A BookTrib Valentine - Giveaway of Much Ado About Loving

I am sharing this News Flash, and chance to win a book about dating and love, from BookTrib:

As BookTrib’s Valentine to you, we are serving up a bibliophile’s delight on February 13 at 2 p.m. ET!

Jack Murnighan and Maura Kelly will be chatting LIVE about their book, MUCH ADO ABOUT LOVING: What Our Favorite Novels Can Teach You About Date Expectations, Not So-Great Gatsbys, and Love in the Time of Internet Personals.

USA Today called MUCH ADO ABOUT LOVING “a treat for any book lover, happily mated, or cheerfully single.”

MUCH ADO ABOUT LOVING is a series of accessible and funny essays that are equal parts dating advice and lit crit. During our chat, the authors will touch upon the timeless lessons and insights they’ve found in the world’s most beloved novels, touching on such conundrums as:

©       Why do men talk so much, and why do women put up with it? (Infinite Jest)

©       Will too much emailing before a first date work against you? (Love in the Time of Cholera)

©       Should you cross the political aisle for love? (Howards End)

©       Is it ever smart to get back together with an ex? (Remembrance of Things Passed)

©       How can you deal with a mother-in-law who’s screwing up your relationship? (Sons and Lovers)

What’s more—10 lucky winners will receive their very own copy of the book!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Mailbox Monday February 11, 2013

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.
For FEBRUARY: the Mailbox Monday Tour host is Audra @ Unabridged Chick!

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. 

I added a few more books this week. :-)
How are your mailbox and TBR piles doing?

Review Titles

I received/accepted three books for review:





Jabin and the Space Pirates 
by Bev Allen
This is for review and Bewitching Blog Tour 2/9.

Sportsman’s Bet

by Judy Nichols

for March review

I also received one title at NetGalley by invitation of Hachette:


I will add this to March also. 
Lord of Darkness 
by Elizabeth Hoyt

Wins

None.

Purchased

No purchases this week.

Free

I received more books from Free Partay and
I did download more free Kindle Titles linked through Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink and Kindle Review.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? February 11, 2013

This meme starts at Book Journey!

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.

I had a strangely busy week having to handle a couple of projects I didn't expect.

I wasn't sure I would finish my Audio this weekend but it was too good to delay. :-) So that made five books read and six reviews posted. I posted one book giveaway, three giveaway links and one Kindle Giveaway Post! I posted Friday Pick Giveaway, Saturday Snapshot, Sharing Beyond Books Comment Giveaway and Sunday Words.

Although I wanted to, I didn't get to visit much during the week.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me too.

These were last week's posts:

• It's Monday What are You Reading? February 4, 2013.

• Mailbox Monday February 4, 2013

• Book Review and Giveaway Link $50.00: Jack Templar: Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhus; Middle Grader, Adventure; my rating 4.5.  Open Worldwide. Ends 2/18/13.

• Discovery Saga Scavenger Hunt Starts February 5! MBS Review date 2/14. 

• Book Review and Print Giveaway: An Amish Kitchen Anthology; Inspirational Romance; my rating 4.5. Ends 2/15/13.

• Bookblast Giveaway $50.00 ShowStoppers and Three Sisters Blog Tour.  Open Worldwide. Ends 2/22/13.

• Book Review and Feature: A New Birth of Freedom: The Translator  by Robert G. Pielke; Alternate History, Time Travel; my rating 4.0.

• February Kindle Fire HD Author Sponsored Giveaway. Open Worldwide. Ends 2/28/13.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway February 8, 2013. Open Worldwide. Ends 2/8/13.
  

• Audible Book Review: A Perfect Blood (Hallows 10) by Kim Harrison; Fantasy; my rating 4.5.

• Saturday Snapshot (2/9/13) Hawaii Volcanoes.
  

• Book Review: Three Sisters (Emily Castles Mysteries) by Helen Smith; Mystery; my rating 4.0.
  

• Book Review and Giveaway Link: Showstoppers (Emily Castles Mysteries) by Helen Smith; Mystery; my rating 4.25. Ends 2/28/13.
  

• Sharing Beyond Books #86 Comment Giveaway 2/9/13. Ends 2/15/13.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement February 10, 2013.

Finished Reading:
 
1. eBook/Kindle

A New Birth of Freedom The Translator
by Robert G. Pielke
I enjoy this alternate history series.
Review linked above. 

2. eBook/Kindle

Three Sisters (Emily Castles Mysteries)
by Helen Smith
Nice mystery with some Humor.
Review linked above.

3. eBook/Kindle

Showstoppers (Emily Castles Mysteries)
by Helen Smith
Another good mystery. 
Review and Giveaway are linked above.

4. eBook/Kindle
 

Pandora's Temple
by Jon Land
Lot's of action in this thriller.
Reviewing for Partner in Crime Book Tour to post 2/12.

5. Audio

Ever After: The Hollows, Book 11
    UNABRIDGED
    by Kim Harrison
    Narrated by Marguerite Gavin
        Series: The Hollows, Book 11
Very exciting with lots of danger.
I was glad to get this for review 
through Audiobook Jukebox!

Line Edits/Releases:
Release on 2/11:

Princess Salina and the Unicorn
by Lynne Anne Bendoly
Just as Princess Salina is to marry the Prince of Latonia, she runs off through the forest on her trusted unicorn, Moonbeam, where she finds herself in a terrible predicament which only a wise old wizard can save her from.
Children's - Middle Reader, with Illustrations; 28 pages

Currently reading:
1. Print

Goodbye to Yesterday
by Wanda E. Brunstetter
I have started this seial novella which is pleasant. 
Review and Scavenger Hunt stop to post on 2/14.
Book Description
Release date: February 5, 2013 | Series: The Discovery - A Lancaster County Saga (Book 1)
Join Meredith and Luke Stoltzfus, an Amish couple who are faced with the greatest challenge of their young lives. Financial struggles. Arguments. A confirmed pregnancy. A last-minute trip to South Bend, Indiana. A drug addict on the run. A deadly encounter at a Philadelphia bus station. Will their love and faith be enough to bring them back together again, against all odds?

2. eBook/Kindle

Jabin and the Space Pirates
by Bev Allen
I am interested in where this is going.
This is for review and Bewitching Blog Tour 2/9.
Book Description
Publication Date: May 31, 2012
In the space colony of New Wales, the pirate attacks are both relentless and merciless.

Having lost both his parents, Jabin has been adopted by his austere and spiteful uncle and aunt who live in the space colony of New Wales which is riven with religious and political rivalry, and prey to the vicious maraudings of pirates whose cruelty and greed are beyond all imagination.

When Jabin volunteers to surrender himself to a pirate raiding party to save a friend, he does so believing that nothing can be worse than his current suffering.

However, he is soon to discover that things can always get worse when the stakes are high, the rewards are vast and slave labour is there for the taking.

When the King of New Wales is assassinated, the colony threatens to collapse into total anarchy, leaving the pirates free reign to mutilate, kill and profit as they will, but the forces of law and order sent out from Earth are getting ready to fight back, and Jabin could have a vital part to play in the ensuing war if he can only stay alive.

3. ebook/Kindle

Waiting for Morning (The Brides Of Last Chance Ranch Series)
by Margaret Brownley
I will be starting this mid week. Reviewing to post with giveaway from Thomson Nelson.
Book Description
Publication Date: January 8, 2013
If Molly Hatfield's purple attire doesn't blind you, her dazzling smile will. She doesn't just sing to the cattle, she puts on a whole show. If only she wasn't so stubborn about her brother's care. Or so distrustful of a certain handsome doctor...

There is nothing Molly wouldn't do for her teenaged brother, Donny. Blaming herself for the accident that left him wheel-chair bound, Molly has dedicated her life to his care. But in 1896, gainful employment for a woman is hard to come by. So when Molly learns that an eccentric rancher in Cactus Patch, Arizona, is looking for an heiress--someone to take over management of the ranch in exchange for future ownership--she jumps at the chance to provide a real home for her brother.

If she proves to have a knack for ranching and agrees to remain single for life, the ranch can be hers. Neither stipulation worries Molly. She's resourceful and hardworking. And she gave up dreams of marriage long ago when she dedicated her life to her brother's well-being.

However, Molly didn't bank on meeting Dr. Caleb Fairbanks, the town's handsome and charismatic young doctor, whose backfiring automobile almost gets him killed when Molly thinks she's being shot at and fires back.

But it's how he is with her brother that really alarms her. Caleb sees past the wheelchair and genuinely likes Donny, but Molly fears he's putting unrealistic ideas into her brother's head. Falling in love with Caleb would threaten everything she's worked for, even her brother's future happiness. It'll take an act of congress to convince her otherwise--and maybe even a little help from above.

Other books in the Brides of Last Chance Ranch series include Dawn Comes Early and Gunpowder Tea (available October 2013).

4. Print

Wait Until Dark
by M.L. Buchman
I love this series and look forward to reading this.
Reviewing for Sourcebooks.
Book Description
Release date: February 5, 2013 | Series: The Night Stalkers
Praise for I Own the Dawn:
"A rousing mix of romance and military action thrills...Buchman blends tender feelings with military politics to keep readers riveted."—Publishers Weekly
"I can't wait for the next book."—RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars
"Filled with action, adventure, and danger."—Booklist Starred Review
Name: Big John Wallace
Rank: Staff Sergeant, Chief Mechanic and Gunner
Mission: To serve and protect his crew and country.
Name: Connie Davis
Rank: Sergeant, Flight Engineer, Mechanical Wizard
Mission: To be the best...and survive.
Two Crack Mechanics, One Impossible Mission
Being in The Night Stalkers is Connie Davis's way of facing her demons head-on, but mountain-strong John Wallace is a threat on all fronts. Their passion is explosive, but their conflicts are insurmountable. When duty calls them to a mission no one else could survive, they'll fly into the night together—ready or not.

I continue to listen to The Listener's Bible NIV read by Max McLean. [Reading and listening on MP3.]  I am studying with the Tyndall One Year Bible this year, hoping to read daily along with my DH.

Line Edits: I'm finishing two formats and working on more conversions this week.

I am started the month with 17 titles + TBRs. Four are read and reviewed and four more expected to go up this week -- so moving along. 

One Review to post from January:
     The Escape Diaries by Juliet Rosetti

FEBRUARY Scheduled: 
2/12 Review + a Giveaway:  Pandora's Temple by Jon Land (PIC - Partners in Crime Tour) 
2/14 Review + Scavenger Hunt: Goodbye to Yesterday by Wanda E. Brunstetter
2/16 Review: Jabin and the Space Pirates by Bev Allen (Bewitching Blog Tour)
2/17 Random Acts of Kindness Giveaway Hop 
2/20 Review:  Into the Dark by Stacy Green (PIC Tour)  

Unscheduled   

Sourcebooks
      X Marks the Scot by Victoria Roberts
      Wait Until Dark by M.L. Buchman
      Lady Eve's Indiscretion by Grace Burrowes  

Random House
      A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara  

Thomas Nelson (to post with Giveaway)
         Waiting for Morning (The Brides Of Last Chance Ranch Series) by Margaret Brownley

NetGalley
     Fix-It and Forget-It Holiday Appetizers, Finger Foods, and Beverages by Phyllis Pellman Good
     The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard

Audios: (more to come) 

From TBR Collection - TBD 
Won Book - TBD 
Free Kindle/Nook or Smashwords: Fatal February (Mary Magruder Katz) by Barbara Levenson

Ladies Book Club (For March  9)
   White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner

Sunday Words of Encouragement February 10. 2013

Our Associate Pastor continued the theme he started last week preaching about the Fear of the Lord.
The sermon was entitled "Abraham's Greatest Fear" based on Genesis 22:1-12 where God tested Abraham by instructing him to go to the mountains to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham did not question or argue but the next morning he got up early and went. He had three days to think about what God had asked him to do and why. He did not tell his servants so they could not talk him out of it. Abraham was faithful to the point of raising his knife when God stopped his had and provided a ram in the bush.

How could Abraham follow God's most difficult request? Abraham knew the character of God. He had experienced God's promises and faithfulness. God had promised Abraham a son and had delivered. God also had promised to make Abraham's descendants a great nation (Gen 12:2,3).  I like to think that Abraham recognized God's awesome power and, even through his fear, he was assured that God had a plan even though Abraham did not understand it.

God expected everything--complete obedience--from Abraham. Abraham showed 'persistent obedience!' God expects that of us today. He wants us to be obedient and faithful -- even unto death.

Starting a project can be exciting but we need to be faithful to finish it as God directs. Even when we fear--or perhaps especially when we fear--we have to allow God's guidance to work in us and trust that He who has started a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.

A Verse for Today:
Rev 2:10 NLT
Don't be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

I thank God that He helps remind me to focus on Him and let earthly cares fade. I pray I will remain obedient and faithful and allow Him to complete a good work in me.
Today I ask for prayer if you have a moment to pray for God's guidance and Will to be done in a circumstance that we are praying for.

Sharing Beyond Books #86 February 9, 2013

Hello, Welcome to SBB and Welcome to 2013!
Hi! I hope everyone is doing well this week and didn't get stuck in any snow.
Thank you to all who shared last week.

Well, not too many of us have done 'crazy' things to get a book. Emily and Cheryl did wait in line for Harry Potter books and Jolene made her mom stand in line for a book she wanted. :-) Miki did the most outlandish entering a contest with 5000 comments in 24 hours. I love Mary's book wish list on the refrigerator to remind her kids to buy her books!

I was surprised that most of you do like snow...provided you don't have to drive in it. Many of you commented that snow is pretty (except in the city when it can turn dark and slushy) and fun to play in. Llehn and Abby have never seen snow but they would like to.

~~~~

The Winner from SBB #85 comments is: #20 Texas Book Lover. There are still 4 'love' books to pick from and new Christmas choices. Texas Book Lover please choose a book (or GC if international) from the fifteen Love Books List for Giveaway, the new Christmas Giveaway Book list, OR pick from the Updated ARC/Review List and let me know your choice, your address and a choice of bookmarks by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #86 Questions

Q1. Margaret asks: Does a bad review scare you away from reading a book or do you read it anyway??

A: I am cautious when reading other reviews as I have certainly learned that I do not share the same taste as all other readers/reviewers. There are some bloggers who I know like similar books so I can trust their judgment most of the time. Others we have divergent tastes so they might like some books I don't and vice versa. But, to be honest, I have know there were times when I noted some ratings of three or less and I have decided not to pick that book for review.

Image found at The Mad Reviewer.

Q2. My Question this week: Do you get a flu shot AND/OR what do you take for a cold??

A: I thought this question might be interesting with all the flu and colds going around. I do not get the flu shot. If my DH reminds me I will take Airborne  when I feel a cold coming on. Otherwise I just take mucinex and rotate non-aspirin and ibuprofen and I try to rest up!

Image found at I'm Trying

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 book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! I STILL HAVE A GROUP OF QUESTIONS AVAILABLE BUT THEY ARE FROM ABOUT FOUR PEOPLE SO SOME OF YOU MAY WANT TO ADD A QUESTION OR TWO! We can always use fresh questions.

Your turn to share:

1. Margaret asks: Does a bad review scare you away from reading a book or do you read it anyway??

2. My Question this week: Do you get a flu shot AND/OR what do you take for a cold??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the remaining Valentine and "Love" books (new list of fifteen) or the new Christmas Giveaway Books. Also I have added the Updated ARC/Review List now.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on any (or all) of the two/three questions 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 by Friday,  February 15, 2013 at 10 PM central.