Teaser Tuesdays (8.31.10)

MizB of Should Be Reading hosts Teaser Tuesday. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT…

View Post

Review: The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell

First line: Doctor Ravell had already missed the funeral. From the inside cover: It is 1903. Doctor Ravell is a young Harvard-educated obstetrician whose reputation for helping couples conceive has made him a rising star. He is flattered when a family of illustrious Boston physicians turns to him to treat one of their own members – a lovely opera singer named Erika von Kessler, who has struggled for years to…

View Post

In My Mailbox (19) 8.29.10

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Every week I’ll post what books I’ve received either by mailbox/library/store. For Review (2) Body Heat by Brenda Novak Stay by Allie Larkin  Library (0) Purchased (0) –  Received from a family member (3) Days of Gold by Jude Deveraux One Season of Sunshine by Julia London Black Hills by Nora Roberts   From Paperback…

View Post

Review: Body Heat by Brenda Novak

First line: Benita Sanchez was almost as afraid of running into a rattlesnake as she was U.S. Customs and Border Protection. From the back cover: Twelve people have been shot at point-blank range and left to rot in the desert sun. It’s Sophia St. Claire’s job to do something about it. She’s Bordertown, Arizona’s new chief of police – and she’s out of her depth. Help arrives in the form…

View Post

Booking Through Thursday: Giving Up

Today’s Booking Through Thursday question asks:    If you’re not enjoying a book, will you stop mid-way? Or do you push through to the end? What makes you decide to stop?   I can’t remember the last book I started reading and stopped. I try very hard to finish all the books I start. Most times, I am glad I did, as a slow start usually gives way to a…

View Post

Virtual Book Tour and Review: With Friends Like These by Sally Koslow

First line: Before husbands, before babies, before life claimed other loyalties, it started with a wish. From the inside cover: When Quincy, Jules, Talia, and Chloe become New York City roommates in the early nineties, they become fast friends despite their drastically different personalities. Now, nearly twenty years later, their lives have diverged as much as they possibly can within one city: Quincy is mourning a miscarriage and lusting for…

View Post

Author Interview: Jenny Nelson (and Giveaway!)

I am pleased to welcome Jenny Nelson, who wrote Georgia’s Kitchen to Always With a Book.  You can read my review of her book and enter a giveaway for the book here.  About the author:  Jenny Nelson grew up in Larchmont, NY and graduated with a BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Denver. A former web editor and producer, she worked for companies such as iVillage,…

View Post

WWW Wednesdays (8.25.10)

A Week in Books   WWW Wednesdays is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions… What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? What are you currently reading?  Body Heat by Brenda Novak What did you recently finish reading?   With Friends Like These by Sally Koslow    …

View Post

Book Tour, Giveaway and Review: She’s Gone Country by Jane Porter

First line: “Shey Lynne, you’ve been here three months now and not once have you taken those boys to church.” From the back cover: Shey Darcy, a thirty-nine-year-old former top model for Vogue and Sports Illustrated, led a charmed life in New York City with a handsome photographer husband, until the day he announced he’d fallen in love with someone else. Left to pick up the pieces of her once…

View Post

In My Mailbox (18) 8.22.10

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Every week I’ll post what books I’ve received either by mailbox/library/store. For Review (0) Library (0) Purchased (1) –  The Postcard Killers by James Patterson   From Paperback Swap – (1) Multiple Choice by Claire Cook Won (0) What’s in your mailbox?

View Post

Book Blogger Hop 8.20.10

It’s that time again…. time for the weekly Book Blogger Hop!  Brought to you by Jennifer at Crazy For Books, this is a fun way to get to know other book bloggers. This week’s question: How many blogs do you follow? According to Google Reader, I follow just over 100 blogs. While I can’t possibly get to every blog every day, I do try to visit a bunch each day…

View Post

Virtual Book Tour and Review: Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner

First line: I don’t remember that night much anymore. From the back cover: The lives of three women collide on a suburban night: Veteran Boston police detective D.D. Warren is called to the scene of the murder of a family whose sole survivor lies clinging to life … Nurse Danielle Burton works in a locked-down pediatric psych ward, haunted by a tragedy she’s desperate to conceal … Victoria Oliver will…

View Post

Author Interview: Lisa Unger (and Giveaway!)

I am pleased to welcome Lisa Unger, who wrote Fragile to Always With a Book.  You can read my review of her book and enter a giveaway for the book here.  About the author:  Lisa Unger is an award winning New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author. Her novels have been published in over 26 countries around the world. She was born in New Haven, Connecticut (1970) but…

View Post

Book Tour, Giveaway & Review: Georgia’s Kitchen by Jenny Nelson

First line: Georgia turned onto a tree-lined street of brick town houses and brownstones, stopping when she reached a gunmetal-gray low-rise that shared none of its neighbors’ quiet charm. From the back cover: At thirty-three, talented chef Georgia Gray has everything a woman could want – the top job at one of Manhattan’s best restaurants; a posse of smart and savvy gal pals who never let her down; and a…

View Post

Teaser Tuesdays (8.17.10)

MizB of Should Be Reading hosts Teaser Tuesday. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT…

View Post

Review: Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff

First line: The two boys rode their mountain bikes along the soft uncovered lake bed between the Bartam’s Field subdivision and the old Holly Hills property. From the inside cover: Lily was married for just days before her husband was sent abroad to fight in WWII. Now, he and the other soldiers are returning, and the small town of Toccoa, Georgia plans a big celebration. But a handsome and kind…

View Post

In My Mailbox (17) 8.15.10

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Every week I’ll post what books I’ve received either by mailbox/library/store. For Review (0) Library Book Sales (10) Night Fall by Nelson DeMille Up Country by Nelson DeMille The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen Table to Five by Susan Wiggs Summer Sisters by Judy Blume Honeymoon by James Patterson The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson…

View Post

Virtual Book Tour and Guest Post: Pamela Samuels Young

Please join me in welcoming Pamela Samuels Young, author of  Buying Time to Always With a Book! If you missed my review, you can read it here. Today Pamela guest blogs about how to write a page-turner. Crafting the Page-Turner Don’t you just love reading a page-turner? As a mystery writer, I constantly strive to write books that readers have a hard time putting down.  After much trial and error,…

View Post

Book Blogger Hop 8.13.10

It’s that time again…. time for the weekly Book Blogger Hop!  Brought to you by Jennifer at Crazy For Books, this is a fun way to get to know other book bloggers. This week’s question: How many books do you have on your ‘to be read’ shelf? This is quite a timely question as just the other day, I actually counted all the books sitting on my shelf waiting to…

View Post

Book Tour, Giveaway and Review: Fragile by Lisa Unger

First line: When Jones Cooper was younger, he didn’t believe in mistakes. From the inside cover: Everybody knows everybody in The Hollows, a quaint,charming town outside of New York City. It’s a place where neighbors keep an eye on one another’s kids, where people say hello in the grocery story, and where high school cliques and antics are never quite forgotten. As a child, Maggie found living under the microscope…

View Post

WWW Wednesdays (8.11.10)

A Week in Books   WWW Wednesdays is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions… What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? What are you currently reading?  Georgia’s Kitchen by Jenny Nelson What did you recently finish reading?   Fragile by Lisa Unger     What do you…

View Post

Virtual Book Tour and Review: Buying Time by Pamela Samuels Young

Back in March, only a month into book-blogging, I was contacted by Tracee at Pump Up Your Book to read and review Pamela Samuels Young’s new book, Buying Time. To say I was thrilled is an understatement…I couldn’t believe someone sought out my blog and wanted my opinion of a book. Well, it’s now August, and I have been contacted by quite a few publishers/publicists and even some authors to…

View Post

Teaser Tuesdays (8.10.10)

MizB of Should Be Reading hosts Teaser Tuesday. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT…

View Post

Review: Summer Blowout by Claire Cook

First line: Lipstick is my drug of choice. From the back cover: A good makeup artist never panics. Bella Shaughnessy knows that. She’s the resident makeup maven in her family of Boston Irish hair salon owners, and she has an artful solution to just about every problem. But Bella feels bruised beyond reach of even the best concealer when her half-sister runs off with her husband. What can she do…

View Post

Musing Mondays (8.9.10)

This week Miz B over at Should Be Reading is shaking things up. The idea is you answer the question of the last commenter…and then leave a question for the next person to answer. It’s sort of like a round-robin type of thing. The question I am answering from the previous commenter is: Do you read every day?   Yes, for the most part, I do read every day. It…

View Post

In My Mailbox (16) 8.8.10

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Every week I’ll post what books I’ve received either by mailbox/library/store. For Review (1) The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell Library (0) Purchased (0) From Paperback Swap – (0) Won (0) Still the One by Robin Wells (from Just One More Paragraph) What’s in your mailbox?

View Post

Giveaway Reminders

Don’t forget to enter the following giveaways: Sand In My Eyes by Christine Lemmon ends July 21st  ENDED Tuesday Tells It Slant by Holly Christine ends July 23rd  ENDED White Heat by Brenda Novak ends August 4th  ENDED The Somebody Who by Katie Gates ends August 6th  This One Is Mine by Maria Semple ends August 19th

View Post

Review: This One is Mine by Maria Semple

First line: David stood at the sink, a pine forest to his left, the Pacific Ocean to his right, and cursed the morning sun. From the back cover: Violet Parry has a picture-perfect life: a beautiful house, a successful husband, a darling daughter. Violet can speak French, quote Sondheim, and whip up dinner from the vegetables in her garden. She has everything under control – except her own happiness. All…

View Post

WWW Wednesdays (8.4.10)

A Week in Books   WWW Wednesdays is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions… What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? What are you currently reading?  Buying Time by Pamela Samuels Young What did you recently finish reading?   This One Is Mine by Maria Semple What…

View Post

Virtual Book Tour and Review: The Perfect Family by Kathryn Shay

First line: The Cancun sun sparkled on the surface of the Caribbean Sea while a cool breeze wafted off the water and played peek-a-boo with Maggie Davidson’s dark hair. From the back cover: In The Perfect Family, seventeen-year old Jamie Davidson doesn’t think being gay should be such a big deal…until he comes out to his parents and friends. Even as Jamie celebrates no longer needing to hide his true self and looks…

View Post

Teaser Tuedays (8.3.10)

MizB of Should Be Reading hosts Teaser Tuesday. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT…

View Post

Upcoming Blog Tour: Wind Warrior by Cynthia Roberts

I have some great news to share with you! Come September, I will be participating in a huge blog tour put on by Cynthia Roberts, author of the upcoming romance novel Wind Warrior! There are some pretty exciting prizes for everyone involved – Cynthia is giving away $600 dollars worth of wonderful items! YOU could win one of five fabulous prizes! There will be something romantic, something succulent, something exquisite,…

View Post

Musing Mondays (8.2.10)

This week’s musing asks:  What book tops your TBR (to be read) pile right now? Is it something you own, or something you have to borrow, or something you’ll be purchasing? Why do you want to read it so badly?   PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks. …

View Post

In My Mailbox (15) 8.1.10

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Every week I’ll post what books I’ve received either by mailbox/library/store. For Review (0) Library (0) Purchased (5)  Kiss My If You Can by Carly Phillips Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews From…

View Post

Month in Review: July

Here are my reading stats for July! Books read:  10 Books I read (reviewed ones have * and link to review) Sand in My Eyes* by Christine Lemmon This Must Be the Place* by Kate Racculia Tuesday Tells It Slant* by Holly Christine White Heat* by Brenda Novak Private* by James Patterson Seven Year Switch* by Claire Cook The Somebody Who* by Katie Gates The Beach Club* by Elin Hilderbrand…

View Post

Review: The Great Oom: The Improbable Birth of Yoga in America by Rob Love

First line: Pierre Arnold Bernard, the first American yogi and a spiritual hero to members of the Lost Generation, was conducting a tour of his property for Joseph Mitchell of the New York World Telegram. From the inside cover: From the gaslit parlors of the Gilded Age to the opulent excess of the Roaring Twenties, hatha yoga couldn’t have followed a more bizarre and sinuous path than it did in…

View Post

Review: The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand

First line: Dear Bill, Another summer season is about to begin on beautiful Nantucket Island. From the back cover: Gorgeous Nantucket is an island where memories are made, friendships begun, passions ignited. Now, during one unforgettable summer, the exclusive Nantucket Beach Club and Hotel will shape the fates of the men and women who walk through its doors… Mack Petersen escaped the past and started over in a hotel that…

View Post