Teaser Tuesday (February 21)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU SHARE DOESN'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY! YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE BOOK FOR OTHERS!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers: 

At the horrific sight, a scream ballooned in Paige's throat. She threw a hand over her mouth to hold it back. Her balance teetered and she fell from her knees to one side, palms smacking against the deck.

P. 22 "Violet Dawn" 
(Kanner Lake series) by Brandilyn Collins

Book Description:

Something sinuous in the water brushed against Paige's knee. She jerked her leg away.

What was that? She rose to a sitting position, groped around with her left hand.

Fine wisps wound themselves around her fingers.

Hair?

She yanked backward, but the tendrils clung. Something solid bumped her wrist. Paige gasped. With one frantic motion she shook her arm free, grabbed the side of the hot tub, and heaved herself out.

Paige Williams slips into her hot tub in the blackness of night---and finds herself face to face with death.

 Alone, terrified, fleeing a dark past, Paige must make an unthinkable choice.

 In Violet Dawn, hurtling events and richly drawn characters collide in a breathless story of murder, the need to belong, and faith's first glimmer. One woman's secrets unleash an entire town's pursuit, and the truth proves as elusive as the killer in their midst.

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Christian Book

So that's my teaser for this week. What do you think? 

Teaser Tuesday (February 14)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU SHARE DOESN'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY! YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE BOOK FOR OTHERS!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers: 

The sight of him constricted her rib cage, squeezed the air from her lungs as if she were wearing a corset. But she wasn't wearing a corset. She was wearing a wedding gown. Just as she had been the last time she'd set eyes on Travis McCoy.
~p.6  "The Accidental Bride"
(Big Sky Romance Series #2) by Denise Hunter

Book Description:

When a wedding reenactment turns real, Shay finds she's an accidental bride.

Shay Brandenberger is raising her daughter in Moose Creek, Montana, on her childhood ranch, nestled against the Yellowstone River. Despite the hard work, she can't seem to keep her head above water-and now the bank is threatening to foreclose. She prays for a miracle, but the answer she receives is anything but expected.

Having agreed to play the bride in the Founders' Day wedding reenactment, Shay is mortified to be greeted at the end of the aisle by none other than Travis McCoy, her high-school sweetheart-the man who left her high and dry for fame and fortune on the Texas rodeo circuit.

Then the unthinkable happens. Thanks to a well-meaning busybody and an absentminded preacher, the make-believe vows result in a legal marriage. But before Shay can say annulment, Travis comes up with a crazy proposal. If she refuses his offer, she may lose her home. If she accepts, she may lose her heart.

Shay isn't sure if the recent events are God's will or just a preacher's blunder. Will trusting her heart to the man who once shattered it be the worst mistake of her life? Or could their marriage be the best accident that ever happened?

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Christian Book

I'm only about 31% into The Accidental Bride, but so far it's pretty good.  I looking forward to finishing it. Hopefully soon!


So that's it! My first ever Teaser Tuesday. It was fun! Hopefully I'll do more of them in the future :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Review: Restless in Carolina: A Novel by Tamara Leigh

Title: Restless in Carolina (book #3 in The Southern Discomfort Series)
Author: Tamara Leigh
Genre: Christian Contemporary
Pages: 339
Release Date: July 19, 2011
Published by: Multnomah Books
Purchase: Amazon / Christian Book / Barnes & Noble


ABOUT THE BOOK

She's all about going green. Could he be her white knight - or will he make her see red?


Tree-huggin', animal-lovin' Bridget Pickwick-Buchanan is on a mission. Well, two. First she has to come to terms with being a widow at thirty-three. After all, it's been four years and even her five-year-old niece and nephew think it's time she sheds her widow's weeds. Second, she needs to find a buyer for her family's estate - a Baltimore-inspired mansion surrounded by hundreds of acres of unspoiled forestland. With family obligations forcing the sale, Bridget is determined to find an eco-friendly developer to buy the land, someone who won't turn it into single-family homes or a cheesy theme park.

Enter J.C. Dirk, a high-energy developer from Atlanta whose green property developments have earned him national acclaim. When he doesn't return her calls, Bridget decides a personal visit is in order. Unfortunately, J.C.Dirk is neither amused nor interested when she interrupts his meeting - until she mentions her family name. In short order, he finds himself in North Carolina, and Bridget has her white knight - in more ways than one. But the things Bridget doesn't know abut J.C. could mean the end of everything she's worked for... and break her heart.

About the Author:

Tamara Leigh began her writing career in 1994 and is the best-selling author of more than a dozen novels, including Splitting Harriet (ACFW Book of the Year winner and RITA Award Finalist), Faking Grace (RITA Award Finalist), and Leaving Carolina. A former speech and language pathologist, Tamara enjoys time with her family, faux painting, and reading. She lives with her husband and their sons in Tennessee and can be found at www.tamaraleigh.com.

My Review:                            

Restless in Carolina is the first book I have read by Tamara Leigh. Although not completely necessary, I would have liked to have read the first two books of the series before this book because I think it would have been more enjoyable to have known the back-story of some of the secondary characters.

When I first started reading Restless in Carolina I wasn't sure if  I was going to like it. Bridget and I have little in common. She's environmentally minded, loves the outdoors, loves all types of animals (even opossums - she has one as a pet!) and did I mention she has dreadlocks? Yeah, definitely not like me. And not the type of character I am used to reading about, but I grew to like her.

I thought that Restless in Carolina was a well written, easy-to-read book that wasn't overly descriptive but kept to the story. I also thought the characters were well written. Plus, I liked that J.C. Dirk was said to resemble the actor Simon Baker from the Mentalist - one of my favorite shows : )

Overall, I really enjoyed Restless in Carolina and look forward to reading more from Tamara Leigh.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

Read the first chapter of Restless in Carolina by Tamarah Leigh