A Light At Winter's End by Julia London

A Light at Winter's End by Julia London
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wynn is still trying to recover from the blow that was dealt to him and Macy last year...Macy's first husband "returning from the dead" after being a prisoner of the Taliban and reported dead by the Army. Not only that, Macy is pregnant with their child. Gracie is a beautiful little girl who Wynn is completely enamored with.


Holly and Hannah have just lost their mother. Hannah is all over Holly for never helping take care of their mother and is even more upset when she finds out everything has been left to Holly. She never amounted to anything spectacular so Hannah can't figure it all out. After all, what good is a songwriter who jumps from job to job? Hannah is married to a successful lawyer and her life is on the up and up....or is it?


Hannah rushes over to her sister Holly's house (when was the last time they talked? Oh, right, the funeral when Hannah chewed Holly out for everything) and dumps off her adorable son Mason. Hannah needs Holly to watch her kid but won't give her any specifics for anything. Holly doesn't know the first thing about taking care of a child! How can Hannah do this to her? Holly can't figure it all out...where to keep Mason in her small studio apartment, how to continue to work, and how to shut him up when he cries.


Holly decides to take Mason to her mom's old house. There is more room and she will be able to write her songs there. She runs into Wyatt and suddenly, her life isn't so bad.


I have always loved Julia London's books for my "guilty pleasure" reading. She weaves beautiful love stories and this one was particularly inspiring. I look forward to reading even more of her stories!


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Review + Giveaway: One Season of Sunshine by Julia London

Should some questions be left unanswered?



In her newest contemporary novel, New York Times bestselling author Julia London explores the complex themes of adoption, family history, and love, as one woman looks into her past as she tries to forge her own future.



Adopted as an infant, Jane Aaron longs to know the identity of her birth mother and why she gave her up. Her only clue is the name of a small town where she was born. In ONE SEASON OF SUNSHINE (Pocket Books; July 2010; $7.99) Jane heads to Cedar Springs, Texas for answers.



When she arrives, handsome ad executive Asher Price—who lost his wife, Susanna, in a terrible car crash eighteen months ago—hires her to work as the nanny for his two children. As sparks begin to fly between Jane and Asher, Jane wonders whether Susanna was the perfect wife and mother the family portrays her to have been.



When Jane gets closer to discovering the truth about both her and Susanna’s pasts, devastating secrets emerge. Will the truth bring Jane and Asher closer together or tear them apart forever?

One Season of Sunshine by Julia London

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was so incredibly excited when Ayelet, a publicity specialist of Pocket Books (a division of Simon and Schuster), contacted me and asked me if I'd be interested in reviewing Julia London's newest book! I read Summer of Two Wishes last summer and loved it so I knew this one had to be a hit as well!

Jane has a strong longing to find her birth family, especially her birth mother, before she makes a life long commitment to Johnathan. It's only fair that she knows who she really is afterall, eh? She can't cook like the others in her family and she just needs to know...

The bombshell is dropped and she moves to Cedar Springs, her birth town. She obtains a job as a nanny (What was she thinking? She knew nothing about kids beyond her 2nd grade class!) Riley is a beautiful 13 year old girl who is really missing her mother. Levi is a young 5 year old who barely remembers his mother. Asher, the man of the house/absolute worst person to work for, is well, handsome...difficult...intriguing. Asher's deceased wife Susanna is everywhere and soon Jane feels like she's being watched by this woman. Why was she so great? Or was she?

Without saying too much more about the book (at this point you should be running to the nearest book outlet and purchasing it!), I LOVED it! I was not the least bit disappointed in this story, even though I thought I knew where it would end. I wasn't exactly right though! Full of twists and turns, Julia London weaves a beautiful tale of a woman trying to find herself in the midst of chaos, a young woman (Riley) who is also trying to find herself and deal with the loss of her mom, a young man in search of a mother he never knew, and a man who is overworked and misses his family.

What do I love most about this book? It's towards the end but I see some familiar characters from Summer of Two Wishes (read my review here! SQUEE!!! I love how this story felt "full circle" at that point! Mentioning Macy made my day! It was beautiful!

I highly recommend this book to all hopeless (and hopeful) romantics. This is such a sweet love story and I look forward to more from Julia London!

(You may wish to know that there are some pretty intense intimate scenes in portions of this book. I would caution young adults in reading this book.)

My thanks to Pocket Books (and Ayelet) for providing a review copy of this book!

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Julia will be visiting the following blogs in July - check her website for dates.

Savey Spender
Tethered Mommy
I’m Booking It
A Room Without Books is Empty
Book Reviews for Buuklvr81
Down Home Diva
Thrifty and Frugal Living
RundPinne
Gnostlagia
Joanne Huspek’s Blog
My Own Little Corner of the World (You are HERE!)
My Five Monkeys
Booksie’s Blog
Bella’s Novella
Books Like Breathing
Reading at the Beach
Living Life and Reading Books
In the Hammock
Booking Mama
All About {N}
Once Upon a Twilight
Til’ We Read Again
Chrissy’s World of Books
Jeanne’s Ramblings

The publisher has graciously allowed me to give away 2 copies of this wonderful book! To enter, fill out the form below. I will draw the winner on Saturday, July 24 at 11:59 PM EST. This book will be mailed from the publisher and they have requested that only US address enter.

A Courtesean's Scandal by Julia London

A Courtesan's Scandal by Julia London


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the second book that I've read by Julia London. Earlier this year, I read Summer of Two Wishes and loved it! You can read that review here!

A Courtesan's Scandal is about the life of Kate Bergeron and Grayson Christopher, Duke of Darlington. Kate is a courtesan who is well cared for and highly desired by the Prince. The Prince can't have her until his divorce is final or risk the scandal that will incur when the Princess makes her demands. Instead of risking that scandal, the Prince asks his most trusted man, the Duke, to appear to court Miss Kate until he can have her for his own. Upon meeting, the Duke and Miss Bergeron do not like each other or the arrangement that is in place. However, there is too much at stake for both of them to disobey the Prince. Kate would lose her lavish lifestyle and home that the Prince has set up for her and the Duke's affair with Lady Diana would be exposed and put his desire for the abolition of slavery vote at risk.

Throughout this book, we learn of many people who have influenced the lives of Kate and Christy. All of these people help to shape them into who they are. Their love/hate relationship begins to blossom and before long, they are faced with a decision...to betray the Prince or forget the love they have for each other? What will they decide? Is there too much at risk or is love worth all?

I loved this book and the storyline behind it. I've not read many historical fiction books but they are fast becoming some of my favorites. While Miss London does include some graphic sex scenes and strong language (which I do not like to read most of the time) I enjoy her writing style and the stories she weaves in her characters. Overlooking these things that I find bothersome, she is becoming one of my favorite authors!

This is one of those books that I like to pick my favorite character in and desire to be. IF I was not the person that I am today (picture an imaginary world where there is no right or wrong, where moral decisions are a mute point), I would want to be Kate. I am not a fan of her lifestyle but the love she has for Christy and vice-versa makes me desire to want to be her in a different type of world. She has had a rough life and has finally got a break that she has to decide if the chance of falling in love wholeheartedly is worth it. There is something about her that draws me to her. Maybe it's the way she reaches out to those who are like her on a lower level. Maybe it's the pride she has in herself. Maybe it's her desire to keep her word. Either way, she's my favorite character!

I was provided a review copy of this book by Pocketbook Publishers. I would like to thank them and the author for this review copy. Thank you for reading this review!

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Book Review and Giveaway: Summer of Two Wishes by Julia London

From New York Times bestselling historical romance author Julia London, SUMMER OF TWO WISHES is passionate contemporary love story about a young woman who is caught between two men she loves--her first husband who miraculously returns from Afghanistan where he was supposedly killed in action and the Texas rancher who helped her rebuild her life and became her second husband.

Product Details

Pocket Star, August 18, 2009
Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages
ISBN-10: 1-4165-4708-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-4708-2

My Review:
I could hardly put this book down!!! I was captivated by the story of Macy, Finn, and Wyatt from the first paragraph. I felt as though I was the "fly on the wall" in their lives. While this is a work of fiction, the story could very well (and probably has) happened. Macy and Finn are madly in love. He chooses to go fight in Afghanistan as a tribute to the memory of his friend who died fighting for his country. Macy receives word that Finn has died and she slowly tries to put her life back together. After 2 years, Macy meets and falls for Wyatt. Only 7 short months after her marriage to Wyatt, another official Army car pulls up to her house with more news for Macy. She's not sure how to digest the information that the Army messed up and Finn is actually alive! Now she has to choose between the two men who've meant the most to her in her life. I do have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. There were a few times I wasn't sure what decision Macy would make. I do think she made the right one though!

This book does have some mild language and some pretty hot and steamy descriptions of intimacy. This book is not for the faint of heart. I do recommend it though and give it a hearty 4.5 stars!!

Another aspect of this book that really stuck out at me is that the author has a huge heart for abused/neglected animals as well as veterans. She has added a list of appropriate websites to contact if you are interested in becoming an advocate for these different groups.

An ironic thing happened to me while reading this book. The song "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks was playing on the radio. It truly reflects the sentiments in this book and was very appropriate!

My wish is that you will enjoy this book as much as I did. My second wish is that you'll pass along the great news of this book and that you'll have many wishes fulfilled!

Please be sure to visit these other bloggers and their reviews of this book!
My Book Views: my-book-views.blogspot.com
Book Soulmates: http://booksoulmates.blogspot.com/
A Journey of Books: http://ajourneyofbooks.blogspot.com/
Just Jennifer Reading: http://justjenniferreading.blogspot.com/
All About {n}: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/
My Guilty Pleasures: http://www.mgpblog.com/
Bookin’ with Bingo: http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
Starting Fresh: http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
Booksie’s Blog: http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/
The Tome Traveller: http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/
Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
Cheryl’s Book Nook: http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
Bella’s Novella: http://www.bellasnovella.com/
Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/
Eclectic Book Lover: http://www.eclecticbooklover.com
One Person’s Journey Through A World Of Books: http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
Foreign Circus Library: http://www.foreigncircuslibrary.blogspot.com/
My Own Little Corner of the World: http://molcotw.blogspot.com/
Alpha Heroes: http://alphaheroes.blogspot.com/
Pudgy Penguin Perusals: http://kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com/
Seductive Musings: http://seductivemusings.blogspot.com/
Bibliophiles ‘R Us: http://nightdweller20.wordpress.com/
Park Avenue Princess: http://aparkavenueprincess.blogspot.com/
Power in the Blog: http://jesharris.wordpress.com/
Books and Needlepoint: http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/

Special thanks to Sarah at Pocket Books and Julia London for sending me this book to review.

Giveaway Rules:
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The contest is limited to US and Canada only. No P.O. boxes. The contest ends at 11:59 pm EST on September 16, 2009.