End of Summer Giveaway!

I need to clear out my shelves, again, so I have a mix of books I reviewed and books I didn't review up for grabs. There are 4 sets of books, you can enter for one, two, or all three but there will be three different winners. If you win one set, you won't win another one.

You don't need to be a follower, though it's always appreciated if you are.

Giveaway ends at 11:59PM EST on September 7th.

I'll ship within North America: US, CA & Mexico.

The books up for grabs are:

Set #1

Two finished copies  of  mysteries, Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood, a romantic suspense, and a psychological thriller, Broken Harbor by Tana French. There are also two ARCs of books now available in stores: One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf, a psychological mystery and an anthology of romantic suspense short stories, Love Is Murder: Thriller 3

Set #2

Two general fiction books with a romantic subplot: Say You'll Be Mine by Julia Amante and Anne of Hollywood by Carol Wolper. Also,two general fiction releases that I was sent and decided not to read (just not my style, going by the blurbs): Finding Emilie by Laurel Corona and The Black Isle by Sandi Tan. (just released Aug. 7th)

Set #3

Some older romances, including two Harlequin series books: A Cold Creek Secret by RaeAnne Thayne and Enticed By His Forgotten Lover by Maya Banks. There's also a signed copy of historical romance Superstition's Desire by Lisa M Campbell and an erotic PNR, Wicked Harvest, by Anitra Lynn McLeod. That one is also signed, to someone named Jessica.

Remember, you can enter all or just some. Good luck!

Review & Excerpt of One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

Publisher: Mira
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Buying Links: Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

In her most emotionally charged novel to date, "New York Times" bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf explores the unspoken events that shape a community, the ties between parents and their children and how the fragile normalcy of our everyday life is so easily shattered. In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom. Outside the school, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits.

Officer Meg Barrett holds the responsibility for the town's children in her hands. Will Thwaite, reluctantly entrusted with the care of his two grandchildren by the daughter who left home years earlier, stands by helplessly and wonders if he has failed his child again. Trapped in her classroom, Evelyn Oliver watches for an opportunity to rescue the children in her care. And thirteen-year-old Augie Baker, already struggling with the aftermath of a terrible accident that has has brought her to Broken Branch, will risk her own safety to protect her little brother.


As tension mounts with each passing minute, the hidden fears and grudges of the small town are revealed as the people of Broken Branch race to uncover the identity of the stranger who holds their children hostage.

Teaser:

"No charge," he says, shaking his head. "I can't charge these folks for coffee and pie when this could very well be the worst day of their lives."

"Thanks, Lonnie," I say. "That's very kind." He shrugs the compliment off, limps away, his heaviness causing a hitch in his step, and returns to filling coffee cups and making people smile. Once again I am reminded why I love Broken Branch and why I chose to remain here to work and raise Maria. I only hope we can get each and every one of those students and staff sitting at the school out safely.  Otherwise, potentially, ninety percent of Broken Branch's youth could be erased in one fell swoop. Despite the warmth of the cafe and the hot coffee in m y hand, I shiver at the thought. If that happened, Broken Branch will become a ghost town, would die and wither away. We can't let that happen. I can't let that happen. Maria needs to come home, to her town, her school, her friends. To me.

Reviewed By: Bea

Bea's Thoughts:

I LOVED Gudenkauf's "These Things Hidden"; I even gave it 5 stars and I'm usually stingy with stars, so when I was offered the chance to review this book I eagerly said "yes". This one however is not, for me, a 5 star book, but a 3 star. I enjoyed it, I'll probably re-read it, but it didn't wow me.

"One Breath Away" was a fairly quick read, I breezed through it in a few hours, despite needing to put it down for work, sleep and other necessities. The flip side of that is that I felt it lacked some depth, that much of what we see and are told was on the surface only. I still don't adequately understand Holly's reactions to her father, her hometown, etc. Since that's a major theme of the book and drives much of the action, I felt lost at times. It seemed like a plot device without anything to back it up. Gudenkauf once again uses multiple POV's so there's a lot of head hopping. That offers us different perspectives, adding to the whole, but also means we don't get as deep into characters heads or emotional lives as we might with fewer POV's. I also found that at first, the voices were not distinctive enough; I'd sometimes have to double check the chapter heading to see who was talking. That improved as the story went on, or maybe I adjusted, and by the end I had no trouble distinguishing voice.

Family ties are a major theme in the story and the technique of multiple POV's helps to play that up. Three of the characters are related: Will, his adult daughter Holly, and her daughter Augie, and we get to see their thoughts and feelings about families, both their own and other people's. The examination of family ties could be deeper but it reverberates throughout the story and drives much of the action. Again, the depth was often lacking. The characters though are engaging and mostly likable; I liked Will and understood him more than I did his daughter Holly. Meg was also quite relatable and likable and Mrs. Oliver was fascinating, I know teachers like her. Holly's children Augie and PJ were likable but didn't always feel real, especially Augie. She was too independent, too focused on her brother PJ, so willing to hate her grandfather for no good reason. Maybe I don't spend enough time with children her age, but she didn't feel real to me.

I think my disappointment in this book stems from how much I loved her previous book, and the high expectations that I had for this one. The multiple POV's worked for me last time but in this one, they are sometimes distracting and don't add enough to the story. That said, they do contribute to the story but, not sufficiently, IMO.

So, I didn't love the book, but I enjoyed parts of it, especially the mystery parts. It was actually the family parts that held my interest the least. If you're a Gudenkauf fan, give this one a try. It may appeal to you more than it did to me.

I received a paper ARC for review as part of a blog tour.

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Scavenger Hunt Excerpt

All he has to do is stare at the person and they shut up. Even Noah Plum.

To follow the tour and scavenger hunt, click here for the schedule.

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Heather will holding a live chat on the BookTrib site on Thursday July 26th at 3PM EST. It's a chance to ask your questions and to win a copy of the book. Click on the image for more information.

My Favorite Books of 2011 So Far

So today's Armchair BEA topic is our favorite books so far in 2011. Surprisingly, that wasn't easy to decide at first. But after thinking about it, I came up with some. So, in no particular order, my fave books so far in 2011:

"These Things Hidden" by Michelle Gudenkauf - It grabbed me from the first page and I didn't put it down until I finished it. By turns, agonizing, hopeful, emotional and coldly rational, it was a fascinating read about families, choices, and what we do in the name of love.

"Shackled" by Morgan Ashbury - A sweet mix of erotica and romance that's also a nice intro to the world of bandage and dominance and 
submission. Not perfect, but well done.

 "The Gathering" by Kelley Armstrong - Sigh. I wouldn't change a single thing about this book. Do you like YA? Do you like Urban Fantasy? Want a break from vamps and weres? READ THIS BOOK.

"How to Flirt with A Naked Werewolf" by Molly Harper - Slightly misleading title, but fun story, well written. A light read but not silly or stupid and lots of likable characters.

"The Survivor" by Sean Slater - Grim, gritty, full of twists and turns and multi-layered, this is not your basic murder mystery or procedural (though it was fun me, a US citizen, to learn about Canadian police procedures), it's not a happy feel-good but it's smart, solid, and hard to put down.

Very good and very HAWT. This is a well written, engaging book. Cleansing, lots of yummy smex, solid, well written, and not a blind drunk monkey anywhere in sight, lol

Heh, I read this after I read an incredibly badly written romance that left me needing to cleanse my mind. This book sure fit the bill. :D













These aren't the only good ones this year, it's actually been a good year for books so far. I hope the rest of the year will be as good.

A Chance to Chat with Heather Gudenkauf, author of "These Things Hidden"

A few weeks ago, I read a mainstream fiction novel, "These Things Hidden" by Heather Gudenkauf. I loved it, it was so well written and engrossing. Well, from now (it actually started on the 15th, I'm late) and going until Wednesday the 23rd, you can ask questions and even chat.

To participate, join the BookTrib Club and post any questions you’ve had about her newest book, her last book THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE, or anything else that crosses your mind!

A BookTrib giveaway of 10 copies of THESE THINGS HIDDEN signed by Heather will begin Friday, February 18^th and run through Friday, February 25^th at 12 pm ET.  Feel free to start posting questions on the club wall and Heather will answer them as she can.  On Wednesday, February 23^rd starting at 6:45 pm CT running for an hour, Heather will be chatting live with readers to ensure all questions are answered! 

Review: These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

Book Blurb: When teenager Allison Glenn is sent to prison for a heinous crime, she leaves behind her reputation as Linden Falls' golden girl forever. Her parents deny the existence of their once-perfect child. Her former friends exult her downfall. Her sister, Brynn, faces whispered rumors every day in the hallways of their small Iowa high school. It's Brynn—shy, quiet Brynn—who carries the burden of what really happened that night. All she wants is to forget Allison and the past that haunts her.

But then Allison is released to a halfway house, and is more determined than ever to speak with her estranged sister.
 
Now their legacy of secrets is focused on one little boy. And if the truth is revealed, the consequences will be unimaginable for the adoptive mother who loves him, the girl who tried to protect him and the two sisters who hold the key to all that is hidden.

My Thoughts: Recently I've been reading a lot of genre fiction, primarily urban fantasies and romances, so I was ready for a break when I picked this up. I had no trouble switching gears to read it. In fact, when I first sat down with it, I thought I'd read a few chapters then put it down to do my chores. Two plus hours later, I put it down, completely finished. I had lost track of time and have no idea what played on the tv that I'd left on. I was utterly engrossed reading this book and that hasn't happened in quite a while. 

     The story gripped me from the start. There are four main characters: Allison Glenn, her younger sister Brynn Glenn, their school peer Charm Tullia, and Claire Kelby, a bookstore owner. The story is told from their viewpoints, with each chapter focused on one of the women. Allison and Brynn's chapters are told in the first person while Claire and Charm's are in third person. I found this worked very well and was quite effective. I can't imagine the story being as compelling or effective told from only one perspective. The multiple narrators and perspectives allows Gudenkauf to slowly unfold the story, revealing a little at a time. It's a cliche, but it really is like an onion, peeling away the layers.  We see certain events from more than one viewpoint, like changing the angle of a camera lens or the lighting you use; something new is revelaed each time.
    
     We don't know initially what Allison's crime is or how she connects to Claire and Charm. Gudenkauf parcels out the information throughout the story but even then, events aren't always as they appear to be. As the story progresses and we learn more about the women and the little boy at the center of everything, I found myself dreading what might come next because I wanted a happy ending for everyone. It was all too easy to imagine the story actually happening, to picture myself hearing it on the tv or on the web. For much of the story I was teary eyed; I empathiszed with all the characters, even when they weren't always likable. Gudenkauf doesn't try to paint any of the characters as perfect or unbeleivable, they all have their flaws and their moments of being unpleasant or unreasonable. This added to the realism and gave it additional depth.

     "These Things Hidden" is not a happy story. Decisions and secrets have consequences, often unpleasant ones, and even trying to do the right thing can cause misery. Yet, the book is full of hope, the possibility of redemption, and the power of love. I loved this book.

Publisher: Mira                                                                          More info: goodreads

Release Date: February 2011

I recieved this book as a print ARC from the publisher.