ARE YOU LISTENING? FIRST LOVE: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S" 
ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY"
I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY'S
AUDIO BOOK CHOICE.... GIVEAWAY ENDED 
FIRST LOVE

BY JAMES PATTERSON 
and EMILY RAYMOND   

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A crime lord has declared war on America. Only Detective Michael Bennett knows why.

Manuel Perrine doesn't fear anyone or anything. A charismatic and ruthless leader, Perrine slaughters rivals as effortlessly as he wears his trademark white linen suit. Detective Michael Bennett once managed to put Perrine behind bars, the only official in the US ever to accomplish that. But now Perrine is out, and he has sworn to find and kill Bennett and everyone dear to him.

Detective Bennett, along with his ten adopted children, their nanny, and his grandfather, are hidden safely on a rural California farm, with guards courtesy of the FBI's witness protection program. Perrine begins to embark on an escalating series of assassinations across the country, killings whose brazenness and audacity bring into question the possibility of safety and law in the US. The FBI has no choice but to ask Detective Bennett to risk it all in Perrine's war on America.

With explosive action and fierce villainy that rivals James Bond movies at their best, GONE is the next astounding novel by James Patterson. - See more at: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/james-patterson/gone/9781611130393/#sthash.0fBU1l9b.dpuf

Axi Moore is a "good girl": She studies hard, stays out of the spotlight, and doesn't tell anyone that what she really wants is to run away from it all. The only person she can tell is her best friend, Robinson--who she also happens to be madly in love with.

When Axi impulsively invites Robinson to come with her on an unplanned cross-country road trip, she breaks the rules for the first time in her life. But the adventure quickly turns from carefree to out-of-control...

A remarkably moving tale with its origins in James Patterson's own past, First Love is testament to the power of first love--and how it can change the rest of your life.   

   

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

JAMES PATTERSON has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 240 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Mr. Patterson also writes the bestselling Women's Murder Club novels, set in San Francisco, and the top-selling New York detective series of all time, featuring Detective Michael Bennett. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

EMILY RAYMOND is the ghostwriter of numerous young adult novels, including a #1 New York Times bestseller. She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.

AN EXCERPT FROM FIRST LOVE:

Prologue
One

OKAY, I MAY NOT BE PUTTING MYSELF IN the best possible light by admitting this, but let me say right at the start that I was such a straight arrow, such a little do-gooder, that skipping my last two classes that day (AP physics and AP English) made me so insanely, ridiculously jittery that it actually occurred to me this whole crazy plan wasn’t going to be worth it.

Looking back on it now, I can’t believe I was this close to backing out of the most beautiful, funny, painful, and life-changing experience I will ever have.

What an idiot I was.

I was at Ernie’s Pharmacy & Soda Fountain, and I had about five hundred butterflies throwing an epic party in my stomach. The toes of my vintage Frye cowboy boots kept knocking against the counter, until Ernie—who’s about a million years old and pretty much a total grouch—told me to quit it. Ernie is one Nickelback concert away from complete deafness, though, so I took my boots off and kept knocking away.

I was glad he didn’t ask why I was sitting in his ancient shop, drinking a giant coffee (which I needed like I needed a hole in the head), instead of two blocks down the street at Klamath Falls High School, listening to Mr. Fox blather on about the space-time continuum. Because what would I have said?

TO FINISH READING THIS EXCERPT, VISIT JAMES PATTERSON'S WEBSITE HERE. 

SOME OTHER BOOKS FROM JAMES PATTERSON:

                                  

                      

                                
  MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW: 
James Patterson, teaming up this time with Emily Raymond, has again given readers a page-turning tale. FIRST LOVE is a powerful narrative that is truly an homage to the impact first love can have on someone‘s life. The fact that it draws on James Patterson’s own early life experiences makes it that much more appealing. This romantic story is about two young people from dysfunctional families who find each other and together seek out some simple happiness in their lives.

Axi Moore and Oscar James Robinson are thrown together by sharing a certain unfortunate bond that leads them on a cross-country journey. The first part of the story describes how these two finally face their feelings and embark on a romantically carefree, although at times dangerous, adventure. I did find the beginning a little slow but stuck with it to find out just what it was that made Axi and Robinson’s story important enough for Patterson to write it. However, the second part of the novel suddenly picks up as Axi reveals more about the reason she and Robinson are together and on this trip. It was hard to not listen to this in one sitting, but I did enjoy getting back to it to hear the narrator, Lauren Fortgang, continue the second evening. As these young people reveal more about their lives and the tragedy they are living with, readers can’t help but get caught up in their plight and make you come away feeling you have learned more about them, as well as Mr. Patterson. Where their FIRST LOVE will lead these characters is a lesson everyone can learn from. 

 GIVEAWAY 
THANK YOU TO MITCH AND MY GOOD
FRIENDS AT HACHETTE BOOKS FOR AN 
AUDIO BOOK COPY OF FIRST LOVE 
THAT I AM ABLE TO OFFER AS A 
GIVEAWAY TO ONE LUCKY READER 

  

--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 WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK FIRST LOVE THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING ABOUT AUTHOR JAMES PATTERSON BY CHECKING OUT HIS WEBSITE HERE! 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU HAVE ENTERED MORE THAN ONE GIVEAWAY, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY ON EACH TO RECEIVE EXTRA ENTRIES

 
GIVEAWAY ENDS AT 
6 PM, EST, MARCH 31
 GOOD LUCK!