True Blend by Joanne DeMaio (Author Guest Post / Book Review)

In association with Author Joanne Demaio, Jersey Girl Book Reviews is pleased to host a virtual book tour event for True Blend!

Author Guest Post

Step into Page One of my new novel, to the wishing fountain in my fictional New England town of Addison. Shaded by leafy trees, and surrounded by park benches and bistro tables, my own hometown’s fountain

inspired the opening of my latest book. This is a place where dreams and wishes are granted; where misty water hints at mystery; where my main character and her daughter will visit one spring morning just before their lives unexpectedly change in TRUE BLEND. In real life, it’s a little treasure I visit often during the summer, enjoying coffee with my daughters or just taking time to pause in this serene spot.

With all of my books, I like to do this—bring my own small-town settings to the storyline, be it a quaint rural town or seaside haven. I’ve even heard from readers that they’d like to live in a place like Addison, telling me “I would LOVE to visit Addison. Too bad it's fictional!” or from Connecticut readers who recognize the locales, saying “Makes reading your books so much fun matching your locations in your books with the real ones.” Either way, I love to introduce my readers to the hidden gems of New England, if only on the page.

Thank you so much, Kathleen, for hosting me. And don’t forget to toss a virtual penny in the fountain and make a wish.

~Joanne

About The Author

Joanne DeMaio is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She enjoys writing about friendship, family, love and choices, while setting her stories in New England towns or by the sea. Her fourth novel TRUE BLEND was recently published. Currently at work on her next, Joanne resides with her family in Connecticut.

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Book Review

True Blend by Joanne DeMaio

Publisher: Independent Self Publishing

Publication Date: March 4, 2014

Format: Paperback - 395 pages / Kindle - 664 KB / Nook - 2 MB

ISBN: 1494762099

ASIN: B00ISVHLUU

BNID: 2940149480340

Genre: Women's Fiction

BUY THE BOOK: True Blend

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Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Book Description:

New York Times bestselling author Joanne DeMaio returns to small-town New England in this compelling love story where truth is veiled by secrets.

Vintage bridal shop owner Amy Trewist thinks she'll never recover her quiet life at her beloved farmhouse on an old country road. Not after her two-year-old daughter Grace is kidnapped in an elaborate crime. On one clear morning, in mere minutes, Grace is gone and Amy's world spins into a heartbreaking new place.

George Carbone often spends easy time with his brother. Whether at a ballgame or taking a day trip, it's how they connect. Until one sunny day when the trip is to a bank parking lot and George is drawn into a crime he never sees coming. And into a stricken mother's life he cannot ignore.

In a summer that simmers with the unsolved crime, George is haunted by a bankroll hidden behind kitchen tiles, by a brother who dragged him into this, and by a father who instilled in him a conscience. A conscience challenged when a young child and beautiful woman crossed paths with him and unexpectedly took hold of his heart.

Set among the red barns, lush cornfields and sparkling wishing fountain of Addison, Connecticut, True Blend is a captivating novel that steals your heart and does not let go. Because like the lace wedding gowns hanging on Amy's clothesline, waltzing in the summer breeze, love and secrets twist and spin together in their own mesmerizing dance.


Book Excerpt:

The wishing fountain sprays silver water droplets arching high above it, looking like liquid stars. Grace wants to toss in a coin, eager to watch it loll back and forth down through the water until it settles with the other coins below. In that pool of shimmering wishes, small hopes and secrets are gathered together. Amy lifts her onto the low stone wall circling the fountain and wraps her arms around her daughter’s waist. She bends, her mouth near Grace’s ear, her breath tickling loose wisps of hair. Her fingers find Grace’s palm and press a penny into it. “Make a wish,” she softly says. There is only the sound of falling water then as Grace drops the penny in, silently captivated by its descent, and Amy wonders what she might wish for, if she even knows what a wish is.

My Book Review:

In her latest novel, True Blend, author Joanne DeMaio weaves a wonderful tale of unexpected love with a suspenseful twist. Set in the fictional small town of Addison, Connecticut, the reader follows the unexpected and complicated relationship between a young widow and her two year old daughter with a man who was an unwilling participant in a crime that has left them emotionally traumatized.

From the opening sentence of the story, the reader is easily drawn in and captivated by the traumatic event that unexpectedly intertwines the lives of thirty-three year old widow Amy Trewist and her two year old daughter Grace with George Carbone.

Amy Trewist is the owner of Wedding Wishes, a vintage bridal shop in Addison. Amy is still grieving from the unexpected death of her husband Mark one year ago. On one sunny summer day while coming out of a bank, Amy's two year old daughter Grace is snatched out of her hands by bank robbers and held hostage until their getaway is successful.

George Carbone is the owner of The Main Course, a delicatessen in Addison. On a day that George thought would be spent in the company of his younger brother Nate in a local casino, he is unknowingly and unwillingly dragged into an armored car heist. He had one moment to make one decision that will affect three people's lives ...

Part of the carefully planned out heist is for George to heroically return Grace to Amy, and then blend back into normal everyday life. But George is haunted with guilt over his participation in the crime, and his concern for Amy and Grace leads him to try to protect them without revealing his secret. Amy and Grace are emotionally traumatized from the incident and both suffer from the effects of PTSD and have trouble trusting people. As their lives intertwine from a traumatic incident into a safe friendship, feelings grow between George and Amy, but can secrets, a guilty conscience, and recurring flashbacks ruin their chance at finding love?

True Blend is a wonderful story full of drama, mystery, and suspense that captivates the reader's attention from beginning to end. The author does a wonderful job of providing the reader with a richly descriptive storyline that delves into the troubled conscience of a man and the psychological effects on a widow and her child when their lives intertwine from the events of a "perfect crime." Added into the mix is their safe friendship and romance that develops out of the traumatic incident, and a complicated journey to love and happiness. Interwoven throughout the story is a wonderful description of the picturesque town of Addison, Connecticut, to Amy's country farmhouse and lovely vintage bridal shop, to the warm summer breeze on a idyllic Connecticut beach.

True Blend is an enchanting and powerfully emotional love story that will leave the reader breathless.


RATING: 5 STARS *****