ARC Arrival: The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper by Kathleen Y'Barbo

The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper by Kathleen Y'Barbo

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

I received this from Random House for an August blog tour.

About the book: The future is clearly mapped out for New York socialite Eugenia "Gennie" Cooper, but she secretly longs to slip into the boots of her favorite dime-novel heroine and experience just one adventure before settling down. When the opportunity arises, Gennie jumps at the chance to experience the Wild West, but her plans go awry when she is drawn into the lives of silver baron Daniel Beck and his daughter and finds herself caring for them more than is prudent -- especially as she's supposed to go back to New York and marry another man.

As Gennie adapts to the rough-and-tumble world of 1880s Colorado, she must decide whether her future lies with the enigmatic Daniel Beck or back home with the life planned for her since birth. Will Daniel's past -- and disgruntled miners bent on revenge -- take that choice away from her? (from the back cover)

About the author: Kathleen Y'Barbo is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than thirty novels, novellas, and young adult books, with more than 850,000 books in print. A graduate of Texas A&M University, she is currently a publicist with Books & Such literary agency. The mother of three grown sons and a teenage daughter, Kathleen makes her home in the Houston area. (from the back cover)

The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, June 2009
ISBN: 978-0-307-44474-5
352 pages

ARC Arrival: Rose House by Tina Ann Forkner

Rose House by Tina Ann Forkner

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

I received this book from Random House for an August tour.

About the book: Still mourning the loss of her family in a tragic accident, Lillian Diamon finds herself drawn back to the Rose House, a quiet cottage where four years earlier she had poured out her anguish among its fragrant blossoms.

She returns to the rolling hills and lush vineyards of the Sonoma Valley in search of something she can't quite name. But then Lillian stumbles onto an unexpected discovery: displayed in the La Rosaleda Gallery is a painting that captures every detail of her most private moment of misery, from the sorrow etched across her face to the sandals on her feet.

What kind of artist would dare to intrude on such a personal scene, and how did he happen to witness Lillian's pain? As the mystery surrounding the portrait becomes entangled with the accident that claimed the lives of her husband and children, Lillian is forced to rethink her assumptions about what really happened that day.

A captivating novel rich with detail, Rose House explores how the brushstrokes of pain can illuminate the true beauty of life. (from the back cover)

About the author: Tina Ann Forkner, author of Ruby Among Us, is originally from Oklahoma. She now lives with her husband and three children in Wyoming, where she serves on the Laramie County Library Foundation Board of Directors. (from the back cover)

Rose House
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, May 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4000-7359-7
320 pages

ARC Arrival: Undone by Karin Slaughter

Undone by Karin Slaughter

Publisher: Delacorte Press/Random House

About the book: In the trauma center of Atlanta’s busiest hospital, Sara Linton treats the city’s poor, wounded, and unlucky—and finds refuge from the tragedy that rocked her life in rural Grant County. Then, in one instant, Sara is thrust into a frantic police investigation, coming face-to-face with a tall driven detective and his quiet female partner…. In Undone, three unforgettable characters from Karin Slaughter’s New York Times bestselling novels Faithless and Fractured collide for the first time, entering an electrifying race against the clock—and a duel with unspeakable human evil.

In the backwoods of suburban Atlanta, where Sara’s patient was found, local police have set up their investigation. But Georgia Bureau of Investigation detective Will Trent doesn’t wait for the go-ahead from his boss—he plunges through police lines, through the brooding woods, and single-handedly exposes a hidden house of horror buried beneath the earth. Then he finds another victim.…

Wresting the case away from the local police chief, Will and his partner, Faith Mitchell—a woman keeping explosive secrets of her own—are called into a related investigation. Another woman—a smart, upscale, independent young mother—has been snatched. For the two cops out on the hunt, for the doctor trying to bring her patient back to life, the truth hits like a hammer: the killer’s torture chamber has been found, but the killer is still at work.

In her latest suspense masterpiece, Karin Slaughter weaves together the moving, powerful human stories of characters as real as they arecomplex and unforgettable. At the same time she has crafted a work of dazzling storytelling and spine-tingling mystery—as three people, each with their own wounds and their own secrets, are all that stands between a madman and his next crime. (from Barnes and Noble website)

About the author: Karin Slaughter is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including Beyond Reach and A Faint Cold Fear, which was named an International Book of the Month Club selection; she contributed to and edited Like a Charm. She is a native of Georgia, where she currently lives and is working on her next novel, which Delacorte Press will publish in 2010. (from Barnes and Noble website)

Undone
Publisher/Publication Date: Delacorte Press, July 2009
ISBN: 98-0-385-34196-7
448 pages

Friday Finds 7-24-2009

Here are my finds this week!

(I could not get a picture of this cover to post here.)


Heart of the Sky by Miranda Pope

Publisher: Lulu

About the book: HEART OF THE SKY celebrates the magic of place and the transforming power of an unlikely love. When recently widowed Marilyn Carpenter moves to Guatemala, she intends to volunteer for a few years after which she'll return to California to retire comfortably as a psychotherapist. When she meets Mayan farmer Juan Carlos Tuc, is it love for this man and his children or for the Guatemalan countryside and the Mayan people that she feels? For him, is it love or simply need? And when Guatemala's past suddenly intrudes, can the fabric of their relationship withstand the strain? A gracefully crafted, richly sensual tale which traverses Mayan traditions, emotional, historical and spiritual issues, and the ever-changing culture. A percentage of the profits will go to support the author's projects in Guatemala. (from Lulu website)

About the author: Miranda Pope is a former psychotherapist, social worker and teacher from California who has lived and volunteered in Guatemala for three years. This is her first published work. (from the back cover via Lulu website)

Read an excerpt of Heart of the Sky.

No Mercy by John Gilstrap

Publisher: Pinnacle

About the book: No names. No feds. No trace evidence. That's how Jonathan Grave operates. As a freelance specialist in covert rescues, he has to work outside the law to get things done—especially in highly sensitive hostage situations. But when an Indiana college student is abducted, and Jonathan's meticulous plan explodes into a deadly shooting spree, the local authorities are out for blood—and they're not alone. Someone wants to control a devastating secret... someone rich and powerful... someone willing to capture, torture, and kill anyone to get it. Even the people he loves most... (from the author's website)

Please visit his website to learn more about the author, John Gilstrap. Read a sample chapter of No Mercy.

No Mercy
Publisher/Publication Date: Pinnacle, July 2009
ISBN: 978-0786020874
400 pages

Critical Care by Candace Calvert (book review)

Title: Critical Care
Author: Candace Calvert
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

I read this book for a First Wild Card Tour earlier this month and have been delinquent in writing the review! You can visit the tour post to read the first chapter of Critical Care.

First sentence: Don't die, little girl.

My synopsis: Claire thinks she is settling in nicely as nurse educator at Sierra Mercy, until an explosion at a daycare center thrusts her back into the ER. She is called on to provide staff support for the ER team.

Erin is a charge nurse who also leads a morning prayer circle called Faith QD. Though her relationship with God may be strong, she always seems to find the guys who are losers, and her latest is no exception.

Sarah is a tough nurse who seems to be able to anticipate Dr. Logan Caldwell's needs before he can. She always arrives early to double check equipment - but will the secret she is keeping tear apart her entire life.

Dr. Caldwell runs the ER with an iron hand. He expects nothing but the best from his nurses and doesn't fail to tell them when they don't live up to those expectations. He has no patience for "touchy-feely" during work hours. Has he detached himself from personal relationships too?

Claire is definitely needed to bring support to this ER staff, but after her firefighter brother Kevin dies in a trauma room, every day she spends in the ER is worse than the last. She has prayed and prayed for God to give her the strength to go on - so why does He keep putting her back in the middle of where her pain started?

My thoughts: This was a good book. I liked the way it showed how God works even when we think He is no where to be found. how He sometimes uses the most unexpected people to show us His love and especially how our plan is not necessarily His plan!

About the author: Candace Calvert is an ER nurse who landed on the "other side of the stethoscope" after the equestrian accident that broke her neck and convinced her love, laughter - and faith - are the very best medicines of all. The inspirational account of her accident and recovery appears in Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul, and launched her writing career.

Her new medical drama series offers readers a chance to "scrub in" on the exciting world of emergency medicine, along with charismatic characters, pulse-pounding action, tender romance, humor, suspense - and a soul soothing prescription for hope.

Born in Northern California and the mother of two, Candace now lives in the Hill Country of Texas. (from the back cover)

Critical Care
Publisher/Publication Date: Tyndale House Publishing, June 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4143-2543-9
304 pages

ARC Arrival: Mercury in Retrograde by Paula Froelich

Mercury in Retrograde by Paula Froelich

Publisher: Atria

Another Atria Galley Grab Book! For some reason that I cannot explain, I really like this cover!

About the book: Penelope Mercury, an intrepid reporter at the New York Telegraph, has pounded the pavement for five years from city borough to borough, carrying out her boss's eccentric orders to break stories that seem inconsequential to everyone but him. Finally, she is inches away from being promoted to her dream job--covering courtroom drama for the paper--but after one spectacularly disastrous day, she is fired instead.

Lena "Lipstick Carcrash" Lippencrass has a pretty fabulous life, even by a socialite's standards, as a top editor at the high fashion magazine Y. Long lunches with her girlfriends and afternoons spent shopping at Bergdorf's are all in a day's work. But when Lena's always indulgent parents abruptly cut off her cash flow and kick her out of her beloved West Village duplex for refusing to work for the family business, she is forced to confront the reality of what it takes to pay the bills.

Dana Gluck, a workaholic lawyer, had been married for two years to a man who was perfect on paper but increasingly critical in reality. She hoped that her dreams of motherhood would be fulfilled soon, which surely would also fix their marriage problems. Instead, her husband leaves her for an exchange student/model who, to make matters worse, promptly gets pregnant.

When fate conspires to have these three very different women move into the same SoHo apartment building, they soon discover that having their carefully planned lives fall to pieces might be the best thing that could have ever happened to them. (from the book jacket)

About the author: Paula Froelich is the deputy editor of the New York Post's Page Six column. She lives in New York City. This is her first novel. (from the book jacket)

Mercury in Retrograde
Publisher/Publication Date: Atria, June 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4165-9893-0
272 pages

ARC Arrival: Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

Publisher: Atria

I received this book from Atria Books Galley Grab!

About the book: Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That's what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they're both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school's scapegoat.

Flash-forward fifteen years, Valerie Adler has found a measure of fame and fortune working as the weathergirl at the local TV station. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents' house in their small hometown of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. She's just returned from Bad Date #6 when she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat. "Something horrible has happened," Val tells Addie, "and you're the only one who can help."

Best Friends Forever is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat adventure; a story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets. It's about living through tragedy, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends together. (from the book jacket)

About the author: Jennifer Weiner is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, which was made into a major motion picture, and Certain Girls. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Philadelphia with her family. (from the book jacket)

Best Friends Forever
Publisher/Publication Date: Atria, July 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7432-9429-4
368 pages

ARC Arrival: Sugar Time by Jane Adams

Sugar Time by Jane Adams

Publisher: BookSurge Publishing

I received this book from the author through Bostick Communications.

About the book: Charlotte "Sugar" Kane hasn't brought in a hit TV show for 20 years. She's about to prove she still can, even if she's an old broad in a youth-obsessed business, when she's blind-sided by a medical malady that could cost her the pilot if anyone knew about it as well as ruin her chance to turn it into a winning series. She manages to keep her secret from the conniving young assistant who wants her show, and even from her grown kids and closest friends. And when she falls in love with Alex Carroll, she can't tell him, either: "What man who's still got what it takes wants a woman with a condition?" But Alex has a secret of his own, and by the time Sugar learns it, she'll have to face the hardest decision of all for a woman of a certain age who gets her last chance at both love and success - and knows that getting one means giving up the other. (from the book cover)

About the author: Jane Adams is the author of twelve books of fiction and nonfiction, one play, and over a hundred essays, columns and articles that have been published nationally in many magazines and newspapers. She writes on-line for a variety of web sites and is also a frequent media commentator on radio and television. A social psychologist, she is also a coach, consultant and speaker. (from the book cover.)

Sugar Time
Publisher/Publication Date: BookSurge Publishing, July 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4392-3761-8
214 pages

Congrats! You've won!

Misusedinnocence
etirv
clenna

You have each won an audio copy of The Juror!
All winners have been emailed and have responded!
Congrats!

Wonderful Win: The Bone Factory by Nate Kenyon

The Bone Factory by Nate Kenyon

Publisher: Leisure Books/Dorchester Publishing

I won this autographed copy from Nate Kenyon's website!! Some of you might remember that I had featured this book on a Friday's Find awhile back. I am so excited that I won it!!!!

About the book: The biggest news in the small northern town of Jackson was the reopening of the local hydropower plant. Until the deaths. First a farmer was found horribly mutilated in his field. Then a little girl disappeared from her home. Deep in the woods a deputy came upon a chamber of horrors straight from a nightmare. And through it all, one child is haunted by visions of the mysterious "blue man," a madman who brings with him blood and pain and terror, a terror spawned by forces no one can understand. (from the back cover)

About the author: Nate Kenyon grew up in a small town in Maine with dark nights and long winters to feed his interest in writing. His stories have appeared in various magazines and in the horror anthology Terminal Frights. Kenyon lives in a recently restored 1840s Greek Revival home in the New England area with his wife, Nicole, their three children, and their ferocious dog, Bailey. Bloodstone, his first novel, was a Bram Stoker Award finalist and a P&E Horror Novel of the Year award winner.

The Bone Factory
Publisher/Publication Date: Leisure Books, June 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8439-6287-1
320 pages

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. To join in the fun, post your words on your blog and then leave a message over at Bermudaonion's Blog!

It has been a while since I have participated and I only have 2 words this week - but hopefully I will get this one going again. I really enjoy it, but summer is only here for so long!

This week my words are from Ravens by George Dawes Green.

Timorousness - Used like this: You were permitted to fold from prudence but never timorousness. (p34)

Definition: fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions

Vizier - Used like this: He was good at all this stuff, a natural vizier. (p167)

Definition: a high executive officer of various Muslim countries and especially of the Ottoman Empire

What new words did you learn this week?

Waiting on Wednesday: Intertwined

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:
Intertwined by Gena Showalter

Publisher/Publication Date: Harlequin Teen, Sept 1, 2009

About the book: Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:

One can time-travel.

One can raise the dead.

One can tell the future.

And one can possess another human.

With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now they're causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he'll blink and suddenly he's a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he'll change the future. Or he'll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she's going to die.

He's so over it. All he wants is peace.

And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, as long as he's near her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He's a loner; she has friends. He doesn't care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it's too late….

Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own, and a vampire princess Aden can't resist.

Two romances, both forbidden. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger—but not everyone will come out alive…. (from Amazon website)

About the author: Gena Showalter sold her first book at the age of 27 and now, four years later, is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirteen books, with eleven more on the way in a thrilling blend of genres: breathtaking paranormal and contemporary romances, cutting edge young adult novels, and stunning urban fantasy. Her novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine, MTV, Seventeen Magazine, and have been translated in French, Italian and Korean. The critics have called her books "sizzling page-turners" and "utterly spellbinding stories", while Showalter herself has been called "a star on the rise". (from Amazon website)


I want to know where these books were when I was a kid - I would have devoured them. I just don't understand why my kids don't read as much as I think they should with books like this available to them! Who were some of your favorite authors when you were a teen?

Intertwined
Publisher/Publication Date: Harlequin Teen, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0373210022
448 pages

What are you waiting for? Waiting on Wednesdays is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

ARC Arrival: The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall

The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

I received this book for a blog tour in August - I have a second copy that will be given away at that time!

About the book: Can an Amish man help Cara find safety in a strange community with complex, unspoken ties to her family history?

Raised in foster care and now a widowed single parent, New Yorker Cara Moore struggles against poverty, fear, and a relentless stalker. When a trail of memories leads Cara and her daughter, Lori, away from the city toward an Amish community, she follows every lead, eager for answers to mysteries from her past and a fresh start. She quickly discovers that Dry Lake, Pennsylvania, is no place for an outsider. But one Amish man, Ephraim Mast, dares to fulfill the command he believes that he received from God - "Be me to her" - even though doing so threatens his way of life.

Fearful of the strange Englischer woman causing turmoil for her family, Ephraim's sister Deborah tries to focus on the marriage and home she longs to begin with Mahlon Stoltzfus. Her dreams are threatened when her fiance begins behaving oddly, withdrawing, causing concern for both Deborah and Mahlon's mother Ada. Will Ada's vision for transforming a run-down house unite them all in a common purpose - or push Mahlon away forever?

Torn between the requirements of his community and trying to do what he believes is right, Ephraim risks losing everything, including a developing friendship with the guarded single mother. And only he knows that long-held secrets about her family history ripple beneath the surface of Dry Lake - secrets with the power to tear apart the home Cara is desperately trying to create.

From the author of The New York Times bestseller When the Soul Mends, this powerful story of colliding worlds illuminates the assurance that only comes when truth is revealed. (from the back cover)

About the author: Cindy Woodsmall is the author of When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and When the Soul Mends. Her ability to authentically capture the heart of her characters comes from her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Orchard Amish families. A mother of three sons and two daughters-in-law, Cindy lives in Georgia with her husband of more than 30 years. (from the back cover)

The Hope of Refuge
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, August 11, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4000-7396-2
352 pages

Purchased Pages: Night World by L.J. Smith

Night World by L.J. Smith
(contains Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, and Spellbinder)

I picked this up for my daughter when I was out shopping - but that probably won't stop me from reading it!

About the book(s): Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters - they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy's only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.

Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.

Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It's a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder. (from the back cover)

About the author: L.J. Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of The Vampire Diaries and has written more than twenty-five books for young adults. She lives in the Bay Area of California, where she enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and communing with her cat Suzie. Her favorite place is a cabin in Point Reyes National Seashore. (from the book)

Night World
Publisher/Publication Date: Simon Pulse, June 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7450-5
752 pages

Join me for another giveaway!

Karen Rose is quickly becoming one of my favorite thriller writers! You must check out this book if you are a fan of this genre. Thanks to Miriam and Hachette Books - I have 5 copies to giveaway to 5 of my lucky readers!

Book synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose delivers her latest pulse-pounding suspense novel, where the line between the virtual world and everyday reality blurs when it comes to murder.

Eve Wilson's face was once scarred by a vicious assault. Terrified and ashamed, she escaped to the online realm, where she could choose the face she allowed people to see. Years later, her outer scars faded and inner scars buried, Eve has fought her way back to the real world and is determined to help others do the same. Now a graduate student moonlighting as a bartender, Eve researches the addictive powers of online communities. When her test subjects begin turning up dead as a result of apparent suicides, she doesn't know where to turn.

Homicide detective Noah Webster is one of the few people who believe the victims are connected murders. Eve becomes Noah's online guide and realizes that the handsome detective may have secret scars as painful as her own. As Eve and Noah chase a killer who is always one step ahead of them, together they try to overcome the tragedies of their pasts and learn to trust again, but they soon discover that danger is much closer than they think. (from Amazon website)

And now for the rules:

1. Only open to U.S. and Canada
2. No PO Boxes
3. All entries in one comment if possible
   
4. Must leave email address in comment and tell me your favorite thriller author and/or book for first entry.
5. +2 if you follow - but must let me know (and followers - thank you very much - it is because of you that I host these giveaways!)
   
6. +3 if you post this on any social network - (on twitter please use @kherbrand in tweet) otherwise leave me a link
7. +3 for referrals and referrees (is that a word?) Just put it in your comment!
8. Oh - Giveaway ends 8/11, Midnight CST.
   

If you can't wait for the giveaway - here is a link to order it!

ARC Arrival: The Husband Project by Kathi Lipp

The Husband Project by Kathi Lipp
(21 Days of Loving Your Man - on Purpose and with a Plan)

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

I am going to try to do this from Aug 1 - Aug 21. I might post it online - depends on how personal it gets! The author also sent me a second copy to give away - so I will be having a giveaway during that time also!

About the book: Keeping a marriage healthy is all about the details—the daily actions and interactions in which husbands and wives lift each other up and offer support, encouragement, and love. In The Husband Project women will discover fun and creative ways to bring back that lovin’ feeling and remind their husbands—and themselves—why they married in the first place.

Using the sense of humor that draws thousands of women a year to hear her speak, Kathi Lipp shows wives through simple daily action plans how they can bring the fun back into their relationship even amidst their busy schedules.

The Husband Project is an indispensable resource for the wife who desires to:

discover the unique plan God has for her marriage and her role as a wife

create a plan to love her husband “on purpose”

support and encourage other wives who want to make their marriage a priority

experience release from the guilt of “not being enough”

The Husband Project is for every woman who desires to bring more joy into her marriage but just needs a little help setting a plan into action. (from Amazon)

About the author: Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker, currently speaking more than 45 times each year to thousands of women. Kathi and her husband, Roger, are the parents of four teenagers and live in California.

The Husband Project
Publisher/Publication Date:
ISBN: 978-0-7369-2522-8
208 pages

Congratulations Winners!

I have more winners to announce!

For Marie Force's books the winners are:

Line of Scrimmage goes to: kh (kimehak)



Love at First Flight goes to: donnas

And the winners of Soul Survivor are:

1. MJ
2. gahome2mom
3. Debbie
4. Chadwick
5. catss99

All winners have been emailed and have a couple of days to get back to me or new winners will be drawn.

Thanks for entering! I should have 3 new contests up this week so please watch for them! In the meantime, please enjoy some of the book features and reviews and let me know you are out there!

All graphics courtesy of webfetti.com

ARC Arrival: The Friends We Keep by Sarah Zacharias Davis

The Friends We Keep by Sarah Zacharias Davis

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

I received this book for a First Wild Card Tour coming in August.

About the book: Why are women's friendships so tricky?

During a particularly painful time in her life, Sarah Zacharias Davis learned how delightful - and wounding - women can be in friendship. She saw how some friendships end badly, others die slow deaths, and how a chance acquaintance can become that enduring friend you need.

The Friends We Keep is Sarah's thoughtful account of her own experiences and those of other women in navigating friendship. Her revealing discoveries tackle the questions every woman asks:

• Why do we long for women friends?
• Do we need friends like we need air or food or water?
• What causes cattiness, competition, and co-dependency in too many friendships?
• Why do some friendships last forever and others only a season?
• How do we foster friendship?
• When is it time to let a friend go, and how do we do so?

With heartfelt, intelligent writing, Sarah explores these questions and more with personal stories, cultural references and history, faith and grace. In the process, she delivers wisdom for navigating the challenges, mysteries, and delights of friendship: why we need friendships with other women, what it means to be safe in a relationship, and how to embrace what a friend has to offer, whether meager or generous. (from the book cover)

About the author: Sarah Zacharias Davis is the vice president of marketing and development for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, having joined the ministry after working in strategic marketing for CNN. The daughter of best-selling writer Ravi Zacharias, Davis is the author of critically-acclaimed Confessions from an Honest Wife and Transparent. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. (from the book cover)

The Friends We Keep
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, July 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4000-7439-6
224 pages

Teaser Tuesday 7-21-2009

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

"But then things changed. Mary Ellen started crying a lot. She tries to hide it from me the best she can, but every once in a while I'll catch her just staring at me, her eyes all swollen and wet with tears. Whenever this happens, all I can do is tell her that I'm sorry, even if I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be apologizing for." Jason sighed deeply; in that moment Cole could see that he was struggling to control his own emotions. "I don't think she'll be able to make it to the station tomorrow. I'm afraid it might kill her to watch me go." (p168, The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock)

Be sure to check out my giveaway I'm hosting for The Moon Looked Down.

ARC Arrival: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Publisher: William Morrow

I received this book from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.

About the book: "If you want to make it, all you have to do is try. . ."

He was mocked and called misala - crazy. But young William Kamkwamba struggled against the odds to fulfill a dream that would change his life in Malawi, a famine-stricken, landlocked nation on the southeastern tip of Africa. Using odds and ends found on his family's meager farm and in the local scrapyard - a broken shock absorber, a tractor fan, a bicycle frame and wheel, PVC pipe from a shower stall, tire rubber, stray copper wire, a clothesline - this fourteen-year-old boy, too poor to continue with school yet blessed with a rich imagination, embarked on a daring plan to build a windmill that would bring electricity - and hope - to his family's home.

With the help of his best friend and the support of his father, William forged a handmade contraption that created magetsi a mphepo - "electric wind" - that first powered four light bulbs and two radios in his family's compound and led to many other changes. With this one act of ingenuity and determination, William has become a worldwide sensation, offering hope, opportunity, and inspiration to millions everywhere. (from back cover)

See more of this amazing young man and his story.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Publisher/Publication Date: William Morrow, October 2009
ISBN: 978-0-06-173032-0
288 pages

Ravens by George Dawes Green (Blog tour and review)

Ravens by George Dawes Green

Publisher: Hachette Books

There is so much going on with this book right now I don't even know where to start. You might remember when I featured Ravens in a Waiting on Wednesday post way back in April. Or you might have caught the ARC Arrival post in June. Both of those posts gave a good description of the book, and so now, I am going to attempt to tell you how I felt about the book.

First sentence: Romeo was driving down from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the baffling twilight, going too fast, when a raccoon or possum ran in front of the car.

My thoughts: Honestly, this book was different than I thought it was going to be. It was much more character driven - I thought it would have more action. But I did like it. You really want to hate Shaw (and Romeo) when he takes the Boatwrights hostage - and with the way her manipulates Romeo to do all his dirty work. But he slowly begins to win the family over. While playing cards with Tara and her grandmother Nell, Tara begins to relax and actually flirt with Shaw. She tells herself that it is the only way that Nell will believe the whole lottery scam story that she is trying to sell. After winning over Nell and Tara, Shaw moves onto the rest of the family - and then to the public themselves. The community seems to fall in love with him at the press conference, seeking him out just to touch him and asking him to heal them. Shaw, of course, loves this attention and just basks in the glow.

Poor Romeo is just a puppet. He has been Shaw's friend since childhood - but it has not been a very healthy friendship. He worships Shaw in his own way and feels like he could do anything if it is what Shaw wants. He circles the town endlessly - just waiting for Shaw's signal that the Boatwrights are no longer cooperating and that he should kill whichever friend/family member he happens to be in close proximity to at the time. As he gets to know these people though, he doesn't know how he is going to be able to pull it off should he need to do it.

Ending is quite the twist and not one that I expected. Overall this is a good book and I would recommend it. Would have to give a warning though that it does contain foul language and has some sexual content.

Visit George Dawes Green
Listen to an excerpt of Ravens.

You have to watch this realistic trailer depicting the announcement of the winners of the lottery from Ravens. I found it pretty cool.

For even more reviews, interviews, and possibly some giveaways - please visit the other blogs on tour with Ravens this week:
July 20
http://www.iheartmonster.com/
http://mustreadfaster.blogspot.com/
http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/
http://abookishmom.blogspot.com/
http://www.foreigncircuslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com
July 21
http://aseaofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.thisbookforfree.com
http://proudbookworm.blogspot.com/
http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/
July 22
http://www.reviewfromhere.com/
http://nevernotreading.blogspot.com/
http://www.frommipov.blogspot.com/
http://bellasnovella.com/
http://mindingspot.blogspot.com/
July 23
http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://memybookandthecouch.blogspot.com/
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/
http://BookSoulmates.blogspot.com
http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/
Giveaway for this day: http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
July 24
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
http://bookrevues.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/darbyscloset
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/
http://justjenniferreading.blogspot.com/
http://www.readingwithmonie.com/

Ravens
Publisher/Publication Date: Hachette Books, July 15, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-53896-1
336 pages

ARC Arrival: The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Publisher: Mira Books

I received this book from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.

About the book: It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn's shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.

Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by a tragedy that pulled her deep into silence as a toddler. Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to be the best mother she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Now, though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay in her marriage has cost her more than her daughter's voice.

Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend, her soul mate and her voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual, professorial demeanor.

Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets. (from the back cover)

About the author: Heather Gudenkauf has spent the past sixteen years working with students of all ages and is currently an instructional coach, an educator who provides curricular and professional development support to teachers. As an individual with a hearing impairment, Heather chose to write The Weight of Silence to, among other things, highlight the struggles faced by children with communication disabilities. She lives in Dubuque, Iowa, with her husband, three children and a very spoiled German shorthaired pointer. The Weight of Silence is her first novel. (from the back cover)

The Weight of Silence
Publisher/Publication Date: Mira Books, August 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7783-2740-0
384 pages

ARC Arrival: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

Publisher: Minotaur Books

I received this book from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.

About the book: Chaos is coming to the lovely, seemingly tranquil town of Three Pines, just over the Canadian border. It begins to show its face one morning when a murdered man is found lying on the old pine floor of the beloved bistro and antiques store run by Olivier and his partner, Gabri. No one has ever seen the man before - or admits to having seen him - until a mysterious cabin, filled with priceless treasures, is uncovered deep in the woods. Clearly the hermit must have lived there and died there, and someone has been bringing him fresh groceries - in exchange for what? And just how did Olivier make such a spectacular success of his antiques business. Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are called in, and much as they personally like the man who has hosted so many wonderful meals, they must ask the uncomfortable questions. Meanwhile, the cabin yields up extraordinary pieces of evidence - from signed first editions of Charlotte's Web and Jane Eyre to a spider web with the word "WOE" woven in it - that will send Gamache to the remote Queen Charlotte Islands in search of the hermit's secrets, then back to Three Pines to confront the brutal truth. With a deft hand and a melodic voice, Penny captures the dark terrain that can lie beneath even the most beautiful of settings. The Brutal Telling is another milestone for a talented writer whose legions of fans continue to grow. (from publicity material sent with the book)

About the author: LOUISE PENNY’s first Armand Gamache mystery, Still Life, won the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards; her second, A Fatal Grace, won the 2007 Agatha Award for Best Novel; and her third, The Cruelest Month, was #1 on the hardcover IMBA bestseller list in March 2008, and her fourth, A Rule Against Murder, was a New York Times bestseller. She lives in a small village south of Montreal. (from Amazon)

The Brutal Telling
Publisher/Publication Date: Minotaur Books, Sept 29, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-37703-8
384 pages

ARC Arrival: The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt

The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt

Publisher: Mariner/Houghton Mifflin

I received this book from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.

About the book: From the moment Louisa first catches sight of the strange man who occupies a forbidden room on the thirty-third floor, she is determined to befriend him. Unbeknownst to Louisa, he is Nikola Tesla - inventor of AC electricity and wireless communication - and he is living out his last days at the Hotel New Yorker. Winning his attention through a shared love of pigeons, she eventually uncovers the story of Tesla's life as a Serbian immigrant and a visionary genius: as a boy he built engines powered by June bugs, as a man he dreamed of pulling electricity from the sky. The mystery deepens when Louisa reunites with an enigmatic former classmate and faces the loss of her father as he attempts to travel to the past to meet up with his beloved wife. Before the week is out, Louisa must come to terms with her own understanding of love, death, and the power of invention. (from the back cover)

About the author: Samantha Hunt is the author of the acclaimed first novel, The Seas, which in 2006 won a National Book Foundation award for writers under thirty-five. Her fiction has been published in The New Yorker and McSweeney's. She lives in New York. (from the back cover)

The Invention of Everything Else
Publisher/Publication Date: Mariner, Reprint 2009
ISBN: 978-0-547-08577-7
272 pages

ARC Arrival: I Can See You by Karen Rose

I Can See You by Karen Rose

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Books

BIG THANKS to Miriam at Hachette Books for the opportunity to read this book!

About the book: New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose delivers her latest pulse-pounding suspense novel, where the line between the virtual world and everyday reality blurs when it comes to murder.

Eve Wilson's face was once scarred by a vicious assault. Terrified and ashamed, she escaped to the online realm, where she could choose the face she allowed people to see. Years later, her outer scars faded and inner scars buried, Eve has fought her way back to the real world and is determined to help others do the same. Now a graduate student moonlighting as a bartender, Eve researches the addictive powers of online communities. When her test subjects begin turning up dead as a result of apparent suicides, she doesn't know where to turn.

Homicide detective Noah Webster is one of the few people who believe the victims are connected murders. Eve becomes Noah's online guide and realizes that the handsome detective may have secret scars as painful as her own. As Eve and Noah chase a killer who is always one step ahead of them, together they try to overcome the tragedies of their pasts and learn to trust again, but they soon discover that danger is much closer than they think. (from book jacket)

About the author: Karen Rose is a former chemical engineer who is now a New York Times bestselling author. With her unique background, she's able to combine breathless suspense and cold science into ultimately thrilling reads. Karen lives in Florida with her husband of twenty years, their two children and the family cat, Bella. (from book jacket)

I Can See You
Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing, Aug 5, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-53834-3
496 pages

Mailbox Monday 7-20-2009

Mailbox Monday is hosted at The Printed Page or In Your Mailbox at The Story Siren. Please stop by those posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week!



ARC Arrival

1. Falling into the Sun by Charrie Hazard
2. South of Broad by Pat Conroy
   
3. Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi
   

Tome Travelers - I picked these up for sale at our library last week

1. Shiver
   by Lisa Jackson
2. Left To Die
   by Lisa Jackson
3. Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Book 1)
   by Carrie Vaughn

That's it for me this week - what books came into your house last week?

And the winners are. . .

1. Donnas
2. Kimehak(already won)MYL (never responded) New winner - throuthehaze
   
3. Sue W
4. Crystal
5. Lee

You have each won a copy of How to Score!

1. LuAnn(already won) Belinda M
2. Elaing8
3. CindyB
4. renee
5. Valerie2350

You have each won a copy of One Scream Away!

I will be emailing all the winners shortly - they will have until Tuesday night to get me their mailing information or new winners will be "randomized".

Thank you to everyone who enters my contests! I love having BIG numbers to enter into the randomizer program. Please remember though - You must leave me your email address. I have too many giveaways going on to try to track you down.