BLOG HOP! July 16th

Hey all, HAPPY FRIDAY!  And if you are stopping by from the Blog Hop... WELCOME! 

Today over at Crazy-For-Books.com we are asked:

RIGHT THIS INSTANT, WHAT BOOK ARE YOU DYING TO GET YOUR HANDS ON (PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE)?


The book I am most wanting was just discussed on Good Reads on June 10th and is just being written now.  It is the prequel to Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn.  It's called "Daughter's of Rome".  I LOOOVED MIstress of Rome, and for any of you out there that haven't read it I highly recommend it!  Especially for summer!  What an awesome page turner... think The Other Boleyn Girl Italian style.  SWOON!

On a non-bookish note, I am picking up my 10 year old daughter from camp today and I CANNOT WAIT!  She has been gone since Sunday night and I can't tell you all how much I have missed her non-stop chatter around her.  For those of you that may or may not know, she started a book blog awhile back called Book Blab for Kids, and when she gets back she will begin posting again!  So thanks to all of you who have showed your support and checked her out and became followers!  She takes it VERY seriously, and wants to do a good job and at the same time have fun!

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!!

MAILBOX MONDAY AND WINNER OF MISTRESS OF ROME CONTEST!

Mailbox Monday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Marcia over at The Printed Page. 

I have not posted a MM in about 4 weeks, so I do have a few to share! 

A HUGE thank you to Paul over at Source Books for review copies of:

(Blurb from Source Books)
Picture the Dead is written by two-time National Book Award finalist Adele Griffin with illustrations throughout by Lisa Brown, who pens an “illustrated, two-panel book review” in the San Francisco Chronicle (she’s also married to Lemony Snickett)! This book has received glowing reviews from Michael Chabon (The Adventures of Cavalier and Klay), Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabaret), Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles), and Judy Blundell (National Book Award Winner for Best YA Novel in 2009!)—all New York Times Best Sellers. Set against the backdrop of the Civil War, this richly illustrated paranormal mystery is reminiscent of a Cold Mountain for the Young Adult audience. To find out more, or to read the first chapters, check out the landing page on TeenFire (http://teenfire.ning.com/group/PictureTheDead) or visit www.PictureTheDead.com!

We Hear the Dead is written by Dianne K. Salerni who previously self-published this novel under the title High Spirits. Her efforts in self-publishing proved so successful that shortly after its release, she had sold the book to Sourcebooks and had optioned the movie rights! Roughly 160 years ago, Kate & Maggie Fox started making creepy rapping noises to convince an aunt that their home was haunted—in the hopes that she’d move out. Two years later, after news of their powers spread across the country, the Fox sisters hit New York city—“communing with spirits” in front of sold-out crowds and notable celebrities like Horace Greeley, James Fennimore Cooper and George Bancroft. Told from the first person perspective of each sister, this novel is a peak inside the lives of two of the most famous Spiritualists to ever live. We Hear the Dead reveals the secrets of the Fox sisters’ séances and their struggle to find themselves amid their deceit. For more info, check out the landing page on TeenFire (http://teenfire.ning.com/group/WeHearTheDead) or go to http://www.wehearthedead.com/

 
Thank you so much to TLC Tours for sending me this book!
Meet the Ames Girls: eleven childhood friends who formed a special bond growing up in Ames, Iowa. As young women, they moved to eight different states, yet managed to maintain an enduring friendship that would carry them through college and careers, marriage and motherhood, dating and divorce, a child’s illness and the mysterious death of one member of their group. Capturing their remarkable story, The Girls from Ames is a testament to the deep bonds of women as they experience life’s joys and challenges — and the power of friendship to triumph over heartbreak and unexpected tragedy.




 
 
WINNER OF MISTRESS OF ROME BY KATE QUINN!!!
 
CONGRATULATIONS:  ddufek!  I have emailed the winner and they have until Wednesday May 5th to respond, if they do not then I will be redrawing.  Thank you so much to all  who entered!!! 

REVIEW: MISTRESS OF ROME AND GIVEAWAY!

Mistress of Rome
by Kate Quinn
Paperback: 480 pages

Publisher: Berkley (TRD); Original edition (April 6 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425232476


First of all, I would like to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Kaitlyn of Berkley (Penguin Group) USA for sending me an ARC of this book!


Reading this book is like watching a great mini-series on television. It has it all; love, lust, murder,gladiators, courtesans, emperor, you name it this book has it! I have to admit when I first opened the book and started reading, I was surprised at the modern contemporary language in it. I decided to not let that bother me and continued reading with an open mind. Well, I can say with no hesitation whatsoever that I..... LOVED.... IT! This was a book that I could not put down. I was reading every single spare minute that I had, and when I closed the cover at the very end I ran to my computer to rave about it to Kaitlyn, who sent it to me, and to everyone on my plus 500 facebook list. Kate Quinn knows how to write a good story, filled with suspense, unrequited love, politics, and some history thrown in for good measure.

Often times in novels with fairly complicated plots you will find holes everywhere you look. There were none, in my opinion, in Quinn's book. Everytime there was a twist or turn, or someone was murdered -- and even how they were murdered -- it made sense. Each plot twist or turn was believable as was all of the politics of the day.

The story begins with Thea, a slave girl of an evil royal named Lady Lepida. (Oh how  Lady Lepida is fun to hate!) Thea and Lady Lepida are regulars at the gladiator games, and one thing I love about Quinn's tale is how she describes the actual games... very exciting and just like a film rolling in front of your eyes. Eventually, Thea catches the eye of the Emperor, a ruthless yet charismatic ruler who lords over all with an iron fist. Enter Arius. Arius is a hulking gladiator who rises to the number one fighter in the history of the games. Fate brings Thea and Arius together, but their time together is not to be. Wrenched apart by circumstances beyond their control, Thea is destined to be the emperor's toy, and Arius is destined to be pounded into the bloody sand day after day rising to his feet with a heavy heart and only one name on his lips.... Thea.

Will they ever meet again? Will Thea break her slave bonds forever?

This book is a sweeping tale that will have you reading feverishly into the night. Quinn successfully leads the reader from chapter to heart pounding chapter until you reach the breathtaking final pages.

RATING: 5/5

Now for the giveaway portion!  Berkley Group has generously offered to giveaway one copy of Mistress of Rome to one lucky winner (open to the US only please!) 

To enter just fill out this form, and for extra points post about it in your sidebar, tweet about it, or post an actual entry about it!  The contest ends April 30th at midnight MST.  Good luck!!!

TEASER TUESDAY - GLADIATOR STYLE! (AKA Gerard Butler!)

(DISCLAIMER:  Anytime I can use an image of Gerard Butler I will do so...that man is just toooooo yummy, seriously people!)

It's Teaser Tuesday time agaaaaaain!  This is my favourite weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading, and ANYONE can play along!  If you have a blog and a TT just give us a link in the comments, if you do not have a blog you can still participate, just give us your TT in the comments!

• Grab your current read
• flip to a random page
• select two teaser sentences from anywhere on that page
• do not include any SPOILERS!
• But please DO include the book name and author so we can all add it to our TBR piles!

My teaser today is from the ARC "Mistress of Rome" by Kate Quinn (available for purchse April 6, 2010):

That would be to tempt God, who doesn't like to take second place in any human heart.  But Arius's sword-roughened hand slipped through my hair as if to feel my thoughts on his fingers, and then he caught me up so hard and close that I had no time for any thoughts at all.

SWOON!

Just a little aside to this TT today, this book is an ARC that was sent to me, and I have to admit when I saw the cover I kind of rolled my eyes... just a little.  Then when I started reading I felt frustrated at first because it is a historical fiction but the language is EXTREMELY modern and just did not have authenticity to it at all.  But I quickly let that go and just immersed myself in the novel.... AND I LOVE IT!!  I literally cannot put it down.  If you are like me and have read a lot of historical fiction, and if that is your preferred genre (as it is mine) just put aside any preconcieved idea of any historical type language and enjoy this book for all its glorious juiciness!

You can read more TT's here.

Have a WONDERFUL day!