Believing that "finding, catching, and building a relationship with a beau simply isn't so different from finding, catching, and building a relationship with a boss," Nicole Williams turns the so-called rules of dating into career advice. Using crass language at times, she proposes that following rules like "don't bash your ex" and "don't give away your milk for free" will make you the Girl on Top. It's an interesting proposal, though it has some flaws. The "Keep the Fire Alive" chapter hardly applies to life in the workforce. Williams focuses her advice here on dating rather than workplace interactions and some parts don't make sense in regard to either situation. (I doubt anyone finds a new love interest for the soon-to-be ex nor would most be involved in the hiring of a replacement at work since HR would need to be involved.) Some of the advice is helpful to those just starting their careers, but it's a bit of stretch to wholly apply the rules of dating to the workforce.
3/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Center Street.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
giveaway: two harlequin romances
Merry Christmas! For the last giveaway of the week Harlequin is providing two romance novels: The Italian's Inexperienced Mistress by Lynne Graham and Branded By the Sheriff by Delores Fossen. Four people will win a copy of both books. Please note that these books are marked with "enjoy this free gift."
Here's the back cover copy for The Italian's Inexperienced Mistress:
"Angelo Riccardi didn't do love. Because he'd been denied it a long time ago...
When Angelo sought revenge Gwenna Hamilton added another delicious dimension. Innocent and pretty, she didn't stand a chance when the Italian tycoon offered her the devil's bargain: pay for her father's freedom with her body.
In her naiveté, Gwenna thought that Angelo would tire of her and her innocence very quickly. But he had more in mind than just one night…"
And this is the back cover copy for Branded By the Sheriff:
"Years ago, Sheriff Beck Tanner had believed the worst about Faith Matthews. Now she was back in their small Texas town, forcing him to question everything he thought he knew about her. And when the killer who'd murdered her family set his sights on Faith--and her innocent baby girl--Beck's protective instincts kicked into high gear.
As dangerous pranks turned into deadly games, and with a sadistic killer circling closer, all of Beck's attention had to be on keeping Faith's baby safe...and ignoring his inconvenient attraction to the beautiful mother..."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 16. Winners will be selected at random. Winners must have mailing addresses in the US; PO Boxes are ok for this one.
Here's the back cover copy for The Italian's Inexperienced Mistress:
"Angelo Riccardi didn't do love. Because he'd been denied it a long time ago...
When Angelo sought revenge Gwenna Hamilton added another delicious dimension. Innocent and pretty, she didn't stand a chance when the Italian tycoon offered her the devil's bargain: pay for her father's freedom with her body.
In her naiveté, Gwenna thought that Angelo would tire of her and her innocence very quickly. But he had more in mind than just one night…"
And this is the back cover copy for Branded By the Sheriff:
"Years ago, Sheriff Beck Tanner had believed the worst about Faith Matthews. Now she was back in their small Texas town, forcing him to question everything he thought he knew about her. And when the killer who'd murdered her family set his sights on Faith--and her innocent baby girl--Beck's protective instincts kicked into high gear.
As dangerous pranks turned into deadly games, and with a sadistic killer circling closer, all of Beck's attention had to be on keeping Faith's baby safe...and ignoring his inconvenient attraction to the beautiful mother..."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 16. Winners will be selected at random. Winners must have mailing addresses in the US; PO Boxes are ok for this one.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
giveaway: the little giant of aberdeen county
The Christmas Eve giveaway is The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker. Hachette is providing three copies.
The review from Publishers Weekly:
"Starred Review. Baker's bangup debut mixes the exuberant eccentricities of John Irving's Garp, Anne Tyler's relationship savvy and the plangent voice of Margaret Atwood. In an upstate New York backwater, Truly, massive from birth, has a bleak existence with her depressed father and her china-doll–like sister, Serena Jane. Truly grows at an astonishing rate—her girth the result of a pituitary gland problem—and after her father dies when Truly is 12, Truly is sloughed off to the Dyersons, a hapless farming family. Her outsize kindness surfaces as she befriends the Dyersons' outcast daughter, Amelia, and later leaves her beloved Dyerson farm to take care of Serena Jane's husband and son after Serena Jane leaves them. Haunting the margins of Truly's story is that of Tabitha Dyerson, a rumored witch whose secrets afford a breathtaking role reversal for Truly. It's got all the earmarks of a hit—infectious and lovable narrator, a dash of magic, an impressive sweep and a heartrending but not treacly family drama. It'll be a shame if this doesn't race up the bestseller lists."
And there's a Reading Group Guide:
1. Truly is the “little giant” of this book, yet her size seems to make her less, rather than more, visible to the town around her. Can you explain this phenomenon? What do you think the author is trying to say about her outsider status?
2. Serena Jane and Truly are as physically different as sisters can be, yet Truly sees that this difference is crucial, explaining “the reason the two of us were as opposite as sewage and spring water, I thought, was that pretty can’t exist without ugly.” (pp. 97-98) How would you describe Truly and Serena’s connection? How is it different from Truly’s relationship with Amelia Dyerson? Which seems the more genuine sisterhood to you?
3. As the successor to a long line of old-fashioned, small-town doctors, Robert Morgan is traditional, strict, and often cruel. I the end, however, the legacy terminates with him and he becomes Aberdeen’s last Dr. Morgan. How do he and Bobbie stray from the family paradigm? What Morgan characteristics stayed with each of them? Is the town “more modern” without a Dr. Morgan, and with Bobbie and Salvatore’s restaurant instead? Is the replacement of nurturing through nourishment rather than doctoring a symbolic replacement?
4. Death haunts Truly and all of Aberdeen, sometimes in unexpected ways. As a gardener, Marcus’s aim is to “make things live,” but, as Truly realizes, “wasn’t it also true that gardeners were always wrestling with death, whether in the form of drought, or blight, or hungry insects? In a garden, Marcus always said, death was the first, last and only fact of life.” What other parallels do you see in the ways Marcus and Truly court life and death?
5. Truly’s size marks her as an outcast, but throughout the novel, other characters have trouble “fitting in” in a more figurative way. Examine how this manifests in Bobbie, Marcus, Amelia, even Serena Jane. What larger point do you this the author might be trying to make about the importance of conforming?
6. What role does Aberdeen County play in the novel? Could the story or these characters exist elsewhere? Do the effects of the 60s and the Vietnam War seem to touch Aberdeen in the same way they touched the rest of the country? What is unique and what is not about Aberdeen as a setting?
7. When Amelia discovers how Priscilla Sparrow and Robert Morgan died, she asks Truly whether it was mercy or murder that killed them. What do you think? How do you feel about Truly’s actions? What in Truly’s character draws her to “collect souls” as she comes to call it?
8. When Marcus and Truly finally come together, Marcus says “We’re not exactly a match made in heaven, you and I, but I figure we’re good enough for here on earth” (p. 334) What does he mean by this? Do you agree?
9. Why doesn’t Robert Morgan “care” that his son runs away? What does it say about what he thinks of himself? How does this connect to Serena Jane’s leaving and his reaction to that event?
10. After Robert Morgan’s death, Truly gradually takes on some of his responsibilities as town doctor by using the knowledge she’s gained from Tabitha’s quilt. How is this a fitting purpose for Truly, and a fitting counterpoint to the legacy of Morgan doctors?
11. What about this story is larger than life or possesses elements of a tall tale or folklore? How are these details woven into the story? How is the book similar to or different from other works in this tradition?
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 16. Winners will be selected at random. Since this is from Hachette the winners must have mailing addresses in the US or Canada; no PO Boxes.
The review from Publishers Weekly:
"Starred Review. Baker's bangup debut mixes the exuberant eccentricities of John Irving's Garp, Anne Tyler's relationship savvy and the plangent voice of Margaret Atwood. In an upstate New York backwater, Truly, massive from birth, has a bleak existence with her depressed father and her china-doll–like sister, Serena Jane. Truly grows at an astonishing rate—her girth the result of a pituitary gland problem—and after her father dies when Truly is 12, Truly is sloughed off to the Dyersons, a hapless farming family. Her outsize kindness surfaces as she befriends the Dyersons' outcast daughter, Amelia, and later leaves her beloved Dyerson farm to take care of Serena Jane's husband and son after Serena Jane leaves them. Haunting the margins of Truly's story is that of Tabitha Dyerson, a rumored witch whose secrets afford a breathtaking role reversal for Truly. It's got all the earmarks of a hit—infectious and lovable narrator, a dash of magic, an impressive sweep and a heartrending but not treacly family drama. It'll be a shame if this doesn't race up the bestseller lists."
And there's a Reading Group Guide:
1. Truly is the “little giant” of this book, yet her size seems to make her less, rather than more, visible to the town around her. Can you explain this phenomenon? What do you think the author is trying to say about her outsider status?
2. Serena Jane and Truly are as physically different as sisters can be, yet Truly sees that this difference is crucial, explaining “the reason the two of us were as opposite as sewage and spring water, I thought, was that pretty can’t exist without ugly.” (pp. 97-98) How would you describe Truly and Serena’s connection? How is it different from Truly’s relationship with Amelia Dyerson? Which seems the more genuine sisterhood to you?
3. As the successor to a long line of old-fashioned, small-town doctors, Robert Morgan is traditional, strict, and often cruel. I the end, however, the legacy terminates with him and he becomes Aberdeen’s last Dr. Morgan. How do he and Bobbie stray from the family paradigm? What Morgan characteristics stayed with each of them? Is the town “more modern” without a Dr. Morgan, and with Bobbie and Salvatore’s restaurant instead? Is the replacement of nurturing through nourishment rather than doctoring a symbolic replacement?
4. Death haunts Truly and all of Aberdeen, sometimes in unexpected ways. As a gardener, Marcus’s aim is to “make things live,” but, as Truly realizes, “wasn’t it also true that gardeners were always wrestling with death, whether in the form of drought, or blight, or hungry insects? In a garden, Marcus always said, death was the first, last and only fact of life.” What other parallels do you see in the ways Marcus and Truly court life and death?
5. Truly’s size marks her as an outcast, but throughout the novel, other characters have trouble “fitting in” in a more figurative way. Examine how this manifests in Bobbie, Marcus, Amelia, even Serena Jane. What larger point do you this the author might be trying to make about the importance of conforming?
6. What role does Aberdeen County play in the novel? Could the story or these characters exist elsewhere? Do the effects of the 60s and the Vietnam War seem to touch Aberdeen in the same way they touched the rest of the country? What is unique and what is not about Aberdeen as a setting?
7. When Amelia discovers how Priscilla Sparrow and Robert Morgan died, she asks Truly whether it was mercy or murder that killed them. What do you think? How do you feel about Truly’s actions? What in Truly’s character draws her to “collect souls” as she comes to call it?
8. When Marcus and Truly finally come together, Marcus says “We’re not exactly a match made in heaven, you and I, but I figure we’re good enough for here on earth” (p. 334) What does he mean by this? Do you agree?
9. Why doesn’t Robert Morgan “care” that his son runs away? What does it say about what he thinks of himself? How does this connect to Serena Jane’s leaving and his reaction to that event?
10. After Robert Morgan’s death, Truly gradually takes on some of his responsibilities as town doctor by using the knowledge she’s gained from Tabitha’s quilt. How is this a fitting purpose for Truly, and a fitting counterpoint to the legacy of Morgan doctors?
11. What about this story is larger than life or possesses elements of a tall tale or folklore? How are these details woven into the story? How is the book similar to or different from other works in this tradition?
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 16. Winners will be selected at random. Since this is from Hachette the winners must have mailing addresses in the US or Canada; no PO Boxes.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
giveaway: in tongues of the dead
For the fourth giveaway of the week, an ARC of In Tongues of the Dead by Brad Kelln is up for grabs. This ARC was provided by ECW Press.
Here's the review from Publishers Weekly:
"At the start of this flawed thriller from Canadian author Kelln (Method of Madness), an autistic boy appears to be able to read the real-life Voynich manuscript, a 500-year-old book written in a language that linguists, historians, religious scholars and even advanced decryption technology can't decipher. By the time Fr. Benicio Valori, a Vatican investigator, arrives at Yale University's Beinecke Library, where the mysterious manuscript is housed, the book is missing from its display room and what's left of a security guard lies nearby. Disregarding orders from his superiors to suspend the mission, Valori uncovers some bombshell revelations concerning the existence of rogue angels, their forsaken offspring and a coverup of biblical proportions. Da Vinci Code fans will enjoy the seamless blend of fact and fiction, pedal-to-the-metal pacing and provocative religious speculation, but the ending comes as a letdown after the exciting build-up."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 2. Winners will be selected at random. Winners must have mailing addresses in the US; PO Boxes are ok for this one.
Here's the review from Publishers Weekly:
"At the start of this flawed thriller from Canadian author Kelln (Method of Madness), an autistic boy appears to be able to read the real-life Voynich manuscript, a 500-year-old book written in a language that linguists, historians, religious scholars and even advanced decryption technology can't decipher. By the time Fr. Benicio Valori, a Vatican investigator, arrives at Yale University's Beinecke Library, where the mysterious manuscript is housed, the book is missing from its display room and what's left of a security guard lies nearby. Disregarding orders from his superiors to suspend the mission, Valori uncovers some bombshell revelations concerning the existence of rogue angels, their forsaken offspring and a coverup of biblical proportions. Da Vinci Code fans will enjoy the seamless blend of fact and fiction, pedal-to-the-metal pacing and provocative religious speculation, but the ending comes as a letdown after the exciting build-up."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 2. Winners will be selected at random. Winners must have mailing addresses in the US; PO Boxes are ok for this one.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
giveaway: primitive
The third day of giveaways brings two ARC copies of Mark Nykanen's Primitive. Thanks to Bell Bridge books for providing the ARCs.
Here's a brief description; find out more here.
"Kidnapped by neo-primitive survivalists with a radical environmental agenda, an aging model finds herself fighting for her life in the rugged Pacific Northwest mountains."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 2. Winners will be selected at random. Winners must have mailing addresses in the US; PO Boxes are ok for this one.
Here's a brief description; find out more here.
"Kidnapped by neo-primitive survivalists with a radical environmental agenda, an aging model finds herself fighting for her life in the rugged Pacific Northwest mountains."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 2. Winners will be selected at random. Winners must have mailing addresses in the US; PO Boxes are ok for this one.
Monday, December 21, 2009
giveaway: love you to death
For the second day of giveaways leading up to Christmas, Hachette is allowing me to offer two copies of Love You to Death by Shannon K. Butcher.
Here's what Publishers Weekly has to say:
"Fans of romantic suspense are used to glossing over gruesomeness in a fast-paced story, but this macabre effort from Butcher (No Escape) offers only a tired plot and characters to balance the revolting details of serial killer Gary Maitland's escapades. Reporter Elise McBride, worried because she has not heard from her irresponsible sister, Ashley, breaks into Ashley's house for clues and is inevitably discovered by Trent Brady, the handsome but burnt-out ex-cop from across the. Ashley has been kidnapped by Gary, who slices body parts off his victims while they're still alive, and it's the usual race against time as Elise and Trent team up to find Ashley before Gary dismembers her. Their sizzling passion helps them tame personal demons and confront the killer, but the romance is soon buried under gore and clichés."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 2. Winners will be selected at random. Since this is from Hachette the winners must have mailing addresses in the US or Canada; no PO Boxes.
Here's what Publishers Weekly has to say:
"Fans of romantic suspense are used to glossing over gruesomeness in a fast-paced story, but this macabre effort from Butcher (No Escape) offers only a tired plot and characters to balance the revolting details of serial killer Gary Maitland's escapades. Reporter Elise McBride, worried because she has not heard from her irresponsible sister, Ashley, breaks into Ashley's house for clues and is inevitably discovered by Trent Brady, the handsome but burnt-out ex-cop from across the. Ashley has been kidnapped by Gary, who slices body parts off his victims while they're still alive, and it's the usual race against time as Elise and Trent team up to find Ashley before Gary dismembers her. Their sizzling passion helps them tame personal demons and confront the killer, but the romance is soon buried under gore and clichés."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on January 2. Winners will be selected at random. Since this is from Hachette the winners must have mailing addresses in the US or Canada; no PO Boxes.
review: godmother by carolyn turgeon
The subtitle to Carolyn Turgeon’s excellent Godmother is “The Secret Cinderella Story,” which it definitely is. This book, which is told from the Godmother’s perspective, changes everything you thought you knew about the classic fairy tale. First off, the reason Cinderella is so beautiful is that she’s actually half-fairy. Her mother had an affair with a fairy, who ended up being banished because of it. Similarly, Lil (Cinderella’s Godmother) is also banished because of a love affair with a human—-Cinderella’s Prince Charming. How Lil came to attend the ball in Cinderella’s place is shocking and a bit devastating for anyone who loved Cinderella as a child. Another dark twist comes at the end, but it almost seems appropriate and doesn’t take away from the beautiful story.
5/5
ARC Review
Review copy provided by the publisher, Three Rivers Press.
5/5
ARC Review
Review copy provided by the publisher, Three Rivers Press.
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