Sunday, August 31, 2014

#REVIEW - #NEW Release - In Her Wake (A Ten Tiny Breaths Novella) by K A Tucker


Description:
Author’s Note: Although it is a prequel, In Her Wake is best read after completing Ten Tiny Breaths.
Before you knew him as Trent in Ten Tiny Breaths, he was Cole Reynolds—and he had it all. Until one night when he makes a fatal, wrong decision…and loses everything.
When a drunken night out at a Michigan State college party results in the death of six people, Cole must come to terms with his part in the tragedy. Normally, he’d be able to lean on his best friends—the ones who have been in his life since he could barely walk. Only, they’re gone. Worse, there’s the shattered body of a sixteen-year-old girl lying somewhere in a hospital bed, her entire life ripped from her because of a case of beer and a set of keys.
Everyone assures him that they know it wasn’t intentional, and yet he can’t ignore the weight of their gazes, the whispers behind his back. Nor can he shake the all-consuming guilt he feels every time he thinks of that girl who won’t so much as allow him near her hospital room to apologize. As the months go by and the shame and loneliness festers, Cole begins to lose his grip on what once was important—college, his girlfriend, his future. His life. It’s not until Cole hits rock-bottom that he can begin to see another way out of his personal hell: forgiveness. 
And there’s only one person who can give that to him…
My Take:
5 Stars!
You + drinking alcohol + driving = a huge NO! This requires planning, like they tried, a "DD" - (Designated Driver) and NOT one who changes their mind or sneaks in some drinks! People are counting on you, putting their lives in your hands, not the hands of someone who has been drinking, as that is the whole point of having a DD. People need to be able to trust their DD with their lives, literally.
This is a novella that tells the story about Trent (Cole, back then, prior to Ten Tiny Breaths, so it is best if you read that book first.) This is where Cole learns one of the most, or worst lessons of his life. He learns everything about a DD. If you are going to go out and party at ANY time, a holiday weekend, or just have drinks with friends, go out and drink on a day in the middle of the week, whatever you may do that involves ANY alcohol or that alcohol will be available at, then you know it is quite the norm today to plan to designate ONE responsible person to be the Designated Driver/the "DD". ONE person who will NOT be drinking ANY alcohol. It also can't hurt to have a back-up plan in case that DD screws up and drinks, like this character, Cole, did. He was supposed to be the DD, but couldn't because he ended up drinking. Now he would responsible for driving whoever was riding in the car with him since he was the DD, and they would all be risking their lives with him behind the wheel whether they knew it or not. 
Instead of Cole looking for someone that did not drink at all, or calling someone to come get him and the people he was supposed to be driving home that night, he puts his and everyone elses lives he was responsible for in danger, into the hands of a person who had been drinking all night long, his brother, Sasha.
Sasha tells Cole he could drive, that the alcohol he drank had not affected his abilities to drive at all, 'so hand over the keys, brother!' Cole tosses them over to him. Why did he do that??? Turns out Sasha was intoxicated. Later, at the hospital, after the accident, blood tests will later confirm he was double over the legal limit. No wonder there were so many deaths and injuries that happened. 
If only he could do it all over again, but differently . . . but time cannot be reversed.
Sasha veered off and over the center line of the road hitting a carload of three innocent people head-on, killing himself, the passengers in his vehicle, and  seriously injuring his brother Cole. He also ends up killing two of the people in the car he hit, and seriously injuring a third person in that car who ends up being Kacey, clinging to and fighting for her life for a long time. The only other person left alive is Cole, and he can't do a thing about anyone. He can't change what happened, and is in some serious PTSD, as anyone would be.
How's that one for guilt, and rightfully so. One huge mistake like that now has 5 people died, one was fighting for her life, and left Cole extremely injured, and reeling from guilt.
This novella allows us to get inside Cole's head and live with him after the worst decision of his life. This is the part we did not see in Ten Tiny Breaths. 
Throughout the rest of this book, we see what Cole goes through psychologically and emotionally because of the huge mistake he made of drinking when he was supposed to be the DD, and he failed, even worse was giving the keys to the car to his late brother Sasha. He has a lot of skeletons in his closet seriously haunting him over and over now. We even see Cole going after Kacey, without her knowing, of course, to make sure she is okay, and she is not either. He goes through some serious counseling with Dr Stayner, too. Something this terrible can haunt us for the rest of our lives, and I don't think it's something we'll ever forget. Thankfully, we can change the ways of our actions.
I'm glad there are books like this out there for everyone to read. Even if this book only makes the difference in ONE life, then it will be worth it's weight in gold! Many people don't understand the full picture of what drinking and driving can do to people. This book, along with Ten Tiny Breaths definitely shows what does happen. This book is worth reading, and maybe even sharing with friends! Again, it is best to read this novella AFTER reading Ten Tiny Breaths.
I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, Atria Books, and NetGalley, in exchange to read and write a review about it. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to do so, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it and giving my own honest opinion no matter whether it is positive or negative. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the law set here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html., The Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, 16 CFR 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising Federal Acquisition Regulation.

ebook: $2.99
no print book available yet

The #NYTimes Top 15 (25) #Bestsellers for the week ending 8-31-14 is POSTED!



Happy Labor Day! 
This post is up NOON every Sunday and sometimes earlier! Hopefully you will LEAVE A COMMENT and tell us what you are READING!
I hope you get a day OFF this weekend like a lot of people will be! Maybe you'll find some books here today that you can fill in some more summer reading with, too! 
I live in Michigan, and we'll have summer weather for about another three/four more weeks, or until the end of the third week of September before it starts to cool down, although, in past years, it seems we have gotten an extra week before the Fall weather starts overtaking the beautiful summer. We do already have some trees changing in color here and there at the tips of the trees. 
Fall is my favorite time of the year until all the leaves are gone and then it looks ugly! But what's right around the corner then? Thanksgiving and Christmas! Everything gets dressed up in red, green, silver and gold! 
Now there are some of you out there that who won't see a single tree turn color, those of you in the warm areas of our world! When it's so cold outside in the Winter, sometimes I wish I was where you live! in the warm areas! Move? Nah. I've lived like this all my life and really wouldn't want it any other way!

Okay! I hope all of you have a DD - Designated Driver in case you plan on having ANY alcohol to celebrate Labor Day this weekend, or ANY weekend or day throughout the year. 

Speaking of drinking and driving, this issue is addressed in the latest book, "In Her Wake", a Ten Tiny Breaths Novella 0.5, by K A Tucker - Releases Monday, Sept 1st! (Labor Day) at midnight PCT. (3:00am EST!) I'll be posting my review about this book TOMORROW! Sunday, August 31st, later in the day! Then, a few mere hours after I post it, it will be released! MANY of us have been waiting for this book for a while! We all love K A Tucker and her Ten Tiny Breaths series! By the way, this book is best read AFTER reading "Ten Tiny Breaths".
*My review for "Ten Tiny Breaths by K A Tucker" can be found HERE!



ebook: $2.99  -  and you CAN pre-order this now!
No print version of this available yet

Giveaways:
In the LEFT side-column there is the August Kindle Fire HDX Giveaway! Hurry ad enter if you haven't already! You have today/Sunday, August 31st until midnight!
DON'T WORRY, THOUGH!  I am participating in a NEW ONE for September, again! A bunch of us bloggers pay money to have spots on the Rafflecopter form so you have a chance to enter and get lucky enough to win one of these EVERY MONTH!

Blog Hops!
Oh, my! The Blog Hops are coming! NEXT ONE STARTS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd! It's the September's for Sequels Giveaway Hop! 9-2 to 9-8! From this point on there are so MANY Hops scheduled! I'll have to post them ALL on my blog tomorrow in the RIGHT SIDE COLUMN!

Reviews:
The Hidden Girl by Louise Millar I LOVED this book! A Psychological Thriller and beyond! Catch the review HERE!


Later tonight, Sunday evening, I will be posting the review for In Her Wake by K A Tucker!


On Monday, September 1st, watch for a review on an OUTSTANDING murder/mystery/psychological thriller, one unlike you've EVER read before, published by The Story Plant - What It Was Like by Peter Seth


ebook: $ 7.69
print:  $10.60
Due out on September 2nd, 2014!

Releasing Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014, for the REVIEW on the book, The Secret Place, (The Dublin Murder Squad Book 5) by Tana French! This book is excellent! I am finishing it up right now!


ebook: $11.99
print:   $17.88

Okay! On to the books!

FICTION: COMBINED EBOOK AND PRINT
ALL links take you to the ebook. If you are interested in a different version, then scroll down just a tad until you see all the different formats the books come in. When you purchase books from these links, I am an affiliate at Amazon, so I do make a very small percentage IF you purchase a book or anything else through this link, or, I even have a box in the LEFT side column for your convenience. ALL PROCEEDS GO TO GIVING BOOKS AWAY IN THE HOPS AND FOR GIVEAWAYS, and you know how MANY I do! A LOT! (I have no clue as to WHO OR WHAT you purchase.) I can say your support IS SO VERY APPRECIATED! THANK YOU!!! 

1.  Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
ebook: $4.99
print:   $7.25



2. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
ebook: $10.99
print:   $16.16



3. Mean Streak by Sandra Brown
ebook: $12.99
print:   $23.40



4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
ebook: $7.99
print:   $8.97



5. Upside Down by Fern Michaels
ebook: $2.99
no print version available



6. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
ebook: $  6.99
print:   $17.95



7. Sycamore Row by John Grisham
ebook: $6.83
print:   $7.19



8. Orphan Train by Kristina Baker Kline
ebook: $6.99
print:   $8.99



9. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
ebook: $4.99
print:   $6.04



10. Not A Drill by Lee Child
ebook: $1.99
No print edition available



11. Fifty Shades of Grey Book One by E L James
ebook: $4.99
print:   $8.97



12. COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE, by Haruki Murakami
ebook: $10.99
print:   $15.57



13. We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas
ebook: $12.74
print:   $16.80



14. The Heist by Daniel Silva
ebook: $13.99
Print:   $13.69



15. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
ebook: $10.99
Print:   $16.20


And there we have the Top 15 Bestsellers! So what are YOU reading?  Please tell us in the COMMENTS SECTION BELOW! Here are the last 10 Bestsellers which goes up to 25! Again, HAPPY LABOR DAY! STAY SAFE!

  • THE HUSBAND'S SECRET, by Liane Moriarty (Amy Einhorn/Putnam)
  • ADULTERY, by Paulo Coelho (Knopf)
  • THE 6TH EXTINCTION, by James Rollins (Morrow/HarperCollins)
  • HARD TO HOLD ON TO, by Laura Kaye (Avon Impulse)
  • LOVE LETTERS, by Debbie Macomber (Ballantine)
  • INVISIBLE, by James Patterson and David Ellis (Little, Brown)
  • THE ALCHEMIST, by Paulo Coelho (HarperCollins)
  • WINDIGO ISLAND, by William Kent Krueger (Atria)
  • NO IN BETWEEN, by Lisa Renee Jones (Gallery)
  • THE BOOK OF LIFE, by Deborah Harkness (Viking)
  • Tuesday, August 26, 2014

    REVIEW - The Hidden Girl by Louise Millar - NEW Release today, Tuesday Aug 26th, 2014!

    It's HERE! The Hidden Girl by Louise Millar is RELEASED TODAY! 
    I have intentionally planned on writing my review of this book 'for today', the release date of August 26th, and have been DYING to share this with you!
    This is one of the BEST psychological thrillers I've read in a "l o n g" time! So here it is!

    There are two covers for this book, and I'm going to share both with you, the Publisher's description, Atria, then my review about this AMAZING 5+ STAR Psychological Thriller that made me pull an ALL-nighter!


        
                                              AND



    So which cover do you like better? I LOVE number ONE! Both covers are fitting for this book, but the darkness with the girl in the lower left area draws me in more, especially as you are reading it and you see her doing what looks like she's crouched down, looks scared! Eerie!

    DESCRIPTION:
    Hannah Riley moves into the English countryside from London in the hopes of creating a perfect home for the child she's been longing for. She and her husband, Will, are beginning the process of adopting a baby, and Hannah throws herself into renovating the drafty rural manor into an idyllic refuge for her family. But there are secrets hiding even beneath the most perfect facades. But there are secrets hiding even beneath the most perfect facades. As Hannah's increasing obsession with her mysterious neighbors grows and the worst snowstorm in years cuts her off from Will (who is facing marital temptations of his own), Hannah realizes that her dreams of the future aren't the only things at stake, and she finds herself in deeper danger than she EVER imagined. 

    My Take:
    5+++++ Stars!
    I LOVED this book! No one and nothing could tear me apart from reading this book, as soon as I started reading it! In fact, I pulled an all-nighter because I could not/did not want to stop reading this book! I ended up finishing it at 6:00am the next morning, and it was THAT good! Was it worth messing up my sleep schedule for the next few days? Oh, YES!!! This book is such an AMAZING Psychological Thriller! The writing pulls you in, the storyline makes you want/need to know what is going to happen next. This author has you snagged! This author really knows how to mess with our heads! She just continues to keep the reader glued to the pages making us to continue to flip them with all of the twists and turns in this story. We need to know what is going to happen at the next, so we have to keep flipping the pages as fast as we can! So what happens in this book that makes it SO GOOD? Here it is with NO SPOILERS!
    Hannah and her husband Will are now done trying to conceive a child on their own. The resulting pregnancies are never 'viable' even with the 'best of the best' professionals out there. They have tried everything, including Invitro Fertilization three times, and now the doctors suggest they stop after three unsuccessful attempts. Hannah feels as if it's her fault she cannot bear children. Since everything else has failed, they continue on in life, but Hannah is determined to have children even if they have to adopt, and, adopt it is! They had one child all set to adopt, and out of the blue it fell through. She could not take that chance again. 
    To improve the odds of Hannah and her husband getting a child, she feels buying a house instead of renting an apartment would be much better and make a better impression for the Social Workers or even the birth parents. They end up buying a fixer-upper out in the country in Suffolk, away from the busy city of London, plus it also happens to be near Will's family, his sister's house. She and her husband have several children, they would be blocks away, and this can only be more of a positive for Hannah and Will. It can't get any better than this! Yes, it will be a little drive for Will going back and forth to and from London every day, but he can do it. When the weather is bad, he can stay overnight in his office or with one of his buddies he works with if need be. 
    I felt Will is somewhat of a jerk at times towards Hannah. Will puts himself first, and everyone else comes last. He blows off Hannah's concerns and doesn't give her the time he should, and at the same time he blames her for wanting 'everything needs to be perfect' mantra over and over and over. He headed out to London and was going to stop at the store to buy food since that was the one thing they did not have, but he doesn't come home on purpose that night after work, and Hannah's needs are left second to none, again. (Grrrrr! Jerk! This did leave me wondering why she would want to have a family with 'him'.)
    Hannah, now out in Suffolk, alone, with horrid cell service, is in their new fixer-upper, working away. Hannah has 9 days until the Social Worker, Barbara, from the Adoption Agency, is coming out to their home to make sure the house, along with the both of them are all set and ready to adopt a child when one becomes available. 
    Hannah is in high gear and is pumped up. She is painting like crazy, all one color, freshening it up whether it needs it or not, and works late into every night so she can get it all done. Why isn't Will helping her more?
    While Hannah is working around the house, she starts to think she's heard things. Noises. She blows it off and continues on working, but out of the corner of her eye thought she saw someone IN her house. No, can't be. Everything is locked. She double checks, but can't find her keys. Are they LOST? How? What did she do with them? She can't believe she could lose something as important as her keys. 
    Hannah meets a neighbor, Dex, an odd sort of fellow. He helps her out and she is very grateful for it. They exchange phone numbers for later, just in case as you never know . . . Hannah meets her neighbors on the other side of her, and they a little strange, too, but Hannah blows it off to living where they do. Hannah also gets to meet a few to meet a few other people, too, and she starts to feel like she's fitting in now. There is only one problem. Later, her one neighbor, Dex, is turning out not to be who he claims he is. Hmmm? Now, a long string of strange events start to happen. 
    Where is Will? This is where it starts to really get good and you'll lose sleep over reading! Where are her keys again?
    A snowstorm hits. Everyone is snowed in and are pretty much paralyzed from the amount of snow that fell. They haven't seen record setting snow like this in a long time, decades. Roads are impassable, and Will is stuck in London, and Hannah is still stuck at the house, alone. She still has no food. She was waiting for Will to bring it home with him, but now since the snowstorm, he is stuck in London. Now she is practically down to bread crumbs, a can of tuna, and a few other tiny things. Will really should get his butt in gear and try to find a way to get home to her? Come on, Will! Hannah needs you! Ugh! Yes, I was yelling at him while reading the book!
    Now Hannah does see a person IN her house. She knows what she saw, and this IS a person! Now, all kinds of things start to happen. The worse thing, again, is she barely has ANY cell phone service out where they are living, and what they do have is all choppy. She can't make a call out for help, and no one can call her, and the keys . . . and the person IN her house! Things are going crazy now and the Social Worker, Barbara, whom Hannah has been breaking her neck fixing up the house for, will still be here in how many days now? 
    The house is not finished, and the problems that have crept up on her are not going away. The safety of her life is in jeopardy.
    This book is an excellent 'on the edge of your seat' psychological thriller! One of the best this year! I can see this appealing to everyone who love this genre, and I can also easily see this hitting the bestseller list! Watch for it! This is one book you should NOT PASS UP! You will remember it for a long time to come!
    Thank you +Atria Books ! I LOVE your authors/books! Yes, Atria provided this book for me to read and write a review, but so many times when I go to pick up a new book, guess who the publisher is? Yep! Atria! Again, thank you, @AtriaBooks!
    I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, Atria Books, and NetGalley. Around the same time I was completely surprised to receive a beautiful ARC mailed to my home as a 'thank you' for reviewing their books, which was a HUGE and wonderful surprise! (This is how I unknowingly ended up with the two copies of this book! An ebook and an ARC. Atria Books sure KNOWS what I LOVE to read!) in exchange to read and write a review about this book. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read and write a review about this book, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it and giving my own honest opinion no matter whether it is positive or negative. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the law set here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html., The Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, 16 CFR 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising Federal Acquisition Regulation.



    ebook:  $ 9.73
    print:   $11.47

    Monday, August 25, 2014

    Read-A-Thon #boutofbooks11 is now OVER! This is my WRAP-UP POST - Day 7!


    This Read-A-Thon was sponsored by Bout of Books and some Challenges were sponsored by other blogs. Those sponsors are stated on every Post I have written - where I have thanked them for sponsoring that Challenge!

    This Read-A-Thon is now OVER! Time for a WRAP-UP POST, SO READ ON!

    I participated in several of the Challenges, and if you want to see which ones, you can click on these posts which are in the Archives and see what I did! Each day I wrote ONE post which included BOTH the Challenge and the Update, so it should be easy for you to find the posts in the Archive under the month of August!

    As for reading - the original post of books I was going to read was HERE!, and boy did the list change! My mood changed and I wanted to read a different book! You can read MORE about this book HERE! - it's called In Her Wake by K A Tucker! It is at the END of the post. It is a prequel to Ten Tiny Breaths by K A Tucker, and should be read after Ten Tiny Breaths. Two of the books I did NOT read, and I added one I will post what I read HERE in this post!

    The FIRST book I read was:

    The Hatmaker's Heart by Carla Stewart
    Started this book Monday, 8-18-14
    Finished it Tuesday, 8-19-14
    320 pages



    The second book I read was: 

    The Hidden Girl by Louise Millar
    Started 8-19-14 after finishing the above book
    Finished Wednesday, 8-20-14
    400 pages




    The third book I read was:

    What It Was Like by Peter Seth
    Started this on Thursday, 8-21-14
    Finished this on Saturday, 8-23-14
    462 pages



    The fourth book I 'started' (and highlighted because it will be a NEW Release on Tuesday, September 2nd!) is:
    In Her Wake by K A Tucker
    Started: 8-24-14
    NOT finished for this Challenge.
    I only got to 34% on the Kindle which I figured out each % was 4 pages, so that would make it around about 136 pages.
    This NEW book releases on Tuesday, September 2nd! 



    Total books read: 3.5
    Pages read: 1,316
    Reviews to follow this week and next on their Release Dates!

    This was my progress from day-to-day:
    MONDAY: HERE
    TUESDAY: HERE!
    WEDNESDAY:  HERE! 
    THURSDAY:  HERE!
    FRIDAY: HERE!
    SATURDAY: HERE!
    SUNDAY: HERE!
    WRAP-UP POST:  HERE! 


    I LOVED this Read-A-Thon! What will I change for next time? Well, if it is a book for review and the publisher wants the review posted ON the Release Date, I WILL write the review for MYSELF immediately AFTER finishing the book. I'm already starting to forget some of the TINY details of the first book, although I didn't thin as highly of the first book as I did the 2nd and especially the 3rd books I read!
    That is the ONLY thing I would change! OH! WAIT! I want to do ALL of the Challenges next time! I LOVED doing the Challenges! So, TWO things to do different next time!
    I also learned a LOT about HOW this challenge WORKS! How we post that day for the PREVIOUS day, which is only right because you could possibly finish a book like I did, and then the stats would have been off!
    I also learned to keep the Challenge posts SEPARATE from the UPDATE posts! I combined both together in ONE post each day, and I should NOT have done that. Oh, well. Next time I WILL keep them separate!
    Again, HUGE THANKS to Bout of Books! Can't WAIT until the next Read-A-Thon!
    Bye for now!
    Laurie

    Sunday, August 24, 2014

    Read-A-Thon #boutofbooks CHALLENGE Day 7 and Reading Update Day 6!


    Hi Everyone! Today is the LAST DAY of the Read-A-Thon with Bout of Books sponsoring this, along with other blogs helping to sponsor the Challenges! Here is the LAST Challenge!

    After the Challenge I'll tell you how my reading went yesterday! Tomorrow we WILL have one more post - a wrap-up post!

    Copied and pasted from Taking Steps Into Another World, here is the Challenge:


    It is 11:00 PM on a Sunday night. You are laying in bed thinking about all of the things you must do the next day. Tasks of the coming days consume your thoughts and while your mind is somewhere else you are caught off guard by a flash in the sky that is followed by a large wailing screech that pierces the air and shatters your bedroom window. Slowly you move to the window and what you see catches your breathe and causes you to stumble back a few steps. The aliens (at least you think they are aliens) have began to enter the city and destroy everything that is in their path. Through the window your view is consumed with destruction, screaming people and large flames that are dancing across the city at a fast pace. You notice that the creatures are heading in your direction and you realize you probably have about fifteen minutes before they reach your home. That means you have only about ten minutes to gather your belongings and escape before you are caught in the attack from the aliens invading the city.
    Given the short amount of time you are only able to take 5 books with you. What books would you pick to take with you as you escape and prepare for the end of the world. Would you choose books that would help you survive in the post-apocalyptic world ,books for pleasure that would make you happy and take you to a fantasy reality or books that you can’t live without?
    Okay. Not everyone will survive the end of the world, so some of us will have to turn into writers. So this is what I would bring with me, and while still only a reader, I use a few of these a LOT!
    1. My dictionary
    2. My Thesaurus
    3. My Book of Positive Quotes - I LOVE quotes!
    4. A HUGE book of blank pages because I like to write things down or doodle, plus we might have to get NEW people to start writing if our books get wiped out!
    5. The Bible - there are enough stories in there to last a lifetime and longer - we’ll NEVER run out! Plus, there are so many ways to interpret the Bible, it’s NEVERENDING!

    *****************************************************************

    *READING UPDATE:
    I finished it! Yep! All 462 pages of this one! I finished What It Was Like” by Peter Seth, releasing September 2nd! I loved, loved, loved this book! You’ll have to come back to my blog ON September 1st to read the review, OR, just go and pre-order your copy NOW! Here’s a snippet about the book! I was ADDICTED, MESMERIZED, ATTACHED, I LITERALLY COULD 'NOT' PUT THIS BOOK DOWN, AND I EVEN HAD A HARD TIME WRITING ANOTHER BLOG POST I WANTED TO FINISH THIS BOOK SO BAD! It's AMAZING! I even 'intentionally' lost sleep reading this book, 'on purpose' because I HAD to read it! I HAD to see HOW this book ended!
    When I couldn't read this book, I MISSED it! I've come across some books that I've missed while not reading them, but NOTHING compares to how MUCH I missed this one!
    There is the snippet about this book after the cover! I think it will appeal to ANY AGE, but would suggest 17+, and to ANYONE who LOVES AN ADDICTING LOVE STORY YOU CANNOT PUT DOWN! However, this book does get a little on the dark side with his girlfriend's behavior, and it BLOWS YOUR MIND! "Intense" is the PERFECT descriptive word for this book! The writing - PERFECTION!
    After finishing this book, I finally went to sleep! NO KIDDING!

    DESCRIPTION:

    “It’s really a very simple story. What happened was this: I met this girl and did a very stupid thing. I fell in love. Hard. I know that to some people that makes me an idiot and a loser. What can I say? They’re right. I did some extremely foolish things; I’m the first to say it. And they’ve left me in jail and alone.”

    So begins one of the most compelling, emotionally charged, and affecting novels you are likely to read this year.

    It is the summer of 1968 and a young man takes a job at a camp in upstate New York before starting his first semester at Columbia University. There, he meets Rachel Price, a fellow counselor who is as beautiful as she is haunted. Their romance will burn with a passion neither of them has ever known before…a passion with the power to destroy.

    In the tradition of Endless Love and Gone GirlWhat it was Like is an intimate, raw, and revealing journey through the landscape of all-consuming love. It announces the debut of a remarkable storyteller.

    This book has 9 - '5-Star' Reviews so far, and you may as well make that 10 after I send my review into the publisher! (The publisher is The Story Plant!) They have been able to post some reviews for this book from their end already!

    I know I am GUSHING over this book, and I am because it deserves to be gushed about! ANY ONE of you will LOVE this book!

    This book IS available for Pre-Order NOW on Amazon. Releases September 2nd!
    Ages: 17+
    462 AMAZING pages
    The ebook is: $  7.69
    The print is:   $10.60


    This book was the ONLY book I was buried in on Friday and Saturday! It's the ONLY book I WANTED to be buried in! I will read this book a second time, I LOVED it SO much! (I don't EVER want to reread a books a second time around, but this one, oh yeah!!!)

    I am writing this as of Sunday, August 24th. I have picked up a NEW book today, another love story, but my heart is NOWHERE NEARLY into it like it was with this book. This new one is a love story, too, but I can tell you it's going to take on HECK of a new book to catch my interest like this one did, and one I can enjoy. I MISS this book!

    I'll see you tomorrow with our LAST UPDATE for today's reading (Sunday)!
    Have a GREAT one!
    Laurie

    The #NYTimes Top 15 (25) #Bestsellers combined ebook and print for the week ending 8-24-14!


    Welcome! Thanks for coming by to see another posting of the BEST of the BEST books for this week ending today! August 24th, 2014! This post is always posted by Sunday at NOON and sometimes earlier!

    A few announcements before we get to the books!

    #GIVEAWAYS - In the LEFT SIDE COLUMN!

    Clear Your Shelf #Giveaway Hop - in the LEFT side column - runs until Wednesday, August 27th to midnight! Get your hopping done!

    I've been participating in a Read-A-Thon #boutofbooks11 this week which can be found at Bout of Books if you want to check it out for the NEXT Read-A-Thon! They have several a year! I have to admit, I am LOVING this! After I get done with THIS POST I am going to finish the less than a quarter of the book I have left to read! To be honest, this book is SO GOOD, I've been reading it here and there while I'm writing this post and I find I'm sneaking more than just a little of it, too! LOL! There, I was honest with you! It just blows your mind the way the character, Rachel, acts! Wow! This is a book you are going to crave reading it once you start! Where has this author been??? Thank you, Peter Seth, for finally bringing this to us!!! This author's writing keeps you entranced! You cannot put this book down! I see a nice, long writing career for him.

    This post. I have been getting it posted BEFORE 9:00pm "every" weekend lately, when Blogger sends it out to the people who follow me via GFC (I much prefer Bloglovin if you want to switch, please do so!!) and did I make it this week? NO! Have I EVER gone on and on and on about a book like this before IN THIS POST? NO!!! I just CANNOT STOP READING THIS BOOK, and it's no small book! ALL 462 pages of it is OUTSTANDING! I keep sneaking in a few pages at a time while I'm writing this post, too! 
    I also REALLY screwed up the laundry these past two days, too! I washed ONE load 3 times because I thought I kept forgetting if I put it through a second rinse or not before the dryer! LOL! This book is amazing! I HAVE to share this one with you, it's THAT GOOD!!! 

    What book am I talking about? Only the BEST book I've read ALL YEAR! It is:

     "What It Was Like" by Peter Seth with gratitude to +The Story Plant ! 

    See the cover of this book below! 462 pages.

    Release Date is Monday, September 1st, 2014!

    You ARE going to want to pre-order this book either ebook or print book! What is going to be hard for me is writing the review so I don't give ANYTHING away! You've GOT to come into this book blind just like I did, or, only read this description below! Be careful about reading the reviews so nothing is ruined for your when you go to read it because this book IS OUTSTANDING! I feel this book is a masterpiece of writing! It is a love story, a mystery/psychological Thriller, and did I say a LOVE story, again? It is so engrossing! 
    Did you LOVE Summer Camp when you were young? Remember some of the Counselors ended up together? That's what happens with these two! Get ready to bring some of those memories back!

    DESCRIPTION:
    “It’s really a very simple story. What happened was this: I met this girl and did a very stupid thing. I fell in love. Hard. I know that to some people that makes me an idiot and a loser. What can I say? They’re right. I did some extremely foolish things; I’m the first to say it. And they’ve left me in jail and alone.”

    So begins one of the most compelling, emotionally charged, and affecting novels you are likely to read this year.

    It is the summer of 1968 and a young man takes a job at a camp in upstate New York before starting his first semester at Columbia University. There, he meets Rachel Price, a fellow counselor who is as beautiful as she is haunted. Their romance will burn with a passion neither of them has ever known before…a passion with the power to destroy.

    In the tradition of Endless Love and Gone GirlWhat it was Like is an intimate, raw, and revealing journey through the landscape of all-consuming love. It announces the debut of a remarkable storyteller.

    This book IS available for Pre-Order NOW on Amazon! 
    The ebook is: $  7.69
    The print is:   $10.60
    What It Was Like by Peter Seth - Pre-Order HERE!



    You can learn MORE and SEE MORE of the books I have read in this Read-A-Thon HERE! You can also see all the posts in the Archive along the RIGHT side column. Every day is different!
    I really switched the books I was going to read! I showed some and changed what I was going to read next! LOL! This book was always on the list, and boy, am I GLAD I am reading this one NOW! So far it's my FAVORITE! This book ROCKS!!! Grab this one and add it to your "To Read List" because you MUST read this one!

    Okay! Let's get to the books!

    FICTION: COMBINED EBOOK AND PRINT
    ALL links take you to the ebook version of every book. If you are interested in a different version than the ebook, go ahead and click on the version you want that is in the grey box and it will take you directly there! Enjoy!

    1.  Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
    ebook: $4.99
    print:   $7.99



    2. Love Letters (A Rose Harbor Novel) by Debbie Macomber
    ebook: $10.99
    print:   $15.85



    3. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
    ebook: $10.99
    print:   $16.16



    4. The 6th Extinction by James Rollins
    ebook: $13.99
    print:   $20.50



    5. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage: A novel by Haruki Murakami
    ebook: $10.99
    print:   $15.57



    6. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
    ebook: $7.99
    print:   $8.97



    7. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
    ebook: $  6.99
    print:   $18.00



    8. Fifty Shades of Grey Book One by E L James
    ebook: $4.99
    print:   $8.97



    9. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
    ebook: $6.99
    print:   $9.46



    10. Not A Drill by Lee Child
    ebook version only: $1.99



    11. The Heist by Daniel Silva
    ebook: $13.99
    print:   $14.39



    12. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer
    ebook: $10.99
    print:   $16.20



    13. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
    ebook: $4.99
    print:   $6.04



    14. Invisible by James Patterson and David Ellis
    ebook: $  8.99
    print:   $16.80



    15. The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness
    ebook: $10.99
    print:   $17.27


    And there we have our Top 15 books for this past week! What are YOU reading? PLEASE - LEAVE A COMMENT and tell us what YOU are reading! What is your favorite book for the month of August so far? Well, here are the rest of the books, up to #25! A "SHOUT-OUT" TO +Colleen Hoover CONGRATULATIONS, AGAIN!!! This week Ugly Love is at #19! I LOVE her writing!!! Here they are: 



  • THE HUSBAND'S SECRET, by Liane Moriarty (Amy Einhorn/Putnam)


  • FIFTY SHADES DARKER, by E. L. James (Vintage)


  • FOOL'S ASSASSIN, by Robin Hobb (Del Rey)


  • UGLY LOVE, by Colleen Hoover (Atria)


  • INDESTRUCTIBLE, by Angela Graham (Angela Graham)


  • TOM CLANCY: SUPPORT AND DEFEND, by Mark Greaney (Putnam)


  • ACT OF WAR, by Brad Thor (Emily Bestler/Atria)


  • DYLAN'S REDEMPTION, by Jennifer Ryan (Avon Impulse)


  • THE SILKWORM, by Robert Galbraith (Mulholland/Little, Brown)


  • AN EVENT IN AUTUMN, by Henning Mankell (Vintage)