Audible Book Review: You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz

This is a gripping suspense thriller.
You're Next
By: Gregg Hurwitz
Narrator: Scott Brick

Duration: 14 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 07-05-11
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Genre: Crime thriller, Suspense
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary
Mike Wingate had a rough childhood  —  he was abandoned at a playground at four years old and raised in foster care. No one ever came to claim him, and he has only a few, fragmented memories of his parents. Now, as an adult, Mike is finally living the life he had always wanted  —  he’s happily married to Annabel, the woman of his dreams; they have a precocious eight-year-old daughter, Kat; and his construction company is about to finish a “green” housing development that will secure a solid future for them all. Then the unimaginable happens: Something from Mike’s own past, a past he doesn’t even remember, comes back to visit terror upon him and his family. Menacing characters show up and begin threatening Mike, and when he reports them, the police seem more interested in Mike’s murky past than in investigating or protecting his young family. Now, with Mike, his wife, and their daughter suddenly under attack from all sides, Mike must turn to Shep, a truly dangerous man  —  and Mike’s only true friend  —  from their childhood days together in foster care. Together, the two of them will do whatever it takes to protect Mike’s family against the hidden men behind the terrifying warning “You’re Next!”
©2011 Gregg Hurwitz (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Review:
Mike Wingate has had life-long issues from being abandoned by his father at age four and thinking terrible things happened to his mother. He struggled through foster care barely staying out of jail until his teen years when he helped a friend. He learned an important lesson and went on to shape his own future. Now Mike is a family man with a wife and eight-year-old daughter he feels blessed to have. He is a successful entrepreneur who just completed a ‘green’ subdivision. Except he discovered a problem days before he and the governor were to receive a reward before all the news sources. Shortly after his face appears on newspapers around the states, Mike becomes a target. He doesn’t know why, but he is fighting to save himself and his family. When the police authorities focus on him instead of his attacker, Mike calls the only man he can trust- his childhood friend, Shep.

Mike, Shep and his family are on the run from the sadistic killers who seem to have the upper hand. Mike must find a way to change from prey to hunter. He gets help from another friend, Hank, a PI who has been trying for years to locate Mike’s parents. It would help if they could figure out who or why the killers are so intent on taking out Mike…and his family.

The story starts a little slowly but soon gripped me so I was anxious to know that Mike would survive and save his wife and daughter. The author has chapters to reveal the sick brutality of the killers, but it isn’t made clear who hired them as it is just their boss/big man on the phone. I really like the author’s twist of plot that is revealed with the reason for the vendetta. Even then, the superior powers that be pose a huge risk to Mike and his family that keeps the reader/listener on edge until the end.

This is the second book (Orphan X) I have listened to by Hurwitz and it sure won’t be the last. He delivers a thrilling ride that holds my attention. I recommend this book and author to fans of mystery thrillers.

Audio Notes: Scott Brick has a distinct narration skill. I think his voice and energy work really well for this mystery thriller. He carries the characters, male, female, creepy killers and the beleaguered protagonist. The audio added to my engagement with the book and I will look to listen to more by this author and narrator.

Source: Audible 8/31/2017 sale $4.95. This qualifies for 2020TBR, 2020Audiobook and 2020Alphabet ("X") goals.

Book Review: Message in a Bauble (Big Honey Dog Mysteries #3) by H.Y. Hanna

This was a fun little Christmas mystery with dogs as the stars!

Message in a Bauble (Big Honey Dog Mysteries #3)
by H.Y. Hanna

Published December 10th 2013
by H.Y. Hanna (first published November 26th 2013)
ASIN B00GYD4EMC
This story does not seem to be available on its own but it is part of the collection:
Big Honey Dog Mysteries HOLIDAY COLLECTION
(Halloween, Christmas & Easter stories for kids): A dog detective holiday mystery adventure for children ages 9 to 12 years.
Publisher : Wisheart Press (October 20, 2014)
Genre: Children, Christmas, Dogs, Mystery
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0.

Christmas intrigue. Daring rescue. Serious slobber.
When Honey the Great Dane finds a hidden note inside a strange Christmas bauble, the festive season takes a sinister turn. Was the note from a trapped child? Join Honey and her canine friends as they set off on a Search & Rescue--from snowy playgrounds to eerie libraries--while they race to solve the mystery of the message in the bauble.
Kids and dog lovers will love this action-packed Christmas mystery filled with suspense and humour - not to mention candy canes, gingerbread cookies and lots of mince pies!
This short novella is part of the Big Honey Dog Mysteries - don't forget to check out the full novels in the series: Curse of the Scarab(#1) and A Secret in Time(#2)
* EACH BOOK CAN BE READ AS A STANDALONE MYSTERY

Review:
Honey is a Great Dane who seems to like to solve puzzles. She has a lovely group of friends, including a Golden Retriever, a Beagle, a Siberian Husky, and a Jack Russell Terrier. Honey finds a piece of torn paper inside a broken Christmas ball. The dogs decipher the note and decide that it is a message for help from a trapped child. Honey is unable to get the attention of her human companion, so she and her friends decide to follow the clues themselves.

The story is sweet and engaging. The dogs have their own cute quirks (Honey has slobber) and humorous phrases like: “Oh, ticks”, “festering fleas” and “for barking out loud”. The mystery is fun and helps a child and a dog as the investigation progresses. The author also uses the mystery to share information about another animal and to share knowledge of food risks to dogs. This is a quick, fun read and I recommend this (and probably the other books in the series) to those who enjoy dog stories.

Ms. Hanna also writes the Oxford Tearoom Mystery series with cat characters. I have a box set on my Audible TBR and I look forward to listening to it.

Source: Free Kindle November 2014. This qualifies for 2020TBR goal.

Sunday Post December 27, 2020/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday December 28, 2020

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? now at The Book Date (at Wordpress)

What Are You Reading?, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

We closed the office mid afternoon on Wednesday and I actually have not worked for the past three days! (But I am ready to get back on Monday morning.

Hubby was expecting to have a quiet Christmas Day to ourselves but a friend offered to bring dinner and I didn't want him to have to cook. Heather and our three grands from Panama City Beach joined the lunch/dinner and we ended with a group of ten. I did minimal decorating.

That is a picture of the dishes our friend brought. None of us got a picture after they were opened but there was ham, chicken and dumplings, chicken pot pie, stuffing, and sweet potato casserole. In the kitchen there were greens and black eyed peas.
And on the counter are cookies, pecan pie and cheesecake in the fridge. All homemade!

We had two cold days and for an hour or so Christmas morning we thought the heater wasn't working.

WISHING YOU A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I enjoyed my reading and listening last week. I had three Christmas books and one thriller: two audios and two ebooks. I posted three reviews, my usual memes and two Christmas posts.
Countdown to finish challenges:
TBR and Goodreads Goals Completed this week!
Audio Alphabet Goal finished with a title with X in it.

I visited 16 blogs last week.
Shout Out this week to Books and Livres. IzaBzh works in a Paris library and gets to read a lot on trains. She has already posted her 2021 reading goals.

Don't forget- Audible is offering free children's titles during these days at home.
Audiobooks.com is also offering free listens for children.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post December 20, 2020/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday December 21, 2020.

• ebTBR- Book Review: Cold Feet: A Short Story for Christmas (Hand-Me-Downs Book 2) by Meggan Haller; Genre: Christmas, Young Adult, Short Story; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0.

• ATBR- Audio Book Review: Pupcakes: A Christmas Novel by Annie England Noblin; Genre: Animals, Women's Divorce, Romance; My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0 Overall; Story 3.75; Narration 3.75.

• Notice of Delay for Friday Pick.

• Blessings for Christmas Eve 2020.

• Merry Christmas 2020.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway December 25, 2020- Posted December 26, 2020. Open Worldwide. Ending 12/31/2020.

• ebTBR- Book Review: Thomas & the Christmas Orange: Storybook Advent Calendar Singles by Lewis Brech; Genre: Children, Christmas, Classic; My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0.

• Sharing Beyond Books #411 Comment Giveaway December 27, 2020. Open Worldwide. Ending 1/9/2020.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement December 27, 2020.

Finished Reading:
1. Kindle App on Phone (ebTBR)

Message in a Bauble (Big Honey Dog Mysteries #3)
by H.Y. Hanna
This was a fun little Christmas mystery with dogs as the stars!
Source: Free Kindle November 2014.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

You're Next
By: Gregg Hurwitz
Narrator: Scott Brick
Duration: 14 hrs and 1 min
This is a gripping suspense thriller.
Source: Audible 8/31/2017 sale $4.95.
Click on book title for full description.

3. Kindle App on Phone (ebTBR)

Miss Kane's Christmas
(Christmas Central #1)
by Caroline Mickelson
This is a cute, light romance with Christmas magic.
Source: Free Kindle December 2012.
With Christmas only three days away, Carol Claus agrees to her father's request that she leave the North Pole on a mission to help save Christmas. Joining single father Ben Hanson and his children for the holidays seems an easy enough task until Santa informs her that Ben is the man behind the disturbing new book 'Beyond Bah Humbug: Why Lying to Your Children about Santa Claus is a Bad Idea'.
Posing as Miss Kane, the children's new nanny, Carol pulls out all the stops to show Ben how fun Christmas can be, all the while struggling to understand how one man could hate the holidays so much. How could she, Santa's only daughter, be so attracted to a man who refuses to believe her father exists?

4. Audio/Smartphone (ATBR)

Snowbound at Christmas, (Montana Men #5.5)
by Jennifer Ryan, Maisey Yates, Lia Riley
Narrators: Lillian Thayer, Coleen Marlo and Carly Robins
Duration: 7 hours 56 minutes
The first story was fine but the other two were a little too sexy for my tastes.
Source: Sale Audiobooks.com December 2019.
When a snowstorm pummels the western half of the country, three couples find once off-limits love just in time for Christmas. An unforgettable holiday anthology from bestselling authors Jennifer Ryan, Maisey Yates, and Lia Riley.
Close to Perfect: A Montana Men Novella by Jennifer Ryan
At sixteen, Abigail gave Dex the gift of a lifetime, but the cost of it was more than he ever knew. Now she's back in town with a secret that has been ten years in the making and this time it's Dex's turn to make the ultimate sacrifice or risk losing her forever.
Snowed in at Copper Ridge: A Copper Ridge Novella by Maisey Yates
Mia Landry has always had it bad for brooding cowboy Devlin Grayson. Too bad he's her best friend's older brother. But when they find themselves snowed in at Copper Ridge Lodge, Mia finally has the chance to tell the man of her dreams exactly what she wants... him.
Hot Winter's Night: A Brightwater Novella by Lia Riley
While Brightwater is being covered in snow, Goldie Flint is stuck in her flower shop. She never expected her hero to be Kit Kane, the former love of her life. Kit knows that what he had with Goldie isn't just in the past and with the help of a little bet, an ornery grandmother, and a lot of snow, he's ready to show her that what he really wants for Christmas is a second chance.

Currently Reading:
1. Paperback/TBR

Coming Home for Christmas
(Haven Point #10)
by RaeAnne Thayne
This may take a bit of time to read but it is interesting.
Source: Won from Bookfan in 2019.
Hearts are lighter and wishes burn a little brighter at Christmas…
Elizabeth Hamilton has been lost. Trapped in a tangle of postpartum depression and grief, she couldn’t quite see the way back to her husband and their two beautiful kids…then a car accident stole away her memories. When she finally remembered the sound of little Cassie’s laugh, Bridger’s baby-powder smell and the feel of her husband’s hand in hers, Elizabeth reasoned that they’d moved on without her. That perhaps she wasn’t the right mother for her kids or wife for Luke, no matter how much she loved them.

But now, seven years later, Luke discovers her in a nearby town and brings Elizabeth back home to the family she loves, just in time for Christmas. Being reunited with Luke and her children is better than anything Elizabeth could have imagined. As they all make new holiday memories, Elizabeth and Luke are drawn ever closer. Can the hurt of the past seven years be healed over the course of one Christmas season and bring the Hamiltons the gift of a new beginning?

2. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Solitude
Dimension Space, Book One
By: Dean M. Cole
Narrated by: R.C. Bray, Julia Whelan
Series: Dimension Space, Book 1
Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

I was ready for a sci fi hit and this is moving quickly!
Source: 4/9/19 Audible Daily Deal $2.95.
From the Bestselling Author of the Sector 64 Series!
I Am Legend meets Gravity and The Martian when Earth's last man discovers that the last woman is stranded alone aboard the International Space Station. If you like action-packed, page-turning novels, you'll love the electrifying action in this apocalyptic thriller.
Can Humanity's Last Two Unite?
Separated by the gulf of space, the last man and woman of the human race struggle against astronomical odds to survive and unite.
Army Aviator Vaughn Singleton is a highly intelligent, lazy man. After a last-ditch effort to reignite his failing military career ends horribly, Vaughn becomes the only human left on Earth.
Stranded alone on the International Space Station, Commander Angela Brown watches an odd wave of light sweep across the planet. Over the next weeks and then months, Angela struggles to contact someone on the surface, but as she fights to survive aboard a deteriorating space station, the commander glimpses the dark underpinnings of humanity's demise.
After months alone, Vaughn discovers there is another. Racing against time, he must cross a land ravaged by the consequences of humankind's sudden departure.
Can Vaughn find a path to space and back? Can Angela—the only person with clues to the mystery behind humanity's disappearance—survive until he does?

3. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Murder on New Year's Eve
A Ridgeway Rescue Mystery, Book 1
By: P. Creeden
Narrated by: Shaniese Reyes
Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
Release date: 08-15-19
I saved this quick listen for this week. :-)
Source: Sale at Audible November 2019 $5.99.
Publisher's Summary
Ridgeway Rescue Mysteries can be enjoyed in one to two hours. Perfect for when you're waiting for an appointment or just want a fast listen. Don't miss out on this quick, clean, cozy mystery that will keep you guessing until the end!
It's New Year’s Eve, and 20-year-old Emma Wright has a date with her crush - well, not a real date, but she can dream! Colby Davidson, the K9 search and rescue deputy, is allowing her to accompany him while he’s on patrol at the Ridgeway Illumination Festival. Though they are just friends, she’s still hoping for a possible kiss at the end of the festivities.
When a stranger asks them to help take some pictures at the event, Emma and Colby are happy to oblige. But their assistance turns them into alibis for the man’s whereabouts while his girlfriend was killed. Most of the clues point to a robbery gone bad, but Emma doesn’t believe all of them point that way. Was it really a robbery, or was it murder?
©2018 Pauline Creeden (P)2019 Pauline Creeden

AND I have my book picked out for First Book 2021!

December 27, 2020 - I will finish the Bible again this week. Wonderful how it is new every morning even when it is familiar. There is always a new thing to learn.
I have enjoyed the devotions and readings with the One Year Bible plan through You Version App. Hubby still wants me to read the same version he follows but it is not on You Version so we are slightly off in the reading plans.
I will likely pick a New Year's study this week.

I completed four books, posted three reviews and I continue to be up to date.
I added eight more NetGalley titles so that gives me 14 plus the three remaining titles from 2012-13.
I tried to space these to two a month through April and included children's books as well.
I have two author titles in queue which will carry over to 2021. (Plus a few that I received from newsletter sign-ups, not specific review requests.)
Still many titles through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
I picked up eight new NetGalley titles this week preparing for 2021.

I got two audios through Audible two for one credit sale and I got two daily deals. I still have one more credit which I expect to pick before the end of the month.
I also got one audio from Audiobooks.com and three free from Audible Plus.
One free Kindle title this week.
(Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

I received four NetGalley titles that I requested:

Day Zero
by C. Robert Cargill
(Dystopian with humans and robots.)

The Quokkas, the Snails, and the Land of Happiness
Eric Geiger, Evie Geiger
(Children's Christian values book.)

Rescuing Harmony Ranch
Jennie Marts
(Clean Romance.)

A Cowboy for Keeps
Jody Hedlund
(Christian, Historical Romance.)

And I picked these four up through READ NOW:

Time of the Rose
by Bonita Clifton
(The genres hit all the right buttons: Historical Fiction | Romance | Sci Fi & Fantasy. It's time travel romance.)

Came A Horseman, A Hard Ride In A Fierce World
by Paul McHugh
(Dystopian Sci Fi and Mystery.)

LOVE
by Corrinne Averiss
(A picture book that sounds good.)

Evolving Elizah: Initiatum
by C.J. Hall
(Post-apocalyptic/dystopian.)

Won

NONE

Purchased

12/27/2020 Audible Two for One Credit Sale:

Ruins of the Galaxy
Ruins of the Galaxy, Book 1
By: J.N. Chaney, Christopher Hopper
Narrated by: R.C. Bray
Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
Release date: 04-28-20

Black Sheep
A Space Opera Adventure (Flight of the Javelin, Book 1)
By: Rachel Aukes
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
Release date: 06-16-20

12/21/2020 Audible Daily Deal $3.95.

The Summer House
By: James Patterson, Brendan DuBois
Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins


12/24/2020 Audible Daily Deal $2.95.

The Messenger: The Messenger, Book 1
J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert
Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Free

This was a different pick from Audiobooks.com December VIP.

The Hotel Where We Met
Written By: Belinda Jones
Narrated By: Jessica Preddy
Date: November 2019
Duration: 6 hours 59 minutes
(A romantic Comedy - time travel.)

12/21/2020 Titles from Audible Plus Downloads:

What Happens Next? Conversations from MARS
By: Adam Savage
Narrated by: Adam Savage
Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins

Spring Clean
By: Dina Gregory
Narrated by: Nneka Okoye
Length: 4 mins


Found at Audible Plus Catalog - seen at Inside of a Dog.
The first three books in Vorkosigan Saga
By: Lois McMaster Bujold
Narrated by: Grover Gardner

One Free Kindle Title (through the author newsletter)

Mall I Want for Christmas is You: A Mall Santa Holiday Standalone Romance
Sarah Robinson



One free Kindle title this week. Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Word of Encouragement December 27, 2020

Our church had technicalities, so I watched the Christmas service by Jonathan Cahn.

We can’t remove the sin from our lives. We can’t make ourselves right without help. You can try to get rid of sin and hate and anger, but you can only do so with God’s help – by filling up with love and forgiveness.

You can’t fill up a cup with air but you can fill it with water. To clean out a cup of dirt you pour in clean water, overflowing the dirt out. We can’t empty out impurity without filling up with good and pure thoughts – through the presence and Spirit of God.

The Yeshua premise is to cancel out the old, the bad by going for the antidote, the opposite. God doesn’t first remove sin. He first comes into our lives and then removes our sin.

Dwell on the good and blessings each day and it will change you! If you see a person you view as “bad”, view them as the person God created them to be. Don’t see them as bad, but as God’s child.

Instead of dwelling on worry, dwell on God’s provisions and blessings. What is the worst thing that will happen to you? You may die, but then you will go to heaven, so is that really bad? (I remember learning this lesson when I was 15 – it has helped me keep life’s problems in perspective.)

The more you care about what God thinks, the less you care about what others think.
Don’t focus on what you want. Rather focus on what you have, all your blessings!
David faced his problems (like Goliath) by focusing on God who is bigger than the giants.
Jesus’ name isn’t “trouble isn’t with us” but rather “God is with us”, Emmanuel.
Get away from temptation by getting right up close to God. Fill yourself with the joy and blessings of God.

How do you stop being worldly? Get into the heavenly – focus on God’s kingdom. Get away from sin by getting involved with the things of God. Overcome the flesh of God by the Spirit of God.
Fill up with the things of God. Get rid of selfish motives by getting filled with God’s love for others.

Bethlehem is God’s journeying to the house of the bride, our house. Then the groom (God) gives the bride a special gift - Emmanuel.

Overcome a sinful life with the presence of God. Be filled up with His presence. You shouldn’t go to the grocery store when you are empty, hungry. Go when you are filled up.

Salvation is not a system of the law. It is what comes into your life and drives out the rest. It is everyday filling up with God’s spirit. Yes, be convicted and repent, but then you must live in the Spirit.

The gift of Jesus is: God is with us.

Messiah is the answer. Don’t focus on the problem, focus on the answer! Focus on the presence of God, Emmanuel, God with me. If you have Him, you can do all things; you are more than a conqueror.

I wasn't sure which song to fit with this but this one popped up in my list:

He is the Gift!

Verse for today:
Matthew 1:23 NLT
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

I give thanks for God with us - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Sharing Beyond Books #411 Comment Giveaway December 26, 2020

Hello again and Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books, SBB and the last SBB post of 2020!
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks to everyone who commented last week.
Last Q#410 Nikki asked: If you had the power to make a fave book into a movie/tv series adaptation, what book would you choose and why?
Here are answers and books or series to consider:
Mystica Regency mystery series by Darcie Wilde
Carol L In Death series by JD Robb
miki The Sentinels of New Orleans series by Suzanne Johnson and Spellbound Codex series by Annette Marie
Linda none
bn100 n/a not a fan of adaptations
Rita The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
fredamans The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
Marjorie Diane Chamberlain's books
MaryP C.J. Sansom series in time of Henry VIII
Natalija Cry No More by Linda Howard
Alina Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh
Ashfa The Graceling series by Kristin Cashore
Life's Simple Pleasures Sarah J. Maas' series

The Winner from SBB #410 comments is #6 RITA who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated (**Finally!) ARC/Review titles or (recently updated) Love and Christmas titles - all linked near the end of the post. -- [11/16/19 I plan to add some review books this week and maybe some new Christmas and Love titles as soon as I locate the box I put them in. 11/28/20 I have added a box of new books for SBB and will list them in the next week or so. I have to try to cross off books that have already been awarded. ]

Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #411

(One Question.)

Miki asks: What kind of book tour do you like? one with several snippet along the tours? behind the scene blog post or review only or something else??

I used to participate in more tours and I always liked to do reviews and a Giveaway. I don't find cover reveals so interesting - that's just me. I don't mind a short excerpt but I'm not crazy about long ones. I also enjoy shorter interviews or author's posts.

Image found at Modern Mrs. Darcy.

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month, I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a 1/2 book choice or $2.50 towards GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify them.
The comments in December were provided by Nikki and Miki who get  $2.50 credit.

Your turn to share. Miki asks: What kind of book tour do you like? one with several snippet along the tours? behind the scene blog post or review only or something else??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Updated ARC and Other books, including the "Love" and Christmas titles all in one post.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made through Saturday, January 9, 2021, at 5 PM central.

Book Review: Thomas & the Christmas Orange: Storybook Advent Calendar Singles by Lewis Brech

This is a nice book that speaks of sharing small blessings.
Thomas & the Christmas Orange: Storybook Advent Calendar Singles
by Lewis Brech

ASIN : B004AE3MOS
Publisher : LEEP Publishing (October 30, 2010)
File size : 1533 KB
Genre: Children, Christmas, Classic
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0.

From Storybook Advent Calendar
A charming story about giving and the simple things in life was inspired by a folktale about that orange that seems to appear in Christmas stockings each year. Thomas and his parents leave England in 1824. Tragedy strikes and despair and destitution follow, but warmth and love are returned from a simple orange. This is an instant classic and beloved by all who read it!

Review:
Thomas and his parents have lived a sparse life with the landlord raising rents causing hardship. One morning father returns with the surprise of an orange and tickets to take them to the new world. The orange signifies their chance at freedom and the family is excited, anticipating a new life. Sadly, sickness changes things.

Thomas ends up in a work orphanage where one of the few moments of joy is when the children receive an orange as a treat on Christmas morning. One Christmas Thomas is punished and refused his orange gift. When things look completely desolate, a surprise gives warmth and hope to Thomas.

This is a quick, sad read with an inspirational message. The few images are simple and fitting. I enjoyed the story but not the advertisements that take numerous pages at the end. A simple listing of other books would have been fine.

Source: August 2011 Free Kindle download. This qualifies for 2020TBR goal.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway December 25, 2020 - Posted December 26

Happy Friday Saturday!  I hope you had a wonderful week and Merry, Merry Christmas. The next Friday Pick falls on New Year's Day. I think I will plan to post that one on the next morning (Saturday 1/2/2021) too. Have a safe week as we welcome in a new year!

TO ENTER FRIDAY PICK.

US Entrants: Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.

INTERNATIONAL: Leave a comment indicating "Gift Card" (see further comments near the end of the post.)

CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 9:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up too late to do the winner post! I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.

Thank you to all who entered the December 18, 2020 Pick. There was one automatic win this week. Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times without other people asking for that book during those weeks. There was no title blocked.
Rubynreba gets Three Complete Novels by Sandra Brown.

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from December 18, 2020 Pick:
NATALIA gets a GC
AND
ALINA gets a GC

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual, sexy or sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

I hope everyone had some time for peace and joy as well as books!
Image found at Etsy.

New Book Groups #92 and #93 November 13, 2020.
#92 (15 books):

The Promise by TJ Bennett
A Most Unsuitable Man by Jo Beverley
Alaskan Renegade by Kate Bridges
Killing Floor by Lee Child
The Tender Stranger by Carolyn Davidson
Her Wedding Wish by Jillian Hart
Heart's Desire by Ruth Ryan Hagan
Snowflakes on the Sea by Linda Lael Miller
Murder in Plain Sight by Marta Perry
One Perfect Rose by Mary Jo Putney
The Deputy's Duty by Terri Reed
No Ordinary Man by Suzanne Simmons
The Scot by Lyn Stone
The Abducted Heiress by Claire Thornton
Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs

Box #93 (14 books)

Three Complete Novels by Sandra Brown (Best Kept Secrets, Mirror Image, and Slow Heat to Heaven)
Select Editions Four Novels: Safe Harbor, The Analyst, Fallen Angel and Open Season
Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready
There's Only Been You by Donna Marie Rogers (personally signed)
The Celtic Riddle by Lyn Hamilton
For the Love of Pete by Julia Harper
The Irish Bride by Alexa Harrington
The Best Man by Kristan Higgins
Castles in the Mist by Jose Litton
When We Met by Susan Mallery
Thief of Hearts by Teresa Medeiros
Anne of Green Gables by Montgomery
Familiar Stranger by Sharon Sala
All of Me by Lori Wilde

New Book Group #91 October 2, 2020 - Suspense themed

SINGLES: Ten books in this box:
Senseless by Mary Burton
Indefensible by Pamela Callow
Fight or Flight by Natalie J. Damschroder
Final Appeal by Joanne Fluke
The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman
The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman Audiobook


PICK TWO  your choice (listed below the picture) Nora Roberts:

Born in Fire Audiobook Cassettes
Montana Sky
A Little Magic (Sorry - I initially listed this as Dark Magic)
Valley of Silence
Inner Harbor and
Chesapeake Blue


New Book Group #90 June 19, 2020
Quite a few mysteries in this box.

SINGLES:
Siren's Song by Trish Albright (personally autographed)
Alias by Smy J. Fetzer
Angel Face by Suzanne Forster
Stalking the Puzzle Lady by Parnell Hall
Hot Sex by Janet Evanovich (Audio cassettes)
The Warrior by Frances Richey (poetry  hardcover)


New Book Group #89 March 6, 2020

Singles:
My Surrender by Connie Brockway
How to Tame a Modern Rogue by Diana Holoquist
Phoenix by A.J. Scudiere

New Book Group #88 November 8, 2019

Singles:
A Lady Never Tells by Candace Camp
Dawn of Redemption by Starla Childs


New Book Group #87 August 23, 2019

SINGLES:
Captain's Paradise by Kay Hooper
Open Season by Linda Howard AUDIO CASSETTES


New Book Group #86 June 7, 2019
Another group of variety from my shelves.

SINGLES:
Show No Fear by Marliss Melton
A Question of God's Balance (Vol 1) by Joseph Thek
King by Right of Blood and Might by Anna L. Walls


New Book Group #85 March 22, 2019
A variety from my shelves.

SINGLES:
Summer Skies by Judith Christenberry
Windfall (two stories) by JoAnn Ross
Daddy's Little Cowgirl (two stories) by Judith Bowen and Kimberly Raye
The Forever Year, Cold Pursuit, Lover's Lane and Temporary Sanity (Reader's Condensed)
ToxiCity by Libby Fischer Hillmann

New Book Group #84 December 15, 2018
Here are some Christmas titles to pick from.

SINGLES:
A Family for Thanksgiving
On this Holy Night
Christmas Haven
King Harold's Snow Job


New Book Group #83 November 30, 2018

(Starting bottom left and continuing up then down)
SINGLE
Seductive Secrets by Lynne Connolly
Seven Up by Janet Evanovich - Audio Cassettes
A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein Audio Cassettes
Three Reader's Digest Condensed Books - each hardback:

Cold Harbour and The Courtship of Peggy McCoy
The Things We Do for Love, Three Weeks With My Brother, The Murder Artist and Night Train to Lisbon
Follow the Stars Home, Hunting Badger, The Quiet Game and Second Wind

New Book Group #82 November 9, 2018

SINGLES:
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
Killing Time by Linda Howard
The Wedding Night by Barbara Dawson Smith

New Book Group #81 August 17, 2018

SINGLES
Best Laid Plans by Allison Brennan
Darkness Tell Us by Richard Laymon
Cooking Most Deadly by Joanne Pence


New Book Group #80 August 17, 2018

Note: The Final Judgment and
The Book of Fate are Audio Cassettes
SINGLES:
Summer’s Moon by Lacey Baker
The Final Judgment by Richard North PattersonAudio Cassettes
Firebird by Janice Graham
No Getting Over a Cowboy by Delores Fossen
The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer Audio Cassettes


New Book Group #79 July 13, 2018
I found this box of books buried under some other boxes.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lenox by Maggie O’Farrell
P.S. by Helen Schulman
Her Sexiest Surprise by Dawn Atkins (personally autographed)
Dakota Child by Linda Ford
Calling the Shots by Ellen Hartman
Promises, Promises by Amber Miller
This Time for Keeps by Jenna Mills
A Daughter’s Legacy by Virginia Smith
Another Man’s Baby by Kay Stockham


New Book Group #78 April 27, 2018

SINGLES
Blackberry Bush
Breaking Point
A Tangled Affair
Too Wicked to Love
Roses are Red Audio Cassettes


New Book Group #77 February 16, 2018- All gone

New Book Group #76 November 3, 2017
13 books remain of the original 37:

I finally Have them Listed!
Boots & Booties by Kristine Rolofson
Saucer the Conquest by Stephen Coonts
The Scorpion Seducer by Bonnie Vanak
Hell On Earth by David L. Porter
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
Crisscross by Harmon Henkin
Maelstrom by Anne McCaffrey
Inhuman Condition by Clive Barker
101 Commonsense Rules for the Office by John R. Brinkerhoff


This shelf of 35 books are what is left from Groups #1 (11/27/09) through Group #75 September 29, 2017

(Title list reads left at bottom to right at top - 14 titles.)
Rehabilitation
Secret Blessing
Named of the Dragon
Aunt Erma's Cope Book
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Bound by Destiny by Rayka Mennen

(Title list reads left at bottom to right at top - 21 titles.)
Plan of Attack by Dan Brown
(*Three One more very old books from my Gothics box.)
*The Man in the Garden by Paule Mason (1969 - yellowed)
Fire Dancer by Ann Maxwell
*Four One books are very old; pulled from a box of gothic novels I found.
*Maggie – Her Marriage by Taylor Caldwell (1953 very old, yellowed pages, some stain damage doesn't effect reading)
First Things First by Stephen R. Covey- Audio Cassette
Trilogy Of Mysteries Audio Book Shadow Prey, There Was A Little Girl, Smokescreen Audio Cassettes (NOT CDs)
Raintree Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones (spine creases)
The Shadowing by Joan Overfield
The Sweetheart Dance by Patti Ann Colt
BOX 4 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 47-53)
Undateable by Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
The Hidden Truth of Cytech's Randall Forty by Vickie Kennedy
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes (link is for mass media version)
BOX 3 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 39- 47)
Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
BOX 2 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 24- 38)
The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe
A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley -- NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Foundation (Foundation Novels) by Isaac Asimov
BOX #1 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 1- 23)
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

I started Friday Pick on November 27, 2009 and in almost TEN years I have posted 91 groups of 16 books plus an additional 21 totaling 1,477 books available to find new homes! (As of November 6, 2020).

I am happy to say that so far about 1,345+ books have found new homes through this feature! YAY. [A year or so ago I posted I had reached 2000 books given away. As I calculated the numbers 11/2/17 I realized that had to be an error. I realized I went from 1098 to 2001 instead of 1101. Guess I was tired; sorry for the error.] I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed. I periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want!

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors, your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to faraway places runs between $7.00 and $10.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!