Angel and Apostle by Deborah Noyes (Book Review)

Title: Angel and Apostle
Author: Deborah Noyes
Publisher: Unbridled Books

My Synopsis: Angel and Apostle tells the story of Pearl, Hester Prynne's daughter from The Scarlet Letter. I read The Scarlet Letter about 30 years ago and do not really remember the ending, but you do not need to have read (or remember) The Scarlet Letter to enjoy Angel and Apostle.

The book starts when Pearl is but a child, living with her mother. She is just as punished by the villager's and their children as her mother is, because of the scarlet letter that her mother has to wear.

Pearl stumbles upon Simon sitting in his garden one day as she flees through the woods to get away from the village children. She soon learns that Simon is blind and is watched over by Liza, a woman hired by his father to take care of him and his mother. His mother is very ill and soon dies. Simon's father returns from sea with Nehemiah, Simon's brother and they make plans to return to England. Nehemiah grudgingly accepts Pearl as he sees how much her friendship with Simon means to both of them. This friendship will over shadow many of the choices Pearl makes in her life and will ultimately effect the path she takes.

When the minister dies who had shielded Hester and daughter through the years, Hester becomes distraught. This just fuels the rumors that he is Pearl's father. Hester is once again put in the stocks. It is here that Pearl discovers who her real father is as she overhears him talking to her mother.

Hester is convinced to leave America and so her and Pearl get passage on Simon's father's ship. In England, Pearl grows up, marries, and tries to make a life for herself apart from her mother. I believe that part of her was still shadowed by her mother's scarlet letter and the shame she felt as a child. I am not going to tell you much about her life in England, as I don't want to give any spoilers, so you will need to read the book!

I loved Pearl's voice in this story. It really gave you a sense of the time period and made you feel as if you were there. I will say that I am not sure that I cared for the ending. It felt very abrupt, but it does leave the door somewhat open for a sequel. . . I very much liked the tone of the book though and am looking forward to reading more by Deborah Noyes.

~I was provided this book for review by Unbridled Books.~

Angel and Apostle
Publisher/Publication Date: Unbridled Books, Sept 2006
ISBN: 978-1-932961-29-4
304 pages

Win the audiobook Absolute Power by David Baldacci

Absolute Power
by David Baldacci

Available for the first time Unabridged on CD in an all-new recording by Scott Brick, the first of the blockbuster thrillers by New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. The book that will change the way you think about Washington - and power - forever. In a heavily guarded mansion in a posh Virginia suburb, a man and a woman start to make love, trapping a burglar behind a secret wall. Then the passion turns deadly, and the witness is running into the night. Because what he has just seen is a brutal slaying involving the president of the United States.

Luther Whitney is the career break-in artist who's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alan Richmond is the charming U.S. president with the power to commit any crime. And Jack Graham is the young attorney caught in a vortex between absolute truth and... ABSOLUTE POWER.

Listen to an Excerpt

Giveaway

I have three copies of this audiobook to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) please tell me if you have read one of David Baldacci's other novels and/or your favorite and also leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 12th! Good luck!

Giveaway of The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

The Last Song
by Nicholas Sparks

Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alientated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.

The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them.

Reading Group Guide

Giveaway

I have three copies of this paperback book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) just tell me your favorite movie that is based on a book and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 12th! Good luck!

The Friday 56: 1-22-2010

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.





She wasn't like them, and he somehow doubted she knew what she was getting into with them. As Scott went on, assuring Cassie that he could easily have handled the three of them, Will found himself straining to overhear the police officer's conversation with the girl's father. (The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, p56)








The Last Song
Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing; REP Mti Edition Feb 4, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-57097-8
432 pages

Friday Finds: 1-22-2010

Here is my find this week!



One Vacant Chair
by Joe Coomer

It's where you sit down that determines everything in life.

Sarah's aunt Edna paints portraits of chairs. Not people in chairs, just chairs. The old house is filled with the paintings, and the chairs themselves surround her work--a silent yet vigilant audience. At the funeral of Grandma Hutton--whom Edna has cared for through an agonizingly long and vague illness--Sarah begins helping her aunt clean up the last of a life. This includes honoring Grandma's surprising wish to have her ashes scattered in Scotland.

"We were two fat women, eighteen years apart, a chair artist and a designer of Christmas ornaments, who only knew we had troubles and a hot summer to get through," says Sarah. But as it turns out, there is a great deal more to her quirky aunt's troubles than Sarah could possibly imagine. As the novel turns from the hot, oppressive heat of Texas to the misty beauty of Scotland, she learns of her aunt Edna's remarkable secret life and comes to fully understand the fragile business of living and even dying. (Book Jacket)


Dark Secrets of the Old Oak Tree
by Dolores J. Wilson

Following the end of her 15-year marriage to a high-powered attorney, Evie Carson returns to her small hometown in Georgia only to stumble upon a horrible secret. She is stunned into silence as she watches a mentally-challenged member of the community carry the nude, lifeless body of her childhood friend. The authorities are sure that once the man is arrested, the town's nightmare will be over. But when he turns up dead and Evie's home becomes the center of bizarre events, she and an investigating state trooper fear she may be the next victim. With his help, Evie wages a battle to save her life against the secrets of the oak tree. Soon, she begins to wonder if she is safe from anyone in her hometown, including the state trooper. (Amazon)

Winners of Hearing From God Each Morning

I have 5 confirmed winners for Hearing From God Each Morning by Joyce Meyer.

EllyBean
LeeP
gahome2mom
Anonymous - Kellyfree
ossmcalc

Congrats winners!

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris - Win the Audiobook!

The Unnamed
by Joshua Ferris

Joshua Ferris' debut novel Then We Came to the End was both heralded by critics and a New York Times bestseller, and marked the arrival of a startlingly talented young writer. With THE UNNAMED, Ferris imagines the collision between one man's free will and the forces of nature that are bigger than any of us.

Tim Farnsworth walks. He walks out of meetings and out of bed. He walks in sweltering heat and numbing cold. He will walk without stopping until he falls asleep, wherever he is. This curious affliction has baffled medical experts around the globe--and come perilously close to ruining what should be a happy life. Tim has a loving family, a successful law career and a beautiful suburban home, all of which he maintains spectacularly well until his feet start moving again.

What drives a man to stay in a marriage, in a job? What forces him away? Is love or conscience enough to overcome the darker, stronger urges of the natural world? THE UNNAMED is a deeply felt, luminous novel about modern life, ancient yearnings, and the power of human understanding.

Giveaway

I have three copies of this audiobook to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) please tell me a new author you read last year and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 11th! Good luck!

Win Dare to Surrender by Lilli Feisty

Dare to Surrender
by Lilli Feisty

HE MEETS HIS MATCH. SHE MEETS HER MASTER. Art gallery curator Joy Montgomery has never liked her body's generous curves. And she's always been too shy to explore her wild side. But tonight, everything is going to change . . . Desperate to save her job, Joy approaches bad-boy artist Ash Hunter and asks him to exhibit his erotic work at her gallery. Ash agrees on one condition: Joy must pose as his model. But business soon turns to pleasure, as Joy experiences a passion beyond her wildest imaginings and Ash finds more than just inspiration in his voluptuous new muse.

Check out the author's website at LillianFeisty.com


Five Fun Facts

1) In Dare to Surrender, my heroine drives a 1979 Diesel Mercedes exactly like the one I drive. I've had two diesel Mercedes, one of which I accidentally filled up with regular gasoline. Turns out diesel cars don't run on gasoline. Who knew? I also drove away from a gas station with the fuel nozzle still inserted in the tank. I didn't notice I had the nozzle sticking out of my car until I glanced in my side mirror to make a left hand turn. I have a long, exciting history with this specific type of vehicle so I had to write one into this story.

2) Joy has a secret habit of belly dancing in the privacy of her own home. When I was writing Dare to Surrender, I played instructional belly dancing videos in the background during most of the time I spent writing. I admit once in awhile I'd get up and dance. When no one was watching, of course.

3) My inspiration for my hero, Ash Hunter, was based on Joe Anderson, who played Henry Austen in the movie Becoming Jane.

4) I've never written a story without at least one sexy scene involving food. Dare to Surrender was no exception. I never knew French fries could be so hot. Pun intended.

5) Dare to Surrender takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nearly every location is based on an actual place I know intimately. Any reader who wants to know more about my barely disguised locals, feel free to email me at lilli@lillianfeisty.com.

Giveaway

I have five copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) just tell me if you have ever done anything embarrassing while driving your car (like Lilli did in the fun facts above) and leave your email address. (I once hit a parked car because I was watching a guy cross the road in front of me - talk about embarrassing!)

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 11th! Good luck!

Kid's Korner: Z is for Zoom by Laura Purdie Salas (Book Review)

Title: Z is for Zoom! A Race Car Alphabet
Author: Laura Purdie Salas
Publisher: Capstone Press

My thoughts: What a great book for any child who loves race cars! Each letter is something you would find at a racetrack - like C for checkered flag, Q for Qualify or V for Victory lap. It is followed with a couple of sentences that explain the word or tell how the item is used. There is also a lot of fabulous pictures of race cars and their drivers.

The night that my son and I read it, he was a little restless so didn't really get into it very much. I plan on trying it again on a night when he seems a little more centered. He is really into putting any letters together and asking us what it spells. Most times it is nonsense, but every once in a while he stumbles upon a real word. It is great to have an alphabet of words of something that he is really into - so that when we read them, maybe they will "stick" more!

I was also sent two other books from this series from Capstone Press-




Y is for Yowl! A Scary Alphabet













A is for Arrr! A Pirate Alphabet






I haven't read these with my son yet, but upon looking through them am loving the big pictures and the words they have chosen for each letter. Especially the Y is for Yowl! book - this would be my favorite as I love Halloween and this book would be perfect for that time of year.

Knit, Purl, Die by Anne Canadeo (Book Review)

Title: Knit, Purl, Die
Author: Anne Canadeo
Publisher: Pocket Books

My synopsis: The Black Sheep knitters have once again found themselves in the middle of a murder - or was it an accident as the police seem to think?

Gloria Sterling seemed to have it all - money, smarts, looks, much younger, devoted husband and a new circle of friends - the Black Sheep knitters. She sailed into their group seamlessly even though they sometimes felt they were not in her league.

Suzanne is ecstatic when Gloria decides to sell her house and asks Suzanne to be her agent. Unfortunately, the first time she shows the house they find Gloria floating face down in her swimming pool. Together with Dana, Maggie and Lucy (the Black Sheep knitters) they try to make sure that Jamie, Gloria's husband, keeps it together. As Jamie shares Gloria's secret dark side, other information makes the girls think that maybe Gloria did not have an accident, but was killed because of some of her secrets. Question is - which secret was the one that got her killed?

My thoughts: This was a great cozy mystery. It was the second in the series (A Black Sheep Knitting Mystery) but read very well as a stand alone. It does give a spoiler for the first one though, so if you like to read things in order you should read While My Pretty One Knits first. I really like these women characters, who were all strong in their own rights. Maggie is a widow and a business owner, Lucy is divorced and had a graphic design business out of her house, Dana is a local psychologist, Suzanne is a realtor with a husband and kids. When they got together to knit, I was so envious. (I do know how to knit, but don't get much time to experiment with it. I do go to a stitching zone when I needlepoint/cross stitch though!) I wasn't just envious of the time though, but of the friendships that they share. They were very much in tune with each other and knew how each other would respond in certain situations. Having girlfriends like that is a real bonus! It is sort of hailing/freezing rain out right now and this would be the exact kind of book that I would curl up with!

There are also some good recipes in the back that are referenced in the story as well as some great websites to find knitting patterns on!

About the author: Anne Canadeo began her Black Sheep Knitting Mystery series with While My Pretty One Knits. She is the author of more than 30 books, including the bestselling Cape Light series, which she writes as Katherine Spencer. A novice with needles, she finds many similarities between knitting and writing -- inspiration, persistence, and good things happening by accident. Anne lives in Northport, New York. (back cover)

~I was provided with a copy of this book from Pocket Books for review.~


Other blogs participating on this tour:
My Book Views: http://my-book-views.blogspot.com/
Brizmus Blogs About Books: http://brizmusblogsbooks.blogspot.com/
Rundpinne: http://www.rundpinne.blogspot.com/
Renee’s Reads: http://www.renees-reads.blogspot.com/
Book Junkie: http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com/
Pam’s Private Reflections: http://hip2bhomeschooling.blogspot.com/
Starting Fresh: http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/
Books, Books Everywhere: http://bookbookseverywhere.blogspot.com/
Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
My Guilty Pleasures: http://www.mgpblog.com/
Just Another New Blog: http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/
A Book Bloggers Diary: http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/
Books Reviews by Buuklvr81: http://www.buuklvr81.blogspot.com
Reading at the Beach: http://ilratb.blogspot.com/
Foreign Circus Library: http://www.foreigncircuslibrary.blogspot.com/
The Cajun Book Lady: http://thecajunbooklady.blogspot.com/
Red Headed Book Child: http://redheadedbookchild.blogspot.com/
Wendy’s Minding Spot: http://mindingspot.blogspot.com/
Books, Movies & Chinese Food: http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/
Pudgy Penguin Perusals: http://kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com/
Between the Pages: http://www.betweenthelinesandmore.blogspot.com/
Marta’s Meanderings: http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/
Chaotic Book Obsession: http://chaoticbookobbsession.blogspot.com/
Savey Spender: http://saveyspender.com/
Libby’s Library News: http://www.libslibrary.blogspot.com/
Booksie’s Blog: http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/
Jeanne's Ramblings: http://www.jeannesramblings.com/
I Read: http://sumanam.wordpress.com/
Bless Their Hearts Mom: http://blesstheirheartsmom.blogspot.com/
Steph the Bookworm: http://www.stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/
Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews: http://sharonsgardenofbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Book Dilettante: http://bookbirddog.blogspot.com

Knit, Purl, Die
Publisher/Publication Date: Pocket Books, Jan 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4165-9812-1
288 pages

Waiting on Wednesday: Captivity

Captivity by Deborah Noyes
Publisher/Publication Date: Unbridled Books, June 2010

This masterful historical novel by Deborah Noyes, the lauded author of Angel & Apostle, The Ghosts of Kerfol, and Encyclopedia of the End (starred PW) is two stories:

The first centers upon the strange, true tale of the Fox Sisters, the enigmatic family of young women who, in upstate New York in 1848, proclaimed that they could converse with the dead. Doing so, they unwittingly (but artfully) gave birth to a religious movement that touched two continents: the American Spiritualists. Their followers included the famous and the rich, and their effect on American spirituality lasted a full generation. Still, there are echoes. The Fox Sisters' is a story of ambition and playfulness, of illusion and fear, of indulgence, guilt and finally self-destruction.

The second story in Captivity is about loss and grief. It is the evocative tale of the bright promise that the Fox Sisters offer up to the skeptical Clara Gill, a reclusive woman of a certain age who long ago isolated herself with her paintings, following the scandalous loss of her beautiful young lover in London.

Lyrical and authentic--and more than a bit shadowy--Captivity is, finally, a tale about physical desire and the hope that even the thinnest faith can offer up to a darkening heart.

Captivity
Publisher/Publication Date: Unbridled Books, June 2010
ISBN: 978-1-936071-63-0
352 pages

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

Win the audiobook - I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourn

I Am Ozzy
by Ozzy Osbourn

"They've said some crazy things about me over the years. I mean, okay: 'He bit the head off a bat.' Yes. 'He bit the head off a dove.' Yes. But then you hear things like, 'Ozzy went to the show last night, but he wouldn't perform until he'd killed fifteen puppies . . .' Now me, kill fifteen puppies? I love puppies. I've got eighteen of the f**king things at home. I've killed a few cows in my time, mind you. And the chickens. I shot the chickens in my house that night.

It haunts me, all this crazy stuff. Every day of my life has been an event. I took lethal combinations of booze and drugs for thirty f**king years. I survived a direct hit by a plane, suicidal overdoses, STDs. I've been accused of attempted murder. Then I almost died while riding over a bump on a quad bike at f**king two miles per hour.

People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say. When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of sixty, which one of us would end up with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and Beverly Hills, I wouldn't have put money on me, no f**king way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time.

A lot of it ain't gonna be pretty. I've done some bad things in my time. I've always been drawn to the dark side, me. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working-class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time."

Listen to an Excerpt.

Giveaway

I have three copies of this audiobook to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) please tell me your favorite musician/band and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 10th! Good luck!

Countess of Scandal by Laurel McKee - Giveaway!

Countess of Scandal
by Laurel McKee

As children, Eliza Blacknall and William Denton ran wild over the fields of southern Ireland and swore they would be friends forever. Then fate took Will away to England, while Eliza stayed behind to become a proper Irish countess.

Years later, Will finally makes his way home-as an English soldier sent to crush the Irish uprising. When he spies the lovely Eliza, he is captivated by the passionate woman she has become. But Eliza's passions have led her to join the Irish rebel cause, and Will and Eliza now find themselves on opposite sides of a dangerous conflict.

When Ireland explodes in bloody rebellion, Will's regiment is ordered to the front lines, and he is forced to choose between his duty to the English king and his love for Eliza and their Irish homeland.

Listen to an excerpt.


Five Fun Facts

1) When I was a teenager, my friends were mostly fan-girls for movie stars and rock musicians. Not me. I was a geeky history fan-girl for people like Madame de Pompadour, Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and Elizabeth I. (I had one friend who inexplicably liked Mary Queen of Scots! Despite the odds, we are still friends.) This made me a weird 14-year-old but has given me endless inspiration for stories. For Countess of Scandal, I looked at women like Mary Ann McCracken, Emily the Duchess of Leinster, and Margaret King.

2) As well as being a historical fan-girl, I’m a bona fide girly-girl, with secret guilty pleasures like Hello Kitty, bright pink shoes, and MAC lipgloss. That means I spend huge amounts of time researching my heroines’ wardrobes.

3) I had an inkling for the beginning of a story that would grow into Countess of Scandal years ago on a tour of the grand house Castletown outside of Dublin. Castletown was once owned by Lady Louisa Conolly, one of the famous Lennox sisters, and the home is stunningly gorgeous. The tour guide provided lots of information about the lives of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy and what they faced in 1798. It just took me a while to meet the characters to fill the story!

4) I have no sisters and always sort of wanted one. I even made my poor little brother have tea parties with me when we were kids. Maybe that’s why I love writing connected stories about sisters.

5) I always create characters collages when I start a new book. This usually entails copious amounts of time online looking at photos of hunky actors. Very hard work, but I’m willing to make the sacrifice for my book! For Countess of Scandal, I was inspired by Rupert Friend in uniform in Pride and Prejudice, and I pictured Eliza as looking something like Rachel Weisz. (I also create soundtracks for books! Lots of Chieftains and the Young Dubliners for this book…)

Giveaway

I have five copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) tell us if you were a fan-girl of movie stars and rock musicians or a historical fan-girl like Laurel McKee and leave your email address. (I was a fan-girl of movie stars and rock musicians - remember Leif Garret? and then there was a variety show I think in the late 70's with the Keane (?) brothers - very short lived but it was the first fan letter I ever wrote!)

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 10th! Good luck!

Teaser Tuesday: 1-19-2010

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 have given!
Please avoid spoilers!




Palm Desert is two hours away from L.A., I calculated. Kiki's right, because Frank's got no clue I could be this far east. He won't be able to track me at all! (The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Kidnapped by Yxta Maya Murray, p79)









The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Kidnapped
Publisher/Publication Date: Razorbill, Jan 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59514-272-6
272 pages

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova - Audiobook giveaway

The Swan Thieves
by Elizabeth Kostova

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe has a perfectly ordered life--solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient. In response, Marlowe finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this genius, a journey that will lead him into the lives of the women closest to Robert Oliver and toward a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

Ranging from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope.

Listen to an Excerpt

Giveaway

I have three copies of this audiobook to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) please tell me your favorite hobby and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 9th! Good luck!

Win The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer

The Confident Woman:
Start Today Living Boldly and Without Fear
by Joyce Meyer

What keeps women from being their best? Joyce has been helping women better themselves by helping identify emotional barriers and physical, mental, and spiritual obstacles in their lives for years. Now she provides another answer-confidence.

Our society has an insecurity epidemic, women in particular. Compensating by pretending to be secure-a common response-only leads to feelings of shame. Lack of self-confidence causes great difficulty in relationships of all kinds, and in marriage instances can even lead to

divorce.

In THE CONFIDENT WOMAN, Joyce explores the seven characteristics of a woman with confidence, which include a woman who knows she is loved, who refuses to live in fear, and who does not live by comparisons. Joyce explains that confidence stems from being positive in your actions and living honestly, but most importantly from having faith, in God and in ourselves.

Now in paperback, this #1 New York Times bestseller encourages women to boldly embrace all that God created them to be by finding their true confidence.

Giveaway

I have five copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) leave a comment telling me what you would do if you had all the confidence in the world (and money/resources was not an issue) and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 9th! Good luck!

Attention Christian Authors!

Deep River books is currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts from Christian Authors. Unlike vanity publishers, Deep River carefully reviews each manuscript before accepting any author for print. There is also a limited amount of space available for this opportunity to publish your manuscript. Their Partnership Publishing program is used by a wide variety of authors around the world such as Coach Bill McCartney, the Founder of Promise Keepers (and many more). Check it out for yourself and see if Deep River is right for you. You can learn how to submit your manuscript at www.deepriverbooks.com "

Blog Tour: A Black Tie Affair (Jan 18 - 29)

Fashion curator Athena Smith will do anything to get her hands on the Clayworth family's couture collection for her exhibit. So she's thrilled when she's called in to authenticate the gowns...until she falls ill while examining them and wakes up face-to-face with notorious Chicago bachelor Drew Clayworth. Drew doesn't trust Athena one bit. He still believes she betrayed him years ago. So when his family's gowns go missing and Athena offers her help in exchange for the dresses, he reluctantly accepts. But they're both taken off guard by the barely restrained passion that's still between them...and the memories that are both bitter and sweet. As they work together to find the dresses, can they resist the sparks between them?

About the author (from her website): I’m sure growing up in my grandmother’s house, taking care of my developmentally disabled mother, forged who I am, but I don’t believe any one thing defines me. My philosophy of life is that we are all in this together—and we need to embrace one another with as much grace, humor and compassion as we can muster. I see life as big, bigger, biggest, and I want to take everyone along with me on the journey. I not only attend black-tie affairs and work on charity board projects, but I am also just as likely to be taking a grandchild to lunch and a movie. I’m happily married to John, with whom I eloped when I was an 18-year-old freshman in college. It was quite the scandal. We have four beautiful children and 11 grandchildren.

I won my first writing award in the seventh grade in a statewide essay contest about a television broadcast of Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. Instead of Silver Skates, they sent real skates, which I enjoyed immensely. I’m only sorry I don’t still have them so they could hang in my office.

While moving 22 times across the country and rearing our children, I sold stories to Fate Magazine, Home Life Magazine and True Confessions. In 1988, I sold my first novel and a week later received a two-book contract from Fawcett. Sixteen novels later, I’ve seen The Other Amanda win the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America Write Touch Readers’ Award and Talk of the Town chosen by Cosmopolitan magazine as its “Red Hot Read” for February 2009.

Author Website: SherrillBodine.com

Follow @SherrillBodine on Twitter.

Blog Tour Participants:
http://thecajunbooklady.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway, Q&A 1/18/2010
http://stacievaughansblog.blogspot.com/ Giveaway 1/18/2010
http://juniperrbreeeze.blogspot.com/ Review 1/18/2010
http://brokenteepee.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 1/18/2010
http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com Giveaway, Guest Post 1/18/2010
www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 1/18/2010
http://jensbooktalk.blogspot.com/ Review 1/18/2010
http://myoverstuffedbookshelf.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway 1/18/2010
www.mgpblog.com Review, Giveaway 1/18/2010
http://frugalplus.com/ Review, Giveaway 1/18/2010
http://www.stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/ Review 1/18/2010
http://www.mybookaddictionandmore.wordpress.com Review, Giveaway, Q&A 1/19/2010
http://www.saveyspender.com Review, Giveaway 1/20/2010
www.bellasnovella.com Review 1/20/2010
http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/ Giveaway, Guest post 1/20/2010
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway 1/21/2010
www.cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 1/21/2010
www.thebookgirl.net Review, Giveaway 1/22/2010
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 1/22/2010
my-book-views.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 1/22/2010
http://therempels4.blogspot Review, Givewaway 1/22/2010
http://www.betweenthelinesandmore.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway 1/23/2010
http://myreadingroom-crystal.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 1/25/2010
http://www.eclecticbooklover.com Review, Giveaway 1/25/2010
http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway, Guest post 1/26/2010
www.luxuryreading.com Review, Giveaway 1/27/2010
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/ Guest post and giveaway 1/27/2010
www.bibliophilicbookblog.com Review, Giveaway 1/27/2010
http://www.kballard87.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 1/28/2010
http://www.renees-reads.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway 1/29/2010
http://www.renees-reads.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway 1/29/2010
http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway 1/29/2010
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/ Review, Giveaway 1/29/2010
http://maryinhb.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway 1/29/2010

Thicker than Blood Blog Tour (Jan 18-24)

TitleTrakk.com Blog Tours Presents:

Thicker than Blood
by C.J. Darlington
Published by Tyndale House

Winner of the
2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel Contest!

Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. But things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, she yearns for her estranged younger sister, May, whom she abandoned after their parents’ untimely deaths. Soon, Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God. Could May’s Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for? Will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it’s too late?

Watch for my review later this week!

With careful attention to detail, emotion, and scene-setting, C.J. Darlington scores with her debut effort. Here is a special writer you won’t want to miss.
--Jerry B. Jenkins, New York Times best selling author

If you love a good read filled with adventure and ultimately redemption, I encourage you to brew the tea, settle into your favorite chair and pick up the page turner that is C.J. Darlington’s imaginative new novel of a modern day sisterhood that triumphs over separation and the raw challenges of life to find the real endurance of both family ties and God’s amazing grace.
--Rebecca St. James, Grammy award winning Christian singer and bestselling author

With Thicker than Blood, C.J. Darlington proves she's a novelist for the long-haul, a strong new voice in Christian fiction. This book speaks to the heart, from the heart, about the heart. Readers will not soon forget it.
--Sibella Giorello, Christy award-winning author of The Rivers Run Dry & The Clouds Roll Away

Veracity by Laura Bynum (Book Review)

Title: Veracity
Author: Laura Bynum
Publisher: Pocket Books

About the book: Harper Adams was six years old in 2012 when an act of viral terrorism wiped out one half of the country's population. Out of the ashes rose a new government, the Confederation of the Willing, dedicated to maintaining order at any cost. The populace is controlled via government-sanctioned sex and drugs, a brutal police force known a the Blue Coats, and a device called the slate, a mandatory implant that monitors every word a person speaks. To utter a Red Listed, forbidden word is to risk physical punishment or even death.

But there are those who resist. Guided by the fabled "Book of Noah," they are determined to shake the people from their apathy and ignorance, and are prepared to start a war in the name of freedom. The newest member of this resistance is Harper -- a woman driven by memories of a daughter lost, a daughter whose very name was erased by the Red List. And she possesses a power that could make her the underground warriors' ultimate weapon -- or the instrument of their destruction. (inside cover)

My thoughts: Let me start by saying I loved this book! I read it very quickly and put all other books aside while I was reading this one. (And if you read my blog you will see that I tend to read more than one book at a time. . .) The story was told by Harper and it went back and forth from the 2020's to the present - 2045. The world as we know it is gone. It was wiped out by a Pandemic when Harper was six and she was taken from her parents and placed with a new set. She was told that her parents did not survive. It was at this age that she had her slate put in. The slate recorded everything that she said, did, where she went and kept her from saying any red listed words. All books were destroyed, as well as art. -- Can you imagine living in a world with books?? I love the sentence on the cover of the book - The only thing more dangerous than the spoken word is silence.

From even before the Pandemic Harper knew that she had "gifts". She could see people's auras, sometimes able to tell what they were thinking/feeling based on these colors. She could also travel outside her body. As a senior she is chosen to be a part of the Monitor program -- even though she does what she can to stay out of it. She is groomed over the years to become the Alpha Sentient. From what I can gather, she was over all the Monitors and made the call on whether a red-listed word was used on purpose. (For example - if a baby who was just learning to talk actually said a word when they were babbling. . .) The Blue Coats would carry out the punishment to those who used these words - and these punishments were always harsh.

I sort of felt that Harper was just wandering through life, doing what she was told, but not actually taking control -- until she decides to make a break and leave for the Underground - to try to win back rights, some of which she did not even know existed. Even there she did not have the confidence in herself to think that she could do what it was required of her in order for the Resistance to win. For her daughter though, she knew she had to try.

I was really invested in this character very early on. I cannot tell you why other than she seemed like someone that I would like to know. She had a good heart, even with being able to see other's auras and tried to help when she could.

About the author: Laura Bynum won the Rupert Hughes Prose Award at the Maui Writer's Conference (2006) for an early version of Veracity. A cum laude graduate of the University of Illinois, she earned her master's degree at Eastern Illinois University. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Virginia, where she is at work on a second novel.

Reading group guide is available.

~I received this book for review from Pocket Books.~

Other blogs participating in this tour:
All About {n}: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/
The Cajun Book Lady: http://thecajunbooklady.blogspot.com/
Rundpinne: http://www.rundpinne.blogspot.com/
My Friend Amy: http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/
The Neverending Shelf: http://www.theneverendingshelf.com/
Drey’s Library: http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
Book Junkie: http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com/
Books Gardens & Dogs: http://maryinhb.blogspot.com/
My Book Views: http://my-book-views.blogspot.com/
Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
Brizmus Blogs About Books: http://brizmusblogsbooks.blogspot.com/
Pam’s Private Reflections: http://hip2bhomeschooling.blogspot.com/
My Book Addiction and More: www.mybookaddictionandmore.wordpress.com
Starting Fresh: http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/
Books, Books Everywhere: http://bookbookseverywhere.blogspot.com/
My Guilty Pleasures: http://www.mgpblog.com/
The Bibliophilic Book Blog: http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/
A Book Bloggers Diary: http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/
Opinionated? Me?: http://readingwatchingliving.blogspot.com/
I Heart Monster: http://www.iheartmonster.com/
Wendy’s Minding Spot: http://mindingspot.blogspot.com/
Parajunkee’s View: http://parajunkee.blogspot.com/
The Wayfaring Writer: http://moonsanity.blogspot.com/
You Wanna Know What I Think?: http://www.kballard87.blogspot.com/
Bookfoolery & Babble: http://bookfoolery.blogspot.com/
My Life In Not So Many Words: http://www.ziarias.blogspot.com/
Between the Pages: http://www.betweenthelinesandmore.blogspot.com/
Savey Spender: http://saveyspender.com/
Temple Library Reviews: http://templelibraryreviews.blogspot.com/
See Michelle Read: http://seemichelleread.blogspot.com/
Revenge of the Booknerds: http://booknerdextraordinaire.blogspot.com/
Must Read Faster: http://mustreadfaster.blogspot.com/
Jeanne's Ramblings: http://www.jeannesramblings.com
Blog Business World: http://www.blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/
What Book Is That?: http://whatbookisthat.blogspot.com/


Veracity
Publisher/Publication Date: Pocket Books, Jan 5, 2010
ISBN:978-1-4391-2334-8
384 pages

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 1-18-2010

What are you reading on Mondays? is hosted by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book Blog. If you would like to participate, please leave your link with Mr. Linky at J.Kaye's blog - but you can also leave me a comment - I would love to know what you are reading!

Old books waiting for review:
1. What Your Mother Never Told You: A Teenage Girls Survival Guide by Richard Dudum
2. Angel and Apostle by Deborah Noyes
3. Bear Portraits by Jill Greenberg
4. Chocolate: A Love Story: 65 Chocolate Dessert Recipes from Max Brenner's Private Collection by Max Brenner

Read last week waiting for review:
1. Veracity by Laura Bynum

Read and/or Reviewed Last Week:
1. Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson
2. Terror By Night by Terry Caffey
3. Blind Sight by James Pence
4. The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Children's Books Read and Reviewed:
1. B is for Bufflehead by Steve Hutchcraft
2. Big Bugs by Catherine Ipcizade
3. Big Trucks by Catherine Ipcizade

Current audio books:
1. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Books currently reading:
1. Samson's Walls by Jud Niremberg- Would like to finish this one, but I still seem to be able to find others I would rather be reading. . .
2. A Hope and a Future: Overcoming Discouragement by Don Wilton
3. The Swan Thieves: A Novel by Elizabeth Kostova
4. Hearing from God Each Morning: 365 Daily Devotions (Faith Words) by Joyce Meyer
5. Knit, Purl, Die (Black Sheep Knitting Mystery) by Anne Canadeo


Still waiting to be started:
1. Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients by Dr. Jeff Hertzberg
2. The Sacred Cipher: A Novel by Terry Brennan
3. The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Kidnapped by Yxta Maya Murray
4. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
5. All About Us #6: The Chic Shall Inherit the Earth: An All About Us Novel by Shelly Adina

New books this week:
1. Thicker than Blood by C.J. Darlington
2. A Black Tie Affair by Sherrill Bodine

Ready - Set - Read!

Audiobook Giveaway -Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup

Marriage and Other Acts of Charity: A Memoir
by Kate Braestrup

Kate Braestrup has been married and widowed, betrayed and betrothed, her personal spirituality constantly evolving along the way. How do God and love figure in our everyday lives and bonds with others? In MARRIAGE, AND OTHER ACTS OF CHARITY, she tackles these big questions with stories from her own relationships--romantic and familial, platonic and professional--much as Anne Lamott weaves her spirituality through her tales of parenthood.

With the same compassion and warmth that made Here If You Need Me a New York Times bestseller, Braestrup engages readers fully, regardless of their path in life. She tells us about teaching sex education for her daughter's eighth-grade class, and the welcome embrace extended toward her adopted nephew from Africa. She introduces the essential concept that charity--the key to all relationships--is a whole-hearted selfless emotion, which is but a hint of God's immense devotion. Kate Braestrup's very human outlook gives anyone seeking to understand human relationships a fresh perspective on what it is to love and be loved.

Listen to an Excerpt.

Giveaway

I have three copies of this audiobook to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) please tell me where you listen to your audio books and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 8th! Good luck!

Win The Crazy School by Cornelia Read

The Crazy School
by Cornelia Read

From the acclaimed author of A FIELD OF DARKNESS comes another compelling novel featuring the acerbic and memorable voice of ex-debutante Madeline Dare. Madeline Dare has finally escaped rust-belt

Syracuse, New York, for the lush Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. After her husband's job offer falls through, Maddie signs on as a teacher at the Santangelo Academy, a boarding school for disturbed teenagers. Behind the academy's ornate gates, she discovers a disturbing realm where students and teachers alike must submit to the founder's bizarre therapeutic regimen. From day one, Maddie feels uneasy about smooth-talking Dr. Santangelo but when she questions his methods, she's appalled to find that her fellow teachers would rather turn on each other than stand up for themselves, much less protect the students in their care. A chilling event confirms Maddie's worst suspicions, then hints at an even darker secret history, one that twines through the academy's very heart. Cut off from the outside world, Maddie must join forces with a small band of the school's most violently rebellious students-kids whose troubled grip on reality may well prove to be her only chance of salvation. (Hachette website)

Link to the Reading Group Guide

Giveaway

I have five copies of this paperback book to give away courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) tell me about something you remember from high school and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 8th! Good luck!