Welcome to "Laurie Here - Contemporary Fiction and MORE - Book Reviews"! Join me and let's escape life into the wonderful world of books getting lost between the covers where the lives of the characters live and their amazing stories take place for a little while! Let's learn about the authors, too! I write "honest" book reviews about my experiences and tell you how the trip was! You may want to follow along with me, too! Leave a comment while you're here, too!
Saturday, August 29, 2015
The #NYTimes Top 15 (20) #Bestsellers for the #week ending 8-30-15! Plus #BLOG UPDATES!
Welcome! It's been another week of GREAT #BOOKS and #READING! Or at least I sure HOPE you've had some GREAT reading! I sure have! WOW!!! This post is ALWAYS up by NOON every Sunday and most of the time earlier!
Just to give you all an update, these last two weeks I had two discs slip over and under each other in my back. Needless to say, it was the MOST painful thing I have EVER felt - or at least it's on par with a sudden onset of severe muscle spasms that won't let up. I screamed it was SO painful. ALL I did was walk to my chair (7-8 steps is about all I can do at a time) went to set down 2 pieces of paper, I was on the phone with my son when I blew the discs. I have been unable to walk, and been stuck in my recliner. (I had 'just' gotten back in my bed, too, with a special mattress topper after the last several years of NOT being able to sleep in it! Grrrrr!) It does not take much AT ALL at times when discs are going to go.
Letting you know I was not able to get to the post office to mail off books (I can't leave it to my hubby to do or I don't know if you would get the right books you won! LOL! Seriously, though.) There are some books and ebooks that come from myself and some from the publishers, but I was in such pain, I wasn't even able to contact the publishers just this past week. This STINKS! I have not experienced this before. Like my doctor says, they go when they're ready to go. They moved, one slipped underneath of the one, but I had to wait for them to slip back into their space where they belong - YOW!!!!!!
Anyway, it took a few days before I could even read, so here is a recap of this week and what posts I did and the giveaways that are going on!
THIS PAST WEEK:
Come enter the book giveaway "I'm Not Her" by Cara Sue Achterberg until 9-1! Enter HERE!
Stacking the Shelves from the week before HERE has most of the NEW RELEASES coming up this week! Also, there are a few more HERE from THIS WEEK! ALMOST ALL WITH GIVEAWAYS! Watch the blog OR my Facebook page!
REVIEW: Come Away With Me by Karma Brown
This COMING WEEK:
WOW!!! NEW RELEASES with #GIVEAWAYS!!! Starting Monday and Tuesday! SO MANY ARE COMING! Stay tuned!
Let's hit the books!
FICTION: EBOOK AND PRINT
1. Friction by Sandra Brown
ebook: $12.99
print: $12.33
2. The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins
ebook: $4.99 - GRAB THIS "NOW" AT THIS PRICE!!
print: $8.10
3. The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir
ebook: $1.99 - WOW! Grab this NOW at this price!!
print: $9.00
4. Go Set a Watchman: A Novel by Harper Lee
ebook:$13.99
print: $16.07
5. Small Wars: A Jack Reacher Story (Kindle Single) by Lee Child
ebook - kindle single: $1.99
no print version
6. The Murderer's Daughter: A Novel by Jonathan Kellerman
ebook: $12.31
print: $ 8.71
7. Gray Mountain: A Novel by John Grisham
ebook: $7.83
print: $8.24
8. Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian by E L James
ebook: $2.99
print: $9.83
9. Alert by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
ebook: $14.99
print: $12.96
10. All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony Doerr
ebook: $13.99
print: $12.03
11. Four Week Fiancé by Helen Cooper and JS Cooper
ebook: $3.99
No print version available
12. Who Do You Love: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner
ebook: $12.99
print: $16.00
13. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
ebook: $8.99
print: $6.99
14. Love After Dark, McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 13 by Marie Force
ebook: $ 4.99
print: $14.38
15. Circling the Sun: A Novel by Paula Mclain
ebook: $11.43
print: $15.71
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a GREAT week of reading coming up! Here are the rest of the books, up to #20!
Laurie
SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL, by Jamie McGuire (Jamie McGuire)
SILVER LININGS, by Debbie Macomber (Ballantine)
BIG LITTLE LIES, by Liane Moriarty (Amy Einhorn/Putnam)
COCKY BASTARD, by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland (C. Scott Publishing)
LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE, by Jessica Knoll (Simon & Schuster)
Friday, August 28, 2015
Stacking the Shelves for the week ending Friday, August 28th #2
Hi Everyone!! Looks like this post will work best for me to write it on Fridays, at the end of the week. I'll have all the books I'll be getting for the week, and can show you! So, here are the WONDERFUL books I received this week for review! I am also going to include the ones I bought for myself, too! (I don't ever know when I'll get the time to read for myself, but when I can, the books are there ready and waiting!!)
Last Sunday I had a disc slip out of place in my low back that evening. (All I did was set two papers down on my chair!!! HOW? What the heck???) I literally felt the discs slide over each other - EEK!!! Strange!!! Weird!!! Painful!!!!! The hardest part though is I was unable to read for about 2-1/2 days the pain was SO severe, I probably looked like a ZOMBIE I hurt SO bad! Phew!!! I'm feeling MUCH better now, I'm back at it!! So, here we go!
This is the 2nd copy of this book I have received in the last few weeks, so you KNOW what this means, right? It will be #GIVEAWAY TIME!!!! It came in the mail on Wednesday! I was surprised!! It is: "All the Difference, A Novel, by Leah Ferguson"!
Due to release September 1st, you'll have to come by to ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
The paperwork that comes with this book says, 'a book for everyone who has ever asked themselves, "What if?". Hmmm!'
This book is HUGE! The publisher is SUPER talking about it, and it's ALL the rage! I have just started reading it, so I don't have an opinion YET, but I sure will say so far it's pretty darned great! The premise is great! The character gets to make a decision, and through the next two chapters, we get to find out how her decision would have turned out had she decided to make that decision either way! I'm off to read it now!
DESCRIPTION:
New Year’s Eve. A time for resolutions. A chance to make a change. And for thirty-year-old Molly Sullivan, a night that will transform her life forever…
All it takes is one word—yes or no—to decide Molly’s future. As the clock counts down to midnight and the ball slowly begins to drop, Molly’s picture-perfect boyfriend gets down on one knee and asks her to marry him. She knows she should say yes, especially considering the baby-sized surprise she just discovered she’s carrying. But something in her heart is telling her to say no…
Now, Molly’s future can follow two very different paths: one where she stays with her baby’s father, despite her misgivings and his family’s unreasonable expectations, and one where she ventures out on her own as a single mother, embracing all the hardships that come with it.
And by the time the next New Year is rung in, Molly will know which choice was right—following her head or listening to her heart…
EBOOKS I BOUGHT FOR MYSELF:
Since I was SO lucky and got the book, The Sisters of Versailles, A Novel, by Sally Christie, she put the bug into me making me crave MORE stories like that one! I bought these books,
Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen: The Story of Elizabeth of York Kindle Edition by Samantha Wilcoxson - NEWLY released on August 18, 2015!
AND
Of Noble Birth by Brenda Novak - released May 14th, 2014
AND
The Forgotten Sister Mary Bennett's Pride and Prejudice by Jennifer Paynter
Ah, those should satisfy my cravings to read about those times and subjects! Here are two more I bought, and added to the sales of these bestesllers!
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
AND
Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica (notice the book above this one is by the same author) They BOTH sound REALLY good!
EBOOKS I BOUGHT FOR MYSELF:
Since I was SO lucky and got the book, The Sisters of Versailles, A Novel, by Sally Christie, she put the bug into me making me crave MORE stories like that one! I bought these books,
Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen: The Story of Elizabeth of York Kindle Edition by Samantha Wilcoxson - NEWLY released on August 18, 2015!
AND
Of Noble Birth by Brenda Novak - released May 14th, 2014
AND
The Forgotten Sister Mary Bennett's Pride and Prejudice by Jennifer Paynter
Ah, those should satisfy my cravings to read about those times and subjects! Here are two more I bought, and added to the sales of these bestesllers!
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
AND
Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica (notice the book above this one is by the same author) They BOTH sound REALLY good!
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
#REVIEW and #NEW #RELEASE today, 8-25! "Come Away With Me" by Karma Brown!
DESCRIPTION:
One minute, Tegan Lawson has everything she could hope for: an adoring husband, Gabe, and a baby on the way. The next, a patch of black ice causes a devastating accident that will change her life in ways she never could have imagined.
Tegan is consumed by grief, not to mention her anger toward Gabe, who was driving on the night of the crash. But just when she thinks she's hit rock bottom, Gabe reminds her of their Jar of Spontaneity, a collection of their dream destinations and experiences, and so begins an adventure of a lifetime.
From the bustling markets of Thailand to the flavors of Italy to the ocean waves in Hawaii, Tegan and Gabe embark on a journey to escape the tragedy and search for forgiveness. But they soon learn that grief follows you no matter how far away you run, and that acceptance comes when you least expect it.
Heartbreaking, hopeful and utterly transporting, Come Away with Me is an unforgettable debut and a luminous celebration of the strength of the human spirit.
MY TAKE:
4 STARS!
Just as childless couple Tegan and Gabe can no longer take the devastation of losing yet another pregnancy, they do again, and this time it is because of an automobile accident.
To help stop the blame game each of them is putting the other through yet again, and to help stop the great strain this huge loss is putting negatively on their marriage, this game of mounting anger is growing larger as they do more finger pointing at the other and all of this beginning to take control over and ruin their relationship "if they allow it." They do not want their marriage ruined, so they get their ‘Jar of Spontaneity’ down and choose 3 papers from inside it.
This is a glass jar they have both put origami folded papers into that have a written destination on that one day they want to travel to together during their lifetime. Places they want to go to to get away from it all, just the two of them, together. Now was the time to start to using this, not waiting until they were retired or at any other time. So they blindly pulled three papers out to go to three places. Thailand, Italy, and finally Hawaii to try to escape, to put their marriage back together, and overcome the loss of another child.
What Tegan has learned from this travel, and the sorriest part of all, is no matter how hard you try to run and escape grief, it is still there, rearing it’s ugly head, leaving you feel as if you just lost everything you had, again, all over again, because you just did.
This story was so beautifully written, you felt as if you were at every destination this couple traveled to. This author does such a wonderful job of capturing every little beautiful detail of everything, I highly recommend reading this book for that, alone. If you want to take in the wonderful senses and sites this couple travels to, I can see you going along for this trip for that, alone.
At the end of this story . . . as all books do end . . . will literally leave you hanging . . . with your mouth dropped open towards the floor. It sure did me. I’ve never read anything like this before. Even if you don’t like to travel to these places, or have already been there and don’t think you could get a thing out of this book, READ THIS! You will get SO MUCH out of this book! This is all I am going to tell you as I am going to leave the rest to you to learn about. Enjoy! Remember, it IS ALWAYS the little things that DO matter in life!
I would like to thank the publisher, Harlequin/Mira, and NetGalley, for giving me the amazing opportunity to get to read and review this title for them! Thank you!
Come Away with Me by Karma Brown
ebook: $7.49
print: $8.96
***Advance Praise
“One woman's journey through grief becomes the journey of a lifetime, in Karma Brown's adventurous, heartbreaking, yet ultimately hopeful novel. This emotional love story will stick with you long after you've turned the final page. “
—Colleen Oakley, author of Before I Go
“Come Away with Me tells the heartbreaking yet hopeful tale of a life lost and a life reclaimed. Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love will flock to this novel…. Karma Brown is a talented new voice in women's fiction.”
–Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List
“Karma Brown has written a book that will make you feel like you've traveled the world without leaving your seat. Come Away with Me is full of lush locations, memorable characters, and a turn of events that is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Brown's work is as smart as it is effortless to read.”
–Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do
"I was already emotionally invested in this beautifully written story of love and loss when an unexpected turn of events knocked the wind right out of me. Heart-wrenching yet hopeful, Come Away with Me had me smiling through my tears."
–Tracey Garvis Graves, New York Times bestselling author of On the Island.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
The #NYTimes Top 15 (20) #Bestsellers in #Fiction combined #ebook and #print week ending 8-23-15 PLUS BLOG UPDATES!
***HELP SAVE PLANNED PARENTHOOD BELOW at the end of this post!!
PLEASE scroll down to the end of this post and see what I reblogged and from what blog! The government WANTS TO SHUT DOWN PLANNED PARENTHOOD! WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE WHO AND WHAT YOU CAN DO!
THANK YOU!!!
Welcome! It's been another GREAT week for books and I hope you are reading some awesome books! This post is posted EVERY Sunday by NOON and most of the time earlier! Stay tuned HERE FOR ALL BLOG UPDATES, TOO!
This coming week will start with a 'FEW' New Releases! Tuesday, August 25th, starts with Robyn Carr's A Thunderpoint Novel, Wildest Dreams, #9
Watch for the review AND the praise! HOT guy on the cover!!! I'll take him! LOL!
"Come Away With Me" by Karma Brown! I didn't show that book, but watch for it this Tuesday!
The following Monday and Tuesday, September 1st and 2nd, be prepared for a TON of NEW RELEASES EVERYWHERE!!! Giveaways are planned for HERE, too! :)
Check out my NEW "Stacking the Shelves" post hosted by Tynga's Review HERE!! I am going to try to remember to post EVERY Friday as long as I get books in the mail!
A #GIVEAWAY IS GOING ON now for: I'm Not Her by Cara Sue Achterberg HERE!! OR click in the UPPER LEFT COLUMN ON THE BOOK COVER and it includes the review! This Giveaway ENDS ON 9-1! Get your entries in!
Okay! Let's hit the books!
FICTION: EBOOK AND PRINT - Remember, when you purchase books through this blog, it helps fund the Giveaways! Either be it books or postage to get them to you, or purchasing brand NEW books for you, I do it all! It's always nice to have some help to get them to you! Purchase through the links, please!!
1. Go Set a Watchman: A Novel by Harper Lee
ebook: $13.99
print: $16.07
2. The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins
ebook: $6.99
print: $8.03
3. Silver Linings: A Rose Harbor Novel by Debbie Macomber
ebook: $11.43
print: $16.52
4. Who Do You Love: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner
ebook: $12.99
print: $ 8.70
5. Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian by E L James
ebook: $7.99
print: $9.83
6. Alert by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
ebook: $14.99
print: $12.96
7. All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony Doerr
ebook: $13.99
print: $12.03
8. The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir
ebook: $6.99
print: $9.00
9. Flesh and Blood: A Scarpetta Novel (Kay Scarpetta Series Book 22) Patricia Cornwell
ebook: $ 9.99
print: $12.99
10. State of Fear by Michael Crichton
ebook: $ .99
print: $10.67
11. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
ebook: $8.99
print: $6.29
12. Circling the Sun: A Novel by Paula McLain
ebook: $11.43
print: $15.71
13. Devil's Bridge (Alex Cooper) by Linda Fairstein
ebook: $11.84
print: $17.81
14. Code of Conduct: A Thriller (Scot Harvath Book 14) by Brad Thor
ebook: $ 9.99
print: $10.27
15. Luckiest Girl Alive: A Novel by Jessica Knoll
ebook: $11.99
print: $11.72
Thanks for coming by again this weekend! And the rest of the books are:
DARK PLACES, by Gillian Flynn (Broadway)
FOOL'S QUEST, by Robin Hobb (Del Rey)
ACCUSED, by Lisa Scottoline (St. Martin's)
THE ARRANGEMENT 20, by H. M. Ward (Laree Bailey)
FOURTH DEBT, by Pepper Winters (Pepper Winters)
PLANNED PARENTHOOD IS READY TO BE CHOPPED OFF THE BLOCK BY OUR LOVELY GOVERNMENT THIS MONDAY, AUGUST 24th, 2015!!!
PLEASE, DON'T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!!!
HERE IS INFO TO HELP!!
This is a re-blog/a copy and paste from the blog, http://www.meanprogressive.com/2015/07/pp.html I saw this on Google+ and I NEED to help!! I cannot sit here knowing there IS MEDICAL HELP FOR WOMEN, but the government wants to cut it??? Because the people who use it are single women who cannot afford medical insurance OR NEED to have regular screenings for breast cancer, etc. This is NOT RIGHT!!!
Have a moment with the information above. Imagine how many Medicaid patients in rural areas would immediately lose health care and cancer screenings if federal funding for Planned Parenthood were banned.
This issue is about women's health. Regardless of how many distractions we are offered or attempts are made to misdirect our focus, the necessity of Planned Parenthood in our country is profound. The millions of women who would completely lose their access to family planning and cancer screenings can not become irrelevant by those who mean to create controversies for votes. We must demand that women are more important than that.
Because the issue of abortion is a wedge issue and some of our politicians are presently trying to compel their base to rally support so they can get a spot in next weeks Republican debates, Rand Paul has determined to have a Senate hearing Monday to eliminate all funds to Planned Parenthood. They have allowed for hysteria to distract themselves and their constituents from the essential work that this group is doing. As none of the federal funds go toward the issue they are debating, it is insulting to think they would be holding a hearing to get rid of monies which are directly used to care for women and families.
My hope is for every thoughtful human being who reads this to take a quiet moments reflection on what our society is telling us when our legislators, those we hire to represent us and our needs, spend so much of their time trying to create laws to remove our rights and offer so much of their energy trying to take down a single organization whose sole mission is to care for the needs of American women. This all comes down to one issue. That issue is abortion. Abortion has been legal for 40+ years now. The majority of Americans support freedom of choice. Even many Republicans support that right.
This is the list of Senators who are a member of the Republicans for Choice, a group who believe that the GOP principles should embrace freedom of choice. Please reach out to them if they represent you and remind them what it means to be representing your healthcare needs.
Susan Collins of Maine: @SenatorCollins
Mark Kirk of Illinois: @SenatorKirk
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska: @LisaMurkowski
The Man who is proposing this bill has this on his fundraising page. Make sure that he and the companies united to support women in this country understand that Americans think that the nations objectives should embrace the rights of women, as well.
The above was written by Senator Rand Paul. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.
Please contact these companies today and thank them for making the health of women a priority while compeling them to contact the Senate and insist our government do the same. Thank you.
If you contact the companies through Twitter make sure to use the hashtags:
#SavePlannedParenthood
#WarOnWomen and #NOW as they trending and will make more people aware of the companies who support women's healthcare!
HUGE THANKS TO THESE COMPANIES!
American Cancer Society: @ASCAN @Cancer
American Express: @AmericanExpress
AT&T: @ATT
Avon: @AvonFoundation
Bank of America: @BofACommunity @BankofAmerica
Bath & BodyWorks: @bathandbodyworks
Ben & Jerrys: @BenandJerrys
Clorox: @Clorox
Coca-Cola: @CocaCola
Converse: @Converse
Deutsche Bank: @DBAmericas
Dockers: @Dockers
Energizer: @Energizer @EnergizerBunny
Expedia: @Expedia @ExpediaMedia
Exxon Mobil: @KenPCohen @ExxonMobil
Fannie Mae: @FannieMae
Ford: @FordFoundation @Ford
Groupon: @Groupon @GrpnGrassroots
Intuit: @Intuit @TurboTax
Johnson & Johnson: @JNJCares @JNJGlobalHealth
LaSenza: @LaSenza
Levi Strauss: @LeviStraussCo @LeviStraussFdn
Liberty Mutual: @LibertyMututal
Macy's: @Macys @MacyFoundation
March of Dimes: @MarchofDimes
Microsoft: @MSFoundation @Microsoft
Morgan Stanley: @MorganStanley
Nike: @NikeFoundation @Nike
Oracle: @Oracle
PepsiCo: @PepsiCo
Pfizer: @Pfizer
Progressive: @Progressive
Starbucks: @Starbucks
Susan G Komen: @SusanGKomen
Tostitos: @Tostitos
Unilever: @Unilever
United Way: @UnitedWay @LiveUnited
Verizon: @Verizongiving @Verizon
Wells Fargo:
Stacking the Shelves! My version! #Books I received this past week, 8-23! #1
Yes! I am going to start doing this, Stacking the Shelves Hosted by Tynga's Reviews on Friday's. I really enjoy seeing this on other blogs, so . . . I MUST do this! As I said, Friday's work the best for me, so it shall be Friday's! (Even though this week it's being posted today, Saturday! LOL! I just forgot to I wanted to start it yesterday!) Here we go!
The Middle of Somewhere by Sonja Yoerg (Author of House Broken)
AND
All the Difference by Leah Ferguson! BOTH releasing September 2nd!
Wildest Dreams, A Thunderpoint Novel, #9, by Robyn Carr! Releases August 25, 2015! Also, along came these two titles in the Thunder Point Novels!!!
A New Hope, A Thunderpoint Novel, #8, by Robyn Carr
AND
One Wish, A Thunderpoint Novel, #7, by Robyn Carr!
Hmmm! Maybe we'll have to do some #Giveaways!!! We'll see what's coming up!!!
EDITING THESE IN!!!! HERE WE GO!!!!!! FROM THE PUBLISHERS!
And here we have them ALL!!! WHOA!!!!!!!!! (I know I may have missed one or two, also! YIKES!!) They ALL release August 4th AND SEPTEMBER 1st and 2nd!!! ALL will be posted during the first two weeks of September!!! I have most somewhat read and downpat! I can't wait to share these with you!!!
Enjoy!!
#GIVEAWAYS ARE COMING FOR SOME OF THESE BOOKS!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!
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