Blog Tour: Tide Ever Rising by Mandi Tucker Slack

Title: Tide Ever Rising
Author: Mandi Tucker Slack
Stand Alone
Format- ebook
Publisher- Bonneville Books (Imprint of Cedar Fort Publishing)
Release Date- February 12th, 2013
Pages- 175
Source- Cedar Fort Publishing

Kadence Reynold’s favorite pastime is exploring old ghost towns, but when she and her sister, Maysha, stumble across an old journal and cheap pendant hidden in the depths of a crumbling foundation near Eureka, Utah, their world is suddenly turned upside down. Immediately, strange dreams and premonitions begin to haunt “Kadie” as she learns more about the author of the journal, Charlotte Clark. Kadie sets out on a journey to learn more about Charlotte and her family, and she and Maysha travel to Bremerton, Washington, where they discover Charlotte's still living twin sister, Adelaide and her family.  

  Kadie and Maysha, upon arriving in Washington, are immediately immersed in Adelaide and Charlotte’s story. Kadie soon learns that Charlotte disappeared the night of a tragic fire that took the lives of Adelaide’s entire family. With the help of Logan Mathews, Adelaide’s handsome grandson, and Charlotte’s ever disconcerting presence, Kadie delves into the past. Hoping to solve the mystery of Charlotte’s disappearance, Kadie immediately discovers the secrets contained in the journal will toss her and Adelaide’s family into a world filled with mystery, past regrets, and dark unknowns.

Kadie is a history teacher who one summer decides to find the history in old worn down places. She takes along her sister, Maysha, who is dragging along with her only out of love and concern while she rather be shopping somewhere. In a burned down house she discovers an old can filled with a necklace, a journal, and other personal items. She becomes obsessed with figuring out who it belonged to and how to get it back to them. This all leads to a impulsive road trip to Washington on the front steps of the sister that the journal belongs to. She discovers a conspiracy of murder and the sister, Adelaide, tasks her and her handsome grandson Logan to find out what really happened all those years ago.

I don't really know what I expected when getting into this book. I knew it was about but I didn't think that the story would unravel this way. Kadie has a certain way about her that I've never met in a character before. She has this sort of older sister vibe. She's very shy, polite, and more than anything a good person. She has this thing where she either sighs or has this small little smile when she's happy or when opposing her sister. She doesn't really oppose her sister but she was supposed to leave Washington a while back but getting to know the grandson of Adelaide (Logan), Adelaide herself, Logan's sister Beth, and Logan's little girl Zaza she becomes close with the family. She feels a bond and natural connection with them and you feel it too.

The girl that wrote the journal is Charlotte. She was Adelaide's twin whose body was never found when there was a horrible fire at their house. Adelaide has always talked about her sister to her grandchildren and has felt this loneliness since she's been gone. Everyone thought she died in the fire but the journal proves that there may have been another cause to her death. I thought we found who did it fairly fast after they went searching which was like half way through the book. There were no ifs or buts about it. I think it was presented that way on purpose but kind of ruined a little bit of the mystery for me but then BAM! Something HUGE happens where Kadie has to fend for her life. So I'm definitely sure it was presented early so there was this whole new drama the characters had to deal with. I like how it went actually. It was much more different then I expected everything to happen. It added so much to the story especially since we were able to see the sort of build up between Kadie and Logan.

Logan's a single father who loves his daughter to death. He hasn't been able to let anyone in since he's ex-wife up and left him alone with her. He's got this sweet protective thing going on with him. You know he's a great guy instantly. He smiles cautiously at Kadie just like she does with him. They are very alike and make a good romance. Problem is Kadie is engaged. She's engaged to a mama's boy and for awhile she's been thinking why she even wanted to marry Robert. I thought the way the author dealt with their relationship was good but there was a part where it just didn't conclude that well for me. You can't possibly like him and Kadie doesn't do anything with Logan while Robert's in the picture. Kadie was amusing whenever she thought to herself that she was acting foolish or like a child when she was around him because that's not how I saw it. Compared to other characters I've read she was docile character who had a crush on someone else. I mean she was very quiet kind, and she blushed a lot but it was sweet and you could tell it wasn't anything  too crazy. She truly did care about him and just because I making her sound like she's a very calm person doesn't mean she didn't have some passion in her when the time came. There were great moments between the two but they were serious when they needed to be. There was only one overly dramatic moment that I thought was a bit silly but it happens.

When the story shifts where Kadie has to fend for her survival I kept on thinking "How in the world did this just happen? These people are insane!!!" I couldn't believe what happened so prepare for a major change in the story. I thought the story came together really well. The romance was done just right and the conspiracy was done well too. I cared for Zaza so much! She was just so adorable! All of the characters we got to know were wonderful. I thought Kadie's sister, Maysha, needed to be part of the story because of how Charlotte and Adelaide being such close sister's I really would have liked her more in the story and was a little disappointed in some of her reaction towards the end. Her comments here and there and her general grumbling was pretty funny. I really liked how ghosts were incorporated into the book. Kadie had nightmares and it was like Charlotte was watching her. It wasn't creepy though it was really cool. I wouldn't want ghosts haunting my dreams though. I'm really impressed with how everything turned out. I hope to read more by Slack. This was a genuinely wonderful story.

Excerpt

Another burst of wind rushed past, causing the old timbers and bricks to groan. She eyed the charred, decaying walls. This place felt different than the last; more eerie and . . . she couldn't quite think of the word—more alive? She inhaled sharply then turned when she heard the sound of her name carried on the wind. Gooseflesh caused her hair to stand on end, and her breath caught in her throat. She could hear the wind sighing through the pinion pines close by. A window pane, hanging from a loose nail, squeaked as the breeze caressed her cheek.  

“Maysha?” she called, feeling uncertain. “Did you call me?”

“What? No!” her sister returned. “Look, can we go now? We’re going to be soaked before we get back to the car. And besides, I think I left my window down.”

Kadie exhaled and shivered visibly. She couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she was being watched. This house definitely feels different than the last, she thought. Feeling uneasy, she turned back toward Maysha. She entered the kitchen area again, glancing cautiously behind her.

“Alright, I’m coming. You know, I—whoa!” Kadie’s foot fell through a loose patch of linoleum flooring. She stumbled and fell to the floor, nicking the palm of her hand on several small shards of broken glass. “Oh . . . ,”she murmured, eyeing her cut hand. She brushed the dirt and glass from off her palm and then turned to carefully pull her foot out of the splintered wooden floor. “Great.” She frowned and eyed the small circle of blood spreading around a tear in the fabric of her jeans.

“What did you do? Are you all right?” Maysha stepped toward the crumbling, stone steps.

“I’m fine!”Kadie called.

She didn’t want Maysha to risk cutting herself or stepping on a rusty nail. Besides, Kadie mused, there’s no sense in both of us needing a tetanus shot.

Kadie pulled the cuff of her jeans up to better examine her leg. A jagged scratch oozed blood that dripped onto her sock. She pulled the leg of her jeans back into place then stood. A flash of light caught the corner of her eye and she paused. Startled, she turned to face the jagged hole her foot had created and was surprised when she noticed an object just beyond the cobwebs. Curiously she knelt and peered into the opening. Careful to avoid the glass and rusty nails, she pulled at the rotting wood and linoleum, clearing the space.

“Ugh!” she yelped when her fingers came in contact with a thick web, and she watched with wide eyes as a black widow spider scurried away. She cringed then sighed.

“What is it? Aren’t you coming?” Maysha called.

“Just a second,” Kadie responded. “I think I found something.”

Using a stick, she cleared the cobwebs and carefully reached into the hole to remove a rusty coffee can. Dust and dead leaves clung to the old can, and she brushed them away excitedly.

(Excerpt from Tide Ever Rising - I received this in an e-mail from Cedar Fort Publishing)

About the Author

Mandi Tucker Slack grew up in Orangeville, UT, where her father worked as a coal miner for eighteen years. In 1987 the coal mines shut down for a time and her father joined the U.S. Army. They were stationed in Hanau, Germany, and she had the opportunity to explore Europe. Mandi’s family returned to Utah in 1992, and they settled in Orangeville once again, where she attended and completed High School. She then attended the College of Eastern Utah, where she studied Geology. Eventually Mandi changed her major and moved on to Utah State University while she completed a degree in Special Education. She then married her best friend, Charles Slack. They have three children, with one on the way, 6 chickens, and a lizard (sometimes several lizards).Their family loves to spend time together. They enjoy 4-wheeling, camping, and especially rock hounding. Her house is littered with rocks and fossils. As a child Mandi spent many weekends with her parents and sister exploring abandoned mining towns and searching for relics among the brick ruins. Her adventures with her family are often the inspiration for her stories. Mandi is also the author of romantic/ suspense title, The Alias, available at a bookstore near you.

For more info about Mandi Tucker Slack and her books go to:

Goodreads/Website/Blog/Facebook/Twitter

To purchase Tide Ever Rising go to:

Amazon/Barnes and Noble