Winners of Friday Pick April 16, 2010

Sorry to post late! Family in to visit and rush day at work! Finally got to pick winners for announcing!

CONGRATULATIONS TO

the winners of Friday Pick April 16, 2010.

DINA

Dina chose Nights in Rodanthe

and

LINDA K

Linda chose The Guardian

What are the chances! Both books that were chosen were by Nicholas Sparks!

Ladies- please e-mail me with your snail mail address and preference for bookmarks: only sweet and sensual or mixed with bookmarks for erotica books.

The new Friday Pick post will go up a little bit later tonight.

Review and Giveaway - The 8th Confession by James Patterson

The 8th Confession (The Women's Murder Club)

Author: James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (February 23, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0446561339
• ISBN-13: 978-0446561334

Rating: 4.0

Description from Author's site:
It's the only Murder Club episode this year, and Lindsay, Cindy, Yuki, and Claire are overwhelmed. A killer picks off San Francisco's super-rich one by one–without a leaving so much as shred of evidence behind. And a street preacher and patron saint to the homeless is brutally beaten and left to die. What secrets lurk behind his mantle of holiness? Meanwhile, danger strikes close to home when an unexpected romance threatens to tear the girls apart. In the 8th Women's Murder Club, the stakes are high, but the truth is shrouded. Who will confess?

REVIEW: I enjoyed this fast pace addition to the Women’s Murder Club series.  There is a lot of action and a lot going on with the characters.

This eighth book in the series starts off with a bang - in the nature of a bus explosion. It all gets tied in later. Lindsay, the tough San Francisco homicide detective, is busy searching for clues to find an elusive killer of the rich and famous. Cindy, the reporter, is like a dog with a bone as she takes up the cry to investigate the brutal killing of a homeless man whose murder would otherwise fall through the cracks. Yuki, the passionate District Attorney, is busy trying to convict a killer in court and save her job in while coping with lots of emotional stress. Claire, the medical examiner, is not as out front in this book but she is still a source of support and strength for Lindsay and the other women.

There are emotional stories intertwined with the four women as the two crimes are being solved. Yuki becomes romantically involved only to discover a major impediment to her relationship. Cindy also becomes involved (not sure how romantic the relationship is) but her lover has ties to Lindsay that make this a source of friction that has to be resolved.  Lindsay herself has to come to terms with some of her emotional walls.

The book moves at a good clip, bouncing in quick chapters (yes - I really do like short chapters!) from criminal elements to emotional scenes.  I definitely liked this book better than book #7 which I found to be disjointed and not satisfying at the end. The 8th confession kept my attention so I was eager to find out what would happen. I found it to be a solid and satisfactory contribution to the series.

If you are not familiar with the series I would recommend starting at the beginning so you have the full background and nuances of the relationships between the characters.  I have to say too that I do appreciate reading a cop/crime series with minimal bad language.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for the Book:

1.a) If you are familiar with this series, tell me who is your favorite character and briefly why? Or
b) Check out the Author's Website and tell me something about the Women's Murder Club series or the characters that you learn there.OR
c) Check out the video interview on The James Patterson Community and comment on that.

2. For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

3. For another entry, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Three total entries possible.)  MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL!

THERE WILL BE THREE WINNERS!

THANK YOU AGAIN TO HACHETTE AND VALERIE for providing the book for me to read and providing the books for Giveaway!

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.
* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons
* This contest will close Midnight (Central) on May 12, 2010. The winners will be randomly selected from all entries.

Review - God Never Blinks! Treat Yourself to this book!

God Never Blinks, 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours
Author: Regina Brett
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (April 13, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446556521
ISBN-13: 978-0446556521

My Rating: 5++
Product Description
Already an internet phenomenon, these wise and insightful lessons by popular newspaper columnist and Pulitzer Prize finalist Regina Brett will make you see the possibilities in your life in a whole new way.


When Regina Brett turned 50, she wrote a column on the 50 lessons life had taught her. She reflected on all she had learned through becoming a single parent, looking for love in all the wrong places, working on her relationship with God, battling cancer and making peace with a difficult childhood. It became one of the most popular columns ever published in the newspaper, and since then the 50 lessons have been emailed to hundreds of thousands of people.


Brett now takes the 50 lessons and expounds on them in essays that are deeply personal. From "Don't take yourself too seriously-Nobody else does" to "Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift," these lessons will strike a chord with anyone who has ever gone through tough times--and haven't we all?

Review: I can’t say enough good about this book. I am buying copies for my daughter, my sister, my dad and stepmother and an extra to give to a friend. If it comes out in audio I’ll get it for my husband!

This book is full of basic, down to earth advise for coping with daily living as well as the road bumps and crisis that life throws at us.  The chapters are short, bite size chunks that let you devour them, chew a bit and savor before going to the next bite.  The chapter titles help give a picture of the wisdom that is shared in a humorous, entertaining flow. Here are just a small sampling. The titles are the author’s and the comments following are mine.

Lesson 1: Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.  Now we all know that is true!
Lesson 15: Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
Great reassurance.
Lesson 21: Burn the candles, use the sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don’t save anything for a special occasion.  Today is special enough.  I’m guilty of this but it makes sense. Why get the pretty candles (or lingerie) and not enjoy them?
Lesson 26: Frame every so-called disaster with these words:”In five years, will this matter?”
I actually learned this in my teens and it helps to get over mistakes, embarrassment and guilt.

The author shares from her own experiences with a difficult childhood, as a single mother, a woman struggling to establish a career and a woman in her early 40s suffering with the emotional trauma of  breast cancer. The book is not preachy although the author doesn’t hide her faith in God. Her faith is something she had to learn until it became part of her daily living. She shares from living in the trenches, not a palace.

I recommend this book for every gender, every race and every age.  There is no person who is able to read who can’t benefit from the calm lessons expressed here. And it’s worth reading to your children to get the wisdom in their heads early. Please treat yourself and a friend to this book!

xxx

You have a chance to win one of three copies by entering my Giveaway.  

Winners of Tuesday Comment 4/13 Title Game

Thank you to CHERYL, LLEHN and MARGIE for playing the Title Game in last week's Tuesday Comment Giveaway! I really thought that was a fun thing to do with our books!
I did put 1-3 in the random generator and then decided that you should all win!
I like to reward faithful commenters!

So Cheryl and Margie can pick a book from the Friday Pick List and Llehn can pick a book for $5.00 or under  from Book Depository. E-mail me with your choices and thanks again for playing.

Mailbox Monday April 19, 2010

This Meme starts with Marcia at The Printed Page

I got in several review books and these books that I won or purchased.




I won a galley copy of  The Courtesan's Wager (The Courtesan Series) at a Writerspace Chat with author Claudia Dain.  Thank you Claudia and Writerspace!


Product Description
If Lady Amelia Caversham is to marry before another Season passes, she'd better find help-namely, that of the infamous courtesan-turned matchmaker Sophia Dalby. But even Amelia is shocked when Lady Dalby informs her that they will hold interview for the position. And most shocking of all? Only Dukes need apply. 

I also won the eBook Cassie's Awakening by Birgit Aine from Karen Michelle Nut's Blog.

Product Description
He obviously doesn't want her...so how can she be his mate? Blurb: Cassie's talent is dampening the emotions of others. This has been a very useful way of keeping peace around her, but has proven harmful in learning about passion and love. After all, none of the men she has ever dated have been able to profess or show the true depth of their feelings. Jared is happy for Ethan and Red, but he doesn't want a mate of his own, no matter what his inner wolf might say. Unfortunately, every time he sees the beautiful Cassie, he knows his wolf is winning the battle. Will Cassie and Jared discover that a powerful force can overcome even a talent? As their path unfolds, a stranger arrives in Torrent; is this a sign of trouble on its way?

I purchased the book Michal: A Novel (The Wives of King David) by Jill Eileen Smith for our Church Ladie's Book Club.

Product Description
As the daughter of King Saul, Michal lives a life of privilege--but one that is haunted by her father's unpredictable moods and by competition from her beautiful older sister. When Michal falls for young David, the harpist who plays to calm her father, she has no idea what romance, adventures, and heartache await her. As readers enter the colorful and unpredictable worlds of King Saul and King David, they will be swept up in this exciting and romantic story. Against the backdrop of opulent palace life, raging war, and desert escapes, Jill Eileen Smith takes her readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride as Michal deals with love, loss, and personal transformation as one of the wives of David. A sweeping tale of passion and drama, readers will love this amazing story.