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March 29, 2013

Bookreporter.com Newsletter March 29, 2013
Greetings from Colorado
I first came to Crested Butte back in 1980 and fell in love with the charm of this historic town and ski resort where skiing is taken seriously. It boasts more extreme terrain within its bounds than any other ski resort in North America. As I mentioned last week, I have not skied in 19 years, but coming back here I felt like I was coming home. My husband Tom and I met here in 1982, and when people have heard this story around town this week, we’ve gotten a lot of big smiles. We were married in New Jersey three years from the day we met here in the Butte, on March 30th, and kicked off our three-week honeymoon here. There was a full-page ad in the paper that read “Finally Legal” when we got to town after the wedding. So we will celebrate our 28th/31st anniversary here tomorrow in something that is just a sheer coincidence.

Now I was not sure how much I was going to enjoy skiing after all this time, but it really is like riding a bike. Sure, I am not skiing six hours a day the way I used to, but zipping down the hills is still making me smile. I am wearing a one-piece ski suit that I think I bought in 1987. In a town that embraces all things vintage, I have had offers to BUY it. And lift operators keep telling me how cool it looks. New to skiing since I last skied are helmets. Raigne, my friend Rachel’s daughter, loaned me her turquoise helmet. I feel like I am in one of those fashion spreads that I used to work on for the magazine where there was zippy copy like, ”Choose one new accessory to change your wardrobe.” For me, the turquoise helmet is doing just that! Temps are in the 40s today, so I am going to switch to my retro anorak today where the helmet also will work. See the helmet in the photo above.

Cory is loving this trip, which is his high school graduation present, and seeing him beaming as he charges down the mountain is making ME smile. He is skiing fast, and we barely see him during the day. Proving that he is his mother’s son, he is happy to be off on his own exploring the mountain. He has a better sense of direction than me and remembers the trail names.

This town is also known for great food. The #1 rated place in town is called The Secret Stash, where they make to-die-for gourmet pizzas. Last night, we were so tired that we had them deliver dinner --- and you know a place is great if we are doing a “repeat.” Pizza with figs on it was one of the selections. I can see us getting a lot more experimental with pizzas at home after eating these. I am going to try to replicate the lemon pepper crust from the pizza that was topped with arugula, shaved parmesan and prosciutto. I would love them to do a cookbook!

I got a lot of mail about our Slam Dunk feature, where we matched up NCAA Men’s Basketball teams with books written by alumni or faculty from each school. We are now watching the matchups for the Sweet Sixteen to get to the Elite Eight. As of last night, Wichita State will play Ohio State, so PIZZA ON THE GRILL will play WELCOME TO THE DEAD HOUSE. Syracuse and Marquette will face off, so WE WERE THE MULVANEYS will play BUFFALO BILL'S DEAD NOW. Our Final Four update will be on Monday!

Last week, I announced that Therese Anne Fowler’s Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald was my latest Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. I’ve been talking about this book for months ever since I read a manuscript of it back in August. It arrived in stores on Tuesday, and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts about it! Bronwyn Miller echoes my endless praise of the book in her review: “There has been a spate of wonderful novels in the past few years, showing the ‘women behind the great men,’ such as Paula McLain’s THE PARIS WIFE and, more recently, THE AVIATOR’S WIFE by Melanie Benjamin. However, Z may be the strongest and most skillful of the lot.” Bronwyn also had a chance to interview Therese, which you can read here.

I’m happy to announce that LIFE AFTER LIFE by Jill McCorkle and THE PARADISE GUEST HOUSE by Ellen Sussman are my two latest Bets On selections.

LIFE AFTER LIFE, McCorkle’s first novel in 17 years, introduces readers to the residents and staff of Pine Haven Estates, a retirement facility now home to a number of Fulton, North Carolina’s older citizens. As she connects their lives through their present circumstances, their pasts, and, in some cases, their deaths, McCorkle celebrates the blessings and wisdom of later life. Reviewer Terry Miller Shannon calls the book “a page-turner with a number of thought-provoking layers that linger long after the last page is devoured, making it an emotionally gripping and satisfying read.” Click here to see why I’m betting you’ll love this book.

In THE PARADISE GUEST HOUSE, an adventure travel guide named Jamie returns to the scene of the terrorist bombing that she lived through in Bali one year previously. According to Amie Taylor in her review, Ellen Sussman “easily immerses us in another world full of memorable characters and tugs at our heartstrings as we come to know and care about the people in the story and their past, present and future.” I enjoy Sussman's work (especially FRENCH LESSONS), and after finishing her latest effort, I knew she’d be a part of this feature. Click here to find out why.

Two titles are featured in our New Release Spotlight this week. First up is ORDINARY GRACE, William Kent Krueger’s stand-alone novel that signifies a departure from his Cork O’Connor mysteries. For 13-year-old Frank Drum, 1961 was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. When tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family --- which includes his Methodist minister father; his passionate, artistic mother; Juilliard-bound older sister; and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother --- he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.

Reviewer Joe Hartlaub raves, “ORDINARY GRACE is one of those very rare books where one regrets reaching its end, knowing that the experience of having read it for the first time will never be repeated. Krueger, who is incapable of writing badly, arguably has given us his masterpiece.” Next week, I’ll share why I’m picking ORDINARY GRACE as a Bets On title. It truly is one of the BEST books that I have read. We also share Sneak Peek comments from our readers; every one is a rave. Read them here.

Our second New Release Spotlight title is EVIDENCE OF LIFE by Barbara Taylor Sissel. As her husband, Nick, and daughter Lindsey embark on a weekend camping trip to the Texas Hill Country, Abby looks forward to having some quiet time to herself. But that all changes when a devastating storm rips through the region, and her family vanishes without a trace. Although Nick and Lindsey are presumed dead, Abby refuses to give up hope. As disturbing clues begin to surface, however, she realizes that the truth may be far more sinister than she imagined. Click here to read more about the book and here for an excerpt. The opener, which starts on an ordinary day, is in such sharp contrast to what unfolds later.

This week, we have our review of
LEAN IN: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg, which I’ve talked about extensively in previous newsletters. In the book, Sheryl examines why women’s progress in achieving leadership roles has stalled, explains the root causes, and offers solutions that are meant to empower women to achieve their full potential. Reviewer Pauline Finch weighs in: “What makes LEAN IN so much more than an enjoyable, informative and deceptively smooth read are Sandberg’s frequent and powerfully credible assertions that in advocating for the true potential of professional women, she is also advocating for their male colleagues…” Amusingly, the other night when we went to The Secret Stash for dinner, I heard a man at the next table asking the women he was dining with (they were all women with children) what they thought about “leaning in.” So funny.

Our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight of WHAT TEARS US APART by Deborah Cloyed enters its final week, and we have our review from Norah Piehl. When Leda desperately flees her life of privilege to travel to Kenya, she unexpectedly falls for Ita at a boys' orphanage in the slums of Nairobi. As political unrest plagues the country, Leda and Ita are left to face the reality that sometimes the most treacherous threat is not the world outside, but the demons within. According to Norah, “What makes WHAT TEARS US APART different and worthwhile is primarily its setting, a time and place that will be unfamiliar to most American readers….” Learn more about the book in Norah’s interview with Deborah here.

Also reviewed this week is DAMAGE CONTROL by Amber Dermont, whose bestseller THE STARBOARD SEA was a Bets On selection when it released in hardcover last year (and is now available in paperback). Her latest is a collection of short stories focusing on privilege and entitlement, and portraying characters at crossroads. Reviewer Harvey Freedenberg calls DAMAGE CONTROL “an apt title for a collection that deals with a diverse group of characters trying to minimize the harm they’ve inflicted on themselves and that’s been wreaked by others. It’s the work of an enormously talented writer, one that offers an assortment of pleasures for anyone who appreciates smart short fiction.” I want to read this one!

Our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight contests that we announced last week will be up for one more week.

In
Patti Callahan Henry’s latest novel, AND THEN I FOUND YOU, Katie knows she must confront the demons from her past in order to fully love her devoted boyfriend, Rowan. We have 50 copies to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, April 4th at noon ET. To learn all about the heartwarming true story behind the book, read the short story called “Friend Request” that Patti wrote with her sister, Barbi.

Next up is
THE ASHFORD AFFAIR by Lauren Willig, in which a successful lawyer learns about a long-buried family secret that leads her on a journey into the past that could change everything. We have 25 copies to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, April 4th at noon ET.

Our last Spotlight contest is for
PALISADES PARK, Alan Brennert’s latest novel, which introduces readers to a family of dreamers and their lives within the legendary Palisades Amusement Park. We have 25 copies to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, April 4th at noon ET.

We have a new
Word of Mouth contest going up this week. Let us know what you’re reading by Friday, April 12th at noon ET, and you’ll be entered to win a copy of DON’T GO by Lisa Scottoline, LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson, and STARTING NOW: A Blossom Street Novel by Debbie Macomber.

Last week, we announced that EAT, PRAY, LOVE author Elizabeth Gilbert was allowing readers on Facebook to choose which of three designs will serve as the cover for her new book, THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS, which releases in October. Over 8,500 fans voted, and indeed the cover has been chosen! See the winning design above. And you can read all about Gilbert’s reaction in this
USA Today article and on her Facebook page.

We talked a lot about Kelle Hampton’s inspiring and heartfelt memoir, BLOOM: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected, when it released in hardcover last year. The paperback will be on sale Tuesday, April 2nd; to celebrate, Kelle is giving book clubs who preorder the paperback an opportunity to win a signed bookplate and a Skype session with her! Click here for all the details of this exciting offer, which will be up until Monday, April 1st at 11:59pm.

The 2013 Barry Award nominations were announced this week. Among the finalists in the Best Novel category are DEFENDING JACOB by William Landay and TRUST YOUR EYES by Linwood Barclay (both Bets On selections), along with the #1 bestseller GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn. Click here for the full list of nominees.

I have been reading in between skiing and dining. Kate Atkinson’s LIFE AFTER LIFE is just brilliant, and we will have our review next week. The theme of this book is “What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?” It opens in 1910 when Ursula Todd is born during a wicked snowstorm. She dies. And then is immediately re-born. This same theme runs through the entire book, taking readers to World War II. I kept trying to guess when/how Ursula would die and where we would pick up. I can see how people will want to study this book to see how Atkinson wrote it. By the way, your eyes are not deceiving you. We are talking about TWO books called LIFE AFTER LIFE in this newsletter. Both are Indie Next #1 Selections for April. Booksellers loved them both…and I did, too!

This morning, I finished reading a fabulous debut novel that will not be published until NEXT March --- SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler. Set in a tiny town near Eau Claire, Wisconsin, it has a lot of heart and will touch your soul with a cast of characters that are memorable. I will have more on this in the months to come…and it was really poignant that I read it while I was in one of my favorite small towns.

Those of you who know that I am a big Daniel Craig fan will be amused to learn that my son Greg was invited to the Range Rover Sport launch event in New York this week where Craig, in his 007 style, drove the car into the event! Greg was invited to bring a guest, but alas I was in Colorado. He did text me at one point to say he was standing next to Craig, but he did not pull out his camera in time once he recognized him. HA, he was missing his mom’s Craig-finding gene. But I found this video of the event.

Tomorrow we will see our old friends Allen and Judy Cox, who just sold the Nordic Inn where I first stayed when I came to town here. We ran into Judy when we were buying lift tickets the other day, which was great, as I was trying to track them down. Then dinner in Denver with Bob Knous, Greg’s godfather, who has been a friend of mine since 1979. He used to run Colorado Ski Country and the Vail Valley Foundation, and thus we have had a lot of great times together through the years.
We fly back Sunday to celebrate Easter! Whew. A whirlwind.

Happy Easter and continued Happy Passover to those celebrating. Read on….

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
Bookreporter.com Talks to Therese Anne Fowler, Author of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
Therese Anne Fowler’s highly-anticipated novel, Z, details the romantic, tumultuous and extraordinary marriage of Zelda Sayre and one of the 20th-century’s greatest American writers, F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com’s Bronwyn Miller, Fowler discusses her inspiration for the book and her extensive research, which involved studying newspaper clippings, photographs, book reviews, Zelda’s artwork, even ticket stubs. She also addresses Zelda’s mental health, explains the nod to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s HERLAND in the story, and talks about the benefits and drawbacks of competition, which plays a big part in the novel.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler (Historical Fiction)
Before F. Scott Fitzgerald was a literary darling, he was a young World War I army lieutenant who fell hard for a spirited Southern belle named Zelda Sayre. The life he and Zelda would lead together in New York, Long Island, Paris, Hollywood, and on the French Riviera made them legends even in their own time. Set amidst the glamour of the Jazz Age and the Lost Generation’s vivid world abroad, Z brings Zelda and Scott’s romantic, tumultuous, extraordinary journey to life. Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller.

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Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to listen to an audiobook excerpt.
-Click here to see why we’re betting you’ll love this book.
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Click here to read Therese Anne Fowler’s bio.
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Click here to visit Therese Anne Fowler’s official website.
-Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight.

Click here to read our interview.
New Release Spotlight: ORDINARY GRACE by William Kent Krueger
ORDINARY GRACE by William Kent Krueger (Historical Fiction)
New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson’s Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for 13-year-old Frank Drum, it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.

Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family --- which includes his Methodist minister father, his passionate, artistic mother, Juilliard-bound older sister, and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother --- he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to see advance reader comments.
-Click here to read William Kent Krueger’s bio.
-Click here to visit William Kent Krueger’s official website.
-Click here to connect with William Kent Krueger on Facebook.

Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
New Release Spotlight: EVIDENCE OF LIFE by Barbara Taylor Sissel
EVIDENCE OF LIFE by Barbara Taylor Sissel (Mystery/Suspense)
As her husband, Nick, and daughter, Lindsey, embark on a weekend camping trip to the Texas Hill Country, Abby looks forward to having some quiet time to herself. She braids Lindsey's hair, reminds Nick to drive safely and kisses them both goodbye. For a brief moment, Abby thinks she has it all --- a perfect marriage, a perfect life --- until a devastating storm rips through the region, and her family vanishes without a trace.

When Nick and Lindsey are presumed dead, lost in the raging waters, Abby refuses to give up hope. Consumed by grief and clinging to her belief that her family is still alive, she sets out to find them. But as disturbing clues begin to surface, Abby realizes that the truth may be far more sinister than she imagined. Soon she finds herself caught in a current of lies that threaten to unhinge her and challenge everything she once believed about her marriage and family.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read critical praise.
-Click here to read Barbara Taylor Sissel’s bio.
-Click here to connect with Barbara Taylor Sissel on Facebook.

Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
Now in Stores: LEAN IN by Sheryl Sandberg
LEAN IN: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg (Memoir/Self-Help)
Thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions in government and industry. In LEAN IN, Sheryl Sandberg examines why women’s progress in achieving leadership roles has stalled, explains the root causes, and offers compelling, commonsense solutions that can empower women to achieve their full potential. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.

-Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read a review.
Bookreporter.com Bets On: LIFE AFTER LIFE by Jill McCorkle and THE PARADISE GUEST HOUSE by Ellen Sussman
LIFE AFTER LIFE by Jill McCorkle (Fiction)
Jill McCorkle’s LIFE AFTER LIFE, her first novel in 17 years, is something to celebrate. Set in the Pine Haven retirement center, the cast of characters --- and they are all characters --- touched me as I came to know each of them. Their “stories” meant even more as I learned how they each connected with one another as the book unfolded with many “aha” moments. The residents, staff and neighbors of Pine Haven include a retired schoolteacher, a prominent lawyer who’s now fighting dementia, a woman who has moved there from Connecticut for reasons no one understands, a feisty young mother who runs the beauty shop, a hospice volunteer who sees her work as a calling, and a 12-year-old girl named Abby who sees the nursing home as her second home.

-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts about the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.


THE PARADISE GUEST HOUSE by Ellen Sussman (Fiction)
Like many of you, I follow my favorite authors. Thus, when I saw that Ellen Sussman’s new book, THE PARADISE GUEST HOUSE, was coming out, I was eager to read an advance copy (I loved her 2011 title, FRENCH LESSONS). Here, Ellen sets her story in Bali. Jamie, who is an adventure guide, returns to Bali years after she was injured in the 2002 nightclub bombings. She longs to reconnect with Gabe, who rescued her that evening. I confess that while I remember these bombings, I had forgotten the details. The intertwining of that history along with their personal stories was so well handled here.

-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts about the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
Bookreporter.com Talks to Deborah Cloyed, Author of WHAT TEARS US APART
Deborah Cloyed’s second novel, WHAT TEARS US APART, is the story of Leda and Ita’s blooming love for each other in the aftermath of the riots that ensued following Kenya’s 2007 presidential election and the secrets that threaten to tear them apart. Bookreporter.com’s Norah Piehl talked with Cloyed about her experiences in Kenya, her inspiration for the book, and how the process of writing this story deeply affected her. She also explains her intentions behind some of the characters and offers additional titles for those looking to better understand Kenya and its people.

WHAT TEARS US APART by Deborah Cloyed (Romance)
When Leda desperately flees her life of privilege to travel to Kenya, she unexpectedly falls for Ita at a boys' orphanage in the slums of Nairobi. Their love should be enough to withstand outside forces, but as political unrest plagues the country, Leda and Ita are left to face the reality that sometimes the most treacherous threat is not the world outside, but the demons within. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

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Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
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Click here to read Deborah Cloyed’s bio.
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Click here to visit Deborah Cloyed’s official website.
-Connect with Deborah Cloyed on
Facebook and Twitter.
-Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight.
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Click here to see the 25 readers who were selected to read and comment on the book.

Click here to read our interview.
Featured Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and Contest: AND THEN I FOUND YOU by Patti Callahan Henry
We have 50 copies of AND THEN I FOUND YOU by Patti Callahan Henry, which releases on April 9th, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, April 4th at noon ET.

AND THEN I FOUND YOU by Patti Callahan Henry (Fiction)
Katie Vaughan is no stranger to tough choices.

She’s made them before. Now it’s time to do it again.

Kate has a secret, something tucked away in her past. And she’s getting on with her life. Her business is thriving. She has a strong relationship with her family, and a devoted boyfriend whom she wants to love with all her heart. If Kate had ever made a list, Rowan would fill the imagined boxes of a perfect mate. She wants the facts to move from her head toward her heart and settle in with deep love, something past admiration and comfort. But when Kate discovers the small velvet box hidden in Rowan’s drawer, she panics.

It always happens this way. Just when Kate thinks she can love, just when she believes she can conquer the fear, she’s filled with dread. And she wants more than anything to make this feeling go away. But how?

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Click here to read more about the book.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
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Click here to read Patti Callahan Henry’s bio.
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Click here to visit Patti Callahan Henry’s official website.
-Connect with Patti Callahan Henry on
Facebook and Twitter.

Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and enter the contest.
Featured Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and Contest: THE ASHFORD AFFAIR by Lauren Willig
We have 25 copies of THE ASHFORD AFFAIR by Lauren Willig, which releases on April 9th, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, April 4th at noon ET.

THE ASHFORD AFFAIR by Lauren Willig (Historical Fiction)
As a lawyer in a large Manhattan firm, just shy of making partner, Clementine Evans has finally achieved almost everything she’s been working towards --- but now she’s not sure it’s enough. Her long hours have led to a broken engagement and, suddenly single at 34, she feels her messy life crumbling around her. But when the family gathers for her grandmother Addie’s 99th birthday, a relative lets slip hints about a long-buried family secret, leading Clemmie on a journey into the past that could change everything...

Growing up at Ashford Park in the early 20th century, Addie has never quite belonged. When her parents passed away, she was taken into the grand English house by her aristocratic aunt and uncle, and raised side-by-side with her beautiful and outgoing cousin, Bea. Though they are as different as night and day, Addie and Bea are closer than sisters, through relationships and challenges, and a war that changes the face of Europe irrevocably. But what happens when something finally comes along that can’t be shared? When the love of sisterhood is tested by a bond that’s even stronger?

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Click here to read more about the book.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
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Click here to read Lauren Willig’s bio.
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Click here to visit Lauren Willig’s official website.
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Click here to connect with Lauren Willig on Facebook.

Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and enter the contest.
Featured Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and Contest: PALISADES PARK by Alan Brennert
We have 25 copies of PALISADES PARK by Alan Brennert, which releases on April 9th, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, April 4th at noon ET.

PALISADES PARK by Alan Brennert (Historical Fiction)
Growing up in the 1930s, there is no more magical place than Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey --- especially for seven-year-old Antoinette, who horrifies her mother by insisting on the unladylike nickname Toni, and her brother, Jack. Toni helps her parents, Eddie and Adele Stopka, at the stand where they sell homemade French fries amid the roar of the Cyclone roller coaster. There is also the lure of the world’s biggest salt-water pool, complete with divers whose astonishing stunts inspire Toni, despite her mother's insistence that girls can't be high divers.

But a family of dreamers doesn't always share the same dreams, and then the world intrudes: There's the Great Depression, and Pearl Harbor, which hits home in ways that will split the family apart; and perils like fire and race riots in the park. Both Eddie and Jack face the dangers of war, while Adele has ambitions of her own --- and Toni is determined to take on a very different kind of danger in impossible feats as a high diver. Yet they are all drawn back to each other --- and to Palisades Park --- until the park closes forever in 1971.

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Click here to read more about the book.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
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Click here to read Alan Brennert’s bio.
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Click here to connect with Alan Brennert on Facebook.

Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and enter the contest.
Featured Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight: HEART OF PALM by Laura Lee Smith
HEART OF PALM by Laura Lee Smith (Fiction)
Utina, Florida, is a small, down-at-heels southern town. Once enlivened by the trade in Palm Sunday palms and moonshine, Utina hasn’t seen economic growth in decades, and no family is more emblematic of the local reality than the Bravos. Deserted by the patriarch years ago, the Bravos are held together in equal measure by love, unspoken blame, and tenuously brokered truces.

The story opens on a sweltering July day, as Frank Bravo, dutiful middle son, is awakened by a distress call. Frank dreams of escaping to cool mountain rivers, but he’s only made it 10 minutes from the family restaurant he manages every day and the decrepit, Spanish-moss-draped house he was raised in, and where his strong-willed mother and spitfire sister --- both towering redheads, equally matched in stubbornness --- are fighting another battle royale. Little do any of them know that Utina is about to meet the tide of development that has already engulfed the rest of Northeast Florida. When opportunity knocks, tempers ignite, secrets are unearthed, and each of the Bravos is forced to confront the tragedies of their shared past.

HEART OF PALM releases on April 2nd.

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Click here to read more about the book.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
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Click here to read critical praise.
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Click here to read Laura Lee Smith’s bio.
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Click here to visit Laura Lee Smith’s official website.
-Connect with Laura Lee Smith on
Facebook and Twitter.

Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight.
Special Contest: Win a Copy of AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED by Khaled Hosseini Before It Releases on May 21st
In January, we introduced our Enduring Bestseller Spotlight, which gives us a chance to go back and revisit books from years past that have affected us deeply --- books that have moved us, made us laugh, or struck other emotional chords. Our debut titles for this exciting new feature were THE KITE RUNNER and A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini --- and now we have a giveaway to tell you about that you won't want to miss out on.

If you’ve read one or both of Hosseini's books, we’d love for you to share your thoughts about them, which we then will post on the site. Please fill out
this form by Thursday, April 11th at noon ET, and you will be entered to win one of 25 copies of Hosseini’s highly anticipated forthcoming novel, AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED, which releases on May 21st.

AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED by Khaled Hosseini (Fiction)
Khaled Hosseini has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe --- from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos --- the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.

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Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to enter the contest.
This Week’s Reviews
LEAVING EVERYTHING MOST LOVED: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear (Historical Mystery)
A young Indian woman has been shot, and the redoubtable Maisie Dobbs is on the case. In Jacqueline Winspear’s 10th historical mystery, the victim is an emigrant torn between two worlds, and she echoes the perplexing choice facing Maisie herself: settle down with a good man, or seek her destiny in a quest far from home. Reviewed by Kathy Weissman.

THE BURGESS BOYS by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)
Haunted by the freak accident that killed their father when they were children, Jim and Bob Burgess escaped from their hometown. But their long-standing dynamic is upended when their sister urgently calls them home. And so Jim and Bob return to the landscape of their childhood, where the long-buried tensions that have shaped and shadowed their relationship begin to surface in unexpected ways that will change them forever. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

-Click here to read an excerpt.

THE GOLDEN EGG: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon (Mystery)
Vice Questore Patta asks Brunetti to look into a minor shop-keeping violation committed by the mayor’s future daughter-in-law. Then Brunetti’s wife, Paola, comes to him with a request of her own. The mentally handicapped man who worked at their dry cleaner has just died of a sleeping pill overdose, and Paola loathes the idea that he lived and died without anyone noticing him, or helping him. Brunetti begins to investigate and is surprised when he finds nothing on the man. As far as the Italian government is concerned, he never existed. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE UTOPIA EXPERIMENT: A Covert One Novel by Kyle Mills (Thriller/Adventure)
When Dresner Industries unveils the Merge, a device that is destined to revolutionize the world and make the personal computer and smartphone obsolete, Covert-One operative Colonel Jon Smith is assigned to assess its military potential. Meanwhile, in the mountains of Afghanistan, CIA operative Randi Russell encounters an entire village of murdered Afghans --- all equipped with enhanced Merge technology that even the Agency didn't know existed. Reviewed by Christine M. Irvin.

DAMAGE CONTROL: Stories by Amber Dermont (Fiction/Short Stories)
DAMAGE CONTROL displays Amber Dermont's remarkable gift for portraying characters at crossroads. In “Damage Control,” a young man works at an etiquette school while his girlfriend is indicted for embezzlement. A widow rents herself to elderly women and vacations with them as a “professional grandchild” in “Stella at the Winter Palace.” And in “The Language of Martyrs,” a couple houses a mail-order bride on behalf of the husband’s Russian mother. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

RED VELVET CUPCAKE MURDER: A Hannah Swensen Mystery with Recipes! by Joanne Fluke (Mystery)
Doctor Bev is trying to stir things up with her old flame Norman, who has reunited with Hannah Swensen. Just as Hannah's patience with Bev runs thin, her rival is found dead at the bottom of Miller's Pond. To everyone's shock, Hannah is now the target of a murder investigation --- and she's feeling the heat in a way she never has before. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.

THE GATE THIEF by Orson Scott Card (Fantasy)
Here on Earth, Danny North is still in high school, yet he holds in his heart and mind all the stolen outselves of 13 centuries of gatemages. The Families still want to kill him if they can't control him…and they can't control him. He is far too powerful. When Danny comes face-to-face with the mages who call themselves Bel and Ishtoreth, he will come to understand just why Loki closed the gates all those centuries ago. Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard.

THE GUILTY ONE by Lisa Ballantyne (Psychological Thriller)
Solicitor Daniel Hunter is called to defend 11-year-old Sebastian, who has been charged with the murder of a young boy on a London playground. While examining Sebastian’s life in order to save it, Daniel can’t help but be transported to his own difficult youth spent in foster care --- a time when the one he trusted the most was the one who betrayed him. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

ICE COLD KILL by Dana Haynes (Thriller)
A former Shin-Bet agent now in exile in the U.S. and under the protection of the FBI, Daria Gibron works primarily as an interpreter but still can't resist the occasional freelance job as an operative. En route to an impromptu meeting with an old contact from her days in the Israeli Secret Service, Daria learns that she's about to walk into an ambush. Someone has linked her to a much sought-after terrorist, and now all the resources of the U.S. intelligence community are being marshaled against her. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE ROMANOV CROSS by Robert Masello (Supernatural Thriller)

Nearly a hundred years ago, a desperate young woman crawled ashore on a desolate island, carrying a terrible secret and a mysterious emerald-encrusted cross. A century later, acts of man, nature and history converge on that same forbidding shore with a power sufficient to shatter civilization as we know it. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

KEEP NO SECRETS by Julie Compton (Legal/Psychological Thriller)

After surviving the private and public fallout from a one-night stand four years before, St. Louis DA Jack Hilliard wants nothing more than to be trusted again by his wife and to earn back the respect of the community he serves. But all of Jack's efforts begin to crumble when the woman involved in his earlier downfall returns to town claiming threats on her life and asking for his help. Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.
Contests Running on Other Sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com
We have a number of contests currently running on our other sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com. Please take a look at them below, and enter for your chance to win some fabulous books!

ReadingGroupGuides.com

“What Are You Reading?” Monthly Contest Feature
Let us know what your group is reading in March, and you will be entered in a giveaway to win multiple copies of a book for your group! Our latest prize book is UNTIL I SAY GOOD-BYE: My Year of Living with Joy by Susan Spencer-Wendel and Bret Witter, a moving and inspirational memoir by a woman who makes the most of her final days after discovering she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We have 12 copies of the book, which releases on March 12th, to give away to three groups. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, April 2nd at noon ET.

20SomethingReads.com

HER: A Memoir by Christa Parravani
When a charismatic and troubled young woman dies tragically, her identical twin must struggle to survive. We are celebrating the March 5th release of Christa Parravani's memoir, HER, with a special contest that will give 25 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, April 2nd at noon ET.

Teenreads.com

Spring Fling 2013
We are celebrating the weather warming up and the flowers beginning to bloom with our first-ever Spring Fling Contest! Between now and Tuesday, April 30th, teens can enter to win a prize package that includes all of our featured titles along with some necessary springtime essentials.

FaithfulReader.com

FaithfulReader.com’s Monthly Contest
In our latest monthly contest, 30 readers will receive a copy of LOVE IN THE BALANCE, a second historical romance from Regina Jennings following her debut novel, SIXTY ACRES AND A BRIDE. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, April 9th at noon ET.
Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading --- and You Could Win THREE Books!
Tell us your current reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from March 29th to April 12th, FIVE lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of DON'T GO by Lisa Scottoline, LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson, and STARTING NOW: A Blossom Street Novel by Debbie Macomber.

To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines,
click here.

-To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
Click here to enter the contest.

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