FAOM: A Little About FINDING FOREVER

The second book in a series makes the reader one of two things: extremely excited because they loved the first book and can’t wait to see what happens next in the authors world, or extremely nervous because they loved the first book and can’t wait to see what happens next in the authors world. There’s a third option I suppose – a little of both. Having truly enjoyed the first book in November’s FAOM Linda Oaks’ series The Chasing I’m actually going to slide myself into that third position and say that I’m both excited and nervous. I’m just diving in to book 2 myself and I’m honestly looking forward to what I’m going to find.

Finding Forever (#2, The Chasing)

by Linda Oaks

What if forever was never meant to be?

Kara Thom had always been the confident one until the fateful day her heart was shattered. She lost the one person she thought would never walk away…

Devon McGraw, the man who had promised her forever.

When Kara returns to her hometown for a wedding, fate intervenes throwing her and Devon together once again. Their chemistry is stronger than ever before, but Devon is not the same guy that Kara fell in love with. The man he’d become had a past, and it was complicated.

He wanted a week, but Kara wants forever.

Will Kara forgive Devon’s past or will her own ruin any chance of her finding forever?

Get a Copy of Finding Forever for Yourself Today:

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Still need to read Chasing Rainbows book 1 in the series? Enter to win a copy HERE or buy your copy at:

Amazon 

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iBooks 

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Smashwords 

Featured Books of the Day - In The Garden with Nora Roberts

BLUE DAHLIA, BLACK ROSE and 

RED LILY by Nora Roberts

The Complete In the Garden Trilogy

http://amzn.to/1TK1olq 

 

Blue Dahlia
When Stella opens her heart to a new love, she discovers that she will fight to the death to protect what’s hers.

Black Rose
Roz  thought love was behind her, until a second chance at happiness takes her by surprise…

Red Lily
Hayley and her new daughter have laid down roots in a new town. And a  friendship blossoms into something more…

Every spring I read these books. Falling in love with the characters, the rich back story, and the power and strength of family. And of course, there are the gardens. Get your own copy of the complete In The Garden trilogy today and get ready to spring into romance.

Fallen Stars are back to ROCK YOU - REVIEW

Rock You by Candy J. Starr 
(Fallen Star #1) 

Publication date: April 8th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:
Working for a cranky, old hermit in an isolated house sounds like Ruby’s idea of heaven but her boss isn’t quite what she expects.

Tex is a fugitive from the rock and roll world – a tragedy abruptly halted his career. No one knows why, no one knows where he is.

The two of them try to live in the same house without ever seeing each other until Tex screws up, endangering their lives and forcing them to live in close quarters.

Suddenly, the idea of human contact seems more appealing, if only with each other.

The sanctuary they have built is enough for Ruby but the outside world encroaches. The man she grows to love is Tex the hermit, not Tex the rock star.

Their fledgling love can’t shine brighter than the rock dream but can Ruby bare to let him go?

The REVIEW

Life is what you make of it. It's a compilation of the things that have hurt you, the things that have built you up, of your fears and anxieties and the things that you believe you can't do without. What makes you happy, or sad, angry or afraid. Life is all of this and more, and sometimes even with all that it's not enough. Or maybe it's too much. 

Cutting yourself off from all those experiences, from the people and the pain, but also from the happiness that could be yours, it breeds something inside of you that is inexplicable and inexplainable. Like a kernel of hope that you can heal and also silken strand of despair that you won't, or that you can't. To make yourself feel more in control you pull yourself back, away and into yourself. 

But what happens when you pull away so far that suddenly your isolation has you insulated from the whole world and you're all alone?

For Ruby and Tex that's exactly the way they want things. Complete isolation from the world, isolation that most would consider unhealthy but for them is simply the balm they need to live. They have their own reasons, their own fears but for them, being isolated together is practically a dream come true. Yes they struggle briefly at first to find a way to comfortably be around one another, but it takes far less time than either of them expected to reach a level of dependancy on the other. 

And then what happens when their joined isolation becomes less insular? How will these two people who have so fiercely defended their personal isolation adapt when the world throws them twists? 

I really enjoyed the range of emotion that Candy J. Starr employed for these characters. The surprise of discovering that the other wasn't what they expected was just the start. And watching as the story unfolded and Ruby and Tex came to realize that they cared for the other was so heartening and nice to read. It was almost as if one day they turned a corner and the feeling was suddenly there, except that it wasn't really sudden and had actually been building from the start. 

I am actually looking forward to reading the next part of this story and seeing what's going to happen next for Tex and Ruby, for Devon and Brownie, and even for Hannah. My only complaint about the book? It's a cliff hanger - and I loath not having the hole story.  I despise the uncertainty and the constant wondering about what comes next. Which pretty much garuntee's I'm reading the next book, doesn't it?

I think you'll like it. It's not a particularly difficult read, nor particularly long. The characters are interesting to learn about and are honestly pretty unique to anything I've read on a whole. So go for it and you may just find yourself in a hot seat like me, waiting until you can get your hands on the second story like me. 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25113103-rock-you?ac=1

Purchase:

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VAIY2KK
iBooks - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id981008102
Nook - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rock-you-candy-j-starr/1121647609?ean=2940152132250&itm=1&usri=2940152132250
Kobo - https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/rock-you

When the Boys Get Down & Dirty - BLITZ

It's scorching hot and you just want to let loose and have some fun... You're heating things up and want to set a mood... You're just hanging out and have the music on...

What do you listen to?

Here's what the DIRTY BOYS OF SUMMER are playing!!!

DIRTY BOYS OF SUMMER Playlist

 

~~ Each song was chosen by the author to represent their story ~~

1. Trouble by Taylor Swift (Gennifer Albin’s TEACHING ROMAN)

2. Haunted by Beyoncé (Evangeline Anderson’s THE ACADEMY)

3. Tattooed Love Boys by The Pretenders (Avery Aster’s LOVE, LEX)

4. Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers (Jamie Blair’s LOST TO ME)

5. Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun (Opal Carew’s TAKEN BY STORM)

6. The Middle of Starting Over by Sabrina Carpenter

(Marisa Cleveland’s ACCIDENTAL BUTTERFLY)

7. Where We Belong by Passion Pit

(Carey Corp’s THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN)

8. Only Human by Christina Perri (Julie Cross’ LETTERS TO NOWHERE)

9. Brave by Sara Bareilles (Jen Frederick’s UNSPOKEN)

10. The Fool by Ryn Weaver (Rachel Higginson’s BET ON US       )

11. Wide Awake by Lacuna Coil (Tamara Mataya’s THE SOWING)

12. Soft Shock by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Dawn Rae Miller’s CRUSHED)

13. When Love Collides by Midnight Hour

(Julie Prestsater’s BEFORE SOMEDAY-PART ONE: THE WAIT)

14. Ca Plane Pour Moi by Plastic Bertrand

(Becca Ritchie & Krista Ritchie’s KISS THE SKY)

15. Meltdown by Love and Death (Lynn Rush’s FROSTBITE)

16. Liar by One OK Rock (C.L. Stone’s LIAR: THE SCARAB BEETLE SERIES: #2)

 

Are you ready for the

DIRTY BOYS OF SUMMER??

Purchase @ Amazon

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Who Doesn't Love Those DIRTY BOYS OF SUMMER!!!

WHO DOESN'T LOVE THOSE

DIRTY SUMMER BOYS?

Alphas, Billionaires, Bikers, Bad Boys, Stepbrothers, and Jocks

 

99 cent Mega NA/YA Romance Bundle Sale. Limited Time Only!

Note: Sunglasses required

Grab this set of 16 Young/New Adult stories in one single volume and at one amazing price. Fill up a bucket with ice and prepare for a heat wave as the DIRTY BOYS OF SUMMER hit your e-reader giving your romantic minds a scorching thrill like no other.

Are you ready to lose your v-card, fall in love, get naughty, and say good-bye to your good girl persona with these ohhh so dirty summer boys? Intended for 17+, we've packed the box with the best in upper young adult, naughty new adult, sweet contemporary, and wicked paranormal.

Goodreads

 

Stories from:

GENNIFER ALBIN, Teaching Roman -- Class is in session...

EVANGELINE ANDERSON, The Academy -- The Academy…Where things aren't always as they seem.

AVERY ASTER, Love, Lex -- If you love snarky socialites and dominating NYPD motor cops then get ready to laugh your ass off with Love, Lex by Avery Aster.

JAMIE BLAIR, Lost to Me -- Lauren has the perfect dress, the perfect guy, and romantic plans for their first time. What she doesn't plan on is a jealous ex-girlfriend turning her night to tragedy.

OPAL CAREW, Taken By Storm -- Some risks are worth taking.

MARISA CLEVELAND, Accidental Butterfly -- Dead at sixteen. She was just another statistic. Until she became a guiding angel.

CAREY CORP, The Halo Chronicles: The Guardian -- When it comes to boyfriends, "heaven sent" has a whole new meaning.

JULIE CROSS, Letters to Nowhere -- Her family may be shattered, but her dreams aren't

JEN FREDERICK, Unspoken -- Bo Jackson's life consists of sleeping with anything that moves and punching anything that stands still...until he meets her.

RACHEL HIGGINSON, Bet on Us -- Fin Hunter has gone all in for Ellie Harris. Will she bet on love or fold before she loses everything?

TAMARA MATAYA, The Sowing -- Twenty-first birthday? Check. Strange new powers? Check. Getting through this heinous WTF-ery alive? I’ll get back to you.

DAWN RAE MILLER, Crushed -- Having it all has never been so hard.

JULIE PRESTSATER, Before Someday-Part One: The Wait -- Before Someday is the perfect combination of sweet and sexy, humor and angst, and a whole hell of a lot of love.

KRISTA & BECCA RITCHIE, Kiss the Sky -- Virgin. Sex addict. Daredevil. Alcoholic. Smartass ... Jackass. Her five friends are about to be filmed. Reality TV, be prepared.

LYNN RUSH, Frostbite -- Amanda gives a whole new meaning to cool…

C.L. STONE, Liar: The Scarab Beetle Series: #2 -- Worse than a thief, is a liar.

 

 

Ready to get your hands on the

DIRTY BOYS OF SUMMER???

Purchase @ Amazon

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Finding Love - Truly Madly Deeply REVIEW

Truly Madly Deeply by Brenda Pandos
(Truly Madly Deeply #1)
Publication date: February 19th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

TRULY
Maddy finally has everything she’s ever wanted: a decent job, her own place with her BFF, a great guy… well, he isn’t exactly perfect, but who is?
Logan will soon have it all: a degree at a pristine college, a job at his girlfriend’s fathers firm, a gorgeous girl to share it with. Then why isn’t he happy?

MADLY
Maddy’s world shatters when she catches her best friend and boyfriend cheating. Forced to start over, she takes a job far away from home.
Logan’s summer job options fizzle out. Nearly broke and desperate, he’s forced to take a job as a camp counselor for the summer.

DEEPLY
Maddy swears off guys, even to the point of lying and saying she’s taken. But when Logan comes along, she fights feelings that are surfacing for him.
If Logan has everything he wants, then why can’t he stop thinking about Maddy?

Secrets. Lies. Summer Camp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW

Your best day becomes your worst, and then you have to live with the consequences. 

Twenty year old Maddy is on top of the world and feels as if finally circumstances are starting to turn her way. She's finally going to be able to move out of her mother's house, a blessing because it'll be an escape from her moms alcoholism. She's moving in with her best friend. And she hopes that things with her boyfriend will start to turn around too. 

Unfortunately, her best friend and her boyfriend have been lying to her and deal her the ultimate in betrayal. She loses the money she'd need to be able to move out of her mothers. Then of course, she looses her job too. 

Now she's headed back to the summer camp she loved as a teenager, this time as an employee instead of a camper, but even that is marred by the fact that she's not going to have the position that she'd always hoped and dreamed for.  At camp she discovers old friends from her years there as a teen also working for the summer - as counsellors.  Add in a couple of new people, the gorgeous Logan for example, and she can't decide whether working at Camp Redwood Springs is going to be awesome or hell. 

Sometimes you read a story and you have a hard time relating or you do, but you're constantly asking yourself 'why' or 'what'? Or you read a story and it's like looking in a crystal ball and seeing your own life - how you hoped it'd be, how it is, the good, the bad, the sometimes not-so-sure. One of the things that I do really like about TRULY MADLY DEEPLY is that it could be any of those things. 

I also like all the characters - the good and the bad. Maddy and Syd. Dirk, and Matt, and Logan, and Kitty. Even Gage and Allie serve their purpose. What I really like, what's snagged my attention and has me looking forward to the next instalment of the story, is that while we know that Maddy has herself mired in lies and misinformation, all in an attempt to make her and her life look better than it really is, I couldn't help but wonder "what about the rest of them"? The other counsellors whose lives sound all rosy, are their lives really as good as the seem, or are they too embellishing, exaggerating, and even lying to make themselves appear better to their peers? I suppose the only way to know for sure, will be to read the next part of the story when it's available. 

So, in case you haven't guessed, I do, definitely, absolutely recommend this story for your TBR list. It's a cute and refreshing read.  It's pretty short in length too so that's nice with summer coming up on us so quick. There are no deep, dark, twisty plot bunnies - at least not that I've discovered as yet. So yes, read it and I think even if you don't love it, you'll still be pleased you did. 

Blitz & Giveaway with LOVE ALWAYS, DAMIAN

Love Always, Damian by D. Nichole King
(Love Always #2) 

 

Published by: Limitless Publishing
Publication date: May 26th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

They say time heals all wounds.

What a load of bull. It’s been four years, and Kate’s voice still echoes in my mind.

Every. Damn. Day.

I numb her memory when it taunts me. In college, I drown her out with booze and easy lays. I can’t do what she asked

I can’t let her go.

Not even when Lia shows up, freaking ripping what’s left of me to shreds. Caring about someone isn’t worth the deadness that follows after they’re gone. I didn’t ask for this. Didn’t ask for her.

And I sure as hell didn’t plan to miss her when she walked out of my front door.

Now, if I want to keep her, I have to straighten myself out and earn her. I can’t screw this up.

Because if I do, I’ll lose more than just Lia.

I’ll lose my life.

Goodreads

 

Purchase @ Amazon

Purchase @ B&N

AUTHOR BIO:

Born and raised in Iowa, d. Nichole King writes her stories close to home. There's nothing like small-town Midwest scenery to create the perfect backdrop for an amazing tale.

She wrote her first book in junior high and loved every second of it. However, she couldn't bring herself to share her passion with anyone. She packed it away until one day, with the encouragement of her husband, she sat down at the computer and began to type. Now, she can't stop.

When not writing, d. is usually curled up with a book, scrapbooking, or doing yet another load of laundry.

Along with her incredible husband, she lives in small-town Iowa with her four adorable children and their dog, Peaches.

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. A man who never reads lives only one."

--George R. R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

Author links:

http://www.dnicholeking.com/

https://www.facebook.com/authordnicholeking?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/dNicholeKing

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7762889.D_Nichole_King

 

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REVIEW - Get Your Fill of MEN AND MARTINIS

Men and Martinis by Delancey Stewart
(Girlfriends of Gotham #1)
Publication date: April 15th 2015
Genres: Comedy, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

It’s 1998…and New York City just might not be prepared for the Girlfriends of Gotham…

Natalie Pepper knows almost nothing about New York City, except that it’s far, far away from her home in California. When she packs up everything she owns and moves there on a whim, luck is on her side. She stumbles into a promising marketing job in the developing Internet industry and finds herself surrounded by poised and polished men who are nothing like the guys she knew back home.

One man stands out from the rest… CJ: All-American hunk and genuine good guy. But they work together, and giving in to their mutual attraction could put Natalie’s sparkly new world at risk. She resolves to look, but not to touch…if she can ignore the feeling that he’s the guy she’s been looking for her whole life.

Natalie’s new friend Candace Kanie has no such concerns. From the barroom to the boardroom, she’s used to getting exactly what she wants, and her no-crap attitude ensures nothing gets in her way. But when she meets Damon, the notorious playboy at Natalie’s company, she finds that her take-no-prisoners style might not be as effective in the romantic realm.

Frustrated and often irrational, Candace pushes for what she wants until something’s gotta give. And when it does, she realizes that the one thing she might not do better than anyone else is change.

The first book about the loves, lives, and laughter of a group of friends finding their way in the city is a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy full of Men and Martinis!
 

Goodreads            Purchase @ Amazon

 

 

REVIEW

 

Natalie Pepper is a California girl that makes the move to New York City hoping that it’s just the change she needs in her life to prove herself and to her father, that she can succeed on her own. She lucks out and right away lands a great job but it’s one that she’s in no way qualified for.  It’s at work that she meets CJ – a great looking guy that does all the right things for her and expresses his interest in her as well.  Except she’s made a rule for herself and she’s determined to stick to it: she will not date anyone she works with. 

Candace Kanie is from New York. She knows the city and she knows exactly what she wants from it. And nothing is going to stop her from getting exactly what she wants – not the job, not the guy, not the life.  Except... Her job doesn’t just hinge on her determination; a guy doesn’t actually become a boyfriend if he doesn’t want to be a boyfriend, and life, while life is simply more complicated, and nowhere near as 2-dimensional as she’s perceived it.

Fortune lands them at a party together and through sheer luck they become friends.

Then there’s Maggie and Lulu – friends of Candace’s from college, who also quickly become Natalie’s friends too.  There’s Damon, Natalie’s co-worker.  Sam, the one-night stand turned sort-of boyfriend. Catalina, Maggie’s roommate and friend.  Gregoire, the French investor, and so many more people that make up the fun ‘cast’ of characters in this book.

Before reading the book I was imagining it would be something like Sex and the City and in many ways, I wasn’t wrong.  You can definitely see the parallels between them though these four ladies (Natalie, Candace, Maggie and Lulu) go about their lives in New York City somewhat differently.  I guess I wasn’t really sure whether I’d like the book, I was never really a Sex and the City fan (though I’d kill for some of Sarah Jessica Parker’s shoes) but I did.  I liked it a lot, which still sort of surprises me.

As with many books, there are things about Men and Martinis that I didn’t like.  For example, a character here or there that I couldn’t really accept or a plot-thread that (still) doesn’t make sense.  More than once I found myself irritated by a character in one chapter, only to feel sort of sorry for them in another.  Now, normally I would accept that as the normal consequence of characters developing their personalities, or the dichotomy of well developed, if unbalanced, characters – but this wasn’t that, I don’t think.  Or maybe I just haven’t seen the actual “end” of the development of the character, as if there’s more to them that just what we’ve seen so far.  Which I admit is entirely possible.  With the sneak peek at the second book in the series Highballs in the Hamptons I think that could be a possibility but I guess at this point only time will tell.

Do I recommend this book? Absolutely! It’s a fun read, and I did truly enjoy watching as the craziness of these girls lives unfold.  Now that I’ve finished drowning myself in Men and Martinis I may just have to make some time to see what happens next when we’re served Highballs in the Hamptons. 

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Things Get Dicey on a CLOSED SET - REVIEW

Closed Set by Julia Harlow 

 

Publication date: June 15th 2014
Genres: Erotica, Romance

Synopsis
Cassandra Carlson is working on her five-year plan. A professional dancer, she moved to Los Angeles after college to work at her best friend’s Hollywood dance studio. She decides she can put up with the glitterati for the time being until she saves enough to open her own studio back home in Cincinnati.

When soon-to-be A-list British actor, Christopher Edwards, comes to her for dance lessons for his new film, the attraction is instantaneous and intense. Both are young, available and beautiful, but while she finds Hollywood garish and superficial, he’s on the brink of realizing his life’s ambition with no inclination for a serious relationship. Or so he thinks.

Just when their white-hot desire can no longer be denied, a jealous actress targets Cassandra in an insidious scheme, and a powerful studio head poses a formidable threat to them both. Cassandra puts herself in jeopardy in order to protect Christopher, but will she lose him in the process?

 

REVIEW

 

As a dancer I was really looking forward to this book after first hearing about it and I did enjoy the story for the most part. I liked Christopher's British charm and his desire to keep Cassandra safe in a sometimes hostile environment. I enjoyed Cassandra's passion and drive to excel, as well as her ever increasing love for Chris. I liked many of the characters, while others I found redundant to the plot and/or storyline, or lacking in distinct personality though they were supposed to be significant to the story.  I think Closed Set had its pros and cons but in the end I did like it.

Pro: Dance instructor to the stars meets an actor who helps her get the big break she didn't even know she'd been looking for.

Pro: Budding and building chemistry between Cassie and Chris. It's not just a straight shot to happiness for the lead couple.  I greatly enjoyed the fact that they had to struggle to find their HEA.

Con: While I enjoyed seeing the changing environment of Chris and Cassie's relationship, their situational reactions became overblown and predictable. One couldn't just be slightly unsure of the security of the relationship, they must be insanely jealous, or make rash, sweeping and unrealistic assumptions about the others motivation.

Con: I enjoy a bad guy as much as the next girl. I can even accept sexual assault as a good villainous tool, the vehicle you could say by which the villain is the bad guy. While using this once against the heroine and the couple is acceptable to me in a story, multiple uses by multiple villains is simply overusing the tool and creating redundancy.

Pro: When bad shit happens, Chris is supportive of Cassie and does and says all the right things, at (more or less) the right time.

Con: Chris has a tendency to overreact to innocent situations, and thus creates these big crisis' for the couple.

Con: Cassie preaches the need for complete trust in their relationship, but then turns around and exhibits little.

Pro: The couple does get a happy ending.

Con: The ending of the story and the HEA seemed a little rushed after everything else that happened.

I liked it. I enjoyed it. But at the same time I don't know that I would read it again.

REVIEW The Day of The Wave

The Day Of The Wave by Becky Wicks 

 

Publication date: May 1st 2015
Genres: Adult, Romance

 

Goodreads

Synopsis:

Isla and Ben were just sixteen when the Boxing Day tsunami tore through their beach resort in Thailand. Just days after forming a life-changing bond, both were missing and presumed dead. Unbeknown to each other and haunted by one of the biggest natural disasters in world history, Isla and Ben are living very different lives, until over a decade later when a chance encounter throws them back together.

Based on real life events, The Day of the Wave is a story of healing, learning to let go, and figuring out when to hold on with everything you have left.
 

Purchase your copy of THE DAY OF THE WAVE on: Amazon

 

 

AUTHOR BIO:

 

Becky Wicks lives in Bali and scribbles books, and she’s mostly powered by coffee. Her first book in the Starstruck Series, Before He Was Famous recently reached #1 in Amazon’s Coming of Age and New Adult & College categories, and her three travel books, published by HarperCollins are online to make feet nice and itchy. Mostly though, she loves to write love stories. She blogs most days at beckywicks.com and always welcomes distractions on Twitter @bex_wicks. Especially if you have photos of cats.

 

Author links:

http://beckywicks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Becky-Wicks-Author/242645109127479

https://twitter.com/bex_wicks

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4658054.Becky_Wicks

 

 

REVIEW

 

What do you do when everything you know, everyone you hold near and dear to your heart, and (what seems like) the whole world is turned upside down, torn apart?  How do you cope when you’re left scrambling with shreds of the life you had? How does the tragedy change you?

For Isla and Ben, these questions – hypothetical’s that humans occasionally ponder as they consider their place in the world and the meaning of their lives – became the only thoughts in their minds after the tsunami swept through Thailand on December 26, 2004.  They both lost. Period, straight up, no prettying-it-up... They lost.  They lost family. They lost faith. They lost friends. They lost each other.

And then life went on.

More than ten years later they randomly run into each other and it all, the memories, pain, everything, it all comes back.  This time they each need to face what happened then in order to be able to move forward happily with their lives; and it helps that they can face the troubles and terrors of that horrible day together.  Toss in exes, new/old friends, well meaning strangers, a backpacking thief, and a wise-eyed elephant and you’ve got The Day of the Wave.

I was apprehensive about reading Amie Stuart’s new novel.  I just couldn’t decide whether reading this story was something that I would be able to push through.  I’d pick it up and think to myself “today is the day!” and then nothing.  Until one day I finally buckled down, told myself I had to do it.  I’ve read books that I’ve disliked before.  I’ve forced myself to read all the way through books that within a few chapters of starting, I knew I was going not going to like at all.  I was nervous that Day of the Wave was going to end up being one of them.

But then Isla’s pain and her fear caught at my heart and it didn’t take long for me to realize that Ben used his work and even his optimistic attitude to mask his lingering fear and guilt.  More than a decade after the tsunami they both struggled and fought (each in their own ways) to survive.  And as I read I realized that that – the struggle, the pain, the hope and desire for life, was the point. The story was about what they lost, it was about what they had to do to survive.  In the end, they story was about that and so much more – because in the end Isla and Ben don’t just survive, they live.

I don’t know that I can say that I love this book.  Saying that doesn’t really explain how I feel, perhaps a better way of describing it would be that the story touched my heart.  Yes.  It touched my heart – because you don’t have to have lived through a tsunami or other natural disaster to understand the kind of loss that shatters you to a degree that you don’t know whether you can survive it, or whether you even want to.  So yes, The Day of the Wave touched me and I recommend you read it, so that it can touch you as well.

For the Love of Music - ONCE IN A BLUE MOON BLITZ

For anyone who's followed, glanced at, read or stumbled upon my blog, it likely comes as little surprise that while reading is #1 on my list of favorite things to do, listening to music (and singing, especially if no one is around to hear me) is pretty high on the list too.  I'm always revved when I hear from other readers, bloggers, and writers about how they use music to keep them motivated and inspired while they go about their days.  It's just my luck that Author Amie Stuart of ONCE IN A BLUE MOON loves music just as much as me!!

Here's what she has to say about music, and how she was happily able to incorporate it into her book.

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I love music. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have set up Aunt Susie with her fictional dancehall.

I love music so much that it’s probably my third favorite thing after my kids and books! And I have a special soft spot for singer-songwriters like Sheryl Crow and Patti Griffin (if you haven’t heard her duet with Dierkes Bently, I highly recommend). As you read through ONCE IN A BLUE MOON, you’ll notice the chapter titles. Some of those are taken from Betti’s rules but some are actual songs.  Funny enough, I listened to a LOT of Stevie Ray Vaughn while writing this book! I say funny because, normally, I can’t listen to music with lyrics when I write. I guess I listened so much that it stopped intruding!

So who’s your favorite go-to, house cleaning, seat-dancing in the car till you embarrass your children band, singer or song(s)????

And here’s the playlist for the curious:

Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones

Same Old Song and Dance – Aerosmith

Love Struck Baby – Stevie Ray Vaughn

Crossfire – Stevie Ray Vaughn

Crazy – Patsy Cline

Gimme a Bullet – ACDC

Where is the Love – The Blackeyed Peas

There Goes the Neighborhood – Sheryl Crow

Remedy – The Black Crowes

Killing Time – Clint Black

Do You Want Fries With That? – Tim McGraw

Good Enough – Sarah McLachlan

Knockin' On Heaven's Door – Guns 'n Roses

Pride and Joy – Stevie Ray Vaughn

Mad Mission – Patty Griffin

Living With Ghosts – Patty Griffin

Tightrope – Stevie Ray Vaughn

Without You – Motley Crue

Not Alone – I'm going with Patty Griffin