END OF JULY WINNERS WRAP-UP!

THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED
BY EMAIL AND HAVE UNTIL NOON,
AUGUST 2, TO REPLY WITH THE
INFORMATION OR A NEW WINNER
WILL HAVE TO BE CHOSEN!
PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
YOU MUST PUT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN YOUR COMMENT. IF YOU DON'T, I
HAVE TO CLICK ON YOUR NAME
AND IT TAKES ME TO YOUR PROFILE
WHERE I CAN GET YOUR EMAIL. BUT..
SOME OF YOU HAVE NO PROFILE...
THEREFORE, I HAVE HAD WINNERS PICKED
WHO HAVE NO EMAIL IN THEIR COMMENT
OR THAT I CAN FIND, SO I HAVE TO GO ON
TO ANOTHER NUMBER!!!!!!
************************************

GIVEAWAY OF
RITA Awards Nominees

THANKS TO ANNA AND THE
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
THREE SETS OF THESE 6 RITA
NOMINATED BOOKS TO GIVE AWAY!
WINNERS OF ALL 6 BOOKS ARE:

#105 Bethie

#141 Pam S (pams00)

#54 enyl

CONGRATULATIONS!
******************************

WHAT'S NEW, CUPCAKE?
BY KAREN TACK &
ALAN RICHARDSON
*************************
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS GORGEOUS AND
FUN COOKBOOK TO GIVE AWAY MYSELF-
A BRAND NEW, HARDBACK EDITION!
THE WINNER IS:

#26 Alyce

CONGRATULATIONS!
***************************

DEAD IN THE FAMILY
BY CHARLAINE HARRIS
**********************
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS FUN AND
EXCITING BOOK TO GIVE AWAY MYSELF-
A BRAND NEW, HARDBACK EDITION.
THE LUCKY WINNER IS:

#43 Christine H

CONGRATULATIONS!
***************************

THE SEARCH
BY NORA ROBERTS
*********************
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THE
#1 BEST SELLING BOOK
ON THE NY TIMES BESTSELLER
LIST TO GIVE AWAY MYSELF
TO ONE LUCKY WINNER!
THE LUCKY WINNER IS:

#Mona

CONGRATULATIONS!
*****************************

SEVEN YEAR SWITCH and THE WILDWATER WALKING CLUB: REVIEWS AND DOUBLE CLAIRE COOK GIVEAWAY!

GIVEAWAY ENDED
SEVEN YEAR SWITCH
BY CLAIRE COOK

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Just when Jill Murray’s finally figured out how to manage on her own, her ex-husband proves that he can’t even run away reliably. After seven long years missing in action, he’s back—crashing into the man-free existence Jill and her ten-year-old daughter have built so carefully. And what’s a good mother to do? To a child, even a deadbeat dad is better than no dad at all.

Jill’s life just hasn’t turned out quite the way she planned. By now, she’d hoped to be jetting around the world as a high-end cultural coach. Instead, she’s answering phones for a local travel agency and teaching cooking classes at the community center.

Enter free-spirited entrepreneur Billy, who hires Jill as a consultant for an upcoming business trip. Is their relationship veering off in a new direction? And what about her ex? Jill couldn’t possibly still have feelings for him … could she? Suddenly, her no-boys-allowed life is anything but.

They say that every seven years you become a completely new person, but Jill isn’t sure she’s ready for the big change. It takes a Costa Rican getaway to help her make a choice—not so much between the two men in her life, but between the woman she is and the one she wants to be.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Claire Cook wrote her first book in her minivan while waiting for her daughter to finish with swim practice; she is now the bestselling author of seven novels. She teaches reinvention and writing workshops, and shares tips for both on her website, ClaireCook.com. She lives in Scituate, Massachusetts, with her husband. You can Friend Claire at http://facebook.com/ClaireCookbooks and Follow her at http://twitter.com/ClaireCookbooks.

MY REVIEW:

Claire Cook never fails to come through. Since my first book review, which was for Claire’s book SUMMER BLOWOUT, she has never let me down when I pick up a new book of hers to read. She has a way of making even the toughest things in life bearable and her talented writing draws readers in through her marvelous stories, clever dialogue, and her captivating characters. In SEVEN YEAR SWITCH, readers meet Jill Murray who is one of those characters I just mentioned who captured my interest right off and had me rooting for her all the way. I found Jill to be a witty, bright, compelling and caring mother and an independent woman who didn’t deserve the agony she felt when suddenly her ex-husband pops back into her and her daughter Anastasia’s lives. Although Anastasia is delighted to have her father there, Jill is dubious of his motives and commitment.

The idea from the title that every seven years our body’s skin rejuvenates thus making us into a “new” person, goes right along with the book’s concept of personal change and growth being a positive thing in our lives. Cook surrounds Jill with intriguing characters that move the story along and fit into that principal premise of the book that was based on transformation and progression. With Jill’s neighbor, Cynthia, being almost the opposite of Jill in most ways, she provided a strong character for Jill to play off of. She was entertaining and feisty, and quite a welcome addition in the story.

Of course, there was suddenly these men surrounding Jill, quite a change from the start of the story…a feast or famine situation. Besides her ex, Seth, there is the caring and amusing Billy who is a client of Jill’s and who is hard to resist. How Jill handles all of this is to take off on her own for a gal pal trip to Costa Rica and hope to find what she is looking for there…or at least some peace for her to be able to think and relax.

How Jill deals with everything and everyone is trademark Claire Cook as she takes a serious subject and deals with it gently, with warmth and fun, and creates an answer that educates, amuses, and involves the reader. The story of SEVEN YEAR SWITCH will entertain you while it also will endear itself to you as well. If like me, you start the book early enough, you will at least get a good night’s sleep as I read it in one sitting and was happy I hadn’t started it late in the day because I couldn’t put it down. Another delightful gift, and perfect for the summer read, but wouldn’t be bad by a cozy fire in winter as well, is SEVEN YEAR SWITCH from a favorite author, Claire Cook!

BONUS BOOK GIVEAWAY:

THE WILDWATER WALKING CLUB
BY CLAIRE COOK

ABOUT THE BOOK:

After losing her boyfriend and her job in one fell swoop, Noreen finds it hard to know what the next step is—never mind take it. For the first time in a great many years, Noreen has time to herself. So she puts on a new pair of sneakers and a seriously outdated pair of exercise pants, and walks.

It isn’t long before she’s joined by neighbors Tess and Rosie, two women as lost as she is. As the Wildwater women walk and talk, and talk and walk, they tally their steps, share their secrets, and begin putting their lives back together. And along the way, they learn what women everywhere are finding out—time flies, and getting fit is actually fun when you’re walking with friends.

MY REVIEW:

When I read what Anisha Lakhani, who wrote SCHOOLED, wrote about this Claire Cook book, I was thrilled! She said, “ THE WILDWATER WALKING CLUB reminds of us what’s important in life—the joy of friendship, the power of a brisk walk, and of course the importance of a good book. This exhilarating novel made me want to call my friends and lace up my shoe. I couldn’t put it down.”I loved SCHOOLED and Claire Cook’s other books so that was good enough for me!

Claire Cook’s delightful novel, SUMMER BLOWOUT, was the first book I reviewed when I began reviewing books. I had picked up SUMMER BLOWOUT, having loved MUST LOVE DOGS that Claire wrote, and was not disappointed. I am thrilled to again present my review of Claire Cook’s book, THE WILDWATER WALKING CLUB that is now out in paperback. So watch out Ya-Ya Sisters, Wives’ Clubbers, and Sweet Potato Queens because the WALKERS have arrived! Claire Cook’s book THE WILDWATER WALKING CLUB and the walkers are taking over!

In THE WILDWATER WALKING CLUB, Claire Cook gives us three wonderful women who are neighbors on Wildwater Way and at first don’t even know each other. It all starts when Noreen Kelly’s “boyfriend” convinces her to take a buyout from her corporate position in a shoe company, and she thinks she has made the best choice. However, she soon realizes that her love wasn’t just working for the other company but was working her, and the boyfriend and the company BOTH dump Noreen. In a fit of frustration and shock, she uses her actually void company ID and buys up every shoe in her size at the corporate shop for 50% off. With that, Noreen takes her shoes and heads home to Wildwater Way to try and figure out what is left of her life.

Sure that her life is over, Noreen sees nothing around her but what she is missing. Not until she makes friends with Tess, her next-door neighbor, does Noreen start to realize that maybe her life isn’t over after all. Tess, the schoolteacher who is off for the summer, dealing with a college-bound daughter who isn’t speaking to her mom, and Noreen start walking together and they start to talk to each other about life. A third member living on Wildwater Way comes to the group as they meet Rosie. Rosie knows she was doing the right thing moving into her parents’ home after her mom died, bringing her family with her, and taking over the lavender farm on her parents’ property, but it isn’t what she had hoped for. In her friendship with Noreen and Rosie, she literally is able to walk into a different life.

The three women begin to walk their way into a friendship that will turn out to be more than they ever expected. They walk and talk and even start to keep track of their steps using pedometers that Noreen also picked up at the “last shoe buy” she made. Sharing some of the shoes she bought with Tess and Rosie is not the only thing that Noreen begins to share with these women. Their steps go from being more than just exercise as they take to new directions in walking and in life. Noreen attends a career coaching group for unemployed people in her company and sees things through others eyes. She begins to build a better relationship with her own mother thanks to her friendship with Tess and watching Tess’s relationship with her daughter. Hanging a clothesline becomes a political issue only found in real life in real writing like Claire Cook’s. The walkers take a road trip to Seattle for a festival about lavender and along with all this there are the twists and turns, romances and families, characters and settings that make for a great read that only someone like Claire Cook can come up with. This might be called a ‘good beach read’ but believe me, you will not want to be sitting in a chair after reading this!

The story is a fast and fun read, but also a learning experience. From this book have grown, and will continue to grow, groups of walkers who will see the value in what these women did and how it changed their lives. How Claire Cook could have known that this book would hit home with so many of us in these economically changing times is anyone’s guess. I think that people who read this book will all take away something from it. For most it will definitely be a really good read but for others is will be even more. It may be another way of looking at our neighbors, or like me, it may be a realization that walking is more than just exercise. When everyone can get their hands on THE WILDWATER WALKING CLUB, we may find our streets are more crowded with walkers than ever before…at least there will be happier and more satisfied walkers, that’s for sure! This is a book that celebrates friendship and teaches us what Claire Cook intended and that is if you are going to walk the walk, then go ahead and take that first step to talk the talk and make the changes in your life that you can and need to do. As it says on Claire’s website “Just put one foot in front of the other”!

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO CLAIRE AND THE GOOD
PEOPLE AT VOICE, I HAVE 2 SETS OF
THESE TWO CLAIRE COOK BOOKS
FOR TWO LUCKY WINNERS!

--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

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THE INFORMATION AND REVIEW FOR SEVEN YEAR SWITCH THAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU WANT TO WIN AND READ THIS BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHICH OF THE TWO BOOKS YOU THINK YOU WOULD READ FIRST AS PERHAPS IT INTERESTED YOU MORE OR FOR SOME OTHER REASON

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND THEN COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED. FOR EACH GIVEAWAY YOU ENTER, COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS ANOTHER ENTRY

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, AUGUST 15!

CUM LAUDE: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
CUM LAUDE
BY CECILY VON ZIEGESAR

ABOUT THE BOOK:

They’re here for a higher education . . . and you won’t believe how far they’ll go.

Dexter College is a small liberal arts college in the quiet town of Home, Maine. But it won’t stay quiet for long with this group of freshmen. There’s Shipley—blonde and beautiful, the object of envy and more than a little lust. Determined to assert herself and to shed her good-girl image, she buys cigarettes and condoms, because that’s what every self-respecting college girl does. Her edgy roommate, Eliza, came to Dexter to get noticed, and she has the attitude and the mouth to prove it. Then there’s Tom. Handsome, privileged, used to getting his own way, he’s a jock-turned-artist who thinks his paintings will change the world. Sensitive Nick, Tom’s wake-and-bake pot-smoking roommate, wants to follow in the footsteps of his boarding-school hero. And then there are brother and sister Adam and Tragedy Gatz. The freckle-faced farm boy lives at home with his parents and his little sister, who does all she can to stop him from being a wuss.

As Shipley, Eliza, Tom, Nick, and Adam find out, that first year of college is more than credits and cramming. Between the lust and the love, the secrecy and the scandal, they’ll all receive an unexpected education. It’s a time of shifting alliances, unrequited crushes, and coming of age. Find Yourself is Dexter’s motto. And they are determined to do just that.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cecily von Ziegesar is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gossip Girl novels, upon which the hit television show is based. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

MY REVIEW:

Cecily von Ziegesar has graduated from her young adult/teen books like her highly successful GOSSIP GIRL series, to CUM LAUDE. Meaning with honors, CUM LAUDE is a fitting title for her first adult novel and truly is memorable for many reasons but over all, a fun read. Set in Maine, in the 90’s at Dexter College, a well-to-do liberal arts college, it is a tale of coming of age during the first year of college for a colorful and basically similar group of young people.

CUM LAUDE begins with Shipley Gilbert, who has the simple goal of NOT being like her reckless older brother but rather to do well in college and make a lot of good friends. Shipley is from a wealthy family but doesn’t act it, and surely has no idea how unbelievably attractive she is. She is actually rather shy and so her other goal is to shed that timid personality. Upon arrival, she bonds quickly with her roommate, Eliza, and Tom and Nick who are neighbors in the dorm. Things start off wildly as the four go on an orientation adventure and end up at the home of Adam and Tragedy Gatz . Adam is also a freshman and Tragedy, the younger sister, who they wind up getting drunk with AFTER they had “stolen” one of the professor’s cars! Right from the start, Shipley is getting right on track with her initial goal. All of them are eventually found out and on probation of sorts for a week and not allowed to even leave the campus.

The freshman year for these young people is really what the rest of the book is about. Soon, Shipley discovers how very lovely she is and attracts the boys like a magnet. Meanwhile her roommate poses nude for an art class as Eliza thinks it will help to make her a much more fascinating person. Adam has a crush on Shipley and Nick is really into making the most of his first year of college although not always in an academic way.

Despite the time period of the story, it is still a decent attempt at portraying what the first year of college is like to many people, no matter if it is the 90s, the 60s, or modern day. Involvement in politics and social issues as well as a growing sexual consciousness are all part of that freshman year. This is not to say that von Ziegesar has spelled out what college is like throughout America for all young people today. I think the characters are fine in the setting she has written for them, but what of the rest of society? Is this what middle class students go through? Is it how they live out that first year? What of various ethnic groups that are not represented at all? The 90s can’t be presented as the dark ages just because there weren’t as many cell phones and iPads. That said, CUM LAUDE is an easy to follow, nicely written summer read. I enjoyed it for what it was but can’t say it was on my “best books of summer” list. I think a younger audience might connect better with it and perhaps von Ziegesar needs to work on spanning the gap a little more between her Gossip Girl fans and adult readers.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO MOLLY AND GOOD
FRIENDS AT HYPERION BOOKS,
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS
FUN SUMMER READ TO GIVE
AWAY TO ONE LUCKY WINNER



--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

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THE INFORMATION AND REVIEW FOR CUM LAUDE THAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU WANT TO WIN AND READ THIS BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND THEN COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED. ONLY ONE THIS TIME, PLEASE!

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, AUGUST 13!

OOPS! Did I Forget To Tell You ABOUT THE TRILOGY GIVEAWAY?!

GIVEAWAY ENDED
WIN ALL THREE
STIEG LARSSON BOOKS!
**********************************

ABOUT THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO:

A sensation across Europe—millions of copies sold

A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue.

It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

It’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age—and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it—who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism—and an unexpected connection between themselves.

It’s a contagiously exciting, stunningly intelligent novel about society at its most hidden, and about the intimate lives of a brilliantly realized cast of characters, all of them forced to face the darker aspects of their world and of their own lives.

****************************
****************************

ABOUT THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE:

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander—the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.

As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

*****************************
*****************************
DIRECTIONS:

FIRST, YOU HAD A CHANCE TO ENTER FOR
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST
(Click the title will take you to the post)

and

NOW, YOU GET A CHANE TO WIN ALL
THREE IF YOU FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!


ENTER THE FIRST POSTED GIVEAWAY FOR
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST

ENTER HERE BY COMMENTING ON THE
NUMBER OF YOUR COMMENT ENTRY FROM
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST

ALL ENTRIES FROM BOTH POSTS
WILL BE COMBINED AND COUNT SO
YOU CAN WIN ALL THREE BOOKS!

THERE WILL BE NO SINGLE BOOK WINNER!

YOU MUST ENTER THIS POST AS WELL TO BE
ELIGIBLE FOR THE WIN OF THESE
THREE BOOKS AND THAT INCLUDES
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST

********************************
GIVEAWAY

I HAVE ONE COPY OF THE
#1 BEST SELLING BOOK
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST
FROM THE NY TIMES BESTSELLER

LIST AND THE TWO OTHER BOOKS
IN THE TRILOGY TO GIVE AWAY
MYSELF TO ONE LUCKY WINNER!

--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:

+ 1 REQUIRED ENTRY: COMMENT ON THE # OF ANY ONE OF YOUR ENTRY COMMENTS FOR THE FIRST PART OF THIS GIVEAWAY, THE ONE ABOUT THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHICH OF THE THREE BOOKS YOU THINK SOUNDS MOST INTERESTING TO YOU BY READING ABOVE AND LOOKING AT THE EARLIER POST INFORMATION FOR THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST

+ 1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

+ 1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON HOW YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG OR SUBSCRIBE. EACH WAY YOU FOLLOW CAN BE A SEPARATE ENTRY

GIVEAWAY ENDS
6 PM, EST, AUGUST 15!

GOOD LUCK!

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST: #1 NY Times Bestseller Giveaway

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE GIRL WHO KICKED
THE HORNET'S NEST
BY STIEG LARSSON

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The stunning third and final novel in Stieg Larsson’s internationally best-selling trilogy!

Lisbeth Salander—the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels—lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge—against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stieg Larsson, who lived in Sweden, was the editor in chief of the magazine Expo and a leading expert on antidemocratic right-wing extremist and Nazi organizations. He died in 2004, shortly after delivering the manuscripts for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

PRAISE FOR THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST:

“There are few characters as formidable as Lisbeth Salander in contemporary fiction of any kind. She will be sorely missed.”—Booklist

Reviews from the U.K.:
“Larsson has produced a coup de foudre, a novel that is complex, satisfying, clever, moral . . . This is a grown-up novel for grown-up readers, who want something more than a quick fix and a car chase. And it’s why the Millennium trilogy is rightly a publishing phenomenon all over the world."—The Guardian

“[The trilogy] is intricately plotted, lavishly detailed but written with a breakneck pace and verve . . . [Hornet’s Nest] is a tantalizing double finale—first idyllic, then frenetic . . . Larsson has made the literary moods of saga and soap opera converge—with suspense as the adhesive. And, behind the quick-fire action, those great chords of moral and political witness continue to resonate.”—The Independent

GIVEAWAY

I HAVE ONE COPY OF THE
#1 BEST SELLING BOOK

ON THE NY TIMES BESTSELLER
LIST TO GIVE AWAY MYSELF
TO ONE LUCKY WINNER....
NOTE: THIS GIVEAWAY HAS
EXPANDED TO INCLUDE ALL
THREE BOOKS OF THE STIEG
LARSSON TRILOGY.
ENTER HERE AS SHOWN BUT
ALSO SEE THE NEXT POST ABOUT
THE TRILOGY GIVEAWAY! IN
ORDER TO INCLUDE ALL ENTRIES
YOU MUST ALSO ENTER THERE AS
NO SINGLE COPY WILL BE GIVEN
AWAY BUT RATHER THE TRILOGY!

--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:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING ABOUT AUTHOR STIEG LARSSON BY VISITING HIS WEBSITE HERE.

+ 1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THIS #1 NY TIMES BESTSELLER, THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST, FROM THE INFORMATION ABOVE

+ 1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

+5 MORE BONUS ENTRIES: TELL IF YOU JOINED SWAGBUCKS FROM MY BLOG, AND TELL ME ABOUT JUST ONE WIN YOU HAD AND HOW MANY SWAGBUCKS YOU WON. I HAVE SEEN MANY OF YOU ON MY DETAIL REPORT SO KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE OUT THERE. IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED, DO SO TODAY AND IT WON'T TAKE LONG FOR YOU TO GET SOME SWAGBUCKS TO REPORT FOR THE BONUS ENTRIES!(PLEASE ENTER COMMENT 5 TIMES SEPARATELY FOR FULL CREDIT THIS TIME---JUST "I JOINED AND WON "??" SWAGBUCKS" IS ENOUGH TO WRITE IN YOUR COMMENT)

GIVEAWAY ENDS
6 PM, EST, AUGUST 15!

GOOD LUCK!

THE ISLAND AUDIO BOOK: PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE ISLAND
AUDIO BOOK
BY ELIN HILDERBRAND

ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK:

Birdie Cousins has planned a getaway with her daughter Chess on rustic, charming Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket, a chance to bond before Chess's upcoming marriage. Birdie's been through a difficult divorce herself, so she knows the big commitment that marriage entails. She's only recently dared to tiptoe back into the waters of romance. When Chess abruptly breaks off the wedding and her fiancé shockingly dies in a rock climbing accident, it leaves Chess feeling guilty and deeply depressed. Birdie circles the wagons, convincing her younger daughter Tate, and her own sister India to join them on Tuckernuck for the month of July. Secrets and intrigue soon make their way to the surface, as Elin Hilderbrand once again weaves a masterful story of summer suspense.

Listen to an Excerpt

Start Reading Online

View the Video

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her five previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO ANNA AND MY FRIENDS
AT THE HACHETTE BOOK GROUP,
I HAVE THREE COPIES OF THIS
WONDERFUL AUDIO BOOK TO
GIVEAWAY TO LUCKY WINNERS!

THE RULES:

--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE
SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY


HOW TO ENTER

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHY YOU WOULD LIKE TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED FROM MY BLOG. IF YOU HAVE ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY ON EACH FOR MORE ENTRIES

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, AUGUST 16!
GOOD LUCK!

RECENT JULY WINNERS!

THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED
BY EMAIL AND HAVE UNTIL NOON,
JULY 30 TO REPLY WITH THE
INFORMATION OR A NEW WINNER
WILL HAVE TO BE CHOSEN!
************************************
ONE SEASON OF SUNSHINE

BY JULIA LONDON
*****************
THANKS TO AYELET AND THE GOOD
FOLKS AT SIMON & SCHUSTER, I HAVE
TWO COPIES OF THIS LOVELY BOOK
TO GIVE AWAY!
THE WINNERS ARE:

#61 rbooth43

#9 Shannon

CONGRATULATIONS!
***************************

A GENTLEMAN ALWAYS REMEMBERS
BY CANDACE CAMP
********************
THANKS TO AYELET AND MY FRIENDS
AT SIMON & SCHUSTER PUBLISHING,
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS DYNAMIC
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
THE WINNER IS:

#72 Caffey

CONGRATULATIONS!
**********************

DAMAGED
A MAGGIE O'DELL NOVEL
BY ALEX KAVA
******************
THANK YOU TO JUDY AND FRIENDS
AT DOUBLE DAY, I HAVE ONE COPY OF
THIS VERY EXCITING BOOK TO
GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY WINNER!
THE LUCKY WINNER IS:

#59 -Marybeth I.

CONGRATULATIONS!
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A VINTAGE AFFAIR: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
A VINTAGE AFFAIR
BY ISABEL WOLFF

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Every dress has a history. And so does every woman. In Isabel Wolff’s captivating A Vintage Affair, a treasured child’s coat becomes a thread of hope connecting two very different women. Her friends are stunned when Phoebe Swift abruptly leaves a plum job at the prestigious Sotheby’s auction house to open her own vintage clothing shop in London—but to Phoebe, it’s the fulfillment of a dream. In the sunlight-flooded interior of Village Vintage, surrounded by Yves Saint Laurent silk scarves, Vivienne Westwood bustle skirts, cupcake dresses, and satin gowns, Phoebe hopes to make her store the hot new place to shop, even as she deals with two ardent suitors, her increasingly difficult mother, and a secret from her past that casts a shadow over her new venture. For Phoebe, each vintage garment carries its own precious history. Digging for finds in attics and wardrobes, Phoebe is rewarded whenever she finds something truly unique, for she knows that when you buy a piece of vintage clothing, you’re not just buying fabric and thread—you’re buying a piece of someone’s past. But one particular article of clothing will soon unexpectedly change her life. Thérèse Bell, an elderly Frenchwoman, has an impressive clothing collection. But among the array of smart suits and couture gowns, Phoebe finds a child’s sky-blue coat—an item with which Bell is stubbornly reluctant to part. As the two women become friends, Phoebe will learn the tale of that little blue coat. And she will discover an astonishing connection between herself and Thérèse Bell—one that will help her heal the pain of her own past and allow her to love again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Isabel Wolff was born in Warwickshire, England, and attended Cambridge University. She is the author of seven bestselling novels, which have been published in twenty-five languages. She lives in London with her family. Bantam Books will publish her next novel in 2011.


MY REVIEW:

In Isabel Wolff’s A VINTAGE AFFAIR, Phoebe Swift is working as the department head of costumes and textiles at Sotheby’s when her life takes a tragic turn. Phoebe is stunned by her best friend’s death and the subsequent break up with her fiancé. She takes a leave of absence, and during that time she decides to trade her career at Sotheby’s and open her own vintage clothing shop. She does this and names it “Village Vintage”. Struggling with her own personal problems, Phoebe throws herself into her new business to try and not think about the sadness in her life. She knows that when a person looks good, it makes a big difference in their personality and mood, and so hopes her new venture will work for her, as well as her customers. This new life seems to start off very well as the store opens successfully and soon she has not one, but two new likely suitors.

Phoebe fills the Village Vintage with items mostly from auctions, the French markets, and other dealers. Sometimes she is asked to look at pieces that have been kept in a wardrobe for years, and it is during one of these times that she meets Mrs. Thérèse Bell, an elderly lady who has a entire wardrobe of her dresses she wants to sell. Phoebe and Mrs. Bell connect right away especially sharing their experiences of losing loved ones. They are good for each other and grow close. Mrs. Bell, however, has one item of clothing that she will not sell. This is a small blue coat and as Phoebe learns the story behind this coat, she realizes that her deciding to help Therese Bell may in turn also wind up helping herself.

At first glance, readers may get the impression that this is a light chick-lit type story but there is much more to this thanks to Isabel Wollf’s superb writing talent. Her story moves so smoothly along that you will find yourself caught up in Wolff’s narrative and find it hard to put down. She gives readers well developed, believable characters that are in a tale involving some romance but also one built around loss, remorse, and most importantly, the relationship that Phoebe and Mrs. Bell have. Both women learn to deal with their emotions while the setting of the vintage clothing store brings their story, and the other characters Phoebe meets in her new life, together in a satisfying conclusion.

GIVEAWAY

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