Winners of MBS July 2012 Blogoversary Flash Giveaway

Congratulations to Winners

Giveaway Ended July 31, 2012

MBS July 2012 Blogoversary Flash Giveaway.

Thanks to you great active followers who entered and made pick recommendations from my "summer reading" group!

Winner #1 is Elizabeth L.
Elizabeth recommended I read The Days Of Summer by Jill Barnett.  I have enjoyed several historicals by Ms. Barnett and will be interested to read this contemporary.

Winner #2 is miki

Miki picked  Summer's Crossing (The Iron Fey) as my read which is the book that got the most recommendations at 9.  Oddly the next popular pick was Heating Up the Kitchen: Recipes with Love from Lucky Harbor.  Do you guys really read cookbooks?   

So - I will read Summer's Crossing first because it is short, 51 pages, and I can squeeze it in better. :-)
Then I will read The Days of Summer. 




WINNERS GET TO PICK:
a) Print copy of Days of Summer by Jill Barnett which I have in my book boxes
b) ANY book from my Updated Review and ARC giveaway list! (Subject to reasonable postage.)
OR
c) Choice of the Summer Titles above (if available), in eBook (up to $10.00 value), or print to be sent through The Book Depository.

I may substitute the prize for International winner as $8.00 GC if you don't get delivery from TBD or if the postage on book choice is too high.

Also - Elizabeth gets to pick the next "word" to hunt in my Kindle library for book choices!

Elizabeth and miki please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads AT gmail.com to confirm the win and I'll send out your choices.  Please reply within 72 hours! 

Guest Post by Mary Wine, Author of A Lady Can Never Be too Curious

Good Morning!

It’s great to be blogging today and doubly so because I’m really excited about ‘A Lady Can Never be too Curious’. When I first began to tinker with the idea of writing a Steam Punk, I found myself diving into history. 

History is full of odd and often curious things. After all, we humans have always enjoyed being entertained, so it stands to reason that many of our ancestors had crazy ideas of how to blow off steam. In the Victorian era, science was advancing, providing living comforts such as gas lights and violas. Today, with our iPods, a record player which needs to be hand cranked might seem like very small comfort but if you’ve ever been out camping without anything but the wind, you’ll understand that having music at your fingertips was just as wonderful to the Victorians as an iPod to our teenagers.

I love my iPod too.

But constructing a book from research is a little more complicated. I am still a romance author and needed a great story. Steam Punk is a fiction and yet, oddly based in a bit of fact. There were people who believed steam powered engines were the future. Gasoline was a byproduct and proved to be far less expensive.

Still, I was fascinated by the idea of creating a portion of society that tinkered with steam powered machines. In a way, a bit like the Masons. A society, within the Victorian society, with secret rules and an oath of allegiance. Let’s add to that a very curious young lady, brought up among the rules of Victorian society. Part of me wanted to give her a place to go where her gender didn’t prevent her from following her dreams wherever they might take her.

My Illuminist are people of science. I say people because gender isn’t considered. Anyone may join, so long as they can pass the entrance exam. But just like in Victorian society, you are either one thing or another and once you accept the lapel pin of the Illuminist Order, upper society will shun you.

I hear a lot of readers asking just what Steam Punk is and the short definition is ‘Victorian Sci-fi’.  At its core, A Lady Can Never be too Curious, is still a great historical read and a wonderful romance. I hope you’ll consider giving it a try. Pop over to my website, MaryWine.com, for an excerpt.

Cheers!

Mary Wine

MaryWine.com

MaryWine_author   Twitter

Book Review: A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine

I really enjoyed the premise of this story but I felt it got overwhelmed with the intimate encounters. 

A Lady Can Never be Too Curious

by Mary Wine

• File Size: 985 KB
• Print Length: 321 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1402264801
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (August 7, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008B8A7C4

Genre:  Steampunk, Paranormal, Romance
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2012

Beneath the Surface of Victorian Life Lies a Very Different World...

Hated and feared by the upper classes, the Illuminists guard their secrets with their lives. Janette Aston's insatiable quest for answers brings her to their locked golden doors, where she encounters the most formidable man she's ever met.

Darius Lawley's job is to eliminate would–be infiltrators, but even he may be no match for Janette's cunning and charm...

Review: 

Janette has an insatiable desire for learning instilled, somewhat secretly, by her mother.  Her society conscious father insists that she be prim and proper and that she have nothing to due with the Illuminists, an organization of scientists.  Janette sneaks into the Illuminist compound and slips into a lecture.  There it is discovered that she has certain unique skills that make her valuable to the Illuminists and their enemies, the Helikeians.

Darius is the head of the Illluminist Guard and he finds himself reluctantly attracted to Janette. He doesn’t believe she could ever leave her privileged society to become part of the Illuminists. Then Janette’s father sends her to a mental doctor to straighten her out and remove her interest in the Illuminists. Darius and his friend rescue her and he sets himself as her personal protector even if she does threaten his control.

Janette is glad to have Darius’ help but isn’t so happy that he wants to make decisions for her and tell her what to do. She is thrilled to pass the Illuminist exam and be allowed to train. She is to study as a novice for a year before taking the oath. There is trouble in the ranks though when certain authorities show up insisting that her skills be put to use before her year is up.

I really enjoyed the underlying story of the battle for the crystal energy source and I loved the steampunk elements with all of the inventions used by the Illuminists in the 1843 setting.  There is also an interesting view on the fine line of male and female equality. Janette is a wonderfully strong character seeking independence and willing to explore the free love attitude of the Illuminists. Darius is brooding and resistant but also dedicated, loyal and a grand protector. There seemed to be some experience in his past that made him distrust Janette but I never quite figured out what that was.  There are other characters who have some conflict and may be paired off in the further books.

Unfortunately, the plot of this story was overshadowed by bantering, resisting ‘foreplay’ between Janette and Darius that soon moved into rather graphic sexual encounters. It got to a point where another intimate scene would begin and I would say “Come on! Get on with the story.”

There are numerous traitors in the Illuminists organization and it seemed that the guard was doing little to discover their identities. Several actions near the end didn’t quite make sense and there are loose threads which I hope will get resolved in the next book.  Having two thirds of the book as love scenes, no matter how creative, is more than I want to wade through.  If you like your stories with strong characters, a mysterious and interesting ‘good versus evil’ plot and steamy romance you should like this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darius has lots of warnings for Janette:

You long for something you know comes with consequences. Reaching for it will cost you the security of the position you currently occupy. Location 334

The ride will be intense, but it will have to end eventually. Reality will be waiting, I assure you. Location 3127.

Thank you to Sourcebooks who provided this book from NetGalley.

Book Review: Glass Angels by Karen Wiesner

This is a wonderful story of forgiveness and how a fragile, broken life can find healing and rebuild in strength.

Glass Angels (Family Heirlooms Series Book 4)

by Karen Wiesner
Book 4 of the Family Heirlooms Series
Inspirational Contemporary Romance
by Karen Wiesner
Available now from Whiskey Creek Press
978-1-61160-009-4 (trade paperback); 978-1-61160-008-7 (electronic)
Click here for a printable order form
The paperback may be available at a significant discount 
with this special order form
Paperback from Amazon.com
Download from Amazon.com
Download from BN.com

 Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2011

A young Christian woman struggles with seeking pardon from those she's hurt when she can't seem to get past her own inability to forgive those who have wronged her.

Three years ago, Samantha Samuels had suffered under the violent hands of Ryder Feldmann, a juvenile delinquent her pastor father had been counseling. Now she's completed her psychiatry training and plans to help other victims of violent crimes at the rape counseling clinic in her hometown of Peaceful, Wisconsin. Unexpectedly, she finds herself sharing an office building and Sunday services at her new church with the older brother, a divorce counselor, of her attacker...the very man she'd been in love with before her rape.

In the time since Kyle Feldmann's brother was jailed for his crime against Samantha, he's lived with the torment of all he's lost because of his sibling. Before the tragedy that stole Samantha from him and destroyed his dreams, Kyle had begged her to risk her father's disappointment and elope with him. Seeing Samantha again after so many years, being near her, only puts him right back where he was before the rape. Kyle wants to heal Samantha, love her, and fulfill the dreams he grieved the loss of—by marrying her. But how can they be together forever when she's still so broken?

All her life, Samantha had wanted her father's approval, but his selfish part in putting her in a dangerous situation has led her to a painful place of desperately needing to forgive him and her attacker...and being unable to in all the time since the traumatic event that ripped her life in two. As she gives her heart to Kyle once more, her already fractured relationship with the Lord is tested. In the crossfire of faith, she wonders if glass angels shatter beyond recognition when they take a leap of faith, or if they can heal and become stronger than ever before.

Review:
This is Book 4 of the Family Heirloom series. Samantha is the younger sister of Peter who was the male lead in Book three, Foolish Games.  Their father is a pastor who is zealous about bringing lost souls to accept Christ. Samantha was always an obedient daughter, following her father’s instructions even against her own misgivings and intuition.  In Book three, Pastor Samuels was helping a young man, Ryder, through a Juvenile Delinquent program, and chose not to learn what Ryder was accused of.   Pastor Samuels insisted that Samantha befriend Ryder, even though she was uncomfortable with him. The pastor hoped that Samantha could lead Ryder to Christ. Instead Ryder attacked  Samantha, knocking her unconscious and raping her.

Book 4 is Samantha’s story of struggling to reach a place of restoration and forgiveness, not only for her attacker, but also for her father who’s zeal placed her in a position of danger.  Samantha has completed her Master’s Degree in psychology and has returned to her home town to join her friend in their clinic for rape victims, Glass Angels.

Before Samantha was attacked she had developed a secret romance with Ryder’s older brother, Kyle. Kyle wanted to marry Samantha but Samantha knew her father wouldn’t approve of her dating or marrying a divorced, older man.  Their relationship and all of Samantha’s dreams of marriage and a future with Kyle were shattered by the rape.

As soon as Kyle runs into Samantha he begins to hope that they can renew their romance. Can he convince her that she is still worthy of love? Can Samantha find a way through her pain and growing anger to forgive her attacker and her father before her bitterness destroys her own chance for renewed happiness?

The characters are really well developed so you share their anguish and confusion.
The romance scenes are a very warm and real blend of sweet and sensual.  Ms. Wiesner does a great job handling the issues of struggling with forgiveness.  The story also raises interesting questions about family reactions to a young rapist and enabling bad behavior.  This was a very engaging and sweet read. There is sufficient background so this can be read without reading the prior book but I encourage you to read that charming story too.

This opening quote is a great statement!

“Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all of us love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour– unceasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family.” Henri Nouwen. Location 27.

How will Samantha answer these questions?

How can I forgive him when I don’t believe he deserves it? And if I take that step and forgive him, how can I stop the cancer from growing even more because of my resentment? Location 2507.

I received this book for review from the Author.  

Mailbox Monday July 30, 2012

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.
FOR JULY: the Mailbox Monday Tour host is Mrs Q: Book Addict.

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) but is now hosted at Mailbox Monday and through various blog hosts.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. 

This week was a little quieter for my book garden. How is yours doing?

Review Titles

I didn't receive any new review titles last week and I didn't pick up any new titles at NetGalley.
However, for August reading, I did pull out Wild Irish Rose from the group of books I received from Walnut Press for review.
Wild Irish Rose by Deborah L. Weikel

Wins

I won bookmarks from Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book!  Thank you Lori!

I still have some wins due in from the Coffee Anniversary Extravaganza hosted by Coffeetime and The Romance Studio. And I need to select some more books this week; then I will post them. 

I picked four titles from BooksForABuck won thru the CT and TRS anniversary.
Thank you BooksForABuck.
BIG SICK HEART by Mike Markel:

QUIET ANCHORAGE by Ed Lynskey

COUNTERFEIT COWBOY by Robyn Anders

THE LAST MIND TRAVELER by Kate Rothwell:

Purchased

None

Free 

I downloaded more free Kindle titles this past week.