Praise for Lara's Books
“Lara writes emotional, heartwarming stories about
love, family, and friendships, that I can’t wait to read
more of.” —SUSAN LOVES BOOKS
“I’m very grateful to have been introduced to this
writer, who consistently presents wonderful
inspirational romance novels, filled with heart and
relatable characters.” —MADISON'S LIBRARY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
I write books. I read almost all genres. I love sports, tea, books, and cookies. My faves are my Great Dane, my husband, & my 3 kids. Not always in that order. :)
I'm an author with Tule Publishing. I am all about people and I love character driven stories. I love history and am a curious person who consistently wants to learn. I can't remember a time in my life where I wasn't writing or reading. I had journals as soon as I could write words. And I would get lost in books for hours as a kid. Stories and writing are how I process the world around me, what I see and experience as well as what I learn. I could talk books for hours and am happy to do so with anyone. I also love to sip tea and watch baseball.
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." - C.S. Lewis
Happy Reading Everyone!
Connect With Me!
https://linktr.ee/laravanhulzen
MY REVIEW:
A Love Worth Waiting For BY Lara Van Hulzen
This story starts out with Sadie and she runs the family antique store in town , Nearlake, ID.
Story also follows the deputy sheriff James and he raises a teen daughter on his own.
He comes to Sadie's aid when the back door glass has been broken. He investigates and figures it was a ball tossed through the window.
That mystery gets solved later that week.
They are both getting urged from their relatives that they need to go out on a date.
Sadie shows up at their house with Maddie, dropping her off from her work at the shop, along with a surprise for her and Sadie gets invited for dinner.
Love the festivities of the home coming. The town is a small one and the community comes out to support the team.
Sadie has her girlfriends around also and offer to help with the secret passage that had been found.
What i like about this book is the community wide support, various generations of problems, older couples finding love, romance, history, career of an antique store manager, deputy sheriff career, his woodworking and the mystery of the secret passage. Quilting checks a high mark for me to hear about. Love how solutions come for everything. So very descriptive details, historic, landscape, and architecture.
Can't wait to read more from this author!
A
LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR
BUY LINKS
AMAZON
NOOK
ITUNES
KOBO
SMASHWORDS
EXCERPT
As
Sadie made her way down the bleachers and along the field level, she scanned
the crowd. Not seeing James, she realized he may have joined the team in the
locker room. Taking one last look around, she spotted him walking around behind
the grandstands, his hands in his pockets and his head down.
She
followed, finding him all alone, leaning his back against a wall behind the
bleachers.
“Hey,
you.” She walked up beside him and copied his stance, the two of them looking
out through a tall chain link fence into the parking lot.
“Hey.”
“You
okay?”
“I’m
fine.”
She
nodded but said nothing.
They
stood there for a few minutes, not saying anything. If he needed to talk, he
would. Sadie just wanted to be near him. Let him know he wasn’t alone. The
announcer’s voice echoed in the night as he introduced the first float of the
evening done by the freshman class.
James
ran a hand through his hair and pushed away from the wall. He turned and faced
Sadie. “I know I should be grateful. I’ve always had such strong support from
this community. But…” He kicked the dirt with the toe of his boot.
Sadie
waited for him to continue.
“But
they don’t know the truth.”
“And
what is the truth?”
He
shook his head. “I’m not the superstar they think I am. I’m not the Golden Boy
with the perfect life, the perfect career the way they imagine.”
“None
of us has anything perfect,” Sadie offered with a shrug.
He
looked down at the ground. “It’s just not the whole story.”
“I
don’t know the whole story, James. But I think it’s pretty easy to know you.”
His
eyes met hers.
“This
town celebrates your accomplishments as a football player, yes,” she continued.
“And it’s okay to soak that in. You had a great career.”
He
looked away, then back at her again, his frown carrying the weight of whatever
was bothering him.
“But
I don’t think anyone expects you to be a perfect person with a perfect life.”
He
took a deep breath in and let it out. “It sure feels that way sometimes.”
She
pushed away from the wall and stepped over to him, taking his hands in hers.
“I’m sure there have been people in your life who wanted to be in your life
because of your success. But there are plenty of people who want to be in your
life because of the person you are. The man you are.”
His
lips formed a small smile at that, but it didn’t last. “Like I said, there’s
more to the story.”
“I’ve
been told I’m a good listener.”
“You
are. But I gotta be honest, talking isn’t what I want to do right now.” He let
go of her hands and cupped her face in his.
The
music and noise of the night faded into the background as he placed his lips on
hers. The first time in the passageway, there’d been an urgency to his kiss,
almost a need for him to be as close to her as possible to know she was okay.
This time, it was a slow, searing intensity between them that warmed her all
the way to her toes. Her arms wrapped around his waist, her body sinking into
his as if she were made to be there.
Sadie
lost all track of time or rational thought, her mind only able to focus on
being held by James, as if there was no one else in the entire world she was
meant to kiss but him.
When
he pulled away and placed his forehead on hers, they were both breathless.
“It’s
official. I definitely love to do that more than talk,” James said.
Sadie
laughed, her breath a cloud in the cold air.
The
announcer came over the loudspeaker to announce the presentation of the float
for the sophomore class.
James
smiled down at Sadie, her face still cradled in his hands. “As much as I hate
to say it—and I mean really hate to say it—I need to go.” He kissed her
forehead. “Maddie will kill me if I don’t see the float she helped work on all
week.”
Sadie
nodded. “I understand.”
James
stepped back, taking her hands in his. “Thank you for coming to find me.”
“You’re
welcome. I’m here any time you ever want to…talk.”
He
laughed at that and then kissed her gloved hands and then her cheek. “A very
tempting
offer, Sadie. I hope you mean it.”
Oh,
she meant it. If she wasn’t falling for James Larsen before, she certainly was
now.
“I
mean it.”
“Good.”
With that, he took her hand and walked her back to the stadium, the two of them
parting ways as he headed to the field and she into the stands.
