Second Day of Blogmania!!!

The Sweet Serenity of Books

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,

And all the sweet serenity of books." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Today is the BIG day! BLOGMANIA!!! Your chance to win all sorts of great prizes from 170 different bloggers and their sponsors!

Thanks for coming to this blog to enter. Here is what I have for you (click on the book cover or the book title to learn more about the book from Amazon):

 - an ARC of Juliet by Anne Fortier (see review in yesterday's post) 

- an ARC of Radiance by Alyson Noel

- a copy of Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts

- a copy of The Seeker by Ann Gabhart

- an ARC of Once Wicked, Always Dead by T. Marie Benchley

- an ARC of Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

- a copy of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

And since the theme of this giveaway is The Sweet Serenity of Books, I decided to include a teacup, a box of assorted teas, and a package of cookies to enjoy with your books! What else would you need on a lazy afternoon to keep you warm and cozy?

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, the Sweet Serenity of Books!

For a chance to win, just give me your name, email address, and the title of one of your favorite books of 2010 (so far). The giveaway ends at midnight, September 16 and I will choose a winner on Friday, Sept. 17. The winner will be posted on this blog on or before Monday, September 20.

Remember, you MUST give your name, email, and favorite book title of 2010 in your comment. Any comment without all three will not qualify. (If you would like to follow this blog, that will be GREAT, but is not required to enter the giveaway.) Also, this giveaway is for U.S. residents only.

And don't forget to visit the other blogs that are participating in BLOGMANIA! Here is a list for your convenience:

Book Review: Juliet by Anne Fortier (AND BLOGMANIA!)

SCROLL DOWN TO READ ABOUT BLOGMANIA AND

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN GREAT PRIZES!

I love Shakespeare. Ever since I took a class on Shakespeare in my senior year of high school, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading his plays and watching the movies made that are based on them.

Romeo and Juliet is, perhaps, the most well-known play that Shakespeare wrote. It has been the basis for many other love stories, including West Side Story and the more recent High School Musical. There have been many songs written about the famous couple, and several books as well.

Including Juliet by Anne Fortier. This one, however, is not a modern retelling of the story of Romeo and Juliet, but rather a contemporary novel that includes Shakespeare's play in its plot, suggesting that the events actually took place not in Verona, but in the city of  Siena, Italy.

Julie Jacobs and her twin sister, Janice,have lived with their Rose since they were orphaned at a very young age. When their aunt dies, Janice receives all the money and the aunt's home while Julie gets only three things: a letter, a passport, and a key. The letter instructs her to travel to Italy, where she is to use the key to open a safety deposit box and find something "much more valuable than I have ever owned". What she finds there and the strange and mysterious experiences she has is the plot of this book.

There is much in this novel to enjoy. It contains romance (of course), mystery, adventure, intrigue, and even a little humor. The Italian characters (at least the "good" ones) are quite charming and the story kept me guessing until the very end. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? You will be surprised time and again as you read through this tale. A satisfying story from beginning to end.

I really liked Juliet. I give it a 5 out of 5 stars!

There is an interesting article on NPR about this book. Check it out! (Also, an audio of an interview with the author.)

READ POST BELOW ON HOW YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF JULIET AND MORE!

(I received this book from Pump Up Your Book! for review purposes. I received no monetary compensation for this review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.)

Blogmania is Here!!!

The Sweet Serenity of Books

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,

And all the sweet serenity of books." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Today is the BIG day! BLOGMANIA!!! Your chance to win all sorts of great prizes from 170 different bloggers and their sponsors!

Thanks for coming to this blog to enter. Here is what I have for you (click on the book cover or the book title to learn more about the book from Amazon):

 - an ARC of Juliet by Anne Fortier(see review of this book above)

- an ARC of Radiance by Alyson Noel

- a copy of Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts

- a copy of The Seeker by Ann Gabhart

- an ARC of Once Wicked, Always Dead by T. Marie Benchley

- an ARC of Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

- a copy of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

And since the theme of this giveaway is The Sweet Serenity of Books, I decided to include a teacup, a box of assorted teas, and a package of cookies to enjoy with your books! What else would you need on a lazy afternoon to keep you warm and cozy?

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, the Sweet Serenity of Books!

For a chance to win, just give me your name, email address, and the title of one of your favorite books of 2010 (so far). The giveaway ends at midnight, September 16 and I will choose a winner on Friday, Sept. 17. The winner will be posted on this blog on or before Monday, September 20.

Remember, you MUST give your name, email, and favorite book title of 2010 in your comment. Any comment without all three will not qualify. (If you would like to follow this blog, that will be GREAT, but is not required to enter the giveaway.) Also, this giveaway is for U.S. residents only.

And don't forget to visit the other blogs that are participating in BLOGMANIA! Here is a list for your convenience:

Book Review: The Unexpected Son by Shobhan Bantwal

Earlier this year, I wrote a review on a book that portrayed life in the Middle East. I was fascinated with the descriptions of the culture and attitudes of the people who live in that part of the world. So when I read The Unexpected Son, I again became captured by how these people are, in some ways, so different than we are, yet I also realized that they are very much the same. We all have the same struggles, the same desires, and experience many of the same consequences of our sins. And we all feel things deeply, no matter where we live or what we may believe.

The main character in The Unexpected Son is Vinita Patil, a wife and mother from India who now lives in the United States. The story pulls the reader in from the first few pages, when Vinita receives an anonymous letter informing her that her son in India is very ill and needs a bone marrow transplant. However, Vinita is unaware that she has a son, having left her country of birth many years before. She is understandably stunned by the letter. The letter's author indicates that Vinita should ask her brother about this boy. She calls her brother in India who responds to her inquiry with a "Good God!". Thus ends the first chapter.

The author then takes us back to the time when Vinita was still in high school and fell in love with a "bad boy", Som. Her story is told and the events unfold to explain the mystery of the Unexpected Son.

Shobhan Bantwal proves to be a talented author who reveals the events of her story little by little, pacing it just so, not too slow, yet not too fast. The descriptions of the culture are again engaging. Since the author herself was born and raised in India, I am convinced that she writes with an integrity that comes from a personal knowledge of that country and its people. She is therefore a reliable narrator for Vinita's story. And although the book's ending contains some sadness, it is not predictable nor uninteresting. At first, I felt as though it left us hanging at the end, but then realized that it was better to allow the reader to finish out the story. It helps us to be a part of the story, not merely observers.

I will be looking for more of Ms. Bantwal's books and I hope that they are as good as this one.

I give The Unexpected Son 4 1/2 out of 5 stars!

For more information on how you can get The Unexpected Son, click on the book cover or book title, or go to the author's website.

(I received this book from the author for review. I received no monetary compensation for this review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.)