Showing posts with label publisher giveaway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publisher giveaway. Show all posts

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Movie Release & Publisher Giveaway: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I am so excited to share this movie release for one of my favorite books of all time!  
Many of you have probably already heard that Me Before You by Jojo Moyes will be hitting the big screen in June 2016. You can bet I will be there opening weekend to see this highly anticipated movie release. 


Enjoy this post to get an overview of the book, my review, movie details, the trailer and a publisher giveaway! 

Published: December 31, 2012
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking
Purchase Links:  Amazon |  Barnes & Noble
Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

My Thoughts
Beautiful... unforgettable... heart-breaking. This book will stay with me forever.

Louisa and Will made my face leak. It doesn't happen often and probably won't happen again for a long, long time, but yes this book brought tears to my eyes. Final verdict?? I might not be dead inside. I can safely say that Me Before You will be my pick for Best Book I Read in 2014. Amazing and emotional to such a degree I wasn’t expecting.

You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.

And that is exactly what Will Traynor was doing until a tragic accident left him as a quadriplegic. Before his accident, he was on top of the world, managing a multi-million dollar company and enjoying exotic vacations and dynamic adventures that most of us only dream of. So when his life takes the worst turn anyone can ever imagine, and he’s confined to a wheelchair and dependent on nurses and caregivers around the clock for his basic needs, this character sadly loses his will to live.

When Louisa is hired on for “suicide watch” as Will’s caregiver, she makes it her mission to bring that will to live back to him and teach him to embrace a new life with his reality. She forces him from outside the confines of his home which he hasn’t left in two years, except for doctors’ visits and medical exams. Louisa brings a small semblance of happiness back into Will’s life for the first time since his accident. However, despite the changes Louisa manages to make, his sense of hope and what he wants from life is still in tatters.

Together, they develop a heartfelt relationship that eventually turns into the truest form of love, but sometimes love isn’t enough when you’ve defined your life a certain way and fate has made living to your fullest impossible.

This story really broke me. I was emotional from the very beginning, and as the story continued to unfold, my heart felt like it was carefully coming undone. It was extremely sad to see how a quadriplegic not only has to battle the physical decline of their body as movement is impaired, but also how our world today makes it so difficult for them to access the simplest of places. I never truly knew what a burden they suffer and how much they rely on others for the simple actions I take for granted.

The ending of the story was unbelievable to me. I think I sat there for over an hour stunned and broken. I was not expecting what happened at the end and I applaud Jojo Moyes for her bold storytelling. She refused to sacrifice realism in her fictional world and her execution of the ending was incredible. This story will stay on my mind for a long time and I look forward to picking up other books by this author. She impressed me with her skill of flawless storytelling. Amazed and emotionally moved!
5 Snowflakes
Movie Tie-in Book Edition
Movie Trailer of Me Before You

Exciting news!! The publisher has graciously agreed to give away a copy of Me Before You AND After You by Jojo Moyes to one lucky WinterHaven Books follower. Simply fill out the rafflecopter and share a thoughtful comment about this post for a chance to win. All qualified entries will be verified to include a comment on this post. Open to US Resident only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, January 25, 2016

Life Lessons from Gayle Forman (Publisher Giveaway!)

I've been a huge fan of Gayle Forman for many years. I first came across her novel, If I Stay back in 2009 and knew immediately after reading it in one sitting that I discovered an inspirational author. Forman not only shares stories about characters that deal with real issues and painful decisions, but she does so in a way that you walk away a little bit more compassionate, a tad wiser, and a ton more emotional because of the journey she takes you on with her advice and perspective.

For my post, I'm going back to the books that connected me with this author, and I'll be sharing a few quotes that moved me in more ways than one… I hope you enjoy…
1. “If you stay, I'll do whatever you want. I'll quit the band, go with you to New York. But if you need me to go away, I'll do that, too. I was talking to Liz and she said maybe coming back to your old life would be too painful, that maybe it'd be easier for you to erase us. And that would suck, but I'd do it. I can lose you like that if I don't lose you today. I'll let you go. If you stay.

This scene in the book was like an emotional punch when reading how much Adam Wilde was willing to sacrifice for the person he loved. It's not always easy to make those painful decisions, but if you truly care and love that person, no sacrifice is too small.

2. “Love, it never dies. It never goes away, it never fades, so long as you hang on to it. Love can make you immortal.

I believe that someone who has lost a person they truly loved can understand this statement completely. When I first read this caption in If I Stay, it reminded me of a painful loss and Forman was right… just because the person is gone, the love you shared will always be there.
3. "I want to cut through the space that separates us, measured in feet – not miles, not continents, not years - and I want to touch her to make sure it’s really her... but I can’t touch her, it’s a privilege that’s been revoked. Against my will but still."

For those that read this book, this passage is pretty emotional. It represents a promise that Adam Wilde made in book 1 that has caused him incredible pain. He kept his promise and that reminded me that your word is who you are. When you make a promise, keeping it defines who you are as a person.

4. "I needed to hate someone and you’re the one I love the most, so it fell on you."

This statement is so damn true! I hate to admit it, but I'm sure most of us have hurt someone we truly love. It's typically the ones we love the most that we tend to hurt the deepest. It doesn't make it right… it just makes it true...

I also have a couple of music selections that I came across when reading these books several years ago. To this day, they tend to remind me of the emotions experienced when reading these books. 

What life lessons have YOU learned from a Gayle Forman book?
Be sure to add Gayle Forman's books to your bookshelf!
To celebrate the Paperback release of I Was Here by Gayle Forman… another amazing novel that carries a ton of inspiration and emotion… Penguin Young Readers is hosting a giveaway. Be sure to enter for a chance to win. Open to US Resident only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Valentine's Giveaway & Sneak Peek: CONFESSIONS OF A SECRET ADMIRER: A Valentine's Day Anthology



       Some secrets are meant to be revealed…

Or so you’ll discover, in three sexy, unforgettable Valentine’s Day stories from New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Ryan and contemporary romance stars Candis Terry and Jennifer Seasons.

Waiting for You by Jennifer Ryan

Rancher Grant Devane has waited for Taylor Larson’s return to Fallbrook for more than ten years. Now that the fearless beauty has come home on her terms, he’ll do anything and everything necessary to win back her heart.

Sweet Fortune by Candis Terry

Sarah Randall is tired of being invisible to the opposite sex. So when a leap of faith sends her to Sweet, Texas, and into the path of ridiculously hot Deputy Brady Bennett, she’s determined to catch his eye … even if it means staying hidden just a little bit longer.

Major League Crush by Jennifer Seasons

Professional baseball player Drake Paulson can’t help wanting to know more about his cute, shy neighbor. But when he discovers her deepest secret and she flees, it’ll be up to him to win her trust—and her love—one gift at a time.




CONFESSIONS OF A SECRET ADMIRER: A Valentine’s Day Anthology
By Jennifer Ryan, Candis Terry, and Jennifer Seasons
Avon Impulse e-book; on sale: 2/4/2014
Here’s a sneak peek of a steamy secret confession from a love-struck admirer in each story!
I confess that…
“It's been ten long years, since Taylor left, and I've been planning how I'll get her back. I've got a Valentine's surprise that includes the key to my house - she already has the one to my heart.”
GRANT (Waiting for You by Jennifer Ryan)
“I went through hundreds of messages online before I found just the right ones to place in Brady’s fortune cookies. The temptation to stray to the X-rated ones was almost too much to resist.”
--SARAH (Sweet Fortune by Candis Terry)
“The way Drake Paulson fills out his baseball uniform makes me blush—in a good way.”
--BERTIE (Major League Crush by Jennifer Seasons)
Want more confessions? Click here to buy the e-book!
 
Confess to your crush this Valentine’s Day with something sweet from Lindt! Enter the Confessions of a Secret Admirer contest below for a chance to win a $50.00 gift card!