Flirting with Forty Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway.

Descripton from the publisher:
"He got the second home and the Porsche. She got the kids and a broken heart. Now Jackie, post-divorce and heading toward the big four-oh, is on vacation in sunny Hawaii and staring down her upcoming birthday-alone. But not for long. She's soon falling for Kai, her gorgeous, much younger surf instructor, and the wild passionate fling they have becomes the biggest surprise of Jackie's life.Back home in Seattle, Jackie has to struggle with single parenthood...and memories of Kai. He hasn't forgotten her. Yet thousands of miles of ocean-not to mention an age difference that feels even wider-separate them. And, of course, her friends disapprove. When a choice must be made, can she, will she risk everything for her chance at happiness?"

(For your chance to win a copy of this book, keep reading to the bottom of the post. Yes, all the way to the bottom.)

I have the privilege of being part of the book tour for Jane Porter's Flirting with Forty, hosted by Miriam at Hatchette Book Group.

Rating: 4.5/5
Grade: D - 18 and up (sexual themes)

When I signed up for this tour I had not read any of Jane Porter's books, but thought that this would be a fun beach read sort of book. Well, it was definitely that, but also much, much more. I was actually surprised by this depth of the book. I do like to read chick-lit - I enjoy reading about women that I can relate to, and it is always fun to have a romance thrown in - but I never expect certain things that I found myself doing as I read this book, such as: crying, laughing, grabbing my highlighter and underlining great passages, raising my fist to the sky and yelling "yes, we can do it" (metaphorically, of course).


Through her character "Jackie", Jane Porter explores many of the challenges, guilt trips, and emotional upheavals that we as women face. One of my favorite parts of the book which so clearly illustrates what it is all about happens on Jackie's fortieth birthday, as she is celebrating with her two children:

"Dining room light back on, I cut the cake, making sure Jessica and William both have good pieces while I take the first piece I cut, the piece that comes out messy and broken. It's so second nature to take the piece that isn't pretty, that doesn't have all the icing, that I don't even think twice until I take a bite. And then suddenly I look at the beautiful cake and then down at my plate with the mashed top layer and the naked bottom layer, and I don't want this piece. I want a pretty piece. It's my birthday cake. My fortieth birthday cake. Can't I have a good piece on my own birthday?

I cut another slice of cake, this one with a rose, and put it on the plate with all the candles."

Her children's response to this action, and her reply are hilarious, but I don't want to spoil too much of the read. And while I laughed at this, it is so true, and not so funny after all. We as women - mothers, wives, girlfriends, daughters - give our all to those around us. It is second nature for us to put everyone and everything ahead of ourselves, even when there is no just cause for doing so, such as Jackie with her own birthday cake. We take what is left, maybe we think it is all we deserve. Flirting with Forty, and Jane's other novels, to me, are all about empowering women. Not in an 'I hate men' sort of way, but the women take responsibility for their actions, and realize all that they are capable of, despite what life has thrown them, and without leaning on crutches of circumstance.

This tour is in celebration of the movie debut of Flirting with Forty on Lifetime Television premiering Saturday, December 6Th, 9pm/8central. Watch the trailer at Lifetime

Found this great recipe I plan on drinking while watching the movie:
(as I am off of sugar and alcohol, this is about as wild as I can go.)

Banana Mango Smoothie
by John Fisher, About.com

A refreshing and flavorful non-alcoholic treat for the whole family made with fresh bananas and mangoes.
Ingredients:
4-6 ripe bananas
2 ripe mangoes
1 tablespoon honey
3 ice cubes
1/4 cup apple juice or coconut milk (depending on personal choice)
Preparation:Blend all ingredients together until smooth.Serve in a tall glass.

Jane Porter on location with the cast (dosen't she look gorgeous in that bikini, she should have starred in the movie herself!):



About the Author :

A UCLA grad with an MA in Writing, I am one of those original book geeks, the girl with the coke bottle glasses that sat with a novel next to the classroom door rather than play during recess. I wrote my first story in first grade, my first picture book in second grade and my first novel in 4th, and I've just continued to write from there—bad poetry, passionate essays, romance rich novels and poignant, bittersweet contemporary fiction.

But writing doesn't always come easy to me. I have to work at it. To go below the surface and find the real story in each story, the heart of the novel, the one the reader will hopefully remember long after the story is through. Writing makes me a bit mad which is why I work very hard to have good hair.

When not writing, what do I do for fun? Travel. I don’t know if it's from growing up in a small Central California town, or living abroad with my family when I was 13, but I crave change, travel, adventure. Put me in a car, a ship, a plane and send me off. I subscribe to countless travel magazines, have a library of travel books, and am always interested in where people have been.

Then of course, there are my kids. Being the mom of two boys I watch a lot of sports, and do goofy boy things with them like create slug habitats and nurture baby geckos. It's not the life I expected—I was such a Barbie doll girl—but its full of Tom Sawyer moments that surprise, delight and absolutely exasperate me but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The boys and I live in Bellevue, Washington, six miles from downtown Seattle, and with the plethora of pro sport teams, rugged mountains, coffee houses and bookstores, it's the perfect place for a writer to call home

Visit Jane at her website: http://www.janeporter.com/

Jane's Books:

Other stops on the blog tour:
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/
http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com/
http://bookcritiques.blogspot.com/
http://sharonlovesbooksandcats.blogspot.com/
http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/
http://printedpage.wordpress.com/
http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/
http://allisonsatticblog.blogspot.com/
http://skrishnasbooks.blogspot.com/
http://blog.literarily.com/http://
http://www.bookingmama.blogspot.com/
http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://booksbytjbaff.blogspot.com/
http://exlibrisbb.blogspot.com/
http://www.marjoleinbookblog.blogspot.com/
http://bookopolis.blogspot.com/
http://www.anovelmenagerie.com/
http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com/
http://thebookczar.blogspot.com/http://
http://www.thebookgirl.net/
http://acircleofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://01crazymomma.wordpress.com/
http://ablogofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookthoughtsbylisa.blogspot.com/
http://enroutetolife.blogspot.com/
http://athomewithbooks.blogspot.com/

The Giveaway:
Hatchette Book Group is providing three books for me to give away to readers of this blog. To enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post (if you have trouble or are unable to comment, send the entry to my e-mail: lisalouhoo@msn.com).

2. For another entry, become a follower of my blog (if you are a follower already, it counts, too), or blog about this giveaway. Let me know this in a separate comment, remind me in a separate comment if you are already a follower.

3. For another entry, watch the movie on Saturday and tell me what your favorite part was.

4. Sorry, contest is only available to U.S. and Canadian shipping address'. No PO boxes.

5. Contest ends Thursday, December 18th, 2008, Midnight, MST.