Mass Market Paperback
Published: May 2010
ISBN-10: 0-446-55598-3

Product Description(from Amazon)

Robin Wells takes us back to Chartreuse, Louisiana, for a deeply moving story of forgiveness and second chances.

STILL THE ONE

After Katie Charmaine’s husband is killed in Iraq, all she has left is a closet full of his clothes, a few pictures, and fond memories. She not only lost her love, but her last chance to have the children she’s always wanted. Until Zack Ferguson shows up in town . . . with the daughter Katie gave up for adoption nearly seventeen years ago.

Zack Ferguson has never forgotten Katie, or the one magical night they spent together. Seeing her again brings up a tidal wave of emotions: regret over the way he left her, anger at the secret she kept, and desire he hasn’t felt in years. But he’s in town for Gracie. Their daughter is sixteen, angry at the world, and-worst of all-pregnant. She needs the love of her two parents now more than ever. Can these three forgive the hurts of the past and open their hearts to each other?

Check out the Five Fun Facts
Download the Reading Group Guide
Visit RobinWells.com

Giveaway:
First, huge thanks to Anna and Hachette Book Group for this giveaway.
Leave a comment, and fill in this form at the same time.
Contest open to US and Canada. No PO Box address, please.
Extra entries:
+3 tell me something from the Five fun facts
+2 tweet this contest,
+2 facebook link,
+3 create a blog,
+2 sidebar link and
+2 follow @RobinRWells on Twitter.
Please leave the links in the comment form.
Drawing will be on May 30. Up to 5 winners!

Tags: Anna Balasi, Robin Wells

The Swan Thieves (Unabridged Edition)
by Elizabeth Kostova,
Readers: Treat Williams, Anne Heche, Erin Cottrell, Sarah Zimmerman, John Lee
Audio CD, Published 2010 by Hachette Audio, Unabridged Edition

Review:

A huge thanks to Anna from Hachette Books for the opportunity to enjoy this book and a chance for giveaway. I was very excited to hear about this book. I have read THE HISTORIAN (twice), and it was perfect. Listening to THE SWAN THIEVES is very much like taking a nice and leisurely walk in the park on a beautiful day. There’s nothing jarring about it. It flows, and it’s pleasant. When something suspenseful comes along, you’re safe in the knowledge that after this rough patch, your walk will go on being pleasant and flowing.

It took me a long while to figure out what’s going in the book. I didn’t really read any of the description of the story in advance. I know I’m going to listen to it, why bother? I just let the narration go on and I’ll figure out the story as it goes along. The readers are excellent, but they sometimes become interchangeable, I can’t quite tell which is which. There’s a sub-plot from a 19th century artist and his girl, then there’s Robert Oliver and his breakdown in the present time. His psychiatrist digs deeper into Robert Oliver’s life (a la Dr. House) to find out more about this patient. I don’t know how many psychiatrist would put so much effort into the lives of their patients, but Dr. Marlowe put many hours into finding out about his patient.

At the end of it all, I got this feeling that I just took a pleasant journey across beautiful landscapes, but I have no idea what the point of that trek was. The book left me with a very pleasant feeling, but also a confused one, just like life itself.

More about this book:

Listen to an Excerpt
Watch the Video
Read an Excerpt

Giveaway:
+1: subscribe
+1: Tweet
+1: sidebar link (leave the link in the comment)
+1: Finish this sentence, and make it at least two sentences long…(you can do this twice)

Love is….

+1: Extra chances of winning for each friend of yours who come and play.

Drawing will be by random.org list randomizer and integer generator.
Contest open to US and Canada addresses only. No PO Boxes please.
There’s a maximum of 3 winners.
Winners will be posted on March 2.
Check back here and find out if you’re a winner.

Product Description

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe has a perfectly ordered life–solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient. In response, Marlowe finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this genius, a journey that will lead him into the lives of the women closest to Robert Oliver and toward a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

Ranging from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope.

Tags: Anna Balasi, Elizabeth Kostova

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children
by Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman
Hardcover, 352 Pages
Published 2009 by Twelve
List Price: $24.99
Published in 2009
ISBN-10: 0-446-50412-2

My Take:
This is the single most significant book I have read on child parenting. It’s a revolutionary way of thinking, or re-thinking, depending on how you look at it. I want the best theories for my kids, and it’s a shock to find out that some of the common theories might be a hindrance instead of a help.

There’s this idea of self-esteem being the most important part of a child’s upbringing. That is good, but how one nurtures this is a fine line. I did not think that heaping praise on a child can sometimes be detrimental to their progress. But some studies shows that the wrong kind of praise (“smarts” versus “efforts”) can affect how a child takes control of their failure or success.

This book is a must read, not just for parents, but for educators and any other disciplines dealing with a child’s welfare. If I had a nanny, I would want her to read the salient points of this book. I want my children’s teacher to read this book. More important than Dr. Spock’s book on child parenting, this book should be the bible on children and the way we should nurture them.

Thanks to Anna of Hachette Book Groups, you can have a chance to win 1 of the 5 books or 3 audio CD books below. Please indicate in your comments which one you’d like to win.

The Giveaway:
Contest open to US and Canada. No PO Boxes please.
Contest ends September 30.
Winners will be announced within a week after deadline. Please make sure to subscribe to this blog’s feed to find out if you’re a winner. Please contact me within 1 week of posting the winners, or I get to pick another winner.

+1: Blog or link to this contest on your sidebar.
+1: (for each link) Tweet, stumble, or facebook this contest. Make sure to leave me link where I can find it.
+2 (unlimited): What are some of the parenting theories have you heard? You can discuss anything from the bible, to your own beliefs and even myths. Discussions of these theories counts.

About the Book:
In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter? Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated? If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie? What’s the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?
NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. They argue that when it comes to children, we’ve mistaken good intentions for good ideas. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society’s strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring–because key twists in the science have been overlooked.
Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors’ work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children’s (and adults’) lives.

About the authors: (from Hachette site)
Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman’s New York Magazine articles on the science of parenting won the magazine journalism award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Clarion Award. Their articles for Time Magazine have won the award for outstanding journalism from the Council on Contemporary Families. Prior to collaborating, Bronson authored five books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller What Should I Do With My Life? Merryman’s journalism has appeared in The Washington Post and The National Catholic Reporter.

Bronson lives in San Francisco, with his wife and two children. Merryman lives in Los Angeles, where she runs a church-based tutoring program for inner-city children.

Tags: Ashley Merryman, Po Bronson

Dark Hunger (Demonborn)
by Rita Herron
Mass Market Paperback
List Price: $6.99
Published in 2009
ISBN-10: 0-446-19948-6

Also available in e-book.
Read an excerpt.
Check out the Fun Facts.
Watch the video.
Go to DemonBorn.com to learn more about the characters, the legend, symbols, and the series.
Visit Rita Herron’s website.

My Take:
It’s disconcerting to read a book and keep expecting another character to show up. So, when Quinton Valtrez shows up in the book, I somehow thought Acheron would be there too. Acheron is from Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series. She finds this book “captivating”. I agree with her.  Lots of action for a paranormal. I like strong but sensitive heroes. I also like them sexy. Quinton is both. Annabelle is a smart girl. I like how they both have chemistry, the book is positively sizzling. To find out just how hot these two can get, win one of the books below and find out for yourself. This is the second in a series. I’ve already reserved the first one in the series for me at the library.

Thanks to Anna of Hachette Book Group for a chance to read this book and host this fabulous giveaway.

About the book:

HE’S EVERYTHING SHE FEARS…

Reporter Annabelle Armstrong will go to any lengths to deliver a story, even track down Quinton Valtrez, a man she believes is a coldhearted assassin. Yet the truth about the darkly sensual Quinton is even more shocking…and the overwhelming desire he ignites is one she vows to resist.

SHE’S EVERYTHING HE CRAVES

Quinton has fought his demonic powers since he was a child. Now using his gifts for the good of national security, he can’t let himself be distracted by the beautiful, determined Annabelle. But his need for her is sudden, fierce–and could soon cost Annabelle her life. For a wicked enemy is out for vengeance, a demon who wants to draw Quinton into a life of pure evil and is willing to use Annabelle as bait. To save her, Quinton must achieve the near impossible: tame the sinister force that is both his inheritance and his curse before it claims him forever.

About the contest:
Open to US and Canadian addresses. No PO Boxes please.
There will be five (5) winners on September 15.
Winners will be announced within a week of the deadline. Please make sure to subscribe to this blog’s feed to find out if you’re a winner.

How to win?
+1: Link to this contest on your sidebar.
+1: Tweet about this contest.
+2: Bring a friend, and make sure your friend mentions your name. Both of you get extra entry.
+1: (unlimited as long as there’s another person between your comments). Tell me about a book(s) that you can still remember long after you have read it. Any book or books that made an impact on your for whatever reason. If someone were to ask you to recommend something, that book title is never far from your mind.

Participating blogs:

Tags: Rita Herron

Swimsuit
by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
Reader: Christian Rummel
Audio CD
List Price: $34.98
Published in 2009
ISBN-10: 1-60024-591-9

My Take:
This audio book is good company while I was catching up with my laundry from vacation trips. Laundry for 7 people is a mountain, even it it’s just 3-day trip. I finished this book right around the time I was loading the last 3 loads of laundry.

I like the reader, Christian Rummel. He makes this thrilling story more breath-taking. It’s creepy, and scary. But then this is the same James Patterson of Kiss the Girls. I like the build-up, and the pace of the story until the ending. It just seem abrupt. It comes to a grinding halt with pieces neatly tied up. The ending didn’t feel like a James Patterson ending.

I didn’t mind so much because other than the abrupt ending, it’s a good book to listen to. I would like to thank Anna of Hachette Book Group for the chance to listen to this story.

About the Book:
Syd, a breathtakingly beautiful supermodel on a photo shoot in Hawaii, disappears. Fearing the worst, her parents travel to Hawaii to investigate for themselves, never expecting the horror that awaits them.

LA Times reporter Ben Hawkins is conducting his own research into the case, hoping to help the victim and get an idea for his next bestseller. With no leads and no closer to uncovering the kidnapper’s identity than when he stepped off the plane, Ben gets a shocking visit that pushes him into an impossible-to-resist deal with the devil.

A heart-pounding story of fear and desire, Swimsuit transports listeners to a chilling new territory where the collision of beauty and murder transforms paradise into a hell of unspeakable horrors.

©2009 James Patterson; (P)2009 Hachette Audio

The Giveaway:
Contest open to US and Canadian address. No PO Box addresses.
Three (3) winners on September 15.
Must subscribe to this blog’s feed to find out if you’re a winner.
Winners will be posted within a week of draw date.

How to win:
I found this game in my favorite BB. I don’t remember exactly who started the game, I just scrolled though tons of post, but couldn’t find it. Anyway, it’s called non-sequitur comments.

Basically, you can leave a comment about anything and make sure that it’s not related to anything anyone have already left.

The first comment could be lamenting about the missing shoelace; then your comment could be about this nice burger you had for lunch. And it goes on. You can come back and leave your non-related comments as often as you can, just make sure there’s 2 other people between your comments.

If you find this confusing, feel free to contact me. If you can tweak the game better, let me know.

Tags: Hachette Book Group, James Patterson, Maxine Paetro, Reader: Christian Rummel