Alright, so here we go...
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From Contests/Giveaways & Misc:
Falling Into the Sun :: Charrie Hazard(Recieved for review)
After she stumbles upon his suicide, Kate Nardek sees her dead neighbor everywhere—hanging from the ceiling fan, in her rearview mirror—dark holes where his eyes should be. Three days after Michael’s suicide, Kate envisions her own thirteen-year-old son, Josh, hanging from a garage rafter. She realizes the kind of despair that led Michael to kill himself fuels Josh’s increasingly violent blowups. She seeks psychological help for her son, a decision that dramatically changes the course of both their lives. In her quest to vanquish Josh’s demons, Kate must face down her own, forcing her to rethink her beliefs about mental illness, good and evil, death and, finally, her own self-worth.
Michael’s journey parallels Kate’s as his soul flies into the center of creation. There, he discovers someone—or something—has noted every twist of his life since sperm struck seed. This being’s perfect knowledge generates the healing salve of perfect compassion. If Michael will confront the truth about key people and violent episodes from his recent life, he too can learn compassion. It’s a painful exercise he can refuse. But other journeys to the center have taught him that willful ignorance is like the river Lethe; it leads to only one place. He chooses knowledge.
Undone :: Karin Slaughter
Book seven in the Grant County series
(Recieved for review for August Virtual Blog Tour)
Someone had spent time with her -- someone well-practiced in the art of pain... Three years ago former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton moved to Atlanta hoping to leave her tragic past behind her. Now working as a doctor in Atlanta's Grady Hospital she is starting to piece her life together. But when a severely wounded young woman is brought in to the emergency room, she finds herself drawn back into a world of violence and terror. The woman has been hit by a car but, naked and brutalized, it's clear that she has been the prey of a twisted mind. When Special Agent Will Trent of the Criminal Investigation Team returns to the scene of the accident, he stumbles on a torture chamber buried deep beneath the earth. And this hidden house of horror reveals a ghastly truth - Sara's patient is just the first victim of a sick, sadistic killer. Wrestling the case away from the local police chief, Will and his partner Faith Mitchell find themselves at the center of a grisly murder hunt. And Sara, Will and Faith - each with their own wounds and their own secrets - are the only thing that stands between a madman and his next crime...
Starfinder :: John Marco
Book one in the Skylords series
(Thanks Aerin from In Search of Giants!)
Steam trains and electricity are rapidly changing the world. Moth of Calio is obsessed with the airships developed by his friend Fiona's grandfather Rendor, and dreams of taking to the air one day like his heroes, the Skyknights.But not everyone is happy to see humans reach the skies. For thousands of years, the mysterious and powerful race known as the Skylords have jealously guarded their heavenly domain. But Moth and Fiona are about to breach the magical boundary between the world of humans and the world of the Skylords.
The Devlin Diary :: Christi Phillips
London, 1672. The past twelve years have brought momentous changes: the restoration of the monarchy, a devastating plague and fire. Yet the city remains a teeming, thriving metropolis, energized by the lusty decadence of Charles II's court and burgeoning scientific inquiry. Although women enjoy greater freedom, they are not allowed to practice medicine, a restriction that physician Hannah Devlin evades by treating patients that most other doctors shun: the city's poor.
But Hannah has a special knowledge that Secretary of State Lord Arlington desperately needs. At the king's Machiavellian court, Hannah attracts the attention of two men, charming courtier Ralph Montagu and anatomist Dr. Edward Strathern, as well as the attention of the powerful College of Physicians, which views her work as criminal. When two influential courtiers are found brutally murdered, their bodies inscribed with arcane symbols, Hannah is drawn into a dangerous investigation by Dr. Strathern, who believes the murders conceal a far-reaching conspiracy that may include Hannah's late father and the king himself.
Cambridge, 2008. Teaching history at Trinity College is Claire Donovan's dream come true -- until one of her colleagues is found dead on the banks of the River Cam. The only key to the professor's unsolved murder is a seventeenthcentury diary kept by his last research subject, Hannah Devlin, physician to the king's mistress. With help from the eclectic collections of Cambridge's renowned libraries, Claire and historian Andrew Kent follow the clues Devlin left behind, uncovering secrets of London's dark past and Cambridge's equally murky present, and discovering that events of three hundred years ago may still have consequences today....
Eye of the Whale :: Douglas Carlton Abrams
(Received for review for an August Virtual Book Tour)
Elizabeth McKay is a dedicated scientist who has spent almost a decade cracking the code of humpback whale communication. Their song, the most complex in nature, may in fact reveal secrets about the animal world that no one could have imagined. When a humpback whale swims up the Sacramento River with a strange and unprecedented song, Elizabeth must decipher its meaning in order to save the whale and ultimately much more. But as her work with the whale captures the media's interest and the world's imagination, many powerful forces emerge who do not want the whale's secrets to be revealed. Soon, Elizabeth is forced to decide if her discoveries are worth losing her marriage, her career, and possibly her life.
As timely as today's ecological challenges and as timeless as the whales themselves, this novel takes readers into the mysterious world of humpback whales and great white sharks. In writing Eye of the Whale, Abrams worked closely with leading scientists and did extensive research on the shockingly true facts on which it is based. This powerful story will transform the way readers see their relationship with other species and with the fragile world in which we live.
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker
(Received for review from the author)
What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Considering how few of Queen Victoria’s Londoners knew of it, the great Romanesque fortress was dreadfully imposing, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met the powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadow, the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She knew simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow-white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gifts. But this arched stone doorway offered a portal to a new life, an education far from the convent—and an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death….
The Bone Factory :: Nate Kenyon
(Thanks to Graeme from Graeme's Fantasty Book Review!)
The Jackson Pumped Storage Project was supposed to be one of the most ambitious hydropower experiments in the world. But when a particularly brutal winter and bad planning forced a shutdown in construction, it became one of the most expensive mistakes the locals had ever seen. That is, until Hydro Development decided to try again, and awakened a sleeping giant–and the murders begin.
A thousand miles away, hydropower engineer David Pierce gets a second chance when he’s hired to head a crucial part of the resurrected facility. Recently fired from a position with a rival company, his world was swiftly crumbling before his eyes, his marriage in trouble and money growing tight. In the blink of an eye, everything changes, and he, his wife and their young daughter are driving to Quebec City to begin their new lives together.
But Jessica Pierce is no ordinary little girl, and the visions that have haunted her since birth swiftly grow worse: visions of the “blue man,” and with him comes blood and pain and terror. There begins the most horrifying few weeks of the family’s lives as they battle the unforgiving Canadian winter and a madman under the influence of something far more terrifying and destructive than anyone can understand.
Prey :: Rachel Vincent
Book four in the Shifters series
SOMETIMES PLAYING CAT AND MOUSE IS NO GAME...
Play? Right. My Pride is under fire from all sides, my father's authority is in question, and my lover is in exile. Which means I haven't laid eyes on Marc's gorgeous face in months. And with a new mother and an I-know-everything teenager under my protection, I don't exactly have time to fantasize about ever seeing him again.
Then our long-awaited reunion is ruined by a vicious ambush by strays. Now our group is under attack, Marc is missing, and I will need every bit of skill and smarts to keep my family from being torn apart. Forever.
Bound by Your Touch :: Meredith Duran
(Thanks Anna from Anna's Book Blog)
Silver-tongued Viscount Sanburne is London’s favorite scapegrace. Alas, Lydia Boyce has no interest in being charmed. When his latest escapade exposes a plot to ruin her family, she vows to handle it herself. Certainly she requires no help from a too-handsome dilettante whose main achievement is being scandalous.
But Sanburne’s golden charisma masks a sharper mind and darker history than she realizes. He shocks Lydia by breaking past her prim facade to the woman beneath . . . and the hidden fire no man has ever recognized. But as she follows him into a world of intrigue, she will learn that the greatest danger lies within—in the shadowy, secret motives of his heart.
Benny & Shrimp :: Katarina Mazetti
(Received for review)
An international sensation, this addictively readable tale asks the question: Why is it so impossible to get a relationship between two middle-aged misfits to work? The answer lies in the story of Shrimp, a young widowed librarian with a sharp intellect and a home so tidy that her jam jars are in alphabetical order; Benny, a gentle, overworked milk farmer who fears becoming the village's Old Bachelor; and an unlikely love that should not be as complicated as it seems. Reminiscent of the works of Carol Shields, this quirky, humorous, beautifully told novel breathes new life into the age-old conundrum that is love.
Royal Blood :: Rona Sharon
(Received for review)
England, 1518. During the annual celebration of the Order of the Garter, Michael Devereaux arrives in King Henry VIII's court on a mission for his benefactor. The celebration's endless feasts and sumptuous women delight the charismatic newcomer, who becomes captivated by the enigmatic Princess Renée de Valois of France. But evil, it seems, has followed Michael to the court...
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From Barnes & Noble:
Post Secret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives :: Frank Warren
The project that captured a nation's imagination.
The instructions were simple, but the results were extraordinary.
"You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything — as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before. Be brief. Be legible. Be creative."
It all began with an idea Frank Warren had for a community art project. He began handing out postcards to strangers and leaving them in public places — asking people to write down a secret they had never told anyone and mail it to him, anonymously.
The response was overwhelming. The secrets were both provocative and profound, and the cards themselves were works of art — carefully and creatively constructed by hand. Addictively compelling, the cards reveal our deepest fears, desires, regrets, and obsessions. Frank calls them "graphic haiku," beautiful, elegant, and small in structure but powerfully emotional.
As Frank began posting the cards on his website, PostSecret took on a life of its own, becoming much more than a simple art project. It has grown into a global phenomenon, exposing our individual aspirations, fantasies, and frailties — our common humanity.
Every day dozens of postcards still make their way to Frank, with postmarks from around the world, touching on every aspect of human experience. This extraordinary collection brings together the most powerful, personal, and beautifully intimate secrets Frank Warren has received — and brilliantly illuminates that human emotions canbe unique and universal at the same time.
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Happy Reading!!
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