TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “CARDINAL CABIN”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a review book I’m just about to start reading:  Cardinal Cabin, by Joanne DeMaio, a heartwarming novel as merry and bright as a red-feathered cardinal taking flight.
 

Intro:  “What’s it all for, anyway?” Frank Lombardo asks.  With a wool cap on his head, and his tan canvas jacket zipped up tight against the chill wind coming off the river, he lifts a string of twinkling lights.  The question was meant only for himself, standing on the top rung of a ladder perched against the roofline.  But of course, his hovering sister picked up every dismal syllable.

“What do you mean?” Gina asks from down below while giving him yet another string of lights.

“All this fussing and decorating.”  His gloved hand motions to the grand two-story Addison Boathouse, with its vast deck and, on the roof, a white cupola with paned windows.  The boathouse rises from the banks of the river, and his ladder’s been propped against the building for hours.  “All these lights.  And wreaths.  And ornaments.  For what, really?”

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Teaser Tuesday:  But when one song in particular begins, a slow song, Frank stops stoking the burning logs, sets down the wrought-iron tongs and walks to her.  On the way, he shuts off both table lamps.  The only sound in the room is Sinatra singing promises of home and snow. (p. 113).

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Synopsis:  Frank Lombardo’s never been spontaneous. The closest he’s come was accepting a side job chopping firewood for a lakeside community of rustic cabins. But with another lonely holiday season imminent, Frank’s sister urges him to be spontaneous because, seriously, who does he ever expect to meet out in the woods?

With a suitcase in hand and a bit of reluctance, too, Penny Hart arrives at Cardinal Cabin on Snowflake Lake. It’s only for a brief stay, though nobody knows where she is. Not her boss, not her friends…

Only Frank Lombardo. As the two unexpectedly meet at Addison’s hidden hideaway, a spontaneous kiss sets everything amiss. But can the magic of this quaint New England town keep these snowy sweethearts together?

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What do you think?  Do you want to keep reading?

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