Marie Force has a SEASON FOR LOVE Back to Blog
Update: The winner of SEASON FOR LOVE is…Cindy O.
Time for a book spotlight! And, for this spotlight, we’ll focus on a book by one of my favorite authors–Marie Force.
His idea of permanence is the VW van that takes him from one gig to the next. . .
Owen Lawry has made a living as a traveling musician and enjoys his footloose and fancy free lifestyle. But after meeting Laura McCarthy and helping her to land the job as manager of his grandparents’ hotel on Gansett Island, Owen decides there’s something to be said about a roof over his head and a warm, sexy woman in his bed.
Laura, a newlywed who discovered that her husband never quit dating, came to Gansett for her cousin’s Janey’s wedding, but ended up staying after she met Owen and took on the renovations to the dilapidated Sand & Surf Hotel.
As Owen and Laura’s attraction simmers during months of close proximity, they form a tight bond that will be tested when her estranged husband refuses to grant her a divorce. As summer turns to autumn and Laura and Owen take baby steps toward love, favorite characters from past Gansett Island stories continue to live their happily ever afters.
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Marie sent this excerpt to share with readers:
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Maddie got home before Mac and made good use of the time. She changed into the white silk nightgown he’d bought her when they were first dating and covered it with the matching robe he’d given her for her birthday the following year. He’d given her everything, most importantly his love and devotion. Certainly, no woman had ever been so adored by her husband. He’d never been more attentive or solicitous as he’d been since she delivered their baby daughter in the midst of a tropical storm.
She brushed her hair until it hung in soft, shiny waves on her shoulders and smoothed on some of the strawberry-flavored lip balm that had been known to make her dear husband a little crazy. Who was she kidding? Everything about her seemed to make him a little crazy, and she loved every crazy, over-the-top thing about him.
The bang of the sliding door opening caught her attention. “Madeline! Where are you?”
“Showtime,” she whispered in the mirror with a small, satisfied smile. At the top of the stairs, she looked down to find him on the sofa tearing at his work boots with hasty, fumbling movements.
“Maddie!”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing at him and went down the stairs to sit next to him on the sofa. “You beckoned?”
He turned to her, and when he saw what she was wearing, his eyes got big. His mouth opened and then closed. “You’re stunning.”
“You’re dirty.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll take a shower so fast I’ll be back before I’m gone.” He stole a quick kiss and headed for the stairs, stopping halfway up. “Where’re my children?”
“With my mother and Ned until dinnertime.”
“God, I love you so much.”
Maddie laughed as he bolted up the remaining stairs and disappeared. She thought about going upstairs to meet him after his shower but decided it would be far more fun to make him come after her. Sure enough, he came flying down the stairs less than five minutes later, with a towel wrapped around his waist, his dripping-wet hair standing on end and a small spot of blood on his chin from where he’d nicked himself shaving.
“You’re a mess,” she said, laughing as she held out her arms to him.
Smelling of soap and sexy man, he came down on top of her. “I can’t help it. Waiting for this day has made me nuts.”
She combed her fingers through his hair, attempting to bring some order. “Good thing I love you even when you’re a messy nut case.”
That drew a smile from him. “So what did David have to say?”
“Everything looks good.”
As she’d expected, he scowled darkly. “You’re damned right it looks good. I hate the idea of that guy having his face…there.”
Once again, she held back a laugh at his ridiculousness. “He’s a doctor. Seen one, seen them all.”
“That’s crap. Yours is way better than most. I should know. I did a lot of shopping before I bought.”
“Mac!” She sputtered with laughter as she smacked his shoulder. “Oh my God! I can’t believe you said that! You’re outrageous. Don’t forget ‘that guy’ saved your daughter’s life.”
“I’ll never forget that, but it doesn’t mean I want his face in my wife’s hoo-ha.”
She squished his lips together before releasing them. “You really need to stop talking now.”
“Why? Is there something else you’d rather be doing?”
“Definitely.” She kissed him fully, deeply, letting him know exactly what she’d rather be doing.
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Want to win SEASON FOR LOVE? Then tell me why you love reading romances. One commenter will be randomly selected to win a digital copy of SEASON FOR LOVE.
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I love romance because it is a nice escape from real life. While reading, I do not think about homework, feeding the kids, changing the baby or worrying if the chores are done. I can worry about the people in the books for those hours and be worry free!
Sounds like a great story. I like reading about real life couples without the Paranormal sometines.
Cause real life is too stressful 🙂 I love the break that reading romance’s give me.
Hey Marie – I will never forget reading The Wreck. Its one of those books that has stayed with me for a long time. You can write emotional woman 🙂
After reading all my vampire books it is nice to read a good romance. You need a little of both in your reading life.—Rachel
I like to alternate between contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal romance. However, one thing has to be present in all of my books – romance! It is the romance aspect of any story that pulls me in. I haven’t read any of your books yet, but plan to go and check out your website and see what you have. Thanks for the post. The books sounds great.
Love to read romance of any genre because the every day world can be just too much sometimes! It’s good to get away from it all!
I love reading romances because its nice to see that there can be happy endings no matter how crazy the story gets.
I love reading romances because no matter what they need to overcome, there is always a bright spot on the horizon. Before I met my Hubby it was the possibility of one day it may happen to me, now I have mine I live vicariously through the heroines 🙂
I love reading romances because I love happy endings– I also love the journey it takes to find that ending:) Oh, and it’s fun to escape for awhile into the story!
Waving hello to everyone and wishing Cynthia a happy release day!
I am a very happy 73 year old happily married female. I love the spicy romance novels because they make me feel sexy and makes my husband feel sect too
I need a break from the real world
I love reading them because I get to drift away into the stories.
I love reading romance books because they show different ways that relationships can go. They allow me to remove myself from reality for a while and imagine that I am there watching everything that is going on.
For me, they are my feel good books. I could be stressed out, depressed, upset or angy and reading a good romance will bring me out of my funk and put a smile on my face
I love reading romance books because in the real world you honestly do not see too much romance or love sticking together. Books give you hope and well an except from the real world.
What I love about reading romance is you can read any kind of other genre, fantasy, sci-fy, historical, contemporary etc, and along with that genre you have the added enjoyment of some lovable characters who are almost garenteed a happy ending
Reading romances lets me travel everywhere and all places in between and it allows me to experience things I will never have the chance in real life!
Romance stories make my dreary life a little more spicy 🙂
Another great book, Marie! Congrats!
Great excerpt. And I love them because really they make me happy and give a feeling that finding the right person is possible and will happen.
Romance is one of those kinds of books I reach for when I’m stressed, which seems to be a lot lately. I appreciate your books specifically because the characters are so real, and your writing style leaves no doubt as to what they are thinking. When I’m reading your books, I chuckle, cry, and sometimes even get mad. I know all of that stuff is good, since it releases serotonin in the brain, which promotes healing and well-being.
Love reading romances for the HEAs… going along with the characters… seeing their ups and downs to finally find happiness.
I am not a big fan of strictly romance books but occasionally I find some that aren’t in a sub-genre (para, historical, contemporary, suspense, etc) that are great reads. While I read almost any genre, I do have to say that Historical or Regency Romances and Crime/Suspense novels top my list of preferred reads. And not to sound like an idiot, but is the excerpt from Season For Love? I only ask because the names of the characters listed in the synopsis are not the same characters in the excerpt and it does not sound like the same story. I enjoy the Romance novels I do read because they are heart warming and emotionally charged.
I love romance novels because with a good author you can get swept away to a different time and place and experience things somewhat vicariously through the characters. I also like to lean over to my husband and say, “honey let me read you this part” and see where things lead.
It’s definitely the promise of an HEA, but it’s also seeing the journey as two characters fall in love.
Hi Marie
I love to see characters defy all odds and end up happily ever after, simple as that!
Thanks!
I want those HEAs only whether with paranormals or contemporaries…
I like taking that journey to the HEA with the characters–it’s different for every couple, but the promise of love is the same 🙂 How can I not love having that faith renewed time and again?
The HEA definitely. No matter what the couple has to go thru they eventually get their happiness.
The HEA, of course. I hate to get emotionally vested in a character just to have said character die; I want to know that the characters I care about will at least survive to the end, if not HEA.
It’s not reality yet makes you feel good when you’re reading it. I don’t like controversy in my personal life why would I want to read it?
I love to read romance because they have happily ever after endings and its nice to escape from reality sometimes.
Thanks to everyone who came by to comment and whoop it up with Cynthia for her release day! Thank you!
Hi ! I love romance because it teach me about hope, love and dream
I love reading romance because as a science doctoral student at a rather intense research institution, all my non-leisure reading (and most of my conversations) involves esoteric science papers. The last thing I want to do when I get home after 12+ hours in lab is pick up some highbrow tome of literary fiction– so I read something that gives me warm fuzzies (contemporary romance), keeps me turning pages & guessing (romantic suspense), helps me escape my current environment (historical), or isn’t rooted in the reality of this world (paranormals). Also, since being in science is like a constant slap in the face, the HEA in romances absolutely turns a shite lab/science day around :).
Why I love reading romances is because I’m such a sucker for romance and is often drawn to romantic relationships in books and movies.
I like the happily every after and reading about the couple’s journey to their happy ending.
What I don’t understand is why people don’t like romances. It seems like the news is so grim, why would I want more of that when I’m reading. Romances are such an escape and they always leave me with a happy sigh.
I love the escape. The getting to be someone else if only for a little while. And frankly I like the happily ever afters, so much better than really life that is rarely ever after, you get a lot of bad with the good in reality. It is nice to have something that always turns out the way you want and happy at the end
Romance books are the best way of escapism for me. Happy ends are important
I Love reading romance books because it is like a vacation away from the real world. When I finish a book I’m a little sad because I dont want them to end.
I enjoy reading romances as an escape to an adventure, whether it is to a different location, time period or among supernatural beings, I get to step out of my normal, orderly routine and “experience” a whole other life.