The Sea Prayers

The Sea Prayers

By Normandie Fischer

What an exciting read! Fischer takes us back to Beaufort, NC in this book, as she tells the story of a single mom barely making ends meet, and her daughter, who learns a huge secret about the dad she's never met: he’s her favorite singer and she listens to his music all the time.

There’s a sous chef who has overcome addiction and lives on a boat, an inherited house that requires more than the recipient can handle, and a town filled with people who know how to be the hands and feet of God. Date rape, emotional abuse, unforgiveness, and a missing child provide lots of conflict, plot twists, and reasons for our heroine to learn how to pray.

This is a love story, a faith story, and a family story. It’s about the past coming back to bite you, and learning how to make sure the future doesn’t run away without you.

I highly recommend Fischer’s latest installment in her Carolina Coast Series. This story definitely stands on its own, but if you’ve already met the lovely people from her other novels, you will enjoy it even more when several of them pop into this storyline too.  

Learn more about Normandie Fischer here: http://www.normandiefischer.com/ and you'll also find more information about all the other books in her Coastal Carolina Series. Don't worry about reading them in order, each book stands on its own, but the characters overlap for an extra bonus when you do read them all. 

Jennifer Fromke is a novelist who writes from NC, where she pines for colder temperatures all year long. Northerners by upbringing, she and her husband of 26 years have raised three Southern-ish children. Jennifer reviews books at Shetalksbooks.com and you can download a free story from her website when you sign up for her newsletter at jenniferfromke.com. She writes contemporary women’s fiction and her family’s annual Christmas letter, which she needs to get going on this week!

All Who Dream

All Who Dream is a romantic thrill ride. I loved the entire story. The characters still haunt me. Even the side characters were a pleasure to read. I feel like I know them all so well. 

The story is multi-layered with lots to keep the reader's interest. The hero and heroine must learn essentially the same lesson, but their journeys are so vastly different and they come from completely different places, so the story seems to echo in harmonies. 

The romance was sweet . . . deep, pure, real . . . and clean.

The motivations for each character rang true on every side. I believed every thing in the story. I love NYC, so it was great fun to camp out there for most of this book. It's a fun read for writers especially, because of the book tour, the publishing company insights, and the general fun surrounding one character's mystery series.

PLUS! Deese writes poetry. Good poetry. It's almost reminiscent of Possession by AS Byatt - poetry written by a character embedded in the fiction. She also writes fictional scenes written by another character. 

The dialogue is witty. The interactions, funny and very realistic. I'm sure this story will stay with me for a long time - I hope you'll give this author a try. All Who Dream does not disappoint.

Here’s the back of the book blurb:

Struggling to rebuild her life after she was brutally attacked and left for dead six years ago, Angie leads a simple life: managing a florist shop, leading a weekly recovery group, and blogging about the joys and challenges of being a single mom.

But simple just became a lot more complicated.

When Angie’s blog goes viral, she’s caught in a whirlwind: signing with a publicist and heading to NYC for a book tour, where she meets brooding bachelor Jackson Ross. Though she is drawn to the mysterious CEO of Pinkerton Press, her instincts are as unreliable as her heart. She won’t fall victim to a man ever again.

Jackson is well-versed in the art of denial. His perfect facade has been nearly impenetrable—until now. When the details of Angie's past are targeted by scandal, Jackson urges her to confront her fear despite his refusal to do the same. But neither of them can move forward without first uncovering one vital truth...

That while some keep fighting to survive, all who dream will find the courage to live.

FYI: This book is the third in a series, but stands alone very well. I have not read the first two yet, but this one makes me want more. Don’t be afraid to start with book three.