This OR That #Giveaway № 91 ~ Starting Now by Debbie Macomber OR A Little Night Magic by Lucy March #StartingNow #ALittleNightMagic

  

I have sooooo many books!

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to cull my collection and to share some of the many books I have. I get to clear off some of my shelves to make room for more books and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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Starting Now

(Blossom Street #9)

by Debbie Macomber

ARC ~ Pub date January 2013

#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber returns to Seattle’s beloved Blossom Street in this heartfelt tale of friendship, renewal, and discovering what’s truly important in life.

For years Libby Morgan dreamed only of making partner in her competitive, high-pressure law firm. She sacrificed everything for her career—her friends, her marriage, her chance at creating a family. When her boss calls Libby into his office, she assumes it will finally be good news, but nothing can prepare her for the shocking reality: She’s been let go and must rebuild her entire life . . . starting now.

With no job prospects in sight, Libby reaches out to old friends and spends her afternoons at A Good Yarn, the local knitting store. There she forms a close bond with Lydia, the sweet-natured shop owner; Lydia’s spirited teenage daughter, Casey; and Casey’s best friend, Ava, a shy yet troubled girl who will shape Libby’s future in surprising and profound ways.

As A Good Yarn becomes a second home—and the women a new kind of family—Libby relishes the different person she’s become. She even finds time for romance with a charming and handsome doctor who seems to be her perfect match. But just as everything is coming together, Libby must make a choice that could forever change the life she holds so dear.

Warmly told and richly textured, Starting Now is filled with the promise of new beginnings and the unending delights of companionship and love.

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A Little Night Magic
(Nodaway Falls #1)
by Lucy March
ARC ~ Pub date January 2012

In New York Times bestselling author Lucy March's new novel, Olivia Kiskey needs a change. She’s been working at the same Nodaway Falls, New York, waffle house since she was a teenager; not a lot of upward mobility there. She’s been in love with Tobias, the cook, for the last four years; he’s never made a move. Every Saturday night, she gathers with her three best friends—Peach, Millie, and Stacy—and drinks the same margaritas while listening to the same old stories.

Intent on shaking things up, she puts her house on the market, buys a one-way ticket to Europe, and announces her plans to her friends... but then she meets Davina Granville, a strange and mystical Southern woman who shows Olivia that there is more to her life than she ever dreamed.

As Liv’s latent magical powers come to the surface, she discovers that having an interesting life is maybe not all it’s cracked up to be. The dark side of someone else’s magic is taking over good people in town, and changing them into vessels of malevolence. Unwilling to cede her home to darkness, she battles the demons of her familial past and her magical present, with those she loves at her side... and in the cross fire.

Can the most important things in life—friendship, love, magic, and waffles—get her through the worst that the universe can throw at her?

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Today we're going to focus on potatoes. Look at the picture below and leave me a comment about your favorite way to eat potatoes. Sorry, your only options are what you see here. Myself, I love a baked potato but I'll pick one of these and leave my comment below.

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways! 

Book Spotlight Giveaway! Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber

I have sooooo many books! The Book Spotlight Giveaway feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy these treasures.

I read Merry and Bright in October 2017 and loved it. This is the perfect read for this time of year and you can't go wrong with a Debbie Macomber story. You can find my review post here. 

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Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

 

Merry and Bright

Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber

Print, 288 pages

Published October 3rd 2017 by Ballantine Books

Merry Knight is pretty busy these days. She’s taking care of her family, baking cookies, decorating for the holidays, and hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of her stressed and by-the-book boss at the consulting firm where she temps. Her own social life is the last thing she has in mind, much less a man. Without her knowledge, Merry’s well-meaning mom and brother create an online dating profile for her—minus her photo—and the matches start rolling in. Initially, Merry is incredulous, but she reluctantly decides to give it a whirl.

Soon Merry finds herself chatting with a charming stranger, a man with similar interests and an unmistakably kind soul. Their online exchanges become the brightest part of her day. But meeting face-to-face is altogether different, and her special friend is the last person Merry expects—or desires. Still, sometimes hearts can see what our eyes cannot. In this satisfying seasonal tale, unanticipated love is only a click away.

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About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Thirteen of these novels hit the number one spot.

In 2018, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publications include Cottage by the Sea (July) and Alaskan Holiday (October). Macomber is also releasing a new cookbook titled Debbie Macomber’s Table: Sharing the Joy of Cooking with Family and Friends (April). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published two bestselling cookbooks, an adult coloring book, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.

Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and five have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.

She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Debbie

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber ~ My Thoughts

Merry and Bright

Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber
Print and ebook, 288 pages
Published October 3rd 2017 by Ballantine Books

Merry Knight is pretty busy these days. She’s taking care of her family, baking cookies, decorating for the holidays, and hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of her stressed and by-the-book boss at the consulting firm where she temps. Her own social life is the last thing she has in mind, much less a man. Without her knowledge, Merry’s well-meaning mom and brother create an online dating profile for her—minus her photo—and the matches start rolling in. Initially, Merry is incredulous, but she reluctantly decides to give it a whirl.

Soon Merry finds herself chatting with a charming stranger, a man with similar interests and an unmistakably kind soul. Their online exchanges become the brightest part of her day. But meeting face-to-face is altogether different, and her special friend is the last person Merry expects—or desires. Still, sometimes hearts can see what our eyes cannot. In this satisfying seasonal tale, unanticipated love is only a click away.

My thoughts about Merry and Bright ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)

First line—"'Mom, I need to work overtime, so I won't be home to help with dinner.' 'Again?' her mother moaned into the phone."

I love reading all the Christmas books that come out this time of year. And then to read a Christmas story by Debbie Macomber—that has got to be the ultimate! 

Merry and Bright is a wonderful glimpse into Merry's life—a busy life with family and work. She loves the holiday season and all that goes with it. But she has a curmudgeon of a boss—a bah-humbug kind of guy. In her personal life though, as she gets to know the mysterious Jay on an online dating service, she starts to think that maybe there is something to the whole 'romance' thing. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, like I have enjoyed all of Debbie's books. It is such a wonderful, feel-good story full of the Christmas spirit and lots of love.  

I received a copy of Merry and Bright from Penguin Random House via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Thirteen of these novels hit the number one spot.

In 2017, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publications include If Not for You (March), Any Dream Will Do (August), and Merry and Bright (October). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published two bestselling cookbooks, an adult coloring book, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.

Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and five have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.

Macomber owns The Grey House Café, which also features a gift shop and a Hallmark Gold Crown store inside. It is located in the Village Square campus, which also serves as Debbie’s corporate headquarters.

She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series

Connect with Debbie

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Book Spotlight and a Giveaway! Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber

Blossom Street Brides

Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber
Series: Blossom Street #10
Published March 25th 2014 by Ballantine Books 

Debbie Macomber has won the hearts of millions of readers with her moving and inspiring stories. Now wedding bells are ringing in the tight-knit community that gathers around A Good Yarn, a store in a pretty Seattle neighborhood. Knitters come to the store to buy yarn and patterns but somehow they leave richer in friendship and love.

Lauren Elliott has waited years for her long-term boyfriend, Todd, to propose, yet he seems more focused on his career than their relationship. When Lauren learns that her younger sister is pregnant before she herself even has an engagement ring, she feels overjoyed yet disheartened. Knowing she can’t put her future on hold, Lauren prepares to make a bold choice—one that leads her to a man she never dreamed she’d meet.

Newly married to her second husband, Max, Bethanne Scranton is blissfully in love. But with Max’s job in California and Bethanne’s in Seattle, their long-distance marriage is becoming difficult to maintain. To complicate matters, Bethanne’s cunning ex will do anything to win her back.

Lydia Goetz, too, is wonderfully happy with her husband, Brad, though lately she worries about the future of A Good Yarn. As she considers how to bring in business, she discovers that someone has beaten her to the punch. Baskets of yarn are mysteriously popping up all over town, with instructions to knit a scarf for charity and bring it into Lydia’s store. Never before has her shop received so much attention, but who hatched this brilliant plan?

As three women’s lives intersect in unexpected ways, Lydia, Lauren, and Bethanne realize that love heals every heart, and the best surprises still lay ahead.

My thoughts about Blossom Street Brides ~~ 

(orginally posted January 23, 2014)

Blossom Street Brides is the 10th book in the Blossom Street series. I want to know how I have missed the other 9 books?? Seriously, I just read my very first Debbie Macomber book in October. It was a Christmas story, Starry Night: a Christmas Novel. I fell in love with the characters and the story-line, and loved how easy it was to read and get lost in it all.

Even though this is book #10, and the first in the series that I have read, I didn't feel like I was missing something. Debbie wrote such a beautiful, flowing story that I immediately felt right at home with the place and the characters. I have no idea if the characters in this story are regulars in her series or not. I am thinking they probably are, but it didn't really matter. There was enough depth to the character development to keep me satisfied.

Debbie's stories have such a gentle feel to them. It's hard for me to explain what I mean by that but I found myself just wanting to stay in that world and hoping that Lydia, Lauren, and Bethanne would want to be my friend too. I am definitely going to be talking another stroll down Blossom Street and I am excited to meet the other people that call that street home.

About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 170 million copies of her books in print worldwide. Macomber brings to life the compelling relationships that embrace family, community and enduring friendships, filling her readers with a sense of love and hope.

Macomber is the author of more than 100 novels, most recently the instant #1 New York Times bestseller Starting Now, and The Inn at Rose Harbor; two bestselling cookbooks; numerous inspirational and nonfiction works; two acclaimed children’s books and the Mrs. Miracle Christmas novels. She is also the author of beloved and bestselling series of novels set in Cedar Cove, Washington (such as 16 Lighthouse Road, 204 Rosewood Lane, 311 Pelican Court) on which Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove, Hallmark Channel’s first dramatic scripted television series, is based. She is the recipient of a RITA® award; an RT Book Reviews Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a multiple winner of both the Holt Medallion and the B. Dalton Award. In 2010, the Romance Writers of America presented Macomber with their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. Her next novel to be published will be ROSE HARBOR IN BLOOM (August 13, 2013).

In addition to her bestselling novels, Macomber owns her own tea room, Victorian Rose Tea Room & yarn store, A Good Yarn, named after the shop featured in her popular Blossom Street novels. She and her husband, Wayne, serve on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, and she was recently named World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative.

A devoted grandmother, Debbie and her husband Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington State (the town on which her Cedar Cove novels are based) and winter in Florida.

Connect with Debbie

Website | Goodreads | YouTube | Pinterest

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

On Tour: Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber and a Giveaway!

Blossom Street Brides

Blossom Street #10 

Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber
Series: Blossom Street #10
Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected publication: April 8th, 2014 by Ballantine Books

#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber has won the hearts of millions of readers with her moving and inspiring stories. Now wedding bells are ringing in the tight-knit community that gathers around A Good Yarn, a store in a pretty Seattle neighborhood. Knitters come to the store to buy yarn and patterns but somehow they leave richer in friendship and love.

Lauren Elliott has waited years for her long-term boyfriend, Todd, to propose, yet he seems more focused on his career than their relationship. When Lauren learns that her younger sister is pregnant before she herself even has an engagement ring, she feels overjoyed yet disheartened. Knowing she can’t put her future on hold, Lauren prepares to make a bold choice—one that leads her to a man she never dreamed she’d meet.

Newly married to her second husband, Max, Bethanne Scranton is blissfully in love. But with Max’s job in California and Bethanne’s in Seattle, their long-distance marriage is becoming difficult to maintain. To complicate matters, Bethanne’s cunning ex will do anything to win her back.

Lydia Goetz, too, is wonderfully happy with her husband, Brad, though lately she worries about the future of A Good Yarn. As she considers how to bring in business, she discovers that someone has beaten her to the punch. Baskets of yarn are mysteriously popping up all over town, with instructions to knit a scarf for charity and bring it into Lydia’s store. Never before has her shop received so much attention, but who hatched this brilliant plan?

As three women’s lives intersect in unexpected ways, Lydia, Lauren, and Bethanne realize that love heals every heart, and the best surprises still lay ahead.

My thoughts about Blossom Street Brides ~~ 

Blossom Street Brides is the 10th book in the Blossom Street series. I want to know how I have missed the other 9 books?? Seriously, I just read my very first Debbie Macomber book in October. It was a Christmas story, Starry Night: a Christmas Novel. I fell in love with the characters and the story-line, and loved how easy it was to read and get lost in it all.

Even though this is book #10, and the first in the series that I have read, I didn't feel like I was missing something. Debbie wrote such a beautiful, flowing story that I immediately felt right at home with the place and the characters. I have no idea if the characters in this story are regulars in her series or not. I am thinking they probably are, but it didn't really matter. There was enough depth to the character development to keep me satisfied.

Debbie's stories have such a gentle feel to them. It's hard for me to explain what I mean by that but I found myself just wanting to stay in that world and hoping that Lydia, Lauren, and Bethanne would want to be my friend too. I am definitely going to be talking another stroll down Blossom Street and I am excited to meet the other people that call that street home.

About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 170 million copies of her books in print worldwide. Macomber brings to life the compelling relationships that embrace family, community and enduring friendships, filling her readers with a sense of love and hope.

Macomber is the author of more than 100 novels, most recently the instant #1 New York Times bestseller Starting Now, and The Inn at Rose Harbor; two bestselling cookbooks; numerous inspirational and nonfiction works; two acclaimed children’s books and the Mrs. Miracle Christmas novels. She is also the author of beloved and bestselling series of novels set in Cedar Cove, Washington (such as 16 Lighthouse Road, 204 Rosewood Lane, 311 Pelican Court) on which Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove, Hallmark Channel’s first dramatic scripted television series, is based. She is the recipient of a RITA® award; an RT Book Reviews Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a multiple winner of both the Holt Medallion and the B. Dalton Award. In 2010, the Romance Writers of America presented Macomber with their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. Her next novel to be published will be Rose Harbor in Bloom (August 13, 2013).

In addition to her bestselling novels, Macomber owns her own tea room, Victorian Rose Tea Room & yarn store, A Good Yarn, named after the shop featured in her popular Blossom Street novels. She and her husband, Wayne, serve on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, and she was recently named World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative.

A devoted grandmother, Debbie and her husband Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington State (the town on which her Cedar Cove novels are based) and winter in Florida.

Connect with Debbie

Website | Goodreads | YouTube | Pinterest

Book Tour Schedule for 
Blossom Street Brides

January 20th - Melina's Book Blog

January 21st - My Recent Favorite Books

January 22nd - Creative Madness Mama

January 23rd - The Book Bag

January 24th - Jax's Book Magic

January 25th - Shelley's Book Case

January 26th - Tidbits of Experience

January 27th - Griperang's Bookmarks

January 28th - Deco My Heart

January 30th - A Book Lover's Retreat

Giveaway Time!! 

I have 3 'Special Early Editions' (ARC) of Blossom Street Brides for 3 lucky winners!

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On Tour and a Giveaway! Starry Night: A Christmas Novel by Debbie Macomber

Book Tours and Quilts

Hardcover: 256 pages

Publication date: October 8th 2013

Publisher: Ballantine Books

’Tis the season for romance, second chances, and Christmas cheer with this new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.

Carrie Slayton, a big-city society-page columnist, longs to write more serious news stories. So her editor hands her a challenge: She can cover any topic she wants, but only if she first scores the paper an interview with Finn Dalton, the notoriously reclusive author.

Living in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Finn has written a megabestselling memoir about surviving in the wild. But he stubbornly declines to speak to anyone in the press, and no one even knows exactly where he lives.

Digging deep into Finn’s past, Carrie develops a theory on his whereabouts. It is the holidays, but her career is at stake, so she forsakes her family celebrations and flies out to snowy Alaska. When she finally finds Finn, she discovers a man both more charismatic and more stubborn than she even expected. And soon she is torn between pursuing the story of a lifetime and following her heart.

Filled with all the comforts and joys of Christmastime, Starry Night is a delightful novel of finding happiness in the most surprising places.

My thoughts about Starry Night ~~

You may or may not know this about me but I love reading Christmas stories. So I jumped at the chance to read Debbie's Christmas novel. And I have to confess, right here and now, that I have never read a Macomber book before. How can that be? I have seen her books everywhere, and there are a lot of them, I have just never taken the time to read one. And isn't this cover just amazing?

Starry Night was a perfect way to give me a taste of the wonderfulness of Debbie's work. What a sweet story with wonderful characters. Oh sure, there are trials and tribulations between the characters, it's not all a bed of roses. But they get through all that and work it out.

I am so glad that I finally read one of Debbie's stories. It was wonderful to get lost in the romance of the story and to get a taste of the holidays thrown in right along with it. It definitely won't be my last Debbie Macomber story!

About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 170 million copies of her books in print worldwide. Macomber brings to life the compelling relationships that embrace family, community and enduring friendships, filling her readers with a sense of love and hope.

Macomber is the author of more than 100 novels, most recently the instant #1 New York Times bestseller Starting Now, and The Inn at Rose Harbor; two bestselling cookbooks; numerous inspirational and nonfiction works; two acclaimed children’s books and the Mrs. Miracle Christmas novels. She is also the author of beloved and bestselling series of novels set in Cedar Cove, Washington (such as 16 Lighthouse Road, 204 Rosewood Lane, 311 Pelican Court) on which Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove, Hallmark Channel’s first dramatic scripted television series, is based. She is the recipient of a RITA® award; an RT Book Reviews Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a multiple winner of both the Holt Medallion and the B. Dalton Award. In 2010, the Romance Writers of America presented Macomber with their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. Her most recent novel published is Rose Harbor in Bloom. (August 13, 2013).

In addition to her bestselling novels, Macomber owns her own tea room, Victorian Rose Tea Room & yarn store, A Good Yarn, named after the shop featured in her popular Blossom Street novels. She and her husband, Wayne, serve on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, and she was recently named World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative.

A devoted grandmother, Debbie and her husband Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington State (the town on which her Cedar Cove novels are based) and winter in Florida.

Connect with Debbie

Website | Goodreads | YouTube | Pinterest

Other stops on the tour

Book Tours and Quilts

October 1st - My Home of Books
October 2nd - A Book Addict's Musings
October 3rd - Creative Madness Mama
October 4th - Griperang's Bookmarks
October 5th - Jax's Book Magic
October 6th - Tidbits of Experience
October 7th - My Recent Favorite Books
October 8th - The Book Bag
October 9th - Deco My Heart Reviews
October 10th - Mary - Andering Creatively
October 10th - Mary- Andering Among the Pages

Giveaway Time!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!