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Saturday, December 19, 2015

Roman's Holiday by Susan Aylworth + $25 Giveaway


Roman's holiday cover 

Four years after Roman Kincaid was catapulted into stardom as a country-western singer and A-list movie star, he is burned out: exhausted by a grueling schedule, drained by the ceaseless demands of producers and managers, weary of meeting the needs of others at the expense of his own. Leaving a sold-out show in Phoenix, he rents a car and drives north and east, landing in the Painted Desert town of Rainbow Rock.

Nearly three years after leaving her old life behind, Lottie Beale is feeding people and baking pies, managing the Kachina Café and tending secrets of her own. When circumstances conspire to give two attractive people some time alone together amid the world-class vistas of the Four Corners, they discover more than either had bargained for.

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Roman's Holiday- the best sounding pie ever.  Oh, you thought I was talking about the book?  Well, yeah, it is the name of this book but it also the name of a pie in the book.  Honestly, the scene with the pie is probably the best scene in the book.  Here's an excerpt of that very scene!

In the kitchen with the door swinging closed between them, she took a moment to gather herself, planning to be at her sunniest when she went back to the dining room. He’s leaving and I’m not going with him. At least I can send him away with a smile. She cut into her Roman’s Holiday” pie and plated two slices, each on a swirl of chocolate sauce. Then she added another swirl and a dollop of whipped cream to the top. Picking up two forks, she took a deep breath, pretended a smile, and went to serve the man she loved. “Here it is, the new pie sensation of the century.”
“I can hardly wait.”
She set a slice in front of him. “Before you take a bite, I want you to know I made it to taste like you. No, that’s not what I mean! Not to taste like you taste—” She stopped herself. Then she grinned. “If I knew how to make that, every woman in the country would buy it.”
Roman acknowledged the compliment with a nod.
She tried again. “I wanted it to taste like who you are. Ugh, I’m botching this something awful. Just taste it and tell me what you think.” She waited while he cut a bite of the pie and lifted it to his mouth.
“Oh Lottie.” He closed his eyes, savoring the flavor. “It’s marvelous.”
“Really? You’re not just saying that?”
“It’s mar-ve-lous!”
“I thought it was a winner. Glad you like it.”
“Like it? I love it! Tastes like me, huh?”
“Well, like who you are, like what this time together has meant… to me.”

See what I mean?  That's a pretty good scene, right?  And now you want to eat pie.  :)

This book had three parts for me.  The beginning, the middle and the end.  The beginning was good.  It drew me in and I was excited about where things were going to go.  The middle was not good for me.  It was basically a travelogue of the area and I felt like it went on and on and on.  I will admit to skimming a lot of it.  I just don't need to know the history and stories that go along with every single place that these characters went (and they went a lot of places!).  It was too much.  The last part of the book got back to where I hoped the whole book would be- as demonstrated by the pie scene above.  It ended well and I was really glad for that.

Content:  mild swearing, kissing and talk about sex but it never happens.


   Susan A

Susan Aylworth started her first book when she was nine. "It was called Buff, The Proud Stallion. I wrote eight whole pages." For her fifth grade career day, she stated her ambition to become "a rich and famous author." Decades later, she is pleased to have achieved the 'author' part of that goal. A former university professor, she enjoys researching backgrounds and careers for her novels. "It's one way to live many lives at once." She lives in northern California with her husband of 45 years and two spoiled cats.
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Blog Tour Giveaway - $25 Amazon Gift Card or $25 in Paypal Cash Ends 1/21/16 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Roman's Holiday

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