Goddess Fish: "Where the Heart Lies' by Michelle Garren Flye Book Review/Guest Post/Giveaway (Ends 11/26) WW

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All widowed Alicia Galloway has left of her war-hero husband are the flag that draped his coffin and his final wishes: to move to his hometown, take over the family bookstore and enjoy a simple, quiet life with their two small children. When she arrives, her husband’s best friend makes that new life anything but simple. How can she be so drawn to Liam Addison?

Liam only intended to help Alicia get settled. But one unexpected kiss awakens his long-held forbidden feelings. Soon, the town busybodies swoop in to warn Alicia away from him. Because no matter the man he’s become, he’ll never live down his reputation as town troublemaker and wolfish womanizer.

No one wants the war hero’s sweet widow and the supposedly former bad boy together. But the more everyone tries to keep them apart, the closer he and Alicia get. And the more determined Liam is to prove he’s a changed man. Will it be enough to convince Alicia to let a new love in her life?

Excerpt:

Liam crossed the yard in two strides, taking the hoe from her hands and turning the snake’s body over with its blade. He turned to her in amazement. “You killed it?”

Alicia nodded wordlessly, covered her face with her hands, and suddenly too weak to stand, fell to her knees in the grass. “Hey!” She heard his exclamation and the hoe hit the ground as he dropped it, then sank down next to her. “Hey, it’s okay. You did good, sweetheart.” His arms surrounded her and he pulled her first against him, then into his lap, stroking her hair and back, his hands warmer than the sun’s rays against her skin.

The approval in his voice brought tears to her eyes at the same time that his caresses tingled deliciously. She responded without thinking, putting her arms around his neck and then, because she wanted nothing more than to kiss this man who meant so much to her, she turned to him, finding his lips easily, feeling his body freeze for a moment then give in to the kiss, the wonderful, desire-fulfilling kiss that she’d longed for…

Where The Heart Lies by Michelle Garren Flye

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Are you looking for a book that is easy to read and quite predictable?  Add a little romance and a tribute to the military and small towns, and I think you've got the major ideas of the book encapsulated.  For the most part, this was a delightful book in spite of the sappy romance and the fact that the ending is fairly standard.  It was well-written and quite readable.

I am happy to report that the profanity was quite limited, and the bedroom scene was not too detailed.  These are all benefits.  I could have done without the morals of the book--although this was indeed better than some on that front.  And although it was not bad, I did not feel it necessary to add in the mandatory gay character.  I felt it did not add anything to the story, and it seemed out of place.  But that is just my opinion.

There were a couple minor surprises the author added in.  It only made the story more interesting at times, and I didn't even see the twists coming.  This is a safe romance--for the most part--and if you love a happy romance, this is the book for you.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

View all my reviews

Michelle Garren Flye is a mother, writer and editor based in coastal North Carolina. She obtained her degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992. Not liking the hours required of a journalist, she went on to obtain a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1997. When her first child was born in 2000, she packed her diplomas away and began a new life as a stay-at-home mom, which fortunately afforded her the opportunity to pursue her writing on a semi-regular basis.

Michelle has served in various capacities for several online and print literary endeavors, including Dark Recesses, edifice WRECKED, Horror Library, Butcher Shop Quartet, and Tattered Souls.

Michelle is the author of three romance novels, Where the Heart Lies (Carina Press 2012), Winter Solstice (Lyrical Press 2011) and Secrets of the Lotus (Lyrical Press 2010). Michelle also self-published a fiction book titled Weeds and Flowers for the Kindle in December 2011.

Links:

Blog: BREATHE: http://michellegflye.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Garren-Flye/132688623422175

Twitter: @michellegflye

 Guest post (by the author)

Writing Schedule (or lack thereof)

By Michelle Garren Flye

I know I work best with a schedule. I know it, but somehow, a writing schedule is not something I’ve ever been able to accomplish. By the time this is published, National Novel Writing Month will be almost over, and that’s the month I most need a writing schedule and can never pull one together.

When my youngest child started going to preschool, I thought I’d be able to establish some real writing time. Every morning from 9:15 to 11:45. What would I do with such riches? What might I be able to accomplish?

I think it was about this time that I became involved in the PTO, and if you’ve ever been involved with a PTO, you know what it does to your free time. Suddenly you don’t have any. A PTO is like a big black spider with really long legs that just snags any block of free time that might exist in your life. Suddenly you’re attending meetings, organizing fundraisers, overseeing committees…the list is endless.

Not that I regret that time spent working for my children’s schools, but it made me realize something about a writing schedule. I don’t have one and I never will. At least not while I have children in school. What I have are blocks of time I can snag here and there, some as short as five to fifteen minutes. And somehow it works.

Here’s a list of possible writing times for me:

·       After I drop off the kids at school. Sometimes I get lucky and this block of time can be a couple hours long. Usually it’s about thirty minutes and I’m drinking my coffee at the same time.

·       After I pick up my daughter from preschool and she’s busy eating lunch. Sometimes she’ll even settle down to play with her dolls in my office after lunch, allowing me some semi-uninterrupted writing time.

·       After the older kids come home from school and are busy with homework. My daughter loves to sit with her big brothers and draw or “write”, and they’re very patient with her. After that they usually go do their own thing for a while.

·       While making dinner. This only works with some dinners, of course. I have a mental list of casseroles I can put together, pop into the oven and plop down at the dinner table to write a few paragraphs while they cook.

·       After the children and my husband go to bed. This is usually about an hour long, although if I’m tired and want to get to bed early (before midnight), it might be shorter.

I’m past the PTO stage of things now. I’ve found other ways of contributing to my children’s schools, which, while not as time-consuming, are infinitely more satisfying and just as useful. But I’m afraid my writing schedule will remain a piecemeal sort of thing for some time to come.

Michelle will be awarding promotional postcards from Carina Press with 10% off coupons to one commenter at every stop, and a $10 Amazon GC + a copy of Bartlett's Poems for Occasions, which inspired part of the book to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Follow the entire tour here.