A Month of Faves December Blog Event - 12/30/15

Favorite Book Covers From My Reads This Year...


Thanks to these ladies for the month of fun:

 Tanya @ Girlxoxo 

 Andi @ Estella’s Revenge

 Tamara @ Traveling With T

What did you like about each one?

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Oh my goodness...covers are my downfall!!  Covers pull me in!!

 

 I love this cover just because it is so sweet and inviting.

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I love the red umbrella and the walkway.

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Love the Victorian charm of the street and the dress.

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 This cover is just so cute...colors, flowers, and the bike.

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This cover just fits the book's title.  I also love the stone sidewalk and the fog.

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This cover is just gorgeous in every way.

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I love the dress and the vintage look.

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The cover just looks mysterious.

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Who doesn't like pearls? 

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Another mysterious, beautiful scene.

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So delicate and pretty.

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I love any book with a typewriter on the cover.  A typing teacher's fetish. :)

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I just love the dresses.

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How couldn't you like this cover?  A cruise ship and a lady waiting for something.  :)

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A TWO Book Giveaway...

To celebrate the paperback release of THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES, Katie Bassel of St. Martin's is offering ONE lucky USA reader a paperback copy of both books:

THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES
 

AND

THE THINGS WE KEEP

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My Review of THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES: 

Three women, three generations, common interests, but mostly secrets.

Floss, Grace, and Neva are grandmother, mother, and daughter.  They all are midwives, and they have secrets that they have held a short time, secrets they have held for their entire lives, and most importantly secrets that they do not want to have to reveal.  The secrets are personal secrets and not secrets about midwifery.  These secrets bring the characters close together but also far apart. 

THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES is a wonderful book addressing family relationships and how the delivering of babies is something so personal and intimate that a midwife can't help but become involved with her patients. 

You will love the wonderful mix of characters.  All the characters are loveable and all are characters you will want to get to know better, characters you will admire, and characters you will miss once the book has ended.​

Women's fiction fans won't want to stop reading THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES for many reasons.  The main reason being that you will find yourself bonding with every character and feeling as though you are sharing the pain and joy along with them.

If you are like me, you will have tears throughout the book as you become involved with the characters and enjoy the smooth, enjoyable, delightful writing style of Ms. Hepworth. 

Don't miss reading THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES.  4/5

 
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

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THE GIVEAWAY

Contest has ended, and the winner is April - #20!! 

CONGRATS!!

Thanks to all who entered!!

December 29 - January 5

USA ONLY

Best of Luck!!

Enter Here

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A Month of Faves December Blog Event - 12/29/15

Top 10 Books that Blew My Mind This Year...

Thanks to these ladies for the month of fun:

 Tanya @ Girlxoxo 

 Andi @ Estella’s Revenge

 Tamara @ Traveling With T

Squee worthy reads:

It is difficult to only choose 10, but I am going to try to choose books I haven't mentioned yet. 

1.  A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor

2. Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal

3.  Summer at Hideaway Key by Barbara Davis.

4.  The Paris Key by Juliet Blackwell

5.  A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable

6.  The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams

7.  The Promise of Home by Darcie Chan

8.  The Girl Who Wrote In Silk by Kelli Estes

9.  The Sound of Glass by Karen White

10. The Reluctant Midwife by Patricia Harmon

A Month of Faves December Blog Event - 12/28/15

This is How I Read...

Thanks to these ladies for the month of fun:

 Tanya @ Girlxoxo 

 Andi @ Estella’s Revenge

 Tamara @ Traveling With T

How do you pick your next book; what do you do after you’re finished reading a book (do you write a blog post, update Goodreads, put reviews on Amazon etc.; immediately start another book?)

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I choose my next book by publication date or review request date.

As soon as I finish a book, I look at my review that I have been composing and "spruce" it up and finalize it for immediate publishing on my blog or set it for a future date.  

The review is usually set for a future date because I have my reviews done way ahead of requested dates or publication date.

When the book is ready for blog publication, I post it on my blog and other reading sites such as Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Riffle, Book Movement, Amazon, etc.  I do the same thing with posting to other sites once the scheduled post has gone live on my blog.

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I immediately begin another book.  I NEVER can be without a book.

I keep a visual record of the order of my books to be read as well as a printed sheet.

Review and Giveaway of The Violonist of Venice by Alyssa Palombo

Venice, music, wealthy families, secret meetings, and of course love.

Adriana had to sneak out of the palazzo for her violin lessons because her father forbade her to learn music.  He said it wasn't a woman's place to learn music.  According to her father a woman of her wealth was born only to marry a man of equal or greater wealth and have no interests of her own. 

Defying her father, Adriana secretly met, took violin lessons, and had an affair with Antonio Vivaldi the famous violinist who was called the Red Priest.

Imagine that? A priest and a wealthy young lady having a clandestine affair on the guise of having violin lessons.  Adriana would make me so nervous when she slipped out to see Antonio because her father was a very harsh man that would severely punish Adriana for not obeying even his smallest requests.  

What would he do if he found out about this affair when he was trying to "marry off" his daughter to a wealthy merchant. 

As you read THE VIOLINIST OF VENICE, you will be totally drawn into the lives of the d'Amato family and join in socially with them and other wealthy merchants.  You will also see how these families treated their own family members and servants.  Not always a pleasant situation.

Ms. Palombo writes with wonderful description, memorable as well as unlikable characters, and most of all an unforgettable love story.

THE VIOLINIST OF VENICE is a beautiful, mesmerizing book that takes us to the romantic city of Venice during the 18th Century. 

THE VIOLINIST OF VENICE is a marvelous, alluring, seductive debut novel with impeccable research that had me wanting to know more about Antonio Vivaldi.  

ENJOY!!!  What about that gorgeous cover?  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation in return for an honest review.

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About The Author:

ALYSSA PALOMBO has published short historical fiction pieces in Black Lantern, Novelletum, and The Great Lakes Review. She is a recent a graduate of Canisius College with degrees in English and creative writing, respectively, as well as a trained classical musician. The Violinist of Venice is her first novel. She lives in Tonawanda, New York.

Author Website:  

http://alyssapalombo.com/about/

Amazon:  

http://www.amazon.com/Violinist-Venice-Story-Vivaldi/dp/1250071496/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1448049867&sr=1-1&keywords=the+violinist+of+venice  

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GIVEAWAY: 

CONTEST HAS ENDED
OUR WINNER IS:
JENNIFER #8 

USA and Canada

December 17 to December 24

Enter Here