Bethany House Publishers is celebrating the release of two amazing books, From the Start and Together with You! Click the image below to enter to win one of two fantastic prize packages being given away!
Tag Archives: Melissa Tagg
Review: From the Start
9 Apr
From the Start by Melissa Tagg
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Christianbook | DeeperShopping
Kate Walker used to believe in true love and happily ever after. While her own love life may have left her brokenhearted, it hasn’t kept her from churning out made-for-TV romance movie screenplays…until a major career slump and a longing to do something meaningful send her running back to her hometown of Maple Valley.
Permanently sidelined by an injury, former NFL quarterback Colton Greene is temporarily hiding out in a friend’s hometown to avoid the media and the reminders of all he’s lost. Maple Valley seems like the perfect place to learn how to adjust to normal life. The only trouble is he’s never really done normal before.
While Kate plays things safe and Colton is all about big risks and grand gestures, they both get what it’s like to desperately need direction in life. An unexpected project gives them both a chance to jumpstart their new lives, but old wounds and new dreams are hard to ignore. Starting over wasn’t part of the plan, but could it be the best thing that’s ever happened to them?
My thoughts:
I adored this book! A few of the things I especially loved were the charming setting of Maple Valley, the endearing characters, the witty dialogue, and the inspirational thread. Melissa Tagg writes with such heart and her stories sparkle with her signature humor and wit! The Walker family is destined to be one of my favorite fictional families, right up there with Susan May Warren’s Christiansen family.
From the Start is a heartfelt romance and the beginning of what is sure to be an award-winning series. It certainly won my heart and left me begging for the next book in the Walker Family series!
A complimentary copy of From the Start was provided to me by the publisher. I appreciate the opportunity to read this book and offer my honest opinion.
Melissa Tagg, author of Made to Last and Here to Stay, is a former reporter and total Iowa girl. In addition to her homeless ministry day job, she’s also the marketing/events coordinator for My Book Therapy, a craft and coaching community for writers. When she’s not writing, she can be found hanging out with the coolest family ever (not that she’s biased), watching old movies, and daydreaming about her next story. She’s passionate about humor, grace, and happy endings.
Melissa blogs regularly and loves connecting with readers at http://www.melissatagg.com.
Friday Freebies
6 Mar
Three Little Words by Melissa Tagg
Link:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Ava Kingsley and Seth Walker might be the most unlikely friends ever. The only thing these two polar opposites have in common is a knack for wordsmithing. Back in college, they were known for their written sparring in the campus newspaper’s popular “He Says/She Says” column.
At their ten-year college reunion, they pick up right where they left off. Except this time their squabbling leads to a surprising turn: friendship and a year-long exchange of emails. So when Ava approaches a crossroads in her athletics department career in Minnesota, Seth is quick to offer the open apartment above the restaurant he’s been remodeling in Maple Valley, Iowa.
Ava doesn’t know where her career will lead her next, but she’s starting to suspect she might see Seth as more than a pen pal. Which would be exciting…except for the fact that he only sees her as a friend.
As Maple Valley grows on her, Ava wonders if there might be something here for her even though Seth is unavailable. And maybe, just maybe, after all the words the two of them have exchanged over the years, they’ll finally be able to say the three that matter most.
Three Little Words is an e-only novella that gives an exciting introduction to Melissa Tagg’s new series about the charismatic Walker family and the endearing town of Maple Valley!
Callie by Sharon Srock
Link:
Amazon
A baby is dead and Callie Stillman blames herself. Haunted by memories of a tiny coffin, Callie can’t understand how God could expect her to put her heart on the line a second time. But the evasive little girl attending her Sunday School class is so obviously in trouble that Callie finds her resolve cracking.
Iris and Samantha Evans are living on borrowed time. Deserted, orphaned, betrayed, and deceived, they need rescuing in the worst way.
Steve Evans had his life changed by God. A reformed drug addict, he’s searching for the family he abandoned ten years ago and praying for a miracle.
The road to healing is rocky. But as Callie confronts her worst fears by bringing father and daughters together in a risky bid for reconciliation, she realizes that the Evans family aren’t the only ones God wants to rescue from a tortured past.
How Sweet the Sound by Amy Sorrells
Links:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble
A Southern Novel of Second Chances
From a distance, the Harlans appear to be the perfect Southern family. Wealth and local fame mask the drama and dysfunction swirling through their family line. But as the summer heats up, a flood tide of long hidden secrets surface.
Devastation from a rape followed by the murder of two family members brings three generations of the Harlans together on their pecan plantation in Bay Spring, Alabama. Chief among them is Anniston, who by the time she turned thirteen thought she’d seen it all. But as her heart awakens to the possibility of love, she begins to deal with her loneliness and grief.
This tender coming-of-age tale, inspired by the story of Tamar in 2 Samuel 13, shows how true healing and hope comes only from God. Though our earthly family can wound and disappoint, our heavenly Father brings freedom to those long held captive through His mercy and grace.
Free e-short: One December Night by Melissa Tagg
4 Dec
Melissa Tagg’s Christmas short story is here and it’s FREE! She also has a great GIVEAWAY running through Sunday. Plus, Here to Stay is on SALE for $1.99. You can find all the fun here:
http://www.melissatagg.com/books/christmas-story
Cover Reveal
9 OctIn case you haven’t seen it, Melissa Tagg has just revealed the cover of her second book, Here to Stay, releasing in May 2014.
I love the cover and can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this book!
Visit Melissa’s website to find out more.
Here to Stay by Melissa Tagg
Releasing May 2014
Do you judge a book by its cover?
Made to Last
16 Sep
Made to Last by Melissa Tagg
Synopsis:
Miranda Woodruff has it all. At least, that’s how it looks when she’s starring in her homebuilding television show, From the Ground Up. So when her network begins to talk about making cuts, she’ll do anything to boost ratings and save her show–even if it means pretending to be married to a man who’s definitely not the fiance who ran out on her three years ago.
When a handsome reporter starts shadowing Miranda’s every move, all his digging into her personal life brings him a little too close to the truth–and to her. Can the girl whose entire identity is wrapped up in her on-screen persona finally find the nerve to set the record straight? And if she does, will the life she’s built come crashing down just as she’s found a love to last?
Thoughts:
Made to Last is Melissa Tagg’s debut novel, which just released yesterday. I enjoyed every minute of this delightful book!
Melissa Tagg has done a great job writing a wonderful cast of characters you feel like you have always known. Her imagery is vivid and you feel yourself “watching” rather than reading Miranda Woodruff’s reality unfold.
While this is a story of humor and romance, both real and contrived, it also addresses other meaningful issues. Miranda, as well as the men in her life, struggle in their relationships with their families and with God. The plot twists and turns as they question their faith and seek answers.
Made to Last is an engaging story of finding faith and falling in love that will charm its way into your heart. I look forward to reading more from Melissa Tagg!
Biography:
Melissa Tagg is a former reporter turned author who loves all things funny and romancey. Her debut novel, a romantic comedy titled Made to Last, releases from Bethany House in September 2013, with a follow-up slated for summer 2014. In addition to her nonprofit day job, she is also the marketing/events coordinator for My Book Therapy, a craft and coaching community for writers founded by award-winning author Susan May Warren.
During her reporting days, Melissa interviewed presidential candidates and llama farmers, rode a hot air balloon and flew a plane, and once found herself face to face with a buffalo. But today she gets her kicks by letting her characters have their own fun. She’s passionate about humor, grace and happy endings.
Visit Melissa’s fresh, new website at: www.MelissaTagg.com. She currently has a giveaway going on that is open until tomorrow, September 17, at 5 pm, CST. Hop on over and comment to win!
* I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers. All thoughts expressed are my own.
Buzzing About Books 