A SPARKLE OF SILVER
Georgia Coast Romance #1
by
LIZ JOHNSON
Genre: Contemporary / Romance
Publisher: Revell
Date of Publication: October 16, 2018
Number of Pages: 368
Scroll down for the giveaway!
Millie Sullivan plays a 1920s-era guest during tours of a palatial estate on the shore of St. Simons Island, Georgia, where her great-grandmother was a real guest ninety years ago. When Millie learns of a lost diary that may contain the location of a hidden treasure on the estate and reveal the identity of her great-grandfather, she sets out to find the truth of her heritage—and the fortune she desperately needs. But it won’t be easy.
When security guard Ben Thornton discovers her snooping in the estate’s private library, he threatens to have her fired. Still, her story seems too ludicrous to be fiction, and her offer to split the treasure is too tempting to pass up.
Get ready for a romantic escapade through dark halls and dusty corners that will have you holding your breath and sighing with delight.
PRAISE FOR A SPARKLE OF SILVER:
“A mystery, a treasure hunt, and a split-time romance—all set within a beautiful chateau. What more could we want?”—Katherine Reay, author of Dear Mr. Knightley and A Portrait of Emily Price
“A charming romance about real people triumphing over real problems. Add in a dash of mystery, a treasure hunt, and old family secrets, and you have a story that will warm every corner of your heart.”—Victoria Bylin, award-winning author of Together with You
“Lovers of history will enjoy this treasure-seeking adventure through a historic estate, and readers will appreciate a story that turns up riches of the lasting kind.”—Denise Hunter, bestselling author of Honeysuckle Dreams
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They say money can’t buy happiness, but maybe searching for money can. And sometimes a fairy tale coming true is better than finding any treasure box. In A Sparkle of Silver, Millie and Ben are both in dire need of money for unselfish reasons, but when they set off on a treasure hunt in an old Chateau, they find a lot more than they bargained for.
A Sparkle of Silver is a romance, but it’s more than finding true love and kissing in the dark. When Millie learns from her Grandma Joy, who suffers from dementia, about a possible treasure map in her mother’s diary (hidden in a chateau), she can’t help but think that finding the treasure would be the answer to all her problems, including affording a healthcare facility for her sweet grandma.
The story takes off quickly when Millie meets Ben and they both end up looking for Millie’s great grandma Ruth’s diary together. How they meet is too entertaining to give it all away in a review, but their partnership does not begin on a happy note, and they both keep their secrets on why they desperately need to find an answer to their monetary woes. The search for the diary and then a second diary and then a treasure gives Millie and Ben plenty of time to be together, and it’s incredibly sweet to see their relationship progress as they get ever closer to their goal. Of course, as with any treasure hunt, the clues are confusing, frustrating, and often disappointing.
The best part is reading about two love stories unfolding side by side, one modern and one 90 years ago. Ruth’s diary entries from her summer at the Chateau all those years ago reveal to Millie and Ben that the entire summer was filled with clandestine kisses, murder, theft, and a sweet friendship that was always destined to become more.
But diary entries only reveal so much, and it’s exciting to see Millie and Ben work out the clues, escape detection as they search where they have no business searching, and struggle to deny their growing feelings for each other. But this fairy tale is a bit different in that the man isn’t rescuing the woman. Instead, they are rescuing each other and realizing that happiness comes not from money but from embracing trust, family, honesty, love, and forgiveness, because as Grandma Joy reminds Millie, “All of us are more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”
The author does an excellent job at showing the fears and hopes and dreams of the main characters, both in the primary story and in the diaries. It’s easy to feel their physical and emotional pain, the uncertainty of new love, and the breathlessness of stolen kisses. But in the end, when all the clues fall into place, A Sparkle of Silver is an engaging story about searching the past for buried treasure and discovering that following your heart is the true prize, generation after generation.
Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win some amazing prizes, including a handmade treasure box!
Liz Johnson is the author of more than a dozen novels, including The Red Door Inn, Where Two Hearts Meet, and On Love’s Gentle Shore, as well as a New York Times bestselling novella and a handful of short stories. A marketing manager for a Christian film company, she makes her home in Phoenix, Arizona.
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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
GRAND PRIZE: Print Copy of A Sparkle of Silver, a Tin of Georgia Peach Cookies, a Handmade Wooden Treasure Box;
SECOND PRIZE: Print Copy + $25 B&N Gift Card;
THIRD PRIZE: Print Copy + $10 Starbucks Gift Card
OCTOBER 10-19, 2018
(U.S. Only)
VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
| 10/16/18 | Author Interview | Book Fidelity |
| 10/16/18 | Bonus Notable Quotable | Hall Ways Blog |
| 10/17/18 | Excerpt | Story Schmoozing Book Reviews |
| 10/18/18 | Review | That’s What She’s Reading |
| 10/19/18 | Character Interview | Chapter Break Book Blog |
| 10/20/18 | Review | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 10/21/18 | Playlist | All the Ups and Downs |
| 10/22/18 | Review | Reading by Moonlight |
| 10/23/18 | Excerpt | Books and Broomsticks |
| 10/24/18 | Review | Missus Gonzo |
| 10/25/18 | Review | Carpe Diem Chronicles |
I love the parallel romance plot lines AND the whole discovering things through the diaries. Sounds FAB!
This one made me want to go on a treasure hunt!