Hi guys!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're diving into a recent release that's the perfect addition to your Summer reading list. It's the ninth in a series but reads just as well as a stand alone; trust me, I've only read one other title in the series and while it rang a few bells of remembrance, nothing was lost in the experience. So, if you're ready, please pack your bags (be they beach or suitcase) and join me along the Chesapeake Bay for today's book of choice...
The Chesapeake Diaries, Book 9
by
Mariah Stewart
Pocket Books
About the book...
Jamie Valentine is the wildly successful author of self-help books that advocate transparency in every relationship. But when her widowed mother passes away unexpectedly, Jamie discovers her own life has been based on a lie. Angry and deeply betrayed, she sets out to find the truth—which may be in a small town on the Chesapeake Bay. Cutting her most recent book tour short, Jamie books a room at the Inn at Sinclair’s Point, just outside St. Dennis.
The death of Daniel Sinclair’s father forced him to take over the family inn, and his wife’s death left him a single parent of two children, so there’s little room for anything else in his life. His lovely new guest is intriguing, though, and he’s curious about the secret she’s clearly hiding. But in the end, Jamie and Dan could discover the greatest truth of all: that the search for one thing just might lead to the find of a lifetime—if you keep your heart open.
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Jamie is a great leading lady. She is funny and self-deprecating while being the most caring and giving heart you could ask for. It's a shame she has to suffer such a loss initially and then again when her past is turned into myths and smoke. My heart went out to her and her Aunt Sis. Tough times indeed but she didn't let them keep her down. I was applauding her the whole time she took things into her own hands and sought out what she needed to know to finally find her sense of self again. Would the journey end in success? No way of knowing from the start, but taking that first step was the hardest part and she did it with grace and purpose. I think for Jamie, someone that treasured honesty above most else, finding out that truth has many shades was a difficult lesson, but one that made her grow in more ways than she could have expected. Speaking of grace, her friendship with Grace Sinclair was also something to remember and I adored her spirit (especially the scene where our do-gooder Jamie was taking Grace out for coffee when Daniel shows us...what a hoot!). In my eyes, she could do no wrong...even with the few white lies or nondisclosures she was part and party to. Moving forward...
I must say, I did not like our leading man for most of the book. It was only later on that the spark Jamie and he felt between them, finally transmitted through the pages. Do I blame the writing? Yes and no. Put down the rotten tomatoes, I'm not dissing the author's work. I'm merely saying that it was the author's writing in the sense of the character she created and how much time we spend getting to know him in order to fall in love with him ourselves. It's just not there. It's micro minutes as opposed to pages or passages and what we do know (at first) is that he's a control freak who is married to his job, keeps a tight reign on his children and has his (or his families) hands in pretty much everything. Sound enticing? That's what I thought. The part of my answer where I said I don't blame the writing comes into play in regards to this character versus the story. Whereas the potential love affair between Jamie and Daniel is important, it's not nearly as important as what brought her to this little town to begin with.
So, in a nutshell, it's a Contemporary Romance with an emphasis on not simply the love between two people, but the love connections we share with family, friends, and each other. It reminds us that our roots are important but so are the paths we lay ourselves and treasuring those we meet along the journey will make things that much brighter. The writing is smooth and the story is heart warming. What more could you ask for? Oh yes, another book. Looks like it's scheduled for 2016. (*marks calendar*) Recommended for Contemporary Romance fans of all ages...
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About the author...
MARIAH STEWART is the award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of numerous novels and several novellas and short stories. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and two rambunctious rescue dogs amid the rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she savors country life and tends her gardens.
Visit her website at www.mariahstewart.com, and like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/
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Special thanks to Melissa at Simon & Schuster for the ARC for review as well as the chance to bring this tour to all of you. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the series, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title was released the end of last month via Pocket Books, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing. To check out what other readers are saying, stop by the other sites participating in the tour as listed below....
Blog Tour
►6/22: Harlequin Junkies
►6/23: USA Today’s Happy Ever After
►6/24: Reviews from the Heart
►6/25: Booked on a Feeling
►6/26: From L.A. to LA
►6/27: From the TBR Pile
►6/28: Abigail Books Addiction
►6/29: Romancing the Book
►6/30: Bibliotica
►7/2: The Lovely Books
►7/3: Sara’s Organized Chaos
►7/6: Reviews by Crystal
►7/9: Bookfan
►7/10: Emily-Jane's Book Corner
►7/13: Literary Gossip
►7/19: Ramblings from this Chick
►7/26: Svetlana’s Reads
Until next time...happy reading!
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