Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Gift Card Hop (Dec 9 - Dec 13th)


Welcome to the Gift Card Giveaway Hop.  This wonderful (and timely) hop is being hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Attack of the Book

My giveaway is open internationally for a $25 e-gift card from Amazon!  If the winner happens to be from the U.S. they will have the option to either choose the Amazon gift card or to be mailed a $15 giftcard from Target with a $10 giftcard from Starbucks.

This giveaway will run until midnight on Dec 13th and is my way of saying thank you for following!  (Although following is not required for this giveaway, it is appreciated!)


You can enter through Rafflecopter below - if it is not showing up, or a different giveaway is showing up, please refresh your page.  If you are still having trouble, please email me at kherbrand at comcast dot net.  Then once you have entered mine - keep hopping - there are over 100 blogs giving away giftcards!









Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis (Book Review and Giveaway!)

Title: Head Over Heels (A Lucky Harbor Novel)
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

About the book: Free-spirited Chloe lives life on the edge.  Unlike her soon-to-be married sisters, she isn't ready to settle into a quiet life running their family's newly renovated inn.  But her love of trouble -- and trouble with love -- quickly draws the attention of the very stern, very sexy sheriff who'd like nothing better than to tame her wild ways.

Suddenly Chloe can't take a misstep without the sheriff hot on her heels.  His rugged swagger and his enigmatic smile are enough to make a girl beg to be handcuffed.  For the first time, instead of avoiding the law, Chloe dreams of surrender.  Can this rebel find a way to keep the peace with the straitlaced sheriff?  Or will Chloe's colorful past keep her from a love that lasts. . . and the safe haven she truly wants in a town called Lucky Harbor. 

My thoughts: I was in the mood for a good romance and I found it with Head Over Heels.  I was lucky enough to get to read the first Lucky Harbor novel Simply Irresistible last fall, so I was somewhat familiar with the three sisters, Maddie, Tara and Chloe.  But you definitely do not have to read the previous novels to enjoy this one.  It stands very well on its own.

I really liked Chloe and could relate to her a little bit because of her asthma.  (I don't have asthma, but I do have a respiratory disorder that has caused me to stop breathing a couple of times.)  But despite the asthma, or maybe because of it, Chloe likes to push life to it's fullest.  She is usually the one that is caught doing something that doesn't toe the line, regardless of the goodness of her intentions.  Being raised as somewhat of a wandering nomad by the half-sisters mom has also taught Chloe to always be ready to move and never put down roots.  So when she begins to feel something different coming from Sawyer than irritation, it can only mean trouble. 

Sawyer, on the other hand, was born and raised - mainly by his father - in Lucky Harbor. In his youth, he was also a wild child, but has been sheriff for so many years that he has chained in those impulses.  He has been trying to redeem himself for something that he has felt responsible for from his youth. Combine that with a father who also can't seem to get over his son's shortcomings as a teenager and you have a man who keeps his feelings close to his vest - until Chloe starts to wiggle her way in.

I loved the attraction between these two.  Jill Shalvis definitely knows how to turn up the heat between these two unlikely lovers. There is nothing like a little sexual tension to  leave you feeling a little breathless. We had met Chloe in the previous book, but it was nice to learn more about her here and see some of her vulnerabilites and strength come out and round her out as a person.

I haven't read the second book, The Sweetest Thing, but when I am once again looking for a good romance that I can read fairly quickly, Jill Shalvis will be one author that I will be looking for.

~ I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette in exchange for my unbiased review. ~



Time for the giveaway!

Use the rafflecopter form to enter.  If an old form (or no form) shows up, please refresh your screen.  If you still do not see it, or can't use it for whatever reason, please email me at kherbrand@comcast.net  and I will see that you get entered in the contest.  I have 1 copy of Head over Heels to giveaway to one of my reads.  




Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh (Book Review)

Title: Remembering Christmas
Author: Dan Walsh
Publisher: Revell

About the book: Rick Denton lives his life on his terms. He works hard, plays hard, and answers to no one. So when his mother calls on Thanksgiving weekend begging him to come home after his stepfather has a stroke, Rick is more than a little reluctant. He's never liked Art and resents the man's presence in his life, despite the fact that his own father abandoned the family when Rick was just twelve. When what was supposed to be just a couple days helping out at the family bookstore turns into weeks of cashing out old ladies and running off the homeless man who keep hanging about, Rick's attitude sours even more.

Still, slowly but surely, the little bookstore and its quirky patrons--as well as the lovely young woman who works at his side each day--work their magic on him, revealing to Rick the truth about his family, his own life, and the true meaning of Christmas. With skillful storytelling, Dan Walsh creates a Christmas story that will have readers remembering every good and perfect gift of Christmas.


My thoughts: This book was sort of bittersweet for me.  Rick's stepfather, Art, didn't have a stroke, but had a brain aneurysm, and while I was reading it, my Aunt Corinne had a brain aneurysm burst and passed away the next day.  Her funeral was two days before Thanksgiving (part of the reason why I was absent from blogging for awhile).  But I don't want to overshadow the wonderful story in the book.

Rick's father had taken off when he was a kid, so when his mom married Art, he made no effort to welcome him to the family..  Though Art made many attempts to get to know Rick, Rick continued to push him away, eventually leaving for college and a career.  He seldom made it back to his hometown and had never gotten close to Art. He returned now to help his mom out, as she needed to be at the hospital and the bookstore they owned was their only source of income.  The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were some of the best sales weeks of the year, so they really needed to be open.  Rick reluctantly gives up his ski weekend and heads home.

This was actually a very enjoyable book to read.  Rick is the narrator and he remembers the events one day while sitting at the corner across the street from where the bookstore used to be. It isn't an over the top sentimental Christmas story though.  The events really could have happened. It deals more with family relationships, finding out what's important, looking beyond the surfaces - making it all happen at Christmas time just makes for a nice Christmas book.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Baker in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Publisher/Publication Date: Revell, Sept 2011
ISBN:  9780800719791
272 pages


Monday, December 5, 2011

An Excerpt - On Speaking French by Karen A. Chase

AN EXCERPT – ON SPEAKING FRENCH

By Karen A. Chase
Author of Bonjour 40: A travel log
(40 years. 40 days. 40 seconds)


So I worked with a tutor one-on-one, went to a few French-speaking Meetup groups, watched foreign films, studied DVDs and podcasts, and more. As I mentioned on my first day in Paris, I quickly discovered my French sucked. Really though, it didn’t suck so much as I was just afraid to use it. I was afraid I would say things incorrectly, and instead of asking to buy a hat, chapeau, I’d ask to buy a horse, cheval. My biggest hurdle upon arrival was I simply wasn’t brave enough to try it. I was afraid they would know I was a foreigner, roll their eyes, and say, “Merde, another American comes to Paris.”

I would slowly grope around for words, or quietly whisper, or give up entirely and just simply point and grunt at things. Finally it occurred to me. You don’t know these people. Dive in! If you screw it up, you’ll learn. Maybe they’ll help out and correct you, or you’ll end up with a nice horse. Just start with Bonjour, Madame or Monsieur, and get going. I’m now convinced that speaking a new language is 25 percent knowledge, 50 percent experience, and 25 percent having the balls to open your mouth and speak it.



Bonjour 40 by Karen Chase (Book Review)

Title: Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel Log (40 years. 40 days. 40 seconds)
Author: Karen Chase
Publisher: Karen A. Chase - Kindle edition

About the book: If Karen A. Chase absolutely had to turn forty, she decided she could do it gracefully in Paris… for nearly forty days. What began as a blog to communicate with friends and family, became a travel journal filled with over a months’ worth of humorous and insightful glimpses into her Paris adventures, each of which could be read in about forty seconds. Journal entries are interspersed with Chase's own inspiring photography. Additional, longer stories richly fill in details allowing readers to reflect upon her experiences with food, travel, photography, Parisians, writing, and love in the City of Lights. Through her Parisian- and self-exploration, comes a book that brings to life the richness of Paris as seen through the eyes of a romantic travel junkie. Chase shows readers the joys of turning 40, and with her magical view of Paris, they'll be ready to board a plane before they've turned the last page.


My thoughts:  This was a nice quick read for me at 134 pages.  Karen decides to visit Paris for 40 days to celebrate her 40th birthday.  When all of her friends tell her they want updates, a blog is born where she can keep her friends and family updated without spending a lot of time on the computer every day (when she could be out exploring Paris!)  That blog, along with some reflections that she wrote upon returning home, became this book.  She has also added some absolutely beautiful photographs that she took upon exploring the city. 

I guess you could call this book a journal of her travels, but it is written with an artistic flair. There are many lovely descriptions of the architecture and art, as well as the people and the countryside.  I had never thought much about ever visiting Paris, as it seemed pretty unrealistic for me, but after hearing her describe it, it actually has me considering it someday - maybe for one of my "landmark" birthdays!

~I received a complimentary e-book of Bonjour 40 from Book Sparks in exchange for my unbiased review.~


Publisher/Publication Date: Karen A. Chase, Oct 9, 2011
ASIN: B005U9BLGI
1635 KB



Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving in Early America
by Elaine Marie Cooper

When we sit down at our Thanksgiving meal this month, we’ll be recreating a celebration that is as old as our country: sharing food with loved ones while thanking the God Who has provided the abundance.

While we understand that the First Thanksgiving was celebrated here by the Mayflower survivors along with the Indians that had helped them, the first official proclamation that was decreed to celebrate such a holiday was in 1777. It was a recommendation to the thirteen states by the Continental Congress to set aside December 18th that year as a “solemn thanksgiving” to celebrate the first major victory for the Continental troops in the American Revolution: the Battle of Saratoga.

The Battle of Saratoga has significant interest for my own family since one of my ancestors was a soldier there. But he was not on the American side—he was a British Redcoat. After surrendering to the Americans, he escaped the line of prisoners and somehow made his way to Massachusetts and into the life and heart of my fourth great-grandmother. *SIGH* L’amour!

This family story was the inspiration for my Deer Run Saga that begins in 1777 with The Road to Deer Run. There is an elaborate Thanksgiving meal scene in this novel as well as in the sequel, The Promise of Deer Run.

Some may wonder why such detail was afforded this holiday in my novels set in Massachusetts, while Christmas is barely mentioned. The reason is simple: Thanksgiving was the major holiday in the northern colonies, with Christmas considered nothing more special than a workday. According to Jack Larkin in his book, The Reshaping of Everyday Life, “The Puritan founders of New England and the Quaker settlers of Pennsylvania had deliberately abolished (holidays) as unscriptural.”

But Thanksgiving was begun as a way to give thanks to God for His provision. It usually began with attending church services in the morning, followed by an elaborate feast in the afternoon. The food for this meal was prepared for weeks in advance.

Since the individual state governors chose their own date to celebrate the holiday, it was theoretically possible for some family members—if they lived in close proximity—to celebrate multiple Thanksgiving meals with family and friends across state borders. The dates chosen could be anywhere from October to December, according to Dennis Picard, Director of the Storrowton Village Museum in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

Chicken was most commonly served, said Picard, as it was readily available in the barnyard. And the oldest woman in the home had the honor of slicing the fowl for dinner.

Pies were made well in advance of the holiday and stored and became frozen in dresser drawers in unheated rooms.

“I like the idea of pulling out a dresser drawer for, say, a clean pair of socks, and finding mince pies,” said Picard, tongue in cheek.

Indeed!

Have a BLESSED Thanksgiving!




Author Bio

Elaine Marie Cooper grew up in Massachusetts but now lives in the Midwest with her husband, her three dogs and one huge cat. She has two married sons and triplet grandchildren who are now one years old. The Promise of Deer Run is dedicated to the triplets and to veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.Elaine has been a magazine freelance writer for many years, and is a regular contributor to a blog on the Midwest called The Barn Door (www.thebarndoor.net) and a blog on Christian living called Reflections In Hindsight (http://ReflectionsInHindsight.wordpress.com ). She is the author of The Road to Deer Run and the sequel, The Promise of Deer Run. Prior to becoming an author, Elaine worked as a registered nurse.

Monday, November 21, 2011

It's Monday! What are you reading? (Nov 21, 2011)



What are you reading on Mondays is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey - You can hook up with the Mr. Linky there with your own post - but be sure and let me know what you are reading too! 


Currently reading:


Books up this week:

Bathroom Book:

Books finished last week:
Promissory Payback by Laurel Dewey
Unrevealed by Laurel Dewey
Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh

Books reviewed last week:


Until next week ----  Ready - Set - Read!





Thursday, November 17, 2011

New Baby Pics!

I thought it was time to show off some more pictures of my granddaughter!












Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Gratitude Giveaway Blog Hop (Nov 17 - Nov 27)


This is a hop to thank all my followers over the last couple of years.  I cannot believe that I am almost at 1000.  I am thinking about doing a giveaway after I reach 1000, so if anyone has any ideas for a good giveaway (keep it reasonable folks), let me know.  It is being hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer  and All-Consuming Books.

I am giving away an ARC of Iron House by John Hart for this Hop.  All you have to do to enter is be a GFC follower and enter the info in the rafflecopter form.  This giveaway is only open to U.S. though.  Sorry - things are tight around here and I can't afford to send outside U.S.



There was nothing but time at Iron House.  Time to burn, time to kill, and time for Michael to emerge strong and unforgiving while his brother, Julian, became a tormented soul at the orphanage for boys.  Two decades later Michael returns to North Carolina with a sentence on his head, the mob in hot pursuit, and his disturbed brother in trouble of a different kind.

One man destined to break the chains of his fate. . .

Iron House is a tour de force narrative of loss, courage, redemption, and the unbreakable ties of family set against a backdrop of greed and violence.  This is John Hart at his best. 


Be sure to check out all the other blogs on this hop - over 300!(Links are at the bottom)   They are all giving away something a reader, author, or blogger would enjoy - and all entries should be simple - because those are the rules!!  So spend your Thanksgiving break entering some great giveaways! This hop runs until midnight on Nov 27th.







WoMen's Literary Cafe Authors Gratitude Blog Hop - Nov 16 -



That Little Voice
by Bonnie Trachtenberg


Although I don’t consider myself a religious person, I am quite spiritual and do believe in higher beings of love that listen to us when we pray. That’s why before going to sleep at night, after a long day of work, I take a few minutes to connect and show gratitude. I generally begin by thanking God for all the gifts in my life. The health, happiness, safety and longevity of my family, friends and pets come first. Then I pray for all the suffering in the world to end, from abused children and animals to war-torn communities to starving people around the globe. I ask God to please help enlighten the people who use religion as an excuse to hate instead of love, and to rip people apart instead of bringing them together. I also thank my loved ones who have passed, for I believe they have a hand in many of the good things that have come my way. And of course, if anyone I know is sick or in emotional distress or crisis, I say special prayers for them, too.


I’ve repeated this bedtime practice for many years, but I’ll never forget the night, when just after uttering my prayers, something wild and completely unexpected happened—someone answered! It was just a brief few words that I heard—a question actually—but it stunned me nonetheless. In my head, after once again directing my prayers at others, I heard a loving voice say, What about you, Bonnie?


I recall my eyes shooting open wide, wondering where it came from. It wasn’t my roommate, who was the only other occupant of the house, of that I was sure. So was it an angel? A passed loved one? My own evolved spirit? One thing was for sure, I knew it was not coming from my own thoughts. You see, I always thought prayer should be about others and about trying to better the world. I thought it was too selfish to pray for things I may have wanted, since unlike so many others, I had most of the things I needed. So where did this comment come from? There was only one answer that made sense to me. Some higher being was letting me know it was okay to wish for even more abundance.


From then on, I’ve added to my prayers things that would even more greatly enhance my life: a truly fulfilling job; a loving man to share my life with; true contentment and love—all of which have been answered. And when I was laid off from that fulfilling job a few years ago, I had a surprisingly good outlook. Probably because I felt it was God’s little kick in the side that I needed to finally finish the book I’d been writing sporadically for years. I did. In June of this year, Wedlocked: A Novel was finally published and I had no qualms about praying for its success. Amazingly, after four months of hard marketing, it actually hit Amazon’s bestseller lists, and as an added bonus, Wedlocked became an Award-Winning Finalist in its category for USA Book News’ “BEST BOOKS OF 2011”.




So this year, like every year, I’m thankful for all the usual things I cherish. But I’m also grateful that I listened to the little voice that startled me out of my prayers all those years ago. Until then, I had felt unworthy of such a wonderful dream—but now I realize somebody up there doesn’t think so and just wanted to let me know!


The WoMen's Literary Cafe Authors wish to thank all of the support we had on our recent book launch. As a thank you, three of you can win an ebook copy of “Wedlocked: A Novel”.  Just leave a comment telling what you are thankful for with your email address.  One entry per person - open worldwide!  TODAY ONLY!

About Wedlocked: On what should be the happiest day of her life, Rebecca Ross is panic stricken. Rebecca has just wed Craig Jacobs, but she realizes she put more thought into choosing her florist than she did in choosing the man she's just pledged to love for the rest of her life.

Before Craig, Rebecca, a talented Long Island girl, dreamed of following in her grandmother's footsteps with an acting career. Unfortunately, she was cut down to size by years of disappointment, and by her first love-a Hollywood director. She returned to Long Island a lost and broken woman, and ended up in the last place she ever wanted: her old bedroom at her parents' house.

But Rebecca's mother, an overzealous convert to Judaism, has a long held dream too: marry off her three daughters to Jewish men. So no one is more thrilled than her when Rebecca meets and marries bon vivant Craig Jacobs, the man who has won over the whole family. Too bad they're all about to discover that underneath his charismatic shell, this Prince Charming is anything but!


Bonnie Trachtenberg is the award-winning, bestselling author of Wedlocked: A Novel, a romantic comedy about a hilariously disastrous marriage. It is available in hardcover, paperback, and now for only 99 cents on Kindle and Nook. Bonnie was senior writer/copy chief at Book–of-the-Month Club. She lives on Long Island with her husband and a houseful of adorable pets. http://ning.it/ovIMiw


All of the blogs listed below are hosting wonderful authors on Nov 16th and are all having GIVEAWAYS!  Be sure to visit them all on Wednesday!



Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Promissary Payback and Unrevealed - Two by Laurel Dewey (Book Reviews)


Title: Promissory Payback
Author: Laurel Dewey
Publisher: The Story Plant

Laurel Dewey’s Detective Jane Perry is quickly becoming one of the most distinctive, dynamic, and unforgettable characters in suspense fiction today. She’s rock hard, but capable of extraordinary tenderness. She’s a brilliant cop, but she’s capable of making life-altering mistakes. She’s uncannily talented, and she’s heartbreakingly human.

In PROMISSORY PAYBACK Jane is called in to investigate the gruesome murder of a woman who profited greatly from the misfortunes of others. The case leaves Jane with little question about motive...and with a seemingly endless number of suspects.

Title: Unrevealed
Author: Laurel Dewey
Publisher: The Story Plant


In UNREVEALED, Dewey gives us four indelible portraits of Jane Perry:

ANONYMOUS: One of Jane's first AA meetings leads her to an encounter with a woman in need of her detection skills...and a secret she never expected to uncover.

YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: Forced by her boss to speak at a high school career day, Jane meets a troubled boy and finds that his story is only the beginning of a much more revealing tale.

YOU'RE ONLY AS SICK AS YOUR SECRETS: An early-morning homicide call introduces Jane to a mystery as layered as it is unsuspected.

THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM: Jane finds herself sharing a 2:00 am conversation at a downtown bar with an old acquaintance. Will the bloody night that proceeded this moment complicate Jane's intentions?
 About the author: Laurel Dewey was born and raised in Los Angeles. She is the author of two nonfiction books on plant medicine, a Silver Spur-nominated Western novella, hundreds of articles, the Jane Perry novels, PROTECTOR, REDEMPTION, and REVELATIONS, and the Jane Perry novelette, AN UNFINISHED DEATH. She lives in Western Colorado with her husband, where she is currently working on a standalone novel.
You can find Laurel at her website and on facebook.
My thoughts: At 80 and 96 pages, I read both the novelette and the collection of stories in one sitting.  It was a great way to become immersed in the life of Jane Perry and make me hungry to read the series about her. Though Jane comes across as a tough as nails police detective, I believe that she has a softer side that allows her, through her "observations" to see more than other people. I probably saw this most in the short story - You Can't Judge a Book By It's Cover.  This is a good adage for Jane as well as the woman and boy in the story.
I have to laugh as I did a cut and paste on the above descriptions from the press package that I received, and as I just went back and read the Promissory Payback one, I realize that I wrote the same thought about Jane expressed there! 
In Promissary Payback, I like the way that Jane looked beyond the obvious and took her time putting together the clues to solve the homicide.  She noticed peoples behavior and their "tells" to figure out what they weren't saying. It was fast paced and didn't string you along before coming to a quick conclusion. 
Each of the short stories either took place in hours or days, but you still get some of Jane's backstory to help you know a little more about her. I also liked that each of the stories were very different from each other.  They weren't so much about the crimes as they were about the people who committed them and what led them to their behavior.  
On a side note - these read well as stand alones - you do not need to have read the series to enjoy them, but as a stated before, beware if it makes you hungry for more!
~I received a complimentary E-copy of these from Partners in Crime Tours and The Story Plant (through Net Galley)  in exchange for my review.~


Read on for an excerpt from Promissory Payback:
Detective Jane Perry took another hard drag on her cigarette. She knew she needed to quiet her nerves for what she was about to see.

Another victim. Another senseless, gruesome murder that she would add to the board at Denver Headquarters. When Sergeant Weyler called her half an hour ago, she hadn’t even finished her third cup of coffee. “This one is odd, Jane,” he told her with that characteristic tone in his voice that also suggested an evil tinge behind the slaying du jour. “Be prepared,” he said before hanging up. It was a helluva way to start a Monday morning.

As Jane drove her ’66 Mustang toward the crime scene in the toney section of Denver known as Cherry Creek, she tried to look on the bright side. If she’d still been a drinker, she’d be battling an epic hangover at that moment and doing her best to hide it from Weyler. But since becoming a friend of Bill W., her addictions involved healthier options such as jogging, buying way too many pounds of expensive coffee and even briefly joining a yoga group. She stopped attending the class only because the pansy-ass male instructor wasn’t comfortable with her setting her Glock in the holster to the side of her mat during class. Since she was usually headed to work after the 7 AM stretch session, Jane was obviously carrying her service weapon. She wasn’t about to leave it in her car or a locker at the facility. Nor would she be so careless as to hang it on one of the eco-friendly bamboo hooks that lined the yoga room.

So for Jane, it was obvious and more than natural for the Glock to lie next to her as she attempted the Salutation to the Sun pose and arched into Downward Facing Dog. In her mind, there was no dichotomy between the peacefulness of yoga and the brain splattering capacity of her Glock. As the annoying, high-pitched flute music played in the background—a sound meant to encourage calmness but which sounded more like a dying parakeet to Jane—she felt completely safe knowing that a loaded gun was inches from her grasp. The other people in the class, however, did have a problem and they showed it by arranging their mats as far from Jane as humanly possible. None of this behavior bothered Jane until the soy milk-chugging teacher took her aside and asked her to please remove the Glock from class. Since Jane wasn’t about to take orders from a guy in a fuchsia leotard who had a penchant for crying at least twice during class, she strapped her 9mm across her organic cotton yoga t! op and quit.

That’s what predictably happened whenever you shoved a square peg like Jane Perry in a round hole of people and situations that don’t understand the real world. Crime has a nasty habit of worming its way into the most unlikely places—churches, schools, sacred retreats and possibly yoga studios. The way Jane Perry looked at life, yoga might keep your flexible but a loaded gun kept you alive so you could continue being flexible. She knew what it felt like to be the victim of circumstance; to be held hostage by another person’s violent objective. Even though it was a long time ago, she’d never wash the stench from her memory. Her vow was always the same: Nobody would ever make Jane Perry a victim again.

But somebody apparently had made the old lady inside the Cherry Creek house a victim. Jane rolled to the curb and parked the Mustang, sucking the last microgram of nicotine from the butt of her cigarette. Squashing it onto the street with the heel of her roughout cowboy boots, she flashed her shield to the cops standing at the periphery and ducked under the yellow crime tape that was draped between the two precision-trimmed boxwood shrubs that framed the bottom of the long, immaculate brick driveway.
Publisher/Publication Date: The Story Plant, Aug 2011
ISBN: 978-1611880076
80 pages
Publisher/Publication Date: The Story Plant, Oct 2011
ISBN: 978-1611880236
96 pages

Sunday, November 13, 2011

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?



What are you reading on Mondays is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey - You can hook up with the Mr. Linky there with your own post - but be sure and let me know what you are reading too! 


Currently reading:


Books up this week:
Promissory Payback by Laurel Dewey

Bathroom Book:

Books finished last week:
The Christmas Shoppe by Melody Carlson

Books reviewed last week:


Until next week ----  Ready - Set - Read!





Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Christmas Shoppe by Melody Carlson (Book Review)

Title: The Christmas Shoppe
Author: Melody Carlson
Publisher: Baker

About the book:  The small town of Parrish Springs is not ready for Matilda Honeycutt. A strange older woman with scraggly gray hair and jewelry that jangles as she walks, Matilda is certainly not the most likely person to buy the old Barton Building on the town's quaint main street. When it becomes apparent that her new shop doesn't fit the expectations of Parrish Springs residents, a brouhaha erupts. After all, Christmas is approaching, and the last thing the town needs is a junky shop run by someone who looks and acts like a gypsy. But as townsfolk venture into the strange store, they discover that old memories can bring new life and healing.

Once again, Melody Carlson delivers a Christmas story that will touch hearts and delight the senses. Sure to be a classic, The Christmas Shoppe is filled with the special magic the best Christmas stories share--that intangible mixture of nostalgia, joy, and a little bit of magic.


My Thoughts: This was definitely a feel-good story but for those who  might be scared off by the title, I did not find it overwhelmingly "Christmas-y".  It was set in the weeks before and after Thanksgiving, and does give you small doses of the message of salvation, so would be good for someone who doesn't have a personal relationship with Christ.

It made me think about treasures from my childhood that might evoke nostalgic memories if I were to stumble across them today.  Like a Mrs. Beasley doll or an old diary. Do you have treasures in your life that remind you of a certain time or experience?

This was a quick story and just gave you glimpses in to the lives of these townspeople.  I look forward to seeing if Melody Carlson is going to expand on any of these characters for any further books.  Seems like there would be some interesting backstories or future stories here - Like that of Rose, Susanna's mother-in-law; or the future of Susanna and Tommy. 

If you want a quick read and a "warm-up" book for the Christmas season - take a look at The Christmas Shoppe.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my review from Baker Publishing.~


Publisher/Publication Date: Baker, Sept 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8007-1926-5
168 pages



Winners!

Webfetti.com



Congrats to Valentina for winning the copy of Cloudburst by VC Andrews.


Congrats to Janiera for winning the copy of The Comforts of Home by Jodi Thomas. 

Both winners have been emailed!

Mailbox Monday (Nov 14, 2011)


 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in November at the Mailbox Monday blog.  In My Mailbox is hosted Sundays at The Story Siren. Please visit these posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week! 



Wayward Saints
by Suzzy Roche

Mary Saint, the rule-breaking former lead singer of the almost-famous band Sliced Ham, has given up on music after the death of her band member and lover Garbagio seven years earlier.  With the help of her best friend, Thaddeus, Mary is trying to make mochaccinos in San Francisco.  Meanwhile, back in her hometown of Swallow, New York, her mother Jean Saint, struggles with her own ghosts.

When Mary is invited to give a concert at her old high school, Jean is thrilled, though she's worried about what Father Benedict and her neighbors will think of songs such as "Sewer Flower" and "You're a Pig."  But she soon realizes there are going to be bigger problems when her arch-nemesis, Adele from the Silver Tray Bakery, gets involved.

Wayward Siants is a touching, emotionally complex, and hilarious look at how the past always bumps up against the present.  Punctuated by winks at the music business and loving flourishes about family, faith, and the unpredictability of talent, the novel touches on the very deep pain of loss, and the possibilities of the miraculous.




If You Hear Her
by Shiloh Walker

The scream Lena Riddle hears in the woods behind her house is enough to curdle her blood -- she has no doubt that a woman is in real danger.   Unfortunately, with no physical evidence, the local law officers in small-town Ash, Kentucky, dismiss her claim.  But Lena knows what she heard -- and it leaves her filled with fear and frustration.

Ezra King is on leave from the state police, but he can't escape the guilty memories that haunt his dreams.  When he sees Lena, he is immediately drawn to her.  He aches to touch her -- to be touched by her -- but is he too burdened by his tragic past to get close?  When Ezra hears her story of an unknown woman's screams, his instincts tell him that Lena's life is also at risk -- and his desire to protect her is as fierce as his need to possess her.






Full Dark, No Stars
by Stephen King

"I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger . . ." writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up "1922," the first in this pitch-black quartet of mesmerizing tales from Stephen King. For James, that stranger is awakened when his wife, Arlette, proposes selling off the family homestead and moving to Omaha, setting in motion a gruesome train of murder and madness.

In "Big Driver," a cozy-mystery writer named Tess encounters the stranger along a back road in Massachusetts when she takes a shortcut home after a book-club engagement. Violated and left for dead, Tess plots a revenge that will bring her face-to-face with another stranger: the one inside herself.

"Fair Extension," the shortest of these tales, is perhaps the nastiest and certainly the funniest. Making a deal with the devil not only saves Dave Streeter from a fatal cancer but provides rich recompense for a lifetime of resentment.

When her husband of more than twenty years is away on one of his business trips, Darcy Anderson looks for batteries in the garage. Her toe knocks up against a box under a worktable and she discovers the stranger inside her husband. It’s a horrifying discovery, rendered with bristling intensity, and it definitively ends a good marriage.
Like Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight, which generated such enduring films as The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, Full Dark, No Stars proves Stephen King a master of the long story form.






Where all the Dead Lie
by J.T. Ellison

The shot to the head didn't kill Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson.  But it will crack her psyche and take her to the very edge.

In her showdown with the murderous Pretender, a bullet taken at close range severed the connection between Taylor's thoughts and speech.  Effectively mute, there's no telling if her voice will ever come back.  Trapped in silence, she is surrounded by ghosts -- of the past, of friendships and trusts lost. . . of a lost faith in herself and her motives that night.

When Memphis Highsmythe offers Taylor his home in the Scottish Highlands to recuperate, her fiance can't refuse her excitement, no matter his distrust of the man.  At first, Memphis's drafty and singularly romantic castle seems the perfect place for healing.  But shortly the house itself surrounds her like a menacing presence.  As Taylor's sense of isolation and vulnerability grows, so too, does her grip on reality.

PSTD. PILLS. GHOSTS. GRUDGES.

Someone or something is coming after Taylor.  But is she being haunted by the dead. . . or hunted by the living?


What books came home to you this week?


Monday, November 7, 2011

November Giveaway Hop - Win The Comforts of Home by Jodi Thomas!

Welcome to the November Giveaway Hop!  This is my first giveaway in which I am using Rafflecopter, so if there are any problems - please leave me a comment so I can try to fix them!

This hop is being hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Tristi Pinkston.  It will run from Tuesday, Nov 8 through Friday, Nov 11th. It officially starts at midnight, but I wanted to make sure that rafflecopter worked before I went to bed!  There are over 200 blogs giving away things that a reader, author or blogger would enjoy! 

I have a copy of The Comforts of Home by Jodi Thomas to giveaway. 

About the book: In Harmony, Texas, twenty-year-old Reagan Truman has found her place and her family. But with her uncle taken ill and her friend Noah lost and disheartened with his life, Reagan is afraid of ending up alone again -- and she's not the only one. Harmony seems to be full of people yearning to make a connection. Like funeral director Tyler Wright, who longs to take his relationship with his friend Kate to the next level, but doesn't know how. And Ronelle Logan, a woman frightened of everyday human interactions, until she meets an angry, lonely man -- someone just like her.

When a terrible storm threatens the town, the residents of Harmony are forced to really think about what they truly want. Because making the connections they so desperately desire mean putting their hears at risk.

You can read my review here.  Please give rafflecopter time to load if it is not showing up. 






Start Hopping!

Collecting Innocents by CK Webb and DJ Weaver (Book Review)




 
Title: Collecting Innocents (The Second Novel in the 911 Abduction Series)
Authors: CK Webb and DJ Weaver
Publisher: Suspense Publishing


About the book: Highway travel can be lonely and treacherous. Broken down vehicles litter the Emergency Lane like corpses on a battlefield. What if you were alone with no one to call when you found yourself stranded? Your only companion; your small child sleeping in the back seat. What would you do?

On I-10 in Louisiana the answer is simple… you use the Emergency Call Box. But, while you sigh a breath of relief in the knowledge that help is on its way, a much more sinister listener has heard your 911 call.

Calls for help are coming in from Emergency Call Boxes along I-10 in Louisiana. But when the State Trooper or wrecker service arrives to assist, there is no sign of the vehicle. Days later, the driver is found savagely murdered with no trace of their tiny passenger in sight.

When a police officer, formerly of the Aberdeen Police Department, sees a twisted pattern of murder and child abduction arising from 911 calls, he contacts Sloanne Kelly, now known for her work with child abduction cases. Together, Sloanne, Shawn Tyler and Mac Mackenzie, with the help of reporter Birney Sullivan, go on the hunt for a killer and the innocent children he is collecting.

My thoughts:  Let me just say quickly, that even though this is the second book in the series, it read very well as a stand alone.  Be warned - there is a good chance that you will want to go back and read the first book, Cruelty to Innocents, when you are done!

I enjoyed getting to know Sloanne and Shawn, the founders of Saving Angels and learning about the work that they did in finding abducted children. They worked well together with Birney and Mac, and even though they tended to "stretch" the boundaries sometime, they backed each other up and generally came out without too many scratches because of it.

If anything, this book shows how vulnerable - and how trusting - people can be.  When stranded on a stretch of highway, don't trust someone just because they show up with a tow truck!  Sometimes they can be a wolf in sheep's clothing!  But it isn't just women with children that were at risk in this book - anybody with a child could be in possible danger.  The way that they were subdued was unusual, as well as the different ways that the adults who were murdered were found! 

I was drawn in with the first abduction and caught myself holding my breath each time someone else was taken.  I thought I had figured out who the abductor was, but it turned out that I was wrong!  I always like it when I am not able to figure out the book before it is revealed to me!  I would recommend this book to those that like thrillers or suspense.

Find out more about the series at the authors' website.  You can also connect with CK Webb on twitter.

~I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the authors in exchange for my review.~ 


Publisher/Publication Date: Kindle Edition - Suspense Publishing, Oct 2011
ASIN: B005Z731FE
211 pages


Winners!

Here are the winners of my last two giveaways:

The Ring by Bobbie Pyron was won by Christine W.

Destined by PC and Kristin Cast - the original winner entered multiple ways by saying they followed by twitter, email, facebook, etc, etc when in fact this could not be verified, so I had to draw a new winner - That winner is Melissa!

Both winners have been contacted by email and have confirmed their winnings!  Congrats!

Note - I do check if you win that you follow how you say you follow - Be fair to those who do and follow the rules.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

It's Monday! What are you reading? (Nov 7, 2011)



What are you reading on Mondays is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey - You can hook up with the Mr. Linky there with your own post - but be sure and let me know what you are reading too!  I have some new giveaways going on, so be sure to check the right sidebar!  And in other news, my little girl had her little girl on Friday.  She weighed in at 7lbs 3oz and 20 1/2" long.  Watch for pictures later this week!


Currently reading:

Books up this week:

Bathroom Book:

Books finished last week:
Collecting Innocents by CK Webb

Books reviewed last week:

Until next week ----  Ready - Set - Read!





Mailbox Monday (Nov 7, 2011)


 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in November at the Mailbox Monday blog.  In My Mailbox is hosted Sundays at The Story Siren. Please visit these posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week! 

I have some giveaways ending in the next couple of days with low low entries - so be sure to take a look at them - Three novella books Hold Me, Thrill Me and Entice Me, Destined by PC and Kristin Cast (ends today!),  Cloudburst by VC Andrews (ends tomorrow!).


The Space Between
by Brenna Yovanoff

Everything burns in Pandemonium -- a city in Hell made of chrome and steel, where there is no future and life is an expanse of froze time.  That's where Daphne lives.

The daughter of a demon and a fallen angel, she wonders what lies in store for her.  Will she become a soulless demon like her sisters?  Or follow in the footsteps of her brother Obie, whose life is devoted to saving lost souls on Earth?  All she wants is to find a place where she belongs.

When Obie saves a bleeding, broken boy named Truman from the brink of death and then suddenly goes missing, Daphne runs away to Earth to find him.  But on Earth, everything is colder and more terrifying, and Daphne struggles between her demon instincts and her growing -- yet achingly unfamiliar -- feelings for Truman.  As Daphne and Truman search for Obie, they must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in their way.

But Daphne also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be.



Dark Flame (The Immortals, Book 4)
by Alyson Noel

Ever is trying to help Haven make the transition into life as an immortal.  But with Haven drunk on her new powers and acting recklessly, she poses the ultimate threat -- exposing their secret world to the outside.  But Ever's struggle to keep the Immortals hidden only propels Haven closer to the enemy:  Roman and his evil companions.

At the same time, Ever delves deeper into dark magick to free Damen from Roman's power.  But when her spell backfires, it binds her to the one guy who's hell-bent on her destruction.  Now there's a strange, foreign pulse coursing through her, and no matter what she does, she can't stop thinking about Roman -- and longing for his touch.  As she struggles to resist the fiery attraction threatening to consume her, Roman is more than willing to take advantage of her weakened state . . . and Ever edges closer and closer to surrender. 

Frantic to break the spell before it's too late, Ever turns to Jude for help, risking everything she knows and loves to save herself -- and her future with Damen. . . 



What books came home to you this week?

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