Kindle Freebie until May 6!

Kindle Freebie: Finding Love in Friday Harbor, Washington

To celebrate the release of book two in the Washington Island Romance series, the first book is being offered as a Kindle freebie this week! Go grab your copy! 

Finding Love in Friday Harbor, Washington is a Christian contemporary romance, but it's more than a romance. You'll find themes of grieving, regrets, healing, family, and even some humor thrown in. One reviewer likened the book to a Hallmark movie, so if you enjoy them, you'll enjoy this story. While you're at Amazon, check out book two: Finding Love on Bainbridge Island, Washington, which just released May 1.

These are getaway books. Isn't it time for a getaway? Come visit picturesque Puget Sound and get caught up in stories of hope and second chances.

Here's the summary:

Will keeping his promise lead to another broken heart—or help them find love again?  

Professor Mikaela Rhoades has a plan: she’ll encourage her students’ marine biology research through an exclusive program while helping an old family friend’s whale touring business stay afloat. The challenge is the tour captain is her first love and ex-fiancé. Mikaela longs to help his family in the wake of his father’s death, but she’s keeping secrets. She’ll have to face her past and overcome her concerns about the future to make it through the summer. 

Captain Hunter Cahill has taken over the family touring business after his father’s death. Unfortunately, he’s drowning in grief and debt. He’s hoping the incoming stodgy professor will help resurrect the failing business, but he’s not prepared when that professor turns out to be Mikaela, his former fiancée. To make matters more difficult, he’d promised his father to pursue her if she ever returned to the island single. The more time they spend together, the easier it is to keep that promise, though she still plans to leave at the end of the season. How much will it cost him to spend the summer romancing Mikaela?

Get it free on Kindle today!

~~~~~~

Here's more info about Finding Love on Bainbridge Island, Washington, book two in the Washington Island Romance series, offered at $2.99 on Kindle for a limited time. Kindle Unlimited members read for free!

Finding Love on Bainbridge Island, Washington

Book two, Finding Love on Bainbridge Island, is a stand-alone, Christian contemporary romance novel. This book is also a reunion romance with characters who have regrets from their past, but are growing and might be ready for a second chance. 

Readers are enjoying the varied characters, especially Aunt Matilda, who brings humor to balance some of the weightier themes in the book of abandonment, PTSD, and personal growth. 

Here's the summary:

Neither of them is ready for a relationship, but love may not give them an out.
Jenna-Shea Brown considers herself a broken therapist. Years ago, she witnessed something that caused PTSD. She can’t let her boss or her patients know about her battle. Who would want to trust her to help them, when she can’t help herself? She’s finally able to find a fresh start in her family’s beach cabin, but the renovations aren’t complete. Her parents have hired her ex-boyfriend to finalize them, but his negligence led to her being in the wrong place at the wrong time all those years ago.

Liam Barrett is trying to prove he’s nothing like his deadbeat dad. He’s working hard, yet still failing. Adrenaline and adventure offer him a diversion, but maybe he can’t escape his genes. He’d like to make things right with Shea, but he’s unsure if she’ll forgive him. Meanwhile, he’s challenged to forgive his father. He’s also worried about Shea and all these episodes she won’t explain. Now that they’re back in close proximity, he’s falling for her again. But can anything heal the past?

Release Day: Finding Love on Bainbridge Island, Washington

Finding Love on Bainbridge Island, Washington

It's finally here! Release day for the second book in my Washington Island Romance series: 

Finding Love on Bainbridge Island, Washington!

Release Day!

This novel has been in my heart for a long time, and it's so fulfilling to see it launch into the world. 

A little behind-the-scenes info: About ten years ago, I dreamed up a series of location-based novels set in Puget Sound. I knew this would be the second one, and I knew the heroine's name: Jenna-Shea Brown, but I didn't have this plot until last year! 

Yes, this is book two in the Washington Island Romance series, but this novel also stands alone, which means you do not have to read book one in order to follow what happens here. You'll find themes of forgiveness, PTSD, romance, psychology, healing, love languages, humor, and hope as the hero and heroine get a second chance at love.

Here's the summary:

Neither of them is ready for a relationship, but love may not give them an out.

Jenna-Shea Brown considers herself a broken therapist. Years ago, she witnessed something that caused PTSD. She can’t let her boss or her patients know about her battle. Who would want to trust her to help them, when she can’t help herself? She’s finally able to find a fresh start in her family’s beach cabin, but the renovations aren’t complete. Her parents have hired her ex-boyfriend to finalize them, but his negligence led to her being in the wrong place at the wrong time all those years ago.

Liam Barrett is trying to prove he’s nothing like his deadbeat dad. He’s working hard, yet still failing. Adrenaline and adventure offer him a diversion, but maybe he can’t escape his genes. He’d like to make things right with Shea, but he’s unsure if she’ll forgive him. Meanwhile, he’s challenged to forgive his father. He’s also worried about Shea and all these episodes she won’t explain. Now that they’re back in close proximity, he’s falling for her again. But can anything heal the past? 

And here's what an early reader had to say: "Love, love, love this story and the characters! I cheered for them and cried for them. Great story!" ~ Melissa Henderson, reviewer

This novel is available in both print and e-book formats on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. If you're a Kindle Unlimited member, you can read both Finding Love in Friday Harbor, Washington, and Finding Love on Bainbridge Island, Washington, for free!

If you get a chance to read them, I hope you'll write a review and tell your friends. Happy reading!

Storm Front by Susan May Warren

Storm Front by Susan May Warren

This spring has been fun for reading some of my favorite authors, Susie May among them!

Let’s begin with the summary:

A tornado has destroyed a small Minnesota community and among the missing are not only a group of students but PEAK Rescue team leader Chet King. Ty Remington will stop at nothing to rescue his mentor, not even when the girl he loved—and lost—walks back into his life. But Brette needs his help more than he knows, despite her stubborn determination to push him away. And when he gets a second chance, loving her just might cost him more than he can imagine.

A blogger for Vortex Storm Chasers, Brette Arnold didn't expect her adventures to land her in the same place as Ty, the guy who she walked—no, ran—from over a year ago. She had her reasons—good ones. The kind that tell her that falling for him again would only lead to heartache. But Ty isn't the kind of man to give up—not on the missing students, or on her.

Life and love hang in the balance in Susan May Warren's breathless story of holding on to hope during a deadly summer of storms.

And now, my review:

I liked seeing the PEAK Rescue team leave the mountains of their usual setting and loved how Susie made this believable—if the problem centers on one team member, the whole team will come help.

Brette is a likable character in this novel. She’s courageous and doesn’t seem to be about to sell out the PEAK team, like she seemed about to do in an earlier Montana Rescue series book. I rooted for her after learning more of her story and seeing her try to be noble. 

Ty is one lovable character! He’s all heart. He follows his gut instincts, and he is often misunderstood because of it. But he’s the ideal guy to have on a rescue team because he will not give up. He cares about everyone the same. He can’t see that he’s a hero, but instead he zeroes in on his past dark moment and calls himself a failure. Really, that’s a lie and it’s all about his perspective. 

As usual, Susie’s research is impeccable. We learn about mesocyclones and other storm terms. My inner science nerd loved this! The storms made for an adventurous element.

I’m enjoying this series, but a word to the reader: please, read these books in order. You may be a little bit lost if you read them as stand-alones.  

Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Firefly Cove by Davis Bunn

Firefly Cove by Davis Bunn

I read the first book in the Miramar Bay series last summer and enjoyed it, so I was glad to read book two for review. 

Let’s begin with the summary:

I have this, Lucius thought to himself. I have today.

Since the age of seven, Lucius Quarterfield has known he is dying. Doctors told him he had a “bad ticker” and might not live to see his next birthday. But somehow, the frail yet determined boy managed to hang on and surprise everyone. The bullies who teased him. The family who neglected him. The professionals who offered little hope for a normal life. To their surprise, Lucius not only survived to adulthood, he thrived, turning a small car dealership into a successful chain. But now, at twenty-eight, his time is finally running out. So he’s returning to the one place he ever felt happy, near the only woman he ever truly wanted—the California seaside town of Miramar Bay…
  Was it so much to ask, a healthy tomorrow shared with a woman he loved?

Jessica was the only daughter of the only dentist in town. An ardent reader and fan of Jane Austen, she was able to follow in her father’s footsteps, as he desired. But Jessica preferred the simple things in life—a trait that captivated Lucius from the moment he arrived in town on business. Her carefree approach to living and playful, quick wit were a breath of fresh air to a man who devoted all his time to work. They were complete opposites and perfect complements. Soon they were falling head over heels—until Lucius pulled away, to spare her the pain of his inevitable fate. Now, after all this time, he won’t put her through that again. His days are numbered. And whatever happens—with Jessica or anyone sharing his journey—he’s going to make each moment count. Because he knows that everything is about to change . . . he just can’t know exactly how. 

And now, my review:

The setting and a few of the characters overlap from book one to two, but this story stood alone, for the most part. Readers won’t be lost if they do not read Miramar Bay first.

Much of the book’s opening (to about 7%) is backstory, which is rather unengaging as it’s mostly telling. Beyond that, the storytelling and prose are strong throughout. Unfortunately deep POV lacked in some areas, with several cliffhangers where readers expect to see reactions and/or deeper emotional explorations. Those cliffhangers reminded me of a screenplay where the advice to writers is to get in late and get out early, regarding scenes. Readers expect a bit more depth and emotional payout in novels, and I felt these end-of-chapter cliffhangers preempted that because readers are kept at a distance. There were also a couple of POV missteps here and there where the POVC somehow knew a different character’s experience. 

Lucius is a broken man, and it’s easy to sympathize with him and root for him the whole story. The summary above gives more insight into Jessica’s characterization than I recall in the book, but I appreciated her tenacity and willingness to love unconditionally.

The fantasy/sci-fi aspect surprised me and left me wondering what the author was trying to say. But a second chance? That’s a great hook, especially when that possibility is impossible. There’s a taste of hope in tragedy. 

I liked the psychological aspect. And I appreciated the level of research. Though I noticed in Miramar Bay that this author tends to present elements out of order, those instances were still jarring here. (Telling us how someone sounds before they speak or summarizing a scene before he shows us the characters acting out the scene on the page.) 

Whenever the story drifted from the central hook (which was Jessica and Lucius and their transcendent love for each other), the story lagged. I skimmed a bit until we returned to this thread.

Overall, I found this novel’s approach to a second chance interesting, if a bit confusing in terms of biblical doctrine. But no one promised us a biblical tale. 

Readers who are looking for a clean love story that is outside the box will appreciate this novel.