A Casual Reader's Blog: October 2011

Friday, October 28, 2011

Book Tour: Earth by Shauna Granger Review and Giveaway

Welcome to the book tour for Earth by Shauna Granger!

Today I have a review and giveaway.

Shayna and her two best friends have the abilities to manipulate and control the four elements, earth, air, water and fire. While learning to hone their growing powers, they discover a new and malicious presence in their sleepy beach town. Someone is performing blood magic and threatens to expose their small magical community. So far only small animals have been slaughtered, but then the nightmares start.

Shayna suffers nightmares of being chased and sacrificed only to wake up bloodied and bruised. She thinks her magical blood is the ultimate target for the final blood rite. When an innocent girl, Tracy, is kidnapped Shayna knows it’s only a ploy to draw her out; she can’t let someone die because of her.

This tour is in honor of the second book in this series, Air, which will be released on October 31st. I know I am ready to read the next one for sure!

Check out the review and giveaway details after the break!

Monster Mash & Bash Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Monster Mash & Bash Giveaway Hop hosted by A Book Lover's Dream!

I am giving away a $10 giftcard to Amazon.com!

If you do not have an Amazon.com account, then you can get $10 of books from Book Depository (please make sure they deliver to your country).

Enter after the break...

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and The Diary of a Bookworm!

There are tons of blogs involved, so let's just get to the important stuff.

I am giving away a $10 giftcard to Amazon.com!

If you do not have an Amazon.com account, then you can get $10 of books from Book Depository (please make sure they deliver to your country).

Enter after the break...

Blog Tour- The Wonder of Your Love

Welcome to the blog tour for The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman!

Katie Ann lost the love of her life. Then God offers her a new beginning in Colorado.

Katie Ann Stolzfus lives in the small Amish community of Canaan, Colorado. At forty she is widowed and raising her first child. But baby Jonas will never know his father, and Katie Ann wonders if her Heavenly Father hasn't forgotten about her as well. Is it really God's plan for her to be a single parent?

Eli Detweiler has come to Canaan for a wedding and a long vacation. Having raised six children following the death of his young wife, Eli is finally an empty-nester. He's enjoying the slower pace of having no one to care for but himself.

When Katie Ann and Eli meet, there is an instant connection. Yet as strong as the attraction is, they both acknowledge that a romance would never work. He is done parenting, while she has just begun.

But as their friendship slowly blossoms into feelings that are as frightening as they are intoxicating, Katie Ann and Eli question if the plans they made for themselves are in line with God's plans.

Can Katie Ann entrust her heart to another man, and rediscover the wonder of God's love?

Beth Wiseman is hailed as a top voice in Amish fiction. She is a Carol-award winner and author of numerous bestsellers including the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series. She and her family live in Texas.
www.bethwiseman.com
Twitter @bethwiseman
www.facebook.com/pages/Fans-of-Beth-Wiseman/47576397539

Buy the book here

Review:

Katie Ann is in an interesting place in her life. She was recently widowed and has a young child. Eli is in the exact opposite place. Having lost his wife years before in childbirth, he has successfully raised 6 children and is now ready to enjoy a retirement of sorts. When Katie Ann and Eli meet at a wedding sparks fly-but not the good kind. They slowly develop into friends. Even if their lives are not converging, they begin to feel an attraction to each other. The two of them must figure out what they truly want in life and decide whether that life is together.

I've never read any Amish fiction before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It was a rather interesting book. There a lot more twists and turns in the plot than I expected. Katie Ann and Eli both had very different but equally interesting back stories. I found Katie Ann's struggle with forgiveness to be particularly interesting. She seemed very real and human. As a mother, I also understood her anxiety involving her son. I can't even say how many times a night I would check on my young son. I still sometimes wake up and watch him breathe. These things really let me relate to Katie Ann on a level I didn't expect.

Eli was a very steady man. I liked that he addressed the somewhat selfish seeming nature of his desire to enjoy his new child-less life. He was also very kind and patient. I also greatly enjoyed Martha. In some ways I felt she was a voice for the reader encouraging Katie Ann and Eli along the path to romance. While the book is sweet, it is never too much. There are plenty of conflicts and intrigue within the plot to keep things building to the end. This book managed to hold my interest throughout, and I will be sure to give Amish fiction a chance in the future.

Book provided for review.

Beth is celebrating the release of Book 2 in the Land of Canaan series with a Fabulous Facebook party on November 1st. She'll be giving away one of her OWN paintings, several mini prize packs and a sneak peak at the next book in this heartwarming series.

CLICK the button (below) to RSVP for the party - then join us on November 1st for a book chat, Amish themed trivia contest, and more!

The Wonder of Your Love Facebook Party on 11/1!

Be sure to check out all the other blogs on the tour. Thanks for stopping by!

10/17

Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com

Alena at Little Bit Of Wonderful http://little-bit-of-wonderful.blogspot.com

Patricia at It's Time To Read Mamaw http://itstimetoreadmamaw.blogspot.com

Jenny at Come Meet Ausjenny http://ausjenny.blogspot.com

10/18

Jill at Book, Books Everywhere http://bookbookseverywhere.blogspot.com

Leila at All Meant To Shine http://www.allmeanttoshine.blogspot.com

Renee at Black 'n Gold Girl's Book Spot http://steelergirl83.blogspot.com

10/19

Anne at Mommy Has to Work http://mommyhastowork.com

Amy at The 160 Acrewoods http://www.the160acrewoods.com

Reviews By Jane at http://www.reviewsbyjane.blogspot.com

Ruth at This That and the Other Thing http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com

10/20

Danielle The Happy Wife http://juanshappywife.blogspot.com

Splashes Of Joy http://splashesofjoy.wordpress.com

Karla at Quiet Quilter http://www.karla-hanns-karla.blogspot.com

10/21

Babs Book Bistro http://www.babsbookbistro.net/blog

Rhiana at A Frugal Life http://www.afrugallife.org

Theresa at Frugal Experiments http://www.frugalexperiments.com

Carlybird's Home http://www.carlybirdshome.blogspot.com

10/22

Deborah at Books, Movies and Chinese Food http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com

Deb’s Here http://debshere.blogspot.com

Heather at Mommy Of 1 and Counting http://www.heatherandavery.blogspot.com

Kate at Fuzzy Black Slippers & a Pink Hoodie http://gwenelle.wordpress.com

10/24

Lisa at A Casual Reader's Blog http://ellsey.blogspot.com

Crystal at Cinnamon Hollow http://thecinnamonhollow.com

Lydia at Overweight Bookshelf http://overweight-bookshelf.blogspot.com

Jennifer at Life Happens http://www.lifehappenswithkids.com

10/25

Katie at Legacy of a Writer http://katie-mccurdy.blogspot.com

Lauri at Knits, Reads and Reviews http://knitsandreads.blogspot.com

Jodie at Mom's Pace http://www.moms-pace.com

Julee at Mommy's Memorandum http://mommysmemorandum.com

10/26

Pam at Daysong Reflections http://daysongreflections.com

Marg at Simply Shop and Save http://www.simplyshopandsave.ca

Tina at Giving N Sharing http://givingnsharing.blogspot.com

Paula at The Phantom Paragrapher http://phantomparagrapher.blogspot.com

Debra at Footprints in the Butter http://debrakb.blogspot.com

10/27

Tami at This Mom's Delight http://thismomsdelight.com

Kemi at Homemaking Organized Blog http://homemakingorganized.com/blog

Tammy Is Blessed http://tammyisblessed.blogspot.com

Lena at A Christian Writer's World http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

10/28

Angela at All Grown Up? http://pantylesspreacherswife.wordpress.com

Donna at Books and such http://bookworm56.blogspot.com

Paula at Thrifty Momma’s Brain Food http://www.thriftymommasbrainfood.blogspot.com

Carrie at Farming On Faith http://farmingonfaith.blogspot.com

Becky at Christian Chick's Thoughts http://christianchicksthoughts.blogspot.com

10/29

Sara at Shoopette's Book Reviews http://shoopettesbookreviews.blogspot.com

Jennifer at For Such a Time as This http://jennifersikora.com/2011/06/dealing-with-kids-allergies

Kat at Reviews From The Heart http://reviewsfromtheheart.blogspot.com

Tracy's Treasure of Books http://tracystreasureofbooks.blogspot.com

10/31

Jacque at Good Family Reads http://familyreads.blogspot.com

Michelle at Life in Review http://lifeinreviewblog.com

Patty at Broken Teepee http://brokenteepee.com

11/1

Andi at Radiant Light http://www.frommipov.blogspot.com

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Blog Tour- Baby, It's Cold Outside by Susan May Warren

Welcome to the blog tour for Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Hope finds the hopeless when a storm hits.

It's Christmas weekend 1949, and despite the threat of a storm, the townspeople of Frost are determined to continue their holiday traditions, if only as a means to forget the war that they had all just suffered through. But the suffering hasn't ended for Dottie Morgan who lost her only son in the war. She's preparing to wallow in her isolation for the weekend, when Violet, nearly a spinster at age 29, dares to make a request that will force Dottie to publicly revive the memory of her dead son.

When a storm traps the two women at home with a strange young man who has an unbelievable confession and a neighbor with more to do with Violet's past than she would like, no one can predict how this Christmas will give them all a second chance.

Read an excerpt here and find out the story behind the novel.

Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)

A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: www.susanmaywarren.com.

Buy the book here.

Review:

Five very different people. One blizzard. Put these things together and you get a recipe for possible disaster. Dottie hasn't been the same since her son died in World War II. She has blamed her neighbor and former flame Gordy for her son's death. Gordy has tried his best to take care of Dottie, but he can't forgive her for running off and marrying someone else. Violet works with Dottie at the library, but she has issues of her home. After going off to Europe to serve in the war, her transition back into the civilian life of a woman has not been easy. Her only hope for happiness has been Alex, who she met in the military. They have been writing for a while, but her last letter came back unopened. When Alex's mysterious friend Jake show up in town looking for Violet, things take an interesting turn. Jake is harboring some secrets about the past and present. The young boy Artie was just looking for his "storm house," a place designated for him to go for safety in times such as these. When these five people find their fates entwined, the spirit of family and Christmas soon make for a few days they will never forget. If they can get past all their issues that is.

Talk about creating an atmosphere! This book takes five people with varying relationships and throws them together for a multi-day blizzard. Naturally, things are going to come to a head while they are all cooped up together. Filled with charm and varying amounts of good cheer, this book is one you'll want to curl up with on a frosty winter day. It's filled with sad moments and sweet moments and some romance too. Individually, I didn't like the characters as much as I did when they were together. They certainly brought out the best in each other. I thought the period aspects of the book were great. They certainly added to the charm of the book.

This book does exactly what is advertised. There's nothing earth-shattering in it, but it is filled with a quiet sweetness. The romances simmer and build to their inevitable conclusion. This book is a relaxing and fast read, and it will be a perfect way to wind down during the hectic holiday season. So if you want a book full of romance and Christmas cheer, definitely check out this book.

Book provided for review.

Warm up to Chrismtas early this year with Susan May Warren's Baby, It's Cold Outside! To celebrate the release of her new Christmas book with Summerside Press, she and the publisher are giving away a Kindle Fire and hosting an early Christmas Party on Facebook!

Read what the reviewers are saying here.

One festive winner will receive:

A brand new Kindle Fire
Baby, It's Cold Outside by Susan May Warren

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. Giveaway ends on 10/26!

But, wait there’s more! Join Susan May Warren on 10/27 for merriment and a few early Christmas presents at her Baby, It's Cold Outside Christmas party! Grab your Christmas sweaters, socks and pj’s and join Susan and a few friends for a fireside chat about her recent books (Heiress & Baby, It’s Cold Outside), holiday traditions, favorite Christmas recipes, a trivia contest and more! Invite your friends and don’t miss the fun!

RSVP here and we'll see you on October 27th at 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST!