Sunday Book Share #2

 

I'm participating in both The Sunday Post, hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Each meme allows book bloggers the chance to share books they've received, and different posts and events at their blog.

This past week was a busy one for me. School opened again and I spent the week in two classrooms, prepping for the new year. This week, the kids return. I'm in new classrooms this year, with younger kids. I expect to spend most of September doing a zombie imitation on my couch every day after work. I'm not sure how much reviewing I'll get done but I've got an ambitious schedule planned. Of course, I'm still sick, so that doesn't help.

I only posted one review this week, "Harmless As Doves", a mystery by P.L. Gaus. There were two book excerpts: Blaze of Winter by Elisabeth Barrett and Until There Was You by Jessica Scott. I'm participating in Romance At Random's Labor Day Blog Hop, it runs through September 15th, and my End of Summer Giveaway is still going on, 12 books, 3 winners. There's a short interview with author Christie Craig along with a giveaway of her book, "Blame It On Texas". I also posted the weekly Dusty Reads link up and my wrap up post of the August Review Copy Clean Up.

Library

I saw this on another blog and decided to give it a try.

Won

Geeky Bloggers Book Blog is switching to mostly reviews of mysteries and had a big event to kick off the change. A giveaway was part of the kick off and I was  lucky enough to be one of the winners.

Purchased

OK, first of all, Anna Leonard is really Laura Anne Gilman and I love her writing. Second, the male lead is a were-unicorn. How could I pass that up? Expect lots of kindle shares when I read it. :D

Kindle Freebies

That's it, that was my week. How was yours? Leave a link along with your comment and, if I can stay awake, I'll visit during the week.

Wrap Up of My August Review Copy Clean Up

I had 14 books on my list to read for the review clean up. I completed 7, DNF'ed 1, and am currently reading 2 more. I also read several non-review books during the month. I had hoped to complete at least 3/4 of my list but achieved half of the list. It was definitely worth doing and I'm glad I participated, it helped me make progress.

Review Books to Read

Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood - reviewed
Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway - reviewed
A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang - reviewed
Shadow of Deceit by Mal Olson - reviewed
Broken Harbor by Tana French- reviewed
Harmless As Doves by P.L. Gaus- reviewed
When You Wish Upon A Duke by Isabella Bradford- reviewed
Silent Samaritan by James Tucker- reading now
The Kentucky Derby by James C. Nicholson - reading now
The Last Victim by Karen Robards -DNF
The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa- postponed until October
Two Weeks Notice by Rachel Caine- unread (I still need to read the first book)
Blaze of Winter by Elisabeth Barrett - unread
The Way Back Home by Barbara Freethy - unread 

So, not great but decent. I feel a bit better about my review pile. How did you make out, are you caught up on your review books? Even if you didn't participate, I'm interested in how you're doing.

Review of Harmless As Doves by P. L. Gaus

Publisher: Plume
Series: Ohio Amish Mystery #7
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Format Read: Trade Paperback
Buying Links:  Amazon     Barnes & Noble     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

As he goes about his milking chores on a cold October morning, Bishop Leon Shetler daydreams of escaping the Ohio winter and taking a bus to the Pinecraft Amish community in Florida for a vacation. His reverie is suddenly interrupted when young Crist Burkholder enters the barn, head down, hat in hand, to make a confession. “I just killed Glenn Spiegle.”

 “An Amish murderer?” Sheriff Robertson asks when he arrives on the scene. “Who will believe that?” But Burkholder is adamant about his guilt, fueled by the passion of his love for Vesta Miller, the young woman both he and Spiegle so desperately wanted to marry.

No sooner does the sheriff start his investigation than he learns of two more murders in the Pinecraft community, and a startling connection is made. There’s no way around it—Professor Mike Branden will have to put his research trip on hold and, along with detective Ricky Niell, travel south to investigate. There they discover the disturbing truth about Spiegle’s conversion to the Amish faith and the reason for the long-smoldering hatred that has reached into the secluded pastoral valleys of Holmes County.


In Harmless as Doves, P. L. Gaus takes the action to Florida in one of the most exciting mysteries in the series. This is Gaus at his best.

Reviewed By:  Bea

Bea's Thoughts:

"An Amish murderer?" I admit, I had a similar thought. I know that the Amish are just people, human like the rest of us, but I still had a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of an Amish person committing murder. Gaus handles this sensitively, and without putting the Amish up on a pedestal while treating them respectfully. Although, it seemed to me at times as if the bishop, Leon Shetler, seemed was a bit too proud of himself and his treatment of his wife. The repetition of what a good man he was got wearisome but overall I liked him quite a bit: calm, kind, compassionate, reasonable, striving to do the right thing. His interactions with the suspect, Burkholder, and others involved show his ethics, his beliefs and his willingness to do what's right.

The story is told not only from Shetler's perspective but also that of Sheriff Roberson, who seemed to me to be oddly ignorant of the Amish despite his long term of service in the area; a local pastor, Cal Troyer; a college professor, Michael Branden; and a local detective, Ricky Niell. That was a lot of head hopping for a story that's only 193 pages long. It wasn't always clear to me why the professor and the pastor were involved; this is the seventh book in the series so their involvement may have been established in earlier books but there really should have been a better explanation in this book. Overall, the book worked as a stand-alone but it may be better appreciated if read in order.

The story grabbed me from the first and I was hard put to put it down. Near the end of the story, the action moved to Florida and honestly, I found that to be the least interesting part of the story. We're in Branden and Niell's heads most of the time and I just wasn't interested. Gaus also gave us way too much detail about boats, seasickness, and other matters of little or no relevance to the story; it was odd after the first eighty percent of the story where he was more focused and the writing was tight.I enjoyed reading about the Amish in this community, their interactions with the English, and the differences not only between the Amish and the English but between the different communities of Amish. I also enjoyed the glimpses into Bishop Shetler's work and the decisions and compromises he must make. Sheriff Robertson's slow, grudging foray into 21st century technology was also well-done.

Gaus tells a story that is mostly tightly written, detailed but not overly done, and keeps the reader's interest. I would have liked to have had more insight into Burkholder but Gaus spins a compelling story and I expect I'll be reading more in the series.

I received a paperback from the publisher for review. 

Excerpt from Until There Was You by Jessica Scott

Another excerpt, today from Jessica Scott's forthcoming book, "Until There Was You". It's the second book in her Coming Home series. I have the book in my TBR pile. The Coming Home series features military personnel and their love stories, something Ms. Scott knows about from her own military service.

Enjoy!

UNTIL THERE WAS YOU
By: Jessica Scott
Publisher: A Loveswept Contemporary Military Romance
ISBN: 978-0-345-53389-0
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Military
Format: Ebook
Length: 230 pages
Release Date: October 8, 2012

Book Blurb (from Random House):

From the author of Because of You comes an all-new contemporary eBook romance. Though he plays by the rules, she’s not afraid to break them. Now these two strong-willed military leaders will prove that opposites attract . . . even under fire.

A by-the-book captain with a West Point background, Evan Loehr refuses to mix business with pleasure—except for an unguarded instance years ago when he succumbed to the deep sensuality of redheaded beauty Claire Montoya. Since that brief lapse in judgment, Evan has been at odds with her. But when he is asked to train a combat team alongside Claire, battle-hardened Evan is in for the fight of his life.

Strong, gutsy, and loyal, Captain Claire Montoya has worked hard to achieve her high military rank. In Evan Loehr, Claire sees a spoiled commander who puts the rules before everything else—including his people. Army orders force them together and Claire soon discovers that there is more to Evan than meets the eye. He too has dark secrets and deep longings. For all their differences, Evan and Claire share two crucial passions: their country and each other.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: Blaze of Winter, The Devil’s Thief, and Santerra’s Sin.

UNTIL THERE WAS YOU by Jessica Scott, Excerpt

Dusty Reads Link Up

Dusty Reads is a meme started by Giselle at Xpresso Reads featuring a book that has been sitting unread on your shelf for some time. Books don't have to be 'x' years old. If you've had the book for a few months without reading it, it's dusty! :D You can post on any day but Giselle and I usually post or put up a linky on Tuesdays. If you don't use the button, try to link back to this post or Giselle's so others will know how/where to link up.  

You can use the above button, the one below or create your own if you prefer.

Excerpt from Blaze of Winter by Elisabeth Barrett

Back in June, I did an ARC review of Deep Autumn Heat by Elisabeth Barrett. While I didn't love the book, I was intrigued by another character, Theo. Well, he has his own book coming out next month and I'll be reviewing it too. In the meantime, to whet your appetite, here's an excerpt.

 

BLAZE OF WINTER
By: Elisabeth Barrett
Publisher: Loveswept Contemporary
ISBN: 9780345534347
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
Format: Ebook
Length: @310 pages
Release Date: September 10, 2012

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

Winter heats up in this hot new Star Harbor romance, as another sexy Grayson brother, a wickedly handsome writer, plots his happily ever after with a sweet stranger.

Frustrated with her job in Boston, social worker Avery Newbridge welcomes the opportunity to reassess her life when family asks her to help manage the Star Harbor Inn. Trying to figure out her future is overwhelming enough, but she doesn’t count on distraction in the form of one Theo Grayson, the gorgeous, green-eyed author who she knows is trouble from the moment he saunters into the inn.

Not only does he have a talent for writing swashbuckling adventures, but Theo also has a soft spot for big-hearted damsels in distress, especially a woman who’s great at helping everyone—except herself. Avery’s demons challenge him, but for desire this hot, he isn’t backing down. With every kiss and heated whisper Theo promises her his heart . . . if only Avery is willing to open up and accept it.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: Deep Autumn Heat, Callie’s Cowboy, and About Last Night.(less)

BLAZE OF WINTER by Elisabeth Barrett

Blame It On Texas Blog Tour Giveaway & Q&A with Romance Author Christie Craig

Today it's  my pleasure to welcome Christie Craig, romance author. She took the time to answer a few questions and there's also a post about some things you might learn from "Blame it on Texas"that she wrote for the tour.

Photojournalist, Author and Speaker

Christie Craig, an Alabama native, is an award-winning, multi-published writer, multi-published photo journalist, motivational speaker, and writing teacher.. Her non-fiction articles and photography have appeared in almost three thousand national magazines. A Golden Heart finalist, and a finalist in more than fifty RWA-sponsored contests, she has gained a well-deserved reputation for writing romance fiction that has both witty humor and a suspenseful, sexy tone. Published by Silhouette in the 90s, she recently broke back into fiction in a big way, making four book sales in one day. Her seventh humorous single title romance novel, published by Dorchester, will hit the stands in June 2010. Her non-fiction book, co-authored by Faye Hughes, released September 08, is The Everything Guide To Writing A Romance Novel and their second non-fiction book, a humorous self-help relationship book, Wild, Wicked and Wanton: 101 Ways to Love Like You Are in a Romance Novel is scheduled to be released December 2010. Craig's latest writing adventure is the sale of a young adult paranormal romance series, Shadow Falls Camp, that will be published by St. Martins Press in the near future.


Click here to see a video of Christie on the Houston Chronicle.com about her overcoming the difficulties of being dyslexic.

Find Christie Online:

website
twitter
facebook

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Q&A

Bea: Christie, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. If you could be a character in any book what would it be ie love interest, sidekick, villain, minor character, etc.?

Christie: First, a huge thank-you for having me here today at Bea's Book Nook blog. I so appreciate you helping me promote my books. . Now to answer your question . . .

Hmm. I’m tempted to say villain. Sure, I've written a lot of scenes from the POV of "bad guys" but I'd like to take it a step further. I’d like to know what it's really like to be bad. Does that make me a bad person? LOL. Okay, on second thought, don't answer that. I’m not a bad girl and I know this because I feel bad just writing that I want to be bad. LOL. So let me change that to say I’d like to be the sidekick. I always enjoy writing my secondary characters and most of the ones in my books end up getting their own stories a little later on. So I guess I’ll go with sidekick. That way I could get some novel practice before it’s my time to be in the spotlight.

Bea: What is your guilty pleasure?

Christie: Okay, now you're asking me to share my deep, dark secrets. LOL. But, hey, we're all friends here, right? My guilty pleasures are wine and a good book. Give me a glass of Cabernet and a good book and everything else will disappear. Until my glass gets empty.(Tee hee~Bea)

Bea: What was the inspiration for this book?

Christie: The underlying theme in Blame it on Texas is an identity crisis. I think every woman at some point, and often at several points in her life, finds herself asking… “Who am I?” For most of them, the question is prompted by wondering what direction you should take in life. But when it happened to me, it was a little different . . .

About ten years ago, I woke up from a dead sleep. And for about five seconds, five very long terrifying seconds, I had amnesia. I didn’t have a clue who I was or where I was. And I sure as heck didn’t have a clue who the woman was that was in bed with me.

I remember with clarity the panic swelling up inside me, staring at this strange woman, her red hair sticking out in different directions, and I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Who are you?”


She looked as frightened as I felt, but she forced a calm in her voice when she answered, “I’m your mama.”


As funny as it turned out to be—yes, Mom still kids me about it—those few terrifying seconds of feeling nothing but a vast of emptiness have stuck with me.

In Blame it on Texas, my heroine Zoe, has a major Identity crisis. Imagine seeing a picture of yourself on an unsolved mystery show that claims you were kidnapped from some highfalutin Texas millionaire family. Imagine learning that your corpse was supposedly discovered shortly after you were kidnapped. Imagine it, when all your life you’ve had some strange memories that didn’t make sense. And again, like that night ten years ago, my heroine, Zoe Adams not only is trying to find out who she is, but who the woman is that pretended to be her mother all those years.

Bea: What would your perfect day be like?

Christie: Hmm. That's an easy one. I would take a walk along a beach with my dog, Lady, I'd then work for six hours, get at least 12 pages done, have lunch with some girlfriends, spend a few hours with my grandchild, laughing and giggling, and then have a really nice dinner with hubby and the family. Then I'd retire at night with my hubby, a good book and another glass of wine. A good writing day, good times with family, good food and even better wine. That’s my idea of a perfect day.


Bea: If you couldn't be a writer, what would be your dream job or career?

Christie: You're probably going to laugh when I say this but here goes. If I couldn't be a writer, I'd be a stand-up comic. I love entertaining people and making them laugh.

Thanks again for inviting me here to your blog. If your readers want to know more about me and my books, they can find information at my website, www.Christie-Craig.com. For a little taste of my Hotter in Texas series, watch the video below. I hope you enjoy!

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Ten Things You Will Learn from Blame it on Texas.

1. Guys don’t like to play dress up; but when one willingly dresses as a clown for their six-year-old niece’s birthday party—because the real clown canceled—he’s one special uncle. And could possibly make a special hero for some lucky lady.

2. Sometimes, fear itself can do much more damage to us than the thing we’re actually afraid of.

3. Any man who doesn’t cuss up a blue streak when you dump a plate of hot grits on him can’t be all bad. (In fact, he might just be The One.)

4. It’s important to remember the lessons of the past so we can use them when making decisions for the future. But those lessons should never keep us from having the future we deserve.

5. Before accusing the sexy guy who pounced, knocked you down, and crawled on top of you of being foreplay impaired; check to see if someone is shooting at you.

6. The southern delicacy of a banana and mayonnaise sandwich may be an acquired taste, especially when a hungry hero chomps down on the delicacy and is expecting ham and cheese.

7. If you think getting caught screaming and dancing on top of a mattress—all while attempting to rescue your cat from an overzealous dog—can be slightly embarrassing, try doing it while you’re wet from the shower, and as naked as a jay bird. Oh, and just to make it even more fun, make sure you're caught by your possible love interest who hasn’t seen you naked yet, and . . . (yes it can get worse) his two best friends.

8. It’s downright amazing how playing a few rounds of Strip Scrabble can spice up an evening.

9. A family doesn’t always have to be the people who share your bloodline; sometimes, the best families are those we make when we gather together all the people we love.

10. Learning to trust yourself is usually a lot harder than trusting another person. But both are generally required before finding true love.

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Thanks to Forever Romance, I have one copy of "Blame It on Texas" to giveaway to a US resident, no PO Boxes please. You do not need to be a follower to enter, though it's always appreciated. Please read my giveaway policy. The giveaway will run through 11:59PM EST of Monday Sept. 3rd, 2012. To enter, just comment below. :)

Click on cover for goodreads info about the book.

ETA: Random.org picked comment #6, bn100, as the winner. Congrats! I have sent them an email. 

Sunday Book Share

Welcome back! The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

~this meme was inspired in part by - In My Mailbox~

It's a chance to share News.

A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

I've decided to also participate in Stacking the Shelves, a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!


I've had a wonderfully lazy week this week, but work starts again on Monday. It's our new school year. We'll spend this week getting ready then next weeks the children return. I'm moving to a younger group this year, one and two year olds. It's been about eight years since I was with that age group, I hope I can still do it!

This past week, I posted two giveaways: A big one, where I'm giving away 12 books, go check it out! and a smaller one where Tribute Books and I are giving away a paperback copy of
"Immigration and Adaptation" by Edward G Haskell. 

I also did a feature post for "Immigration and Adaptation"; it's a non-fiction book about exactly what the title says. There were four reviews, not as many as I wanted to do, but still a lot for me:  Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood, Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway, Shadow of Deceit by Mal Olson, and A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang. Those are all books from my August Review Copy Clean Up; again, I didn't do as well as I wanted but I made one goal and did decently on the other goal.

I participated in a blog hop, discussing what we look for in a review. Stop by and add your thoughts. :) There's a post where I share my frustration with my health and upcoming surgery. It's pretty ranty.

Review Books

Yes, I took on more review books. I need a slap upside the head and a clone. :P

Won

I was lucky enough to win this from the publisher over at facebook in a book club discussion.

Library

I read about this at Heroes & Heartbreakers and immediately requested it from my library. They had it in kindle version so it's now sitting on my kindle.

Kindle Freebies

How was your week?