11/13/12

Review TOTLANDIA by JOSIE BROWN @JosieBrownCA @coliloquy

Book Description

The Pacific Heights Moms & Tots Club is the most exclusive children’s playgroup in all of San Francisco. For the city’s ultra-competitive elite, the club’s ten annual spots are the ultimate parenting prize.

But not everyone is PHM&TC material. The club's founder, Bettina Connaught Cross, adheres to strict membership rules: Moms only. No single parents or working mothers allowed. Membership is an arduous commitment. And there’s no room in the club for scandal, bad behavior, or imperfection...from tots or their moms.

In a world of power and prestige, no one has more than Bettina. And as every mom in Pacific Heights knows, you simply cannot cross her. But this year’s admissions process is more rigorous than ever, pitting prospective members against each other to prove their mettle.

But four of the six candidates vying for the remaining four slots have a secret that would knock them out of the running. Jade is a former stripper and porn actress, who has been absent for most of her son’s life. Jillian’s husband cleaned out their joint accounts and left her for his pregnant assistant. Ally never even had a husband—just a sperm donor—and she’s hiding a high-ranking corporate job. And Lorna fears that her son may have special needs... just the excuse her sister-in-law, Bettina, needs to deny her entry to the club.

Can these hopeful moms keep up appearances long enough to outlast the competition? Or will their chances—and their private lives—go up in flames?

This is the first of four books that follow our heroines during "the Onesies," their inaugural year in the club. Upcoming books—to be released in four episodes each year—will follow subsequent years: the Twosies, Threesies, Foursies, and Fivesies.

Friendship. Lies. Seduction. Betrayal. Welcome to Totlandia.




Coliloquy Books / 978-0-9740214-0-9 / eBook
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About the Author 


Josie Brown is the author of five novels: The Baby Planner [2011; Simon & Schuster]; The Housewife Assassin's Handbook [Signal Press]; Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives [2010, Simon & Schuster];Impossibly Tongue-Tied [2006, HarperCollins]; and True Hollywood Lies [2010, Diversion Books]. 

As a journalist, Josie's celebrity interviews and relationships trends articles have been featured in Los Angeles Times Syndicate International, Redbook and Complete Woman magazines, as well as AOL, Yahoo, AskMen.com, Divorce360.com, and SingleMindedWomen.com.


Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/JosieBrownAuthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JosieBrownCA
You can read excerpts of all my books at my website: http://www.josiebrown.com and follow my blog at http://www.authorprovocateur.com


SOURCE: AUTHOR 

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

Welcome to the world of Momolotics, where being a mom is regarded as a political endeavor.  Who knew that joining a mom and tot group would be so strife with maneuvers worthy of a presidential campaign?  We are introduced to Lorna, mother of a lovely toddler, that is slow in developing and her sister in law, Bettina, who heads up the premier mommy group in a ritzy area of San Francisco.  Bettina seems to derive much joy in making these mothers jump though a multitude of hoops just to "belong".  Membership in The Pacific Heights Moms & Tots Club supposedly can guarantee a bright future for your offspring.  Although these women are mostly wealthy, there are a few that are just getting by.  The rules for the group are as thick as a phone book.  

As the group opens up to new members, each mother has only one goal:  to insure their child will have every advantage that money can and can't buy.  The story focuses on Lorna, with her lovely son, who has all that money can buy.  She just hasn't figured out why her son is not progressing as the other kids his age.  Bettina (the ultimate mean girl), only puts up with Lorna because she is married to her brother and the fact that her mother has favored this grandchild over hers.  Lorna hears the whispering about her son and after a week, finds the best doctor and her worst fears are confirmed.  

Jade, mommy to Oliver and a stripper, has been bought off by her dot.com husband to leave the child alone, now finds herself bought off again to help get Oliver into the club since fathers aren't aloud.  The only problem is that she still loves Oliver's father deeply and has now grown up and wants the family back together.  Ally, has a completely different life that she is hiding.  She is a corporate consultant to her former company that she recently sold and this is solidly against club rules:  no working mothers.  Oh, and there is no father either, just a sperm donor who is now posing as her husband.  

Jillian quit college to support her husband and finance his MBA, now finds herself dumped and broke when he gets his assistant pregnant.  Her sparkling twins have always been the center of her life and now she must get a job to support them since the court has not given her what she is due.  I adored this quick read and can't wait to get further into the lives of these women.  There are some really sweet moments mixed in with the catty wonderfulness that Brown always seems to capture.  I just can't believe I have to wait until the installment which will be released soon.  There are supposed to be four installments each year. 


 

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