Love is Murder Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Lori Armstrong * Jeff Ayers & Jon Land * Beverly Barton * William Bernhardt * Allison Brennan * Robert Browne * Pamela Callow * Lee Child * J.T. Ellison * Bill Floyd * Cindy Gerard * Heather Graham * Laura Griffin * Vicki Hinze * Andrea Kane *Julie Kenner * Sherrilyn Kenyon * Dianna Love * D.P. Lyle * James Macomber * Toni McGee Causey * Carla Neggers * Brenda Novak * Patricia Rosemoor * William Simon * Alexandra Sokoloff * Roxanne St. Claire * Mariah Stewart * Debra Webb

Prepare for heart-racing suspense in this original collection by thirty of the hottest bestselling authors and new voices writing romance suspense today.

Go on vacation with Allison Brennan's Lucy Kincaid, where she saves a man from drowning, only to discover he is in far greater danger on land. Meet Roxanne St. Claire's "bullet catcher"—bodyguard Donovan Rush—who may have met his match in the sexually charged "Diamond Drop." Debut author William Simon shows us what happens when the granddaughter of the president of the United States is kidnapped. And Lee Child's pitch-perfect "I Heard a Romantic Story" puts a whole new spin on Love Is Murder.

Bodyguards, vigilantes, stalkers, serial killers, women (and men!) in jeopardy, cops, thieves, P.I.s, killers—these all-new stories will keep you thrilled and chilled late into the night.

Book Trib is giving away a copy of Love is Murder every single day in June!  To follow the tour and enter to win - Visit the Love is Murder Blog Tour Page.   For another chance to win - please enter my own giveaway at the bottom of this page!

A different author from the book is being highlighted every day in the month of June on a different blogger's site.  I was lucky and got my first pick - J.T. Ellison.  I read her book, So Close the Hand of Death last year and loved it!  So please enjoy this excerpt from her contribution to Love is Murder.

J.T. Ellison – The Number of Man

It began in a single moment, the briefest of connections. She, in pigtails, a miniature towheaded autocrat, ruling the playground as if it were her kingdom. He, sitting on the swings, the new boy, watching her cross the playground toward him, shoulders squared, prepared for battle. He was an outsider, an unknown, and therefore dangerous, and she needed to determine his loyalties. Only eight, he had been at the receiving end of this conversation several times; his mother wasn’t the most upright woman, had a tendency to follow her latest boyfriend when  her previous love discarded her.

Bio: J.T. Ellison is the international award-winning author of seven critically acclaimed novels, multiple short stories and has been published in over twenty countries. A former White House staffer, she has worked extensively with the Metro Nashville Police, the FBI and various other law enforcement organizations to research her novels. She lives in Nashville with her husband and a poorly trained cat, and is hard at work on her next novel. Visit www.JTEllison.com for more insight into her wicked imagination, or follow her on Twitter @Thrillerchick.

J.T. Ellison Q&A

1.      What is your guilty pleasure?

         People Magazine, facials, uninterrupted reading time, Gossip Girl

2.      Describe your favorite meal.

Italian, hands down. Preferably in country. But I'm not bad making it at home. Proscuitto and melon,  caesar salad, papardelle with mushrooms in white truffle oil or lasagna or gnocchi al Sorrentino, tiramisu, an excellent red. 

3.      If you were not a writer, what would be your career?

An architect, maybe, or fighter pilot. Or FBI.

4.      If you could time travel, which year would be your destination?

Anyplace where bathing was popular... seriously, probably Florence or Rome during Leonardo's time

5.      What inspired your contribution to LOVE IS MURDER?

It's been brewing for years. I wrote a draft in 2006, couldn't make it work, and shelved it until now. I felt sorry for Michael, and his delusions, and wanted to explore what it might be like to think someone you're in love with loves you back.

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Mailbox Monday (June 4, 2012)

 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in June by Sassy Brit at Alternate-Read.com.  I don't know about you, but I am sooooo ready for summer!  We have already been enjoying the warm weather and have done some swimming and began working on our tans :).  Of course there was reading in the sun!  My daughter is out of school, but my son still has 4 more days - and since I work at his school, this means I still have 4 more days of work!  But come Friday I am headed to Vegas with my hubby!  Woot! Woot!  Let's take a look at what came in my mailbox this week.

 

Between the Lines

by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

What happens when happily ever after isn't?

Delilah hates school as much as she loves books.  In fact, there's one book in particular she can't get enough of.  If anyone knew how many times she has read and reread the sweet little fairy tale she found in the library, especially the popular kids, she'd be sent to social Siberia. . . forever.

To Delilah, though, this fairy tale is more than just words on the page.  Sure, there's a handsome (well, okay, hot) prince, and a castle, and an evil villain, but it feels as if there's something deeper going on.  And one day Delilah finds out there is.  Turns out, this Prince Charming is real, and  a certain fifteen-year-old loner has caught his eye.  But they're from two different worlds, and how can it ever possibly work?

Together with her daughter, Samantha Van Leer, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult has written a classic fairy tale with a uniquely modern twist.  Readers will be swept away by this story of a girl who crosses the border between reality and fantasy in a perilous search for her own happy ending. 

   

The Line Between Here and Gone

by Andrea Kane

The man she loved is gone forever.

The child she lives for could be next.

Each day is a struggle for Amanda Gleason's newborn son as he battles a rare immune deficiency.  Justin's best chance for a cure lies with his father, who was brutally murdered before Amanda even realized she carried his child.

Or was he?

One email changes everything:  a recent photo of a man who looks exactly like Paul.  Could Justin's father be alive?  The mother in her is desperate to find out.  But tracking down a ghost when every second counts is not for amateurs.

Forensic Instincts is the one team up for the challenge.

A behaviorist.  A former navy SEAL.  A techno-wizard.  An intuitive.  A retired FBI agent.  A human-scent-evidence dog.  Together they achieve the impossible, pushing ethical and legal boundaries whenever the ends justify the means.

The manhunt is on for the elusive father.  Yet the further the team digs into Paul's past, the more questions are raised about whether the man Amanda fell in love with ever existed at all.

Dark secrets.  Carefully crafted lies.  From the congressional halls of Washington, D.C., to exclusive Hamptons manors, there are ruthless people who would stop at nothing to make Forensic Instincts forget about the man Amanda desperately needs to find.

Little do they realize that once Forensic Instincts takes the case, nothing will stop them from uncovering the shocking truth that transcends The Line Between Here and Gone. 

 

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend

by Matthew Dicks

My name is Budo.

I have been alive for 5 years.  5 years is a very long time for someone like me to be alive.

Max gave me my name.  Max is 8 years old.  He is the only human person who can see me.

I know what Max knows, and some things he doesn't.  I know that Max is in danger.  And I know that I am the only one who can save him. 

 

Porch Lights

by Dorothea Benton Frank

When Jimmy McMullen, a fireman with the NYFD, is killed in the line of duty, his wife, Jackie, and ten-year-old son, Charlie, are devastated.  Charlie idolized his dad, and now the outgoing, curious boy has become quiet and reserved.  Trusting in the healing power of family, Jackie decides to return to her childhood home on Sullivans Island.

Crossing the bridge from the mainland, Jackie and Charlie enter a world full of wonder and magic -- luch green and chocolate grasslands and dazzling red, orange and magenta evening skies; the heady pungency of Lowcountry Pluff mud and fresh seafood on the grill; bare toes snuggled in warm sand and palmetto fronds swaying in gentle ocean winds.

Awaiting them is Annie Britt, the family matriarch who has kept the prch lights on to welcome them home.  Thrilled to have her family back again, Annie promises to make their visit perfect -- even though relations between mother and daughter have never been what you'd call smooth.  Over the years, Jackie and Annie, like all mothers and daughters, have been known to have frequent and notorious differences of opinion.  But her estranged and wise husband, Buster, and her flamboyant and funny best friend Deb are sure to keep Annie in line.  She's also got Steven Plofker, the flirtatious and devilishly tasty widowed physician next door, to keep her distracted as well.

Captivated by the island's alluring natural charms and inspired by colorful Lowcountry lore -- lively stories of Blackbeard and his pirates who once sailed the waters surrounding the Carolinas and of former resident Edgar Allan Poe -- mother, daughter, and grandson will share a memorable, illuminating summer.  

 

The Director's Cut

by Janice Thompson

Tia Morales is used to calling the shots.  She's the director of the popular sitcom Stars Collide, and her life on the set is calculated and orderly.  Well, most of the time.  Life outside the studio is another matter.  If only she could get other people to behave as well as her stars do!  When she starts to have feelings for handsome cameraman Jason Harris -- with whom she's been butting heads for months -- it's enough to send a girl over the edge.  Will she ever learn to let go and take life -- and love -- as it comes?

Summer Fit

Be Smart by staying on top of classroom skills in reading, writing, math and language arts.  Be Active by using a daily fitness schedule to keep moving.  Stay cool this summer by learning the importance of kindness, respect, honesty, and responsibility.

Keeping brains thinking and bodies active during school breaks is entertaining and engaging with Summer Fit workbooks and online games and activities.

Created by educators, fitness trainers, and parents, Summer Fit activities focus on key areas of child development, including academics, physical fitness, and core values.

Right now it might feel like a million years away, but the first day of the new school year will be soon upon us.  With Summer Fit, your child will take a seat better prepared to handle the mental, physical and social challenges of the new school year. 

Have fun this summer and keep on moving!

What books came home to you this week!

Book Blast: Betrayed by Ednah Walters (Giveaway!)

Betrayed

by Ednah Walters

Publication Date: June 5, 2012

Spencer Hill Press

Lil isn't just an average teenager. She's one of the Nephilim--the descendants of humans and angels--which gives her some serious psi skills and a mission for redemption. Just when Lil thinks she's found a balance between her normal life with human friends and her training to become a Guardian, she's warned that someone close to her will betray her. When the boy she loves starts acting strangely and one of her human friends acquires a supernatural ability, Lil begins to realize that someone is manipulating the people she loves... and won't stop until she's been lured to the dark side.

About the author:  I grew up reading Nancy Drew and Hardy boys mysteries and fell in love with book.

I enjoy good love stories, tingly mysteries and epic adventures. When I finished my college and decided to be a stay-at-home mother, I devoured books like they were going out of production, until reading just wasn't enough. So I started to write.

I've written picture books (unpublished), contemporary and romantic suspense (under the pen name E. B. Walters), and finally YA fantasy (as Ednah Walters).

AWAKENED (2010) is the prequel to the YA series about the Nephilim, The Guardian Legacy series. BETRAYED (book # 1) is now available wherever books are sold, HUNTED (book # 2) will be released in February 2013 andFORGOTTEN (later in 2013).

My adult contemporary with or without suspense is about a west coast Irish-American family series. I've published four Fitzgerald books: SLOW BURN (April 5th 2011), MINE UNTIL DAWN (June 29th 2011), KISS ME CRAZY (Sept 25th 2011) and DANGEROUS LOVE (Jan 29th 2012)

When I'm not writing, I do things with my family, five children and my darling husband of 18 years. I live in a picturesque valley in northern Utah, the setting for my YA series.

You can connect with the author on her website - Fantasy author Ednah Walters; on her blog - The Official Website of The Guardian Legacy; the Guardian Legacy Facebook page; on Twitter; Goodreads; and Google+.








PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:
Just like Awakened, Betrayed has risen above all the other books in this genre. She has created such an amazing world for her Guardians and demons where good and evil are not as simple as it seems they should be. ~J. Whitus (Book Junkies) Walking On Bookshelves


I just love a spunky heroine so I was excited to keep reading about Lil, the demon hunter I got to know in Awakened (book one of The Guardian Legacy series). Walters takes the story and world she built so well in Awakened and adds in an intense plot with lots of twists to make for a strong sequel.~ Kelli (I'd So Rather Be Reading)




Lil is one of my favorite female leads, with all of the traits that you want a strong female lead to have. She's smart, strong, loyal and doesn't know how to back down.~ Missy (Missy's Reads and Reviews)


Lil has her work cut out for her in this book and she never failed me once!

There is action in this book as well as a lot of emotional turmoil.~ Cathy Garcia  http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/223502567



Purchase Betrayed
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Book Depository



Giveaway Details:

$100 Amazon.com Gift Code
Ends 6/5/12

Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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It's Monday! What are you reading? (May 28, 2012)

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

Currently reading: 

The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall

Books I need to finish:  (I decided to add a new category for those books that seem to languish from week to week!)  I seem to keep starting books and not finishing them. . .   I need to get out of this trend!

The Priest and the Peaches by Larry Peterson

May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

Blood Orchids by Toby Neal

Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected, A Memoir by Kelle Hampton

The Book Lover by MaryAnn McFadden

Upcoming books:
The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins
The Keepers of the House by Shirley Grau
Beneath the Shadows by Sara Foster

Bathroom Book:

My Third Husband Will be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

Books read and reviewed since last week:

Missing by Shelley Shepard Gray

Playing Dead by Julia Heaberlin

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

Playing Dead by Julia Heaberlin (Book Review)

Title: Playing Dead
Author: Julia Heaberlin
Publisher: Random House


About the book: “Dear Tommie: Have you ever wondered about who you are?” 

The perfume-scented letter that turns Tommie McCloud’s world upside down arrives from a stranger only days after her father’s death. The woman who wrote it claims that Tommie is her daughter—and that she was kidnapped as a baby thirty-one years ago.
 
Tommie wants to believe it’s all a hoax, but suddenly a girl who grew up on a Texas ranch finds herself inextricably linked to a horrific past: the slaughter of a family in Chicago, the murder of an Oklahoma beauty queen, and the kidnapping of a little girl named Adriana. Tommie races along a twisting, nightmarish path while an unseen stalker is determined to keep old secrets locked inside the dementia-battered brain of the woman who Tommie always thought was her real mother. With everything she has ever believed in question, and no one she can trust, Tommie must discover the truth about the girl who vanished—and the very real threats that still remain.  
 
A riveting debut novel from a thrilling new voice, Playing Dead is a mesmerizing story of family, identity, and secrets that can kill.

First sentence: Despite its name, Ponder, Texas, pop. 1,101, isn't a very good place to think. 

My thoughts: This book draws you right in at the beginning with the revealing of the letter that Tommie receives from Rosalina Marchetti claiming that Tommie is really her daughter.   With her father dead, and her mother suffering from dementia/Alzheimer's, she does not know who she can ask to verify if there could be any truth to the letter. When she finally mentions it to her sister Sadie, Sadie reveals a conversation that she overheard as a child between their parents that makes Tommie think her whole life might be a lie. 

Beginning with what she can find out about Rosalina Marchetti, and her husband Anthony Marchetti, a mobster currently in jail in Texas for killing an FBI agent and his family, Tommie starts her journey in trying to figure out who her parents really were. Before she gets too far in her investigation, a reporter comes calling claiming to know something about her and her family ties to the Marchetti's.  Close on his heels are two goons that have her picture and aren't looking for her to bring her good news.  She quickly realizes that she may be in danger, as well as her sister Sadie and Sadie's daughter.  At the insistence of Sadie, she enlists the aid/protection of an old flame, Hudson Byrd. 

She starts uncovering secrets and unknown safety deposit boxes, which only lead to more questions. The trail takes her from Ponder, Texas to Chicago by way of Oklahoma, with a visit to Anthony Marchetti in prison thrown in. 

I really enjoyed this book and had no clue as to how it was going to end.  I loved the "reveal" at the end, as it wasn't something I was expecting.  I am looking forward to seeing what else Julia Heaberlin writes in the future!

~I received a complimentary ecopy of Playing Dead from Random House in exchange for my unbiased review.~

About the author: Julia Heaberlin is an award-winning journalist who has worked for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Detroit News, and The Dallas Morning News. Before launching her career as an author, she was an assistant managing editor over features sections at large metropolitan newspapers. Many of those sections won national and state journalism awards.The Star-Telegram Life and Arts section was named as one of the Top 10 sections in the country during her tenure. She has edited real-life thriller stories that inform her writing, including a series on the perplexing and tragic murders of random girls and women buried in the desert in Mexico and another on the frightened women of domestic violence. Playing Dead is her debut novel. She lives with her husband and son in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where she is a free-lance writer and is at work on her second book, Lie Still, to be published by Random House in Spring 2013. (from author's website)

You can connect with Julia Heaberlin on Goodreads, Facebook, and on her website.

Playing Dead

Publisher/Publication Date: Random House, May 29, 2012

ISBN: 978-0345527011

352 pages

Winners!

I have some winners!

Winner of The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain is Sara K!

Winner of Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop is Gale N!

Both winners have been notified and have 48 hours to get me their mailing info.

Missing by Shelley Shepard Gray (Book Review)

Title: Missing (The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book 1)
Author: Shelley Shepard Gray
Publisher: Avon Inspire


About the book: Perry Bontrager had been missing for months from the quiet Amish community of Crittenden, Kentucky, when his body is discovered at the bottom of an abandoned well.  The first death from mysterious circumstances in more than two decades brings the scrutiny of the outside world: A police detective arrives to help the local sheriff with the investigation.  His questioning begins with Lydia Plank, Perry's former girlfriend, and Perry's best friend, the Englischer Walker Anderson.


Lydia and Walker know they didn't have anything to do with Perry's death, but they both hold secrets about his final days.  Do they dare open up about the kind of man Perry had become?  In the oppressive shadow of these dark times, they discover strength in a most unlikely companionship:  one that offers solace, understanding, and the promise of something more.

First sentence: Despite her reservations, Abby Anderson cut through the Millers' land. 


My thoughts: Though a murder has been committed within the community, this is not the main storyline in the book, but provides the backdrop and helps tie the other characters together.  You get a good overview of many people in the community, from the Sheriff Mose Kramer and his police detective friend, Luke to the Schrock's, who run the local "Variety" store.  I liked learning about all of them as this is the first book in a series, and I am sure they will come into play later.  The main two characters though were Lydia and Walker.  


Lydia is struggling with Perry's murder and what she knew towards the end, but she is more conflicted by what her parents have just shared with her about her own life.  Walker is also wondering if he could have handled things differently with Perry, and finds a comrade in Lydia.  While these two come from completely different backgrounds, they begin to acknowledge that there is an attraction. I am interested in seeing where this romance will go to as the two young adults learn more about themselves and where they fit in.  


This book was a nice mix of Amish and English and gave a good contrast between the two.  While Lydia struggles with where and if she fits in with the Amish community, Abby (Walker's sister)  begins to seek out her Amish grandparents and begins to wonder whether being English is right for her.  


You don't get a good resolution to the background mystery, but I am hoping to learn  more from book 2, The Search, which is due out in June. 

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

You can find Shelley Shepard Gray at her website/blog - Shelley Shepard Gray and on Facebook. 

Missing

Publisher/Publication Date: Avon Inspire, March 2012

ISBN: 978-0-06-208970-0

245 pages

Mailbox Monday and Happy Memorial Day! (5-28-12)

Happy Memorial Day!

 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in May by Martha at Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.  I got another win this week and a couple of review books.  Come on in and take a look!


The Mailbox Monday host for June will be Sassy Brit at Alternate-Read.com


Books for Review

An Unmarked Grave

by Charles Todd

In the spring of 1918, the Spanish flu epidemic spreads, killing millions of soldiers and civilians across the globe.  Overwhelmed by the constant flow of wounded soldiers coming from the French front, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford must now contend with hundreds of influenza patients as well. 

However, war and disease are not the only killers to strike.  Bess discovers, concealed among the dead waiting for burial, the body of an officer who has been murdered.  Though she is devoted to all her patients, this soldier's death touches her deeply.  Not only did the man serve in her father's former regiment, he was also a family friend.

Before she can report the terrible news,  Bess falls ill, the latest victim of the flu.  By the time she recovers, the murdered officer has been buried, and the only other person who saw the body has hanged himself.  Or did he?

Working her father's connections in the military, Bess begins to piece together what little evidence she can find to unmask the elusive killer and see justice served.  But she must be as vigilant as she is tenacious.  With a determined killer on her heels, each move Bess makes could be her last. 

You Take it From Here

by Pamela Ribon

Practical, patient Danielle Meyers escaped her small Southern hometown as quickly as possible, landing herself in sunny Los Angelas as a successful homemaking consultant and recent divorcee.  Her bossy, loud, impulsive best friend Smidge stayed behind in Ogden, Louisiana, and has succeeded quite soundly -- wife, mother, karaoke superstar, social butterfly, and survivor of cancer.  But when Smidge and Danielle reunite for their annual girls' vacation, Smidge reveals that the cancer is back and terminal, and Danielle vows to do anything to make the last bit of Smidge's life easier.  Expecting her best friend to make such a promise, Smidge has just one request:  for Danielle to take over Smidge's family after she dies.  Move back to Ogden to be a wife to her husband, and finish raising her daughter -- a plan she demands they must keep secret.  When the friend you love "the mostest" wants you to make her last wish come true, are you allowed to say no? 

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves

by Kristina McMorris

Los Angeles, 1941. Violinist Maddie Kern's life seemed destined to unfold with the predictable elegance of a Bach concerto.  Then she fell in love with Lane Moritomo.  Her brother's best friend, Lane is the handsome, ambitious son of Japanese immigrants.  Maddie was prepared for disapproval from their families, but when Pearl Harbor is bombed the day after she and Lane elope, the full force of their decision becomes apparent.  In the eyes of a fearful nation, Lane is no longer just an outsider, but an enemy.

When her husband is interned at a war relocation camp,  Maddie follows, sacrificing her Julliard ambitions.  Behind barbed wire, tension simmers and the line between patriot and traitor blurs.  As Maddie strives for the hard-won acceptance of her new family, Lane risks everything to prove his allegiance to America, at tremendous cost.

Skillfully capturing one of the most controversial episodes in recent American history, Kristina McMorris draws readers into a novel filled with triumphs and heartbreaking loss -- an authentic, moving testament to love, forgiveness, and the enduring music of the human spirit. 

Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook

No matter what you crave, cook it with confidence with Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook!

A beautifully carved turkey.  The best-ever chocolate chip cookies.  Popular dishes like Pad Thai, portobello burgers and creamy mac 'n' cheese.  Make all these and more with friendly guidance and savvy advice from Taste of Home Cooking School!

Whatever your skill level in the kitchen, you will earn techniques and discover new favorites with more than 400 best-loved-recipes from our expert instructors.  Create a memorable game-day get-together with nacho dip, hot wings and yummy pizza.  Master the grill with succulent ribeyes, monster stuffed burgers and a whole salmon fillet that's a real showstopper.

Treat your special someone to hot Irish coffee, rich creme brulee or delightful blueberry oatmeal muffins.  Whip up sumptuous holiday meals with all of the trimmings.  Or, wow your morning crowd with decadent pear-mascarpone French toast, baked doughnuts, or a take on eggs Benedict that's astoundingly easy and serves 12 with style!  It's easy with the tricks, tips and recipes in this keepsake collection.

Each chapter is loaded with step-by-step demonstrations, tips, secrets and entertaining ideas from our Cooking School experts -- 140 in all -- you will feel confident moving from one recipe to the next.  Building new skills and discovering additional favorites has never been easier!

The Pleasures of Men

by Kate Williams

July, 1840.  The young Queen Victoria has just entered her second year on the throne when a major recession brings London's underbelly to its sweltering streets.  While the city crackles with tension, orphaned Catherine Sorgeiul stays locked away in her uncle's home.  Nineteen years old and nervous of life, Catherine becomes obsessed with a series of terrible murders of young girls sweeping the city.  Details of the crimes are especially gruesome -- the victims hair has been newly plaited and thrust into their mouths, and their limbs are grotesquely folded behind them, like wounded birds -- and the serial killer is soon nicknamed the Man of Crows.

Catherine begins writing stories about the victims -- women on their own and vulnerable in the big city -- and the story of the murderer as well.  But she soon realizes that she has involved herself in a web of betrayal, deceit, and terror that threatens her and all those around her.

Game of Secrets

by Dawn Tripp

Jane Weld was eleven years old when her father, Luce, disappeared in 1957.  His skiff was found drifting near a marsh, empty except for his hunting coat and a box of shotgun shells.  No one in their small New England town knew for sure what happened until, three years later, Luce's skull rolled out of a gravel pit, a bullet hole in the temple.  Rumors sprang up that he had been murdered by the jealous husband of his mistress, Ada Varick.

Now, half a century later, Jane is still searching for the truth of her father's death, a mystery made more urgent by the unexpected romance that her willful daughter, Marne, has struck up with one of Ada's sons.  As the love affair intensifies, Jane and Ada meet for their weekly Friday game of Scrabble, a pastime that soon transforms into a cat-and-mouse game of words long left unspoken, and dark secrets best left untold. 

PB & J

by Danielle Usher-Niemi

Penny is the organizer, Becca is the bookworm.  Bao is the artist, and Jerina is an A-Lister in her own mind.  These four seventh graders are the best of friends.  For years, they have done nothing but hang out and refer to themselves as PB&J.

Now, they're ready to show the world that kids can make a difference, too. 

I won this book from I am a Reader, Not a Writer

The Time-Traveling Fashionista

by Bianca Turetsky

When Louise Lambert receives a mysterious invitation to a vintage fashion sale in the mail, her once painfully average life is magically transformed into a time-travel adventure. Slipping on a gorgeous pink gown, Louise suddenly finds herself on board a luxurious cruise ship a hundred years ago and relishes the glamorous life of this decadent era.  That is, until she realizes that she's on not just any ship -- she's on the Titanic!

What books came home to you this week? 

Splash into Summer Giveaway Hop (5/25 - 5/31) International

It is time for yet another giveaway hop.  The Splash Into Summer Giveaway Hop is being hosted by I Am    A Reader, Not A Writer and Page Turner's Blog.  

For my giveaway - you can choose any book from Book Depository as long as it has "Summer" in the title and is under $10.  Some examples would be:

Tilda's Summer Ideas by Tone Finnanger

Summer Days by Susan Mallery

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

Summer Nights by Allie Spencer

The Summer of Us by Holly Chamberlin

I think you get the idea.  You would be responsible for making sure that Book Depository ships to your country and that the book is available on their site.  So, that means that the contest is open to anyone where Book Depository ships and will end at midnight on May 31.

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Book Blast: Masters of the Veil (with giveaway)

Masters of the Veil

by Daniel A. Cohen

Life can't get much better for Sam Lock. Popular, good-looking, and with a future as a professional football player. every guy at Stanton High School wishes he were Sam. That is, until his championship football game, when Sam accidentally links with an ancient source of energy known as the Veil and reveals his potential to become a powerful sorcerer. Sam is whisked off to Atlas Crown, a community of sorcerers who utilize the Veil as a part of everyday life. Once there, he trains beside a mute boy who speaks through music, an eternal sage who's the eyes and ears of the Veil, and a beautiful girl who's pretty sure Sam's an idiot. As it becomes clear Sam's meant for power magic-the most feared and misunderstood form of sorcery-people beyond Atlas Crown learn of his dangerous potential. An exiled group of power sorcerers are eager to recruit Sam, believing that he is destined to help them achieve their long-held goal. If they succeed, they could bring about the downfall of not only Atlas Crown. but all humankind.

Book Trailer

MAGIC FAQ + A SHORT LESSON FROM BARIV THE CONDUIT

Congratulations! You can do magic!

Here’s what you need to know about your exciting new ability:

Q: WHAT IS MAGIC? AND WHY CAN I DO IT?

This can be a very thrilling, confusing, and even frightening time for a young sorcerer, so let’s start with the basics. Magic is just another way of saying, “Connecting with the Veil.” As you may already know, the Veil is an ancient energy that lies all around us that some fortunate few (YOU!) can even use.

The Veil gives the sorcerer communities everything we need to survive. The more the Veil is used, the more She gives us. All sort of wonderful plants, animals, food, clothing, and shelter… they’re all there, waiting to spring forth.

There is no conclusive evidence explaining why some people can use the Veil and some people cannot. Some speculate it’s genetic, while others believe it’s spiritual. Alas, we will probably never be sure, so just be thankful that you are one of the lucky ones.

Q: HOW DO I DO MAGIC?

There are two methods of doing magic: A “grip” and a “drape”

A Grip: Connecting with the Veil to perform a specific feat.

A Drape: Essentially it’s wrapping the Veil around an object to give it extraordinary properties.

As you may have seen from the older sorcerers in your magical community, we use something called a “Second-Skin” to access the Veil.  A second-skin is a covering for your hand that allows you to grip the Veil. Second-skins must be made from materials that have sprung from the Veil in order to work. One of the first things that you will be instructed to do is create your own second-skin in order to create the deepest connection. You can use anything from dried aansi leaves to the bark from a zigzag tree, just know that attempting to do magic that is beyond your reach with break your second-skin.

Q: HOW SOON WILL I BECOME A MASTER SORCERER?

Whoa there! Don’t get ahead of yourself. Magic is extremely difficult and it’s going to take some time for you to become proficient at it. You have a magnificent, bumpy road ahead of you.

Q: BUT WHO IS GOING TO TEACH ME?

The sorcerer community doesn’t take your new ability lightly. We will provide you with the finest teachers available. Train hard enough and you might even get to be in Rona’s group (but don’t get your hopes up)!!! You will be matched up by your skill level and organized by the type of magic you’ll be pursuing.

Q: IS MAGIC DANGEROUS?

It can be if used wrong. To avoid causing unnecessary pain, make sure you study hard, respect your clan elders, and eat your vegetables.

Q: VEGETABLES?

Yes, vegetables.

Q: WILL I HAVE TO LEAVE MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY?

For a short time, yes. Whether you’re from the flathand (those who can’t grip the Veil) world or a magical community, you will be brought to Atlas Crown to study with Bariv. Bariv is the conduit to the Veil, and he will be the first—and probably the most influential—teacher you will have. After learning about your ability from Bariv, you will have the choice of returning home or staying in Atlas Crown.

*Special note for those who come from the flathand world. In the rare occurrence that you choose to return to the non-magicworld, you will be draped with the inability to speak of our world or perform magic outside of a magical community. Sorry. The good news is that if you choose to join a magical community, your immediate family will be invited to come with you and will be provided for.

NOW TAKE A SEAT AND ENJOY A QUICK LESSON FROM BARIV ON THE THREE DISCIPLINES OF MAGIC

Welcome. Please have a seat. Before you are three second-skins that I have created for choosing purposes. As you may already know, there are three disciplines of magic that come from the Veil.

First, there are natural magics, which are best gripped with the aid of plants. The green second-skin is made from the leaf of the grampith tree.

Natural magics are very useful. They feed, they clothe, they help us interact with the world around us. We would not survive without them. Nature is dough and you shape it to your desires—if you are skilled enough. Mountains can be leveled and water can fall upwards. Nature’s secrets will whisk you away to another plane where you can realize the awe-inspiring connections we hold with the world around us.

Next, there are the mystical magics. The metal second-skin you see on the left was mined from beneath Grus’ pass and made from silver-palladium mixed by my own hand. A mystical sorcerer would use this second-skin. The mystical magics keep true to their namesake. Even I don’t fully understand all that can be accomplished with this, and I have been close to the Veil for a very long time. Those who excel at the mystical arts can reach into the deepest, darkest parts of the mind and cast dreams into reality. They can navigate the vast and powerful river of time. Reap gold out of metals like a glorious harvest. Harness fear, and ride on its back until it tires.

 And last… there is the second-skin made from the hide of Sectus remisican, the skull-wolf. This is a tool of power magics. These tools work best if taken forcibly. In Atlas Crown, we do not kill when we do not have to; however, in this particular case we had to. The power sect is a dangerous one, yet it brings with it the ability to forge oneself into the greatest ruler and purveyor of dominance. Authority is a given. Supremacy is taken. The true power sect is scarcely found here. Those who have chosen it, or rather have been chosen, usually take the road down another path, a false path that can only lead to death and misery. However, when applied for good, the power sect can be the most useful of them all. An iron body has no need for a suit. That is what the Veil is at Her heart. She is power. She holds possibilities so grand, we can never understand, only observe.

Now why don’t you try one on?

PRAISE:


"This Book was brilliant, creative, and completely magical. If you want an amazing book to read in 2012, I would suggest you go to the bookstore and pick up a copy of Masters of the Veil."

~Julia @Inkbitten


"I loved this book. I could list all the reasons, but there is one piece of praise I think sums up the book best. My son grabbed it as soon as I was finished reading it and hasn't put it down since. Dan Cohen has a winner with this series."
~Author Michelle Pickett


"A funny, imaginative, and delightful read!"
~Author Kate Kaynak

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Author Daniel A. Cohen
Daniel A. Cohen was just your average business student. Microeconomics, finance, marketing… you name it, he had to do a PowerPoint presentation on it. One dark and stormy night, he was bitten by the radioactive realization that memorizing business jargon could possibly be the most boring activity known to man.

After gaining eagle-eye vision, abs that could grate cheese, and a talent for imagining things (including his cheese-grating abs), he wrote his first novel and began his epic battle against the formidable business jargon. He continues to fight the good fight by playing saxophone and writing YA fantasy, forever hoping his Veil trilogy will help inspire others to join his cause.
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