BLOG TOUR: Mountain Charm by Sydney Logan

Hi there!

Welcome back to the place to be when daily live could use a good dose of bookish enchantment...Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're playing host to a blog tour featuring a magically charmed read, but only just....because the true magic of it all comes from getting to know the hearts of all involved.  Get ready to add another fictional character to your list of people you wish you knew in real life.  Today's blog tour guest and book of choice is...

Appalachian Heart Collection, Book 3:

Mountain Charm

by

Sydney Logan

About the book....

“True love and sweet whispers, till death do us part;
Send someone to love my Appalachian heart.”

At the age of thirteen, Angelina Clark followed in the footsteps of her ancestors by casting an Appalachian love spell, which promised she would blossom into a beautiful and gifted woman who would find her true love. A young Angelina had been thrilled to participate in the sacred ritual, but through the years, her father’s untimely death and her mother’s failing health have shaken Angelina’s magical faith to its core. As her twenty-first birthday approaches, she refuses to practice her supernatural gifts and no longer believes in the love charm.
That is, until Dylan Thomas arrives on her front porch.
Dylan, a Nashville writer, travels to the mountain town of Maple Ridge to unearth the family’s supernatural secrets. While her clairvoyant mother is convinced that Dylan is her daughter’s soul mate, Angelina refuses to see the nosy reporter as anything more than a nuisance.
Despite their constant bickering, sparks fly.
Dylan admits he feels strangely drawn to Angelina and is in no hurry to leave Maple Ridge or publish his magazine article. Fearful that his emotions are being influenced by the spell, a stubborn Angelina struggles to fight her own budding attraction to the reporter.
The two inevitably grow closer just as her mother’s health begins to deteriorate, and Angelina is faced with the possibility of selling the family’s music shop to pay the mounting medical expenses. Desperate to help the woman he loves, Dylan explores his own family tree and finds support from an unlikely source. Can he finally prove his love is real—spell or no spell?

A story of life, love and the real magic that inspires it all.  Whether you're a fan of romance, spunky characters both female AND male, or good friends and a loving, well-meaning family, this book will certainly work its magic on you.

The less than obvious charm of this book comes in the fact that in about 160 pages, the author manages to share a lifetime with us.  No lie.  I don't know about you but I tend to shy away from adult fiction titles that run the short story gambit.  Why?  Well, I do believe we've covered this before but it's because I love to get to know, grow, and share time with the characters and the stories they inhabit.  Often times, those stories bordering on too short, tend to leave me wanting...but not this one.  Though it's true, 160 is still a nice page count, considering I just came off a  400 pager right before it, it looked downright tiny.  Just another case of not judging a book by its cover (though I love the cover) or in this case, but its length...


Mountain Charm is well, charming, but not in the traditional sense of the word; more in the quirky, gotta
laugh out loud, cringe and gasp until my worry has melted away sorta way.  The story of the Clark family's traditions is imbued with both fact and suppositions, though even those aspects that may only be guessed at are certainly understandable considering the circumstances.  The coming of age "blessing" of sorts is smile worthy and certainly something I wish existed in my own past, I mean really...even with the guess work it causes Angelina, still SO worth it!  It's sweet and a promise that any parent would want for their daughters in lieu of heartaches and sadness.  The will of Angelina is what gets in her own way but it definitely makes for a more realistic spin on the events as well as a more interesting turn.  How would you like to be greeted by the most dazzling person to ever grace your presence...from behind a shotgun that they apparently know how to use (especially since they don't fail to mention this fact to you).... *o*  Yeah, definitely not the best first impression but not the worst either...how so?  You'll see.  ^_^

As mentioned, Angelina is a spitfire and I loved her character for it.  Dylan is an equal match for her flames, even if he doesn't know why at first, while her best friend Maddie keeps her grounded, even though her own head is off in the clouds of romance-that-could-be.  They are a fun bunch as is the rest of this small town where it's like Cheers, everyone knows your name...just without the theme song (thank heavens!).  One character that features heavily that I've yet to mention is Angelina's dear sweet mom, Celia.

I actually had to do a double take at the name because her character reminded me strongly (minus the actual magic factor) of another maternal figure (though "grand" precedes her family connection) in a series I began not so long ago (Ocean Breeze trilogy, the one and only Cora Jane!).  I could picture these two sitting on the porch in matching rockers, drinking a glass of cold iced tea and...well, plotting the happiness of their offspring and those nearest and dearest to them but that's what makes them so unforgettable.  Despite all that Celia has going on in her own life, she cares for Angelina and that love is bone deep.  She has faith in the magic of the world around her whether it stems from some mystical place or just a natural connection to all that surrounds. Her presence is one you'll note and adore all while falling in love with our leads.

So, to summarize....a great read no matter how you slice it with magic to delight and confuse, life to worry and fray on your nerves, and love that can be counted on time and again without hesitation nor end; even if proving it takes more than a passing glance and a wish in a well.  Recommended read for fans of all those elements mentioned from older teens through adults; the romance is sweet and fairly chaste leaving room for smiles and daydreams in lieu of fierce bouts of blushing.  Though listed as part of a collection of stories, it stands on its own, a fact I do believe is intended as the common thread seems to be the setting rather than events or characters.

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About the author...

Sydney Logan is an Amazon bestselling author and holds a Master’s degree in Elementary Education. With the 2012 release of her first novel, Lessons Learned, she made the transition from bookworm to author. Sydney has a very unhealthy obsession with music, and her iPod is filled with everything from Johnny Cash to Eminem. She is also the author of two short stories: “Mistletoe Magic,” available exclusively on Amazon Kindle, and “Stupid Cupid,” which is featured in the Romantic Interludes compilation. When she isn't reading or writing, she enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her front porch at her home in East Tennessee with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat.

Mountain Charm is her second novel.

To discover more of the world of Sydney Logan, pay a visit to her official site.

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ARC for review courtesy of Jenny at The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House (TWCS).  (THANKS!) For more information on this title as well as their growing catalog, be sure to stop by their official site, like them on Facebook, or follow along on Twitter!  This book reached publication just this summer so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf near you...or if you simply can't wait, it can be purchased directly from the publisher's site.

Until next time...happy reading!