Chris Bohjalian – The Guest Room, Tantalizing Tidbits, giveaway &more!

Feb 25, 2016 | 2016, February 2016, Uncategorized

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian has romance, international world issues, relationship doubts, blackmail, and so much more! I’m not sure how he does it but Chris managed to pack it all into 336 pages and once you start you won’t be able to put your book or e-reader down!

This story weaves human trafficking and sex slavery, a topic that is spoken about rarely or quite frankly, often enough, into a story where the characters themselves never imagined it either!

Just thinking about human trafficking and sex slavery is scary, and reading about the brutal and sometimes deadly situations for those trapped and unable to escape, leaves you running to keep those you love close to you at all times.

Human trafficking and sex slavery is a world wide concern.
Recently I’ve read countless posts from friends in the ‘burbs
regarding Social Media accounts and the trappings kids have been lured into. What we can do to protect unsuspecting children from disappearing forever?

As a society we are driven by social media and the it’s impossible to  know which texts, posts and tweets published are fabricated or real. If you’re looking for a book that is thought provoking and one that will move you, then download or purchase a copy now. From the very fist page, this book delivers a compelling story that will alter the way you look at the world. It will change you.

Nothing is more universal than a Bachelor Party and the wild
shenanigans that are usually associated with it. Richard Chapman  agrees to host one for his engaged brother before he ties the knot. Richard is a happily married man and he leaves the sordid details to his brother’s friends while reluctantly offering up his suburban Westchester, New York home for the night. It’s just a few guys, what could go wrong? Little does he know what’s about to happen and the unthinkable scenario that will play out.

Alexandra was promised a better life in Russia. What unfolds leaves her powerless and unable to trust. It will take all of her strength to survive this one night. Will she be able to trust anyone?

As the book moves from chapter to chapter it alternates between different characters and their points of view. The change is seamless and easy to follow. Chris has done an amazing job of bringing to life
characters that leap off the page. The reader is drawn into a world of sex slaves, the Russian mob, debauchery and secrets.

Within this heart clenching story there are twists in every chapter as desperation, revenge, love and fear will drive each of these characters to do unspeakable things to achieve their happy ending.

Will the ending they have be what they hoped for? Or, the harsh
reality that life is unpredictable, real life is doesn’t mimic reality TV shows and marriages require trust and work to survive.

Do not miss this must read! I received an ARC from the publisher for a fair and honest review. When you finish I recommend another book from Chris’ backlist – The Double Bind. I recommend reading The Great Gatsby first if you haven’t already. Trust me 😉 The Double Bind is one of my favorites and I hope that it makes it onto the big screen someday.

*****Get to know Chris Bohjalian with  16 Tantalizing Tidbits*****

1. What is your MUST read book and why?

Oh, I could offer you a must-read shelf — but not a book.  Among my favorite novels — the ones that I’ve read multiple times?

The Joyous Season by Patrick Dennis — Imagine Holden Caulfield with less angst and a better sense of humor, and you have the
howlingly funny narrator of this book. The book chronicles the near-
dissolution of one wealthy Manhattan family in the early 1960s, and what it takes to keep it intact. Nearly every page is a scream,
especially read today, because every moment feels so fabulously retro.

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh by Franz Werfel — an epic and
masterful novel of the Armenian Genocide, and based on the Armenians’ heroic stand atop the mountain on the Mediterranean Sea.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald — Individual sentences give me a whopper of an inferiority complex, but I love every one.

The Cider House Rules by John Irving — I savor Irving’s books
because his characters are so gloriously eccentric and idiosyncratic, and this sweeping story is filled with people I cherished.

Room by Emma Donahue — a surprising, ingenuous, and authentic voice. And the story itself? Page after page of the most moving and wrenching. . .dread.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee — There is obviously so much to savor in this book and so many ways to examine it, especially
knowing what we know now of the first draft. Among the elements that I cherish is what a beautiful father-daughter love story it is.

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje — I love novels that teach me something, and in this book I learned a bit about Africa, archeology, and Egypt in the years immediately before the Second World War.

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron — Perhaps the most sad and wrenching novel I’ve ever read.

2. What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown?

The Lincoln General Store — and their peppermint brownies.  Or their chocolate chip scones. Or their salted caramel bars. Every bite is worth every calorie.

3. Castles or Beaches?

Beaches — with a book.

4. One thing readers would be surprised to know about you.

I begin my writing day by watching movie trailers.

5. Hard Rock or Classical? Favorite Band or Artist?

Hard rock when I am lifting at the gym. But I like both. Favorites vary. Might be 10,000 Maniacs one day, System of a Down the next. My iPod also has a lot of Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and the Beatles.

6. If you had an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world for research, where would you go?

Back to the Syrian border. I have been there twice in the last two years.

7. What is your guilty pleasure?

Sugar Free Red Bull.

8. What are you afraid of?

Plane crashes.

9. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one?

No tats.

10. Organized or Free Floating?

Organized.

11. Binge watcher or weekly viewer?

Both.

12. What’s your favorite TV show and why?

Mad Men because it channels me back to my childhood. Breaking Bad because it is breathtakingly rich with dread.

13. If you could pick a book you’ve read and make it into a movie, which book would it be (besides yours 🙂 )?

Right now? City on Fire. But that might change.

14. What’s your favorite movie of all time and why?

Impossible to choose one. This moment it might be Birdman. Tomorrow it might be The Right Stuff.

15. Would you rather see a movie in the theatre or at home on DVD and why?

Depends on the movie. I just saw The Revenant on Imax – utterly breathtaking.

16. Do you love to cook or go out to eat?

Both.

To read an EXCERPT click on the title: Guest Room excerpt

*****GIVEAWAY*****

The publisher has donated one signed copy of The Guest Room to one reader.  Contest open till 2/26/16 at 12 noon EST.

Winner will randomly be selected and is open to US Residents only.

Please leave a comment below for a chance to win! Winner must notify Books I Love A Latte by 2/28 12 noon EST or a new winner will be selected.

**For Book Clubs the publisher has provided a reading guide. Spoiler Alert – Only click if you want to read detailed questions regarding the book. – RGG, Guest Roomfinal **

Additional Info:

To learn more and become part of the solution, visit www.castla.org, the site for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. CAST is one of the many important organizations that work to assist persons trafficked for the purpose of forced labor, sexual slavery, and other instances of appalling human rights violations.

Facts About Human Trafficking and Sexual Slavery

• According to the U.S. State Department, perhaps three-quarters of a million people are trafficked across international borders every year—and then there are the millions trafficked within their own countries.
• The International Labor Organization estimates that 14.2 million people are victims of forced labor exploitation in economic activities, such as agriculture, construction, domestic work, and manufacturing. The ILO also estimates 4.5 million people were forced into sexual exploitation globally in 2014.
• About two million children every year are exploited in the global commercial sex trade.
• The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children estimates that one out of every six runaways is a likely sex trafficking victim.

If you are in an emergency situation or have a credible tip, call the CAST 24-hour hotline to speak to an emergency responder: 1 (888) KEY-2-FREEDOM.

About the Author:

Chris Bohjalian is the author of eighteen books, including Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands; The Sandcastle Girls; Skeletons at the Feast; The Double Bind; and Midwives, which was a number one New York Times bestseller and a selection of Oprah’s Book Club. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and three of his novels have become movies (Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers). He lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter. Visit him at www.chrisbohjalian.com or on Facebook.

*****Guide written by Amy Clements*****

Pictures, Book Excerpt and Guide provided by publisher