Rebuilding Hearts

GIVEAWAY

MILLER, CAROLYN

REBUILDING HEARTS

Who knew a bank robbery could shoe a girl that good guys still exist?

Tim Franklin. Quiet, shy, almost incapable of speaking to a girl, and a budding horticulturist. Oh, and he survived a bank robbery five years ago not to mention its resulting trauma.

Bookworm Bella Dwyer just wants to feel safe and Tim's actions during the robbery made her believe there might be guys who live up to her dictional heroes. Trouble is, a chance with Tim seems as remote as this year's celebrity heartthrob.

Instead, she settled for a relationship with a guy who's commitment-phobic.

So when Bella encounters Tim on tiny Sparrow Island, the challenges of her past and present collide, and she questions whether there really is a future with a man who can't commit.

In a leap of faith, Bella dumps her boyfriend, even before shy-guy Tim can make a move. But in wanting to live by faith and conquer fear, has she made the right choice, or are her hopes for freedom and a future destined to fail?

My Review:

Nothing like ending the summer on a beach reading high! There's something about a Carolyn Miller romance that puts a curl in my toes before I even open up the book! Love the anticipatory glee almost as much as the actual bookish enjoyment! 

Rebuilding Hearts is a delightfully awkward, tender, sweet and swoony love story! I don't often meet shy heroes in my fictional journeys. I'm not sure why, maybe they aren't considered hero material? But Tim blows that theory out of the water (see what I did there, this being an island romance and all?) His feelings run deep and though he doesn't say a lot, you want to pay attention when he does. And be prepared to swoon into a puddle of bliss! Plus, the man's a book reading gardener! I mean -- that right there is enough to give me heart palpitations! And when he waxes horticulturally poetic, well that might just be my love language. :-)

And then we have a librarian heroine with a family history researcher side gig -- and an even better job offer on the horizon...but I'm getting ahead of myself. Phew, must calm down and try to think clearly but my mind is all muzzyfuzzied from post-read euphoria. 

Bella is in a relationship at the beginning of the story and af first I was worried about venturing into dangerous love triangle territory, but fear not, that is but a blip on the radar of this romance. Blink and it's over because Bella has sense...and a heart yearning for so much more than doofus brain (not referring to Tim) can give her. 

Love the island setting and especially the small informal church -- real proof that  when "two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matt. 18:20) And it comes with some quirky secondary characters who have their own ideas about Tim and Bella. :-) Plus we get to meet up with previous heroes and heroines from Miller's earlier island novels which was loads of fun.

Side note: This reads perfectly perfect as a standalone -- Rebuilding Hearts is part of a multi-authored long running series set in a string of islands connected by ferry or bridges. There's lots of scope for story fodder with the various island businesses and tourist trade. Sometimes there's character overlap but it's done so well that you wouldn't notice if you hadn't read any of the other books.

Carolyn Miller's website tagline says "Stories of hope, heart & humour" and she definitely delivers that in this perfect fictional getaway!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Rebuilding Hearts, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 3 2022 . Offer open to