On Tour: The Denim Blue Sea by Joanne DeMaio

The Denim Blue Sea

The Denim Blue Sea by Joanne DeMaio
Print and e-book, 370 pages
Published March 3rd 2015

New York Times bestselling author Joanne DeMaio returns to seaside Stony Point in this novel filled with beach friends, love, and the enchantment of a sandy boardwalk winding along the shore.

During two August weeks, denim designer Maris Carrington and coastal architect Jason Barlow prepare for their much-anticipated wedding. Guests arrive early, turning keys in charming cottage doors to begin their New England summer escape. The wedding is a reason for old friends to gather again; to meet in their shabby beach hangout and get the jukebox cranking; to walk that weathered boardwalk beneath a starry sky; to breathe the sweet salt air. "Cures what ails you," one of the friends, Neil, always said long before his life was sadly claimed. But his legacy was not.

When Maris discovers Neil's long-lost journal, its passages reveal a heartbreaking secret. Can truths be found within its timeworn pages? Can this leather-bound journal unite the friends as their lives begin to fray? A bittersweet family reunion, a surprising encounter from a devastating accident, a shocking confession leaving one marriage shattered--all will test the once close-knit circle. Suddenly this safe haven on the tranquil Connecticut shoreline churns with emotional turmoil, threatening even the beach wedding just days before it is to happen.

Yet like a silver cap on a breaking wave, love and friendship wash ashore with hope, ever shimmering, in The Denim Blue Sea.

My thoughts about The Denim Blue Sea ~~

It's been a year since we first met this group of friends in Joanne's story Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans. One year later, they are all gathering in Stony Point to celebrate the marriage of Maris and Jason. The friends went through alot a year ago but this is a happy time now. But it's also a time of reflection and for missing those loved ones who are gone.

'Because even though the wedding is only two weeks off, a part of him knows that things can change at any moment. Yes, he knows that on any given day or any fourteen days, life can spin out from beneath you, the same way it did eight years ago - and he can just as easily be alone all over again, One thing he'll never forget since that day is to not trust happiness, not too much.'

I love the character of Maris, the bride in this story. She is such a kind, loving woman. She is also a blue jeans designer and finds her inspiration in the water and waves.

'She blends different shades, then crosshatches in the denim fabric of a sketched woman's jeans with this new sea blue.'

I have never been to the ocean but because of the beautiful way that Joanne writes the scenes, I feel like I am there. I experience the sounds, I can see the waves, and I can almost smell and taste the salt air. I am there and I am totally experiencing the ocean. It is so relaxing and beautiful. I know that the author spends a lot of time around the water and beaches and her love of those things come through in her stories.

'The sea, the blue sea, reaches for her over and over again. Just like Neil, reaching for Lauren, still. And reaching for Jason. Reaching for all of them, an unseen tide ever rising and falling, washing into their lives, wave upon endless wave.'

And a wonderful thing that Joannes does in her books is to take characters and places from her other novels and weave them into her new stories. As I was reading this one, I recognized a few characters from Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes. What a nice surprise! Her stories are connected in a way that makes everything feel so familar, like a group of friends showing up when you weren't expecting to see them.

I am so thankful that I was asked to read Joanne's first book, Whole Latte Life, way back when. I have read every single one of her books since and I love them all so much. Her stories are always so touching and emotional. When I start one of her books, I know I will get wrapped up in the wonderful world she has created. Thank you, Joanne, for another amazing story!

'Life is such a constellation of people and love, glimmering with hope and happiness.'

Read my thoughts here.

About the author

Joanne DeMaio is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans, Whole Latte Life, Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes, and most recently, True Blend. She lives with her family in Connecticut and is currently at work on her next novel.

Joanne enjoys hearing from readers at Facebook.com/JoanneDeMaioAuthor

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