Johanna Porter Is Not Sorry by Sara Read

 

Twenty years ago, Johanna Porter was a rising star in the art world. Now she’s an unknown soccer mom. When an invitation arrives for an elite gallery opening for her former lover, the great Nestor Pinedo, Johanna wants to throw it in the trash where it belongs. But with some styling help from her daughter, she makes an appearance and comes face-to-face with the woman she was before the powerful and jealous Nestor ruined her.

La Rosa Blanca is a portrait of Johanna herself, young and fierce and fearless—a masterwork with a price tag to match. When she cuts it out of its frame, rolls it up and walks out, Johanna is only taking back what was stolen from her.

Hiding out with La Rosa Blanca in a shack on the Chesapeake Bay, Johanna digs into the raw work of reviving her own skills while battling novice-thief paranoia, impostor syndrome and mom guilt. But Johanna doesn’t just want the painting—she wants to paint again. To harness her powerful talent, she must defy everyone’s expectations—most of all her own—for what a woman like her should be.

MY THOUGHTS 

What a debut!! 👏👏 Johanna Porter IS Definitely NOT Sorry… In fact… I think it’s safe to say she also give ZERO F’S🤣 … and that is why I love her. 🤷‍♀️

Why did I adore her? Well…she is sassy… snarky and a little bad ass if I may say so!! 😉👏👏 Johanna was at the top of her game 20 years ago… taking the art 🖼 world by storm… working with the icon himself… Nestor Pinedo… until she dare stand up for herself against that delight of a man… 🙄… and he DESTROYS her career…but karma is in fact a bitch..😏… and Johanna is back to get what is hers!! You go girl!! 🙌🙌

This girl is ditching her soccer ⚽️ mom yoga pants… for an Oscar de la Renta dress 👗👠👜… and off to to dabble in art 🖼 theft…😎… and getting revenge… 😘

Fun.. sassy… with some real life drama mixed in… some serious soul searching…addiction… and … love…🥰🥰 This book had all the stuff real life does… well except I hope you all aren’t art thieves..😬…if you are..🤫🤫🤫

I was rooting for Johanna all the way!! Fun with a great story… I suggest you all need Johanna in your life! 😉

I received a gifted copy and loved it!

Before she started writing fiction, Sara got a degree in Women’s Studies from U.C. Santa Cruz. She tried the nine-to-five life for about a nanosecond before moving to rural Virginia to become a flute-maker’s apprentice and traditional fiddle player. Some years and two babies later, she returned to school for a Masters in Nursing. A cancer survivor herself, she now has the distinct privilege of caring for cancer patients.

​

Sara's short stories have been featured in The Missouri Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, and Zone 3 Press, and she has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. JOHANNA PORTER IS NOT SORRY is her debut novel. She is represented by Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency.

 

Sara lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband, two teens, a terrier, and three snarky cats.

Twitter: @sarareadauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarareadauthor

​Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sararead/author  

Good For You by Camille Pagán

About the book:

Pub date:  March 1, 2023

Aly Jackson has waited her whole life to become editor in chief of All Good magazine. But six months into the job, she overhears her coworkers belittling her. Aly’s clapback? A very public, career-jeopardizing meltdown. To undo the mess, she agrees to a monthlong unpaid leave.

Reluctant but determined to turn misfortune into opportunity, Aly retreats to the Lake Michigan beach house her brother, Luke, left to her when he died nearly a year earlier. Except when Aly arrives, she discovers Luke’s slacker best friend, Wyatt, inherited the place, too.

Wyatt is unkempt, unmotivated, and totally uninterested in Aly’s desire to sell. Yet as battle lines are drawn, Aly wonders whether she and this wild card have more than Luke in common. But is she willing to swap her lifelong dreams for a shot at healing her broken heart?

MY THOUGHTS 

As usual @camillepagan brings us characters that we fall in love with. Aly has the job of my dreams… and hers..😍 An editor at All Good magazine!! You go girl!! 🙌🙌 She is killing it in her new position…or so she thinks..🤷‍♀️…until she overhears what her coworkers think of her… 😳😢😡🤬…Ummn she loses it… and her boyfriend… aka her boss.. 🙄…suggests a little time off..🥺…and not with him..😳

Still mourning the loss of her best friend.. her brother Luke.. she packs up 💼…and leaves NYC behind..✌️…off 🚘 to Luke’s empty lake house in Michigan… and let me tell you… she gets a BIG surprise when she gets there! 😳😂

As I have begun to expect with every @camillepagan this pulled me in instantly… I laughed… teared up😢… I felt like I was there with these wonderful characters…and I loved them.😘 This is a super quick read at 256 pages… but it packed a punch 🤛 and checked all the right boxes!! ✅

🏖 🏖 Look 👀 at this gorgeous cover!!! All the summer vibes!!

About the author:

I’m the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of ten books, including Good for You, I'm Fine and Neither Are You, and Life and Other Near-Death Experiences, which was recently optioned for film. My novels have been translated into twenty languages.

I've written for Forbes, The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Real Simple, Time, and many others. I'm also a master certified coach and the founder of Even Better Co.

When I'm not at my computer, you'll find me with my nose in a book, running after my two kids, or talking shop with other writers. Be the first to know about my new releases and other updates by signing up for my newslettter at camillepagan.com/subscribe.

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Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft

 

About the book:

Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. After a lifetime of forced instruction in the art of swindling men by her mother, Bea wants nothing more than to escape her shadow, close the door on their sordid past, and disappear safely into old-money domesticity.

When Bea finds her final mark in the perfectly dull blue-blooded Collin, she’s ready to deploy all her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend Gale. Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous chase. As the truth of Bea’s past threatens to come roaring out, she finds herself racing against the clock to pass the finish line before everything is exposed.

MY THOUGHTS 

Okay so if there was ever a #bookstagrammademedoit … it is this book. Let me tell you… I LOVED it!! 😍 I COULD NOT put this book down!! Total binge read. 💖

What did I love?? Where to start? It is one amazing debut!! SO MUCH FUN!! You know in a twisted thriller lover kind of way. 😉 BEA!! Girl… we definitely could be besties…oh wait… she doesn’t do BFF’s… she’s a guys girl… 🤷‍♀️…well until she met her match… Gale…🤔… Yeah I don’t understand either Bea… why is your boyfriend… soon to be husband 💍.. so tight with… HER???🤔😬🤷‍♀️.. She’s BEYOND annoying..right? Don’t let Gale win!! 😂 #teambeaforever

Okay so Bea is… alot of things… dark.. damaged.. a gold digger? 🤔🤔 OR…a gorgeous… clever… enterprising… and one hell of a Stone Cold Fox 🦊🙌🙌 Look I loved… loved… loved Bea!! You go girl!! 👏👏 Will Bea be able to land herself a spot in one of the most prestigious families around??? 💍💖 💰… She damn well is going to try. 🦊🦊🦊 Or can someone.. outfox this fox? 😉

It’s been a long time since I have read such a fun, snarky, sassy, clever book!! Believe the hype!! This very well may end up in on my year end favorites list!! ❤️ Give in to the FOMO and add this to your list!!

Rachel Koller Croft is an author and screenwriter in Los Angeles where she has scripted projects for Blumhouse, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Comedy Central, among others. She lives by the beach with her husband, Charles, and their rescue pitbull, Juniper. STONE COLD FOX is her first novel.

Website

http://www.rachelkollercroft.com