#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in January 30

 #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About Winter sure is making it tough to get outside and walk lately!!! We had 2 snowstorms this past week and it definitely doesn’t make me very anxious to go outdoors. We’re due for more snow this coming week, plus really cold temps, but I must make myself get to the gym at least 3 times –…

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Review, Author Q&A & Giveaway: The Marriage Charm by Linda Lael Miller (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

Title: The Marriage Charm    Author: Linda Lael Miller      Series: The Brides of Bliss County, #2      Published: January 2015, HQN Books   Format: ARC e-book, 304 pages    Source: Netgalley via Little Bird Publicity The women of Bliss County have a pact—to find husbands. The right husbands. One already has: Hadleigh Stevens, who married rancher Tripp Galloway a few months ago. Now Melody Nolan thinks it’s…

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Review: Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

Title: Leaving Time     Author: Jodi Picoult       Published: October 2014, Ballantine Books   Format: Hardcover, 398 pages    Source: Library   #1 bestselling author Jodi Picoult returns with her compulsive new novel – about the lengths we go to for those who have left us behind; about the staying power of love; and about how three broken souls might have just the right pieces to mend each…

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Review: The Three Sisters: A Whispers Story by Lisa Unger

Title: The Three Sisters: A Whispers Story     Author: Lisa Unger     Series: The Whispers, #3      Published: January 2015, Gallery Books   Format: ARC e-books, 76 pages    Source: Netgalley   The third and final story in a thrilling e-novella about a psychic medium, from award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger. When Eloise’s granddaughter, twenty-year-old Finley, comes to live with her, Eloise’s abilities…

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Review & Giveaway: Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

Title: Unbecoming    Author: Rebecca Scherm       Published: January 2015, Viking Adult   Format: Hardcover, 320 pages    Source: Publicist   A major debut novel of psychological suspense about a daring art heist, a cat-and-mouse waiting game, and a small-town girl’s mesmerizing transformation On the grubby outskirts of Paris, Grace restores bric-a-brac, mends teapots, re-sets gems. She calls herself Julie, says she’s from California, and slips back to a…

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The Sunday Post #56 (1.25.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.  Well, winter has finally made it’s appearance around…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in January 23

 #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   So, while the week didn’t start off too great, it sure did end great. I realized that I have only 7 weeks until my 1/2 marathon…EEK!!! Yes, I’ve been walking all along, but I haven’t really done any distance walks and I desperately needed to get a new pairs of kicks! I did my first…

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Review: Perdita by Hilary Scharper

Title: Perdita     Author: Hilary Scharper      Published: January 2015, Sourcebooks Landmark   Format: ARC E-book, 448 pages     Source: Netgalley    In this haunting tale of past and present, Garth uncovers the secret to longevity, and the mystical power of love On assignment to interview the oldest people on the planet, historian Garth Hellyer meets Marged Brice, a spirited woman who claims to be 134 years old.…

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Book Spotlight, Guest Post, & Excerpt: Perdita by Hilary Scharper (with Giveaway!!!)

Perdita By Hilary Scharper Sourcebooks Landmark January 20, 2015 $16.99 Trade Paperback “Stunning… richly complex and unpredictable.” —Historical Novel Review Marged Brice is 134 years old. She’d be ready to go, if it weren’t for Perdita . . . The Georgian Bay lighthouse’s single eye keeps watch over storm and calm, and Marged grew up in its shadow, learning the language of the wind and the trees. There’s blustery beauty…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in January 16

 #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   Another week that didn’t quite go as planned. I started off pretty good. I was babysitting my 2 month old niece over the weekend, so I did pretty well with my steps as she likes to be held and walked around. Then the first half of the week was fine, and I managed to reach…

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Review: The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag (audio)

Title: The Dress Shop of Dreams    Author: Menna van Praag       Narrator: Jennifer Carr    Published: Recorded Books   Length: 9 hours, 10 minutes   Source: Personal copy via Audible   For fans of Alice Hoffman, Sarah Addison Allen, and Adriana Trigiani, The Dress Shop of Dreams is a captivating novel of enduring hopes, second chances, and the life-changing magic of true love. Since her parents’ mysterious deaths…

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Review: The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley (audio)

  Title: The Midnight Rose     Author: Lucinda Riley     Narrator: Anjana Srinivasan Published: January 2014, Whole Story Audiobooks Length: 16 hours, 48 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible   Spanning four generations, The Midnight Rose sweeps from the glittering palaces of the great maharajas of India to the majestic stately homes of England, following the extraordinary life of a remarkable girl, Anahita Chaval, from 1911 to the…

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The Sunday Post #55 (1.11.15) – a day late!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.  I’m posting this a day late because I…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in January 9

 #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   This week didn’t start off too well as I was sick. I ended up with a nasty cold. I took a few days off and then, since the weather was so cold, decided to just take it easy and stay indoors all week. I really don’t want to be sick all winter, so I figured…

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Book Spotlights: The She Reads ‘Books of Winter’ Selections

On Monday, the gals at She Reads announced the four ‘Books of Winter’ selections. I’m very excited about these picks – 2 I’ve already read/listened to, I’m currently listening to the third and will be picking up the fourth one very shortly. Be sure to visit the She Reads website – they have a great giveaway going on. Five lucky readers will win all four novels!!! (Giveaway is open until…

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Review: House Broken by Sonja Yoerg

Title: House Broken    Author: Sonja Yoerg  Published: January 2015, NAL Trade Format: ARC E-copy, 336 pages    Source: Netgalley via Author    In this compelling and poignant debut novel, a woman skilled at caring for animals must learn to mend the broken relationships in her family.… For veterinarian Geneva Novak, animals can be easier to understand than people. They’re also easier to forgive. But when her mother, Helen, is…

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Review: Vanished by Elizabeth Heiter

Title: Vanished    Author: Elizabeth Heiter     Series: The Profiler, #2       Published: December 2014, MIRA   Format: ARC Paperback, 400 pages     Source: Author   Sometimes the past can haunt you… Eighteen years ago, FBI profiler Evelyn Baine s best friend, Cassie Byers, disappeared, the third in a series of unsolved abductions. Only a macabre nursery rhyme was left at the scene, a nursery rhyme that claimed…

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The Sunday Post #54 (1.4.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.  I love the excitement a new year brings…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in January 2

 #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   This is the first check-in for the new year and I am going to use this post to discuss my goals for the year. This is the second year I am participating in this group (formerly called #BookBlogWalkers) and I am so excited to see that the group is not only back, but even more…

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2015 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

  The 2015 Mount TBR Reading Challenge is hosted by My Reader’s Block, and it goes from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. I participated in this challenge last year, but didn’t come close to making my goal. I’m hoping to be successful this time around as at last count, I have over 200 books on my shelves that I have not read yet. I’m joining at the Mount…

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2015 Netgalley Reading Challenge

  The 2015 Netgalley Reading Challenge is hosted by Ariel Avalon, and it goes from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. This goal of this challenge is to not only read all those books we’ve requested from Netgalley but to then review them so as to get our feedback ratio up to the recommended 80%. I’m joining at the Hard level, which means I need to read and review…

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2015 First Reads Reading Challenge

The 2015 First Reads Reading Challenge is hosted by b00k r3vi3ws, and it goes from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. The goal of this reading challenge is to read new-to-you authors.  I’m joining at the Lover level, which means that I need to read at least 26 books from new-to-me authors. I’ll keep track of them here. I’ll also link my reviews to the list. ***As of 6/30/15,…

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2015 E-Book Reading Challenge

The 2015 E-Book Challenge is hosted by Annette’s Book Spot  and it goes from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. I’ve done this challenge for the past couple years and love seeing just how much I end up reading on the iPad at the end of the year. I’m joining at the Megabytes level, which means I need to read at least 25 e-books in 2015. I’ll keep track…

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2015 Audiobook Challenge

  The 2015 Audio Book Challenge is hosted by The Book Nympho & Hot Listens, and it goes from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. I love listening to audio books and have been doing this challenge for the past few  years. I’m joining at the Marathoner level, which means I need to listen to 50+  audio books in 2015. I’ll keep track of them here.   ***As of 9/30/15,…

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2015 Library Challenges (2 different ones!)

There were 2 Library Challenges that I was torn between signing up for so I decided I would sign up and participate in both!!!  The first one, Readers to the Rescue Library Challenge, is being hosted by Sheila over at Book Journey. Not only is she encouraging us to use our library, but she also wants us to get to know our library. What does your library offer besides books.…

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2015 You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge

  The 2015 You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge is hosted by Book Dragon’s Lair, and it goes from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. This is a reading challenge where we are challenged to read, read, read!!! I am going to join this challenge at Level 2, where I hope to read 150 books. The Violets of March by Sarah Jio House Broken by Sonja Yoerg (e-book)…

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2015 Goals for Reading/Blogging/Fitness

I have done this the last 2 years, and it helped me set myself up for the upcoming year. I think this will be a fixed feature on January 1 of each year I blog. One of my resolutions for 2015 is to be more organized – in life and in blogging. I need to get back to using my blogger planner. While this was one of my main goals…

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First Book of the Year 2015

Each year, Sheila over at Book Journey makes a big deal over what the first book she’ll read will be for the new year and once again she’s asked us to join her.  For my first book of the year, I decided to go with a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while – and one that’s been sitting on my shelf for some time as well. I’m…

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Year in Review: 2014

2014 has been another great year and it’s hard to believe that 2015 starts tomorrow!   Some of the highlights of this year include: Attending BEA 2014 – what a great experience!!! Lots of great books, meeting other bloggers in person, networking with publishers/publicists, meeting authors and attending some of the parties! So much fun and I am definitely going again in 2015! I walked my first 1/2 marathon in…

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