On Tour and a Giveaway: When I See You by Katherine Owen

She believes that love can never last, promises are usually broken, and true happiness is extremely elusive in the long run. He believes most risks are worth taking, the promises he makes can be kept, and love doesn't factor in his relationships any longer. They're both wrong.

Jordan Holloway has never fully recovered from the unexpected deaths of her famous Hollywood parents. At 27, she is still slow to trust and remains uncertain about the true duration of love and happiness. Yet, it's been four years since she fell in love with Ethan when he rocked her world even as he marched off to war leaving her alone with their young son Max. Now, Ethan tells her this will be his last tour in Afghanistan and that soon the three of them will be together. Still anxious at his leaving again, Jordan extracts a promise for Ethan's safe return from Brock Wainwright, her husband's sniper partner and best friend. But, can she put all her trust in Brock and can he keep such a promise?

At 29, Brock Wainwright fully embraces the dangerous life of a Navy Seal. He enjoys his freedom and not being committed to anyone; and, there's been a long line of women who can attest to that. Everything changes for Brock after he meets Jordan. When the two men return to Afghanistan, Brock's intent on keeping his promise to Jordan about keeping Ethan safe for a variety of reasons, including the most disturbing one of all, he is more than just attracted to his best friend's wife. This revelation plagues Brock on the battlefield and in a violent moment changes everything. ~~ synopsis from Goodreads

My thoughts about When I See You ~~

Okay, so when I saw this cover and read this synopsis, I knew I was going to like When I See You. I didn't know I was going to love it! What a great read!! And I was, although this may sound strange, 'lucky enough' to be sick over the weekend, so I had a good excuse to just lay around and read. I just wanted to devour this story and not stop.

I immediately cared for Jordan, who had gone through so much, with her parents being murdered in the past, then the love of her life having to go back, once again, to Afghanistan. It was heartbreaking how she kept track of the few days that they had together compared to the number of days they were apart.

When I See You is full of emotional twists and turns so the reader can't predict where the story is going to go or how it's going to end. I loved that. I never knew what was going to happen next. There were so many up and downs and emotions in this story. All I knew was, I had to keep reading.

And I just love the way Katherine writes. It flows and entices the reader to 'read just one more chapter'. Loved it, loved it, loved it! I am off to read more of Katherine's books!

Check out the other stops on the tour

**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour site (click here) will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of When I See You before March 11 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**

About the author

Katherine Owen graduated with a journalism degree and a minor in English from the University of Washington and promptly went into high tech sales because someone told her it was fun and there would be stock options. For years, she damped down the urge to write and spent money like Evian water. But after a successful, storied career in high tech sales and public relations, she finally made what felt like a necessary, soul-calling leap to writing full-time in April of 2009. Owen has written three novels SEEING JULIA (debut novel and Zola Award Winner), NOT TO US and WHEN I SEE YOU. She lives near Seattle in an old house with a fabulous view with her husband and two children. When she isn't writing, she can be found cheering at her son's football games or her daughter's volleyball games or heating up frozen dinners for the "fam-dam-ily" as she fondly refers to them.

Connect with Katherine

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

In all these social media places, she talks about her writing life and what inspires her as well as her novels and, sometimes, her latest work-in-progress.

Buy the book

Amazon (Paperback & Kindle)

Barnes & Noble (Paperback & Nook ePub)

Kobo (ebook) | iBooks (ebook)

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No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop!

It's time once again for 
my most favorite giveaway hop! 

I love this one cause it's so easy for you all! 

Just one little click and you are entered! 
Really! No Strings!

A huge 



goes out to Kathy at I am a Reader, Not a Writer 
for hosting and coordinating this hop. 

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And now that you are done here ~ hop on over to all of the other blogs that are a part of this fun, easy hop! 

ARC Giveaway: Forgotten by Catherine McKenzie

I finally got a finished copy of this fabulous book by Catherine McKenzie so I am letting go of the ARC copy I have. Read a little about the book, my thoughts, and about Catherine then enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom for a chance to win this book from me.

Emma Tupper is a dedicated lawyer with a bright future. But when she takes a month-long leave of absence to go on an African vacation, she ends up facing unexpected consequences. After she falls ill and spends six months trapped in a remote village thanks to a devastating earthquake, Emma returns home to discover that her friends, boyfriend, and colleagues thought she was dead -- and that her life has moved on without her.

As she struggles to re-create her old life, throwing herself into solving a big case for a client and trying to reclaim her beloved apartment from the handsome photographer who assumed her lease, everyone around her thinks she should take the opportunity to change. But is she willing to sacrifice her job, her relationships, and everything else she worked so hard to build?

In Forgotten, Catherine McKenzie tweaks a classic tale of discovering who we really are when everything that brings meaning to our lives is lost. ~~ synopsis from Amazon

My thoughts about Forgotten ~~ originally posted on October 23, 2012

Catherine McKenzie has done it again! I read her first novel, Spin, in January of this year and loved it. You can read my thoughts about Spin HERE. I loved the writing and loved the characters and was excited to see what was next from this awesome author. When I was asked to read and review her third novel, Forgotten, I was ecstatic! I also have her second book, Arranged, sitting on my bookshelf and I really need to get it down and get it read. So far, I have loved everything she has written and her books just keep getting better and better.

Emma Tupper is a successful lawyer who finds herself taking a one month trip to Africa after making a promise to her dying mother. Well, due to circumstances beyond her control, the one month turns into 6 months. When she finally makes it back to her life, where everyone assumed she had died, she has a hard time deciding if she wants to keep that life, and the people in it, or if it's time to make some changes.

'I've been thinking about it a lot lately, ever since, well, you know. And the thing that keeps occurring to me, the only positive thing, is that I can start over. How many people have a chance to change something major in their lives without having to suffer the consequences?'

I love that the themes of Catherine's books seem to be about looking at ourselves and our lives and deciding if this is where we really want to be. Her characters go through a lot of growing up and self-reflection about what makes them happy, something we should all try to do, right?

Like I said, this is the second book of Catherine's that I have read and she has now become a 'must-read' author for me. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her books as they are published and I will be putting them at the top of my TBR list.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill University and McGill Law School, Catherine practices law in Montreal. Her novels SPIN and ARRANGED are International Bestsellers. They, along with her third novel, FORGOTTEN, will all be published in the US by William Morrow in 2012. SPIN has also been published in French (Ivresse) and German (Sternhagelverliebt), and ARRANGED will be published in French in June, 2012.

CONNECT WITH CATHERINE

Facebook |Google+ |GoodReads |Email | Twitter

Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a copy of this wonderful book!

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Winners @ The Book Bag!

I have a couple of giveaway winners to announce! 

The winner of 

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin is 

Dana C. 

Congrats Dana!! 

The winner of 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is 

The first person didn't respond within 48 hours so I drew another name. 

This winner is.... 
Lisa J
Congrats Lisa!!

The winner of Baker Towers 
and News from Heaven 
by Jennifer Haigh is 

Linda Z.

Congrats Linda! 

Congratulations to all of the winners here. 

Didn't win? Don't despair! 

I will be participating in the No Stings Attached Giveaway Hop which starts on March 5th. 

I love this hop!

Also, The Book Bag Facebook page is really, really close to 500 likes. When that happens, I plan to have a giveaway going on over there, just for my Facebook followers. 

So you may just want to hop over there!   

On Tour: The Truth about Love and Lightning by Susan McBride

Susan McBride, author of Little Black Dress and The Cougar Club, gives us her most unforgettable novel to date with this deliciously emotional story of family, forgiveness, love, and magic.

As far as Gretchen Brink is concerned, the tornado that just ripped through her land has nothing on the storms of a different sort happening all around her. Her grown daughter, Abby, has returned home with news that she's pregnant, and no, she's not sure whether she's going to marry the father. A man with no memory has been dropped practically on her doorstep. And the not-so-little white lie she's been telling for years is about to catch up with her.

Abby is sure that the mysterious man is her long-lost father, Sam, who has finally returned just when she needs him most. As Abby, Gretchen, and the Man Who Might Be Sam get closer, the lie Gretchen told all those years ago begins to haunt her. When her secrets come out, and Sam's past is finally revealed, will it tear down this fragile life they've built--or will the truth bring them all closer together? ~~ synopsis from Goodreads

My thoughts about The Truth about Love and Lightning ~~

Before this book, I had not read any of Susan McBride's books. I was always going to, I just never got around to it. I am so glad I finally read one and I am glad it was this one. I loved it!

The first line is a grabber ~ 'Annika Brink could not tell a lie.' Well, you know that is going to cause some issues, right? And then a couple of pages later ~ 'I'm sorry, Anni but I can't handle so much truth anymore. Sometimes ignorance is truly bliss, and what I need is more bliss in my life.' I just had to get involved in this story to see where it was going.

Gretchen learns to lie from her mother and her life is basically built around one great, big lie. What happens when it all starts to unravel? I loved the journey on the pages to see how this lie, I mean this story, all played out.

I have always been fascinated with the Native American culture and the powers of a shaman. I loved reading the parts about the mystical things that Sam's ancestors could do and did. Has this power been passed down to Sam? And then there are Gretchen's twin sisters, who are blind from birth. They live with Gretchen and I loved their characters, a couple of very wise women. They made quite a pair.

I really loved everything about The Truth of Love and Lightning. I loved the characters, the setting and and the story line. And I had to keep reading because I really needed to find out exactly what the truth about love and lightning was. I will definitely be reading more of Susan's books!

About the author

Susan McBride is the author of women's fiction, including The Truth About Love and Lighting, Little Black Dress, and The Cougar Club. Foreign editions of her books have been published in France, Croatia, and Turkey. She has also written a short memoir for HarperCollins called In the Pink: How I Met the Perfect (Younger) Man, Survived Breast Cancer, and Found True Happiness After 40, which was released in October of 2012 to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In addition, Susan has a young adult thriller, Very Bad Things, in the pipeline at Random House/Delacorte.

Susan previously wrote the award-winning Debutante Dropout Mysteries (HarperCollins/Avon), including Blue Blood, The Good Girl's Guide To Murder, The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club, Night Of The Living Deb, and Too Pretty To Die. She has authored several YA series books for Random House about debutantes in Houston, the debut in 2008 appropriately titled The Debs and followed by Love, Lies, And Texas Dips in 2009. Gloves Off, the third book, has not yet been released.

On the personal front, Susan calls herself an "accidental Cougar" after meeting a man nine years younger in 2005 when she was a St. Louis Magazine Top Single. They were married in February 2008 and live happily ever after in a suburb of St. Louis. Susan is a six-year breast cancer survivor and often speaks to women's groups about her experience. In January of 2012, she was named one of St. Louis's "Most Dynamic People of the Year" by the Ladue News. In April of 2012, she was given the "Survivor of the Year" Award by the St. Louis affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. And in June of 2012, she and her husband welcomed their first baby, Emily! As Susan likes to say, "Life is never boring."

Connect with Susan

Facebook | Website | Goodreads

Buy the book

ebook: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | HarperCollins

paperback: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

IndieBound | HarperCollins

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