New Book Review and Giveaway!

I just finished the latest book I received from The Library Things early book review.  I am pleased to say I really enjoyed this book.

The book is a fictionalized account of the story of George Mallory's last attempt to climb Mt. Everest in the 1920's and the affects on his marriage to Ruth. 

It is a story of a man torn between his obsession to achieve and his love for his wife. 

This is a debut novel for Tandis Rideout and I think she did an outstanding job. 

I am including my review for The Library Thing below.

Giveaway!

I have not had a lot of success in the past when I have one of my book give aways so I hope more people will respond.  I enjoy sharing books with other readers!

So, I'm making this easy. 

Just make a comment here, any comment and I will enter you in a drawing for this book.

I will hold it on Feb.14th!

An inspiring love story of a courageous couple for Valentines Day!

Help me reach a goal of 10 comments!

I'll be watching!

Review

Tanis Rideout did an outstanding job for her debut novel! I was not familiar with the story of George Mallory so part of the way into the book I was clueless as to the ending. I did some research and was not disappointed to know the ending. Tandis's descriptions put the reader right there on the mountain experiencing the pain and difficulty with the climbers as well as experiencing the true conflicted feeling of a wife who respects her husband’s obsession but also wants him to choose her first. I was surprised to read on reviewer who did not find the descriptions realistic, at one point I was trying to breathe for them! As far as publishing goes, I much prefer the cover with the climbers and the woman’s torso on the cover over the couple on the beach. I wouldn't look at that one on a shelf. Also I was impressed with the feel of the cover and the deckled edges on the pages for my uncorrected proof copy. I hope this is how it comes out in the stores. Over all I loved this book and story.

Sharing our LOVE Story link party

I know many people who say a high school romance can not survive the test of time

but our relationship has only grown stronger throughout the many trials and triumphs of our 29 year marriage.
Our story starts out with a friendship our senior year. I was holding out for another guy and really wasn't thinking much about Vallas during that year. I seemed to hit him a lot (because he was always picking on me). He made a bet with me that I could not go a day without hitting him. If I lost I had to go on a date with him. I really did not want to date him so I tried really hard not to hit him but I lost. I told him it was going to be a boring date. I wanted him to get the hint that I wasn't romantically interested. Well, after our dinner and a visit with some friends he proceeded to pull into a deserted parking lot.

I was not happy.

He asked me what I was doing sitting so far over to the door. (I was hanging on for dear life and dread, LOL)

Real quick in my mind I thought,

It is only a kiss, I like him as a person a lot, so just get it over with.

That one kiss was all it took.

I was hooked and our friendship turned into a romance.

We dated for 2 years, but he decided he wasn't ready for marriage and needed to date a few other people to make sure. He became engaged to one of the girls about 1 1/2 years later, but found out it was going to be a mistake. He called me, as his friend for advice. He decided to call off the engagement and we cautiously began to date again. After several months we decided we were meant to be together and were married 5 months later.

Our first 3 years were a lot of fun and we bought our 1st house and began remodeling and decorating. All the nesting made me want to start our family. God had other ideas. We waited 5 more long years and started fertility treatments before we were able to conceive our 1st daughter. 2 years later I was ready to try again. Having been told we would have the same problem we got our fertility meds but decided to wait to start them until the baby could be born after the 1st of the year. I thought it was so unfair to have a baby born at Christmas. A few months later we found out we were expecting all on our own! With a due date of Dec. 15th. God has such a sense of humor. Daughter #2 came late on Dec. 27th.
Life for us proceeded as most do, Satisfying jobs, new house, pets and lots of fun and love. We had our ups and downs but all the while kept a steady course even in times when we were less than thrilled with each other. The last 5 years have been extremely challenging but the worst came with my husbands open heart surgery 1 1/2 years ago and then the foreclosure of our home and loss of both of our businesses.
God has always been a guiding force in our lives but this last year He has proven His love for us exceedingly by providing for our every need.

We are truly blessed and our relationship is stronger than ever. I posted about our relationship after my husband surgery here!

http://theeccentriclady.blogspot.com/2010/09/thankful-and-blessed.html
It sums up my ideas on commitment and marriage.

My advice to couples this Valentines day is
to be patient with each other,
respect your differences and
wait out the tough times, they will pass.
Your marriage is worth it