Gina Rae Mitchell

The Shoe Diaries by Darby Baham | $50 Giveaway, Excerpt, & Review

A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.

Book Details

The Shoe Diaries by Darby Baham
Series: The Friendship Chronicles #1
Published by Harlequin Special Edition on 01/25/2022
Genres: Fiction, Contempoary Romance, Friendship
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 288

It’s never too late to put your best foot forward
From the outside, Reagan “Rae” Doucet has it all: a coveted career in Washington, DC, a tight circle of friends and a shoe closet to die for.

When one of her crew falls ill, however, Rae is done playing it safe. The talented but unfulfilled writer makes a “risk list” to revamp her life. But forgiving her ex, Jake Saunders, might be one risk too many…

From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.
The Friendship Chronicles
Book 1: The Shoe Diaries

Source: Goddess Fish Promotions, NetGalley, Received from the author or publisher for review.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt from The Shoe Diaries

Friendship

Bright and early on a Saturday morning, I found myself in a swanky gym locker room, less than a fifteen-minute walk from my apartment. Robin, Jenn, and I had spent the past week sitting beside Christine’s bed more than anywhere else, but in desperate need of a distraction, I’d agreed to join Rebecca at a morning spin class at our local gym. And while I’d jumped at the chance to do something, anything really, other than think about Christine’s drip-drop slow recovery, it dawned on me not too soon after I met up with her that there was one small problem with me agreeing to the class: I hated spin.

Like, literally hated everything about it. It wasn’t that I didn’t think it could help; I knew a lot of people who swore by its health benefits, and certainly knew I’d be guaranteed to have an hour off from worrying. But over the years, spinning had become almost cult-like with its many variations, such as Soul Cycle, Trap Cycle and how could I forget the one that claimed it felt more like working out in a nightclub? Beyond even that, the thing I disliked most about spin was the way my butt felt during the class. Everyone always said that eventually your butt gets used to the feeling of the bike, but when I’d tried it before…nah.

Regardless, there I was, putting on my spin sneakers on the wood-grain floors, marveling at the rotation of women coming in and out of the doors, looking like the exact models you might expect to see in spin class ads: blond hair tied in either a loose high ponytail or twirled in an up-do that took thirty minutes to do, but seemed effortless; Lululemon workout gear, S’well water bottles and enough sweat that they glistened, but not so much where they were actually drenched. I glanced up to see if Rebecca looked as nervous as I felt.

“Are you sure we’re ready for this?” I asked, trying to give us one last shot at running away.

“Ha, yes, I’m sure.” She paused. “I mean, kind of sure.”

I could sense her hesitation. Maybe she, too, was worried that we weren’t really the duo that fit in with the rest of the spin-bots before us? Even if we did have some things in common with them.

“You know our butts are going to be on fire afterward, right?” I asked, anxiously making sure the pink Velcro on my turquoise-and-white sneakers was fully snapped closed so that the shoes didn’t become a death trap for me on the bike pedals.

“Yeah, I know.” Rebecca’s once assured voice had been replaced with a nervous chuckle, and I remembered exactly why we were friends. Neither of us felt entirely comfortable where we were, but we were going to try it together. “But we’ve tried other things before, and it worked out. I’m sure this will be fine. Remember when we did Zumba this summer for a couple months? That was fun!”

“Zumba was fun—wait, why did we stop going there again?”

“Umm, great question,” she said, walking over to the water fountain to fill her own S’well water bottle. “Honestly, I think it’s because we just didn’t make the time for it. Who wants to go to Zumba when there’s happy hours, right?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purchase Links for The Shoe Diaries

Amazon     Bookshop/IndieBound     Kobo

The Book Depository     GoogleBooks 

Target       Harlequin     BAM     BN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts on The Shoe Diaries

Looking for a fun ChickLit series featuring successful friends looking to make the most of the life they have made? Then the Shoe Diaries by Darby Baham is what you need.

For me, the romance takes a backseat to the female friendships featured in the book. There is something special about girlfriends that are there for each other through thick and thin, good and bad times, men that come and go, sickness and health, and last but not least, the shoes!

Reagan has a wake-up call after one of her best friends is laid low by illness. She’s tired of living a safe life. It’s time to create a risk list to start living her best life. It’s time to take chances on romance, go for the brass ring at work, quit making lists, and take charge of her happiness.

This book is a quick, entertaining read that will make you think about your own choices in life… or maybe just the shoes. The shoes are a character in their own right in this one.

 

I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love my Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription. So many books, so little time!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Subscribe to the Harlequin Reader Service to receive FREE Harlequin Special Edition titles! The Shoe Diaries is included in the January 2022 offering.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purchase The Shoe Diaries online from a local book store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giveaway!

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~