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###Winner Announcement Posts are linked here.###

GIVEAWAYS ARE NOW LOCATED ON THEIR OWN PAGE - CLICK ON TAB ABOVE; Giveaways also linked on right sidebar.
Showing posts with label Merry Mary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Merry Mary. Show all posts

Monday, January 18, 2016

Winners November and December 2015

I am finally getting around to announcing the last two and posting all the winners from November and December.
Winners can always be found on the right sidebar a week or so after being announced and always on the Giveaway page. (Friday Pick and Sharing Beyond Books winners are in that link as well as the weekly posts and sidebar.)

Some of these are tour wins so winners should check the rafflecopter announcements on those giveaway posts.

***ALL WINNERS at MBS: Please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form to confirm the win and I will arrange the mailing or notify the publishers. I am now asking for mailing info in the giveaway forms so I can mail the books even if I don't hear from the winner.
[I ask that all winner's fill in the form as it helps me keep track of when I have completed the mail outs or notice to the publishers rather than tracking individual emails. But of course -- feel free to email me too! :-)] Email: mesreads AT gmail.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!

Giveaway Ended November 13, 2015


Book Blast with Giveaway: They All Fall Down by A.K. Mason
$50.00 GC Check Rafflecopter for Winner



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Giveaways Ended November 22, 2015


Book Review and Giveaway Link: Merry Mary by Ashley Farley
$50.00 GC - Check Rafflecopter for winner.



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Giveaway: Katt's in the Cradle: A Secrets from Lulu's Cafe Novel by Ginger Kolbaba, Christy Scannel 
2 Print WINNERS:  LINDA K and MEREDITH M


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Giveaway ended December 1, 2015

Giveaways (print and ebook): You Know What I'm Sayin'?: Poetry * Drama
by Daniel GarcĂ­a Ordaz;
Winner Print:  BECKY W
Winner eBook: BN100


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Giveaway ended December 2, 2015


Tour Giveaway: Steal Me (NYPD's Finest) by Lauren Layne
5 Copies - Check Rafflecopter



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Giveaway Ended December 4, 2015

Audio Book Tour Review with Giveaway: Murder on Safari: A Thriller by Peter Riva
10 Copies of Book and 2 $25.00 GCs
Check Rafflecopter for Winners.


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Giveaway Ended December 12, 2015

Giveaway: A Change of Fortune (Ladies of Distinction Book #1) by Jen Turano
Two Print Copies; US Only.
WINNERS: DIANE S and SUE F


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Giveaway Ended December 20, 2015


Giveaway: Raven Saint by MaryLu Tyndall
One Print Copy; US Only.
WINNER: RITA







Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Book Review and Giveaway Link: Merry Mary by Ashley Farley

This presents a soft-hearted dilemma for an infant and a wanna-be mother.
Merry Mary
by Ashley Farley

  • File Size: 930 KB
  • Print Length: 92 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Leisure Time Books; 1 edition (October 15, 2015)
  • ASIN: B01434AX6E
  • Genre: Christmas Novella, Holidays
  • My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0


A young woman longing for a child stumbles upon a Christmas miracle.
Investigative journalist Scottie Darden is photographing the homeless for her Lost Souls series when she makes a discovery that could change her life forever. Under a makeshift tent in subzero temperatures in a downtown city park, she finds a woman's dead body with her infant child. Without her cell phone to call for help, Scottie makes the split-second decision to take the baby home. Her initial instinct is to provide the baby with food and shelter until her family can be located. But as her fondness for the baby grows, she finds herself facing a life on the run or worse—prison time for abduction.
Curl up with Merry Mary this holiday season. A heartwarming story of the powerful connection between a caring soul and an innocent child in need.


Review:
Scottie is a photojournalist who takes pictures of the homeless in the park. She plans to do a galley presentation of her “Lost Souls” images. One morning the week before Christmas, while delivering food to the homeless, Scottie finds a dead woman with a crying infant. She doesn’t have a cell phone and the Lost Souls all disappear. Scottie’s primary thought is to get the child to a warm spot, to clean and feed her, until family can be located.

Scottie is reluctant to turn the child over to services where she may end up in foster care. One day leads to another and a few days later one of the Lost Souls appears at Scottie’s home to check up on the child.

The police have found the body and located family. But Scottie is afraid that family will harm the baby. Scottie has her own reasons to be vulnerable about infants and now she has to decide if she will flee with Merry Mary or accept the responsibility for her actions.

I have mixed feelings about this story. I admit I cringed each time Scottie failed to report that she had found the child. I enjoyed how Scottie’s family, her ‘Irish Twin’ brother, her formal mother, and her lawyer father, all gather to help her even if they didn’t support her decisions. I loved Scottie’s compassion for the Lost Souls and especially for the infant. I disliked her leach of a husband - she deserves better.

The writing style is direct and easy to read. It moves well with a natural sense of events and dialogue. I was satisfied with the story’s ending and think that I might enjoy following Scottie in the next book. I recommend this to readers who are interested in a quick Christmas read that offers an interesting balance of compassion and realism.

I received this for review tour through Kim at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Link to Merry Mary Tour: http://wp.me/p3vHcl-if

Buy Links:


About the Author:

Ashley Farley is a wife and mother of two college-aged children. She grew up in the salty marshes of South Carolina, but now lives in Richmond, Virginia, a city she loves for its history and traditions.
After her brother died in 1999 of an accidental overdose, she turned to writing as a way of releasing her pent-up emotions. She wrote SAVING BEN in honor of Neal, the boy she worshipped, the man she could not save. SAVING BEN is not a memoir, but a story about the special bond between siblings.
HER SISTER'S SHOES—June 24, 2015—is a women's novel that proves the healing power of family.
Look for MERRY MARY this holiday season, a heartwarming story of the powerful connection between a caring soul and an innocent child in need.
Author Links:



Excerpt from Merry Mary
    “Shh, don’t cry,” she said, rubbing the baby’s tummy.
    What would become of the baby? Scottie didn’t think the Commonwealth had the authority to place the baby up for adoption without permission of next of kin, which meant the baby would be placed in a foster home until the police could track down the father. If the father even wanted the child. If the father even knew he was the father.
    The baby began to wail, presumably with hunger. “Don’t worry, little one.” She picked the baby up and held her tight. “We’ll get it all sorted out. In the meantime, I have plenty of formula and diapers to keep you comfortable.”
    By the time Scottie got the baby inside, and mixed up a bottle from the supplies in her baby cabinet in the kitchen, the little girl was screaming, flailing her arms and legs in hunger. Scottie plopped down on the leather sofa in the adjoining family room, propped her snow boots up on the coffee table, and brought the bottle’s nipple to the baby’s mouth. The infant took the nipple between her lips, then thrust it back out with her tongue. Scottie turned the bottle upside down on her arm, letting a few drops of formula leak from the hole in the nipple, before returning the nipple to the baby’s lips. When she tasted the formula, the baby began to suck greedily.
    “Careful now, baby girl. Don’t drink too fast or you’ll upset your tummy.” The baby stared up at Scottie with bright eyes. “We need to give you a name, don’t we?”
    Scottie had been in the process of picking out names for her baby when her daughter was stillborn at thirty-one weeks. She’d been torn between Kate and Liza, after her grandmothers Katherine and Elizabeth. She ended up calling the baby Angel, which seemed appropriate for an innocent child who never drew her first breath.
    Scottie’s eyes traveled the room, coming to rest on the nativity scene on the mantle above the fireplace. “Why don’t we call you Mary after the Virgin Mary?” She caught sight of the needlepoint pillow Brad had brought down from the attic—a green background with Merry Christmas in curlicue script in red across the front. “Or Merry, which seems appropriate for a spunky little girl like you.”
    The baby stopped sucking and smiled up at her.
    “I agree,” Scottie said. “I like them both as well. Merry Mary it is, then.

Tour Giveaway:
Ashley is giving away $50 gift card (INT) choice of Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Paypal.
Rafflecopter code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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