Showing posts with label Carla Laureano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carla Laureano. Show all posts

Friday, February 22, 2019

Book Review - Brunch at Bittersweet Café by Carla Laureano + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

Melody Johansson tries to find the positive in every situation. However, seven years after she moved to Denver, she feels like she is stuck in a rut. She is a classically trained baker and pastry chef but, she is currently working in a mediocre chain bakery. Her love life has stalled after a string of disastrous relationships. When the handsome and charming pilot Justin Keller knocks on her door during a snowstorm, Melody finally feels her luck might be changing.

Justin is impressed by Melody and her positivity. However, the last thing he wants is a relationship after his own romantic failures. He feels his job is demanding and stressful to have meaningful relationships and connections. Plus, he plans on moving across the country to Florida with his sister and brother-in-law.

Justin and Melody against better judgment decide to give their budding relationship a try. They find themselves bonding over their career choices and shared love of adventure. When Melody suddenly comes into a windfall she realizes she can finally live out her dream of opening her own bakery-cafe with her best friend. However, she finds herself stuck with an impossible choice. Should she give up her dreams of owning her own store or give up her chance at love?

This was the second novel in "The Saturday Night Supper Club" series but, I found each novel could be read as standalone. This novel focuses on Melody and her journey to accomplish her dreams and finding love. I enjoyed Melody and Justin's search to balance their love life and dreams but, found it to be a bit slow in some parts. Overall, a solid second novel to the series.

 **Disclosure - I received a free uneditted copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no any extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**  

About the Book

Title: Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe
Author: Carla Laureano
Genre: Christian Romance

Release date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Tyndale

Baker and pastry chef Melody Johansson has always believed in finding the positive in every situation, but seven years after she moved to Denver, she can’t deny that she’s stuck in a rut. One relationship after another has ended in disaster, and her classical French training is being wasted on her night job in a mediocre chain bakery. Then the charming and handsome private pilot Justin Keller lands on the doorstep of her workplace in a snowstorm, and Melody feels like it’s a sign that her luck is finally turning around.

Justin is intrigued by the lively bohemian baker, but the last thing he’s looking for is a relationship. His own romantic failures have proven that the demands of his job are incompatible with meaningful connections, and he’s already pledged his life savings to a new business venture across the country—an island air charter in Florida with his sister and brother-in-law.

Against their better judgment, Melody and Justin find themselves drawn together by their unconventional career choices and shared love of adventure. But when an unexpected windfall provides Melody with the chance to open her dream bakery-café in Denver with her best friend, chef Rachel Bishop, she’s faced with an impossible choice: stay and put down roots with the people and place she’s come to call home . . . or give it all up for the man she loves.


About the Author

Carla Laureano 
Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.


Giveaway

brunch at bittersweet cafe giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Carla is giving away a grand prize package of a macron baking mat, a macron book, and a paperback copy of Brunch at Bittersweet Café!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/db0f/brunch-at-bittersweet-cafe-celebration-tour-giveaway

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Book Review - Saturday Night Supper Club by Carla Laureano + Giveaway

Photo Source - Amazon
Rachel Bishop is renowned James Beard award winning chef who owns and is the head chef of fine dining restaurant. Things look like they are going her way when she suddenly become a target of a smear campaign, which causes her to be bought out by her business partners. Suddenly, Rachel loses the only thing she knows and she will stop at nothing to get her life back even if she has to enlist the help of the journalist who set the whole thing in motion. 

When Alex pens the opinionated piece, he never realized it was going to end up viral. He was only hoping to revive his own career and not destroying Rachel's career. They both realize they will have to work together on creating a memorable Saturday Night Supper Club, if they can generate enough positive buzz for Rachel. Will Rachel be able to work withe man who destroyed her life? Will their idea be enough to help Rachel?

I found this book rather enjoyable. I love the strong, supportive female friendships along with the quirky brother and sister dynamic. I also found the love dynamic between Rachel and Alex fun and lighthearted. However, I found some of the things Rachel did cause me to be disappointed in her. For a strong woman, who always had a plan in play, I found how she got herself in hot water could have been prevented. The ending was understandable, but it still left me a bit disappointed as I wanted a completely different outcome for Rachel. However, this was a good read, especially for those in the foodie scene.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**


About the Book

Title: The Saturday Night Supper Club

Author: Carla Laureano
Genre: Christian fiction/romance fiction

Release Date: February 6, 2018
Denver chef Rachel Bishop has accomplished everything she’s dreamed and some things she never dared hope, like winning a James Beard Award and heading up her own fine-dining restaurant. But when a targeted smear campaign causes her to be pushed out of the business by her partners, she vows to do whatever it takes to get her life back . . . even if that means joining forces with the man who inadvertently set the disaster in motion.
Essayist Alex Kanin never imagined his pointed editorial would go viral. Ironically, his attempt to highlight the pitfalls of online criticism has the opposite effect: it revives his own flagging career by destroying that of a perfect stranger. Plagued by guilt-fueled writer’s block, Alex vows to do whatever he can to repair the damage. He just doesn’t…

About the Author

pic_LGb_Laureano_Carla
Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Carla is giving away a grand prize of a $200 Visa Card for the winner and a friend to attend a cooking class!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/c9b4