Tag: Small-town Romance

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #295 | Until I Met You by Lara Van Hulzen

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m reading (yet another) small-town contemporary Christian romance. I seem to have developed a real taste for the genre. I wonder why?

Anyway, here’s the first line from Until I Met You by Lara Van Hulzen, the third book in The Endicotts of Silver Bay series. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Rachel Anderson pedaled her bike toward downtown Silver Bay, feeling the caress of the breeze against her skin.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About Until I Met You

When his parents move to Silver Bay, California, Dominic Endicott, ever the dutiful son, packs up his life and heads to the small town. He sees it as temporary, appeasing his mother and making sure his dad’s health is stable while Dominic keeps the family business running. Dominic planned on keeping his head down, focused only on working and spending time with his family. Until a beautiful brunette forces him to look up.

Local Chaplain and community center employee Rachel Anderson loves her little town that she’s called home for the past year. Silver Bay is a far cry from her life growing up in LA, and that’s perfectly fine with her. When she mistakes newcomer Dominic for her friend, Chet, her simple, curated life becomes complicated.

Thrown together to work on raising money for the town’s community center, the sparks between Rachel and Dominic are too strong to ignore. But Dominic represents everything Rachel has been running from, while Rachel has Dominic rethinking his entire life plan. Can these two bridge the gap between their worlds and give love a chance?

Find Until I Met You online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #284 | When I Come Home Again by Jennifer Rodewald

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line.

Today I’m sharing from When I Come Home Again by Jennifer Rodewald, which I picked up on sale on Kindle a couple of months ago.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Saturdays were for relaxing. This was a fairly new perspective in Brenna Blaum's world.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

Saturdays were for relaxing. This was a fairly new perspective in Brenna Blaum’s world. Well, new in the last seven years.

About When I Come Home Again

A tragic fallout drove them apart. Will forgiveness lead them to a second chance?
She’s moved on.

Brenna Blaum had been sure of three things in her life—her brother, her running, and her dad’s star receiver. But in a matter of a year’s time, everything she’d counted on fell apart, leaving her devastated. Seven years later, she’s stable again. She has a supportive boyfriend, fulfilling career, and close friends. She keeps her past heartache where it belongs—in her rearview mirror. Until the man who broke her heart finds his way back to Big Prairie.

He has to go back.

Craig Erikson had it all—popularity, success, and the love of his high school coach’s daughter. But after a year of mistakes that ended in a tragic accident, he’d left Big Prairie—the place he’d thought to always call home—hoping that without his antagonizing presence, Brenna would be able to heal. Now his mother desperately needs him, as do two young boys in her care. Craig has little choice but to return for good.

Can they live in the same small town without dealing with their messy past?

Unsure that she can forgive him, Brenna does her best to avoid him. Irritated that she ignores him as if they’d never meant anything to each other, Craig becomes determined not to allow it. Life in a small town forces their interaction, making them confront their unresolved issues and igniting emotions that have smoldered for seven years. As Craig and Brenna are pushed together, can they endure the hard places still littering their lives?

If so, is it possible to find their way back to love and home again?

Find When I Come Home Again online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

Book Review | I’ll Always Choose You (Trinity Lakes #3) by Lisa Renee

Leah Thompson has spent the last two years building her business, Trinity Organics. She’s fallen for Justin Perry, the town’s one-time bad boy (literally). But her father, the local sheriff, hasn’t forgotten Justin’s past, and won’t allow Leah to date him.

Leah is torn between wanting to date Justin, and honoring her father … who she trusts, and therefore who must have a good reason for wanting to keep them apart. The sheriff suggests Leah date other guys, no doubt hoping that will distract her from Justin.

Justin is serious about dating Leah, so comes up with a foolproof plan.

(Yes, well all know what happens with foolproof plans.)

Justin decides Leah should date someone who is even less suitable than Justin. Leah should start a fake relationship with Marcus, the tattooed Australian chef working at Trinity Lakes Summer Camp.

Everything goes as predicted … which provides lots of fun for the reader (and a lot less fun for Leah and Justin). there are plenty of fun moments, embarrassing moments, and a few misunderstandings in the path of true love.

What makes I’ll Always Choose You different from most romances is that we don’t see Leah and Justin meet or their initial attraction – they’re well on the way to love before the story even begins. But, predictably, the path of true love does not run smooth, and that’s what I’ll Always Choose You focusses on.

It’s a fun, quick read, recommended for fans of contemporary Christian romance.

About Lisa Renee

Lisa Ren’ee is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Omega Writers, Australia.

Lisa adores babies enough to have seven of her own. Recently, Lisa has taken up breeding Ragdoll cats instead of breeding humans.

The tribe lives in Australia, where Lisa and her husband enjoy their writing projects and publishing.

Find Lisa Renee online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

About I’ll Always Choose You

Leah Thompson is the Sheriff’s daughter of Trinity Lakes, Washington state. No one is good enough for his baby girl. At twenty-four, she should be able to choose who she wants to date, but her dad holds Justin’s past against him.

Justin has loved Leah for years, the woman where no guy has been brave enough to pursue. Who would want the grumpy sheriff as their future father-in-law? No one is that crazy. Except Justin is crazy in love and willing to do anything to win Leah’s heart, even to set her up on a fake date with his neck-tattooed mate from Australia. Surely the sheriff will see Justin is the better choice for his daughter. Until the fake love triangle goes terribly wrong.

A forbidden love, love triangle, small town contemporary Christian romance.
Visit Trinity Lakes and meet the fun and quirky characters who value family, faith, and happily-ever-after.

Find I’ll Always Choose You online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #283 | I’ll Always Choose You by Lisa Renee

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from I’ll Always Choose You by Australian author Lisa Renee, the third book in the Trinity Lakes Romance series, which released this week:

Justin Perry slipped behind the Trinity Organics shop counter and took Leah's hand in his.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About I’ll Always Choose You

Leah Thompson is the Sheriff’s daughter of Trinity Lakes, Washington state. No one is good enough for his baby girl. At twenty-four, she should be able to choose who she wants to date, but her dad holds Justin’s past against him.

Justin has loved Leah for years, the woman where no guy has been brave enough to pursue. Who would want the grumpy sheriff as their future father-in-law? No one is that crazy. Except Justin is crazy in love and willing to do anything to win Leah’s heart, even to set her up on a fake date with his neck-tattooed mate from Australia. Surely the sheriff will see Justin is the better choice for his daughter. Until the fake love triangle goes terribly wrong.

A forbidden love, love triangle, small town contemporary Christian romance.
Visit Trinity Lakes and meet the fun and quirky characters who value family, faith, and happily-ever-after.

Find I’ll Always Choose You online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

Book Review | The Ocean Between Us (Trinity Lakes #2) by Meredith Resce

I’m not always a fan of the “other woman” (or other man) trope.

These may be two women interested in the same man, or two men interested in the same woman.

Some authors show all three points of view, which allows us to get into the heads of all three characters, and see why both women like the man. My problems is that I often back the wrong guy (which is why I stopped reading Karen Kingsbury’s Bailey Flanigan novels, and why Sweet Home Alabama is my least favorite Reese Witherspoon movie).

I much prefer it when the author makes it clear which two characters are going to end up together from the beginning.

Meredith Resce does this in The Ocean Between Us.

I also prefer it when there are good reasons why the main character chooses one over the other … but it’s also clear why he was interested in both in the first place. Again, Meredith Resce gets all these things right in The Ocean Between Us. We can see why Caleb and Kyla are together at the beginning of the novel, and there is a clear reason why Caleb and Alanah were not together (the Pacific Ocean).

All in all, I have to say that The Ocean Between Us is one of the best “other women” novels I’ve read. Alanah and Caleb were both excellent characters in an awkward situation: Alanah in having to spend the summer in the house with her teenage crushand having to hide the fact her feelings are all still there. And Caleb choosing to honor his existing relationship even when faced with his teenage crush.

Yes, The Ocean Between Us is a second-chance romance.

And I have to admit that’s one of my favourite genres. I thought Meredith did an excellent job of bringing the two together in a way that felt real and realistic for the characters, and offered plenty of tension for the reader.

All this sounds somewhat serious, but rest assured: The Ocean Between Us is an enjoyable summer romance read.

About The Ocean Between Us

Alanah has set off on a trip of a lifetime.

Her best friend from high school, Sasha Kennedy, has invited her to Trinity Lakes, Washington State, to be part of her wedding party.

South Australia to Trinity Lakes is literally the other side of the world, so Alanah has a full schedule of adventure planned while she’s away. A summer camp counsellor; a trip to Canada; Sight-seeing in New York and Boston; and avoiding Sasha’s twin-brother, Caleb.

But a silly accident puts Sasha out of commission for all the planned adventures, and Caleb is sent to retrieve his former high school sweetheart from the airport. Eleven years should be enough time to have cooled the love Alanah and Caleb once shared. Should be, but apparently not. This is not a great thing to acknowledge considering Caleb has just announced his engagement to someone else.

Six months of avoiding Caleb—worse—avoiding feelings about Caleb—is going to be a long time.

Find The Ocean Between Us online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

About Meredith Resce

South Australian Author, Meredith Resce, has been writing since 1991, and has had books in the Australian market since 1997. Apart from writing, Meredith also takes the opportunity to speak to groups on issues relevant to relationships and emotional and spiritual growth.

Meredith is the author of the award-winning ‘Luella Linley – License to Meddle’ series (contemporary Christian romance), and the ‘Heart of Green Valley’ historical fiction series. She has also been co-writer and co-producer in the 2007 Australian feature film production, “Twin Rivers”.

Meredith has worked in Christian ministry since 1983 with her husband, Nick. Meredith and Nick have three adult children, one daughter and two sons.

Find Meredith Resce online at:

Website | Facebook