The wonderful and talented Courtney Giardina's debut novel Tear Stained Beaches is now available at Amazon! I just picked up my copy and am excited to begin reading it!
Here is the synopsis:
Haylie Julian wants nothing more than to put her crumbling
marriage back together. Chase used to be a fun-loving, light hearted husband who
had lately become an overworked attorney obsessed with climbing the corporate
ladder. It isn’t long before Haylie starts waking up next to a man she barely
knows. His secretive phone calls and late nights at the office leave her feeling
alone and afraid of what he might be hiding. Ignoring his continuous pleas to
just leave well enough alone, she continues to dig for answers and discovers a
heartbreaking truth.
Struggling with what she has just learned, Haylie sets off to a quaint little North Carolina beach town to decide if her marriage can survive. It isn’t long after she arrives that her world is once again turned upside down as Chase’s secret stares her right in the face.
Tear Stained Beaches explores what happens when a marriage isn't the happily-ever-after you thought it was. Can trust be rebuilt? Can a wife forgive the ultimate betrayal?
Struggling with what she has just learned, Haylie sets off to a quaint little North Carolina beach town to decide if her marriage can survive. It isn’t long after she arrives that her world is once again turned upside down as Chase’s secret stares her right in the face.
Tear Stained Beaches explores what happens when a marriage isn't the happily-ever-after you thought it was. Can trust be rebuilt? Can a wife forgive the ultimate betrayal?
As part of the blog tour, Courtney has generously provided me with an excerpt from Tear Stained Beaches. Enjoy!
Tear Stained Beaches Excerpt
The sun was just about to set over the water. I took off my flip-flops and walked along the edge of the sand where it met the waves of the ocean. It was funny; the entire drive to Kettlewood Island I hadn’t cried a single tear. I was angrier than anything. Angry about how someone could throw their marriage away and hurt someone they claimed to love. During dinner, I was so focused on getting food in my stomach, it blocked out most of the pain, but now, now it was quiet. People were coming out of their hotels and beach-houses for some nightly entertainment, but the noise was reduced to a murmur as the sound of the ocean drowned them out.
I didn’t notice the chill of the water as it grazed over my feet, as I was lost in the scenery. I stopped and watched as the sun met the ocean, and the sky burned with hues of red and orange. As the sun lowered into the ocean, and I breathed in the salty air, my vision blurred. My tears flowed freely, wetting my cheeks as the ocean had my feet. I hated myself for still loving him. After everything he’d done; how could I still love him? I stood there and stared, engraining the image into my mind until the sun just about disappeared from the horizon. It left just enough light to guide me home.
That sunset confirmed that even though I couldn’t see it now, all the hope in life was not gone. There was still beauty left in this world, and even if I had to crawl, and be dragged on my knees for a while before I had the strength to stand, I would stand again. That is what I was here for. To find out who I was, what I wanted out of life, and what it would take for me to get there. I needed to understand what was happening to me, to my marriage, and whether or not it was worth fighting for.
Take Two Publishing is running a contest for anyone who leaves a review of Tear Stained Beaches on Amazon from now until Sunday, March 31. The prize is a Tear Stained Beaches themed gift basket! All you have to do is send an email to courtney@taketwopublishing.com and let her know that you left a review.
Get your copy today for only $2.99!
