Tag Archives: Jules

Playing the Part by Robin Covington – a Review & Giveaway

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Playing the Part by Robin Covington – a Review & Giveaway

Playing the part

Links to order Playing the Part: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Description:
After publicly self-destructing over a heartbreak a year ago, bestselling romance writer Piper James is now making nice with her publisher by agreeing to teach Hollywood’s favorite action star how to act like he’s in love. Only playboy Mick Blackwell has no clue what love looks like. When a seductive heat ignites between Piper and Mick, she jumps at the chance for a bit of fun between the sheets, but with two stipulatons: she’s kept out of the public eye and things end when she returns to New York. Only Mick keeps changing the rules on her. Tempted by America’s favorite bad boy, Piper is wondering how far she’s willing to bend…

Review:

It’s a SCORCHER and I’m not talking about the weather outside!!  I am fanning myself off after reading PLAYING THE PART by Robin Covington.  It’s her newest novel that is going to be a great summer read! It’s a great plot with wonderful characters.  Piper James is a romance novelist who has been hired as a consultant to a movie set.  Her book is being made into a movie and the hot Hollywood star, has no idea how to play a man in love.  Mick Blackwell “was a man-sized death-by-chocolate layer cake, and she wanted to eat him up”.  I love some of the lines in the book!  It’s a classic story of man sees girl, man wants girl, girl wants guy but……. She has some rules!  Piper, the romance novelist that looks like a sexy librarian has been burned in the past.  She is interested in a sex only relationship with the handsome actor.  She just wants no sleepovers and no bad press.  Well, the chemistry between the two characters is hot, hot, and scorching!   Mick is a love them and leave them guy, but he keeps on wanting to change the rules. He is drawn to Piper and his relationship with Piper is making him a better actor too!  Hey, what’s going on Mick?  This is a great story dealing with building a relationship, trust, falling in love and great sex.  Can Piper teach Mick how to love?  How many rules is Piper willing to break to keep this man in her life?  

If you want a great summer read, you will enjoy this novel.  Robin Covington has some great lines that will leave you laughing too!  I love the whole book, except for the epilogue.  That was a little too unbelievable, but I must admit, the romantic inside of me swooned!   Enjoy!

Reviewed by Jules

Copy Provided by Publisher

 

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Entangled Publishing (Brazen) and Robin are giving away a $50 Amazon gift card & other prize packs. Follow the rafflecopter instructions.

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the publisher.

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Act Like You Love Me by Cindi Madsen

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Act Like You Love Me by Cindi Madsen

Act Like you Love Me

Links to order Act Like You Love Me:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Description:
Brynn McAdams isn’t the awkward drama geek she was in high school—she’s grown up and confident, or at least she likes to think so. But when her old crush, the impossibly handsome and impossibly unattainable Sawyer Raines, comes back to town to direct her community play, Brynn finds herself determined to be someone other than the girl he doesn’t even recognize. Good thing she’s an excellent actress.  

After his bad breakup in NYC, the last thing Sawyer wants is to get involved with another actress. But the glamorous and beautiful Brynn draws him in, even though as her director, he knows she’s off-limits. There’s just something about the woman that feels…familiar. Like home.  

As Brynn’s lies start to snowball, she struggles to stop acting and come clean. But what if Sawyer is already falling for the fake Brynn, not the Brynn she truly is?


Review:

ACT LIKE YOU LOVE ME by Cindi Madsen is a wonderful contemporary romance, available just in time for summer!!  This novel will draw you in, hook, line and sinker!  Yes, that is a fishing reference, because our heroine works in her family’s bait shop, Bigfish!!  Brynn McAdams was an awkward teenager growing up and in love with the dreamy football player, Sawyer Raines.  She had a rough time in high school!  As a drama geek, she lost her skirt in a school production and earned the dreaded nickname—McFlasher.  Well, Brynn has outgrown her awkwardness and is a beautiful, confident woman.  

Brynn is starring in a local production and Sawyer Raines, the elusive and dreamy screenwriter, is roped into directing the play.  Sawyer doesn’t recognize the hot and sassy Brynn!  He thinks that she is an actress from LA and the comedy begins!!!

Brynn is performing the role of a lifetime!  Sawyer assumes many things about Brynn and she doesn’t correct him.  She even lets the man teach her how to fish!  She is the fishing expert, but she doesn’t want to lose her new connection to her childhood love!  It becomes a comedy or errors, which Brynn is Sawyer falling in love with?

This is a charming novel about a wonderful woman, afraid of rejection and a man who fears commitment!  Brynn is such an engaging heroine, I was rooting for her from the beginning.  She is so full of life and love! There are some great secondary characters too!  I loved their families, especially their matchmaking mothers!  Sawyer has some demons to overcome, due to the death of his father when he was a teen.  I won’t tell you the ending, but I was kind of surprised!  This is such an engaging story with a great cast of characters.  I felt like I lived in their lakeside town!  It’s great when an awkward teenager can overcome that insecurity and bloom as an adult!

Reviewed by Jules

Copy provide by Publisher

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The Descendant by Kelley Grealis-One Year Anniversary Blog Tour and Review

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The Descendant by Kelley Grealis- One Year Anniversary Blog Tour and Review

THE DESCENDANT Tour Button

The Descendant
By Kelley Grealis
Release Date: May 2012

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Available for .99 cents from all ebook retailers:

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Barnes and Noble / KOBO / Smashwords

the Descendant

BOOK BLURB:

Allison Carmichael wakes from a car wreck with no memory of the past three years. She doesn’t recall her husband’s death or how she alienated her friends, and she definitely doesn’t remember anything about her new boyfriend Vincent Drake – a charismatic man with a penchant for rare and unique possessions. In fact, the only things familiar to Allison are her seemingly common ailments – insomnia, lack of appetite, erratic body temperature – which have gone undiagnosed and are worsening.

But Vincent knows exactly who, and what, Allison is – a mortal descendant of the first vampire. He is a vampire who has watched over Allison and her ancestors since the biblical times of Cain and Abel ensuring their secret is kept. Once he realizes Allison’s symptoms are accelerating and transforming her, he’ll stop at nothing to have her.

REVIEW:

Allison Carmichael has led a charmed life. She has a wonderful career, loving and gorgeous husband and beautiful home, but she feels there is something lacking……….. All of her life she has grown up hearing that she is “special”. Her mother’s doctor reinforced this notion when she was born. She is also experiencing weird physical ailments—insomnia, lack of appetite, erratic body temperature. Her doctors don’t have a diagnosis for her and she is getting cranky!

One morning, Allison wakes up from a car accident with no memory of the past three years. She doesn’t recall her husband’s death and she doesn’t remember anything about her new home or sexy new boyfriend, Vincent Drake! This tall, dark and handsome man knows what Allison is—a mortal descendent of the first vampire. He has watched over Allison and her family for generations to ensure that their secret is safe. The author weaves biblical stories of Cain and Abel and Noah’s Ark in telling the story of the creation of the vampire race. Once Vincent realizes that Allison’s symptoms are increasing, he will stop at nothing to transform her and claim this first descendent turned vampire.

Allison must decide if she is ready to transform into a vampire and lose her soul in the process or if she should remain mortal. It is her choice to make. A decision that is difficult when she finds that she has been a pawn in Vincent’s manipulations. Vincent has been manipulating her life to suit his needs and Allison begins to question what really happened in those lost three years. Will she be able to forgive Vincent?

This novel is very fast paced and the story behind vampirism is fascinating. Allison was not always a sympathetic character, due to her “specialness” but she is feisty and determined to live her life on her own terms. When she meets the villain in the story, his defeat is rather anticlimactic! He is centuries old and is defeated rather quickly. Who knows? He could still make a future appearance! The story ends in a cliffhanger and Allison is now ready to search for some answers to what really happened to her during her “lost three years”. This was an engaging first book in a truly original novel about vampires!

Reviewed by Jules

Copy supplied by author.

About the Author Black and Orange

Kelley Grealis

 

Kelley Grealis was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She has a B.A. in Accounting from Baldwin-Wallace College and a Masters of Businss Administration from Cleveland State University.

She has loved all things vampire since she was a little girl, and it was that passion combined with thirteen years of Catholic schooling, that inspired her to write THE DESCENDANT.

Kelley lives in a Cleveland suburb with her husband.

Connect with Kelley:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Blog / Independent Author Network /

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Kelley Grealis’ THE DESCENDANT
1 Year Anniversary Blog Tour Schedule
May 20 – May 26

5/20- Book Monster Reviews (guest post)
http://www.bookmonsterreviews.com/
5/20- Literal Addiction  (guest post & review)
http://www.literaladdiction.com/
5/21 – Wicked Readings by Tawania (spotlight & review)
http://www.wickedreadingsbytawania.blogspot.com/
5/22- Romance Junkies (interview)
http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog/
5/22- The Reading Cafe (spotlight & review)
http://thereadingcafe.com/
5/23- Jocelyn Dex Blog (spotlight & review)
http://www.jocelyndex.com/blog.html
5/23- Musings From An Addicted Reader  (spotlight & review)
http://musingsfromanaddictedreader.blogspot.com/
5/24- Books-n-Kisses  (interview & review)
http://www.books-n-kisses.com/
5/24- Urban Girl Reader (interview)
http://www.urbangirlreader.com/
5/25- Paranormal Book Club (spotlight)
http://paranormal-bookclub.com/
5/26- Page Flipperz (Spotlight)
http://pageflipperz.blogspot.com/

Rafflecopter Giveaway Black and Orange

Kelley is giving away the following prizes on her tour: USA /Canada only

Grand Prize:
$25 Amazon gift card & signed paperback of THE DESCENDANT

Runners-up:
TWO (2) runners-up will receive an eBook of THE DESCENDANT plus a Descendant can koozie & bookmarks

NOTE:  The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway.  If you have any questions, please contact the Blog Tour promoter or the author.

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His Southern Temptation by Robin Covington – a Review

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His Southern Temptation by Robin Covington – a Review

His Southern Temptation 900px

Links to order His Southern Tempation:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Description:
A former Black Ops assassin, “Lucky” Landon has had more near-misses than a man should ever have. Now he’s out of that business and settling into the simple life in his small hometown. So the last thing he ever expected was to end up at gunpoint. Or that the woman holding the gun would be his best friend’s little sister and Lucky’s on-again/off-again lover.

Taylor Elliott is Trouble, and she likes it that way. And seeing Lucky again? Well, he’s been her dirty little secret for the past few years and everyone knows that secrets in a small town are almost impossible to keep. But Taylor has bigger problems on her plate. Like the local mob boss who wants her dead.

And right now the only thing standing between Trouble and disaster is a hottie named Lucky…

Review:

HIS SOUTHERN TEMPTATION is book 2 of Robin Covington’s, ‘The Boys are Back in Town’ series!!  This story centers around David “Lucky” Landon and Mary-Taylor Elliott who have grown up together. This is a sweet romance that is full of action, humor and lots of hot, steamy loving!!

Lucky Landon is a former special-ops Marine that has returned to his small hometown to take over the family farm.  He is crashing at his best friend’s home, when he is woken in the middle of the night by the sound of a bullet being chambered near his head.  He disarms the intruder and discovers that it is his best friend’s little sister and BOY, do they share a history!!  They have had secret “hook ups” throughout the years and they share great chemistry. 

Lucky is determined to make their relationship more permanent, he just needs to talk independent Taylor into giving up her life in Hawaii and moving home with him.  Taylor is the “wild child” and doesn’t see herself settling down.  Her parents’ marriage failed miserably and very publically!  I loved this novel, because it is Lucky who has to convince Taylor!  The Alpha Male learns to grovel and persuade his woman to settle down with him!  They never deny their mutual attraction and their sex scenes are hot! Lucky is a very determined Marine who is not going to let Taylor back down without some smexy persuasion!

Lucky and Taylor love each other and it is Lucky that tells her that fact first!  He isn’t afraid to admit his feelings for Taylor to anyone in the town.  Taylor will do anything to help Lucky, she even hires herself out as a stripper to help him solve a case.  The nefarious villain in the novel kidnaps Taylor and Lucky cashes out his life savings to pay the ransom.  This is a modern day love story, because Taylor is torn between her career in Hawaii and giving it all up for a man.  Her mother plays into her fears by reminding her that she sacrificed all for her husband and he dumped her for his young paralegal.  Women need to think about this nowadays!  Can we really have it all?  The reader learns through the kidnapping, bar room fights and meddling family members that Lucky and Taylor are really devoted to each other.  HIS SOUTHERN TEMPTATION was a refreshing contemporary novel that proves that with mutual sacrifice, a couple can really have it all!! 

 

Review by Jules

Copy supplied by Publisher

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Born in Flames by Candace Knoebel-a review

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BORN in FLAMES by Candace Knoebel-a review

Born in Flames

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

BORN IN FLAMES by Candace Knoebel is the first book of an exciting new YA trilogy! Aurora Megalos is secreted away to an alternative world for her protection. She remembers nothing of her existence before she turns up on her new foster mother’s doorstep. Arriving the same day is her new foster brother Fenn, who also remembers nothing of his past. They stick together to survive and vow to discover their birth parents and unravel the mystery of their pasts. They become roommates after they grow up to save money for their quest, but their pasts confront them first!!

A seer, a fortune teller, a strange pendant and tales of dragons all bring new insights into their past existence in a world full of magic. Aurora is central to a prophecy in a far off universe and there are some who do not want the prophecy fulfilled. Others will do anything to help, but Fenn and Aurora must decide whom they can trust. They have a choice! They can work to find the keys to return to their magical land, which might be full of danger and one that they don’t remember or they can stay in our realm. The portal to their world is found in Hawaii, so that is a pretty great place to be stuck!!

BORN IN FLAMES is an engaging story, which only promises to get better. Fenn and Aurora discover that they are soul mates and that he was sent here as her protector. I like how they began as friends and their relationship developed other time. Their souls slowly enmeshed with each other. That is how I see true soul mates. Also, he gains his memory back first and knows that she needs to decide her fate on her own. The enemy would be able to track her location through him! She is so hurt when he leaves at first, but she realizes that he did it out of love. They are an amazing couple, one person is not stronger, but they complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. There are some laughs too!! Some “help” arrives and her antics in this new world are hilarious!! This is a story that is only going to get better with time!! There is romance, a world of magic, dragons and a terrible villain!! I can’t wait until the next book!!

Copy supplied by author.

Reviewed by Jules.

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Time Walker by Meghan Ciana Doidge-a review

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TIME WALKER by Meghan Ciana Doidge-a review

Time Walker
ABOUT THE BOOK:  Released January 13, 2013

Beth was sneaky. No lock could hold her. No cage could confine her. No door could bar her way. But, when your adoptive mother is a Spirit Binder, and all your siblings are elementals, being sneaky doesn’t really rank. That is until the devastation of a city draws her omniscient mother’s attention, and her siblings go missing one by one, then Beth’s sneakiness is the only thing standing between her, her loved ones, and the worst enemy she’ll ever face: herself.

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TIME WALKER by Meghan Ciana Doidge is a fantasy YA novel and the first in her Spirit Bound series. There is an introductory novel, Spirit Bound that takes place ten years previously, but you don’t need to read it first.

I am new to the Fantasy genre and I wasn’t sure that I would appreciate this novel, but once I starting reading, I was hooked!! This is the story of a group of children with wonderful gifts and abilities who were adopted by the most powerful being in the Kingdom, Theo the Spirit Binder. Time Walker centers around Beth, who is unsure that her “gift” is as great as her siblings. She is able to walk in the shadows and open any lock or ward placed before her. She is good at being sneaky, but is that all?

On the morning after her sister’s Rite of Passage, a terrible earthquake occurs and all of the adults go to the village to help. Beth and her siblings, plus visitors Finn and Cara are left alone in the castle. You know that something wrong will happen when all of the adults are away! Rose, the younger sister is kidnapped by a being who feels “wrong”. The siblings are on the chase and Finn, who can track anything is puzzled. Rose’s presence appears and disappears at random. One by one, her siblings start to disappear. Finally, Beth comes face to face with the kidnapper. It is an older woman that looks like her, but somehow is different. There is a“wrongness” about her, in fact, she seems mad!! Mad as in CRAZY! What do you do when your older self appears in front of you? Yes, Beth has some gifts that she didn’t know she possessed! This is a tricky situation, Beth knows that it is her future self and she has this time walker gift, but how can she fight a being that is herself? Finn is by her side the whole time while they are trying to solve the puzzle of what happens in the future. It is a wonderful story with a lot of action and questions answered about future Beth and the horrors that she will face. It’s a time honored dilemma for time walkers, should you change the present to prevent future happenings? It is also a story of family. Theirs’ is an adoptive family, but they pull together and protect each other. Beth is willing to sacrifice all to save her family against her future self. Finn is wonderful and is an anchor for Beth. Yes, every novel needs a swoon-worthy hero!

In conclusion, Time Walker is a great YA read, written for all ages. I really enjoyed this book and I did go back and read the prequel, which was also fantastic!!

LINKS TO ORDER: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / KOBO/

Reviewed by Jules

Copy supplied by author.

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The Mist on Bronte Moor by Aviva Orr-a review

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THE MIST ON BRONTE MOOR by Aviva Cox-a review

The Mist on Bronte Moor

ABOUT THE BOOK:  Released January 8, 2013

When fifteen-year-old Heather Jane Bell is diagnosed with alopecia and her hair starts falling out in clumps, she wants nothing more than to escape her home in London and disappear off the face of the earth.

Heather gets her wish when her concerned parents send her to stay with a great-aunt in West Yorkshire. But shortly after she arrives, Heather becomes lost on the moors and is swept through the mist back to the year 1833. There she encounters fifteen-year-old Emily Brontë and is given refuge in the Brontë Parsonage.

Unaware of her host family’s genius and future fame, Heather struggles to cope with alopecia amongst strangers in a world foreign to her. While Heather finds comfort and strength in her growing friendship with Emily and in the embrace of the close-knit Brontë family, her emotions are stretched to the limit when she falls for Emily’s brilliant but troubled brother, Branwell.

Will Heather return to the comforts and conveniences of the twenty-first century? Or will she choose love and remain in the harsh world of nineteenth-century Haworth?

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REVIEW:  The MIST ON BRONTE MOOR is the first novel by Aviva Orr. It is an engaging story of a troubled young girl that time travels back to nineteenth century England and gives us a fictional first- hand view of life in the famous Bronte household. Emily Bronte rescues Heather out on the English moor and takes her back to the parsonage. Heather Jane is quickly immersed in the Bronte household and the reader sees many sources of their inspiration for their future literary works. As a self-professed Anglophile, I adored how each chapter began with a verse of poetry written by Emily Bronte. Each chapter was written around the verse and it made the story flow beautifully. Ms. Cox did a great job researching history to accurately portray life “on the Moors”. Yorkshire England came to life for me as a reader.

Heather quickly falls for Branwell, the troubled brother. He was a brilliant man, but succumbed to alcohol and opium in later years. His character is richly described by the author. We are shown possible reasons why he went down this dark path. The young romance between Heather and Branwell felt forced to me, but a “lost love” angle was interesting to ponder.

I recommend this novel for history and English literary buffs, but as an adult woman, it was hard for me to connect to the young characters. We never learn how Heather Jane learns to cope with her disorder, but this experience did make her mature and she came away with a personal appreciation and respect for this talented family and their works. It was a quick and engaging read and I think YA readers of all ages will enjoy this novel.

ORDER LINKS: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository /

Reviewed by Jules

Copy supplied by the author.

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THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater-a review

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THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvalter-a review

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvalter is Book One (September 2012 release) of an exciting new series. Blue Sargent participates each year in a St Mark’s ritual, she and her mother go to a local cemetary and the soon-to-be dead walk past them. Bleu lives in a family of psychics, but she does not have the gift. This year is different, she sees a boy emerge and he speaks to her! Her Aunt Neeve tells Blue why she can see the boy. “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St Mark’s Eve. Either you’re his true love, or you killed him.”.

The boy’s name is Gansey and he is a student at the local private school. The Alionsby boys go by a nickname that is found on their school uniforms, they are known as the Raven Boys and they are TROUBLE!! Blue knows that the boys are bad news, but she is drawn to Gansey since her vision. Blue has always been warned that she will cause her true love to die, so she guards her heart and acts with sarcasm around the Raven Boys. Readers will think that this is a typical YA love story, but it isn’t! It evolves into a book full of mystery and a quest. The book is loosely based on a Welsh folk tale, involving Fae ley lines and Glendower, an ancient powerful Welsh King.

Gansey is the leader of The Boys and he is behind the quest of finding the ancient ley line that he believes is found in the city of Henrietta Virginia. Ley lines are powerful energy fields that connect the world together. Gansey is very charismatic, a boy born from priviledge, who knows what he wants and is obsessed with breaking the Curse of King Glendower and being granted his heart’s desire. He drags his three friends along on his adventures. Adam, the scholarship student who has a difficult homelife. Ronan, the angry and passionate boy who is very unpredictable. Last is Noah, the one who disappears in a room of people, the watcher who sees things that others’ miss. Blue becomes involved in the quest, basically because her mother tells her not to get involved with the boys and she isn’t used to being told what to do. Typical teenage reaction!

Blue may not be a psychic, but she is like a psychic battery. She can amplify powers and energy. She knows where the ley lines are and she makes an agreement with the boys. She wants in on the action if she can tag along on their adventure. They discover a valley where time seems to have stopped, they have visions of their future and the trees speak in Latin! The gang soon discover that others’ have tried to find the ley lines in the past and they find a body of a deceased Raven Boy from years past. The same person who sacrificed the boy is on the hunt to find the ley lines first and gain the power. The action is very fast based and suspenseful. Along with the main story arc of the teens finding the ley line, Blue’s mother and aunt have a quest too. They are trying to find Blue’s father. A man who appeared and disappeared near the infamous ley lines!

Readers soon discover that The Boys all have their secrets! They discover that magic is real in this town, ghosts are among them and one of the boys is willing to make a sacrifice to help his friends. The ending is not neatly tied up, but their lifes are changed forever. The character development is excellent and I can’t wait to continue on their journey. Does Blue kill Gansey or is he her true love, stay tuned for Part Two!

Post a comment on this review and have a chance to win a signed copy of The Raven Boys! Enjoy!!

Reviewed by Jules

Jules is offering a GIVEAWAY hard-cover copy of THE RAVEN BOYS to one lucky member at The Reading Cafe.

1. You must be a member at The Reading Cafe to qualify for the giveaway. If you are not a member please register using the log-in at the top of the page, or by using one of the social logins.

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3. Please post a comment on this review to qualify for the giveaway.

4. Giveaway open to continental USA and Canada only.

5. Giveaway runs from November 6 to November 9, 2012.

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