Really Random Tuesday #79: Anniversary Giveaway and a Book Winner

Happy Tuesday to all!  I have only a couple of random items today. 

France Book Tours will be having a grand 1-year anniversary in just a few days, on April 18.  I've enjoyed working with Emma and participating in three France-related book tours over the past year, namely, The Summer of France and I See London I See France by Paulita Kincer, and Unravelled by M.K. Tod. To celebrate this special anniversary, France Book Tours will offer a mega book giveaway from April 18 - 25, so be sure to stop by.  Book winners will be chosen on April 26.

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The lucky, randomly-chosen winner of The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh is Pat from Posting For Now, a well-written book blog I enjoy visiting frequently.  Congratulations, Pat!  I hope you'll enjoy this book as much as I did.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.  I value my readers, and I offer numerous book giveaways to show my appreciation.  I have other current giveaways listed on the right side of my blog, so take a look if you'd like to try to win a book, and remember to stop by France Book Tours' celebratory giveaway, beginning on April 18.

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Appearing on random Tuesdays, Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of.  I often announce my book giveaway winners in these posts.  If you have miscellaneous book news to gather up and are inspired by this idea, "grab" the button for use on your own blog, and add your link to the "master" Mister Linky on the Really Random Tuesday page. 

Your comments are welcomed!

The Winner of Unravelled, and The Friday 56

And the winner is. . .

Anna from Diary of an Eccentric!

Congratulations, Anna!  You've won an ebook edition of Unravelled by M.K. Tod.  To whet your appetite, here's a snippet from the novel, from page 56:

"Stark flashes of red lit the clouds as he rounded another corner and saw stretcher-bearers coming towards him followed by a stumbling line of German prsisoners, one of them dressed in pyjamas.  On the stretcher lay a gray-faced soldier bleeding from wounds in the arm and leg.  Edward squeezed past the smells of blood and fear."
~Unravelled, M.K. Tod

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice.  If you want to play along, the rules are simple:

• Grab a book, any book.
• Turn to page 56.
• Find a sentence, or a few, to share in a post. 
• Add your post's link to the linky.

Thanks to everyone who entered this giveaway.  Please remember to take a look at the other giveaways listed on the right side of my blog.  As a courtesy to my readers, I'm often updating and adding to the list.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Thank you for reading!

Unravelled: Review and Giveaway

Published in 2013, Unravelled by M.K. Tod is a historical novel that focuses on Edward Jamieson, a signaller who fought in Vimy Ridge, and his wife, Ann.  Although Edward is haunted by the horrors he experienced in WWI, he and his wife travel from their home in Toronto to France in 1936 for the Vimy memorial dedication ceremony.  At the ceremony, Edward spots his former love, Helene Noisette, whom he met before meeting his wife; the attraction between Edward and Helene is still strong.  (Oh, oh!)  The story is set in the 1930s and 1940s (chapters are dated), and begins with this trip to France.  Later in the book, at the onset of  WWII, Edward joins a group training espionage agents, and often travels, while Ann stays at home to take care of the house and the children, Emily and Alex, and also volunteers to counsel grieving women.  Leading separate lives due to the nature of their work (and other factors) during WWII, the couple grows apart, and their marriage begins to unravel.

"Disconnected sentences gradually gave way to a flood of words as Ann disclosed her fears that Edward would never return, that her marriage was over, that life would never be the same, that she would not have the strength to go on.  When she finally stopped, they sat in silence again for several minutes.  A calm, comforting silence."
~Unravelled, M.K. Tod

Unravelled is a page turner and then some.  Passionate, exciting, and intense, this book depicts the profound effects of both wars on people and focuses on the marriage and family life of the Jamiesons.  I was moved to tears a few times.  The novel gives us the private, innermost thoughts of both protagonists, Edward and Ann.  We're privy to their secrets, and they earn our compassion. We feel their anguish and joy and everything in-between; we witness their struggles to keep their marriage--and themselves--intact.  (I'm married, and I enjoy reading about married people; so many books focus on singles searching for love.)  The themes in the book are serious--war, death, survival, love, marriage, sex (including adultery)--so this book is best suited for adults.  Because Edward and Ann spend a lot of time apart, they experience loneliness and uncertainty, and their marriage becomes noticeably strained during wartime.  They make mistakes which threaten to destroy their marriage and family.  (I wanted to admonish them at times, but of course, characters in a book do not listen to readers!)

The battles and campaigns mentioned in the book are based on actual events, and the entire feel of the book is authentic.  Although I'm not an expert on WWI or WWII, the book is well researched (sources are cited by the author in the Afterword), and M.K.Tod brings them to life in a riveting fashion.  This novel will appeal to those who relish novels about WWI and WWII, as well as stories about love, marriage, and family.  As for me, I could not put this book down!  I think it would make a great historical movie (although I haven't decided yet who I'd cast as the male or female leads).  I'm currently sleep deprived, as Unravelled has kept me up late the past few nights.  But it was definitely worth it.

Wonderful news!  France Book Tours is offering an international giveaway for an ebook edition of Unravelled.

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

Enter by 5 PM PST on Thursday, November 14.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Friday, November 15.

Thanks to Emma from France Book Tours for sending me a copy of this novel.  For additional reviews of this book, please visit the other stops on the book tour for Unravelled.  Although this is not an epistolary novel, it features several letters and telegrams which contribute substantially to the story, so I've linked my review to the Postal Reading Challenge on Melwyk's blog, The Indextrious Reader. 

Mailbox Monday: First Fall Books

Let's see, what new books did I receive in the mail recently?

Fiesta of Smoke by Suzan Still arrived by mail for an upcoming TLC book tour, while Unravelled by M.K. Tod arrived from France Book Tours.  I also received a couple of books that I won on other book blogs.  I won Mystery Girl by David Gordon on Harvee's blog, Book Dilettante, and The Shadow Tracer by Meg Gardiner on Kristin's blog, Always With a Book.  It's fun to win books!  Today is the last day to enter my giveaway for The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio.  I'm giving away three copies, so your chances of winning a book are increased.  Fall is the perfect season to curl up with books and a hot beverage as the days become cooler and shorter.

Created by Marcia from To Be Continued, Mailbox Monday is the consummate meme for book bloggers, bookworms, and bibliophiles.  Mailbox Monday is hosted this week by Bob from Beauty in Ruins.

What new books adorn your shelves?