Giveaway Review IT HAD TO BE YOU by JILL SHALVIS @JillShalvis @GrandCentralPub

Book Description

Release date: May 28, 2013 | Series: Lucky Harbor

Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she's a thief, and now she's about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who's as sexy as he is stern....

After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke's own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

About the Author
New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill's bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

You can learn more at:
JillShalvis.com
Twitter @jillshalvis
Facebook.com/jillshalvis

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS

LOVED IT

Ali thinks her life is finally moving forward.  She has a cute boyfriend that lives with her, a job running the local flower shop and a hobby as a ceramicist.  She also teaches at the community center in her spare time.  Her latest endeavor is to raise money for a new community center and since her boyfriend, Teddy is the town jerk, I mean clerk who is supposed to meet her at the fundraising gala.  Instead she hears him in his office with another woman and gets a text from him later telling her he has moved on and out.  

Not realizing that the lease is up on their rental, she wakes up to find her landlord in her kitchen.  Luke has just had his own devastating ordeal when his job as a police detective goes horribly wrong.  He heads back to the house that was left to him by his grandmother and rented out to - you guessed it -- Ali.  Instead of peace and quiet, he finds he may have met the love of his life.  Luke and Ali are both givers and it was such a pleasure to read about their instant chemistry, the humor that appears from the first page and just how happy these books make me.  

There is a bit of mystery in each of Shalvis' books and the one in this book about some missing money (that tied in nicely to an opening scene in the book) that only a good detective like Luke could unravel.  Luke is one of those harden cop guys that have a nice soft center.  The way he is described makes you melt. It just feel so right when everything in this story comes together.  Oh! This is probably my favorite so far in the Lucky Harbor series.  While this is part of the series, any of these books can stand alone. 

Disclosure 

If you are considering purchasing this book or anything else from Amazon, please use my link above since I earn a very small percentage of the sale which helps pay for shipping my giveaways!  I received this book from the publisher at no charge and in no way did it influence my review.  

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?
Contest is open to anyone over 13 years old with a US or Canadian mailing address
(no PO Boxes)
Contest ends on 5.29.13 Winner will be chosen by Random.org
Winner will be posted in the comments
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is sponsored by Forever Romance and ONE copies will be available.

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Giveaway + Interview SWEET MERCY by ANN TATLOCK

Tour Schedule

 

Sweet Mercy

Stunning coming-of-age drama set during the Great Depression and Prohibition

When Eve Marryat's father is laid off from the Ford Motor Company in 1931, he is forced to support his family by leaving St. Paul, Minnesota, and moving back to his Ohio roots. Eve's uncle Cyrus has invited the family to live and work at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge.

Eve can't wait to leave St. Paul, a notorious haven for gangsters. At seventeen, she considers her family to be "good people," not lawbreakers like so many in her neighborhood. Thrilled to be moving to a "safe haven," Eve soon forms an unlikely friendship with a strange young man named Link, blissfully unaware that her uncle's lodge is anything but what it seems.

When the reality of her situation finally becomes clear, Eve is faced with a dilemma. Does she dare risk everything by exposing the man whose love and generosity is keeping her family from ruin? And when things turn dangerous, can she trust Link in spite of appearances?

 

Barnes & Noble * Amazon * Bethany House

 

Ann Tatlock

Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy-Award winning novel Promises to Keep. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association "Book of the Year" in fiction for both All the Way Home and I'll Watch the Moon. Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her "one of Christian fiction's better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories." Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina.

 

Website * Facebook * Goodreads


PLEASE WELCOME ANN TO BOOKHOUNDS

1. What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?

I vividly remember the first book I read by myself as a child, "A Pony Called Lightning." I had a little red rocking chair (still have it; call me sentimental), so I sat in that chair with the book in my lap and found myself falling into a whole new world. Then and there I fell in love with the wonder of words, and still feel the same way when I open a book today.
2. What are you reading right now?

"In the Beauty of the Lilies," by John Updike. The story is set partly in my home state of Delaware. I mean, really, how many people write about Delaware!? When I went halfway across the country to go to college, most people I met didn't even know it was a state.

3. How does your garden grow?

So far so good. Every spring I plant morning glories. That's it; just morning glories. This year I planted three large pots right outside my office window and one outside the kitchen window. Little sprouts are beginning to pop up. Can't wait till they bloom!


4. What is the last thing you Googled?

This very blog site, just to check it out. I absolutely adore the hound dog reading a book. What can I say....I love dogs and have three chihuahuas of my own. "Books, Gardens & Dogs" -- it just doesn't get any better than that!

5. What makes you cringe?

Hateful comments that follow certain news stories on the internet. It's unbelievable what some people will say about others--people they don't know and have never met. I don't know whatever happened to civility and kindness, but sometimes it seems like we're losing our grip on these best of human values. I hope they make a comeback or we're sunk.

Tour Giveaway 
1 winner will receive a copy of 3 of Ann's Books Sweet Mercy, Travelers Rest and Promises to Keep Open to US & Canada Only
 Ends 5/21/13


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LOVE IN BLOOM GIVEAWAY Win 2 Harriet Evans books!

Welcome to the LOVE IN BLOOM  Giveaway Hop! 

This hop is hosted by: 

I Am a Reader, Not a Writer (HERE) 
Portrait of a Book (HERE)

There are over 200 blogs participating and each has their own entry rules and geographic limits, so be sure to read the rules for each one.  This hop starts May 16th and and ends on May 22nd,  midnight. 

HERE IS WHAT I HAVE FOR ONE LUCKY WINNER:
(click on the covers for more information)

Want to win this set of books?

Contest is open to anyone over 13 years old with a reliable mailing address within the free shipping areas of The Book Depository.

Contest ends on 5.22.13 Winner will be chosen by Random.org 
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN THE COMMENTS OF THIS POST

Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.

Duplicate entries will be deleted.  Void where prohibited.

This giveaway is sponsored by me and ONE set is available.

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Review HOUNDED BY MATT ZISELMAN @centerstreet @Baxterbelieves @MattZiselman

Book Description

Release date: May 14, 2013

Living with three strong-willed, highly individual Dachshunds can be equal parts entertaining, frustrating and rewarding. Just ask Matt Ziselman.

Armed with a fresh, creative voice that is unabashedly cranky one moment and profoundly poignant the next, Ziselman mixes hilarious canine stories, with heartfelt reminiscences from his own life, the results of which is a memoir of illuminating life lessons, courtesy of the three thoroughly Teutonic Dachshunds that he shares his life (and couch) with: Baxter, Maya and Molly. Seemingly mundane moments, like Baxter's incessant, neuroses inducing staring, Maya's inexplicable refusal to walk through the front door and Molly's obsessive compulsive love for a torn and tattered blanket become, through Ziselman's insightful eyes, a treasure trove of observations that any dog-lover will appreciate. In a market where Americans spend more than $40 billion a year on their pets, this work of razor-sharp wit and quiet tenderness will reach out and grab readers everywhere by the heartstrings and-quite possibly-their leashes.

HOUNDED wraps universal insights in hot-dog-shaped packages, providing true dog lovers with many knowing nods, honest belly laughs and an accurate, warts-and-all reflection of the fascination, wonder and love that they have for their dogs.

And that Matt Ziselman obviously has for his.


About the Author
Matt Ziselman grew up in Long Island, New York. By the time he was twenty-five, he had worked as a stock boy, cab driver, landscaper, movie theatre manager, nightclub promoter, garbage man, stagehand and other assorted, deeply unfulfilling occupations. In other words, Matt was destined for advertising. First as a copywriter, and later as a Creative Director, Matt has been involved in marketing some of the world's leading brands, where his work has won numerous industry awards. When he's not placed in the awkward position of having to refer to himself in the third person, Matt lives in New Jersey where he tries to keep three Dachshunds, a 12-year old daughter and one wife blissfully happy, but not necessarily in that order.

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS

ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT....LIKE YOU WERE EXPECTING LESS?  

 Zen and the Art of Dachshund Maintenance.

Matt Ziselman had discovered the magical properties of owning a dachshund, or rather, being OWNED by a dachshund.  Well, in his case, three, because you know, dachshunds can be addicting.  After suffering the loss of both his parents by age 26, several dead-end jobs, despair and depression, he finally meets the girl of his dreams and also gets the dog that is required by every happy family.  In his case, this dog is Baxter, a standard size black and tan dachshund with all of the graces and goodness that is found in this breed.  Baxter quickly leads to Molly, a mini, that in spite of her size, rules the pack and Maya, a rescue from a breeder.  Maya is the most stoic dachshund I have ever read about.

We follow the author through life lessons with the help of his dachshunds.  He discovers that you can learn a lot from  dogs, especially ones so close to the ground. Several of the experiences he has with his pups are ones I can totally relate to.  My favorite tale was the bat.  With woods behind their house, Maya comes back to the house proudly displaying her catch:  a live bat.  I have personally dealt with my dachshund catching mice, birds and lizards, but I would really freak out if my dog brought back a bat, much like the author and his family.  Of course, there are the humorous stories of the dogs and their bodily functions, both internal and external, and dachshunds have these quirks in spades.  It is a good thing they are easily washed in a sink since they tend to roll in stuff frequently.  

As Ziselman and his dogs grow together, they also develop that special bond that can only come from catering to a small dog.  You learn that they rule the house, their wish is your command and you won't have it any other way.  I really enjoyed the humor as well as the little proverbs at the end of each chapter that appear as Dachshund Life Lessons.  This is a must buy for dog lovers, particularly those who smile when they hear some one yell, "WIENER DOG!".

Disclosure
If you are considering purchasing this book or anything else from Amazon, please use my link above since I earn a very small percentage of the sale which helps pay for shipping my giveaways!  I received this book from the publisher at no charge and in no way did it influence my review.  

Giveaway THE ENEMY by LARRY BOGRAD win $100 #BookBlast @theenemynovel

 

The Enemy

A red-hot political thriller from a blue state author. Buried among the thousands of financial transactions he reviews each day, analyst Randy Duncan finds a secret web of laundered money financing the assassination of the President, which, in turn, will lead the country into war. Can Randy and his law-student daughter Clare follow the money and stop the enemy in time? In a political thriller worthy of Dan Brown, Richard Condon, and Allen Drury, award-winning novelist Larry Bograd charts a political thriller sure to keep you reading and leave you sleepless wondering and worried about who really controls America.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Goodreads

     
Author Larry Bograd

Larry Bograd has published more than two dozen books, primary for children and young adults--and now his first eBook original, "The Enemy." He is also a playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He is president of Roundtable Media Group, which produces documentary films, Web shows, and events.  

Website * Twitter

Book Blast Giveaway

$100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
 Ends 5/31/13
 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 participat author/publisher. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Prize value $100 US.

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Giveaway + Interview ELIZABETH, the FIRST WIFE by LIAN DOLAN

Elizabeth Lancaster, an English professor at Pasadena City College, finds her perfectly dull but perfectly orchestrated life upended one summer by three men: her movie-star ex-husband, a charming political operative, and William Shakespeare. Until now, she’d been content living in the shadow of her high-profile and highly accomplished family. Then her college boyfriend and one-time husband of seventeen months, A-list action star FX Fahey, shows up with a job offer that she can’t resist, and Elizabeth’s life suddenly gets a whole lot more interesting. She’s off to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the summer to make sure FX doesn’t humiliate himself in an avant-garde production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

As she did so skillfully with her first novel, Helen of Pasadena, which spent more than a year on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list, Lian Dolan spins a lively, smart, and very funny tale of a woman reinventing her life in unexpected ways.
Lian Dolan is also the co-author of The Satellite Sisters' Uncommon Senses. As part of the Satellite Sisters, Lian and her four sisters found national acclaim first on NPR, then on ABC Radio and XM Satellite Radio. She also creates the popular podcast and blog Chaos Chronicles.

Lian Dolan is a writer, producer, talk show host, podcast pioneer, social media consultant and author of the new novel, Helen of Pasadena. She currently writes and produces the weekly podcast and blog The Chaos Chronicles, a humorous look at modern motherhood. She is also a regular weekly contributor to Oprah.com as a parenting expert. A decade ago, Lian created Satellite Sisters, an award-winning radio talk show, blog and website with her four real sisters. From 2000 to 2009, Satellite Sisters won eight Gracie Allen Awards for Excellence in Women's Media and enjoyed a nationwide audience of a million listeners a week. Lian is also the co-author of Satellite Sisters UnCommon Senses, published in 2001 by Riverhead (sales to date: 75,000). Her writing has appeared in many national magazines, including regular columns in O, The Oprah Magazine and Working Mother and essays in such anthologies as Chicken Soup for the Sisters Soul. TV appearances have included The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is a popular speaker for groups and corporations, always using humor as hook.

GOODREADS * WEBSITE *  FACEBOOK * TWITTER 

PLEASE WELCOME LIAN TO BOOKHOUNDS

1.    What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?

Go, Dog, Go. To this day, I love dogs and I love cars and I especially love dogs in cars.

2. What are you reading right now? 
I’m reading Curtis Sittenfeld’s new book Sisterland. I love her writing. It’s clean, fluid and completely without sentimentality, but she manages to get into the heads and hearts of her characters. This book is about identical twin sisters who are gifted with ESP and there’s a very clever story engine driving the whole narrative. I have an affection for sister stories, having four big sisters myself, and my mother was an identical twin, so I’m enjoying that relationship in the book. Plus, it’s a great name for a book: Sisterland. I wish I’d trademarked it. 

3. How does your garden grow?

With plenty of Southern California sunshine and many hours of tending. I am in the “gardening as therapy” camp and nothing puts the world into perspective like a couple hours of weeding and mulching. Or wandering around garden in the morning with my coffee in one hand, deadheading with the other. Right now, my wisteria is in bloom, the orange blossoms are out and my pomegranate trees are starting to flower. The smell of jasmine is pervasive and delicious. Plus, the first bloom of the roses is on its way. I just put in the herbs and tomatoes for the summer and tossed around a bunch of sunflower seeds, hoping to get some takers. It’s the best time of the year for gardens in Pasadena, after the rain and before the heat. Magical. All that mulching pays off.

4. What is the last thing you Googled?

How to spell ‘Bridget’ as in Bridget Jones. I always forget if there’s a “d” in the word. I’m putting together a talk for a writing group called “Meet Cute: William Shakespeare and Bridget Jones” about using the Bard in contemporary fiction.

5. What makes you cringe?

Unexpected nudity in movies when I’m watching with my teenaged sons. Help! Get me outta here! 

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?  

Complete the below form 

Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old. Void where prohibited.
Sorry, US only, No PO Boxes !  

Contest ends on 5.26.13 Winner will be chosen by Random.org 

Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.

Only one winner per mailing address.  Multiple entries will be deleted. 

This giveaway is sponsored by the author and ONE copy is available.

Complete the form below!
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Giveaway+ Guest Post THE ART OF BEING (sort of) ORGANZIZED by JULIE KENNER @JulieKenner

The Bliss of Being (Sort of) Organized

Sunday was an exciting day in the Kenner household because -- yes! -- we're headed to The Container Store to meet with one of their specialists to figure out how to organize our very, very, very, very, very disorganized bedroom closet.

They’re installing it next weekend.

I am giddy.

For years, I wasn't particularly organized.  For that matter, I see a lot of my younger self in my oldest daughter, whose tornado of a room now drives me nuts.  And when the family empties the dishwasher and puts things in the wrong place ... well, it's almost enough to make me throw up my hands and shout that I'll  just do the unloading, thank you very much.  (Note that I said "almost" -- some irritations I'm learning to live with.)

In idle moments I can't help but wonder why I've become more organized.  Is it a product of getting older?  Of having kids (who are, apparently, a mirror)? The result of basic necessity-because if I don't know where I keep the extra toilet paper I will be forever buying more toilet paper?

Or maybe that tendency was always there, latent under the surface? 

Hmmm.

Yes, folks, I think I’m on to something.  I had no trouble being organized back when I practiced law (judges and clients tend to get touchy if you’re not).  And even when I was just starting out writing, I tended to keep the stories pretty organized by laying out the basic map in synopsis form.  (Actually, maybe that’s another sign that I have an innate organizational core.  I mean, I actually like writing synopses.   In my experience, that makes me odd...)

I like knowing where a book is going ... though I’m more than happy to change the path once I’m on the way.  I’ll happily veer off the synopsis in the middle of the writing process—and when I do, I usually find wonderful gems about story or characters.  But without that basic structure—that underpinning of organized thought—I go a little crazy with the process.

Hmmm.  Maybe I’m a little of both?  Organized and disorganized? Both working together in harmony?  And maybe that means I should just let my daughter’s messy room slide by without comment; that it’s her way of finding her own Life System.  And maybe I shouldn’t bug the family when things get out of place.  Because sometimes disorganization works, and sometimes you find cool things inside the mess...

(picture my daughter sitting on the edge of her chair ... waiting ... waiting ... waiting for my answer ...)

But, no.  Books, yes.  Scarily messy bedrooms, no.

I’m shooting for organized in life and semi-random-from-an organized foundation in my writing.

Hey.  It works for me.

How about you?  Are you organized or not? Does a messy room drive you crazy or feel warm and welcoming?

One lucky commenter will win a copy of Claim Me! (print for US winners, digital for international winners!)

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. Kenner has written over 40 books under multiple names including Julie Kenner and J.K. Beck.  Her newest release, CLAIM ME (April 23, 2013), debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list.  Claim Me is the second book in the bestselling Stark Trilogy, which began with RELEASE ME, continues with CLAIM ME, and which will conclude in July with COMPLETE ME.
You can learn more about her at her website (http://www.juliekenner.com) or connect with her on Twitter (@juliekenner) or on Facebook (http://juliekenner.com/facebook/)

For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You comes an erotic, emotionally charged romance between a powerful man who’s never heard “no” and a fiery woman who says “yes” on her own terms.

He was the one man I couldn’t avoid. And the one man I couldn’t resist.

Damien Stark could have his way with any woman. He was sexy, confident, and commanding: Anything he wanted, he got. And what he wanted was me.
Our attraction was unmistakable, almost beyond control, but as much as I ached to be his, I feared the pressures of his demands. Submitting to Damien meant I had to bare the darkest truth about my past—and risk breaking us apart.
But Damien was haunted, too. And as our passion came to obsess us both, his secrets threatened to destroy him—and us—forever.
Release Me is an erotic romance intended for mature audiences.

For Damien, our obsession is a game. For me, it is fiercely, blindingly, real.
I have agreed to be his alone, and now I want him to be fully mine. I want us to possess each other beyond the sweetest edge of our ecstasy, into the deepest desires of our souls. To let the fire that burns between us consume us both.
But there are dark places within Damien that not even our wildest passion can touch. I yearn to know his secrets, yearn for him to surrender to me as I have surrendered to him. But our troubled pasts will either bind us close . . . or shatter us completely.

Damien Stark’s need is palpable—his need for pleasure, his need for control, his need for me. Beautiful and brilliant yet tortured at his core, he is in every way my match.

This sexy, emotionally charged romance continues the story of Damien Stark, the powerful multimillionaire who’s never had to take “no” for an answer, and Nikki Fairchild, the Southern belle who only says “yes” on her own terms.
Our desire runs deep. But our secrets cut close. Beautiful, strong, and commanding, Damien Stark fills a void in me that no other man can touch. His fierce cravings push me beyond the brink of bliss—and unleash a wild passion that utterly consumes us both.
Yet beneath his need for dominance, he carries the wounds of a painful past. Haunted by a legacy of dark secrets and broken trust, he seeks release in our shared ecstasy, the heat between us burning stronger each day.
Our attraction is undeniable, our obsession inevitable. Yet not even Damien can run from his ghosts, or shield us from the dangers yet to come.

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF CLAIM ME?  

COMMENT BELOW with  your answer to Julie's question:

How about you?  Are you organized or not? Does a messy room drive you crazy or feel warm and welcoming?

That is it...

But please leave a way for me to contact you.

Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old. Void where prohibited.Print - US only - no PO BoxeseBook - International
Contest ends on 5.24.13 Winner will be chosen by Random.org Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.Only one winner per mailing address.  Multiple entries will be deleted. This giveaway is sponsored by the author and ONE book is available.