Year: 2012

Monday Memes

    

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading 

Today’s question:
When you walk into a bookstore — any bookstore — what’s the first section you head toward (what draws you)?
My response:
To be honest, I haven’t been to a bookstore in quite a while.  There really has been no need to.  But when I did frequently visit one, I would head straight to the New HC Releases.  Not to purchase, I never bought a HC, I just could not justify paying that price for something that I would read in a couple of days.  But what I would do is write down the names of all the new releases that I wanted to read and when I left, went straight to the local library to put my name on the waiting list.

However, since I started blogging and reviewing for different publishers, authors, tour companies, I have a bookcase of books just screaming to be read.  And now with EReaders, I have the bookstores at my finger tips.  As I sit here thinking about and answering this question, and this is quite sad to say, I don’t know if I will ever have the need to visit a bookstore in the future.  Even if I were to purchase a book as a gift for someone, I would probably do it online.  

What about you?  Where is your first stop when entering a bookstore?

March is being hosted by Diary of an Eccentric


Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on tour.
According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.”

               

                                 The Story Plant                       Author

And the winner is……

………..of THE LEGACY OF EDEN by Nelle Davy

38 Shirley Greenawalt Zolenski Leave a Blog Post Comment  I wouldn’t return.

An email has been sent to the winner and she has 48 hours to respond with her mailing address or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you for all that entered.  Stay tuned, lots more giveaways to come.

GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE “THE SECOND TIME WE MET” by Leila Cobo ENDED

MARCH 2nd to MARCH 16th, 2012

 

THE SECOND TIME WE MET
by LEILA COBO

SYNOPSIS:
  Asher Stone grew up in an idyllic California family. His mother Linda made sure of that. She never wanted her son to feel different from other kids, just because he was adopted. She was a loving, devoted mother, and Asher a happy, healthy boy. So when a life-changin accident causes Asher to question his identity, he suddenly announces that he needs to learn about his roots, Linda is caught off guard. Asher doesn’t want to hurt his mother, but something inside him is driving him to find out exactly where he came from. And so he takes off on a journey to Colombia in search of his birth mother.
Interspersed throughout Asher’s story is that of his mother’s, Rita. Moving back in time we watch as a young Rita begins a clandestine affair with a revolutionary soldier–a guerilla warrior who loved her deeply but couldn’t leave the cause to care for her, not if he wanted to keep her safe. Rita is left alone and pregnant, with no support from her family. And though it breaks her heart, she makes the agonizing decision to give up her baby.
How can Asher, a young man who has never known hardship understand her decision? Can they have any kind of relationship–and where does that leave Linda if they do?
THANKS TO BRIANNE,  AND THE WONDERFUL
PEOPLE AT THE HACHETTE BOOK GROUP
I HAVE THREE ( 3 ) COPIES OF THIS
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.
*USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW
IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY
*
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL
ADDRESSIN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: IF YOU FOUND OUT YOU WERE 
ADOPTED,
WOULD YOU SEARCH FOR YOUR BIOLOGICAL PARENTS?*
*U.S.  RESIDENTS ONLY*
*NO P.O. BOXES*

**PER PUBLISHER**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS MARCH 16th AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

DISCLAIMER / RULES

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
the giveaway on behalf of the
above. I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in
exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are
ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
I am not responsible for lost or damaged books that are shipped
from agents. I reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries
if rules of giveaway are not followed

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

Continue reading “GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE “THE SECOND TIME WE MET” by Leila Cobo ENDED

Book Review “The Second Time We Met” by Leila Cobo

THE SECOND TIME WE MET by Leila Cobo
Published by Grand Central Publishing
Division of The Hachette Book Group
ISBN-13: 9780446519380
At the request of The Hachette Book Group, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

  Synopsis (from publisher): Asher Stone grew up in an idyllic California family. His mother Linda made sure of that. She never wanted her son to feel different from other kids, just because he was adopted. She was a loving, devoted mother, and Asher a happy, healthy boy. So when a life-changin accident causes Asher to question his identity, he suddenly announces that he needs to learn about his roots, Linda is caught off guard. Asher doesn’t want to hurt his mother, but something inside him is driving him to find out exactly where he came from. And so he takes off on a journey to Colombia in search of his birth mother.

Interspersed throughout Asher’s story is that of his mother’s, Rita. Moving back in time we watch as a young Rita begins a clandestine affair with a revolutionary soldier–a guerilla warrior who loved her deeply but couldn’t leave the cause to care for her, not if he wanted to keep her safe. Rita is left alone and pregnant, with no support from her family. And though it breaks her heart, she makes the agonizing decision to give up her baby.

How can Asher, a young man who has never known hardship understand her decision? Can they have any kind of relationship–and where does that leave Linda if they do?

My Thoughts and Opinion: Musing, a word that this debut author penned many times in this story. Ironically, when the last word was read and the book placed in my finished pile, I was left with several thought provoking musings of my own.

As I mentioned, this was Ms. Cobo’s debut novel, which surprised me in the manner of her writing style.   Especially since it alternated between the times of 1989 to present and then in between but it all flowed smoothly.   She had a flair to bring the characters to life, to feel their emotions, to root for some, to not like others.   To feel their frustrations, expectations, fears, anxiety, guilt and so much more.   Even though the story line was predictable, the lives of the characters, their actions, and decisions they made,  kept me turning the pages.   An impressive and poignant read.

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
(2012 Challenges:  Romantic/Suspense, Off The Shelf, Free Reads, Where Are You, A-Z,52 in 52, Outdo Yourself, 100+)

Aloha Friday

Hosted by An Island Life

From An Island Life:
In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.
 If you’d like to participate, visit An Island Life answer the question and then post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

We all enjoy eating, right?   But there is something I just don’t understand and today that is my question.

Do you enjoy eating very hot, spicy food?   If yes, isn’t your mouth in pain?   How is that enjoyable?


Booking Through Thursday

    

http://btt2.wordpress.com

This week’s question:
A while ago, I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.
Ted asks:
Have you ever fallen in love with a fictional character? Who and what about them did you love?
My answer:
When I first read the question my first reaction was no, but that there are many fictional people, both male and female,  that I could see myself becoming and/or wanting to be friends with.  But the more I thought about the question, there might have been a couple.  Since I mainly read mystery and suspense, there might be some of the “good guys” that I have overlooked because I was too in tuned into the story line.

But the more I sat and thought about the question and went through the catalogue in my mind, there have been characters that I have “fallen in love” with.   They are the male characters in Michael Baron’s books.  I think the fact that the main male characters are created by a male author makes them even more appealing.  These “men” are sensitive, loving, emotional,  loyal, wearing their heart on their sleeves, romantic and tender not only with the woman in their life but with their children and family, which makes them even more attractive.  So yes, after giving today’s question more thought, I have “fallen in love” with a few male fictional characters.

What about you?  Has a character stolen your heart?

W.W.W. Wednesdays

I don’t know who to personally thank for this one, but I surely needed an extra day to get caught up on some things!!!!   Twenty-four extra hours, WooHoo!!  Fantastic!!  Isn’t this wonderful news???!!!  lol  What are you going to do with your bonus day?

      

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

               

What do you think you’ll read next?

Teaser Tuesday

      

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

He held the phone to his ear hating how Anita cared about him like he was good. He told her he had to go. He said he was sorry.

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