Friday, June 24, 2011

LAST NIGHT AT CHATEAU MARMONT by Lauren Weisberger & NIGHT ROAD by Kristin Hannah

Winners:
Night Road:
Colleen Turner

Last Night At Chateau Marmont:

Krystal who roasted marshmallows

Please email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com so we can get your books to you. Also please note: my email has ONE T! There happens to be another Stephanie Elliot out there but she spells her last name with TWO Ts and she's been getting some of my emails and I've been getting some of her emails! Fortunately, she's very cool so she's been sending emails to me if she gets any!







I’ve got two more books for you this weekend and I know you’re going to LOVE these! And what's interesting when I choose books to match up together on a post is sometimes I try to do it so there’s something in common, and today I didn’t think I had anything in common with the two I chose. Except now, after this post is almost all written, I realized that both of these books have the word NIGHT in the title. Crazy right? Wow.

First up is Lauren Weisberger’s Last Night at Chateau Marmont. Everyone remembers Lauren’s debut hit, The Devil Wears Prada, and with this, her fourth novel, Lauren continues to captivate with a fun beach read. Last Night at Chateau Marmont is about a wife trying to deal with the husband’s sudden launch into the land of paparazzi and all things that come along with becoming an overnight celebrity.

Brooke loved reading the dishy celebrity gossip rag Last Night. That is, until her marriage became a weekly headline.

Brooke was drawn to the soulful, enigmatic Julian Alter the very first time she heard him perform “Hallelujah” at a dark East Village dive bar. Now five years married, Brooke balances two jobs—as a nutritionist at NYU Hospital and as a consultant to an Upper East Side girls’ school, where privilege gone wrong and disordered eating run rampant—in order to help support her husband’s dream of making it in the music world.

Things are looking up when after years of playing Manhattan clubs and toiling as an A&R intern, Julian finally gets signed by Sony. Although no one’s promising that the album will ever hit the airwaves, Julian is still dedicated to logging in long hours in the recording studio. All that changes after Julian is asked to perform on the Tonight show with Jay Leno—and is catapulted to stardom, literally overnight. Amazing opportunities begin popping up almost daily—a new designer wardrobe, a tour with Maroon Five, even a Grammy performance.

At first the newfound fame is fun—who wouldn’t want to stay at the Chateau Marmont or visit the set of one of television’s hottest shows? Yet it seems that Brooke’s sweet husband—the man who can’t handle hot showers and wears socks to bed—is increasingly absent, even on those rare nights they’re home together. When rumors about Brooke and Julian swirl in the tabloid magazines, she begins to question the truth of her marriage and is forced to finally come to term with what she thinks she wants—and what she actually needs.


Read the FIRST CHAPTER HERE. Check out an interesting interview with Lauren and her editor HERE. I love the fact that Lauren’s own husband created song lyrics for her character Julian in the book!

Next up is Night Road by Kristin Hannah. I know, I know, I know – you guys are screaming that I’m FINALLY featuring a Kristin Hannah book! What took me so long!? Well it’s here now, and I promise from here on out, I’ll share all her books on MaNiC MoMMy!

Night Road is one of those books that tears at the heartstrings. It’s about family and young love, heartbreak, forgiveneness, and what it takes to bring a family back together again.

For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows—her twins, Mia and Zach—are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude. Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable.

Jude does everything to keep her kids on track for college and out of harm’s way. It has always been easy-- until senior year of high school. Suddenly she is at a loss. Nothing feels safe anymore; every time her kids leave the house, she worries about them.

On a hot summer’s night her worst fears come true. One decision will change the course of their lives. In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything. In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget…or the courage to forgive.


Vivid, universal, and emotionally complex, NIGHT ROAD raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, love, and forgiveness. It is a luminous, heartbreaking novel that captures both the exquisite pain of loss and the stunning power of hope. This is Kristin Hannah at her very best, telling an unforgettable story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart, and the courage it takes to forgive the people we love.


Read the FIRST CHAPTER HERE.

To enter to win either one of these books tell me what you did LAST NIGHT!

I went grocery shopping and then waited for our friends from Pasadena to arrive. They used to live in Chicago too, but moved to LA in January. The funny thing is now that they live six hours away from us, we see them MORE than when they lived only 45 minutes away in Chicago! So, tell me what you did last night!

(I will draw winners' names from this batch of posts, so if you enter here, you’re qualified to win one of these books, but I’ll draw two names, so it’s possible that your name may be drawn twice)

Thanks for reading and being a part of June Blast-O-Books.
I also blog at SheKnows.com Real Moms Guide. Please take a look at my posts over there if you get a chance!
Don't forget to enter for any of the previous books that you may have missed. AS LONG AS A WINNER's NAME is NOT posted at the top of the blog post, then that means a winner has NOT yet been chosen so you can still enter to win that book but ONLY ONE TIME per book entry PLEASE!
If you're new here, check out the rules and other stuff for the June Blast-O-Books there under that highlighted link back there, or feel free to leave me a comment always and I'll answer it in the thread, or email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com. It is always at my discretion to change things up, and because of some regulations, I guess I must say that the books I review are given to me by either the authors or publishers or publicists, and I am never paid for my reviews, and they are my own personal reviews, and you know what, because I'm here telling you this anyway, I will also tell you that I never review a book I don't like, because you know what, why waste my time, life is too short to read a crappy book! There. There's my new mantra!



111 comments:

Alice said...

I went for a walk/jog on my own and then wrote my own blog post before settling down to continue reading "Good Enough to Eat".

Hally said...

Read with my boys. The oldest has just started reading, 'by his very own self'.
And I have to say, I'm a little addicted to Where's Waldo myself!

Thanks for the giveaway!

Tina B said...

My husband and I and our 3 kiddos stayed home and had BLT's for dinner!

Joani F said...

On my way home from work, stopped at the supermarket, came home, made dinner,did dishes, cleaned up the kitchen, took doggies out for their walk. Cut up a watermelon for daughter and her boyfriend. Surfed the net and read my blogs. Then snuck upstairs to watch RHNY while everyone was watching sports.

Ally said...

I threw a shower for a friend who just adopted a little girl.

Carie Casey said...

I WENT To A NEIGHBORS HOUSE AND SAT with their sleeping kids while they went to see tHEIR NEW NIECE AT THE HOSPITal. (SORRY for tHE SPONTATious caps my keyboard IS ON THE BROKEN)

Carie

Dani In Chicago said...

Stayed in after working 3 jobs.

kathygold9778 said...

Last night...hmmm...put the baby to bed and then watched "My Babysitter is a Vampire" on the Disney channel with my 8 year old son. LOL!

kathygold9778

Lizzybethdj said...

I made a cleaning list for everything I was going to clean today... exciting night in my house...
but I got it all done but one thing so that is good :)

Dolly said...

I fixed pork chops for dinner, and fell asleep watching TV (work has been a bear this week!)

Nancye said...

Last night I stayed home and organized the books in my library. Boring, I know! Much better than the night before when my daughter and I were stuck in the mall shelter for over 2 hours while tornadoes ripped thru our area. It was a scary night for sure! I think I'd much rather be bored at home!!

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Laura Kay said...

Man, can't hardly even remember, lol. I'm getting old. Ok, oh I made dinner, cleaned up, bathed kids, put them to bed, picked up, and finished reading Here, Home, Hope :D wow I should win for most boring, lol. Oh well I love it!

Laura Kay
www.anovelreview.blogspot.com
anovelreview@yahoo.com

Melissa said...

I made fajitas and finished reading Priceless! 2 nights and the book was done...and so much better than I expected!! Thank you :)
-tmd636

Lesley Davis, Esq said...

My husband and I watched the desperate housewives season finale after putting our 3 girls to bed.

Megan said...

Last night I came home from work, made dinner then started reading "The Help". So fabulous!
MegCait

Ronit said...

Last night I waited for my best friend to arrive from Santa Barbara. We had dinner ( chicken piccata and pasta with pesto) and then hung out doing a lot of nothing but visiting.

Nicole Marie said...

Last night I visited my Grammie and then had a nice dinner with my parents. It was my first night off from work in a very long time :)

NicoleMG from CT

Anonymous said...

Last night I did something super exciting and fun - I cleaned my bathroom!!

Rebecca E

Anthony from CharismaticKid said...

This is a question about reading... how do you get through so many books at a time? I've been reading The Shining for the past few months and I'm at page 60.

I never have time!

Philadelphia said...

Watched a sad movie with my family. "Hatchi: a dog tale". Then went to bed.

Books & Reviews said...

Last night ....I took my dog to the dog park and then came home and played with my new nook color!

AisforRandom said...

..........I made spaghetti.....ate the spaghetti.......craved cookie dough, researched "how bad could it possibly be to eat raw eggs in cookie dough while pregnant".....still considered eating cookie dough. Ate an Icee and went to bed still thinking about cookie dough.

Literary Chanteuse said...

Last night I played with my brand new toy a Kobo e-reader. My belated Mother's day gift. I'm so excited! I'm still getting my bearings but it's pretty user friendly. The hardest part of the evening was getting my husband away from it. He's not a reader but you how men are with electronics.

Margaret(singitm)
singitm@hotmail.com

Karen said...

What I did last night? Wrote a blogpost, prepared two eBay packages for mailing and balanced my American Express bill. I know...uber-exciting, right? ktmixon315

Melissa said...

Last night I took my oldest son to swim lessons, then skipped dinner because I had to rush to my book club Discussed Sarah's Key, drank wine and ate cookies. Returned home and went to bed with a splitting headache (wine and sugar combo). :-) Melissa Rem

your invisible pixie said...

I took a four hour nap, woke up to make dinner, then went back to sleep! Ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Last night I worked.....fun, fun.....

And I own and have already read Night Road (along with practically every other Kristin Hannah book!) so if my name gets drawn for that one you can give it to another winner!

SPepper22

Logan Collins said...

I watched Weeds with my boyfriend and ate Mexican. So much fun!

Anonymous said...

Had pizza with The Husband and a friend of his, then I read the rest of the evening while the boys played in the woodshop. TaraUB in IN

TinaPow said...

Put the kids to bed and got in some good reading time

Meg said...

I played dominos with my MIL, and then went to bed at 9pm. I'm such a raver...

Beverly Victoria said...

Last night, I went out to eat at the diner with my husband, 2 daughters and parents. Today is graduation day!

Heidi @ Decor & More said...

Oh my gosh, I've wanted to read both of these! Great choices!
Last night my hubs and I had a very low-key date night: grilled out, sipped wine on the back deck, and cuddled up to the College World Series. Tame but it was a nice reprieve from the busy summer!
Thanks, MM. :)

EKB said...

downloaded 6578 million photos off my camera...but only because the card was full :-}

Anonymous said...

Last night we went to my mother-in-law's house for dinner as we do most Friday nights. This time she and I had a nice conversation as the boys played nicely downstairs. It was a nice evening.

-Donna W.

Katie said...

My husband and I and a bunch of our friends went to see Kenny Chesney last night! We had a blast! Then my husband and I came home and watched a Storage Wars marathon (that we had taped on our DVR)

Anonymous said...

We took the kids to dinner at On the Border and the hubby and I rented "Just Go With It". Another crazy Friday night around here....

I'm very excited about these books. I didn't realize Lauren Weisberger had released a fourth book. I love her! These both are getting added to my summer reading list. Thank you!

~Colbey J

jdstec said...

My husband and I went over to friends house, cooked out hamburgers sat and talked and enjoyed a few adult beverages.

Krystal said...

Last night I sat around a fire at my friend's house with our families and we roasted marshmellows!

equinn726 said...

Last night my husband and I went out for a pizza and a beer. I've already read "Last Night at the Chateau Marmot" (a good read for sure!) but I'd love to be entered into the "Night Road" drawing. Thanks again for this contest!

BRN2SHOP9 said...

After having 2 hours sleep the night before last night I watched tv in bed and was sound asleep by 10:15pm and missed the big vote in NY!

On a side note Lauren Weisberger's book has been on my TBR list for a very long time!

Anonymous said...

Last night I made monkey bread and spent time with my adoptive neices and nephew.

jenceyg msn com

Carly said...

Last night, my husband and I had our date night. We went out for Mexican food and then walked the Oceanside Pier. We came home and ate ice cream while watching NY Ink on the DVR (my choice).

Tanya Quilts in CO said...

I had a wonderful night! I went to the the first "Pizza and Piecing Night" at our new quilt shop. 9 of us got together at the shop to eat pizza, chocolate, and amazing cheesecake and we quilted and gossiped. Next month, I'm going to bring wine and see how that goes...

Mom'sLove said...

went to dinner with my dad and we went to target to find a movie.
Night road is a great book!
Amanda

Jenn3128 said...

I continued to get caught up on Game of Thrones. Hubby & I watched 4 more episodes last night. I don't think I've had such love for a show since X-Files.

Erin Goff said...

Finished reading The Help while my husband made dinner for the kiddos, then ate Chipotle with the hubby while we watched DVR'd episode of Covert Affairs. Went to bed early. Relaxing, but boring :)

Katy F said...

Last night I didn't do much of everything...had just gotten home from my niece's graduation in Stonington, CT so was kind of happy to get to bed early!!

Juliet Farmer said...

being that i'm just now reading this on Saturday, last night my husband and i went out to dinner with friends. ended up staying at the cafe for hours drinking beer and eating and laughing. much fun!

ludy2288 said...

i fell asleep at 9pm on the couch after watching the daily show with my bf..exciting i know

Terri said...

Last night I went with a friend to O'Donaghue's Pub in North Scottsdale. We spent the evening doing what girls do best, catching up on our lives and flirting with the band playing there. Easton Ashe...cute guys...great music!

Terri M.

Amy R. said...

I had dinner at a cute Greek restaurant with one of my best friends :)

Bridget said...

Last night, met my husband at a little neighborhood Greek place where we had our coupon for two dinners for $17.95! Such a deal. Sat outside and enjoyed the mild temperature and listened to the police helicopter hovering over looking for some criminal.
Iambtinrb

EBrowning said...

Last night I took my final exam for my summer class and then chilled out on the couch for the rest of the night with a magazine because my brain hurt! LOL! On the bright side I don't have to worry about classes anymore for a couple of months so that gives me much more time to read fun books instead of boring school ones! :-)

LeslieB83 said...

I got to visit my goddaughter who was 5 days old.

ronda in bham said...

Met a friend for margaritas and Mexican food.

lucy872 said...

Last night we had my mother-in-law, niece and nephew over for a visit and to have pizza and wings. Our daughter hadn't seen them in a while, so she had a blast and we enjoyed it as well. After they left, the hubby and I had dessert and then promptly fell asleep on our respective couches. Woo hoo...party! Ha-ha!

Leah B said...

Last night we grilled dinner and hung out. Having a 3 month old that was a pretty wild night!

Emily said...

last night, i had to work until midnight (yes, on a friday!) but it was totally worth it because i'm a lobbyist in new york state and the reason we had to stay late was because the legislature was still in session - and we were sitting at our office watching it live on tv as the ny senate passed marriage equality, sending it to the governor for his signature...as of last night, gay marriage is legal in nys. and i think that's pretty amazing.

Nanette said...

I had dinner with my hubby after work then went to play Bunco with a bunch of great gals! So fun!! Nan :)

MonaLisa said...

Yesterday I spent the entire day outside with my four year old so last night I was tired, and my husband and a housefull of his friends were here so I made the kids dinner and the four year old and I went to bed early. I finished reading Jeanette Walls "Half Broke Horses" first.

Jessica said...

I did nothing exciting, haha. Stayed in and watched "Just Go with It". I really loved it, it was a cute movie.

Thanks!
-Jessica

Jonessa said...

Last night was fantastic! Our son went to a sleep over at the last min. My hubby and I took the oppertunity to go out for a nice dinner. Then we joined another couple, who also unexpectedly were childless, at out local pub to see a kick butt band. They were rocking some awesome 80's cover tunes. Journey, Billy Joel, Cheep Trick, and many more. We stayed out until 2am dancing, laughing, and having an all out good time! Can't remember the last time we did that!!!!

Melissa said...

is this it for your book giveaway? the post has an air of finality to it.

i read both these books and enjoyed them in different ways. "night road" was so cathartic. "last night.." was just an interesting story.

last night, my husband and i watched "cedar rapids." ed helms is such a cutie. at least i know he has a career even if "the office" tanks next season.

Kristin said...

Last night I had a BBQ with my parents, in laws and my younger brother in law to celebrate a couple family birthdays.

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

Answering some questions here:

Anthony, when I do a monthly blast like this, I don't have a chance to read ALL of the books, and most of the time, I let the readers know that I have read a few chapters, or have heard this or that about this book, etc. During the non-blast months, if I get a book and have a chance to read it, I'll do a random giveaway here and there, and that's when I'll be able to read the whole book. Out of all of these books, I'd say I read probably maybe eight of them, and skimmed through the rest of them. I will have a chance to read them all eventually, but since they're all mostly new books, I want to get them into the readers' hands right away.

Melissa -- There are three more books coming! The Little Women Letters, Skinny, and Missing Persons.

TERRI! Do you realize you were WALKING DISTANCE the other night from ME!?!? And that I have been there and have seen Easton Ashe too! THERE!!! And they are CUTIES!!! OMG! How funny/crazy is THAT!!!!

A.C. Morris said...

Last night the baby and I were home alone so we caught up on Covert Affairs and read a book together! Pretty good night :)

IandSsmom said...

I worked last night!!! But now I'm on vacation for 2 weeks!! Hopefully I'll get some reading time in!!
Great books!!
shannonjean14(at)gmail(dot)com

Nearl said...

I stayed home and watched bad movies and ate bad food. Was a very relaxing Saturday.

michelle m said...

we had a horrible dinner at a local pub :(

Ready To Be A Momma said...

I worked last night, actually I went in friday night and just got off. Super lame.
qweska8402

Kristi said...

We went to a friend's house for some grilling and watched the Mexico/USA soccer game. I'm not a soccer person but all of our friends are huge Mexico fans, so I watched!

Kristi Hooke

denny144 said...

My husband is out of town so I had ice cream for dinner and caught up on all the stuff on the DVR.

faithspage said...

Had a Girls Night Out with 3 girlfriends, it had been 9 years since all 4 had been together.

kyfaithw at aol dot com

Christine in NJ said...

Last night I unpacked from a 10 hour day at a soccer tournament with 3 of my kids (and repacked for today!) and then waited for my husband and oldest son to return from an 8 day trip!... So glad to have everyone home again!

Christine

Kizzy said...

Last night I gossiped with my friend for hours about the new guy she is dating. They already have "drama". Then I ate a bag of chocolate M&M's which I shouldn't have had, and went to bed.

absolutahnie said...

sat on the deck with our cat brad curled on my lap. he slept while i read "the immortal life of henrietta lacks"

Crystal said...

I caught up on a few episodes of Veronica Mars (yes, I'm a bit late seeing as it's been years since the show has been cancelled). and I organized my coupon binder (my new endeavor). Yes. I am soooo exciting. LOL!

Crystal717

Lindsay Elizabeth said...

I went grocery shopping, did laundry and went to bed early!

Kimmi said...

We cleaned up the remains of a 20 foot Arborvitae my boyfriend chopped down. Yep - livin' the high life.

girllovestoread said...

I welcomed my sister and three nephews who come up to NY from Texas for a month every summer....so good to have the whole family together.

Amy Nichole G said...

Last night was Sunday so it was definitely an exciting night at my house...dinner was cooked, kitchen was cleaned, I read for a while and lights were out by 10:30! Party animals!

Amy Nichole G

Susan @ The Book Bag said...

I went to a wedding of the daughter of a dear friend and found out that she was marrying the son of someone I graduated from high school with many, many (37 cough) years ago. My tiny little home town is in a different state and is about 8 hours away. It is a small world.

Thanks for your fabulous giveaways!!

Lynn said...

Went to a MLS soccer game with my boyfriend.

Thanks for the giveaway!!

Erin T. said...

Last night my fiance, my youngest daughter, and I went out to dinner then rented The Eagle with Channing Tatum (Yummy!). Very boring night, but after all the yard work on Saturday it was worth it!

buttah said...

I did a 25 minute bootcamp/ab workout...tons-o-fun!!

Holly Wohlers said...

I worked on my knitting project and cleaned out my car after camping all weekend. I also read a few chapters of House Rules by Jodi Picoult.

holly wohle

DaphneSFL said...

Last night my husband and I did our Sunday night ritual of grilling. We decide on a dish, get the fixins, and cook out (weather permitting). We played a few games of Chuck-O, talked to the neighbors over the fence, and had a lovely time.

The Jagow Family said...

Grilled out dinner and enjoyed the evening at home with my husband and daughter. Our first night all together in a week. It was nice to be home together again!

Thanks again for the book give away...and I'm so excited that you featured a Kristin Hannah book. I was introduced to her last year....love her!

michelle jagow

The Poty's said...

Came home from a weekend in Vegas.

Unknown said...

Took a dip in the hot tub with Mr. Tickle, ate leftovers, tended to my Pot Farm (it's one of those awesome games on facebook), and slept. Exciting...I know! :)

Natalie M. in VA said...

My husband and I changed some super tall ceiling lights and set up our new tv, after getting our old tv ready to donate (along with some clothes) to Goodwill. Then we got "Inception" on HBO on-demand, and had a lazy evening.

Denise said...

Last night, I flew back home to Boston after a week vacation down in Key West!!

Bethy said...

Went to see Gary Allan in concert!! Love that man!!!

Lizett34 said...

Last night I had dinner with my parents then I went home to my house to finish laundry =).

BrendaL71 said...

I went to see XMen: First Class, it was a very good movie BTW and I went home after and painted my nails.

Chrisy Krueger said...

Last night I stayed up to read more of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.

Becki*** said...

Last night . I had to work at home to make up for time missed last week. Could REALLY use a good read, lol

Anonymous said...

Last night,I caught up on all my DVR recordings!

Jeryl M. said...

Last night I actually did something unusual for me and went to bed early. Tonight not so much as it's after 3AM here, and I am still up.

Emma S. said...

Drove home after spending a long weekend celebrating a friend's bachelorette party in Ocean City, MD.

Anonymous said...

Had dinner, surfed the web for baby bedding, went on a walk with the little one and the dog, more time on the computer, read 2 mini Mickey Mouse Clubhouse books, sang a lullabye, kisses for bedtime, followed by more time on the computer. Nothing to interesting.

~Nattygirrl

StereoQueenBee said...

Last night I drove back to Montreal after a great weekend in NYC!

Abs said...

I taught my Zumba class then met up with a friend I haven't seen in awhile. We ate sushi then went to our local baseball team's game!

Abby A

kwertz12 said...

I was supposed to go out with friends, but I decided to stay home and make dinner for my husband and I. Spicy chicken carbonara...mmmm....Then we were going to watch some of True Blood season 3 to catch up, but we ended up watching River Monsters instead. Then I read. Then I fell asleep with my book on my face. :)

KWertz

Kristen said...

Love both of these authors!

Went to dinner at a fancy gourmet burger restaurant with an old friend. They messed up our order and we had to wait forever, but we didn't care. Plenty of time to catch up and enjoy a great evening!

val said...

i stayed up until 1:15am doing homework! but, it's my last grad school class ever!

Colleen Turner said...

I had dinner with my husband, son and my mother in law and brother in law who are down for a visit! Then I watched Chicken Little with my son (well, I actually read my book but I was laying next to him while he watched the movie :)).
candc320@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Work. Drinks at the bar with friends. Home for time with hubby. Bed/Sleep!

cozyreaderscorner

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

THANK YOU FOR COMMENTING. A WINNER HAS BEEN CHOSEN! NO MORE COMMENTS WILL QUALIFY AFTER THIS COMMENT.

Portugal said...

Every high school student should read this book. It is excellent. Another hit by Kristin Hannah. It's a beautiful story of loss, love, and friendship.