March Madness Book Hop!

Another great book blog hop giveaway!! Hosted by Diva's Bookcase, make sure you visit the linky to enter all of the great contests!!  The hop starts at 12:01 on March 4th and ends at Midnight on March 6th.

I recently reviewed this incredible book, and the publisher is sponsoring a giveaway copy to one lucky winner!

USA and CANADA

Pearson (I Don't Know How She Does It) dips into Nick Hornby country in her slick latest. In 1974 Wales, 13-year-old Petra is in love with David Cassidy, an obsession she shares with her best friend, Sharon. When they hear that Cassidy is playing a concert in London, the girls sneak away to see him, bringing Petra into brief contact with Bill, who writes for The Essential David Cassidy Magazine. Nearly 25 years later, Petra is separated and seeing how she had sacrificed her ambitions for her husband's when, after her mother's funeral, she discovers a letter her mother had intercepted years before. The letter was informing Petra she had won the Ultimate David Cassidy Quiz, and her prize was a trip to meet the star in California. A magazine picks up the story of Petra's missed opportunity, and suddenly Petra and Sharon, along with Bill, who now works for this magazine, are headed to Las Vegas for a belated meeting. Petra has a piercing wit and a boundless charm, but it's Pearson's insights into friendship, celebrity worship from the inside out, and the knocks you take in life that create a winning novel of hope, lost and found.

HOW TO ENTER

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Winner will be selected by randomizer.org.  Winner has 48 hours to respond to winning email to claim prize or a new winner will be selected.  Prize shipped direct from sponsor.

Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba

Synopsis: When reality TV turns to murder, it's sink, swim or die. Ambitious personal trainer Cassidy Novak has gained national fame for starring on Sink or Swim, nicknamed SOS, a hit reality game show set aboard a Tall Ship. She hopes the prize money will help to launch her dream of owning a chain of fitness centers. Not only does she lose the competition and have to walk the plank in the finale, after the game show ends, the terror begins. Upon returning to her small Massachusetts hometown, Cassidy discovers she has attracted a stalker masterminding his own twisted game. She struggles to focus on her health club job and celebrity endorsement opportunities, but her stalker has other plans. As her former competitors get knocked off one-by-one, Cassidy refuses to play by his bizarre rules. She's also being shadowed by hunky photographer Zach Gallagher, who has been assigned to capture her personal moments for a spread in the local newspaper. She wants to trust Zach, but fears he may not be the nice guy that he seems. With or without Zach's help, when the stalker forces a showdown by threatening her family, Cassidy must once again walk the plank - this time for her life.

My Thoughts
I don't watch alot of reality television, just some sporadic shows.  However, I realize how they work and sometimes question what all the contestants have to go through to win.  I cannot imagine how it would feel to go through all that they require to up the ratings, and then lose.  Cassidy went into the contest hoping to win so she could realize her dream of owning fitness centers.  She loses by five points... five measly points.  Ouch! But with head held high, she walks the plank. 

Cassidy is a character you like almost immediately.  She's friendly, nice, intelligent and she has a backbone, you won't walk right over her.  I found myself rooting for Cassidy right from the beginning.  When she arrives back home, it was pleasing to see her still get some celebrity endorsements and newspaper time.  But someone is her biggest fan, and they aren't happy Cassidy lost.  They begin to stalk her - but who is it? Is it the photographer taking pictures of her? Is it another contest from the show she had a thing with? Or is it Reggie, the egotistical and obnoxious winner of the show?  Cassidy will have to figure it out quick or she may be sinking until of swimming next time. 

Stacy Juba pens an entertaining tale with just the right mix of suspense.  The pages flew by quickly as I found myself immersed in Cassidy's story.  The characters are vibrant and well developed set against a realistic reality show.  The stalker isn't easy to pinpoint either! Ms. Juba navigates us through twists and turns and surprises that will leave you with a highly satisfied conclusion.  A very gratifying read!
http://stacyjuba.com/blog/

The Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald

 

Love this cover! So vibrant!!! 

Mousy London lawyer Alice Love gets her identity stolen and finds her true self in this rocky tale of trust, personality makeovers, and a lying globe-trotting thief. "She didn't leave me any worse off, in the end," Alice says of Ella, a work pal who makes off with Alice's credit card info to set up a new life in Hollywood. But before the ruse is over, Alice retaliates by morphing into a compulsive stalker, taking on Ella's identity, and discovering that a lot of little lies add up to a whole lot of fun. The transformation nearly costs her the love of a good man, but Alice comes (nearly) to her senses by the time she corners her arch-frenemy.

The beginning of the book started out really slow and Alice was a good character, just kind of boring.  But when she decides to find out who took her identity, the book really takes off!! Alice is almost a different person, doing things she never really did before.  Her little white lies slide by but compile until they blow up in her face.  What would you do if someone stole your identity? I'm not sure I would go to the lengths Alice does, but I wouldn't just do nothing either.  Fraud Investigator Nathan is a nice compliment to Alice's character, to say nothing about how attractive he is.

Alice's character blossoms through out the book, as well as the relationship she has with a step-sister.  Will she go back to her humdrum life in the lawyer's office, or will she pick up the extravagant life style her thief is leading with her name?

Abby McDonald spins an entertaining chic-lit novel.  Carefully crafted, the pages just fly by, which I have found most British chic-lit's do.  The writing is smooth and attention grabbing, as well as complex and characters you want to believe in and hope they succeed.  If your looking for a great beach read this summer, or want to while away some hours on a lazy evening, pick up The Liberation of Alice Love!! Laugh out funny and a relevent story for today's society!!

Ma Mi Skin Care Review and Giveaway

Ma Mi Skincare believes that what we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in them.  I wholeheartedly agree! With a team of doctors, pharmacists and chemists, Ma Mi Skincare has developed a line of high quality products made with natural ingredients.  The line was designed for new moms, with the pricing affordable.  They are clinically formulated to help reverse the results of sleep deprivation and increased stress.

I received a wonderful sample pack which included, Revitalize (Cleanser), Radiant (Exfoliator), Nightshift (Eye Serum), and Satiated (Moisturizer).  All of the products smelled fantastic and made me feel fresh.   Smell is an important factor in my book - who wants to put anything on their body or in it for that matter if the smell isn't attractive?

Revitalizer is a gentle foaming cleanser that even removes make-up and impurities.  It's enriched with seeweed, rosehip seed, olive oil and essential oils.  Completely natural!

Radiant is a soothing exfoliater - very gentle on the skin.  It quickly removes dead and damaged skin, revealing healthy and glowing sin.  Made with purified water and glycolic acid.  That's it -really!

Nightshift is my favorite by far! You use it at morning and before you go to bed and it reduces puffy eyes and dark circles.  It also helps prevent UV damage and firms up the skin and smooths out coloration under your eyes.  It's made with seeweed, water, rice bran and a few other items I can't pronounce but I really loved this product!!

Satiated is the moisturizer and it smells heavenly! It's made with apricot oil, jojoba oil that smell wonderful.  It's not oily though and it just sinks into your sin leaving it smooth and silky. 

So if your going green, or your a new mom or know a new mom, try Ma Mi Skin Care Products.  The gift pack would be amazing for Mother's Day!!  Or you could try and win one here!!

One lucky winner will win the same gift pack I received!!

*All entries must be entered in a separate comment*

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USA Only.  Contest Ends March 16th.  Winner will be selected by randomizer.org.  Winner has 48 hours to respond to winning email or a new winner will be selected.  Prize shipped direct from sponsor.

 

 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

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Winners: Taste Me

What a fantastic time yesterday with Tamara Hogan here talking about her new book Taste Me!! Winners have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be selected.  Thanks to Sourcebooks for sponsoring this contest!!

Lisa - CONFIRMED

Donnas - CONFIRMED

Congratulations!!

Julius Katz Mysteries by Dave Zeltserman

I used to get my grandpa's Ellery Queen magazines every month and relished them from cover to cover.  Now I'm lucky to get one or two a year since he moved in a different state.  Unfortunately for me, the one or two I received didn't have these wonderful stories in them from Dave Zeltserman.  But, luckily for me, I got to review them!
Julius Katz is probably one of the laziest investigators I've ever seen, but also shrewd, cunning, and intelligent.  Not alot gets by Julius, it's almost like his mind is a computer.  But Julius likes to live the high life, but he doesn't like to work for it.  He spends his days wooing women, drinking wine, and gambling.  When his bank account is low, he takes on a case.

"Archie", as that is what he is called, is a two inch piece of technology, twenty years into the future.  Archie is much like a computer, always analyzing, compiling data, doing the leg work for Julius's cases.  He's also the secretary, setting up appointments, making calls, and lending his own spin on the investigation.  Archie envisions himself about five feet (as that is how high he is resting on Julius's tie as a tie tac), chubby and with thinning hair.  He talks too, and lately has picked up quite a few human traits like sarcasm.

There are two suspenseful reads in Julius Katz Mysteries, and even though Julius and Archie may be working the same case, they come at it from different perspectives.  Archie may have a revelation, and so may Julius, but Julius is constantly surprising Archie - whose probability is almost never wrong.  A dynamic duo that I would love to read more adventures of.  The characters are so multi-dimensional, you can envision them in your mind, with quirks and antics that give them a life of their own.  Mr. Zeltserman pens a superb mystery; I couldn't figure out who the culprit was until Julius and Archie led me to them.  Absolutely fantastic! I highly recommend this series to any mystery suspense reader.  Julius and Archie remind me a bit of all of the great sleuths, but uniquely their own.

Winner: Stikins

Winner has 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be selected.  

Claudia - CONFIRMED

Congratulations!!

Don't forget to enter the Taste Me Contest! Today Only!!

Interview with Tamara Hogan and Giveaway of Taste Me - today only!

1.      I love crime scene movies and paranormal urban fantasy.  What gave you the idea to mix the two together?
TH:  I don’t know that it was a conscious choice. I simply created the world I needed to exist in order to tell the stories I wanted to tell throughout this series. This book draws from many corners of the mythological world, from pop culture, from the romantic suspense tradition, and from modern media, suggesting alternate interpretations for history we think we know, and gives it all a sci-fi twist. I hope every reader finds an aspect of the Underbelly world that sticks with them, that they can connect with. 

2.      If you could put your book on the big screen, whom do you envision playing Lukas and Scarlett?
TH: I don’t know that I’ve ever envisioned actors who could play Lukas and Scarlett on TV or in the movies—and gee, wouldn’t that be a fabulous problem to have!—because my physical templates for the characters come out of other slices of life entirely. My mental inspiration for Lukas (his hair, his size, and definitely his jawline) is football player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman, who unfortunately died in Afghanistan. In my imagination, Scarlett looks quite a bit like former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. Any suggestions on this, readers?     

3.      What books are currently on your nightstand or eReader?
TH:  I usually have three or four books going simultaneously, a mix of fiction, non-fiction and research. Mt. TBR is hundreds of books high, so there are so many great books that I’m so late to the party on! For fiction, right now I’m bouncing back and forth between Deirdre Knight’s BUTTERFLY TATTOO—what an extraordinary book; onto the keeper shelf it goes—and I’m re-reading Marion Zimmer Bradley’s “The Mists of Avalon” because several people at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood blog were talking about it recently. Non-fiction-wise, I’m reading Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not a Gadget,” a treatise about the influence of gadgets and technology in our culture, and in our everyday lives. For research, I’m dug deep into the hacker and cracker subculture. The heroine of my third book is a reformed computer hacker whose former colleagues try to entice her back into the life—with some devastating consequences.     

4.      Are you working on another book? Can you tell us anything about it?
TH: I just typed THE END on the second book of the Underbelly Chronicles series, CHASE ME, which teams up Valkyrie archaeologist Lorin Schlessinger with by-the-book werewolf geologist Gabe Lupinsky as they excavate the site where Lorin suspects their ancestors’ spaceship crashed. CHASE ME is scheduled for a March 2012 release. As I mentioned above, I’m starting to do some research and character development work for TEMPT ME, the third book in the series.

5.      Is there anything about your characters, Lukas and Scarlett, that only you know? (That’s not discussed in the book)
TH: Yes, of course — but I can’t say much because Lukas and Scarlett are continuing characters in the series! Lukas, in particular, plays a key role in future books because of his roles running Sebastiani Security, and being the risk assessor and Security/Technology Chair for the Underworld Council.

Okay, okay. I’ll let a couple of personal things slip. Edgy rock star Scarlett Fontaine harbors a guilty appreciation for the music of …shh!...Weird Al Yankovic. As for Lukas, he’s growing his hair out again, at Scarlett’s request.    

Thanks so much for visiting with us today.  I have to say the cover for Taste Me is very eye-catching and hot!!

TASTE ME BY TAMARA HOGAN – IN STORES MARCH 2011

Hot, sexy urban fantasy romance by a new author with talent to burn…

He Wants Her So Badly He Can Taste It…

Ever since their tempestuous fling years ago, incubus Lukas Sebastiani has known that siren Scarlett Fontaine was meant to be his. But when you’re a sex demon with an insatiable desire, relationships are way more than complicated…

Her Siren Songs Bring Men to Their Knees…

Rock star Scarlett Fontaine desperately needs a break after a grueling tour. But with murder and mayhem surrounding her band, and the one man she never thought to see again put to the task of protecting her, life is going to be anything but peaceful…

Every encounter between them creates more turmoil—and heat—until Scarlett pushes Lukas to the boiling point, and unleashes forces that go way beyond anything she can hope to control…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Tamara Hogan loathes cold and snow, but nonetheless lives in the Minneapolis exurbs with her partner Mark and two naughty cats.  When she’s not telecommuting as a quality and process engineer for a global networking company, she writes urban fantasy romance with a sci-fi twist. Taste Me was a 2009 Daphne Paranormal Winner and Golden Heart paranormal finalist under the title Underbelly. For more information, please visit http://www.tamarahogan.com/.

Today, two randomly selected commenters will receive a free copy of TASTE ME from Sourcebooks Casablanca! (U.S. and Canada only, please.) Comment at or before 11:59:59 p.m. to have a chance to win! 

*Remember to include your email

I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson

When I saw the cover of this book, it instantly brought back memories of my dad teaching us girls to dance.  We had one of those TV's with the record player on top. Memories to cherish.

I grew up watching The Partidge Family and alot of my friends were gaga over David Cassidy.  I wasn't, but my sister was.  So opens up I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson.  Petra is your average thirteen year old girl with a crush on star David Cassidy.  Her mom, a cold woman, doesn't understand, but Petra's friends do.  They find him groovy too. 

Bill is a college grad who gets the unlikely job of ghost-writing responses of David's fan letters.  They get published in the magazine, The Essential David Cassidy Magazine.  Petra falls in love with David after reading the magazine.  There's a contest where the winner gets to meet David, and Petra and her friend immediately enter, hoping beyond hope that they win.  

Enter the second half of the book, where Petra is an adult woman still trying to find her path in life.  Her husband has left her for a younger woman, and her own daughter has her own celebrity crush.  But when she is looking for her mom's things, she finds letter - a letter that her mom had hidden of Petra winning that David Cassidy contest.  Obviously, the contest is years over, but makes a phone call anyway.  This begins the journey of her meeting Bill.  Bill, who answered the fan letters with his own ideas instead of facts, may be a huge disappointment to Petra,who thought herself in love with David.  Did she fall in love with the idea of David or did she fall in love with Bill?  Petra will do her own soul-searching and self-discovery before she can move forward into her future.

I Think I Love You is a coming of age novel and a mid-life crisis novel all in one.  The characters are very believable, warm, humorous and complex.  Pearson has well-researched her novel, and the interview with David Cassidy at the back of the novel pays tribute to that.  You're in for a delectable treat ith I Think I Love You! A very satisfying read.