a member of the Gulf Coast Writers Association and the Mobile Writers Guild. 

Check out her website at www.laurenclarkbooks.com.

Website:  www.laurenclarkbooks.com

Blog:  www.laurenclarkbooks.com/blog

Twitter:  @LaurenClark_Bks

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lauren-Clark/235315706518284

Pintrest:  http://www.pinterest.com/laurenclarkbks/

Fans of contemporary Southern romance filled with colorful characters and good dialogue need look no further than Lauren Clark’s newest book, Pie Girls.  Filled with emotional angst, decades old secrets and lesson’s on what’s really important in life and love, Ms. Clark’s story kept me turning the pages.  Adding decadent Southern pie recipes to the mix, Ms. Clark had me wanting to pull out my pie pans to give her recipes a try.

Raised in a small Southern town by a colorful, hippie like mother, Searcy left her old life behind when she married Alton Roberts and moved to Atlanta to live the high life.  Shopping for designer clothes, eating lunch with her society friends and seldom seeing her hard working husband make up her life.  Until the night her husband comes home and everything about her life comes crashing down.

Ms. Clark does a good job developing Searcy’s character; she’s spoiled and self-centered at the start and was a little bit hard to connect with.  As her life spirals out of control, and she tries to deny there’s something wrong with her marriage, Searcy is forced to grow up and take a look at what’s really important.  Especially when she goes back to her hometown and realizes something is wrong with her mother, and with her mother’s bakery.  I really liked how going back home, re-connecting with her best friend and really talking with her mother helped Searcy face the truth.  Especially the truth about her relationship with Alton.

The secondary characters were all well developed and I really enjoyed getting to know Maggie, Searcy’s mom, Tobi, Searcy’s best friend from high school, and Luke, the owner of the bike store next to Pie Girls, her mother’s bakery.  While I didn’t care for Alton, Searcy’s soon to be ex, Ms. Clark does a good job developing his character and lets us know just why Searcy and Alton’s marriage was doomed from the start.  She reminds us that communication, real communication, is the key to any successful relationship and that family is the most important part of our lives.  We also get to know Quinn, a colorful businessman, who’s past with Maggie is important to Searcy’s future.

Will Searcy be able to put her life back together once it’s all fallen apart?  Will the chance of a new romance and saving her mother’s bakery be all Searcy needs for a new start?  You’ll have to read Pie Girls to find out, I enjoyed it and can’t wait to try out some of the recipes and look forward to reading more from Ms. Clark.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 Crowns

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FTC Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour for a fair and honest review.  I received no additional compensation for my opinion of the material provided.