giveaways!

Ashes of a Black Frost (11/1) | The Shattered Vine (11/3)
Coming soon:

drey's Giveaway Policy

FTC Disclosure: I am an affiliate at IndieBound, The Book Depository, and Amazon, and any purchases made by clicking on covers or links here may result in monetary compensation.

One more day for The Terror giveaway!

February 28, 2009
Last call for my giveaway of Dan Simmons' The Terror! Can you believe it's almost March? I can't! Yikes! Where has the year gone?

44. Gauntlet by Richard Aaron...

Gauntlet is a debut novel by former lawyer Richard Aaron, to be released on March 2nd. I read it quickly, in one sitting, as I just had to know what was going to happen...

The cast of characters is quite large. There's the TTIC (Terrorist Threat Integration Center) staff and their not-so-bright director - the standout here is Hamilton Turbee, the super-rich autistic computer genius. The CIA operative Richard Lawrence, who's hooked on painkillers and mourning the apparent death of his adopted brother. The mastermind behind the terrorists, who puts the plot into motion. And the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) who stumble onto the chaos while tracking drug dealers' shipments south across the border.

With all of these people involved, I'm not surprised this is a large book. The story proceeds at a good pace, with only a few sections that got repetitive. And while I liked the background on Youssef (the mastermind), some of it was just a tad implausible. I mean, skinny pale little 13-year-old from the tribal villages of Afghanistan figures out how to process opium into heroin by eavesdropping on his elders? Hmm...

In any case, as mentioned before, the story was engrossing, and there were no obvious plot holes. ** SPOILER ALERT ** in the next sentence!! Except that all the extra references told you way before you get to the end, that they don't quite manage to stop the attack. I didn't need to know that with 48 pages to go...** SPOILER ALERT ** end.

The sequel has already been named (Counterplay), and I will definitely pick it up to see where this story goes from here.

Title: Gauntlet
Author: Richard Aaron
ISBN-10: 0-98167688X
ISBN-13: 978-0-9816768-8-3
Hardcover: 488 pages
Publisher: Glass House Press, 2009

43. Drood by Dan Simmons...

February 27, 2009
When I received Drood, it was in a box. I remember wondering, "am I expecting a bunch of books?" Then I opened the box and realized, there was only one book. ONE book. One 775-page book. And then I thought, "Holy cow! That's a huge-a$$ book!" followed quickly by "OMG! I have one week to read it!"

And while this review is late (I meant to get it up this morning, which meant posting last night), I did it! Hah! So, here goes...

Drood is a fictional account of the last years of Charles Dickens, told from the viewpoint of fellow author Wilkie Collins. It was written in the 1800s, for today's audience, and the prose reflects this. I have to confess, that definitely played a part in the length of time it took me to read the book. It's really hard to book through 1800s-English.

Victorian London is described in detail, especially the poorer sections of town. I went "ewww" at the sewers, "bleah" at the graveyards, and "nooooooo!" at the opium den. Holy moly, Wilkie is such an addict.

As for the mysterious Drood himself, well, you'll just have to read the book & find out. He's creepy... And I swear Dickens is nuts (or I need to get more sleep instead of trying to inhale this book in a week!). If he were my friend... Well, let's just say that wouldn't have lasted very long.

If you're a fan of Dickens, and very descriptive writing, then Drood's the book for you. So stop by my blog tour post & enter the giveaway. =)

Title: Drood
Author: Dan Simmons
ISBN-10: 0-316-00702-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-00702-3
Hardcover: 775 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2009

Blog tour and giveaway ~ Drood!

*** THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!! ***

On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens--at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world--hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever.

Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of London and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean London mere research . . . or something more terrifying?

Just as he did in The Terror, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens's life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens's friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), DROOD explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens's final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, DROOD is Dan Simmons at his powerful best.


Read an excerpt here. And watch the author discuss the book:

Dan Simmons is the prolific author of multiple award-winning novels, including the Hyperion series, and The Terror (giveaway!). He can be found online at his website, and earthbound in Colorado.

Blog tour participants (sorry I'm late with this, my bad!!):
A High and Hidden Place
book:thirty
Bermudaonion's Weblog
Write for a Reader
The Book Czar
A Circle of Books
A Bookworm's World
The Tome Traveller's Weblog
Books Ahoy!
Allison's Attic
Medieval Bookworm
Cafe of Dreams
The Sleepy Reader
My Friend Amy
Jenn's Bookshelf
A Blog of Books
cheryl's book nook
Shooting Stars Mag
Savvy Verse and Wit
Best Book I Have Not Read
Bookish Ruth
Booking Mama
Marta's Meanderings
Darby's Closet

Giveaway details:
Thanks to Hachette Book Group, I have 3 copies of Drood to give away. This giveaway will run till 11:59pm on March 8th, and is open to US & Canada residents only. Sorry, no P.O. Boxes - HBG rules.

To enter, just leave a comment. That's it. Multiple entries will be be disqualified.

Follow my blog for an additional entry. Existing followers count, too. Comment & let me know. Blog about this giveaway for two more entries. Comment with the link to your actual post.

And don't forget to come back & find out if you've won. Winners will have 3 days to get me their mailing info, after which I'll draw a replacement. Good luck!!

Bookroom ReviewsCheck out more giveaways at the Book Giveaway Carnival, March 2nd to March 8th!

link love: Check out West of Mars - Win a Book for more Drood giveaways!

Giveaway ending soon for 8-book set!

February 26, 2009
Ahem!! Hello! Anyone there? Yes? Good.

Just wanted to do a shout-out... The giveaway for 5 (yes, FIVE!) sets of the 8-book giveaway for African-American History Month ends on Saturday, so hurry over -->> here <<-- & enter if you haven't done it yet!

That's it. Thanks for ... doing whatever you did with this post. Especially if you entered. *grin*

BTT - Collectibles?

Hah! It's still Thursday!! This week at Booking through Thursday, they're talking collectibles:

* Hardcover? Or paperback?
* Illustrations? Or just text?
* First editions? Or you don’t care?
* Signed by the author? Or not?


I love hardcovers, but as fast as I read, they get pretty pricy. So, I usually buy paperbacks instead. Also, I can pack more of 'em on my bookshelves if they're paperback... I don't particularly care if there are illustrations or not. First editions? If I'm lucky. And if they're signed by the author, that's cool. =)

42. Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn - Review & GIVEAWAY!!

February 25, 2009
*** THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!! ***
Kitty Norville is a DJ with a secret - one that keeps her away from family events, and changes her work schedule. She's sick of taking requests for lame songs, and her "home" life is no picnic either. So she starts letting it out at work, kinda like I do - except that she has tons more ears listening to her woes and offering (advice) feedback...

All of this sharing opens her eyes to the things that are not alright with her pack, first and foremost with the pack's bullying leader. And the local vampires send someone to kill her when they decide that Kitty's radio show threatens to expose their existence. Which exposes Kitty's secret. The local cops show up asking questions when a naked, bloody, body is found outside her apartment - and asking more when more bloody, battered, bodies are found around town. Kitty is now bouncing between her show, her pack's disapproval, helping the cops track down a psychotic serial-killer werewolf, and looking for a caravan of people claiming to be able to "cure" vampirism... I got tired on her behalf, just reading the book!

Providing levity amidst all this seriousness is her interaction with the callers to The Midnight Hour. From a guilt-ridden (ex-)Catholic vampire to the dude looking for an orgy, the callers range from the hilarious and ridiculous, to the somber and sympathetic. Levity's good, though, because outside of the studio, Kitty's not having a good time at all.

Kitty and the Midnight Hour got me hooked on Kitty. She's not the kick-ass heroine yet, but the beginning of that Kitty is here. And after following her through this journey, I had to know how she fares. (& I'm very glad I did!)

Title: Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Author: Carrie Vaughn
ISBN-10: 0-446-61641-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-61641-6
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2005

And now, for those of you who missed out on the 6-set giveaway that recently ended, I have ONE (only one) copy of Kitty and the Midnight Hour for you.

This giveaway will run till 11:59pm on March 8th, and is open to US & Canada residents only. Sorry, no P.O. Boxes - HBG rules.

To enter, leave a comment about this post. =) Follow my blog for an additional entry. Existing followers count, too. Comment & let me know. Blog about this giveaway for two more entries. Comment with the link to your actual post.

And don't forget to come back & find out if you've won. Winners will have 3 days to get me their mailing info, after which I'll draw a replacement. If I have an email address, I can follow up if I don't hear from you, but if not...

Good luck!!

Bookroom ReviewsCheck out more giveaways at the Book Giveaway Carnival, March 2nd to March 8th. And come back next week for Kitty Goes to Washington!

41. Rogue by Cheryl Brooks...

Rogue is book #3 in the Cat Star Chronicles by new-to-me author Cheryl Brooks. I've mentioned before that I'm not a big reader in the romance genre, and I've definitely never read a romance/sci-fi book. My first thought on inter-species romance was "ewww", the second was "hmmm, it could work." No kidding.

Kyra Aramis is hired as piano teacher to a princess. So what if said princess is light-years away on Darconia, and Kyra's never even left the country before? It should be an adventure at the very least, right? And who'd have thunk that downsized, snub-nosed versions of the T-rex (in Kyra's own words) could even play the piano?

In any case, Kyra travels to Darconia and takes up her assignment. Whereupon the queen, Scalia, introduces Kyra to two of her slaves - Zetithian brothers who are devastatingly gorgeous and incredibly sensual. They're also humanoid, which contributed to the 2nd thought on inter-species romance - see above... The fact that they walk around mostly naked doesn't help alleviate the sexual tension present - Kyra's from the two yummilicious specimens of virility, theirs from not having had any in twenty years. Twenty years! Can you just imagine??

The world-building is detailed enough to be imagined, as are the various races present in the queen's private slave stash. The storyline moves along, mostly predictably. The *s* scenes don't overpower the storyline, though I cannot imagine it's good for a girl to be walking around thinking about *s* ALL the time. Then again, this is a romance, after all, regardless of which inter-galactic space it occupies. There's more of a plot than girl-meets-boy, girl-falls-for-boy, girl-lives-happily-ever-after-with-boy, which is just dandy with me, even if girl most probably does live-happily-ever-after-with-boy. And no, I'm not going to tell you if she picks one, or which one. =) Hah!

Rogue was an enjoyable read, if you like romance novels set in space.

Title: Rogue
Author: Cheryl Brooks
ISBN-13: 978-1-402-21762-3
Paperback: 343 pages (ARC)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca, March 2009

The Italian Lover Winners!

Alright, here are the next set of winners at drey's library! There are 5 copies for The Italian Lover, courtesy of Hachette.

So, drumroll, please!

#1 - Melanie!

#2 - leanne!

#3 - Gail Michael!

#4 - Gwendolyn B.! <-- Gwendolyn already won a copy, so the replacement winner is bison61!!

#5 - Janel! <-- Apparently there were lots of The Italian Lover up for grabs, because Janel has also already won a copy... The replacement winner is JaniceH!!

Congratulations, everyone! Now please get me your snail mail information within the next 5 days, or I'll have to re-draw replacement(s)! Please also comment when you email ~ I'll make sure to confirm I received the email.

40. Jack with a Twist by Brenda Janowitz...

February 24, 2009
After Scot on the Rocks, Brooke's life is back on track. Gorgeous fiance? Check! Great new job? Check! Fabulous designer making her a custom wedding dress? Check! So, what could go wrong? You know something goes wrong, or there wouldn't be a story, right?

How about we start with the family clashes between the parental units? Over the menu, the location, the cake... What about her best friend Vanessa's divorce, taking place right now? And her mom's not-so-subtle hints that Brooke's size 10 isn't quite svelte enough for that designer dress that she'll be wearing...

On top of that, she lands the case of her career. Only to face off in court against none other than the man she's about to marry. Jack with a Twist is an escalation of events when neither will back off the case. And Brooke ~ sleep-deprived, wedding dress-less, suspicious-of-Jack's-new-associate, pile-of-wedding-plans-to-take-care-of, asleep-on-her-feet Brooke ~ finally decides that this Jack is not the Jack she thought he was.

Brenda Janowitz is as entertaining with Jack with a Twist as she was with Scot on the Rocks. Grab it for a quick, fun, read. Don't forget the chocolate!

Oh, and come back on Monday (March 2nd) for a giveaway of Jack with a Twist!!

Title: Jack with a Twist
Author: Brenda Janowitz
ISBN-10: 0-373-89555-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-89555-7
Publisher: Red Dress Ink, 2008

What's on your nightstand? February edition...

I cannot believe it's time for this 5 Minutes for Books event again, where did all that time go?


I totally slowed down on my reading this month. Guess I've been too busy redecorating the blog! I DID read Carrie Vaughn's Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand, AND Kitty Raises Hell. And completed Karen Marie Moning's Fever series. Read and got my review ready for Rogue by Cheryl Brooks. I also finished Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, a great debut novel by David Cristofano, a thriller that didn't, The Italian Lover by Robert Hellenga, and Testimony by Anita Shreve.

I'm also working on Dan Simmon's Drood, Colson Whitehead's Sag Harbor, Brenda Janowitz's Jack with a Twist, and Carrie Vaughn's Kitty and the Midnight Hour. The first for a blog tour starting Friday, the next for B&N's first look book club, the third for a guest post and giveaway starting on Monday, and the last to get ready for a blog tour in March. Phew. Hmm... Guess I wasn't really that much of a slacker after all, eh?

In the next month's pile:
  • Gauntlet by Richard Aaron (March release)
  • The Terror by Dan Simmons (giveaway review)
  • Sway by Zachary Lazar (giveaway review)
  • People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (review)
  • The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer (March or April release)
  • Killing Johnny Fry by Walter Mosley (library book)
  • Casanegra by Blair Underwood (library book)
  • One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (TBR pile)
  • At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost (library book)
Boy, I really need to get moving on my my TBR pile for my Ban on Spending challenge...

Last call!

My giveaway of 5 copies of Robert Hellenga's The Italian Lover ends tonight! Go here to enter, and here for my review!

Teaser Tuesdays ~ Feb. 24...

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall to a random page.
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • Share the title of the book that you're getting your teaser from... That way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

I rounded up some mussel shells from the dark sand at the edge of the Creek and stuck them in a thin black row. My great aim the first day was just dumb luck, a little taste to get me hooked.

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead ~ pg. 145

A lil' plug for Dirty Little Angels, by Chris Tusa...

February 23, 2009
Here's a little plug for a debut novel by Chris Tusa. I read the first chapter at his website, and was impressed enough that I asked for a copy to read and review. =) Dirty Little Angels will be released on March 1st by the University of West Alabama Press.

From the press release:
Set in the slums of New Orleans, among clusters of crack houses and abandoned buildings, Dirty Little Angels is the story of sixteen year old Hailey Trosclair. When the Trosclair family suffers a string of financial hardships and a miscarriage, Hailey finds herself looking to God to save her family. When her prayers go unanswered, Hailey puts her faith in Moses Watkins, a failed preacher and ex-con. Fascinated by Moses's lopsided view of religion, Hailey, and her brother Cyrus, begin spending time down at an abandoned bank that Moses plans to convert into a drive-through church. Gradually, though, Moses's twisted religious beliefs become increasingly more violent, and Hailey and Cyrus soon find themselves trapped in a world of danger and fear from which there may be no escape.

Chris Tusa was born and raised in New Orleans. His work has appeared in Connecticut Review, Texas Review, Prairie Schooner, The New Delta Review, South Dakota Review, Southeast Review, Passages North, Spoon River, New York Quarterly, Louisiana Literature, Tar River, StorySouth, and others. He has studied under a number of notable writers, including Tim Gautreaux, Sidney Wade, and Debora Gregor. With the help of a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, he was able to complete his first book of poetry, Haunted Bones, which was released by Louisiana Literature Press in 2006. Dirty Little Angels is his first novel. Tusa holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Florida. Aside from teaching in the English Department at LSU, he also acts as Managing Editor for Poetry Southeast.

Kitty Norville winners!!!

w00t! Sorry this is up a little late, it's been a busy day. I know you're all antsily waiting, so here goes. There were 94 entries for the two sets, and the winners are:

*drumroll*

MICHELLE KUO

and

DAR

CONGRATULATIONS, you guys! Please get me your snail mail info, and I'll forward it on to Hachette to get your books to you! I hope you enjoy the series as much as I do. =)

The Conservatory Overcoat GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Conservatory Overcoat GIVEAWAY!!!!

This is a giveaway for a beautiful coat:
The overcoat is made with a soft linen-like material with a muslin quilted liner sewn into the inside. The front of the jacket bears a heart shaped neckline with a gathered collar on either side. Three-quarter sleeves make this overcoat appropriate for springtime and a pleated empire waisted skirt make it equally feminine.

Giveaway - Sway by Zachary Lazar...

*** THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!! ***
Time for another giveaway! I have 5 copies of Sway (paperback) by Zachary Lazar, courtesy of Hachette Book Group.

Three dramatic and emblematic stories intertwine in Zachary Lazar's extraordinary new novel, SWAY--the early days of the Rolling Stones, including the romantic triangle of Brian Jones, Anita Pallenberg, and Keith Richards; the life of avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger; and the community of Charles Manson and his followers.

Lazar illuminates an hour in American history when rapture found its roots in idolatrous figures and led to unprovoked and inexplicable violence. Connecting all the stories in this novel is Bobby Beausoleil, a beautiful California boy who appeared in an Anger film and eventually joined the Manson "family."

With great artistry, Lazar weaves scenes from these real lives together into a true but heightened reality, making superstars human, giving demons reality, and restoring mythic events to the scale of daily life.


Giveaway details:
This giveaway will run till 11:59pm on March 8th, and is open to US & Canada residents only. Sorry, no P.O. Boxes - HBG rules.

To enter, just leave a comment. That's it. Multiple entries will be be disqualified. Please make sure your entry has an email address somewhere so that I can contact you if you're a winner.

Follow my blog for an additional entry. Existing followers count, too. Comment & let me know. Blog about this giveaway for two more entries. Comment with the link to your actual post.

And don't forget to come back & find out if you've won. Winners will have 3 days to get me their mailing info, after which I'll draw a replacement. Good luck!!

Bookroom ReviewsCheck out more giveaways at the Book Giveaway Carnival, March 2nd to March 8th!

link love: Check out West of Mars - Win a Book for more Sway giveaways!

39. Testimony by Anita Shreve...

February 22, 2009
Avery Academy is a private school in northern Vermont, where a scandal involving four students takes place. The events leading up to, and the resulting consequences of the scandal are narrated in Testimony by those involved, as well as their roommates, parents, teachers, and the principal of the school. All of these different points of view were confusing in the beginning, except for the principal's story, as we started with him.

Anita Shreve weaves a compelling tale of the teenagers caught up in the scandal - Silas, the local boy with a bright future; Rob, stopping by on his way to early admission at Brown; J. Dot, promising basketball player; and Sienna, as she now calls herself, after.

Silas' voice is tragic. A well-respected student, he finds love in a fellow student. When he finds out that betrayal is a bitter drought to swallow, he sets himself - and the other boys - down the path to a chain of events that ends up with him as a permanent victim.

Sienna's story is a little confusing. Yes, she was fourteen at the time, but she doesn't seem to realize that her actions have brought about the firestorm that engulfs the boys and their families.

Testimony was a quick read, with each narration a puzzle piece that you need to fit to fully get the big picture. However, in this case the puzzle does have extra pieces laying around. I think that some of the other teacher narratives could've been left out - they didn't really add much to the picture. And Rob's final narrative is a nice tie-up-all-the-loose-ends that explains things more clearly, if you didn't quite get it from reading the rest of the book.

Title: Testimony
Author: Anita Shreve
ISBN-10: 0-316-05086-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-05986-2
Hardcover: 305 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2008

Interview meme...

I saw this over at S. Krishna's Books, and it looked like fun. So, I asked if she'd "interview" me. =) Here are her questions, and my answers:

1) What is one book on your shelf that you want to pass on to the next generation? (child/niece/nephew/etc.)

Hmm... This one's hard. My little man loves (me) reading (to him) Charlotte's Web, which was my favorite book growing up. So I guess that's already answered, in a way. But there are so many other books to put on the pile, y'know?

2) Which hobby besides reading/blogging takes up your spare time?

Well, there's not much time left in a day, after working, doing "homework" with the little man, etc. When I get the urge, or have a few free evenings coming up, I like to break out a puzzle and take over the dining table or living room floor. I still have a 2000-piece black-and-white of a tiger with bamboo trees in the background I haven't cracked open yet. That'll probably take a few weeks on & off... I also throw some beads together into something I'd actually want to wear, and I have a pile of unfinished afghan projects that I have to get back to some day - before I forget how to crochet! And I play video games. I'm currently addicted to Carcassonne and Ticket to Ride on XBOX Live. =P

3) Where is the coolest place (in your estimation) that you've traveled to?

Well, considering that I moved halfway 'round the world, and I travel home when I do travel, there's really not much going on here that's exciting. We did go to Disney last spring, and it was totally amazing! (Yeah, I know. B-O-R-I-N-G!!)

4) What is the strangest book you've ever read?

That would be Stephen Donaldson's Lord Foul's Bane. I don't think I ever made it past the first chapter.

5) If you could go on a date with someone famous, who would it be and why?

That depends on who you mean when you say "famous." I'd pick GRRM, and it'd be a heck of a long date, because I'd make him finish A Dance with Dragons!! =P Just kidding! Seriously, though. I would love the opportunity to have a conversation with the Dalai Lama and discuss the state of spirituality in today's world.

And there you have it! Thanks, S. Krishna, for letting me play!

Here are the meme rules, if you'd like to participate:

Leave me a comment saying, "Interview Me." Please include your e-mail address if it is not in your profile.
I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions.)
You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

And on it goes... =)

Only two more days for my Kitty Norville giveaway!!!

February 20, 2009
Just a reminder that my giveaway for TWO sets of Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series (yes, that's ALL SIX books!) ends on Sunday. So, go check it out! Like, right now! =)

Tag, I'm it!

February 19, 2009
Mishel recently tagged me with a picture meme, & I finally got around to it...

I'm supposed to find my 5th photo file folder, then the 5th photo in that file folder. Post that picture on your blog. Tag 5 others to do the same.

You guys are now stuck looking at a family photo taken in December 2002, at my grandparents' 60th anniversary celebration. This is most of the Wong Clan, my mother's family. My grandparents had 11 children, 9 of whom survived. My mother is the oldest, and has two sisters and six brothers. I have 20 first cousins (1 deceased), one brother, and one sister. All but one, in the picture below. (I do apologize that it's not a very good picture!)


The little girl in the bottom right - she's my youngest cousin. I'm 2nd oldest. If I recall correctly, there's 28 years between us. =P

Now, who to tag? Hmm...

Marta @ Marta's Meanderings
Evie @ the Book Fiend
Michelle @ 13L|THE
Janel @ Janel's Jumble
Jo-Jo @ Jo-Jo loves to read!!!

Have fun playing along! =)

Coming up: Book Giveaway Carnival!!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! =)
Bookroom Reviews

Tracy over at bookroomreviews.com is hosting a Book Giveaway Carnival, from March 2nd to 8th, and I'M PARTICIPATING! Head on over to find out more information on the carnival, and make sure to swing by for my giveaway and the link to other giveaways during the carnival!

I can't wait! =)

38. The Italian Lover by Robert Hellenga...

February 18, 2009
In The Italian Lover, author Robert Hellenga builds a new story around two characters, from two previous books. Margot Harrington finds a lost erotic work, and love, in The Sixteen Pleasures. Alan Woody Woodhull lost his daughter in a Bologna train station bombing in The Fall of a Sparrow.

The two meet in Florence as a film based on Margot's book is about to be made. But this isn't just Margot & Woody's story. It's also Melinda's, the actress playing her first big role, in her first big movie. Esther's, the producer who's producing her first movie without her partner and husband (now ex-). Michael's, the director with a short lease on life. And Beryl's, Michael's wife.

There is anticipation aplenty - when Margot & Woody meet, when Esther decides to make the movie she's wanted to make for a while, when Melinda goes all out for the part of Margot. There's love found and lost. And (my favorite part) acceptance. That life is what you make of it. That sometimes we feel more ourselves when thrown completely out of our normal elements. That sometimes it's ok to walk away and let go.

I didn't care much for Margot or Esther at the beginning of the book. I'm not quite sure why, exactly, it's just a feeling. But as I progressed, I felt for them. Margot's need for the film to validate her being, her life. And Esther's need to succeed as a solo act, after building a career as part of a package. The happy endings that both are looking for.

The character I liked best was Miranda. After going all out for a part that she had to have, and doing a bang-up job at it, she then leaves it behind for love. (ok, so I am a sucker after all...) This book is all over the blogosphere right now, so grab (or win) a copy!

Title: The Italian Lover
Author: Robert Hellenga
ISBN-10: 0-316-11765-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-11765-4
Paperback: 340 pages
Publisher: Back Bay Books, 2009 (reprint)

ps: I'm not sure what to categorize this book as. If you have any thoughts/ideas, please let me know!

Teaser Tuesdays ~ Feb. 17th...

February 17, 2009
  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall to a random page.
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • Share the title of the book that you're getting your teaser from... That way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

They would charge her by how much she drank. She wasn't hungry, either, just restless, wanting to blot out the day, the humiliation, everyone except her and Michael knowing about Zanni's affair with Beryl, her humiliating encounter with Beryl.

The Italian Lover by Robert Hellenga ~ pg. 211

following...

So, when I started blogging, I never expected to have followers...  So what if some of you are only here for the giveaways? I love, love, love, you all!  =)  

Anyhoo, today drey's library has 50 (!) followers!  I am so honored by this. You guys rock. So here's what I think I'll do.  Set a goal for 100.  When we get there, I'm throwing all y'all into a hat, and someone wins...  Not sure what, yet, so it'll just have to be a surprise!

And, just to be extra nice to everyone taking the time to comment, I'll do the same gift-a-surprise thing for my top commenter, when I hit 100 followers...  So, that's TWO surprises I'll have to come up with.  Which also means I'd better have more posts for y'all to comment on.

& don't ask where the "y'all" came from. I'm not even from this country...

w00t!

Whole lotta LOVE Winners!!!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to enter this contest. There were a total of 67 entries, and thanks to Randomizer, here are the winners:
  1. Ann Diana Dinh
  2. bridget3420
  3. Sheri S.
  4. ~Rebecca Anne~
  5. Annie
Congratulations!! Now, the housekeeping - sometime in the next 5 days, please email me at dreyshouse at gmail dot com and let me know who & where to ship your book to. If I don't hear from you by then, I'll pick (a) new winner(s). Please also comment here when you've done so, I had a missing winner insist that I got an email that disappeared into never-never land...

I'm a winner!!

February 16, 2009
I've GOT to blurt - I won C.S. Friedman's Wings of Wrath from SQT at Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin' Blog! Yay me!! =) w00t!

Giveaway - The Terror by Dan Simmons...

Time for another giveaway! I have 5 copies of The Terror (paperback) by Dan Simmons, courtesy of Hachette Book Group.

The men on board HMS Terror have every expectation of finding the Northwest Passage. When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice.

But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the Terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear there is no escape.

A haunting, gripping story based on actual historical events, The Terror is a novel that will chill you to your core.


Giveaway details:
This giveaway will run till 11:59pm on March 1st, and is open to US & Canada residents only. Sorry, no P.O. Boxes - HBG rules.

To enter, just leave a comment and tell me which Dan Simmons book(s) you've read, & whether you liked it. THIS STEP MUST BE DONE FOR YOUR ENTRY TO COUNT! Please don't do this multiple times - you'll be disqualified. Also, make sure your entry has an email address somewhere so that I can contact you if you're a winner.

Follow my blog for an additional entry. Existing followers count, too. Comment & let me know. Blog about this giveaway for two more entries. Comment with the link to your actual post.

And don't forget to come back & find out if you've won. Winners will have 5 days to get me their mailing info, after which I'll draw a replacement. Good luck!!

link love: Check out West of Mars - Win a Book for more The Terror giveaways!

Your candy heart says...

February 14, 2009



You're a bit of a cynic when it comes to love.

You don't lose your head, and hardly anyone penetrates your heart.

Your ideal Valentine's Day date: is all about the person you're seeing (with no mentions of v-day!)

Your flirting style: honest and even slightly sarcastic

What turns you off: romantic expectations and "greeting card" holidays

Why you're hot: you don't just play hard to get - you are hard to get



Hmm. Guess I'm not the "warm-fuzzy" type, eh?

Pimping for Gena Showalter's The Vampire's Bride release...

February 13, 2009
Gena Showalter's The Vampire's Bride is being released March 1st (according to Amazon).  Gotta pimp it, she's giving away a $25 B&N gift certificate, and one book from her backlist.  Go here for details.  

Wanna just buy it? Click on the image.

Looking for book hounds...

February 12, 2009
C'mon over & sign up for one or all of the four giveaways currently going on at drey's library!  (#5 will start on Monday)

Also a reminder, that my whole lotta LOVE giveaway ends on Monday, February 16th. That's FIVE sets of 11 books up for grabs, people!  What're you waiting for?

BTT - Author Talking...

I'm actually going to get this in on a Thursday!! This week's Booking through Thursday:

Do you read any author’s blogs? If so, are you looking for information on their next project? On the author personally? Something else?

I LOVE checking out author blogs. It's nice to find out something about their next project, and thoughts about previous (hopefully read) projects. It's also nice to get to "know" them a little bit, and get behind-the-scenes looks at their thought process for creating the characters, worlds, & plots that they do. But the best part of checking out an author's blog, is to be able to drop in and say "hi, thanks for writing." I'm actually a little sad when the blog isn't current, because who knows when the author'll be around...

37. The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano...

February 11, 2009
Melody Grace McCartney. Just another name in a long, long line of names - Sandra Clarke, May Adams, Karen Smith, Anne Johnson, Jane Watkins, Terry Mills, Shelly Jones, Linda Simms... But it's not just another name. It's her very first name.

Melody hasn't been Melody since she was six years old, when her family witnesses a mob hit, and the Feds come to take them away and put them into the Federal Witness Protection Program. She's had to learn new names, new towns, new histories, new job skills. Every time she moves, she has to be someone new.

Twenty years later, Melody's tired of her dead-end, middle-of-nowhere town, with the dead-end, middle-of-nowhere job, and the dead-end, going-nowhere love life. So she does what she always does at this point - call the Feds. Because they'll find her another no-name town, give her another no-name identity...

Only this time, someone walks in and knows her. Knows her name. Who she's been. Why she's running. Again. He should - it was his family that started hers on this path. And it's ironic that he's the only person in the whole world she can be herself with. But can she trust him?

The Girl She Used to Be takes a look at the effects of being in Witness Protection on a child, especially one who's not been especially well-protected. When she's found, Melody wonders, was it all worth it? All those towns? All those names? All the friends, strangers, homes, jobs, teachers, classmates? Kudos for a well-written debut novel by David Cristofano.

Title: The Girl She Used to Be
Author: David Cristofano
ISBN-10: 0-446-58222-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-58222-3
Paperback: 241 pages (ARC)
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, March 2009

Teaser Tuesdays ~ Feb. 10th...

February 10, 2009
  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall to a random page.
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • Share the title of the book that you're getting your teaser from... That way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

I just move on to the next place where I will once again not know anybody and not feel accepted. I am still six years old, having never really learned how to make and keep friends or how to negotiate in a relationship or even how to open up - because I'm not allowed to open up.

The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano~ pg. 96 (ARC)

36. Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn...

Well, after all the urban fantasy & sci-fi/YA I've been reading, I thought I'd give something else a try. Extreme Measures is a thriller with CIA operatives trying to find a terrorist cell planning an attack against the capital itself, while wrangling with politicians who are hell-bent on protecting prisoners' rights.

It starts with two prisoners at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Two CIA operatives glide in under the cover of night to "interview" these prisoners, without knowledge of the Base Commander. Unfortunately for them, somebody noticed the goings-on and one operative gets arrested so that the others can escape. Cue the next scene, where a terrorist cell is hiding in the jungles of South America, preparing for their attack on American soil. And cut to Washington, D.C., where the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman (Chairwoman?) is trying to rein in the extreme interrogation techniques used by the CIA.

Being a fan of early Clancy, Follett, and Ludlum, I had great hopes for this book. While it is well-written, it didn't grab me & suck me in. I thought Rapp and Nash were both great characters, however there was just too much focus on Nash's family life. It didn't pan out into anything much in this story, either. Maybe the author is putting that to use in the next book?

In any case, the storyline was predictable. See the terrorists. See the CIA operatives try to find the terrorists. See the politicians restrict the operatives' actions. See the terrorists blast their way into and in America. See the CIA show the politicians the error of their ways. And so on and so forth. It's all so very black and white. With Clancy, Follett, and Ludlum, at least you sometimes felt for the bad guys. They weren't just stereotypical caricatures to vilify.

Give it a go if you're a Flynn fan. I'd rather re-read Executive Orders.

Title: Extreme Measures
Author: Vince Flynn
ISBN-10: 0-743-27042-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-743-27042-7
Hardcover: 430 pages
Publisher: Atria Books, 2008

Giveaway - African American History Month...

February 9, 2009
*** THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED ***
February is African American History Month, and Hachette Book Group is offering up a collection of 8 books. Check these out:
  1. The American Journey of Barack Obama By The Editors of Life Magazine; ISBN: 0316045608
  2. Fledgling By Octavia Butler; ISBN: 0446696161
  3. Stand the Storm By Breena Clarke; ISBN: 0316007056
  4. Red River By Lalita Tademy; ISBN: 0446696994
  5. Keep the Faith: A Memoir By Faith Evans; ISBN: 0446199508
  6. Say You're One of Them By Uwem Akpan; ISBN: 0316113786
  7. The Shack By William Young; ISBN: 0964729237
  8. The Bishop's Daughter By Tiffany Warren; ISBN: 0446195146
This giveaway will run till 11:59pm on February 28th, and is open to US & Canada residents only. Sorry, no P.O. Boxes - HBG rules.

I will pick 5, yes FIVE, winners, so share the love and tell all your friends!

To enter, just leave a comment and share a favorite African American author. Mine's Octavia Butler. Not only did she have a way cool name, she was an awesome writer, too. THIS STEP MUST BE DONE FOR YOUR ENTRY TO COUNT! Please don't do this multiple times - you'll be disqualified. Also, make sure your entry has an email address somewhere so that I can contact you if you're a winner.

Follow my blog for an additional entry. Existing followers count, too. Comment & let me know. Blog about this giveaway for two more entries. Comment with the link to your actual post.

And don't forget to come back & find out if you've won. Winners will have 5 days to get me their mailing info, after which I'll draw a replacement. Good luck!!

Good luck, everyone!

link love: Check out West of Mars - Win a Book for more Hachette giveaways!

Giveaway - A whole lotta LOVE...

*** THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED ***

Are you ready for this? Hachette Book Group is giving away a whole lotta love - take a look! This is so yummilicious that I wish I could enter my own giveaways!

There are 11 books included in this giveaway:
  1. Love in 90 Days By Diana Kirschner; ISBN: 1599951223
  2. Sundays at Tiffany's By James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet; ISBN: 0446199443 (review)
  3. Free Yourself to Love By Jackie Kendall; ISBN: 0446580899
  4. The Italian Lover By Robert Hellenga; ISBN: 031611765X
  5. Looking for Mrs. Friedman and Other Really Bad Ideas by Steve Friedman; ISBN: 1559708883
  6. Getting Naked Again By Judith Sills; ISBN: 0446582492
  7. We Take This Man By Candice Dow , Daaimah Poole; ISBN: 0446501832
  8. Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me By Ben Karlin; ISBN: 0446699462
  9. Sexcapades By HoneyB; ISBN: 0446582298
  10. Love and Other Natural Disasters By Holly Shumas; ISBN: 0446504777
  11. Send Yourself Roses By Kathleen Turner; ISBN: 0446699950
Whew! Ok, now on to the details:

This giveaway will run till 11:59pm on February 16th, and is open to US & Canada residents only. Sorry, no P.O. Boxes - HBG rules.

I will pick 5, yes FIVE, winners, so share the love and tell all your friends!

To enter, just leave a comment and share a memory (any memory) of your first love. Yeah, I'm just nosy. =P THIS STEP MUST BE DONE FOR YOUR ENTRY TO COUNT! Please don't do this multiple times - you'll be disqualified. Also, make sure your entry has an email address somewhere so that I can contact you if you're a winner.

Follow my blog for an additional entry. Existing followers count, too. Comment & let me know. Blog about this giveaway for two more entries. Comment with the link to your actual post.

And don't forget to come back & find out if you've won. Winners will have 5 days to get me their mailing info, after which I'll draw a replacement. Good luck!!

Good luck, everyone!

link love: Check out West of Mars - Win a Book for more Hachette giveaways!

Giveaway - The Italian Lover by Robert Hellenga...

*** THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED ***

C'mon & enter - I have 5 copies of The Italian Lover (paperback), courtesy of Hachette Book Group, to give away.

An exhilarating novel of romance, art, and food in Florence, featuring the beloved Margot Harrington, who graced Robert Hellenga's The Sixteen Pleasures. Margot Harrington's memoir about her discovery in Florence of a priceless masterwork of Renaissance erotica - and the misguided love affair it inspired - is now, 25 years later, being made into a movie.

Margot, with the help of her lover, Woody, writes a script that she thinks will validate her life. Of course their script is not used, but never mind - happy endings are the best endings for movies, as Margot eventually comes to see.

At the former convent in Florence where "The Sixteen Pleasures" - now called "The Italian Lover," - is being filmed, Margot enters into a drama she never imagined, where her ideas of home, love, art, and aging collide with the imperatives of commerce and the unknowability of other cultures and other people.


Giveaway details:
This giveaway will run till 11:59pm on February 24th, and is open to US & Canada residents only. Sorry, no P.O. Boxes - HBG rules.

To enter, just leave a comment and tell me whether you think Valentine's Day is a special day, or just another Hallmark holiday, like the Mr. says... =) THIS STEP MUST BE DONE FOR YOUR ENTRY TO COUNT! Please don't do this multiple times - you'll be disqualified. Also, make sure your entry has an email address somewhere so that I can contact you if you're a winner.

Follow my blog for an additional entry. Existing followers count, too. Comment & let me know. Blog about this giveaway for two more entries. Comment with the link to your actual post.

And don't forget to come back & find out if you've won. Winners will have 5 days to get me their mailing info, after which I'll draw a replacement. Good luck!!

Good luck, everyone!

link love: Check out West of Mars - Win a Book for more Italian Lover giveaways!

35. Extras by Scott Westerfeld...

February 8, 2009
Extras explores the world after Tally Youngblood's successful overthrow of the super-controlled regimes in Uglies/Pretties/Specials. It's set in a Japanese city, where everything that matters is your reputation, built on the feeds you kick (record, splice, and send) to the world. Why am I not surprised? =P

Aya Fuse is fifteen, with a just-about-invisible reputation rank - around the half-million mark. She takes her hovercam around to try and find something that'll get her rank up. One night she sees some girls hitching a ride on the train (literally, and so what if it's going 300 km/h?), and decides that that'll be her next big feed. So she sets out to infiltrate the clique, only to learn that they don't want to be famous.

Willing to do anything for a story, Aya convinces the Sly Girls that she wants nothing more than to hang with them. And during her first train ride, she finds out that the train tunnel under a mountain hides more than the Sly Girls on the train. When they go back to explore, Aya makes sure she's got her cams recording, and splices together the feed that puts her in the top echelon in the city. Now, whomever's using that mountain is after Aya and her friends, all easily identified by her kick.

This follow-up to the Uglies trilogy can be read as a standalone. Tally isn't the main entree, but does make an appearance (dessert?)... I found it a satisfying what-happens-after story.

Title: Extras
Author: Scott Westerfeld
ISBN-10: 1-416-95117-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-416-95117-9
Hardcover: 372 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 2007

A reading frenzy...

February 6, 2009
If you haven't noticed, I've been on a reading frenzy since the new year started. I'm actually starting to feel guilty for reading as much as I have... I'll be the first to admit, my bathrooms aren't as sparkly-clean as I like. And my living room floor has bits & pieces of stuff floating around. And there's been a load in the dryer for 3 days now...

Hey, at least my kid's clean and fed. Ha ha! But seriously. How do you guys fit in reading time with everything else? Do you give anything up, to read?

I'm happy that I read reasonably fast. I only read once the little man's in bed, and I try to only read if the Mr. is occupied with something else. I have to admit to being miffed if he wants me to put my book down so we can play a game together, but that's usually because I lose. =P Then again, looking at my January list of books read, I must've been completely lost in a book more often than not.

So, as much as I hate to say this, I'll probably be slowing down a tad on the reading thing. I'm no longer one up on books read compared to number of days in this year, and that's ok! Just feel free to remind me of that every so often, ok? =)

34. Specials by Scott Westerfeld...

February 5, 2009
Title: Specials
Author: Scott Westerfeld
ISBN-10: 0-689-86540-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-689-86540-4
Paperback: 372 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 2006

Tally's now a Special, along with Shay and the other Cutters. And boy, are they special. Everything's sharper and brighter. They have better hearing and vision, and can self-heal cuts and wounds.

Zane isn't one, though, and Tally and Shay come up with a plan to convince Dr. Cable to make him one, too. What happens instead provides an excuse for Dr. Cable to take over the City.

Tally leaves, again. She finds that the Smokies have found another safe haven, this one much bigger than a camp in the woods. And they've found another way to be bubbly, one that's safer than the brain-eating nanos. She finds out that there are more Smokies than she could ever imagine, and other Cities are facing the same rebellion against conformity and control.

Tally's been through way lots for only being sixteen. She still makes decisions like a teenager, albeit a little-more-grounded-than-you'd-expect teenager, what with being Special and all. I wonder if this book completes Tally's story, or if Extras brings more chaos into Tally's teenage life.

All done!

... for a while, anyway. The only thing I'd still want to do, is figure out how to make my Giveaway logo have a transparent background... Anyone know?

Anyway, I stayed with the 2-column format, because I wasn't sure about how a 3-column would look other than on my laptop. Plus my sidebars were getting just way too futzy. So 2 it is. What d'ya think? =)

Now, back to your regularly-scheduled blog posts!!

And, thanks to The Cutest Blog on the Block for the beautiful background!

Another redesign...

February 4, 2009
Ok, I need to stop playing with this darn blog! I found out how to do a 3-column format, but my background doesn't play nicely with it. So, is this better or worse?

update: never mind. I'm back to the 2-column, and have to find a "proper" background... If this is your first time here, I apologize for the construction mess!

drey's Wish List...

It's still close enough to the beginning of the year to throw out a wish list of books to be published in '09, right? Can I even include books that have just been published? Wait, this is MY blog, isn't it? Why am I even asking??

Rumor has it that GRRM's A Dance with Dragons will be out this October. If Rumor's correct, I'll love it forever!

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs is out, but still hasn't made its way into my grubby hands yet, so it's on the list.

The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss' follow-up to The Name of the Wind, is scheduled to be out in April. Can anyone confirm?

Kate Daniels #3, Magic Strikes, is coming out on March 31st. I'm trying to get my grubby mitts on this one, too.

I am getting an ARC of Lisa See's Shanghai Girls, and can't wait! I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and Peony in Love... It should be out in May.

33. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld...

February 3, 2009
Title: Pretties
Author: Scott Westerfeld
ISBN-10: 0-689-86539-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-689-86539-8
Paperback: 370 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 2005

Pretties continues Tally's story where Uglies left off. Tally is now a Pretty, living in New Pretty Town. She hangs with Shay in a clique called the Crims, and goes to parties and other organized fun events.

While hanging with the Crims, Tally discovers that adrenaline rushes trigger memories that her operation had tucked away. And remembers the time when she was not - not Pretty, not in the City, not conforming.

She leaves the City again, and on this adventure finds a tribal society set up for the sole purpose of being the subjects of an anthropological study. She meets up with David again, only to end up back in the City (I'm trying to not put in spoilers, but it's so difficult!).

Pretties casts more light on society and what people will do to maintain the illusion of control over their surroundings, en masse. Not pretty at all...

I'm off to start Specials, and find out what happens to Tally on this trip back to the City.

Awards!


Whoa, it's taken me a while to get this posted! J.Kaye has so very kindly awarded me the wonderful Well Worth Watching blog award. I'm so honored!

Thanks to The Book Zombie, who created the award, along with the following message: This is for all those blogs you cannot wait to read every day, that you look forward to seeing updates on and that have inspired you in your own blogging. There are no rules for this one, but feel free to pass it on to whomever you feel deserves it!

Here's what J.Kaye says about the award:
Since she (The Book Zombie) is such a rebel and breaks the rules, I'll stay with the tradition and add a guideline of my own. Boy, don't I have the nerve! ;)

Here it is. Select ten other bloggers who you feel are well worth watching.


I'm not much of a rule-breaker myself. Must be a remnant of my student days, when my mom was a teacher, usually at my school... I love my blogroll, plus quite a few more that haven't made it there yet (sorry!!!).

I'd like to spotlight some author blogs. Not only do they share the results of their hard work with us, they also take the time to let us fill our craving to know more about them, the writing process, and the stories they're working on. These are in alphabetical order:

Brenda Janowitz's blog is funny and so pink! Perfect for chick-lit, don't you think?

The Deadline Dames amp up my appreciation of writers. What a great bunch of gals! =)

I heart Carrie Vaughn. As I've mentioned lots & lots of times here already. Go check out Filling the Well...

I've also just found a few more author blogs, but haven't had time to check 'em out yet. Work is so interrupting-la! (Pretty-speak, from Scott Westerfeld's series)

Teaser Tuesdays ~ Feb. 3rd...

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall to a random page.
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • Share the title of the book that you're getting your teaser from... That way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

Back in the village the men always at first, and the women and littlies got leftovers. Tally was a god, of course, and in some ways they had treated her as an honorary man, but some habits died hard.

Pretties, Scott Westerfeld ~ pg. 287

Giveaway - All SIX Kitty Norville books!

February 2, 2009
*** THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED ***

I'm so excited about this giveaway! To celebrate (& if you're a fan, you're celebrating!) the release of Carrie Vaughn's Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand, I am giving away TWO full sets of the Kitty Norville series - one each to two VERY lucky winners, courtesy of Hachette Book Group! This set includes book #6, Kitty Raises Hell, which is due out on March 1st. I'm psyched! Are you??



















This is one of my favorite series. Kitty is the almost-perfect heroine. She's smart. She's sassy (I love sassy). She takes a while, but eventually figures out that she can do something about the things that she doesn't like, without compromising her own values. =) AND she has good taste in music. What more can you ask for in a werewolf? Oh, yeah. A good story. =) Read my reviews of Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand and Kitty Raises Hell.

Giveaway details:
This giveaway will run till 11:59pm on February 22nd, and is open to US & Canada residents only. Sorry, no P.O. Boxes - HBG rules.

To enter, leave a comment and tell me whether you've read these books before. If you have, did you like it? What did you like about it? Who's your favorite character? Why? If you haven't, why do these books interest you? What other werewolf characters do you like? Who wrote the book(s)?

No one-word or one-sentence answers, please. This six-book set deserves more than that! THIS STEP MUST BE DONE FOR YOUR ENTRY TO COUNT! Please don't do this multiple times - you'll be disqualified. Also, make sure your entry has an email address somewhere so that I can contact you if you're a winner.

Follow my blog for an additional entry. Existing followers count, too. Comment & let me know. Blog about this giveaway for two more entries. Comment with the link to your actual post.

And don't forget to come back & find out if you've won. Winners will have 5 days to get me their mailing info, after which I'll draw a replacement. Good luck!!

link love: Check out West of Mars - Win a Book for more Kitty giveaways!

32. Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn...

February 1, 2009
Title: Kitty Raises Hell
Author: Carrie Vaughn
ISBN-10: 0-446-19954-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-19954-4
Paperback: 282 pages (ARC)
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2009

Fresh from her adventure in Las Vegas in Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand, Kitty finds that something followed her back to Denver. And it's not playing nice. At all.

Finding out what is hunting Kitty and her pack before anyone (else) gets hurt, makes this a suspenseful addition to the Kitty chronicles. Helping her out are Ben, a team of paranormal investigators, Odysseus Grant (the magician from Las Vegas), and Rick - the master vampire in Denver. Offering help is another vampire, who wants free passage in Denver in exchange. She's running out of time, trying to figure out who to trust, how to keep her pack safe, identify what's causing the chaos, and how to eliminate the threat to her, her pack, and her city.

And to complicate things just a little - because this is Kitty after all - her friend TJ's brother shows up, trying to find TJ. And Kitty cannot tell Peter what happened to TJ, other than he's gone.

Kitty Raises Hell is well worth adding to your wish list, if you haven't already. Or, try your luck at winning one of the two full sets I'm giving away, starting on Monday, February 2nd.
A compilation of 2009 book giveaways in the blogosphere

June:
Penguin fantasy prize pack @ Presenting Lenore (Jun 3)

May:
Vicki Pettersson's City of Souls @ Amberkatze's Book Blog (May 30)
Anita Shreve's Testimony @ This Book for Free (May 2)

April:
Lisa Shearin's Raine Benares series @ the epic rat (Apr 28)
Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix @
Reviewer X (Apr 22)
Larissa Ione's Passion Unleashed @
Chic Book Chicks (Apr 21)
Devon Monk's Magic to the Bone and Magic in the Blood @
Amberkatze's Book Blog (Apr 19)
Michelle Rowen's Stakes & Stilettos @
Chic Book Chicks (Apr 17)
Ally O'Brien's The Agency @
the epic rat (Apr 13)

March (all done now):
Shaila Abdullah's Saffron Dreams @ S. Krishna's Books (Apr 5)
James Patterson's Maximum Ride @ Marta's Meanderings (Mar 31)
Gregory Maguire's Wicked @ Confessions of a Convicted Bibliophile (Mar 27)
Bookroom Reviews

Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak @ Reviewer X and Presenting Lenore (Mar 12th)
Jamie Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet @ ~Redlady's Reading Room (Mar 8th)
Drey's Culture 3-pack
here (Mar 8th)
Brenda Janowitz's Jack with a Twist
here (Mar 8th)
Dan Simmon's Drood here (Mar 8th)
Carrie Vaughn's Kitty and the Midnight Hour here (Mar 8th)
Zachary Lazar's Sway here (Mar 8th)


February (all done now):
Dan Simmons' The Terror here (Mar 1st)
African American History here (28th)
Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods @ Debbie's World (28th)
Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls @ In Bed with Books (28th)
Adriana Trigiani's Very Valentine @ Bookin' with Bingo (28th)
Linnea Sinclair's Gabriel's Ghost @ The Discriminating Fangirl (27th)
Robert Hellenga's The Italian Lover here (24th)
Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series here (22nd)
Michael Zadoorian's The Leisure Seeker @
Bookin' with Bingo (22nd)
Tiffany Baker's The Little Giant of Aberdeen County @
Bookin' with Bingo (21st)
100,000 post celebration Random House giveaway @ Books on the Brain (19th)
Ally O'Brien's The Agency @ Wendi's Book Corner (17th)
a whole lotta LOVE
here (16th)
Shirley Damsgaard interview & giveaway @ Bitten By Books (14th)
Karen Rose's Kill for Me @
Book Binge (13th)
James Patterson's Run for Your Life @ Marta's Meanderings (13th)
Midori by Moonlight @ S. Krishna's Books (8th)
Pride @ Rachel Vincent (4th)


(no January listing, that month's all done now...)
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