Review & Giveaway: The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

Title: The Island

Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Published: June 18, 2010
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Characters: Birdie Cousins, Chess Cousins, Tate Cousins, India
My Rating:

Synopsis:

Birdie Cousins has planned a getaway with her daughter Chess on rustic, charming Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket, a chance to bond before Chess's upcoming marriage. Birdie's been through a difficult divorce herself, so she knows the big commitment that marriage entails. She's only recently dared to tiptoe back into the waters of romance.

When Chess abruptly breaks off the wedding and her fiancé shockingly dies in a rock climbing accident, it leaves Chess feeling guilty and deeply depressed. Birdie circles the wagons, convincing her younger daughter Tate, and her own sister India to join them on Tuckernuck for the month of July. Secrets and intrigue soon make their way to the surface, as Elin Hilderbrand once again weaves a masterful story of summer suspense.

It took a little bit to warm up to this book, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I guess I really started to become invested in the characters around the point when Birdie kept trying to call Hank while she was in Tuckernuck, and he would barely speak to her. (Hank is the man Birdie started dating after her divorce.)
 
I did find the characters to be very well developed, and Hilderbrand painted a very vivid picture of Tuckernuck. Her detail of the island made you as a reader want to visit the island. I didn't always agree with the behavior of the characters, but that's what keeps it interesting.
 
Chess's sister, Tate, I loved at times and at others I couldn't stand. I could feel for her and her situation with her sister since I too am an ordinary younger sister to an extraordinary older sister. I think we all go through it at times, but sometimes I wanted to yell at her to grow up.
 
In the end, I didn't feel that there was any closure with what Chess was going to do with her personal life. We got closure on her professional life but not what she was going to do about the romantic aspect.

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS AUDIOBOOK?

{August 24-September 7, 2010}

• Only residents of the U.S. or Canada are eligible to win
• No P.O. Boxes please
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen
• Giveaway copies will be sent directly to winners from the publisher
• Up to 3 copies will be available depending on entries.
• Winners will be randomly selected using randomizer.org and contacted via email.  

  To win, please complete the following:

1. In the comments section, please leave your email address (If you win, I will need to be able to contact you), and your answer to the following question:

Where would your dream "island" destination be?

 Extra entry (+1): Tweet this giveaway (leave a link to your tweet in the comments section) 

Teaser Tuesday: She's Gone Country by Jane Porter

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. To participate, all you have to do is the following:

• Grab your current/upcoming read

• Open to a random page
• Share 2-3 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers! (You do not want to ruin the book for others.)
• Share the title & author so that others who enjoy your "teaser" may add the book to their TBL pile.

And just like that, I realize I'm not alone anymore. Someone's in the house. A chill rushes through me. I freeze, rooted to the spot.

page 224; She's Gone Country by Jane Porter

Review: Finding Perfect by Susan Mallery

Title: Finding Perfect
Author: Susan Mallery
Published: August 31, 2010
Publisher: HQN
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 346
Source: Personal Library
Characters: Pia O'Brian, Raoul Moreno
My Rating:

Synopsis:

Pia was your typical popular girl in high school – she made friends easily, cheered on the squad, and had her share of dates with the school jocks. But she’s always had a hard time committing to something, or someone.

So when her best friend Crystal succumbs to cancer, Pia is devastated, but also shocked by the inheritance her friend has left her – her frozen embryos! Pia’s in a quandary. It’s not like she can just throw them away. But is she really capable of being responsible for another human being?

For once, Pia throws caution to the wind and decides to embrace Crystal’s legacy. But as she struggles with her decision, another complication arises that Pia is totally unprepared for. She finally meets the man of her dreams…and her life becomes more confusing than she ever thought possible.

"What do you mean she left me the embryos? I'm supposed to get the cat."

Once again Susan Mallery delivers another heart-warming story! I never expect anything less from her. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, from the other two books in this series, but it never fails that while reading a Fool's Gold novel I want to pack my bags and move there.

In Finding Perfect, Pia has decided to carry the embryos her late best friend Crystal has left to her. While she's struggling to wrap her head around this, Raoul steps up and offers to be her "pregnancy buddy." Pia and Raoul seemed to be the perfect match from the start, but Raoul has trust issues when it comes to women due to a betrayal by his ex-wife. So when Pia breaks the cardinal rule of their agreement by falling in with him, they go their separate ways. But how can he resist Pia? she's strong, loyal, bright, and funny. So Raoul takes Josh's advice and quietly hands over to Pia "his heart, his soul, and his balls."

Oh and Peter! He's such a wonderful little boy who has suffered way too much for such a young age. He added some very tear-jerking scenes to the overall story.

I very much hope to see more of Fool's Gold in the future. I want to see the triplets (Dakota, Montana, and Nevada) find love. And more than that, I want their mother Denise to find love again. I'm hoping Denise's "Max" is her daughter's new boss. If you haven't read a Fool's Gold novel, I recommend that you do. You won't be disappointed.

Susan Mallery | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

The Versatile Blogger

Thank you to Crazy Cat Lady's Library for bestowing me with The Versatile Blogger Award! This is my first time receiving this award, but it is my understanding that there are a few rules to accepting this award.

In accepting this award, the rules are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 5 things about yourself.
3. Pass this along to 5 bloggers you have recently discovered and think are fantastic.
4. Contact those 5 bloggers and let them know you gave them an award.

About me:

• I'm very shy and reserved
• I have a weakness for Cheetos
• I can't stand the smell of coffee
• I watch a ton of "trashy" reality shows (ie. Jersey Shore, Bad Girls Club, etc)
• I'd rather shop for books than shop for clothes

In no particular order:

Love 2 Read For Fun

Manga Manic Cafe 

Once Upon a Chapter

Tome's Devotee

Tracy's Place

In My Mailbox: Volume 1 Issue 18

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Every week I'll post what books I've received either by mailbox/library/store.

I'll try to post an entry of IMM every Sunday that I receive books by mail of that week.

Listed below are the books I received this week.

Books via Half Price Books

A Christmas Wedding by Tracy Wolff

Heat Seeker by Lora Leigh

Orchard Valley Grooms by Debbie Macomber

Giveaway: She's Gone Country by Jane Porter

She's Gone Country
Jane Porter

Shey Darcy, a 39-year-old former top model for Vogue and Sports Illustrated led a charmed life in New York City with a handsome photographer husband until the day he announced he'd fallen in love with someone else. Left to pick up the pieces of her once happy world, Shey decides to move back home to Texas with her three teenage sons. Life on the family ranch, however, brings with it a whole new host of dramas starting with differences of opinion with her staunch Southern Baptist mother, her rugged but overprotective brothers, and daily battles with her three sons who are also struggling to find themselves. Add to the mix Shey's ex-crush, Dane Kelly, a national bullriding champ and she's got her hands full. It doesn't take long before Shey realizes that in order to reinvent herself, she must let go of an uncertain future and a broken past, to find happiness--and maybe love--in the present.

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

{August 20-31, 2010}

• Only residents of the U.S. or Canada are eligible to win
• No P.O. Boxes please
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen
• Giveaway copies will be sent directly to winners from the publisher
• Up to 3 copies will be available depending on entries.
• Winners will be randomly selected using randomizer.org and contacted via email.  

  To win, please complete the following:

1. In the comments section, please leave your email address (If you win, I will need to be able to contact you), and your answer to the following question:

Which do you prefer, city living or country living?

 Extra entry (+1): Tweet this giveaway (leave a link to your tweet in the comments section)