Month: October 2016
Spotlight/ Three Amazing Things About You
Title: Three Amazing Things About You
Author: Jill Mansell
Pub date: October 4, 2016
ISBN: 9781492618065
Hallie has a secret…doesn’t everybody?
Hallie doesn’t have long to live. And to make things even more complicated, she’s in love with a guy who’s seriously out of bounds. She’s never going to let him know, of course; she’s just going to enjoy every remaining moment of her crush. She’s also determined to spend her last months helping those who write into her Dear Rose column with problems of their own. Her doctors can’t fix her, but maybe she can fix a few other people’s dilemmas before it’s too late.
All our lives are full of choices, for better or worse. The amazing thing to see is how connected we all are—in ways we don’t even know. On occasion, we have the chance to see the ways we change one another’s lives for the better.
With over ten million copies sold, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author JILL MANSELL writes irresistible, funny, poignant, and romantic tales for women in the tradition of Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella, and Jojo Moyes. She lives with her partner and their children in Bristol, England.
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Before
“Hey, hi, how’s things? What are you up to?”
Hallie brightened at the sound of Bea’s voice. “You really want to know? OK, I’ll tell you. But I’m warning you now, you’re going to be so jealous.”
“Fire away.”
“I’m in Venice, sitting at a table outside Caffè Florian in St. Mark’s Square. The sun is shining, church bells are ringing and the waiter’s just opened a bottle of ice-cold Prosecco.”
“Is the waiter handsome?”
“What do you think? This is Venice! Of course he’s handsome. He’s giving me one of those handsome-waiter looks,” said Hallie. “With his eyes.”
“Hmm, and is he listening to you saying this?”
“It’s fine, he doesn’t speak a word of English. I may seduce him later. He has a look of Bradley Cooper about him.”
“Sure you don’t mean Tommy Cooper?”
“Shut up.”
“Are there pigeons there?”
“Yes, loads.”
“My mum went to St. Mark’s Square once. A pigeon did a poo on her head.”
“Lovely.”
“She was so mad,” said Bea. “She’d had her hair done specially for the trip. I wouldn’t stick around there if I were you. Get out while you can. Those Italian pigeons are evil.”
“Fine, you’ve convinced me. I’m going to jump into my helicopter now and fly home.”
“I think you should. Shall I come over after work this evening?”
“That’d be good.”
“Around seven then. See you later. Bye-eee!”
Hallie put down the phone and straightened her duvet, which had gone crooked again. She pulled herself into a more comfortable sitting position and did her best to adjust the pillows too. There was a definite art to staying in bed and not having to endlessly rearrange yourself, and she’d yet to master it. Back-arching, shoulder-stretching, bottom-wiggling and neck-tilting all played their part.
Having stretched and wriggled and gotten herself half sorted, Hallie looked out at the indigo sky as darkness fell. It was the week before Christmas, and multicolored fairy lights were being switched on. From here, she had arguably the best view of the village: to the left, the high street; to the right, the River Windrush with its low stone bridge and the row of honey-colored shops, hotels and houses on the other side of the water. She could watch everyone coming and going, keep track of people she knew, and also view the progress of tourists making their way around Carranford, the self-styled jewel in the north Cotswolds’ crown.
Not so many visitors during the winter months, of course, but still enough to keep the people-watching interesting and the tourist-friendly shops open. A coachload were currently milling around, taking endless photographs, diving in and out of shops and buying souvenirs they didn’t need, as well as Christmas presents for friends and relatives back home. By the looks of things, plenty of them would be opening a festively wrapped umbrella this year, printed with scenes of Carranford. Bea must have sold over a dozen today alone.
Eight days to Christmas. Hallie tried not to wonder if this one might be her last, basically because such thoughts were unanswerable and never helpful. Apart from anything else, the answer was always possibly.
Then again, that applied to everyone on the planet.
Book Spotlight/ Love You Dead
Love You Dead (Pan Macmillan; October 4, 2016; $27.95) is the twelfth thrilling crime novel in Peter James’s Roy Grace series.
An ugly duckling as a child, Jodie Bentley had two dreams in life – to be beautiful and to be rich. She’s achieved the first, with a little help from a plastic surgeon, and now she’s working hard on the second. Her philosophy about money is simple: you can either earn it or marry it. Marrying is easy, it’s getting rid of the husband afterwards that’s harder, that takes real skill. But hey, practice makes perfect . . .
Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is feeling the pressure from his superiors, his previous case is still giving him sleepless nights, there have been major developments with his missing wife Sandy, and an old adversary is back. But worse than all of this, he now believes a Black Widow is operating in his city.
One with a venomous mind . . . and venomous skills. Soon Grace comes to the frightening realization that he may have underestimated just how dangerous this lady is.
About the Author
Peter James is the #1 international bestselling author of the Roy Grace thriller series. Before writing full time, James lived in the U.S. for a number of years, producing films including The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes. A TV adaptation of the Roy Grace series is currently in development, with James overseeing all aspects, including scriptwriting.
James’s novella ‘The Perfect Murder’, started its world stage premiere in 2014, and his first Roy Grace novel Dead Simple has now been adapted for stage, and will tour the UK in 2015. In 1994, in addition to conventional print publishing, James’s novel Host was published on two floppy discs and is now in the Science Museum as the world’s first electronic novel.
Famed for his in-depth research, in 2009 James was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Brighton in recognition of his services to literature and the community, and in 2013 he was awarded an Outstanding Public Service Award by Sussex Police with whom he rides along regularly. He has also been out many times with the NYPD and the LAPD in the US and with many other police forces around the world, as well as doing extensive research with offenders in prisons and psychiatric institutions. He has served as two-times Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association and is a board member of the US International Thriller Writers.
He has won numerous literary awards, including the publicly voted ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards People’s Bestseller Dagger in 2011 and was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize for Perfect People in 2012. James’s novels have been translated into thirty-six languages and three have been turned into films.
All of his novels reflect a deep interest in the world of the police, with whom he does in–depth research and has unprecedented access, as well as science, medicine and the paranormal. A speed junkie, who in his teens was selected to train for the British Olympic Ski Team, he holds an international motor racing license and switches off from work by racing his classic 1965 BMW. James divides his time between his homes in Notting Hill in London and near Brighton in Sussex.
Visit Peter James’s Website: http://www.peterjames.com
Visit Peter James on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peterjames.roygrace
Visit Peter James on Twitter: https://twitter.com/peterjamesuk
All previous books in the series and the new novel, Love You Dead, will now be available for the first time in the U.S. through Pan Macmillan and Independent Publishers Group. We are thrilled to be bringing this series to the American public.
We are offering a major giveaway to all who participate for the chance to win the whole Roy Grace series with a boxed set of the first 10 books, as well as the two most recent books that were published after the box set came out.
http://www.rafflecopter.
Book Promo/ The Rift Uprising
Normal seventeen-year-old girls go to high school, binge watch TV shows all weekend, and flirt with everyone on the face of the Earth. But Ryn Whitaker is trying to save it.
Ryn is a Citadel. A soldier. A liar. Ryn and her fellow Citadels were specially chosen and trained to guard a Rift—one of fourteen unpredictable tears in the fabric of the universe that serve as doorways to alternate Earths. Unbeknownst to her family, Ryn leaves for school each day and then reports for duty as an elite, cybernetically-altered soldier who can run faster, jump farther, and fight better than a Navy SEAL—which comes in handy when she’s not sure if axe-wielding Vikings or any number of other terrified and often dangerous beings come through the Rift. A fine-tuned weapon, Ryn is a picture-perfect Citadel. But that’s all about to change.
When a young man named Ezra is pulled through the Rift, Ryn finds herself immediately drawn to him, despite her training. What starts as a physical attraction quickly grows deeper, and Ezra’s curiosity throws Ryn off balance when he starts questioning the Rifts, the mysterious organization that oversees them, and the Citadels themselves—questions that lead Ryn to wonder if the lies she’s been telling her family are just the surface of a much bigger lie told to her. As Ryn and Ezra desperately try to get to that truth, they discover that each revelation blurs the line between the villains and the heroes even more.
ABOUT AMY S. FOSTER
Amy S. Foster is a celebrated songwriter, best known as Michael Bublé’s writing partner. You might recognize her work in his four hit singles, including “Home” and “Haven’t Met You Yet.” She has also collaborated with Destiny’s Child, Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and a host of other artists. She is also the author of the novel When Autumn Leaves. When she’s not in a studio in Nashville, Amy lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. Amy is the daughter of singer B.J. Cook and the legendary music producer, David Foster. Fun fact about Amy: Her extended family tree includes Bella and Gigi Hadid, Sara and Erin Foster and Brody and Brandon Jenner, and Clay Aiken! The Rift Uprising, her YA debut, will be released on October 4, 2016.
Review/ All The Bright Places
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven Format: Paperback
Published by Penguin on January 8th 2015
Pages: 388
Goodreads
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the 'natural wonders' of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I have been dying to read this book ever since it came out and I have to send a huge thank you to SocialBookCo (if you click on the bold text it will take you to the page so that you can buy the book at the lowest price along with many other books they have available) for sending the book to me to review.
When I got the book I knew this was going to be one book that I didn’t want to devour quickly so I paced myself. Wow what an incredible read. I am still sitting here days after finishing it thinking about the book and Violet and Finch. I have to be careful in what I write because I don’t want to give out too much of the story which I honestly have a problem with sometimes. I tend to write more then I should.
This was Jennifer Niven’s debut novel. Honestly what a debut it was. I knew going into the book that it was going to be an emotional roller coaster ride and it was. Its been awhile since a book has made me tear up.
The book is told in the perspectives of Violet and Finch. Both are seventeen year old kids going to high school. Violet is still grieving the lose of her sister who was killed in a tragic accident who is basically having a hard time going on with life and she is a popular girl and Finch is what the kids at school consider a freak a social outcast. But what others don’t realize is that Finch is truly a funny, smart, a little kooky and creative. I think if people actually got to know him they wouldn’t think he was a freak.
No secret the book begins with Violet attempting to kill herself from the bell tower at her high school but Finch kind of gets in her way because he is doing the exact same thing. From this moment a bond forms between the two. I actually was enjoying this bond because I think they were both there at the right time for each other. Could this friendship turn into something more?
Finch basically has become engrossed with Violet and I don’t know if that’s because she was there when he was about to jump and he took that as a sign not to? So when they are in science class the teacher announces there will be a class project and he basically demands for Violet to be his partner. The project is forcing the kids in the class to wander around Indiana and find unique things about the state that they would consider hidden gems. Which I think is a great idea and more teachers should do this type of project with their students.
So through the course of discovering Indiana Violet begins to have feeling for Finch. This book is definitely a great book to read if you want to discover some hidden gems in Indiana. I have to admit I thought this was cute and special although I do have to say that these two have issues and really I even though they were good for each other they weren’t if that makes sense.
I just have to say that Jennifer Niven did a fantastic job on this debut novel. Finch and Violet have turned into my favorite characters and its been awhile since I have had favorite characters that I am still thinking about. She managed to tackle a very serious issue and she handled it with sensitivity that this book needed. I would not have a problem reading future books of Jennifer’s if they are anything like this.