Welcome to the Blog Tour and Giveaway for
Grace & Lavender by
Heather Norman Smith, hosted by JustRead Publicity
Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Grace and Lavender
Author: Heather Norman Smith
Publisher: Ambassador International
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: March 1, 2019
Recently retired Colleen Hill is always busy, constantly on
a quest to make life more interesting.
When the ladies’ group at her church partners with the local
children’s home, Colleen jumps in as usual, volunteering to share her passion
for cooking with a troubled teenager named Grace. But Colleen must balance the
new project with her pursuit of becoming a contestant on a television game
show, along with all the other ideas her brain continually spins out.
Colleen’s daughter Melody is quite different. She lives a
calm, simple life and is content with who she is. That is, until an unexpected
opportunity to work with Grace, too, pushes her to reevaluate life and dare to
take on bigger dreams. The path starts with a newly-found interest in
soap-making and leads her to responsibilities she didn’t even know she wanted,
including helping Grace understand the meaning of her name.
Grace and Lavender is a book for
all audiences—a heart-warming story that reminds us to seek God’s purpose for
our lives.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads |
Amazon | B&N |
CBD | Book Depository
KAREN's REVIEW:
KAREN's REVIEW:
Grace
& Lavender is the story of two women and a teenage girl who are all
trying to navigate their futures at different points in their lives.
Colleen is a retired grandmother who is looking for her next big
project. Melody, her daughter, is her opposite, content to live life as
it comes. Grace, a young teen living at the local youth home, is
distrustful of adults after an abusive childhood. I love the core of
this story, how all three women approach change in their lives so
differently. Colleen thrives on it, constantly flitting from one big
idea to the next. Melody is happy to go with the flow until that’s no
longer an option. Grace understandably hates change in her life because
very few of them have turned out well for her. As the three women come
together to help Grace through mandated community service, their hearts
are all opened to God’s plans for them, far beyond what any of them
originally plan.
The
beginning of this book meanders a bit with Colleen’s mental musings. It
was a little bit chaotic but it definitely gave you a sense of how her
mind works! There were also other parts of the story where unnecessary
things were stated. For example, when Colleen received a phone call this
is how it was mentioned: “It was a call that would change the weekly
routine she had known for some time.” I also felt like some plot points
were left unresolved or not delved into deeply enough. I would’ve liked
to see more of Melody’s romantic life, and I would’ve also liked to see
Grace make peace with her past. One more strong edit would clear up some
of these issues in the story and take it from a 3.5-star book to a
5-star book!
Overall,
this story has such tender moments, such beauty even in the hard parts
of life. I really enjoyed seeing how Colleen, Melody, and Grace all get
their happy ending. I must admit that some of the twists in the plot
kept me surprised, which I loved!
*I
received a copy of this book from JustRead Book Tours and am under no
obligation to provide a positive review. All opinions are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Heather Norman Smith aims to entertain
and encourage, while illuminating the redemptive love of God through her
writing. Along with Christian Fiction, she writes devotions and children’s
books. She also enjoys writing songs and singing about Jesus.
Heather is proud to be a life-long North Carolinian and
hopes to present the beauty of the Tar Heel State in her writing. Her home is
just outside Winston-Salem, NC, where she lives with one husband, two
daughters, one son, two cats, and two dogs. Heather loves words and does not
enjoy math, except when it comes to counting blessings.
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will win a print copy of Grace & Lavender (US only)
(4) winners will receive an ebook copy of Grace
& Lavender (open internationally)
Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below.
Giveaway will begin at midnight March 4, 2019 and last through 11:59
pm March 11, 2019. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the
giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours
for a full list of stops!
Thank you Just Reads for including us! We wish you much success, Heather and hope to see more from you! May your story bless many readers.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comments!
DeleteSounds good can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your review on "Grace & Lavender" by Heather Norman Smith and for being part of the blog tour.
ReplyDeleteI would love the opportunity to read this great sounding book which is on my TBR list.
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