Winners: Alas Babylon and Blood Prophecy

Thank you to all who entered these giveaways.  I never read The Stand but I did like the movie.

CONGRATULATIONS

to the winner of 1993 copy of

Alas Babylon 

by Pat Frank

Thanks for naming some new vampire series I can try ... when I get time. :-)

CONGRATULATIONS

to the winner of review copy of

Blood Prophecy

by Stefan Petrucha

I will email  CYNTHIA and WINNIE to send me their addresses and choice of bookmarks.

Book Review and Giveaway: In Love and War by Suzanne Barrett

This story is rich in character, setting and romance.
In Love and War by Suzanne Barrett

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press (January 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935817418
• ISBN-13: 978-1935817413

    Price: Paperback $13.99; Kindle $4.99
    Genre: Contemporary Romance
    My Rating:  4.25 of 5.0

Product Description
Embittered war correspondent Quinn Lawlor returns to his ancestral home in Ireland where he finds solace in the arms of Waterford dairy farmer Meaghann Power.
Meaghann must separate her daytime life as farmer and daughter of Irish rebels from nights of blazing desire for the one man she shouldn't love.
Will their passion prove strong enough to overcome a decades-old bitter struggle?

Review: This story has wonderfully full characters, beautifully detailed settings and a well written story all working together to make a very enjoyable read.

Meaghann is a solitary woman struggling to maintain a dairy farm in rural Ireland.  She is nearing 40 but has not married as her fiancé had been killed 12 years earlier in an IRA related incident. Meaghann’s younger brother, Declan, wants nothing to do with the family business.

Meaghann is a “good” catholic girl in a community that stresses older time values and morals.  She helps at the church setting up flowers and pressing altar linens.  Her Aunt is encouraging her to marry a local widower but Meaghann is not attracted to him. She would rather make it on her own even if she has a sense of loneliness.

Meaghann’s Uncle has arranged for her to take on a border in the old keep on her property. Having a male border may create some moral concerns but Meaghann is determined to have the border who will bring in extra money and hopefully add an extra pair of hands to the work load. When Quinn arrives she is annoyed to discover that not only is he recovering from injuries, but he is rude and difficult.

Quinn is very bitter from all of the war he has seen as a television correspondent. Because of his injuries he no longer has that job and all he wants is to be left alone to write his book. Although he is sullen and withdrawn, Meaghann is physically attracted to Quinn. Bit by bit the two move from confrontation and contention to conciliation and consolation. Although the attraction is strong and the love affair begins to grow, they both have fears and reservations that keep them from really committing to the relationship.

Declan begins to bring around some politically inclined friends that cause concern for Meaghann.  Quinn is furious when he begins to suspect that Meaghann is somehow involved in the Irish rebellion.  As if that strife is not enough, Quinn is called back home unexpectedly and Meaghann is forced to face the likelihood that he might never return.

I really enjoyed the description of day to day living on the dairy farm.  (I was blessed to visit a cheese/dairy farm in Gouda, Holland and this book brought back wonderful memories of that visit.)  The characters are full and complex and the interaction between Meaghann and Quinn is rich with emotion. I liked how their relationship developed and grew.  The story moved along very well and the author presented some interesting insights for thought on the political issues and tangles of Irish Republicanism and stubborn Irish pride. I definitely recommend this story for its deep romance and rich warmth. I look forward to reading another book by Ms. Barrett, Late Havest, very soon.

Thank you to Ms. Barrett for the book to read and review. She has also graciously offered to giveaway an eBook copy AND an autographed trade paperback copy!

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

PLEASE NOTE if you want to be entered for the 

A. The ebook - open internationally.

B. The print book - US and Canada only.

C. Either.

1.   Visit the author's website and tell me something you note of interest. Please leave your email address.

2.  For an extra entry comment on the Author's Interview.

3.  For another entry Answer the author's question at #12 from the Interview.

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

5. For two entries, 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.
(Six total entries possible.) MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL!

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on February 25, 2011.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.

Q&A INTERVIEW with Suzanne Barrett Author of Love and War

Today I welcome talented author Suzanne Barrett to share at my bookshelf. 
Thanks for visiting Suzanne.
I really enjoyed the Irish country setting in In Love and War. The setting and the plot raised several questions.
Q1.  Where did the inspiration for In Love and War  come from?

I've always had a love for and interest in England and Ireland. After an initial visit to Ireland to meet a pen pal, I began writing and studying Irish history, and my husband suggested a wintertime visit to Ireland to research the story I'd got in my head. We rented a mews cottage in the County Waterford village of Cappoquin. I'd previously decided my heroine would be a dairy farmer, so I'd scheduled an interview with a nearby dairy farmer/cheesemaker. Visits to neighboring farms taught me a lot about marketing, milk quotas and various things my heroine might face in her efforts to make a living from her land. Then one evening I watched a television program about four Irish farm women who ran their farms without extra full-time help, and, voila! I knew my heroine could do this. Add a bit of the history of the early twentieth century "Troubles", and I had conflict. A chance visit to a quiet pub and afternoon spent with a few old-timers gave me an insight into the mind-set of a small village and the proof that a war for independence was still being fought. Finally, my landlady showed me a converted castle keep on property near hers. I wrote furiously while there, and finished the book after returning home, knowing I'd truly done my research. Everything in the story is real, right down to the roadside shrine.

Q2.  Did you have to do special research for In Love and War ?

I had to be in Ireland to do my research. I could never have imagined the operation of a dairy farm or the business of making cheese without seeing it first hand. Eileen Harty spent the better part of a day showing me the operation, after which we enjoyed a delicious lunch and cheese sampling at her kitchen table.

Q3.  Did you have any personal history that made you want to write this story or your story Late Harvest?

I have always felt I had one foot planted in America and the other in Europe. From the age of twelve I had German, French, English and Irish pen pals. I studied English and Irish history, wrote articles on the history, geography and culture. In Love and War came from that desire to learn more. Late Harvest combined my interest in wineries and winemaking with my German heritage.

Q4.  Would you provide only a two or three sentence "teaser" quote from Love and War?

Irish dairy farmer, Meaghann Power, struggling to make ends meet rents her converted castle keep to an embittered war correspondent wounded in Bosnia, while Quinn Lawlor has come to his ancestral homeland to heal and to be left alone. However, pragmatic Meaghann discovers much more than just her attractive-but-surly tenant's body is in need of healing. What begins as indifference turns to fascination, and later, desire. But can their passion survive Meaghann's own dark secrets?

I know from interviews that authors have different styles, strengths and weaknesses.
Q.5  Do you have any disciplines in writing that have been particularly helpful?

I actually don't, however, I simply cannot write if my office is cluttered. I have to keep things in order for the words to flow.

Q6.  What has been the hardest part of writing and getting published for you?

If you're referring to being "New York published", I think it's that most of my stories push the envelope. No one would look at a book that had Irish politics in the plot, and my then NY publisher said of Late Harvest, "we don't like Germans." But generally speaking, my biggest struggle was crafting a story that had the elements a New York house was looking for. I'd been writing for nine years before getting the call. I'd studied, written, revised, and written some more. When I finally sold my first book, I'd completed six others. Now that I've a backlist and small presses are embracing more unusual plots, it's been a glorious ride.

Q7. What do you hope your readers will get out of your books?

I hope they find my stories interesting and informative without being preachy; I hope they fall in love with my protagonists and their stories linger after the last page is turned.

 You have a unique side business. 
Q8.  Please tell us a little about your other business. Bellerustique

Five years ago I taught myself wire wrapping and now have a small side business where I create pendants, earrings and bracelets using sterling or gold-filled wire and semi-precious gemstones. I sell on the Internet and at various arts and crafts shows in my local area.

Q9.  Have you or do you plan to work your jewelry interests into any of your writing?

I hadn't thought about that, but it's certainly a great idea!

Now I have a couple of questions to tell us a little more about you personally.
Q10. Who are some of your favorite authors to read when you are not writing?

I'm an eclectic reader, but I often look for a good romantic suspense. I read Brenda Novak and Sharon Sala. In romance it would be Robyn Carr, Lynna Banning (my critique partner). I just found Susanna Kearsley and Julie Klassen, both of whom I admire. I prefer a fast-paced book with lots of plot, strong characterization, and it must be well written.

Q11. If you could trade places with anyone, real or imagined, in any time, who would it be and why?

I don't know about trading places, but an historical figure who fascinates me is Michael Collins. I own every biography written about him.

Q12. If you could have readers finish a sentence what would it be?

Next to happiness and health, I wish for .....

Thank you again Suzanne for sharing with my blog readers and for offering a giveaway of this lovely romance.  Please see the review and Giveaway for a chance to win In Love and War.

Book Review and Giveaway, Three Copies, To Tempt a Rake by Cara Elliott

Independent female with a past meets rakehell rogue with a past. Can they find a future together?

To Tempt A Rake (Circle of Sin) by Cara Elliott

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forever (February 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446541303
• ISBN-13: 978-0446541305

Price:  Print and Kindle $7.99
Genre:  Historical Romance
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Description:
Kate Woodbridge has spent most of her life sailing to exotic ports around the globe, acquiring an expertise in botany, along with a few less ladylike skills. So when a deathbed promise to her parents brings her to London to seek reconciliation with her grandfather, the imperious Duke of Cluyne, she feels like a fish out of water. Her outspoken views and fiery temper tend to set off sparks in Society-especially with the rakish Conte of Como.

A devil-may-care rogue, Marco finds the alluring and mysterious Kate a tempting target for his flirtations. But when murder strikes at the duke's country house party he begins to suspect that she's hiding a dark secret. He has his own clandestine reasons for offering to help her prove her innocence . . . And so begins a journey of dangerous deception that leads from England to the glittering ballrooms of Vienna, where Marco and Kate must duel with a deadly villain . . . and their own explosive attraction.

Review:  There was a lot of sensual circling before this story got to the real intrigue. I liked Kate from the beginning but Marco had to grow on me.

Kate wasn’t just raised sailing, she was a ship’s monkey and a brazen cutpurse as the daughter of a Captain pirate.  Kate has seen the seedier side of life and is having trouble being a quiet, demur English Lady as her grandfather the Duke of Cluyne would like her to be. She is decidedly independent and has declared that she has no interest in love and marriage. Yet there is a soft vulnerability that is hidden beneath her cool mask of assurance.

Marco is a rogue, known for his drinking and debauchery.  He lives a wild life and rarely lets anyone see that there is a soft side filled with pain and remorse.  His rakish lifestyle allows him to play the dissolute even while he secretly spies as a government agent.  Although he has no business pursuing an innocent lady, he is drawn to Kate like a moth to a flame.

I really enjoyed the pirate/sea analogies like: “She felt as if she had fallen overboard into a raging sea...” p257.  I liked the characters although the arrogant Marco was harder to like.  I thought the beginning  was a bit slow as the murder doesn’t occur until after page 200. The intrigue and interaction is wonderful through the rest of the book.  The Circle of Sins books definitely make a satisfying series to enjoy.

Thank you to Hachette for this book to read and for providing three copies for giveaway.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY: 

1. Visit the Author's website and tell me something you found interesting;
This is required for entry.
Make sure you leave your e-mail address!

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

3. For two entries, 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.
(Four total entries possible.) MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL!

THERE WILL BE THREE WINNERS!

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.

* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons.

* Limit one win per household.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on February 25, 2011.
The winners will be randomly selected from all entries.

Book Review: I Dream of Genies by Judi Fennell

This is a magic carpet ride of quirky genie fun.

I Dream of Genies by Judi Fennell

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (January 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402241895
• ISBN-13: 978-1402241895

      Price:  Print $7.99, Kindle $6.15
     Genre: Paranormal
     My rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Description:

He needs to change his luck, and fast!
Matt Ewing would gladly hunt down a fortune in lucky pennies if he thought it would help save his business.
But for all his hoping, Matt’s clueless when his long awaited lucky charm falls in his lap in the form of a beguiling genie. He just can’t believe that this beautiful woman could be the answer to his prayers…

She’s been bottled up for far too long!
Spending 2,000 years in a bottle would make any woman go a little stir crazy. So when Matt releases Eden from her luxurious captivity, she’s thrilled to repay him by giving him the magical boost he needs…
But for all her good intentions, Eden’s magical prowess is a little rusty and her magical mistakes become more than embarrassing. And though Eden knows falling in love will end her magic and immortality, she can’t help but be drawn to the one man who wants her just for herself…

Review: This is a fun read but maybe a little too crazy.

Eden is a feisty genie who has accidentally gotten knocked loose from her bottle. She is a bit sex starved after 2,000 years and is ready to jump Matt when he so sweetly rescues her. Eden is grabbing her chance to escape the slavery of being a genie and is thrilled when Matt helps her remove her slave bracelets.  Eden is willing to help Matt out but she doesn’t have to serve him since he doesn’t have her bottle which is lost and has to be found before the wicked Vizier Faruq finds it and enslaves her for himself.

Matt is fiercely independent and doesn’t want help from his step family or anyone else. He thinks that if he can’t make it on his own he doesn’t deserve to make it.  That attitude doesn’t stop him from taking in the neighborhood strays, like bringing in the stray cat, Eden’s friend, (sort of), Obo.   Matt thinks Eden is gorgeous but she keeps talking nonsense about crazy magic. Unfortunately Eden’s wrists were injured in her fall so her “way” of doing magic is off and her new “way” is causing havoc all around her.  Matt may not believe in genies but it’s hard to ignore a donkey popping into your house, a talking cat and a cute but fast growing pet dragon who has taken a liking to him.  And the butterflies that show up when he and Eden kiss are pretty awesome.  Not to mention the floating sensations when they finally succumb to their hormonal attraction.


When Faruq tracks Eden to Matt’s house, Matt is no match for the powerful djinn.  Even so, with Obo’s help, and Humphrey the dragon, under his hat, Matt rushes off to a magical, hidden city of genies to rescue Eden.  Now to escape Faruq they must brave the monster in the garden to get a magical and poisonous potion so they can sneak into Faruq’s fortress and steal Eden’s crystal which is Faruq’s personal GPS tag to her whereabouts.

This really started out well with light, fun humor. It just seemed to be too outlandish in the middle for me - think Alice in Wonderland and Willie Wonka style. I did enjoy the obstacle course of the gardens and the riddles (I always like those), but for some reason I wanted the story to move on.  Maybe I was just frustrated by one disaster after another.  The solution was what I expected, even though Eden was fighting it, and there was an extra sweet surprise at the ending too.

Quirky characters, an unusual plot and lots of humor make this an entertaining read.  I am interested in reading Ms. Fennell's Mer man series too.

xxx

Thank you to Sourcebooks for the book to read and review.  My copy is being sent to Throuthehaze as a choice from her win in January's Dreaming Hop.  She is willing to take the review copy even with some teeth marks in the cover from our puppy. Enjoy the magic Throuthehaze!