The International Giveaways Café (58)

Welcome back to this week’s list of great *bookish* giveaways from around the world. It’s a very rainy Saturday in my part of the world, so I’ll be sticking close to home to (hopefully) finish one book and start another. How about you?

Also, 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! And it has been very eventful with Amazon’s announcements on their new Kindle and tablet releases, and they weren’t the only ones with Kobo releasing information on their new devices too.  Along with the  DOJ has finally confirmed their settlement with four of the Big Publishers as well as our usual covers/books to look out for – I think its time to get that cuppa and  a plate of cookies to sit back and catch up!

Amazon unveiled their new Kindles and Kindle Fire tablets, which looked pretty impressive especially with the new prices that is very attractive. In the US, Amazon is offering a new Kindle, with a lighted screen called the Paperwhite, which will have both a Wifi and 3G version and a two month battery life. Several Kindle Fire were also released and in a larger size, 8.9 inches as …

Review: Blind Traveler’s Blues by Robert P. Bennett

Format Read: ebook provided by the author
Number of Pages: 218 pages
Release Date: October 21, 2011
Publisher: Echelon Press
Genre: Mystery
Series: Douglas Abledan #2
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Author’s Website | Goodreads | Publisher’s Website

Book Blurb:

The year is 2021. Natural forces have changed our world. As the Earth’s magnetic poles have shifted, pressure on the planet’s mantle layer is building. The bottom line…earthquakes now wreak havoc in areas they have never occurred before.

In Mexico, members of an archaeological team investigate the remains of an ancient village uncovered by a quake; racing to prove their theories about the civilization that once lived there. But, disaster strikes when the accidental destruction of an artifact …

Interview with Tina Beckett + Giveaway

Today we are happy to introduce you to another medical romance author who “branched out” and published her first romantic suspense novel, In His Sights at Carina Press just last week, please give a warm welcome to Tina Beckett, who besides spending her days in the (fictional) company of drop dead gorgeous sexy doctors lives in exotic Brazil and even did some barrel racing! Talk about a glamourous and adventourous life! 😉

Stella: Hi Tina, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Brazil

Tina: Hi, Stella, first of all, I’m thrilled to be here with you! Let’s see, what can I tell you? Well, although I’m an American by birth, I’ve traveled extensively and currently live in Brazil. I’ve done some wild and wonderful things in my life, like taking barrel racing lessons (in Portuguese) and giving birth to a child in a non-English speaking country (let’s just say that pain medication does not make …

Bookish Rant: Apple, Amazon, Anti-Trust and the DOJ

I was at Dragon*Con over Labor Day weekend. For those either not in the U.S., or who aren’t familiar with Science Fiction Fandom, two explanations are in order. Labor Day weekend is the first weekend in September.

Dragon*Con is a huge regional science fiction convention in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. When I say huge, I mean attendance that numbers well over 30,000. Downtown Atlanta looks like it’s been overrun by aliens.

30,000 plus people talk about a LOT of stuff. Some of it frivolous, but a lot of it book-related. I listened to/met/shook hands with some of my favorite authors.

On Sunday morning, among about a dozen other panels, two lawyers and an author tackled the seriously bookish topic of the “Apple eBooks Lawsuit”. The room was packed to the rafters.

If you are looking for a basic but excellent primer on the entire price fixing lawsuit that the U.S. Department …

Review: The Space Between Us by Megan Hart

Format read: ebook provided by publisher through NetGalley
Release Date: September 4th 2012
Number of pages: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

Book Blurb:

Tesla Martin is drifting pleasantly through life, slinging lattes at Morningstar Mocha, enjoying the ebb and flow of caffeine-starved customers, devoted to her cadre of regulars. But none of the bottomless-cup crowd compares with Meredith, a charismatic force of nature who can coax intimate tales from even the shyest of Morningstar’s clientele.Caught in Meredith’s sensual, irresistible orbit, inexpressibly flattered by the siren’s attention, Tesla shares long-buried chapters of her life, holding nothing back. Nothing Meredith proposes seems impossible—not even Tesla sleeping with Meredith’s husband, Charlie, while she looks on. After all, it’s …

Romance and Me: Culinary Romances, yummy!

Hey Everyone!

Today let’s talk food. Or rather romances where food plays an important role. I’m sure you have come across some of those stories where either due to the hero’s or heroine’s job creating meals, cooking and/or baking, sampling food features heavily in the story, almost like an additional supporting character.

I remember the first such novel I read, it was Summer Desserts by Nora Roberts. The heroine (Summer) was a pastry chef and her sweet creations provided plenty of sinful tasting opportunities for the hero 😉 After that first delicious book it was drought for a few years and it is only now that I find myself surrounded by delicious-looking and sounding books once again.

There is Amanda Usen’s Scrumptious and Luscious, which not only feature chef heroines, but due to Amanda Usen being a  chef herself her descriptions of cooking were luscious …

Review: Luscious by Amanda Usen

Format read: ebook provided by publisher through NetGalley
Release Date: 3 July 2012 
Number of pages: 312 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Book Depository, Read an excerpt

Blurb:

Eat, play, love

Plain old ice cream just isn’t going to cut it. To beat these blues, chef Olivia Marconi needs the good stuff: rich, creamy tiramisu gelato. And no place better to get it than Italy. But a fresh start is nearly impossible with Sean Kindred dogging her every move. She’s been burned by his too-hot-to-handle antics before. Though there’s no denying the man can still get her all fired up. Could a weeklong affair finally turn into something more lasting…or will it all go up in flames?

My Thoughts: It is no secret that I LOVE cooking and baking. Besides the joy and thrill …

Interview with Amy Andrews + Giveaway

Today we are very delighted to welcome author Amy Andrews to BLI in celebration of her newest release Taming the Tycoon, an all new and exciting romantic story published by Entangled. Amy stops by today to answer all kinds of questions and to give a chance to one lucky commenter to win a copy of her book. For more information on the giveaway, please check at the end of the post 🙂

Stella: Hi Amy, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Amy: Hi Stella, thanks for having me here. I’m 42. I’m an Aussie. I’ve been married to the same man for 22 years and have two teenagers who seem to have turned out alright thus far. I’m a part-time PICU nurse and a full-time writer. I love to read and sleep and am addicted to television. I believe “treat others as you’d like to be treated yourself” is the best way to …

Review: Primal Possession by Katie Reus

Primal Possession by Katie Reus

Format Read: e-ARC provided via Net Galley courtesy of Publisher for Review
Length: 368 Pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Moon Shifter Book II
Release Date: September 4, 2012
Publisher: NAL Signet Eclipse
Formats Available: eBook, Kindle, Nook
Purchasing Info: Publisher, Author’s Website, Amazon, Books-A-Milliion, Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Book Depository, IndieBound, iBookstore, Kindle, Nook

Book Blurb:

To protect her, he will unleash the beast within…

As his pack’s second-in-command, lupine shifter Liam Armstrong gives orders and takes what he wants—until he meets red-headed, blue-eyed December McIntyre. Liam knows the human beauty is his intended mate the moment he sees her, but December is far too strong-willed to accept his protection.

December, whose brother is the town sheriff, has every reason to mistrust shifters after one killed her youngest sibling. But the forceful and handsome Liam has gotten under her skin in …