Book Blog Tour ~ Sweet Melody by Heidi McCahan + #Giveaway

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Sweet Melody
(Seabrook Romance #1)
By Heidi McCahan
Christian Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 242 Pages
August 1st, 2019

When a struggling bakery owner is rescued by a wannabe songwriter with hidden culinary talents, they discover they can make sweet harmony … if they can only learn to work together.

Rhett Foster longs to change the world with his music, yet he can’t even finish writing one song. Battered by a string of failures and disillusioned, he returns home to Portland, Oregon. While he desperately wants to create a chart-topping hit, his dad mandates a new mission: move to coastal vacation hotspot Seabrook, Washington and expand the family’s successful restaurant chain.

In danger of destroying her late parents’ legacy if she doesn’t diversify her menu, Lindsay Carmichael will try anything to save her bakery. But with a tiny budget and an injured employee who can’t work, she has no choice but to sink the last of her savings into buying a dilapidated food truck and hiring Rhett as a part-time barista. What she doesn’t know is that the handsome songwriter has a secret … one that could destroy her business and her heart.


My thoughts:  I love when I can relax and enjoy a book that makes me feel good to read it.  This one fit that to a "T".

This is a sweet romance about two people who are trying desperately to make their chosen careers work.  They both have issues from their pasts that they are hanging on to and need to let go before they can heal and fully move on with their lives.

My heart went out to Rhett.  He was dealing with a ton of disappointment and hurt.  Nashville left him empty instead of giving him a boost to his music career.  His family is not there for him.  He's really a good guy with a ton to offer the world.  Fortunately, he landed in Seabrook where he met Lindsay, someone who needed him as much as he needed her.

This book is a "happily-ever-after" but there is a ton of story from the beginning to the end.  At times I wondered how in the heck the two would work things out.  What I got was a story that had depth and a great storyline.  I am definitely glad that I took the opportunity to read this book.

This story contains Christian themes.  My favorite quote from the book is "When God looks at you, He doesn't see failure."

Source:  I received a complimentary copy.  All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Rating:  4 of 5 stars

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About the Author

Heidi secretly dreamed of writing a book for most of her childhood, but a particularly painful rejection letter in middle school convinced her to tuck that dream away. Instead, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and a Master’s Degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After a brief career as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Heidi married her husband Steve, then she dusted off her big dream of becoming a published author and launched her first contemporary romance into the world in 2014. A huge fan of coffee, dark chocolate, and happily ever after, Heidi currently lives in North Carolina with Steve, three active boys and one amazing Goldendoodle.

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Heidi’s Go-To Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

My parents bought a lodge in Alaska when I was a baby, so I spent a lot of my childhood watching my parents and grandparents prepare food and serve it to our customers. It wasn’t safe for me to be near the oven and grill, but I was allowed to climb up on a stool and hang around my mom while she baked pies and cookies in the evenings after the lodge was closed. I have fond memories of “sneaking” chocolate chips from the Nestle Toll House bag while she prepared the cookie dough.

Over the years, the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip bag was my go-to recipe. Then Joanna Gaines happened upon the scene with her Magnolia Table cookbook, so I tried her recipe instead. While her cookie recipe is delicious, I’m using a mash-up of two recipes now.

I highly recommend using a Silpat mat for baking, a wonderful trick I learned from my friend Jennifer. Enjoy!

Inspired by Joanna Gaines' Chocolate Chip Cookies + Nestle Toll House Recipe

Makes about 36 cookies

·   2½ cups all-purpose flour

·   1 heaping teaspoon baking soda

·   ½ teaspoon sea salt

·   8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

·   1 cup packed light brown sugar

·   1 cup granulated sugar

·   2 large eggs, at room temperature

·   1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

·   1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

1.    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a Silpat mat on top of a cookie sheet.

2.    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3.    Use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until blended. Then add the vanilla and beat until blended.

4.    Turn the mixer off and add the flour mixture to the bowl. Then mix on medium just until the flour is mixed in, finish with the mixer on high speed to pull the dough together.

5.    Add the chocolate chips and beat on high for about 5 seconds to thoroughly and quickly mix in the chips.

6.    Drop by large spoonfuls on the Silpat mat on your baking sheet. OPTIONAL: sprinkle the cookies with coarse sea salt if you like that delicious combo of salty + sweet. Bake until lightly browned on top, 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on the pan on a wire rack for 1 minute, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

7.    Store the cookies in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

 Adapted from Joanna Gaines. Magnolia Table. Copyright © 2018 by Joanna Gaines. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Inspired by Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe

Tour Giveaway

One winner will receive a signed paperback with bookmark, $10 Amazon gift card, Sticky Fingers Strawberry Scone mix and a Seabrook Sea, Salt and Surf 100% soy wax candle from Hometown candle company.

US only

Ends September 18, 2019

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