A Quirky and Fun Read!--"Diamond in the Rough" by Jen Turano--Review & GIVEAWAY!

About Diamond in the Rough

Hardcover: 352 Pages

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (September 3, 2019)

To save her family from financial ruin, Miss Poppy Garrison accepts an unusual proposition to participate in the New York social season in exchange for her grandmother settling a family loan that has unexpectedly come due. Ill-equipped to handle the intricacies of mingling within the New York Four Hundred, Poppy becomes embroiled in one hilarious fiasco after another, doomed to suffer a grand societal failure instead of being deemed the diamond of the first water her grandmother longs for her to become.

Reginald Blackburn, second son of a duke, has been forced to travel to America to help his cousin, Charles Wynn, Earl of Lonsdale, find an American heiress to wed in order to shore up his family estate that is in desperate need of funds. Reginald himself has no interest in finding an heiress to marry, but when Poppy’s grandmother asks him to give etiquette lessons to Poppy, he swiftly discovers he may be in for much more than he bargained for.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

My Review

You don’t find many historical fiction novels that also can be humorous and light hearted.  But "Diamond in the Rough" by Jen Turano is certainly just that among the many historical fiction novels published today.  I might even go so far as to say it’s a “Diamond of the First Water,” just as our main character Poppy strives to be!

Poppy Garrison is a unique, klutzy, and completely genuine and loveable character (and what a name).  I loved watching her as she tries to navigate the rules and etiquette of the New York Four Hundred social season (think of Poppy adjusting a broken bustle in public–the horror).  But this book isn’t just light and fluffy; there is also a lot of character growth and development and themes of family and identity. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my romp through the social season, but I am very glad Poppy was the one to do it and not myself, thank you very much! 

Content: This is a clean read.

Rating: I give this book 4 stars.


I want to thank TLC Book Tours, Jen Turano and Bethany House for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.

About Jen Turano

Jen Turano is a USA Today bestselling author and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Visit her website at www.jenturano.com.

Connect with Jen

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Instagram tour:

Monday, September 9th: @girlandherbooks

Tuesday, September 10th: @theshybooks

Wednesday, September 11th: @southernbellereading

Thursday, September 12th: @all.the.lovely.pages

Friday, September 13th: @thereadingchemist

Saturday, September 14th: @thecaffeinated_bibliophile

Sunday, September 15th: @LisaBReads

Review tour:

Monday, September 16th: From the TBR Pile

Tuesday, September 17th: What is That Book About – excerpt

Thursday, September 19th: Broken Teepee

Thursday, September 19th: Lori’s Reading Corner – excerpt

Friday, September 20th: The Lit Bitch

Monday, September 23rd: Write Read Life

Wednesday, September 25th: Laura’s Reviews

Friday, September 27th: View from the Birdhouse

Monday, September 30th: Christian Chick’s Thoughts

Wednesday, October 2nd: Empowermoms

Friday, October 4th: Blooming with Books

Monday, October 7th: Faery Tales are Real

Wednesday, October 9th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

GIVEAWAY!!!

Open to US only.  One lucky winner will get a copy of the book!

1.  Leave a comment below and tell me what you would find hard in the High Society of the time?  The clothes, etiquette, etc.  

2.  Follow me on any of my social media accounts and comment where you followed and under what username.

"Brunch at the Bittersweet Cafe" by Carla Laureano--Blog Tour (Review) & GIVEAWAY!

 

About Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe

Hardcover: 432 Pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (February 5, 2019)

SYNOPSIS: 

From the RITA Award–winning author of Five Days in Skye comes a sweet, romantic treat that will leave you hungry for more.

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.

Purchase Links

Tyndale | Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble 

 

 

REVIEW:

 “Brunch at the Bittersweet Café” by Carla Laureano is the second book in “The Saturday Night Supper Club” series.  It can easily be read as a standalone.  I read (and loved) the first book and I think readers will have a more enriching reading experience by reading the first book as well, as there are many familiar places and faces that show up in this installment.

Ms. Laureano does not just simply write about a subject, she writes about it!  Meaning she goes above and beyond in her research about the subjects at the forefront of her books.  In this case, those subjects are baking, aviation and the business side of opening a bakery.  Ms. Laureano seems to know all of the ins and outs about each one and invites the reader into the kitchen, the airport and to come along in the process of opening a bakery.  I learned so much about each topic.  I warn you, reader, that she will make you hungry; many, many times.

I love our main character, Melody, who is very multi-dimensional.  She has many quirks; she loves baking, books and vintage objects.  She even takes bookstagram photos!  She and her love interest also go on a date to a bookstore (yes please!).

This book contains some lessons that can apply to all of us.  It talks about appreciating the things God has actually given us and trusting in God and not just His blessings. 

Content:  I give this book a PG-13 rating.  Some examples of the content are: people drink wine; the word hell is used; there is mention of a person having an affair; a person curses, but the word isn’t actually written; there is talk of having sex in past relationships outside of marriage.

Rating: I give this book 4 stars!

Genre:  Christian fiction; Contemporary; Romance

I want to thank TLC Book Tours, Tyndale Publishers and Carla Laureano for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.
 

 

About Carla Laureano:

 


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.

Connect with Carla

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 

 

GIVEAWAY:

One winner will win a physical copy of this book!  Just leave a comment below on something that intrigues you about this book and follow this blog (tell me what name you followed with and what way you followed).

Giveaway ends on midnight February 6 at the conclusion of the tour.  The winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by email.  They must respond within 48 hours or another name will be drawn. US ONLY per the publisher.

Carla Laureano’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, January 7th: Books & Bindings

Tuesday, January 8th: From the TBR Pile

Wednesday, January 9th: @createexploreread

Thursday, January 10th: Book Fidelity

Friday, January 11th: View from the Birdhouse

Monday, January 14th: Broken Teepee

Tuesday, January 15th: Amy’s Book-et List

Wednesday, January 16th: Faery Tales Are Real

Thursday, January 17th: Girl Who Reads

Friday, January 18th: @hollyslittlebookreviews

Tuesday, January 22nd: Read Eat Repeat

Tuesday, January 22nd: @_ebl_inc_

Wednesday, January 23rd: Cheryl’s Book Nook

Thursday, January 24th: Midwest Ladies Who Lit and @mwladieswholit

Friday, January 25th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Monday, January 28th: Write Read Life

Tuesday, January 29th: Running Through the Storms

Wednesday, January 30th: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Thursday, January 31st: The Sketchy Reader

Friday, February 1st: @thecaffeinated_bibliophile

Friday, February 1st: Blooming with Books

Monday, February 4th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Wednesday, February 6th: What is That Book About

"Becoming Mrs. Lewis" by Patti Callahan Review and Blog Tour

BECOMING MRS. LEWIS

About Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis  

Hardcover: 432 Pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 2, 2018)

In a most improbable friendship, she found love. In a world where women were silenced, she found her voice.

From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice—and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story—a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.

Check out this audio clip of chapters 1 & 2: CLICK HERE

 

 

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

 

My Review

I love C.S. Lewis and even studied his life and works in college—so when I heard there was a story about his wife, the book immediately became a highly anticipated read!  And upon reading “Becoming Mrs. Lewis,” I was happy to discover that the author, Ms. Callahan, possesses a superb and very engaging writing style!  

“Becoming Mrs. Lewis” by Patti Callahan is the story of Joy and how she became C.S. Lewis’s wife (hence the title).  It’s not as much a love story as more of a picture of Joy’s journey (intellectual, spiritual and physical).  Joy Davidman struggles with a lot at the beginning of the book.  It is a raw portrait of a woman in a bad situation, who sometimes makes wrong choices.  She tries to find God in the midst of her struggles and to make sense of things.  She is somewhat of a feminist and ahead of her time.  She has a lot of courage.  I love reading the letters between Joy and C.S. Lewis as she reaches out to him and they develop a strong friendship.  I did start to question her feelings for Lewis though and the decisions she made while still married to another man.  But I was so happy to see that she realizes her obsessive love for Lewis and that all of her life she’s been going to the wrong places to find the love she desires.  Instead of seeking men to find the love she needs, she needs to go to God for this love—and she does!  I was also happy that Lewis kept his distance and did not allow anything to happen while she was still married.

For all the C.S. Lewis fans, there are plenty of nuggets about Lewis sprinkled throughout the book, on both his life and writing.  Ms. Callahan obviously did extensive research.  I love getting to hear a lot of Lewis’s thoughts and references to his works.  His discussions with Joy are fascinating.  I especially love when they talk about and describe “fairy land” and their longing for it.  It is interesting to hear Lewis describe his conversion, which came about by a conversation with J.R.R. Tolkien (author of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”) about the One True Myth (Christ and the Kingdom of God).  I do remember hearing in college some controversial things about Lewis and his relationship with Joy.  Lewis wasn’t always a conventional, conservative Christian.  I think instead of trying to glorify Lewis and Joy, the author seeks to portray a portrait of two people with human sins and struggles, who also love God and have both contributed great works to Christian literature and thinking. 

Content: I give this book a PG-13 rating and it’s more geared towards adults.  Some examples of the content are: a child is physically abused; a man has PTSD; a woman’s husband has an affair and drinks; a woman curses, but the word isn’t actually written; a man attempted suicide in the past; a woman had an affair with a married man; a man smokes; the main character recalls her experience of seeing a person commit suicide; a reference to making love; the Lord’s name is taken in vain; talk of affairs and sex (nothing explicit).

Rating: I give this book 4 stars.

Genre: Christian fiction; Historical fiction; Romance

I want to thank TLC Book Tours, Patti Callahan and Thomas Nelson for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.

 

 

About Patti Callahan

Patti Callahan (who also writes as Patti Callahan Henry) is a New York Times bestselling author. Patti was a finalist in the Townsend Prize for Fiction, has been an Indie Next Pick, twice an OKRA pick, and a multiple nominee for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Novel of the Year. Her work has also been included in short story collections, anthologies, magazines and blogs. Patti attended Auburn University for her undergraduate work, and Georgia State University for her graduate degree. Once a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, she now writes full time. The mother of three children, she lives in both Mountain Brook, Alabama and Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband.

Connect with Patti

 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 

Instagram Tour Stops

Monday, October 1st: @Rissi006
Monday, October 1st: @hollyslittlebookreviews
Tuesday, October 2nd: @thecaffeinated_bibliophile
Wednesday, October 3rd: @girlsinbooks
Wednesday, October 3rd: @readingbringsjoy
Thursday, October 4th: @bookishmadeleine
Thursday, October 4th: @ladyofthelibrary
Thursday, October 4th:: @theardentbiblio
Saturday, October 6th: @acozyreader
Sunday, October 7th: @theliterarybirds

Review Tour Stops

Monday, October 1st: View from the Birdhouse
Tuesday, October 2nd: @prose_and_palate and Prose and Palate
Wednesday, October 3rd: Book by Book
Thursday, October 4th: Amy’s Book-et List
Friday, October 5th: Running Through the Storms
Monday, October 8th: Really Into This and @mountain_reader_
Tuesday, October 9th: Blooming with Books
Wednesday, October 10th: @createexploreread
Thursday, October 11th: Jathan & Heather
Friday, October 12th: The Lit Bitch
Monday, October 15th: @kim_reads
Tuesday, October 16th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Wednesday, October 17th: Openly Bookish
Thursday, October 18th: Cheryl’s Book Nook
Monday, October 22nd: Fiction Aficionado
Monday, October 22nd: @novelmombooks
Tuesday, October 23rd: Read Eat Repeat
Wednesday, October 24th: Faery Tales are Real
Thursday, October 25th: Girl Who Reads
Friday, October 26th: What is That Book About