Author: Lisa McKendrick

Blog Book Tour | “Brush with Love” by Lisa McKendrick

Posted Sunday, 10 December, 2017 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Acquired Book By: I have been a blog tour hostess with Cedar Fort for the past three years, wherein I took a brief hiatus from hosting before resuming August 2016. I appreciate the diversity of the stories the Indie publisher is publishing per year, not only for fiction and non-fiction but for healthy eats within their Front Table Books (cookbooks). I appreciate their dedication to writing general market, INSPY reads and LDS focused stories across the genres they publish.

I received a complimentary copy of “Brush with Love” direct from the publisher Bonneville Books (an imprint of Cedar Fort Inc.) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I wanted to read this story:

To be honest, the main reason I wanted to read this novel is because I wanted to give the author a second chance – the first time I read one of her novels, I couldn’t get excited about it as much as I had wanted to be excited about it. Even though I read quite a lot of the previous release, there were key issues I encountered moving through the story which I thankfully was hoping had either been polished in this release or were no longer an issue at all. Writers grow through their stories – you can even see the growth a writer undergoes through their career by how they approach telling their stories, which is why I try to remember to keep an open mind about reading a different story by an author I’ve previously found not to my liking.

Aside from this second chance attempt to read this author, I personally liked the premise behind the story but I was a bit surprised within the premise, it was not entirely highlighting how interesting the back-story was on the story itself. From the humble beginnings of Lana being left at an Eastern European orphanage before being adopted by an American family to the fact, part of the story is a reflection of what happens during memory loss and the pains of watching a loved one go through a degenerative disease which seeks to erase their time on Earth.

There is a lot of depth to this novel but I felt the premise and blurb on the back cover might not be as convincing to readers they should take a chance on this story – thereby, missing its heart.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Blog Book Tour | “Brush with Love” by Lisa McKendrickBrush with Love
by Lisa McKendrick
Source: Direct from Publisher

Lana, a talented Ivy League artist, is thrilled for a summer internship program where she'll get to study under an acclaimed artist, but she is soon disappointed to find that she'll be going to Bluegill, Idaho, for six weeks to study under the brilliant but aging artist LeVan Hitchpost.

As she spends more time with him, though (and more specifically with LeVan's grandson, Walt), Lana realises she may have to choose between following her dreams or following her heart.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, New Adult Fiction, Sweet Romance



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1462121250

Also by this author: Letters to my Future Husband

Published by Bonneville Books

on 10th October, 2017

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 257

Published By: Bonneville Books (@BonnevilleBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFort)

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Stories I’ve read by this author:

Letters to my Future Husband by Lisa McKendrickBrush with Love by Lisa McKendrick

Converse via: #SweetRomance & #Contempoary #Romance

About Lisa McKendrick

Lisa McKendrick lives in Lakeland, Florida where she divides her time between writing, carpools, and occasionally folding laundry. The mother of seven children (all accustomed to wearing unmatched socks), Lisa is author of other books for the LDS market, including On a Whim , and thanks to her husband's support, has earned a master's degree in English from BYU. Lisa enjoys hearing from her readers and can be contacted at Utterance.org (linked below via Website).

Read More

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Posted Sunday, 10 December, 2017 by jorielov in 21st Century, Adoption, Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, College & University Years, Coming-Of Age, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Family Life, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Indie Author, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Modern Day, Mormonism, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, New Adult Fiction, Orphans & Guardians, Realistic Fiction, Sisterhood friendships, Sweet Romance

Blog Book Tour | “Letters to my Future Husband” by Lisa McKendrick

Posted Sunday, 1 March, 2015 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Letters to my Future Husband” direct from the publisher Bonneville Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

On what I had hoped to find inside:

I was wrapped up in a hopefulness in seeing letters being shared with the reader in an epistolary style of a novel, where we would be hugged close to where Sophie’s words towards her future love would be sprinkled throughout the narrative; showing where her life took her before she met him. I was even curious if she wrote short notes to him on different sheets of stationeries or typed them on a typewriter, to stick them inside a binder or a journal. Even if she were to grab bits and pieces of memorabilia from her adventures and experiences, and writing down a bit about which ticket stub resonated which memory. I even thought perhaps she might talk about taking photographs of her everyday world and drawing out a piece of a letter related to why that particular picture stirred her heart.

Unfortunately for me, the ‘letters’ did not quite last long enough inside the novel itself but rather were a hopeful wish of mine to be have been found. I was a bit puzzled by the title to be honest, as it took on a different vein of thought from what I originally felt it might have been about. I’m a letter writer, as I have mentioned previously and therefore, I guess I was hoping to find someone who wrote letters with the same kind of passion as I do myself. In this story, I thought perhaps the ‘letters’ were going to be catalyst to show that words writ on paper inside of a letter that goes unmailed are like the prayers we cast heavenward where God enfolds his grace around our conversations.

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

Blog Book Tour | “Letters to my Future Husband” by Lisa McKendrickLetters to my Future Husband
by Lisa McKendrick
Source: Direct from Publisher

At her father's urging, Sophie started writing letters to her future husband when she was a little girl -- though at first they were more like hate mail than love letters. But as she grew older and the boys at school started looking cuter, her letters became something more.

By the time Sophie's in college and travelling through Italy, she's sure she's found the perfect man to give all her letters to. But life and love don't always end up going as planned.

This endearing LDS romance will remind you that sometimes the man of your dreams isn't the person you thought he'd be -- sometimes he's even better.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781462115532

Also by this author: Brush with Love

Published by Bonneville Books

on 28th February 2015

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 240

Published By: Bonneville Books (@BonnevilleBooks),

an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #LettersToMyFutureHusband

About Lisa McKendrick

Lisa McKendrick lives in Lakeland, Florida where she divides her time between writing, carpools, and occasionally folding laundry. The mother of seven children (all accustomed to wearing unmatched socks), Lisa is author of other books for the LDS market, including On a Whim , and thanks to her husband's support, has earned a master's degree in English from BYU. Lisa enjoys hearing from her readers and can be contacted at Utterance.org (linked below via Website).

Read More

Divider

Posted Sunday, 1 March, 2015 by jorielov in 21st Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Contemporary Romance, Dating & Humour Therein, Indie Author, Life of Thirty-Somethings, Modern Day, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Romance Fiction, Singletons & Commitment