Yvonne
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house during the last week.
Be warned that Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Your host for October 2012 is: Marcia, the founder of this great meme.
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
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My first book this week, was a win from the lovely Naida, over at ‘The Bookworm’ and her guest author Jessica Scott.
‘UNTIL THERE WAS YOU’ by JESSICA SCOTT
A by-the-book captain with a West Point background, Captain Evan Loehr refuses to mix business with pleasure—except for an unguarded instance years ago when he succumbed to the deep sensuality of redheaded beauty Claire Montoya. From that moment on, though, Evan has been at odds with her, through two deployments to Iraq and back again. But when he is asked to train a team prepping for combat alongside Claire, battle-worn Evan is in for the fight of his life.
Strong, gutsy, and loyal, Captain Claire Montoya has worked hard to earn the rank on her chest. In Evan, Claire sees a rigid officer who puts the rules before everything else—including his people. When the mission forces them together, Claire soon discovers that there is more to Evan than meets the eye. He’s more than the rank on his chest; he’s a man with dark secrets and deep longings. For all their differences, Evan and Claire share two crucial passions: their country and each other.
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This is a sizzling contemporary romance novel and following my win, the author Jessica Scott, kindly sent me the gift of a Kindle download.
This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog articles I may post. Any thoughts or comments will be my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.
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My second book, is a PDF gift, sent to me by new author Ryan Asmussen, introducing his debut novel ‘The Englishman and the Butterfly’, for review.
‘THE ENGLISHMAN and the BUTTERFLY’ by RYAN ASMUSSEN
Oxford fellow and John Milton expert, Professor Henry Fell, suffers from panic attacks and a gnawing fear that what he doubtfully refers to as his existence is much more out of his control than he realizes.
Newly arrived in Boston on an academic fellowship, Fell meets a variety of people who, in one way or another, expose him to true love, true death, and true poetry: the lovely and sharp-tongued Julia Collins, a Ph.D. candidate struggling to survive in a male-dominated world, fellow Brit Professor Geoffrey Hearne, one of the University’s most popular and colorful lecturers, and the rather less-than-popular, equally British, Professor Christopher Moberley, whose vast bulk contains the darkest of secrets.
A coming of middle-age story, a metaphysical parable, a glimpse into literature from the inside-out, ‘The Englishman and the Butterfly’, is a tragicomic look at the differences between imagining a life, performing one, and becoming enlightened to the possibility that there is more to life than meets a reader’s eye.
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As this was an author invitation to read and review, a PDF of ‘The Englishman and the Butterfly’, was sent to me free of charge, by its author Ryan Asmussen.
This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.
What great finds do you all want to share this week .. I can’t wait to check them out!
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ENJOY your books.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
http://silversolara.blogspot.com/2012/10/mailbox-monday-1082012.html
Hi Elizabeth,
It is always satisfying when a new addition to my shelves is as the result of a win and chatting to so many great authors is always a real treat, especially when they are just starting out and are seeking support and encouragement, so I am sure that I shall enjoy both of these great new finds.
Thanks for stopping by, you are always welcome.
Well, those two sound like they’ll be fun! Hope you’re finding a bit more time to read now.
Hi Cath,
I certainly couldn’t have planned two more diverse genres of books this week, if I had tried.
I do enjoy mixing things up a little though when I am reading, I don’t think I could restrict myself to a single genre, that would quickly get a bit ‘samey’ and boring!
I still just don’t seem to get the quality reading time that I used to … I really do think that blogging is the main cause for this lapse, getting the balance right is going to be a priority for me!
Thanks for the visit and I hope that you are feeling better very soon!
Happy reading Yvonne. They both look like interesting books 🙂
Hi Naida,
‘Until There Was You’, is probably not the kind of book that I would read on a regular basis, but it did look quite fun when you had it up for grabs after your author interview with Jessica Scott. I was so impressed with the hectic lifestyle she manages to conduct, that I just needed to discover what kind of book she writes to relax.
Thanks again for selecting me as the winner.
Nice covers. 🙂 Enjoy your reading!
Hi Martha,
Thank you for deciding to stop by Fiction Books today. I love meeting new people, so your visits and comments are always more than welcome and appreciated.
My books this week, couldn’t be more diverse in their genres or cover art really, could they? As you have probably gathered, I have very eclectic reading tastes and don’t like to get stereotyped as a single genre reader!
The Jessica Scott cover, is quite alluring though and is certainly going to be good to look at for a while!
The spiral effect on the cover of ‘The Englishman …. ‘, is really quite unnerving, it draws me in, to the point where I can almost imagine myself falling over the edge and getting sucked into a vortex!
Congratulations on your win – you can stare at the cover if the book’s not good. I think I’ve read a good review of The Englishman and the Butterfly. Enjoy your new books!
Hi Kathy,
It is always a good feeling when you win something, isn’t it?
I was particularly intrigued when I read about the book and author of ‘Until There Was You’, to discover that Jessica is a serving company commander in the army, a mum to two small kids and with an army husband who is on overseas duties … I just can’t imagine being able to switch off from all that at the end of the day and still have the time and energy to write …. especially when her books are such romantic sizzlers and her imagination so vivid with the great eye-candy cover!!
‘The Englishman and the Butterfly’, is something totally different altogether, far more intellectually challenging and thought provoking, with a definite message to be had … I am just hoping that I have the intelligence to find it!!
Thanks for stopping by, it is always good to hear from you.
Enjoy all the books.
Thanks Mystica, I am sure that I shall enjoy them both. I have very eclectic reading tastes, which is just as well given the diverse nature of the two genres, they couldn’t be farther apart!!
Thanks for stopping by today, I appreciate your time and comment.
These both look very tempting…I like the sound of the blurbs. Hope you enjoy them…and here’s MY MONDAY MEMES POST
Hi Laurel Rain,
Yes, they both have very tempting synopses, don’t they?
I like to ‘ring the changes’ in my reading, from book to book and with such great diversity as this week’s bag offers, I shall never be bored!
Thanks for the visit, great to hear from you.
Well done on your latest finds – I’ve been hearing a lot of things, both good and bad, about The Englishman And The Butterfly so I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.
Hi Tracy,
There have been so few reviews of this book to date, but I have to say that when I searched, I couldn’t find any particularly bad reviews or comments about it …. Can you remember where you saw them?
Having said that, there have been a few reviewers who have made the comment that they felt they needed to read the book more than once to try and gain full appreciation for its messages, so perhaps this is a sign that the book is perhaps unnecessarily complicated?
I have to admit that I was a little reticent about taking on this book, when Ryan first contacted me, as it all seemed a little too academic. However he has assured me that he has great confidence that I will be able to unravel the situations present in the storyline, as they occur.
Admittedly I am intrigued by the many personalities who are placed in the spotlight of the storyline, especially as I have since learned from Ryan, that the three English protagonists are somewhat based on existing professional ‘Englishmen’. Now I need to try and work out just who they are!!
Thanks for visiting today and for your interesting observations, I appreciate our conversations.
Ahem Until There Was You caught my eye ! LOL I hope it lives up to its cover!
Hi Kim,
I didn’t enter the competition to win this one, just because of the cover … honest!! … but it is certainly easy on the eye, isn’t it?
I am hoping that this one can be read as a stand-alone book, as it is a follow-up story to ‘Because Of You’, which shows the back view of the same buff body.
Check out the link to view the covers together.
http://www.jessicascott.net/books.html
Thanks for taking the time to comment, it is always appreciated.
Congrats on your win, enjoy! your reading week ahead.
Hi Mary Ann,
There is always a small feeling of smug satisfaction which comes over me when I win something … probably because it doesn’t happen very often!
I also always like to receive review requests from authors, as I have read some great books, which probably wouldn’t have come to my attention at all otherwise.
So, that’s the best of both worlds for me this week!
Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your visits.
I haven’t read either of these but they both look good! Don’t you just love to win a giveaway? Enjoy your goodies!
Hi Debbie,
It is always a lovely feeling when you win something, isn’t it?
Since I started blogging, I have heard from so many great authors, both those new to the scene and those who are already more established, and I have read books which I would never have dreamed of buying for myself, from so many new genres. It has been such a lovely experience and I value all the great new book finds I have come across.
It is great when a week throws up such diverse reading genres and I look forward to starting both these books.
Thanks for stopping by, I value your visits and comments.