Welcome
to my stop on the Excerpt Tour, presented by Goddess
Fish Promotions, for Shattered Vows by Linda LaRoque. Please leave
a comment or question for Linda to let her know you stopped by. You can enter her tour wide giveaway, where Linda
will be awarding three individual prizes during the tour: 1st prize— a sterling charm bracelet with
baby theme and a handmade wooden jewelry box, 2nd prize—a handmade wooden shawl
pin and an ecopy of Shattered Vows, and 3rd prize—an ecopy of Shattered Vows,
by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.
You can also visit the other stops on the tour by clicking on the tour
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by Linda LaRoque
Publisher: Prayers & Promises Publications
Release
Date: November 11, 2014
Genre:
Inspirational Romance
Length: 188 Pages
ISBN: 9781310003288
ASIN: B00P9UPW00
ASIN: B00P9UPW00
BUY LINKS: SMASHWORDS * KINDLE * AMAZON PRINT * B&N
About the book:
A
mother, confronted with her husband’s infidelity, must decide whether to help
raise his child or end her marriage.
Annie
and Stuart Rayburn have loved each other since high school. Their life is
idyllic until their baby dies of SIDS, and Annie falls into a deep depression.
Months of therapy help her recover, and they look forward to another child
sometime in their future.
Despite
his own grief Stuart tries to comfort Annie, yet when he reaches for her in the
night, his advances are rebuffed. In a moment of weakness, he turns to another
woman. Stu learns his night of infidelity produced a baby girl. The mother died
in a car crash, and her will gives Stu custody.
Stu
can’t deny the child is his, and he’s determined to raise her. He begs Annie’s
forgiveness. Hurt and angry, Annie must face her demons, decide if she can
forgive Stu, and love the innocent child, or divorce him and move on without
the only man she’s likely to love.
EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT
Rigid, Stu’s face appeared carved of stone. "She's my child too, Annie."“Yes, and that’s what hurts so bad. Every time I looked at the baby, I’d remember my husband made love with another woman.”“I didn’t make love to her, Annie. We had sex—simple and plain. It was a physical release, and that’s all. I know hearing that won’t take your pain away, but it’s the truth.”Unable to look at him any longer, she turned her back and stuffed her knuckles in her mouth to hold back the sobs. She couldn't do it; she just couldn't do it. “But you kissed her, touched her body, and she touched yours.”
“You’ve changed, Annie. Where is the loving woman I fell in love with? The one with forgiveness in her heart?”
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A
retired teacher who loves West Texas, its flora and fauna, and its people,
Linda’s stories paint pictures of life, love, and learning set against the raw
landscape of ranches and rural communities in Texas and the Midwest. She is a
member of RWA, her local chapter of HOTRWA, NTRWA and Texas Mountain Trail
Writers.
Linda
writes contemporary western romances, time travel romances and futuristic
romances. Shattered Vows is her first Inspiration Women's fiction.
Visit Linda at these
locations.
Website: www.lindalaroque.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linda.laroque
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaLaRoque
Other Books by Linda
LaRoque
Contemporary Westerns
Forever
Faithful
Investment
of the Heart
When
the Ocotillo Bloom
Futuristic
Born
in Ice
Time Travel
The
Turquoise Legacy
My
Heart Will Find Yours
and
Flames
on the Sky
A
Way Back
Desires
of the Heart
A
Law of Her Own
A
Marshal of Her Own
A
Love of Her Own
Birdie’s
Nest
A
Time of Their Own (A collection of three time travels
set
in Prairie Texas—A Law of Her Own, A Marshal of Her Own, and A Love of His
Own.)
What does it take to have a successful marriage? Is love enough or does marriage require more? In Linda LaRoque’s debut inspirational romance, Shattered Vows, we see a marriage tested by infidelity and the child resulting from the incident. Reminding us that marriage is hard, that real love requires continual forgiveness and that regardless of where we are in life, God’s grace is sufficient, Ms. LaRoque gives us a story of love and redemption which had me shedding a few tears and rooting for her characters.Emotionally overwhelmed and hurting after the loss of their child to SIDS, Annie Rayburn is distant and emotionally withdrawn. Rejected by his wife, Stuart Rayburn turns to another woman for one night and then struggles with guilt over the betrayal of his marriage vows. When the woman he turned to dies in an accident, and Stuart discovers he has a daughter, he knows he must take responsibility for his child and confess to his wife. As Stuart confesses his infidelity, Annie struggles with her anger, her guilt over her inability to move on from their daughter’s death, and her inability to forgive Stuart for what he’s done. Will their love be enough to keep them together and will Annie be able to love a child who isn’t her own?Ms. LaRoque does a good job developing both Stuart and Annie’s characters; their emotions are raw, gritty and easy to identify with. Especially the anger Annie feels toward Stuart over what he’s done. While I don’t believe there is ever a legitimate reason for a spouse to cheat; I do have to acknowledge that when we first meet Annie, she’s cold, somewhat distant and hasn’t really moved on from the loss of their daughter – even though she’s been gone for more than a year. It made it a little difficult to connect with her at first, but as the story develops it becomes apparent that Annie has always had problems dealing with emotional issues. It was easier to connect with Stuart, though there are times I wanted to smack him upside the head, because he so willingly accepts his new daughter and is determined to make the best of his situation; he’s very careful about how he deals with Annie and what she wants, even while hoping and praying that she’ll forgive him and give their marriage another try.
The secondary characters are also well developed and I really enjoyed getting to know Grace, Stuart’s mom, and Willie Lee, Annie’s mom. Both are strong women who want what’s best for their children and will do whatever it takes to help bring them back together because they know they’re still deeply in love. I also really liked “Bailey”, the baby who comes into their life through no fault of her own; she’s independent, sweet and easily adapts to all of the changes taking place in her life.Will Annie let God help her forgive Stuart for his mistake and room in her heart for a child she didn’t give birth to? And will Annie deal with her anger towards God for letting people she loves die? Will Stuart be able to prove he’ll be faithful to Annie and never betray her again? You’ll have to read Shattered Vows to find out. I think it’s an enjoyable story and I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.My Rating: 4 out of 5 Crowns
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the excerpt, the book, learning about Linda and this great feature. Thanks for this wonderful giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteHello, Traveler. Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you'll continue through the 27th when the promotion ends.
DeleteThanks for hosting me today, Your Highness :) and for the beautiful review. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt and would read the book based on that alone.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the excerpt, Glenda, and hope you'll continue to follow the blogs—a new excerpt every day.
Deletenice excerpt
ReplyDeleteThank you, bn100!
DeleteThe excerpt was like a teaser, makes me want to read on, have to keep following the blogs. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Grandma Cootie! I hope you will follow along on the blogs. I love your name!
DeleteI liked the excerpt best. This book sounds like an interesting read. I will totally have to add this book to my "to-read" list.
ReplyDeleteHi Ally, so good o see you here. I'd love to have you read Shattered Vows. Hope you'll continue to follow the excerpts here.
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