Winners: Guilty as Sin, Ruthless and Scattered Petals

CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNERS!
(So Sorry - I have been failing to post winners weekly.)

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

Giveaway Ended September 6, 2013

ARC Giveaway: Guilty as Sin

Winner: bn100





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Giveaway Ended September 13, 2013



ARC Giveaway: Ruthless: Faces of Evil, Book 6

Winner: Linda K


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Giveaway Ended September 20, 2013

ARC Giveaway: Scattered Petals 

Winner: Natasha

bn100, Linda K and Natasha please fill in the (NEW) Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads AT gmail.com to confirm the win and I'll get the book mailed.  Please reply within 72 hours.

Book Review: Color Me Bad, a Novella, by Sharon Sala

This quick, fun novella sets the stage for sassy, feminine mischief in a small town setting.
Color Me Bad: A Novella
by Sharon Sala/Dinah McCall

• File Size: 226 KB
• Print Length: 59 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (September 3, 2013)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• ASIN: B00DDWIT14

Genre: Contemporary, Women's Fiction
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
An original short story by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sharon Sala links to her full-length contemporary women's fiction novel, The Curl Up and Dye.
The novella centers around the four women who run the Curl Up and Dye hair salon and their relationships with the quirky customers of small-town Blessings, Georgia. Their meddlesome efforts at match-making run awry, but there's always another makeover just around the corner.

Review:
Ruby Dye moved to small-town Blessings, Georgia after the trauma of a divorce. She needed to use her hair stylist skills to support herself and was pleased to discover that the town welcomed the opening of her shop, the Curl Up and Dye hair salon. She works with feisty twin sisters, Vesta and Vera, and manicurist Mabel Jean. As style shops sometimes are, the little shop has become the gossip center of the town. Not only does all the news end up passing along through the shop but one particular day it becomes the scene of quite a spectacle.

Patty June Clymer, a local preacher’s wife, has reached the end of her rope with her cheating husband. When his ‘girlfriend’ comes into the shop for nail repair Patty June attacks her with stylist sheers! The news quickly spreads through town as Patty June goes home and tosses her husband’s belongings on their lawn as she ousts him from her life. Patty June takes a stand against unfaithful men even as the townspeople initially ostracize her for being too pushy, independent and a feminist. Patty June holds her ground, changes her hair color and style with the help of Ruby, and plans a lengthy travel exploration of Italy. 

Soon other women, particularly travel agent, Willa Dean, begin to question the relationships with their spouses. Realizing that many women are not being treated as they should be, Willa gathers  the town women and springs a surprise for Patty June.

The novella introduces the perky, primary characters and some good quirky secondary characters too. Many of the women are wary of men, for good reasons. But it is clear that there is room, and desire, for finding the elusive, faithful and dedicated mate. The writing is straight forward and full of sass as one might expect from a Southern woman.

I have read and enjoyed many Sharon Sala/Dinah McCall romantic suspense novels. She has a strong, easy writing flow that moves well with good combination of action, tension and romance. I was curious to see how this contemporary fiction series would go. Although I probably will steer toward the suspense novels, this series should appeal to many readers who like strong female characters and a well developed writing style that is easy and fun reading.

A statement regarding the strength of Southern women:

Southern women had been feminists a long time before that tag had become a buzzword. They’d hidden the iron in their backbones with a smile and a “bless your heart,” and not a man was the wiser. Location 514.

I received this title from Sourcebooks through NetGalley.

Saturday Snapshot September 21, 2013 Bahamas Cruising - Nassau

Our Cruise stop on Day 4 was at Nassau. We have been there many times and love to go in town. We visit the rum cake shop to sample the cakes and sometimes buy some special Bahamian Rum.  Then we take a bus to the old part of the harbor where we visit a small restaurant and have yummy conch fritters with the locals. :-)

The day we stopped it was raining and we decided to just sit it out. I know it sounds like we missed all the stops but we really enjoyed a leisurely time on the ship!

This is the view as we came into the Nassau Port.

I liked how these images came out a little eerie looking with the rain clouds. :-)

I was pleased to visit and see other Saturday sharings last week.
Thanks to all who stop by and visit. Hopefully I will get to visit back this week!

A big Thank You to Alyce of At Home With Books who has hosted this meme for a number of years. She is taking a summer hiatus at her blog and the new host will be Melissa at West Metro Mommy. Thank you to Melissa for picking up the responsibility.

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky being hosted this summer by West Metro Mommy. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Audible Book Review: Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia

This is a really fun listen -- action packed adventure, danger and a little romance too!

Monster Hunter International

UNABRIDGED

by Larry Correia

Narrated by Oliver Wyman

Series: Monster Hunter, Book 1

    LENGTH    23 hrs and 34 mins
    RELEASE DATE    03-15-11
    PUBLISHER    Audible Frontiers

Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer.
It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.
It's actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem. An ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries-old vendetta. Should the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way.
With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves. Business is good.... Welcome to Monster Hunter International.
©2009 Larry Correia (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Review:
Owen Zastava Pitt is a big young man with a fascination with guns. His father was a military hero who pushed him hard. Owen worked as a bouncer to help put himself through college. When his temper got him into trouble Owen decided to find the most unexciting career he could so he became a boring accountant. One night he discovered that his boss was not only insufferably mean but a monster - literally! Somehow, with the help of his brawn, smarts and hidden gun, Owen was able to survive a vicious attack by pushing his boss, now werewolf, out of the 14th story window.

Thus Owen learned there were monsters in the world and he caught the attention of a special division of the FBI and Monster Hunters International. Both organizations were impressed with his natural abilities and they offered him a job. Not wanting to work with the government, Owen accepts the job at Monster Hunters International. In truth, he is more drawn to that job because one of the recruiters is a young woman, Julie, with whom he is immediately smitten.  She is beautiful and the granddaughter of the CEO of the business.  Owen knows, with his scarred face and bulky physique, he doesn’t stand a chance with her. Besides, she has a rich, handsome, arrogant, hunter boyfriend, who immediately becomes Owen’s rival.

Owen goes through training making friends of other recruits and some of the teachers. Many will fail the training process but when they are done there is a hard core group of “newbies” ready to face the hidden monsters in the world. A major threat arises and the newbie team is brought along with the experienced crew to face the threat.

As though it’s not bad enough facing the monsters in battle,  Owen is dreaming about them and getting dream visits from an old man who tells Owen he has to prepare to face the Cursed One who seeks to control time and open the portals of evil. Owen even gets to see past memories of the Cursed One in all their evil goriness. The team races to locate and stop a band of master vampires and the strongest of monsters.

There are many strange hunter alliances, strong action, a little romance and plenty of snarkiness that makes this great fun. The author builds a good rapport with the characters so that I really liked the various team members. There were a few twists and moments when I laughed and others when I gasped.

Audio Notes: The narrator does a great job projecting the personalities of the characters, both good and evil. The reading definitely enhanced the fun of the book for me.

I had this one on my MP3 from my Audible Library. It is my Just For Fun reading for September.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway September 20, 2013

[** If you are new to Friday Pick Giveaway - Welcome!  Scroll down a bit (below book group #19) for instructions on how to enter.]

Happy Friday Friends!! This has been a bit of a rough week. I stayed home Monday and slogged through the next couple of days with the flu/cold bug. I'm finally starting to feel a little better today. I also had a week with no assistant for two days so that kept me busy.  (I didn't get a picture of the books so it will have to go up next week.)

[UPDATED NOTE - US entrants I prefer, please, that you pick a book as that is the first purpose of this giveaway - to find new homes for books. The GCs are for the international entrants because postage has jumped up.]

Thank you to all who entered the September 13 Pick. There were no Automatic wins this week. :-( (Automatic winners are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks). There were three blocked titles with one won.

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from September 13 Pick:

miki gets a GC

Emily gets The Admiral's Bride

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 or sexy and I have a new supply of sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

Celebrate Banned Books Week!

Image found at Cycling Grandma.

New Book Group #41 August 2, 2013

Pairs:
Jude Deveraux
    Return to Summerhouse and Twin of Fire
Mariah Stewart
    Priceless and Brown-Eyed Girl
Singles:
The Shadowed Heart by Nina Beaumont
Hannah by Lori Copeland
My Lady Midnight by Laurie Grant
Wicked and Wonderful by Valerie King
The Door to December by Dean Koontz
Heart of the Storm by Lindsay McKenna
Crucfixtion River by Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini
Tabitha in Moonlight by Betty Neels
The Nightingale's Song by Jo-Ann Power
Caught in a Bind by Gayle Roper
Cattle Rancher, Secret Son by Margaret Way
White Heather by Jaclyn Reding

New Book Group #40 June 28, 2013

Pairs:
     (Highlands) Highland Treasure by Amanda Scott and Highlander Unbound by Julia London
     (Angels) Not Quite An Angel by Bobby Hutchinson and An Angel for Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad
Singles:
What Sarah Saw by Margaret Daley (Cover has black line across where bookstore crossed it for clearance)
Her Last Chance by Terri Reed  (Cover has black line across where bookstore crossed it for clearance)
The Clairvoyant Countess by Dorothy Gilman
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes
Mission: Irresistible by Lori Wilde
Sin and Scandal in England by Melody Thomas
Dance With Me by Luanne Rice
A Mother's Day Anthology - three stories
Rising Moon by Lori Handeland
Star Light, Star Bright by Katherine Stone
Another View by Rosamunde Pilcher
Promise Forever by Marta Perry


New Book Group #39 May 31, 2013 - Plenty of "summer" titles!
Oops - I never added all the links last month so no promises on these either.

Pairs:
Hannah Howell
     Highland Hearts and Highland Destiny
Catherine Anderson
     My Sunshine and Blue Skies
Elizabeth Lowell
     Remember Summer and Too Hot to Handle
Singles:
Touched by Fire by Kathleen O'Reilly
Playing with Fire by Gena Showalter
Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
That Summer by Joan Wolf
Shadow of the Sun by Tammy Hilz
Dark Summer by Iris Johansen
Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs
Shadow Beach by Barbara Freethy
It All Began at Monte Carlo by Elizabeth Adler


New Book Group #38 April 20, 2013
Here is a group with many mysteries.  Links to be added as I get time.

Pairs:
Amanda Scott
      Abducted Heiress and Highland Bride
Sandra Brown
     Texas! Chase and Exclusive (spine wear) (not the covers as on the links)
A Murderous Yarn by Monica Ferris
Deadly Advise by Roberta Isleib
Dial Emmy for Murder by Eileen Davidson 
On Deadly Ground (Love Inspired Suspense) by Lauren Nichols
Happy Never After by Kathy Hogan Trocheck
Female Intellignece by Jane Heller
Improper English by Katie MacAllister
Sheer Dynamite by Jennifer Skully
Golden Chances by Rebbecca Hagen Lee
Caitlin's Guardian Angel by Marie Ferrarella
Burning Alive by Shannon K. Butcher
Awaken the Senses by Nalini Singh


New Book Group #37 March 22, 2013

As I am linking these titles it is clear to me why they were in my TBR boxes and it is really hard to let them go but I have soooo many. Better that they find good reader homes than sit on my shelves, or in a box, and collect dust. 
Pairs:
Singles:
Anthology: Something Borrowed, Something Blue - this book has spine creases and minor water damage...I thought I had read it and liked it but now I realize it was another anthology I read with Elaine Barbier.
To Tame a Rebel by Georgina Gentry
While Passion Sleeps by Shirlee Busbee
The Admiral's Bride by Suzanne Brockmann
Lady Ice by Joan Hohl



New Book Group #36 February 15, 2013

Pairs:
Tara Taylor Quinn
     Father: Unknown and McGillus v.Wright
Singles:
Timeline by Michael Crichton
The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe


New Book Group #35 January 11, 2013
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing 
Pairs
Singles-- I found a couple of boxes of romances (a lot of Harlequins) that I haven't gotten to read over the past 8 years so... I will send them off to others to read!

*Merger of Fortunes by Peggy Moreland

New Book Group #34 December 7, 2012--- (All gone)

New Book Group #33 October 27, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

SINGLES - CHRISTMAS TITLES (Better sizes for international) 
*Deck the Halls by Arlene James (slight spine creasing)
*A Holiday Prayer by Deb Kastner  (slight spine creasing)


New Book Group #32 October 5, 2012

- Oops upside down book! 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 - A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley


New Book Group #31 August 31, 2012
I pulled some more books from several of my boxes.

An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)


New Book Group #30 July 27, 2012
This time I pulled some books from one of my older boxes.
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Wild Escapade by Lisa Bingham
Dancing on Snowflakes by Jane Bonander (postage too much - replaced with GC)

New Book Group #29 June 29, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology
*One is the Lonliest Number - Tom Clancey's Net Force

New Book Group #28 May 18, 2012 (All gone)

New book Group #27 April 13, 2012 (All gone)

New book Group #26 March 2, 2012--- (All gone)

New Group #25 January 12, 2012---(All gone)

New Group #24 Pick Books November 25, 2011---(All gone)

New Group #23 Pick Books October 14, 2011
I tried to pick some books that would be good for October -
Halloween or dark minded.
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser


New Group #22 Pick Books September 2, 2011---(All gone)

New Group #21 of Pick Books July 29, 2011
Mallory's Oracle (Kathleen Mallory Novels) by Carol O'Connell

May, 2011 New Group of Pick books Group #20
Luciano's Luck by Jack Higgins - Audio Cassettes

3/25/11 I did get to set up a new group of books: Group #19
Primary Colors - audio tapes
*Note of Peril (black strip on cover)

2/19/11 Book Group #18- Pairs!---(All gone).

I have finally updated the intro and Entry paragraphs here:

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 in November 27, 2009 and in three years I have posted 33 groups of 16 (528) books to find new homes! (as of November 2012)

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! I am happy to say that so far about 556+ books (I forgot to update this number for a month) have found new homes! YAY. I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed.

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 far away places runs between $5.00 $7.00 and $6.00 $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)

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 10:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up past midnight to do the winner post!
I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.
Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks.
WINNERS PLEASE CHECK THE WIN POST ON FRIDAYS AND fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads@gmail.com. [I will confirm receipt of the addresses- well I realize I haven't always done this. But if you filled out the form and don't get the book within two weeks nudge me with an email please!] If I have the winners e-mail I will send a reminder in a week or so....

Thanks for helping these books find new homes!!

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!

1/14/11 New List #17--- (All gone)

12/3/10 Book Set: #16
Sleight of Hand by Robin Hathaway
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown  (postage too much - replaced with GC)

List #15---(All gone)

List #14---(All gone)

Here is set #13 of Used books! ---(All gone)

Group #12---(All gone)

Group #11
Cat's Eyewitness by Rita Mae Brown
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

List #1
Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo

Pick #2---(All gone)

Pick #3---(All gone)

Pick #4
Talking God by Tony Kellerman

Pick #5
See Jane Lead by Lois P. Frankel
Cold Hit by Linda Fairstein - Audio Tapes

Pick #6---(All gone)

Pick #7
Prey by Michael Crichton - Audio Tape
Princess Charming by Jane Heller (slightly creased)

Pick #8
(sc) = slightly creased on binding otherwise all in good shape
The Jury by Steve Martini - Audio Tapes
No Safe Place by Richard North Patterson - Audio Tapes

Pick #9
On Treacherous Ground by Earl Murray
Guardian by Dee Henderson - Audio Tapes
Time to Hunt by Stephen Hunter - Audio Tapes

Pick #10---(All Gone)