Secrets Hidden in The Glass/Aftermath of Secrets (Carter Island 1-2 ) by Cate Beauman-Reviews, Excerpt & Giveaway
SECRETS HIDDEN IN THE GLASS
Carter Island #1
by Cate Beauman
Genre: adult, contemporary, romantic, suspense
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play/ Apple/
Goodreads: http://tiny.cc/SHIG_Goodreads
Release Date: October 12, 2017
The secrets of the past are always closer than we think…
Stained glass artist Callie Davis is in desperate need of a vacation. Burnt out and on the edge of a nervous breakdown, she’s fleeing the pressures of her career and is taking refuge on Massachusetts’ tiny Carter Island. Callie yearns for long, lazy days and pretty walks on the beach—blessed solitude and an escape from the complications of her life. Then she bumps into gorgeous Nate Carter and everything changes.
Sheriff Nathan Carter couldn’t be happier now that the height of the summer season has finally come and gone. After four endless months, tourists have packed their bags and headed for the mainland. The quiet days of autumn are about to befall the town—the way Nate and his fellow Sandersonians like it best.
But nothing ends up quite the way Nate expects when he meets the beautiful blonde with the big blue eyes. Callie’s pretty smiles hide secrets—deep, dark mysteries that could cost them both their lives if they continue digging into the past and cross a killer’s path.
•••••••••
REVIEW: Secrets Hidden in the Glass is a contemporary romance/murder mystery. It’s book one of the Carter Island Series. WOW! Where to begin? I’ve just finished reading this fantastic novel and I’m reeling. I don’t do spoilers, and no one would want this one spoiled, ever! So, let me set you up with the basics and then tell you what I found so enthralling.
The story starts with a bang of mystery and just keeps coming. Callie is found in a Hartford, Connecticut diner on July 5th, 1995. It seems she was dropped off by her mother and abandoned. She doesn’t remember her mother’s name (mommy) or her last name. She’s only four, that much she knows.
Chapter Two goes forward to September of 2017. Callie is grown up and is an internationally famous artist. Her chosen medium is stained glass and her works command a huge price, the demand is constant and she’s incredibly stressed. She’s decided to take a vacation, something she’s never done since college. She’s taking a ferry to Carter Island, Massachusetts. She’s rented a cottage and arrives to find a man in the kitchen, fixing the pipes under the sink. When he sticks his head out from the cabinet, the sparks fly, and the story truly begins.
Nate Carter is handsome, well built, and the sheriff of Carter Island. Oh yes, he’s also her landlord. Nate has lived on Carter Island most his life. He’s five years divorced from his childhood sweetheart and is instantly smitten with Callie. However, he’s perceptive and sees that she’s shy and needs to unstress. He gives her both space and time as he charms his way into getting to know the lovely Callie.
Okay, that’s an extremely basic setup. There’s much more to the first two chapters, but you need to read them yourself to get the feel of this magnificent story. Let me tell you the stuff that enthralled me.
Author Cate Beauman has done a marvelous job plotting the story and bringing it all along naturally as she spins a huge web of romance, intrigue, and danger. She develops the characters and plot deftly building their robust personalities without large dumps of information. You feel like you’re actually on the island and like you know these people and their community. The love scenes are swoon-worthy and add so much to the building relationship. You get thoroughly mired into the building mystery of Callie’s biological mother and her disappearance. Did she abandon her daughter?
This is a marvelous story and I’m ready for the next one. If you love romance and a good who done it, do yourself a huge favor and grab a copy of this one. It’s both romantic and thrilling at the same time. I’m on to the next in this series and I can’t wait for more. Write Cate Beauman, write, write, write! I need more!
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AFTERMATH OF SECRETS
Carter Island #2
by Cate Beauman
Genre: adult, contemporary, romantic, suspense
Goodreads: http://tiny.cc/AOS_Goodreads
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play / Apple /
Boston’s Most Eligible Bachelor has it all: good looks, a great career, and plenty of wealth and prestige. But Bradley Sanderson’s charmed life quickly falls apart when scandal rocks his famous family. Arrests have been made; the media circus has begun, and Brad’s been tasked with the daunting chore of restoring the Sandersons’ good name. Moving back to Carter Island and picking up the pieces hasn’t been easy, especially when the one person he needs the most won’t give him the time of day.
Bakery owner and island resident Molly Carter is loyal to her core, but that doesn’t mean Brad’s homecoming hasn’t left her torn. Brad’s darkest days aren’t lost on Molly, but reaching out to her lifelong friend isn’t so simple when she’s forced to guard her heart. Everything changed when she woke up alone after their sexy summer night.
The complications keep coming when Brad’s long-lost brother shows up in town, bringing the remnants of his checkered past with him. Forgiveness and redemption are possible for all, until new secrets come to light that may have dire consequences.
••••••••
REVIEW:Aftermath of Secrets is the second novel in the Carter Island Series. Usually, the second book in a series is good, but not exactly as good as the first. Not so with this series! I loved the first novel and I’ve swooned and cried over the second.
If you’ve read the first novel, you’ll love this story. It’s the story of Molly and Brad. They’ve known each other all their lives, but the road to finding love and peace is as turbulent as the ferry ride on a bad weather day! However, it’s so worth the effort.
Author Cate Beauman has a remarkably successful series on her hands with the first two of this series.
Molly Carter has lived on Carter Island all her life, except culinary school. It’s her home. She owns and operates the Carter Island Deli and Bakery. Her business is booming because she bakes the most delectable food and desserts. She’s been attracted to Brad most of her life, but she’s disappointed in him and herself for having one night of hot sweaty sex, and she thinks spoiled their relationship.
Brad has the weight of the world on his shoulders right now. He’s trying to do his best for his family in the aftermath of the last month. (I’m not telling what happened, I don’t want to spoil the first novel for anyone who hasn’t read it yet…what’s keeping you?) He has no one. He thinks Molly isn’t speaking to him and he misses her so much. He’s not sure how to fix this, but he wants to.
Okay, that’s the basic setup. I won’t spoil either of the novels by saying too much about the storyline. Let me tell you what I love about this series.
Author Cate Beauman has created a rich and fully developed community. Her characters are complex and yet distinct in their personalities. The conversations are realistic and intriguing. Storylines range from mysterious and dangerous to agonizingly personal. So far, all the novels are incredibly sexy and loving. Makes you want to take a vacation there or better yet, move there.
The best advice I can offer is grab your favorite beverage (wine for me) and a box of tissues. Settle in for a wonderful read. I simply hate to have to wait for the next novel in this exceptional new series, but I will. I can’t wait to see where this goes next.
Copies supplied for review
Reviews by Georgianna S
Brad nodded slowly. “Yeah, something like that.”
“It’s like the good old days.”
He shrugged, pushing off the wall, moving her way. “Sort of.”
Molly winced, foolishly forgetting that life for Brad was currently unrecognizable. “I guess that was pretty dumb of me to say.”
“No, I just meant Nate isn’t here hanging out in his boxers, and I haven’t done this yet.”
She frowned. “What?”
“Dunked you,” he said as he pressed his hand on top of her head and sent her under.
She sank beneath the watery depths, slapping at his hand and arm as he kept her submerged for a good three or four seconds. She came up sputtering and glaring. “You idiot.” She coughed again. “Are you trying to drown me?”
He dismissed her with a chuckle and flippant raise of his brow. “So dramatic. We had about three minutes before we needed to start worrying about brain damage.”
Her eyes narrowed again. “Oh, you’re dead,” she said, gritting her teeth, charging after him.
He laughed, swimming away.
But they were well-matched, both of them excellent swimmers. All the Sanderson and Carter kids had had numerous lessons in their younger days due to their proximity to the Atlantic.
She hooked her arm around his neck, maneuvered her way onto his back, and sent them both underwater, her legs locking around his waist to keep her leverage. But his sheer size and strength were her disadvantage.
Then they both surfaced for air, Brad laughing before she brought him under again. Within seconds, he had their positions reversed, and he held her against him, one arm wrapped around the front of her waist, the other around her shoulders as they came up for another draw of air.
His breath puffed against her neck in hot torrents as their legs brushed with their kicks to stay afloat, while he let her waist go and used his arm to tread water. “Molls, this is quite a predicament.”
He wasn’t kidding. She was pinned beneath his strong arm, and her back was pressed against his solid chest, with no choice but to grip his muscular forearm caging her in place. “Fine. You win.” She just needed him to let her go.
“That’s it? Since when do you give up so easy?”
Since he’d kissed her brainless and taken her to bed. “Since I realized it’s time to get home and get changed for your party at Nate and Callie’s.” She tried to move away from him.
He switched arms, now holding her around the waist, and began keeping their heads above water with his opposite arm. “No problem. Just say, Brad, you’re the best Scrabble player I know. I bow to you, you genius.”
She huffed out a laugh, raising her arm to the surface to help keep their chins from bobbing under. “I won. Three years in a row now.”
“Just luck.” He held her tighter, whispering next to her ear, his voice full of teasing. “You’re the best, Brad. That’s all I need to hear.”
“Broody Brad,” she murmured, knowing he hated it when she called him that—a slight from their childhood.
“What was that?” he asked, drilling his fingers into her side, tickling her.
She scream-laughed. “Damn it, Brad.” She fought him enough to turn and immediately realized her huge mistake as he held her chest to chest, and they stared into each other’s eyes.
He grinned. “This is certainly a situation.”
A droplet trailed down his face to land on his firm bottom lip, and his eyelashes were webbed together, making him even more irresistible than he already was. Her heart pounded, her pulse thundering in her throat, and she glared at him, needing to be free of him, well aware he was enjoying this far too much.
There was an undeniable attraction between them. All she had to do was press her mouth to his, and they would have a repeat of August. But they weren’t going there again. She wasn’t risking their friendship a second time.
Cate Beauman is the multi-award-winning, international bestselling author of The Bodyguards of L.A. County series and the Carter Island Novels. She is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense and contemporary stories.
Cate’s novels have been named Readers’ Favorite Five Star books and have won the Booksellers’ Best Award, Maggie Award for Excellence, the Holt Medallion Award, two-time Aspen Gold Medal, two-time Readers’ Favorite International Gold Medal, three-time Readers’ Favorite International Silver Medal, and the Readers’ Crown Award.
Cate makes her home in New Hampshire with her family and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack.
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Wonderful review, Georgianna. Looks like a great series. Thanks.
wonderful review, georgianna. i love the sound of this book.
Thanks for the wonderful reviews, Georgie. Congratulations to Cate Beauman on the new release.
Great review, Georgianna. Sounds very good. Thanks.
Fantastic reviews thanks Georgianna. Looks like an intriguing and entertaining series.
Great reviews and excerpt, thanks Georgianna. Congratulations to Cate Beauman on the new release.
Thank you very much for allowing me to visit with your readers and introduce the Carter Island Novels. I very much appreciate your time and energy, Georgianna. Thank you for your beautiful reviews of books one and two.
Best wishes,
~Cate
Looks great, thanks Georgianna. Congrats to Cate on the new release.
Wonderful reviews, Georgianna. Looks like a good series.
Great reviews, thanks for the excerpt.
Terrific review, Georgianna. Looks like a wonderful story. Thanks.