Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The SUMMER GIVEAWAY HOP 2013! Midnight, Aug 1st until Wed, Aug 7th, 2013! Come ENTER!

                   Thank you to our Hosts, Bookhounds and I Am A Reader!

WELCOME TO ANOTHER GIVEAWAY HOP! 

INTERNATIONAL! 

READY TO ENTER? CLICK HERE!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

"Necessary Lies" by Diane Chamberlain - REVIEW


My Take
5+ Stars!
NEW RELEASE! Physical and ebook release date is September 3rd, 2013! 
A story that will touch your heart forever.
When I got this book for review, Necessary Lies, the first thing I did was visit this authors website. I couldn't tell you why I did, but I did. I am SO glad I did because while there I found this novella, a prequel to this book called, "The First Lie". I bought that one, read it, and I fell in love with the characters. You can find that review HERE. I knew I was going to love this book, and I did. Oh, did I ever! 
After reading this book, "Necessary Lies", it demands we stand up, start clapping, and yell "BRAVO" to this author for writing such a moving, and thoroughly outstanding piece of fictional literature, based on true life, the life history of probably thousands of people in total. This book was screaming out loud to be written! To know what we are reading is a part of history, even though fictional, causes us to become so much more emotionally invested in the story this book has to tell. This book is full of shocking, striking, amazing, unbelievably heart wrenching moments, soul searching, sadness, empathy, anger and more scenarios that truly did happen in real life. This book is based upon real characters in real life, and real things that really did happen. This book also demands a second read through after you are finished, too. This is how moving this book truly is.
The writing was so realistic, it absorbs the reader into the story so much that my Kindle went with me everywhere because I literally could not stop reading this book! I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! The story and writing, both, in this book, is outstanding. It demanded to be read.
I was so drawn into this story of Ivy, who is fifteen, Mary Ella who is seventeen and mother to baby William. No one knows who the father to baby William is. Then there is Nonnie, the mean, nasty, and ornery Grandmother. She just rubs us the wrong way from the beginning. I did not like her at all. 
These 4 people live in Grace County, North Carolina, on a farm in the middle of all those acres and acres of pure tobacco crops. 
All of these people lived in rags of clothing, and baby William in his diaper. The house wasn't much at all. It was a shack with no running water and an outhouse outside. Ivy hated to walk through all that tobacco at dusk to trying to find Mary Ella sometimes when she disappeared and couldn't be found. It kind of scared her, walking in between the tobacco. Mary Ella had had her appendix out right after baby William was born. Ivy was glad it didn't burst while it was still inside of Mary Ella. Ivy was worried about it bursting because they talked about it when Mary Ella was still pregnant with baby William. Ivy knew of someone in school whose Appendix burst, and she didn't want that happening to Mary Ella.
She saw all the lights on at Henry Allen's house, but didn't think she'd be there. That was Mr Gardiner's house, and he was the one who provided their house to them free of rent on account of Mr. Gardiner being so close of friends to someone in their family. The girls also worked in the tobacco fields for him, too. Mr. Gardiner put electric in their house when they were little, at least. Mr. Gardiner was also the daddy to Henry Allen, a boyfriend of Ivy's, but shhh. People could only think her and Henry Allen only knew each other and not like boyfriend and girlfriend. His daddy would not like that at all, not his son. Mr Gardiner was nice sometimes as he would give Mary Ella a few extra pieces of food every now and then. The family started to count on it, so they always tried to be as good as they could so the extras would keep coming. They could tell no one that any extras came, either, because if the Social Worker, Mrs. Werkman, or Nurse Ann got wind of it, they would take more money out of their monthly check for welfare they got, even if it was only two turnips. Lately a new Social Worker started to come by. Her name was Jane. Ivy didn't know if she liked her or not yet. She was trying. She was kind of funny, though, wearing high heels where no one would have done that. Ivy got wind that her appendix might need to come out, too, and she was confused because she didn't think there was anythng wrong with it. Why would she need hers out?
With as much as Mary Ella ran around, at least she hadn't come back home pregnant again. That was kind of odd that she didn't. Hmmm. . . ?
This is one story that has been the MOST emotionally moving stories of my life. Speaking of 'crying', I "never" cry while reading a book, but I ended up getting so emotionally invested in these characters in this story, every part felt so REAL, and it was! I cried, I laughed, I sobbed, I yelled, I talked to these characters as the story went along, nor could I hold the tears back, which turned into those sobs!
Some scenes, when I think about them, I still get choked up about even after this story is finished. I miss these characters.
Have you ever heard of the Eugenics Board? That is when the state considered sterilization as an end to poverty and welfare. They would have to find the people 'feeble minded' first. Well . . . that is what they tried with a lot of these people. It is very prolific throughout this book. Sad. Very sad.
Just when I thought nothing worse could happen to them, it did. Another thing comes along to throw a wrench into the story of their lives. Not one part of this story drags, it never failed to surprise me coming out of left field. and the ending was so SPECTACULAR! I will never forget this story, EVER, nor should we!
The title could not be anymore fitting! 
This is one of the BEST books of 2013 and into the future, a story that was crying to get out there and be told, even though this one is Fiction, so much truth comes out of it. Don't let this fool you, either, as it is based on factual history. Diane Chamberlain explains how she researched this, and where this stands today, as well. It's quite amazing.
This book is going to bring original and many NEW fans to this authors writing to light!
To know this story IS based upon true factual events that went well into a time when we should have known better, and to give that kind of power to the people they did IS utterly jaw dropping.
This book is going to take the world by storm, as it should! They won't know what hit them, NOR will the people who make the decisions in the state of North Carolina as Readers write to them! I highly suggest this. You will be so shocked. This shall be in limbo no longer! There is a link in the back of the book where you can watch the victims of Eugenics come forward to discuss what happened and how they feel about it. You will have to make it a point to read this book! It keeps you glued to the page, for sure!
Congratulations to this author, again, BRAVO! An gripping story, one you will NOT soon forget b
FAR!! I received this book for FREE from St Martins Press, through NetGalley, in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

The New York Times Top 15 BEST SELLERS for the week ending July 27, 2013!


Welcome to another Sunday of the BEST of the BEST books for this last week!
I want to start off by thanking ALL OF YOU who came and read this Post last week! It had the MOST TRAFFIC out of ANY OTHER POST I have EVER done before! THANK YOU! I hope you enjoyed it!
Last week I asked this question:
"What would you read if you were going rustic camping? You, nature, a tent, even an outhouse, what would you bring to read?"
I wanted to do a Linky Link-Up this week. I went there earlier today, and surprise to me, Brent Riggs, who runs that Linky Link-Up is charging to use it now. He wants $24 for the entire YEAR! Broken down it's only $2 a month which I have no problem with, but you MUST use PayPal. I only have $5 in my PayPal account because I don't use it hardly EVER! It does takes several DAYS to transfer money from your bank account to your PayPal account. I'm sorry to say, I can't do it 'this week' because transferring the money today won't make it into the PayPal account for a few days. Actually, it probably won't make it into the PayPal account until Wednesday. Sorry. I should have looked into this earlier this week, but I never expected it to cost money as it does now.
What do you say? Whoever is interested in doing this PLEASE write their answers in a Blog Post, and write the LINK in the Comments section down below this Post? Or, write your answer in the COMMENTS section and make SURE you put your email address so I can contact you! Also, put your blog address, too! Give your blog a shout-out! If any of you have any ideas, please let me know! If any of you know of a Link-up list that does NOT cost money, please let me know!
I will be trying to fix the problem of the LINKY Link-Up this week. Hopefully by next week we can get that going! Of course it will depend on the kind of feedback you leave for me today in the Comments section below! I don't want to spend the $24 if no one is going to link up because this is the only thing I would use the Link-up list for. I don't want to throw away $24 when there are MORE books out there I could be buying! LOLOl!!! I'm sure you understand that! So PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT and tell me what you want to do!
***Now, for MY answer!
My Kindle would be OUT. I read so much on it, I would have no way to charge it. Bummer! And to answer your first question running through your mind, NO! I would NOT bring a catalog to use in an outhouse! LOL!!! Thank GOD the Sears Catalog is GONE! LOL!!! I would have a HUGE problem using an outhouse! This 'girl' does NOT use an outhouse! I would not be able to go! I would be worrying about the flies landing on my behind! Or, of touching the that disgusting wood! Oooooooooo!!!! YUCK! Nope! NOT THIS GIRL!!! We would have to have a travel RV! That is a recreational vehicle WITH A BATHROOM!!!! Heck, if my SON were with us, half the time I would be sitting in a puddle of . . . ! He can't aim for anything! I have that problem with him in the HOUSE! I have to holler to him to 'lift the lid'! Or, 'get it IN the toilet'! And, 'I want to hear it hitting the water!' He's 15! What the heck? Come on, son!
The bugs. The bugs. The bugs. The bugs. UGH!!! (Can you tell I'm a prissy-priss!)  
As for a tent, I'd NEVER get up off the ground! Not with this neuro muscle disease I have! LOL!!! That would be a riot to see! 
So, yes, an RV would be a MUST for 'this girl' to go camping! The odds of that happening in my lifetime - probably next to ZERO! 
I used to like camping when I was young and had no problems physically. I went once when I was a little girl! I went with my Dad, and we were in a huge tent with some other people. I was sleeping against the side of the tent, and in the middle of the night, an ANIMAL LAID DOWN OUTSIDE THE TENT NEXT TO ME! WOW!!! However, now it's a different story now that I know better! Mosquitos, fleas, ticks, bees, wasps, crabs on the beach! Ooooooo! Yes, I AM a prissy-priss!!
As for books, I could tell you there ARE MANY BOOKS I would bring with me I want to finish, read, and start reading! I can look over to my side now and see 
1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
3. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
I would NOT read ONE book for review at ALL! All except for one! LOL! One book I got in the mail this week from the Publisher! "This Girl" by Colleen Hoover!!! YEAH!!! I've already read it in the ebook format, but the book version is calling my name! Physical books and ebooks ARE different! You can see the Table of Contents, Prequels, if any, and Epilogues. Ads for future books!!! There ARE advantages!
It could be I am so used to reading Galleys, and they don't even have a cover to the books. I like that. I go into a book without any preconceived notions as to what the book may be about. Even though a book has ONE photo, the cover, you still get that stuck in your head.
You know what would suit me the best? A HOTEL! 5-STAR SUITE! YES! "THAT" SOUNDS GREAT TO ME! I would LOVE to try to swim! It's been YEARS! I just imagine the water taking the weight of my body off of me! Ooooo! I could crawl out, although it would be on cement. I'd have to do something about that!  
That is my answer! What is yours?
Next week's question:
If you were to take the month of August OFF COMPLETELY, yes, this August, RIGHT NOW, and NOT BLOG, NOR read ANY books for review, what FUN books, or books you have you been DYING TO READ? What would they be and where would you read them so no one interrupts you?
I will be trying to fix the problem of the LINKY Link-Up this week, again, depending on your COMMENTS BELOW! Hopefully by next week we can get that going! Of course it will depend on the kind of feedback you leave for me today in the Comments section below!
Okay, on to the books!

FICTION: COMBINED PRINT AND EBOOK

1. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
Print book: $15.20

ebook:        $  9.99

 

2. The English Girl: A Novel (Gabriel Allon) by Daniel Silva
Print book: $12.92

ebook:        $11.99

 

3. First Sight: A Novel by Danielle Steel
Print book: $17.86

ebook:        $13.99  -  the publisher UPPED the price of this ebook from the usual $12.99 by a $1. Is this the start of the price increases in ebooks, again? Be prepared for this Fall. I do foresee ebooks climbing in price AGAIN. When the ebooks started out, they were at $9.99 until the Publishers were taken to court. Then the price increases stopped for a while. Now they ARE upping them AGAIN. When is enough enough? At least this is how "I" feel. Let's see what the rest of these New Releases do???

 

4. Inferno by Dan Brown
Print book: $11.65

ebook:        $12.99

 

5. Hunting Eve (Eve Duncan) by Iris Johansen
Print book: $  7.19

ebook:        $11.99

 

6. Second Honeymoon by James Patterson AND Howard Roughan
Print book: $12.59

ebook:        $  0.00 - This is NOT FREE. ONLY so many chapters are free, then you must pay for the rest of the book IF you want to finish it. There is no price marked for the ebook. It's your choice if you want to risk reading it, then purchasing it without knowing what the cost is up front. Personally, I think the price should be shown up front and not like this as a come-on.

 

7. Hidden Order: A Thriller by Brad Thor
Print book: $14.81

ebook:        $11.91

 

8. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Print book: $12.04

ebook:        $10.99

 

9. Pulse (Collide Volume 2) by Gail McHugh - Indie Author who has Self Published! Congrats!
ebook only right now: $  3.99

Audible available, too $10.61

 

10. Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
Print book: $10.93

ebook:        $12.99

 

11. Alpha Bad Boys (7-in-1 Box Set) by Shayla Black, Lexi Blake, Olivia Cunning, Lisa Renee Jones, Selena Blake, Eliza Gayle and Cat Joh
ebook only: $0.99

This is what Amazon has to say about this book: **LIMITED TIME SPECIAL PRICING **
(approximately 365,000 words) 
Seven authors bring you the hottest alpha bad boys and the women who love them. Billionaires, athletes, rockers, Doms, and cowboys, all in one collection, because why should you have to choose?

 

12. Bombshell (An FBI Thriller) by Catherine Coulter
Print book: $15.14

ebook:        $  9.99

 

13. Lost and Found in Cedar Cove (Short Story) (Kindle Single) by Debbie Macomber
ebook only: $0.99

 

14. The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel by Neil Gaiman
Print book: $12.33

ebook:        $  9.99

 

15. Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) (The Ender Quintet) by Orson Scott Card
Print book: $4.08

ebook:        $3.88

 

If you would like to see the rest of the books up to #25, you can find that by CLICKING HERE!
As for those of you who want to link up to this post and answer a weekly question, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IN A COMMENT BELOW! 
That way I'll know if I should purchase the Linky List or not. I would ONLY be using that Linky List for THIS POST, so I would really like to get feedback from you to see if you are interested!
Are you a Reader without a blog? That's GREAT, too! You can answer the question in the COMMENTS SECTION!
Please just let me know!
OH! As for Giveaways - Click on the GIVEAWAYS TAB up above! There is a *SPONTANEOUS* BLOG HOP going on NOW, until 8-2! There are also a few other Giveaways, too! One in particular is one I donated money to for us Bloggers to purchase a Kindle Fire for a lucky winner! That winner COULD BE YOU! Also, there are some authors who have donated books for prizes, too! You could win BOOKS, too! Make SURE you enter that one! 
I can't WAIT to read the COMMENTS!
Thanks!
Happy Summer Reading!
Laurie

A Big Year for Lily, Book 3 by Mary Ann Kinsinger and Suzanne Woods Fisher - REVIEW


My Take:
5 stars!
This is the third book in The Adventures of Lily Lapp, A Big Year for Lily, and I think my favorite thus far! There will be a fourth in this series due out later which will complete it. These are absolutely charming books!
These Chapter Books are gems just waiting to be discovered by little girls ages 8-12, or anyone who likes/loves to read about the Amish, even adults! Surprisingly, I learned a lot from reading these books as well, and it amazed me because I read a lot of Amish books and thought I knew all there was to know. Boy, was I wrong. There are things in this series of books I did not know about such as the things the children go through at their different ages, what's expected of them and more.
Yes, there are the Little House on the Prairie books, and you could almost mistake these books as similar to them, but these books go further than those and are even better because these books have real, live people who are living this way "today" and every day! Little House, meet the Amish, and a little girl named Lily Lapp who are alive and living this way for the last three centuries, and will be well into the future!
This book is about Lily turning 10. This is quite a year for her! Turning 10 brings about a lot of big changes and responsibilities for Lily. My favorite is her new dress. When the girls turn 10, they graduate into getting to wear the big girl dresses! This was an anticipated event for Lily! She got to go pick out the fabric for her new dress and proudly wear it in church, with a little drama added to it. My other favorite scene was when her brother gets his tongue stuck to something metal, in the winter! She said she felt bad but not to bad because she learned brothers were always thinking of things they shouldn't be doing! Yes, sometimes even the amish children are up to no good, just like English children, playing tricks on each other and other things, but they learn important lessons from them, and the parents make sure the children are aware of what they or their friends did is good or bad.
These books also have beautiful pencil drawings/illustrations here and there throughout the book. The artist, Tim Foley, did a beautiful job!
Grab this book and add it to your library. It will be an addition that will get read by many!
I received this book for FREE from the publisher, Revell, a Division of Baker Publishing Group and LitFuse Publicity in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

About the Authors:

Mary Ann Kinsinger was raised Old Order Amish in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. She met and married her husband, whom she knew from school days and started a family. After they chose to leave the Amish church, Mary Ann began a blog, A Joyful Chaos, as a way to capture her warm memories of her childhood for her own children. From the start, this blog found a ready audience and even captured the attention of key media players, such as the influential blog AmishAmerica and the New York Times. She lives in Pennsylvania.

Suzanne Woods Fisher In no particular order, is a wife, mother, writer, lifelong student of the Bible, raiser of puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, a gardener and a cook...the latter two with sporadic results.

Suzanne has loved to write since she was a young teen. After college, she started to write for magazines and became a contributing editor for Christian Parenting Today magazine. Her family moved to Hong Kong for four years, just as the internet was developing, and she continued to write articles in a 44-story high-rise apartment, sending manuscripts 7,000 miles away with a click of a key.

After returning from Hong Kong, Suzanne decided to give her first novel a try. For four and a half months, she worked on an antediluvian computer in a cramped laundry room. She didn't even tell her husband what she was up to. When the novel was completed, she told her family at dinner one night that she had written a book. "That's why there's no food in this house!" said her slightly insensitive sons.
Writing, for Suzanne, is a way to express a love of God and His word. With every book or article, she hopes readers get a sense of what faith really looks like in the daily grind. She hopes they realize that life can be hard, but God is good, and never to confuse the two.

Suzanne can be found online at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com



Join the Flock! LitFuse Publicity Group blogger

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Rising Sun, Falling Star by Vickie Hall - REVIEW and WIN $50, too!





Rising Sun, Falling Star 


by Vickie Hall

Different eyes and skin
Mock me from the mirror’s light
Enemy am I.

Dec 7, 1941
Today my life changed forever . . . I am no longer considered American, but by shear heritage I am now the hated enemy . . .
The lives of Kenji and Aiko Onishi and their American-born children are about to unravel when the United States is thrust into war with Japan. Confronted by insurmountable prejudice and fear, the family is ripped from their California home without just cause by the American government and sent to an assembly center “for their own protection.”
Forced to live in deplorable circumstances, every aspect of their lives regulated and controlled, the Onishi’s freedoms are stripped from their grasp as they struggle to survive behind barbed wire. It isn’t long before the mind-numbing confinement and feelings of helplessness begin to pit the family against one another.
When sent to a relocation camp in the center of the Utah desert, they’re beset by ever increasing emotional and physical challenges, and Aiko is faced with her greatest yet: to mend the broken spirits of her family, or risk losing them forever.
Based on true and tragic events that transpired during World War II, Rising Sun, Falling Star is a heart-rending story of one family’s struggle to survive uncalculated loss and emotional destruction.

My Take:
3 Stars
I really wanted to read this book because I wanted to learn the 'why' of this all. We already knew the Germans had Concentration Camps, so WHY would the US do this? To protect the Japanese, the US claimed. Was it really protection, or more horrific for the people who had to live there? I learned it was horrific. I'm ashamed OUR Country did this, and I can ONLY HOPE the US learned this is NOT the way to do things. I know we have learned this is NOT the way to do things because otherwise when a few other things have occurred in our country since then and aimed at us by foreigners, they could have taken those people of that nationality and put them into concentration camps, and thankfully the US did NOT. It's a shame we have to do things to learn from them to NOT repeat the same mistakes over again. At least that is what I was taught History is all about.
There was also another reason I wanted to read this story. My Grandmother had Japanese neighbors down the road from her. She HATED them. In fact, us grandchildren were told to ignore them. This would have been 30 years later, too! Why? I knew it had to have stemmed from the war all those years ago, and now I know that for sure, but boy was she mean!
I learned a lot from this book, and am glad I read it. Although fiction, this truly IS one thing that WAS LEFT OUT of my history books.
I do have to say this book was long. Very long, in my opinion. It seemed like it would never end, although, then again, is that the feeling this author was trying to give about having to live in a concentration camp? Some scenes were not needed which could have made the book move a little quicker. The end was only a 'May we remember . . . '. That was it. No resolution of the characters. Was that meant to be to? I don't know? I have too many unanswered questions about this book.
I received this book for FREE from the author in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html
Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.


Author Vickie Hall

Vickie is a native of Utah, but growing up, lived in the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Nebraska. When she’s not writing, she’s composing music, or shopping with her sister. She loves animals of all kinds and camping with her family. Her favorite pastime is watching old movies on TCM, and unashamedly has a crush on Cary Grant.

Links:





Book Blast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 8/2/13

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

ENTER the Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop! NOW until August 4th, 2013!


Thanks to our Sponsors of this Hop, I Am A Reader and Colorimetry! THANK YOU!

Welcome to the:

LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER *SPONTANEOUS* GIVEAWAY HOP!

INTERNATIONAL - Or to wherever gift cards and ebooks are accepted

Hoping YOUR summer is going GREAT!
Here's a Summer chance to ADD to your reading!

To ENTER - CLICK HERE!!!!!!!!!!! 

Saturday, July 20, 2013

The New York Times TOP 15 Best Sellers for the week ending July 21st, 2013! And possibly a NEW linky list?


Hi everyone!
First, take a look at ALL the GIVEAWAYS in the LEFT SIDE COLUMN! GO AHEAD! CLICK ON A PHOTO AND ENTER!

Now, a NEW photo for our weekly post! I found this in a FREE STOCK PHOTO someplace, but I can't remember the where! LOL! Figures! I might play around a little bit with this photo caption, or not? I'd LOVE to know what you think! Please let me know what you think about it in the COMMENTS BELOW!
I am also thinking of posting a simple question each week and calling it, "What would you read . . . if you . . . ?" For instance, for next week, here is the question:

"What would you read if you were going rustic camping? You, nature, a tent, even an outhouse, what would you bring to read?"

We would answer that question, FOR THE NEXT WEEK, and link up everyone's answers! Which is also why I am experimenting with our weekly photo!
***See the bottom of this post with MORE DIRECTIONS!
Readers who are here just to read and find out what the Best Sellers are can have even MORE fun if you link up each week!
I'm just kind of tossing that around, so let's see how this goes! This ALSO means I will HAVE to have this posted by a SET TIME on Saturday's so YOU can link up if you want to!
If anyone has any suggestions, please leave them in the COMMENTS BELOW, too!
I want to CONGRATULATE +Colleen Hoover for hitting #7 with Losing Hope! CONGRATULATIONS COLLEEN!!! It was INCREDIBLE book I LOVED AND I HIGHLY SUGGEST THIS BOOK IF YOU LOVE NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE!!! You can catch MY review HERE! 
Okay - on to the books!:

FICTION- COMBINED PRINT AND EBOOK

1. Hidden Order: A Thriller by Brad Thor
Print Book: $15.11

ebook:         $11.99


2. Bombshell (An FBI Thriller) by Catherine Coulter
Print Book: $15.67

ebook:        $  9.99

 

3. Inferno by Dan Brown
Print book: $14.38

ebook:        $12.99

 

4. Second Honeymoon by James Patterson AND Howard Roughan
Print Book: $15.54

ebook:        $  0.00 - ONLY for so many chapters, and after that, ??? - NO price listed! Your choice/chance!

 

5. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Print book: $13.02

ebook:        $10.99

 

6. A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries, No. 1) by Sue Grafton
Print book: $11.88

ebook:        $  3.79

 

7. Losing Hope: A Novel by Colleen Hoover!!! YEAH, COLLEEN!!!!
(Can you tell she is one of my FAVORITE authors! I LOVE her!!!)
Print book: $11.95

ebook:        $  7.36

 

8. Beautiful Bitch by Christina Lauren - Indie Author who Self Published! Congrats!!
Print book: $8.99

ebook:        $4.74

 

9. The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel by Neil Gaiman
Print Book: $15.22

ebook:        $12.80

 

10. Four Irresistible Rogues (Four Complete Historical Romance Novels) by many different authors!
ebook only - $8.99

 

11. Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn - Amazing! I believe this book has been on THIS LIST IN THE TOP 15 for the last 1-1/2 YEARS now! Again, AMAZING!!! EXCELLENT READING, TOO!)
Print book: $13.49
ebook:        $12.99



12. Pulse (Collide Volume 2) by Gail McHughIndie Author who Self Published! Congrats!
Print Book: $10.74

ebook:        $  3.99

  
13. Entwined with You (Crossfire, Book 3) by Sylvia Day
Print book: $7.99

ebook:        $8.89

 

14. World War Z (Mass Market Movie Tie-In Edition): An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Print book: $6.49

ebook:        $9.99

 

15. Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen
Print book: $14.99

ebook:        $12.99

 

Well, there we have them! Plus, 2 Independent Authors who Self Published their books ALL ON THEIR OWN, AND HIT THE BEST SELLER LIST!!! WOO-HOO!!! CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM!!! What an ACCOMPLISHMENT!!!
I LOVE seeing that happen! Really, thing about it! They self published here on Amazon, and out of ALLLLLLL the different books available, THEY made it onto this list! AMAZING!!!! These must be AMAZINGGGGGG BOOKS!!! CONGRATS, AGAIN, AUTHORS!!!
If you would like to see the rest of the list up to #25, (10 more books) CLICK HERE!

WANT TO LINK UP TO THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK every weekend?

AWESOME! Next Saturday OR Sunday, if YOU would like to LINK UP YOUR POST WITH YOUR ANSWER TO THE WEEKLY QUESTION to "this WEEKLY POST I post EVERY SUNDAY", it will be YOUR POST with the YOUR ANSWER to the weekly question that you are linking to! AND this week's question happens to be this:

"What would you read if you were going rustic camping? You, nature, a tent, even an outhouse, what would you bring to read?"

MY POST will be up AND LIVE by 5:00pm EVERY SATURDAY! You will have 'whenever' after that to link up to it!  YOUR LINK WILL GO LIVE IMMEDIATELY as SOON AS YOU LINK TO IT! Questions? Email me at laurieisreading at gmail dot com!

What are the benefits to linking up to this post? I have a LOT of visitors just for this post every week! Visitors will be able to click on YOUR link to YOUR post at YOUR BLOG and read your answers while visiting your blog! You may get MORE FOLLOWERS!
These are a LOT OF FUN!
I'm hoping a LOT of people will be joining in on this fun!
When posting the name of the book you would be reading, please make sure you post the Author's name, too!
I'm hoping to see you next week linked up HERE!
Till next week!
Laurie

"Rosemary Cottage, A Hope Beach Novel" by Colleen Coble - REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY! The 12 Day Nautical Summer Giveaway!


My Take:
3.5 Stars

This story takes place in the beautiful Outer Banks of South Carolina at Rosemary Cottage. Rosemary Cottage is a cottage that has been in Amy Lang's family for generations, and she is hoping to figure out if the loss of her brother, Ben, was really an accident or not, as well as grieve his loss. This has been bothering her since it happened. She is determined to find out more about what happened because to her, Ben's strength as a swimmer does not add up to an 'accident', in her mind. She has a gut feeling something is off, and she is even ready to move her midwifery practice there to that location to work if that is what it will take her to find out. She misses her brother dearly, and won't accept his death until she knows for sure what really happened.
Meet Curtis Ireland, a Coast Guard Officer who lives in the area. He has a sister, Gina, who also died in a swimming accident as well. She, too, is a very strong swimmer, and had dreams of winning a gold medal in swimming in the Olympics until 'life' happened to her. That life is now a seven month old little girl she named Raine. In the Prologue of the book we learn her death may very well 'not' have been an accident, the way it was described. Now Raine is left to Curtis to raise, and we get to see just how he handles this huge task!
We have two people who are on a quest to find out exactly what happened to their siblings in what sounds like very similar swimming accidents. Both Amy and Curtis are single, not necessarily looking for love, yet both have so much in common, right to the loss of their siblings. Can and do sparks end up flying between Amy and Curtis while on this quest? This is, after all, Contemporary Romantic Suspense, so it could be! A lot of things happen that throw you for a curve in the 'why' of this story. Twists and turns! Oh, what fun! This was a very enjoyable read.
This is actually Book Two in the Hope Beach novels. Book One is called Tidewater Inn. I never would have known by this author's writing that this book had a previous book to it because you can just pick this book up and start reading it without having to have read Book One at all, at least not that I know of not having read Book One.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story from the very beginning till the very end. This is my first Colleen Coble book! Yes! I have seen a lot of books written by this author, and I have been wanting to try a book out by her to see how she writes for quite some time now, and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing. I would never hesitate to pick up another one of her books, and, in fact, I want to make it a point to pick up one of her newest mystery novels next because in the back of the book they show several ads, but one ad shows four of her mystery novels she has written, and the most recent being "Without A Trace" plus an excerpt!
I received this book for FREE from LitFuse Publicity and the publisher, Thomas Nelson/NetGalley, in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Don't miss entering this contest! NOW until 7-27! The author will have the winner announced at her website, and you can get that info when you click on that photo below!



Join the Flock! LitFuse Publicity Group blogger

Friday, July 19, 2013

Blood and Bone (A Jack Hawthorne Adventure #3) by Don Hoesel - REVIEW


Description:

A decade after Serpent of Moses, Jack is married to Espy and back teaching at Evanston University. They have two sons, one of whom has cystic fibrosis. Despite this challenge, life is comfortable. But that all changes when the CIA, while combing through the papers of the late Gordon Reese, uncovers the secret of Elisha’s bones. Jack’s world is then turned upside down by an urgent call from his old friend Duckey, who’s been alerted to the CIA’s probing by one of his former contacts. Jack and his family escape from their home just ahead of the CIA, and he decides to do what he should have done long ago: recover the bones and destroy them. Except the bones aren’t where he left them.
So now Jack is in a race, for the last time, to find the bones. And he’s not the only one. Pitted against both the CIA and an organization that will kill to protect their secrets, Jack and Espy follow hard-to-decipher clues across the globe before arriving in the catacombs of Paris for a final showdown that will either save their family–or tear apart everything they hold dear forever.



My Take:
3 Stars
This is actually Book 3 in a series, and had I known that, I would not have chosen to review this book only because I like to read a series starting from the beginning so I understand everything that is going on. Even though this book can be read and I did read it as a stand-a-lone, I'm sure there may have been things that were referred to which we did not know about and would have been a plus had we read the entire series.
Book 1 is Elisha's Bones and Book 2 is Serpent of Moses.
The writing was very good and very fast paced throughout the book. 
In the beginning a couple, Jack and his wife, Epsy, received a phone call that they had to have their family leave their house. Don't pack, don't take anything unless it's easily accessible to pick up and grab, and get out as fast as they could, and do so now. This all stemmed from the fact that years ago Jack was hired by someone to locate the bones of a biblical prophet and hand them over. That's not what Jack did. Instead, he buried the bones in the desert, and now they are back to get the bones, but they are not where he originally buried them after all, which is why this story is so full of a lot of action, twists, turns, and never seems to stop. 
I did put this book down several times, and when I picked it back up, I will admit I had forgotten a few things as to what they were doing, and I was a little lost here and there, but I believe that to be my own fault. I guess this story wasn't quite what I was expecting, or maybe it had to much action to be able to bond and learn more about the characters themselves, and maybe I would not have put it down getting distracted by others so easily. I did not expect this to be about a Biblical Prophet's bones. Don't get me wrong, this is an excellent book for those who love to read this type of story, but it's not my own personal preference, so my mistake here. 
The ending is quite satisfying, if you can believe that type of thing can happen. I don't necessarily believe in that type of thing, so it was not realistic enough for me to believe it, but I can't tell you, or it will ruin the ending! It is definitely worth reading for a change of pace from the contemporary fiction or psychological thrillers I always usually read! I would not hesitate at all. I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, Bethany House through NetGalley in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html

Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Blood and Bone (A Jack Hawthorne Adventure Book #3) by Don Hoesel
Print Book: $11.48

ebook:       $  9.99




Monday, July 15, 2013

It's time for the Summer Kindle Fire Giveaway! Come and ENTER!

It's time for the Summer Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Kindle Summer


This is a joint AUTHOR and BLOGGER GIVEAWAY EVENT!

Bloggers (that's me!!) and Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HD 7".

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway
The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)


Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)




Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

Sponsoring Bloggers and Authors

  1. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
  2. Feed Your Reader
  3. New Adult Addiction
  4. Jessabella Reads
  5. The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Somthing Year Old Girl
  6. Books Unhinged by StacyHgg
  7. S.A. Larsen - Writer's Ally
  8. Author Inger Iverson
  9. The Geeky Gamers
  10. annakyss
  11. Everyday Word Magic
  12. Candance's Book Blog
  13. Page Flipperz
  14. SMI Book Club
  15. Laurie Here - THIS IS ME!!!!!!!
  16. Feed Your Fiction Addiction
  17. Phantasmic Reads
  18. The Book Bellas
  19. Please Don't Remove MarGreat's Glasses
  20. Author Jennifer Laurens
  21. J.C. Valentine
  22. Holly Hood
  23. Young Adult Novel Reader
  24. Author Heather Bixler
  25. Literary Meanderings
  26. Suspense Author Kim Cresswell
  27. Mother Daughter & Son Book Review
  28. Meredith's Musings
  29. Auggie Talk
  30. Author Camelia Miron Skiba
  31. Author Lena Sledge
  32. LoriTheAuthor
  33. Author Dianne Venetta
  34. Curling Up with A Good Book
  35. MyLadyWeb
  36. Fae Books
  37. Bea's Book Nook
  38. Girls with Books
  39. Ketch's Book Nook
  40. Turning Pages
  41. Bookhounds
  42. Karey White
  43. My Devotional Thoughts
  44. Author Talia Jager
  45. Author Helen Smith
  46. Sher A Hart: Written Art
  47. Author MK McClintock
  48. Word to Dreams
  49. Buku-Buku Didi
  50. Tasty Book Tours
  51. Readerlicious
  52. Romance Bookworm's Reviews

Giveaway Details

1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International).

Sponsor a future Kindle Fire Giveaway by signing up HERE.

Ends 8/15/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.



a Rafflecopter giveaway