BooksChatter: ☀☄ Her Safe Harbor: Crawford Family [3]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for Her Safe Harbor, a Historical Romance by Holly Bush (10 March 2016, Holly Bush Books, 187 pages).

This is the third book in the Crawford Family series.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the first two chapters with Amazon Look Inside.

Author Holly Bush will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), and reviews (✍).

Synopsis | Video Excerpt | Teaser | The Series | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

1893 . . . Jennifer Crawford, the peacekeeper in a well-to-do Boston family rife with anger, deceit, and even treachery, was born to solve mathematical mysteries at a time when women are only beginning to venture from home and into the world of commerce and politics. Beautiful and shy, she struggles to find the courage to face a scheming mother and guide a father denying their familial dysfunction, hesitant to traverse the volatile economics banks are facing at the turn of the twentieth century. But danger threatens when she discovers the crimes of an abusive man determined to make Jennifer his own.

Zebidiah Moran, chief of staff for a new senator in Washington, is determined to uncover the lovely Jennifer’s secrets and guard her from danger. But will his sacrifices be enough to keep her safe?

Teaser: Excerpt

     “Why do you continue to be kind to me?” Jennifer asked.
     “I was raised a Southern gentleman. My mother would have tanned my hide had she heard me being anything less than that,” Zeb said and smiled at her. “You have not been yourself since coming here. Although you were quiet when you first arrived, you were different when you were staying with your sister. You were happy and relaxed. You seem to me to be everything but happy and relaxed here in your own home.”
     She dabbed her eyes. “You cannot understand the implications of the situation I am in. You know nothing of Boston society or our family business. I must solve these issues in my own way, on my own.”
     “I do not understand Boston society, or even your or your family’s place in it, but I do understand men like Jeffrey Rothchild. His kind of intimidation happens in the cheapest saloon, the most luxurious boardroom, and in the kitchens of everyday families. You are not unique nor do you need to manage this yourself. Please don’t call yourself a coward, either. You are not a coward. You are facing an enemy alone; however, that is not necessary. Allow me to help.”
     She stared into his eyes. “I am shaken to my core. What I’ve always thought I could discern about another person has been proven to be completely and utterly wrong. The stakes, the consequences of my poor judgment, threaten the Crawford family, threaten those that depend on us, threaten the fortunes and the legacy my family has built. Where Jolene expected a lifestyle of wealth as our due, and Julia naively assumed that everyone lived as we did, I knew differently. I know that the kind of wealth and prestige our family enjoys is the product of incredibly hard work, perfect timing, and considerable luck, otherwise, every other family in America would be wealthy and enjoy a home such as Willow Tree with all of its amenities. That existence hangs in the balance. I will not allow this generation to fritter it away.”

Her Safe Harbor
Available NOW!

The Series: Crawford Family

|| [1] || [2] || [2.5] ||

Click on the book cover to Look Inside the book on Amazon and read an excerpt.

Train Station Bride [1]

1887 . . . Débutante, Julia Crawford endures a lifetime of subtle ridicule as the plump, silly daughter of a première Boston family. Julia strikes out on her own to gain independence, traveling to the Midwest to marry an aging shopkeeper and care for his mother. Julia finds her new home rough and uncivilized after the sophistication of a big city, while closely held secrets threaten to ruin Julia’s one chance at love.

Jake Shelling was sixteen and grew up quick when his parents died from influenza on the South Dakota prairie. Left with a half-cleared farm and two young sisters, he spent little time on his own needs . .till now. At thirty-five, he figured it was high time to have some sons and a mail order bride would suit him just fine. No expectations of love, just a helpmate from sturdy stock, ready for farm life.

Will fate and chance play a trick on Julia and Jake?

[Published 21 February 2014, 264 pages]

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Contract to Wed [2]

1891 . . . Jolene Crawford Crenshaw, heiress and Boston socialite, went from her family home directly to Landonmore upon her marriage, the mansion she shared with her handsome and charismatic husband. She’d never in her life worried in the slightest over anything as crass as the dollars required to maintain that home or the lifestyle she’d been born to. Her extensive yearly wardrobe, the stables and the prime horseflesh within it, even the solid silver forks and knifes that graced her table, were expected and required to maintain the social standing that she’d cultivated over the years. But suddenly she was a widow with little money and just her pride and her secrets to keep her upright.

Max Shelby made his fortune in oil wells and cattle but lost the love of his life the day his wife died, over ten years ago. Now, his happy, carefree, little girl needs instruction and guidance as she grows into a young lady and his dream of becoming a Senator from his adopted state of Texas seems out of reach with few political or social connections. The right wife would solve both problems. As it happens his sister knows of a woman, a recent widow, charming, beautiful and socially astute, but in reduced circumstances, who may want to begin again. Max signed the wedding contract sight unseen.

Will Jolene be able to shed her sorrows, anger and fears to begin anew away from the censure and hidden tragedy that marred her life? Is her new husband, confident, strong and capable Max Shelby, the man, the only man, to see past her masks to find the woman beneath?

[Published 5 February 2015, 290 pages]

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The Maid's Quarters [2.5]

1893 . . . Alice Porterman is released from her duties as a maid and travels home to help her mother care for her sickly brother. But her mother and brother are not in their family home when Alice arrives and she learns the landlord, Albert Donahue, has evicted them into the harsh Boston winter. Alice goes in search of him and is surprised at what she finds.

Albert Donahue, an up-and-coming member of Boston’s elite, made his fortune through hard work and shrewd business deals. But his dreams of a family to share it with have not come true, perhaps until an impertinent young woman enters his home and won’t leave until she speaks to him.

The Maid’s Quarters novella is part of the Crawford Family Series, featuring Jolene Shelby’s maid, Alice.

[Published 8 July 2015, 78 pages]

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About the Author

Holly Bush writes historical romance set in the U.S.in the late 1800’s, in Victorian England, and recently released her first Women’s Fiction title.

Her books are described as emotional, with heartfelt, sexy romance.

She makes her home with her husband in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

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