Love Stories GIVEAWAY: Beach Haven

in this post: Beach Haven

Happy February – official (according to me) KissingBooks month! And welcome to another Love Stories giveaway post! This LOVE STORIES giveaway series is thusly named for two reasons – first, because I love stories and second, because I love Love Stories.

Throughout the entire month of February, I’ll be spotlighting swoony Christian fiction & ‘clean read’ romances. Three cheers for KissingBooks!!! So… grab a fan or two, your trusty fainting couch, and maybe a freezer just to be safe and start making your KissingBooks tbr list! Oh… and did I mention there are GIVEAWAYS with EACH POST in this series??!! (Because authors are awesome!)

Today’s first book is Beach Haven by T.I. Lowe plus a post from the author on finding romance in a turkey sandwich! (Intrigued? me too lol)

BEACH HAVEN
SERIES: Carolina Coast #1
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Tyndale House
RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2020
PAGES: 320

Free-spirited Opal Gilbert seems to have everything she needs to keep living a happy life in Sunset Cove as she refurbishes vintage furniture to sell at her funky ocean-side boutique, Bless This Mess. Until Lincoln Cole, a new-to-town ex-Marine nursing deep wounds and harboring hurts he can’t seem to shake, wanders into her shop. Opal knows a person in need when she sees one and offers Lincoln a job in her workshop. But the brooding former soldier has no interest in Opal’s offer. Thanks but no thanks.

But then a hurricane strikes, damaging Bless This Mess. Feeling guilty for how he treated Opal, Lincoln decides to help her repair the store. And soon it becomes clear Opal wants to restore not only her business, but also help Lincoln find restoration. As much as Lincoln tries to keep her at arm’s length, Opal’s well-meaning meddling begins to heal his wounds . . . and capture his heart almost before he realizes it.

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Finding Romance in a Turkey Sandwich

by T.I. Lowe, author of Beach Haven

A well-crafted romance novel will make readers wait awhile for the highly anticipated first kiss, but where’s the romance until then? My computer defines romance as “a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.” T. I.’s interpretation: romance ain’t all about the smooching and such. It’s more than a physical connection and can be found in the less intimate moments.

I’d like to share this idea with you through a few glimpses of Beach Haven. A quick character intro: Lincoln Cole is the handsome, brooding ex-soldier who moves to Sunset Cove for a new beginning. Opal Gilbert is the free-spirited hippie who talks Lincoln into working for her at her furniture boutique.

Here’s an excerpt from Beach Haven where I believe romance is subtly expressed:

Lincoln pulled on a half smile while handing Opal the sandwich he’d made her for lunch. Of course, she made too big a deal out of it, thanking him profusely for the boring turkey sandwich.

“This was so thoughtful of you.” Her face lit up as she unwrapped the sandwich.

Lincoln shrugged. “Gotta eat.” He placed a bottle of that weird raspberry tea she liked by her sandwich and slid an apple and banana over too. They ate in silence, him tearing into the food with gusto while Opal slowly nibbled.

Sharing the meal was pleasant enough, but once they got back to work, somehow Opal’s mute button had stopped working, and Lincoln couldn’t figure out for the life of him how to press it again. Her heart–shaped mouth never took a break. For some odd reason, he wanted to be in the woman’s atmosphere but at a safe distance. Too close and she’d suck him into her zany orbit and a catastrophic collision would surely follow.

I don’t know about you, but I swoon just thinking about that big ole grouchy man making Opal a sandwich and packing his lunch with her in mind. Even paying close enough attention to know what brand of tea she liked. Thoughtful moments that occur unexpectedly can be quite romantic, if you ask me.

Another form of romance can be found in raw honesty, such as this next sneak peek:

“For what it’s worth, I truly hope my words have never cut you down.” He took an uneven inhale and pushed it back out before meeting her eyes. “I’m angry at myself. Not you. But I think I might have taken that out on you some since we’ve met . . .” Lincoln leaned into the open door and whispered a confession. “I moved here to find myself, but all I’ve managed to do so far is to become even more lost.”

Opal reached over and smoothed her palm down his cheek and considered his confession, knowing exactly what he needed when he leaned into her touch. It was the same thing she needed right then, too. “I think maybe we need to head down south about a mile and grow a little more lost for a while. Whaddya say?”

The remorse and anxiety ebbed away from his face and a sad smile lifted his lips. “I’d like that.”

There’s something considerably attractive about an alpha male humbling himself to show his heroine a vulnerable side, don’t you think? And in the midst of that vulnerability, Opal offers him comfort by caressing his cheek. Doesn’t that just make you wanna go “Aww!”

There’s plenty more romantic moments Lincoln and Opal share before their first kiss. I’ll leave those and that kiss for you to discover on your own in Beach Haven. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Tonya “T.I.” Lowe is a native of coastal South Carolina. She attended Coastal Carolina University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she majored in Psychology but excelled in Creative Writing. In 2014, Tonya independently published her first novel, Lulu’s Café, which quickly became a bestseller. Now the author of 12 published novels with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, she knows she’s just getting started and has many more stories to tell. She resides near Myrtle Beach with her family.

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Tyndale House is offering a print copy of Beach Haven by T.I. Lowe to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What interests you most about Beach Haven? What are some of your fave subtle expressions of romance – in books or in real life?