I’m terribly sorry for the delay in getting the winners selected for this giveaway, but it’s done and five awesome TIR readers will be receiving a copy of Ruined: A Ghost Story by Paula Morris.

It was a fun read with a lush description of New Orleans, so anyone who reads it should feel like they’ve been transported there if only for a few hours.

Now, without further ado (since I know you’re all anxious to find out who’s won), here they are in no particular order:

• Beth
• Anna
• I Heart Book Gossip
• Shawna Lewis
• Paradox

Congratulations! I’ll be sending out individual emails this afternoon. If you haven’t received an email from me within 24 hours, please check your spam filter and if it’s not there, send me an email directly (todayiread[at]gmail[dot]com) and let me know your mailing address.

If you didn’t win this time around, don’t fret. I have a couple awesome ARC giveaways planned—one starting this weekend (i.e. tomorrow).

Back Cover of Ruined

Rebecca couldn’t feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She’s staying in a creepy old house with her aunt. And at the snooty prep school, the filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she’s invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he’s got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city. There’s just one catch: Lisette is a ghost.

A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle.

As Rebecca learns more from her ghost friend — and as she slowly learns to trust Anton Grey — she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?

Three Quick Points About Ruined

• Point 1: Fueled by racial tension. Handled delicately, for the most part, was the issue of race, its intermingling and its consequences.
• Point 2: New Orleans is real. The descriptions were rendered so tangibly that I felt I was in the city itself.
• Point 3: Mystery with a hint of romance. The story, for the most part, is Rebecca unraveling a mystery, but there was a hint of romance.

Continue reading »

This week’s Sunday Sketch is a bit late because I’ve been swept up by the book for most of the day. And the weather has been delightfully cooperative—dark, eerie rainstorms.

I’m about halfway through and it has been smooth sailing. I’m soaking up the spooky—and oddly romantic—atmosphere and I’m surprised at how much I’ve learned about New Orleans. I’m mentally booking a trip.

For this week’s sketch, I decided on Anton Grey and Rebecca Brown because I’m liking their dynamic so far. (And it’s super quick because I’m anxious to get back to the book. )

Next week, I promise to spend a bit more time and create a more detailed sketch. For now, I’m off to read!

P.S. If you haven’t already entered, I’m holding a Book Giveaway—5 winners will receive a copy of this book.

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Ruined by Paula Morris

First line: Torrential rain was pouring the afternoon Rebecca Brown arrived in New Orleans.

Initial thoughts: I’ll be up front, the cover sucked me in. (Though, I admit, I have a problem with the wrought iron archway–the word RUINED should be attached to both the top and bottom, but that’s minor.)

Anyhoo, as far back as I can remember I’ve been a fan of the supernatural and I went through an entire New Orleans/Voodoo phase, so when I learned what the book was about, I knew I had to read it. Plus the early reviews look promising.

Book description:

Rebecca couldn’t feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She’s staying in a creepy old house with her aunt. And at the snooty prep school, the filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she’s invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he’s got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city. There’s just one catch: Lisette is a ghost.

A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle.

As Rebecca learns more from her ghost friend — and as she slowly learns to trust Anton Grey — she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?

Book Details: 304 pages; Point; Pub. August 1, 2009

Learn more:

• Paula Morris’s blog (and her write up on the books launch)
• Read an excerpt
• Reviews
  • Carrie’s Bookshelf
  • The Book Smugglers (has some mild spoilers and also a review of Laura Whitcomb’s A Certain Slant of Light)