Giveaway: Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky

On Quinnipeague, hearts open under the summer stars and secrets float in the  
Sweet Salt Air...

Charlotte and Nicole were once the best of friends, spending summers together in Nicole's coastal island house off of Maine. But many years, and many secrets, have kept the women apart. A successful travel writer, single Charlotte lives on the road, while Nicole, a food blogger, keeps house in Philadelphia with her surgeon-husband, Julian. When Nicole is commissioned to write a book about island food, she invites her old friend Charlotte back to Quinnipeague, for a final summer, to help. Outgoing and passionate, Charlotte has a gift for talking to people and making friends, and Nicole could use her expertise for interviews with locals. Missing a genuine connection, Charlotte agrees.
But what both women don't know is that they are each holding something back that may change their lives forever. For Nicole, what comes to light could destroy her marriage, but it could also save her husband. For Charlotte, the truth could cost her Nicole’s friendship, but could also free her to love again. And her chance may lie with a reclusive local man, with a heart to soothe and troubles of his own.
 Bestselling author and master storyteller Barbara Delinsky invites you come away to Quinnipeague…
(Goodreads.com)
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Giveaway
Thanks to Wunderkind PR I have one copy to give away! 

Rules:
- Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter.
- U.S. and Canada only (sorry everyone else!)
- Extra entries available
- Ends 6/14/13, 11:59 pm EST 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Father's Day Giveaway - 365 Golf Tips & Tricks by Jay Morelli

It's been a long time since I've given away some books and I have plenty to clean off my own shelves! Let's get started with a great idea for Father's Day. This is a neat, little book with beautiful photos and brief tips on every page. My father doesn't golf so I'm sharing this one with my brother!
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A golf tip a day helps keep the bogeys away! This handy, illustrated guide contains the very best advice from more than 60 PGA teaching pros, compiled by a PGA Teacher of the Year. Designed to improve the long game, chip and pitch shots, sand play, putting, physical conditioning, and more, these hints are what you'd learn if you paid thousands of dollars at a golf school, country club, or university. Color photos by a Sports Illustrated photographer clearly illustrate each skill—and the book is perfectly sized to take along on the course! It's a must-have for every golf enthusiast.
(Goodreads.com)
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Giveaway
Thanks to Sterling Publishing Co. I have one copy to give away! 

Rules:
- Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter.
- U.S. and Canada only (sorry everyone else!)
- Extra entries available
- Ends 6/14/13, 11:59 pm EST 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Jinx by Sage Blackwood

 In the Urwald you grow 

up fast or not at all...

In the Urwald, you don’t step off the path. Trolls, werewolves, and butter-churn riding witches lurk amid the clawing branches, eager to swoop up the unwary. Jinx has always feared leaving the path—then he meets the wizard Simon Magnus.

Jinx knows that wizards are evil. But Simon’s kitchen is cozy, and he seems cranky rather than wicked. Staying with him appears to be Jinx’s safest, and perhaps only, option. As Jinx’s curiosity about magic grows, he learns to listen to the trees as closely as he does to Simon’s unusual visitors. The more Jinx discovers, the more determined he becomes to explore beyond the security of well-trod paths. But in the Urwald, a little healthy fear is never out of place, for magic—and magicians—can be as dangerous as the forest, and soon Jinx must decide which is the greater threat.

Sage Blackwood introduces a daring new hero for an innovative new world as Jinx is joined by friends, battles enemies, and discovers life beyond—and even within—the forest is more complex than he can imagine, and that the Urwald itself needs him more than he could ever guess.
(Goodreads.com)
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Review
I've always loved this type of book and this one didn't disappoint. The cover said for fans of Septimus Heap, Fablehaven and the Sisters Grimm. I have enjoyed the Septimus Heap and Harry Potter series so I was drawn to this. Who doesn't love a wizard? It has a similar theme of a young boy who develops a connection to magic but it has it's own unique twists. The lines between good & evil are blurry as he discovers more about himself and where he truly belongs.

The writing is well done and the lore and mystery kept my attention. I was transported to another place and time. The characters are well developed and their back stories are suspenseful and gradually built upon with secrets revealed later. The forest itself is even an important character.

I hope there will be more to this story. I want to know what happens next and I would be happy to follow Jinx into more adventures.

Thank you to HarperCollins for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Release date: 1/8/13
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 368 (hardcover)
Type: middle grade fantasy

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday (started at The Printed Page and now a traveling meme) is at 4 the LOVE of BOOKS this month and is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
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I've been trying really hard to stay away from too many new books so I can catch up on what I have. I did pick up a few (of course) and only a couple from the library. I can't resist! Hope some great reads found their way to your house too!

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky
For review and giveaway from Wunderkind (paperback)

Substitute Creature by Charles Gilman
For review from LibraryThing Early Reviewers (arc)

Sanctus by Simon Toyne
Free from Barnes & Noble Free Friday (ebook)

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
For review from NetGalley (ebook)

Stuff happens

I've been a bit behind here but sometimes life gets in the way. My youngest kid started a new job this week(yay!) but it's two hours away and he has no place to live yet (boo!). We have family and friends nearby so he has places to stay and we will figure it out. He's enjoying a few days with his favorite cousin in his college apartment. I'm glad I'm not a fly on one of those walls! A little bit of illness and family stuff has also kept me out of the loop. Now I need to catch up a bit. I have reviews coming right up and a giveaway or two. I really need to clean my shelves and share some of my books. They are piling up! And I need to visit my friends here in blogland.

We had a long winter and a few weeks ago we suddenly had beautiful hot days in the 80s. Some of my flowers finally blossomed and I had my annual "ceremony" to put out The Hammock. (I really need to name that thing, it's like one of my children or maybe just a really, really good friend.) We apparently skipped right over spring and jumped straight into summer. For a week. Then last weekend it got cold again and we had SNOW for a few minutes. Ugh. Yesterday spring came back and we have sunshine and sandal weather. I'm reading a great book and I'm heading outside.

I hope you had a very happy Mother's Day! All of my boys and the grandkiddos were here for a casual day and Hubby made a terrific dinner for us all. I also have the very best mom in the whole world! I'm a lucky lady!!

This is how we set the table at my house! The Princess and Monkey Boy helped Grandpa with dinner.

Saturday Snapshot

 Saturday Snapshot is hosted by At Home with Books. To participate in this meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.
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 Last Spring my mom had to have her beautiful Golden Retriever, Mickey, put to sleep after he developed cancer in his back leg. He was a sweetie and we were all broken-hearted. I was thrilled that she wanted to get another puppy because it was just too quiet without him. In July she brought home another Golden Retriever fluff ball, Moe, and he's a sweetie too. He's also quite the ham and has let me photograph him to record how fast he's grown. You can almost see his body stretching!

Little Moe  (July '12)

Big Moe (April '13)

First time at the new pool (early Aug. '12)

Butt is already too big for the pool (mid Sept. '12)

Boy walking the dog or dog walking the boy?