Jersey Sweets...a book review

Jersey Sweets

by Janice Hanna

Book Teaser:

Walk the Garden State with three sisters from a candy making family. Taffie is determined to save the candy store along the boardwalk, but will Ryan Antonelli be equiped to help her? Candi's dream job as a pilot has led to a romance with fellow pilot, Darren Furst, but will union turbulence break them apart? Tangie's Broadway dreams are on hold while she works with Gregg Burke in a church drama, but when a stage part becomes available, will she leave the stodgy music director behind? Watch as answered prayers lead these sisters to sweet love.

Review:

I loved this three part book. Each sister has their own story which is nice because the reader gets to see one romance unfold before moving on to another! The first story is of Taffie and Ryan. The second is of Candy and Darren and the last is of Tangie and Gregg. Let me just start by saying that I love the sister's names....my first thought was, how is Janice Hanna gonna pull off this name thing, but she certainly does!!

Taffie's Story begins in the candy store her family has owned for generations on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The discription of the store is like something out of Willy Wonka. All that I could think about when reading it is how bad I wanted a sure enough piece of fresh salt water taffy! The story sucked me right in and I couldn't put it down. I was able to identify with the family owned business and the troubles that Ryan and Taffie were facing so this was a great story for me.

Then we read about Candi and Darren. They automatically win your heart with their high flying romance. You can tell right off that they are perfect for each other. Theirs is a true story of faith, even with a minor tragedy in the middle of the story, which just makes them appreciate each other even more. I really had a hard time putting this one down too. It was a great love story.

Tangie's story had me from the first page. She is so spunky and straight forward that I loved her right away. Being the youngest she had a hard time finding her way and deciding what she was called to do in life, all the way to the end of the story, but she figures it out!! Following Tangie and Gregg as they direct the Easter play was fun for me, having kids about those ages I can identify with the trials that they were going through to get it all done in time. I liked the way this story ended and was glad to learn more about what happened to Taffie and Candi along the way.

I loved the messages of faith and love in these stories. They are a true testement to God's unconditional love and grace and I felt it as I read about these three amazing women.

Just one Gripe:

I really don't have one, except maybe, a free bag of Taffy with the purchase of the book would be nice!! Just Joking, but really, go ahead and get some, you are gonna want it!

The best thing about this book:

That all three sisters stories are in the same book. They are each great stories by themselves, but together..... perfect!

Is it appropriote for Young Audiences?

Absolutely, I'd recommend it to any age group.

Pre-Order Available through Barnes and Noble....

I never thought I would see the day when my book would be on Barnes & Noble's website, but there it is!! It is now available for pre-order for the April 19th release date. I was so excited to see it listed and I look forward to seeing it available on other sites such as Amazon.com, Borders, etc. Hopefully I will soon see a day when I can walk into a bookstore and see my book sitting on a shelf!
Speaking of......
I have had some wonderful conversations with fellow author Janice Hanna recently. What an amazing woman. She has published somewhere around forty books and also writes and performs plays and gives writing classes and speaks all over the country and still found time to chat with me! She is an incredible author also. I have read six of her books so far and I am hooked from page one in everyone of them! Her love of the Lord shines through on every page and I leave each book with such a great feeling and renewed sense of faith. I would recommend her books to anyone who wants a good laugh and a good cry and that warm fuzzy feeling in their heart! Her characters are dynamic, but are also real. Too often I read a book and the characters are too perfect. They don't have real lives and quirky families and typical problems, but each of Janice Hanna's character's are so real that you can really relate to them. Her writing is a true testament to God's love and grace. Okay, so now that I have gone on and on about Janice Hanna, run out there and check out her work, you won't be disappointed!! I have read the Weddings by Bella series, Stars Collide, Jersey Sweets, and I am currently reading Love Finds You in Camelot, Tennessee. I will post a review of Jersey Sweets in the next few days.... be on the lookout!

A Little Something to Blog About....

Well, another first for me. This morning I did my first radio interview. It was for Madisonville's KMVL Radio (1220 am and 100.5 fm). What fun!! The two hosts, Paul and Christy were really nice. I called ahead of time and asked what they were going to be asking me so that I could be prepared and they said that they would just rather wing it. That made me a little nervous because I like to be prepared but I think it went really well. They did mention the fact that my book release date is April 19th, which is the same day as the standoff in Waco with David Koresh, the Oklahoma City Bombing, and Columbine, so it is a power day. I assured them that this would be the best April 19th ever and that it would be a power day for my book release!! (Please pray...)
I will post the link to the radio show soon, they are putting it on a CD for me (what's a CD? Just joking!) and I will get it sometime towards the end of this week!!
Until then, I hope you have a great week. I hope that you are blessed in all you do and I hope that you enjoy sunshine and warmth, both outside and in your heart!

Winners of my book drawing....

Here is your time in the spotlight....
Jim and Cheryl Graham of Normangee, TX won a signed copy of my book. I have since emailed back and forth a few times with them and they are a lovely couple. I got some beautiful words of encouragement from them and I really appreciate it. I look forward to what they have to say about my book after they have read it. I hope you both enjoy it and thank you again for coming to the book signing and registering to win a copy.

Kim Steele of Madisonville, TX was my second winner. Ironically, she was also the writer for the Madisonville Meteor who did the interview with me. It was exciting to get to give her the book before she wrote the article. She emailed me and told me that she finished the book prior to writing the article so I am really excited to read what she thought!!

When I get feedback from these winners I will post it on my website and on my blog. Until then, thank you again for participating and I hope you enjoy the book!

My first Author Interview.....

Kim Steele from the Madisonville Meteor and I had a wonderful chat yesterday! I had never been interviewed before so I was a little nervous, but she put me right at ease! I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with her about my book and what led me to be a writer and the channels that I took to have my book published. She had some pretty good questions and I look forward to reading her article in the Meteor this coming Wednesday! I will post the link to the webarticle when it comes out next week.
So..... to any of my readers out there in blog world, if there is a question that you have about my book or about me, feel free to join my goodreads.com Q&A discussion group by clicking the widget on my blog!!
Have a great weekend!