Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Saturday, February 20, 2010

A Story of Love, Loss, Sacrifice & Obsession... AND another Great Giveaway for Chick with Books Blogoversary Celebration Day 3!

A Story of Love, Loss, Sacrifice and Obsession...
AND another great Giveaway for Chick with Books Blogoversary Celebration...

And the winner is... Helen of California! Congrats to Helen! And Thank you to EVERYONE who Entered, Tweeted and Blogged about the Giveaway!

Last summer there was a lot of buzz about a new author by the name of Emily St. John Mandel. Her debut novel was called Last Night in Montreal. I was in for a big treat because Caitlin of Unbridled Books sent a copy my way to read! The characters were so rich, and I was immediately drawn into the story. It was hypnotizing... It was like a jigsaw puzzle of people and places... and it was wonderful! Here's what I wrote about Last Night in Montreal when I reviewed it last July...

In the opening line of the book we read “ No one stays forever” and with this we begin unraveling the mystery behind Lilia... We first meet Lilia casually walking out the door of her apartment going for the paper never to return. She leaves behind Eli, who starts to notice the time and wonders where she is... then desperately realizes that she’s gone... her only mark on the apartment they share, a polaroid photograph of her when she was twelve, neatly removed from above the headboard.... From here we are thrown into Lilia’s life before Eli, as she was growing
up, constantly on the move with her father, changing names & identities, moving from state to state on an adventure of a lifetime, starting with a early morning ‘abduction’ in a snowy driveway, from a home she had known for 7 years into the arms of a recognizable stranger, bandages on her arms...

In a refreshing style, Emily St. John Mandel moves from present to past (and back again) from chapter to chapter with incredible continuity. Writing the story moving back and forth in time kept my attention. And made it so interesting! How parts of stories lead into other stories was amazing sometimes. The bits of information that were dropped like crumbs thru the story made me keep turning those pages to learn more. There are really 3 stories here, the story of young Lilia’s abduction and wanderings, the story of the detective who sacrifices his life looking for her, and the story of how everything in the past connects to the present day and how it all comes together in the end. The story rushes forward until the present and the past collide in Montreal....

With rich characters that are so human, so believable, so sad, I was drawn into their story. Their histories well developed. The writing done well. A story of love, loss, sacrifice and obsession. The story is moving. I recommend you pick it up and read it! You will enjoy it! (You can read the complete review to learn more about the book)

Unbridled Books joins the celebration by sponsoring a great giveaway for a copy of Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel for a U.S. reader of Chick with Books! Unbridled Books is dedicated to publishing high-quality works that are moving, beautiful, and surprising. Their name, Unbridled Books, was chosen to represent a publishing venture that is both energetic and independent. Thanks Caitlin and Unbridled Books for joining in on the festivities! Here's how to enter...

*For One Entry, leave me a comment with your email address!

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

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.(No PO boxes). The book will be shipped to the winner directly from the publishers. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on Feb.27th, 2010. I will randomly pick the winners the next day and email them! Good Luck!

*P.S. Emily St. John Mandel's next novel is coming out this summer! More about that soon...

46 comments:

Kaye said...

This sounds like a great read. I'd love a chance to win. florida982002[at]yahoo.com

I'm a follower. Thanks for hosting.

plhill2000 said...

I'd love to read this book.

scottsgal said...

What a cool storyline - I'd love to be entered
thanks for the chance
msboatgal at aol.com

DarcyO said...

Sounds like an interesting read. Please include me.

dlodden at frontiernet dot net

Unknown said...

I would love to win this book!
amandarwest at gmaildotcom

Helen's Book Blog said...

The book sounds interesting, thanks for entering me in the contest!

hcmurdoch (at) gmail (dot) com

Margie said...

Sounds like a very exciting story. Count me in!
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Linda Kish said...

This sounds really good.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

mindy said...

sounds wonderful thanks for the giveaway minsthins at optonline dot net

Booksnyc said...

I would love to win this one - thanks!

leenbeen2001(At) yahoo (dot) com

Mary said...

This sounds like a book I can wrap myself around.

mamie316(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

Mia J. said...

Sounds like a real page turner. Thanks for the chance to win it.

mia at jacobsracing dot com

rubynreba said...

This looks so very good! Please enter me.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

stpand said...

Please enter me.
I'm a follower.

http://services.nexodyne.com/email/icon/AtMeSkEE/wxPKu%2BY%3D/WWFob28%3D/0/image.png

debijackson said...

I follow and I'd like this book jacksond@nhr3.net

sharon54220 said...

I would love to win this book.

Thanks for the chance

sharon54220@gmail.com

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Just wanted to say congrats Suzanne. (I own this book already, so no need to enter me in giveaway).

Michele said...

Please enter me. Thanks!

mmmtnbike09@yahoo.com

Chip said...

Winter's not over yet. I'm still in need of some good books.

chipdip2010(at)hotmail(dot)com

Emily St. John Mandel said...

Hi,

I just wanted to drop in and thank you for hosting this giveaway on your blog. I really appreciated your review, and I hope whoever wins the book enjoys it as much as you did!

Best regards,
Emily

Dawn M. said...

Ooo, this sounds like a great story! I'd love the chance to read it. Count me in, please.

Thanks! :0)
librarygrinch at gmail dot com

Susan said...

This book sounds great! thanks for the chance to win!

bison61 said...

thanks-I'd love to win and read this book

tiramisu392 (at) yahoo.com

Ellie Wright said...

Sounds like a great book. Thanks for the giveaway.
eswright18 at gmail dot com

Ellie Wright said...

Tweeted
http://twitter.com/eswright18/status/9494479964

eswright18 at gmail.com

Amanda S. said...

Sounds like a great book!

email address is in my profile. :)

Sandra K321 said...

Happy Blogaversary. I enjoy books with good character development and this sounds like it has that. Please include me in the drawing. Thanks.

Alicia said...

would love to read this.

Thanks for the giveaway >^..^<

bloggyig at gmail dot com

Jennifer said...

I am loving the blogoversary celebration!

jennifer(dot)arnold11(at)gmail(dot)com

Jennifer said...

I Tweeted, too!

http://twitter.com/jenniferarnold

couponmom said...

daily tweet
http://twitter.com/courtreporterON/status/9536119698

formycontests@gmail.com

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

No need to enter me, babe. I'm dropping in to say thanks for the e-mail. I've got this posted at Win a Book for you.

Sue said...

Looks great. Thanks for the giveaway.

s.mickelson at gmail dot com

Carol said...

I so, so would love to win this. Thanks for the chance!

carolsnotebook at yahoo dot com

J.T. Oldfield said...

Please enter me.

Here's my tweet:

http://twitter.com/bibliofreakblog/status/9587801610

j.t.oldfield[at]gmail.com

couponmom said...

daily tweet
http://twitter.com/courtreporterON/status/9647351073

formycontests@gmail.com

Miss Haley said...

enter me please!

haleymathiot@yahoo.com

Miss Haley said...

i retweeted you at twitter.com/haleymathiot

Anonymous said...

I've heard so much about this book and have been dying to read it! Please enter me!

novelwhore(@)gmail.com

Anonymous said...

sounds like a really good read!

nycole
knycks1@aol.com

CherylS22 said...

This looks like a wonderful book - please count me in.
Thanks ~ megalon22 at yahoo dot com

Sarah E said...

Please enter me in this giveaway!

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah E

Sarah E said...

I tweeted:

https://twitter.com/saemmerson/status/9717009243

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah E

couponmom said...

daily tweet
http://twitter.com/courtreporterON/status/9739645183

formycontests@gmail.com

Katrina said...

would love to win!

ykatrina at hotmail dot com

justpeachy36 said...

justpeachy36@yahoo.com

Please enter me in the giveaway.

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