2015 Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop ~ International 3 winners

To celebrate Australia Day (26th Jan) Oi Oi Oi! and my birthday I'm participating in the Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop hosted by Shelleyrae @ BOOK'D OUT. 

What a fantabulous way to promote Australian literature and our talented Aussie authors. So to share my Love an Aussie Author love I'm offering giveaways for books from these wonderful Australian authors ~ 3 winners 

INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY: 

2 winners receive their choice from the list below via Amazon Kindle gift. 1 winner will receive a print copy of Captive of Sin by Anna Campbell

 

LYREBIRD HILL by Anna Romer

Genre: Historical/Contemporary Fiction

Publication Date: 1st September 2014

Synopsis: Ruby Cardel has the semblance of a normal life – a loving boyfriend, a fulfilling career – but in one terrible moment, her life unravels. The discovery that the death of her sister, Jamie, was not an accident makes her question all she’s known about herself and her past.

Travelling back home to Lyrebird Hill, Ruby begins to remember the year that has been forever blocked in her memory . . . Snatches of her childhood with beautiful Jamie, and Ruby’s only friendship with the boy from the next property, a troubled foster kid.

Then Ruby uncovers a cache of ancient letters from a long-lost relative, Brenna Magavin, written from her cell in a Tasmanian gaol where she is imprisoned for murder. As she reads, Ruby discovers that her family line is littered with tragedy and violence.

Slowly, the gaps in Ruby’s memory come to her. And as she pieces together the shards of truth, what she finally discovers will shock her to the core – about what happened to Jamie that fateful day, and how she died.

A thrilling tale about family secrets and trusting yourself...

Connect with Anna Romer

Website

Facebook

If you'd like to know more check out my review ~ 5 stars

comment and I'll give you an extra entry in the draw

BILLABONG BEND by Jennifer Scoullar

Genre: Contemporary Rural Fiction

Publication Date: 28th May 2014

Synopsis: For Nina Moore, the rare marshland flanking the beautiful Bunyip River is the most precious place on earth. Her dream is to buy Billabong Bend and protect it forever, but she's not the only one with designs on the land. When her childhood sweetheart Ric returns home, old feelings are rekindled, and Nina dares to dream of a future for both of them on the river. But a tragic death divides loyalties and threatens to tear apart their fledgling romance.

This star-crossed rural romance sets Nina, a floodplains grazier, and Ric, a traditional cotton farmer, on a heart-rending collision course, amid the beauty of northern NSW. 

Connect with Jennifer Scoullar

Website

Twitter

Facebook

If you'd like to know more check out my review ~ 4.5 stars

comment and I'll give you an extra entry in the draw

SAFE HARBOUR by Helene Young

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publication Date: 26th March 2014

Synopsis: When Darcy Fletcher drags a handsome sailor from a stricken yacht, she finds herself drawn into his mysterious world. Having saved his life, can she now rescue him from his dark past? Or will that endanger all she holds most dear? 

Noah, keeper of the peace and guardian of the Banksia Cove secrets, can’t tell Darcy the real reason this stranger has washed up on their shores. If she understood the links between him and her own dysfunctional family, he’d lose her love for good. 

As they take refuge in an old whaling station for the night, only one thing is certain – by morning, no one will be the same again. Lies will surface. Hearts will break, and not all will find safe harbour. 

Connect with Helene Young

Website

Facebook

Twitter

If you'd like to know more check out my review ~ 4.5 stars

comment and I'll give you an extra entry in the draw

SELDOM COME BY by Sherryl Caulfield 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publication Date: 10th December 2013

Synopsis: Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, fifteen year-old Rebeca Crowe’s fascination with icebergs leads her to save a shipwrecked survivor, Samuel Dalton, the nineteen-year old son of a Toronto medical family. 

Love sparks in the crystal cave of an iceberg but is thwarted by an unreasonable father and the Great War that drags Samuel and his brother, Matthew, to the Western Front as medical officers. Knowing Rebecca is home safe in Newfoundland brings Samuel great comfort. But as the war moves towards its final harrowing days, they both discover that tragedy and terror can strike anywhere, setting their love on an unforeseen path.

Only when Samuel and Rebecca can fully come to terms with such devastating loss and their impossible choices can their love soar. With an emotional intensity reminiscent of The Bronze Horseman, Seldom Come By, named after an actual place in Newfoundland, is an unforgettable journey across waves and time and the full spectrum of human emotions.

Connect with Sherryl Caulfield

Website

Twitter
Facebook

If you'd like to know more check out my review ~ 5 stars

comment and I'll give you an extra entry in the draw

COME WHAT MAY by Sherryl Caulfield

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publication Date: 19th September 2014

Synopsis: The second instalment of The Iceberg Trilogy, Come What May, continues the story of Samuel and Rebecca Dalton through the lives of their children, most notably, their beautiful, troubled daughter, Evangeline — Gene to all who knew and loved her.

In 1951, the summer of her eighteenth year, Gene embarks on a northern odyssey with her eldest brother, Jonathan. Under the northern lights they travel as part of a medical expedition to remote Cree settlements across the grand Canadian wilderness. There, she encounters people and events that will influence her life forever, including the unflappable Sonny Marlow, a young pilot not long returned from Europe where he served as part of the Allied forces in the Berlin Airlift operation.

Drawn together by love but kept apart by her fears, theirs is a tumultuous relationship that is as unpredictable as the woman Gene becomes. From the Saskatchewan prairies to the Rocky Mountains, from James Bay to Vancouver, life and love hold many surprises and trials for Gene and Sonny. Only when Gene can walk away from the devastating shadows towards the light can she and Sonny live the life that held such promise when they were young and on the edge of love.

Connect with Sherryl Caulfield

Website

Twitter
Facebook

If you'd like to know more check out my review ~ 4.5 stars

comment and I'll give you an extra entry in the draw

DARK HORSE by Honey Brown

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publication Date: 24th April 2013

Synopsis: It's Christmas morning on the edge of the rugged Mortimer Ranges. Sarah Barnard saddles Tansy, her black mare. She is heading for the bush, escaping the reality of her broken marriage and her bankrupted trail-riding business.

Sarah seeks solace in the ranges. When a flash flood traps her on Devil Mountain, she heads to higher ground, taking shelter in Hangman's Hut.

She settles in to wait out Christmas.

A man, a lone bushwalker, arrives. Heath is charming, capable, handsome. But his story doesn't ring true. Why is he deep in the wilderness without any gear? Where is his vehicle? What's driving his resistance towards rescue? The closer they become the more her suspicions grow.

But to get off Devil Mountain alive, Sarah must engage in this secretive stranger's dangerous game of intimacy.

Connect with Honey Brown 

Facebook

If you'd like to know more check out my review ~ 5 stars

comment and I'll give you an extra entry in the draw

CAPTIVE OF SIN by Anna Campbell - print copy

Genre: Historical Romance

International Giveaway

Australian winner signed, International winner unsigned

(you must be in a Book Depository delivery area)

Synopsis: He pledged his honor to keep her safe.

Returning home to Cornwall after an unspeakable tragedy, Sir Gideon Trevithick comes upon a defiant beauty in danger and vows to protect her whatever the cost. He's dismayed to discover that she's none other than Lady Charis Weston, England's wealthiest heiress—and that the only way to save her from the violent stepbrothers determined to steal her fortune is to wed her himself! Now Gideon must hide the dark secrets of his life from the bride he desires more with every heartbeat. 

She promised to show him how to love—and desire—again.

Charis has heard all about Gideon, the dangerously handsome hero with the mysterious past. She's grateful for his help but utterly unwilling to endure a marriage of convenience—especially to a man whose touch leaves her breathless. Desperate to drive him mad with passion, she would do anything to make Gideon lose control—and fall captive to irresistible, undeniable sin.

Connect with Anna Campbell

 website 

facebook 

twitter

ENTRY DETAILS:

Easy Peasy ... just leave a comment telling me which book is calling your name! If you aren't easily contactable via blog, website etc please leave an email address.

EXTRA ENTRIES: 

+2 tweet giveaway and leave a link

Entries close midnight Tuesday 27th January (AEST) and winners will be announced on my blog. Good luck everyone. 

Don't forget to head on over to Book'd Out to visit the rest of the participants on the hop and enter their giveaways. 

2014 Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop ~ Love an Aussie Author

To celebrate Australia Day (26th Jan) Oi Oi Oi! and my birthday this week I'm participating in the Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop hosted by Shelleyrae @ BOOK'D OUT. 

Australian literature is a treasure-trove of class; inspiring authors, stories to make your heart race or stop or break, novels to make you laugh, cry, swoon, scream and beg for more. 

PS. If you just can't get enough of our Australian authors click on the road sign on the left hand side bar of my blog (hard to miss) and you can browse the Australian author titles I've read. 

So to share my Love an Aussie Author love I'm offering giveaways for books from these wonderful Australian authors ~

THE WILD GIRL by Kate Forsyth

 International Giveaway

(you must be in Book Depository delivery area) 

Synopsis: Dortchen Wild fell in love with Wilhelm Grimm the first time she saw him.

Growing up in the small German kingdom of Hessen-Cassel in early Nineteenth century, Dortchen Wild is irresistibly drawn to the boy next door, the young and handsome fairy tale scholar Wilhelm Grimm. 

It is a time of War, tyranny and terror. Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all of Europe, and Hessen-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall. Forced to live under oppressive French rule, the Grimm brothers decide to save old tales that had once been told by the firesides of houses grand and small all over the land.

Dortchen knows many beautiful old stories, such as 'Hansel and Gretel', 'The Frog King' and 'Six Swans'. As she tells them to Wilhelm, their love blossoms. Yet the Grimm family is desperately poor, and Dortchen's father has other plans for his daughter. Marriage is an impossible dream.

Dortchen can only hope that happy endings are not just the stuff of fairy tales. 

This was a 2013 favourite, see my review ~ "haunting, breathtaking, evocative ... The Wild Girl is a gift of storytelling about storytelling." 

Connect with Kate:

Website

Facebook 

Twitter

THE HUSBAND'S SECRET by Liane Moriarty 

International Giveaway

(you must be in Book Depository delivery area) 

Synopsis: From the author of the critically acclaimed What Alice Forgot comes a breakout new novel about the secrets husbands and wives keep from each other.

"My Darling Cecilia

If you're reading this, then I've died . . ."

Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret - something so terrible it would destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others too. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive . . .

Cecilia Fitzpatrick achieved it all - she's an incredibly successful business woman, a pillar of her small community and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia - or each other - but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband's devastating secret.

The Husband's Secret was another 2013 favourite ...  See my review "Funny, poignant, shocking, heartbreaking"

Connect with Liane Moriarty

Website

Facebook

ENTRY DETAILS:

Just leave a comment telling me which book you'd like to win or throw your hat in the ring for both! 

EXTRA ENTRIES:

+2 tweet giveaway and leave a link

+2 comment on the reviews (links above) and let me know

Entries close midnight 28th January and winners will be announced on my blog. Good luck everyone. 

Don't forget to check out the other participants on the hop and enter their fabulous giveaways via Book'd Out.

Happy Australia Day

Happy Australia Day to my fellow Aussies. After looking forward to a 4 day camping trip over Australia Day for months we had to cancel due to the water-logged condition of much of our state. 

Area's of Queensland and New South Wales have experienced massive rainfall totals, thunderstorms and flash flooding and more rain is expected over the weekend. 

So we chose to stay home, safe and dry! ... Enjoy Australia Day whatever you're doing :)

This has done the rounds but I thought I'd share. As a vegemite loving girl sometimes referred to as Shazza (Sheree) from Wagga Wagga, who has on occasion swallowed a fly via her nose and understands no wucking furries ... I'm proud to say I'm an Aussie!

You know you're Australian if:

* You believe that stubbies can be either drunk or worn.
* You're liable to burst out laughing whenever you hear of Americans "rooting" for something.
* You pronounce Melbourne as 'Mel-bin'. You believe the 'L' in the word 'Australia' is optional.
* You can translate: 'Dazza and Shazza played Acca Dacca on the way to Maccas.'
* You believe it makes perfect sense for a nation to decorate its highways with large fibreglass bananas, prawns and sheep.
* You call your best friend 'a total bastard' but someone you really, truly despise is just 'a bit of a bastard'.
* You think 'Woolloomooloo' is a perfectly reasonable name for a place.
* You're secretly proud of our killer wildlife.
* You believe it makes sense for a country to have a $1 coin that's twice as big as its $2 coin.
* You understand that 'Wagga Wagga' can be abbreviated to 'Wagga' but 'Woy Woy' can't be called 'Woy'.
* You believe that cooked-down axle grease makes a good breakfast spread. You've also squeezed it through Vita Wheats to make little Vegemite worms.
* You believe all famous Kiwis are actually Australian, until they stuff up, at which point they again become Kiwis.
* Beetroot with your Hamburger... Of course.
* You know that certain words must, by law, be shouted out during any rendition of the Angels' song 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again' And "Living next door to Alice".
* You believe that the confectionery known as the Wagon Wheel has become smaller with every passing year.
* You believe that the more you shorten someone's name the more you like them.
* Whatever your linguistic skills, you find yourself able to order takeaway fluently in every Asian language.
* You understand that 'excuse me' can sound rude, While 'scuse me' is always polite.
* You know what it's like to swallow a fly, on occasion via your nose.
* You know it's not summer until the steering wheel is too hot to handle and a seat belt buckle becomes a pretty good branding iron.
* Your biggest family argument over the summer concerned the rules for beach cricket.
* You shake your head in horror when companies try to market what they call 'Anzac cookies'.
* You still think of Kylie as 'that girl off Neighbours'.
* When working on a bar, you understand male customers will feel the need to offer an excuse whenever they order low-alcohol beer.
* You know how to abbreviate every word, all of which usually end in -o: arvo, combo, garbo, kero, metho, milko, muso, rego, servo, smoko, speedo, righto, goodo etc.
* You know that there is a universal place called "woop woop" located in the middle of nowhere...no matter where you actually are. *
* You know that none of us actually drink Fosters beer, because it tastes like shit. But we let the world think we do. Because we can.
* You have some time in your life slept with Aeroguard on in the summer. Maybe even as perfume.
* You've only ever used the words - tops, ripper, sick, mad, rad, sweet - to mean good. And then you place 'bloody' in front of it when you REALLY mean it.
* You know that the barbecue is a political arena; the person holding the tongs is always the boss and usually a man. And the women make the Salad.
* You say 'no worries' quite often, whether you realise it or not.
* You understand what no wucking furries means.
* You've drank your tea/coffee/milo through a Tim Tam.
* You own a Bond's chesty. In several different colours.
* You know that roo meat tastes pretty good, But not as good as barra. Or a meat pie.
* You know that some people pronounce Australia like "Straya" and that's ok.

* And you will forward this list to other Australians, here and overseas, realising that only they will understand.