Hey friends,  

Happy Halloween! I have an awesome giveaway for you today!  It's an historical fiction title courtesy of Viking/Penguin Publishing. In addition to the book giveaway, I’m able to share with you a online book club kit that you’re welcome to download and share. This giveaway is sponsored by Viking/Penguin Publishing so per their requirements, the giveaway is open for US and Canada only.  Viking Publishing will mail the book directly to the winner. 

The giveaway will be open until Monday November 3rd at midnight EST.  Good luck! 

Happy Reading,
~Tamara

Charlie Lovett’s best-selling debut novel The Bookman’s Tale introduced scores of readers to the true meaning of the word bibliophile. In his delightful second novel, FIRST IMPRESSIONS: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen (Viking; On sale October 20, 2014; $27.95; 978-0-525-42724-7), Lovett once again immerses readers in a world where books hold closely guarded secrets that threaten to turn the literary world upside down. For Lovett, a former antiquarian bookseller and collector, old books hold a power like none other; in his thrilling, suspenseful mysteries, their contents become matters of life and death.
 
In 1796, Jane Austen is living in Hampshire and working on her first book, an epistolary novel tentatively titled Elinor and Marianne, when she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an aging cleric named Richard Mansfield. An author himself—albeit of a less-than-artful book of allegories—Mansfield soon becomes Jane’s closest literary companion. On long walks through the countryside and engaging chats by the fire, they offer each other not only friendship, but also professional advice. Neither can foresee the impact their collaborations will have on future generations.
 
In present day London, Sophie Collingwood is a lifelong book lover bereft at the loss of her beloved Uncle Bertram. After his books are sold off to pay debts, Sophie takes a job at an antiquarian bookshop hoping to earn enough to slowly buy back the books and restore his collection. When, on the same day, two customers request a copy of the same obscure book—the second edition of Little Book of Allegories by Richard Mansfield—Sophie is drawn into a mystery that will cast doubt on the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice. Sophie, a dogged researcher and devoted Jane Austen fan, is quickly drawn into a frantic search for a book that threatens not just Jane Austen’s reputation, but Sophie’s own life.
 
Combining a very Austen-like love triangle; a portrait of one of our greatest literary legends; and a tribute to the typesetters and printing presses of the eighteenth century, FIRST IMPRESSIONS will charm bibliophiles and Jane Austen lovers everywhere. Lovett skillfully pulls readers into his world where true joy comes from a life lived in books.

Hey friends,

Join me and Octavia from Read.Sleep.Repeat. TONIGHT at 8:30 pm EST for a live discussion of books 3 and 4 (Faefever and Dreamfever) of the Fever series.  The discussion will be held on my YouTube channel via Google Hangout.  I hope you can join us!

Publisher: Dell Publishing Co / Brilliance Audio
Release Date: First published January 18, 2011
Format: Audio MP3
Pages: Mass Market Paperback: 671 pages/ Audio Length: Approx 20 hours
Narrator: Natalie Ross, Phil Gigante
Source: Library Borrow via Overdrive
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Date: October 29, 2014
Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis: “Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.” — MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. — Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh -- a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.

Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it.

This installment is the longest of them all thus far. This book picks up exactly where Dreamfever left off. The story begins where Dreamfever's cliff hanger is still in process and The IYD is revealed! I won't spoil it, but I knew it! While I saw it coming, I still freaked out about it a little bit. In the laugh out loud and shriek (very loudly) "OMG, I knew it!" sort of way.

Shadowfever was longest installment of the series, which made sense because this was the end. Well, it was the end.  Iced (book 6) was originally a spin off with Dani's character as the protagonist, yet still in the Fever world, but apparently following the release of Iced the plan changed.  The next few books after Iced have Mac as the heroine again along with Barrons, Ryodan, Christian, and a few other familiar characters.  Does that mean that Iced didn't do as well as she had hoped and she and the publisher changed the game to pull back in the fans? Will Dani and Mac share the lead? I don't know, that's a conversation for another day. I'll chime in on that after I'm finished with Iced. Check out Wikepidea for the details. Goodreads.com has also updated the previously tagged Dani O’Malley books and they are now labeled Fever books 6-10. 

Publisher: Riverhead Books 
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 213
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: Literary Fiction, Short Stories
Review Date: Recorded October, 2014
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: On a beach in the Dominican Republic, a doomed relationship flounders. In the heat of a hospital laundry room in New Jersey, a woman does her lover’s washing and thinks about his wife. In Boston, a man buys his love child, his only son, a first baseball bat and glove. At the heart of these stories is the irrepressible, irresistible Yunior, a young hardhead whose longing for love is equaled only by his recklessness--and by the extraordinary women he loves and loses: artistic Alma; the aging Miss Lora; Magdalena, who thinks all Dominican men are cheaters; and the love of his life, whose heartbreak ultimately becomes his own. 

In prose that is endlessly energetic, inventive, tender, and funny, the stories in This Is How You Lose Her lay bare the infinite longing and inevitable weakness of the human heart. They remind us that passion always triumphs over experience, and that “the half-life of love is forever.”

Hey Friends!

First and foremost this is a NOT a SPONSORED post. These opinions are mines and mines alone. Audible has not asked me to write this review. As you all know, I listen to a good amount of audiobooks and I'm clearly an advocate of supplementing (not replacing) reading with audio. I recently got my own Audible account and I wanted to share with you my thoughts on it.  While I find that I really enjoy the selection that Audible has, I'm not sure about the monthly sticker price.  If price is no issue for you, then this is the perfect service, let me tell you why.

Pros:
1. No waiting in line on the hold list for your Library's audiobook. whether it's their online catalog or physical CDs off the shelf.
2. You can listen anywhere! Download the Audible App and you're ready to go. Available in the iTunes store and the Android Market.
3. Whispersync - I think this is this is pretty awesome. You purchase an audiobook from Amazon, then you purchase from Amazon the coordinating audiobook at a reduced price.  You can read, then when your in the car or where ever you can't read, you can alternate back and forth and it keeps its place for you!  That's very cool.
4. The selection.  There are books on Audible that my library's online catalog doesn't have.  
5. The sales for Audible members. For example, in the last month I've seen two awesome sales. Both of these sales were for a specific list of titles. The first was a sale offering audiobooks for $4.99 and the second was a 2 for 1, two audiobooks for 1 credit! While new releases weren't included, the title selection for these sales was still pretty good.
6. I LOVE their return policy. Don't like the narrator? Fine, return it. So far, I've returned 1 book and it was an easy process and hassle free.

Cons:
1. As I mentioned earlier, I don't love the price.  Personally, I'd rather pay $29.95 a month for unlimited listening. The ability to listen to as many audiobooks as I please at any time, no waiting.
2. No discounts for existing customers.  I have an issue with this,  We spend a fair amount of money on Audible, they should give a little something for the loyal members. For example, why note have a digital coupon card? I'm just brain storming here, but why not give a free credit for every 5 audiobook reviews that you complete, or something like that.  I'm sure it would go a long way with paying members to get a little something extra.

Final Thoughts: Again, I love the service itself. I like the technology and usability of it.  I like the variety. I don't like the price.  Will I keep my subscription?  That depends. I'd like to keep it forever. But for now, I plan on staying for a few months and and listen to books on my list that my library doesn't have (mostly new releases) and checkout a few audio dramas. But once I'm done, I will most likely cancel unless my budget changes or the price changes.

Do you use Audible? If not, and you use a different pay service, let me know which one it is and what you think of it.

Happy Reading & Listening,
~Tamara

Publisher: ACE 
Release Date: March 6, 2012 | Penguin Audio on March 6, 2012
Format: MP3
Pages: 293 (Hardcover) / Audio Length: Approx 10 hours
Narrator: Holter Graham
Source: Library via Overdrive
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Date: October 22, 2014
Rating: 5 bookmarks

Synopsis: They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can't afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father's dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack's help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer's sights...

This story picks up a year and a half to two years after the last book, Hunting Ground.  Anna's more adjusted and she's not as skittish as she used to be.  Anna and Charles have somewhat gotten into their groove as a couple. For the most part. This installment starts off with Charles having a hard time coping with his duties as pack enforcer. He is killing everyone that Bran points his finger at. Anna does what she can as an Omega to passively help, but Charles isn’t allowing her to help him and it's getting worse.

As a result of Bran revealing the wolves to the public, it has created a lot of issues among the packs and lots of wolves are breaking the rules.  It's a lot more death sentences that usual, Bran is cracking down with every infraction, no matter if he would have given a second chance in the past. We get a brief interaction with Adam, from the Mercy Thompson series, and that’s where we find out time-wise where we are in the scheme of both series. This book takes place right after Mercy's huge injury that left her in a wheel chair at the end of River Marked and before Frost Burned where the Fae have been called back to their reservation.  Adam suggest to Bran a way to give Charles an overdue break from being full time executioner while at the same time finally utilizing Anna and her talents to help with an important request for help.

WAIT FOR SIGNS collects those beloved short stories—and one entirely new story, Petunia, Bandit Queen of the Bighorns. With glimpses of Walt’s past from the incident in Ministerial Aide, when the sheriff is mistaken for a deity, to the hilarious Messenger, where the majority of the action takes place in a Port-A-Potty, to when Walt plays the Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol, WAIT FOR SIGNS will be a welcomed addition to any Longmire collection and a wonderful way to introduce new readers to the sheriff’s world of Absaroka County, Wyoming.

This giveaway will be open for one week only. Good luck!

Shelf Addiction Giveaway TERMS & CONDITIONS
 
-You MUST be at least 18 years old to enter. 
-This giveaway is US ONLY.
-The winner will be notified via the contact email provided on the contact form. 
-All entries will be verified. 
-The winner will have 2 business days to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen. 
DISCLOSURE: This giveaway is sponsored by the publisher.

Publisher: Fiction Std, E Book
Release Date: January 17, 2012
Format: Paperback
Pages: 394
Source: Amazon
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Review Date: Recorded October, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Synopsis: A DEADLY CONSPIRACY 
Graduate students Jonathan and Michael Rickner, sons of eminent archaeologist Sir William Rickner, are no strangers to historical mysteries and archaeological adventures. But when Michael is discovered dead in his Washington, D.C. apartment, Jon refuses to believe the official ruling of suicide. 

Digging deeper into his brother's work, he discovers evidence that Michael was murdered to keep his dissertation research buried. 

A DEVASTATING NATIONAL SECRET 
Joined by Michael's fiancee Mara Ellison, Jon travels to New York where he uncovers the threads of a deadly Depression-era conspiracy - one entangling the Hoover Administration, the Rockefellers, and the rise of Nazi Germany - and the elite cadre of assassins that still guard its unspeakable secret. 

THE LABYRINTHINE PATH TO THE TRUTH 
Finding themselves in the crosshairs of the same men who killed Michael, Jon and Mara must navigate a complex web of historical cover-ups and modern-day subterfuge, outwitting and outrunning their all-powerful pursuers as they race through the monuments and museums of Manhattan in a labyrinthine treasure hunt to discover the last secret of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., before their enemies can bury the truth - and them - forever.