Princess and Missy's Magical Adventrues: The Crystal Heart by Michelle Nicole Martin

Book Description:
It's a scary day for a happy little dog named Princess when her family suddenly disappears. But Princess doesn't give up! Follow Princess as her loving spirit leads her to an enchanted forest full of wonderful surprises. Share her excitement when seh meets Missy, the magical butterfly who gives Princess the Crystal Heart and asks for Princess' help to accomplish her important work. Will Missy and Princess be able to overcome the wicked plans of Jaith the Joy Stealer? Find out as Princess and her new friends set forth on a magical adventure!

My Thoughts:
Hmmmm....I'm still not overly sure how I feel about this book. Princess loses her family and becomes homeless. Through her good deeds, she meets Missy, the magical butterfly, who gives her a magical crystal heart. Princess learns that Jaith the Joy Stealer likes to mess up Missy's happy deeds and has now focused on thwarting Princess' goodness!
I liked the magical aspect of this book, it was really cute, and that Princess' group uses theirs only for good. The book introduces several somewhat heavy topics for children: homelessness, being laid off, foreclosure, poverty and several similar topics. I know they are real life subjects and that children shouldn't be shielded from them, but it seemed a lot for one little book. I also didn't get that Princess HAD to find her family at the start and that just kinda gets forgotten toward the end because she has a new family. (maybe the author is going to continue the search in the next book?) Either way, it is a cute little book, the illustrations are very good and the story is a definite good vs evil that all children enjoy.
I rate this a 3/5. It is probably for children 7 and up. They would understand the complexities of the story and enjoy the magic!

Thank you to Bostick for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Ecstasy in darkness by Gena Showalter

Book Description:
Growing up poor on New Chicago’s meanest streets, Ava Sans had two options: be the predator, or be the prey. No contest. Now, working for Alien Investigation and Removal, she’s been ordered to capture the biggest, baddest warrior of all—a vampire too beautiful to be real, with the ability to manipulate time. Once the leader of the entire vampire army, McKell has been deemed savage and unstable, spurned even by his own kind.
To McKell, humans should be nothing more than sustenance. Yet the petite, golden-skinned Ava is a fascinating contradiction—vicious yet witty, strong yet vulnerable, lethal but fiercely loyal. Against his better judgment, McKell craves that loyalty, and much more. When the chase leads to seduction, McKell and Ava will race to discover the truth about his past. But the answers will come at a price, even for a woman who thought she had nothing left to lose. . . .

My Thoughts:
This book was ok. McKell is a definite MALE. He is the leader of the vampire academy and captured by Ava and her best friend Noelle when they make out in front of him. Ava and Noelle are wanting to be agents of the AIR. Right before he escapes from them, McKell 'claims' Ava. He shows up and offers to help her capture a Schon queen that is on the loose. The seal the deal with a kiss and then it is on...the hunt and their relationship!
I think I would have really loved this book if I'd read the previous four. As it is, I did like it. I didn't like the frustration as other characters enter that you are supposed to recognize from earlier books and I had no clue. I enjoyed the back and forth between Ava and McKell. Their relationship was very lighthearted, but serious...a hard combination to pull off but the author did well with it. Ava and Noelle have such a strong 'sisterly' bond and I love how it is portrayed. I didn't really care for the ending, it seemed very abrupt but fitting at the same time. I plan to get the earlier books in this series and that will probably change my rating for this book when it makes more sense to me.
This book was a 3/5. I enjoyed parts of it but overall not a 'reread' book. It might be if you are into the series but not as a stand alone book.

Thank you to Gallery Books for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinion stated above are 100% mine.

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

Book Description:
Present day 40-something Jane Lindsey manages an antique store in Manhattan so she's surrounded all day long with remnants of other peoples' pasts. When the story opens, her husband of 23 years has just taken a job in another state and to her shock he's asked her not to come with him. He tells her he wants time alone to decide whether or not he wants to be married anymore. As she enters this time of waiting - a time she didn't see coming - she begins to see that all of the important decisions in her life were made for her by other people, her parents and her husband especially - and that she let them do it. While she's coming to this realization, she finds an old betrothal ring, engraved with her first name, hidden inside the binding a 17th century prayer book. But there's no sign that the ring was ever worn and this intrigues her. Jane begins a quest to find out who it belonged to and why it was hidden for 300-plus years. In time, she begins to believe it belonged to Lady Jane Grey. This second Jane, Jane Grey, is a true historical figure, and much like my present day Jane, most of Lady Jane's life-defining decisions were made for her by other people.

My Thoughts:
This book was interesting. It tells the story of modern day Jane with her choices (or lack their of) and impending doom of her marriage and Lady Jane Grey (actual historical monarch) who literally had no choices. It compares the two of them in a way and Jane finds a 'mystery ring' that belonged to Lady Jane but cannot prove it was hers. The book shows how two completely different women had somewhat of the same problem and how one helped the other to overcome it.
I liked Lady Jane and how she was portrayed. I love when actual historical figures are given a 'voice' for their personal life, even if it is just for fictional purposes. She seemed so real and you could feel her emotions through her seamstress' words. Jane's character was ok. I didn't like the 'whining' but it served its purpose in the story to tell of her character and change it. My favorite character was Lucy, the seamstress who was also friend to Lady Jane and loved her very much. All the characters were very realistic and the story well written.
I rate this a 4/5. It was a good read, but not one I would add to my 'keeper' shelf.

Thank you to LibraryThings for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Two Lethal Lies Giveaway Winners!!!!

And the winners are:
PoCoKat, Andrew, and barbjan10. Congratulations!!! I will now email the winners and they will have 24 hours to respond with their information for me to send to Hachette. If a winner(s) fail to respond within the time frame given, another will be chosen.


There were 14 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.1. PoCoKat
2.14. Andrew
3.9. barbjan10
4.6. Cindy W.
5.13. Kim
6.4. Cheryl F {The Lucky Ladybug}
7.12. Renee G
8.5. Loretta Canton
9.11. rubynreba
10.2. elaing8
11.7. Judy H
12.10. Marianna
13.3. Autumn
14.8. spynaert
Timestamp: 2010-10-26 21:55:22 UTC

Simply Irresistible Giveaway Winners!!!

Here are the winners of Simply Irresistible:
Kim, D.A., and Anita Yancey. Congratulations!!! I will now email the winners and they will have 24 hours to respond with their information for me to send to Hachette. If a winner(s) fail to respond within the time frame given, another will be chosen.

There were 16 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.2. Kim
2.6. D.A.
3.14. Anita Yancey
4.4. Brooke
5.1. Teresa
6.10. Cheryl {The Lucky Ladybug}
7.13. barbjan10
8.5. HeadlessFowl
9.12. spynaert
10.8. PoCoKat
11.11. mbreakfield
12.3. skyla11377
13.7. Wanda
14.16. Amy
15.15. rubynreba
16.9. Elizabeth
Timestamp: 2010-10-26 21:40:04 UTC

Guest Blogger Scott Nicholson author of Disintegration!!

The Women in My Life
By Scott Nicholson
http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/

I’ve been very lucky to have wonderful, strong women in my life, ones who don’t tolerate B.S. and who lead heart-centered, emotional lives.

In honor of them, I am donating all author proceeds for October Girls this week (Oct. 25-Oct. 31) to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I have a modest goal of $100. Of course, you are also invited to donate directly at the BRCF website.

My mother is a living example of persistence. She is not only a breast cancer survivor, she is a survivor in general. Overcoming extreme poverty as a child, she has since earned three college degrees, which isn’t that unusual except she got a couple of them after she was dead. A horrible car accident crushed her larynx, left her clinically dead for several minutes, and spawned dozens of surgeries. She has had a tracheotomy in her throat for 30 years.

Never one to sit around feeling sorry for herself, she finished her job of raising five boys, works as a physical therapist even though fibromyalgia and arthritis puts her in worse condition than many of her patients, and regularly flies around the country on church relief trips to help people whom she believes are worse off than she is. With that example, you can see why I never let a measly 800 rejection slips stop me from being a writer. I love you, Momma.

My wife Lexie is an angel. The Left-Handed Puppeteer just waltzed into my life while I was still trying on wings, coming on with such no-nonsense sincerity that I never had much opportunity to doubt the greater forces bringing us together. We fell in love on New Year’s Eve, and since then, every moment has felt like a new day, a new year, a new forever, and each kiss feels like a miracle that’s a fresh invention of God.

She’s a community artist, organizing parades and puppet shows that spread positive messages, and she’s sweet, spiritual, tireless, and loyal. She’s also intelligent and supports our desire to live outside the stream, to pursue self-reliance and sustainable living with our garden and animals, and together we generally try to bring more good than harm to the world. I love you, Lexie.

My daughter, Goldbug, is a beautiful, inspiring creature of light. She has a fierce sense of justice and is fiercely intelligent, a 99th percentile reader who always has five open books lying around. Now in the fifth grade, she is already a published writer and her photographs have been credited in the local newspaper. With her astonishing memory, she can recall almost every detail of her life and its events, but she’s also funny and playful despite all that rich experience.

I hope October Girls tells her a little bit about the world, and that life sometimes is tragic but also beautiful. I aspire to be the type of man I’d want her to seek out as she grows older, for when I’m not around. I ask God for patience, kindness, courage, generosity, and strength, so I might fulfill my joyful task of raising her and guiding her as she deserves. And I am the luckiest man on this planet. I love you, Goldbug.

To all the women of the world, all mothers and sisters and daughters, thank you.
http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/OctoberGirls1.htm
-------------
My new crime thriller Disintegration launches on Nov. 1 for 99 cents! With your help, it has a good chance to hit the Top 100 and double your chances of winning a Kindle. If you want a free advance copy and agree to review it by Nov. 1, please email me at hauntedcomputer AT yahoo.com

Scott Nicholson is author of 12 novels, including the thrillers Speed Dating with the Dead, Drummer Boy, Forever Never Ends, The Skull Ring, As I Die Lying, Burial to Follow ,and They Hunger. His revised novels for the U.K. Kindle are Creative Spirit, Troubled, and Solom. He’s also written four comic series, six screenplays, and more than 60 short stories. His story collections include Ashes, The First, Murdermouth: Zombie Bits, and Flowers.

To be eligible for the Kindle DX, simply post a comment below with contact info. Feel free to debate and discuss the topic, but you will only be entered once per blog. Visit all the blogs on the tour and increase your odds. I’m also giving away a Kindle 3 through the tour newsletter and a Pandora’s Box of free e-books to a follower of “hauntedcomputer” on Twitter. Thanks for playing. Complete details at http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/blogtour.htm

Forgive Yourself by Allie Sager

Book Description:
Evocative and filled with a rare compassion, Forgive Yourself by new author Allie Sager blends supernatural dreamscapes with affairs of the heart and unforgivable betrayal. Smart and telling, the author enlists a stunning and heartfelt prose to weave one woman's reluctant love story. On the surface to the outside world, Sammy Logan might appear to be a woman who has it all, but the fact is she is married to a man who has never truly forgiven her for a past she had no control over. Haunted each day by the vivid secret, she turns to Conner Simpson, a man she has always loved--the man without question who makes her feel complete. Caught on the brink, confused, but certainly not alone, Sammy must first forgive herself, make peace with the dark demons of her past and her mystic ancestral visions before she can truly be free.

My Thoughts:
I did not like this book at all. It is written about a couple that is having an affair. Sammie and Conner. Sammie is married to Rich whom she has distanced herself from so feels lonely. Connor has a twisted relationship with his wife but stays with her because of his son. This is all 'lead' by Sammie's dead grandmother and is supposed to be forcing the 'participants' to forgive themselves by causing them pain etc.
This book was rather twisted and disgusting. It is marketed as a romance but is more erotica. If I had known that, there is no way I would have requested it. As it is, I read most all of it, I did skip the in depth descriptions of disgusting events. I honestly disliked all the characters, there really wasn't a redeeming quality among the bunch. If you enjoy erotica, this may be for you but it definitely wasn't for me!
This book was a 1/5. I honestly wouldn't recommend it at all.

Thank you to Bostick for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Giveaway Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks (Audio Book)!!!!!

Book Description:
When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her ... a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards ... and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.


Thanks to Hachette Book Group I have 3 copies to Giveaway!!! Here are the rules.

• You must be a follower to participate
• Leave Me a Comment on THIS post with your e-mail (no e-mail you can't win)
• US & Canadian Residents only
• No PO Boxes
• Hachette Book Group will be sending the copies to the winners
• You have 24 hours to respond if you are contacted as a winner, if you miss the deadline, a new winner will be chosen and contacted.
• Contest is open until November 10, 2010
• Winners will be chosen using a randomizer
• Directly from Hachette: Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks (Audio Book)

Book Description:
When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.
But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her ... a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards ... and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

My Thoughts:
This was a great book! Katie is running from her abusive husband and lands in Southport. There she does her best to be unnoticed by everyone, but since it is a small town where everyone knows everyone else, she is noticed by EVERYONE. She takes a job as a waitress and is doing well staying under the radar and making no friends until Jo moves in next door. Jo becomes a friend and confidant. Then Katie meets Alex and his kids. That is when her life starts to get tricky....especially because her husband is still looking for her.
I was amazed at how the author used the overtone of abuse through the whole book, but made it to where it wasn't ALL the book was about. It is a very sensitive subject and was handled wonderfully. Katie, Alex, Jo and wonderful characters. Well developed and very believable. I love how the author wrote about Katie's husband, it was a realistic mindset for someone who is abusive. You almost feel sorry for the guy, Kevin, even though you completely despise him! This was my first Nicholas Sparks book but it won't be my last. The narrator did a wonderful job and I very much enjoyed the voices!
Rated a 5/5 for me. It is a romance with suspense and a twist at the end. Wonderful book!

Thank you to Hachette for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Julie Lessman Interview & Signed book Giveaway!!!--You have more time to enter!!!!!!

Ok everyone we are adding one more day to this giveaway so anyone who hasn't entered yet you still have a little time so leave your comments!!!

Good morning all! After a bit of technical difficulty, here is my interview with the wonderful author Julie Lessman. Her newest release A Hope Undaunted is great and she is truly a lovly lady!
1. When did you start writing? And do you believe it is a calling?

Oh gosh, the first or the second time? :) The first was at the age of twelve after reading Gone With the Wind, when I wrote 150 pages of what today is my debut novel, A Passion Most Pure. The second time was some forty years later when God tapped me on the shoulder in a beauty shop (figuratively, of course) while reading a 2001 Newsweek cover article on how Christian movies, books and music were on the threshold of exploding. Now is the time to finish your book, the thought came, and I knew that meant the book I’d begun at the age of twelve. But romance? The "subgenre" that literary snobs (myself included) looked down upon? Yes, the thought came again, write for Me. Mmm … passion for God, an interesting concept. Thus was born my tagline and my ministry—Passion With a Purpose.
And a calling? I’d say anything as natural and essential as breathing to someone is a calling, wouldn’t you? Writing has always been lifeblood to me—first as a means of creating a world in which I was loved, and secondly as a means of talking to God after I was saved at the age of 23. But it wasn’t until my 50s that God “called” me to to draw people to an intimate relationship with Him through the “passion” of my words—both romantically and spiritually.
I thoroughly explain both my “calling” and how I came to it in a blog I wrote for The Seekers entitled “Life on the Edge …” (http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2009/05/life-on-edge.html), but basically I want to reach women like I used to be—raised in the faith, but living any old way they please. You see, according to the American Religious Identification Survey conducted by the Barna Group, “nine out of ten women nationwide (90%) consider themselves to be Christian.” The sad truth is that most of these women who do read romance wouldn’t choose Inspirational romance to save their soul, myself included at one time.
Why? Well, I can only speak for myself and my friends who wanted more heart-pounding, 21st-century realistic romantic tension interlaced with God’s precepts, which in years past, hasn't been overly prevalent in the Christian market. As a result, most of my friends, Christian and non, read secular romance, which, of course, generally promotes the world’s amoral lifestyle rather than God’s. What’s wrong with this picture? I mean if the world can take something that God created and use it to sell its amoral agenda, then why can’t Christians utilize this God-given passion to promote Him and His precepts? So, yes, I do believe it’s my “calling—to use passion the way it was intended—to teach people God’s precepts and therein, His love. It’s the cry of my heart, and I hope and pray that for my readers, my stories of romantic passion translate into passion for God.

2. Do any of your characters ever represent people you know in any way like attitude, features, or spiritual nature?

Okay, this is embarrassing—yeah, me. For instance in A Passion Most Pure, the heroine Faith O’Connor is basically my spiritual self. Of course we both have hot tempers and get our “Irish” up more than we should, but we also have an intimate relationship with God. Faith talks and prays to Him as naturally as if He is her best friend, but she gets angry with Him too. I like to say that she (and I) are emotionally engaged with the God of the Universe—we laugh with Him, tear up at His goodness to us, and worship Him with all of our hearts. As a matter of fact, Faith and I are so much alike in the spiritual aspect, that a good friend once told me that reading A Passion Most Pure was “like going to lunch with me.” I hope that’s a good thing!

Charity, the sister heroine of Book 2 A Passion Redeemed is my rebellious and “passionate” self, before I came to the Lord. I was a wild child of the seventies before Jesus got a hold of me (as he does Charity in Book 2)!

Lizzie (or Beth), the sister heroine of Book 3 A Passion Denied is my dreamer self. Lizzie is a bookworm bent on fairytale romance, just like I used to be as a little girl, sneaking downstairs to watch romantic movies after my parents went to bed. In her story, Lizzie has to learn (just like I did) that true romance, the kind that really satisfies, comes from following God’s precepts, not the world’s.

3. Do you feel the emotions of the characters when you write?

Grin … are you kidding?? I should have stock in Kleenex!! I am totally engaged with each and every scene I write, laughing one moment and sobbing my heart out the next. In fact, when I read the final galleys for A Passion Most Pure, I actually went through about twelve tissues! What a sap!! :)

Sometimes it reminds me of the first scene from the movie, Romancing the Stone, where Kathleen Turner is being chased by desperados in a Western movie, only to have the cowboy hero rescue her and then ride off into the sunset together. The next scene is Kathleen Turner at her keyboard, sobbing her eyes out over the scene she just wrote. Both my daughter and husband thoroughly enjoy mocking me with imitations of me sitting at the computer sobbing and mouthing the words, “It is soooo good!” J

4. What does it feel like when someone tells you that your book 'touched' them?

Oh-oh, we’re talking more Kleenex here!! I have to say that I’m pretty blown away by some of the e-mails I’ve received. Stories like the one from the 15-year-old who couldn’t talk to her mom about anything, she said, UNTIL her mom gave her my book and suddenly they had common ground in their mutual love of the story. Or the guy who contacted me to get a signed copy for a friend he wanted as a girlfriend. When he told her he wanted a deeper relationship with her, she actually made him read A Passion Most Pure because “that was the kind of relationship she wanted, with God in the middle!” Or the fallen-away woman who would not read Inspirational books on a dare, but picked mine up not realizing it was spiritual. She wrote that A Passion Most Pure rekindled her love for God and gave her hope again. I’m sorry, but for me, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

5. Tell us about your newest release A Hope Undaunted from the “Winds of Change” series.

Although the “Winds of Change” is a brand-new series, it does continue the saga of the close-knit O’Connor family in A Hope Undaunted, picking up with the youngest daughter’s story at the tail end of the Roaring 20s into The Great Depression. Anyone who has read “The Daughters of Boston” series knows that Katie O’Connor is a spunky, sassy little girl with a sharp wit and dry humor, but never more so than when she butts heads with her childhood nemesis, Cluny McGee. Here’s the jacket blurb:

What happens when the boy she loved to hate ...
becomes the man she hates to love?

The 1920s are drawing to a close, and feisty Katie O'Connor is the epitome of the new woman—smart and sassy with goals for her future that include the perfect husband and a challenging career in law. Her boyfriend Jack fits all of her criteria for a husband—smart, good-looking, well-connected, wealthy … and eating out of her hand. But when she is forced to spend the summer of 1929 with Cluny McGee, the bane of her childhood existence, Katie comes face to face with a choice. Will she follow her well-laid plans to marry Jack? Or will she fall for the man she swore to despise forever?

6. Is it a relief when you finish a book or do you miss the characters once the focus is off them and on the next book?

A relief in the sense that I am finally closer to meeting my deadline, of course, but NOT over finishing the story because YES, I do miss the character when the story is done! Keep in mind that I have been living/breathing these characters since after that appointment in the beauty salon in 2001, so they are family—CLOSE family at that because their thoughts, their words, their faith in God—are all mine at various points in my life.

BUT … one of the blessings of writing a series (or two) is that I can continue their story (and mine!) in the next book. However, it is a little sad to think I am now writing the final book in the O’Connor saga and to be honest, a part of me dreads letting them go. But God is preparing me because already I feel myself being pulled toward another new series. But I guarantee you, I will revisit the O’Connors now and then by rereading the books and then, who knows? Maybe down the road I’ll be able to pen a series about the O’Connor cousins during WWII and definitely a prequel to Marcy and Patrick’s story!

Thank you, Ashley, for hosting me on your blog. It’s been fun! And I LOVE to hear from readers, so they can contact me through my Web site at http://www.julielessman.com/, either by sending an e-mail via my site or by signing up for my newsletter at http://www.julielessman.com/sign-up-for-newsletter . My newsletter is chock-full of fun info on my books and there’s always a contest featuring signed book giveaways including one right now to have a character named after you or a loved one in my next book. Also, I have a cool feature on my website called “Journal Jots” (http://www.julielessman.com/journal-jots), which is a very laid-back, almost-daily journal to my reader friends that would give your readers an idea as to my relaxed style of writing. Then finally, I can be found daily at The Seekers blog (http://seekerville.blogspot.com/), a group blog devoted to encouraging and helping aspiring writers on the road to publication.

God bless and hugs,
Julie



AUTHOR BIO FOR JULIE LESSMAN

Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” underscores her intense passion for both God and romance. Winner of the 2009 ACFW Debut Author of the Year and Holt Medallion Awards of Merit for Best First Book and Long Inspirational, Julie is also the recipient of 13 Romance Writers of America awards and was voted by readers as “Borders Best of 2009 So Far: Your Favorite Fiction” at http://www.borders.com/online/store/ListView_best2009favefiction. She resides in Missouri with her husband, daughter, son and daughter-in-law and is the author of “The Daughters of Boston” series, which includes A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied, as well as the recently released A Hope Undaunted, book 1 of her brand-new “Winds of Change” series. You can contact Julie through her website at http://www.julielessman.com/.

Thank you so much for the engaging interview Julie!!!



Now ladies and gentlemen, the lovly author as described above ;) has offered to giveaway an autographed copy of her latest book A Hope Undaunted to one of my wonderful followers. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment, preferably with a question for the author, and your email address and a winner will be chosen at random on Friday and announced Saturday morning!

The False Friend Giveaway Winners!

And the winners of The False Friend Giveaway are:
Teresa and A Musing MOther!!! Congratulations :) I will now send the winners emails telling them and they have 24 hours to respond so I can send their information to Double Day and they can get their books. If a winner(s) fails to respond within the 24 hour time frame, a new winner will be chosen.

There were 17 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.13. A Musing Mother
2.1. Jessi E.
3.3. Teresa
4.9. Emma
5.6. Karen
6.2. bunkercomplex
7.16. Melanie L.
8.7. Sunshine9
9.10. Brooke
10.12. Sarah Lynne
11.8. Maureen
12.4. Cheryl F.(The Lucky Ladybug)
13.15. D.A.
14.11. Headlessfowl
15.17. Barbjan10
16.14. Leslie @ Under My Apple Tree
17.5. aalorenz
Timestamp: 2010-10-22 14:37:57 UTC

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson Giveaway Winners!

So here are the winners for the Postcard Killers audio Giveaway:
Emma, Barbjan10 and Karen! Congratulations!! I will now send the winners emails telling them and they have 24 hours to respond so I can send their information to Hachette and they can get their books. If a winner(s) fails to respond within the 24 hour time frame, a new winner will be chosen.


There were 10 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.7. Emma
2.10. Barbjan10
3.4. Karen
4.9. Sarah Lynne
5.6. Sunshine9
6.5. Wanda
7.2. bunkercomplex
8.3. Cheryl F.(The Lucky Ladybug)
9.1. PoCoKat
10.8. Headlessfowl
Timestamp: 2010-10-22 22:44:19 UTC

Blood Trinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love

Book Description:
Supernatural warriors bound by an extraordinary code of honor face an ultimate test of loyalty in the exciting new paranormal thriller from New York Times bestselling authors Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love.Atlanta has become the battlefield between human and demon. All her life, Evalle Kincaid has walked the line between the two. Her origins unknown, she’s on a quest to learn more about her past . . . and her future.When a demon claims a young woman in a terrifying attack and there’s no one else to blame, Evalle comes under suspicion. Now she’s on a deadly quest for her own survival. Through the sordid underground of an alternate Atlanta where nothing is as it seems to the front lines of the city, where her former allies have joined forces to hunt her, Evalle must prove her innocence or pay the ultimate price.But saving herself is the least of her problems if she doesn’t stop the coming apocalypse. The clock is ticking and Atlanta is about to catch fire. . . .

My Thoughts:
This book is a must read! It starts out by introducing Evalle, Quinn and Tzander and their interesting abilities. Evalle is a cross between a Belador and Alterant. She is a Belador and has sworn the oath to protect but she has never really been accepted by anyone in the tribe because she is a 'half breed'. A woman was taken by a demon and the tribe has no one to blame so they blame Evalle. She is in a race to keep her oath and protect humans and Belador alike while trying to save her own life!
I immediately was drawn to Evalle! She is just awesome. I thought it was cool when she shifted and suspense as she is being chased. I want a Feenix for myself :) I liked all the subplots and how they came together to form an inescapeable storyline! All the characters in the book are good looking and I had a great time mental picturing them. The book has some romance but it is mainly a mystery and the perfect beginning to a new series.
5/5! This was a great book and am ready for the next one to come out!

Thank you to Gallery Books for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinion stated above are 100% mine.

Code Triage by Candace Calvert

Book Description:
Dr. Leigh Stathos likes her ER shifts fast, furious, and adrenaline-infused—“Treat ’em and street ’em”—with no emotional complications. Life’s taught her a soul-rending lesson: nothing lasts forever, including marriage. And the clock is ticking toward the end of hers. Then an unwelcome confrontation with “the other woman” begins a whole new set of lessons.
San Francisco police officer Nick Stathos never gives up, whether protecting his patrol neighborhood, holding fast to faith—or trying to save his marriage. Seven days is all he has to reach Leigh’s heart. But when a desperate act of violence slams Golden Gate Mercy Hospital into lockdown, it starts a chain of events that will change lives forever.


My Thoughts:
This was a good book. It is the third in a series but it stands alone quite well. Nick is a police officer, husband, adulterer, God fearing man who wants a second chance. Leigh is a hurting woman who refuses to allow herself to be hurt again. She also is a great ER doctor, and likes that she has not emotional attachment and that the pace is fast! The book starts out with the two of them being thrown into an akward situation with the woman Nick had the affair with. From there it just gets better with drama, suspense, a crazy gunman, and lots of suspense!

I loved that the characters in this book were realistic. They weren't just 'magically' thrown back together, but through circumstance that are believeable and suspenseful! Nick is a great guy who made a major mistake and so bad wants to correct it, but realizes he can't change the past but can't seem to convince his wife. Leigh's emotions are so palpable that you feel her pain as you read. I liked that it wasn't cut and dry that the two of them were going to get back together, but that his past relationship kept getting in the way. I also really liked Leigh's sister and how she was woven in through the book. Great character development!

5/5 absolutely a great book! I plan to get the previous two in the series!


Thank you to Tyndale for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

A Season of Seduction Giveaway!!!!

Book Description:
Although the widowed Lady Rebecca has sworn off marriage, men are another matter. London's cold winter nights have her dreaming of warmer pursuits-like finding a lover to satisfy her hungry heart. Someone handsome, discreet, and most importantly as uninterested in marriage as she is. Someone like Jack Fulton. A known adventurer and playboy, Jack seems like the perfect choice. There's just one problem: Jack isn't interested in an affair. He needs the beautiful, mysterious Lady Rebecca to be his wife. And he doesn't have much time to persuade her. A secret from Jack's past is about to surface, and by Christmas Day he'll be either married to Rebecca or dead.


Thanks to Hachette Book Group I have 3 copies to Giveaway!!! Here are the rules.

• You must be a follower to participate
• Leave Me a Comment on THIS post with your e-mail (no e-mail you can't win)
• US & Canadian Residents only
• No PO Boxes
• Hachette Book Group will be sending the copies to the winners
• You have 24 hours to respond if you are contacted as a winner, if you miss the deadline, a new winner will be chosen and contacted.
• Contest is open until November 1, 2010
• Winners will be chosen using a randomizer
• Directly from Hachette: Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail.

A Season of Seduction by Jennifer Haymore

Book Description:
Although the widowed Lady Rebecca has sworn off marriage, men are another matter. London's cold winter nights have her dreaming of warmer pursuits-like finding a lover to satisfy her hungry heart. Someone handsome, discreet, and most importantly as uninterested in marriage as she is. Someone like Jack Fulton. A known adventurer and playboy, Jack seems like the perfect choice. There's just one problem: Jack isn't interested in an affair. He needs the beautiful, mysterious Lady Rebecca to be his wife. And he doesn't have much time to persuade her. A secret from Jack's past is about to surface, and by Christmas Day he'll be either married to Rebecca or dead.

My Thoughts:
This was a good romantic book! Lady Rebecca or Becky to her friends is still hurting from her marriage and the pain her husband put her through. She decides it is time she takes a lover and Jack Fulton seems to fit the description perfectly. Jack is a 'ladies man' but has his own agenda. Her only stipulations to the relationship is the man can't be abusive and he can't want marriage. Jack needs marriage, and he need it by Christmas, or else!
I immediately loved Becky! She was such a wonderful lady and has been through so much. Jack is a great guy, with a bit of an interesting past. The romance in this book is great and the characters are so real! I like that it wasn't a crazy, out there romance but a realistic one. Very good writing and character development.
I rate this a 4/5. A good book to curl up and read by the fireplace!

Thank you to Hachette Books for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Guest Blog David Fingerman author of Silent Kill

Good Morning All! Please join me in welcoming guest blogger author of Silent Kill, David Fingerman!!

Book Description
Police must follow a labyrinth, leading into the darkest tunnel of a twisted mind. A mind that carries no value for human life…
Minneapolis police officer Louise Miller has attitude. Not only does she have to deal with the good old boy mentality of the department, but she's also a gay police officer who has to deal with harassment on a higher level. When one of her few friends on the force goes missing Miller investigates, despite her captain's order to leave it to the detectives.
As Miller scours the precinct for any sign of the missing officer, Elias Boughton is on a psychopathic rampage. Kidnapping and murder are games he plays, blindly obeying a voice from his past.
As the body count rises, Miller is convinced the detectives are heading in the wrong direction. Trying to fit the puzzle together, each clue revolves around a particular Rottweiler. As the mystery unravels so does her life, and the case becomes more personal than she ever dared imagine.

Guest Blog:
When the Imagination Takes Over

To write fiction, one needs a very healthy imagination. All modesty aside, I've got one of the healthiest. Growing up watching The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The Outer Limits, I don't think it's a hard stretch to say that my imagination tends to lean toward the dark side. I can pretty much twist any situation into something, well, let's say unseemly. A number of people have asked if I ever scared myself from my ideas. I used to joke that the ideas didn't scare me, but my thought processes on how I got them did ~ it made me question my mental health. So what happens when the imagination becomes so strong it starts to take over? In my case they make for some really 'fun' stories. That's the plus side. On the down side, I'm afraid I'm turning into some sort of real life wuss.

This past weekend my wife and I jumped in the car for a weekend cruise. With no real destination planned other than wilderness, we drove. Along the way we found some nature trails and did some hiking. Of course my mind went straight to getting lost or hurt in the middle of nowhere, or maybe some crazed woods people would have a little fun at our expense. Nothing
happened other than we got some great photos. As we drove farther from civilization it was dark and we getting tired. We decided to stop at the next motel we drove by. Ahead flashed a big red vacancy sign and we pulled in. The first red flag was we were the only car in the parking lot. I thought that odd for a Friday night. We decided to go in anyway. The décor was interesting. Parts of the lobby area seemed very homey, while another section looked kid friendly, except for the sign that said any child left unattended would be sold into slavery. There was also another sign that warned against too much noise after 10:00. My mind raced with story ideas. Maybe kids really were sold into slavery; toys that littered the lobby were left by the victims. Visions of "Psycho" and "The Shining" and "Motel Hell" came to mind. I also remembered a nasty little horror story I wrote years ago called "The Blue Light" (it's in my book "Edging Past Reality" hint
hint). I pressed the intercom button. Shortly, a man came to the counter. He was the owner and I guessed a little lonely because he was very talkative. We told him about our weekend cruise, and then paid for a night in cash. It then occurred to me that we left no paper trail and just told a complete stranger no one knew we were there. Let me say straight out that the innkeeper did nothing wrong and was very pleasant. It was my imagination that made me wonder if we would make it out of there alive. When I saw the flimsy lock on our door, I had even more doubts. Did you see the movie "Vacancy" starring Luke Wilson? There was a vent right above the bed that I checked for cameras. As I lie in bed unable to sleep, I kept waiting for the poison gas to seep out, or the door to creak open. By three a.m. I figured that if the guy meant to kill us he would've done it by now so I finally succumbed to sleep. When I woke up a few hours later my wife asked how was I feeling. I told her "alive." I got to tell you that I pretty much managed to freak myself out. The scenarios in my mind were becoming too real. Had I not been more afraid of waking my wife for no real reason, I probably would've snuck out of there in the middle of the night.

What I'm saying is, as a fiction writer there's no way to turn off your imagination. But sometimes it's probably a good idea to step away and use vacations for what they are meant to be used for ~ vacationing. For me it's back to work on another motel horror story.

You can purchase Mr. Fingerman's book Silent Kill here at Amazon and be sure to check out his website: davidfingerman.com
Thank you so much for blogging with us today!!!

Blood Ransom by Lisa Harris

Book Description
Natalie Sinclair is working to eradicate the diseases decimating whole villages in the Republic of Dhambizao when she meets Dr. Chad Talcott, a surgeon on sabbatical from a lucrative medical practice now volunteering at a small clinic. Meanwhile, things are unraveling in Dhambizao. Joseph Komboli returns to his village to discover rebel soldiers abducting his family and friends. Those that were too old or weak to work lay motionless in the African soil. When Chad and Natalie decide to help Joseph expose this modern-day slave trade---and a high-ranking political figure involved in it---disaster nips at their heels. Where is God in the chaos? Will Chad, Natalie, and Joseph win their race against time? Romance and adventure drive Blood Ransom, by Lisa Harris, a powerful thriller about the modern-day slave trade and those who dare to challenge it.

My Thoughts
I very much enjoyed this book. Ghost soldiers are supposed to be a myth but Joseph gets evidence that they are real and that an important figure is involved in the slave trade that has demolished his village. Natalie and Chad are working to make Dhambizao a better place for the people who live there. They are pulled in to a race against time when Joseph comes to Natalie for help...

I like that the characters in this book are realistic. They react like a normal person would and not like a 'perfect' person. Joseph is the character I was most drawn to because he is so brave for his age. All the characters are very relateable though! I enjoyed the twists and turns that kept me guessing the whole way through and the light romance was an added bonus. I also love that the author shows through the book how God uses us to do His will.
I rate this book 4/5. Good start to a series I intend to read the rest of!


Thank you to Zondervan for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Solitary by Travis Thrasher

Book Description:
The first book in the Solitary Tales suspense series from Travis Trasher reminds teen readers that darkness cloaks both danger and redemption. When Chris Buckley moves to Solitary, North Carolina, he faces the reality of his parents' divorce, a school full of nameless faces - and the mysterious Jocelyn Evans. Chris soon learns that Jocelyn and her town have deep - and terrifying - secrets. Solitary will take readers from the cold halls of high school to the dark rooms of the an abandoned cabin - and remind us of what it means to believe in what you cannot see. In his debut novel for teens, Travis Thrasher furthers his reputation of having the writing ability to scare the wits out of his audience while challenging them.

My Thoughts:
Holy cow! I'm not sure if I'm in love with this book or terrified of it! Chris and his mom move to Solitary, North Carolina after his parent's divorce and everything there is just weird. Chris feels out of place and it seems like everyone but him is in on a big 'secret'. He is attracted to Jocelyn, but she pushes him away. The big question is what is the big secret the town is trying to keep hidden.
I wasn't expecting this book to be so intense. It starts on page one and then before you realize it, you have read the whole book! The story line is wonderful, the imagery great, and the main character artfully written. I got creeped out by the town and how deep and dark the secret is. The twists are unexpected and it brings you down only to remind you that there is hope. I love that it is written from Chris' perspective. I want to say so much about it but I can't give away the story line! The ending was quite a surprise though....
This book is a 4/5. It is supposed to be for young adults but I think adults will enjoy it as well. Definitely makes you think! Am ready to read book 2 in this new series.

Thanks to B&B for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead

Book Description
Enter the ultimate treasure hunt--with a map made of skin, a playing field of alternate realities, and a prize that is the greatest mystery of all.
Kit Livingstone's great-grandfather has re-appeared with an unbelievable story--the ley lines throughout Britain are not merely the stuff of legends but truly are pathways to other worlds. So few people know how to use them, though, that doing so is fraught with danger.
But one explorer knew more than most. Because of his fear of being unable to find his way home, he developed an intricate code and tattooed his map onto his skin. But the map has since been lost and rival factions are in desperate competition to recover it. What none of them yet realize is that the skin map itself is not the prize at the end of this race . . . but merely the first goal of a vast and marvelous quest to regain Paradise.

My Thoughts:
This book catches your attention and is a wonderful beginning to a new series. Kit is just an ordinary guy but on this particular day, he comes face to face with his great grandfather. He tells Kit that the 'fictional' ley lines are real and they send people through time and space, but you have to know how to use them. There is a man who has a map of the ley lines tattooed on himself and Kit has to find him/the map! The only problem is, there are others looking for the map as well.
I love the fact the author uses British 'slang' through the book! It is like you can actually hear the words being said and it is so awesome. The imagery is also well written to where if you close your eyes you can see in your mind the scene the author describes. There are a LOT of characters to get to know and it does seem a lot to take in, but it kept my attention throughout. It does get a bit confusing with Kit going from place to place and time to time. I think it is set up well for the next books to 'pull together' all the threads of the book and make them one.
This book was a solid 4/5. It is a wonderful start to a promising series.

Thank you to booksneeze for providing the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

$10 Amazon Giveaway Winner!!!

Here is the winner of the $10 Amazon Giftcard Giveaway! Cheryl F....congratulations! Will now send the email and you will get your giftcard shortly!

There were 6 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.2. Cheryl F. {The Lucky Ladybug}
2.3. E.J. Stevens
3.1. Kim
4.6. Maureen
5.4. stilletostorytime
6.5. mbreakfield
Timestamp: 2010-10-10 13:09:16 UTC

The Iron Wagon by Al & Joanna Lacy

Book Description:
At twenty-one, Paul Brockman is the newest deputy U.S. marshal in his father's arsenal of lawmen. Bold and courageous, Paul proves to be every bit as skillful with a revolver as the chief U.S. marshal, John "The Stranger" Brockman.
Five ruthless outlaws escape Yuma Prison but are soon captured, and Paul must transport them back to Arizona in an iron wagon. During the hazardous journey, Paul encounters Lisa Martin, whose parents were murdered by renegade Indians. The lovely young woman desperately needs his help and Paul is just the deputy to deliver Lisa to her destination. Could she be the answer to his prayers for a wife?
But when the wagon comes under attack from Apaches, Paul is forced to think beyond his physical strength to get everyone out alive.

My Thoughts
I very much enjoyed this book! It is the third book in a new series about John "The Stranger" Brockman. This book covers about 8 years in the lives of Brockman and his family. John Brockman is a US Marshall and his wife is a nurse. At the beginning of this story, Beanna (his wife) has been injured and is having to relearn how to walk. Their children are growing up and learning valuable lessons from their parents that will allow them to pursue their dreams.
The characters are well defined and very enjoyable. It is very easy to laugh and cry with them. I am sure if you read this book in context, it would be even more powerful, but it can stand alone.....although it has ME wanting to go out and find the other books in this series so that I can see what is happening in the lives of these people. The gospel story is told in several way on several occasions in this book and is very clear and consise.
I would give this book a 5/5. It is definately worth the read...while you are getting it, pick up the rest in the series!!

Thank you to Librarything for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinion stated above is 100% mine.

Giveaway Two Lethal Lies by Annie Solomon

Book Description:
A love to die for... On the run since his daughter was born, Mitch Turner has concealed a truth so dangerous, its discovery could jeopardize both their lives. But when a series of shocking murders hits their newfound home, the trail leads straight to Mitch. With the police out for blood and his daughter ripped from his arms, he has nowhere to turn--until a beautiful stranger offers her help. Neesy Brown has made mistakes in her life, yet she refuses to believe this mysterious man is a killer. There's a strength in his broad shoulders that draws her to him and a weariness in his eyes that she longs to ease. As the murders tear her small town apart, she vows to help Mitch find his missing child. But a cunning predator is pulling them deeper and deeper into his fatal game. And the price of losing is the child--and the future--they could both share...

Thanks to Hachette Book Group I have 3 copies to Giveaway!!! Here are the rules:

• You must be a follower to participate
• Leave Me a Comment on THIS post with your e-mail (no e-mail you can't win)
• US & Canadian Residents only
• No PO Boxes
• Hachette Book Group will be sending the copies to the winners
• You have 24 hours to respond if you are contacted as a winner, if you miss the deadline, a new winner will be chosen and contacted.
• Contest is open until October 25, 2010
• Winners will be chosen using a randomizer
• Directly from Hachette: Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail.

Two Lethal Lies by Annie Solomon

Book Description:

A love to die for... On the run since his daughter was born, Mitch Turner has concealed a truth so dangerous, its discovery could jeopardize both their lives. But when a series of shocking murders hits their newfound home, the trail leads straight to Mitch. With the police out for blood and his daughter ripped from his arms, he has nowhere to turn--until a beautiful stranger offers her help. Neesy Brown has made mistakes in her life, yet she refuses to believe this mysterious man is a killer. There's a strength in his broad shoulders that draws her to him and a weariness in his eyes that she longs to ease. As the murders tear her small town apart, she vows to help Mitch find his missing child. But a cunning predator is pulling them deeper and deeper into his fatal game. And the price of losing is the child--and the future--they could both share...

My Thoughts:

This book sucks you right in! Mitch has been on the run with his daughter since she was born. For Julia, his daughter, he decides they can stay in one place for a while and settle down, but then life gets complicated quickly. He is accused of being a murderer, serial killer, everyone is after him, his brother Dutch, a complete psycho, claims Mitch's daughter as his own. Now there is no one to turn to except the lovely Neesy Brown. She helps Mitch and they have to find Julia before more bad things begin piling up!

The twists and suspense in this book are great. You have to fall in love with Mitch. He is a caring dad and wonderful guy, even if he is proficient at lying! Neesy is a loving, The romance kind of takes a back seat, as it should, to the suspense of finding Mitch's daughter, but it is still there and great. Mitch's escape from prison relies almost completely on luck and no skill but other than that, the characters seem so real! You will stay up at night to finish this book.

I rate this a 4/5. It is a fast paced, suspenseful read.

Thank you to Hachette Books for providing the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

GiveawayScout

I'm adding my blog to GiveawayScout starting today. It is a website that people subscribe to so they can learn about great giveaways going on in the blogging world! www.giveawayscout.com is where to look at/for it! Check it out if you are a blogger and sign up to get your giveaways announced for you in multiple outlets!

Vigilante's Bride by Yvonne Harris

Book Description:
Robbing a stagecoach on Christmas Eve and kidnapping a woman passenger is the last thing Luke Sullivan expects to do. He just wanted to reclaim the money stolen from him, but ends up with a feisty copper-haired orphan thrown over his shoulder who was on her way to marry Sullivan's bitter enemy. Emily McCarthy is an orphan out of options. Forced to marry because she was too old for her orphanage, she doesn't take kindly to her "rescue." Still she trusts God can turn any situation to good especially when it seems Sullivan may just be the man of her dreams. But Sullivan's crossed a dangerous man unused to losing and Emily may just be the prize he's unwilling to sacrifice.

My Thoughts:
This book was so-so. Luke Sullivan is a ranch foreman and the leader of a group of vigilantes, at least he was until one of the rustlers told him a secret that brought the past to the present for him. Luke returns 'home' to the orphanage where he grew up but robs a stage and kidnaps a lady along the way. The lady he kidnaps is Emily and she is to wed Luke's enemy Axel. Emily sees Luke's 'rescue' as interference and is quite a handful, until she meets her betrothed and changes her mind. The only problem is, Axel hasn't changed his!
I just couldn't get into the two main characters of this book. Emily was a snotty little stinker who is entirely too uppity. Luke is never wrong and a bit dense though extremely smart at the same time. I did like the messages of God and his love that were there throughout the book and I liked several of the supporting characters. Molly seems to be a very smart woman who has a wonderful heart and I love the story of how she took Luke in! I also enjoyed all the children and how they were portrayed and the Indians. Not to mention the animals in the book, especially Luke's horse are great.
Overall a 3/5. It has a good message and the story line is ok, but the characters needed more developing.

Thank you to BethanyHouse for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Giveaway Simply Irresistable by Jill Shalvis

Maddie Moore's whole life needs a makeover.
USA Today bestselling author JILL SHALVIS lives in a small town in the Sierras also run by quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books are, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill's bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website at www.jillshalvis.com for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountain adventures.
In one fell swoop, Maddie loses her boyfriend (her decision) and her job (so not her decision). But rather than drowning her sorrows in bags of potato chips, Maddie leaves L.A. to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother-a ramshackle inn nestled in the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington.

Starting over won't be easy. Yet Maddie sees the potential for a new home and a new career-if only she can convince her two half-sisters to join her in the adventure. But convincing Tara and Chloe will be difficult because the inn needs a big makeover too.

The contractor Maddie hires is a tall, dark-haired hottie whose eyes-and mouth-are making it hard for her to remember that she's sworn off men. Even harder will be Maddie's struggles to overcome the past, though she's about to discover that there's no better place to call home than Lucky Harbor.

Thanks to Hachette Book Group I have 3 copies to Giveaway!!! Here are the rules.

• You must be a follower to participate
• Leave Me a Comment on THIS post with your e-mail (no e-mail you can't win)
• US & Canadian Residents only
• No PO Boxes
• Hachette Book Group will be sending the copies to the winners
• You have 24 hours to respond if you are contacted as a winner, if you miss the deadline, a new winner will be chosen and contacted.
• Contest is open until October 25, 2010
• Winners will be chosen using a randomizer
• Directly from Hachette: Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail.

Simply Irresistable by Jill Shalvis

Book Description:
Maddie Moore's whole life needs a makeover..
In one fell swoop, Maddie loses her boyfriend (her decision) and her job (not her decision). But rather than drowning her sorrows in bags of potato chips, Maddies leaves L.A. to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother - a ramshackle inn nestled in the coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington.
Starting over won't be easy. Yet Maddie sees the potential for a new home and a new career - if only she can convince her two half-sisters to join her in the adventure. But convincing Tara and Chloe will be difficult because the inn needs a big makeover too.
The contractor Maddie hires is a tall, dark-haired hottie whose eyes - and mouth - are making it hard for her to remember that she's sworn off men. Even harder will be Maddie's struggles to overcome the past, though she's about to discover that there's no better place to call home than Lucky Harbor.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. I would say it was fun but there were some super serious parts! Maddie has decided to start over. She's left her abusive boyfriend, job and life behind and moved to Lucky Harbor. She and her half sisters have inherited an inn from their late mother. Along the way she runs into, almost literally, Jax. Jax is a super sexy former lawyer, mayor of the city, carpenter, and all around good guy. Maddie has sworn off men but Jax is making her change her mind, slowly, but he is a man who takes his time!
I thought this was a really fun book. The serious parts are well written and very realistic but they aren't 'overpowering'. I love the chemistry between Jax and Maddie that she swears doesn't exist. Both characters are so great. Maddie, always the peacemaker and though she is hot thinks she is ultra plain. Jax who is a good guy but has to keep secrets and gets caught in the middle of things more often than not. The supporting characters are great as well, I love both the sisters. Of course I also am completely in love with both Jax good friends.
I rate it a 4/5. I'm going to definitely read the rest in the series!


Thank you to Hachette Books for providing the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Guestblogger George Hudson author of Drama & $10 Amazon Giftcard!

Good morning all! Please join me in welcoming my guest blogger today author George Hudson!!

Title: Drama

author: George Hudson
Genre: urban fiction

Bio:
George Sherman Hudson was born and raised in Atlanta Ga.. After being continuously rejected by different publishers because of the subject matter contained in his books while serving time, this father of two did some research and started G Street Chronicles, the urban book publishing company that's ran by him with the help of his COO and fiancé Erica Jones . While George is continuously working hard to make G Street Chronicles a recognized name in the literary industry, he's also working hard on his highly anticipated REAL series. George has authored five books in all. His debut book Drama is in stores now. Having published more than 10 titles in the first year of business George is determined to make G Street Chronicles an urban lit powerhouse.

Synopsis:
The drama just doesn't stop in the lives of Deb, Tammy, and Lisa. Deb, the hard worker and savvy entrepreneur is blessed with a multimillion dollar contract, but has to enjoy the success without the comfort of her man whose fledging music career has him busy from state to state. Tammy has everything a diva could want, a multimillion dollar home, expensive cars, clothes, jewelry, and she thought love.

Drama is a book a lot like sex in the city with black characters, each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character. They take turns telling their side of the story. It has everything, humor, emotions, great characters, and a lot of drama.

Guestblog:

Since I am an author and publisher of Urban Literature, I though you all would be interested in the history of Urban Lit. This is a genre of fiction known variously as "street lit," "ghetto lit," "urban lit" or "hip-hop lit" has begun registering impressive sales, catching the attention of the publishing industry. Previously sold as typewritten photocopies on street corners, these pulp-fiction books now appear in slick paperbacks available in bookstores and online, for instance on my website: http://www.gstreetchronicles.com. I found most of the following information on
Wikipedia.
Urban Fiction was (and largely still is) a genre written by and for African American's. Although my book Drama has universal appeal.. In his famous essay “The Souls of Black Folk,” W. E. B. Du Bois discussed how a veil separated the African American community from the outside world.[1] By extension, fiction written by people outside the African American culture could not (at least with any degree of verisimilitude) depict the people, settings, and events experienced by people in that culture. Try as some might, those who grew up outside the veil (i.e., outside the urban culture) simply could not write fiction truly grounded in inner-city and African American life.
In 1965, The Autobiography of Malcom X was published. Because this non-fictional read captured the realistic nature of African American urban life for coming-of-age young men, the book has consistently served as a standard for reading among African American teenaged boys.
In the 1970s, during the culmination of the Black Power movement, a jailed Black man named Robert Beck took the pen name Iceberg Slim and wrote Pimp, a dark, gritty tale of life in the inner-city underworld. While the book contained elements of the Black Power agenda, it was most notable for its unsparing depiction of street life. Iceberg Slim wrote many other novels and attained an international following. Some of the terminology he used in his books crossed over into the lexicon of Black English.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, urban fiction in print experienced a decline. However, one could make a cogent argument that urban tales simply moved from print to music,[3] as hip hop music exploded in popularity, with harsh, gritty stories such as "The Message" and "Dopeman," set to a driving, strident drum rhythm. Of course, for every emcee who signed a recording contract and made the airwaves, ten more amateurs plied the streets and local clubs, much like urban troubadours telling urban fiction in an informal, oral manner rather than in a neat, written form. Hip Hop lit in print form, though, is thriving.[
Toward the end of the 1990s, urban fiction experienced a revival, as demand for novels authentically conveying the urban experience increased, and new business models enabled fledgling writers to more easily bring a manuscript to market. With this new wave of renaissance street lit comes a whole new ballgame when it comes to promotion and exposure. Aside from hand-to-hand sales, which seems to work best in a genre where word-of-mouth has proven to be worth more than any large ad campaign, the Internet has increased the authors and publishers the ability to reach out to the genre's readers. With Internet savvy, many self-published authors who once had no shot of recognition are now household names.
You are all invited to my website to investigate the books that fit this genre very well.

I'm glad to know the history behind that genre, I've never heard/read it before!

Now how awesome is it that on top of a guest blog, you are being offered a $10 Amazon Gift Card?!?!?
Here are the rules:

1. Read the Post and make an educated comment or question, including your email address but your comment can't be JUST an email address or 'enter me please'. Make an effort!

2. Contest is open for 7 days

3. Show some love, tell others about the amazing guest blog and giveaway!

Last to Die Giveaway Winners!!!

Ok, here are the winners for my Last to Die giveaway:
Karen, Chris, & Karen! Now I will send an email to the winners and they will have 24 hours to respond with their contact information. If a winner(s) doesn't respond by the deadline, a new winner(s) will be chosen.

List Randomizer
There were 25 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.14. Karen
2.23. Chris
3.19. Karen
4.22. aalorenz
5.17. rubynreba
6.18. Wanda
7.21. sarirose
8.20. mrsshukra
9.13. Momma Teri
10.4. Marjorie
11.9. elaing8
12.5. PoCoKat
13.8. Jessi E.
14.2. Man of la Books
15.7. Vampires and Tofu
16.16. Headless Fowl
17.25. sunshine9
18.12. Cheryl F {The Lucky Ladybug}
19.3. Linda Henderson
20.15. Maureen
21.6. Pam S
22.10. Loretta Canton
23.24. grannyvon
24.11. Judy
25.1. BlueberryMuffin
Timestamp: 2010-10-03 13:37:29 UTC

And Then There Was One by

Book Description
One is the loneliest number.
Nine years ago, Katie and Scott Monroe were blessed beyond their wildest dreams with identical triplets, Sammie, Alex, and Jackie. Three beautiful daughters and two adoring parents formed the picture-perfect party of five. But this tight-knit family unravels when the three little girls go to see a movie, but only one emerges from the darkness of the theatre. How could Sammie and Alex vanish without a trace?
Plunged into the abyss of a parent's worst fear, Katie and Scott hang by a thread-waiting, worrying, not knowing, and confronting the terrifying realization that the kidnapping may not have been a random act.
Who took Sammie and Alex? Why? Where are they? When will they be found? And what if they're never found, or not found alive? When Jackie, the remaining triplet, crumbles under the weight of grief and survivor's guilt, Katie and Scott struggle to hold out hope and hold on to what remains of their family.
Until-or unless-Sammie and Alex are found safe, this picture-perfect family can't be put back together again.

My Thoughts:

This was a scary book! I started it and just couldn't put it down. Katie is a psychologist that specializes in victimized children. Scott is a retired baseball player, now baseball announcer. Jackie, Alex and Sammie are the identical triplets of Katie and Scott. The three girls go to the movies with their cousin Danielle but decide to split up and go to different movies. When Danielle and Jackie come out to wait on the two siblings, they never emerge from the theater and have just disappeared!

I enjoyed this book, it scared me senseless! It is a very real look at a family's attempt to survive and stay together during a tragedy. At first, I was a little annoyed with how protective Katie was, almost smothering to the girls, but it is understandable. Especially if you factor in her job and the fact that her husband is a public figures, her protectiveness makes sense, but in the end isn't enough. Jackie has horrible survivors guilt and you can feel the emotions from each of the family members, but most especially Jackie. I felt so terrible for the cousin that 'lost' them, Danielle! Scott, the father, is very likable and relatable. The story unfolds quickly and the characters are realistic and very well developed. There is stressful suspense and a few unforeseen twists. I will be reading this book again soon because I'm sure there are more things to be learned from this book!

This book is a 4/5. If you are a parent it will terrify you! If you just want a good suspenseful read, this is it.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinion stated above is 100% mine.