Tasty Review Tour: HEARTSTRINGS by Sara Walter Ellwood @tastybooktours #giveaway

 

Giveaway

 

Sara is hosting TWO Giveaways

Two Digital copies of GAMBLING ON A SECRET

Grand Prize SWAG PACK (More info Below)

LEAVE A COMMENT WITH VALID EMAIL ADDRESS to enter

Follow the complete tour for more chances to enter

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He’s determined to set things right, no matter the cost.

The last person Abby Crawford wants to face down is country music superstar Seth Kendall. Last time she did, she flat-out lied so he’d go to Nashville without her. She’s never understood why their mutual best friend proposed, but she went with it so her baby wouldn’t be fatherless. Now she’s a divorced mother of a teenager, and secretly Seth’s biggest fan.

Seth is home in McAllister, Texas for his father’s funeral…and a chance to meet the daughter he’s never known. He’s willing to face the music of his own making and admit he’s known about his little girl all along. For fifteen years he’s kept his distance because Abby told him to follow his dreams without her, insisting she didn’t love him. But now he won’t leave until he knows his daughter and she knows him, even if it means facing the woman who broke his heart for good.

Confessing she’s lied about her daughter’s paternity all these years won’t be easy for Abby, especially with her ex blackmailing her to keep the secret. And Seth doesn’t know the hardest truth of all: Every love song he plays on his guitar still plucks her heartstrings.

CONTENT WARNING: Spicy sex.

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Heartstrings

Sara Walter Ellwood

Released April 1st, 2013

Ebook

Lyrical Press

Gifted By: Author/Tasty Book Tours

Reviewed by: Lisa

 

 

I first met Sara at the New Jersey Romance Writers Conference two years ago, and she was such an awesome person and I was thrilled that she was being published.  I was even more thrilled that she wanted to Book a Tour with Tasty Book Tours, which gave my greedy hands access to her Romances, and I am SO GLAD that I had the chance to read HEARTSTRINGS. 

 

HEARTSTRINGS reminded me so much of one of my favorite Rachel Gibson romances, DAISY'S BACK IN TOWN.  There are MANY differences between the two, but one thing remains the same, the deeply felt, heart-breaking emotion that comes with years and years of lies, deception and betrayal.  My heart hurt so much just reading it, which is kudos to Sara for writing such emotion into the book. 

 

It's so hard to think about these "kids" trying to make sure adult decisions and when push comes to shove, yeah, they screw up and make mistakes, but to think one small decision can change the entire course of each of their lives.  I actually felt bad for Mike in the beginning.  I understand that he had to be the bad guy, but he stepped up and that means a lot in my book, BUT, he does go on to make MANY MANY bad decisions, so my love for him was short lived, but for a young kid stepping up when a "friend" needed him, well, he gets a little notch on the "Good Guy" side from me. 

 

Seth Kendell, yes... Sexy Country Star, BUT, I was kinda mad at him.  I understand the reasons for what he did, but it doesn't mean I had to like them.  And YES...Mike was very convincing in his conviction, BUT, I think Seth should have manned-up, so for that, he gets a notch on my "Dickhead Move" list!  But...he does redeem himself, better late then never I guess. 

 

Here is a little Sneak Peak at his redemption...

 

Seth leaned in. His lips were close enough to kiss, and his scent of sandalwood and something exotic enveloped her, taking her back to that night on the beach. His eyes flashed with the dangerous fire of his temper. It was similar to the flame of the passion she’d once seen in the green depths. Abby didn’t expect or want the heat curling in her belly, and shivered with a sudden and fierce desire.

 

“I’m her father, Abigail. I wanted to be her father after she was born. It was you and Mike who insisted I had no business messing things up.”

 

“I never said any such thing. You never tried. You just left.”

 

He pounded a fist on the counter top so hard she jumped. “Yes, I left! I wasn’t welcome at home. Dad ran me off with a shotgun. Mike wouldn’t even let me see my daughter. He made it quite clear you and he were happily married, and I had no place in your life. I was under contract to be in Nashville to start recording my first album.”

 

What did he mean, Mike wouldn’t let him see Emily?

 

Before she had a chance to voice her question, his eyes darkened as the pupils dilated, obscuring the stormy green. “But I’m no longer nineteen and scared shitless. I could make things very rough for you and this fantasy you’ve got working.”

 

A cold lump quickly replaced the tangle of heat in her belly. “What-what do you mean?”

 

He backed off and tapped the countertop. “I’m talking a custody battle. I could have a judge order a paternity test. I think we both know the media hoopla the results would cause.”

 

Her heart slammed into her chest wall. “You wouldn’t do that.”

 

“Try me. Now that I’ve met Emily, I want to get to know her.” He walked over to look out the kitchen window. The hard line of his jaw melted, and he swallowed so hard his throat moved up and down. “I was a fool when I let Mike talk me out of being in her life after she was born.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

He glanced at her. “Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

 

The strings of guitar music provided a soft counterpoint to the hard tension in the kitchen. Emily was outside on the patio playing around with her guitar, waiting for them to finish with the dishes she and Seth had insisted on doing.

 

“All I want is to have some time with my daughter. That’s all I’m asking for.” When he looked over his shoulder at her, sadness replaced the anger in his eyes. “I’ll keep your little secret. I’ll just be her favorite singer. The family friend who made it big in Nashville. I don’t want to hurt her. As much as it galls the hell out of me, I see what Mike means to her.”

 

He moved toward her and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Besides, I don’t want to hurt Carolann or Frank any more than you do.” He glanced outside again, his voice husky as he spoke. “But I’ll sue you if I have to.”

 

A part of her wanted to give in to him, but a larger part wanted to punish him. Let him take her to court; she’d make sure the world knew what kind of jerk Seth Kendall really was.

 

She gritted her teeth and fisted her hands by her sides. “I’ll let you have tonight, Seth. But don’t ask for more.”

 

She turned away and strode through the French doors.

 

 

I think now that I am a mother I understand Abby a lot better than I would have if I wasn't a mother.  She had a baby to think about, and for us "MOTHERS" ya know that once that baby is born, it is the Be All, End All of your existence, so I think she did what she needed to do to have security and a better life for her daughter, and for a kid who was scared and had been abandoned by the only guy she ever loved, well, she did the best she could. 

 

And Emily...how stinking cute was she?  I loved her innocence and her love of music that she was able to share with Seth.  I think it would be harder for a Daughter to connect with a Father, but they had a connection right away and I love the scenes where the two interacted with each other.  It was nice to see Seth knocked down a peg or two by this beautiful girl!!

 

Great Scandal...Great Romance...GREAT "Ahem" ....and a whole lot more to enjoy.  HEARTSTRINGS is like your favorite TV Series...you just want more more more!  I encourage you all to give it a read...especially my NASHVILLE Fans out there!!

 

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Meet Sara

 

 

 

Sara Walter Ellwood is an award winning author whose novel Gambling On A Secret was named by bestselling author Carolyn Brown in the Happy Ever After Blog on USA Today as one of her favorite romances of 2012. Although Sara has long ago left the farm for the glamour of the big town, she draws on her experiences growing up on a small hobby farm in West Central Pennsylvania to write her stories. She’s been married to her college sweetheart for nearly 20 years, and they have two teenagers and one very spoiled rescue cat named Penny. She longs to visit the places she writes about and jokes she’s a cowgirl at heart stuck in Pennsylvania suburbia.

She also writes paranormal romantic suspense under the pen name of Cera duBois.

 

Connect

Website: http://www.sarawalterellwood.com

Blog: http://www.sarawalterellwood.com/blog/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sarawalterellwood.ceradubois/

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/sara_w_ellwood

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6869635.Sara_Walter_Ellwood

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Giveaway

 

***Please leave valid email address to be eligible***

Sara will be giving away two ebook copies of her last release Gambling On A Secret at the end of theTour, so make to leave a valid email address with comment to enter.

Tour Grand Prize is a swag pack full of goodies!

A signed copy of Carolyn Brown’s Just a Cowboy and His Baby, an ebook copy of my last release Gambling On A Secret, a notebook, a pen, custom jewelry set, $5 Starbuck’s gift card—all tucked into a keepsake box.

 

(Sorry, only US residents are eligible. Comparable International Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card.)

*Swag pack(gift card) is for the entire two-month tour. Winner will be announced on June 1, 2013