BlogFest 2010: The Winners

Wow - it doesn't get much more amazing than that.  I believe BlogFest 2010 was a success.  Many thanks go out to Cinnamon at A Journey of Books for all she did to coordinate this.  I made my way through a lot of the blogs and I have even found out I won something aready!  The best thing though is new blogs to read, that is what I love about things like BlogFest.  I gained new followers and for that I thank all of you - new and old followers alike.  (My husband still wants to know if I can command you to do things, but I told him it's not that kind of followers).

Also I apologize to all international people - I really wish I could open my giveaways internationally, but I am strapped for cash right now, with the economy like it is and my husband self-employed there is not a lot of spare money at the moment.  I don't have advertisers on my blog so I don't make money at this therefore I have to do what I can.  I will try to do an international giveaway again soon.

So on to what you want to know - who won my giveaways.  I think this was my most-participated giveaways to-date with 143 people entering to win The Fall, 193 people entered for Maybe Next Time and 163 entered for You.  This was the individuals entering, not the total number of entries.

An ARC of The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (I just finished The Strain and can't wait to read this one), there were 453 total entries and entrant 7 was the winner:

Brooke (texas_gal45)

  

An ARC of Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie- 572 entries total, winning entry: 199

Melissa Robinson-Arezzi

An ARC of You by Charles Benoit - 503 total entries - winning entry - 49

Tanya904

Thanks to all the participants, the winners have been notified by email and have 48 hours to contact me or I will redraw a name.

Book Review and Giveaway: Finny by Justin Kramon

 

Finny by Justin Kramon

Publisher:  Random House

Publish Date: July 13, 2010

Trade Paperback, 384 pages

My Review:

 

Why I read this: I was offered this book through TLC Tours and when I read the description I knew I wanted to read it and be a part of the tour.


How is the novel driven: Character - the character of Finny is front and center in this book with secondary roles of Earl, and her friend Judith.


My thoughts: I was captured in the first few pages and transported to Finny's world, which was much like any other teenager's world when the book beigns.  But what captivated me so was Finny herself and her way of saying what she was feeling and almost trying to get into trouble without really trying.  Finny couldn't seem to censor herself nor did she want to.  I found this endearing in a strange way.  As the novel continues and I continued to learn more about Finny through her life, I liked her even more.  She is strong and confident at times and unsure at times.  She reads like a person you would really know.

The pacing of the novel is perfect.  No time in her life is really dwelt on in too much detail - it's like a giant overview, but an overview that is well-done so you get to know Finny and the others in her life without being bogged down by the trivial.  Mr. Kramon has a delightful writing style that seems to understand the reader and give the reader exactly what they want (or at least this reader).

I loved Finny, the character and the book and would highly recommend it to people that read just about any genre.  It's a fast enjoyable read and Finny, the character won't leave your mind any time soon I promise.

My Rating:  4.75/5.0

For more information about the book and the author, see my tour post here.

Giveaway:  Since my bookshelves are overflowing, I'm going to give my gently read copy of Finny away.  Open to US/Canada only.  Leave all entries in one post please for this one.  To enter all you have to do is comment and leave your email addy.  For extra entries follow me (GFC Friend, RSS, email subscription, Goodreads friend, Like My Reading Room on Facebook, Twitter (@cfulcher)), you can also tweet 1 entry per day.  For 10 extra entries tell me why you want to read this book. Giveaway ends 9/21.

Book Tour: Finny by Justin Kramon (Giveaway and Review coming later today)

 

Finny by Justin Kramon

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (July 13, 2010)

My Review will be coming later today, but let me say I love this book - I love Finny as a character.  Stay tuned for more later.  And with the review, there will be a giveaway.  For now here's some more information on the book and the author

About Finny:

Before I started writing my novel, I fell in love with some great coming-of-age books: The World According to Garp, Great Expectations, Catcher in the Rye, and several others. For me, these books brought back the excitement of reading. I loved their intricate and suspenseful plots, the slightly-larger-than-life characters, the humor, and the sense of bigness and adventure I got from even the opening sentences. I felt like these classic novels were treasure chests of funny characters and surprising moments and beautiful insights about the world.
And I realized: These are the kinds of books I want to write, books filled with unforgettable characters, books that make me laugh and cry (even at the same time), books that give me an almost childlike sense of wonder.
But one thing I noticed about a lot of these books is that they’re about young men. So I was interested in what it would be like to tell one of these big classic stories about a young woman coming into the contemporary world. And that’s how the idea for FINNY started.
Finny herself is a lonely, defiant young woman, with a wonderful sense of humor, and a great ability to cut through other people’s pretensions. She’s a character I’ve loved from the moment I met her, and I wrote this book that follows her over twenty years because I wanted to find out everything that happened to her. The book is a love story, about Finny’s relationship with a young man named Earl, but I also wanted Finny to live in a rich and detailed world, full of interesting and lively and sometimes mysterious characters, such as a narcoleptic pianist, a seductive New York heiress, and an unlikely mother figure with tastes for exotic Asian fruits and Irish fiddle music.
I hope this book will allow readers to completely immerse themselves in Finny’s world and her adventures, and leave them with the sense of enchantment I’ve found in my favorite books.
Check out the book trailer for Finny.

About Justin

A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he has published stories in Glimmer Train, Story Quarterly, Boulevard, Fence, TriQuarterly, and others. He has received honors from the Michener-Copernicus Society of America, The Best American Short Stories, the Hawthornden International Writers’ Fellowship, and the Bogliasco Foundation.
He teaches at Gotham Writers’ Workshop in New York City and at the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio.
He lives in Philadelphia.
Find out more about Justin on his website.

 

 

Justin’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS

Monday, August 16th: English Major’s Junk Food
Tuesday, August 17th: The Lost Entwife
Thursday, August 19th: The Bluestocking Society
Tuesday, August 24th: Rundpinne
Wednesday, August 25th: Tales of a Capricious Reader
Monday, August 30th: Dolce Bellezza
Wednesday, September 1st: Jenny Loves to Read
Friday, September 3rd: Raging Bibliomania
Tuesday, September 7th: Lit and Life
Wednesday, September 8th: Reading on a Rainy Day
Thursday, September 9th: Café of Dreams
Monday, September 13th: Age 30+…A Lifetime of Books
Tuesday, September 14th: My Reading Room
Thursday, September 16th: Jo-Jo Loves to Read!
Wednesday, September 22nd: Fizzy Thoughts


FTC Information: I received this book through TLC Book Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Book Review: The Candidates (Delcroix Academy Book 1)

 
The Candidates (Delcroix Academy Book 1) by Inara Scott

Publisher: Hyperion Book  CH

Publish Date: August 24, 2010

Hardcover, 304 pages
Young Adult

My Review:
Why I read this: I love boarding school novels and this one had paranormal elements and sounded really good, plus it was the beginning of a series, and I love series.

How is the novel driven: This one is character and plot driven.  There is time spent in this the first novel in the series getting to know the characters and the surroundings, but I think it's more plot-driven. 


My thoughts:  This book was hard to put down.  As I stated above - I love boarding school novels so that is what attracted me to this, but really the boarding school aspect in this book is different from most books.  This doesn't focus on cliques as much, they are there, but Dancia doesn't want to be noticed or be a member of a popular clique - she wants to fly under the radar and simply learn more about the power she has.  The boarding school seems to be a character of it's own, is it normal or is there something else going on there besides typical learning?

Add in two hot guys, one the most popular guy at the school and the other the bad boy and you have the typical love triangle that is not so typical in this book.  I really like both Jack and Cam for different reasons as does Dancia.  I love the mystery surrounding Jack and the school.  And I like Cam because he does seem to care.  Dancia is a great character, she's trying to figure her power out, but she's not whiny, and she learns in this book she has strength.  She's also not a girl that pines for a boy, in fact she really doesn't want to get involved, she wants to be her own person and I like that in the female leads in YA books.

The book is well-written, the plot moves quickly and since this is part of a series the ending has me eager for the next book so I hope Ms. Scott is writing quickly. 

My Rating: 4.75/5.0

About the Book:

Dancia Lewis is far from popular. And that's not just because of her average grades or her less-than-glamorous wardrobe. In fact, Dancia's mediocrity is a welcome cover for her secret: whenever she sees a person threatening someone she cares about, things just...happen. Cars skid. Structures collapse. Usually someone gets hurt.  So Dancia does everything possible to avoid getting close to anyone, belieiving this way she can supress her powers and keep them hidden.

 

But when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up in her living room to offer her a full scholarship, Dancia's days of living under the radar may be over. Only, Delcroix is a school for diplomats' kids and child geniuses--not B students with uncontrollable telekinetic tendencies.  So why are they treating Dancia like she's special? Even the hottest guy on campus seems to be going out of his way to make Dancia feel welcome.

 

And then there's her mysterious new friend Jack, who can't stay out of trouble. He suspects something dangerous is going on at the Academy and wants Dancia to help him figure out what.  But Dancia isn't convinced. She hopes that maybe the recruiters know more about her "gift" than they're letting on. Maybe they can help her understand how to use it...But not even Dancia could have imagined what awaits her behind the gates of Delcroix Academy.

About the Author:
Inara Scott lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and children. She is currently hard at work on the next book in the Delcroix Academy series.

Her Website
Blog

FTC Information: I received this book through Book It Forward Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Giveaway: The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard

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Thanks to William Morrow, I have one copy of The Good Daughters, the latest release by author Joyce Maynard to give away to one lucky blog reader.  Simply fill out the form to enter, extra entries are available, but not a necessity to enter.  Good luck - I'll be reading this one later this week so look for a review coming soon.  Open to US/Canada only, ends 9/27.

They were born on the same day, in the same hospital, into families that could hardly have been less alike. Ruth is an artist and a romantic, with a rich and passionate imaginative life. Dana is a scientist and realist whose faith is firmly planted in what she can see or hear or touch. Yet these two very different women share the same struggle to make sense of their place ...more About The Good Daughters:

They were born on the same day, in the same hospital, into families that could hardly have been less alike. Ruth is an artist and a romantic, with a rich and passionate imaginative life. Dana is a scientist and realist whose faith is firmly planted in what she can see or hear or touch. Yet these two very different women share the same struggle to make sense of their place in a world in which neither of them has ever truly felt she belonged. Told in the alternating voices of Ruth and Dana, "The Good Daughters" follows these birthday sisters as they make their way through the decades, from the 1950s to the present. Master storyteller Joyce Maynard chronicles the unlikely ways the two women's lives intersect - from childhood and adolescence to first loves, first sex, marriage, and parenthood; from the deaths of parents to divorce, the loss of home, and the loss of a beloved partner - until an unavoidable moment when a long-held secret from the past alters everything...

What are you Reading Monday - September 13

Come post weekly and see what others are reading too just so you can add to your tbr - I always do! For more information see Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books and join in!

Books Completed Last Week 

• Candor by Pam Bachorz
• Last to Die by Kate Brady
• Crusade by  Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie  
• The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan  

Reading Now:

• Definitely Dead (audible on my Kindle)
• Tough Customer by Sandra Brown (audiobook in car)
• Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Next:

• She's Gone Country by Jane Porter
• Simply from Scratch by Alicia Bessette
• Re-read of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins to prepare for:
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Reviews completed this week (books read before this week):
Other books still need to review:

• Wings by Aprilynne Pike (library) 
• The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (mine)  
• The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz
• Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs (audiobook)
• Matched by Ally Condie (review)
• Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs (audiobook) 
• Evermore by Alyson Noel (library)  
• Spells by Aprylynne Pike (library) 
• The Candidates: Delacroix Academy by Inara Scott (review) 
• Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford (review)
• Nightshade by Andrea Cremer  (review)
• Manifest by Artist Arthur (review) 
• Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler (review)
• Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers (review)
• The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff (review)
• God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein (review)

Summary -

Good week - not as much reading time as I would like, but still fun.  Went fishing with my boys, read with the youngest at night.  A new experience.  My oldest learned to read at pre-K and I didn't have anything to do with it.  The youngest didn't learn during pre-K so parents help the children in kindergarten so I've been helping him - it's a lot of fun and the books we are reading bring back a lot of memories of reading with my oldest.

Best of the week:  Last to Die by Kate Brady - excellent romantic suspense - she is now an author on my must-buy list.

Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway: Last to Die by Kate Brady

Last to Die by Kate Brady

Publisher: Forever

Publish Date: September 1, 2010

Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages
Romantic Suspense

My Review:
Why I read this: I love romantic suspense and have been wanting to read Ms. Brady's books (I won One Scream Away but haven't read it yet), so when I saw it was available for book tour I signed up.

How is the novel driven:  It's romantic suspense, so it's plot/action driven and character driven, just the way I love it.


My thoughts: Right off I really liked the main characters, Dani and Mitch (how can I not like a man named Mitch - it's my husband's name).  They have a history, but that history is 18 years in the past, but it was so much more than typical teenage puppy love so when you put them back together there are sparks, but first there are murders.  Since it's romantic suspense, there has to be some form of suspense and I would say that Ms. Brady does a marvelous job with the suspense.  She unpeels the layers of the suspense like an onion, slowly letting the reader know little bits and pieces about what is really going on.  I would figure something out and be right, then figure something else out and be wrong.  Lots of great red herrings and great suspense done in a way that does not frustrate, just makes you want to keep reading.

So to some it up - great romance, wonderful characters with some flaws, but who are perfect together and compliment each other well.  Add to that a great suspense plot with enough twists and turns that keep you turning pages and you get a brilliant romantic suspense novel.  I have Ms. Brady's first book, One Scream Away and it will be quickly making it's way to the top of my tbr pile.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

About the Book:
A ruthless killer hides in plain sight, someone no one believes is capable of murder. Within a week, six women will be murdered, all punished for their dark pasts. Detective Dani Cole is determined to track down this serial killer whose victims include a young woman she pulled out of a life of crime. Her investigation leads her to a photography foundation and the renowned photographer Mitch Sheridan, a man she she fell in love with years ago but has tried to forget. Dani and Mitch are instantly attracted to each other again, though their troubled pasts keep them from getting too close. Together, through the course of the investigation, they unearth a dark chain of deception that leads to a killer who is closer than they think.

About the Author:
Kate Brady has won or been a finalist in many writing contests, including the Golden Heart, the Maggies, and the Suzannah.

Her Website
Blog

Giveaway:
Thanks to Anna Balasi and Forever Romance I have 3 copies of Last To Die to giveaway to people commenting on this post.  Open to the US/Canada only, no PO Boxes.  Enter simply by commenting.  For 5 extra entries, tell me your favorite romantic suspense book you have read lately.  Additional entries for following me (goodreads, like my facebook page, rss, google friend, twitter, etc.) and for tweeting (1 per day).  You can put all of your entries in one comment if you like.  No need for 5 comments for the favorite romantic suspense book - I'll add your entries (saves you time).  Good luck!

FTC Information: I received this book from Anna Balasi at Hachette Books.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.