Saturday, April 3, 2010

LUMBY'S BOUNTY: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY




GIVEAWAY ENDED
LUMBY'S BOUNTY

BY GAIL FRASER
ABOUT THE BOOK:

When a silly scheme commits Lumby to building a balloon for the regional festival it must host in twelve short weeks, the town's worthies take up the challenge, wreaking havoc along the way as test balloons suffer hilarious fates. But two foreigners who are visiting Saint Cross come to their rescue; Kai, a sincere young man who discovers his destiny is not in the priesthood, and his brother, Jamar, who brings his own brand of charismatic mischief to the scene and involves several locals in a wildly romantic real estate venture. As the festival approaches, the monks of Saint Cross Abbey, now nationally known for their good works, struggle to deal with the masses of devotees-and more than a few nutcases-flocking to take up residence on the monastery grounds. But in the end, the skies clear and The Bounty of Lumby, breathtaking in color and size, lifts off the ground and floats gently over Montis Inn.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


THINK YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT GAIL FRASER? CHECK OUT HER BIO WITH THIS DIRECT LINK TO HER WEBSITE HERE.

REVIEW:

Gail Fraser’s LUMBY’S BOUNTY is the third book in the series about the wonderful and winsome people of Lumby, a small hamlet set in the Northwest. Characters from the first two books are prominent as well as newly introduced people to take on the latest main plot from the author. True to form, Fraser also has some enticing sub-plots that add interest and sometimes twists to the tale. The main story line follows the town preparing for a hot-air balloon festival that they somewhat were mislead into hosting. Wouldn’t that be an enjoyable event to be able to have all those gorgeous hot-air balloons and people come to town? For most towns, but in Lumby they were protective of their privacy and peace especially given the recent business they went through in THE LUMBY LINES and STEALING LUMBY, the first two books in the series.

Pam and Mark Walker are back and still working on completing renovations for the Montis Inn in the old fire damaged monastery. The monks are busy but having a difficult time adjusting to new found fame and all the people that want to come to their abbey which includes seekers. Most who come are there for some spiritual leadership, while others are interested in the abbey’s gourmet food shop. Meanwhile, Caroline Ross, whose grandma is the elder statesman in town, wants to develop the old abandoned train station to make it into a high class art museum. All this comes to a screeching halt when the town wins the bid to host the annual hot air balloon festival. How that happened can only be explained by a teenager who masquerades as the mayor. So Lumby not only has to prepare for the onslaught of people but now enter a balloon of their own in the festival.

The residents cooperate as best they can to prepare the town and Mark tries to build the balloon….with the operative word being “tries”. As luck would have it, when it doesn’t work out, they meet two brothers from Indonesia, Kai and Jamar, who are staying at the monastery. They have experience in flying as well as construction of these balloons and agree to help.

I still think with each book in the series, the stories get better and the people of Lumby a little more worldly. LUMBY’S BOUNTY has sub-plots but the reader is not inundated with an onslaught of new characters this time as the first two books did have quite a few. So far, I found this book to be my favorite as far as character development and plot sequencing. However, Lumby itself is still the star of the show as the town remains charming and the possibilities for stories seems endless. I would imagine that Gail Fraser could write a book about Lumby every year and still have it as fresh and as funny as the first! So let’s hope that she does!


GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO CAITLIN AND GOOD PEOPLE AT
FSB ASSOCIATES AND AUTHOR GAIL FRASER,
I HAVE THE ENTIRE SET OF THE FIRST
FOUR BOOKS
TO GIVE AWAY. HERE IS WHAT
YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN THE SET...AND
POSSIBLY THE NEW BOOK WHEN IT COMES
OUT THIS SUMMER IN JULY!




--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:
The last 3 days, and 1 more day tomorrow,
you will learn all about the four current
books in the series individually and be
able to gather entries for the entire set.

FIRST
You MUST GO AND ENTER HERE
to be eligible to win
the set of four LUMBY books.

SECOND
You MUST ENTER EACH DAY for
the four books to be eligible for
the set. You only HAVE to enter
the "MANDATORY ENTRY" parts
but can gain more chances with
the bonus entry questions.

THE LUMBY LINES, the first
book, can be found here in case
you missed that one!

STEALING LUMBY, the second
book, can be found here in case
you missed that one!

Here goes for today...


+1 ENTRY-MANDATORY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THINK, OR FOUND INTERESTING, ABOUT THIS THIRD LUMBY BOOK FROM READING THE SYNOPSIS AND MY REVIEW

+1 MORE ENTRY: LUMBY'S BOUNTY IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY BOOKS PUBLISHED BY THE PENGUIN GROUP. GO TO THEIR WEBSITE HERE AND YOU WILL SEE THE BOOK. EXPLORE AND SEE IF YOU CAN FIND ONE OTHER BOOK (THERE ARE SO MANY, DON'T WORRY, YOU WILL) THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO HAVE FROM PENGUIN PUBLISHING AND COME BACK AND COMMENT ON IT

+1 MORE ENTRY:
TWEET OR RETWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY:
SHARE ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY ON FACEBOOK AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE A LINK.

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST,
APRIL 25!


GOOD LUCK
BONUS!!!!
IF THERE ARE 200 OR MORE QUALIFIED
ENTRIES TO WIN THE SET, I WILL
PERSONALLY PURCHASE A SECOND
SET TO GIVE AWAY!

31 comments:

traveler said...

A book that interests me greatly is The Art of Eating In. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

traveler said...

The idea of a Hot air balloon festival is wonderful and lovely since I live where there is a major one each year. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

holdenj said...

I find the whole hot air ballon idea very inventive and fun. A co-worker went to the big hot air festival they have in New Mexico and the pics were amazing.
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

holdenj said...

Well, I have been waiting patiently for the next Sookie book, Dead in the Family and there it is, waiting to come out on the Penguin site. I didn't realize that Ace was under the Penguin umbrella.
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

Linda Kish said...

The hilarity of them trying to build a hot air balloon sounds fun.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

Robert B Parker's Split Image would be good to read. I love his Jesse Stone books.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

misskallie2000 said...

I love hot air balloons. We just ended the Cherry Blossom Balloon Fest here and it is always so beautiful. You take your dinner to the site and spread out the blanket and food and enjoy the sights and sounds. They have music.

misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

scottsgal said...

I'd like to read Hot Rocks by Nora Roberts
msboatgal at aol.com

scottsgal said...

A teenager acting as mayor - what a group of characters!
msboatgal at aol.com

StephTheBookworm said...

I think it sounds pretty hilarious that a teenager was masquerading as the town mayor!!

stephaniet117(at)yahoo(dot)com

StephTheBookworm said...

I really, really want to read Caught by Harlan Coben!

Wrighty said...

I love the balloon festival story line! We have a hot air Balloon Rally every year in our little town for a weekend in the summer. It's beautiful and lots of fun!

5wrights1[at]verizon[dot]net

Wrighty said...

I can't wait to read Caught by Harlan Coben. His books have the best twists!

5wrights1[at]verizon[dot]net

Margie said...

The hot balloon festival sounds fun. Also...it would be interesting to see how the renovations of the abbey are coming along. I like the fact that the characters will be more well developed in this book.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Colleen Turner said...

Happy Easter! I would love Angelology by Danielle Trussoni. I didn't know Penguin was the publisher for that.
candc320@gmail.com

Colleen Turner said...

With every quaint little towns you seem to get stray visitors coming in to escape from their busy lives and recoup in the country. Now, I would imagine for many people in these towns these visitors are tolerated in small bursts. If you have as much attention being given to your town as Lumby has with their famous painted barn and now with the hot air balloons I can onlly think how the locals will handle all the attention. Sounds like a fun read!
candc320@gmail.com

Margie said...

Fantasy in Death by J. D. Robb looks exciting!
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

g.g. said...

I would love to read The Postmistress

anjamie4 AT gmail DOT com

g.g. said...

I think hot air balloons are lovely and have always wanted to be at one of those events where they all go up at once...as long as I don't have to go up in one


anjamie4 AT gmail DOT com

Benita said...

I love the whole story of the hot air balloon and how Mark meets the two Indonesian brothers who ultimately help him to build the balloon.

bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Benita said...

I'd love to read Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert.

bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Libby's Library said...

Are Kai and Jamar "brothers" in the church? If so,I'm wondering how in the world they got experience with hot air balloons.
Thanks for the giveaway.

libneas[at]aol[dot]com

Libby's Library said...

Woohoo - there's a new J. D. Robb...
FANTASY IN DEATH.

libneas[at]aol[dot]com

Libby's Library said...

Tweeted:
http://twitter.com/LibbysLibrary/statuses/11595644535

Thanks

libneas[at]aol[dot]com

mrsshukra said...

Always wanted to ride a hot air balloon and because the story of this third book centers around a hot air balloon festival, it makes me really want to read this book!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

mrsshukra said...

Penguin's Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier sounds good!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I love to read about priests and nuns who find themselves in the wrong calling.

teakettle58(at)yahoo(dot)com

brokenteepee said...

I love Clive Cussler
http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780399156250,00.html
thank you
kaiminani at gmail dot com

brokenteepee said...

I find it interesting that you feel they are getting more worldly yet still keeping their quirk
thank you
kaiminani at gmail cot com

brokenteepee said...

added to facebook
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pattyleonardwoodland?v=wall&story_fbid=112650202096868&ref=mf
thank you
kaiminani at gmail dot com

Cyndi said...

I love hot air balloons!
If I don't win this set, I'm going to have to buy these books. They sound sooooo interesting!

CLICK HERE TO
SEE MY POLICY