By Mountain or Sea
By Mountain or Sea
JustRead Publicity Tours
Welcome to the Blog & Review Tour, plus Giveaway, for two books by Lin Stepp – The Interlude and Claire at Edisto, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
With Spring Break upon us, author Lin Stepp wants to know: Where do you love to go on vacation – the mountains or the sea? Don’t worry – she’s got a book for you, no matter what you decide! Both books release on April 2, 2019, so pack your virtual bags and head to the destination of your choice. And the beauty of travel-by-novel is… you can easily visit both!
My thoughts:
The Interlude:
Okay, I have to admit I wasn’t sure which book to read first so I started with The Interlude. It’s a nice quaint setting with a good romantic story in it. But there is also a mystery and crimes. I didn’t expect those to pop up in this book. Not sure that I expected anything more than a sweet romance story.
M.T. also known as Mallory is a book editor who suffers a mental breakdown. Lucas is a widowed man with a daughter to raise. But he’s no stranger to mental health issues due to his wife having had bipolar and taken her own life. He’s sworn to protect his daughter and himself from ever experiencing that again. He’s drawn to Mallory on the flight they share and still when he finds out she’s his boss’ grand daughter. But when he learns about her having had a mental “illness” he makes no bones of telling her they’re not even going to try.
I love that mental health issues are thrown in here. Too often people shy away from mental health thinking it’s taboo. They’re not and we really do need to get them out there more. Also I really liked how the author makes sure to let all know that mental breakdowns aren’t considered a mental illness at all.
Journey with Mallory and Lucas as they sort out life together. Will he open his heart? Can she overcome her own betrayal and heartbreak? What about who killed her father all those years ago? And who is the thief lurking in their midst?
Great read and I highly recommend it!
Claire at Edisto:
After having read the other book I knew I was in for a treat with reading this one so I stepped in with gusto! I was prepared to devour it in one nursing session but baby did not want to cooperate. We’re starting to fight sleep here so I didn’t get as far as I had wished. But don’t worry the book is definitely worth coming back to.
I am reminded of Biblical times when a man was expected to marry and care for his brother’s widow. But no one expects that anymore or do they? Claire is so confused with life. She’s grieving and not sure of her own capabilities to do much of anything these days. Life is not going as she planned it from her husbands early death to not having a place of her own anymore.
Add to the grief that of raising a child and poor Claire is overwhelmed! Will she be taken in by the smooth talking guy or will she see how loyal her brother in law is and how they can help each other through their grief.
Definitely a good read and I’m looking forward to exploring other books in this series as they are written plus a blitz of reading books by this author!
ABOUT THE BOOKS
Title: Claire at Edisto
Series: Edisto Trilogy #1
Author: Lin Stepp
Publisher: Mountain Hill Press
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 2, 2019
Set against the alluring backdrop of coastal South Carolina, CLAIRE AT EDISTO takes the reader on a sweet and gentle journey showing that love and new beginnings can often bloom from the deepest sorrows.
Standing in grief and shock at the grave of her young husband, Claire Avery wonders what she and her young daughters will do now. They live in the church parsonage they need to vacate. She hasn’t worked since her marriage twelve years ago. Old issues and complications hinder relationships with her family. Struggling for answers, Claire accepts her brother-in-law’s offer to stay at his beach house at Edisto to give her a season to heal and think. But even the peace and beauty of the coastal island bring new problems along with unexpected joys as Claire seeks to find her way.
Parker Avery always promised his brother Charles he would look after Claire if anything happened to him. Charles stood by him three years ago when his wife Ann died and Parker is determined now to be a help to Claire and the girls. As time passes, instead of feeling like a hero, he feels like a heel instead as he realizes he’s developing feelings for his own brother’s widow. To make things worse, he watches with pain and jealousy as Miles Lawrence waltzes into Claire’s life. What can he expect though? It hardly seems right that Claire, even after a season of mourning, would ever fall in love with her own brother-in-law.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Title: The Interlude
Series: Smoky Mountains #12
Author: Lin Stepp
Publisher: Mountain Hill Press
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 2, 2019
In this gentle, inspirational romance, Lin Stepp reveals the healing touch and deep peace the beauty of the Smoky Mountains can bring to a hurt and troubled heart.
Too much work, too much pressure, and too much heartache can lead even a strong young woman like Mallory Wingate to the edge of a nervous breakdown. Now her doctor and employer have insisted she take a space to heal and rest—so like it or not, she’s heading to her grandparents’ resort in the Smoky Mountains. Hoping to sleep and rest on the flight home, Mallory is entertained instead by an unexpectedly charismatic stranger, making her forget many of her problems and even making her feel deliciously female again.
Lucas James, flying home from a pro golfing event, hadn’t expected to enjoy an interlude of flirting with a pretty stranger on the plane. A stranger he never expected to see again but who turns out to be the granddaughter of his boss at The Millhouse Resort. Worse, he quickly learns she’s passed through a recent history of emotional problems that remind him all too painfully of his past wife. The last thing Lucas wants is to get involved with anyone like Cecily again. Surely it won’t be too hard to keep his distance while Mallory is at the resort.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lin Stepp is a native Tennessean, businesswoman and educator. A New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon best-selling international author, Lin now has sixteen published books, including her twelve beloved Smoky Mountain novels set in different locations of the Tennessee and North Carolina mountains, as well as a Smoky Mountain novella in one of Kensington’s Christmas anthologies. In addition, Lin’s first novel in a new Edisto Trilogy recently released, set on the South Carolina coast. Lin and her husband also write regional guidebooks, including a Smoky Mountain hiking guide and a Tennessee state parks book. Stepp’s latest 2019 releases are The Interlude, set in the Greenbrier and Pittman Center of the Great Smoky Mountains and Claire at Edisto set at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. Lin enjoys keeping up with her readers on Facebook, Twitter, and through her monthly blog on her website at: www.linstepp.com
CONNECT WITH LIN: website | Facebook | Twitter
TOUR GIVEAWAY in By Mountain or Sea
(1) winner will win:
- your choice of The Interlude OR Claire at Edisto (print, US only)
- $10 Amazon gift card
Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below for your own choice of by Mountain or Sea. Giveaway will begin at midnight March 24, 2019 and last through 11:59 pm March 31, 2019. Void where prohibited by law. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
Which do you like best – the mountains or the sea?
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