The River Beautiful Blog Tour

About the Book

Book:  The River Beautiful
Author: Andrea Carmen
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: May 26, 2020

A difficult past. A strange letter. An unsolved mystery.

Someone is following Lena, mapping her every move.

Where strength can be weakness and vulnerability-an asset, the greatest danger that threatens Lena may just be herself.

After the death of her father years ago, Lena ran from the quiet community of Kennerdell, but she’s back, forced to face a past she’d rather forget.

To make things more difficult, awkward, and terrifying, her old friend, Will, is back in her life. Even worse, she needs him there if she hopes to figure out what the letter she found in her father’s study means. They’re on a mission to find answers before her stalker does.

The River Beautiful mingles history and legend in a fast-paced ride through the deceptively peaceful Allegheny Mountains on a quest for answers amid loss, strength in the face of love, a whirlwind of self-discovery, and learning to use faith to illuminate even the darkest places.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

This is a good debut effort. The plot is based in the mystery of the missing crown jewels upon the execution of Charles I. I do wish there had been an author's note at the end of the novel giving readers a little historical background. I had to do some research on my own to see if this was all fiction or perhaps based a bit on history.

There is a good dose of budding romance in the novel, a relationship troubled by Lena's insecurities. She went back and forth over her attraction to Will several times. I thought that aspect a bit repetitive. Lena's character was developed thoroughly as a young woman mentally haunted by her father's untimely death.

This novel has a good historical mystery, character development done rather well, some mystery and suspense. Carmen has great potential and I will be looking for her next work.

My rating: 4/5 stars. 

About the Author

Andrea Carmen enjoys writing Romantic Suspense and Sweet Romance from a Christian perspective. A lover of bygone times, her modern-day novels contain a spark of history, a hint of mystery, or a little bit of both. Andrea finds inspiration by getting outdoors every chance she gets to explore and enjoy nature, but her favorite pastime is spending time with her family and best canine friend, Zoey.

More from Andrea

The River Beautiful is my first novel. The story means so much to me, and I am so happy to finally share it with you all.
This book has been years in the making and covers so many topics that are important to me. Many of them were fun to write about, but a few were hard to deal with at times.
Three elements stand out to me when I think of Lena’s story:
Love, Loss, and Legend.
Love- Love is a beautiful gift. In fact, I would say it is the most precious gift God ever gave us. Love, in its correct form, is free, unconditional, and the basis our salvation. God’s love for us cannot be altered or blocked by darkness, not even the paralyzing darkness of grief. So, when love comes into play in this story, it comes from that perspective. Lena struggles to accept love, but I think that is a place many of us have been at one time or another.
Loss can be lifechanging and usually not for the better. To turn The River Beautiful into the story it is, I had to bring up emotions from my own experiences with grief. Churning up those feelings after I’d had them tucked away for so long resulted in many tearful typing sessions. But at the end of the day, I think it brought unexpected healing and a level of authenticity to the story that it would not have had otherwise.
Legend- Researching the legends of the Lenni Lenape people was enlightening. I have always felt a connection to history and the past intrigues me so that I could not help but bring in some element of mystery from the area’s indigenous inhabitants. My usual go-to when it comes to history tends to be Early American and European, but for this project I was able to bring in a blend of all three for a fictional retelling of key events—and that was exciting!
By combining the elements of Love, Loss, and Legend, I hope I have created a story that not only entertains but moves readers as well. And I hope you love it!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 25

Reading Is My SuperPower, June 26

For the Love of Literature, June 27 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, June 27

Just the Write Escape, June 28

Debbie's Dusty Deliberations, June 29

Texas Book-aholic, June 30

A Baker’s Perspective, July 1 (Author Interview)

April Hayman, Author, July 1

Inklings and notions, July 2

For Him and My Family, July 3

Vicky Sluiter, July 4 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 5

Betti Mace, July 6

Book Love, July 7 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

deb's Book Review, July 8

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Celebrate Lit.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)