The Birthday Winner Post!

Hey Everyone!

Tomorrow will by my birthday! And while I’m not overly fond of the date (and nope not because it means I’m 1 year older every year 😉 ) this year I’m enjoying it since my good friends and my little sister have a ton of surprise events planned and I’ll get some super delicious cake (salty caramel-banana-rosemary-pie) my lil’ sis will bake me, yum! 😀 Oh yeah, and since my birthday is also the national holiday (our 4th of July) I’ll also have some national fireworks lol 😀

So until tomorrow, while I’m still younger (;-) ) let’s announce those two winners who got lucky this week!

Congrats to

the lucky winner of an ebook copy of Planning for Love by Christi Barth is:

Kim M

the lucky winner of a copy of The Officer Says “I Do” by Jeanette Murray is:

Adis

Congratulations winners, you have been notified by e-mail of …

The International Giveaways Café (55)

Good morning all and welcome back to another great list of bookish giveaways from around the world. I hope your Saturday is starting out well and is full of lots of time to read and relax.

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 want to make it tricky for others trying …

Around the Bookish World: Week-in-Review

Welcome to this week’s news post! We have news from Sony’s new ereader which was launched this week, book news and snippets as well as the books to watch out for!

The new Sony ereader, the PRS-T2, which features a better button layout, zooming, and sharing capabilities which readers can post their favourite passages on Facebook. The PRS-T2 also features a pearl-ink screen, two month battery life if the wifi is off and a 2 gig memory. The price offered for the new reader is slightly cheaper compared to its predescors which is at $129. However some commentators have stated there isn’t nothing new or innovated with this new model and disappointed that this ereader wont feature a frontlit screen, which the Nook or the rumoured upcoming Kindles have.  More info on the ereader can be found be found here and it is up for order right now!

It seems tablets …

Review: The Marrying Kind by Ken O’Neill

Format Read: ebook from the author
Number of Pages: 264 pages
Release Date: May 30, 2012
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Formats Available: Mass Market Paperback, ebooks
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)  | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads | 

Book Blurb:

Wedding planner Adam More has an epiphany: He has devoted all his life’s energy to creating events that he and his partner Steven are forbidden by federal law for having for themselves. So Adam decides to make a change. Organizing a boycott of the wedding industry, Steven and Adam call on gay organists, hairdressers, cater-waiters, priests, and hairdressers everywhere to get out of the business and to stop going to weddings, too. In this screwball, romantic comedy both the movement they’ve begun …

ARC Review: The Ugly Duchess by Eloise James

Format read: E-ARC from Edelveiss
Release Date: August 28th 2012
Number of pages: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) , Author’s Website

Blurb:

How can she dare to imagine he loves her…when all London calls her The Ugly Duchess ?

Theodora Saxby is the last woman anyone expects the gorgeous James Ryburn, heir to the Duchy of Ashbrook, to marry. But after a romantic proposal before the prince himself, even practical Theo finds herself convinced of her soon-to-be duke’s passion.

Still, the tabloids give the marriage six months.

Theo would have given it a lifetime…until she discovers that James desired not her heart, and certainly not her countenance, but her dowry. Society was shocked by their wedding; it’s scandalized by their separation.

Now James faces …

Review: Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Format Read: Hardcover

Number of Pages: 304

Release Date: February 14, 2012

Publisher: Walker

Genre: Historical YA/Folk Tale Revision

Formats Available: Hardback, ebook

Purchasing Info: Author, GoodReads, Amazon, Book Depository

Book Blurb:

 Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and …

Guest Post by Claire Ashgrove + Giveaway

Today we are really excited to welcome back author Claire Ashgrove in celebration of her newest release, Bound by Decency, the first book in an all new Historical Romance series featuring sexy pirates! Claire stops by today with a character interview, so please give her a warm welcome and don’t forget to check at the end of the post for the giveaway details of the tour 🙂

Good morning everyone! Thanks for having me back here at Love to Read for Fun! I’m thrilled to be able to talk about my debut historical, Bound by Decency. And I thought I’d kick off today with a personal one-on-one with Cain.

What did you think the first moment you saw India? Be truthful, Cain.

Cain: Beyond the fact that she was a means to an end, Miss Prescott was quite captivating. I have never seen eyes that are so very blue. I found myself …

Bookish Rant or Rave: Reading with an E

Commuting on the subway every morning can be quite amusing, if one can take time to notice the little details. I recently had a moment of sudden awareness in which I looked up and down the train platform and noticed that the VAST majority of the countless people waiting for the train were reading from various electronic devices–tablets, phones, e-readers. Of course, there were still many reading the daily (free) newspaper supplement circulated locally, but it was hilarious looking around and seeing how ubiquitous the use of devices was. It really made momma proud.

These days, pointing out that electronic reading (e-reading) is the norm is a boring, unsurprising understatement. However, the fact that it feels like it’s happened in the relative blink of an eye is absolutely fascinating. Not even four years ago (when RIM’s Blackberry was all the rage) was there so much use of portable devices for …

Review: I Own the Dawn by M.L. Buchman

Format Read:ebook from NetGalley
Number of Pages:416 pages
Release Date:August 1, 2012
Publisher:Sourcebooks Casablanca
Series: The Night Stalkers #2
Genre: Military Romantic Suspense
Formats Available: ebook, Mass Market Paperback
Purchasing Info:Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)  | Author’s Website | Soucebooks 

Book Blurb:

Kee Smith battled through a difficult childhood to work her way up the ranks of the U.S. Army. When she finally makes it into the elite Night Stalkers, she feels thrilled, honored, and vindicated…until she finds out she’s been assigned to the “girlie-chopper” piloted by the only other woman in the regiment.
Kee is determined to show Lt. Archie Stevenson, one of the male co-pilots, that she is just as tough as the guys. Throughout their special mission, Archie doesn’t know whether to make love …