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Book Trib Reviews

Book Review & Excerpt: One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

July 16, 2012 by Darlene

One Breath Away is Heather Gudenkauf’s newest novel and is one that will take you into your worst nightmare. A gunman and a school in lock down. What does he want? Who will survive? Heather takes us on an emotional and edge of your seat journey in her newest book and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I had read Heather’s first book The Weight of Silence (my review) and I had loved the story and Heather’s writing style so I had a pretty good idea that I would love this book as well and I did!

The town of Broken Branch is in the midst of a spring snowstorm when they learn that a gunman has made it into the school. They have no idea which classroom he is in, if he’s working alone, and more importantly what has driven this man to enter an elementary school with a gun. It’s a small town and for the most part everyone knows everyone else so the police desperately try to account for people in an effort to see who may be holding the kids hostage. With the raging snowstorm the roads are a mess and they are unable to get any additional help so they are on their own. The question is will they be able to reason with the gunman and get the kids to safety before it’s too late?

Mrs. Oliver is retiring this year. She’s had a great career and has loved being a third grade teacher. Unfortunately for her it is her classroom the gunman enters. Her main concern is to keep her young students calm and to get them out safely if she can. Mrs. Oliver has a reputation for not being much of a follower – she’s more of a tough old soul and she tries whatever she can to deter this gunman from what he came to do. Will it be enough though? Will she see her beloved Cal and her children again?

Will has been estranged from his daughter Holly for years but when an accident occurs and she’s badly burnt her mother rushes to her side and Will takes her children, thirteen-year-old Augie and third grader P.J., home with him until she’s out of the hospital. He made so many mistakes with his own daughter and while he and P.J. have hit it off it seems he may be having the same issues with his granddaughter. When he learns they are in the school with a gunman and there’s not a thing he can do he gets frustrated. There is no way he plans on failing his daughter yet again.

Meg is one of the police officers trying to get a handle on the situation. Her own daughter should have been in that third grade classroom but thankfully had left the day before to spend spring break with her father. As the investigation deepens it becomes apparent that the gunman does have a request – only one and that is to see Meg. He wants her to come to him – there are rumors – is it her ex, is it her brother? Meg is not prepared for the shock she feels at who confronts her when she walks in the classroom.

I loved quite a few of the characters in this book. Augie, while young, was a tough kid and while she relentlessly picked on her brother she would also, at any time, lay down her life for him. Their grandfather Will was another one I liked because he was so lost. He felt so much regret for the mistakes he made with his daughter and he wanted only to be able to tell her that her children were safe and with him. Mrs. Oliver was another great character and she reminded me of some of the teachers I had way back when. While the kids were in her classroom they were her kids and her responsibility and she would do anything to protect them.

One Breath Away shows just how easy the normalcy of a day can go awry. It only takes one moment in time and death can be one breath away at any time. This is another great novel from Heather Gudenkauf and one I would highly recommend.

I read One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf as part of her blog tour with BookTrib so be sure to pop in and check out all the tour stops for more great reviews, guest posts, interviews and giveaways along the way. There will also be a live chat with Heather and if you click on the picture below it will take you to a page where you can sign up for it. As well Heather will be here at Peeking Between the Pages tomorrow with a guest post and a giveaway so be sure to pop by and check that out!

 

 

In the meantime here is a book excerpt to whet your appetite for more!  Click here to follow along with all the book excerpts.  Enjoy…

Mr. Ellery, besides being really cute, is the absolutely best teacher I’ve ever had. He’s funny, but never makes fun of anyone and isn’t sarcastic like some teachers think is so hilarious. He also doesn’t let people get away with making crap out of anyone.

Review copy provided by BookTrib via NetGalley.  No compensation was received and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Filed Under: 2012 - 100+ Books, 2012 ARC's, 2012 Book Reviews, 2012 eBooks, Book Trib Reviews

GIVEAWAY: Love is Murder edited by Sandra Brown!

June 5, 2012 by Darlene

Happy Tuesday everyone.  I hope you’re all having a good week so far.  It’s gloomy and raining here today; so far anyway.  What’s a good way of brightening up a gloomy day – well, with a giveaway of course!  I spotlighted an excerpt from Love is Murder which is edited by bestselling author Sandra Brown yesterday (my post).  My excerpt was from Beverly Barton but there are excerpts from over 30 authors to follow along with so be sure you head over to BookTrib and check out all the posts on the blog tour as well as all the awesome giveaways BookTrib is hosting!  I’m just going to give you a heads up on what the book is about again and then be sure to enter for your chance to win your own copy!

 

About Love is Murder

Prepare for heart-racing suspense in LOVE IS MURDER (MIRA Books, June 2012, edited by New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown, this original collection features 30 of the hottest bestselling authors and new voices writing nerve-racking romantic suspense today.

Bodyguards, vigilantes, stalkers, serial killers, women (and men!) in jeopardy, cops, thieves, P.I.s, killers—these all-new stories will keep you thrilled and chilled late into the night.

Go on vacation with Allison Brennan’s Lucy Kincaid, where she saves a man from drowning, only to discover he is in far greater danger on land. Meet Roxanne St. Claire’s “bullet catcher”—bodyguard Donovan Rush—who may have met his match in the sexually charged “Diamond Drop.” Debut author William Simon shows us what happens when the granddaughter of the president of the United States is kidnapped. And Lee Child’s pitch-perfect “I Heard a Romantic Story” puts a whole new spin on LOVE IS MURDER.

LOVE IS MURDER is the third Thriller anthology written exclusively by members of International Thriller Writers, Inc. Barely seven years old, ITW has a roster that reads like a who’s who of thriller writing, with 1635 members representing 28 countries worldwide and over three billion books in print. Headed by current co-presidents Douglas Preston and Kathleen Antrim, its board of directors has included such notables as Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Steve Berry, James Rollins, M. J. Rose, Carla Neggers, Gayle Lynds, David Morrell and David Hewson. More information is available on the ITW website, www.thrillerwriters.org.

Buy at: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, B&N, and Harlequin, Kindle, and Nook

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS  (US & Canada)

I have one copy of Love is Murder edited by Sandra Brown to share with my readers.  To enter…

  • For 1 entry leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
  • For 2 entries, follow my blog.  If you already do, thank you, and please let me know so I can pass the extra entry on to you as well.
  • For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway and spread the word.
  • For 4 entries, check out my blog tour post and the excerpt by Beverly Barton!

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, June 23/12.  Good luck!

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Filed Under: Book Spotlights, Book Trib Reviews

Blog Tour: Love is Murder Book Excerpt from Beverly Barton

June 4, 2012 by Darlene

BookTrib has put together a fantastic blog tour for Love is Murder that is a compilation of stories from 30 of the hottest bestselling authors and new voices writing romantic suspense today and it’s edited by bestselling author Sandra Brown.  To highlight each author, BookTrib developed a new twist on the typical blog tour by featuring a different author each day on some great blogs and you can follow along with the tour.  Today I’m going to share an excerpt from the book that comes from Beverly Barton.  Enjoy Poisoned from Beverly Barton…

 

Excerpt

I’ve been poisoned!

There could be no other explanation for what had happened to her. The recurring nausea, the horrific abdominal cramping, the blurred vision, the dizziness and mental confusion were a result of poison. It had been a deliberate, premeditated murder attempt. She had lived in fear for such a long time, watching her back, playing it safe, afraid to trust.

 

About Beverly Barton

A born romantic, Beverly Barton fell in love with The Beauty and the Beast epic at an early age, when her grandfather bought her an illustrated copy of the famous fairy tale. Before she learned to read and write, Beverly’s vivid imagination created magical worlds and fabulous characters inside her mind.

Movies fascinated Beverly, and by the time she was seven she was rewriting the movies she saw on television and at the local theater to give them all happy endings. By the age of nine she’d penned her first novel. She wrote short stories, TV scripts, poetry and novels throughout high school and into college.

After her marriage and the births of her children, Beverly continued to be a voracious reader and a devoted moviegoer, but she put her writing aspirations on hold until her children were teenagers.

When Beverly rediscovered an old dream of becoming a published writer, no one was more supportive of her aspirations than her family. After writing over seventy books, receiving numerous awards and becoming a New York Times bestselling author, Beverly’s career became her dream come true.

 

About Love is Murder

Prepare for heart-racing suspense in LOVE IS MURDER (MIRA Books, June 2012, edited by New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown, this original collection features 30 of the hottest bestselling authors and new voices writing nerve-racking romantic suspense today.

Bodyguards, vigilantes, stalkers, serial killers, women (and men!) in jeopardy, cops, thieves, P.I.s, killers—these all-new stories will keep you thrilled and chilled late into the night.

Go on vacation with Allison Brennan’s Lucy Kincaid, where she saves a man from drowning, only to discover he is in far greater danger on land. Meet Roxanne St. Claire’s “bullet catcher”—bodyguard Donovan Rush—who may have met his match in the sexually charged “Diamond Drop.” Debut author William Simon shows us what happens when the granddaughter of the president of the United States is kidnapped. And Lee Child’s pitch-perfect “I Heard a Romantic Story” puts a whole new spin on LOVE IS MURDER.

LOVE IS MURDER is the third Thriller anthology written exclusively by members of International Thriller Writers, Inc. Barely seven years old, ITW has a roster that reads like a who’s who of thriller writing, with 1635 members representing 28 countries worldwide and over three billion books in print. Headed by current co-presidents Douglas Preston and Kathleen Antrim, its board of directors has included such notables as Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Steve Berry, James Rollins, M. J. Rose, Carla Neggers, Gayle Lynds, David Morrell and David Hewson. More information is available on the ITW website, www.thrillerwriters.org.

Buy at:  Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, B&N, and Harlequin, Kindle, and Nook

 

Check out the Book Trailer

 

Again, be sure to join in on all the excitement over at BookTrib and read all the great reviews, excerpts, and Q&A’s from these fabulous authors not to mention that BookTrib has some great giveaways to go along with the tour!

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Filed Under: Book Excerpt, Book Trib Reviews

Book Excerpt & Spotlight: Big Sky Country by Linda Lael Miller & Giveaway

May 31, 2012 by Darlene

Today, as part of the double-title scavenger hunt blog tour through BookTrib for Linda Lael Miller’s summer releases Big Sky Country and Big Sky Mountain, I’m going to spotlight and share an excerpt of Big Sky Country with you all as well as offer up a copy for a giveaway.  I’ve read a couple of Linda’s books and always enjoyed them.  I really wish I had time for these two this summer but I’m swamped.  That doesn’t mean I can’t share with my readers though.  So let’s check out the excerpt and see what the book is about and don’t forget to follow along on BookTrib for all of the excerpts!  Enjoy…

 

Book Excerpt

“Good to see you haven’t killed each other,” Maggie observed brightly, rounding the shining expanse of the desk to take the leather chair behind it. Still gorgeous at fifty-plus, with short, expertly dyed brown hair and round green eyes, usually alight with mischievous intelligence, the lawyer turned slightly to boot up her computer.

“Not just yet, anyhow,” Hutch replied finally.

Maggie’s profile was all he could see of her, but Slade registered the slight smile that tilted up one corner of her mouth. Her fingers, perfectly manicured every Saturday morning at his mother’s beauty shop for the last quarter of a century, flicked busily over the keyboard, and the monitor threw a wash of pale blue light onto her face and the lightweight jacket of her custom-made off-white pantsuit.

“How’s your mother, Slade?” she asked mildly without glancing his way.

Maggie and his mom, Callie, were about the same age, and they’d been friends for as long as Slade could remember.

 

 

Follow the rest of the blog tour over at BookTrib to read all of the excerpts that will leave you having read the first chapter of Big Sky Country!

 

About the Book

Two hostile half brothers—one legitimate and one not—are each left half of their deceased father’s prosperous ranch, but even this sprawling estate isn’t big enough for these two feuding cowboys. They’re headed for one big final showdown—winner takes all. BIG SKY COUNTRY is the first book in the new series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller, set in Parable, Montana—where rugged cowboys and feisty cowgirls abound.

It’s the secret that’s not much of a secret in the small rural town of Parable, Montana—that County Sheriff Slade Barlow is the illegitimate son of wealthy rancher John Carmody. But Slade’s existence has never once been acknowledged by his father, who lavished all his resources and attention on his legitimate son, Hutch Carmody, while Slade grew up barely scraping by with his mother in a small trailer attached to her hair salon, the Curly Burly. With the town’s whispers fueling their hatred, Slade and Hutch have spent their whole lives brawling with each other.

So when the half brothers are notified upon their father’s passing that according to his wishes the very profitable Whisper Creek Ranch and the fortune that goes with it is to be divided equally between them, both are left stunned.

But Hutch has no plans of sharing anything with his half brother. After all, he’s the golden boy who’s been groomed since birth to become master of Whisper Creek and he’s determined to get his way. He makes Slade a whopper of an offer for his share of the ranch, but Slade is in no hurry to give in to Hutch, who’s always had everything handed to him on a silver platter, including the attention of the beautiful Joslyn Kirk, former town prom queen and spoiled brat who slunk out of Parable years ago in disgrace but now is back….

Parable is the one place Joslyn Kirk swore she’d never set foot in again. She was a self-centered little rich girl back then until her stepfather cheated everyone in town out of their savings and she and her mom were forced to slink out of Parable in the middle of the night like criminals. But Joslyn spent years working to secretly pay back—out of her own hard-earned money—everyone her stepfather had bamboozled. Now Joslyn is home to face the people she ran away from years ago. But people in Parable haven’t forgotten the past and aren’t so accepting.

Slade wants to convince Joslyn that she’s not responsible for her stepfather’s mistakes. She has nothing in her past to apologize for. But Slade isn’t so comfortable with his own family issues.
Why doesn’t he sell the ranch to Hutch? Is it because he wants to claim his birthright, or is he just making things difficult for his half brother? Either way, Hutch is going to force Slade’s hand. These cowboy brothers are heading for a final Wild West showdown in front of the whole town with everything riding on the outcome.

Buy at: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, B&N, B-A-M, Book Depository, Chapters, Harlequin, IndieBound, & Powell’s

 

Check out the video from BookTrib TV

 

About Linda Lael Miller

Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than one hundred historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, the self-confessed barn goddess now lives in Spokane, Washington. Linda hit a career high in 2011 when all three of her Creed Cowboys books—A Creed in Stone Creek, Creed’s Honor and The Creed Legacy—debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. To learn more about Linda, visit www.LindaLaelMiller.com.

Find Linda on Facebook & Twitter as well!

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have one copy of Big Sky Country by Linda Lael Miller to share with my readers.  To enter…

  • For 1 entry simply leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
  • For 2 entries, follow my blog.  If you already do, thank you, and please let me know so I can pass the extra entry on to you as well.
  • For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway and spread the word.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, June 16/12.  Good luck everyone!  Check back in August for an excerpt and spotlight for Big Sky Mountain!

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Filed Under: Book Excerpt, Book Spotlights, Book Trib Reviews

Book Review: Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

March 22, 2012 by Darlene

Dreams of Joy continues the story of sisters Pearl and May who first appeared in Shanghai Girls with this novel being more centered around the daughter they share, Joy. What I really enjoy about Lisa See’s books is all I learn about China and it’s history. Dreams of Joy is steeped in history and the story told completely sucked me into its grip.

Dreams of Joy takes us back to the end of Shanghai Girls and picks up from there. Nineteen-year-old Joy, having just lost who she thought was her father, has just learned some long buried secrets regarding her birth and she’s very angry with both her mother Pearl and her Aunt May. Everything she’s known and believed her whole life has been a lie. So, being young, confused, and headstrong she decides to take off to China to try and find her birth father and discover just who she really is. It turns out that her father, Z.G., is an artist in Shanghai and he used to paint pictures of both her mother and aunt when they posed as models for him.

Joy finally makes it to Shanghai and finds her birth father. Z.G. never even knew he had a daughter and despite having no idea how to be a father he doesn’t turn her away or anything like that. She stays with him and he takes her to parties, dinners, and art exhibits. Joy is fascinated by him and his life as he is an important man in Shanghai. At one point he takes her to the countryside to a commune where the people all work to make a better life in China. Joy is excited about helping to rebuild China. She’s even more excited when she meets Tao and falls in love. She agrees to marry him and stay at the commune and finds that this is the one move that she makes that changes her life in ways she can’t even begin to imagine.

In the meantime Pearl, worried about what may happen to Joy in this new China, decides to go after her and bring her back home. Pearl manages to make it back to her old family home and although she is surprised by all the people living there, she is still welcomed. Finally Pearl finds Z.G. and Joy but of course Joy is not going home. This prompts Pearl to stay in China to make sure that Joy will be all right. However as time goes on, communication seems to stop, and Pearl is very worried. She finally receives a letter from Joy that confirms her fears and she and Z.G. rush to try and rescue Joy. The conditions in the commune have gone from bad to worse – people are starving to death – and Joy and her baby are in trouble.

Dreams of Joy is a very intense novel especially when you get to the descriptions of life in the commune. What stuns me the most and always will is the treatment of girls. When Joy had a baby girl everyone was disappointed and upset with her. A baby girl was worth nothing to them. When Joy asked what to name the baby, Tao suggested stupid while his father suggested pig. I was horrified as was Joy. For the spoiled girl that Joy started out as, she certainly grew up by the end of the novel. She learned what was important and that was the love of family. Having her own baby made her realize just how strong her own mother’s love for her was and she learned to cherish that instead of pushing against it.

Despite some parts of this novel being hard to read I loved Dreams of Joy. It takes you to another time and place and shows you what life was like back in 1957 China. I loved Lisa See’s descriptions of all the different foods and I definitely appreciated the history of this novel. What I think is most important though is the love that shines through every page when Pearl fights to help her daughter who she loves more than life itself. As this a sequel to Shanghai Girls it is helpful to have read it. I think you can read Dreams of Joy on it’s own and know what’s going on but you will miss learning about Pearl and May, how they came to live in the United States, and just how Joy came about. Yet another beautifully written novel by Lisa See!

Source: Copy was provided by the publisher for review. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own. This review was first posted on Book Trib.

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Filed Under: 2012 - 100+ Books, 2012 ARC's, 2012 Book Reviews, Book Trib Reviews

Book Review: The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

February 16, 2012 by Darlene

The Night Strangers by Chris Bojalian – can I just stop here and say wow! This book kept me on the edge of my seat and my heart pounding more than a few times. It has all the makings of a creepy story that I really love – noises in the night, secret ceremonies, suspected witches, and ghosts. There isn’t much more that I ask for in a good thriller and The Night Strangers delivered it all to me and more.

The novel opens with the crash of pilot Chip’s plane due to a flock of geese flying into the engines. Despite his efforts to save his passengers, many perish but some do survive. Chip is tormented by nightmares and guilt, not to mention that he can’t seem to go anywhere without being recognized. Chip and his wife Emily feel it’s best to move with their two girls Hallie and Garnet and start somewhere fresh. It is with this thought that they end up in Bethel, New Hampshire and find a beautiful Victorian home that seems perfect for them. All except for that strange door in the basement that has been sealed up forever with 39 bolts – even stranger is that is the exact number of passengers that perished in the crash.

Soon after they move in they begin to notice strange things about the house and even the neighbors. It’s not that they haven’t been welcomed because they certainly have especially after some of the townsfolk learned that the Chip and Emily had twin girls. The thing that was really strange was the interest these people were taking in their twin girls. As time goes on they discover that their girls aren’t’ the first twins to live in the home. There were twin boys at one point; one of who committed suicide. Emily seems most bothered by these women who have taken such an interest in her girls and even more she is disturbed by the reputation she is beginning to find out that these women have as suspected witches. They call themselves herbalists but their mixing of all kinds of potions for this and that along with their suspicious behavior has caused other townsfolk to label them as witches. Other than being obsessed with the twins they also seem obsessed with baking goodies for the family to eat and for some reason they focus this attention on Chip.

As for Chip he is understandably suffering from depression. He holds himself responsible for the lives lost on his plane even though it wasn’t his fault. Worse yet though is that it seems that some of those ghosts have followed him to his new home and insist on communicating with him. Most dominant is a father and daughter and what the father is demanding of Chip is unbelievably horrifying. Yet Chip feels such guilt and he feels like he needs to help these people. As time moves forward though Chip is becoming increasingly tormented by this father and he feels he is losing his mind. He begins to investigate and as he uncovers more and more about his house and the townspeople, he becomes even more scared for his family.

The Night Strangers really kept me turning those pages. It’s a story that unfolds slowly, yet steadily and keeps you completely in its grip as it does. The novel builds and builds right up to the ending that shocked the pants of me. I’m still thinking about it. I don’t think I’ve been that surprised by an ending in a while. This book is well worth reading in my opinion! Beware though of reading it alone at night with the lights out – you may get more than a little creeped out!

Source:  My own copy.  Review first posted on Book Trib.

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Filed Under: 2012 - 100+ Books, 2012 Book Reviews, Book Trib Reviews

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