Book Review (and a Giveaway!): Carolina Dream by Regina Rudd Merrick

Posted April 22, 2017 by meezcarrie in Christian, contemporary, giveaway, Regina R Merrick, romance / 44 Comments


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about the book

Sarah Crawford wants more from life than to attend the wedding of her ex-fiancée.

An unexpected inheritance in South Carolina comes at the perfect time, just as Sarah is willing to use any excuse to get out of town.

When she meets potential business partner Jared Benton and discovers that a house is part of the inheritance, she is sure that God has been preparing her for this time through a recurring dream.

But will a dream about an antebellum mansion, many rooms to be explored, and a man with dark brown eyes give her the confidence to take a leap of faith, leaving friends, family, and her job behind?

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SERIES: Southern Breeze #1
GENRE: Inspirational Southern Romance
PUBLISHER: Mantle Rock Publishing
RELEASE DATE: April 3, 2017
PAGES: 183

“When you don’t know what to do next, just do the next right thing.”

Carolina Dream, the debut novel from Regina Rudd Merrick, is sweet and romantic and full of tenderly personal faith.  The South Carolina setting complements the story like a low southern drawl on a handsome guy, and the plot itself is endearing as well as entertaining.

Sarah Crawford is a sweetie with a heart of gold and deep emotions. When she leaves Kentucky to head to South Carolina – to claim a surprise inheritance – she has no idea just how much her life is going to change.

Which brings us to Jared Benton, her new business partner, a man with strong faith and a compassionate spirit. He’s handsome, sure, but it’s when his eyes light up at the sight of Sarah that he’s the most irresistible.

“He saw into her soul that day, and ever since, she had drawn him gently, never realizing that she had a tender power about her that held him captive…”

And thank heaven for Ollie the dog! If it wasn’t for the faithful pooch’s need to run on the beach, poor Sarah and Jared might not have had any time alone for things like smooching and falling in love 😉

The tie-in with Sarah’s dreams is a really unique element to the story, and through this comes a spot-on perspective on Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” The importance that both Sarah and Jared put on personal prayer and seeking God’s wisdom is refreshing and encouraging.

Bottom Line: Regina Rudd Merrick’s debut novel, Carolina Dream, is a sweetly wonderful story! The romance is exquisite, and the characters are people who feel like friends. Love for Jesus – the author’s and the characters’ – is evident in every word, not in a “preachy” way but just a gentle fact of life. I’m already looking forward to catching up with everyone in the next Southern Breeze book.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 4 stars / Love it!

KissingBook Level: 3 / May forget to breathe on occasion

(Ok… now that I’ve taken off my reviewer hat, can I just say how EXCITED I was to type “by Regina Rudd Merrick” in my title line?? I’ve known Regina for about 10 years or so, and it makes me giddy to feature her as a PUBLISHED AUTHOR!! Yay!!)

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about the author

Regina Rudd Merrick is a wife of 33 years, a mother of two grown-up girls, a public library director, and a church musician. But most of all, she is a proud believer in Jesus Christ, her Savior. She says she has been blessed beyond measure. She’s a Kentucky girl – raised in the Jackson Purchase, and now lives in the Pennyroyal – and she met her husband at church before she has any memory of being at church.

Carolina Dream is her first published work of fiction.

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I’m so excited about Regina’s debut novel that I want to give away a copy! (Ebook only, open Internationally except where prohibited by law). Giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be read on the Disclosure page. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What’s a dream that you have for your life?

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44 responses to “Book Review (and a Giveaway!): Carolina Dream by Regina Rudd Merrick

  1. P Diane Buie

    A dream for my life would be to have a job staying home as a writer; even if I remain single the rest of my days! 🙂 A different pace of working than the jobs I have had previously in my life would be a welcome gift for me! 🙂

  2. Kay Garrett

    I think we are living our dream. We have always dreamed of building our dream home in the Ozark Mountains – which we are in the process of doing. Our dream is to slow down, enjoy life and try to encourage and help others as much as we can. We have learned that possessions are just things that require our time and money that can be used for more useful things. Mountain View encourages the youth to investigate the arts whether its writing, music or drawing to name a few. We are hoping to join in that venture because our youth are the backbone of our future. They need their hands free of electronic devised and replaced with a musical instrument or a paint brush or minds empty of the internet and full of reading.

  3. Connie Saunders

    I actually enjoyed one dream when I was a public library for 22 1/2 years. I now am a grandmother after thinking that I would never experience that joy. I actually met Regina at a Kentucky library conference many years ago. Congratulations to Regina and thank you Carrie for sharing!

  4. Andrea Stephens

    I had a dream to become a mom, and with some difficulty, I did! She’s all grown up and now I’m a Grammy. Sadly they live over 2000 miles away.
    Circumstances beyond my control have taken away or changed dreams I had for my life. I just roll with whatever comes along now.
    I do dream to read more books and write better reviews.
    Carrie, I loved your review of this book, your excitement level is contagious! I can’t wait to read it!

    • Sometimes rolling with it is all you can do! I heard R.L. Stine speak last week, and he said that everything he had accomplished had come about in an unexpected way, and he certainly didn’t expect to be a best-selling author, but just rolled with it! That was encouraging. I hope you enjoy Carolina Dream!

  5. Through the years, I’ve had hopes and dreams. Sometimes the dreams have been broken by life. Recently I read this on IG by Rachel Hauck.
    “God often uses our deepest pain as the launching pad of our greatest calling.”
    I lay my dreams at the feet of Jesus, and pray for God’s greatest calling. That would be the fulfillment of my dream.

    • Carrie

      yes. so true. I have been there, Jocelyn! At His feet is the perfect place for you – and your dreams – to be!

    • It is beautiful there! I went to Traverse City several years ago and was amazed at how beautiful it is! I don’t blame you – except for the cold and the mosquitoes! LOL!

    • You and me, both. I can sew a little bit (thank you, Home Ec teacher and Mom!), but I haven’t done it consistently. I do dust my sewing machine occasionally . . . lol!

  6. Winnie Thomas

    I’m pretty much living my dream now. My husband and I are retired, we’re living in a place we love, our 5 children, 15 grandchildren, and 1 great-granddaughter all live within 3 1/2 hours of us. We can usually do whatever we want whenever we want to do it. I could use a bit better health, and I’m not aging as gracefully as I’d like to, but I guess we all have problems. I can still read books–lots and lots of books–and communicate with my FB friends, so I guess life’s good! 😀

  7. Paula S.

    I’m retired so not such big dreams for me. Still dream of an old Victorian house but don’t think that will be. This really sounds like an interesting story!

  8. first off i love the setting… i have so many dreams, but in keeping with the house type theme of this story, and because i’m an interior designer, i have designed my dream house that i want to build – extra bedrooms for company even, Carrie, ya coming to see me???

    • Now, at one time MY dream was to be an interior designer, but I got sidetracked and went into music, and then library science! I still love designing and decorating homes, though! Real estate shows and decorating shows are what I love on HGTV, so I thought, why not use that as the setting for my story!

  9. Connie Scruggs

    My big dream for my life is to live at the beach someday.
    Otherwise, I think my life is pretty perfect. Great family, saved by the grace of Jesus.

  10. Alison Boss

    A dream I have is for my husband and me to live in a finished home without projects, in a sunny, warm climate over-looking the beach, and being able to relax and enjoy life. 🙂

    Carolina Dream sounds like a wonderful read! Thanks for the opportunity of this giveaway!

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