Winners

Here are a few winners of my latest giveaways. The winners have been contacted through email. Please check out my side bar for more giveaways. Tomorrow I will be featuring a romance giveaway in honor of Valentine's Day.

Hero's Tribute by Graham Garrison

Nancye Davis

Searching for Tina Turner by Jacqueline E. Luckett

 Edna Tollison


Congrats winners and thanks to all who have entered.

Giveaway: 3 copies of The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock

THE MOON LOOKED DOWN
By Dorothy Garlock

About the Book:

The new Americana romance from bestselling author Dorothy Garlock, this time set against the backdrop of WWII. Sophie Heller's family immigrated from Germany to Victory, a small town in Illinois, before WWII began. Now that the war has affected the town, the townspeople discriminate against Sophie and her family. When a train derails, it is an accident but the Heller family is blamed. Coming to Sophie's rescue is a teacher from the high school, and despite their cultural differences, a romance starts to bloom.

Learn more at DorothyGarlock.com

Review: Love and War: Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of by John and Stasi Eldredge

 

Love and War: Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of by John and Stasi Eldredge

Publisher: Waterbrook/Multinomah

Publish Date: December 15, 2009

Hardcover, 240 pages

My Thoughts:

It's been a busy week and I must confess I haven't finished this book yet, but from what I have read so far - I feel this is a good book.  In our marriage counseling our pastor warned us that marriage was not all sunshine and happiness.  In fact he told us to ignore the word happiness and that what we were looking for was overall joy.  Happiness is fleeting, but joy can stay with us.  Joy can be there even when we are upset with each other.

That's what this book is saying to me so far too.  It is realistic and easy to read.  John and Stasi know what marriage is like and they are writing this book to help the everyday couple.  The couple with a schedule to full, the one that contains two selfish people (because aren't we all this way in this day and age), and the couple that longs to have a satisfying and joyful marriage.

If you struggle in your marriage, or if you are content, but want a better marriage, if you are getting married for the first or the fourth time, read this book.  From what I've read so far, this book is on the mark with practical marriage advice.

About This Book:

What the Eldredge bestsellers Wild at Heart did for men, and Captivating did for women, LOVE & WAR will do for married couples everywhere. John and Stasi Eldredge have contributed the quintessential works on Christian spirituality through the experience of men and the experience of women and now they turn their focus to the incredible dynamic between those two forces.

With refreshing openness that will grab readers from the first page, the Eldredges candidly discuss their own marriage and the insights they’ve gained from the challenges they faced. Each talks independently to the reader about what they’ve learned, giving their guidance personal immediacy and a balance between the male and female perspectives that has been absent from all previous books on this topic.   They begin LOVE & WAR with an obvious but necessary acknowledgement:  Marriage is fabulously hard.  They advise that the sooner we get the shame and confusion off our backs, the sooner we'll find our way through.

LOVE & WAR shows couples how to fight for their love and happiness, calling men and women to step into the great adventure God has waiting for them together. Walking alongside John and Stasi Eldredge, every couple can discover how their individual journeys are growing into a story of meaning much greater than anything they could do or be on their own.

Read an excerpt here.
Find formats and ways to purchase here.

This book was provided to me by the publisher, Waterbrook/Multinomah for review.  When I am finished with the book I will be donating it to my pastor and/or church library.

Review: Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt

Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt
My rating: 10.0/10.0

I received this book for review through 1-ARC-Tours.

A wonderful, fanciful read and not just for young adults.  Sheer pleasure for an afternoon reading.

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Publish Date: March 16, 2010
Hardcover, 256 Pages
Ages: 9-12 (and older I say)

My Review:

First let me say I really wish I had had books like this around when I was a young adult.  In Princess For Hire, Lindsey Leavitt does a wonderful job mixing reality with the fantasy.  How many teenage girls have trouble with their friends?  How many just want to fit in and get the one guy they crush on?  I know I did as a teenager and this is exactly where Desi is at.  Her best friend got mad at her and took all her friends away and she wants the guy her ex-best friend has.  Sounds pretty normal to me.

Then she finds out from her agent, Meredith, that she has magical powers and she is sought after as a stand-in for royalty when they just want to escape.  All Desi needs is the magical rouge compact and she looks just like the royalty.  It's a dream job for Desi, but for the fact that she is just supposed to stand-in for royalty not stand up for them.  As royalty Desi finds courage that she doesn't have in her real life and of course hysterical hijinks will follow.  I laughed and cried through this book.  So much rings true for teenage girls even with royalty. 

Desi grows as a character along with Meredith's character and I enjoyed seeing how that came about.  Desi's adventures kept me interested through the whole book and I am looking forward to more of her adventures in future books.

Rating Breakdown:

Characterization:    2.0/2.0
Plot:                      2.0/2.0
Writing:                 2.0/2.0
Attention-holding:   1.0/1.0
Ending:                  1.0/1.0
Believable:             1.0/1.0
Genre:                    1.0/1.0    
Rating:                10.0/10.0
 
About the Book:

When an immaculately dressed woman steps out of an iridescent bubble and asks you if you'd like to become a substitute princess, do you

a) run

b) faint

c) say Yes!

For Desi Bascomb, who's been longing for a bit of glamour in her Idaho life, the choice is a definite C--that is, once she can stop pinching herself.  As her new agent Meredith explains, Desi has a rare magical ability: when she applies the ancient Egyptian formula "Royal Rouge," she can transform temporarily into the exact lookalike of any princess who needs her subbing services. Dream come true, right?

Well, Desi soon discovers that subbing involves a lot more than wearing a tiara and waving at cameras. Like, what do you do when a bullying older sister puts you on a heinous crash diet? Or when the tribal villagers gather to watch you perform a ceremonial dance you don't know? Or when a princess's conflicted sweetheart shows up to break things off--and you know she would want you to change his mind? 

In this hilarious, winning debut, one girl's dream of glamour transforms into something bigger: the desire to make a positive impact. And an impact Desi makes, one royal fiasco at a time.

About the Author:

Lindsey Leavitt grew up in Las Vegas and now lives in Alabama with her husband and two small daughters. Although she has been a substitute teacher and a homecoming princess, she has never been a substitute princess. Yet. She's still scanning the job pages. Until then, Lindsey is hard at work on the next book in the Princess for Hire series. Visit her on the web at www.lindseyleavitt.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Review and Blog Tour: Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale

 

Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Publish Date:February 1, 2010

Paperback,  480 pages

My Review:

What a fun book.  I loved it from the start.  It is my first book by Laura Kinsale and I will definitely be checking out her backlist now.  

From the start of the book I fell in love with Callie and Trev.  Callie has been engaged three times yet never married  and she feels she will spend life in spinsterhood and she is comfortable with that.  Trev is one of those wounded men, he's been a bad boy and doesn't know if he can change his ways.  He's in love with Callie but doesn't think he's good enough for her so every time he gets close, he pulls away.  Callie has always been in love with him too, but doesn't think he returns her love.  It's a wonderful romance in that they keep getting close in the beginning of the book for Trev to pull away.  But you know they love each other so you keep reading.

I loved the dialogue.  Especially between Callie and Trev and Trev and his maman.  The dialogue is very witty and had me laughing out loud several times when reading.  I would have to say that Ms. Kinsale is a master of dialogue based on this book.

The plot got a little slow to me at times, but never too slow, I wanted to keep reading.  I wanted to learn more about Trev and Callie and what crazy situation they would get into next.

If you love historical romance this is a book for you. 

Rating: 9.0/10.0

Rating Breakdown

Characterization:      2.0/2.0
Plot:                        1.5/2.0
Writing:                 1.75/2.0
Attention-holding:  0.75/1.0
Ending:                    1.0/1.0
Believable:               1.0/1.0
Genre:                     1.0/1.0    
Rating:                 9.0/10.0

About the Book:

"It was quite settled by now. She was born to be a spinster. The gentlemen would have to declare their undying devotion to other ladies. Callie would be too much occupied with developing a delicate constitution and a dependable recipe for tapioca-jelly."

She is, after all, Lady Callista Taillefaire, jilted three times in spite of her fortune and her father's best efforts to find her a husband. Now her greatest desire is to win the silver cup at the agricultural fair with her gigantic prize bull, Hubert. But when Callie's only old flame returns from his long and mysterious absence in France, her quiet spinster life turns upside down.

Dark-eyed, elegant and a magnet for trouble, Trevelyan d'Augustin has given Callie lessons in more than his language in the past. Her father put a harsh and humiliating end to any dreams of romance with a French émigré scoundrel, however, and Callie never thought to see him again. Swallowing his pride, Trev has finally come home to care for his failing mother, but his secrets and misdeeds follow him.

Callie soon remembers that nothing is ever peaceful with Trev around. The enormous Hubert vanishes into thin air, one of her former jilts comes back to woo her in a most determined manner--and her bull takes the town by storm! In the midst of these misadventures, Callie finds herself falling in love again with the worst possible man for her...

*** I received this book from the publisher, Sourcebooks for review. ***

Look for this ARC as a giveaway in my weekend wondering post this weekend - which will feature romance of course - it's Valentine's Day, or as I joking say to my family and husband - who cares about Valentine's Day - it's Daytona! (I'm really joking and not joking - I love racing but I adore and love my husband even more - everybody say awwwww)

Winners - A Black Tie Affair by Sherrill Bodine

 

The Winners of A Black Tie Affair by Sherrill Bodine are:

debbiejackson

Abi

Julie J.

The winners have been notified by email.  As soon as I get their addresses I will enter them in at Hachette books and their books will be on the way.

Thank you to Forever Romance (Hachette Books) for offering this giveaway and for my review copy.

Check out this book, read my review and visit Sherrill's website.

Thank you to all who entered.  Check out my sidebar for other giveaways going on right now.

Book Review and Blog Tour: Dreams That Won't Let Go by Stacy Hawkins Adams

 

ESSENCE BESTSELLING AUTHOR RELEASES NEW BOOK:
Sometimes you have to come home to discover who you are…

Essence bestselling author Stacy Hawkins Adams
releases the final book in her popular Jubilant Soul series: Dreams That Won’t Let Go.

Readers have followed along with the Burns family of Jubilant, Texas as they’ve experienced heartaches, celebrated new faced life-changing choices and learned how far faith can carry them through it all.

Now in Dreams That Won’t Let Go, everything seems to be going along perfectly for Indigo Burns: Her wedding preparations to the man of her dreams are under way and her career as a photographer is a success. Even her family seems to be doing better than ever—all except her brother Reuben who no one has seen in years. But that's about to change, because Reuben has decided to move back home to Jubilant, bringing with him all his unspoken secrets and upsetting all of Indigo’s best-laid plans.

As the family struggles to deal with the pain of the past and find healing, Dreams That Won’t Let Go illustrates that despite what has happened in our lives, there is always a second chance where love conquers all.

My Review:

Rating: 10.0/10.0 

Dreams that Won't Let Go is a riveting and beautiful book.  I have not read the earlier books in the Jubilant Souls series, but I will make it a point to go back and read the first two.  However, the third installment stands on it's own very well, I never felt lost.  I just want to rad the first two to learn more about some of the characters and to enjoy more of Ms. Adams' writing.

So what about this book stood out to me?  First the characters.  I enjoyed getting to know Indigo and Reuben and their loved ones, Max and Peyton along with their family members.  The characters are well done and you feel things for all of them.  The story plays out through the characters and keeps you wanting to read more and learn more.  The characters also grow through the book, both Indigo and Reuben are searching for something and though they seemed stumped to begin with on how to make things better, by the end they are making progress on working things out.

The plot is also amazing.  Every time I thought I had something figured out, Ms. Adams took it in another direction.  Yet nothing felt like it was out of the blue or not fitted in with the story.  It is well plotted out and very interesting to read.

Conversation in this book also flowed well.  Nothing felt stilted or strained.  The message was one of love and forgiveness and I loved how it was written out in the book.  The pastor that helps them out feels real and loving and very typical of what I am use to in the church.  Not judgmental but understanding and loving.  That comes out fully in the book without seeming preachy, and I think it is a beautifully written message.



Characterization:   2.0/2.0
Plot:                     2.0/2.0
Writing:                2.0/2.0
Attention-holding:  1.0/1.0
Ending:                 1.0/1.0
Believable:            1.0/1.0
Genre:                  1.0/1.0    
Rating:                10.0/10.0

Stacy Hawkins Adams is a writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the author of several novels, including the Essence bestseller The Someday List and Worth a Thousand Words. All of Stacy's novels have been bestsellers in Black Expressions Book Club.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life.  They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

For more information, visit www.RevellBooks.com.

Available January 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Watch for this title to be available to win for commenting on my weekend wondering post this coming Saturday.