Giveaway You Should Check Out

Guys, I just entered a great giveaway to get some great books to read and review and then add to my classroom library. Since I'm switching schools, I don't have many books for my students to read in class. I'm entering as many contests as possible to get books for my students!
You should enter too! http://www.mostlyyabookobsessed.com/2012/07/epic-breathless-reads-fall-2012.html



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A Hero's Blog Hop

Ok, here are a few things to remember before you continue reading:
1.  Be sure to comment on this post to be entered for the awesome swag pack shown below.
2.  Be sure to enter through Rafflecopter (below) to win a copy of Meljean Brook's The Iron Duke, a fascinating steampunk romance.  I just finished reading it and I LOVE the Inspector and the Iron Duke.  So fun!
3.  Last, but not least, be sure to check out all the other blogs involved in the hop!  You will find some great giveaways, amazing authors, and new books to run out and buy!  http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/p/heros-blog-hop-hop.html.

Now, onto my favorite heroes.  I started reading early thanks to my mom who is a kindergarten teacher.  She started me out with children's books, but I quickly followed my brother's lead and started reading comic books.  Mom would take us to the comic book store almost every Saturday so we could find some new comics to read.  I began reading the Archie comic books and then transitioned to X-Men at the recommendation of the store owner.  I fell in love with Storm, Rogue, and Wolverine.  I loved their powers, their intelligence, and their friendships.
After our trips to the comic book store, Mom would take us to the Half Price Bookstore on the TWU campus.  I LOVED that store.  It was small, dingy, and full of books.  Books were everywhere - on the stairs, on top of the bookshelves, under the racks, on desks, EVERYWHERE.  It was greatness.  I read the usual teen books (even though I was in elementary school) like Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew.  But, I also read every Agatha Christie novel I could get my hands on.  Miss Marple was my favorite.  She was so smart, independent, and sassy.  I wanted to investigate mysteries with her.
In third grade, I read Gone With the Wind for the first time.  I was overwhelmed with the world Margaret Mitchell created for her readers.  Scarlet was my hero.  I wanted to be feisty and independent.  I didn't quite understand how manipulative and shallow she could be, but I was young.  After reading Gone With the Wind every year until I was in high school, I started realizing that while Scarlet was great, it was Rhett that was the true hero.  Oh, how I wanted to marry him.  He was dangerous, dark, smarter, witty, and an odd version of a gentleman.  He shaped my opinion of men and was my fantasy guy for years.
What hero shaped your early reading years?  Who was your fantasy hero?

Alright,  now on to the Giveaway!  Don't forget to comment on this post for the swag pack as well as entering this Rafflecopter for Iron Duke!
a Rafflecopter giveaway



To check out all the blogs with giveaways, author interviews, and new books, check out the host website: http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/p/heros-blog-hop-hop.html.  Check out the ULTIMATE swag up for grabs if you COMMENT on this post!

A Hero's Blog Hop

Are you ready to hear what your favorite romance heroes have to say? Well, we authors are ready to share our hunky heroes! Starting on Friday and ending on July 31st, over 100 Authors and Bloggers will share their favorite things about romance heroes, a character post from them, and what we love about romance and men in general. 

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 100 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 100 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: The following Swag Pack!

Yep. ALL of that! Whoot! Be sure to come back here on Friday and over the weekend to enjoy some stories and facts about our favorite Romance Heroes and enter to win!

I'm Finally DIVERGENT!

I may be the last person in the world to read Divergent, but I finally did!  And, I LOVED it!  I was so enthralled by it that I read it in one day and now I can't wait to read the next book.  Veronica Roth has created a believable, entertaining, intriguing world with characters that I like and hate as needed.  For those of you that might have missed the fanfare of Divergent, here is the summary from Amazon:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the YA scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Seriously, you need to read this book.  I am going to recommend it to all of my friends, family, and students.  I liked that Tris is a strong, independent character with intelligence, humor, and a few misgivings.  She isn't perfect, but she is very likable.  Four (the male protagonist) is great and I can't wait to learn more about him and understand his quirks.  Since there are a bazillion raving reviews for Divergent, I will keep mine short.  This is a great book and you need to read it TODAY.


I give Divergent 5 out of 5 stars.  


Since I read Divergent so quickly, I needed another book to entertain me when I couldn't sleep.  Surgery recovery is going well but I wake up in pain and can't sleep.  It's getting better, but I'm ready for the pain to be gone!  Anyway, I picked up Lori Wilde's The Welcome Home Garden Club next.  Wilde is a New York Times bestselling author, but this is my first novel to read of hers.  Since I'm a Texan, I was excited to find a novel based in Texas that sounded light and fun without a lot of cheese.  





Summary from Amazon:  Traditional meaning of Pink and White Roses: I love you still and always will.

Caitlyn Marsh stopped believing in happily-ever-after when high-school sweetheart, Gideon Garza, left for Iraq. Now she raises her small son while her matchmaking gardening club members drive her crazy. Then Caitlyn's world turns upside-down when Gideon swaggers back to Twilight.

Gideon had left town in the middle of night with threats ringing in his ears. A lot of things have changed since then. This bad boy-turned-Green Beret bears scars from the war, the timid girl he loved is an independent mother, and the father who refused to recognize his son in life has, in death, left him a vast cattle ranch.

He still aches for Caitlyn, and now there's a dark-haired boy who looks exactly like Gideon did at that age. Could the child be his? And can this war-weary soldier overcome the scars of the past to claim the family he so richly deserves?

While this book does seem delightful, it did not keep my attention.  Perhaps it was because I had just read the intriguing, fast paced Divergent.  I needed the story to move a bit faster.  Wilde tells us quite often that Caitlyn is still hot for Gideon and he still wants her.  We are told often that Gideon is not the same person now and is too damaged to love completely.  I understand that the war changed Gideon, but why won't he let himself try?  Why won't Caitlyn try?  The will he/will she conflict was frustrating to me.  Another conflict is Gideon's estranged family.  Gideon inherits great wealth and land, but his half-brothers want nothing to do with him and contest the will.  When the brothers threaten to kill Gideon and any of his heirs, I completely lost interest.  The conflict does not seem real - it's too much.  I was prepared for the love conflict, but I couldn't buy the life-or-death situation.  I did not finish the book, but I know that many of my friends would enjoy it.  I will try reading another of Wilde's novels.  The Welcome Home Garden Club just wasn't for me.

Two Books from the Past

I was trying to organize my bookshelves the other day and I found two books that I hadn't read in a few years, but I remember how much I loved them.  I have recommended them to my friends and family, and now I want to share them with you.  Have you read them?  If so, what did you think?

Angel at Troublesome Creek by Mignon F. Ballard 
Ballard (Final Curtain, etc.) begins a new series with a most unusual protagonist. Augusta Goodnight, who drew her last mortal breath during WWII, comes back to the living as a guardian angel, appearing just in time to help Mary George Murphy figure out the problems in her life. Mary George has been having a rough time: her beloved Aunt Caroline, her adoptive mother, has died recently under odd circumstances; she has been fired from her job; and her jerk of a fianc? has dumped her ("Three weeks after that hussy aerobics instructor moved in next door to him, his mind turned to tofu"). With the unpredictable assistance of Augusta, Mary George begins rebuilding her life, while she tries to sort out what could have happened to Aunt Caroline. At the center of the mystery is a missing Bible that contains an important secret. Mary George's efforts to get at the truth lead her on an important journey of self-discovery. Along the way she is reunited with a childhood friend, who just may be an important part of her future. Ballard writes with great warmth and sassy humor. The puzzle, however, is far less important than Mary George's progress, spurred by the brash Augusta, toward happiness and self-reliance. 
I have read all of the Augusta Goodnight novels and I just love them.  If you have not experienced the fun, engaging Augusta and the world Ballard creates, you need to RUN to the bookstore right now!



A Crazy Little Thing Called Death by Nancy Martin 
Impoverished Philadelphia heiress Nora Blackbird has agreed to wed Mick Abruzzo, son of New Jersey's most notorious mobster, leaving the city's bluebloods in shock. Then Nora and her sisters get some ominous news-Sweet Penny Devine, ex-Hollywood starlet and daughter of the Philadelphia Devines, has mysteriously disappeared. Even stranger, her family wants her declared dead pronto. Could someone have plotted her final act? Now it's up to the Blackbird sisters to snoop among the snooty-until they uncover the truth.  
This is the sixth in the Blackbird series.  The Blackbird sisters are great fun.  I love this series and have read all of the novels so far.  I can't wait for the next one!


What books have you recently found in your bookshelves that you love?  

A little Non-Fiction

A few weeks ago, I went to dinner with my husband, one of our friends, and our friend's parents.  Since I had just returned from the AP Literature Exam reading, I was full of ideas about teaching in the fall and books I wanted to add to my curriculum.  Our friend's dad is an English professor and absolutely brilliant.  His name is Dr. Hamner.  I love talking to him and could sit and listen to him for hours.  He has traveled and taught all over the world and is just fascinating.  I told him I was thinking of teaching Heart of Darkness to my juniors.  Dr. Hamner published a book about Heart of Darkness!  Of course he did!  The book is Joseph Conrad:  Third World Perspectives published 1990 by Three Continents Press.  Dr. Hamner gave me a copy and I am overwhelmed by the brilliance in this book.  I can't wait to share it with my students.   If you teach, are a fan of Joseph Conrad, or need critical analysis for part of your research, this book is perfect for you.

Contents:

The genius of Mr. Joseph Conrad / Hugh Clifford -- Conrad's Malaysia / Florence Clemens -- Jumble of facts and fiction : the first Singapore reaction to Almayer's folly / Hans van Marle -- Conrad's Malayan novels : problems of authenticity / D.C.R.A. Goonetilleke -- Conrad's Eastern expatriates : a new version of his outcasts / Lloyd Fernando -- Almayer and Willems : "how not to be" / Juliet McLauchlan -- Conrad's "An outpost of progress," or, The evil spirit of civilization / J.C. Hilson, D. Timms -- An image of Africa / Chinua Achebe -- Conrad's Nigger / Michael Echeruo --Racism and the classics : teaching Heart of darkness / Susan L. Blake -- Under African eyes / Ponnuthurai Sarvan -- The frontier on which Heart of darkness stands / Wilson Harris -- Conrad : the presentation of narrative / Edward W. Said -- Conrad's darkness / V.S. Naipaul -- The limits of the liberal imagination : One hundred years of solitude, and Nostromo / Jean Franco -- Out of darkness : Conrad and other third world writers / Peter Nazareth.

Oh, I shouldn't go to book stores!

I made the mistake of going to Barnes and Noble with some time to kill.  Oh mercy.  In my defense, it's been a while since I've been to a bookstore.  I usually order online and that's not quite the same as being there with the books, getting to touch and smell them.  I only bought four, which is pretty good for me.  So, here's what I picked up:

Claire Cook's Wallflower in Bloom  
From the acclaimed bestselling author of Must Love Dogs comes a winning and witty new novel about a woman who emerges from the shadow of her overbearing family and finds herself “dancing with the stars.”

Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just not her own. She’s the around-the-clock personal assistant to her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, her only worth seems to be as gatekeeper to Tag at his New England seaside compound.

Then Deirdre’s sometime boyfriend informs her that he is marrying another woman, who just happens to be having the baby he told Deirdre he never wanted. While drowning her sorrows in Tag’s expensive vodka, Deirdre decides to use his massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute Dancing with the Stars replacement. It’ll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre’s fifteen minutes of fame have begun.

Irresistible and offbeat, Wallflower in Bloom is an original and deeply satisfying story of having the courage to take a leap into the spotlight, no matter where you land.

Veronica Roth's Divergent.  I know, I'm probably the last person to read it.  I'm getting to it, I promise!

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the YA scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Jennifer Weiner's Fly Away Home

Sometimes all you can do is fly away home . . .
When Sylvie Serfer met Richard Woodruff in law school, she had wild curls, wide hips, and lots of opinions. Decades later, Sylvie has remade herself as the ideal politician’s wife—her hair dyed and straightened, her hippie-chick wardrobe replaced by tailored knit suits. At fifty-seven, she ruefully acknowledges that her job is staying twenty pounds thinner than she was in her twenties and tending to her husband, the senator.
Lizzie, the Woodruffs’ younger daughter, is at twenty-four a recovering addict, whose mantra HALT (Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired?) helps her keep her life under control. Still, trouble always seems to find her. Her older sister, Diana, an emergency room physician, has everything Lizzie failed to achieve—a husband, a young son, the perfect home—and yet she’s trapped in a loveless marriage. With temptation waiting in one of the ER’s exam rooms, she finds herself craving more.
After Richard’s extramarital affair makes headlines, the three women are drawn into the painful glare of the national spotlight. Once the press conference is over, each is forced to reconsider her life, who she is and who she is meant to be.

Written with an irresistible blend of heartbreak and hilarity, Fly Away Home is an unforgettable story of a mother and two daughters who after a lifetime of distance finally learn to find refuge in one another.

And, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.


I can't wait to start reading!  Which of these have you read?  Which one is your favorite?   

What's Next?

I went to the library as my first outing after the surgery.  Did I tell you I had surgery on Friday, June 29th?  I did, and recovery is not fun.  That's why my reviews have been a little slow lately.  I picked up several books that I'm really excited to read.

Lori Wilde's The Welcome Home Garden Club.  This is a Twilight, Texas Novel.  
Traditional meaning of Pink and White Roses: I love you still and always will.

Caitlyn Marsh stopped believing in happily-ever-after when high-school sweetheart, Gideon Garza, left for Iraq. Now she raises her small son while her matchmaking gardening club members drive her crazy. Then Caitlyn's world turns upside-down when Gideon swaggers back to Twilight.

Gideon had left town in the middle of night with threats ringing in his ears. A lot of things have changed since then. This bad boy-turned-Green Beret bears scars from the war, the timid girl he loved is an independent mother, and the father who refused to recognize his son in life has, in death, left him a vast cattle ranch.

He still aches for Caitlyn, and now there's a dark-haired boy who looks exactly like Gideon did at that age. Could the child be his? And can this war-weary soldier overcome the scars of the past to claim the family he so richly deserves?

Jennifer Estep's Venom.  

What kind of assassin works pro bono?

It’s hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most. To the public, I’m Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland’s best barbecue joint. To my friends, I’m the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab’s right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists. At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I’ll take my chances. Then there’s Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland’s finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I’m a cold-blooded killer . . . who is about to save her life.

Claire Cook's Best Staged Plans  

As a professional home stager, Sandy Sullivan is an expert at transforming cluttered rooms into attractive houses ready for sale. If only reinventing her life were as easy as choosing the perfect paint color. She's eager to put her family's suburban Boston home on the market, to downsize, and to simplify her own life. But she must first deal with her foot-dragging husband and her grown son, who has moved back home after college to inhabit the basement "bat cave."

After reading them the riot act, Sandy takes a job staging a boutique hotel in Atlanta recently acquired by her best friend's boyfriend. The good news is that she can spend time with her recently married daughter, Shannon, in Atlanta. The bad news is that Shannon finds herself heading to Boston for job training, leaving Sandy and her southern son-in-law, Chance, as reluctant roommates. If that's not complicated enough, Sandy begins to suspect that her best friend's boyfriend may be seeing another woman on the side.

Filled with characters who are fresh and original, yet recognizable enough to live in your neighborhood--plus plenty of great tips and tricks for fixing up houses, and lives--this is a wise and witty story of letting go and moving on. Best Staged Plans is Claire Cook at her most humorous and heartfelt.

So, guess what should I read first?  I can't decide...

Once Upon A Read-A-Thom

I will be participating in the Once Upon A Read-A-Thon which is hosted by Lori at Pure Imagination, Angela at Reading Angel and Candace at Candace's Book Blog. It will take place from 12:01 am on July 9th to 11:59 on July 11th.

This is the perfect way for me to recover from my surgery! I finished Deathly Portent by Elizabeth Bailey this morning and I'm reading The Siren now. Reviews to follow later this week.

Follow me on twitter @caribellacreate for reading and review updates.


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I'll Be Back Soon!

I had surgery on Friday and I thought I'd be back to reading in the hospital on Saturday and then reviewing at home by Monday. I am home (yay!), but I'm not up to reviewing coherently yet. I am reading and hopefully I'll be able to share my reviews with you by the end of the week.
Until then, have a great week and Happy 4th!


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