Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro... An Audiobook Review & Giveaway!

The world's most powerful investigation firm,

takes on three twisted,

almost unsolvable crimes...

Giveaway Has Ended!

CONGRATS TO...Kathy, Jessica & Allison! They each won a copy of James Patterson's Audiobook Privat! Thanks to EVERYone who joined in on the fun by entering, blogging and tweeting about the giveaway!

Like your mysteries & suspense with a PI hunting down the bad guy?! How about a story packed with not one but three crimes?! Then Private by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro is for you! Great characters whose lives are so cleverly entwined, and 3 great cases that Jack Morgan and his investigation company, Private, is working on that will have you on the edge of your seats.

Jack Morgan runs Private, a large private investigation firm, where the rich and famous go, but also anyone who wants discretion... Jack and his investigators have a world wide network of technically savvy resources to help them solve even the most difficult crimes... and they're going to need it. First Jack begins investigating a high stakes NFL gambling scandal. Looks like the games are rigged somehow, and with lots of money on the line, Jack's firm is hired to investigate if it's even possible, let alone happening. At the same time, Private is asked to be part of the police investigation of the unsolved murders of thirteen young girls. The crimes seem related, but at the same time they look to have been committed by different people, but how? and why? Finally Jack gets a call from his best friend; it seems his best friends wife ( and Jack's former lover) has been murdered. The husband looks guilty, but Jack knows his friend would never do it, and as Jack investigates who else may have a motive, secrets start coming out of the closet that turn his perceptions of who his best friend really is and who his ex-lover really was upside down. The story starts out slowly, laying down all the players, their relationships and the scenes, but quickly moves to a faster pace, with twists and turns that make you want to keep turning the pages, or in my case, because I listened to the audiobook, keep listening by driving around the block a few more times! Having 3 crimes being investigated at the same time really holds your attention. The characters are well developed with intertwined histories that are interesting and create a whole other set of possibilities in the story as people are motivated because of their past with each other. And Jack sure has a "past" with quite a few of the ladies in the story, but I guess that's common among PI's, right?!

But my review is really for the audiobook version of Private. And as much I can tell you I really liked the story, (And I really did!) the narrator really has a big part in how well you enjoy an audiobook. Peter Hermann is the narrator and does an excellent job of holding your attention with his wonderful buttery voice. Hermann's credits are in film, television and Broadway productions. He has full command of his characters (and there are quite a few) and does a great job of separating them through subtle nuances with his voice. Good timing, an interesting voice, the talent of Peter Hermann and a great story to back it all up make Private a great audiobook! Fans of James Patterson will enjoy this, but also fans of Maxine Paetro who is gaining a following in her own right.

Want to listen to a great audiobook?! Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro is unabridged, on 6 CD's and is approximately 7 hours. AND Courtesy of Anna of Hachette Book Group, I have 3 copies of the audiobook Private to GIVE AWAY! Learn more about James Patterson! Then Listen to an excerpt of Private! And finally enter to win a copy of the unabridged audiobook of Private! Here's how to Enter...

Giveaway Has Ended!

To Enter this Giveaway...

*For one entry leave me a comment with your email address!

*Get an extra entry for following my blog! Just leave a comment letting me know you're a follower! ( Not a follower yet? No problem, sign up by clicking on the 'followers" button on the sidebar to the left! Just let me know you became a new follower!)

*Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (No PO boxes). The books will be shipped to the winners directly from the publisher. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on August 14th. I will randomly pick the winners the next day and email them! (please check your email.. winner must reply to me within 3 days! Thanks!) Good Luck!

Put On Your Crown by Queen Latifah... Audiobook Review & Giveaway!

"You are braver then you believe,

stronger then you seem

and smarter then you think”

...Winnie the Pooh

And the Winners Are... Lynette, Denny & Kim! Congrats! Amd THANKS to Everyone for Joining in on the Fun!

Put on Your Crown by Queen Latifah is like sitting down with your BFF (best friend) and talking about life. It's a book about being true to yourself... about finding your Inner Queen! Not a preachy self-help book, but inspiring and uplifting, Put on Your Crown by Queen Latifah is a book all young women should read, mother's should give their daughters and us "older" girls should read to inspire us to live our lives being true to ourselves. Here's what the publisher had to say...

Queen Latifah's goal with Put On Your Crown is to help young women build a strong sense of self-esteem. A US Dept. of Justice survey found that females ages 16-24 are more vulnerable to partner violence than any other group, almost triple the national average. Cases like Chris Brown's assault on pop star Rihanna showed an ugly side of adolescent life. However, Queen Latifah has always been a shining example of a woman happy with herself and unwilling to compromise to fit into the "hollywood ideal" of what a confident beautiful woman should look like.

I admire Queen Latifah. She came from humble beginnings, living in "the projects", to become a successful singer, an amazing actress, movie producer, and recording studio entrepreneur (to name just a few of her successes). Never losing sight of who she was inside and never letting the negative influences around her change her inner queen. I listened to the audiobook of Put on Your Crown by Queen Latifah and loved it! First of all her message is wonderful- Women come in all shapes , colors and sizes and it's all good! You should learn to love yourself for who YOU are! The book, and audiobook, is divided into 8 sections, where Queen Latifah talks about Success, Beauty, Money, Love, Fear, Loss, Strength and Joy. She gives us examples from her life about the good, the bad and the ugly, but always tempered with the knowledge that tomorrow's another day if today wasn't the best. We even get sage advice from her mother, Mrs. Owens, who Queen Latifah credits with helping her become the woman that she is today. Sprinkled with wonderful stories, insights and advice, Put on Your Crown is inspiring. Queen Latifah's voice is wonderfully soothing to listen to and perfect for an audiobook (she is a singer after all).

The audiobook is unabridged, approximately 4 hours, and is on 4 CD's. This would make a perfect gift to yourself or a young girl in your life! Who couldn't use a BFF like Queen Latifah for a little while! Listen to an excerpt of Put on Your Crown, and judge for yourself! AND courtesy of Anna of Hachette Book Group, I have 3 copies of the unabridged audiobook of Put on Your Crown by Queen Latifah to GIVE AWAY! Here's how to enter...

To Enter this giveaway...

*leave me a comment with your email address! (no need to do anything else, unless you want an extra entry or two...)

*Get an extra entry for following my blog! Just leave a comment letting me know you're a follower! ( Not a follower yet? No problem, sign up by clicking on the 'followers" button on the sidebar to the left! Just let me know you became a new follower!)

*For another entry, Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.

*Bonus entry... tell me what one woman has inspired you! For me, that would be my Mom, who helped me become the woman I am and who still is always there for me no matter what. Thanks Mom!

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (No PO boxes). The audiobooks will be shipped to the winners directly from the publisher. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on June 26th. I will randomly pick the winners the next day and email them! (please check your email.. winner must reply to me within 3 days! Thanks!) Good Luck!

Audiobook GIVEAWAY & Review: WAR by Sebastian Junger

Listen to Sebastian Junger Share His Time in Afghanistan in WAR

Check Your Emails! The Winners have been picked and I'm waiting to hear back from them!

I'll let you know who won when I get those replies!

In WAR Sebastian Junger gives breathtaking insight into the truths of war-- the fear, the honor, and the trust among men. His on-the-ground account follows a single platoon through a 15-month tour of duty in the most dangerous outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. Through the experiences of these young men at war, he shows what it means to fight, to serve, and to face down mortal danger on a regular basis.

I thought "who else could see inside War like Sebastian Junger". He proved his journalism skills in The Perfect Storm, which was an amazing story. Here, he accomplishes his mission- to illuminate for us what it means to be a soldier... The fear, the anger, the boredom... The love & respect these men had for each other.

Mr. Junger chose to read his audiobook, War, because the subject matter was personal. He lived with these men. He relied on these soldiers to protect him, feed him, transport him. He formed close relationships with these men. And he saw some of these men, his friends, die. I wondered at first whether this decision to read the narration was a good one. Would he be a good narrator? The beginning of the audiobook is some background on the Korengal Valley, the men he would be imbedded with, and some of the biology of war- how the human body reacts to certain things. I had to get use to the beginning part of the audiobook, because it was more of an account of some of the facts surrounding the story to come. Mr. Junger's narration warmed up as the story got more personal, actually living the life of a soldier, and I knew then that his decision was the right one. Who else could impart the fear, the amazing bravery of these men in the face of death then someone who was actually there. You could tell he was vested in this story. As the background story turned into the present day, War took off. Sprinkled through out the story of what these soldiers dealt with from day to day, is military history, the psychology of war and why soldiers handle certain circumstances the way they do. A close up account of the human factor in war. No matter how you feel about war, you have to admire these young men who put themselves in mortal danger. War by Sebastian Junger is a very revealing look at these young men, and what combat is all about.

Courtesy of Anna of Hachette Book Group, I have 3 copies of the unabridged audiobook of War by Sebastian Junger to Give Away! Here's how to enter...

To Enter this Giveaway...

*For one entry leave me a comment with your email address!

*Get an extra entry for following my blog! Just leave a comment letting me know you're a follower! ( Not a follower yet? No problem, sign up by clicking on the 'followers" button on the sidebar to the left! Just let me know you became a new follower!)

*Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (No PO boxes). The books will be shipped to the winners directly from the publisher. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on June 19th. I will randomly pick the winners the next day and email them! (please check your email.. winner must reply to me within 3 days! Thanks!) Good Luck!

*I want to thank Anna of Hachette Book Group for sending along a copy the audiobook of War by Sebastian Junger to review!

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter... An Audiobook Review

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

by Seth Grahame-Smith

The Audiobook Review...

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation...

Seth Grahame-Smith is a genius! How he seamlessly blended the historical facts surrounding Abraham Lincoln and his life growing up with the fictional history & superstitions surrounding Vampires is amazing! Seth had to be careful writing the story because Abe Lincoln and his life is so well known, but he has made Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter actually seem realistic. With absolute respect for Abraham Lincoln, Seth Grahame-Smith tells the story of the humble beginnings of Mr. Lincoln, being born on "an unseasonably mild" Sunday in February in a one room cabin in Kentucky, and follows his life, and the developing American frontier, until his assassination in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. In between "the pages" of the story, we float down the Mississippi with Abe as a young man, learn about his Baptist upbringing that taught him that slavery was wrong, watch him gain proficiency in using his axe (very helpful with Vampires), and watch him fall in love. We meet Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen Douglas, Dred Scott, and witness the start of the Civil War. Vampires have a funny way of being part of all this history, and we soon learn that looks can be deceiving...

It's important to note, these vampires in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter are not the semi-sweet kind you'll find in the Twilight series, these vampires are vicious... with the exception of Henry Sturges, who was begrudgingly made into a vampire long ago, befriends Abe, and helps him seek revenge on the "unnatural" souls who have caused him so much pain.

I listened to the unabridged audiobook narrated by the soothing voice of Scott Holst. Scott does a wonderful job of setting the mood with his pitch perfect delivery of the story. His voice captured my attention and the story grabbed it. The accompanying music played at the start of the discs and the ending of each disc did a nice job of setting the tone for the particular part of the story. And at the end of the audiobook, there is a wonderful interview with the author! PLUS, a bonus PDF of "historical photographic documents", which are strangely vampirish in nature!

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is like Anne Rice writing like Mark Twain with a heavy dose of David McCullough. Of course it's all Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and if you like historical fiction, you have to listen to this! It's Fact, Fiction & a lot of Fun! Hours of great narration and a great story to match! Listen to an excerpt of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and judge for yourself! *Warning, this is a vampire story, so there is a bit of blood & gore.

This audiobook is unabridged, 9 CD's, and approximately 10 listening hours! I want to thank Anna from Hachette Books Group for sending along the audiobook for me to review! Thanks Anna I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it!

Absolute Power by David Baldacci... Audiobook Review

Absolute Power was the first book written by David Baldacci. It was a mystery, a thriller, a page turner, and set a high bar for future political thrillers... From the publisher: "In a heavily guarded mansion in a posh Virginia suburb, a man and a woman start to make love, trapping Luther Whitney, a career break-in artist, behind a secret wall. Then the passion turns deadly, and Luther is running into the night. Because what he has just seen is a brutal murder involving Alan Richmond, the president of the United States. How far will the government go to protect the president? Set in Washington, D.C., this fascinating thriller of unparalleled suspense dares to explore an unthinkable abuse of power and criminal conspiracy: a vicious murder involving the President and a cover-up orchestrated by his most trusted aides. One unlikely witness saw everything, but will America ever learn the truth? This riveting debut novel of murder, honor, loyalty and betrayal reaches into the highest echelon of power... and the lowest depth of deception..."

What a great story this is! I just had the opportunity to listen to Absolute Power as an unabridged audiobook and fell in love with the story all over again! David Baldacci poured all he had into writing this book, his first, and it shows. The story is great, but so is the narrator of the audiobook! And as I've said before, the narrator is the key to a good audiobook. Scott Brick reads Absolute Power with perfect timing, great nuances, and with a wonderful warm voice. I feel frustration, desire, and empathy in his voice. He brings each character alive and switches voices smoothly and without missing a beat. I downloaded this onto my iPod and was totally entranced by Scott's reading. He's won numerous audio awards, including 2 Audie Awards, and after listening to this audiobook, I know why. Want to listen to a great book? The unabridged audiobook I listened to is 17 CD's, AND there is a bonus short story by David Baldacci included! Learn more about David Baldacci at davidbaldacci.com! Then Listen to an Excerpt of the Audiobook Absolute Power by David Baldacci!

*I want to thank Anna from Hachette Book Group for the sending along a copy of the audiobook for me to review! It was great listening!

Audiobook Giveaway for Memoir Monday! Cleaving by Julie Powell

A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession

CONGRATULATIONS TO ASHLEY, REBECCA & MELISSA! THEY EACH WON A COPY OF THE AUDIOBOOK CLEAVING! Thank you to EVERYONE who joined in on the fun, tweeted and blogged about the giveaway!!

Julie Powell thought cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the craziest thing she'd ever do--until she embarked on the voyage recounted in her new memoir, CLEAVING. Her marriage challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair, Julie decides to leave town and immerse herself in a new obsession: butchery. She finds her way to Fleischer's, a butcher shop where she buries herself in the details of food. She learns how to break down a side of beef and French a rack of ribs--tough, physical work that only sometimes distracts her from thoughts of afternoon trysts. The camaraderie at Fleischer's leads Julie to search out fellow butchers around the world--from South America to Europe to Africa. At the end of her odyssey, she has learned a new art and perhaps even mastered her unruly heart.

Another great audiobook giveaway! If you enjoyed Julie's memoir Julie & Julia, find out what happens after getting through that infamous french cookbook! What's even nicer is that this audiobook is unabridged and read by the author herself! Would you like to listen to an excerpt? Here's the LINK. AND CD #9 of the audiobook has a PDF with recipes! Courtesy of Anna of Hachette Book Group I have 3 copies of the unabridged audiobook for a giveaway! Thanks Anna!

To Enter this giveaway...

*For one entry leave me a comment with your email address!

*Get an extra entry for following my blog! Just leave a comment letting me know you're a follower! ( Not a follower yet? No problem, sign up by clicking on the 'followers" button! Just let me know you became a new follower!)

*Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only.(No PO boxes). The books will be shipped to the winners directly from the publisher. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on Dec. 19th. I will randomly pick the winners the next day and email them! (please check your email.. winner must reply to me within 3 days! Thanks!) Good Luck!

*P.S. There is a Kindle Ready Book available!

Giveaway: Dear John by Nicholas Sparks Audiobook!

A Modern Day Romance

Congratulations to Jennifer, Melissa and Janet! They each won a copy of the audiobook for Dear John! Thank you to everyone who joined in, Tweeted and Blogged about the giveaway!

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else....

Nicholas Sparks' novel Dear John, will soon be released in movie theaters this coming Valentines day! Well known for his touching stories that bring to light the drama,hope and tragedy in our every day lives, Dear John will touch your heart. Read the book before watching the movie! Or better yet, Relax to the soothing voice of actor and voiceover artist Holter Graham as he reads the audiobook version of Dear John... How?! I have a giveaway for the CD audiobook edition of Dear John! Courtesy of Anna of Hachette Book Group, I have 3 copies of the audiobook to give away! BTW, here's an excerpt of the audiobook, Dear John. AND, here's my review of the audiobook now too!

To Enter this giveaway...

*For one entry leave me a comment with your email address!

*Get an extra entry for following my blog! Just leave a comment letting me know you're a follower! ( Not a follower yet? No problem, sign up by clicking on the 'followers" button! Just let me know you became a new follower!)

*Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only.(No PO boxes). The books will be shipped to the winners directly from the publisher. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on Dec. 19th. I will randomly pick the winners the next day and email them! (please check your email.. winner must reply to me within 3 days! Thanks!) Good Luck!