Love Saves the World welcomes Cathy Maxwell, who is currently on your for her e-novella, Nightingale.
Avon is hosting a Tour Wide Giveaway for Two Winners to receive a Digital Copy of Nightingale by Cathy Maxwell. (Enter via Rafflecopter below.) To follow the rest of Cathy's tour, click here.
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About the book:
By: Cathy Maxwell
Releasing August 26th, 2014
Avon: Impulse
Blurb:
Fate has brought them together -- again.
At one time, Jemma had meant the world to Dane Pendleton, but then she betrayed their young love by marrying another for his title and fortune.
Now Time has turned the tables. Dane is wealthy, respected, knighted and the widowed Jemma has nothing but her pride.
His honor for hers ...
Dane’s name is on the lips of every beauty in London. They whisper he learned “tricks” while he was in the Orient. But has he forgotten Jemma, now Lady Mosby, and what they had once meant to each other? And will he accept her devil’s bargain?
In every woman’s life, there is that one love who slipped away. The man who makes her wonder “what if?”
But is this a momentary madness or a chance to rekindle a love that could last a lifetime?
Originally appeared in the print anthology The One That Got Away.
More information about the novella on Goodreads.
Buy Links:
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My Review:
The first question that came to mind when I finished reading this e-novella was, "Why a Nightingale?" -- so I looked online to see what the bird symbolised in literature and art, and I also looked at the etymology of the word. The name of the bird translates to "night song" and the common thread in how it has been used in literature is sadness.
And there's a lot of sadness (and sacrifice) that happens in Jemma and Dane's story. They were young lovers with very simple dreams of being together, but family and (a lack of) fortune forces them apart -- Jemma chooses to marry a titled, wealthy man and Dane decides to forego his dreams of being a vicar and travels to India to seek his fortune.
The tale of star-crossed lovers is age-old, and often ends in tragedy -- our hero and heroine's story seems to be heading in that direction, with a duel looming between Dane and Jemma's brother. It is up to Jemma to change the course of their lives, but it would mean confronting Dane for the first time in ... years. It is a painful confrontation, where Dane and Jemma learn some truths about each other, and there is a silent sadness to their story and one question hanging between them: "What If...?"
She wondered if the many mistresses he was rumoured to keep found him as loving and adoring as she once had. She felt a stab of jealousy, coupled with the bile of regret.
He could have been hers.
- loc 105
The night she visits Dane is a critical point in her life, though she doesn't realise it at the beginning -- it took a lot of courage for Jemma to go to Dane, and Cathy Maxwell shows what she had to give up for the sake of her family: she gave up a chance at happiness with Dane, in exchange for security and a title. Here she is, given another chance and another choice -- I held my breath as Jemma considered her situation, and I wondered: will she take the chance and make the right choice this time?
I felt very sad for Dane's lost dreams -- he had wanted to be a vicar, marry Jemma and live quietly in the village, but, because he felt he needed to prove something to Jemma and himself, he traveled to India and has returned a rich man. Now what? Dane had accomplished what he had set out to do, but he still feels discontent, because he still doesn't have the one person that he wanted and loved. Dane is also standing at the precipice -- and Jemma is there challenging him to make a choice: life (and love) or death.
What I enjoyed most was how the author didn't allow her characters to regret their past choices, but gave them the realisation that all those choices, all those years, shaped them to be the people they are. While the poignancy of "what if" continues to linger, I think the excitement of the "what now" is the greater force. This is a very sweet and sentimental story about two people who are given a second chance.
Disclosure: I received this review copy for this event. Thank you to Avon Impulse, Cathy Maxwell, and Tasty Book Tours for the opportunity. Yes, this is an honest review.
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Author Info:
Cathy Maxwell spends hours in front of her computer pondering the question, “Why do people fall in love?” It remains for her the great mystery of life and the secret to happiness. She lives in beautiful Virginia with children, horses, dogs, and cats.
Author Links:
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Giveaway!
Avon is hosting a Tour Wide Giveaway for Two Winners to receive a Digital Copy of Nightingale by Cathy Maxwell. To follow the rest of Cathy's tour, click here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for hosting today! Great New Design!
ReplyDeleteHi, Lisa! You're welcome!
DeleteThank you, as always, for the opportunity! And, congratulations to Cathy Maxwell on the (re)release of Nightingale!