Chasing Sunsets (Cedar Key - Book 1) by Eva Marie EversonPublication Date: June 2011
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group/ Revell Books
Genre: Christian Fiction/ Contemporary Romance
Pages: Paperback, 373pp
ISBN-13: 9780800734367
ISBN: 080073436X
(Received for review from Revell Books)
Purchase: Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Christianbook.com, IndieBound
Eva Marie Everson on the WEB: website, blog, facebook
Excerpt from Chasing Sunsets
Book Trailer:
Synopsis (Book Blurb):
KIMBERLY TUCKER'S LIFE HASN'T TURNED OUT THE WAY SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD. While her ex is living it up, she struggles to understand what went wrong. when her two sons end up spending five weeks of summer vacation with their father, Kim plans a respite at the family vacation home on tiny Cedar Key. As she revisits the long-forgotten past, she discovers that treasures in life are often buried, and sometimes you get a second chance at love.
Let yourself get swept away to an island retreat of warm tropical breezes, sandy beaches, and the most glorious sunsets you can imagine.
Thoughts:
Author Eva Marie Everson takes readers on a new adventure to Cedar Key, Florida. Everson is known for her great southern fiction titles and her latest book, Chasing Sunsets is a contemporary romance with a Christian fiction base. Everson, a speaker and radio personality draws on personal experiences and a deep faith in God to give readers a story they won't soon forget. Filled with second chances, forgiveness and one woman's struggle to find herself, this book is on my list of great summer reads!
Kimberly Tucker is still reeling from a bad divorce a year later. When a judge grants her ex-husband the right to have her teenage sons for five weeks of summer vacation, Kim is beside herself. Deciding that she needs time to heal and find herself again, she seeks the solace and peace of Cedar Key and the vacation home where she spent her childhood. But, her past soon begins to catch up with her as she relives some painful memories and brings up some old family secrets. With the help of her feisty neighbor, Patsy her healing begins and Kim starts to feel like her old self again. When she encounters her first love, Steven, Kim begins to think that maybe she deserves a second chance at love.
Eva Marie Everson is an author who writes from the heart. She creates characters that have strong feelings and emotions, good and bad. She understands that life isn't always easy and isn't afraid to write about the hard parts. I first encountered Everson's writing with her book, This Fine Life, which I really loved. In both that book and her latest book Chasing Sunsets, Everson gives the reader characters that they can relate to. These are not fairy-tale women who couldn't exist in today's world, they are real and have the same issues that the reader may be facing.
Kimberly Tucker is such a great character. I found myself empathizing with her for several reasons. I am a divorced mother who has to deal with some of the same things Kim is dealing with in this book. Her teenage sons are spending the summer with their father, some may think of this time as vacation of sorts, but if you are anything like me and this character it is extremely difficult to deal with the loss you feel when your children are gone. I loved the fact that the author had Kimberly do some soul-searching of her own while the kids were away. This was time in which she was able to work through her feelings about the divorce. Divorce is never easy and sometimes it takes a great toil on a person and I think the author did a wonderful job of portraying that.
Kimberly also has the opportunity to come in contact with her first love. The first time around he actually broke her heart and he has quite the reputation as a ladies man, but both she and Steven have reached a place in their lives that they are ready for change. That is sometimes really difficult for people. Change is often not easy and Everson makes that plain to the reader. I also thought the author did a great job of developing the relationship between the characters. Though they are old friends, a lot has happened in their lives since they have been in contact with each other. They fall into a rhythm that is both comforting and understandable and it leads them to something wonderful.
The author also incorporates issues of faith into the story without making them overwhelming. Patsy, Kim's next door neighbor at Cedar Key is a woman who has a great faith in God and through her friendship, Kim is able to get in touch with that side of herself as well. Everson lets the reader glean tidbits of wisdom and faith from the story, she doesn't hit them over the head with it. I love a good Christian fiction novel that is able to get the message across without sounding preachy. It is obvious that Everson's own faith fuels her writing which gives it an authenticity that is lacking in some books today.
I recommend this one to Christian fiction readers and lovers of contemporary romance, as well as readers who enjoy reading stories about women and how they change and grow. Kimberly finds herself in so many ways. I think readers will appreciate her struggle and will be able to relate to her, since these are issues many women today are facing. It's a great summer read, for the lounge chair by the pool, the hammock in the shade, or the front porch swing!
Available June 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
Eva Marie Everson is a speaker, a popular radio personality, and the award-winning author of Things Left Unspoken and This Fine Life. She is coauthor of the Potluck Club series and the Potluck Catering Club series. Eva Marie lives in Florida.
KIMBERLY TUCKER'S LIFE HASN'T TURNED OUT THE WAY SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD. While her ex is living it up, she struggles to understand what went wrong. when her two sons end up spending five weeks of summer vacation with their father, Kim plans a respite at the family vacation home on tiny Cedar Key. As she revisits the long-forgotten past, she discovers that treasures in life are often buried, and sometimes you get a second chance at love.
Let yourself get swept away to an island retreat of warm tropical breezes, sandy beaches, and the most glorious sunsets you can imagine.
Thoughts:
Author Eva Marie Everson takes readers on a new adventure to Cedar Key, Florida. Everson is known for her great southern fiction titles and her latest book, Chasing Sunsets is a contemporary romance with a Christian fiction base. Everson, a speaker and radio personality draws on personal experiences and a deep faith in God to give readers a story they won't soon forget. Filled with second chances, forgiveness and one woman's struggle to find herself, this book is on my list of great summer reads!
Kimberly Tucker is still reeling from a bad divorce a year later. When a judge grants her ex-husband the right to have her teenage sons for five weeks of summer vacation, Kim is beside herself. Deciding that she needs time to heal and find herself again, she seeks the solace and peace of Cedar Key and the vacation home where she spent her childhood. But, her past soon begins to catch up with her as she relives some painful memories and brings up some old family secrets. With the help of her feisty neighbor, Patsy her healing begins and Kim starts to feel like her old self again. When she encounters her first love, Steven, Kim begins to think that maybe she deserves a second chance at love.
Eva Marie Everson is an author who writes from the heart. She creates characters that have strong feelings and emotions, good and bad. She understands that life isn't always easy and isn't afraid to write about the hard parts. I first encountered Everson's writing with her book, This Fine Life, which I really loved. In both that book and her latest book Chasing Sunsets, Everson gives the reader characters that they can relate to. These are not fairy-tale women who couldn't exist in today's world, they are real and have the same issues that the reader may be facing.
Kimberly Tucker is such a great character. I found myself empathizing with her for several reasons. I am a divorced mother who has to deal with some of the same things Kim is dealing with in this book. Her teenage sons are spending the summer with their father, some may think of this time as vacation of sorts, but if you are anything like me and this character it is extremely difficult to deal with the loss you feel when your children are gone. I loved the fact that the author had Kimberly do some soul-searching of her own while the kids were away. This was time in which she was able to work through her feelings about the divorce. Divorce is never easy and sometimes it takes a great toil on a person and I think the author did a wonderful job of portraying that.
Kimberly also has the opportunity to come in contact with her first love. The first time around he actually broke her heart and he has quite the reputation as a ladies man, but both she and Steven have reached a place in their lives that they are ready for change. That is sometimes really difficult for people. Change is often not easy and Everson makes that plain to the reader. I also thought the author did a great job of developing the relationship between the characters. Though they are old friends, a lot has happened in their lives since they have been in contact with each other. They fall into a rhythm that is both comforting and understandable and it leads them to something wonderful.
The author also incorporates issues of faith into the story without making them overwhelming. Patsy, Kim's next door neighbor at Cedar Key is a woman who has a great faith in God and through her friendship, Kim is able to get in touch with that side of herself as well. Everson lets the reader glean tidbits of wisdom and faith from the story, she doesn't hit them over the head with it. I love a good Christian fiction novel that is able to get the message across without sounding preachy. It is obvious that Everson's own faith fuels her writing which gives it an authenticity that is lacking in some books today.
I recommend this one to Christian fiction readers and lovers of contemporary romance, as well as readers who enjoy reading stories about women and how they change and grow. Kimberly finds herself in so many ways. I think readers will appreciate her struggle and will be able to relate to her, since these are issues many women today are facing. It's a great summer read, for the lounge chair by the pool, the hammock in the shade, or the front porch swing!
Available June 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
Eva Marie Everson is a speaker, a popular radio personality, and the award-winning author of Things Left Unspoken and This Fine Life. She is coauthor of the Potluck Club series and the Potluck Catering Club series. Eva Marie lives in Florida.
1 comment:
You wrote: It is obvious that Everson's own faith fuels her writing which gives it an authenticity that is lacking in some books today.
I write: THANK YOU! No greater compliment can be given to me...even if you hated my story or the way I told it...this would have made my day.
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