Congrats Tess and Thank You all for participating at Aisle B’s.
Merci Everyone :)
I promise to come back and keep your fingers crossed for miracles.
Need all the good karma that can come my way.
Merci et a Bientot!
pk @ aisle b
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PS: Winner of the Aisle B Oct 2011 Giveaway will be announced as scheduled for Nov 5th, 2011.
***********************************************************
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current read;
Open to a random page; Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Join in and clip in the morsels of your current read. Don’t forget to include your links with your teasers here too. Just click Archives & enter your teaser under Teaser Tuesday Oct 11th, 2011.
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Aisle B Teaser
In my dreams I fed the lion from my hand. In return he took my whole hand into his mouth and ate me alive.
page 6, Alice Hoffman’s The Dovekeepers
Loot from 
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A great week all due to the rocking folks over at Simon & Schuster Canada!
First I got a review copy of Rin Tin Tin …..
merci Loretta!
and then….
I won a copy of Becca Fitzpatrick’s Silence !
Take a look at that cover… WOW!
Merci Michelle!
*******************************************************************
Mailbox Monday was created as a meme by Marcia from A girl and her books site http://printedpage.us/agirlandherbooks/
This is Marcia’s latest blog that best represents her passion for reading. Go on over and check it out.
Mailbox Monday will now be hosted monthly by different bloggers so please skip over to our OCT 2011 host is Serena from Savy Verse and Wit
Click on over to this link: http://savvyverseandwit.com
****************************************************
Marcia from the A girl and her books describes it best:
“Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop.”
**************************************************************
Story Siren has her own In My Mailbox found on The Story Siren blog: http://www.thestorysiren.com/.
Mrs Q: Book Addict displays her weekly stash every Monday on her newly minted site http://www.mrsqbookaddict.net/
Also check out Bina’s Library Loot on her blog If You Can Read This
Just click http://ifyoucanreadthis.wordpress.com/
Feel free to leave your own link with your Monday Stash by clicking on the Archives on the lower right hand corner & click In My Mailbox
Oct 9th, 2011: detailing your ENVY or better yet…. Time to display what you’ve hidden on the shelves for In My Mailbox!
*****************************************************************
OPEN: INTERNATIONAL
Enter from Oct 8th to Oct 31st, 2011.
***Winner announced on SAT Nov 5th, 2011 ***
**ONLY 1 entry per person***
Remember to enclose your email &
WHY this book makes it to the TOP of you MUST READ LIST.
Click the link below to ENTER:
http://aisleb.tumblr.com/post/11168932410/aisle-bs-oct-2011-giveaway-the-night-circus
OPEN: INTERNATIONAL
Enter from Oct 8th to Oct 31st, 2011.
***Winner announced on SAT Nov 5th, 2011 ***
**ONLY 1 entry per person***
Remember to enclose your email &
WHY this book makes it to the TOP of you MUST READ LIST.
Review: His Last Duchess
Author: Gabrielle Kimm
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark - division of Sourcebooks Inc
Source: ARC from Sourcebooks
Aisle B Rating 
Prologue
He can see no breath. No movement. No life.
It is done
Pushing his hand beneath the rucked linen of her shift, his fingers touch one small breast: already chill, veined a delicate blue like malleable marble. She is no more than a soft statue. Her cold curves slide comfortably under the warmth of his cupped palm as he runs his hand over her skin, and he wonders at its exquisite unresponsiveness.
Excerpt from His Last Duchess page unmarked
Castello Estense Ferrara -Italy 16th Century
My name is Lucrezia de’Medici and this is my story.
I remember when I first saw Alfonso d‘Este, I felt a chill in my heart. My parents chose this man to be my husband at sixteen - uniting his title Duke of Ferrara to our name. A blessed union is what I wished but life had other plans.
Alfonso’s mind frightens me despite all my hopes to win his passion, it dies and withers when he approaches. I can feel his torment and his mind screams at me - how can it be? Why do I render him impotent while he rides his mistress Francesca with no issue. My heart bleeds while this union exist.
My only consolation is the love I feel for the artist. I tread a dangerous path but I can not unbound the passion he evokes. Pray that Alfonso may never know. Pray that I will live to escape this nightmare. My path is decided - love or death is the route where my story will take me.
Pray that life will still breath into my heart whilst I awaken this passion that will not die within me.
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Gabrielle Kimm’s His Last Duchess is a journey into 16th Century Renaissance Italy. What a seductive journey into the Italian artistic culture and history. I absolutely LOVED this book. This actual story was inspired by Robert Browning poem My Last Duches- her inspiration churned out this fascinating tale that captivated me completely.
The Prologue grabbed me from the onset and I could not tear myself away until I plunged into the very last breath of this book. Fantastic - chilling - diabolical insanity and a heart thumping climatic moment that had me ready to jump out of my skin.
Kimm’s Lucrezia is not without her faults - at times her choices make you cringe but her circumstances dictate the follies of love. Alfonso will mark your heart with fear as you delve into his madness - you are terrorized at his tenacity to wreck carnage with his dark thoughts. His demeanor will make you cringe and his anguish is furthered by a fury that he can no longer contain within a sound mind.
His Last Duchess will grab you and be prepared for the twisted moments artfully crafted by Gabrielle Kimm. Trust me you don’t want to miss this chilling tale from Renaissance Italy. The strokes of darkness and love combined make this a MUST READ!
I’m going to search for Kimm’s second book The Courtesan’s Lover quickly since it reveals Francesca’s tale- (Alfonso’s mistress) next. Wish me luck!
***********************************************************
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current read;
Open to a random page; Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Join in and clip in the morsels of your current read. Don’t forget to include your links with your teasers here too. Just click Archives & enter your teaser under Teaser Tuesday Oct 4th, 2011.
*************************************************************
Aisle B Teaser
He hunted her down.
To kill her…
page unnumbered (near end of book), Richelle Mead’s His Last Duchess
Impressed by the skit and images that jump out of this one.
***************************************************************
From Lucy @ Moonlight Gleam’s Bookshelf
(http://moonlightgleam.blogspot.com/)
Knows me well… I love chick lit & historical romance: THANK YOU LUCY!
*******************************************************************************
From: Laura @ Library of Clean Reads
(http://libraryofcleanreads.blogspot.com/)
This will be a beautiful moment to go down memory lane in India.
I love all things from India and this cover is GORGEOUS!
GRAZIE Laura!
**************************************************************************
From Mrs Q: Book Addict
(http://www.mrsqbookaddict.net/)
She spoils me continually … and yes,
I am watching your Vacation Counter every day :)
*********************************************************************
From:
Donna @ Book Bound (http://booksbound.blogspot.com/)
Cindy @ Cindy’s Love of Books (http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com/)
Donna gave us all these incredible covers to wrap our reads with.
I love how it kisses the cover perfectly :)
Cindy gave us the book marks from One Day movie. Sweet!
*********************************************************************
We had a great time at Boccacinos - smack in downtown Montreal :)
Some new faces Iliana, Natalia, & Linda were added to the growing lot.
We missed our buddies Tynga & Cat - next time girls!
I sat next to Mrs Q, Lisa and Melissa: chatted up a storm about reads and travels!
Got to see the E Readers and great conversation on the types of E readers out there.
Biggest surprise both Lisa and I live in the same suburban city outside of MTL!
Loved meeting everyone again. It was a fantastic Meet UP!
A Big SALUT to the GIRLS!
Cindy @ Cindy’s Love of Books
Cat @ Beyond Books
Lisa @ Starmetal Oak Book Blog
Avis @ she reads and reads
Amanda @ Tales and Treats
Melissa @ YA Bookshelf
Mrs Q @ Mrs Q: Book Addict
Cindy B @ Tynga’s Review
Lucy @ Moonlight Gleam’s Bookshelf
Donna @ Book Bound
Laura @ Library of Clean Reads
Tina @ Bookshipper
Natalia @ Dazzling Reads
Iliana @ From Smiler, With Love
Linda @ Better with Books
*******************************************************************
Mailbox Monday was created as a meme by Marcia from A girl and her books site http://printedpage.us/agirlandherbooks/
This is Marcia’s latest blog that best represents her passion for reading. Go on over and check it out.
Mailbox Monday will now be hosted monthly by different bloggers so please skip over to our OCT 2011 host is Serena from Savy Verse and Wit
Click on over to this link: http://savvyverseandwit.com
****************************************************
Marcia from the A girl and her books describes it best:
“Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop.”
**************************************************************
Story Siren has her own In My Mailbox found on The Story Siren blog: http://www.thestorysiren.com/.
Mrs Q: Book Addict displays her weekly stash every Monday on her newly minted site http://www.mrsqbookaddict.net/
Also check out Bina’s Library Loot on her blog If You Can Read This
Just click http://ifyoucanreadthis.wordpress.com/
Feel free to leave your own link with your Monday Stash by clicking on the Archives on the lower right hand corner & click In My Mailbox
Oct 2nd, 2011: detailing your ENVY or better yet…. Time to display what you’ve hidden on the shelves for In My Mailbox!
A huge thank you to all who entered and all of you had answered correctly!
The 2 main women of this incredible novel are Matilda & Adeliza :)
Stay tuned for more Aisle B Giveaways in OCT 2011
Simon & Schuster CANADA!
OPEN: CANADA ONLY
DATES: September 19, 2011 at 9:00 AM EST time to October 16, 2011!
Review: The Rose Garden
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark, a division of Sourcebooks Inc
Source: ARC from Sourcebooks Inc
Aisle B Rating: 
Chapter 8
But I was afraid. It made no sense for me to be, I knew, because he wasn’t real; he wasn’t there. Pure instinct made me take another backwards step, and then another.
`Wait,’ he said, and moved as if to follow, only something very curious began to happen then. As I moved backwards and away from him, he started to dissolve and fade, becoming like a shadow I could almost see but not.
I thought I saw him stretch his hand towards me as though trying to reach out, to stop my leaving. And then all at once he was no longer there on the hillside, and in the same heartbeat I wasn’t there either
Excerpt from The Rose Garden page 76
Eva Ward returns with her sister’s ashes to Cornwall (England) where the Trelowarth rose gardens bring back some of her happiness shared childhood memories. Greeted by family friends Eva embarks to make peace with her sister’s passing only to find herself embroiled in a mysterious phenomena where voices are heard whispering from the next room.
The whispers come and go but no one admits to being the culprit awakening her sleep. On a walk through the grounds of Trelowarth, she comes across a new path where suddenly a man appears in a garb from the 18th Century. Both are astounded by the others’ presence and they realize that something is amiss. Eva finds herself traveling time and her discoveries will lead her to Daniel Butler, a man whom she can never be with.
The dangers of the past rear forward and Eva must decide whether tampering with the past will forever change the future, knowing full well that doing nothing will end both hers and Daniel’s fate.
*************************************************************************
Susanna Kearsley’s The Rose Garden tale of love with time travel starts off strong with its message on how fate can change lives despite the challenges of linear time. Eva’s plight is an understatement of sorts since she finds herself embroiled as an unwanted accomplice to the Butler brothers: Daniel and Jack . Daniel’s friend Fergal O Cleary will make you laugh as he takes it upon himself to be her “brother” to her newly acquired “muted” self. They make up a new identity for Eva in the hopes of covering her eccentric mannerism from the dastardly evil Constable Creed.
Kearsley time travel journey was enjoyable but I did expect more from the plot. I realize this is Eva’s journey of self discovery, yet at the same time I felt it was just too simple for the two main characters in terms of accepting each other - no awkward moments of “time” continuum. I’d be inclined to be more vocal over the whole disappearing into another time zone and hesitant to trust the words of a woman who “misted into being”.
The strongest factor in The Rose Garden is the camaraderie between Daniel and Fergal -aka the voice of reason. Fergal will make you laugh at his brutal honesty and his spurts of cleverness in moments of utter conflicts. If you are up to the challenge of time travel then try Kearsley’s journey into 1715 Cornwall. Be aware that the smugglers’ legend is woven throughout the book, it will make you wonder whether you should ever venture into a coastal cave where treasures may be hidden. If you’re up to the challenge - then get ready to be zapped back into this 18th Century adventure.
Review: Everything I Know about Love, I Learned from Romance Novels
Author: Sarah Wendell
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca, a division of Sourcebooks Inc
Source: ARC from Sourcebooks Inc
Aisle B Rating: 
Introduction
Welcome to Everything I know about Love, I Learned from Romance Novels. In this handy little book, we can celebrate all the wonderful things we’ve learned about real-life love and romance that are hidden and not-so-hidden inside the average romance novel. What you thought all those heaving bosom covers with impossibly Technicolor eye shadow were just for visual embrassment and titillating thrills? Nope. Romance novels are much more complex than meets the eye- and we readers of romance know better than most.
Excerpt from Everything I know about Love, I Learned from Romance Novels, page xii -xiii
Sarah Wendell is better known to most as the review blogger from -Smart Bitch Sarah, a popular romance novel website Smart Bitches, Trashy Novels. Wendell has done what we all dream of - write about romance with a blast of emotions advocating the genre with humour & intelligence.. This short read is a collaboration of thoughts & quotes from romance readers and some of the heaviest names in the world of romance writers. You’ll swoon at the names that come up, here are a few to make you sigh: Loretta Chase, Robyn Carr, Nora Roberts, Julia London, Teresa Medeiros and Christina Dodd.
Wendell breaks down the dynamics of sighs associated to all types of romance reads and focuses on the reality of this genre. Romance genres reinforce women to value themselves as individuals and to know what they should be able to attain in a “real relationship”. It is an identity that reconfirms what is acceptable and the importance of self esteem & self love.
I found myself devouring Wendell’s list of Top 9 Heroes where JD Robb’s In Death series hero Roarke is listed for his smoldering devotion to kick ass Eve. Just thinking of Roarke leaves me breathless. Wendell also adds Gabaldon’s Outlander Jamie Fraser and the ever so classic Fitzwilliam Darcy - or just Darcy from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I know I don’t have to point out who these men are since we all know them by their first names, sighs again at Roarke.
At the end of the read, I took down Wendell’s Shopping List for the references made to her all time fave moments in romance reading. I can’t wait to jump into these and discover them too. I enjoyed this quick read and YES Ms Wendell - Everything I know about Love, I Learned from Romance Novels will be shared with friends and families. This little book packs a wallop of laughs, spews smart sarcastic rhetoric with sound advise - add to that creative longings to make us dream, and mullets for years to come. Finally a book that exudes the “whys” to the “sighs” of the romance genre with finesse and tactful intelligence!
***********************************************************
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current read;
Open to a random page; Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Join in and clip in the morsels of your current read. Don’t forget to include your links with your teasers here too. Just click Archives & enter your teaser under Teaser Tuesday Sept 27th, 2011.
*************************************************************
Aisle B Teaser
But now…
She held her hands up in front of her; they were still shaking.
page 241 Gabrielle Kim’s His Last Duchess
Could not put this one down - completely enthralled by it!
***************************************************************
Chapters:
Had to buy this one since I fell for the advert completely!
Fingers crossed that it will astound :)
**********************************************************************
ARC from
This should be something to smack my lips with the culinary battles of an Indian chef in Paris. I love Indian delicacies so I won’t say no to the delights in this one.
*******************************************************************
Mailbox Monday was created as a meme by Marcia from A girl and her books site http://printedpage.us/agirlandherbooks/
This is Marcia’s latest blog that best represents her passion for reading. Go on over and check it out.
Mailbox Monday will now be hosted monthly by different bloggers so please skip over to our Sept 2011 host is from Amused by Books
Click on over to this link: http://www.amusedbybooks.com/
****************************************************
Marcia from the A girl and her books describes it best:
“Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop.”
**************************************************************
Story Siren has her own In My Mailbox found on The Story Siren blog: http://www.thestorysiren.com/.
Mrs Q: Book Addict displays her weekly stash every Monday on her newly minted site http://www.mrsqbookaddict.net/
Also check out Bina’s Library Loot on her blog If You Can Read This
Just click http://ifyoucanreadthis.wordpress.com/
Feel free to leave your own link with your Monday Stash by clicking on the Archives on the lower right hand corner & click In My Mailbox
Sept 25th, 2011: detailing your ENVY or better yet…. Time to display what you’ve hidden on the shelves for In My Mailbox!
************************************************************
ONLY 6 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER!
OPEN: INTERNATIONAL
Enter from Sept 10 to Sept 30th, 2011.
***Winner announced on SAT OCT 1, 2011 ***
**ONLY 1 entry per person***
Remember to enclose your email &
Can YOU NAME the 2 historical heroines found in this Chadwick novel.
Click the LINK BELOW to ENTER:
http://aisleb.tumblr.com/post/10023263571/aisle-bs-sept-2011-giveaway-lady-of-the
Simon & Schuster CANADA!
OPEN: CANADA
DATES: September 19, 2011 at 9:00 AM EST time to October 16, 2011!
Get in on it while you have TIME!