Friday, May 6, 2016

A Wedding at Meadows Shore by Eva Charles - Book Blitz, Excerpt, Review & Giveaway



Enter to win a $50 Amazon/BN GC



Meadows Shore is the childhood home of the five Clayton sisters and the six Harrington brothers, the family seat where these irresistible characters gather regularly…or whenever they need the comfort of Portuguese home cooking and the love and wisdom of elder women.

After Sophie Clayton catches her husband in bed with a young intern, she creates a new life for herself as the executive director of a failing domestic violence agency. It’s the perfect job for a woman born to fix everything. A friend’s broken heart, a tattered agency, a flat tire—she’ll roll up her sleeves and make it as good as new. Sophie rarely encounters anything she can’t fix…until she meets the devastatingly handsome and insufferably arrogant, Max Parker. One of Boston’s most eligible bachelors, he’s never without a stunning young woman on his arm and in his bed.

When Sophie’s forced to deal with Max, sparks fly, and somewhere in the crossfire of verbal daggers and clever barbs, she discovers his darkest secret.




“Do you mind if I throw this in the freezer?”

“Of course not, dear. You may need to move a few things around, but there should be plenty of room. Max, my hands are wet, would you help Sophie get that ice cream into the freezer—the one in the pantry. What flavors did you end up making?”

Sophie headed toward the pantry off the kitchen. “Coffee for Daniel, vanilla, and mint chocolate chip. I thought they’d all work with chocolate cake.”

He took the cooler from her. “You made the ice cream?”

She nodded, opening the freezer.

“I’m impressed. Mint chip is my favorite.”

“Really? I would’ve pegged you more as a rocky road kind of guy—dark, with bitter chunks, and nuts—not too smooth.”

He could only see her back at the moment, but he knew her eyes were twinkling and the corners of her mouth were curved up. He could hear it in her voice. 

He grabbed a piece of ice from the freezer and reached around her, touching the icy half-moon to the hollow of her neck, the sweet spot right where it meets the collarbone. The very spot he wanted to kiss. She jumped, startled by the unexpected cold against her skin, and raised her hand to swat him away.

“I don’t think so,” he crowed. Letting the ice cube fall to the floor he grabbed both her wrists, holding them while she struggled to get free. He leaned against her, pinning her between his body and the refrigerator door. Even the chill from the open freezer wasn’t enough to cool what was smoldering between them. He could feel her pulse racing, saw her lips part in anticipation. He bent to kiss her, but caught himself just in time, emitting a low growl instead. As much as he wanted it, this wasn’t the time or the place to steal a kiss.


On the surface, Max and Sophie don't seem like they're right for each other. He's a known womanizer who has no desire to settle down, while Sophie steers clear of men period. What starts out a friendship soon turns to more when they finally give into the chemistry between them. But there is more to Max that meets the eye, both positive and negative. When Sophie's life is threatened, he has a hard time dealing with his guilt about her incident as well as tragic events from the past that has shaped the person he has become. He will need to learn to accept the past so that he can move on and be the man that Sophie deserves. Throughout their relationship, Sophie's family is introduced as they meddle in her relationship with Max. They are a loving, nosy and fun bunch that I look forward to seeing find their own ending. 

I received an ARC for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.


Eva Charles is the author of the multi-titled Meadows Shore Series that chronicles the lives and loves of the Clayton-Harrington family. She invites you to visit their beloved Meadows Shore nestled in the charming seaside town of Fair Harbor, where you’ll enjoy love, laughter, loyalty, and an abundance of mouth-watering food, Portuguese style.

After being a confirmed city-girl for more than thirty-five years, Eva moved to beautiful western Massachusetts in 2014. There, she found herself living in the woods with no job, no friends (unless you count the turkeys, deer, and coyotes roaming the backyard), and no children underfoot, wondering what on earth she’d been thinking. But as it turned out, it was the perfect setting to take all those yarns spinning in her head and weave them into a romantic tale.

When she’s not writing, trying to squeeze information out of her tight-lipped sons, or playing with the two cutest dogs you’ve ever seen, Eva’s creating chapters in her own love story.





28 comments:

  1. What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?

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    1. Hello Mai! Good question--I've done quite a bit of non-fiction writing throughout my life (although, I'm a lawyer so some might argue that I was actually writing fiction ;) It was the perfect time in my life to begin a new challenge, and it gave me an opportunity to introduce some Portuguese culture into the world of romance--something we see very little of in the US.

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  2. Jen, thank you for your lovely review and for hosting A Wedding at Meadows Shore today! I'll be available for most of the day to answer reader questions, and I also have one for all of you: What are your plans for the weekend?

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    1. Hi Eva! We'll be attending my daughter's best friend's Quinceanera. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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  3. Liked the Blurb and Excerpt. Sounds like a great story, one I would love to read. Thanks for hosting.

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  4. Hi Sharon, I'm happy you enjoyed the blurb and excerpt!

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  5. Thanks, Kim! I really enjoyed writing Sophie and Max's story, and I hope readers will enjoy it, too.

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  6. Great post! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one, I'm looking forward to checking it out.

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  7. Thank you Victoria--Jen has done a great job with the blog, it's gorgeous!

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  8. Thank you for showing this book to me.

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  9. Sara, Thank you for stopping by and saying hello. Have a lovely weekend!

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  10. Thank you once again for the giveaway and have a fun Friday!

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  11. Thank you, for following the tour, and good luck with the contest! Have a wonderful weekend--and don't forget Mother's Day!

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  12. What a great review. I loved the excerpt.

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    1. I love the review, too! I'm happy you enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you for following the tour.

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  13. I enjoyed the excerpt - looks like a good read!

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  14. Thank you, Karen! Sophie and Max are great together,and in the story there's lots of banter between them.

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  15. Jen, Thank you for your hospitality today, your kindness and graciousness are much appreciated! I enjoyed the opportunity to chat with readers on your blog. Have a wonderful time at the Quinceanera, and a very happy Mother's Day!

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  16. Have an amazing fun filled Saturday and thank you for this giveaway

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  17. I enjoyed reading the excerpt and the review. This book sounds like such an interesting and intriguing read. Looking forward to checking out this book.

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  18. I enjoyed the excerpt and the review -I have to agree that on the surface Sophie don't seem like a good match since she divorced her womanizing ex, I'll definitely have to give this book a try. Thanks for the giveaway

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  19. Thanks for the review!

    --Trix

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  20. Sounds great.

    Q: What kind of research did you do for this book, especially the DV shelter portion? Have you volunteered or worked with survivors yourself?

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  21. Happy Mother's Day to all the terrific moms out there and thank YOU for this giveaway

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  22. I really enjoyed reading the blurb & excerpt, thank you!

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  23. I just love the book cover, it’s amazing!

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  24. The excerpt is great! Mint chip is a favorite of mine too!

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