About the Book
A recovering alcoholic, Jake Inman has found a new, healthier addiction: training for his successful triathlon career. But when his manager is murdered and beloved goddaughter kidnapped, another obsession takes hold: doing whatever it takes to find Brandon’s killer and keep Amy safe. Jake turns to a private investigator for help in solving the case, and though he finds temptation in her whiskey-colored eyes, he knows he must resist his attraction, or risk losing his heart.
After a devastating case, Winona Wall has turned her back on her skills as a private investigator, preferring a quiet life as a part-time bartender. That is, until Jake storms into the bar, demanding her help in tracking his missing godchild. Unable to resist Jake’s charm, she reluctantly agrees. But even after Amy is found unharmed, Jake insists Amy’s mother was more involved with her kidnapping than the police suspect. When the situation takes a turn for the worse, Winona must trust her instincts in order to save them all – and avoid falling in love.
Describe your heroine in 3 words.
Independent, competitive, humanitarian
Describe your hero in 3 words.
Athletic, generous, show-off
Who would you want to play your main characters in a movie?
Although Karina Lombard inspired my creation of Winona, I would love to see Nina Doprev play Winona and Chris Pine for Jake. Chris Pine would be perfect…Harlie
If you were going to write a spin-off about one of your characters, who would it be and why?
Hmmm … maybe Amy. Once she got old enough.
What is your favorite writing treat?
A glass of red wine.
What’s the hardest thing to write?
Probably the sex scenes! Mostly because I wonder how my family will feel about reading them, especially after I’ve had a few comments made, LOL. I do sometimes wonder if it’s too much, or not enough, and I have to think hard about the balance and importance of each detail.
What book(s) do you read over and over?
Gone with the Wind! I haven’t read it in a while, but I grew up reading it and loving it. I’d read just about any Sandra Brown book over and over. Fat Tuesday is one of hers I would read over and over.
Did anything happen in the book that surprised you, that you didn’t plan?
A lot of things in this book happened that surprised me. I started out with very little plan on this one. I knew the main plot points, but everything in between was a surprise. I wrote most of this during National Novel Writing Month several years ago. The biggest surprise was I was writing in my notebook and the news was on one day after a hard rain. They were talking about flash flooding, which inspired the climactic scene where there is flooding (I won’t go into too many details and spoil it). I thought it was going to be a forest fire, but instead it was a flood.
How do you celebrate your book releases?
A champagne toast and a nice dinner with my husband.
What tools do you feel are must-haves for authors?
Pen and paper, and imagination!
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Final-Mend-Angela-Smith/dp/1440583331/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22081601-final-mend
Book Trailer – http://youtu.be/XitSokLHmDc
A couple of things to get out of the way. First…there are a lot of secondary characters in the book. I was a bit confused in the beginning but trust me…you won’t be by Chapter 3. There are two books before this one and NO, you don’t have to read them to understand this one at all. Second…I will go buy the books because I fell in love with Naomi, Reagan, Garrett (sigh…FBI) and Chayton. Third…yes, there is a child in the book and no, she is NOT a plot device but a living, breathing character. Oh how I loved Amy…
Winona is an interesting character. At times, I didn’t know whether to slap some sense into her or just hug her and tell her that Jake was everything that she wanted and didn’t know she wanted. While wounded from her last case, something pulls at her to help Jake. And with the help of her family…she does just that.
Jake…what a sweetheart. Don’t get me wrong, he had his demons and it wasn’t all about the drinking either. Sometimes too bull headed and clouded judgement would send him into a rage but with Winona by his side, his inner turmoil was tamed.
Talk about two stubborn people that you just, at time or another, want to slap upside their heads. Winona and Jake were the ying to the yang, softness to hardness…you get the picture. And they fought it all the way through the book. Did it make me want to stop reading? Oh heck no. I just had to see how it play out and who would break first. Ms. Smith does an excellent job with the internal conflict that these two had throughout the book. The tension was high, the smexy times hawt (not graphic) and the growing love between them was a joy to read.
Throw in an evil woman, a “smarter than she should be” 7 year old and the above mentioned characters and you’ve got one heck of book. While I didn’t feel that the suspense element was that strong (until the end), the emotional depth of the characters is what kept me going. Ms. Smith has written some compelling characters that you will care for from the beginning and you will keep caring long after you’ve finished the book.
You will definitely walk away feeling love in your heart, growing sense that family can be intrusive but helpful. Oh and did I mention kittens and an ex-FBI agent?
About the Author
During her senior year in high school, Angela Smith was dubbed most likely to write a novel, and that has been her dream ever since her mother read ‘Brer Rabbit’ to her and her sister so often that they were able to recite it back to each other before they learned to read. Ever since then, she hasn’t stopped reading or writing. A certified paralegal, work gives her perfect fodder for her romantic suspense stories. When not caring for her small farm or spending time with her husband of two decades, she enjoys creating, reading, and dreaming of the places she’ll visit one day.
Website – http://www.loveisamystery.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/authorangelasmith
Twitter – http://twitter.com/angelaswriter
Giveaway of Paperback or Ebook of FINAL MEND
Thanks for featuring me on your blog and for the great review!