Winner!

Just wanted to hop on here for a minute and announce the winner of Deborah Lynne's book, Passions of the Heart. Thanks to everyone who entered! And that winner is...

KarenK (kmkuka@...)

Congratulations, Karen! I will be emailing you shortly to get your snail-mail. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did! :-D

Revell Blog Tour - A Great Catch

Today I have another Revell book blog tour for you. :-) It's from a favorite author of mine who's second book has just come out. You can read my review to find out my complete thoughts about it, but in a nutshell - it was hilarious!

(Oh, and btw, over on my group blog a giveaway is going on for this book, A Great Catch. Go HERE to check out the interview with Emily and enter for a chance to win! And for those of you who have read Making Waves, join in the book discussion HERE. :-)

My Review - Star Rating: 5

LOL!! That’s what instantly pops into my headwhenever I think of Lorna’s first book, MakingWaves. And she does not disappoint with her second book, A Great Catch! In fact, I think I wasROTFLOL through many parts of the book! My normal genre to read is suspense ortense action, but taking a break from all that and picking up one of Lorna’sbooks always promises light heartened amusement. When I received A Great Catch, I knew I was going tohave a fun time reading it. And I was notdisappointed!

It was so much fun to see some characters from Making Waves in this second book! As inthe first book, I really like Marguerite! The main character for this book,Emily, was great and very humorous with her clumsy ways…but I’m afraid I didn’tconnect with her as much as I did with Marguerite in Making Waves. I think it’s probably because I was completelyannoyed at Emily’s “woman can do anything a man can do” and “don’t any man tryto tell me what to do” attitude. But since this is just my personal opinionsthat set my teeth on edge around Emily sometimes, I am pretty sure that shewill become a favorite with other fans just like Marguerite. :-) Carter wasjust awesome. I loved his patience with Emily and his determination to teachher a few “lessons”. I was laughing out loud when he made her promise to obey him as he taught her how to playbaseball. One of my favorite parts in the book!

As before, Lorna has mixed in the humor and romancewith a bit of a mystery toward the end. It’s a really nice mix to the books andkeeps the readers guessing. I was a bit disappointed that both Carter and Emilylet such vague accusations completely separate them, but I suppose it works tothicken the plot! Emily’s two aunts were pretty humorous and their constant barrageabout bringing her suitors added to the storyline. I was laughing in my seatwhen they introduced her to balding Marion Wormsley. Wow! :-P

As I have said often when referring to LornaSeilstad’s work, the thing that stands out most to me is her writing style.Light. Witty. Funny. It’s just SO much fun to read! It takes no effort for me topick up one of her books and fly through the pages. There was nothingquestionable in this book that I would need to point out. There is one veryhumorous time when Emily is given ‘bust food’ to help her in securing a husbandThe things that unfolded surrounding that tin can was laugh-out-loud funny!!

If I ever want to just relax, enjoy the moment inlife, and have some serious laughing fits, Lorna Seilstad’s book is the one Iwould instantly grab for. Her Lake of Manawa Summers series is such a great read—with greatlessons interwoven into the plot—that I end the book with a reluctant sigh toleave the characters. Seriously, if you haven’t read either of Lorna’s awesomebooks, you need to! 

Available May 2011 at your favorite booksellerfrom Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I reviewed this book for Revell.  It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done.

Interview & Giveaway - Shawn Grady

Hey all! My last book giveaway (for Passions from the Heart) is now closed and I will be announcing the winner tomorrow morning...but for now, I have another interview and giveaway to bring you. 

(Oh, btw, real quick. Any of y'all read Making Waves? I posted a discussion post about it on Book Ponderings. If you've read it, stop by and join the fun!)

Please help me welcome author Shawn Grady to Legacy of a Writer! :-) Today we are featuring his book Tomorrow We Die. It's the next book for me to pick up on my TBR pile and I honestly cannot wait to being! It looks really good and from the sneak peak I took of the first page, I am pretty sure it will turn out to be a grand adventure. As I said, I CAN'T wait!! :-D

~~

Shawn,welcome to Legacy of a Writer! To begin with, canyou tell us a little about yourself? When did you first know you wanted to be awriter?  Who or what inspired you?

Thanks for having me here! I've always loved writing since a young age,but it wasn't until I read A Moveable Feast byErnest Hemingway that I felt freed up to start writing a novel. I realized thatif I wanted to be a writer I just needed to simply start writing. The plotoutlining and research and all the hard trench work of the craft come along asyou go, but they shouldn't be a deterrent to the most central thing- theexpression of voice and the telling of a compelling story.

Very true! How longdid you write before you were published? What are the names of the books youhave published so far?

That ex-patriot epiphany came around 2001. I didn't sign a book deal witha publisher until 2008. My third action thriller novel, Falls LikeLightning releases at the end of this month. My other two so far areThrough the Fire and Tomorrow We Die.

Neat! Do you liketo read as much as you like to write? Who is your favorite author?

Yes, though I lament somewhat the lack of time to read more. I read slow.I even bought a book on speed reading, but it took me too long to get throughit, so…

I particularly enjoy Leif Enger's work. Marilynn Robinson. Hemingway. Asof late, I've really enjoyed Jill Williamson's Christy-Award winning Blood ofKings trilogy.

Ohh, I've read the first in the Blood of Kings trilogy and really enjoyed it as well. :-D How did youget the inspiration for your book, Tomorrow We Die?

Working as a private ambulance company paramedic, I remember days went itfelt like we were chasing the Angel of Death across the valley—from onecardiac arrest to the next. There's an intriguing dark angst that comes from workinglong hours in adverse conditions for meager pay, seeing trauma and sickness andthe occasional subtle intervention that turns the tide of present mortality.

Wow! What an experience. What's your favorite part of Tomorrow We Die?

Ooh, good question. I really like the scene with Jonathan and Naomi atFannette Island in Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe. I like the scene with the two ofthem in his living room after he discovered the secret of the dashes on thenotepaper. There's a number of them. The story is very vivid in my mind. 

Hmm, sounds neat! Can't wait to read it! What was the hardest part to write?

Crafting the timing of events -whether overarching with the plot or immediate in action scenes can be achallenge. It's a fun challenge- but one that I pay careful attention to howthe words roll out on the page so that the immediacy of sudden events is feltas it is read and the sequence of physical details plays out in text the way Isee it in my mind.

Matt Damon as Jonathan

Yes, that is a tricky part in writing. But once it is finish, it makes the book more vivid and totally awesome! What do you hope your readers willget out of the story?

An enjoyable, satisfying read thatreminds us our lives are but a breath.

If Tomorrow WeDie was turned into a movie, who would you pick to play the mainroles of your book?

Matt Damon would make a solid Jonathan. Claire Dane's could be anexcellent Naomi. As for Bones- hard to think of anyone but my actual oldparamedic partner for that one.

I can see Matt Damon playing your character! :-) Do you haveany other books in the making? Can you give us a lil’ sneak peak of what it’sgoing to be about?

Sure! Falls Like Lightning comes out by the end of this month. Here's theback cover copy:

Smokejumper Silas Kent never expected to see pilot Elle Westmore again.In fact, reuniting makes him realize what a mistake he made all those yearsago. But before he has a chance to try to make amends, he's called to lead anew crew in to battle against a massive fire in the Sierra Nevada.

And then things go very wrong, very quickly.

A suspicious engine explosion forces the crew to parachute early whileElle barely survives a crash landing. Silas reaches the ground safely, but inbeginning a desperate race to reach the downed plane, he soon realizes he hasmore to fear than just a raging forest fire. 

Claire Dane as Naomi

Ooh, that sounds really good! :-) Aside from writing, what takes upmost of your time?

I love spending time with my family. Camping, snowboarding, surfing,hiking. We love the outdoors and our yellow dog- Marlette- http://www.facebook.com/lettiedog

Thanks for the link! Where canreaders find out more about your books?

I love connecting with readers. More info can be found at http://www.shawngradybooks.com and http://www.facebook.com/shawngradybooks.

Thanks for having me here!

~~

GIVEAWAY:

Time for the giveaway! Shawn has agreed to give a copy of his book, Tomorrow We Die, to one of my followers here on my blog. Isn't that just awesome?! :-D The rules are the same as always -- you must be a follower to enter and you must leave your email address. If you don't, your entry will not count. USA only, please.  

Mandatory Entry:  

Answer this question: Where is your favorite place to read a book? (In bed before calling it a night? Outside on a lawn chair enjoying the sun? On your frontporch? etc...)

Extra Entries:

- Subscribe to this blog(+1)
- Post about this giveaway on your blog(+1)
- Go HERE and rate my reviews(+2) This extra entry can only be earned once. However, Blogging 4 Books recently redid all the ranks on review so, if you already have ranked my reviews, you can return and re-rank them to earn 2 more points in this giveaway! :-) 
- NEW - Comment on any 3 of my reviews on Book Reviews by Lady Katy(+6)

 So what are you waiting for?! Go ahead and enter! :-) This giveaway closes on June 11th at midnight. :-)

Book Review - Night of the Cossack

As you all can see, I wasn't able to post about my family's trip up to Alabama last week. I ended up leaving early to protest at a local abortion clinic and then spent a lovely time fellowshiping with a lady from my church. I will try to post pictures about my Alabama trip soon, but for now, I'll leave you this Friday evening with a book review! :-)


My Review -- Star Rating: 4

In one night, Nathan finds his entire life completelyaltered when he is taken captive by a Cossack and forced to become one of them.This intrigued me. A lot. I can’t imagine what I would do if I was kidnappedand told that I was going to be trained to be like my kidnapper. Talk aboutrocking your world! Needless to say, I began this book with very high hopes ofreading an intriguing thriller.

Nathan was easy to relate to. I instantlysympathized with him as he tries to adjust to a life with Nikolai—the man whokidnapped him to raise him to be a Cossack. The group’s view on replacing theircomrades killed during a fight—abducting young boys from their home—was prettycrazy. I can’t imagine being in Nathan’s shoes! What a life. With all thatsaid, one of my favorite characters was his kidnapper, Nikolai. Crazy, I know,but as Nathan slowly changed and grew to look up to Nikolai as afather-figure…so did I. Nikolai wasn’t like the other Cossacks—he’d beenabducted as a teen himself and forced to join the cause—and that made himspecial. As I said, he was one of my favorite characters.

Tom Blubaugh’s writing brought this story to life.From the very first pages I was thrust into Nathan’s life the night it allchanged—when Cossack’s came into his village. With vivid detail—though not toomuch to make the story drag—I experienced being a Cossack through Nathan’s eyes.The emotional scenes were a little flat and shallow to me, but that was theonly thing I ever noticed in the writing.

The events that happen to Nathan during the courseof this book are amazing. While I wouldn’t call this book a thriller, it stillhad its fair share of action and adventure to keep me on my toes. When Nathanis on his own trying to make it away from Russia and to America, I was eager toread how he would accomplish such a task. I was surprised where the book ended.I was expecting it to go until he reached America and his life there. But it wasn’ta bad place to stop—it just left me wanting to read more about his story. Whichis a good thing!

For those of you who are history buffs on Russianhistory, you would no doubt find Night ofthe Cossack a very interesting read. I personally do not know much aboutthe history of the Cossacks. While the book was kind of vague as to what kindof group they were and what they did, I still learned a lot of their history.Which was neat! I always like my fiction with a good dose ofreal-life/historical facts mixed in. 

BCW - A Heart Divided

For today's "Book Cover of the Week", I picked Kathleen Morgan's recently published book, A Heart Divided. I have already posted a full review of this book, which you can read HERE. But for now, let's talk about that beautiful cover!

A Heart Divided

Kathleen Morgan

My Thoughts:

Well, the first thing I notice is this woman's beautiful hair! It is just stunningly gorgeous! The color is pretty and whatever hair-do she has it up in is lovely. While all we can see of this girl is her profile, it's easy to see she is very attractive. And her simple white shirt and tan skirt is fetching on her and makes me want to walk around her to see the other side. Too bad I can't! lol :-P

The Book:

When fate brings them together, they must choose between family ties and love.

The Caldwells and Wainwrights have been feuding for decades. Still, Sarah Caldwell has misgivings when her father pressures her into distracting a ranch hand while he and her brothers rob the Wainwright place. When it becomes clear that hand is actually Cord Wainwright, heir of the Wainwright holdings, Sarah realizes things have gone too far.

As the feud boils over, Cord and Sarah make a most inconvenient discovery--they just might be falling in love. Can they betray their families to see where this attraction leads? Or will their families betray them?

Against the beautiful and wild backdrop of the Rocky Mountains in 1878 comes this sweeping saga of romance, betrayal, and forgiveness from beloved author Kathleen Morgan.

The Author:

Kathleen began her career writing contemporary romances and soon moved to historical and futuristic romances. She sold her first book, a futuristic romance, in April 1990 while stationed in Korea as an Army nurse. Additional romances soon followed, until she had sold a total of fifteen books in the general market, establishing a loyal readership along the way. Since that time, she has received numerous awards for her work, including a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice award and Career Achievement award, and The Literary Times award for Literary Excellence in the Field of Romantic Fiction. She was also a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist. You can read more about Kathleen at her website - www.kathleenmorgan.com

Revell Blog Tour - A Killer Among Us

Today I have a Revell blog tour to bring you. It's for Lynette Eason's new release, A Killer Among Us. I go into detail in the review, but let me tell you...this book is AWESOME!! :-D 

My Review - Star Rating: 5 - Favorite!

WOW! I loved, loved, LOVED this book!!! I found itnearly impossible to put down! While this is the first book I have read byLynette—and the third in a series—I was instantly caught up in the drama andwhile enough back story was given so I was never confused, I am now itching toget the two previous books and read of Samantha and Jamie’s adventures in detail! By the time I got to the end ofthis book, Lynette Eason was firmly written in my list of favorite authors, andA Killer Among Us is now sitting onmy “favorites” shelf. 

Lynette has some awesome, strong characters! I triedto pick my favorite…but they are all so wonderful! Kit, Noah, Samantha, Connor,Dakota, Jamie...everyone! The Women of Justice series has an amazing cast ofcharacters that you will NOT forget! The two that A Killer Among Us focuses on, Kit and Noah, will instantly grab yourheartstrings and not let go. I fell in love with the two! Kit is a braveheroine that I respected and I loved how she didn't have the 'I don't need a man, I'm tough enough to take care of myself' attitude. She was tough, but she respected Noah and relied on him as a partner. Noah made an awesome hero! Totally loved his ‘hardon the outside but sweet on the inside’ personality. My kind of guy!

The storyline was intense. Jumping from one murderscene to the other, the reader never had time to grow bored. Oh no! Not for oneminute! I did have a hunch as to who the serial killer was, and was so excitedwhen my hunch proved correct in the end. I love a good mystery! The sweet storybetween Kit and Noah only adds to this books awesomeness. Never overpoweringthe mystery or suspense (which is exactlyhow I like my suspense books) it still had enough tension between these twocharacters as they each struggled with feelings from their past and each other.While some might think that knowing a person for a little over a month is way too short to be thinking ofmarriage, when I read all the things they went through in this book, I was notsurprised. 

I always love a writer who can get me right into thecharacters head, making me think, feel, and react to exactly what thatcharacter is going through…and Lynette did just that! Her writing style wasengaging and direct, bringing vividly to life Kit and Noah’s surroundings and emotions. This being a crime thriller where they are tracking down a serial killer, it's obvious that there will be a bit of violence, blood, and gore in here. But it wasn't that bad. At least, not for me. :-) There is once when Kit and Noah uncover that there is an affair going on between two people, and anther time where they discover students using drugs to get through law school...but that was it, as far as questionable content goes. The author handled it well and, as long as the reader is okay with gory scenes, I consider this a very clean book.

I could rant and rave about this wonderful suspensebook all day, but let me wrap up in saying…GET THIS BOOK! I am a big lover ofsuspense, so if that is your favorite genre also, I highly recommend Lynette Eason’s A Killer Among Us! It is well worth the money spent to buy thisbook!

Available May 2011 at your favorite booksellerfrom Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I reviewed this book for Revell.  It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done.  

I Placed Again!

Hey everyone! I am SO excited to get to post this today!! :-D I have place again in the Go Teen Writer's Writing Prompt contest! Yay! Out of the three judges I got--first place, second place, and honorable mention. 

It's always exciting to place in something, and Stephanie Morrill's writing prompts are always SO MUCH fun. I always look forward to a new prompt!

So anywho! Care to see what I wrote for the prompt that placed me this round? Here it is below! (Btw, what is in bold is the prompt that we were given to work with.)

~~

When I saw what they'd brought home from the garage sale, I visibly stumbled. Not just a little misstep, but a head-long stagger where,fortunately for me, I landed on the couch. Pain traveled up my hip when it hitthe armrests, but I barely felt it. I was focused on what was clutched in mythree-year-old's fist. 

Stephen paused, confused. “Sweetheart?”

I felt like an idiot standing there with my mouth gaping,but I couldn’t speak.

After the night of the murder, I never expected tosee it again. But there it was, in her hands—my mother’s locket.

I felt numb. 

My next-door neighbor was my mother’s murderer.

~~

So, there it is! With placing this, I am now standing in 2nd place for the overall scoring of the writing prompt (as you can see on the right side bar of the Go Teen Writer's blog.) How exciting!

Book Review - Passion from the Heart

Well, my crazy weekend up in Alabama is over. It went really well and I'll give you more details and post some pictures on Friday, Lord willing. For now, I am late on posting this review of Deborah Lynne's book, Passions from the Heart. I was able to read it during the drive home from Alabama and also write the review while in the car. So, yes, I felt very productive during those hours just sitting in the back of my family's 15 passenger van. :-) 

By the way, I currently have a giveaway for the book I am reviewing below going on on this blog. Just follow the link HERE to find out how to enter the giveaway for a chance to win!

My Review:

Star Rating: 3 1/2

With a title like Passion from the Heart, it wasn’t too hard to guess what was withinthis book. The tender love story was expected, but not the dash of mystery andadventure weaved in. The last few sentences of the synopsis of this book hintedat it, so I was eager to dive into the story.

Erika was a girl with backbone. Her dreams ofturning the run-down motel where her parents spent their honeymoon into aretirement community for senior adults like her grandfather was big. And verycommendable. I was intrigued with her as she went about finding out what sheneeded to do to make her dream possible. The characters sometimes seemed alittle paper-thin, but I still grew to like characters such as Margaret, Nate’smother. Nate was a fun character. In the beginning his obsession over money wasannoying. But as he slowly changed, he became more likeable.

The plot—changed lives through a love story with adash of mystery and suspense—was great. Being a rather thin book (compared tosome books I have dived into), I was able to finish the book easily during acar trip. It seemed a very quick amount of time for two people to fall in love,but taking into consideration the times I read “the weeks passed”, I supposenot. :-)

Frequently I felt like everything was told to thereader instead of shown through the characters actions, so I didn’t feel like Ibecame completely lost in the story. But I did enjoy the dry humor interwoveninto Passion from the Heart throughErika and Nate. There was vague mention of Nate’s night life before he metErika, but Deborah Lynne worded it well and kept the book very clean.

I’ve often commented that I am not very big intoreading strictly romance novels—I’m more into the suspense and action! ;-) Sothe heavy dose of reading about Erika and then Nate’s romantic interested ineach other wasn’t exactly my cup of tea—though I did enjoy the book as aone-time read. But since I am pretty sure I am in the minority in view ofromance books, I would think romance fans would enjoy this read into Erika andNate’s lives.

LitFuse Blog Tour - How Huge the Night

Well, here I am! I honestly did not think I would be able to get on the computer today to post anything. We are currently helping a family in Alabama who lost their home during the tornado a few weeks ago, and so am VERY busy and have limited internet or cell service. But, thank the Lord, I was able to snatch a few minutes to write this post for the LitFuse tour I am on for How Huge the Night! :-)

~~

About the Authors: Heather Munn was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in southern France where her parents were missionaries like their parents before them. She has a BA in literature from Wheaton Collegeand now lives in a Christian intentional community in rural Illinois, where she and her husband, Paul, host free spiritual retreats for the poor, especially those transitioning out of homelessness or addiction. When not writing or hosting, she works on the communal farm. 

Lydia Munn, daughter of missionary parents, grew up in Brazil. Shereceived a BA in literature from Wheaton College, and an MA inBible from Columbia Graduate School of Bible and   Missions. With her husband, Jim, she has worked in church planting and Bible teaching since 1983, notably in St. Etienne, near the small town in the central mountains of France which forms the background of How Huge the Night. The Munns now live in Grenoble, France.

About the Giveaway!

Want to go on a shopping spree on Amazon.com??? Well! Kregel Publications is sponsoring a $50 Amazon giveaway! :-D To enter all you have to do is send a tweet (using#litfuse) about How Huge the Night or share about it on Facebook!

If you tweet we'll capture your entry when you use thehashtag (#litfuse). If you share it on Facebook or your blog, just email us andlet us know (info@litfusegroup.com). Easy.

Not sure what to tweet/post? Here's an idea.

TWEET THIS:  How Huge the Night - compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens and adultsalike turning the pages! #litfuse http://ow.ly/4RBXc

FACEBOOK THIS: How Huge the Night by Heather & Lydia Munn is a compelling, coming-of-age drama thatwill keep teens and adults alike turning the pages late into the night! http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13181161

Back Cover of How Huge the Night: Fifteen-year-old Julien Losier just wants to fit in. Butafter his family moves to a small village in central France in hopes of outrunning theNazis, he is suddenly faced with bigger challenges than the taunting of localteens. Nina Krenkel left her country to obey her father's dying command: Takeyour brother and leave Austria.Burn your papers. Tell no one you are Jews. Alone and on the run, she arrivesin Tanieux, France, dangerously ill and indespair.

Thrown together by the chaos of war, Julien begins to feelthe terrible weight of the looming conflict and Nina fights to survive. As France falls tothe Nazis, Julien struggles with doing what is right, even if it is notenough-and wonders whether or not he really can save Nina from almost certaindeath.

Based on the true story of the town of Le Chambon-the onlyFrench town honored by Israel for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust-How Huge theNight is a compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens turning thepages as it teaches them about a fascinating period of history and inspiresthem to think more deeply about their everyday choices.

Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/How-Huge-Night-Heather-Munn/dp/082543310X/ref=sprightly-20

My Review - Star Rating: 4

I haven’t been much into reading Young Adultfiction, but after reading a few amazing, awesome, and wonderful books in theYA genre(such as The Healer’s Apprenticeand Waterfall, to name a few), I findmyself exploring more and more into this genre. So when I got the invite tojoin the tour for this YA book, I decided to try it. And I am glad I did!

The cast of characters in How Huge the Night were all very fleshed-out and believable. Julien’scharacter was neat to get to know. He had his faults and his problems, but thereader saw him grow through the course of this book. Nina was a little harderto understand at times, but as I found out more and more about her past, I wasable to sympathize with her fears. Her younger brother, Gustav, was undoubtedlymy favorite character. The way he took care of Nina was SO touching. While hewas younger and she thought he couldn’t do much to help her in their traveling’s,he ending up being the one who kept them alive and together. He was the bravesupporter, protector, and encourager. I was cheering for him through the wholebook—Yay, for protective brothers! lol! Another favorite character was Pierre.While he wasn’t exactly a loveable person for the entire book, I really likedhim towards the ending, as he changed.

The plot was well thought out and developed. Whilethere never was a big climax, when the story ends we see a key character’ssudden change of heart as he begins to understand that just because people areof a different race does not make them inferior to others. To me, I wouldcategorize this book as mainly one you learn a lesson from rather than an adventurousbook. While I enjoy more action and suspense, reading this book was worth it asI watched Julien mature in wisdom and Nina slowly gets over her fear of theworld.

The writing was very vivid and the voice that theseauthors used brought Julien, Nina, and Gustav to life. There were a few timesduring Nina’s scenes that I was really confused as to what was happening—thewriting, while gripping, seemed to suggest too much at what was going oninstead of showing the reader plainly what was going on. I do like thissometimes, as it lets the reader get into the story more as they are put in thecharacters point of view, but this time it was too vague for me. I didappreciate it once, when Nina—disguised as a boy—realizes that one man whooffered his help has entirely different ideas in mind for her when he finds outshe’s a girl. As far as content, after they get away from the man Nina mentionsto her brother that the man had wanted to rape her. That was the only thingthat could be questionable for younger readers.

The backdrop of World War II was very sobering. WhenJulien and his family were waiting for the Nazi’s to reach their village, I wasalmost as depressed and melancholy as the characters—the writing just pulled meinto the book. I love a book where the writing is so vivid you mirror thecharacters emotions—and How Huge the Night does exactly that! 

I reviewed this book for LitFuse. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done.

~ Katy

BCW - To Win Her Heart

My weekly "Book Cover of the Week" Is always so much fun to do!:-D I hope you enjoy this week, as it is SOOO pretty, in my eyes. I had originally had this cover for last week's BCW, but blogger messed up and kicked me off for the whole day, so I couldn't post it. :-)

To Win Her Heart

Karen Witemeyer

 

My Thoughts:

When I first glance at this book, the first thing I see is the lady's dress.After pulling my gaze away from her extremely beautiful green gown, I see themuscular hulk directly behind her with a greasy arm and gripping a hammer. Whata neat picture! Instantly, I get a good idea what this book will be about. Butthe one thing my eyes keep going back to is her dress.

Don't you agree with me that it is gorgeous??

Thank you! I thought so too! lol And the colors on this cover is very prettyand compliments everything, from the green in her dress to the blue of the sky.*sigh* Simply beautiful!

The Book:

Do they have a fighting chanceat love?

Having completed his sentence for the unintentional crime that derailed hisyouthful plans for fame and fortune, Levi Grant looks to start over in the townof Spencer, Texas. Spencer needs a blacksmith, a trade he learned at hisfather's knee, and he needs a place where no one knows his past.

Eden Spencer has sworn off men, choosing instead to devote her time to thelending library she runs. When a mountain-sized stranger walks through her doorand asks to borrow a book, she steels herself against the attraction heprovokes. His halting speech and hesitant manner leave her doubting hisintelligence. Yet as the mysteries of the town's new blacksmith unfold, Edendiscovers hidden depths in him that tempt her heart.

Levi's renewed commitment to his faith leads Eden to believe she's finallyfound a man of honor and integrity, a man worthy of her love. But when thetruth about his prodigal past comes to light, can this tarnished hero find away to win back the librarian's affections?

The Author:

Karen Witemeyer is a deacon's wife and mother of three who believes theworld needs more happily-ever-afters. She holds a master's degree in psychologyfrom Abilene Christian University and is a member of ACFW, RWA, and her localwriters guild. Karen lives in Abilene, Texas, with her family and as writtentwo other books before To Win Her Heart -- Head in the Clouds and A Tailor-Made Bride .

~ Katy

Revell Blog Tour - A Heart Divided

Hey all! I'm here with another blog tour for a new release of Revell's. (Just as a quick note, I will wait to post tomorrow's BCW until around noon, since I am posting this one so late.) The book I have for you today is Kathleen Morgan's newest release, A Heart Divided. :-)

My Review:

Star Rating: 3

Once I reached the end of this fun, adventurous, andvery romantic book, I wasn’t sure what my thoughts were toward it. The storyplot was great. Kathleen Morgan’s writing style was very engaging. But theromance…just was not my type, I guess. It was very…physical. I felt that thecharacters never came to love each other, but was just attracted to the otherperson’s physical looks. From other reviews I see that the majority loved thisbook, but as for me, I wasn’t crazy about it.

While I wasn’t all out crazy about this book, I didlike some of the characters in here. Nick was a lot of fun. And a very wisebrother that I wish Cord had listened to more, lol. His attitude toward lifeand his desire to see his brother happy was very commendable. Knowing how muchhe sacrificed for Cord was amazing. Another character I liked was the heroine,Sarah. She was the character I could sympathize with during this story. I feltbad for her. What a jam to be in—loving a man and his family who your own fleshand blood is determined to hate. Cord’s attitude and behavior toward Sarah forthis was really annoying. A few times I thought he needed a good slap. I mean,I understand that he is upset because of what her family is doing to his…but Ifelt like he needed to put himself in her shoes and try to understand a little.Speaking of Cord, I didn’t really care for him. I’m pretty sure that for morethan half the book, Cord was scowling, lol. I just couldn’t really connect orsympathize with this hero. Sad, as I usually like the quiet, troubled heroes.

As I mentioned, the plot and writing was great. Thescenes were vivid and the characters pretty fleshed out. I commend Kathleen onher writing and the abilities to bring her story to life. The adventure waspretty neat—especially the mystery surrounding the missing cattle. The lovestory, as I mentioned, was the biggest disappointment for me. I never saw themfalling in love with the other person for who that person was, but more forwhat that person looked like. Many times Cord looks at her wish desire, and shelongs for his kisses, and…well, their love just didn’t seem real. When theymarried they still had a lot unsettled between them and their attraction toeach other seemed only skin deep. When I finally reached the end and shut thebook, I couldn’t imagine—if they were real people—that their marriage wouldlast very long.

I always hate when I come to a book I just don’tlike, but it happens. Worst is when I’m pretty sure I am in the minority withmy views for disliking a book. To be fair to this author and other fans ofhers, I have a feeling that many historical romance readers who like a lot of romance in the books will really enjoy this book. It just wasn’tmy cup of tea. (And just as a footnote; I loved, loved, LOVED, the girl on the cover. Her hair is gorgeous!!!)

Available May 2011 at yourfavorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I reviewed this book for Revell.  It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done. 

~ Katy

Dear Readers

Hey all! Just wanted to pop on here really quick with some news. Any Waterfall fans out there??? :-D (If you are wondering what Waterfall is, go HERE to read my review of this AWESOME book and listen to me rant and rave about it! ;-)

Well, back to the matter at hand. To answer my own question - I am a fan...a BIG one! 

LOL!

For those of you who have read Waterfall and wants to read what happens next to Gabi and Lia, then check out my friend's blog. Paige interviewed Lisa Bergren and she is giving away a copy of the next book in the series, Cascade,  to a commenter. So what are you waiting for?! Get over there? Oh, ya, I haven't told you were to go--lol! Well, just go to...

Page by Paige

And if you remember, let her know that I sent ya! :-) Hope ya win!

~ Katy