tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559Fri, 23 Oct 2015 18:09:44 +0000GiveawayGrade BMailbox MondayGrade ABook Read in 2011Book Read in 2010Historical FictionGreetingsU.K.Book Read in 2012Book Read in 2013Grade CUK AuthorChick-LitReading ChallengesBTTNonfictionMemoirOther BloggersRead-a-ThonBook Read in 2009ListsMonthly WrapupWWIIDecoratingRead AlongCookingBooks into MoviesGrade DRecipeWordless WednesdayFranceGrade FAsiaBBAWBloggiestaAuthor EventsFriendshipOrganizingAustralian BooksComing of AgeGift IdeasTravelY.A.AwardsBook ToolsOrange PrizeAudiobook WeekGuest PostItalyMother-DaughterPulitzer PrizeReader Survey'sShort Story CollectionIndiaMan Booker PrizeAuthor InterviewBooks BoughtIrelandLibraryMexicoRussiaSpecial EditionsWork Issuesbook saleseconomyBlogoversaryBooks into PlaysCanadaChristina Stead PrizeCroatiaFrance's Prix Femina AwardIranKidsRulesSelf-HelpSet in TurkeySwedenWeddingsWhitbread AwardAmused By Bookshttp://www.amusedbybooks.com/noreply@blogger.com (Amused)Blogger940125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-2799774896139432718Sat, 05 Oct 2013 17:51:00 +00002013-10-05T10:51:28.033-07:00GreetingsI've lost that bloggin' feelin'Thank you to everyone who wished me well on my house move! It is exactly three weeks since we moved into our new home. The move has been one of the most stressful experiences of my life. Buying a home with your new husband really says, well I guess we are really in this for life! We left the big city we have loved for years (San Francisco) to move out to a town with significantly less happening, and significantly more crickets chirping. I've even seen a baby deer! We still work in the big city but that changes things too. Now we have a whole big commute routine and well life has just changed a lot. We both believe it was the right move, but it is still taking a lot to get used too.<br /><br />However, while nothing physical was damaged in the move, something very real to me was. My reading and blogging mojo. Perhaps it was in packing up all of my books, I physically saw (and carried) just how many books I haven't had a chance to read that I really really want to because blogging always makes me read the newest and latest and I can't get to the one's that were even just from earlier this year! SO MANY BOOKs that I am dying to read are just tossed to the wayside to make way for the newest books that I am just dying to read. What has all of this done to me? Makes it so I don't even want to read anything. Kinda weird reaction I know.<br /><br />In so doing, the thought of sitting down at the weekend when I used to blog is quickly overtaken by all of the hundreds (thousands?) of things we need to do to our new home. We bought a semi-fixer upper. It needs a lot of love, leaving me falling into bed at night exhausted and with little time for blogging.<br /><br />What I do know is this: I've had dips in my reading and blogging before and I've always wanted to come back. I just think I need a break for a bit without deadlines and a pace that just allows me to read how little or how much I want and whatever I want, no matter the publishing date. Hopefully with that, my bloggin feelin will come back. In the meantime, know that I am still reading all of your blogs!<br /><br />Love ya all,<br />Amusedhttp://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/10/ive-lost-that-bloggin-feelin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-8543169523028059619Sat, 05 Oct 2013 17:32:00 +00002013-10-05T10:32:03.276-07:00GiveawayWinners of my September Review Book Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-219cwD9jfrQ/UlBM_QZBIXI/AAAAAAAAFzk/OsfjSkQNZFQ/s1600/Balloons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-219cwD9jfrQ/UlBM_QZBIXI/AAAAAAAAFzk/OsfjSkQNZFQ/s320/Balloons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thanks to everyone who signed up to win a book in my <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/09/september-review-book-giveaway.html">September Review Book Giveaway</a>! Using random.org the winners are:<br /><br /><br /><ul><li>Marie who won&nbsp;<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/04/book-review-and-giveaway-paradise-guest.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Paradise Guest House</a>&nbsp;</i>by&nbsp;</span></b><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Ellen&nbsp;</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Sussman!</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Petite who won<span style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;</span></span></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/04/book-review-fear-in-sunlight.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">Fear in the Sunlight</a>&nbsp;</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">by&nbsp;Nicola&nbsp;Upson!</span></span></li></ul><br />http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/10/winners-of-my-september-review-book.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-3496583825283026764Mon, 16 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-09-16T07:00:06.308-07:00GreetingsOn the Move!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cYFa2A3gPJw/UjEdL9QyueI/AAAAAAAAFzU/NiSvmxaAagc/s1600/Move.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cYFa2A3gPJw/UjEdL9QyueI/AAAAAAAAFzU/NiSvmxaAagc/s320/Move.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Hello Dear Readers!<br /><br />This is just a friendly update to let you know that my husband and I are currently moving house and therefore my life is just a little messy at the moment. I would tell you how many boxes of books I packed up ... but that would be kind of embarrassing! I will tell you that even though I am stressed to the max with this whole move thing, I am still reading a ton. A girl's gotta have her escape right? So just as soon as I regain my equilibrium I will start posting reviews again. I am hoping in a week or two.<br /><br />Love you all!<br />Amusedhttp://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/09/on-move.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-7402509038633629022Thu, 12 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-09-12T07:00:09.413-07:00Book Read in 2013Coming of AgeGrade BHistorical FictionBook Review: The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OltMCPF-2Y0/UfVTSlL5AbI/AAAAAAAAFuY/HdtYk9w6DGk/s1600/Yonahlossee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OltMCPF-2Y0/UfVTSlL5AbI/AAAAAAAAFuY/HdtYk9w6DGk/s400/Yonahlossee.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yonahlossee-Riding-Camp-Girls-Novel/dp/1594486409/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1375030880&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+yonahlossee+riding+camp+for+girls+by+anton+disclafani" target="_blank">The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://antondisclafani.com/" target="_blank">Anton DiSclafani</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: ARC</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Riverhead Hardcover; June 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 400</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Historical fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: B</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Publisher</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;It is 1930, the midst&nbsp;of the Great Depression. After her mysterious role in a family tragedy, passionate, strong-willed Thea Atwell, age fifteen, has been cast out of her Florida home, exiled to an equestrienne boarding school for Southern debutantes. High in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with its complex social strata ordered by money, beauty, and girls’ friendships, the Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is a far remove from the free-roaming, dreamlike childhood Thea shared with her twin brother on their family’s citrus farm—a world now partially shattered. As Thea grapples with her responsibility for the events of the past year that led her here, she finds herself enmeshed in a new order, one that will change her sense of what is possible for herself, her family, her country.</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />Weaving provocatively between home and school, the narrative powerfully unfurls the true story behind Thea’s expulsion from her family, but it isn’t long before the mystery of her past is rivaled by the question of how it will shape her future. Part scandalous love story, part heartbreaking family drama,&nbsp;The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls&nbsp;is an immersive, transporting page-turner—a vivid, propulsive novel about sex, love, family, money, class, home, and horses, all set against the ominous threat of the Depression—and the major debut of an important new writer.</i></span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take: </b>For me, <i>The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls</i> is one of those novels that sticks with you long after it has ended. So much occurs within the pages, and so much isn't revealed until the end that it calls for you to keep thinking about it. I actually had to sit on this review for a bit until I could fully formulate my thoughts! Let's hope I do a decent job.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls</i> is both a mouthful of a title and Anton DiSclafani's debut novel. Thea Atwell is our narrator and when the novel opens she is a young girl turning into a young woman who tells the story of her childhood by flashing forward and back. It can be slightly confusing but you soon get the hang of it. Basically, something has happened, and she is the cause of it, and it has turned her life upside down.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thea was raised in Florida, and as the Great Depression hits her family is constantly reminded just how charmed their life really is. They live on a remote mansion and basically just have each other for company: Thea's mother, father, and her twin brother Sam. Occasionally they have visits from her dad's brother, his wife, and Thea and Sam's cousin George who is just a few years older.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">When the story opens, we are all aware that something tragic has happened but we won't fully understand what that something is until close to the end. What we do know is that Thea is being punished by being sent to the Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, far away from her family and everything she has ever known. This camp is high up in the North Carolina mountains and is full of girls. Thea has never really been around other children besides her brother and cousin, both male, so she is completely overwhelmed by all of this femaleness. But what the camp does have is horse riding and Thea is a masterful horse rider.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">What follows is Thea learning how to live away from her family and become a part of the camp. Also, how her family deals with the tragedy that befell them. This is not a happy feel good story. It is full of tragedy and sadness but it is fascinating and can fill your thoughts with how one mistake can ruin everything. I will warn you that if you don't like graphic love scenes this may not be for you. However, if you are looking for an interesting look into the life of a young woman who is set to learn the power of her actions, I would highly recommend <i>The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls</i>. I also think this would make a fascinating read for bookclubs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cover Lust:</b> I do love this cover. At first glance I thought it really fit the time period. However, at a second glance I noticed that the young woman on the cover is wearing jeans decorated with bows up the leg. Did they wear stuff like that in the early '30s? I didn't think they did and that inconsistency kinda bugs me.</span></div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/09/book-review-yonahlossee-riding-camp-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-8612537502521755150Thu, 12 Sep 2013 01:38:00 +00002013-09-11T18:38:36.114-07:00GiveawayWinner of Me Before You!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LJZhvsDoYI/UjEbEPffNnI/AAAAAAAAFzI/5Bp3YoTuruQ/s1600/Me_Before_You.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LJZhvsDoYI/UjEbEPffNnI/AAAAAAAAFzI/5Bp3YoTuruQ/s320/Me_Before_You.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br />Thanks to everyone who signed up to win a paperback copy of the fabulous <i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-and-giveaway-me-before-you.html">Me Before You</a></i> by JoJo Moyes! Using random.org the winner is: traveler!http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/09/winner-of-me-before-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-6855317608292350846Mon, 09 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-09-09T07:47:17.729-07:00Australian BooksBook Read in 2013Grade ABook Review: The Husband's Secret<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ey2qdkj9N8U/UiTh-D6V83I/AAAAAAAAFyo/lyaUqTtVFaY/s1600/Husbands_Secret.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ey2qdkj9N8U/UiTh-D6V83I/AAAAAAAAFyo/lyaUqTtVFaY/s400/Husbands_Secret.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Husbands-Secret-Liane-Moriarty/dp/0399159347/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1378147535&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+husbands+secret" target="_blank">The Husband's Secret</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://lianemoriarty.com/" target="_blank">Liane Moriarty</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: ARC</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Amy Einhorn Books; July 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 416</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: A</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: SheReads</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">Australian author Moriarty, in her fifth novel (after The Hypnotist's Love Story), puts three women in an impossible situation and doesn't cut them any slack. Cecilia Fitzpatrick lives to be perfect: a perfect marriage, three perfect daughters, and a perfectly organized life. Then she finds a letter from her husband, John-Paul, to be opened only in the event of his death. She opens it anyway, and everything she believed is thrown into doubt. Meanwhile, Tess O'Leary's husband, Will, and her cousin and best friend, Felicity, confess they've fallen in love, so Tess takes her young son, Liam, and goes to Sydney to live with her mother. There she meets up with an old boyfriend, Connor Whitby, while enrolling Liam in St. Angela's Primary School, where Cecilia is the star mother. Rachel Crowley, the school secretary, believes that Connor, St. Angela's PE teacher, is the man who, nearly three decades before, got away with murdering her daughter—a daughter for whom she is still grieving. Simultaneously a page-turner and a book one has to put down occasionally to think about and absorb, Moriarty's novel challenges the reader as well as her characters, but in the best possible way.&nbsp;</span></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take:</b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After reading and loving both&nbsp;</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/01/book-review-hypnotists-love-story.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Hypnotist's Love Story</a>&nbsp;</i>and<i>&nbsp;</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2011/11/book-review-what-alice-forgot.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;" target="">What Alice Forgot</a>,</i> I knew I had to read Liane Moriarty's latest novel <i>The Husband's Secret</i>. Holy crap, I was not disappointed! Moriarty's two previous novels were definite page-turner's. The story-lines lend themselves to wanting to know what happens next, and I can easily say that <i>The Husband's Secret</i> is her biggest page-turner yet!</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i>The Husband's Secret</i> centers around three women: Cecilia Fitzpatrick, Tess O'Leary, and Rachel Crowley. All three are tangentially related via the secret but when the novel opens they don't know that yet. The husband referred to in the title is the husband of Cecilia, John-Paul (fyi, I don't know why, but reading this hyphenated name over and over again really drove me crazy. Just call him JP people!). Cecilia and JP have three daughters and live a very happy, very suburban life. However, one day when JP is on a business trip, Cecilia stumbles upon a letter that was written to her when their first daughter was born by her husband to Cecilia to only be opened in the event of his death. Cecilia is shocked to find this letter and asks JP about it. Having made the decision not to open it already, when she talks to JP he is so weird about the whole thing that she knows what is in the letter has to be damaging so now she really wants to open it. Contained within is the secret and holey moley people, what an earth-shattering secret it is!</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Meanwhile, Rachel Crowley works at the school where Cecilia's three daughters go. Rachel's daughter used to attend this same school as well, but then she was murdered when she was just a teenager. They never caught the murderer and Rachel has been haunted by this the rest of her life. She is consumed by it.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Finally, we have Tess O'Leary. She too is happily married with one young son. One day her husband and her best-friend/cousin, Felicity, announce to Tess that they have fallen in love. Naturally, this shatters her world and she grabs her son and flees to her mother's house and quickly enrolls her son in the same school where Rachel works and Cecilia's children attend.</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">All three stories I found equally fascinating and once the secret is revealed you really want to understand how the women deal with it. Who knows how you would react to something equally earth-shattering. It's hard to explain how emotional this book is without revealing too much but I am trying to do my best. Let's just say when you read it, you want to talk about it. I was telling my husband the plot and his eyes were getting bigger as he was finding it more and more fascinating and twisted. This book would be perfect for a movie! Please, I urge you, read this book, you will not be disappointed!</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Don't just take my opinion for it, check out the whole <a href="http://www.shereads.org/2013/09/september-book-club-selection-3/" target="_blank">She Reads Tour</a>.</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>Cover Lust: </b>This cover is fine but it doesn't really paint a good picture of what's inside. Sure the smashed hydrangea is probably symbolic but it doesn't really grab me.</span></span>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/09/book-review-husbands-secret.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-9095199323730208608Sun, 08 Sep 2013 23:27:00 +00002013-09-08T16:27:52.467-07:00GiveawayWinner of the Girl You Left Behind!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-alCxsmgUIcw/Ui0H4u9XtCI/AAAAAAAAFy4/hbCXyY6q7oc/s1600/celebration_balloons-1302.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-alCxsmgUIcw/Ui0H4u9XtCI/AAAAAAAAFy4/hbCXyY6q7oc/s320/celebration_balloons-1302.gif" width="303" /></a></div>Thanks to everyone who signed up to win <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-and-giveaway-girl-you-left.html"><i>The Girl You Left Behind</i></a> by JoJo Moyes! Using random.org, the winner is: Jenny!http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/09/winner-of-girl-you-left-behind.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-5714458439923169974Thu, 05 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-09-05T07:00:04.390-07:00Book Read in 2013FriendshipGrade CBook Review: The Lake House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ODusTZO9NB8/Uf6GNFsfQtI/AAAAAAAAFvk/h1lZmLSfybw/s1600/Lake_House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ODusTZO9NB8/Uf6GNFsfQtI/AAAAAAAAFvk/h1lZmLSfybw/s400/Lake_House.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lake-House-Marci-Nault/dp/1451686722/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1375634140&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+lake+house" target="_blank">The Lake House</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://www.marcinault.com/Marci_Nault/Home.html" target="_blank">Marci Nault</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: Paperback</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Gallery Books; May 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 400</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Women's fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: C</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Publisher</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;VICTORIA ROSE.&nbsp;Fifty years before, a group of teenage friends promised each other never to leave their idyllic lakeside town. But the call of Hollywood and a bigger life was too strong for Victoria . . . and she alone broke that pledge. Now she has come home, intent on making peace with her demons, even if her former friends shut her out. Haunted by tragedy, she longs to find solace with her childhood sweetheart, but even this tender man may be unable to forgive and forget.&nbsp;</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />HEATHER BREGMAN.&nbsp;At twenty-eight, after years as a globe-trotting columnist, she’s abandoned her controlling fiancé and their glamorous city life to build one on her own terms. Lulled by a Victorian house and a gorgeous locale, she’s determined to make the little community her home. But the residents, fearful of change and outsiders, will stop at nothing to sabotage her dreams of lakeside tranquility.<br /><br />As Victoria and Heather become unlikely friends, their mutual struggle to find acceptance—with their neighbors and in their own hearts—explores the chance events that shape a community and offer the opportunity to start again.&nbsp;</i></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take:</b> Looking at this cover I knew this was a book I just had to read this summer (note that the day my reviews post and the day I finish the book are often far apart!). To me, this cover says laying by the beach reading a story about friends that grew up together. And that is what it is, but also it isn't. Are you confused yet?!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Lake House</i> is Marci Nault's debut novel and really focuses on the lives of two very different women who both find themselves living in the seemingly idyllic community of Nagog, MA. The first woman we meet is Victoria. She was raised in this community but left to find her own way and has now returned in her 70s to repair the friendships she hurt along the way. For some history on this community: it is a community of beautiful old homes that have been passed down among the same families for years, all centered around a lake. Where once it was a young community, full of families with kids, its now almost a retirement community as the older inhabitants decide they don't want to leave and their children have made lives elsewhere.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div>As a teenager, Victoria and her friends experienced the turmoil of WWII. However, it gave some of the inhabitants a feeling that there may be more to life than what could be found in this community. Victoria decided that for her, that meant moving to Hollywood and becoming a star. Her need to showcase her fabulous new life through the years to her friends from childhood didn't necessarily win her any favors. Now that she is older she realizes that these people are the true ones who care about her, however she is finding living back in the community isn't as welcoming as it once may have been.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the homes in Nagog has been sold to a newcomer though (much to the chagrin of many of the inhabitants). Its new owner, Heather, has no idea that she essentially bought a home in a retirement community. All she knows is she wants to live on a lake, away from her controlling fiance. Soon Victoria and her friend Molly, decide Heather needs some friends. While it may seem odd that a 30 something and a bunch of 70 year olds hang out, it is actually a pretty sweet friendship.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, I found <i>The Lake House </i>to be a nice, entertaining read. For me, the novel may have been just a little too long. I knew pretty quickly how it was all going to shake out and while sometimes that can make for a fun, easy read, 400 pages is just too long.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cover Lust:</b> I ADORE this cover. It perfectly sets the stage for this novel.</div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/09/book-review-lake-house.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-992872704740901473Mon, 02 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-09-02T07:00:08.614-07:00GiveawaySeptember Review Book Giveaway!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I can't believe it's September already! Fall is always my favorite season. There is a bit of a nip in the air and it is the perfect time to curl up with a good book.&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">In that spirit, I would like to offer these two books up as a giveaway!&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">So without further ado, here's what's on offer this month, and a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">s before, the titles link to my reviews.</span></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/04/book-review-and-giveaway-paradise-guest.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Paradise Guest House</a>&nbsp;</i>by&nbsp;</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Ellen&nbsp;</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Sussman</span></b></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9UsHBfyxDM8/UiFG_RlvAzI/AAAAAAAAFxQ/YNYp1diHu2M/s1600/The_Paradise_Guest_House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9UsHBfyxDM8/UiFG_RlvAzI/AAAAAAAAFxQ/YNYp1diHu2M/s320/The_Paradise_Guest_House.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/04/book-review-fear-in-sunlight.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">Fear in the Sunlight</a>&nbsp;</i>by&nbsp;Nicola&nbsp;Upson</span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_g5xheAqmUc/UiFHQllPwnI/AAAAAAAAFxY/bcV6Ghf_-sU/s1600/Fear_in_the_Sunlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_g5xheAqmUc/UiFHQllPwnI/AAAAAAAAFxY/bcV6Ghf_-sU/s320/Fear_in_the_Sunlight.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">All titles are ARCs, have been read once by me, and are in very good condition.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>Giveaway Details!</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">The deadline for this giveaway is September 30th; entries open to those in the US.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>To Enter (Mandatory)!</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Comment below, indicating which book(s) interest you&nbsp;<i>and</i>&nbsp;<i>a way for me to contact you</i>. You can enter for all but you will only win one.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>For Extra entries (Optional), indicate in the comments below that you are:</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow this blog on Google Connect (see right sidebar)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (include @amusedbybooks in your tweet)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Blog/Post about this giveaway on your sidebar</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Three extra entries available. Giveaway open until 11:59pm PST September 30th. I will draw the winners using random.org and announce them here on my blog. You will have one week to claim your prize. Good luck!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/09/september-review-book-giveaway.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-2199138543554352241Sun, 01 Sep 2013 16:12:00 +00002013-09-01T09:12:24.091-07:00GiveawayWinners of August Review Book Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LrCePm9qKPk/UiNnUww2r6I/AAAAAAAAFxo/hgJ3Y9ney9c/s1600/Balloons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LrCePm9qKPk/UiNnUww2r6I/AAAAAAAAFxo/hgJ3Y9ney9c/s320/Balloons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thanks to everyone who signed u p to win in my <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/august-review-book-giveaway.html">August Review Book Giveaway</a>! Using random.org the winners are:<br /><br /><ul><li><a href="https://plus.google.com/117975717944261902498/posts" target="_blank">Summer Grinstead</a> who has won&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/04/book-review-secret-of-nightingale-palace.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Secret of the Nightingale Palace</a></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i>&nbsp;</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">by</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i>&nbsp;</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Dana&nbsp;Sachs</span>!</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Bonnie K. who has won&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/04/book-review-other-typist.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Other Typist</a>&nbsp;</i>by&nbsp;Suzanne&nbsp;Rindell!</span></span></li></ul>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/09/winners-of-august-review-book-giveaway.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-4690286910667786570Sat, 31 Aug 2013 01:22:00 +00002013-08-30T18:22:22.025-07:00GiveawayWinner of the Susan Mallery Bridal Kit Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P9WWrx-MdHk/UiFFOoTY-ZI/AAAAAAAAFxE/fio8IuikG60/s1600/SM3LittleWords_Badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P9WWrx-MdHk/UiFFOoTY-ZI/AAAAAAAAFxE/fio8IuikG60/s320/SM3LittleWords_Badge.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you to everyone who signed up to win the <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/susan-mallery-bridal-kit-giveaway.html">Susan Mallery Bridal Kit Giveaway</a>! Using random.org the winner is: <b>petite</b>!</span>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/winner-of-susan-mallery-bridal-kit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-4036304916799673233Thu, 29 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-08-29T07:00:03.695-07:00Book Read in 2013Grade CHistorical FictionU.K.UK AuthorBook Review: More Than You Know<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iLlSPBFaGok/UeGgF_GPX1I/AAAAAAAAFtY/QAB3QXG_69g/s1600/more_than_you_know_Vincenzi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iLlSPBFaGok/UeGgF_GPX1I/AAAAAAAAFtY/QAB3QXG_69g/s400/more_than_you_know_Vincenzi.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Know-Penny-Vincenzi/dp/076793086X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1373739672&amp;sr=1-2&amp;keywords=more+than+you+know" target="_blank">More Than You Know</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://www.pennyvincenzi.com/" target="_blank">Penny Vincenzi</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: ARC</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Anchor; Jan. 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 608</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Historical fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: C</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Publisher</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;It’s 1958, and Eliza Clark has it all: good looks, a privileged upbringing, and a fast-paced career as a successful magazine editor. High fashion means high life, and she’s constantly jetting to Paris and Milan to take in the latest by Chanel, Dior, and Pucci. But when she falls head over heels for Matt Snow, an edgy working-class boy, and becomes pregnant, she is expected to give up her glamorous lifestyle and get married.&nbsp;</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />Although their marriage is intensely passionate, it soon begins to fracture. When their divorce ends in a dramatic custody battle over their little girl, Emmie, and Summercourt, the country estate that has been in her family for generations, it leaves Eliza with a difficult decision: Love? Or money?</i></span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take:</b> I am a HUGE Penny Vincenzi fan. You may not know this because I haven't reviewed any of her books in the time I've been running Amused By Books but there was a time when I read most of her back catalog. Let's see, there was her entire <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/No-Angel-Penny-Vincenzi/dp/1585676071/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1373740758&amp;sr=1-2" target="_blank">No Angles</a></i>/Lytton Family Trilogy series which was amazingly engrossing and one of my favorite series of all times, as well as,&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Something-Dangerous-Penny-Vincenzi/dp/1585677094/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1373739969&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank">Something Dangerous</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Old-Sins-Penny-Vincenzi/dp/0099571587/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1373740823&amp;sr=1-6" target="_blank">Old Sins</a></i>, and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dilemma-Penny-Vincenzi/dp/1590201108/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1373740886&amp;sr=1-10" target="_blank">The Dilemma</a></i>. All were big books, all were engrossing, all were soap-operatic, making them perfect summer reads. So yeah, when summer rolled around I knew that would be the right time to pick up her recent release <i>More Than You Know</i>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Having not read any of Vincenzi's books for quite a few years I was excited to dive back into a beloved author's work. However, what I found was not what I had hoped. I believe what didn't work for me with <i>More Than You Know</i> was a case of synopsis overload. While the synopsis up there is brief, it gives away the crux of the story. By 300 pages in, I still hadn't gotten through everything the synopsis had given away and I began to wonder what the point of reading this huge tome was if I clearly already knew how it was going to end. I want to have a story unravel for me. And yes, I will still to continue to always read the synopsis, but that doesn't mean I want it to give me the whole story in one go!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I can get to the actual novel. <i>More Than You Know</i> had everything in it I really enjoy. It was set in the era of Mad Men (1960s), it was also set in swinging London (love), and it had a strong female lead (double love). This strong female lead's name is Eliza and she comes from a privileged background but wants to do more with her life than just marry well and become a housewife and society dame. She wants to have a rewarding career and she wants this career to be in fashion. Eliza actually does really well for herself very quickly. It was fun to read about her passion for her work and the fashions of the day.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">However, societal rules to not die easily and there is serious pressure for her to marry and to marry well. She also knows that by doing so she would probably be unable to keep the job she loves. When her longtime boyfriend (and very socially well off one) asks her to marry him, while it would seem like the perfect life, she decides that she doesn't actually love him enough to marry.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Meanwhile, Matt, an army buddy of her brother, but also a boy who is making his own way, is coming in and out of Eliza's life. There is an attraction there but a relationship would be deemed socially unacceptable. Sometimes though the attraction just can't be ignored and the two become entangled in a passionate relationship. When Eliza becomes pregnant, well, it's time for the two to get married.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">What follows is a rather realistic, if often sad tale, of choices made and the wonderings of what if. Unlike the above synopsis, I don't want to give that much away. Suffice it to say, what follows is Eliza's intense love for her husband and daughter but a constant wondering of what might have been if she had just chosen a different path. And eventually what she chooses to do with those wonderings.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If you want a great summer read, I might first recommend one of the above novels of Vincenzi's that I adored, but if, like me, you are already an ardent Vincenzi fan, you are going to want to read this one too.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cover Lust:</b> I think this cover is perfect. It doesn't give away too much of anything, yet hints at the opulent lives within.&nbsp;</span></div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-more-than-you-know.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-7035326349829544107Mon, 26 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-08-26T07:00:05.757-07:00Book Read in 2013Grade AU.K.UK AuthorBook Review and Giveaway: Me Before You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xtne_Vaqgx8/UhpBTBu-KCI/AAAAAAAAFwU/XwS2rDRJ0Q4/s1600/Me_Before_You.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xtne_Vaqgx8/UhpBTBu-KCI/AAAAAAAAFwU/XwS2rDRJ0Q4/s400/Me_Before_You.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Me-Before-You-Jojo-Moyes/dp/0143124544/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1377450587&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=me+before+you" target="_blank">Me Before You</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://www.jojomoyes.com/" target="_blank">JoJo Moyes</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: Paperback</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Penguin Books; July 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 400</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: A</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Personal copy</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Before Louisa met Will, her plans didn't reach beyond their tiny English town. Will, when he wasn't closing multimillion-dollar deals, blew off steam scaling mountains, leaping from planes, and enjoying exquisite women--until an accident left him paralyzed and seriously depressed. When his mother hires Lou to keep his spirits up, he meets her awkward overtures with caustic contempt, but she's tenacious and oddly endearing. Their fondness grows into something deeper, gaining urgency when she realizes his determination to end his life, and her efforts to convince him of its value throw her own bland ambitions into question. Plumbing morally complex depths with comedy and compassion, Jojo Moyes elevates the story of Lou and Will from what could have been a maudlin weepie into a tragic love story, with a catharsis that will wring out your heart and leave you feeling fearless.&nbsp;</span></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take: </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Me Before You</i> by JoJo Moyes was not at all what I expected it to be. Having only read one other novel by Moyes (and that was only a couple of weeks ago!)&nbsp;</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-and-giveaway-girl-you-left.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Girl You Left Behind</a>&nbsp;</i>by&nbsp;</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">JoJo&nbsp;</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Moyes (click title for my review) I wasn't sure what to expect but for some reason I had it in my mind that this was going to be pure chick-lit. Well it wasn't. Instead <i>Me Before You</i> was an emotional roller coaster of a read with an ending that really packs a punch.</span></b></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Let's start at the beginning shall we. <i>Me Before You</i> opens with Will, a young Brit leading the life he's always wanted in London. He has a hot girlfriend, a high flying career, and enough money to do whatever he wants with. Sadly, this all comes shattering to an end one rainy morning when Will is hit by a car and becomes a quadriplegic.</span></b></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">We meet Will again two years later and he has not adjusted to his new reality very well. He, for lack of a better word, hates his life, so much so that he wants to end it all. His parents are trying everything they can to change his mind. This is where Louisa comes in.</span></b></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Louisa is from a totally different world to Will's. In her mid-twenties, she still lives at home. She has had the same job as a waitress for six years until one day when she is unceremoniously laid off. She has had the same boyfriend for even longer and she has never left the small town they grew up in. Desperate for a new job after being laid off she responds to an application to be a caregiver even though she has no previous experience. Will's mom, even though they are complete opposites, thinks Louisa might be good for Will as a companion just to lighten his mood.</span></b></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">At first Louisa and Will do not get along at all and Louisa finds her new job completely overwhelming, and her new charge, Will, completely awful. However, time moves on and a friendship between the two develop. However when Louisa finds out Will's plan to end it all, she attacks her job with a renewed energy.</span></b></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">To tell &nbsp;you more would be to give it all away and that's not really my style. However, you should understand that when you read <i>Me Before You</i>, you should pack some tissues with you and expect a heart wrenching story. I can see why this changed people's minds about what to expect from JoJo Moyes. It's a story that you will want to discuss with everyone who has read it. It would make a great read for book clubs too!</span></b></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>Cover Lust:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> I'll be honest, I find this, and the other covers I've seen for it, not that inspiring.&nbsp;</span></b></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>Giveaway Details</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of&nbsp;<i>Me Before You&nbsp;</i>by JoJo Moyes to giveaway in celebration of it's paperback release! The deadline for this giveaway is September 9th; entries open to those in the US only (no PO boxes please).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>To Enter (Mandatory)!</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i>Comment below with a way for me to contact you</i>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>For Extra entries (Optional), indicate that you are</b>:</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow this blog on Google Connect (see right sidebar)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (include @amusedbybooks in your tweet)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Blog/Post about this giveaway on your sidebar</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Three extra entries available. Giveaway open until 11:59pm PST September 9th. I will draw the winners using random.org and announce them here on my blog. You will have one week to claim your prize. Good luck!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">&nbsp;</span></b></span></span>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-and-giveaway-me-before-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-1423554510546085612Thu, 22 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-08-22T07:00:03.651-07:00Book Read in 2013Grade CHistorical FictionBook Review: The Age of Desire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6gke9KQki7A/UhEDZm4pIFI/AAAAAAAAFwE/lD9Uje47wIA/s1600/The_Age_of_Desire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6gke9KQki7A/UhEDZm4pIFI/AAAAAAAAFwE/lD9Uje47wIA/s400/The_Age_of_Desire.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Age-Desire-Novel-Jennie-Fields/dp/0143123289/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1376845449&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+age+of+desire+by+jennie+fields" target="_blank">The Age of Desire</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://jenniefields.com/" target="_blank">Jennie Fields</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: Paperback</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Penguin Books; May 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 384</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Historical fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: C</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;They say that behind every great man is a great woman. Behind Edith Wharton, there was Anna Bahlmann—her governess turned literary secretary and confidante.&nbsp;At the age of forty-five, despite her growing fame,&nbsp;Edith remains unfulfilled in a lonely, sexless marriage. Against all the rules of Gilded Age society, she falls in love with Morton Fullerton, a dashing young journalist. But their scandalous affair threatens everything in Edith’s life—especially her abiding ties to Anna.</i></span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At a moment of regained popularity for Wharton, Jennie Fields brilliantly interweaves Wharton’s real letters and diary entries with her fascinating, untold love story.&nbsp;Told through the points of view of both Edith and Anna,&nbsp;The Age of Desire&nbsp;transports readers to the golden days of Wharton’s turn-of-the century world and—like the recent bestseller&nbsp;The Chaperone—effortlessly re-creates the life of an unforgettable woman.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take:</b> I'm going to be honest, I had a real love/hate relationship with this novel. And honestly, when a novel evokes those kind of strong feelings, that usually means its a good book. However, for me, I have to really like and root for a main character to get complete enjoyment from it, and I just could not root for Edith.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Age of Desire</i> by Jennie Fields is a fictional account of a very real person: Edith Wharton. I know for a fact that I read at least one, if not more, of Edith Wharton's novels in college. It's just that I had to read so many classics in college its hard for me to remember which ones and Wharton was an incredibly prolific writer!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Fields drops us into Wharton's life soon after the very successful publication of <i>The House of Mirth</i>. Wharton is from a very well-to-do family and married early to Teddy Wharton. It unfortunately quickly became evident to both that this was not a love match. Years later though they are still married to each other (as you did back in the day) and very comfortably living lives of companionship but no romance. However, there are cracks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Edith loves to spend her winters in Paris. Her circle includes other intellectuals of the day and she is often invited to salons and other high-society Parisian events. Her husband, however, prefers to stay at home. Noticing their growing distance from each other, she seeks deep friendships with others. It is at this time she meets Morton Fullerton. Fullerton is well known across Paris as a cad, and everyone warns Edith, but she doesn't care. Theirs soon becomes a passionate affair that consumes each other.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div>There is another character at play that I must not forget: Anna. Anna was Edith's governess when she was a child, and as an adult is her, well for lack of a better term, personal secretary. They are also incredibly close friends and confidents, having shared a large portion of each others lives in each others company. However, Anna does not approve of Edith's paramour and as a result, how she treats her husband. This produces strife in the friendship.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, <i>The Age of Desire</i>, was one of those books that did engross me and vividly painted a portrait of these real-life characters so that they were utterly believable as to how Fields drew them. However, the vast majority of the novel I just wanted to slap Edith. She could not have been more simpering and utterly, ridiculously, moony over Fullerton, who was, for a lack of a better word, a complete jerk to her. I just wanted to shout 'he's just not that into you!'. While it may be one thing to listen to teenagers allow their lives to be completely ruled by their love and spend all of their time overanalyzing his every word, when a successful older woman does it, it is highly annoying and pathetic.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, I am but one person who may think this so I highly encourage you to visit the entire <a href="http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/theageofdesiretour/" target="_blank">Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cover Lust: </b>I do love this cover! It sets the time period perfectly and it shows a barefooted seductress coming down the stairs!</div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-age-of-desire.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-1821200232539049567Mon, 19 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-08-19T07:00:06.191-07:00Book Read in 2013FranceGrade AHistorical FictionU.K.UK AuthorBook Review and Giveaway: The Girl You Left Behind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QLCk8ZaNuAw/UhD8HRt-NnI/AAAAAAAAFv0/LWI4llxCe0I/s1600/GirlYouLeftBehind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QLCk8ZaNuAw/UhD8HRt-NnI/AAAAAAAAFv0/LWI4llxCe0I/s400/GirlYouLeftBehind.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-You-Left-Behind/dp/0670026611/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1376843552&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+girl+you+left+behind+jojo+moyes" target="_blank">The Girl You Left Behind</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://www.jojomoyes.com/" target="_blank">JoJo Moyes</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: Hardback</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Pamela Dorman Books; Aug 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 384</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Historical fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: A</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Publisher</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;Jojo Moyes’s bestseller,&nbsp;Me Before You, catapulted her to wide critical acclaim and has struck a chord with readers everywhere. “Hopelessly and hopefully romantic” (Chicago Tribune), Moyes returns with another irresistible heartbreaker that asks, “Whatever happened to the girl you left behind?”</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />France, 1916:&nbsp; Artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. When their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Edouard’s portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer’s dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie will risk everything—her family, her reputation, and her life—to see her husband again.<br /><br />Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. A chance encounter reveals the painting’s true worth, and a battle begins for who its legitimate owner is—putting Liv’s belief in what is right to the ultimate test.<br /><br />Like Sarah Blake’s&nbsp;The Postmistress&nbsp;and Tatiana de Rosnay’s&nbsp;Sarah’s Key,&nbsp;The Girl You Left Behind&nbsp;is a breathtaking story of love, loss, and sacrifice told with Moyes’s signature ability to capture our hearts with every turn of the page.</i></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take:</b> Believe it or not, I hadn't read a JoJo Moyes book before I was given <i>The Girl You Left Behind</i> to read. Moyes was an author I had always intended to read, believing that she was the type of author whose books I would really enjoy. As a result I have quite a few of her books on my shelves but needed to find the time to read them. I do believe this was the perfect opportunity!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Girl You Left Behind</i> by JoJo Moyes is that wonderful type of book I have been enjoying recently: the type of book that is set in two different time periods with one time period unlocking the secrets of the other.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">When <i>The Girl You Left Behind</i> opens, it is 1916 and we are in a small town in France and WWI is raging outside. Sophie is a young bride who has gone back to live with her family to keep everyone safe. Now she is running a hotel/cafe in German occupied France. It is a not an easy existence. They are facing cold, lack of food, and heartache on an almost daily basis. Sophie's husband who has gone off to fight in the war is an artist, Edouard Lefevre. During happier times, Lefevre had painted a portrait of Sophie which she now holds very dear. This portrait is entitled 'The Girl You Left Behind'.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Close to halfway into the novel we meet Liv Halston, a young widow who lives in London. Liv is the proud owner of 'The Girl You Left Behind', and it is one of the few happy memories she has left of her short time with her beloved husband. However, because 'The Girl You Left Behind' may have been taken by Germans under duress during WWI, the provenance of this piece is in question and Liv's life is soon to be turned completely upside down. Through this trial we learn the true fate of Sophie and her love-story with Edouard.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It is hard to paint a picture (pun intended) of just how page-turning this novel is. The two story-lines are so different, you won't be confused by them at all and really all you want to do anyway is figure out what happened to Sophie. I love this storytelling device, and it worked once again for me really well in <i>The Girl You Left Behind</i>. If you are a fan of historical fiction, or are just looking for your next great read, I can highly recommend <i>The Girl You Left Behind</i>!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cover Lust:</b> While this cover is very simple, the great use of font made me think before I had even read the synopsis that this novel might be set in the early 1900s, and guess what, it was? So yep, I like it!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>Giveaway Details</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of <i>The Girl You Left Behind</i> by JoJo Moyes to giveaway! The deadline for this giveaway is September 2nd; entries open to those in the US only (no PO boxes please).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>To Enter (Mandatory)!</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i>Comment below with a way for me to contact you</i>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>For Extra entries (Optional), indicate that you are</b>:</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow this blog on Google Connect (see right sidebar)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (include @amusedbybooks in your tweet)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Blog/Post about this giveaway on your sidebar</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Three extra entries available. Giveaway open until 11:59pm PST September 2nd. I will draw the winners using random.org and announce them here on my blog. You will have one week to claim your prize. Good luck!</span></span></span></div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-and-giveaway-girl-you-left.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-6063798114983670349Thu, 15 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-08-15T07:00:01.507-07:00Book Read in 2013Grade BHistorical FictionWWIIBook Review: A Certain Summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWWuo8qJfks/Ueybb3izAhI/AAAAAAAAFto/Vr175Lpva5g/s1600/A_Certain_Summer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWWuo8qJfks/Ueybb3izAhI/AAAAAAAAFto/Vr175Lpva5g/s400/A_Certain_Summer.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Certain-Summer-Patricia-Beard/dp/1476710260/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1374459883&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=a+certain+summer" target="_blank">A Certain Summer</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://acertainsummer.com/" target="_blank">Patricia Beard</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: Paperback</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Gallery Books; May 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 336</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Historical Fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: B</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Publisher</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;"Nothing ever changes at Wauregan.” That mystique is the tradition of the idyllic island colony off the shore of Long Island, the comforting tradition that its summer dwellers have lived by for over half a century. But in the summer of 1948, after a world war has claimed countless men—even those who came home—the time has come to deal with history’s indelible scars.</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />Helen Wadsworth’s husband, Arthur, was declared missing in action during an OSS operation in France, but the official explanation was mysteriously nebulous. Now raising a teenage son who longs to know the truth about his father, Helen turns to Frank Hartman—her husband’s best friend and his partner on the mission when he disappeared. Frank, however, seems more intent on filling the void in Helen’s life that Arthur’s absence has left. As Helen’s affection for Frank grows, so does her guilt, especially when Peter Gavin, a handsome Marine who was brutally tortured by the Japanese and has returned with a faithful war dog, unexpectedly stirs new desires. With her heart pulled in multiple directions, Helen doesn’t know whom to trust—especially when a shocking discovery forever alters her perception of both love and war.<br /><br />Part mystery, part love story, and part insider’s view of a very private world, A Certain Summer resonates in the heart long after the last page is turned.</i></span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take: </b>I <i>had</i> to read&nbsp;A Certain Summer&nbsp;this summer! Why you ask? Well, because a. it has 'summer' in the title and b. it has all the elements of a book I would love. It was calling to me to read it! And yes, it was a fabulous summer read but really, you could read it anytime and be transported to this faraway land and time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A Certain Summer</i> by Patricia Beard is set shortly after the end of WWII in 1948. It follows Helen Wadsworth and her son as they summer in Wauregan, a made up island near New York where all of the wealthy have been going to for the past fifty years or more. Basically its like a really fancy summer camp for rich people. If I could be invited to spend my summers there, I totally would have!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Helen's husband, Arthur, was a spy during the war and has yet to come home. Declared missing in action, Helen and her son, Jack, are in a kind of limbo. Arthur is presumed dead but until they actually get confirmation, hope remains that he will come home and they can all resume life as it was.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This summer at Wauregan is different then previous ones though. Most of the husbands are back to help run the island, but few are the same person they were when they left. This leaves many wives wondering what to do next. I found this glimpse into what was probably a very real after effect of the war really interesting.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Helen and her son both miss having a man in their lives. There are two men in particular that are starting to have a greater importance in their lives during the period in which <i>A Certain Summer</i> takes place. The first, Frank, was friends with Helen and Arthur before the war and was a spy with Arthur during. Everyone thinks it's suspicious that he returned and Arthur didn't. The second man is Peter. He is handsome and gets along great with Jack but is dealing with the demons of the war he fought and could be considered a little young for Helen.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div>Without giving anything else away that is the premise of <i>A Certain Summer</i>. Will Helen end up with either of these two men? Or, will her husband finally return home? If you like love stories, historical fiction, and a bit of mystery, you really can't go wrong with Patricia Beard's <i>A Certain Summer</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cover Lust:</b> I was really drawn to this cover and I think it is really fitting for the story contained within.</div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-certain-summer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-5630259137698071648Mon, 12 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-08-12T07:00:01.100-07:00GiveawaySusan Mallery Bridal Kit Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5UDxRDTUGfM/Uf6A6Gau8YI/AAAAAAAAFvU/b9uZv1rNmfE/s1600/SM3LittleWords_Badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5UDxRDTUGfM/Uf6A6Gau8YI/AAAAAAAAFvU/b9uZv1rNmfE/s400/SM3LittleWords_Badge.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Since I started blogging I discovered the wonderful author that is Susan Mallery. After reading and loving both<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2011/09/book-review-already-home.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">Already Home</a>&nbsp;</i>and</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/03/book-review-three-sisters.html" style="color: #3abb21; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none;">Three Sisters</a>&nbsp;(click titles for my reviews) she is easily one of my favorite authors. That is why I am thrilled to be able to host this fabulous giveaway to help promote her latest novel, <i>Three Little Words</i>,&nbsp;</span>her brand new summer romance in her Fool’s Gold series! Be sure to check out the full <a href="http://blogtoureditors.booktrib.com/2013/07/29/blog-tour-three-little-words-by-susan-mallery/" target="_blank">BookTrib tour</a> for more reviews and giveaways!<br /><br />Now onto the good stuff!&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">&nbsp;</span>The Susan Mallery Foolproof Bridal Kit includes:<br /><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A wedding-themed bottle of <a href="http://www.opi.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">OPI nail polish</span></a><u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Not Your Mother’s® <a href="http://www.nymbrands.com/products/rise-and-shine" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Rise &amp; Shine™ Silky Smooth Shine Mist</span></a><u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Manicure set (includes emery board, small and large nail clippers, tweezers, cuticle stick and nail polish remover pad)<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Heart-shaped compact mirror<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">12-piece <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">E.L.F.</span></a> eye shadow kit<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Travel makeup brush set<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Makeup remover wipes<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Lip gloss<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Travel sewing kit<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Kleenex®<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://secret.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Secret®</span></a> deodorant<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Razor and <a href="http://www.gillette.com/en/us/home.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Gillette®</span></a> Shave Gel<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.niveausa.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Nivea Creme</span></a><u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Wisps toothbrushes<u></u><u></u></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.tresemme.com/product" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">TRESemm</span><span style="color: blue;">é</span><span style="color: blue;">®</span></a>hairspray</span></li></ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>Giveaway Details</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Thanks to BookTrib, I have one Foolproof Bridal Kit valued at over $40 to giveaway! The deadline for this giveaway is August 26th; entries open to those in the US only (no PO boxes please).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>To Enter (Mandatory)!</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i>Comment below with a way for me to contact you</i>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>For Extra entries (Optional), indicate that you are</b>:</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow this blog on Google Connect (see right sidebar)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (include @amusedbybooks in your tweet)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Blog/Post about this giveaway on your sidebar</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">3 extra entries available. Giveaway open until 11:59pm PST August 26th. I will draw the winners using random.org and announce them here on my blog. You will have one week to claim your prize. Good luck!</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/susan-mallery-bridal-kit-giveaway.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-4347447142549288932Thu, 08 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-08-08T07:00:02.669-07:00Book Read in 2013Grade BMemoirBook Review: Buddy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dupnBXjoY1U/UdcA098XIVI/AAAAAAAAFso/Rjp1b4JnVaM/s1600/BUDDY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dupnBXjoY1U/UdcA098XIVI/AAAAAAAAFso/Rjp1b4JnVaM/s400/BUDDY.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Buddy-How-Rooster-Made-Family/dp/0307953068/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1373043260&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=buddy" target="_blank">Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="https://twitter.com/GlobeMcGrory" target="_blank">Brian McGrory</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: ARC</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Crown; Nov. 2012</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 336</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Memoir</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: B</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Publisher</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;Award-winning journalist Brian McGrory goes head to beak in a battle royale with another male for a top-spot in his home, vying for dominance with the family’s pet rooster.&nbsp;</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Brian McGrory's life changed drastically after the death of his beloved dog, Harry: he fell in love with Pam, Harry's veterinarian. Though Brian’s only responsibility used to be his adored Harry, Pam came with accessories that could not have been more exotic to the city-loving bachelor: a home in suburbia, two young daughters, two dogs, two cats, two rabbits, and a portly, snow white, red-crowned-and-wattled step-rooster named Buddy. While Buddy loves the women of the house, he takes Brian's presence as an affront, doing everything he can to drive out his rival. Initially resistant to elements of his new life and to the loud, aggressive rooster (who stares menacingly, pecks threateningly, and is constantly poised to attack), Brian eventually sees that Buddy shares the kind of extraordinary relationship with Pam and her two girls that he wants for himself. The rooster is what Brian needs to be – strong and content, devoted to what he has rather than what might be missing. As he learns how to live by living with animals, Buddy, Brian’s nemesis, becomes Buddy, Brian’s inspiration, in this inherently human story of love, acceptance, and change.<br />In the tradition of bestsellers like&nbsp;Marley and Me, Dewey, and&nbsp;The Tender Bar&nbsp;comes a heartwarming and wise tale of finding love in life’s second chapter - and how it means all the more when you have to fight for it.</i></span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take:</b> This book appealed to me on many levels. First I love memoirs, second I enjoy books about animals, and third, well look at that rooster? So cute!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Brian McGrory is the unintentional owner of a very cranky rooster named Buddy. Brian is a, well, older man, who is somewhat set in his ways. He is the editor of <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/" target="_blank">The Boston Globe</a> and pretty much can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. But then one day he becomes involved with a woman who had two kids and among other animals, a rooster, and his life changes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Starting back at the beginning though, Brian is the proud owner of a sweet dog named Harry. He is also in a marriage that isn't quite working. Through his divorce Harry is by his side, always there to cheer Brian up. Eventually as Harry nears the end of his life, his veterinarian becomes a more important part of both their lives. Her name is Pam and at the beginning she is merely there as a confidant as Brian goes through the mourning and loss of his best friend Harry.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Eventually though as Brian emerges from the fog of his loss, he learns that he perhaps has feelings for Pam. Pam and Brian fall in love easily but the learning to live together, as a family, is where the difficulty comes in. Pam comes with two young daughters and a rooster. Honestly their house sounds a little chaotic to me and Brian deals with the chaos at first by wanting to run away, back to his serene home in the city.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">What follows are many entertaining encounters with a very territorial rooster and the ways that Brian learns to not only accept his new role as stepfather and animal wrangler, but also learns to embrace and love everything that comes with it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div>While sometimes it can be a little repetitive, in the end <i>Buddy</i> by Brian McGrory was really very sweet and heartwarming, which isn't always a theme of the books I read. It was a very enjoyable read that I would recommend to all animal lovers out there!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cover Lust:</b> This cover makes me smile. Also, after reading this, I think I want a rooster!</div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-buddy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-5655928262106659987Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-08-05T07:00:08.345-07:00GiveawayAugust Review Book Giveaway!I hope everyone is enjoying their summers! I always find reading to be the perfect accompaniment to the lazy days of summer. In that spirit, I would like to offer these two books up as a giveaway!&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">So without further ado, here's what's on offer this month, and a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">s before, the titles link to my reviews.</span></span></span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/04/book-review-secret-of-nightingale-palace.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Secret of the Nightingale Palace</a></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i>&nbsp;</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">by</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i>&nbsp;</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Dana&nbsp;Sachs</span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pGRZdFdStmU/Uf1DLROZfHI/AAAAAAAAFu8/_jlzs-0YUuw/s1600/The_Secret_of_the_Nightingale_Palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pGRZdFdStmU/Uf1DLROZfHI/AAAAAAAAFu8/_jlzs-0YUuw/s320/The_Secret_of_the_Nightingale_Palace.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/04/book-review-other-typist.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Other Typist</a>&nbsp;</i>by&nbsp;Suzanne&nbsp;Rindell</span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8ttkcsfdJUg/Uf1DaxnjQlI/AAAAAAAAFvE/0B_9ucSJBvY/s1600/Other_Typist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8ttkcsfdJUg/Uf1DaxnjQlI/AAAAAAAAFvE/0B_9ucSJBvY/s320/Other_Typist.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">All titles are ARCs, have been read once by me, and are in very good condition.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>Giveaway Details!</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">The deadline for this giveaway is August 31st; entries open to those in the US.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>To Enter (Mandatory)!</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Comment below, indicating which book(s) interest you&nbsp;<i>and</i>&nbsp;<i>a way for me to contact you</i>. You can enter for all but you will only win one.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>For Extra entries (Optional), indicate in the comments below that you are:</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow this blog on Google Connect (see right sidebar)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (include @amusedbybooks in your tweet)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">+1 Blog/Post about this giveaway on your sidebar</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Three extra entries available. Giveaway open until 11:59pm PST August 31st. I will draw the winners using random.org and announce them here on my blog. You will have one week to claim your prize. Good luck!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/august-review-book-giveaway.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-2489463250370406745Fri, 02 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-08-02T07:00:05.436-07:00Book Read in 2013Grade BHistorical FictionBook Review: The Queen's Vow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-owhQL94u3ns/UfRAQj1GaKI/AAAAAAAAFuI/V-oSRHMuRd0/s1600/the_queens_vow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-owhQL94u3ns/UfRAQj1GaKI/AAAAAAAAFuI/V-oSRHMuRd0/s400/the_queens_vow.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Queens-Vow-Novel-Isabella-Castile/dp/0345523970/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1374960669&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+queen%27s+vow+a+novel+of+isabella+of+castile+by+c.+w.+gortner" target="_blank">The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://www.cwgortner.com/" target="_blank">C.W. Gortner</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: Paperback</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Ballantine Books; July 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 416</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Historical fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: B</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;Young Isabella is barely a teenager when she and her brother are taken from their mother’s home to live under the watchful eye of their half-brother, King Enrique, and his sultry, conniving queen. There, Isabella is thrust into danger when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragon.</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />As they unite their two realms under “one crown, one country, one faith,” Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies. With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the inquisitor Torquemada even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus. But when the Moors of the southern domain of Granada declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny.<br /><br />From the glorious palaces of Segovia to the battlefields of Granada and the intrigue-laden gardens of Seville,&nbsp;The Queen’s Vow&nbsp;sweeps us into the tumultuous forging of a nation and the complex, fascinating heart of the woman who overcame all odds to become Isabella of Castile.</i></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take</b>: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Having been a fan of C.W. Gortner's&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Elizabeth I Spymasters Chronicles series, having read both&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2011/10/book-review-tudor-secret.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Tudor Secret</a>&nbsp;</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">and&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/07/book-review-tudor-conspiracy.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Tudor Conspiracy</a></i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;(click titles for my reviews), I was excited to read something else of Gortner's from a different locale.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Queen's Vow</i> takes place in Spain, during the reigns of Enrique III of Castile, Enrique IV of Castile, and finally Isabella of Castile, of whom this story centers upon. One of the reasons this novel interested me so is because I know very little about Spanish history. Quiz me on the King's and Queen's of England and I probably know far more than is really necessary. Quiz me on the King's and Queen's of Spain, however, and you will probably be met with blank stares. So you could say that <i>The Queen's Vow</i> was both an interesting story for me to read while also serving as a pretty interesting history lesson as well.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">When<i> The Queen's Vow</i> opens, Isabella is but a young girl, living in the castle with her father the King, whom she rarely sees, her mother who she doesn't see much either, and her brother who she plays with all of the time. Soon her father passes away and Isabella and her family are forced to live far away from the castle in somewhat less refined digs. However Isabella and her brother Alfonso are quite happy living the country life.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">However one day the current King, and Isabella and Alfonso's half-brother, calls them back to court to welcome the birth of his daughter. What should be a happy occasion is in fact fraught with turmoil. There is question as to the true parentage of his daughter and the King's wife is a bit of a tyrant. However, while at the castle she is reintroduced to Fernando of Aragon, the sometimes warring faction of another part of Spain. These two have an immediate attraction, although they are young enough to not necessarily recognize it.&nbsp;</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For those of you who may read this and not know much about the history as I did, I don't want to reveal too much more. Suffice it to say that what follows is a fascinating look into Spanish history as two kingdoms combine their realms, deal with the major battles of the day, and usher Spain into a new era filled with far away conquests. If you like sweeping historical sagas, then you can't be much more entertained than you will be with <i>The Queen's Vow</i>.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For other opinions on this novel, please check out the rest of the <a href="http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/thequeensvowvirtualtour/" target="_blank">Historical Fiction Virtual Tour</a>.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cover Lust:</b> I love this cover! I prefer it when novels speak to the era but allow me to imagine what the people actually looked like.</span></span></div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/book-review-queens-vow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-8400068668682014079Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:01:00 +00002013-08-01T08:01:45.414-07:00GiveawayGiveaway Winners!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jfYqDEFq7i8/Ufp4O7NjD0I/AAAAAAAAFus/v7kxyjCiOMc/s1600/Balloons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jfYqDEFq7i8/Ufp4O7NjD0I/AAAAAAAAFus/v7kxyjCiOMc/s320/Balloons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thank you to everyone who took the time to sign up to win in my recent giveaways! Without further ado:<br /><br />The winners of my <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/07/july-review-book-giveaway.html">July Review Book Giveaway</a> are:<br /><br /><ul><li>Elisabeth has won<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/03/book-review-orchardist.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">The Orchardist</a></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;by&nbsp;Amanda&nbsp;Coplin</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://kaizenfashionproject.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Heather </a>has won&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/03/book-review-mrs-queen-takes-train.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">Mrs. Queen Takes the Train</a>&nbsp;</i>by<i>&nbsp;</i>William&nbsp;Kuhn</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Marie has won&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/04/book-review-carry-on-warrior.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on a Life Unarmed</a>&nbsp;</i>by&nbsp;Glennon&nbsp;Doyle Melton</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Summer has won&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/03/book-review-three-sisters.html" style="color: #3abb21; text-decoration: none;">Three Sisters</a>&nbsp;</i>by&nbsp;Susan&nbsp;Mallery</span></span></li></ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">The winners of my <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/07/book-review-and-mega-giveaway-last.html"><i>The Last Camellia </i>MEGA Giveaway</a> are:</span></span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://hispanicreader.com/" target="_blank">Jess</a></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://bookofsecretsblog.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Diana</a></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><a href="http://bookmama2.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Book Mama</a></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;">Marie</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Carl</span></span></li></ul></div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/08/giveaway-winners.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-4802265771415643276Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-07-29T07:00:04.112-07:00Book Read in 2013Grade ANonfictionBook Review: Judging a Book by Its Lover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ug5r9ITGNjM/UdNrBgSmX6I/AAAAAAAAFsI/Po6c7e1xdwU/s648/Judging_A_Book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ug5r9ITGNjM/UdNrBgSmX6I/AAAAAAAAFsI/Po6c7e1xdwU/s400/Judging_A_Book.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Judging-Book-Its-Lover-Everywhere/dp/B00D9TIO20/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1372809049&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=judging+a+book+by+its+lover" target="_blank">Judging a Book by Its Lover: A Field Guide to the Hearts and Minds of Readers Everywhere</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://judgingabookbyitslover.com/" target="_blank">Lauren Leto</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: Paperback</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published:&nbsp;Harper Perennial; Oct 2012</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 288</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Non-fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: A</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Publisher</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;Lauren Leto, humor blogger and co-author of&nbsp;Texts from Last Night, now offers a fascinating field guide to the hearts and minds of readers everywhere.&nbsp;Judging a Book by Its Lover&nbsp;is like a literary&nbsp;Sh*t My Dad Says—an unrelentingly witty and delightfully irreverent guide to the intricate world of passionate literary debate, at once skewering and celebrating great writers, from Dostoevsky to Ayn Rand to Jonathan Franzen, and all the people who read them. This provocative, smart, and addictively funny tome arose out of Leto’s popular “book porn” blog posts, and it will delight and outrage literature fans, readers of&nbsp;&nbsp;Stuff White People Like&nbsp;and&nbsp;I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar—people obsessed with literary culture and people fed up with literary culture—in equal measure.</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take: </b>As an avid reader, <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2012/01/book-review-tolstoy-and-purple-chair.html">nothing makes me</a> <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2011/05/book-review-wilder-life.html">happier than reading</a> <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2010/10/fragments-of-she.html">books about other</a> <a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2010/05/being-girl-is-fun.html">people who love books</a>. Maybe it helps me feel better about myself, or maybe its just because when I am reading a book about books it makes me feel more validated. Like, yep, there other crazy readers out there just like me!</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Whatever the case, Lauren Leto's <i>Judging a Book by Its Lover</i> was the perfect little read for a book lover like me, and I hope a book lover like you too! <i>Judging a Book by Its Lover</i> reads like a collection of essays, meaning one story doesn't necessarily flow directly into the next, however they are all about books so they are all easy to read. Leto also has a huge sense of snark about her topic, which I love. However, if she makes a crack about one of your favorite books, well you may not like it. Personally, her writing is just one persons opinion and if you can't laugh at yourself then who can you laugh at?</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Some of my favorite chapters were "The Rules of Book Club" in which, much like the <a href="http://www.diggingforfire.net/FightClub/" target="_blank">rules of Fight Club</a>, if you were ever in a book club you know the people she is talking about and the annoyingness that a book club can sometimes bring. Another favorite was the "Petition to Change the Term from Bookworm to Bookcat" because every reason she suggested has good sound logic, and yes I do prefer the term bookcat to bookworm so that's a petion I would sign!</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">All in all I think I flew through <i>Judging a Book by Its Lover </i>in a couple of sittings. If you are looking for a fun gift for the reader in your life, or if you are looking for an easy vacation read, I can highly recommend Lauren Leto's <i>Judging a Book by Its Lover</i>.&nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cover Lust:</b> This is a perfect cover! A little bit silly and totally befitting of the title.&nbsp;</span>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/07/book-review-judging-book-by-its-lover.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-6329536320427991414Sat, 27 Jul 2013 17:17:00 +00002013-07-27T10:17:23.250-07:00GiveawayWinner of Eat the City Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K8VwTXGhNIY/UfP_R4-TshI/AAAAAAAAFt8/f3uWC7n9MYc/s1600/Eat_the_City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K8VwTXGhNIY/UfP_R4-TshI/AAAAAAAAFt8/f3uWC7n9MYc/s320/Eat_the_City.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>Thank you to everyone who signed up to wi<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">n a brand new paperback of&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/01/book-review-eat-city.html" style="color: #3abb21; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Eat the City</a><i style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">by</span></span><i style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;</i></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Robin</span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>&nbsp;</i></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Shulman (click title for my review)! Using random.org, the winner is: <a href="http://kaizenfashionproject.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Heather</a>!</span></b></span></span></span>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/07/winner-of-eat-city-giveaway.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-2830721817882674454Thu, 25 Jul 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-07-25T07:00:05.978-07:00Book Read in 2013CookingGrade AMemoirBook Review: My Berlin Kitchen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4XwbxQ4laP4/UaowcU9UMLI/AAAAAAAAFoM/F2JBwiIi7_M/s1600/My_Berlin_Kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4XwbxQ4laP4/UaowcU9UMLI/AAAAAAAAFoM/F2JBwiIi7_M/s400/My_Berlin_Kitchen.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Berlin-Kitchen-Recipes-ebook/dp/B007V65ULK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1370107009&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=my+berlin+kitchen" target="_blank">My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes)</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/" target="_blank">Luisa Weiss</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: ARC</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Viking Adult; Sept. 2012</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 315</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Memoir</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: A</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: Publisher</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;It takes courage to turn your life upside down, especially when everyone is telling you how lucky you are. But sometimes what seems right can feel deeply wrong.&nbsp;My Berlin Kitchen&nbsp;tells the story of how one thoroughly confused, kitchen-mad perfectionist broke off her engagement to a handsome New Yorker, quit her dream job, and found her way to a new life, a new man, and a new home in Berlin—one recipe at a time.</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />Luisa Weiss grew up with a divided heart, shuttling back and forth between her father in Boston and her Italian mother in Berlin. She was always yearning for home—until she found a new home in the kitchen. Luisa started clipping recipes in college and was a cookbook editor in New York when she decided to bake, roast, and stew her way through her by then unwieldy collection over the course of one tumultuous year. The blog she wrote to document her adventures in (and out) of the kitchen,&nbsp;The Wednesday Chef, soon became a sensation. But she never stopped hankering for Berlin.<br /><br />Luisa will seduce you with her stories of foraging for plums in abandoned orchards, battling with white asparagus at the tail end of the season, orchestrating a three-family Thanksgiving in Berlin, and mending her broken heart with batches (and batches) of impossible German Christmas cookies. Fans of her award-winning blog will know the happy ending, but anyone who enjoyed&nbsp;Julie and Julia&nbsp;will laugh and cheer and cook alongside Luisa as she takes us into her heart and tells us how she gave up everything only to find love waiting where she least expected it.</i></span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take:</b> <i>My Berlin Kitchen</i> by Luisa Weiss combines two of my favorite things in one wonderful book: memoirs and cooking. Seriously I couldn't resist picking it up. Additionally, it is set in Berlin and gives recipes for all of these fabulous German foods, foods I ate when I spent my summers in Munich in college. All of them sounded delicious and I couldn't wait to try them out. But I think I may be getting ahead of myself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>My Berlin Kitchen</i> tells the story of Luisa Weiss' life. Also known as <a href="http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/" target="_blank">The Wednesday Chef</a> (a popular cooking blog and sadly one I didn't discover until I picked up this book). This book has been related to <i>Julia and Julia</i>, another cooking blogger turned memoirist and I have to agree, if you loved one you'll most likely love the other. I know I did.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><i>My Berlin Kitchen</i> starts with Luisa's childhood in Berlin with an Italian mother and an American father. Her parents divorce when she was young and she finds her young life is colored by never knowing where she belongs: Germany where she was born, Italy where her mother was from, Boston where her she lives with her dad for some time? All of them feel lovely but it's hard for her to find a place to call home.</div><div><br /></div><div>As a young adult, Luisa lives in New York City and falls in love with the place but she has also spent a summer in Paris where she fell in love with a German, Max. However they are too young to know that that kind of love only comes around once and they go their separate ways.</div><div><br /></div><div>What follows is Luisa's tale of how she discovers what she most loves to do: cook; what she most wants to do as a career: write; where she most wants to live: Berlin; and who she most wants to be with: Max. The rub is how to make these all work in harmony with the other.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you love to eat, you will love this book. Each chapter ends with a recipe but most are also filled with descriptions of delicious meals and memories she retains from those meals throughout the memoir. If you aren't a big foodie you may find it all a bit boring. Me? I couldn't get enough. Luisa was also someone who I found easy to relate to. Her struggles were ones that I had struggled with too and it made me want to see how her life turned out. A beautiful memoir and an easy read: <i>My Berlin Kitchen</i> is a book I can highly recommend.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cover Lust: </b>I actually really like this cover. It's stark in it's simplicity yet remains eye catching.</div>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/07/book-review-my-berlin-kitchen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471954055922390559.post-8708389113941136623Mon, 22 Jul 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-07-22T07:00:04.249-07:00Book Read in 2013Grade DHistorical FictionWWIIBook Review: No One is Here Except All of Us<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pj5KI9EYIaY/UZkIhLJdlEI/AAAAAAAAFm8/FDeunEj4m3g/s1600/No_One_Is_Here.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pj5KI9EYIaY/UZkIhLJdlEI/AAAAAAAAFm8/FDeunEj4m3g/s400/No_One_Is_Here.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'<a href="http://www.amazon.com/No-One-Here-Except-All/dp/1594486492/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1368982962&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=no+one+is+here+except+all+of+us+by+ramona+ausubel" target="_blank">No One is Here Except All of Us</a>'</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Author: <a href="http://ramonaausubel.com/" target="_blank">Ramona Ausubel</a></i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Format: ARC</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Published: Riverhead Trade; Feb. 2013</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pages: 416</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre: Historical fiction</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Grade: D</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Source: LibraryThing EarlyReviewers</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Synopsis:&nbsp;For the nine Jewish families who live in a valley in northern Romania in 1939, the troubles in their part of the world are known but distant. Then a woman who is the sole survivor of her ravished village washes up on the riverbank, and she, assisted by narrator Lena, suggests starting over, building a new and perfect world, with no memories of the painful past. With the barn as its temple and the stranger as its spiritual leader, the small village is bypassed by troops for years, until one day when three soldiers arrive and carry off Igor, Lena’s husband, a man who specializes in sleeping. Taking her children, Lena leaves, with the admonition that she survive to tell what happens. While Igor is a pampered prisoner in Sardinia, Lena endures unimaginable hardships and wrenching losses. Ausubel uses the history of her own great-grandmother as the framework for her first novel, which fully evokes the horrors of the Holocaust by merely touching on events. A fabulist tale of love, loss, faith, hope, community, and, especially, the power of story.</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Take:</b> I was drawn to reading this novel because of the title. <i>No One is Here Except All of Us</i> just had this beautiful, lyrical ring to it. It's the kind of title for a novel that I think, what a perfect fit. And it was, it was just too bad I couldn't get into what was held between the cover.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>No One is Here Except All of Us</i> by Ramona Ausubel had all the trappings of a book I love. It was set during WWII and in a location that I haven't read as much about so I certainly went in excited to see how it would all turn out. Unfortunately much like the title, that which was contained within was written more like a poem so I found myself re-reading passages over and over again to make sure that I was getting the message.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The book centers around a small village of Jewish families who have been forgotten by everyone around them. They know that a horrible war is brewing in the big world but since no one really knows about this hidden village it doesn't really affect them. But then, one day, the river brings with it all kinds of debris and in that debris is a young woman who tells a horrifying tale of the war brewing without. The villagers get it into their mind to start completely over. If they wipe their slate clean and act like they are the only people in the world then the horrible things won't find them. It seems like a good idea except, for me, it just seemed like a bunch of adults pretending and the things that they did were sometimes uncomfortable for me to read about.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I think if you are a fan of poetry or are better able to suspend belief you will probably get more out of <i>No One is Here Except All of Us</i>. For me, it was just too fantastical for me to get behind.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cover Lust: </b>This cover doesn't have much to look at so there isn't too much to say.</span>http://www.amusedbybooks.com/2013/07/book-review-no-one-is-here-except-all.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amused)8
http://www.amusedbybooks.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
www.amusedbybooks.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2015-48
212388
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:OUF5YLYP4PBNZL77JWKC425MUPFJ54NV
<urn:uuid:377ef6e4-ae82-4e74-adfe-982db7c12a5c>
2015-11-26T01:08:59Z
173.194.208.121
sha1:7GNEKV7SVXMJHUXNSR2R7F3E352XPGOB
<urn:uuid:569c2cff-4dd6-4905-9a30-a62736822dbc>
http://www.amusedbybooks.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
response
<urn:uuid:16d11f95-218f-471d-b929-e9d481fff116>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2015-48
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for Nov 2015
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf