Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah + Giveaway!!!

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah is being released in paperback today. In honor of that, I am reposting my review of this great novel and once you read that, I have two (2) copies of the book to be given away, courtesy of the publicist, Wiley and The Book Network.

This book was absolutely amazing. Ms. Hannah's writing is at once to the point and deeply moving. Before you know it, you're drawn into the world she created and don't want to leave. Perhaps, the best testament to the quality of Winter Garden is my sister's reaction. She is not a book worm whatsoever (hi sister!), it is extremely difficult to get her interested in a book even though she tries, judging by a number of books borrowed from me that she started but never finished. And once she starts reading a book, it takes her a long time to finish it, not because she doesn't want to but because her lifestyle doesn't really give her a lot of spare time. With all that in mind, my sister Eva read Winter Garden in two days and called me right after she finished to discuss it. In her words: 'the book was phenomenal and the author's sentences are such that you just want to remember them all and as soon as I get home I'll be writing them down'. Not only did she like it so much that she didn't sleep all night and chose to read instead, but while driving to work, she actually had to pull over to keep reading because she couldn't wait until the end of the day! I think that says it all!!

But I will still say some more. Winter Garden is also heartbreaking and I was unable to stop the tears from flowing freely. The story became so sad and touching to me because the fictional story of Anya's life is probably a real story of many women and men that survived the Leningrad siege. So be prepared for many heartrending passages but also know that you will be rewarded in the end and will most likely want to read Winter Garden all over again. I know I already do (thank goodness I still have three other books Ms. Hannah wrote to read for the first time).

How can you not want to try your luck at winning this awesome novel?!

Giveaway 411:

1. Please leave a comment with your email or a way to contact me (if you have an email in your profile, no need to leave it here).

2. This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents.

3. No P.O. Boxes. Street addresses only.

4. Deadline for entries is January 18th, 2011. The winner will be announced on January 19th, 2011.

An extra entry:

Become a follower of my blog for one extra entry. Please leave a separate comment if you do. If you already are a follower, please also leave a separate comment letting me know.

Even if you don't win, or if you need more convincing to read Winter Garden, here are a couple of links to help you make up your mind:

An excerpt of Winter Garden.

Kristin discussing Winter Garden.

Good luck to you all!