We Love You Wednesday Winner

This weeks winner in the Books We Love "Be Our Valentine" Contest is

Angie Pontanini

Angie, please visit our website at http://bookswelove.net/ 

and choose the eBook or Spice eBook of your choice. Send the title to bookswelove@shaw.ca

Congratulations and thanks for being a loyal Books We Love newsletter subscriber! 

At Books We Love we LOVE our newsletter subscribers. This month, three lucky subscribers are going to win the three prizes pictured. One Chocolate Tower and one Godiva Tower. We're also giving away a sweet bundle of five romance ebooks.

That's all you have to do, simply be a subscriber! Everyone on the mailing list will have the chance to win the ebook or Spice ebook of their choice each week through Feb. 14. Watch our blog on the next five Wednesdays for the winner's names to be posted.

Contest running now through Feb. 14, 2013. Winners announced in the Feb. 15 newsletter.
 
Subscribe here Our newsletter comes out once a month and we'll never use your email address for any other purpose.

Thanks for supporting Books We Love and Happy Valentine's Day!

Waiting On Wednesday (5)

Hosted by Breaking The Spine

17 & Gone
by Nova Ren Suma
Hardcover, 354 pages
Expected publication: March 21st 2013 by Dutton Juvenile

Seventeen-year-old Lauren is having visions of girls who have gone missing. And all these girls have just one thing in common—they are 17 and gone without a trace. As Lauren struggles to shake these waking nightmares, impossible questions demand urgent answers: Why are the girls speaking to Lauren? How can she help them? And… is she next? As Lauren searches for clues, everything begins to unravel, and when a brush with death lands her in the hospital, a shocking truth emerges, changing everything.
With complexity and richness, Nova Ren Suma serves up a beautiful, visual, fresh interpretation of what it means to be lost.

I tend to border the outskirts of crowds.  I noticed this one, but I purposely didn't request an ARC because so many had already.  Yet I can't deny that I am very curious to see if it's worth the hype.

What are you waiting for?

Now Available: The Perfect Guy by Ann Herrick

Can Rebecca turn her new stepbrother into her new love? 
 

When Rebecca's mother marries Pres's father, Rebecca is sure that living in the same house with the guy of her dreams will have its perks and it will be just a matter of time before Pres sees her as more than a kid sister. Even though her best friend, Celeste, warns her to face reality, Rebecca doesn't listen. She thinks Pres is the perfect guy for her. But Celeste's brother, Josh, has been friends with Pres for years, and Celeste thinks she knows what she's talking about.  

Rebecca's not so sure about her relationship with her new stepfather. She knows he can't replace her real dad, but she thinks she can break through his cool surface by helping him with the school play. 

But things don't go as planned, and as friendships start to change, Rebecca faces surprising truths about herself and her friends. Will she find happiness in her new family and find The Perfect Guy?

Available here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BB2E0U2

Tour Stop {Author Interview}:Mad World: Sanctuary by Samaire Provost

Mad World: Sanctuary (Mad World #2)
by Samaire Provost
Paperback, 214 pages
Published August 30th 2012 by Creatspace

The year is 2017, and the Black Plague infection has swept across most of the United States, leaving death and chaos in its wake. Martial law is the rule rather than the exception, with outbreaks cropping up when they're least expected. Alyssa and her friends must not only battle outbreaks of the disease, but also find themselves pursued by government agents – men and women determined to track them down at any cost.
Fleeing north to the fabled Sanctuary, Alyssa, Jacob, DeAndre, Caitlyn, Risa and Luke face disturbing ordeals and terrible tragedy as they encounter unbelievable situations in their struggle to reach safety. Using their skills and wits in their fight to survive against ever worsening odds, they weather hardship, betrayal, and the ever-present specter of death as they flee north, all the while vowing to protect one another – and most of all their precious 5-year-old Luke, from a world gone mad.
Sanctuary, the second installment in the Mad World series, is a heart-rending adventure of astonishing revelations, tragic discoveries, agonizing separations and devastating losses that test these friends to their limits. With heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat suspense at every turn, this is a story you will not be able to put down.
Find out what happens next.

1.     Talk or Text? 
Talk. I like real conversations. That being said, if I am apart from my best friend, the texting will be fast and furious.

2.     Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
 Cyber Monday. Although I am not one for shopping, I prefer to do it online.

3.     New York or Miami?  
Ooh, that's a hard one. I love sunshine and beaches, so Miami would be great. But I also want to visit NYC someday and go to all the museums and see some Broadway Plays.  So, it's a tie, I guess.

4.     What's your favorite favor ice cream? 
I love Chocolate Mousse Royale from Baskin Robbins.

5.     Cable or internet? 
Internet, definitely.

6.     Facebook or Twitter? 
I love both, but I'm much more active on Facebook.

7.     If you can be any character in your novel, who and why?  
I'd like to be Risa. She is so brave, it really become apparent in books 3 & 4.

8.     What inspired you in writing this novel?  
I'd just finished reading a zombie apocalypse novel and I wanted to give the genre a try. I thought I could add to the offerings.  I love writing about strong females, and this series definitely has it's share.

9.     What motivated you in writing this novel? 
I began writing the first in the series, EPIDEMIC, and the more the characters spoke to me, and told me about their journey, and I saw how brave and courageous they were, I became more and more motivated to tell their story.

10.  What makes your zombies so scary? (Are they traditional zombies or cyborg zombies from out of space?)
They are more traditional zombies, and what makes them scary is: they're evolving.  Learning.  Getting stronger.

11.  What makes the hero(ine) badass?  
There are several heroes in SANCTUARY, and what makes them so badass is their sheer bravery and courage, and their willingness to do anything to get the job done, whether that is a rescue, or just getting through a bad situation.

12.  How's the weather in Cali?
It's been a bit cold this winter... I can't wait for the sunshine to return.

About the Author 

Born naked. Clothed and fed shortly thereafter by adoring parents who looked on in bemusement as their daughter became a reading, writing, free-spirited, feral, animal loving, bleeding-heart chocolate lover who laughs easily. Samaire Provost is a California writer of Young Adult novels. Her love of paranormal stories, odd plots, and unique tales as well as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, E.A.Poe, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Stephen King has deeply influenced her writing. 

Connect with Samaire!

Facebook | Twitter  | Goodreads | Amazon | Blog

This Tour Stop is courtesy of CLP Blog Tours !

Teaser Tuesdays: Work for Hire by Margo Karasek

 Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

 

Teaser

"That's not how I did my homework with Lisa," Gemma complained.
... "She was my little helper, and she said that math wasn't my subject but everyone knew I was smart. And that's what you're supposed to be too, my little helper. So why aren't you helping me?"
My jaw dropped.
(pg. 77)

Work for Hire by Margo Karasek

 

Synopsis

Tekla’s law school career couldn’t be any better. She has top grades. She’s on Law Review. She’s a frontrunner in a mock oral argument with a sweet prize: a judicial clerkship. One problem, though: Tekla has no more money to pay for school. She needs a part-time job. Fast.

Luckily, her roommate has just the solution: help two uber-wealthy prep school teens, the twin son and daughter of a billionaire Wall Street short-seller and a world-renowned model turned fashion photographer, with their schoolwork, and earn $150 an hour. Plus, enjoy an additional perk on the job, in the form of a gorgeous photo assistant who happens to have his eye on Tekla.

Easy money.

Well, not so much. Within days, Tekla’s job begins to unravel. In a world of super-wealth and high fashion, Tekla finds herself surrounded by a peculiar cast of players: two teens whose self-destructive behavior becomes ever more erratic, a father whose ambitions for his son constantly test Tekla’s notions of what is fair and ethical and what is cheating, a mother whose emotional negligence borders on abuse, and a gorgeous man who may or may not be what he appears.

As Tekla struggles to hold onto a job that takes more time and energy than she ever anticipated, her own school life begins to suffer. She makes an enemy of a professor who seems to want nothing more than to bring her down. And he’s succeeding. Soon Tekla’s life is a paradox: without her high paying part-time job, she can’t afford law school; but with it, she’ll surely flunk out of school.

So far the story line is pain stakingly realistic. I feel sorry for Tekla.  I sincerely hope she finds a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys
by Maggie Stiefvater (Author),
Will Patton (Narrator)
Audio Play-a-Way, Unabridged
Published September 18th 2012 by Scholastic Audio Books
Length: 11 hours

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

I was interested in reading The Raven Boys mainly because it got such high ratings upon and even before its release. Another determining factor was because Maggie Stiefvater has been on my reading radar for quite some time now. I have both Shiver and Linger in hardback collecting dust on my bookshelf. I’m ashamed to say the only motivating factor for actually getting around to The Raven Boys was the fact that my local library had it in audiobook on playaway. I listened to it during my solo daytime working hours.

The Raven Boys tells a magical journey of a group of privileged teenage boys on a quest to find the age old genie in a bottle. Rather the bottle is energy ley line and the tale is much darker. From another angle, there’s Blue. She’s an “almost” normal girl from a family of psychics. Growing up among, oracles, Blue’s future is no secret. For as long as she can remember, she’s been warned of the bad omen looming over here future love life. When the raven boy’s and Blue’s path collide, they embark on a wondrous suspenseful journey to find what lies at the end of the ley lines.

There’s a plethora of suspense and mystery in The Raven Boys. The romance was downplayed, so that’s a plus for those who don’t like a dominating love story. The action comes toward the end of the novel. The characters were a colorful lot of mixed personalities. Ronan had a very short temper and downright mean. I understand that there’s more under the surface to his actions, yet he was a major turn off. I loved Blue. She was sassy and definitely held her own. Gansey was interesting enough also. Definitely a great pick for the ring leader. Noah was a sweetheart. Adam was disturbing and the story revealed enough for the reader to sympathize with his situation.

Overall The Raven Boys was an interesting and original story. I’m shocked to say that it fell rather low on my reading-enjoyment meter. Will Patton has a very theatrical and spooky voice. His renditions of the male characters were right on, but he sort of failed on his female portrayals. There wasn’t enough of a tone difference. Also overall, at times he neglected to use inflection and it sounded a lot like a Tear Eyes eye drop commercial. Audio books usually add a star or two to novels I wouldn’t normally have the attention span and patience to sit and read through. With this one I found myself needing a break from time to time.

While I didn’t particularly rave over this title, I encourage readers to still check it out. I have high hopes that the sequel will be far more action packed; and I’m interested in seeing what happens next via the physical novel. 

Now Available: Magic of the Chimes by Pat Dale

What’s a gal to do? Cassie Sizemore is a thirty-four year old divorcee with a pair of teen/’tween kids and a burning need for male companionship. Her philandering husband dumped her for a teenager, leaving her with a nice house and not much else. In her job as a waitress, she’s confronted daily by Howard Williams, local Romeo bachelor attorney, who’s trying to convince her he can’t live without her.

Cassie’s backyard neighbor, Matt Riley, makes a hit with her kids and becomes her confidant. Mythical magical wind chimes play an important role as widower Matt falls for Cassie. After she learns that Howie’s true interest is in a secret bet that he can get Cassie to sleep with him, her hormones are stifled big-time. What will it take for Riley to reignite her passion?

Available here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BANEHDM