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Most Creative/Prolific Contributor Award

[ 5 ] May 17, 2013

As promised, on the 10th of every month, I give away an item of their choice to the most creative/prolific contributor to Luxury Reading! This month, the winner is…

Colleen Turner!

Please post a comment here with your item selection. Remember, you can now pick any item from Amazon.

The contest started over on May 10th. I will be announcing the new winner on June 10th. There is no limit to how many times you can win and remember, you can comment on any post, not just new ones.

Remember, frequency of commenting counts, but so does the quality – a creative and relevant comment will get you more points than something like “sounds great”. Every month, I will pick a winner and post their name, as well as send them an e-mail.

Get commenting!

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Review: A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano

[ 1 ] May 17, 2013

A_Change_Of_FortuneReviewed by Meg Massey

No one seems to understand strange governess Eliza Sumner, who makes a fool of herself at a party where a majority of New York society is in attendance. But what no one realizes is that Eliza is really Lady Eliza Sumner, a woman that has lost her family, her fiance, and her faith. She is in America to find Lord Southmoor, the man who took advantage of her family and stole her fortune.

Unfortunately, Eliza’s ideas don’t go as planned, and her mishaps lead her straight into the arms of Hamilton Beckett, a young man that every woman in New York is hoping to marry. But widower Hamilton has no plans to marry again, as he is busy taking care of his two children.

When the two of them discover that they share a common enemy, they join forces. With the help of Eliza’s friend Agatha and Hamilton’s brother Zayne, they may stand a chance at catching those who have wronged them. But are their enemies too powerful and dangerous? Could their quest for revenge cost them their lives?

Jen Turano’s debut novel, A Change of Fortune, is an often hilarious and sometimes very poignant look into the the lives of two people who have given up on happiness and love. Lady Eliza has set her sights on revenge, and in the process, may overlook the most important relationship of her life. Despite her faults, you’ll love Lady Eliza, and root for her to overcome her past and embrace a new love and a new future. You’ll also find yourself falling for heroic and loving Hamilton, and hopeful that the two of them will survive their quest to find the happy ending they deserve.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Meg lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Ryan. Library professional by day, freelance writer by night, Meg writes about life, entertainment and everything in between on her blog.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Bethany House. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Giveaway: The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett

[ 19 ] May 16, 2013

16158563Enter to win a copy ofThe Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett!

About the book

Hay-on-Wye, 1995. Peter Byerly isn’t sure what drew him into this particular bookshop. Nine months earlier, the death of his beloved wife, Amanda, had left him shattered. The young antiquarian bookseller relocated from North Carolina to the English countryside, hoping to rediscover the joy he once took in collecting and restoring rare books. But upon opening an eighteenth-century study of Shakespeare forgeries, Peter is shocked when a portrait of Amanda tumbles out of its pages. Of course, it isn’t really her. The watercolor is clearly Victorian. Yet the resemblance is uncanny, and Peter becomes obsessed with learning the picture’s origins.

As he follows the trail back first to the Victorian era and then to Shakespeare’s time, Peter communes with Amanda’s spirit, learns the truth about his own past, and discovers a book that might definitively prove Shakespeare was, indeed, the author of all his plays.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Review: Deadweather and Sunrise by Geoff Rodkey

[ 1 ] May 16, 2013

12849210Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

Deadweather and Sunrise is the first book in the new young adult series, The Chronicles of Egg. It was surprisingly well written and I enjoyed it. The second book is coming out shortly and I am looking forward to reading that one too!

Egbert is the youngest of three siblings living with their father on Deadweather Island. The only other residents are pirates living in the only town. Many of the pirates that are missing too many parts to continue being pirates work for Egg’s father on their ugly fruit plantation. It’s a sparse life and Egg gets beat up by his siblings frequently but he has a fairly positive outlook on life.

One day his father came back from cleaning the canon, got some paper and a pencil from the tutor and disappeared for a while. When he came back he announced that the next day they were traveling to Sunrise, the rich island to the east. Since this was not one of the two annual trips there, it was a momentous occasion.

The next morning everyone was dressed in their Sunday best for the trip. Egg and his siblings had no idea what had gotten into their father but were all excited about the trip. While waiting to be seated at a ‘fancy’ restaurant they run into Mr. Pembroke. He is very happy to meet them and treats them to lunch. Afterward he invites the whole family to spend the night up at his mansion. Egg seems to be living in a dream and Mr. Pembroke’s daughter completely dazzles him. Then Mr. Pembroke want to show the the family how to fly by letting them up in his hot air balloon. That’s when the accident happens…

I think if I had read this when I was in middle school, I would have given it a full 5 stars. It has pirates and adventurers, good friends and a secret treasure. I certainly think boys about that age would love this book. (I can’t speak for girls). The writing was well done and many of Egg’s thoughts reminded me of my thought processes when I was that age. While I didn’t give it 5 stars I still thought it was worthy of 4. For those who like YA books I highly recommend this one.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Caleb is a software engineer and amature woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Puffin Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

[ 3 ] May 15, 2013

Me Before You - Jojo MoyesReviewed by Holly Madison

I used to believe that in order for a story to be good, it had to have a happy ending. But as an adult, I now realize that not all love stories can have happy endings, and sometimes that makes the story even better. Me Before You was a bitter sweet book that left me in tears long after I finished reading it, and it is a book that I will likely re-read again and again throughout my life so that I can come back and revisit the characters and the sweet ache that this story left me with.

Books like this don’t come around every day. Me Before You is a story that is enchanting, deep, thought-provoking, infuriating, and heart breaking. Parts of this book made me laugh, more made me cry. Extremely controversial issues were presented and debated, and I was left questioning my stance on a very difficult subject, realizing that there is no black and white guide — no right or wrong answer for certain questions that we sometimes must ask.

This story is a journey. Not just a journey of the characters Louisa and Will, but a journey for the reader as well, as we feel the love that begins to grow between the characters, the anguish of the situation, the fight for dignity and self respect, and the sadness of a bright promising future forever taken away. And that journey brought me to the question, “What would I do if it were me?”

I still don’t have an answer.

This book made me appreciate all of the little things that most of us take for granted every single day, yet it made me angry at the world for being so incredibly unfair sometimes. This book inspired such profound, raw emotions, that it was sometimes exhausting to read. Yet the pages kept turning, as if they had a life of their own.

And it’s true that this book is unfair but it is also wonderful, it is depressing yet uplifting — because even a love that can’t stay forever is better than the alternative — of a life that’s safe but empty. This book is absolutely beautiful, but be prepared: it will make you question yourself, see things differently, and you will likely feel a lot of sorrow as you journey deeper into the story. This is not an easy read because of the magnitude of its depth, but that exact same quality is what made this one of my favorite books ever.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Holly is a digital artist and an environmental scientist. She also participates in parrot and exotic animal rescue.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Pamela Dorman Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Ingredients of Love by Nicolas Barreau

[ 2 ] May 15, 2013

9781250006707_p0_v1_s260x420Reviewed by Jennifer Jensen

After restaurant owner Aurélie Bredin’s boyfriend dumps her via a note to tell her he’s found the love of his life, Aurélie falls into a deep depression. One night while wandering near a bridge, a police officer confronts her, suspecting she is a jumper. When she hides from the officer in a small bookshop, Aurélie impulsively purchases a romantic novel. Later that night as she reads it from cover to cover, she discovers that she is the heroine of the novel and her restaurant is the setting of the story.

Forgetting all about her ex-boyfriend Claude, Aurélie shifts her attention to finding out everything she can about the English author, Robert Miller. Standing in her way is Miller’s editor, André. Aurélie cannot understand André’s reluctance to put her in touch with Miller. Every time Aurélie attempts to meet with her new favorite author, André is there to deliver the disappointing news that Miller couldn’t make it. When Aurélie finally meets Robert Miller, it is nothing like she expected.

From the moment I saw the gorgeous cover of Nicolas Barreau’s The Ingredients of Love, I knew it would be a book I just had to read. When I read on the back cover that it was a cross between Cyrano de Bergerac, Chocolat, and Amélie, I wanted it instantly. Once I started reading, my excitement over the book gradually began to fade.

Chapters shift points of view from Aurélie to André, but aren’t labeled. I wish the chapters had been titled as either “Aurélie” or “André” so it wouldn’t have been so confusing. After I got through the first two chapters, it wasn’t as difficult to remember whose head I would be entering at that particular moment.

As I read, I couldn’t help but think this book would make an incredible romantic comedy. However, I also couldn’t stop re-writing the story in my head into one that I preferred more. Barreau had a charming idea, but the romance between the eventual lovers felt forced and even rushed near the end. I also felt unsatisfied at the conclusion; I wanted to end with Aurélie’s perspective on the situation since she begins the novel. The Ingredients of Love has all of the ingredients for the perfect romantic tale, but a different recipe would have yielded better results.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by St. Martin’s Griffin. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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