Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Debra
Coleman Jeter and her new book, “Joy After Noon”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Debra
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Joy After Noon
by Debra Coleman Jeter
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GENRE: Contemporary Romance
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BLURB:
Joy
marries a widowed bank executive caught in an ethical dilemma and misreads his
obvious frustration while struggling to integrate into her new family. Inspired
in part by Love, Come Softly, this novel explores the challenges of second
marriages and dealing with step-children during the crucial years of puberty
and teenage angst. A college professor coming up shortly for the huge tenure
decision, Joy finds herself falling apart as her career and her home issues
deteriorate and collide.
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EXCERPT THREE:
Though
it was Saturday, Ray had gone in to work anyway, saying he had a lot of
catching up to do. Joy resisted the urge to flee to her own office, where
stacks of papers and unread journals piled high, not to mention the project
with Natalie that needed to be finalized. How much easier to tackle the tasks
she knew than the unfamiliar. She plopped into a chair. Her thoughts drifted to
the sequence of events that had brought her here.
Their
whirlwind courtship was so romantic, so fairytale-like, Joy had not questioned
her feelings. Swept into Ray’s arms, literally and figuratively, she dared
imagine a lifetime with him and his daughters. She’d tried to warn him that she
was an incompetent cook. Perhaps he hadn’t taken her light-hearted confession
seriously. When he suggested they elope, she was ecstatic. Of course she met
the girls, but never really interacted with them. Facing hard facts now, she knew
she had been afraid of turning Ray against her—by her lack of finesse with kids
and zero domestic skills. She’d been glad—so glad—to be romanced and cherished.
Had she made a huge, irreversible mistake by not being more candid?
Ray
was gorgeous, with his long, rangy body, his face tanned and creased from years
of Sugar Sands sun. His eyebrows and eyelashes were inky black, a startling
contrast to the bright caramel hair on his head and faint stubble on his chin.
Joy couldn’t help feeling—both then and now—that he was out of her league.
Dating him, much less marrying him, had seemed too much to hope for. Yet, here
she was, in these beautiful, sun-filled rooms that were about to be jarred from
their history of perfection.
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MY BOOK REVIEW:
In today’s society blended families are on the rise. Which is why I found this book to be such an
interesting, intriguing, important, honest, and realistic account of second
marriages.
This book is not only an enjoyable read, but also a helpful,
informative read. I felt like I learned
and grew from reading this book.
This book tells a realistic story of the delicate, romantic,
wonderful, but also at times dreary, difficult, and challenging facets of
second marriages.
This
book focuses on Joy, who marries Ray, a widower, and father of two teenage
daughters, Marianne and Jenny. This book
follows these characters on the ups and downs of re-building a new family, a
new life, and trying to move forward.
So,
when Joy fell in love with Ray, she didn’t think about anything else, but
him. Until they returned from their
honeymoon, being a stepmom hadn’t finally sunk in. Joy had been so swept up with finally being
loved and cherished for the first time in many years, she hadn’t even begun to
think about being responsible for two teenage girls and a household. But after moving into “the” house, as in
Carolyn’s old house, reminders where around every corner pointing out Carolyn’s
spices, cookbooks, her beachy home décor, her photos on the girl’s dressers,
etc. it was all memories of Carolyn.
I really liked the main characters, Joy, Ray, Marianne, and
Jenny. These characters felt realistic,
genuine, and likable. They were easy to
connect with and relate to.
My
mom was a single parent and I remember her dating and later re-marrying (and
later divorcing). The tricks I played on
those guys and the rude behavior I had towards them – they never stood a chance. So, I completely understand and the younger
me can easily identify with Marianne and Jenny with the way they react to and torture Joy.
I really
liked Joy as she is someone the older me would connect with in the sense as
I have dated guys with children and feared for their approval as well. Joy is considerate, polite, and thoughtful. However, she is also, insecure, vulnerable,
worried, unsure of herself, and constantly feels inadequate and flawed. Joy is consistently comparing herself to
Carolyn (the first wife) and is always coming up short.
It is
really hard competing with a ghost especially when you’re in their house, with
their family, their friends – basically just taking over their spot – which is
exactly how Joy feels. Everyone goes on
about how amazing Carolyn was and how wonderful of a cook, baker, homemaker, wife,
mother, committee organizer, etc. she was.
Unfortunately, Joy can’t seem to not burn the pie and is just an overall
disaster in the kitchen, she forgets to sign the girls field trip permission
slips on-time and is just struggling between a work/home balance. All Joy wants is to be like Carolyn.
I
really enjoyed the supporting characters as well. It was pure entertainment when Carolyn’s
parents came to visit for Christmas. You
could feel the awkwardness just roll off the pages!! But there were so many amusing lines from
Carolyn’s Mother, Lillian, that explains a lot about the perfection upbringing mannerisms
and its ripple effect that has spread – no, more like torn throughout this
family.
Another
main plot point in this book is perfectionism.
In this book, perfectionism ethics are presented as being the best
wife/mom/homemaker, the best ballet dancer, the best cheerleader, the best in
school, the happiest family, the wealthiest family, the best daughter, etc. Always striving to be perfect. Always trying to be better. Always trying to please that someone, but
more likely trying to get their attention, affection, love, and support. And when that isn’t given, and the person
finally realizes perfection is unobtainable they often lash out and do
something drastic, like in this book. Unfortunately,
this mannerism often passes down from generation-to-generation as Lillian
passed it down to her daughter, Carolyn, and Carolyn passed it down to her
daughters, Marianne and Jenny.
Perfectionism is a real psychological personality trait that although
has pros and cons – the cons can be significantly destructive, as seen in this book. No spoilers here!! But you definitely will want to read this
book and find out!!
This book proves that poor communication, misreading signals, keeping
secrets, not paying attention, and failing to provide full disclosure can lead
to some serious and negative downfalls in a relationship.
This book truly paints a realistic picture about second marriages and their happiness and struggles. And what it takes to overcome the obstacles. Open communication, hard work, and of course, faith.
This book truly paints a realistic picture about second marriages and their happiness and struggles. And what it takes to overcome the obstacles. Open communication, hard work, and of course, faith.
This book contains strong Christian values. The main characters met through church at a
small Bible Study Meeting. This book
includes Bible verses, Bible references, and prayers.
This book is book one in the Sugar Sands Book Series. It can be read as a standalone, but book two is scheduled to be released later this year.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would
absolutely recommend it! I think all contemporary
romance readers will like this book, too!
So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be
disappointed!
Did you find this review helpful?
If so, please, please, please mark it as
helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/RLBH10VVJ4H5T
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AUTHOR BIO:
Debra Coleman Jeter has
published both fiction and nonfiction in popular magazines, including Working
Woman, New Woman, Self, Home Life, Savvy, Christian Woman, and American Baby.
Her first novel, The Ticket, was a finalist for a Selah Award, as well as for
Jerry Jenkins’ Operation First Novel. Her story, “Recovery,” was awarded first
prize in a short story competition sponsored by Christian Woman; and her
nonfiction book “Pshaw, It’s Me Grandson”: Tales of a Young Actor was a
finalist in the USA Book News Awards. She is a co-writer of the screenplay for
Jess + Moss, a feature film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival,
screened at nearly forty film festivals around the world, and captured several
domestic and international awards.
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CONNECT WITH DEBRA:
Website:
Blog:
Newsletter:
Email:
Facebook:
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Pinterest:
Vimeo – The Ticket Book Trailer:
BookBub Author Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Debra will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Debra ~ Good morning! Welcome back! It is so great to have you here again! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I really enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your book and I enjoyed getting to hear about it.
ReplyDeleteDo you have an idea of who would play your characters in an email?
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
ReplyDeleteAlly, thank you so much for such a thorough review and for saying such kind things about my novels and my characters. I am delighted that you liked my novel! Also, I really appreciate being hosted on your lovely website.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone who visits this week, comments, or poses questions. I look forward to them all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insightful review. I love characters that I can relate to.
ReplyDelete