Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Good Behavior, by Blake Crouch {ends 11/8}

She sipped her drink and stared at the napkin the barkeep had left on the table. Four handwritten four-digit numbers. Took her thirty seconds to memorize them, and a quick look around confirmed what she had hoped—the window washers and the hotel guests remained locked and absorbed in their own worlds. She lifted the napkin and slid the keycard out from underneath it, across the glass tabletop and into her grasp. Then shredded the napkin, sprinkling the pieces into the hissing water.

I was interested to read this book, which ended up being a collection of 3 short stories, because TNT is premiering a TV show of the same name this month. I had heard about the TV show at BlogHer this year, as well, since they had a booth there. The stories ended up being pretty interesting, and the show should be good too.

Official synopsis:

The bestselling author of Dark Matter and Wayward Pines, Blake Crouch’s Good Behavior centers on Letty Dobesh, his favorite character creation of all time, and will be available in print and eBook from Thomas & Mercer on November 15th. TNT’s new television series (of the same name) starring Michelle Dockery also launches November 15th at 9pm ET/PT.

Featuring a special introduction and “behind-the-story” commentaries on the adaptation from Crouch, as well as a look at his earliest inklings of Letty in journal entries from 2009, both book formats will include photos from the set, and the eBook will feature video scenes from the new TNT series. Readers will transition seamlessly between Letty’s adventures on the page and Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery in live action as she brings the character to life on screen.

Fresh out of prison and fighting to keep afloat, Letty Dobesh returns to her old tricks burglarizing suites at a luxury hotel. While on the job, she overhears a man hiring a hit man to kill his wife. Letty may not be winning any morality awards, but even she has limits. Unable to go to the police, Letty sets out to derail the job, putting herself on a collision course with the killer that entangles the two of them in a dangerous, seductive relationship.

Good Behavior comprises three interlinked novellas, The Pain of Others, Sunset Key, and Grab, which together form a novel-length portrait of Letty Dobesh.

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult {ends 10/14}

Ruth

"I don't want her or anyone who looks like her touching my son," the father interrupts, and he folds his arms across his chest. He's pushed up his sleeves while I was out of the room. Running from wrist to elbow on one arm is the tattoo of a Confederate flag.

Marie stops talking.

For a moment, I honestly don't understand.

And then it hits me with the force of a blow: they don't have a problem with what I've done.

Just with who I am.

I'm a huge fan of Jodi Picoult's books, so when I saw that Small Great Things, her newest, was available on NetGalley in late May/early June, I was thrilled. I read it and later finished it while on vacation, and I'm excited to now share this book with you.

Official synopsis:

A woman and her husband admitted to a hospital to have a baby requests that their nurse be reassigned - they are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is black, to touch their baby. The hospital complies, but the baby later goes into cardiac distress when Ruth is on duty. She hesitates before rushing in to perform CPR. When her indecision ends in tragedy, Ruth finds herself on trial, represented by a white public defender who warns against bringing race into a courtroom. As the two come to develop a truer understanding of each other's lives, they begin to doubt the beliefs they each hold most dear.

I'll be honest and say this book was hard to get through, because Picoult really gets into the minds of her characters, and writes in first-person. Some of the chapters were from the POV of Ruth, the African-American nurse who Turk, the white supremacist, and his wife Brittany were suing. The other chapters were from Kennedy, the public defender who was representing Ruth at trial, and the third POV chapters (the hardest to read) were that of Turk's, the white supremacist who has a Confederate flag tattoo. 

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Beautiful, by Christina Lauren {ends 10/11}

I don't know what I would have done with a man like Jensen back in my real life. 

Would I have been able to let him in? Or would I have been all chatter and booze, jokes and chaos? Would he even have looked at me, with my every-colored hair, vibrant bird tattoo, and wildly bright skirts?

No, I thought. There were no other circumstances under which a man like Jensen would look twice at a woman like me. And even if he had, I wouldn't have had the faintest idea what to do with his attention. 

This is the last book in the Beautiful series, by Christina Lauren, and I'm definitely going to miss it! Their books (it's actually two people, writing as one pseudonym) are always fantastic. This novel does give closure to all of the couples who have been featured in the series, though, which I liked.

Official synopsis:

Featuring the entire BEAUTIFUL series cast for one final hurrah!

A free-spirited girl in need of a break.

A man weighed down by responsibility.

A road trip vacation where all bets are off.

Oh, and a lot of wine.

After walking in on her boyfriend shagging another girl in their place, Pippa Bay Cox ditches London for the States to go on a drunken road trip with Ruby Miller and some of her Beautiful friends.

Scaling the career ladder is the default way to deal with heartbreak—and to just deal—for Jensen Bergstrom. Absolutely buried by his drive and workload, he rarely takes time for himself. But when his sister Hanna convinces him to join the gang on a two-week wine tour, he has a rare moment of cutting loose. Of course, it’s only once he’s committed that he realizes the strange girl he met briefly on the plane is coming along, too. She might be too much for him…or he might realize his life has become too small and needs her to make it bigger, crazier.

With this circle of friends there’s always something going on: from Chloe and Sara’s unexpected personality swaps to Will’s new domestic side to Bennett’s text message barrage and George’s own happily-ever-after. In short, their adventures in love, friendship, and hilarity are nothing short of Beautiful.

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Wicked Sexy Liar, by Christina Lauren {ends 2/17}

"You're a lot of fun, Logan."

"Easy, tiger."

Luke laughs, sending little bursts of warm air across my skin. "I meant more in a general sense but, yeah. That too, obviously," he says, gently squeezing my hip before he steps back and across the door. Goose bumps make their way across my body and I try to hide a shiver.

Luke Sutter is going to be trouble.

This novel is the fourth book in Christina Lauren's Wild Seasons series (see below for a full list of the books in the series) and it focuses on someone outside of the core Mia/Harlow/Lola group: London, Lola's roommate, who is a graphic designer by day and bartender by night.

(and no, I didn't misspell her name in the paragraph above ... read on to see why ...)

Official synopsis:

When three college besties meet three hot guys in Vegas, anything can—and does—happen. Book Four in the New York Times Wild Seasons series that began with Sweet Filthy Boy (the Romantic Times book of the year that Sylvia Day called “a sexy, sweet treasure of a story”), Dirty Rowdy Thing, and Dark Wild Night.

For two people ambivalent about dating and love, they sure get naked around each other an awful lot...

London Hughes is very content to surf daily, tend bar, hang out with her group of friends, and slowly orient herself in the years after college. Everything’s going great and according to the non-plan.

But when a wave knocks her for a loop one morning, then Luke Sutter’s flirtatious smile knocks her for another that evening, she veers slightly off course ... and into his path. Sure, he’s a total player, but the Why not—it’s only one night is a persistent voice in her ear.

For his part, Luke’s been on hookup autopilot for so long that he rarely ever pauses to consider what he’s doing. But after an amazing time with London, he realizes that he hasn’t been moving on from a devastating heartbreak so much as he’s been drifting to wherever—and whomever—the current takes him. With London he wants more.

Every relationship involves two people ... plus their pasts. And as much as she enjoys her fling with Luke, when London learns about his past—more specifically, who’s in it - everything becomes the brand of complicated she strives to avoid. It’s up to Luke then to change some things in order to try and ensure he’s not something she’ll outright avoid as well.

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Book Review & GIVEAWAY: Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head, by Lauren Oliver and H.C. Chester {ends 11/30}

They went straightaway, after changing in the darkness of the attic out of their pajamas and into street clothes. When they emerged into the brisk air, the sky was just beginning to lighten in the east, like a large blue blanket whose corners had caught flame. Max had always loved the city at this hour, when the buildings were like tall black stakes against the sky, and only a few lights flickered in the windows; when the streets were empty; when the whole city felt like a large, slumbering monster, and she could pass unseen in its shadows.

But now that they were on their way to catch a real-life monster, Max felt different. 

I'm a big fan of Lauren Oliver's books - the last novel I read by her, Vanishing Girls, was great, and I like her Delirium series too. Curiosity House is a little different in that it's more for younger readers - the book trailer calls it a "middle-grade" read. That being said, as an adult, I still enjoyed the book.

Official synopsis:

What you will find in this book:

– A rather attractive bearded lady
– Several scandalous murders
– A deliciously disgusting Amazonian shrunken head
– Four extraordinary children with equally extraordinary abilities
– A quite loquacious talking bird

Blessed with extraordinary abilities, orphans Philippa, Sam, and Thomas have grown up happily in Dumfrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders. But when a fourth child, Max, a knife-thrower, joins the group, it sets off an unforgettable chain of events. When the museum’s Amazonian shrunken head is stolen, the four are determined to get it back. But their search leads them to a series of murders and an explosive secret about their pasts.

This sensational new series combines the unparalleled storytelling gifts of Lauren Oliver with the rich knowledge of the notorious relics collector H.C. Chester.

What you will NOT find in this book:

– An accountant named Seymour
– A never-ending line at the post office
– Brussel sprouts (shudder)
– A lecture on finishing all your homework on time
– A sweet, gooey story for nice little girls and boys.

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Off the Page, by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer {ends 8/26}

A fairy tale is a snapshot too. You never know what goes on post-happily-ever-after. It's simply a frozen minute, and the only one we seem to remember.

The difference is, in a fairy tale, the story can't be altered. The prince and princess will never have a fight. You'll never hear the queen raise her voice. No one ever gets sick; no one ever gets hurt. 

Maybe love is only safe in places where it can't change.

This novel is a "companion book" to Picoult and Van Leer's Between the Lines, which I reviewed about three years ago. It's called a companion book and not a sequel because you don't have to have read BTL before reading this one; however, I found that reading BTL beforehand definitely benefits the reader when reading Off the Page.

Official synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling authors Jodi Picoult and her daughter and co-writer, Samantha van Leer, comes OFF THE PAGE, a tender and appealing romantic YA novel filled with humor, adventure, and magical relationships.

Sixteen-year-old Delilah is finally united with Oliver—a prince literally taken from the pages of a fairy tale. There are, however, complications now that Oliver has been able to enter the real world. To exist in Delilah’s world, Oliver must take the place of a regular boy. Enter Edgar, who agrees to take Oliver’s role in Delilah’s favorite book. In this multilayered universe, the line between what is on the page and what is possible is blurred, but all must be resolved for the characters to live happily ever after. Includes twelve full-color illustrations, and black-and-white decorations throughout.

Full of humor and witty commentary about life, OFF THE PAGE is a stand-alone novel as well as a companion to the authors’ bestseller Between the Lines, and is perfect for readers looking for a fairytale ending. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Meg Cabot are sure to appreciate this novel about love, romance, and relationships.

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl, by Paige McKenzie, ends 4/10 {2 winners!}

Nolan was the one to read the book, to find the word and say it out loud first. It is, I suppose, appropriate - considering what he will be to her - that he be the one who puts the pieces together. But this is not about him. It is about her.

It is good to see just now much fight she has in her. Her will is strong, her essence forceful. I wonder how long she will go on fighting before she realizes she must put that fight to better use.

I believe this is the first book I've ever read that is based on a YouTube series, which made it interesting. I read a few chapters and then Googled to find the series (which you can find here), and each video is about one to two minute long. The book is written by Paige McKenzie, the actress in the videos, along with Alyssa Sheinmel, a NYC native who has written a few young adult novels. The book seems to follow the beginning of the videos, for the most part, and I will probably watch a few more of them at some point.

Official synopsis:

Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Sunshine Griffith and her mother Kat move from sunny Austin, Texas, to the rain-drenched town of Ridgemont, Washington. Though Sunshine is adopted, she and her mother have always been close, sharing a special bond filled with laughter and inside jokes. But from the moment they arrive, Sunshine feels her world darken with an eeriness she cannot place. And even if Kat doesn’t recognize it, Sunshine knows that something about their new house is just ... creepy.

In the days that follow, things only get stranger. Sunshine is followed around the house by an icy breeze, phantom wind slams her bedroom door shut, and eventually, the laughter Sunshine hears on her first night evolves into sobs. She can hardly believe it, but as the spirits haunting her house become more frightening—and it becomes clear that Kat is in danger—Sunshine must accept what she is, pass the test before her, and save her mother from a fate worse than death.

(Note from Liz: this video makes it seem much scarier than the book actually is!)

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If I Stay, by Gayle Forman: Book vs. Movie Adaptation

*Disclosure: I received If I Stay on Blu-ray combo pack plus a copy of the novel in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

I read the novel If I Stay by Gayle Forman back in 2010 or '11, and recently picked it up again to reread. I also was able to see the film adaptation of the book back in August 2014, and I reviewed it over on my film blog.

I was glad I reread If I Stay recently, because I had completely forgotten there were so many differences between the movie and the book adaptations.

Here's a quick synopsis of the story:

credit: deliciousreads.com

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

I gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, but would like to watch it again to re-evaluate; sometimes my initial impressions aren't always correct, or my opinions can change upon a second viewing.

I had forgotten that the movie is very different from the novel upon which it's based, in this instance. Both the book and the movie show Mia's life in flashbacks (in the present, she's struggling for life in the ICU) but the movie is a little more choosy on what it shows from the book material. One great scene in the movie involved Mia playing cello, Adam (her boyfriend) playing guitar, and everyone jamming out at a BBQ at her house, and this is included in the book as well.

The book also gives a lot more backstory on Mia's best friend, Kim, and her feelings towards Adam; in the movie, we see how they initially meet, at their school (he's a rocker in a band, she's a cellist) and certain parts of their relationship, but not all of it.

In the novel, Mia finds out she got into Julliard before her car accident, also, and in the movie, I believe someone opens the letter for her (I think Adam does, but not 100% sure on that) and finds out that she was accepted, while she's still in a coma.

The novel also ends rather abruptly, although I'm not sure how else Forman would have lengthened the ending. Did you know there's a sequel, called Where She Went, that's from Adam's point-of-view? I read that as well, but back in July 2011 - I recommend that to fans of the movie or book, if you want to know more about Mia and Adam.

So should you read the book, or see the movie? I'd actually recommend both, as I really enjoyed the book - it's a fast read - and I overall liked the movie too. Because they are so different, the order in which you watch/read them doesn't particularly matter, either.

Enjoy!

{To buy both If I Stay and Where She Went: click here}
{To buy the movie on Blu-ray combo pack: click here}

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Keep Me Safe, by Maya Banks (Slow Burn #1), ends 10/29

There was no limit to the possibilities and Ramie already knew the killer looked ... ordinary. Good-looking even. Neat and clean. Precise in his movements and meticulous in his dress.

Most women would find such a man harmless in appearance and would be liable to feel comfortable and at ease around him. He was, no doubt, charming and likeable.

What kind of world was it when such monsters lurked in seemingly benign waters?

Slow Burn is the newest Maya Banks series, and it's just as good as the others I have read by her. Similar to her other books, it will be a trilogy, as well, and the first book gets the series off to a good start; the other books will follow characters who exist in the same world as Caleb and Ramie.

Official synopsis:

A sizzling story of a woman who risks her life and her heart to find a wealthy man’s missing sister - the first novel in a sexy new romantic suspense series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks.

When Caleb Devereaux's younger sister is kidnapped, this scion of a powerful and wealthy family turns to an unlikely source for help: a beautiful and sensitive woman with a gift for finding answers others cannot.

While Ramie can connect to victims and locate them by feeling their pain, her ability comes with a price. Every time she uses it, it costs her a piece of herself. Helping the infuriatingly attractive and impatient Caleb successfully find his sister nearly destroys her. Even though his sexual intensity draws her like a magnet, she needs to get as far away from him as she can.

Deeply remorseful for the pain he’s caused, Caleb is determined to make things right. But just when he thinks Ramie's vanished forever, she reappears. She’s in trouble and she needs his help. Now, Caleb will risk everything to protect her - including his heart ... 

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Excerpt: Falling for the Groomsman, by Diane Alberts

Excerpt from Falling for The Groomsman, by Diane Alberts:

Tyler came out with the ice bucket, his green eyes settling on her instantly. The weight of his stare made her want to fidget, but she forced herself to stand still. His brown hair was longer than she remembered, curling slightly at the edges. He had a little bit of scruff going on, and muscles like whoa.

It was obvious that he kept in shape while he was out saving the world. So not fair. He reached out and placed a hand on her upper arm. His fingers on her bare skin sent a shiver straight up her spine. She tilted her chin up. “Stay here while I go get you ice?”

And spend more time walking an unwilling trip down memory lane? No, thank you. She shook her head and looked over her shoulder. The elevator was awfully close. “I don’t need any. I’m fine, I swear.”

“Just wait here for me.” He skimmed his finger over her arm. God, he wasn’t even trying to tempt her, yet he was. So unfair. “I’ll only take a second. I promise I’ll be right back.”

Unlike the last time you left, she added silently.

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Casablanca Blues, by Tahir Shah, ends 6/11

Review by: Gwendolyn Mulholland

The Bright Winter sunshine threw long shadows in the late afternoon, as Blaine strolled down the length of the grand Boulevard Mohammed V. He was walking on air, having been serenaded by Bergman and Bogart at the Rialto.

As he glanced into the shop windows and took in the random features of the street and of life he thought about the world he had left behind It had been a sham, one detached from reality.

Three blocks from the end of the boulevard, Blaine noticed a scruffy shop-front. The sign had fallen away decades before, but the window display hinted at treasures within.

He forced open the door.

Inside lay an Aladdin's den of oddities and accessories from the days of the French Protectorate. There were old postcards in black and white, threadbare furniture with rounded legs, cut crystal glasses and cocktail shakers, gramophones, empty jeroboams of Moet, aspidistra stands, and crates of scratched old 78s.

I received this copy of Casablanca Blues to review and will admit I was a little unsure when I started as I have never watched the movie Casablanca, even though it is a classic. There are so many levels to this story that draw you in that I found it hard to start reading. There is mystery and intrigue at every corner and new situations pop up around every turn.

Official synopsis:
Blaine Williams lives and breathes Casablanca.

He’s trapped in a make-believe world of Bogart and Bergman, smoke-filled cafés, fugitives and hit-men.

And he’s having a mid-life crisis.

Having lost his girl, his job, and his home, he flees to the one place that’s always provided comfort in times of sorrow and despair: CASABLANCA

Diving in at the deep end of Morocco’s most misunderstood city, Blaine is sucked down through the many interwoven layers until he hits its bedrock.

And it’s there that he meets Ghita, a fabulously wealthy socialite, who’s got a plan for him – one laced with intrigue and revenge.

Through an adventure paid out in twists and turns, Blaine and Ghita find themselves in a storyline straight out of Casablanca the movie.

Hilarious, poignant, and shocking at times, CASABLANCA BLUES lifts the veil on modern Morocco and conjures a secret realm hidden from travelers and locals alike.

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Book Review and Signed Copy GIVEAWAY: Fate of the Vampire (Vanderlind Castle #3), ends 3/28

Fate of the Vampire, by Gayla Twist.

There are things most teenage girls really need to hear. Obvious things like don't text while driving. Or don't blow off your friends just because you're dating some guy. Or, advice that I could have benefited from, don't date a vampire. Because even though Jessie had never even come close to hurting me, and even though he was one of the nicest and most generous people on the planet, and even though he wasn't one of those jealous control-freak vampires that you're always reading about in romance novels, he was still a vampire. Which meant he had vampire friends. And vampire enemies. So I was constantly under threat from this or that member of the undead whom I wasn't even dating.

As you can tell from that excerpt, this book is no Twilight, and it's the third (and final, sadly) book in the Vanderlind Castle series from Gayla Twist. I love these books because not only do they have supernatural elements, but they're also very well-written, and the narrator, Aurora, has an awesome sense of humor.

Official synopsis:
Just when Aurora and Jessie start to date like a normal couple, things go horribly wrong in the town of Tiburon, Ohio. People are disappearing, and Aurora knows it’s all her fault. She is, after all, in love with a vampire.

Fate of the Vampire is the final book in the Vanderlind Castle trilogy.
-

Despite that very short synopsis, this book was great. If you like novels with strong heroines that fall in the supernatural/paranormal genre, I highly encourage you to check out these books - but start at the beginning, with Call of the Vampire (click here for review), so you can read Aurora and Jessie's story chronologically.

In this installment, teens start disappearing from Tiburon, the small town in Ohio where Aurora lives, and she has a nagging suspicion that it's vampire-related. Jessie's grandfather, whom everyone thought was dead a long time ago, also randomly shows up, and demands that Jessie never see Aurora again, which of course she's NOT okay about. And her mother has been dating a man who wants to propose to her - except, Aurora has yet to meet him.

It would be hard for me to pick a favorite of the three books, so I'll go ahead and say I liked all the novels in this series equally; I did give all 4 out of 5 stars, which is what I would give this book too. Heart of the Vampire, book 2 (click here for review), took place in both Tiburon and also Europe, but in Fate, they're back in Tiburon for the duration of the story.

Gayla Twist has created some memorable characters here, and although we do get our HEA (Happily Ever After) ending, I definitely wouldn't mind if there were more books in this series, though unfortunately there will not be.

4 stars out of 5.

*Disclosure: I received an e-copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. One winner will receive a paperback copy of Fate of the Vampire signed by Gayla Twist! Contest will end Friday, March 28th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be emailed on March 29th and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen. U.S. and Canada residents only, please.

Good luck!

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Just One Night, ends 2/18

Just One Night, by Kyra Davis.

I notice the button at the top of his jeans. It reads Dior Homme - $600 jeans - and yet the T-shirt could have been bought at Target. Like his youthfully muscular arms and conservatively cut salt-and-pepper hair, it's his contradictions that seduce me.

"I'd like to make you a drink," he says.

It doesn't take me a moment to grasp his meaning. I know he's inviting me to his room. I glance around the bar. I've never had a one-night stand. I'm the girl everyone can count on for her rock-solid, solemn consistency. 

Except tonight. Tonight I'm the girl who is going to sleep with a stranger.

Just One Night was originally published in three different parts, as an e-book, and now it's being released as one complete novel. The New York Journal of Books was quoted as saying it "gives Fifty Shades of Grey a run for its money ... this novel gives some depth, respect and sexual tension to the genre," and I would agree with that review.

Official synopsis:
Kasie Fitzgerald knows who she’s supposed to be. She’s a rising-star-workaholic at a global consulting firm. She’s the fiancée of a well-connected man who’s won the approval of her parents. People know that she’s reliable, serious, proper, cautious, pragmatic, and yes, a little predictable. She’s who Dave and her family want her to be.

But as her thirtieth birthday looms, buried feelings begin to resurrect. Her friend takes her to Vegas for one last wild and crazy night. In a dress much shorter and sexier than anything she has ever dared to wear before, she hits the blackjack tables. And meets him. Under the tailored clothes it’s clear that this is a man who is intense, powerful, and maybe even a little dangerous. With a touch of trepidation she accepts his invitation to get a drink, and before long, she’s in his hotel room.

She never gets his full name. Perhaps his anonymity is one of the reasons she’s able to give herself over to him and to the moment so completely. Perhaps it’s why she’s just had the most exquisite and passionate sex of her life. Shaken by her own behavior, Kasie tries to chalk it up to one crazy night. But when the mysterious gentleman she’s just had a fling with shows up in her office—as the CEO of a firm her company does a billion dollars of business with a year, demanding that she handle his account, and so much more—things will never be the same again. And there’s no telling where this will go…
-

This novel was interesting because it had a few twists that I didn't see coming. Kasie is a smart woman, but after she meets Robert Dade, he turns her life around, and she has to learn how to push back and also how to stand on her own two feet and be more independent.

This book was MUCH better written than Fifty Shades, and is a good read if you like "the genre" (erotica) or want an interesting story that's more R-rated. Some of the characters managed to surprise me by doing things I didn't foresee, and we see the aftermath of Kasie's one-night stand (or what was supposed to be only a one-night stand) on her boyfriend of six years, Dave. There's also a backstory with Kasie's sister, Melody, who had a history of mental illness.

3.5 stars out of 5.

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this novel for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

Thanks to Gallery Books, I have two paperback copies of Just One Night for my readers to win. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Contest will end on Tuesday, February 18th at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified via email on February 19th, and must respond within 24 hours or alternate winner(s) will be chosen. U.S. and Canada residents only, please.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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GIVEAWAY: Kindle Paperwhite, Fall Frenzy Indie Authors - ends 12/16

I've partnered up with a few other bloggers to bring you this great giveaway - you can enter to win a Kindle Paperwhite! Check it out and enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

With the cold weather of fall sweeping in, now is a great time to catch up on reading. Here's a list of some incredible trending indie authors. Be sure to pick your favorite and vote on Facebook! Then, go below for your chance to win a Kindle Paperwhite!

The Hollow Man by Paul Hollis

This new thriller, based on true events, follows a young field analyst from a U.S. government agency assigned to study emerging terror tactics. He's charged with watching over the unpopular prime minister of Spain, Luis Carrero Blanco. When a terrorist's deadly plot kills Blanco, the analyst begins a cat-and-mouse chase across Europe with Chaban, the mastermind assassin, narrowly escaping death again and again in this fast-paced thriller.

Amazon

B&N

GoodReads

Author Website

Genre: Thriller

E-Book Price $4.99

Chosen: Path of Heros by Kyla Price

In her first novel, Chosen: The Path of Heroes, Kyla Price weaves a tale of high school, high wizardry and high adventure, as four teenagers are drawn to the parallel world Kambia, whose Empress faces a great threat from an evil overlord. “Now is the time to assemble the Chosen.”

Amazon

Book Trailer

Author Website

Palmetto Review

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

E-Book Price: $9.99

Night Chill by Jeff Gunhus

In his debut novel for adults, bestselling MG/YA author Jeff Gunhus (known for his Jack Templar Monster Hunter books) has won outstanding reviews for his supernatural thriller which has drawn comparisons to Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Come see why this novel is consistently on the Amazon horror bestseller lists. Also look for the new audio book from Audible.com and Amazon available mid-December.

Amazon

Author Website

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Book Trailer

Genre: Horror

Price: $2.99

What Will Not Kill You … A Memoir by Annemarie Duparc

Retired Magistrate pens memoir confronting feminist issues like sexim in the workplace, along with societal plagues like depression and divorce. This memoir is a story as well as a study of sustained resilience. You'll not find slavery, poverty or exile in the author's background. Her distress was not collective but individual, brought on by circumstances which fostered a sleep disorder and depression. Perhaps therefore harder to survive, and yet so common in our society, although hardly acknowledged.

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Genre: Memoir

Price: $15.26

The Curious Caves of Honey Cove by Samantha McDermott

"A city girl is challenged by a handsome beachcomer to uncover what is going on in the ominous caves and which nice townspeople are involved in it."

"If you're exhausted from mankind's blood-and-gore history that continues into the present and will continue evermore, if you're weary from the savage stories in the news, which the Hollywood entertainment industry loves to pick up and produce; if you would like a gentle, heart-warming story--without the gratuitous grisly graphics--placed in a bracing rocky-beach setting, I recommend this shining and witty book, The Curious Caves of Honey Cove, by Samantha McDermott. This is a mystery but it's not just a mystery! This wise author will renew your faith in humanity.” - Bonnie Langhaar

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Genre: Cosy Mystery

Price: $9.99

Aztlan by J.D. Parker

Four teenagers stumble upon a terrorist plot to spray nerve agent over Southern California from crop dusting planes, they video the planes getting ready to take off from the desert outside Los Angeles, steal the terrorist’s laptop and some antidote to the nerve gas, contact Homeland Security and flee across the desert pursued by the terrorists and Special Forces sent to rescue them as Los Angeles reels from the devastating attack from the one plane that wasn’t shot down before reaching the city.

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Genre: Thriller

Price: $9.99

Ready For A Chance To Win?

Thanks to Reader Spoils, one lucky reader will win a Kindle Paperwhite!

Enter To Win a Kindle Paperwhite

One winner will be chosen at random from all valid entries to receive a Kindle Paperwhite valued at $139.00! To enter, complete the tasks on the GiveawayTools form below. Don't forget to vote for your favorite book AND come back for daily entries! The event ends on Monday, December 16th at 11:59pm and is open to US residents only. Good Luck!

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GIVEAWAY: complete set of the Redhead series, by Alice Clayton - ends 11/22

Last month, I reviewed Wallbanger by Alice Clayton, and it's just been announced that Clayton now has a major book deal for three full-length books and one novella.

Her new series, the Cocktail series, will start off with Rusty Nailed, the sequel to Wallbanger, and will be released in June 2014. The next two books in the series, Screwdrivered and Mai Tai'd Up, will be released in September 2014 and December 2014.

The novella, coming out in January 2015, will be the beginning of a brand new Hudson Valley series.

To celebrate this news, I have a complete copy of the Redhead series by the author to give away! I haven't read these, but I've heard they are hilarious, and based on my review of Wallbanger, I wouldn't doubt it.

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Contest will end on Friday, November 22nd, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified on November 23rd via email. Winner has 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be selected. U.S./Canada only, please.

Good luck!

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Review and GIVEAWAY: The Burning of Cherry Hill, ends 11/13

The Burning of Cherry Hill, by A.K. Butler.

It has been a mere five generations since the Second Revolutionary War threatened to destroy this nation, since vanishings ceased to be devastating realities and became colloquial slang. It is too easy to forget that Zavier and Evangelina Scot did not set out to start a war; the War followed in their wake. The greatest way to honor their sacrifice is to never force others to make it again. 

I love good dystopian lit, and this book definitely qualifies. Set in 2159, it follows Zay and Lina Scot, as their home is burned down and their parents die in the fire that consumes Block Island - or so the public thinks. Zay and Lina must figure out what is going on, as well as adapt to the new world they're living in, and they might find out some awful truths in the process.

Official synopsis:
It's 2159. Zay Scot is a fourteen-year-old boy raised on a secret island in hiding from a government he doesn't know exists. After more than a decade of avoiding detection, his fugitive parents are brutally kidnapped and he is thrust into a dizzying world centuries more advanced than the one he left behind.

The skies over the United North American Alliance are pollution-free. Meals are healthy and delivered to each home. Crime is nonexistent. Medical treatment requires only the scan of your wrist. Poverty, need, and hunger are things studied in history class.

But Zay soon finds himself a fugitive, escaping the brute force of a government always a whisper away. Now he must choose between peace and freedom, and if the journey doesn't kill him, what he finds might start a war.
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At first, this new world sounds interesting and intriguing. There's always enough food for everyone, if you're hurt or sick you can be fixed with the touch of a button (reminded me of the movie Elysium in that respect) ... and, also, the government also monitors where you are at all time using this same technology. Zay refuses to get a scanner once he and his sister Lina arrive on the "mainland" because of this, and his other orphan friends have to sometimes scan for him so he can have meals.

This is definitely not a "happily ever after" book - indeed, I was a bit shocked by the ending, although it seems to be "for the greater good" - but the journey that they take throughout it was interesting. It did have some Hunger Games elements in it, but overall it was a great, original dystopian story. At the beginning of the book, the Scots live on Block Island, free from government influence, which I think meant the Rhode Island location - that was intriguing to me because I have relatives who live in R.I., so I've heard of Block Island before.

My only criticism is that I would have liked a little more back story, even though the author did flesh out the history of the government and of Cherry Hill nicely.

4.5 stars out of 5.

*Disclosure: I received an e-copy of this novel from the author for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Contest will end Wednesday, November 13th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be emailed on November 14th. Prize is one paperback copy of The Burning of Cherry Hill. U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

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GIVEAWAY: Seven Seconds: Memories of the JFK Assassination, the Tragedy that Changed America, ends 11/12

The e-book Seven Seconds: Memories of the JFK Assassination, the Tragedy that Changed America, by Holly Millea, has recently been published, and I have a copy for two of my lucky readers to win.

Official synopsis:
Where were you when you heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot?

For years, journalist Holly Millea has concluded interviews with that question. In her decades-long career as a magazine writer, Millea has interviewed dozens of cultural icons who have shared vivid memories of what they were doing on November 22, 1963, when three gunshots fired in Dallas changed America forever.

Jimmy Carter, still a Georgia farmer, had just come in from plowing a field. After hearing the news, he went back outside and wept. Robert Redford was starring in “Barefoot in the Park” on Broadway and could barely remember his lines that night. Artist Chuck Close was at Yale, horrified to see law students toasting JFK’s death. Barbra Streisand was buying a necklace, which she still owns but has never been able to wear. And Nora Ephron was a twenty-two-year-old reporter at the “New York Post.” “It was one of those days when I had a harrowing sense of how much I was a journalist, as opposed to a human being,” she recalled. “My instinct wasn’t to weep. It isn’t that I didn’t feel terrible, it’s just that I also felt ‘I’m a journalist and I’m going back to the city room, where I belong.’”

The Byliner Original “Seven Seconds” is an oral history of the day John F. Kennedy was killed, told through the voices of men and women who made their own impact on American culture and whose work is still relevant today. James Patterson, Jeff Bridges, Diane Keaton, Charlie Rose, James L. Brooks, Gay Talese, Judy Collins, Tom Stoppard, Meryl Streep, Dick Cavett, Peter Fonda, Gayle King, James Ellroy, Carl Reiner, Barney Frank, Donna Karan, and Lauren Bacall are among the many people Millea has spoken with about that fateful day. Everyone old enough has a story. And long or short, heartbreaking or wry, every story further illuminates not just a time and place, but an era. As John Kennedy said, “History, after all, is the memory of a nation.”

The whole world will be marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination this fall. Seven Seconds poses the question that many of us will be asking: Where were you?"

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway ends on Tuesday, November 12th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified on November 13th and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner(s) will be chosen. Open to all countries, since the prize is an e-book; two winners will be chosen.

Good luck!

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CONTEST: win a copy of Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts trilogy, #1) by Maya Banks, ends 11/11

Maya Banks, the author of the Breathless trilogy, is self-publishing her new book, Theirs to Keep, and it's currently available online as an e-book and in print-on-demand. I have a copy for one of my lucky readers to win - read on to see how!

Official synopsis:
While the Breathless trilogy chronicled the lives and loves of Gabe, Jace, and Ash, three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country, the Tangled Hearts trilogy follows the mysterious appearance of Elle and the impact she has on friends Cade Walker and Merrick Sullivan, who are both determined to keep her safe and loved when they find her. When a battered Elle appears in the cabinet of a gun store with no recollection of how she arrived or who she ran from, Cade and Merrick immediately feel a need to make sure she is taken care of and protected. Their protection ultimately grows to love, and the two men must face the ultimate test of friendship when it becomes clear that Elle is coming between them and neither of them is willing to back down.

In the provocative and thrilling Tangled Hearts trilogy, Banks explores the secrecy of one woman’s explosive past and the hope for her unique and challenging happily ever after with both of the men who love her.

Some interesting facts about Banks's Breathless trilogy:

• Rush Debuted at #3 on The New York Times Combined Print and eBook bestseller list (February 24, 2013)
• Fever landed at #2 on the USA Today bestseller list (April 7, 2013)
• Fever debuted at #2 on The New York Times Paperback Trade Fiction bestseller list (April 21, 2013)
• Burn debuted at #1 on the USA Today bestseller list (August 15, 2013)
• Burn debuted at #1 on 3 New York Times bestseller lists: Combined Print & E-book Fiction, Paperback Trade Fiction AND E-book Fiction (August 25, 2013)

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway ends on Monday, November 11th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified on November 12th and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen. U.S./Canada only, please.

Good luck!

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