Blog tour/Review: A Place Called Harmony by Jodi Thomas

Today I’m pleased to welcome back author Jodi Thomas whose new book A PLACE CALLED HARMONY  will publish on Tuesday, October 7, 2014. (Click here to preorder)

In A PLACE CALLED HARMONY readers will be looking at Harmony for the first time.  I enjoyed writing about the three men who were brave enough to travel half of Texas to build a town.  All three men came to me full and strong as did the women who loved them.  From the opening I was running full gallop with a plot.  With my great-grandmother’s chest sitting in front of my desk, I felt like I was loading up the wagon and heading for a new life.

Patrick McAllen had grown up on the gulf coast of Texas.  He had to run away to avoid his father’s wrath and shy little Annie agreed to go with him. Captain Matheson didn’t even know his family was relocating to build a town where only a trading post stood.  When he got to his wife Daisy, he realized how much having him near meant to her and how dearly he needed his ever-growing family.

Clint Truman had been looking for a way to die since he’d lost his family.  Drunk and down on his luck, a sheriff offered him a choice.  Go to jail or head north to build a town.  Clint didn’t think much of the idea but when he met a woman half-dead from starvation and caring a newborn in her arms, he saw someone who needed him and he couldn’t turn away.

As they all moved toward the trading post, each found not only a direction in life, but true love.

Step into the beginning of a town called Harmony.  Ride along with me through the adventures and the love stories.

Thank you for reading,

Jodi Thomas

Jodi Thomas is the NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of 40 novels and 12 short story collections. A four-time RITA winner, Jodi currently serves as the Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas.

www.jodithomas.com

www.facebook.com/JodiThomasAuthor

www.twitter.com/jodithomas

 ____

• Title:  A Place Called Harmony
• Series:  Harmony #8
• Author:  Jodi Thomas
• Genre:  Romance (Historical)
• Published:  October 2014 – Berkley
• Source:  Publisher

Description:  Jodi Thomas has captivated America with her novels set in the small town of Harmony, Texas. Now she tells the story of the three hard-luck men who first settled the town, a place where last chances and long-awaited dreams collide…

Desperate to escape his overbearing father, Patrick McAllen disappears with his bride, heading north to build a new town— discovering strength, honor and true love along the way.

After drinking away the grief from his family’s death, Clint Truman avoids jail by taking a job in North Texas and settling down with a woman he vows to protect but never love—until her quiet compassion slowly breaks his hardened heart wide open…

All Gillian Matheson has ever known is Army life, leaving his true love to be a part-time spouse. But when a wounded Gillian returns home to find her desperately fighting to save their marriage, he’s determined to become the husband she deserves.

Amidst storms, outlaws, and unwelcome relatives, the three couples band together to build a town—and form a bond that breathes life into the place that will forever be called Harmony.  (publisher)

My take:  A Place Called Harmony is a must read for fans of Jodi Thomas and her Harmony series. I loved it. It was fun to see how the place where her modern-day series takes place got its start. The ancestors of the main characters of the Harmony series helped to build the town.

The Trumans, McAllens and the Mathesons meet after taking a man up on his offer to help build a town. We see them from the beginning and how they grow to be friends for life. Not only that, we see how each man meets his wife and begins a new journey together. I loved all three stories. These are good people who’ve survived tragedies and still trust that life can get better with the mates they’ve been fortunate enough to find.

A Place Called Harmony is a romantic adventure. It’s truly an American pioneer story and I recommend it. Included at the end is an excerpt from the next book in the Harmony series: One True Heart. It will be out in April 2015. I can’t wait to read it!