Books & Spoons Review & Excerpt with a Giveaway

Forever In My Heart
Tangled Hearts # 2
By: Maria K. Alexander
Releasing February 20, 2015
The Wild Rose Press

Vicky DiFrancesco is ready to put the past behind her. After a humiliating divorce, she’s determined to make her new café a success. The last thing she needs is her first love around, reminding her of what they’d lost. But when her life is threatened, could he be the very man she needs?

Jamie DiSilva’s homecoming after retiring from the army isn’t the one he’d been hoping for. Now, he’s trying to start a home improvement business in a town settled on holding him accountable for the sins of his late brothers. Redeeming himself to the girl he never stopped loving and her family is difficult when his brothers’ secrets come back to haunt him.

Untangling themselves from the past means righting several wrongs and deciding if their love is meant to last forever.

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Temperamental Italian families with protective alpha males, women with sass, family feuds, second chances, and a mystery to solve.
This story just took me right in, and kept the hold till the end, in the early hours of the morning. I felt like I was there with the characters, falling in love, feeling the pain and sorrow of the past, and trying to find the level ground under the feet again after the family tragedies.
The connection between Jamie and Vicky was profound, passionate, and real. They were so perfect together, the past setting the foundation for their love.
The history of the families, the past events, hardship both of the families had gone through, was palpable. The sorrow runs deep on both sides of the fence, some things are just too difficult to forgive and forget, and move forward from. But is it fair to make Jamie pay for his brothers sins?
The character development was definite, one by one the family members were able to let go and move on, accept the past, and remove the guilt and accusations from the  innocent parties, as well as their own remorse and shame. Vicky learned to stand up for herself, be seen in her family, learned to live her own life, not the one to please others. Jamie was able to get the acceptance of the town, stand up apart from his brothers, and built a better, healthier relationship with his parents.
The mystery that Jamie's brother Sal left for them to solve puts them in real danger, and the fights against the thugs get rough and bloody.
This is a captivating, delightful story with so many layers, riddled with charming, likable characters, second chances at love and friendship, big families with troubles and sorrow, but most of all love
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

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A romantic at heart, Maria K. Alexander spent hours as a young girl getting lost in and wishing to be one of the heroines in the stories she read. Books gave her the ability to go to another world where she loved meeting new characters, learning about their problems, and watching them fall in love.

Maria is an award-winning author of contemporary romance. She blogs about her writing journey with The Violet Femmes at http://thevioletfemmes.com. When not writing, Maria loves to read, bake, downhill ski, visit the beach, and watch romantic comedies. Maria lives in New Jersey with her husband and children, and writes in her “spare” time between juggling a full-time job and her kids’ busy schedules.

Author Links: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Excerpt

“What happened today between us can never happen again.”
“Because of your sister?”
“Because of my entire family. Kate isn’t the only member with a grudge against the DiSilva family.”
Just his bad luck.
“My parents and I have never done anything to warrant being shunned by them. Our parents were best friends.”
“That doesn’t change what your brothers did or how it’s impacted my family. It’s one thing to deal with you living in the same town. It’s another for them to accept what just happened between us.”
“What happens between us has nothing to do with your family,” he snapped. He was tired of being judged. It wasn’t like she didn’t feel something for him. He lowered his voice and cupped her cheek. “Things can be good between us, Vick. You know it.”
She held his gaze, and he felt her tremble. He leaned forward, determined to convince her to give them a chance.
Her hand shot out and stopped him from doing more than graze her lips. “Stop. Nothing good will come of this.” She rolled off the bed and kept her back to him.
“You’re choosing them over your own happiness?”
She wiped at her face before turning to him.
Despite the tears that dampened her eyes, her answer was clear from the stubborn set of her chin. “What choice do I have?”
“There’s always a choice.”
“And a price to pay. They’re my family. I pick them. I’ll always pick them.”

Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/01/forever-in-my-heart-tangled-hearts-2-by.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24566861-forever-in-my-heart?from_search=true