Winner of "One Good Friend Deserves Another"

To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry (from only those that included contact info) and asked Random.org to pick one number. It chose 77.

Congrats to susieqlaw!

Here's a note from Lisa Verge Higgins:
Congrats to the winner of ONE GOOD FRIEND DESERVES ANOTHER! And thanks to the folks at Chick Lit Central for the opportunity to meet all of you who are part of this community. I really enjoyed reading all the responses about favorite songs, and I couldn’t help but notice that many of them had to do with childhood memories of friends. That really warmed my heart, because that’s essentially what I write about: Women and friendship and how sometimes the only thing that keeps a girl steady is the buddy standing right beside her. I hope you recognize that kind of friendship in "One Good Friend Deserves Another," and when you’re done reading the novel, you’ll share it with a very dear pal. Also, please do connect with me on Facebook. Here at Chick Lit Central, I can tell that I’m among friends.

Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.

Thanks to everyone for participating and telling us which songs have special meaning for you. We enjoyed reading your responses!
Thanks to Lisa for sharing her special music memories with us and sharing her book with our winner!

Check out our latest giveaways and also enter ones from other blogs and websites on our giveaways page.

Book Review and Giveaway: The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.

By Melissa Amster

**Giveaway is now closed**

I recently watched Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which took place during and after the events of September 11, 2001. The movie accessed the post-9/11 fears, sadness and anxiety through the eyes of a young boy.  "The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D," by Nichole Bernier, also takes place around this time period. Nichole Bernier voices similar feelings through Kate, giving readers the feeling that this period of history happened just yesterday.

After a deadly plane crash (one month prior to the plane crashes on September 11), Kate learns that her friend Elizabeth, one of the fatalities of the crash, left all her journals to her in her will. She brings these journals with her on her family's annual beach vacation, much to the dismay of Elizabeth's husband. While reading them, she learns things about Elizabeth that she never heard about in person. As she tries to fit the Elizabeth of the journals with the friend she thought she knew so well, she learns about herself, and her roles as wife and mother, in the process.

Nichole Bernier has produced a powerful debut novel. It is subtle enough not to hit readers over the head, but it packs a pretty punch. Through Kate and Elizabeth, she expresses worries and fears that most women have felt at one point in their life. A word that comes up a lot is "paralyzed." As a mother of kids close in age to the kids in this story, I could relate even more...especially to how Kate was feeling. Most things are out of our control and Nichole did a great job of expressing this notion and sharing the emotions and anxieties that go along with it through Kate's point of view. While it sounded like Elizabeth had a rough life, I had a harder time accessing her emotions because a lot of her journal entries were just summarized, as if they were part of a montage scene in a movie. She also had a stoic feel to her journals, even when she was experiencing an intense hardship. Her journal was definitely interesting, but the fact that parts were deliberately left out made me as clueless a Kate must have felt at times. Also, the journal slipped into dialogue, which is something I'd prefer journals not to do. However, it wasn't as much as I've read in journals from other novels. I liked that Nichole addressed the tug of war between being a working mother or staying at home to raise the kids. The thoughts expressed on this topic were close to how I've felt at times, but in a different direction.

I really liked the use of detail throughout the story. Elizabeth may be the artist in the story, but Nichole Bernier paints a vivid picture of a sleepy New England beach town in the middle of the summer. Each descriptive word was like a brush stroke on the canvas of my mind. I could easily picture every place the women have been, and not just during the beach scenes. Adding to this mix was that the dialogue was genuine and the children actually sounded like children. The only thing I wouldn't have minded less of was the psychobabble. Sometimes there was too much "wordiness" to muddle through and I'd have to read paragraphs several times to understand what was being said. It felt like reading a psychological journal during those times.

Overall, "The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D" was beautifully written and incredibly heartfelt. I wanted to drink all of it in at one sitting, but lacked the time to do so. However, I looked forward to the times when I'd have a break to catch up with more of the story. It was intriguing and unforgettable.

Thanks to Random House for the book in exchange for an honest review, as well as a give away copy for a lucky reader anywhere in the world!

How to win "The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D":
Since I was able to relate to this story a lot....and it's still music month...please share a song that really speaks to you, or that you can relate to a lot. (One entry per person.) Please include your e-mail address or another way to reach you if you win.

Giveaway ends July 29th at midnight EST

What's in the mail, plus a giveaway!

**Giveaway is now closed**


Melissa A:

"A Girl Like You" by Maria Geraci from BookSparks



"Finger Dancing" by Sam Manty from Austin & Macauley Publishers




"Kat Fight" by Dina Silver from the author (Currently $2.99 for Kindle)



"Daisy Darling Meets a Man" by L.A. Dale from the author (e-book; 99 cents for Kindle)



"And Laughter Fell from the Sky" by Jyotsna Sreenivasan; won from Chick Lit is Not Dead.



"The Book of Tomorrow" by Cecelia Ahern from William Morrow



"Sleepless in Savannah" by Rita Herron (e-book; free from Amazon, now 99 cents)



"Can't Live Without" by Joanne Phillips (e-book; free from Amazon, now $2.99)




"Seeing Julia" by Katherine Owen (e-book; free from Amazon, now $4.99)



"The Sweet Life" by Francine Pascal, part 1 and 2 (e-serial) from St. Martin's Press. ($1.99 each for Kindle...but you could win them all in our giveaway)



"Broken Vessels" by Lucie Ulrich from LibraryThing (e-book)



Amy:

"Losing Clementine" by Ashley Ream from Kaye Publicity




Susan Wiggs book bundle, along with a notepad and caramel sauce; won from Chick Lit is Not Dead

"Fireside"
"Lakeshore Christmas"
"The Summer Hideaway"
"Marrying Daisy Bellamy"


Cindy:

"Worth Lying For" by Lisa Cheney and Lisa Craig from the authors (e-book; $2.99 for Kindle)



Kathryn:

"In Need of Therapy" by Tracie Banister from the author (e-book)




"The Darling Girls" by Emma Burstall from the author (e-book; Melissa A also got this free from Amazon, now $3.00)



"Bleak" by Lynn Messina from Diversion Books (e-book; $2.99 for Kindle)




"Emily's Seams" by J.E. Flanagan from the author (available for $2.99 on Kindle)




"Finding Emma" by Steena Holmes from SparkPoint Studio



"Pillow Stalk: A Mad for Mod Mystery" by Diane Vallere from Polyester Press




Becky:

"Silver Girl" by Elin Hilderbrand from Hodder & Stoughton




"The Wedding Diaries" by Sam Binnie from Avon



"A Court Affair" by Emily Purdy from Avon (Melissa A also got this)



"A Twist of Fate" by Joanna Rees from Pan Macmillan





What could be in your mail?

"Finding Mr. Flood" by Ciara Geraghty. Hodder and Stoughton has one paperback to give away to a lucky UK reader.

"Sound Bites: A Rock & Roll Love Story" by Rachel K. Burke. She has one paperback (US only) and one e-book (worldwide) to give away.

How to win "Sound Bites" or "Finding Mr. Flood":
Since today is Melissa A's birthday and our theme of the month is music, tell us what your favorite song is from the year you were born (don't worry, we won't do the math!)

One entry per person.

Please include an e-mail address or a way to reach you if you win. Also for those in the US and UK, please mention which country you live in or you will only be included in the e-book giveaway.

"Finding Mr. Flood"
UK only

"Sound Bites:
E-book-Worldwide
Paperback-US only

Giveaway ends July 25th at midnight EST