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

My Review:

I’m a fan of King Arthur and his court. So, I was quite excited to read this 3rd book of the Pendragon series. I have not read the first two books, but because JORDAN is an excellent book, I am going to read the others too. I’m mildly OCD that way. Besides, wouldn’t you want more of the same fantabulous book?

This book dived into action almost right away. The progression of the story was smooth. It’s an exciting take, yet places will have you grinning like an idiot. I like the voyage. It’s like Star Trek (you know, the latest version where even non-sci-fi fan were enjoying). The attraction’s fast and furious between Vivianne Blackstone and Jordan McArthur. I love how they can both change into dragon. From the description of their flight, I was half-expecting Ms. Kearney to be a dragon herself. I enjoyed reading this book very much.

Jordan (Pendragon Legacy) (Original Edition)
by Susan Kearney
Mass Market Paperback, 416 Pages, Published 2010 by Forever

Other books in the series:
Lucan: Five Fun Facts about LUCAN
Rion: Five Fun Facts about RION

About the author:

USA TODAY bestselling author Susan Kearney is a native of New Jersey and has a Business Degree from the University of Michigan. Her fifty plus books include contemporary, romantic suspense, historical, futuristic, science fiction and paranormal novels. She resides in a suburb of Tampa-with her husband, kids, Boston terriers and iguana. Currently she’s plotting her way through her 52st work of fiction. You can reach her through her web site at www.susankearney.com.
Giveaway:
+1: subscribe
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+1: How do you define ‘animal attraction?”
+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 5 winners.
Winners will be posted on March 10.

Tags: Anna Balasi, Hachette Books Giveaway, Susan Kearney

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
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+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

Review:

It makes me wonder how strong my motivation will be to try to kill my sibling. Lore is a half-breed Demon (he’s half human) who cares so much for his twin, he’ll willing to try and kill his brothers for it. That should have made me dislike him as a hero material, but it doesn’t. Lore is sensitive in his own bad-ass way. The heroine, Idess, is a great match for him. She’s strong and can take on just about anything. I have fallen in love with these new capable heroines. They’re so far removed from Julie Garwood’s ‘old’ romances. The ‘old’ heroines that I like are capable, but they’re also quite soft. At first glance, Idess seem far from soft.

It was hard for me to root for a winner because I like Lore’s brothers:
Wraith, Shade and Eidolon. I really didn’t want any of these people to die. I was worried (yes, I know it’s fiction) but I was worried if I’m going to believe how the story ends. I have to say that Ms. Ione did a wonderful job untangling these quandaries. The sex scenes and hot and heavy, and very, very compelling. I think this book should come with a warning. But, that is not the best part of the book. The best part is, the sex scenes is integrated seamlessly into the story so I’m not jolted out of the story line for an obligatory sex scenes.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal. If you want an author that’s similar is edginess, then J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood comes to mind. I can’t really say about Sherrilyn Kenyon. Her heroes and heroines have a different feel to them. However, all of these authors writes excellent entertaining books.

About the book:

Lore is a Seminus half-breed demon who has been forced to act as his dark master’s assassin. Now to earn his freedom and save his sister’s life, he must complete one last kill. Powerful and ruthless, he’ll stop at nothing to carry out this deadly mission.

Idess is an earthbound angel with a wild side, sworn to protect the human Lore is targeting. She’s determined to thwart her wickedly handsome adversary by any means necessary-even if that means risking her vow of eternal chastity. But what begins as a simple seduction soon turns into a passion that leaves both angel and demon craving complete surrender.

Torn between duty and desire, Lore and Idess must join forces as they battle their attraction for each other. Because an enemy from the past is rising again-one hellbent on vengeance and unthinkable destruction.

Five Fun Facts.
Follow @LarissaIone on Twitter.
Check out the author’s website at LarissaIone.com

Giveaway:
Thanks to Anna of Hachette Books.
Winners will be posted on February 22.
Winners address must be in the US or Canada, no PO Boxes please.
There’s a maximum of 5 winners. But, the number depends on how many participants/comments there is. For every 10 comments, there will be a winner drawn.

There are several ways to win (8 ways):
-subscribe to my blog’s feed
-follow @LarissaIone on Twitter.
-leave a comment on your favorite paranormal author and book. (you can recommend up to 2)
-if you’re a previous winner to this blog and have a review posted of that book, link it here. (up to 2)
-what is the one burning question you want to ask of your favorite author?

(please leave comments separately so it’s easy for me to draw the winners via random.org using integer generator + string randomizer)

Tags: Anna Balasi, Hachette Book Group, Hachette Books Giveaway, Larissa Ione