Giveaway – Need You Now by Maria K Alexander @xpressotours

Need You Now
Maria K. Alexander
(A Pelican Bay Novella)
Publication date: June 2nd 2024
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Can two lost souls reunite in time to save her shop and their hearts?

Abby O’Connell returned to Pelican Bay to start a new chapter of her life. With the revitalization of the hurricane-ravaged beach town, it’s a perfect time to open the bath and body product shop she’s always dreamed of. But with her place looking more like a construction zone, the risk of not being ready for opening day is high. Just when she thinks things can’t get worse, she takes a fall on the beach, only to be rescued by her sexy surfer ex.

Connor Maguire was always the party guy. In recovery from a substance abuse disorder, he’s gotten his act together and now is a partner in a home improvement business and co-host of a reality TV show. Surfing has always been a way to escape his worries while becoming one with the waves. When he witnesses a woman fall on the beach, the last person he expects is the girl whose heart he broke ten years ago.

With a week until the grand opening of her shop, can he use his renovation skills to bring her shop and their hearts to life without risking his hard-earned recovery?

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

She quickly dressed in running shorts, a tank top, and sneakers. After grabbing a bottle of water, she went downstairs and let herself out the rear entrance, refusing to walk through the store and the reminder of all that needed to be done.

There’d be time to freak about work later. Now she needed to clear her head.

The benefit of living above her storefront was its prime location along the boardwalk, only a few steps away from the beach. Abby veered left and jogged along the water, pacing herself. She did a circuit around the lighthouse before turning and heading past where she started and the newly renovated amusement pier.

The sun had peeked past the horizon and was slowly making its way into a new day. Watching the sun rise over the Atlantic was one thing she’d missed most after leaving Pelican Bay nine years ago, a year after Hurricane Samantha hit and wrecked the small New Jersey barrier island. In the months since she’d returned, Abby had made a point of watching it rise every day. Each sunrise looked different and brought her a joy she’d experienced nowhere else.

Usually, she had this part of the beach to herself, but she caught the outline of someone in the water.

A surfer.

Her heart lurched as she got closer.

Could it be…

It was hard to be sure from the distance, but once he rose on the board and got into position, Abby recognized the form…the body…the man.

Connor Maguire.

After riding the wave in, he grabbed the board and paddled out even further. He straddled the board with his back to the shoreline, like a god calling to the waves. Then, with the ease and swiftness of the boy she remembered, he turned and paddled toward shore, rising at the perfect moment to get the lift and rush he needed to propel him forward.

Abby continued to run, mesmerized by his form, by the way his hair and body looked against the backdrop of the rising sun. The damn man was as beautiful as ever.

Despite the magnetic pull, she had every intention of running past him.

If only she had been watching where she was going.

When she stepped on something in the sand that caused her ankle to turn, all she could do was cry out as her knee buckled, and she started to fall.

Author Bio:

Maria K. Alexander is an award-winning contemporary romance author. She writes about strong women, who are fearless in pursuit of their ambitions. Her stories have strong connections with family and friends, both important parts of her life. When not writing, she loves to read, bake, crochet, bike, visit the beach, and watch romantic comedies. She has two adult children and is a semi-empty nester. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and juggles a full-time job, while dreaming of writing full time by the Jersey shore.
You can keep in touch with Maria at: http://mariakalexander.com and https://linktr.ee/mariakalexander

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

WINNERS!! of Unraveled by David J Agostine

   My favorite time of any giveaway is announcing the winners. So without further ado, the winners of  Unraveled by David J Agostine are:

Laura – Grampy – Sandy – Danielle – Taylor – Gail – Midu and Hazel

I hope you all enjoy the book as much as I did. Congratulations and thanks to all of you for the wonderful comments. I hope you will continue to follow fundinmental.

To see my Review, go HERE.

To pick up your copy of Unraveled by David J Agostine from Amazon, click on the cover below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

To see all my Reviews, go HERE.
To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WINNER!! of Pelican Bay by Jesse Giles Christiansen

My favorite time of any giveaway is announcing the winners. So without further ado, the winner of Pelican Bay by Jesse Giles Christiansen is:

Sandy

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. Congratulations and thanks to all of you for the wonderful comments. I hope you will continue to follow fundinmental.

To see my Review, go HERE.

To pick up you copy of Pelican Bay by Jesse Giles Christiansen from Amazon, click on the cover below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

To see all my Reviews, go HERE.
To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giveaway Tour of Pelican Bay By Jesse Giles Christiansen

great_escape_tour_banner_large_PELICAN_BAY640

The cover is awesome. I love everything about it. The Captain’s old eyes make me wonder what he is thinking. The font tells me there is much more than a mystery coming at me. The lightening means there is a storm coming and I wonder who will be left standing when it is over. The colors help lend an aura of menace to the overall fantastic package.

BE SURE and watch the trailer. If my description of the cover didn’t help draw you in and make you want to read the book, the creepy trailer will.

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000040_00067]

Add Shudder to Goodreads

Book Details:
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Published by:  Imajin Books
Release Date: (July 20, 2013)
Number of Pages: ~300

SYNOPSIS

great_escape_tour_banner__PELICAN_BAY_smallSome things are better left alone…

After Ethan Hodges discovers an undersea cemetery just off the beach of Pelican Bay, South Carolina, he seeks answers from a grandfatherly fisherman named Captain Shelby. The captain wants the past to remain buried, and he warns Ethan to stay away. But Ethan doesn’t listen.

Ethan’s best friend and secret love interest, Morgan Olinsworth, joins in the investigation, unearthing intriguing secrets about the mysterious fisherman. When Captain Shelby is suspected of murder and disappears, a manhunt ensues, revealing a truth that unnerves everyone in Pelican Bay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MY REVIEW  

Ethan was intrigued by the stones jutting above the water. He had to see them for himself.

 It was an underwater graveyard.

 Ethan talked his friend, Morgan into diving with him to see if they could find any names on the stones.

 Morgan was a librarian, so when they found a name, she began to investigate.

 Their search took them in an unexpected and dangerous direction.

 Did Captain Shelby have all the answers?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I saw the beautiful and intriguing cover and the title and knew I would have to be a part of the tour.  I love legends of the sea.

Pelican Bay is a ghost story that has a gothic feel to it. The writing made me think of the term “waxing poetic”. At first it annoyed me and I thought, do I even want to read this?  But I read on and am glad I did. The book subtly sneaks up on me and the need to know the answers grasps me and won’t let me go. It went from – I don’t think I can get past the first chapter to – hey, this isn’t so bad to – I can’t put it down until I know…

As I got into Ethan’s story, I could visualize the grizzled, old sea Captain and the water that was the lifeblood of Pelican Bay.

“In Pelican Bay, the sea was the Hand of God.”

It is also a love story. Ethan Hodges has been in love with Morgan as long as he can remember, but she won’t even discuss their relationship. She won’t even look him in the eye. It seemed pretty pathetic to me.

The characters are unique and my feelings about them bounced back and forth, like a tennis ball, throughout the book.

Instead of a grown man, Ethan seemed like a love struck teenager. I really didn’t like him  pining for Morgan’s unrequited love, following her around like a puppy dog begging for a pat on the head. Even the characters tell him to man up. LOL But, I did love his adventurous spirit.

And Morgan? I thought she was a nutcase. But, yes, another but, she does get caught up in Ethan’s desire to find out about the Captain and the graveyard.

Now, the old sea Captain, Shelby, I loved him. I knew there was more to him than meets the eye. Maybe that is what intrigued me about him. Was he just an old sea captain? Was he even a man? Was he a god?

 Nereus – Greek god know as “the old man of the sea.”

Jesse’s vivid descriptions made me feel as if I was there. I could smell the water and feel the salt spray misting on my skin. I could feel the sand shifting under me as I sat on the beach, watching the waves. I have always loved doing that. I find it very soothing and I lose track of time, as wave after wave rolls in. I love listening to the sound of the waves pounding on the seashore, watching the water recede back to where it came from.

I love body surfing, with or without a board, rushing through the water on the top of the wave. Turning around and paddling back out to do it again and again.

 Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos   3 STARS – Would Recommend To Others

I received this book in return for an honest and unbiased review for Great Escapes Book Tours. Thank you Jesse and Great Escapes for the opportunity to read and review the book. I look forward to reading more of Jesse Giles Christiansen’s work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

pelicanbayauthor  Jesse Giles Christiansen is an American author who writes compelling literary fiction that weaves the real with the surreal. He attended Florida State University where he received his B.A. in English literature. His newest novel, “Pelican Bay,” focuses on a very old fisherman, Captain Shelby, and the mysterious happenings linked to him surrounding a nosy, sea-battered beach town (release date: July 20th, 2013, Imajin Books). One of his literary goals is to write at least fifty novels, and he reminds himself always of something that Ray Bradbury once said: “You fail only if you stop writing.”

AUTHOR LINKS
.

Website  Blog  Twitter  Facebook

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TOUR SCHEDULE

August 26 – readalot –  Review & Giveaway
August 27 – fundinmental  – Review & Giveaway
August 28 – Books4Tomorrow  – Interview & Giveaway
August 29 – SavingFor6  – Review
August 30 – rantin’ ravin’ and reading  – Review, Interview & Giveaway
August 31 – Kaisy Daisy’s Corner  – Review & Giveaway
September 1 – Brooke Blogs  – Review, Interview & Giveaway
September 2 – Must Read Faster  – Review
September 3 – THE SELF-TAUGHT COOK  – Review
September 4 – Musings and Ramblings  – Interview & Giveaway
September 5 – Shelley’s Book Case  – Review & Giveaway
September 6 – Cozy Up With Kathy  – Review & Interview

GIVEAWAY

taiwan flag smiley animated gif Pictures, Images and PhotosJesse Giles Christionsen is offering  for the Giveaway 1 (one) ebook to 1 (one) lucky commenter. International. Easy entry as always, just leave your email address and answer the question:

What do you think of the cover?

GIVEAWAY IS OVER AND THE WINNER IS – Sandy. Congratulations!!!

To purchase your copy of Pelican Bay, simply click on the cover below.

To see all my Reviews, go HERE.
To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

animated smilies photo: animated animated.gif  Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~