The Denim Blue Sea

A Connecticut beach forever promising summer,

a place where I find endless stories in the sand and in the sweet salt water.  

During two August weeks, denim designer Maris Carrington and coastal architect Jason Barlow prepare for their much-anticipated wedding. Guests arrive early, turning keys in charming cottage doors to begin their New England summer escape. The wedding is a reason for old friends to gather again; to meet in their shabby beach hangout and get the jukebox cranking; to walk that weathered boardwalk beneath a starry sky; to breathe the sweet salt air. "Cures what ails you," one of the friends, Neil, always said long before his life was sadly claimed. But his legacy was not.

When Maris discovers Neil's long-lost journal, its passages reveal a heartbreaking secret. Can truths be found within its timeworn pages? Can this leather-bound journal unite the friends as their lives begin to fray? A bittersweet family reunion, a surprising encounter from a devastating accident, a shocking confession leaving one marriage shattered--all will test the once close-knit circle. Suddenly this safe haven on the tranquil Connecticut shoreline churns with emotional turmoil, threatening even the beach wedding just days before it is to happen.



Available for Purchase:

AMAZON  BARNES & NOBLE  KOBO

Joanne DeMaio is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.  I discovered her writing a few months back and have been trying to read everything she's written.  Originally I saw one of her book covers and there was something about it that just spoke to my heart, but that was nothing compared to how it touched me.  She writes stories about friendship, community, love, romance and sweet memories. 

Meet Joanne:

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.

Joanne's novels include the New York Times Bestseller Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans; Whole Latte Life, a Kirkus Reviews Critics' Pick; Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes, a USA Today Bestseller; True Blend; The Denim Blue Sea; and Snow Deer and Cocoa Cheer. Her latest books are Beach Blues and Wishing on Snowflakes, a wintry keepsake collection.

Joanne lives with her family in Connecticut and is currently at work on her next novel, due out in 2017.

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Life's momentarily pauses in their brief seaward gazes, as though this forms the core of it. All else springs from this connection.

Stony Point, Connecticut

My Thoughts:

I loved this story!!

The author sweeps us back to the fictional town of Stony Point, CT. where once  again I could feel the breeze, the warm sunshine on my face, smell the sweet salt air,  feel the sand and ocean on my feet.  I felt like I was reunited with old friends at the beach. 

Maris, Jason, Eva, Matt, Lauren and Kyle are beach friends from their younger days.  At present Maris has returned from being away for 14 years.  It was almost like they has never parted.  Maris and Jason have recently gotten engaged and are planning their upcoming wedding. Kyle bought a local dinner and keeps busy with running it. Lauren is still dabbling in producing art pieces while being a full time mom and homemaker.  Eva is still selling real estate and her husband Matt works as a state policeman. 

As the story opens we find Maris beyond stressed at trying to keep tract of everything that's going on, her upcoming wedding and the design of her new line of denim.  Jason is trying to help with the wedding preparations while looking for new inspiration for his designs. Suddenly life hits them in the face.  Maris is upset with a new project Jason is taking on, Jason is still plagued with memories of the accident that took his brother Neil from him.  Kyle thinks his marriage is on the right tract with Lauren until he overhears her telling a secret she has been keeping from him.  

The author's ability to weave words together is amazing.  I was immediately drawn into this drama and couldn't put the book down.  The characters and setting immediately come to life.  The characters are easy to love. These engaging characters are complex and have real issues.  The emotions displayed are both real and raw.  I could feel both their fear and joy. There are twists and turns that no one expects. This story has elements of betrayal, love, forgiveness, sweet memories, romantic tension, and friendship. 

This is a book I would recommend to anyone who loves a good romance or drama.  I have to admit these stories of Stony Point are addicting to read.  Every time I read one I want another. 

**I received this book from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts or opinions are entirely my own.

Coming Soon.....

After a heartbreaking summer on the Connecticut shore, a group of beach friends is as adrift as an unmoored rowboat. When a dismayed Jason Barlow drives as far away from the sea as he can, leaving behind his wife, Maris, as well as their stately cottage on the bluff, that news hits like a sudden wave. Gathering over an intimate meal in a coastal diner, the friends make a solemn pact to lean on each other and not make any more rash decisions.

Which is all well and good, until each friend wavers--testing relationships, commitments, and especially love in the little beach community of Stony Point. But can the magic of the weathered boardwalk, whispering lagoon grasses, and sweet salt air cure what ails them?

Expected publication: March 7th 2017 by Joanne DeMaio

Blue Jeans & Coffee Beans

Escape to Stony Point, cuff your jeans and walk along the water's edge in this nostalgic story bringing old friends, and their lives, back to the sea.

After years of pursuing a denim design career, Maris Carrington never imagined trading her Chicago studio for a New England shingled cottage. But a forgotten home movie tucked inside a dusty attic box leads to an unexpected summer ... One of uncovering family secrets while settling her father's estate, one of inheriting a forlorn German shepherd, one of reconnecting with old friends on a weathered boardwalk, beneath starlit skies on a beach nestled in a crook of the Connecticut coast.

Her design career had become a shell, curving around her like the intricate whorls of a conch, shielding her until now. Until fried clam dinners and carousel rides beckon a lost love. But can Maris ever really go back? Can these beach friends ever be who they were to each other all those summers ago? Now one of her circle is dead; another unemployed and struggling in a tenuous marriage; another regretting a fateful decision; while one is missing a mother, ever seeking a connection she longs for.

To the backdrop of seaside cottages and a boarded up beach hangout, to the soundtrack of whispering lagoon grasses and a vintage jukebox, Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans asks if we can really design our own lives, or if our fate lies somewhere in the stars.

Available for Purchase:

AMAZON  BARNES & NOBLE  KOBO  BOOKS-A-MILLION

  Meet the Author:

 

Joanne DeMaio is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She lives with her family in Connecticut and is currently at work on her next novel. 

Connect with Joanne:

Website 

Facebook 

Twitter 

Instagram 

Stony Point, Conneticut

 Life's momentarily pauses in their brief seaward gazes, as though this forms the core of it. 

All else springs from this connection. 

My Thoughts:

Joanne DeMaio has written a story that immediately whisked me to the shores of Stony Point. She brings her characters and setting to life with ease. I could feel the breeze, the warm sunshine on my face, smell the sweet salt air,  feel the sand and ocean on my feet.   I loved this sentence:
This beach has a way of casting its spell right through the windows under the guise of sun and salt, the call of the gulls, the sound of the waves. 

This is a story of children who played this beach as children through their teen years and after many years of going their own way have returned to their childhood beach for one reason or another and suddenly find life more complicated than they ever imagined. The first few pages drew me in immediately. This is the story of  Maris Carrington who left Stony Point 12 years ago, but of course a lifetime of memories live in her heart. With the recent death of her father she realizes that she must finish tying up some loose ends in his estate and the one that will take the longest is getting the family home in Stony Point ready to put on the market to sell. She takes a leave of absence and heads to the shore to not only ready the house and visit with old friends, but also to face some old memories/ghosts and to decide if a life with her boyfriend, Scott, is what she really wants. 

Her arrival is all that she anticipated and meeting with her childhood best friend, Eva, was a must.  A lot has changed since she left the area, but then again some things are unchangeable.  Suddenly Maris is back in the swing of beach life with her friends and the memories of yesteryear.  

Jason Barlow is an architect now, but he's lost in the memory of his brother, Neil, who is the ghost he can't let go.  Jason fondly remembers Maris and their one unforgettable kiss at Foley's, but she has a life in Chicago and a fiance`.  As their friendship renews so does feelings that neither is willing to admit to, but will the sparks ignite a flame that neither can put out?

This story brings elements of romance combined with romantic tension, forgiveness, turmoil, and humor.  The plot is sweet, but at times it touches on some tough issues, plus there are twists and turns that the reader doesn't expect.  The characters are complex and engaging.  The characters show real and raw emotions.  This story is told in a way that can evoke both laughter and tears. 
Some will say this is a perfect beach read and yes it might very well be, but I must tell you that I feel it's a book that perfect anytime.  
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good read.  

Beach Blues

Okay, with today being the first of December and waking up to temperatures in the 20's we know that winter weather is right around the corner.  Most of us, not all though, have been enjoying warmer temperatures this fall so the sudden dip in temperatures can make us wish summer weather back. 

I don't know about most readers but I love getting lost in a good book that will literally take me to the setting and hold me there until I turn the last page.  Here is a wonderful summer book I just finished from Joanne DeMaio.  Yes, it was released in May,2016, but I just found this author and I absolutely love her writing.  

A Connecticut beach forever promising summer,

a place where I find endless stories in the sand and in the sweet salt water.  

Celia Gray finds herself house-sitting a silver-shingled cottage at Stony Point. She arrives with her guitar, a few staging jobs ... and a bit of summertime sadness. That is, until an unforgettable group of beach friends draws her in like a breath of salt air.

Sal DeLuca heard the words in a dream: Take me to the sea. So after a decade of demanding work, he takes his first vacation in years. Trading in his suit and tie for blue jeans and boat shoes, Sal unexpectedly arrives at his mother's shabby inn on the Connecticut shore, winding his way into the lives and hearts of the close-knit beach community.

When Stony Point's two wash-ashores, Sal and Celia, meet, some say it's a match made in beach-heaven. And so begins a sweet seaside summer ... forging friendships, adventures and new love. But all is not at ease in the gentle sea breeze as a dark secret turns the tide for the Stony Point crew.

Available for Purchase:

Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Kobo 

Meet the Author:

Joanne DeMaio is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She lives with her family in Connecticut and is currently at work on her next novel.

Connect with Joanne Online:

Website 

Facebook 

Twitter 

Instagram 

Goodreads 

My Thoughts:

 Joanne DeMaio is an author who weaves words together that literally bring the story to life for me.  This story pulled me to Stony Point and I could feel the breeze, the warm sunshine on my face, smell the sweet salt air,  feel the sand and ocean on my feet.  

This novel centers around Celia Gray, but found myself immersed in the community as the secondary characters are well integrated in the story.  

As the story opens Celia Gray has arrived in Stony Point to stage some homes in the area, but more than anything get a break from her hometown and put her life in perspective after her divorce.  One of the first people she meets is the Elsa DeLuca who introduces her to a group of friends that play a pivotal role not only in her summer, but also her heart.  With the arrival of Sal DeLuca, Celia is knows her heart is in danger, but can't do anything to stop it from falling for Sal.  Sal works on Wall Street and is taking the first vacation in many years to help his mom establish her bed and breakfast business.  What he doesn't expect is to find the most fascinating woman he has met in years.  As the summer progresses both know the summer romance will fade away just as night fades into day, but will either be able say goodbye at the end of summer.  

This is a spectacular read!!

It's full of real life/emotions and will make you smile, but it will also bring a tear to your eye.  

This story brings you a sweet plot that flows effortlessly.  Quirky and complex characters kept me engaged until the very last page was turned.  One of the trademarks of the author is she writes about family, friends, choices and and love.  This book hits all these, but is so much more. 

This is a book I would recommend to anyone.  

Wishing on Snowflakes

Joanne DeMaio is well known for her beach reads, but for me she is a new author.

 I must admit she is also one I will be reading more of.

I saw several people on Facebook recommend her books and I must admit her book covers look so inviting.  She has recently released what one might call a Christmas collection, Wishing on Snowflakes.  

So turn the page and open the decorated door onto a storybook New England town ... where candlelit homes and cozy shops are aglow with comfort and joy. And where wishes on snowflakes really do come true.

Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes: Vera Sterling, while restoring a historical house and old Christmas barn in her cherished Connecticut hometown, finds herself falling for tragedy-scarred Derek Cooper. When a blizzard strikes, will all be made right on a stormy winter's night? An enchanting novel about love, family, and the delicate power of snowflakes.

Snow Deer and Cocoa Cheer: Along the snow-dusted streets of quaint Addison, Jane March and Wes Davis open their hearts to the magic and possibility of the season. A charming tale about a greeting card designer who's lost her jingle, and a jilted mailman whose cold winter heart is about to thaw.

Published October 4th 2016  

Available for Purchase:

Amazon   Barnes & Noble 

iBooks   

Meet 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. Joanne lives with her family in Connecticut and is currently at work on her next novel. Her latest books include BEACH BLUES; THE DENIM BLUE SEA; and WISHING ON SNOWFLAKES, a keepsake Christmas collection.

Connect Online:

WEBSITE 

FACEBOOK TWITTER
INSTAGRAM

My Thoughts:

This book is actually a great combination of two novels.  

In my opinion, perfect!

Each story centers around the small town of Addison, Connecticut and takes place in the fall  of the year.  Each story is easily a stand alone, but when put together they bring so much more Christmas cheer.  I loved how I could read one book and then head right back to the same town and characters the very next Christmas season and catch up on the characters in the next book.    As I started reading I found myself thinking " What would it be like to live in Addison?" I was immediately drawn into each story and the characters. 

Vera Sterling has returned home in February for her sister's wedding.  Unknown to her family Vera has lost her job in Boston and is at a crossroads of her life, but one look at an old Dutch Colonial and the Christmas Barn she is flooded with childhood memories.  Her trip down memory lane and the longing for a home clutches her heart and she makes a decision that will change her life. 

 7 months later she finds herself still without a job, but now the owner of that Dutch Colonial she  visited in February that holds so many good memories. On problem it's rundown since the previous owners move to Florida and definite renovations are not just needed but a necessity. 

Luckily Cooper Hardware is just down the street and the proprietor's son, Derek, is willing to help out as needed.  Just one problem renovations cost money so she is in search of a job at the local newspaper. 

One year later, Jane March finds herself back home in Addison living with her mom after an accident.  Jane works for Cobblestone Cards as a designer so being off work for 6 weeks is not good.  First, the manger has already told her he needs new designs and jingles from her, but it seems like she's lost her creativity.  So even if she's on a medical leave it will be a working leave of absence.  How does one go about getting her spark back? Her mother gives her a list of 10 items to accomplish that will get her involved in celebrating the Christmas season and at the same time reconnect with her creativity.  

Each story brings a different aspect of the Christmas season.  Each plot is sweet and flows effortlessly.  This is an endearing collection that brings beautiful imagery, engaging characters, romantic tension and lots of holiday cheer.  The secondary characters are well integrated.  The author weaves words together that evoke many emotions, from laughter to tears.  Some books you like, but this collection swallowed me heart and soul.  

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story with a holiday twist. 

*I received this book from the author for a honest opinion without bias or outside influence.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.