Never Forget Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Posted by abakersp in Contemporary / 2 Comments

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About the Book

Book: Never Forget

Author: Jody Hedlund

Genre: Historical Romance

Release Date: January 4, 2017

neverforgetfrontfinalRose Island Lighthouse, Rhode Island

June 1880

Will she betray his trust to stay on the island she loves?

Abbie Wilson is content to spend her days clamming, crabbing, and tending Rose Island Lighthouse. Her grandpa is the head light keeper, but his senility may lead to their eviction. Since leaving the island would kill her beloved Gramps, Abbie will do anything to keep him in the one place he knows and loves.

Wealthy Nathaniel Winthrop III’s wild living has gained him a reputation as the ‘bad boy’ among the elite social circles of Newport. After a blow to the head in a yachting accident washes him up on Rose Island, Nathaniel has no memories of his past.

Abbie tends the wounded stranger in her home only to realize he assumes they’re married. Although she knows she needs to correct Nathaniel’s mistake, his presence calms Gramps and provides a way to prevent eviction from the lighthouse.

The longer the charade continues, the harder it gets for Abbie to tell Nathaniel the truth, more so as she begins to fall in love. Everyone she’s ever loved has abandoned her. Will Nathaniel leave her too, once he discovers he’s not really her husband?

My Perspective

The first thing that caught my attention was the cover. Why was this woman in a beautiful dress, standing by the rocky shore with a life preserver? Who or what wouldn’t she (or someone) forget? I needed to dig in and find these answers and in truth, I found much more.

Abbie was such a wonderful character to read about. She was strong, yet vulnerable. She was unlike other women during that time period in that she wanted to work and take care of the lighthouse because she enjoyed it. She didn’t mind the hard work and didn’t feel it was necessary for a man to be around to help. If only others felt that way.

I got a little emotional when reading about Hosea. My grandmother currently suffers from a little dementia and has a lot of his characteristics. We have to handle her much like Abbie handled Hosea – you just kind of go along with it. Having this in the storyline hit home for me and made that emotional connection that I like to get when I am reading. It made me respect and admire Abbie’s character that much more because I understood what she was dealing with.

Perhaps my favorite character was Nathaniel. He handled his memory loss with such grace and compassion. Others would have fretted, but he was content to just make assumptions and go with it. BUT….watch out for a plot twist later on in the story. I was not expecting it at all and it made my head spin. I love that in a story, so while I may not have appreciated the impact on that characters, I appreciated it as a reader. I love surprises in the reading world, good or bad. This twist changed the whole dynamics of the story!

Don’t worry if you haven’t read the other books in this series, I felt it served fine as a stand alone. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did! I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 About the Author

jody-hedlund-web-copyWinner of the 2016 Christian Book Award and Christy Award,  best-selling author Jody Hedlund writes inspirational historical romances for both youth and adults.

Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).

When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.

Guest Post from Jody Hedlund

Which Do You Prefer: Series or Standalones?

By Jody Hedlund

Readers usually have strong opinions about whether they like series or standalones.

Some readers refuse to read books that are inter-related. Others can’t get enough books about their favorite characters.

I see the pros and cons of both.

For series, I don’t like feeling lost as I try to wade through previous characters along with their backstory. I recently started a series by a well-known author and was disappointed to realize the first book was connected to a previous series she’d already published. From the get-go, I felt left out as though I didn’t quite know who all the characters were or their significance.

On the other hand, for standalones, I sometimes feel as though I would like the story to continue. I’ve invested in the setting and characters and so enjoy when I can return to that place and continue to glimpse the characters I’ve fallen in love with—even if from a distance.

My favorites are books that fall in the middle between standalone and series. I like to think of them as standalones within a series. Becky Wade’s Porter brother series is like that. Each of the books centers around one of the brothers (and a tomboy sister). While characters from other books make an appearance in the stories, each plot is separate and complete without any reliance upon another book.

My Beacons of Hope lighthouse series falls in the middle too. The books are related in that they all take place at lighthouses and share a symbolic “cross of hope” that is passed on from one book to the next. A minor character in a previous book becomes the hero or heroine in the next book. But each book can be read by itself without having read any of the others.

In other words, readers can pick up my newest release, Never Forget, which is the fifth and final book in the series, and they wouldn’t be confused about who the characters are or what their history is. The plot starts with a bang and ends with a satisfying sigh. It is complete story unto itself.

And yet, for those who’ve read other books in the series, they’ll get to see the happily-ever-after of a character from a previous book. And they’ll also get to find out where the cross of hope finally ends.

If you’re not a fan of series, I encourage you to give the Beacons of Hope series a try. It might satisfy the need for standalones and series all in one neat little package.

To that end, I’m giving away all FIVE books in the series as part of the Celebrate Lit blog tour to one lucky winner!

Tell us: What is your preference: Standalones, Series, or Standalones within a Series?

Blog Stops

January 10: Reading Is My SuperPower

January 10: Karen Sue Hadley

January 10: Bookworm Mama

January 11: Faithfully Bookish

January 11: Inklings and Notions

January 11: Blossoms and Blessings

January 12: Smiling Book Reviews

January 12: Genesis 5020

January 12: Christian Chick’s Thoughts

January 13: God’s Little Bookworm

January 13: The Scribbler

January 13: Bibliophile Reviews

January 14: Daysong Reflections

January 14: Blogging With Carol

January 14: Chas Ray’s Book Nerd Corner

January 15: Moments Dipped in Ink

January 15: Books. Books. And More Books.

January 16: A Greater Yes

January 16: Bigreadersite

January 17: Connie’s History Classroom

January 17: D’S QUILTS & BOOKS

January 18: Book by Book

January 18: Jeanette’s Thoughts

January 19: Carpe Diem

January 19: A Bakers Perspective

January 19: Splashes of Joy

January 20: Christian Bookaholic

January 20: Stuff and Nonsense

January 20: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

January 21: Radiant Light

January 21: cherylbbookblog

January 21: His Grace is Sufficient

January 22: Neverending Stories

January 22: A Path of Joy

January 23: History, Hope, Laughter & Happily-ever-after

January 23: Henry Happens

January 23: Onceuponatime

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Jody is giving away the entire Beacons of Hope series. Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/ad6d

2 responses to “Never Forget Blog Tour and Giveaway!

  1. MH

    I’ve read quite a few books in a series without realizing they were a part of a series but worked out ok after some initial confusion and scrambling. It doesn’t matter to me if the books are standalones or in a series….as long as they’re from my favorite authors!

  2. Thank you so much for hosting me as part of the Celebrate Lit blog tour! I’m so sorry to hear that you’re dealing with dementia with your grandmother. My grandmother had it too, before she passed away. And I also used to work in a nursing home in college which was the first time I was exposed to Alzheimers. Many blessings to you! Jody