Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Book Birthday Shout Out #3


   Today we are celebrating another Book Birthday!  Book Birthday Shout Out, hosted by Bewitched Bookworms, is a meme to celebrate new releases, or 'book birthdays'. Each week, participants will post one or more new release they are looking forward to reading, along with synopses and cover art. Read more about it here at Bewitched Bookworms.

   I have three books I want to wish Happy Birthday to today. The first, 'Never Look Away' by Linwood Barclay has actually been in print for awhile, but today we celebrate it's release in paperback form. This was recommended to me by my friend Amy sometime ago and I've had it on my 'to-read' list since then. In this story, a man and his wife spend the day in an amusement park with their young son. They look away a second, and the son disappears. They separate to search, and he is found, but the wife has disappeared. I'm told this is very suspenseful and a good read. It rates 3.86 stars on Goodreads. Here is the synopsis borrowed from the site.


In this tense, mesmerizing thriller by Linwood Barclay, critically acclaimed author of Fear the Worst and Too Close to Home, a man’s life unravels around him when the unthinkable strikes.

A warm summer Saturday. An amusement park. David Harwood is glad to be spending some quality time with his wife, Jan, and their four-year-old son. But what begins as a pleasant family outing turns into a nightmare after an inexplicable disappearance. A frantic search only leads to an even more shocking and harrowing turn of events.
 
Until this terrifying moment, David Harwood is just a small-town reporter in need of a break. His paper, the Promise Falls Standard, is struggling to survive. Then he gets a lead that just might be the answer to his prayers: a potential scandal involving a controversial development project for the outskirts of this picturesque upstate New York town. It’s a hot-button issue that will surely sell papers and help reverse the Standard’s fortunes, but strangely, David’s editors keep shooting it down.
Why?

That’s a question no longer at the top of David’s list. Now the only thing he cares about is restoring his family. Desperate for any clue, David dives into his own investigation—and into a web of lies and deceit. For with every new piece of evidence he uncovers, David finds more questions—and moves ever closer to a shattering truth.


   Visit the author's website to view a trailer or listen to an audiobook sample. You can pick up a copy from Barnes and Noble, from Amazon, or from your local bookseller.

   The next book I want to celebrate today is 'Pinch Me' by Adena Halpern, a cute romance that resembles a fairy tale. It is rated 3.81 stars on Goodreads. Here is a synopsis from the Goodreads page.

LILY MARRIED THE MAN OF HER DREAMS. THEN SHE WOKE UP. 

“Never marry a man unless he’s short, bald, fat, stupid, and treats you badly.” That is the advice that twenty-nine-year-old Lily Burns has heard her entire life from her grandmother Dolly and her mother, Selma. Despite this, when she meets Gogo, the handsome, successful pediatrician who treats her like a queen, she has no choice but to let her heart take over. When she agrees to marry him, Dolly and Selma are inconsolable. They decide it’s time to tell her the truth: their family is cursed. If she marries for love, there will be unimaginable consequences. 

Nevertheless, Lily and Gogo elope. Unable to believe her good fortune, Lily asks Gogo to pinch her—to make sure all this isn’t just a dream. The moment he does, Lily finds herself transported back to the house she lived in when she was single. Gogo is gone. When Lily tracks him down, she finds that he’s married to someone else and has no memory of her. In this modern fairy tale, Lily must find a way to break the curse and turn her nightmare back into a dream come true.

   Pick up your copy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite bookseller.

   The last book I want to wish a Happy Birthday to is 'Restless in Carolina' by Tamara Leigh. This is the 3rd book in the author's 'Southern Discomfort' series. I have not read these, so I'm not sure if it is necessary to read the first two, but I'm planning to take a chance and read this one first. They look like fun 'chick lit' reads. This one reads 4 stars at Goodreads. Here is a synopsis.

She’s all about going green. Could he be her white knight—or will he make her see red?
 
Tree-huggin’, animal-lovin’ Bridget Pickwick-Buchanan is on a mission. Well, two. First she has to come to terms with being a widow at thirty-three. After all, it’s been four years and even her five-year-old niece and nephew think it’s time she shed her widow’s weeds. Second, she needs to find a buyer for her family’s estate—a Biltmore-inspired mansion surrounded by hundreds of acres of unspoiled forestland. With family obligations forcing the sale, Bridget is determined to find an eco-friendly developer to buy the land, someone who won’t turn it into single-family homes or a cheesy theme park.
 
Enter J. C. Dirk, a high-energy developer from Atlanta whose green property developments have earned him national acclaim. When he doesn’t return her calls, Bridget decides a personal visit is in order. Unfortunately, J. C. Dirk is neither amused nor interested when she interrupts his meeting—until she mentions her family name. In short order, he finds himself in North Carolina, and Bridget has her white knight—in more ways than one. But there are things Bridget doesn’t know about J. C., and it could mean the end of everything she’s worked for…and break her heart.

   Visit the author's website to read and excerpt. Pick up your copy from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or your local bookseller. 

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