Share The Love Giveaway! (300 Followers)

It's that time again! Another milestone, another giveaway! In honor of my 300+ followers (love you ALL), I'm going to give away another book! Because it happens to be February, the month of both Valentine's Day and my anniversary (6 years! holy crap!) the theme of this giveaway is Share the Love--The books on this list all feature couples that I think are fantastic, and I hope to share one of them with the lucky winner. Those books are:

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Unveiled by Courtney Milan

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 

Bitten by Kelley Armstron

Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione 

Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair
 
Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

To enter, simply fill out the form bellow! There are lots of ways to earn entries--the only mandatory one is that you must be a follower (GFC, RSS, email subscriber, all are equally good). This giveaway is open to all followers, anywhere that Book Depository will ship to.  The winner will be announced on February 18th, and he or she may choose a prize at that time!

As added incentive to spread the word, if we reach 400 followers before the time that the contest ends, I will pick a second winner! Good luck everyone, and thanks again for following Reading to Penguins!

200 Followers Giveaway WINNER!

First of all, I want to thank all of you for following, commenting, and making this giveaway such a success! Second, our winner, selected by the magic of Rafflecopter, is....

Avon Bernabe! Avon will be receiving a copy of Mine Til Midnight by Lisa Kleypas, which is one of my favorite historical books (so far). Avon, you should receive an email shortly requesting your information. Congratulations and Happy Reading!

To those of you who did not win, don't despair! Another giveaway will be just around the corner, when we hit 300 followers! So keep spreading the word about Reading to Penguins and check back here often!

Start of Something Good Giveaway! (200 Followers)

 

I'm very excited to announce that we have reached 200 followers!  You guys rock! And to show my appreciation, I'm hosting a giveaway! The theme this time around is The Start of Something Good: One lucky winner will get to choose a book from the list bellow. All of the options are the the first books from series that I love, and I hope you will too!

Sea Swept by Nora Roberts

Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

All you need to do to enter is fill out the form bellow, and be sure to follow the instructions! This giveaway is open to all followers, US and International! Giveaway ends Saturday November 26th, and a winner will be announced shortly thereafter! Good luck, and Happy Reading!

100 Followers Giveaway WINNER!

The winner of the 100 Followers Giveaway is....Island Reader (comment 10)! Island Reader requested a copy of Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase; great choice! Congratulations!

You should be receiving an email shortly from cmspencer8@yahoo.com, requesting your mailing address. If you don't get an email within the next day, please contact me!

Thanks go out to all of my followers for their warm support. To my international followers: I plan on opening my next giveaway to everyone (if logistics allow). Stay tuned! Happy Reading!

100 Followers Giveaway!

So I've (finally) reached 100 followers! I'm so excited! To say thanks, I'm hosting a small giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive your very own penguin bookmark, and a brand new copy of your choice of one of my 5 star reviewed books!

Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
Mine Til Midnight by Lisa Kleypas
Love In the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas
No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole
Dark Need at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole
Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
Unveiled by Courtney Milan
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

To enter, 1)Be my follower on this blog and/or on Twitter 2) leave a comment on this post, and include your email address and the book you would like if you are the lucky winner!  Open to US entrants only (due to postage costs).

The winner will be selected via random number generator. Contest ends at noon EST Saturday September 24, and the winner will be announced and notified via email on Sunday. Good luck, and Happy Reading!

The Roaring Twenties: A Review of Chasing Midnight by Susan Krinard

I read Chasing Midnight last fall, and have since reread bits and pieces. In the vast sea of paranormal romance the thing that stands out the most about this series is the time period-vampires and werewolves in 1920s New York. This seems to be an altogether rare combinations, and I liked it for that alone.

The Plot: Allegra Chase is a fiercely independent vampire woman who is searching for a friend who has recently disappeared after having been turned vampire himself. Griffin is a werewolf who spends his life hiding from his wolf-side in favor of a society that is unaware of the existence of non-humans. He joins forces with Allegra when his own good friend goes missing and he suspects a connection to the vampire clan. As they fight to save their friends, they are drawn to one another and ultimately fall in love.

The setting and time period are quite interesting, and surprisingly perfect for characters like vampires and werewolves. The night clubs, the fashion, the gang wars,the societal restrictions all blend seamlessly with the paranormal world in which vampires and werewolves fight to keep the peace between their races, and to keep their existence hidden from humans.

The plot, while difficult to follow at times, is fairly engaging. There is a lot of action and mystery to be had along with the romance.

Allegra is a very interesting character. She embodies the defiant 20s flapper type, full of her own independence and sexuality, not afraid to break rules. Griffin is a fitting balance for her in an almost opposites-attract sensibility.

I had one really big issue with this book--length. Some of the content, while engaging, was unnecessary and could have easily been cut down to 300 pages. Krinard seemed to be concerned with fitting in as much detail as possible, and it simply was not needed-it can become tedious and hard to follow. There is a lot of filler, and it requires a great deal of patience on the part of the reader.

I would recommend this book to both paranormal and historical fans. 3.5 stars.