Sunday, February 8, 2015

Bending The Spine is on break...

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Hi everyone!

I have had a few inquiries as to what happened to us. Well, life has gotten crazy in rl, (between our current family and going through the adoption prosess) we made the collective decision to take a bloggy break.

Reading is still a huge part of our family and we hope to get back to sharing our bookish love soon. until then...

Happy reading,
Richard & Rebecca  

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Sweet Romance Collection and Giveaway

Sweet and Clean Romance Collection
Ok clean romance lovers these books are for you!! Trifecta Books is excited to announce their new line of short contemporary romance novels for e-book. The Sweet and Clean Romance Collection will melt your heart and sweep you off your feet. There are currently four books out with many more titles coming soon. 
 Hearts in Harmony and Something Blue

And Something Blue




And Something Blue by Paige Timothy (Main Street Merchants #1)
Bridal consultant Laurie Fletcher spends her days helping others prepare for the most special day of their lives. Will true love ever come her way, or is she doomed to watch others get their happily ever after?


For Love or Money



For Love And Money by Paige Timothy (Main Street Merchants #2)
Cynical Morgan has just about decided that no one could possibly fall in love with her - all the good guys want perfect girls, and she's anything but perfect. But then along comes the guy who falls head-over-heels in love with her just as she is and helps her find the bright side of life again.


  Hearts in Harmony



Hearts in Harmony by Raine Gillespie (Love Notes #1)
Elahna Nezario gave up her musical dreams to help run the Queen of Hearts, her mother’s chocolate shop, after her sister’s sudden death. After an unfortunate run-in with Elahna’s childhood crush, owner of the Dolce Theater, not only do her dreams surge back to life, but so does her heart.


  Waltzing on Wheels


Waltzing on Wheels by Raine Gillespie (Love Notes #2)
Meredith Aaron lost all hope for love after a car accident put her in a wheelchair. Who would want her, broken as she is? After her brother tells her to save a dance for him at his wedding, she decides to somehow learn how to dance on the only legs she has left—her wheels.


   



  Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 11/20/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy reading!
Good luck in the giveawaySmile
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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Review: Gray Mountain by John Grisham

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Gray Mountain
John Grisham
Print Length: 386 pages
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: October 21, 2014
Source: Audible

Goodreads | Amazon | Aubidle

John Grisham has a new hero . . . and she’s full of surprises

The year is 2008 and Samantha Kofer’s career at a huge Wall Street law firm is on the fast track—until the recession hits and she gets downsized, furloughed, escorted out of the building. Samantha, though, is one of the “lucky” associates. She’s offered an opportunity to work at a legal aid clinic for one year without pay, after which there would be a slim chance that she’d get her old job back.

In a matter of days Samantha moves from Manhattan to Brady, Virginia, population 2,200, in the heart of Appalachia, a part of the world she has only read about. Mattie Wyatt, lifelong Brady resident and head of the town’s legal aid clinic, is there to teach her how to “help real people with real problems.” For the first time in her career, Samantha prepares a lawsuit, sees the inside of an actual courtroom, gets scolded by a judge, and receives threats from locals who aren’t so thrilled to have a big-city lawyer in town. And she learns that Brady, like most small towns, harbors some big secrets.

Her new job takes Samantha into the murky and dangerous world of coal mining, where laws are often broken, rules are ignored, regulations are flouted, communities are divided, and the land itself is under attack from Big Coal. Violence is always just around the corner, and within weeks Samantha finds herself engulfed in litigation that turns deadly.


I was really excited about this book!  I mean, read that misleading inaccurate summary!  It sounds awesome!  I was excited about reading a new release (I even preordered through Audible!) from an author I grew up reading, that should have felt like coming home.  I was expecting something energetic like The Client or The FirmGray Mountain is far from what I was expecting.  Instead, it felt like coming home to the house your parents moved into while you were away at college: unfamiliar.

I scanned a few Goodreads reviews to get hints about what other people felt, to help direct my thoughts, and noticed several people called this an “issue novel.”  While I understand what the nomenclature means, I didn’t see Gray Mountain in the light.  It is an intriguing novel, one that does comment—within the context of fiction—how deplorably coal miners have been (possibly still are?) treated.  Yet, even if Gray Mountain is an “issue novel,” it is a compelling story.

Even though Gray Mountain is compelling, it felt lacking—lacking the essentials of what I have considered a John Grisham novel.  It felt very flat, almost as if Grisham had lost his mojo.  I waited and waited for there to be some mystery/suspense.  And it never came.  The parts that were more action-like passed quickly, and weren’t very action-packed.  This should be placed in the “contemporary” category, more than mystery/suspense.

That is my issue with Gray Mountain—that in some 10 hours of listening, not much really happens.  No intense chase scenes, or shootouts, or anything…exciting.  And there is minimal growth of the main character.  I was hoping and wishing that she would step up to the challenge, (wo)man up, as it were, and do what needed to be done.  {SPOILER} But she didn’t.  She whined and “woe-d is me” for 99% of the book—lamenting the life she left behind in New York, only redeeming herself in the 11th hour.

I finished it up on my commute home, and as soon as I had the chance, I pulled up Goodreads to see if this was the first in a series…which it is not.  And so I’m baffled.  I’m confused about what I’m supposed to feel after reading this book.  I’m confused about what the actual story is.  {SPOILER} I’m confused about why there is no ending.  There is no epilogue, or dialogue, or anything to complete the plot.  There is no resolution of all the clients we’re invested in.  How do they all turn out!?!?!

Which has led us to my biggest dilemma: how do I rate this book?  I’ve spent two days thinking, mulling, and evaluating.  And I’m still wavering between two different ratings.  I’m resting firmly between a two and a four.  Here’s why:  I enjoyed the premise of the story (4 out of 5), yet the deficits in the action/excitement and the Swiss-cheese of plot holes give me pause (2 out of 5).  For the sake of simplicity, I guess I’m on the fence about Gray Mountain.  So, I guess this is a solid 3.

rating 3 of 5
richard signature

Monday, November 3, 2014

Giveaway: Nocte by Courtney Cole

Nocte RDL Banner  

We are beyond excited to bring you the Release Day Launch for Courtney Cole's NOCTE! NOCTE is a New Adult dark romantic psychological suspense novel. Hang on tight because this book will blow you away...


  Nocte

 

My name is Calla Price. I’m eighteen years old, and I’m one half of a whole. My other half-- my twin brother, my Finn-- is crazy. I love him. More than life, more than anything. And even though I’m terrified he’ll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me. I’m doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I’m drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline. Dare DuBray. He’s my savior and my anti-Christ. His arms are where I feel safe, where I’m afraid, where I belong, where I’m lost. He will heal me, break me, love me and hate me. He has the power to destroy me. Maybe that’s ok. Because I can’t seem to save Finn and love Dare without everyone getting hurt. Why? Because of a secret. A secret I’m so busy trying to figure out, that I never see it coming. You won’t either.

 

Barnes & Noble ** Kobo ** Amazon ** iBooks


Book Trailer
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About the Author
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 ABOUT COURTNEY COLE: Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people. Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo. 
    

Website |Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter SignUp|Pinterest

   


My review for Nocte will be up a little later this week, but let me go ahead and say this book was a rush! It is one of those that when you get to the end you are angry because you have to wait to see what happens in the next book and are already so invested in the story. Go get this today!!!
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Saturday, November 1, 2014

Stacking The Shelves 11.1.2014

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a post for bloggers to share what books they've received to review, bought, won, borrowed or were gifted.

As always click on the image to go to the Goodreads page.

What I got this week:
Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)Archangel's Shadows (Guild Hunter, #7)
I am already enjoying Archangel’s Shadows! Nalini Singh is my favorite author and I have been anticipating Ash and Janvier’s story for some time. I hope to have the review up soon.

Burn For Me is the start of a new series from the married duo that make up Ilona Adrews. I hope to get to Burn For Me soon! Their Kate Daniels series is one of my favorites.

That’s it for me this week.
Can’t wait to see what you got!
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