No chitty chatty here!

EllyMae's reveal is:

Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot



Lizzie Nichols is back, pounding the New York City pavement and looking for a job, a place to live, and her proper place in the universe (not necessarily in that order).

When "Summer Fling" Luke uses the L word (Living Together), Lizzie is only too happy to give up her plan of being postgrad roomies with best friend, Shari, in a one-room walk-up in exchange for cohabitation with the love of her life in his mother's Fifth Avenue pied-à-terre, complete with doorman and resident Renoir.

But Lizzie's not as lucky in her employment search. As Shari finds the perfect job, Lizzie struggles through one humiliating interview after another, being judged overqualified for the jobs in her chosen field - vintage gown rehab - and underqualified for everything else. It's Shari's boyfriend Chaz to the rescue when he recommends Lizzie for a receptionist's position at his father's posh law firm. The nonpaying gig at a local wedding-gown shop Lizzie manages to land all on her own.

But Lizzie's notoriously big mouth begins to get her into trouble at work and at home almost at once - first at the law firm, where she becomes too chummy with Jill Higgins, a New York society bride with a troublesome future mother-in-law, and then back on Fifth Avenue, when she makes the mistake of bringing up the M word (Marriage) with commitment-shy Luke.

Soon Lizzie finds herself jobless as well as homeless all over again. Can Lizzie save herself - and the hapless Jill - and find career security (not to mention a mutually satisfying committed relationship) at last?

Ladiibbug's Reveal:

The Pink Panther Gets Lucky (2006) - Marc Cerasini & Alice Alfonsi

An All-New Inspector Jacques Clouseau Adventure![/B]



When the legendary Hot Pink diamond mysteriously vanishes during a magic show at the popular MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas –– along with the famous starlet who was last seen wearing it upon her ample bosom –– authorities immediately summon Chief Inspector Jaques Clouseau, the world renowned investigator from the Paris Police Bureau, to the scene of the crime.

With the aid of an American private eye and bounty hunter "Junkyard" Bob Convoy, the French detective who bumbled his way to fame in the widely celebrated Pink Panther case is determined to track down the bauble and the bosom it was last cleaving to.

Oddsmakers predict he'll solve the case ... or go bust trying to! So look out evil–doers: Clouseau is in Sin City!

Brat's Reveal is:

Behind Closed Doors by Tara Taylor Quinn



From Booklist
When two masked men break into the Kendall home and brutally rape Laura, her husband, Harry, is certain that the crime is hate related. He is African American, and Laura is white, and the attackers tell her that "white stays with white." Tucson police detective Daniel Boyd isn't initially convinced of the hate-crime connection, so Harry begins his own investigation, which soon leads him to a possible link to the Ivory Nation, one of Arizona's most terrifying white-supremacist groups. While Harry searches for justice, Laura struggles to rebuild her life and her marriage, both of which may be destroyed beyond repair. The second in Quinn's Ivory Nation trilogy, following In Plain Sight (2006), is an intense, dark, and thought-provoking look at the damage hatred and fear cause in the world and an affecting drama that reveals how love and hope can heal those same wounds. Combining her usual superb sense of characterization with a realistically gritty plot, Quinn has created an exceptionally powerful book.

Rosie's reveal:

Dexter in The Dark by Jeff Lindsay (Dexter #3)



In Lindsay's third novel to feature endearing Miami cop and serial killer Dexter Morgan (after 2005's Darkly Devoted Dexter), the Dark Passenger, the voice inside Dexter's head that from time to time drives him to the Theme Park of the Unthinkable, inexplicably disappears while Morgan is investigating a gruesome double murder on the University of Miami campus. The crime scene, at which two co-eds were ritualistically burned and beheaded, gives even the human vivisection–loving vigilante the creeps. As the burned and beheaded body count continues to mount, Morgan realizes that the force behind the killings is something even more evil than his Dark Passenger. Though the macabre wit that powered the first two installments of this delightfully dark series (also a hit on TV's Showtime) is still evident, this third entry takes a decidedly deep introspective turn as Dexter is forced to contemplate not only life without his enigmatic companion but also who—or what—he truly is.

Wss4's reveal~~



The Food of Love
by Anthony Capella

Synopsis
”A fantastic book… makes you feel like you're there in Italy”
—Jamie Oliver

In Anthony Capella's delicious debut novel, Laura, a twentysomething American, is on her first trip to Italy. She;s completely enamored of the art, beauty, and, of course, food that Rome has to offer. Soon she's enamored of the handsome and charming Tommaso, who tells her he's a chef at the famed Templi restaurant and begins to woo her with his gastronomic creations.

But Tommaso hasen't been entirely truthful—he's really just a waiter.

The master chef behind the tantalizing meals is Tommaso's talented but shy friend Bruno, who loves laura from afar. Thus begins a classic comedy of errors full of the culinary magic and the sensual stmosphere of Italy. The result is a romantic comedy in the tradition of Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxanne that tempts readers to devour it in one sitting.

“Evoking the sights, smells and flavors of Italy in sensuous prose, this lively book also features recipes for readers to create (or just dream about) Bruno's food of amore.”
—People

“[A] well-fashioned fable.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“A lighthearted and entertaining novel set in the Eternal City … reading the book is like going to your favorite Roman trattoria.”
—The Washington Post Book World

Author Biography: Anthony Capella spends part of each year traveling in Italy. He is based in London, and this is his first novel.

by Suzanne Hansen
Misadventures in nannyhood" is how Hansen, an Oregon teen who'd trained at the Northwest Nannies Institute, characterizes her amusing account of several years as live-in drudge to the stars. Readers of James B. Stewart's DisneyWar are already acquainted with her first employer, Michael Ovitz, then still the superagent commander of the CAA talent agency, and parent, with his wife, of three children. Hansen isn't a flippant writer; she doesn't try to score easy shots; and she cites her own inexperience and shyness, but it becomes increasingly clear through her account (backed up by the diary she kept) that the portraits drawn by other writers—of a cold, shrewd, controlling man—are accurate. Still, there was glamour, which at first made up for the grueling 24/7 workload and a curious chintziness. However, Hansen lasted just over six months. She later found work with the charming Debra Winger and left only because it became clear that the doting Winger didn't really need a full-time nanny. Her next and last nanny job was with the wonderful and thoughtful Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito and their three kids. Hardly backstabbing, this entertaining book possesses a sincerity other nannying tomes lack.

Over Hexed by Vicki Lewis Thompson

After a spell goes awry, supernatural matchmakers Dorcas and Ambrose are banished to a small town in Indiana. Not content with their forced sabbatical, they decide to work their magic on a local heartthrob. Sean Madigan is sick of being stalked by every woman in town, but he has no idea what he's in for when the eccentric couple offers to help. Suddenly Sean's sex appeal plummets just when the woman of his dreams comes to town. She's scouting a location for a big-box store, which happens to be the site of Sean's childhood home. Since his once-overpowering charms have no effect on her, he has to find another way to sway her and save his land. Thompson mixes magic, small-town quirkiness, and passionate sex for a winsome effect in a pleasing paranormal romance that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Fantasy's reveal:

Fairyville



Zoe Clare is a medium who has no trouble communicating with the dead-or with real live fairies, for that matter! But she can't seem to get her feelings across to her landlord-slash-manager- Magnus Monroe, Fairyville, Arizona's most eligible bachelor. She's tired of his erotic antics with every woman in town but her. So when her high school flame returns to town, Zoe is more than a little vulnerable to his charms. How Alex broke herheart is a scandal no one in Fairyville has forgotten. But even if Zoe isn't ready to forget, she's willing to forgive. The rules they're about to break will bring out the jealousy in Magnus-and the astounding truth.

After Helen by Paul Cavanagh (2006)



From the back cover:

Winner of the inaugural London Book Fair "Lit Idol" contest - a first novel about the delicate relationships between fathers and daughters

"[Paul Cavanagh] has an exacting eye for the kind of everyday detail that springboards characters off the page and into your life."
-- Emlyn Rees, Lit Idol jury

Irving's wife, Helen, passed away over a year ago, but the life she left behind is still very much alive. From the moment he met the red-headed force of nature that was Helen Donnelly, in a chance encounter at her father's bookshop, he knew he was in for the time of his life. Although they were an unlikely match, with Helen's death, Irving is consumed by a grief he can't articulate. And Severn, their teenage daughter, angry at him, angry at Helen, has disappeared after shoplifting a book written by her mother's former flame. Now Irving must uncover family secrets from the past - secrets that he'll have to confront if he wants to save his relationship with his daughter.

A polished and satisfying novel that deals in a fresh way with fathers and daughters, love and grief, it's no wonder that After Helen was chosen from 1,500 other competitors as the winner of the London Book Fair's 2004 "Lit Idol" contest.

PAUL CAVANAGH, a long-term care consultant for the Ontario government, began writing After Helen in his spare time several years ago. He has taken screenwriting courses and has studied a the Humber School for Writers in Toronto. He lives in London, Ontario.

My reveal is:

Sex, Murder and a Double Latte
by Kyra Davis

Death imitates art in Davis's playful debut about crime novelist and wisecracking interracial Bay Area hipster Sophie Katz, who possesses either an overactive imagination or a keen awareness of criminal behavior patterns. When rapper JJ Money and the movie producer interested in optioning Sophie's novel both die in scenes lifted from their respective works, Sophie is the only one who sees the connection. Soon, it seems someone is reenacting the ominous details (vandalized car, crank calls, mysteriously broken wine glass) of her bestseller, and she fears that she's the next target. Sophie turns a suspicious eye on sexy bad-boy Russian-Israeli Anatoly Darinsky: he's either a homicidal stalker or prime boyfriend material. When the San Francisco police scoff at Sophie's suspicions, the plucky writer turned amateur sleuth enlists her less-than-intrepid circle of friends; drawn in broad strokes, they include gay hairstylist Marcus, clueless wallflower Mary Ann and savvy sex-toy aficionado Dena. Davis keeps the tone light throughout, as Sophie maintains her irreverent sense of humor even as the peril mounts. Though the story serves as a book-length ad for Starbucks, as the title unfortunately hints, and Sophie's over-the-top scheming can strain credibility more than it amuses, readers sympathetic to the relentlessly sassy heroine will find this a thoroughly readable romp.

Nursies book is:

A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown
Copyright 2006



Cupcake Brown (that's her real name) was 11 in 1976 when her mother died. Custody of Brown and her brother was given to a stranger—their birth father—who only wanted their social security checks. He then left them with an abusive foster mother who encouraged her nephew to rape Brown repeatedly. Brown got better and better at running away. A prostitute taught her to drink, smoke marijuana and charge for sex. Her next foster father traded her LSD and cocaine for oral sex. Eventually she went to live with a great-aunt in South Central L.A., where she joined a gang. Almost 16, having barely survived a shooting, she decided to quit gangbanging. Drugs were her new best friends. A boyfriend taught her to freebase, but then there was crack, which was easier. Before long she was a "trash-can junkie," taking anything and everything. It wasn't until she woke up behind a Dumpster one morning, half-dressed and more than half-dead, that she admitted she needed help. Brown conveys this all in gritty detail, and her struggle to come clean and develop her potential—she's now an attorney with a leading California firm and a motivational speaker—ends her story on a high note. Booksellers, watch out—Cupcake's gonna sell like hotcakes.

Sejent's Reveal:

My Book is “Step Ball Change” by Jeanne Ray



Publishers Weekly
Ray's snappy second novel takes place in a chaotic but comfortable Southern household led by an appealingly down-to-earth matriarch. Caroline McSwain, a dance instructor in her 60s, is sitting down to dinner with her devoted husband, Tom, a public defender, when two phones ring simultaneously to interrupt their rare moment of privacy. Ten minutes later, her estranged, flighty sister, Taffy, newly separated from her husband, has decided to come from Atlanta for an extended visit, with her nasty terrier in tow. And the McSwains' only daughter, Kay, has just gotten engaged to Trey Bennet, a member of Raleigh's bluest-blooded family, but she still hasn't gotten over Jack, a charming district attorney. Meanwhile, Caroline and Tom's home is undergoing what seems like a never-ending renovation, eating up their retirement fund. Kay's wedding plans get complicated (and expensive); Caroline and Taffy start finding common ground; even the terrier calms down, thanks to Woodrow, a contractor who has taken a shine to Taffy. Caroline is an endearing narrator, realistic and self-deprecating; when things start to get out of control, her love for her family helps her to keep things on track. Although Ray (Julie and Romeo) allows the sap level to rise a little too high as the inevitable picture-perfect ending rolls around, she has a gift for lively dialogue that makes the characters (Caroline and Tom especially) snap into place. 7-city author tour. (May) Forecast: The cheerily romantic Julie and Romeo has sold nearly half a million copies. Ray mines similar ground here and can expect a warm reception from her fans.

LML's Reveal:

Mad Dash - Patricia Gaffney (2007)




From Publishers Weekly:

Gaffney's latest (after The Goodbye Summer) chronicles a 20-year marriage on the verge of imploding. Vivacious, impulsive professional photographer Dash Bateman is the opposite of her worrywart, straitlaced husband, Andrew, a history professor at Mason-Dixon College.

After Dash's mother dies and the couple packs off their daughter for her freshman year at college, Dash's crisis of purpose culminates with Dash fleeing her house and husband for an extended stay in the couple's isolated cabin. As they attempt to live without one another, Andrew flirts with a feisty younger colleague and salivates over the chance to be chair of his department (if he can navigate the politics), and Dash finds a substitute mother, daughter and potential love interest. Gaffney tells the story from both Dash's and Andrew's points-of-view, allowing readers to see how the two frustrate and fall in love with one another.

The writing is lively, though scenes involving conversations about the nature of love and relationships can turn tedious. The climax teeters on the edge of being over the top, but the denouement is just rosy. It's a lot of fun, and the faults are easily forgiven. (Aug.)

Dane's Reveal: