Musa Books I Love

The Estrogen Posse

by Sharon DeVita

My advice, folks, is to purchase this book right away. Do not pass Go. But here’s the kicker: put it away for a little while and don’t actually read it until life hands you a few lemons. Trust me, you’ll be glad you held out.  Simply put, The Estrogen Posse will lift you out of a funk and undoubtedly cheer you up. *Best taken with chocolates and/or a glass of wine.

Plot wise, it’s a whodunit, but the snappy pacing, wacky characters, heartfelt moments and fun, quirky voice make it a fabulously charming read that you’ll have a hard time putting down. I do not exaggerate – I burned through all 125,000 pages in less than 48 hours.

Ellie Briotti, the central character, is an extremely relatable Every Woman type whose life has just been turned upside down. The Estrogen Posse consists of Ellie’s eccentric mother, Gram Crackers, Ellie’s best friend, Rina, who’s just had some life-changing news of her own, two neighborhood nuns who happen to be called Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Margaret Mary, and Ellie’s husband’s ex-butler, Nevins, who, while he doesn’t possess the estrogen reserves of his peers, definitely deserves an honorary mention. The posse rallies around Ellie when her life starts crumbling to bits (thanks to her no-good husband) and they really step up when it looks like Ellie’s going to go down for “the other woman’s” murder! 


Buy link here.

Hard Bargain

By Grace Wen

I just started reading Hard Bargain, and let me tell you: it's very Hard To Put Down! Jenna Petersen and Brad Tremaine are both attorneys with very different outlooks on life. Jenna is super focused (one might say career-obsessed) and Brad, while highly successful, is more well-rounded. Even though I'm only halfway through the book, I'm thinking he's going to end up helping her chill out, and I'm really excited about that. Jenna is a lovely character who deserves a life outside of work.


The electricity shooting between these two is nothing short of thrilling and Grace Wen does a great job teasing us readers with one love scene in particular! I look forward to more.


One thing I absolutely must comment on is the auto theme. Now, I've never been interested in cars, but I love, love, love the automobile theme in this Hard Bargain. The book takes place in Detroit and in the opening chapters the characters are getting ready for the Dream Cruise, which is an annual parade of primo automobiles. The descriptions are so vivid - I really feel like I'm there with them. Also, there's a red hot scene during which Brad helps Jenna hand wash her cherished vintage car. And finally, it's clear that Jenna has a perplexing and possibly unhealthy attachment to her car. She refers to it as her security blanket. To be frank, I'm a little worried about her. I feel like something might happen to her car, causing her to "go off the rails". But as this is a romance, I know that in the end, Brad will be there for her. :-) 


Definitely a great read so far or if you will... a wild ride. Hehe. I just couldn't help myself.


Buy link here.


And now... contest info!


I am giving away an e-copy of my debut novel, Fashioning a Romance, on the day it comes out: May 18. To enter, just "like" my blog. If you're already a liker, no worries - you're already entered. I'll choose the winner at random after midnight on February 19th. Good luck!