The Thanksgiving Winner Post

Hey Everyone!

Hope those of you who live in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving and those looking forward to Black Friday scored some great deals. This weekend though we live outside the US we had our own family get-together to celebrate my parents, so that meant a lot of cooking/baking and eating some delicious meals 😀

The holidays are also fast approaching, have you already started your Christmas shopping? And to get in the mood, nothing better than reading some holiday novels, so join the BLI Holiday Reading Challenge, you could win some fantastic prizes! 😉

And now let’s see who won this time! *drumroll*

This week congratulations are in order to

the lucky winner of an ebook copy of either Don’t Bite the Messenger or Running in the Dark by Regan Summers is:

Dian Setyarini

the lucky winner of an ebook copy of  ACT of Redemption by Jenna Bennett is:

Liene

the lucky winner …

The International Giveaways Café (69)

Happy Saturday morning all and thanks for stopping by the best place to share your (international) bookish giveaways! Here’s hoping you enjoy the rest of your weekend and, if you’re anything like me, trying to stay warm while reading a good book 😉

And, remember to let us know if you’ve won anything recently; the Book Lovers would love to hear! At Book Lovers Inc., it’s our pleasure to share the bookish love! Good luck to everyone and hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Here’s the fine print for entering your link:
Guidelines:
If you have a giveaway you would like to share with our other readers, the rules are simple:
1. The giveaway MUST be available to international addresses (Book Depository does count)
2. Add your link below, in the format shown. (Please use the URL for the contest post, not a general blog URL; you don’t …

Around the Bookish World: Week-In-Review

Welcome to this week’s news post! In this edition, we have more rumours of consolidation amongst the Big 6, the nominees for the Bad Sex Awards and our usual book news and covers to watch out for!

Following the heels of the merger between Random House and Penguin, reports of  Simon and Schuster and News Corp’s  HarperCollins are in discussions to merge. News Corp is currently splitting up and spinning off its entertainment arm from its publishing and education companies, but this merger could bring in a greater market share. It does look like that the music industry, the big publishing companies are consolidating amongst themselves so that they can position themselves against the changes brought on by digital adoption. But it will be interesting to see if the other remaining Big two publishers, Hachette and Macmillan will follow suit, but I suspect they will but it does raise the …

ARC-review: Trapped by Kevin Hearne

Format read: E-Arc provided by the publisher through Netgalley
Genre: Urban-fantasy
Release Date: November 27th 2012
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Formats available: paperback, ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK), Goodreads, Author Website

Book Blurb:
After twelve years of secret training, Atticus O’Sullivan is finally ready to bind his apprentice, Granuaile, to the earth and double the number of Druids in the world. But on the eve of the ritual, the world that thought he was dead abruptly discovers that he’s still alive, and they would much rather he return to the grave.

Having no other choice, Atticus, his trusted Irish wolfhound, Oberon, and Granuaile travel to the base of Mount Olympus, where the Roman god Bacchus is anxious to take his sworn revenge—but he’ll have to get …

Bookish Rants or Raves: Turkey Thursdays, Black Fridays

Painting, “First Thanksgiving” by Jean Ferris

Ah, Thanksgiving. The day of turkey, pumpkin pie, parades, football, and James Bond marathons. This particular North American holiday, notably secular amongst several religious observances in the season, is quite fascinating to me. It’s origins are interesing–and though I won’t go into detail here and now, historians might describe its pragmatic establishment from the Protestent Reformation, and school children will speak of Pilgrims and native tribes playing nice with one another and sharing harvests in merriment.

Celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the U.S. (and the 2nd Monday of October in Canada), Thanksgiving is, of course, about giving thanks. It represents many delightful elements, and some curiously oxymoronic aspects. (More on the latter in a bit.) For those who enjoy food, it’s all about the cornucopia (pun intended) of rich, abundant, delicious dishes. Turkey, cornbread, greenbeans, corn, cranberry sauce (a must!), …

Interview with Donna Grant + Giveaway

Today we are happy to invite bestselling author Donna Grant to sit down with us to chat around (virtual) cupcakes and lattes. Donna is the author of several historical, paranormal and fantasy romances featuring big, strong, handsome Highlander alpha heroes *yum*, and her latest release Midnight’s Warrior, the 4th book in her Dark Warriors series will be published on November 27th, so mark your calendars. Read on and leave a comment to be entered to win a book by Donna Grant!

Stella:  Hi Donna, welcome to BLI! 😀 Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Donna: Hi, Stella! Thanks so much for having me. I’m a Texas girl who’s been writing since 1999 while I worked as an accountant. I have two great kids and a hero of my own who loves to travel everywhere with me.

Stella: Oh, travelling is the best, especially if he goes with you 😉 Could …

Review: Avatar: The Promise Part 2 by Gene Yuen Lang

Format read: paperback
Release Date: 4 April 2006
Length: 76 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Formats available: paperback
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

 Blurb:
Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko continue the story right where the TV series left off! Aang and Katara are working tirelessly for peace when an impasse between Fire Lord Zuko and Earth King Kuei over Fire Nation colonies within the borders of the Earth Nation threatens to plunge the world back into war! Meanwhile, Sokka must help Toph prepare her hapless first class of metalbending students to defend their school against a rival class of firebenders! Written by Eisner winner and National Book Award nominee Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and drawn by Gurihiru …

Bookish Rants or Raves: Why do I read horrible books?

 

“Why did you bother finishing that if you hated it?”

I get asked this question quite a lot, and it is a fair one. So why do I read horrible books?

I have many reasons:
 I don’t like feeling my time was wasted
This seems contradictory but if I’ve spent a couple of days chipping away at a horrible book, I can’t just leave it. I have put in the time and effort to get this far and now I want to just finish and be done. I hate leaving books unfinished because I feel I still owe them an obligation. (I never claimed to be sane)

I want the right to have my say
I’m a book reviewer! I want to tell people about the books I read and I don’t make a habit of reviewing DNF’s. If I’m halfway through a book and I’ve been rolling my eyes and audibly sighing then I want …

Guest post by Karen Erickson + Giveaway

Today we are very happy to welcome back to Book Lovers Inc. Karen Erickson, author of many steamy and sensual romances who this time is celebrating the release of a tame, sweet and gentle romance! Read on to learn more about Jane’s Gift and what Karen thought of this new experience, and you could even win some terrific prizes, from Starbucks gift card to a Kindle Paperwhite! woohoo! 😀

Changing It Up
by Karen Erickson

I was first published in 2006—and it was a short erotic novella. As the years went on, I wrote hotter, and hotter…until I reached the pinnacle of hotness for me (Playing With Fire series anyone?). My voice naturally leans toward the sexier stuff and I really enjoy writing on the sexier side. But I must admit…I reached a point where I was feeling burned out.

Burned out on trying to out-hot …

Dual Review: Night Thief by Lisa Kessler

Format Read: ebook provided by the publisher
Number of Pages: 109 pages
Release Date: September 28, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Series: Night #1.5
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

After the fall of the Mayan civilization, Kane, an immortal Night Walker, has taken refuge in France for over 800 years. The modern world holds little interest for him until the night he meets the Golden Thief and is robbed of much more than his pocket watch.

Marguerite Rousseau is living a double life. By day she is the assistant to an eccentric French artist, Antoine Berjon, and by night she dons elegant evening gowns to woo French dignitaries before lifting their …