YvonneWhen it was over, Kate Dalton, vowed to abolish the phrase “if only” from her vocabulary and make peace with what they did to survive.
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But on that June morning when the black car thundered down the road, reviewing her regrets was as much a part of the morning routine as sipping a second cup of coffee at her desk in the corner of the farmhouse kitchen.
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I am already wondering just what it is they have to survive and exactly how drastic is the action they need to take to ensure that survival, if they need to make peace with themselves when it is over?
This is the second book in the Kate Dalton suspense series and is the sequel to the intriguing, edge-of-the-seat read, ‘An Uncertain Refuge’.
Click here to find out more about both book and author.
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WHAT IS ‘BOOK BEGINNINGS’ AND HOW CAN YOU JOIN IN THE FUN
Would the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?
If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?
Click here and visit Gilion @ Rose City Reader
You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.
Don’t forget that Gilion and all the other contributors to this meme love to hear from you, so why not leave a comment or two at the same time.
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As this was an author invitation to read and review, a Kindle download of ‘Sea Of Regret’, was sent to me free of charge, by its author Carolyn Rose.
This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.
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I guess she really needs to stop saying “if only” and actually act upon her goals/desires.
Oh my…I wonder what she did to deserve to be in house arrest?!
Friday’s post
whoops…don’t know what happened there. Ignore the second sentence 😉
Hi Vonnie,
I know just how it is, you hit the ‘publish’ button just as you notice the nonsensical sentence, or glaring typo, but it is just too late to do anything about it! …. Perhaps you have read the book and the house arrest comes later!!!! LOL!
‘What if ..’ and ‘If only ..’, must be high up the list of most used phrases. We all use them regularly, rather than get on and sort the problem and they do say that ‘actions speak louder than words’, don’t they?
Mind you, Kate does sound as though her decisions were pretty much life and death, so who amongst us wouldn’t reflect later on decisions made under such stress?
Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your comment.
It can definitely be dangerous to always think about what else could have happened, I think it stops you from seeing the good things in what has happened! But then again, I can’t help it myself sometimes! Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
My Friday post
Juli @ Universe in Words
Hi Juli,
I can only assume that the chain of events which led up to Kate and others having to fight for their survival, could have been handled differently and decisions obviously had to be made which she has been trying to come to terms with, hence the reference to ‘making peace’.
As you say, it is always so easy to wish you had said or done things differently, however as the saying goes, ‘hindsight is a wonderful thing’ . Still, it is human nature to think ‘what if’ and ‘if only’, neither of which makes the outcome any easier to reconcile with.
You just have to make the best of those decisions you can’t change and try to positively influence the ones you can.
Thanks for your thoughtful and interesting comments, I hope that you have a good weekend.
Interesting teaser! I wonder who’s in the black car to make her think those things again…Thanks for sharing this title! Happy reading 🙂
My Friday Book Memes
Hi Lianne,
It sounds as though something like the black car arriving is quite a rarity and quite clearly the start of all Kate’s troubles. The fact that she comments about having to do something bad enough to survive, which warrants all the soul searching, is already keeping me in suspense and half tempted to read on a little further …. No! I must resist!
Thanks for stopping by, your visits are always appreciated.
That is an intriguing opening. I hope you enjoy the book. Happy reading!
Hi Kathy,
Taking stock of the present day, before reminiscing back to the past chain of events which must have started all of Kate’s problems, is certainly an intriguing opening and one designed to draw me into wanting to know more. I wouldn’t be able to put this one back on the shelf in the bookstore without finding out a few answers!
Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.
I like how the world of blogging – and e-books – can bring together an author from Oregon and a blogger from England!
Thanks for participating in Books Beginnings on Fridays!
Rose City Reader
Hi Gilion,
I have ‘met’ some great people from all the corners of the world, since I began blogging. At first these were mainly fellow bloggers, including yourself of course, but more recently I have been introduced to some excellent authors, who return time and again for reviews, which is most gratifying. Carolyn Rose, the author of ‘Sea Of Regret’ and I, chat quite often by email and It is just such a shame that I may never get to meet her, nor any of the rest of you in real life!
Not forgetting all those fabulous books and new to me reading genres I have been enticed into trying!!
Thanks for hosting and have a great weekend.
Never say never. I was in England last year, Yvonne, and you recently were in the U.S. I may come that way again and I’ll make sure that our paths cross – unless you see me coming and go into hiding (LOL).
Hi Carolyn,
I am already looking forward to the possibility of our paths crossing at some point in time.
I often think back to my school days, when we had ‘pen-pals’ all around the world who we wrote letters to. In those days, the chances of ever meeting in person were so remote and I wonder what happened to them all.
The world is such a small place these days, so as you so rightly say, ‘never say never’, to meeting any of the lovely people I ‘write to’ online!
I’m eager to read this one, as I enjoyed An Uncertain Refuge. Great story…and this one sounds like a page-turner, too.
Thanks for sharing…and here’s (late) MY FRIDAY MEMES POST
Hi Laurel-Rain,
I loved the suspense and great plot building in ‘An Uncertain Refuge’ and ‘Sea Of Regret’ doesn’t look as though it is going to disappoint, as a sequel story.
I don’t know whether you ever got around to reviewing ‘An Uncertain Refuge’, but if you want to forward me the link to your post, I will give it a mention and link, when I publish my own review, hopefully very soon!
Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your visits.
I wonder what happened that she regrets so much. Happy reading Yvonne! I’m back from hiatus, slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things.
Hi Naida,
Great to have you back, you have been missed here at Fiction Books.
Not much has happened here, as my reading and reviewing has come almost to a standstill at times. The unusual heatwave weather conditions haven’t helped, as I am definitely a spring and autumn person and can’t stand these hot and humid conditions. Apart from that we, have had a few business and personal issues, which have meant that I haven’t been so focused as I generally am.
I love Carolyn Rose’s style of writing, where she mixes moments of extreme violence and edge-of-the-seat reading, together with some excellent suspenseful plot building scenes and character forming pages.
It just sounds as though Kate has had to do something unpalatable and unpleasant, in order to survive a particular incident and perhaps she is now seeing that she might have handled it slightly differently to have achieved the same result … The trouble is, “what if ..” and “if only ..” uttered in hindsight, can’t ever change the situation and outcome and can definitely lead to a vast ‘Sea Of Regret’
I have struck up something of an on-line friendship with Carolyn and have several of her books in my review pile. The first book in this particular series ‘An Uncertain Refuge’ was excellent and the review should be published soon.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy catch-up schedule to stop by.
If only goes with Don’t Should On Yourself. One of my favorite saying. Book Beginning at Mixed Book Bag
Hi Jo,
I had to check out the saying ‘Don’t Should On Yourself’, as although I knew what it meant, it is a phrase which I hadn’t come across before and is one that I don’t think is typically used in any part of the UK.
Thanks for some interesting research pages, even if I couldn’t really come up with any ‘English’ equivalent!
Hi Yvonne, thanks for visiting my blog and for your lovely comment. I hope you have a great weekend too.
This opening is really good, ‘survive’ and ‘regrets’ in particular make me want to know more, and thanks for introducing me to a new-to-me book and author.
Hi Lindsay,
Carolyn Rose is an excellent mystery / suspense author and has a fantastic, friendly way with her, which makes her books a pleasure to feature and review.
‘Sea Of Regret’ is the second book in the Kate Dalton series and although I understand that it works well as a stand alone story, you might want to consider reading its predecessor ‘An Uncertain Refuge’ first, to get a grip on the characters and their relationships.
If the word ‘survive’ means anything like it did in the first book, then this is sure to be real edge-of-the-seat reading. I am not sure that I would have many ‘regrets’ about doing whatever it took to survive, but I guess I shall have to wait until I read the book, to see just how desperate Kate’s actions become!
Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your comments.
Great beginning. Like the sound of it!!
Here is my post
Hi Gautami,
Definitely an ‘I need to know more’ first line, isn’t it? and you can just tell that when she starts to think back, the black car is signalling the start of all her problems.
I am always a sucker for a good suspense story, so I am looking forward to reading this one.
Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments.
I still don’t know if this opening “works.” I was aiming at planting the seeds for the ending in the beginning of the book and dealing with the issue of regrets, of which I have many. Having them isn’t as much a problem as clicking them off like worry beads on a regular basis and letting them eat away the hours, especially in the middle of the night.
Hi Carolyn,
I totally get the opening and it works fine for me. The first line, which plants the seeds for the ending, is what draws me in, as does the use of the word ‘survival’ letting me know that there is sure to be an explosive and potentially dangerous end scene to the story.
That Kate is then reminiscing about events is very clear and is a great way of telling the story, to bring things full circle and back to the ‘if only’ line, which are words that I seem to be using more and more these days, although clearly, turning back the hands of time is not an option for any of us.
I am convinced that ‘worry’ is my middle name and even if for a short period, I don’t have anything tangible to worry about, I worry about that!
I am so sorry that my review of ‘An Uncertain Refuge’ is taking so long, however work and personal issues have all conspired to delay things for that last couple of weeks. I wish I could see things getting back to normal sometime soon, but I just don’t think that’s going to happen!
Normal? Isn’t that what you get in 2-hour intervals between chaos or crisis or confusion?
Agh! Glad you can see my problem!! LOL!
Interesting! I wonder what’s happened…
Hi Nikki,
In Kate’s first outing in ‘An Uncertain Refuge’, she had to face some pretty scary stuff, which required her to act in ways completely out of character for her and taking her right outside of her comfort zone.
I am guessing that whatever happens to her and those she is close to, this time, is going to be even more challenging. Last time I didn’t get the feeling that Kate would have had any regrets about the actions she had taken, but this time there is obviuosly some doubt in her mind …. I’ll bet that the people in th black car, are the cause of all her problems!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by, I always appreciate your comments.