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...