Secret Sister by Emelle Gamble - Review tour and giveaway

 

(Full length women's fiction with romantic elements)

 

 

This review is posted in conjunction with the author's virtual book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $100 Amazon gift certificate to a randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter (see the end of this post). Click the tour banner above to see the other stops on the tour.



To their friends, Nick and Cathy Chance have the perfect marriage. High school sweethearts who’ve been together for ten years, they’ve weathered challenges and are as committed as they were when they first fell in love. Cathy trusts Nick, Nick’s world revolves around his wife, and the future looks golden.

To everyone who knows them, Cathy Chance and Roxanne Ruiz have a perfect friendship. They connected in grade school and since then have been each other’s confident and trusted advisor. Cathy loves the gorgeous Roxanne like a sister, Roxanne has fun-loving Cathy’s back in every situation, though lately there’s been tension between these two best friends…

And then, on a sunny summer morning, the unthinkable occurs, throwing into doubt the truth of what each of these people really know about themselves and one another.

Will Roxanne’s sacrifice be too little, and too late? Should Nick’s love for his wife be strong enough to risk trusting his heart more than logic? Can Cathy’s devotion to Nick give her enough strength to convince him to see her for who she really is?

Secret Sister proves how strong, how stubborn, and how trustworthy love can be as Nick and Cathy and Roxanne are challenged to overcome the secrets, the lies … and one extraordinary twist of fate that turns their lives upside down.


This is a book that will put you through the wringer emotionally.  The characters are unique and three dimensional and full of both admirable traits and flaws.  With a paranormal twist I didn't see coming, I was involved with this story from the start.

The author has a strong, clear voice and helps the reader really see the scene as it unfolds.  Sometimes what happens isn't good or happy, and sometimes the characters make me want to slap them silly (Roxanne at the beginning and Nick for much of the book about drove me batty).  That I got so involved in them speaks volumes, though, to Ms. Gamble's skill with her writing.

There were some parts of the book I didn't like ... but not because of the writing. Because I didn't like the route the story took in places.  Some decisions that were made rubbed me wrong, even when I could understand why the character made them.  And certainly the author doesn't give her characters and easy time of things... it's just heart-breaking so much of the time, right up to the end.

This is a good book for readers who appreciate character driven, intensely emotional stories.

4.5 Flowers - This was a very good book! I'd recommend it to my friends.

Now enjoy an excerpt:

“May I sit down, Nick?”

I nodded. Roxanne sat at the table in the kitchen. Despite her appearance, she seemed in control. I felt her eyes on me as I poured myself a glass of water.

The kitchen was a mess. For a second I was embarrassed by the dirty dishes, the soured milk on the counter. Then I got a grip. This wasn’t a social call and Roxanne wasn’t someone I was trying to impress. Every time she walked into the room, she did so with an agenda.

I turned around. “Do you want something to drink?”

She shook her head.

I sat across from her. She was pinching the back of her hand, like Cathy used to do.

“What’s going on? What do you want from me?” I sounded angrier than I thought I was.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re fooling around with your hands exactly like Cathy always did. You never had that habit. Why are you doing stuff like that?”

“What else am I doing?”

“You’re wearing your hair pulled back in a ribbon, and clothes like my wife wore.” I pointed at her blouse. “And you’re acting weird with the cat, like she’s your cat, among other things. It’s freaking my sister out.”

Roxanne fidgeted. “That’s ridiculous,” she said, but her face revealed I’d hit a nerve...

Emelle Gamble was a writer at an early age, bursting with the requisite childhood stories of introspection which evolved into bad teen poetry and took her first stab at full length fiction in an adult education writing class when her kids were in bed. As M.L. Gamble, she published several romantic suspense novels with Harlequin. She has contracted with Soul Mate Publishing for Secret Sister, summer of 2013, and Dating Cary Grant, an early 2014 release.

Always intrigued by the words ‘what if’, Emelle’s books feature an ordinary woman confronted with an extraordinary situation. She most enjoys reading stories that surprise and amaze her, and hopes her readers will enjoy the challenging and exciting journeys her characters take.

Emelle lives in suburban Washington D.C. with her husband, Phil, her hero of thirty years, and two orange cats, Lucy and Bella. These girls, like all good villains, have their reasons for misbehaving. Her daughter, Olivia, and son, Allen, are happily launched on their own and contributing great things to society, their mother’s fondest wish.

Email: emellegamble@aol.com

Website: www.EmelleGamble.com – Please note: "Win Cathy Chance's earrings" Emelle is having a giveaway on her website for a pair of custom made turquoise earrings.

FaceBook: Author Emelle Gamble

Twitter: @EmelleGamble

a Rafflecopter giveaway