Married By Monday by Cathryn Brown

About the Book

Neither of them wants to get married, especially not to each other.

Isabella visits her friend Cassie in Two Hearts, Tennessee. Bella’s ready to go back to the city almost as soon as she arrives. And she has a situation to take care of when she gets home.

Micah may want to stay in his small town, but his family has other plans for him. He has two choices to solve his problem. He has to get married—soon—or move to the city. Neither appeals to him, but one may be better than the other.

These two strike a deal to . . . get married by Monday. Falling in love isn’t even an option. This marriage is a temporary solution for both of them.

Then why won’t their hearts stay out of it?

We are transported back to Two Hearts, Tennessee, thanks to Cathryn Brown’s newest novel, Married by Monday, about Cassie Van Bibber’s best friend Isabella “Bella” Bennett.

Bella has run into financial difficulties because of a sequence of terrible events. Micah Walker’s tyrannical grandfather gives him six days to either join his firm as a partner or get married. So, what to do? Get married, of course! As a result, hilarity, confusion, and mayhem ensue.

Brown has a unique ability to bring people and places alive. I could see Two Hearts’ allure while also picturing it in its derelict and abandoned state. I liked getting to know new people introduced in the story. I really appreciated seeing how the people and the town changed over time.

Married by Monday is a clean, inspirational story. The characters are loveable and endearing. The town is charming. The “Happily Ever After” is cute. Even though it’s a sequel, it can be read as a stand-alone, but the story is much richer if you read Runaway to Romance first.

I received this book from the author. However, my review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

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Runaway to Romance by Cathryn Brown

About the Book

“Southern ladies didn’t make a scene. Her mother would tell her to march her hiney back into that church and marry the man.”

Cassie’s in her wedding dress and ready to walk down the aisle. Minutes later, she’s a runaway bride on her way to nowhere. Two Hearts, Tennessee, fits that description perfectly.

She’s also a wedding planner. When someone in her profession is a runaway bride, the story’s so sweet that she needs to stay hidden for a while.

Greg returned to Two Hearts to be the sheriff after years as a big city cop—and his fiancée dumping him. He’s living over the garage at his mother’s house (how did that happen?) and just doing his job.

Then he gets a call about a redhead in the diner wearing a wedding dress.

His life and the town are turned upside down.

Cassie wants to help Two Hearts while she’s hiding from her ex-groom and the media. She may have some ideas to give a boost to the dying town.

Cassie has a thriving business in Nashville. Greg’s tied to Two Hearts.

Will she be able to help the town AND avoid falling for the sheriff? The town, maybe. The sheriff? She’s pulled closer to his heart every minute she’s there.

Have you ever yearned to jump in your car and just drive until you run out of gas? Alternatively, ride a motorcycle until it runs out of gas, as in this case. Cassandra “Cassie” Van Bibber does exactly that. However, her justification is catching her fiancé cheating on her only seconds before they were to walk down the aisle. She was still wearing her wedding dress, astride a motorcycle she borrowed from her fiancé’s boss, when she ran away!

Cathryn Brown creates a wonderful story about a fictional Tennessee town named Two Hearts, near Nashville. As only an abandoned and neglected beauty can, the small rural area radiates charm. The inhabitants are incredibly generous, friendly and compassionate. Two Hearts is the kind of town most people can only dream of living in.

Runaway to Romance features a wonderful cast of characters (except for Cassie’s fiancé) and a town almost anyone would love. Runaway to Romance is a clean, charming novel, though not a Christian book per se.

Visit tomorrow when I review the sequel to Runaway to Romance, Married by Monday!!!

Blog Tour and Giveaway for A Southern Season: Four Stories From a Front Porch Swing by Eva Marie Everson, Claire Fullerton, Linda W. Yezak, and Ane Mulligan, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for A Southern Season: Four Stories From a Front Porch Swing by Eva Marie Everson, Claire Fullerton, Linda W. Yezak and Ane Mulligan, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! Pull up a front porch swing and enjoy learning more about this collection from 4 great authors 🙂

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: A Southern Season: Four Stories From a Front Porch Swing

Authors: Eva Marie Everson, Claire Fullerton, Linda W. Yezak, Ane Mulligan

Publisher: Firefly Southern Fiction

Release Date: November 1, 2018

Genre: Inspirational Southern/Women’s Fiction

Four seasons. Four stories. Each one set in the enchanting world of the South. These are the kinds of stories your grandmother told you from a front porch swing.

Ice Melts in Spring by Linda W. Yezak

When Kerry Graham’s boss forces her to return to the Gulf of Mexico where her husband drowned years ago, she feels only spring’s chill and not the warmth of the Texas sun. Can the joy of a reclusive author and the compassion of a shrimp-boat preacher thaw Kerry’s frigid heart?

Lillie Beth in Summer by Eva Marie Everson

With the untimely death of his wife, Dr. James Gillespie believes God has abandoned him. He also believes he’s never met anyone like the young widow Lillie Beth, whose beloved Granny lies dying at home, and who sees a God who sweeps hope through a farmhouse window. Can a young woman whose husband died in Vietnam restore a faith that is all but dead.

Through an Autumn Window by Claire Fullerton

Because her larger than life mother Daphne Goodwyn is dead, forty-year-old Cate returns to Memphis with one thought in mind: something always goes wrong at a Southern funeral. But surrounded by the well-mannered society that raised her, the nostalgic rites of a three-day, autumn mourning bring the unexpected gift of the end of sibling rivalry.

A Magnolia Blooms in Winter by Ane Mulligan

With Broadway stardom within her reach, Morgan James returns home in winter to help an old friend. Maybe its just nostalgia, but when she sees him again, an old flame rekindles. When she’s called back to NYC to take the lead in a new musical, will fame be worth losing the man she loves?

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

My Review

A Southern Season: Four Stories from a Front Porch Swing features novellas by Eva Marie Everson, Linda Yezak, Ane Mulligan and Claire Fullerton. The anthology focuses on those who have lost their faith in God and are trying to find their way back, or alternately, fighting against finding their way back. Each story focuses on a single Southern season, with the story corresponding to the season.

I enjoyed the stories. They were well-written and steeped in sound Biblical theology. Each character faced difficult decisions. In fact, three focused on the death of a family member or spouse, while the fourth focused on the possible loss of dreams.

I know with novellas there is an inherent problem; they are short and have to pack a lot into the pages. I enjoyed the depth of personalities in each account of the characters. However, there was a feeling of hastiness, a need to hurry up and finish, that left me feeling a little off center or bewildered, knowing some of the “tying up” probably wouldn’t happen that quickly.

Overall, I appreciated the stories. I love the South, iced tea (unsweetened-oh my, the blasphemy!) and a relating of Biblical growth and redemption. All four novellas had these elements, making them very enjoyable-they just ended a few words too soon.

I received a copy of the book from JustReads Tours. However, I was under no obligation to post a review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Eva Marie Everson (Lillie Beth in Summer) is a multiple award-winning author and speaker. She is the president of Word Weavers International and the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference & North Georgia Christian Writers Conference.

CONNECT WITH EVA: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Claire Fullerton (Through an Autumn Window) is the author of Mourning Dove, Dancing to an Irish Reel, and A Portal in Time. She is a transplanted Southerner from Memphis now living in Malibu, California.

CONNECT WITH CLAIRE: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Ane Mulligan (A Magnolia Blooms in Winter) writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She’s an award-winning, multi-published novelist and playwright, who believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups.

CONNECT WITH ANE: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Linda W. Yezak (Ice Melts in Spring) lives with her husband and PB, the original scaredy cat, in a forest in Deep East Texas, where tall tales abound and exaggeration is an art form. Author of several novels, novellas, and short stories, she is best known for her award-winning Circle Bar Ranch series.

CONNECT WITH LINDA: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy of A Southern Season, signed by all 4 authors! (US only)

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

Giveaway will begin at midnight October 30, 2018, and last through 11:59pm November 5, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY

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Follow along at JustRead for a full list of stops!