Celebrate Lit Blog Tour featuring "Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe" (book)

Welcome to my blog's stop on Carla Laureano's tour for her new novel, Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe!

My review of her book is simple and sweet: 

What can I say? Brunch at Bittersweet Café is a winner!

It's a deliciously wonderful story filled with mouthwatering food, captivating characters and a romance to remember!

The plot thickens with the turn of every page. The dialogue is fresh and engaging. The storyline is rich and multi-layered. The characters are well developed, each with a mind of their own and passion for life.

The hero is swoon-worthy and the heroine is strong-willed. Watching them fall in love with each other was rewarding because the author did a great job in making it look like they could never be together. Carla (the author) kept me as the reader guessing until the very end of this story. I think that readers will be pleasantly surprised by the way this story ends.

After reading Brunch at Bittersweet Café, I was inspired to keep fighting for my creative career dreams because the concept of grit when working to make a dream come true was well-portrayed in this story and a true mirror to what can happen when you persevere in real-life.

Bravo, Carla Laureano, for writing a story that’s as memorable as it is sweet!

Please note: Celebrate Lit provided me (Alexis A. Goring) with a complimentary copy of "Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe". My opinions in this book review are my own.

Read more about Carla's story below and enter the giveaway contest toward the end of this blog post for your chance to WIN amazing gifts!

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About the Book

Title: Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe

Author: Carla Laureano

Genre: Christian Romance

Release date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Tyndale

Baker and pastry chef Melody Johansson has always believed in finding the positive in every situation, but seven years after she moved to Denver, she can’t deny that she’s stuck in a rut. One relationship after another has ended in disaster, and her classical French training is being wasted on her night job in a mediocre chain bakery. Then the charming and handsome private pilot Justin Keller lands on the doorstep of her workplace in a snowstorm, and Melody feels like it’s a sign that her luck is finally turning around.

Justin is intrigued by the lively bohemian baker, but the last thing he’s looking for is a relationship. His own romantic failures have proven that the demands of his job are incompatible with meaningful connections, and he’s already pledged his life savings to a new business venture across the country—an island air charter in Florida with his sister and brother-in-law.

Against their better judgment, Melody and Justin find themselves drawn together by their unconventional career choices and shared love of adventure. But when an unexpected windfall provides Melody with the chance to open her dream bakery-café in Denver with her best friend, chef Rachel Bishop, she’s faced with an impossible choice: stay and put down roots with the people and place she’s come to call home . . . or give it all up for the man she loves.

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Author

Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.

Guest Post from Carla

“Confessions of An Erstwhile Baker”

Like most females, baking is encoded somewhere deep down in my DNA. Call it nature or call it nurture, but at the earliest age, I figured out that the cute boy in my English class would talk to me if it involved chocolate chip cookies. Got my heart broken or had a friend betray me? I grabbed the mixing bowl and went for the brownies (even better if they’re served à la mode.) My friend was having a birthday? I made a cake drowned in pounds of buttercream.

I quickly graduated from the boxed mixes to the real thing when I got married and had a kitchen large enough to roll out dough. I would comb magazines for the best recipes and spend my weekends trying them out. I quickly became known for bringing beautifully iced Christmas cookies and delicious homemade cakes to work.

Then my husband and I moved our young family from Los Angeles to Denver, a relocation that was about 1000 miles northeast and 5000 feet up. Suddenly, every recipe I’d perfected in the previous eight years failed. Cookies burned to crisps, cakes fell, and don’t get me started on candy making. Gradually, I adapted my recipes (my beloved never-fail Toll House recipe took eight tries to get right) and even became an avid artisan bread-baker.

Then disaster. Or at least, what a baker would consider a disaster. After developing chronic health problems, I discovered that among other things, I was sensitive to gluten. The horror! In order to heal, I turned to the paleo diet, which eliminates all grains (there goes most gluten-free recipes) and all processed sugars (there goes everything else). I’ve tried baking paleo-style, and while I can now make cakes that even my gluten-fiend family enjoy, it’s just not the same.

So what’s a once-obsessive baker do when she can’t eat her creations? She bakes for other people and goes on faith that they actually taste good… considering she can’t taste them herself.

It struck me that there was a spiritual lesson in that, and an obvious tie to Brunch at Bittersweet Café, which deals in large part with Melody’s faith journey. There are times when we have no idea if things are working out the way they’re supposed to, in which case we just have to trust the “recipe” and the input of friends and family who love us. Sometimes our instincts tell us when we’re off track, and sometimes we need that outside nudge from our “taste-testers” to put us back on course.

In any case, what Melody and I have in common is that we both bake to show our love for the people around us. And the process of baking my favorites, even knowing that I can’t enjoy them myself, can still be a selfless way to show people they’re important to me.

Fortunately, macarons, which happen to be made with almond flour, are still on the menu.

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Blog Stops

Quiet Quilter, February 12

Among the Reads, February 12

Lighthouse Academy, February 12

By The Book, February 12

The Power of Words, February 13

As He Leads is Joy, February 13

Cultivating Us, February 13

Blossoms and Blessings, February 13

Fiction Aficionado, February 14

The Lit Addict, February 14

Christian Chick’s Thoughts, February 14

This Chattanooga Mommy Saves, February 14

All-of-a-kind Mom, February 15

Just the Write Escape, February 15

100 Pages per Hour, February 15

Splashes of Joy, February 15

Bibliophile Reviews, February 16

Texas Book-aholic, February 16

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 16

C Jane Read, February 17

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, February 17

Moments, February 17

Back Porch Reads, February 17

Cordially Barbara, February 18

Genesis 5020, February 18

Simple Harvest Reads, February 18 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 18

Livin’ Lit, February 19

Kat’s Corner Books, February 19

Life with the Tribe, February 19

Stephanie’s Life of Determination, February 19

Through the Fire Blogs, February 20

Remembrancy, February 20

Vicky Sluiter, February 20

Living Life Free in Christ, February 20

2014 and Beyond!, February 21

Daysong Reflections, February 21

Inklings and Notions, February 21

Pause for Tales, February 21

Cafinated Reads, February 22

Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 22

two points of interest, February 22

Ashley’s Bookshelf, February 22

My Devotional Thoughts, February 23

Two Girls and a Book, February 23

The Christian Fiction Girl, February 23

For the love of books, February 23

God is Love, February 24

Book by Book, February 24

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, February 24

Janices book reviews, February 24

Lukewarm Tea, February 25

Carpe Diem, February 25

A Baker’s Perspective, February 25

Bigreadersite, February 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Carla is giving away a grand prize package of a macaron baking mat, a macaron book, and a paperback copy of Brunch at Bittersweet Café!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/db0f/brunch-at-bittersweet-cafe-celebration-tour-giveaway 

Devotional by Laura Thomas: Cliques, Real Love, and Mission Work

On the Playground

A devotional by Laura Thomas

“My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.”
~1 John 3:18 (The Message)

Remember back in elementary school? There on the playground, a select group of cool girls huddled together with the giant skip rope and played the best games together. They giggled and admired each other’s outfits and gave snobby looks to those on the periphery; the wallflowers. It was our initiation into the world of cliques.

As adults, it’s no prettier. We have cliques galore, just in bigger playgrounds. We gather at events, we shop at the appropriate stores, we drink specific coffee, and we live in similar neighborhoods. The “wallflowers”, those who don’t quite fit in for whatever reason, are left out again. And in our maturity, instead of giving snobby looks, we pretend not to notice.

As Christians, are we any different? Do we intentionally go looking for the “outsiders” or are we content to pander to our own kind exclusively? Are we opening our arms in readiness to accept the hurting or are we burying our heads in spiritual sand? Preaching to myself right here.

Jesus made it perfectly clear that we are not to stay comfy in our Christian cliques, but to be constantly looking to share His love and the Gospel with others, with “outsiders”. After hanging out with unsavory types, Jesus was criticized for mixing with “sinners".

“Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.” ~Matthew 9:12-13 (The Message)

Pretty plain, isn’t it? Whether that means reaching out to the needy in our community or befriending the lonely mom across the street or singing in the local seniors’ home— we are called to welcome outsiders. To live with God's Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) in mind. To be looking for opportunities to tell of His love for all. To be willing to go out of our comfort zones for Jesus!

Perhaps we fear that if we open our hands to God in obedience, He might immediately send us to be a missionary in a foreign land forever… and that is glorious when it happens, but honestly—it’s pretty rare! Surely what He desires is a willing heart—to be ready to be used by Him and for His glory, whatever that may look like.

This is just a tiny (rather insignificant) example, but last week, I was pondering how I enjoy baking for people. Yes, baking. I would like to say I love to see others well nourished, but truth be told, I love to see their eyes light up and taste buds tingle with delicious treats like cookies and cupcakes and brownies. The special “in moderation” stuff, generally involving chocolate. I joke that baking is my love language. It’s probably not a joke.

And then this same week, I was asked if I would be able to bake for two separate groups of people in my community. It was as if God was giving me a wink and saying, “It’s your thing, have at it. It’s for My glory.” And the best part about it is that God can use me in this tiny, weeny way to bless others, those “outside” my usual sphere, those who need to feel loved and special. Yes, I can bake for my family and friends anytime and it’s all good, but sometimes God cracks the door just a little and offers us ways to bless others. 

We don’t have to go abroad to be a missionary.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” ~1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

Sometimes He merely desires us to use our gifts and talents to share His love tangibly right where we are. And sometimes He does call us to the mission field! God can be glorified in our kitchen and in remote villages. With our neighbors and in foreign countries. Either way, we have a precious gift to share and His light to shine, and only one lifetime in which to do it. Let’s practice real love and let’s welcome EVERYONE onto the playground. 

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Author Bio: 

Laura is a published Christian author with a heart for inspiring and encouraging readers of all ages. 

She is truly multi-genre—with a published Christian teen fiction trilogy, marriage book, children’s stories, devotionals for Union Gospel Press, musings on her blog, and she now has a literary agent representing her Christian romantic suspense novel.

Laura is English and Canadian, married to her high school sweetheart, mom of three, passionate about faith and family…and chocolate!

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Connect with Laura:
Website - www.laurathomasauthor.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Laura-Thomas-183771121724664/?ref=hl
Twitter - https://twitter.com/laura_thomas_
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lauracthomas/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/lauracthomas/

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