Melanie Bennett Jacobson is an avid reader, amateur cook, and champion shopper. She consumes astonishing amounts of chocolate, chick flicks, and romance novels. After meeting her husband online, she is now living happily married in Southern California with her growing family and a series of doomed houseplants. Melanie is a former English teacher and a popular speaker who loves to laugh and make others laugh. In her down time (ha!), she writes romantic comedies for Covenant and maintains her humorous slice-of-life blog. Her fifth novel, Second Chances, hit shelves this spring.

Visit Melanie:  WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

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LDSWBR:  What books do you plan/hope to read this summer?

MELANIE:  I’m heavily into contemporary YA right now. I just discovered Jessi Kirby and loved her stuff, so I’m going to read more of that and other similar books, especially Kasie West’s The Distance Between Us. I’m looking forward to my friend Jenny Proctor’s debut from Covenant, The House at Rose Creek.

LDSWBR: Did you ever go to summer camp, and/or what is your most memorable camping experience?

MELANIE:  My most memorable camping experience was being trapped in a tent with my best friend over Spring Break in Florida while a skunk circled around outside. We were frozen until the little dude left.

LDSWBR:  If you could have a summer home anywhere in the world, where would it be?

MELANIE:  I know it’s not very exotic, but I think I’d choose somewhere in the South because that’s where I grew up. Maybe North Carolina or Tennessee on the side of a lake with some mountains in the distance. I love the lightning bugs and the smell of summer almost anywhere you go in the South during the summer.

LDSWBR:  Thank you, Melanie!

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Find Second Chances

AMAZON (Paperback & Kindle) | DESERET BOOK (Paperback & ebook) | SEAGULL BOOK  | GOODREADS

After walking out of a thankless job at a prestigious marketing firm, feisty California entrepreneur Louisa Gibson is going into business for herself. Lou’s pioneering venture, The Mormon Bachelor, is a reality dating web series sure to be fabulous advertising for her new marketing firm. And as a bonus, she can solve a problem close to home: while Huntington Beach is crawling with eligible, sun-bronzed Saints, they’ve forgotten the vital skill of dating. Lou hopes the reality show will finally inspire this group of hangout enthusiasts to pair off. But shortly before filming begins, the unthinkable happens — Trentyn, a.k.a. The Bachelor, gets a girlfriend. And Lou needs a new leading man — fast.

Enter Nick, Lou’s devastatingly handsome ex-boyfriend. He’s the stereotypical actor: shallow, self-serving…and perfect for the job. A whirlwind of dating ensues, with Nick at the center of it all. Things are going according to plan — that is, until Lou is forced to step in as a substitute bachelorette, becoming an unwitting cast member on her own show. Despite Nick’s attempts to reestablish their friendship and the growing spark between them, Lou is determined to keep her distance. The show must go on — but what’s a girl to do when the Mr. Wrong of the past just may be the Mr. Right of the future?

Read Shanda’s review of Second Chances

Have you ever seen and/or caught a lightning bug?

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To enter the LDSWBR Countdown to Summer 2013, leave a thoughtful comment below.

Comment on each Countdown to Summer 2013 post for more chances to win. Please click through to the website as only comments submitted directly on this post will be accepted.

Prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and the author-donated books listed below. This is raffle-style drawing where all entries throughout the contest period are entered into the same “hat” for all prizes. US only. 18 years and older please. See all contest rules and restrictions HERE.

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If one of our LDSWBR reviews has ever helped you find a book you enjoyed, perhaps you would consider helping us spread the word about the LDSWBR Countdown to Summer 2013. A link posted to your friends and family either in email or on your favorite social network would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Book prizes generously donated by the authors as of 6/22/2013 (more added throughout the countdown!):

• A Blind Eye by Julie Daines (signed), a bookmark AND a Mind the Gap temporary tattoo
• I, Spy by Jordan McCollum (choice of paperback or ebook)
• Sworn Enemy by A.L. Sowards (choice of paperback or ebook)
• Glimmer of Hope by Sarah M. Eden
• A Change of Plans by Donna K. Weaver
• Fairy Godmothers, Inc. by Jenniffer Wardell (signed paperback)
• Esther the Queen by H.B. Moore (Kindle or Nook)
• Belonging to Heaven by Gale Sears (or winner’s choice of another book by Gale)
• Farworld: Air Keep by J. Scott Savage (personalized copy)
• A Way Back to You by Emily Gray Clawson (personalized paperback)
• Deep Cover by Traci Hunter Abramson (personalized paperback)
• Second Chances by Melanie Jacobson (signed copy)

By commenting and participating in the Countdown to Summer 2013 you agree to the following:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY; entrants must be 18 years or older; open to residents of continental US only; giveaway begins June 10, 2013 and all entries must be received by 12:00 Midnight June 30, 2012 Mountain Time; to enter, complete the required entry on each post and any additional entries of your choice if listed; LDS Women’s Book Review reserves the right to determine what is considered a thoughtful comment as per each post’s required entry; giveaway prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and a variety of book prizes donated by featured authors; the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning; LDS Women’s Book Review is not liable for technical problems which may affect entry into the giveaway; winner identity will be verified by email address; winner will be selected July 2, 2013 by use of a sequence generator on random.org; winners will have until July 10, 2013 to claim their prize; if any prize winner forfeits or does not claim prize, prize will be re-awarded to next winner in sequence; all prizes will be awarded; limit of two prizes per entrant; this contest/giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other entity unless otherwise specified; by entering the giveaway you give LDS Women’s Book Review the right to publicize your name on the LDS Women’s Book Review blog; winner agrees to release LDS Women’s Book Review from any liability as a result of winning; email comments & questions to LDS Women’s Book Review – ldswbr (at) gmail (dot) com; giveaway subject to Utah regulations; VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.