Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Book Review and Giveaway ~ The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann



Join the Flock! LitFuse Publicity Group blogger

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review as part of a Litfuse Publicity Blog Tour.  To see more about the book, author, and other reviews please click HERE.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title:  "The Breath of Dawn"
Series:  The Spencer Family
Author:  Kristen Heitzmann
Publisher:  Bethany House
Publication Date:  11/2012
Pages:  416
Buy From Amazon:  HERE

Book Description:

Corporate turnaround specialist Morgan Spencer, dubbed the “success guru,” has a Midas touch in business. But losing his wife sent him to the brink, and his two-year-old daughter, Livie, is all he’s living for–until they encounter a woman whose trouble just might draw him out of his own.

Four years ago Quinn Reilly did the right thing. Now the man her testimony put in jail is getting out. Though she has put up barriers to protect herself and those around her, she has come to care for the Spencer family, especially the winsome Livie and her mercurial father. Unwilling to put them at risk when the threats begin, she requests something she hopes the super-successful Morgan might be able to deliver.

Fixing problems is what Morgan does best, but his counterproposal takes them in a direction neither is equipped to handle. Determined to confront the past, will they survive to build a future?

My Overall Feeling of the Book:

This book is a sequel to "The Still of Night" which I absolutely loved!  I loved Morgan's character but wasn't sure how I would feel reading this book because Jill (the leading lady) had died which broke my heart.

This book took me on an emotional roller coaster from the first page.  The first paragraph, really.  I loved meeting Quinn and little Livie was adorable. 

Kristen made these characters so real just as she did in every other book I've read from her.  I should have never doubted!


Main Characters:

Quinn Reilly:  Quinn had testified against a con-man and helped put him in jail even though it alienated her from her entire family.  She is an ebay trader which I loved!  She travels around acquiring merchandise for her online store and meets Morgan and lots of trouble along the way.

Morgan Spencer:  Morgan had lost his wife, Jill, shortly after the birth of their daughter.  He withdrew from his corporate life to heal and raise Livie with the help of his brother and sister-in-law.  He's a fixer and can't ignore Quinn's pleas for help.
 
Livie Spencer:  Livie is Morgan and Jill's 2 year-old daughter.  She is what they call a "sprite".  She's lively and loving and winds herself around Quinn's heart in no time.  She is Morgan's primary concern.


My Favorite Scene:

My favorite scene is Thanksgiving at Rick and Noelle's ranch.  Morgan helps Quinn deep-fry a turkey.  This is when Morgan and Quinn really start getting to know one another.  With Thanksgiving coming soon, it was the perfect mood-setter.  Even the blizzard that came seemed cozy!


A Brief Excerpt:

Before using his computer, she went to the window and watched the storm.  The wind had teeth, and she'd have to face it again.  Cold just thinking about it, she turned away and activated his laptop.  It came right up, but she couldn't get in, so she went to the door of Livie's room.  The little girl wore footed jammies that made her too cuddly to bear.  Nestled in with her daddy, rocking and reading, the two of them entranced her. 
Page 116


The Cover:

While I like the cover in general, given the storyline it doesn't exactly make a lot of sense.  I assume the water and boats represent the time in Santa Barbara at Morgan's home but they really weren't there very long.  Most of the time was spent in Colorado.  So, I'm a little ho-hum about this cover.


Other Notes:

-Some really weird and spooky things happen in this book so I wouldn't recommend reading it around Halloween which I did purely by coincidence.

-There were some majorly heartbreaking moments in this book.  Be prepared to cry.


Rating

4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, for the giveaway!

To enter for a chance to win my review copy of this book:

*Mandatory-  Please leave a comment telling me one of your family's Thanksgiving traditions or a special Thanksgiving memory.

*Extra-  Follow my blog and leave a comment telling me you do :)

The giveaway will run until November 13, 2012 at 11:59pm.  The winner will be announced on November 14th.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On to the next book,

5 comments:

  1. Good morning I like reading this author and you have done a good job with the review-makes me want to read it too.
    I dont really have a fav Thanksgiving when married to my first husband we always did this holiday with his parents and then Christmas at ours for the kids. My MIL was a real good southern cook and had many yummy meals.
    I do follow your site
    thanks for sharing today
    Paula O(kyflo130@yahoo.com)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The only tradition that I can think of is just the fact that we get together as a family. What I mean is, I live far away from my immediate family, but I have cousins that live near me. When I moved here, they started inviting me to their Thanksgiving dinner and afternoon. So now I go every year. It's been fun to get to know them a lot better, since I never knew any of them while growing up as we lived so far apart. I love spending this time with them. :) And I already follow you, so only one post for me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. we don't have any 'special' thanksgiving traditions...love spending time w/ family

    i'm a follower, too

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  4. One Thanksgiving was spent at a campground with my brother-in-law's family in NC. We lined up the picnic tables for our feast!

    I'm a follower.

    worthy2bpraised at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. We go to church on Thanksgiving morning and have a big family dinner
    marypopmom (at) yahoo (dot) com

    ReplyDelete

I love reading your comments! Unfortunately, due to spammers, I now have to moderate comments.