Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: Dancing with Fireflies by Denise Hunter


Welcome to my stop for Litfuse's tour for Dancing with Fireflies!
You can check out my 5-star review below along with all the giveaway info, but first about the book...

Dancing with Fireflies (Chapel Spring #2)Dancing with Fireflies
(Chapel Spring #2)
by Denise Hunter
Christian Romance

March 11th 2014 by Thomas Nelson Publishers

Summary

Jade returns home to Chapel Springs after years of protecting her fragile heart. Then along comes Daniel, making her long to dance again.

Creative and complicated, Jade McKinley felt like a weed in a rose garden growing up in Chapel Springs. When she left, she thought she'd never look back. But now, pregnant, alone, and broke, she has no other choice but to return.

The mayor of Chapel Springs, Daniel Dawson, has been an honorary member of the McKinley family for years. While his own home life was almost non-existent, Daniel fit right into the boisterous McKinley family. He's loved Jade for years, but she always saw him as a big brother. Now that she's back, his feelings are stronger than ever.

As Jade attempts to settle in, nothing feels right. God seems far away, she's hiding secrets from her family, and she's strangely attracted to the man who's always called her "squirt." Finding her way home may prove more difficult than she imagined.

You can read the first chapter here.

   


My Review

I LOVED this book! Loved it!!! I couldn't put it down. It pulled me right in from the beginning and never let me go!

At first I thought this was just going to be another light Christian Romance. It wasn't. There was some serious heartbreak in this book. There were some things from Jade's past holding her back, but there was also something that happened at the beginning of the book that was just terrible that hurt her deeply. It really upset me. Now that I've warned you, I also need to say that there is a lot of humor, love, and friendship, as well as some inspiration in this book too. I appreciated that the inspirational moments felt so natural and added to the story instead of taking away from it. These are the books I always love and can re-read, the ones that pull these strong emotions from me, where I am 100% cheering on the characters and anticipating that happily-ever-after ending.

I loved these characters! Were they perfect? Definitely not. They were human, thank goodness. I didn't always agree with their choices or the direction they were going, but that was okay. In the end they pull it all together even though the journey getting there was a little rough. I just really connected with them. I also loved the McKinley family. They were amazing! They added so much to the story.

I also noted a few scenes that reflected upon the title of the book. They were all special moments. The title really fits this story so well. Jade used to dance with the fireflies and this story is her journey to learn to dance with them again. Here's one of those scenes:
     She watched a firefly float around the edges of the boat. "Look. A firefly." It danced away over the water.
     "Every time I see one, I think of you," he said.
     "Really? Why?"
     Daniel slid the oars into the water, propelling the boat gently forward. "The first time I saw you, it was in your folks' backyard. There you were, right in the middle, spinning round and round."
     She chuckled. "I was? Why?"
     "You said you were dancing with the fireflies."
     She smiled. That sounded like her. The old her. So much had happened since then. She felt the smile drooping.
     "That's who you are, Jade. Who you've always been."
~ p. 117
Now I'm dying to read the first book in this series and everything else by Denise Hunter! Seriously, if you enjoy reading general Adult Romance or Christian Romance I would highly recommend you grab a copy of Dancing with Fireflies now!!! :)

Content: Clean (There was one non-descriptive instance of date-drug rape and some innuendo, but it was very well handled and I would definitely still consider this very clean. It is an Adult novel.)

Source: I want to thank LitFuse Publicity Group and the publisher, Thomas Nelson Publishers, for my free review copy, which did not affect my opinion in any way.


About the Author
DHunter
Denise Hunter is an internationally published best-selling author. Her books have won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader's Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and was a RITA finalist. In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she's been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all of her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps, too. When Denise isn't writing, she's busy raising three heroes-in-the-making with her husband.



Tour-Wide Giveaway

Don't miss Denise Hunter's latest Chapel Springs Romance, Dancing with Fireflies. Reviewers have already labeled Dancing with Fireflies "swoon-worthy" and "the perfect love story." 

Join Denise in celebrating the release of her new book by entering her Kindle HDX giveaway and RSVPing for her April 10th Facebook party.
fireflies-400-click
One winner will receive:
  • A brand new Kindle Fire HDX
  • Dancing with Fireflies and Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 10th. Winner will be announced at the Dancing with Fireflies Facebook Party on April 10th. Connect with Denise for an evening of prizes, book chat, and an exclusive look at the next book in the series.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today by clicking JOIN on the event page. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 10th!

21 comments

  1. I think I am going to need to pick up a copy of this, it sounds wonderful! Great review Tressa!

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  2. It's too bad this didn't meet your expectations more. I do the same thing where I set the bar really high for certain books and then am disappointed when they aren't exactly what I wanted. It sounds like it was still okay for you though.

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  3. It is SO good! I hope you enjoy it like I did.

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  4. Yes, I still liked it. I just didn't love it. I would definitely still read her books though.

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  5. Heidi Robbins4/7/14, 1:32 PM

    Great review- can't wait to get to this one on my TBR list!

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  6. Dude, I must resist...must resist....hehehe! Kidding! Thanks for the review. I have added it to my TBR list :)

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  7. Reviews from a Bookworm4/8/14, 11:44 AM

    Great haul! I've heard amazing things about Jellicoe Road, hoping to read that one myself soon. I hope you enjoy your books :) My STS.

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  8. Hmm. I think that everyone should read and love the classics too, but honestly, I don't know that everyone does love them. I love them because the writing is so good for many of them and they challenge me and my brain sometimes. There are also some amazing authors and stories. I would also recommend Jane Eyre. It might depend on what other kinds of books you like too. All the classics here (Pride & Prejudice, The Scottish Chiefs, David Copperfield, Ann of Green Gables) are all favorites of mine. I also really love Robin Hood, Westward Ho, the Narnia books, and Little Women. Just go in realizing that the classics normally take some investment from you. They aren't really page-turners and there are layers of story there.

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  9. I'll have to come see what you thought of it. :)

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  10. I really love her books! I hope you enjoy it when you do get to read it.

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  11. *sigh* I still love this book...

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  12. This is my first from her. I really liked that she didn't necessarily sugar coat anything and that she also let her characters be imperfect. I'm definitely looking forward to it too!

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  13. Hopefully you like it as much as I did whenever you get to it. :) Sorry for continually adding to your tbr! Ha! :D

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  14. It was really good!!! The second one had more violence and a lot more language, which I didn't necessarily care for, but it was still good too.

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  15. I have no doubt that I will when I do. :)

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  16. Me too! Thanks! I'll come check out your haul...

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  17. I like stories like that, honestly. Not all of the time, because I don't have time, but when I do I like a story that makes me get my brain involved and makes me think. I think the reason that I have never read one, honestly, is that I get so overwhelmed trying to pick where to start and then I get frustrated and read a book that is already on my shelf. I need to just close my eyes and point to a book and get started with that one. And then continue the point and pick method!

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  18. You'll have to let me know what you pick when you get around to it and what you think.

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  19. Note to self: Must read one of Jennifer E. Smith's books! ;)

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  20. Yes, you should! They're clean too.

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I love comments! I try to read and reply to them all. Feel free to agree or disagree and generally share your thoughts with me.