While some of the books I review on my site are furnished by the publishers, authors, or publicists for the purpose of review all of my reviews are truthful, honest, and my sincere opinion.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Review: Audiobook: Deliver Us From Evil by David Baldacci

Thanks to Anna at Hachette for letting me review this one.



About the Book

In South America a 96-year-old man of great wealth reads a book late one night and an hour later he lies dead in his bed, the secrets of his past starkly revealed. Six months later another mystery man lies dead at the bottom of his pool in a villa in Provence. This time, however, there's a witness at the scene: Shaw, the shadowy operative from The Whole Truth, who barely escapes with his life. Meanwhile, a half a world away, photojournalist Katie James is working on a story of international importance. But shortly after her meeting with a potential inside source, she is smuggled unconscious onto an airplane headed to an undisclosed destination. In the days to come, Katie and Shaw will be reunited in a deadly duel of nerve and wits against a surprising, secretive enemy and led around the world at a breakneck pace. Filled with the kind of breathtaking plot turns and remarkable characters that only David Baldacci can deliver, it will be the most explosive thriller of the year.

To get more info on Deliver Us From Evil please visit Hachette's website.

My Review

This was quite the book. It was kind of disturbing, but it was still a pretty good book. I really liked the narrator in this audio book. His voice was easy to listen to. He used different "voices" for each of the characters, much in the same way I do in my head when I'm reading a book.

The story in this one is great. There were a few characters, but I was able to keep track of who each person was and how they related to the story. Like I said earlier, it was a bit disturbing. There were a few scenes that had I been reading it I probably would have skipped over them. They were a bit graphic and gave me chills, one scene actually made me nauseous.... But the scenes were really necessary for the story. Without the disturbing scenes the character development would have been way off for one of the characters.

That brings me to the characters. They were so well developed. I got a good feeling of who each of them were, and their motivations behind their actions. The opening with Regina was a bit confusing at first, but once I realized what was going on it all made perfect sense.

The writing was excellent. Everything was so well planned and thought out. I don't normally talk about foreshadowing and such in my reviews, because to me the "technical aspects" of a book are not what make or break it for me. But I have to mention that there was quite a bit of foreshadowing in this one. It made me a little more prepared for the gruesome scenes that were coming, but it didn't make them any less disturbing.

This book was so well executed that even despite the gruesome scenes in it I was engrossed in this one. I really liked it and if all Baldacci's novels are written this well I think I'll have to pick up more of them. Truly a great writer.

Deliver Us from Evil

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Closed: Giveaway: The Guest House by Barbara Richardson

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 5 different entrants and a total of 11 entries!

Here is the winner:
1) Nancye

Email is being sent to the winner. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winner. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer

I have one copy of this book to giveaway. However, this is kind of a different giveaway. I received this from the author, and she has asked me to pass it on to another blogger who would be willing to read it, review it, and pass it along.



About the Book

This debut novel follows the unusual road two loners take toward home. Can real love close the distance?

Driving home from work on a summer afternoon, Melba Burns witnesses a nightmare collision. The wreck ends her pursuit of success at any cost—Melba parks her car, quits her job and stops driving. She retreats into her beloved old farmhouse, yearning for a simpler peace.

But peace and Melba’s new roommate, JoLee Garry, have never met. A shallow, self-absorbed stunner, JoLee magnetizes messes and trouble. She brings boyfriends, booze and a tag-along son with her—a series of unexpected guests who transform Melba’s solo life into something different, daring and richer.

This fast-paced, contemporary novel moves between Portland, Oregon and Atomic City, Idaho, the absolute center of nowhere. GUEST HOUSE explores the grace that comes from daring to intervene in a stranger’s suffering. It will appeal to those who have forgotten the power that comes from living simply, and to anyone in their middle years whose life has been hijacked by love.

“This being human is a guest house,” Rumi says, “Every morning a new arrival…” Arrivals come and go in Melba Burn’s life: JoLee Gary who can’t shake her addictions, her husband Gene Garry, who won’t give up on love, and Matt Garry, their unwanted son who will stop at nothing until he has found his own way home.

For more info on The Guest House please visit Barbara Richardson's website.

You can also read my review.

Giveaway info

The giveaway will end 6/30/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US
2) Only bloggers willing to review and pass along please!

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Please leave me the link to your blog so that I can verify you have one...
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
4) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

Please RT: @Jennmarie68 JustJenniferReading: New Giveaway: Guest House - Enter Here: http://tiny.cc/9b3sb

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winner will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

One more note: This is the copy that I read. I have pets and I smoke, so if you have allergies please be aware. I don't want to make anyone sick....

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Closed: Giveaway: Knight of Passion by Margaret Mallory

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 17 different entrants and a total of 30 entries!

Here are the five winners:
1) stacey
2) etiry Jane nfmgirl
3) Darcie K
4) cheryl c
5) Meredith

edit: etiry let me know that she has already won a copy of this title, so a new winner was drawn. Jane has also won another copy.

Emails are being sent to the winners. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer

Thanks to Anna at Hachette Books I can giveaway 5 copies of this one!



About the Book

HOW CAN THIS PASSIONATE KNIGHT...
Renowned beauty Lady Linnet is torn between two desires: revenge on those who destroyed her family or marriage to her childhood sweetheart Sir James Rayburn. One fateful night, she makes a misguided choice: she sacrifices Jamie's love for a chance at vengeance.

TRUST A BEAUTY WITH A PAST?
Jamie Rayburn returns to England in search of a virtuous wife-only to find the lovely Linnet as bewitching as ever. Their reckless affair ignites anew, even hotter than before, although Jamie vows to never again trust her with his heart. Then just as Linnet begins to make amends, she's tempted by one last opportunity to settle old scores. But a final retribution could cost her Jamie's love - this time forever.

To learn more about Knight of Passion please visit Hachette's website.

You can also read my review.

Giveaway info

The giveaway will end 6/30/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
4) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

Please RT: @Jennmarie68 JustJenniferReading: New Giveaway: Knight of Passion - Enter Here: http://tiny.cc/5uadh

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Closed: Giveaway: What's Really Hood by Wahida Clark

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 11 different entrants and a total of 20 entries!

Here are the three winners:
1) Cams
2) Nancye
3) traveler
4) Darcie K
5) Martha Lawson

Emails are being sent to the winners. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer

Thanks to Anna at Hachette Books I can giveaway 5 copies of this one!



About the Book

Life in the streets take on a whole new meaning in this urban anthology of "hood" tales compiled by New York Times bestselling author Wahida Clark

WHAT'S REALLY HOOD!

Black Is Blue by Victor L. Martin delves into the life of a corporate woman who falls in love with a thug and finds out just how easy it is to stray from the straight and narrow.

Eighteen and hungry Wiz's only addiction to drugs is the money it made. But Crystal changed all of that and shows him just how powerful a woman can be in The P is Free by LaShonda Teague.

In The Last Laugh by Bonta, Bobo, a member of the infamous Eight-Trey street gang, learns that gang life isn't all it's cracked up to be as "street wars" take on a whole new meaning.

Shawn "Jihad" Trump tells the story of loyalty, love and honor, when The Point Blank Mob is brought to its knees leaving the crew fighting for their lives and freedom in All for Nothing.

And New York Times bestselling author, Wahida Clark, introduces Nina, a woman tired of being disrespected by men who takes revenge to the ultimate level in Makin' Endz Meet.

For more info on What's Really Hood please visit Hachette's website.

Giveaway info

The giveaway will end 6/30/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
4) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

Please RT: @Jennmarie68 JustJenniferReading: New Giveaway: What's Really Hood - Enter Here: http://tiny.cc/5d8b1

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Closed: Giveaway: Selene of Alexandria by Faith L. Justice

Thank you to everyone that entered. There were 7 different entrants and a total of 10 entries!

Here are the winners:
PDF) Marisa
Paperback) Darcie K

Emails are being sent to the winners. Thank you again for entering and congratulations to the winners. I hope you enjoy them.

All winners were chosen using Random.org

-Jennifer.

Thanks to the author Faith Justice I can giveaway 1 Paperback copy and 1 PDF copy of this one!



About the Book

Set in AD 412 Alexandria, Egypt and based on historical events, this story of ambition, love and murder brings to life colorful characters and an exotic time and place. SELENE is bright, impulsive, stubborn, and a little spoiled by her father, a city councilor. Since her mother’s death, she longs to forgo the privileges of her class to become a physician—an impossible dream for rich Christian girls who never engage in a profession. But Selene perseveres and gains a powerful champion—HYPATIA, the renowned mathematician and Lady Philosopher of Alexandria.

The old Christian Patriarch dies and the city splits in support of two candidates. After days of rioting, the Patriarch’s nephew CYRIL is proclaimed Patriarch and sets about consolidating the Christian sects and purging Alexandria of pagans and Jews. ORESTES, the new Augustal Prefect, struggles to keep the peace and also seeks the advice of Hypatia. He finds her a woman of enormous personal charm and astute political insight and places her first among his advisors, to the humiliation of the new Patriarch. These events set the stage for a contest of wills between Church and Empire.

Selene struggles in her new life. Under Hypatia's guidance, she takes classes and apprentices in medicine. She gives up security and the love of a young man for the danger of poor neighborhoods and the hostility of her classmates. It's not long before Selene is unwittingly drawn into the deadly rivalry between Cyril and Orestes. She comes of age amidst riot, plague and political intrigue . But will Selene survive the consequences of her own ambitions and impulsive actions?

For more info on Selence of Alexandria please visit Faith Justice's website.

Giveaway Info

The giveaway will end 6/30/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)
2) Make sure to let me know which version of the book you would like (PDF or paperback)
3) Get an extra entry for following my blog (let me know if you're a new follower or have been following for a while!)
4) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
5) Get an extra for referring friends who become followers of my blog. Have them mention your name in their comments. (along with all their info!!)

For Twitter please RT: @Jennmarie68 JustJenniferReading: New Giveaway: Selene of Alexandria Enter here: http://tiny.cc/mk7sg

!!!REMEMBER!!!! If you do not leave your e-mail in your comment you will not be entered into the giveaway!!!

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Back from a much needed break!

I apologize that I let my blog go. I went out of town with all intentions of keeping up on things, but I was so tired by the end of each day that I just didn't have the umph needed to sit at the computer for a few hours.

But I'm home now, so I'll be back on top of things this week. I'd do some of it tonight, but 12 hours of traveling leaves me feeling like all I want to do is crawl in bed and sleep for a few days.... I was so tired on the train that I couldn't even read, how sad is that?

But like I said I'm home, so I should have things going again in the next few days. I have some giveaways that ended so I'll have winners up for those. I also have some new giveaways to post. I also have some more authors lined up for guest blog posts...

I'm really getting the hang of this whole blog thing now. Thank you to all my readers. BTW I have 117 followers now YIPPEE!!!! I think I may have to do something special for reaching 100 (even if it is a little late)... We'll have to see :-)

-Jennifer