Contest to Win a Nook (from Shiloh Walker)

Shiloh Walker is having a contest to celebrate the release of her new book and you can win a Nook. Check out the details here. I have already pre-ordered my copy.

Shattered

Quinn Rafferty is working as a bounty hunter and bail bondsman in St. Louis when a new neighbor catches his eye. He’s tempted by her beauty—but he knows from experience that anyone desperate enough to live in his building is damaged goods. Besides, he has his own soul to mend before he can worry about anyone else.

Desperate

Sara Davis is on the run, but not for the usual reasons a woman goes on the lam. She’s not an abused wife, and she’s not a criminal. But she does have a plan for her future. And as much as she finds herself attracted to her gruff, tough neighbor, she can’t risk telling him the secrets she’s hiding. There’s just too much at stake.

Driven to desire…

But Quinn must get closer to Sara when she turns out to be the target of his new missing persons case, and he discovers that there is something more complex and dangerous to her than he thought. Now, both Quinn and Sara will have to expose their true feelings—as well as their fragile hearts—if they hope their love will survive…

EXCERPT

He opened the door—

And stopped dead in his tracks as somebody all but fell into his arms. Somebody…a woman. And not Theresa.

He caught her just above her elbows, automatically steadying her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice soft and low.

Then she lifted her face and Quinn found himself gazing into the biggest, brownest eyes he’d ever seen in his life. Feeling a little dazed, he studied her face while she stammered out another apology.

Quinn barely heard it.

He was too busy staring at her mouth. A very pretty mouth, a cupid’s bow mouth slicked with deep, vibrant red. Under his hands, he could feel silken smooth skin and unable to resist, he stroked a thumb along her inner arm.

Her skin was soft, soft and warm. He was also pretty sure she had the creamiest, most flawless skin imaginable. Her shoulder-length hair was a shade caught between blonde and brown, nondescript, but for some reason, he found himself thinking about tangling his fingers in that hair and holding her head still while he kissed that red-slicked mouth.

Well, hello…

Read more here.

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Doesn't it sound good? I would like my copy NOW.

RIP - Dick Francis

Dick Francis has died. He has been one of my favorite authors for years. I have read and collected all of his mysteries and even read his nonfiction. You check out his obituary here.

It used to be my yearly treat to get a new hardcover by Dick Francis. And I would usually read all the others again (in order of publication) while anticipating the new book. His text was spare and his characters rather formulaic (the quiet person with uncompromising values who gets involved in a mystery) but something about them really resonated with me. As a champion jockey, his first books dealt with jockeys who solved crimes. He made horses and horseracing fascinating to me (even though my only real contact with horses began and ended with a friend's 4th birthday party at a stable when I learned that horses were huge, scary, and smelled really bad.)

Later mysteries veared away from jockeys as the main character but horse racing was at least peripheral in almost all of them. My favorites to this day are Reflex, Proof, and  Hot Money.

Reflex is the story of Philip Nore, aging jockey and photographer, who suspects that a racetrack photographer's fatal accident was really murder--and unravels some nasty secrets of corruption, blackmail, and murder. Philip also deals with the fact that he was abandoned by his mother and handed around to her friends as a child leaving him with a real sense of insecurity

Proof -- Wine merchant Tony Beach has expertly catered his latest society soiree, but the fun's over when a team of hit men crash the party...literally. The event leaves Tony with a bitter aftertaste of suspicion--and sets off a mystery that's an intoxicating blend of deception, intrigue, and murder.Tony is also dealing with devastating grief after the sudden death of his belove, pregnant wife.

Hot Money -- Malcolm Pembroke never expected to make a million pounds without making enemies. Nor did he expect his latest wife to be brutally murdered. All the clues suggest the killer comes from close to home - but after five marriages and nine children, that still leaves the field wide open. When he finds his own life in danger, Pembroke entrusts his safety to his estranged son, Ian, an amateur jockey; and through him discovers a compulsive new outlet for his financial expertise. Soon he's playing the international bloodstock market for incredible stakes. Not the safest bet for a man on the run from avaricious relatives. Particularly when one of them got a bomb... Malcolm Pembroke never expected to make a million pounds without making enemies. Nor did he expect his latest wife to be brutally murdered. All the clues suggest the killer comes from close to home - but after five marriages and nine children, that still leaves the field wide open. When he finds his own life in danger, Pembroke entrusts his safety to his estranged son, Ian, an amateur jockey; and through him discovers a compulsive new outlet for his financial expertise. Soon he's playing the international bloodstock market for incredible stakes. Not the safest bet for a man on the run from avaricious relatives. Particularly when one of them got a bomb...

If you haven't read Dick Francis and like mysteries, I highly recommend him. If you have, bow your head with me and mourn the passing of a fine writer.

Great Contest by Maggie Stiefvater (Ends Feb. 21)

You know how much I loved Shiver. So how could I resist entering this contest to win Linger months before it comes out.

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

In My Mailbox (Feb. 14, 2010)

The weekly In My Mailbox post is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It is fun to see what everyone else gets in their mailboxes, shopping bags, and library visits.

Click on the link to The Story Siren's site to see the rules and join in the fun. I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the cool books everyone gets. You will discover lots of wonderful blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.

Here are the books I added to my Kindle this week:

Jeaniene Frost's First Drop of Crimson -- because I love the Cat and Bones series and really like the character of Spade.

Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan -- This was recommended on someone's IMM last week.

Heart of the Wolf by Terry Spear -- I like werewolf books but have never read this author. I read about her new book on a blog this week and decided to try her out by reading the first in the series.

I got these new YA books this week:

I received an ARC of Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald as part of LibraryThing's early reviewer program.

I read a great review of Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten on someone's IMM post last weekend and wanted to read it.

I got these assorted maybe-adult, maybe-YA books too:

There was a lot of buzz recently when Kage Baker passed away after a bout with cancer. I had never read her books and decided to give her a try. In the Garden of Iden is her first book in The Company series.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin sounded really good when I read about it on a few blogs recently. I like fantasy.

Truly, Madly by Heather Webber also is a paranormal romance about matchmaking. Sounded cute.

I thought I was doing so well in not buying too many this week and finally having a chance to reduce my TBR pile. But then this box came:

I won one of the prizes in the Comment Challenge hosted by MotherReader and Lee Wind and received these four Cybils Award finalists this week too:

I have wanted to read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson for a while so I was very excited that this was in my box.

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford was in my last book order for my HS Media Center. My paraprofessional grabbed it to read before I could. Now I have a copy of my own.

Blue Plate Special by Michelle D. Kwasney was a new title for me. I don't remember seeing anything about it on the blogs I usually read.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford has a very intriguing title. I am looking forward to reading it.

Thanks so much to MotherReader and Lee Wind for the wonderful books.

That's my mailbox. What did you get?

 

YA Review -- Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publication: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (October 13, 2009)

Product Description: For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

My Thoughts: I have picked this book up and put it down again numerous times since it arrived in my HS Media Center. I have read lots of glowing reviews of this title but I have so many other good books on my TBR pile that this one just didn't make it to the top of the pile. Finally, Thursday, after reading yet another glowing review, I picked this book up again. The Prologue almost stopped me but I convinced myself to give it 50 pages. I ended up reading 200 pages on Thursday (and still not knowing where the prologue fit in) and finished to book on Friday.

I found it to be a quick and interesting read. There was some cute dialogue especially between Nora and her best friend Vee. I loved the description of the basketball coach who teaches biology as a side activity between games. The tense scenes were adequately scary. I could feel Nora's confusion (which mirrored my own) as she tried to figure out what was going on with the strange happenings. I thought Nora's relationship with her friend Vee was well-done. Some of Vee's choices did concern me though.

My problems with this one surfaced after a night's sleep. I know that it is necessary to "kill the parents" in most YA books. After all, part of responsible parenting is to prevent children from having dangerous adventures! Ms. Fitzpatrick does this both literally in the case of the father killed in an act of random violence and figuratively by having the mother take a job that requires lots of travelling and overnight absences in order to support the family. The father was an accountant who didn't believe in life insurance? Hmmm? Another problem I had was with the school psychologist that Nora was seeing. Changing from one to another mid-year is rather unusual. But I'll accept it because we are told that angels and fallen angels can fog people's minds.

Still another problem had to do with the depiction of the angels and fallen angels. Patch seems to have fallen for a rather petty reason. I tend to think of angels as being above human emotions. Yet these angels act from lust, revenge, and jealousy.

The romance aspect also concerns me. Why did Patch fall in love with Nora? She seems like a pretty average 16-year-old to me. Yet Patch hears that she is slated for death, begins following her around (in a stalkerish way), and is immediately attracted. He describes her as intelligent, attractive and vulnerable. I felt that Nora's growing attraction to Patch was more realistic as she grew from antagonism to attraction. I do not quite see the attraction myself. But then, I am not attracted to the dangerous and enigmatic.

All in all, this book was a pleasurable couple of days reading. I don't think that it worked completely for me but I can see that there were parts that would be very attractive to readers. I will be reading other books by Becca Fitzpatrick because I like her writing style. But I won't be recommending this book as "one of the best books I have read". I will be passing it along to readers who like a little "scary" with their romance.

Challenges: 2010 YA Book Challenge

My First Contest -- Winner

Announcing the winner of my Blogoversary Contest. Winning a box of assorted books is

Monica Schroeder

Congratulations! Your package will be in the mail as soon as I can get to the Post Office.

Recommend Me - Tell Me No Lies by Elizabeth Lowell

Recommend Me is a meme that Kate at The Neverending Shelf is hosting. Each Friday, participants will pick one of their all time favorite reads to share. This could be a book that your read yesterday or years ago.

To play along, grab a favorite read and tell us about it. You can include your thoughts about the novel, its summary, your favorite memory related to the novel... the possibilities are limitless. If you are up for a challenge, you can also include:

• Your review of the novel
• Links to others' reviews of the novel
• Recommending to a general group of readers or if you want to be extra daring, to specific reader friends

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This week I am recommending one of my all-time favorite romance novels. I have two paperback editions of this book and just bought a copy of the hardcover edition. I have a serious fear of ever being without this book.

Tell Me No Lies
Author: Elizabeth Lowell
Publication: November 1st 1986 by Worldwide Library (first published 1983)

PUPPETS ON A STRING

China's most priceless artifacts are being smuggled into the U.S. An international crisis is about to explode -- unless a desperate trap to catch a thief succeeds. And one woman is the key . . .

Lindsay Danner. Her worldwide reputation as an expert in ancient bronzes and her love for China make her the perfect pawn in a deadly game. But she needs protection.

Jacob MacArthur Catlin. The Dragon. A renegade ex-CIA agent whose name is still whispered in tones of hatred and admiration throughout Southeast Asia. Now it is his job to make sure Lindsay Danner succeeds . . . and lives.

Two puppets on a string. In a maze of intrigue where each deadly twist and turn leads deeper into deception and forbidden desire, friends can be enemies. Truth may be lies. Trust is a dirty word. And the only chance of getting out alive is to cut the strings . . . and grasp the only truth that remains . . .


Why I think everyone should read this book: I do not really know why this book resonated so with me but I read it first in 1983 and haven't ever been able to forget it. I have read it again many times over the years.

The characters - Lindsay and Jacob -- were so real for me. I love Lindsay's sense of honesty and courage and her love for the Chinese culture. I love Jacob's toughness and determination to live by his own code of honor. I loved learning about Chinese art and culture and history. The romance was sizzling hot. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat.

Lowell's style and voice made me feel as though I were right in the story with the characters.

You can only find used copies now but Amazon had some available for $4.00 ($.01 and $3.99 shipping) on Feb. 5. PaperBackSwap has 89 copies available too. I think it would be well worth your search to find this excellent book.

Recommended for lovers of romantic suspense.