Where It All Began by Larana Hoopes - Book Blast and Giveaway

Where it All Began

by Lorana Hoopes

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GENRE: Christian Fiction

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BLURB:

Sandra Baker thought her life was going in the right direction until she ended up pregnant. Not ready for a baby, her boyfriend pushes her to have an abortion. After the procedure, Sandra spirals into depression losing her relationship and turning to alcohol. Then she meets Henry, a strong Christian man, who shows her God's love. Will she accept God's forgiveness and more importantly, will she forgive herself?

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EXCERPT

The delicate paper menu held only a few choices, and my eyes widened at the prices. I should have thought to ask where we were going before I agreed. I didn’t have the money to spend so much on dinner, especially since Peter had moved out and money was much tighter. My heart thudded in my chest as I quickly scanned for the cheapest item on the menu; even the side salad was nearly fifteen dollars. How do people afford this? Well, the salad comes with bread and a bowl of soup, so at least it should be enough to fill me up.

The waiter, clad in a white dress shirt and perfectly pressed black pants, appeared just as I laid the menu down. “Have we had enough time?” he asked politely, glancing at each of us before focusing his attention on Philip, who took the lead in ordering.

“Yes, we’ll have two glasses of your finest red wine and two plates of the steak and lobster, grilled medium well.” He handed his and Raquel’s menus to the waiter.

“Very well,” the waiter nodded and turned his attention to me.

I swallowed. “Um, I’ll have the side salad and the tomato soup.”

The waiter cocked his head. “Will that be all miss?”

My face flushed, and just as I was about to answer, Henry jumped in. “Yes, and the same for me please.” He handed our menus to the waiter.

The waiter nodded. “Yes, sir, and anything further to drink?”

Henry glanced at me; I shook my head. “No, water will be adequate for now, thank you.”

As the waiter turned away, I regarded Henry. Who was this man, and why was he being so nice to me? He caught me staring and shot me a small wink as he picked up a piece of bread.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Lorana Hoopes is currently an English teacher in the Pacific Northwest where she lives with her husband and three children. When not writing, she can be seen kickboxing in her local gym, singing at her church, or performing on stage. The Heartbeats series is her first full length novel series. She has also just released the first book in her early reader chapter book, The Wishing Stone.

You can follow her blog at https://twoheartbeats.org

Twitter: www.twitter.com/loranahoopes

Facebook: www.facebook.com/loranalhoopes

Get a free novella or audio reading of The Wishing Stone by filling out the contact form at http://authorloranahoopes.site123.me/

The Book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour:

Where It All Began is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/HeartbeatsWIAB 

Barnes and Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/where-it-all-began-lorana-l-hoopes/1124598788

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31944027-where-it-all-began?from_search=true

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/where-it-all-began-2

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Lorana will be awarding a Medieval Renaissance Handmade Leather Diary Journal Thought Book to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour (US ONLY).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Short and Sweet Book Reviews #44 - Wind River Wrangler by Lindsay McKenna, Traces of Guilt by Dee Henderson, Sea Rose Lane by Irene Hannon

Wind River Wrangler by Lindsay McKenna
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a big disappointment for me. I generally like Lindsay McKenna's books and in some ways this lived up to her reputation. I liked the characters and the setting. It was the overall plot that left me shaking my head. Shiloh had been stalked for six months and no one looked at her past to discover the stalker. Come on!!! I knew who was doing it before the first 20 pages. Then there was the fact that Shiloh just hid in the corner when someone was turning her door knob. Nothing in the plot rang true after that. I hope the next book in the series has a much better developed and though out plot as the characters and setting deserve something that rings true.

This is a book I received from Amazon Vine in return for a honest review.


Traces of Guilt by Dee Henderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once again a visited my library on the day new items were put on the shelf. Traces of Guilt was a new audio book and it looked like a interesting mystery. Evie Blackwell is trying to solve two cold cases. It was interesting to see how she looked at things from a new and different angle. I enjoyed listening to the book. The book is filled with interesting characters and the mysteries well developed. This is book one in a new series. I am looking forward to seeing the characters again. This is a Christian Fiction Mystery. I found that religion was dropped in often stopping the flow of the story. It was not enough to keep me from enjoying the book and it would have been a good read if it had been left out.


Sea Rose Lane by Irene Hannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another of the new audio books on the shelf on Thursday. I like contemporary romance books that are part of a series so I decided to give this on a try. I was surprised to find that I had another Christian Fiction book. Most of the time they are labeled but someone missed on this one. Hannon did a very good job of working the references to God and Prayer into the fabric of the story. Unlike Traces of Guilt those references did not interrupt the flow of the story. There are some very interesting and different characters in the book. Coming home after loosing a job is a familiar trope but it works really well for the story set in Hope Harbor. My favorite was Charlie. He steels the show even though he is a side character. He is the one that helps guide the story and the characters to their HEA. In fact there is one HEA that is not a romance but comes from a change in the lives of two of the characters. I did like the absence of sex beyond hugs and kisses. It was refreshing not to have to listen to so many body parts.

View all my reviews