The Time In Between by Maria Dueñas – Spotlight and Giveaway (US)

Thanks to Atria Books I have one copy of THE TIME IN BETWEEN by Maria Dueñas to give away to a lucky reader from the US. Click here for details. Please remember: a comment is not an entry. You must click the link and fill out the form. Good luck!

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

♦  ♦  ♦

Spotlight:

Set in Madrid, Tetuán, and Lisbon before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War through the Second World War, THE TIME IN BETWEEN follows the life of Sira Quiroga.  Born a poor seamstress in Madrid, Sira—after being abandoned in Tangiers by her lover—forges a new identity and becomes the most sought-after couturiere in North Africa, catering to the idle rich and the wealthy wives of high ranking officials.

Sira dreams only of paying off her debts and rescuing her mother from war-torn Madrid, but soon finds herself embroiled in a world of spies and counterspies.  Her profession puts her in a perfect position to garner classified intelligence…and then pass it along to the British Secret Service through a secret code stitched into the hems of her haute couture dresses.

With THE TIME IN BETWEEN, Dueñas brilliantly succeeds in sweeping readers right into this tumultuous time in history.  Her vibrant narrative powerfully transports you behind the scenes of high fashion and offers a fascinating lesson in an industry that managed—against all odds—to survive a period of intense political upheaval.  Dueñas’ also has a talent for not only creating complex and fallible characters—especially her protagonist, Sira—but also vividly personifies the culture of the legendary colonial enclaves of North Africa, war-torn Madrid, and cosmopolitan Lisbon, flush with spies, opportunists, and refugees.

Maria Dueñas is fluent in English (she holds a PhD in English Philology and is currently a professor at the University of Murcia.  She has also taught at American universities) and is available for interview if necessary.  THE TIME IN BETWEEN is beautifully written and compulsively readable.

♦  ♦  ♦

Praise:

“A wonderful novel, in the old and good tradition, with intrigue, love, mystery and tender, audacious and clean-cut characters.”

–Mario Vargas Llosa, The Nobel Prize in Literature Laureate 2010

 

“This thrilling debut is marked by immaculate prose and a driving narrative, establishing Dueñas as a writer to watch.”

–Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review

 

“Written by a college professor, this debut novel, a best-seller in Spain, is scheduled to publish in more than 20 languages and has already generated considerable prepub buzz.”  –Booklist, Starred Review

 

“The Hot List:  Must Reads” –Harper’s Bazaar

 

“It is no surprise this debut novel was a runaway success in Europe. American fans of historical fiction looking for a dramatic, uncomplicated escape will be similarly entranced.”

–Library Journal

“With its detailed depictions of fashions and the fashionable crowd, exotic settings like Portuguese beaches and crowded bars in Tangiers, and a growing sense of danger and intrigue, The Time In Between is a stunning novel.”

–Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Brand New Human Being by Emily Jeanne Miller – and a giveaway

Title:  Brand New Human Being

Author:  Emily Jeanne Miller

Genre:  Fiction

Published:  June 2012 – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

272 pages

My take:  Brand New Human Being is one of those novels I wished I had a friend who’d also read it so we could compare notes right away. I wanted to talk about Logan and Julie and Bennie and the rest of the characters. I wanted to talk about how differently we all handle grief especially when the center of the universe, in this case Logan’s father, has died.

Logan left grad school when his father was diagnosed with cancer. He’d met Julie several weeks earlier on a trip home. They spent every night together until Logan returned to school. Their son Owen was conceived during those two weeks. When Logan got the call about his dad he left school, married Julie and they both moved in with his dad Gus and Bennie.

Fast-forward a few years and Logan finds himself a stay-at-home dad with a 4-year-old son who seems to be reverting to a baby, and a wife who seems very unhappy. He also hasn’t finished his dissertation and feels the pressure of having less than a year to do so. On top of that there are other issues and people who are putting pressure on him. At times Logan made me think of a tea kettle building to a full whistle.

I can see where some readers might get annoyed with Logan and complain about his first world problems but really he’s a guy of a certain age (mid 30s) getting tired of letting life happen to him. He starts to take control of the things only he can. When even that seems impossible Logan does some things he almost immediately regrets. His father’s widow Bennie gets him to talk and she listens (and talks some sense into him). She seems to be about the only person who validates his feelings.

I liked Brand New Human Being and recommend it to readers who like books about imperfect people dealing with grief and trying to move forward.

Source: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for TLC Book Tour

Disclosure:  See sidebar. I was not compensated for my review.

♦  ♦  ♦

You can find out more about the novel and author Emily Jeanne Miller at her website. You’ll find a link to discussion questions there as well.

Click the TLC button to see the complete tour schedule

♦  ♦  ♦

And now for the giveaway!

One lucky winner from the US or Canada will win a copy of

Brand New Human Being by Emily Jeanne Miller

Details can be found here.

Good luck!

Giveaway now closed

Spotlight on THIEF OF SHADOWS by Elizabeth Hoyt (plus a giveaway)

Elizabeth Hoyt’s highly anticipated Historical Romance THIEF OF SHADOWS,

the latest in her nationally bestselling MAIDEN LANE series,

has just been published as a paperback and eBook original by Grand Central Publishing.

♦  ♦  ♦

In THIEF OF SHADOWS, Winter Makepeace’s days are spent as the headmaster of a home for foundling children, one that has recently been adopted by “The Ladies Syndicate,” a group of aristocratic women committed to the works of the home and its betterment.  Night, however, brings out the darker side of Winter.  As the moon rises so does the Ghost of St. Giles, the most notorious footpad in London.  Hidden behind a Harlequin’s mask, he is rumored by some to both rescue and defend, and by others to ravish and murder.  When Winter, as the Ghost, is beaten and wounded, he is rescued and cared for by a beautiful aristocrat. Now his two worlds are about to collide.

Lady Isabel Beckinhall enjoys nothing more than a challenge.  Yet when, as a member of the Ladies’ Syndicate, she is asked to tutor Winter so that he can move within Society for the benefit of the Home, she hesitates at the thought of teaching the dour manager the ways of society—flirtation, double-entendres, and scandalous liaisons.  Nonetheless, she does so and as their lessons progress she is repeatedly distracted as she wonders why his eyes seem so familiar and his lips so very tempting.

By day, Isabel and Winter engage in a battle of wills.  At night their passions are revealed.  Soon though, the Ghost is called to action.  Little girls are disappearing, their loss blamed on the “lassie snatchers,” who are plying their evil trade in St. Giles.  Winter must avenge them. To do so, he must risk losing everything—the Home, Isabel and quite possibly his life.

Once again, Elizabeth Hoyt brings a time, place and people alive to captivate readers with their emotion, hopes and passion.

www.elizabethhoyt.com

Elizabeth Hoyt on Facebook

Elizabeth Hoyt on Twitter

 www.hachettebookgroup.com

 

THIEF OF SHADOWS, Book Four in the Maiden Lane Series

Elizabeth Hoyt

A Grand Central Publishing Mass Market and E-book Original

Fiction/$7.99 ($8.99 Canada)

978-1-455-50832-7 • 1455508322

♦  ♦  ♦

Giveaway!

I have one copy of THIEF OF SHADOWS to give away

to one lucky reader (US/Canada)

Please click here for entry form.

Giveaway is now closed

Ocean Beach by Wendy Wax – Spotlight and Giveaway

Wendy Wax introduced Madeline Singer, Avery Lawford and Nicole Grant and their story of friendship, family and triumph in her book Ten Beach Road, which USA Today cited as one of “six that belong in your beach bag.” Now, these three head to Miami in OCEAN BEACH, on sale June 26. There they hope to use the skills they mastered renovating Bella Flora, a dilapidated historic home, to spin straw into gold once again, this time with the cameras rolling for the first season of their reality show, Do Over.

Wax, born and raised in St. Pete Beach, Florida is no stranger to Miami, but hadn’t visited there for years when she began researching OCEAN BEACH. Her first memories of it are from childhood. “When I was little, we stayed at the Fontainebleau Hotel and ate at Wolfie’s,” she says, admitting to a touch of nostalgia for the now closed landmark deli. Today, she knows much more about the city, especially South Beach’s legendary Art Deco structures, one of which inspired the home at the center of the novel.

The Millicent, a once fabulous Art Deco Streamline, and the reality show Do Over have Madeline, Avery and Nicole again donning their tool belts. Madeline’s daughter, Kyra, who created the pilot and sold the program, is at the helm for the first season, and she’s brought her six-month old, Dustin. Avery’s runaway mother, Deirdre, an interior designer, is there, too, as is The Millicent’s owner, show business legend and nonagenarian Max Golden.

Arriving in South Beach, they discover The Millicent in far worse shape than they expected and that the network has added a second camera crew with orders to film not just the renovation, but them, warts and all. With money running low, their private lives in limbo, and their only other source of income, Bella Flora, still unsold, no one is walking away—despite Do Over’s miniscule budget, their tiny salaries, saboteurs in their midst, and their concern that Max has much more riding on the project than reclaiming his home.

Then Dustin’s uber-celebrity father shows up, superstar wife, kids, body guards and entourage in tow and The Millicent becomes the focal point for paparazzi from around the world.

It’s make or break time for their careers—and possibly their friendship.  All in all, not the perfect circumstances for a major renovation.

As she has in the past, Wendy Wax focuses on women and relationships, telling a story of adversity, friendships, family ties, joy and heartbreak, sharing her distinctive voice and leavening the struggles of her protagonists with her trademark honesty, wit and tenderness.

♦  ♦  ♦

Giveaway!

One lucky reader will win a copy of Ocean Beach

Open to US/Canada

Click here for details

Giveaway has ended

Spotlight on Paul Levine’s Solomon Vs Lord Series plus a giveaway

Paul Levine’s acclaimed series of thrillers feature lawyers Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord. Originally published in the 2000s by Bantam, books from this suspenseful and humorous series were nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, International Thriller and James Thurber awards.

All four books in the series — Solomon vs. Lord, The Deep Blue Alibi, Kill All the Lawyers and Habeas Porpoise (formerly titled Trial & Error) — are now available in Kindle editions:

   

Solomon Vs. Lord
Steve Solomon is the sharpest lawyer ever to barely graduate from Key West School of Law. Victoria Lord is fresh from Yale, toiling for an ambitious D.A. and soon to be married. And Katrina Barksdale is a sexy former figure skater charged with killing her incredibly wealthy, incredibly kinky husband. With all three tangled in the steamiest trial of the century, the case is sure to make sparks fly, headlines scream—and opposites attract. Read More

Deep Blue Alibi

They are Florida’s most mismatched legal duo–one a glamorous Miami blue blood, the other a Coconut Grove beach bum. And when they get together, you can throw every law right out the window…Read More

Kill All The Lawyers

Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord. They’re the legal world’s oddest couple—a shorts-and-sandals beach bum and a Coral Gables blue blood. Maybe the only thing keeping them from killing each other is that they’re on the same side. Read More

Habeas Porpoise 
HABEAS PORPOISE opens when Steve is awakened in the middle of the night with a panicked phone call from his 12 year-old nephew, Bobby. Before he can even realize it is not dream, Steve is on a high-speed chase against animal liberation fanatics who have kidnapped two dolphins from the local water park… Read More

Giveaway!

I have Kindle editions of Levine’s Solomon vs. Lord

and his short story “Solomon & Lord Sink or Swim”

for one lucky winner!

Please click here for giveaway details.

Giveaway is closed

Spotlight on The Rx Factor – Author Guest Post and Giveaway

ABOUT THE RX FACTOR

Five years after the death of his wife and children, Ryan Matthews is living alone with memories of his failed career in cancer research when fellow scientist Jordan Carver catches his eye. Preparing for a move to Mexico, Jordan plans to open a clinic where terminal patients will have affordable access to experimental medication. Despite Ryan’s skepticism on her willingness to bypass the FDA drug approval process, he is intrigued by Jordan’s passion and determination to provide alternative care to terminal patients. But when a violent explosion leaves the small Bahamian island of Exuma on edge, Ryan knows his life has once again been forever altered.

Drawn together by circumstance, attraction, and shared ambition, Ryan and Jordan become united in their international quest for the truth. The two embark on an explosive thrill ride ending in Washington, D.C., where the couple unravels the country’s best-kept secret: the government will stop at nothing to maintain the American way of life, with heartbreak and sickness for all.

♦  ♦  ♦

Giveaway!

I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader (US/Canada)

 

Click here for details 

Giveaway is closed

 

Good luck!

♦  ♦  ♦

And now a guest post from the author:

A Solution to Transform Medical Research and the United States Health Care System 

Despite spending more than any other nation in the world on health care, only 15% of Americans believe we have the world’s best health care, according to a recent Pew Research Center and Gallup Poll.  The CIA world Factbook reports that the United States is ranked #50 in terms of average life expectancy. The average age at death in the U.S. is 78.49 years of age, over 11 years behind #1 ranked Monaco.

This is where you end up on the list with a “make money at all cost” health care system. However, I have a three step plan that will transform medical research and the health care system as we know it in the U.S.  If we act now, we can go from #50 to #1 by 2030 while at the same time cutting our spending on health care in half. My plan will also drive down insurance premiums, making coverage affordable for the vast majority.

Half of the country is demanding that the government stay out of health care while the other half is supporting a quasi-socialized health care system. With such vehemently opposing views, there is zero chance for a consensus and therefore nothing will ever get done that moves us in the right direction. And this is exactly what Big Pharma wants. Therefore, the first step is to change the debate. From Hillarycare through Obamacare, we have been debating {health care} costs and {health insurance} coverage. Cost and coverage are not the problems; they are symptoms of the real problems which are {unidentified} causes and {a lack of} cures.

The next step is to stop donating money to the mega health charities who each take in tens of millions of dollars annually by offering hope to find a cure, but continue to come up empty as a result of Big Pharma’s influence over all medical research.  Instead, not-for-profit universities conducting medical research need to sever their ties to Big Pharma and seek funding from private citizens. The vast majority of medical researchers want to be involved in discovering the cause and cures for human ailments, but they also have to live and they know who butters their bread. If private individuals fund this research, then our nation’s medical researchers no longer need to be beholden to Big Pharma.

The third step is to fight fire with fire.  Like any other publicly traded company, Big Pharma has a fiduciary responsibility to increase shareholder value by enacting business plans that will increase revenues and profits year over year.  In the current environment, the best way to accomplish that objective is to get more people reliant (addicted) on the drugs they produce.

Big Pharma’s mission is not necessarily to get every single American popping their daily maintenance drugs, rather it is to make as much money as possible and selling addictive maintenance drugs is the best way to accomplish that mission as things stand right now. Therefore we need to change the tax code and enact legislation to make their pursuit of profits align with the greater good of the health our citizens.

This can be accomplished by the carrot and stick approach. First we need to show Big Pharma the stick:

1.      Institute a windfall profits tax on any profits derived from any new products developed that is considered a maintenance drug.

2.      Eliminate deductions for R&D expenses associated with any drug being developed as a maintenance drug and not a cure.

Next is the carrot:

1.      No income tax paid on the profits generated by any product that cures a human ailment – for eternity.

2.      Offer permanent patent protection on any product produced that offers a real cure. Expand patent protection to natural cures documented in human trials.

3.      Pricing – fix pricing on drugs that cure human disease to make it as profitable to cure as it does to maintain in today’s health care environment.

This is all about money. If we have the courage to make those changes to the tax code and enact this type of meaningful health care reform, within 15 -20 years, we will have a cure for nearly every human disease known to man. In addition, the cost of health insurance will be affordable for almost everyone and the vast majority of us will end up living much longer and more productive and healthier lives.

About J. Thomas Shaw

J. Thomas Shaw is the author of The RX Factor, a fact based thriller that pits one man against Big Pharma and the FDA. Fact based fiction has the power to bring people from all walks of life together and focus on a single issue. Check it out at www.therxfactor.com.

Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax – Giveaway

Last year I read and reviewed Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax. You can read my review here. The mass market paperback edition came out this week. To celebrate I have a copy to give away to one of my readers (US/Canada). Click here for details. (giveaway has ended)  

Here’s what people had to say about Ten Beach Road

“If you loved Jennifer Weiner’s Fly Away Home…then try Ten Beach Road…

[a] warm, wry novel.”

—Collette Bancroft, St. Petersburg Times

 

“Share with your mom, sisters, daughters, gal pals.”

–Nancy Pate, On A Clear Day I Can Read Forever

 

“[This] dynamic, fast-paced story is a loving tribute to friendship and the power of the female spirit.”

—Las Vegas Review-Journal

“Friendship between women is celebrated and will make you cheer in this uplifting book.”

—Parkersburg (WV) News and Sentinel

 

“Recognizes the power of the female spirit, while being unemotional, and a little romantic.”

—Fresh Fiction

 “Great escape reading, perfect for the beach.”—Library Journal

“Full of laughter, heartache, secrets, loyalty, and courage… run out and pick up a copy!”

—Night Owl Reviews

“Intriguing…I found her insight into human nature to resonate.”–Rundpinne

“Vivid…You can almost smell the salty air…the challenges and determination of these women is undeniable… [each] made for a very compelling heroine.”—LuxuryReading

 

“Funny, heartbreaking, romantic and so much more…This story about recovery and

restoration on so many levels is just delightful.”—The Best Reviews

 ♦  ♦  ♦

To learn more about the author and her books check out these links: 

www.authorwendywax.com

facebook.com/AuthorWendyWax

@Wendy_Wax

TEN BEACH ROAD

A Jove Mass Market Reprint/Fiction                              A Berkley Trade Paperback/Fiction

$7.99 ($8.99 Canada)/978-0-515-15066-7                      $15.00 ($17.50 Canada)/978-0-425-24086-1

Guest post: Jodi Thomas

I’m pleased to welcome author Jodi Thomas today. She’s here to tell us about the newest book in the Harmony series.

♦  ♦  ♦

JUST DOWN THE ROAD is my 34^th novel and I believe one of the best I’ve ever written.  Whenever I write I always think about the kind of story I love to read.  I want to laugh and cry and fall in love.  I want to care.  I want to stay with the story longer than planned because I just have to know what happens next.  I think, as you read JUST DOWN THE ROAD that I will take you on that journey.  You’re going to love my people, not because they’re rich or famous, or powerful, but because they’re kind.  They’re trying to survive in a world where doing what is right matters.

Whenever I begin to plot I like to mix my stories together so that one plot forms out of the life of several people.  In JUST DOWN THE ROAD I have the beginnings of young, first time, love and the sweet love of two people who thought they were destined to live their lives alone.  In the opening I introduce two people who are running, one from life and the other toward it.  One, because of fear, thinks she’s never lived and the other feels his life is over.  They are not a couple anyone would put together but as they grow to love each other.  Tinch and Addison realize they’re a perfect match.  And, for a man just learning to live again, Tinch has to also realize that there are some things in life worth risking his life for.

I’m never sure what to say when people ask me what I do for a living.  I daydream.  I play.  I imagine.  I create.  I scrub the rough worlds clean.  I’m not a writer for a living, I’m simply a writer.

In JUST DOWN THE ROAD all my work and skill and that spark of talent seemed to come together.  The people I created breathed.  I’m very proud of this book and I hope it makes you laugh, and cry and fall in love with the people who live in Harmony.

Enjoy the story, 

Jodi Thomas

jodithomas.com

facebook.com/JodiThomasAuthor

twitter.com/jodithomas

Thanks for visiting today, Jodi. The Harmony series is one of my favorites so I can’t wait to read Just Down The Road. I hope readers will take a few minutes to watch the trailer:

♦  ♦  ♦

I have one copy of  JUST DOWN THE ROAD for a US reader

Click here for giveaway details.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

The Comforts Of Home by Jodi Thomas – review and giveaway

Title:  The Comforts of Home – A Harmony Novel

Author:  Jodi Thomas

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Published:  November 2011 –  Berkley

About: (Pub. synopsis) In Harmony, Texas, twenty-year-old Reagan Truman has found her place, and found her family. But with her uncle taken ill and her friend Noah lost and disheartened with his life, Reagan is afraid of ending up alone again, and she’s not the only one. When a terrible storms threatens the town, the residents of Harmony are forced to think about what they really want. Because making the connections they so desperately desire means putting their hearts at risk…

My take:  I love my visits to Harmony, Texas. Jodi Thomas takes us back to see what’s new in The Comforts of Home – the latest novel in her Harmony series. If you’re not familiar with the series I recommend starting with the first book Welcome to Harmony in which you’ll meet the descendants of the three founding families of Harmony. The series involves them and many more citizens of the small Texas panhandle town.

In The Comforts of Home we catch up with Reagan Truman and her uncle as well as Ty Wright and his friend Kate. Ronelle (Ronnie) Logan, a young twenty-something woman who has been in the background in previous books, is front and center this time. Ronnie lives with her mother who has managed to make her feel worthless her entire life. She’s the type of person who doesn’t look anyone in the eye when speaking (which is almost never), dresses so no one will notice her, and has no friends. She works sorting mail at the post office and comes home at the end of each day to verbal attacks from her mother. One day she is sent to deliver mail to someone who will eventually challenge and inspire her to find what life has to offer.

There are a few other story lines in this installment – all enjoyable. Jodi Thomas’s novel is filled with amiable small town folks, romance, drama, and a lot of heart. I recommend this series and especially The Comforts of Home to fans of Jodi Thomas and Contemporary Romance.

Source:  Publisher

Disclosure Policy:  see sidebar

GIVEAWAY

The publisher sent one copy of The Comforts of Home for one of my US readers.

To enter just click here and fill out the form.

Good luck!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Here’s the book trailer:

Giveaway (US): Only Time Will Tell – Audiobook

A few weeks ago I blogged about Jeffrey Archer’s new book ONLY TIME WILL TELL.  Macmillan Audio has graciously offered to send one copy of the audiobook to one of my US readers.

To enter, click here and complete the form. I love your comments but you must fill out the form to be entered in the giveaway.

Giveaway ends September 22

GIVEAWAY CLOSED