Friday, August 10, 2012

Giveaway: The Harbormaster's Daughter by Heidi Jon Schmidt

Thanks to Jessica Butler of Penguin Group, USA, I am giving away one copy of The Harbormaster's Daughter.

Book Description:

On a freezing January night, LaRee Farnham answers a knock at her door to find a policewoman holding three-year old Vita Gray, whose mother has just been murdered a few miles away. LaRee raises Vita with fierce love and attention, while trying to shield her from the aftermath of the murder, which has deeply divided the historic village of Oyster Creek.

Born out of wedlock, Vita is the product of the town’s two very different cultures: the hardworking fishing families of Portuguese descent and the "washashores” from the mainland who’ve drifted to the coast for its beauty. At sixteen, Vita is shy and isolated, estranged from her father and bullied at school, but she is determined to come out of herself, step by step.

When the shocking details of her past surface suddenly, Vita feels utterly betrayed by those closest to her, and the fraught tension between Oyster Creek’s two cultures comes to a head. LaRee must ask hard questions about herself as a mother, while Vita turns to unexpected avenues to find meaning and discovers that the truth is almost never found in black and white....
About Heidi Jon Schmidt:

Heidi Jon Schmidt is the author of The Rose Thieves, , Darling?, The Bride of Catastrophe, and The House on Oyster Creek. Her stories and essays have been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Grand Street, Yankee,and featured on National Public Radio. She has won awards including the O’Henry, Ingram-Merrill and James Michener Awards. She teaches in the Workshops at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and lives on Cape Cod with her husband Roger Skillings and their daughter Marisa Rose.

CONNECT ONLINE:

heidijonschmidt.com
facebook.com/heidijonschmidt
This giveaway is for the U.S. only and ends on August 24, 2012. Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway




Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:00 AM 11 comments  

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Monday, August 6, 2012

A Dog's Tale by Mark Twain

I've been extremely busy this summer and haven't been around for Short Story Monday for awhile. This weekend however, I have taken a bit of a breather. What better author to read on a lazy summer's day but Mark Twain? So, I picked up A Dog's Tale from good old Project Gutenberg.

Aileen is a dog who is taken from her mother to go live with a human family. Her mother told her that it was a dog's duty. She also told Aileen that if any of her new family was ever in danger, that it was her job to protect them.

That day came when the nursery caught on fire and she rescued the baby. However, when the father saw her dragging the baby in the hallway, he didn't realize the nursery was on fire. He beat poor Aileen and she had a permanent limp. After, the man realized his mistake and he and the family told everyone what a hero she was.

That would have been a great story but Twain needed to get his point about animal cruelty across. I can't say what happens without giving away spoilers but it was very sad and disturbing.

This story does have some of Mark Twain's signature humor in it, especially at the beginning but then it got dark and had a message, similar to slavery but concerning the treatment of animals. I see much similarity actually. I think A Dog's Tale should be part of middle school or high school curriculum. Highly recommended!

Short Story Monday is hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.


Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:15 AM 3 comments  

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Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday now has it's very own blog, Mailbox Monday. It is also on tour and is being hosted by 5 Minutes for Books in  August.

This is what I received last week:
 I couldn't resist getting this book any longer and to my surprise, it was on Net Galley.
 I received this unsolicited from William Morrow/Harper Collins.  I think I will give it a try.
I received this from the author, Gabriele Wills.  I have already read the first two books in the Muskoka series and am looking forward to this one.

Ms. Wills will be going on tour with the first book in the series, The Summer Before the Storm in November.  If you are interested in reviewing it or having Ms. Wills as a guest, please let me know.  It's a great series for those of us who can hardly wait for another season of Downton Abbey!
I received this unsolicited from William Morrow/ Harper Collins.  It is not a book for me but I will find a good home for it.






Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:00 AM 8 comments  

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Sunday, August 5, 2012

The 6th Annual Canadian Book Challenge


John of The Book Mine Set hosts this wonderful challenge and you do not have to be Canadian to join. It is my favorite book challenge out there and I have been participating every year from the beginning. I'm not about to quit now. The challenge started on July first, so I a little late signing up.
The challenge is the same as before, to read and review 13 Canadian books. Each participant gets to decide if a book qualifies for the challenge or not but basically if it's by a Canadian author, is about a place in Canada, or takes place somewhere in Canada, it qualifies.

I will keep track of the books I read for the challenge below:

1. Elusive Dawn by Gabriele Wills
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.




Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:49 PM 4 comments  

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Completed: The 5th Annual Canadian Book Challenge

I'm over a month late posting this challenge wrap up however, I did complete it on time.  Yeah!
This is what I read:

1.Sweet Tooth: Animal Armies by Jeff Lemire
2.The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb
3,4, &5. Three Books by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak
6.There is a Season by Patrick Lane
7. Loose End by Ivan E. Coyote
8. Dinner with Lisa by R L Prendergast
9.The Maladjusted by Derek Hayes
10.The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha
11.Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel
12. Lingering Tides by Latha Viswanathan
13. Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden

Thanks to John of The Book Mine Set for hosting this challenge!  Now I am on to year 6 of this awesome challenge!



Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:28 PM 2 comments  

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August Reviews For the 2012 ARC Reading Challenge


In July, we collectively read and reviewed 37 ARC's for a total of 332 ARC's, so far in 2012!
Here are the standings so far:

Level Bronze (up to 12 Arcs):
Amodini 12
Beth 8
Jo-Jo 9
Tiffany 4

Working on Silver:
Heather 16
Teddy 16

Silver (24 ARCS):
Book Loving Mommy 24

Working on Gold:
Kristi 27

Gold ( 30 ARCS):

Working on Platinum:

Platinum (35 ARCS):
Amber 47
Andrea 43
Nicola 98

If you don't see yourself in the standings above, it is because you didn't leave a comment telling me how many books you read so far. You need to do this at the end of each month.

Please post the books you read in June for the challenge in Mr. Linky, below:

If you forgot to post book in any previous months, please post them in Mr. Link below as well.

Please enter your name and the name of the book in this format: Name: (Your Name, Book Title and Author's Name) for example: (Teddy, Obsessive Reading by Helen Reader).


Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:15 PM 7 comments  

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August Reviews for the 2012 Books Won Reading Challenge

The standings so far:

Honorable Mentions: Read 1-3 books won:
Darlene 2
Teddy 2
Tiffany 1

Silver: Read 7-9 Books you won:

Gold: Read 10 or more books you won:
Freda 10- Challenge Completed!  Congratulations!

Reminder: If you don't see yourself in the standings above, it is because you didn't leave a comment telling me how many books you read so far in 2012. You need to do this at the end of each month in the comments.
Please post the books you read in July for the challenge in Mr. Linky, below:

If you forgot to post book in any previous months, please post them in Mr. Link below as well.

Please enter your name and the name of the book in this format: Name: (Your Name, Book Title and Author's Name) for example: (Teddy, Obsessive Reading by Helen Reader).

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:01 PM 1 comments  

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Friday, August 3, 2012

Giveaway: WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE by Maria Semple

Thanks to Anna Balasi of Little Brown and Company, I am giving away 3 copies of Where'd You Go, Bernadette.

Book Description:
Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.
To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

Listen to an Excerpt

Where’d You Go Bernadette Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/WheredYouGoBernadette

Maria Semple’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorMariaSemple
About Maria Semple:

Maria Semple's first novel, This One is Mine, was set in Los Angeles, where she also wrote for television shows including Arrested Development, Mad About You, and Ellen. She escaped from Los Angeles and lives with her family in Seattle, where her second novel takes place.

This giveaway is open to Canada and the U.S. and ends on August 17, 2012.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway



Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:00 AM 14 comments  

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Friday, July 27, 2012

Review and Giveaway: Butterfly Dreams Luxury Bed Linens

In January I reviewed a set of microfiber sheets that I had purchased on-line.  The review was not very favorable and in fact, if I were writing that review today, it would have been scathing!  They fell apart in just a few washes in cold water and on delicate cycle. 

Awhile after I posted that review, I received an email from Edith Coronacion McCosker of Butterfly Dreams asking if I would like a set of their sheets to review.  Of course, I accepted, I needed new sheets, after all!
Wow, what a difference! 

The Queen sheet set included one fitted sheet, one flat sheet and two pillow cases.  The fitted sheet and pillow cases are made of microfiber and are incredibly soft and luxurious feeling!  The fitted sheet is a nice texture of cotton.  I asked Edith what the two different texture and she said the top sheet is for better temperature control and also that the underside of the microfiber sheet "is not as smooth, so it won’t feel good on top of you."  That makes sense to me.
I have now had the opportunity to wash these sheets several times and they are still as luxurious feeling as the first time I used them.  There are no runs and they have not balled up at all.  I love them so much that I am buying 2 more of the pillow cases.  I use lots of pillows!

I have to give these Butterfly Dreams sheets a 5/5, they are the most luxurious sheets I have ever had.  They make me feel like a queen!
Now is your chance to own a queen set!  Edith is offering two queen sets in Serene Green to two of my readers!  This giveaway is for Canada and the U.S. and ends on August 10, 2012.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.  I bet you will agree that Butterfly Dreams sheets are incredible!
a Rafflecopter giveaway







Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:00 AM 26 comments  

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Elusive Dawn by Gabriele Wills


Back in 2010, I reviewed the book The Summer Before the Storm by Gabriele Wills.  It was the first book in the historical fiction series called The Muskoka Novels.  Elusive Dawn is the second novel in the series.
In the summer of 1916, some of the Wyndham family carry on family tradition at their cottages at Muskoka in Canada.  However, many of the family members are in Europe, fighting the Great War.  Ria becomes an ambulance driver in France, a very dangerous volunteer job.  Her husband Chas is a flying ace in the war as is her cousin, Jack.  Her cousin Justin is a doctor, operating close to the battle grounds.

When her husband or cousins have any time off, they visit Ria as much as possible.  Her and Chas are having some marital problems they are trying to work through, which is especial difficult long distance.  The first chance they get, they take time off to set up their own house in the English countryside.  Chas wants Ria to stay there, in less danger but she goes back as an ambulance driver.
Many things happen, of course, but I don't want to giveaway any spoilers.  Elusive Dawn is a very moving piece of WWI fiction and certainly as good as the first book in the series.  Really, the only thing that still doesn't work for me, and I mentioned this in my review of book I, is Ria's stereotypical conniving stepmother.  However, we do find out a bit more about her shady past.

Will's prose is fresh and poetic.  She captures the period in great detail.  I could picture every scene in the book, like I was there.  Book 3 in the series, Under the Moon is now on sale and on its way to me.  I can hardly wait!
If you are a fan of Downton Abbey, trust me, you will love this series!  Be sure to start with The Summer Before the Storm first. 

Scoop: Gabriele Wills will be going on tour with The Summer Before the Storm with Premier Virtual Author Book Tours, if you are interested in being a part of the tour, let me know.  The tour will be announced soon!
4.5/5

I received this book from the author for my honest review.
Also reviewed by:
The Book Chick


Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:00 AM 4 comments  

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