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Saturday, July 31, 2010

Last to Die Winners!

Thanks so much to everyone that entered to win their own copy of Last to Die by Kate Brady. Without further ado...the Winners are:

Hannah
Tara
JHS

Congrats to you all!

I want to point out to everyone that you need to read the rules for a giveaway. I actually had to dismiss two "winners" because they did not provide an email address and there was not one in their profile. So please read the rules if you choose to enter any giveaways!

Thanks so much to Hachette Book Group and please come back often for more great giveaways! Don't forget to add your book giveaways to the new linky posted every Thursday!




Friday, July 30, 2010

Thanks for the Award!

I am a little slow on this but I did want to get this posted. I got this cool new award from Julie P at Reading Without Restraint. It is called the Summer Blogger Award and is really easy. The rules for this award are simple. Just thank the person who sent this to you and forward this on to four bloggers who rock this summer!


It is hard for me to pick only four bloggers, but here goes:
1. Sapphire Reads @ One Page at a Time - she is newbie book blogger who is off to a great start!
2. Apple Blossom @ 4 The Love of Books - a true book lover that reviews a variety of books.
3. Coffee and a Book Chick - I just found this blog - but it looks like it will be interesting.
4. Book Addict for Real  - a clever little blog about books and other things!



Review: Father Mine by JR Ward

Father Mine by JR Ward


Book Description:
Readers met and fell in love with Zsadist and Bella in J. R. Ward-s third New York Times bestselling novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Lover Awakened. As a former blood slave, Zsadist bore the scars from a past filled with suffering and degradation until Bella came along and helped heal his emotional wounds. Now, though, with the birth of their child, the demons of his past have been resurrected, called forth by the innocent eyes of his beloved daughter, Nalla. Unless Bella and Nalla can bring him back with their love, he may be lost to them forever-.



About the Author:
J.R. Ward is the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series of vampire books. She is a winner of the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA award for Best Paranormal Romance and is a multiple RITA nominee. A graduate of Smith College, she was a double major in History and Art History with a medieval concentration in both and she still longs at times for a return to those days sitting in dark lecture halls, looking at slides of old triptychs and reliquaries. Prior to becoming a full time writer, she was a corporate attorney, serving for many years as the Chief of Staff of one of Harvard Medical Schools premier teaching sites. Her idea of absolute heaven is a day filled with nothing but her computer, her dog and her coffee pot and the Brothers, of course.Here's What I Think:
So the other day I got an email from Verizon saying that I could download a version of the Kindle onto my Android cell phone for FREE! Of course, I went for it because as I have said before "If it's free it's me". And I already knew which book I was going to get first! Father Mine is a "novella" that was included in the Black Dagger Brotherhood Guide. It follows Zadist (my second favorite Brother) and his struggle to take on the roll of father! But you can only find it in print in the guide - which means you have to buy the whole thing. I had struggled back and forth over purchasing it, because I knew I wanted to read the novella. But - YAY - you can get just Father Mine on Kindle!!! So I downloaded it, read it in probably 6 hours and was mad that I wasn't longer. Once again JR Ward has given so much life to her characters that they seem real. It is more like they are regular people (of course totally beautiful and filthy rich, but regular none the less) that just happen to be vampires. The raw emotion put across is incredible. The only reason this isn't getting a 5 hourglass rating is because I wish it was longer!!! A definite must read if you are past Zadist's book in the series!











Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated to publish this review. I purchased the eBook with my own money. This is an honest review with my real opinions.


Thursday, July 29, 2010

Welcome Book Blogger Hoppers

Book Blogger Hop

Hello and Welcome! I am excited to meet some new book bloggers! If you decide to follow, please leave me a comment so that I can follow you back.
Also, please put in your name for the Fantastic Follower Gratitude Giveaway.
To answer this week's question: Who is your fave  new-to-you author this year?

This is a tough one for me because I have read so many new-to-me authors this year, but the best so far is going to have to be Brian Cohen author of Life O'Reilly (my review). It was a step outside my comfort zone and I really enjoyed it.

What Are You Giving Away This Thursday? 7/29-8/4

Here's is your chance to drive people over to your giveaways! Please link up your book-related giveaways on the linky below!

You can link up your book (and book related - bookmarks, bookplates, eReaders, book-lights, etc.) giveaways and you can go over and enter to win other books on the linky too! If you have any suggestions please don't hesitate to leave a comment. You are also welcome to grab the code and graphic and add it to your own site, just please be nice and put that you grabbed it from Busy Moms Who Love to Read (with a link back!)
Please use this format:
Blog Name - Book Title - # of winners - end date
And Please use the book cover or your blog button for your thumbnail!
Leave a comment after you link up!

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE LISTING AN APPROPRIATE GIVEAWAY! I WILL DELETE IT IF IT IS NOT A BOOK RELATED GIVEAWAY! THANKS!

Featured Giveaways!


Want your giveaways FEATURED? Email me with your details and offer for compensation (I am totally into the barter system so get creative - think "Will work for books" - but cold hard cash works too!


Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Whatcha Reading Wednesday July 28th

This is how "Whatcha Reading Wednesdays" works this week...

Pick up the book you are currently reading. Go to page 100 and type that very last complete sentence on the page.  


If it is a spoiler at all be sure to put **Spoiler Alert** at the top of your comment (like if the selection announces the death of an integral character or something).



Here is mine for this week:




'Does your mother know?' 
All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins





Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Book Blogger Interrogations: Rita @ Not Another Romance Blog

Hello and welcome to the first (of many, hopefully) Book Blogger Interrogation! I have had the pleasure of getting to know a number of very cool book bloggers from all over the blogosphere. I thought it would be fun to put them under the heat lamp so to speak and get some answers to some fun questions. To kick things off I want you to give a big welcome to Rita the Historical Romance Junkie from Not Another Romance Blog! I "met" Rita through the Got Books? Event and am thrilled that I did! She has a very cute little blog that I think lots of you will find worth a peek!

1. Tell me the number one reason you love to read.
The number one reason why I love to read is because those sneaky little buggards known as books somehow find a way to get me emotionally invested without even trying. I can read a book on a whim and before I know it, I am squealing, and dancing a jig or holding back tears and fanning myself. With all the stress of the real world mounting daily, the escape a good book provides is temptation I can never resist.
2. What is it about sharing your reviews that keeps you going?

I really procrastinate with my reviews. I just love to read, but sometimes, I find the idea of summing up the hours I devoted to a book daunting. Will I be able to attract readers with this? Will this review do the book justice? Where do I start!? But then I open the new post creator on blogger and begin to write from the heart. If I loved a book, I'll tell you. If it wasn't all that I wished it to be, I'll tell you that too. I can not tell you how good it feels to finish a review and look over it and know it DOES pretty much sum up my experience with this book. Writing reviews really started as a way for me to catalog my thoughts and opinions on the novels I've read, but then strangers started reading them too and telling me they made them want to read the book or they agreed with what I had to say, and I felt like I had a purpose. Who doesn't want to have a purpose?


3. Who is your all-time favorite author?
It's so hard to choose an all-time favorite author. You discover new ones everyday, and there are millions of books I have yet to read. But as of now, my favorite author would have to be Lisa Kleypas. EVERY single one of her books are amazing and affecting. I can pick up any book with her name on the cover and feel confident about walking up to the cash register and investing in it. Her historicals are amazing, and I hold high hopes for her ever growing list of contemporaries as well (the Travis series is a real pleaser!).
4. What is your all-time favorite book (single or series)?
My all-time favorite book is once again, a difficult question to answer in black-and-white. While I may not have the gall to name a 'favorite' book, I do have a book I consider my 'most dear'. Sentimentally, I hold this one book in great esteem over all others I have read so far, and even if there are better books out there, I still hold this one close to my heart. It is 'It Happened One Autumn' by Lisa Kleypas. I just loved the drama and adventure and reluctant love that blossomed. My favorite scene is when Lilith gets drunk and tries to get a too large pear from inside too small decanter. Her hand gets stuck, but her drunken yet pure interaction with Marcus as he tries to free her hand from the jar is just so sublime and entertaining!

5. If you could pick one fictional character and bring them to life, who would it be?
I love fictional characters as much as anybody, but once I start reading a book, and seeing a relationship start to form with the heroine and hero, it's hard to want to picture myself in her shoe. It's THEIR love story, and I just like to sit back and enjoy the ride. But one character I am able to recall whom I wouldn't mind seeing in real like is Jack Travis from 'Smooth Talking Stranger' by Lisa Kleypas (yes, another Kleypas). I loved how manly he was, and how protective over the woman he considered his. He doesn't love in half-measures and you can tell that he will do anything for Ella. He's the type of guy who will fall in love and need no one else. He is easily contented with just being around that special someone and he doesn't need 'space' or 'me time' when there's someone so beloved to share his life with. He's a guy I could fall in love with instantly if he were real.

6. Do you always finish a book, even if you know you don’t like it half way in?
I always try to finish a book, but if the book loses my interest, I turn into a skimmer. I feel I haven't done the book justice if I just close it midway through. If the plot or writing style just isn't what I usually enjoy, I'll skim through to the end, half-reading a paragraph here or there, and get the gist of the book (climax and conclusion) before closing it.

7. Do you own an eReader? If yes, why? If no, why not?
No, I do not own an ereader. I wish I had a better excuse, but what it comes down to is: Paperbacks add up quick. I wish I had about 200$ to invest in a nook or kindle, but right now, I haven't even stepped foot into my college and have already received a bill for $14k (just for one semester). I hate knock off's or alternative ereaders. I'd rather invest in the real deal and be satisfied with it's awesomeness! I will hopefully splurge and get one for Christmas though. Something tells me I'll become enamored with it and treat it like a bible once I get it./ side note: As I've said before, I am a sentimentalist, and I will always prefer the printed word as appose to some techy gizmo. I see the benefits and pro's when it comes to having an ereader (save money on most novels since efiles cost less than paperbacks, cool apps, accessibility, ect) but there's something about having my hands on a stack of paperback books that will always endear them to me.

8. What is your all-time single favorite genre to read?
My all-time favorite genre is, of course, HISTORICALS! I am a huge historical romance fan and I love the classic regency, ton & ball, stories. I enjoy a good highlander or medieval or pirate tale, but the regular regencies are my favorite!
9. Here’s your chance to plug your book review blog, twitter, facebook, etc. You know, make a general plea for people to like you…
Hey people, please like me! lol. I am the original creator and publisher for the Not Another Romance Blog blog. Romances is my drug, and like I always say "addicts need love too"! I do book reviews, host giveaways, interview authors, create reading lists, and put out funny posts where I give you a glimpse into my perverted randomness. I love historicals, but I try to dip into new genres whenever I can. You can easily contact me through my email (historicalromancejunkie[at]gmail[dot]com) or seek me out on one or more of the many social networking site I've set up accounts with for the blog. I am always happy to chat or offer whatever kind of help I can provide to whoever goes out of their way to contact me.



Follow me, Gush with me, and always remember: book conversations are my favorite conversations! You can find me on the following sites:


My Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4038965
My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001079857664
The Blog's Facebook Page (please 'like'):http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Not-Another-Romance-Blog-Blog/120301157994783
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NotAnotherRBlog
and don't forget to follow the actual blog: http://notanotherromanceblog.blogspot.com/
-Thanks for interviewing me Pam! I wish you and your readers all the best!

I hope you all enjoyed getting to know Rita - I know I did. Come back next week to meet Julie from Reading Without Restraint!


Monday, July 26, 2010

Review & Guest Article: The Kitchen Shrink by Dora Calott Wang, MD

The Kitchen Shrink by Dora Calott Wang, MD


Book Description:
Dora Calott Wang is a Yale-trained psychiatrist who began her career as a doctor with great enthusiasm. But after less than a decade of her practicing medicine, that enthusiasm was shattered by the seismic shifts that shook the entire medical profession.

Once a cherished, even sacred, vocation, medicine has become a business driven by profit. What made medicine turn its back on its central tenets? In The Kitchen Shrink, Wang explores what happened, through the prism of her own research and experience. In these pages we watch as she struggles to maintain her professional standards as health care's priorities shift away from the compassionate care of patients and, instead, toward improving the bottom line, and along the way we meet some of her patients, whose stories reveal an oft-ignored human side of our besieged system. As the medical landscape shifts beneath Wang, she confronts depression and exhaustion, and fights to find a balance between work and home, as it become ever clearer that she cannot untangle the uncertain futures of her patients from her own.


Part memoir and part rallying cry, The Kitchen Shrink is an unflinchingly honest, passionate, and humane inside look at the realities of free-market medicine in today's America.


About the Author:
Dora Calott Wang, M.D., is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. A graduate of the Yale School of Medicine and the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, she received her M.A. in English literature from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been the recipient of a writer's residency from the Lannan Foundation. Her memoir, The Kitchen Shrink: A Psychiatrist's Reflections on Healing in a Changing World was published by Riverhead Books, The Penguin Group.




For more information, view Dora Wang's Web site and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.


Guest Article by Dr. Wang:
Is Wall Street Making Life or Death Decisions?
By Dora Calott Wang, M.D.,
Author of The Kitchen Shrink: A Psychiatrist's Reflections on Healing in a Changing World


Is your health insurance company traded on Wall Street?


If so, is Wall Street deciding your medical care?


It's hard to recall that for-profit corporations were once kept out of health care -- in fact, for most of the 20th century. During this time, the nation's medical system was built largely by non-profit and charitable organizations, which is why so many hospitals are named for saints. Courts across the country ruled that for corporations to profit from medical care was simply "against sound public policy." In the early 1980's, however, when the financial and airline industries were deregulated, a similar process occurred for American medicine. For-profit corporations became newly encouraged to take leadership of health care. Deregulating health care into the free market was intended to drive down costs and to improve care. After all, medical care in 1980 consumed a whopping 9.1 percent of the nation's GDP.


Never mind that after 30 years in the free market, health care costs have doubled to consume 18 percent of the GDP (with a third of these precious dollars wasted on bureaucracy). Never mind that health care has gotten increasingly inaccessible to the uninsured and even the insured, or that American health care has become an international poster child for reform.


The real issue is that modern medical care has simply, finally, gotten so effective. Today, even cancer and AIDs are no longer death sentences, and if organs fail, you try to get a new one. But prior to the discovery of antibiotics and vaccines in the 1930's, leeches were routinely applied, and medicine was steeped in superstition. Between 1918 and 1920, three percent of the world's population was wiped out -- by the flu.


The fair and effective distribution of life-sustaining resources like food, water and shelter, is the very story of civilization. Yet now, thanks to centuries upon centuries of civilization and scientific inquiry, we have at last, a new life-sustaining resource -- modern medical care, which is less than 80 years old.


How should this powerful new resource be distributed? I believe that medical care shouldn't be considered an ordinary product, like athletic shoes or flat screen TV's. Rather, it is quickly becoming essential, like water. Yet there will be no easy answers when it comes medical care, in this brave new world in which DNA is already being tweaked to grow completely new organs. We are embarking on a new, complex and long chapter of history.


I can't help but think that health care reform isn't over, and wasn't concluded with the signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March.


I believe that health care reform will be our entire future.


In the meantime, for now, how is modern medical care, a new Prometheus' fire, being distributed and decided in the United States?


Physicians and patients sit face to face and discuss medical decisions -- about whether a life-sustaining cardiac bypass surgery is warranted, or whether a new liver should be gotten. But ultimately, the purse strings on medical care are held by health insurance companies.


The new health reform laws will obligate insurance companies to provide "coverage" even when patients become sick or if they have a "pre-existing condition" or what I will call "illness". The PPACA has a provision on "administrative simplification" scheduled to take effect in 2014, which aims to streamline the process of doctors and health care providers asking for approvals from health insurance companies before treatments are rendered.


But even after the new laws are implemented, health insurance companies, many of them for-profit corporations traded on Wall Street, will continue to hold the purse strings on medical care.


Our recent health reform efforts are landmark progress in the right direction.


However, in the last thirty years, the values of Wall Street have so infiltrated the values of American society that seemingly all aspects of life are impacted, even medical care of the human body and mind, even the everyday life or death decisions that happen in doctor offices and hospital rooms.


© 2010 Dora Calott Wang, M.D., author of The Kitchen Shrink: A Psychiatrist's Reflections on Healing in a Changing World








Here's What I Think:
The state of our health care system is something effects us all, even if not directly. It was rather interesting to see the ongoing "crisis" from an insider's point of view. Dr. Wang makes so strong arguments in favor of returning to a much more patient centered practice of medicine. And though I do tend to lean that way, it is also important to recognize that with the profits come the spoils - like advancements in diagnostic equipment and life-saving medicine. We are definitely stuck in point of cultural lag - where our needs are not totally in-line with our wants or our abilities. I think that it will take time for all of the advancements to find their place. Again, this was an interesting read, it is always good to get a different perspective on a current event.










Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of this book from FSB Associates, I was in no other way compensated to write this review.


Review & Giveaway: All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins


Book Description:
One Happily-Ever-After Rocking Chair…


and no sign of any forthcoming babies to rock in ol' Georgebury, Vermont. For Callie Grey, turning thirty means coming to grips with the fact that her boss (and five-week fling) is way overdue in his marriage proposal. And way off track because Mark has suddenly announced his engagement to the company's new Miss Perfect. If that isn't bad enough, her mom decides to throw her a three-oh birthday bash in the family funeral home.


Bad goes to worse when she stirs up a crazy relationship with the town's not so warm and fuzzy veterinarian, Ian McFarland, in order to flag Mark's attention. So Ian is more comfortable with animals…. So he's formal, orderly and just a bit tense. The ever-friendly, fun-loving and spontaneous Callie decides it's time for Ian to get a personality makeover. But dang, if he doesn't shock the heck out of her, she might actually fall for Vermont's unlikeliest eligible bachelor….


About the Author:
Kristan divides her time between home in Connecticut and summers on Cape Cod. She is the mother of two lovely kids, the wife of a brave firefighter, and a devoted Ben & Jerry's fan. Previously a copywriter, Kristan began writing fiction when her children graced her life with simultaneous naps...so much more satisfying than folding laundry. She holds a BA in English, which enables her to identify dangling participles and quote many great novels.


Kristan Higgins is the RITA award-winning author of CATCH OF THE DAY and three other romantic comedies. Previously a copywriter, Kristan began writing fiction when her children graced her life with simultaneous naps...so much more satisfying than folding laundry. She holds a BA in English from the College of the Holy Cross, which enables her to identify dangling participles and quote many great novels. Kristan lives with her family in Connecticut.


Here's What I Think:

I can't help but liken this book to Bridget Jones' Diary. It is a very clever and cute story about a woman (getting on in years - eek she's turns 30 in the first chapter) and still hasn't found the one. Only to learn that she wasn't looking in all the right places. And how does she learn to look away from her perceived "One" - he tromps on her heart by getting involved with someone else, who is of course gorgeous and slightly evil. Then throw in the hilarity of family and friends - mom owns a funeral parlor, sister is a man-bashing fertility doctor, good friend is an American with a British accent she obtained from her few weeks in England, 15 years ago and few tragedies and Callie learns what's really important to her and what real love looks like.  Although the story is a bit predictable, it was still entertaining. I do want to point out that is a bit of language - none of it vulgar but just a bit of explicative adjective use. A perfect book to read on the porch while rocking in your Happily Ever After chair.



BUY IT! You can buy your own copy on Amazon
WIN IT! The good people at FSB Associates have aggreed to give one lucky winner their own copy of All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins

Here's How It Works:
A Few Rules:



You must be a US Resident. And You must provide a Street Address upon notification of winning (NO PO BOXES)

 Mandatory Entry: (you must do this one first or I will be forced to remove all of your entries)

Become a Follower of BMWL2R In some form - GFC, Twitter, or Facebook.
Please include your email address in your comment. (feel free to use the antiSPAM version - yourname[at]yourserver[dot]com)

Get More Entries: (LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY)

  • Become a GFC Follower (if you already are one, just tell me so)
  • Tweet about this Giveaway (include @1outnumberedmom) please include your status link
  • Follow me on Twitter @1outnumberedmom
  • Become a Facebook Fan of BMWL2R (see sidebar) and leave a comment on the wall telling me you want to win!
  • Add Kristan Higgins as a friend on Facebook
  • Become a GFC follower of my BFF's new blog - One Page At A Time
  • Grab my button (see sidebar) and put it on your blog (include a link to your blog in your comment) (5 entries)
  • Add a post to your own blog about this giveaway (include a link to your post in your comment)(8 entries)


All entries must be in by August 14th at 11:59pm PST. I will pick a winner using a Random Number Generator.!

I wish you the best of luck!


Disclaimer: I received no direct compensation for the post and review, other then a copy of the title reviewed from FSB Associates.

If you are an author or publisher and would like for me to review your book please contact me directly: polsen11[at]comcast[dot]net


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Got Books? Event Winner Announced!

WOW! What an amazing 48hrs! I did my best to visit almost all 111 blogs that were participating in the GOT BOOKS? Event. It was so much fun to make so many new friends! And I want to thank everyone that entered to win the Demonica Series! Can you believe we created enough buzz that Larissa Ione - the real life author of the Demonica Series - actually stopped by to check it out!!! SO COOL! Okay enough of my blathering. I am sure you want to know who won this amazing prize!

The Winner is:
drey

Congratulations!!! And again thank you to everyone that entered as well as to HBG for facilitating this amazing prize! Hope to see you all soon!


Review: Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson

Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson


Book Description:
In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, Susannah Charleson clipped a photo from the newspaper: an exhausted canine handler, face buried in the fur of his search-and-rescue dog. A dog lover and pilot with search experience herself, Susannah was so moved by the image that she decided to volunteer with a local canine team and soon discovered firsthand the long hours, nonexistent pay, and often heart-wrenching results they face.



Still she felt the call, and once she qualified to train a dog of her own, she adopted Puzzle, a strong, bright Golden Retriever puppy who exhibited unique aptitudes as a working dog but who was less interested in the role of compliant house pet. Puzzle's willfulness and high drive, both assets in the field, challenged even Susannah, who had raised dogs for years.


Scent of the Missing is the story of Susannah and Puzzle's adventures together and of the close relationship they forge as they search for the lost--a teen gone missing, an Alzheimer's patient wandering in the cold, signs of the crew amid the debris of the space shuttle Columbia disaster. From the earliest air-scent lessons to her final mastery of whole-body dialog, Puzzle emerges as a fully collaborative partner in a noble enterprise that unfolds across the forests, plains, and cityscapes of the Southwest. Along the way Susannah and Puzzle learn to read the clues in the field, and in each other, to accomplish together the critical work neither could do alone and to unravel the mystery of the human/canine bond.

Watch a Video About Scent of the Missing

About the Author:
Susannah Charleson works as a handler with her partner, a Golden Retriever named Puzzle, for the Metro Area Rescue K9 unit in Dallas, Texas, an elite volunteer canine Search and Rescue team responding to local, state, and national search and recovery cases. She also serves as the team's Public Information Officer and gives lectures across the country about SAR. A flight instructor who previously flew disaster searches, Susannah is also an experienced television and radio broadcaster. She and Puzzle share their home with six other dogs, four cats, and a fish named Sound Bite.

Here's What I Think

We have all seen the search and rescue teams on the news, as group search for missing persons and even objects. But do you ever really think about how those poeple and dogs got to that point. I ahve to say it is a thought that had escaped me until I was asked to review this book. I am totally amazed by the hours and hours of VOLUNTEER time spent by the dogs and handlers to learn the skills needed to perform the task of search and rescue. This book is sort of a collection of incidences that happen along the journey to becoming a resue team, with some actual cases thrown in. I learned a lot about this very important job. The story was interesting, if slow at times, definately a human intersest piece!


BUY IT! You can buy your own copy on Amazon


Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of this book from FSB Associates, I was in no other way compensated to write this review.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Got Books? Review & Giveaway: Sin Undone by Larissa Ione ENTIRE SERIES!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
Sin UnDone
By Larissa Ione


Here's what the back of the book says:


HER TOUCH IS DEADLY




As the only female Seminus demon ever born, master assassin Sinead Donnelly is used to being treated like an outcast. She spent decades enslaved, and now vows she'll die before she'll relinquish her freedom again. Then Sin's innate ability to kill her enemies goes awry: She creates a lethal new werewolf virus that sparks a firestorm of panic and violence.


HIS HUNGER CAN'T BE DENIED


Half-werewolf, half-vampire Conall Dearghul is charged with bringing in Sin to face punishment for the plague. And she's no stranger: He's bound to her by blood, and the one sexual encounter they shared has left him hungering for her raw sensuality. Worse, Sin is the underworld's most wanted and Con soon learns he's the only one who can help her . . . and that saving her life might mean sacrificing his own.




A little about the Author:
I began writing the way so many writers do—the moment I learned to wield a pencil. But even as a child, I didn't write "kid" stories. I preferred something more dramatic. Something that didn't include Dick, Jane, and a dog named Spot. I wanted my characters to be named Dracula and my dogs to have names like White Fang or Cujo. I'll always have my parents to thank for that. They never censored my reading material (though I suspect that if they had truly known what was between the covers of some of the books, they'd have been a little more careful,) so when other girls my age were reading Laura Ingalls Wilder and Judy Blume, I was immersing myself in Stephen King and Dean Koontz.




Later, after I'd joined the Air Force and was in dire need of something to read between shifts at the weather station, I continued to read horror, but I'd branched out into fantasy, and then, finally, romance (though I admit I went kicking and screaming to the latter.)


Turned out that I loved romance! So I started writing it, but again, my style and voice leaned toward the dark, paranormal side. Fortunately for me, paranormal romance, as a sub-genre, was booming. I let my imagination fly, and soon I'd sold a series of dark, sexy paranormal romances to Grand Central Publishing.


I still read a lot of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and in fact, one of my all time favorite books about writing is On Writing, by my favorite childhood horror author, Stephen King. If you're an author or a reader, I highly recommend this book for an insight into an author's mind—which can sometimes be a very scary place.


Go ahead; Seduce your dark side.


IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ANY BOOKS IN THIS SERIES - THIS IS A SPOILER ALERT!!
The first four books in the series are Pleasure Unbound, Desire Unchained, Passion Unleashed and Ecstasy Unveiled. In the first four books, each of three full blood Seminus Demons and one half-blood brother are followed as they struggle to put what their heads are telling together with what their body are insisting on. Be forewarned - these books are STEAMY to say the least! But there is a beauty to Ione's words that creates vivid visions of what is written.









Here's What I have to Say:
I was chopping at the bit to get to the next book in this series when I finished Ecstasy Unveiled (read my review here). It ended in such a cliffhanger that I just needed to read the next one - Sin Undone. It arrived on a Monday and I was done by Tuesday evening - SERIOUSLY - and yes I know I have a reading problem. But Ione creates such a vivid and fast paced world in the Demonica Series that you are instantly engulfed by the lives of this family and their mates. Sometimes when you are really into a series you build it up a lot and then when the newest one comes out it is sort of a let down. Not only in Sin Undone not a let down - I might just go nuts (I mean actually crazy) waiting for the next in the series!!! It is interesting to me that each book has the same basic structure - One of the siblings has a major life changing event and in the process finds their mate. You would think you can only write that so many times - but Ione is very talented and although it is the same basic concept she makes it interesting and exciting. I was a little bit unsure how things would pan out since the first four had men as the main character and this one has Sin (short for Sinead), a female anomaly of the species, in the driver's seat. She has a lot on her shoulders between her job, her demon needs and her uncertainty about the family - and if she even belongs. Hers is probably the most intricate tale so far and she is taken through the whole gamut of emotions in this book.




AND NOW FOR THE REALLY REALLY COOL GIVEAWAY!!
Since this is a special 48 hour only event as part of the GOT BOOK? Blog event, I have worked out a very special and exciting giveaway for you all - Anna at Hachette Book Group has arranged to give one very lucky winner....wait for it....THE ENTIRE DEMONICA SERIES THUS FAR!!!!!!!! That's all five titles, including Sin Undone, which does not release until September 2010!!! Can you even believe it?!!?!?

To find some other great giveaways going on as part of this event visit the Got Books? Event Blog for a full list!




A brief synopsis of the rest of the series:



Pleasure Unbound: In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life…


She’s a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure—but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.


Two lovers will dare to risk all.


Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his desire to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable—and let Tayla possess him, body and soul…


Desire Unchained: Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .
Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn’t resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.


A Seminus demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he’d seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever. As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts—or succumb to a madman’s evil plans.


Passion Unleashed: Forbidden Temptations…
Serena Kelley is an archaeologist and treasure hunter—and a woman with a secret. Since she was seven, she’s been the keeper of a powerful charm that grants her health and immortality . . . as long as she stays a virgin. But Serena isn’t all that innocent. And when a dangerously handsome stranger brings her to the brink of ecstasy, she wonders if she’s finally met the one man she cannot resist.


Fatal Desires…
Wraith is a Seminus demon with a death wish. But when an old enemy poisons him, he must find Serena and persuade her to give him the only known antidote in the universe—her charm. Yet, as she begins to surrender to his seductions, and Wraith senses the cure is within his grasp, he realizes a horrible truth: he’s falling for the woman whose life he must take in order to save his own.

Ecstasy Unveiled: A Demon Enslaved…




Lore is a Seminus half-breed demon who has been forced to act as his dark master’s assassin. Now to earn his freedom and save his sister’s life, he must complete one last kill. Powerful and ruthless, he’ll stop at nothing to carry out this deadly mission.


An Angel Tempted…
Idess is an earthbound angel with a wild side sworn to protect the human Lore is targeting. She’s determined to thwart her wickedly handsome adversary by any means necessary—even if that means risking her vow of eternal chastity. But what begins as a simple seduction soon turns into a passion that leaves both angel and demon craving complete surrender.


Torn between duty and desire, Lore and Idess must join forces as they battle their attraction for each other. Because an enemy from the past is rising again—hellbent on vengeance and unthinkable destruction.


NOW ENTER TO WIN THE ENTIRE COLLECTION OF FIVE BOOKS!!!!
Here's How It Works:
A Few Rules: (per Hachette Book Group)



You must be a US or Canadian Resident. And You must provide a Street Address upon notification of winning (NO PO BOXES)

 Mandatory Entry: (you must do this one first or I will be forced to remove all of your entries)
Become a GFC Follower (if you already are one, just tell me so) Please include your email address in your comment. (feel free to use the antiSPAM version - yourname[at]yourserver[dot]com)

Get More Entries: (LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY)

  • Go to Larrissa Ione's Facebook Page, join and then leave this comment: "I am hoping to win the entire Demonica Series on The Busy Moms Who Love to Read Blog during the Got Books? Event!" Return here and leave a comment telling me you did it!
  • Tweet about this Giveaway (include @1outnumberedmom, @larissa_Ione and #gotbooksevent) please include your status link
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  • Grab my button (see sidebar) and put it on your blog (include a link to your blog in your comment) (5 entries)
  • Add a post to your own blog about this giveaway (include a link to your post in your comment)(8 entries)


All entries must be in by July 24th at 11:59pm PST. I will pick a winner using a Random Number Generator and announce the winner on by Noon!
I wish you the best of luck!


Disclaimer: I received no direct compensation for the post and review, other then a copy of the title reviewed from HBG.

If you are an author or publisher and would like for me to review your book please contact me directly: polsen11[at]comcast[dot]net