Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Review Tour w/Giveaway: Better To Have Loved by Christy Jackson Nicholas



Better To Have Loved
by Christy Nicholas
GENRE: Women's Fiction/Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Christy Jackson Nicholas will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please visit GoddessFish.com to follow the tour, remember the more you comment better your chances on winning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~


BLURB:

Christy Nicholas will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Based on a true story.

In 1967, Julie was searching for adventure. What she found was herself, alone and pregnant, in a foreign country.

In 1985, Kristen was searching for her father. But did he want to be found?

Follow these two young women in a tale of a 30 year search for true love.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

967, East Grinstead, England

Juggling her large battered suitcase and her portfolio over her back, Julie trudged up the gravel driveway to the huge manor house. Her feet were terribly unhappy with the long trip from the bus stop, and the portfolio kept catching the wind, threatening to make her into a kite’s tail with each gust.

Saint Hill Manor was palatial. Perhaps it was indeed a palace.

She could count at least twenty windows in the façade. How many rooms did it have? Certainly there were dozens of people shuffling in and out of the place. It was like a beehive of activity.

“You! Girl! Have you checked in yet?” A gruff voice with a London accent called out above the din.

Julie turned around to find an older man with a fringe of white hair around his head pointing a clipboard at her.

“I… no, I don’t know where—“

“Over here, quickly now. What’s your name?” He started flipping through the pages, looking up at her when she didn’t immediately supply him with information.

“Jensen. Julie Jensen. From Detroit.” She put down her suitcase and portfolio while he searched for her name. The wind picked up, tossing her thick chestnut-brown curls into her face. With disgust, she pulled them back out of her eyes and repaired the ponytail loosened by travel.

She looked again at the grand house. Would she be in one of the upper rooms? Perhaps with a view across the extensive gardens? She smiled at the idea of waking up to such a view each morning.


“Aha! Found you. You’re down in Hayward’s Heath. Just a half mile down the path there. It used to be servant’s quarters. You’re in Unit C. Next!” He dismissed her and looked to an Indian woman in a bright blue sari.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Review: 5 stars

Am trying to find words to describe this book and how it made me feel. This is the story of Julie, Kirsten and Paul. This truly is unlike any story I have read before. A gentle story spanning decades as told by Julie. Her adventures and her love took me down a gentle flowing river, through her memories and then also through her daughter now a grown woman herself.
Her life trip took us from the States to Europe and back to the states, the ending was as sweet as a summer peach and made me glad to have read the book. Thank you to Goddess Fish for the opportunity to read & review Better to Have Loved!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Christy Nicholas, also known as Green Dragon, has her hands in many crafts, including writing, digital art, beaded jewelry, writing, and photography. In real life, she's a CPA, but having grown up with art all around her (her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother are/were all artists), it sort of infected her, as it were. She loves to draw and to create things. She says it's more of an obsession than a hobby. She likes looking up into the sky and seeing a beautiful sunset, or seeing a fragrant blossom or a dramatic seaside. She takes a picture or creates a piece of jewelry as her way of sharing this serenity, this joy, this beauty with others. Sometimes this sharing requires explanation - and thus she writes. Combine this love of beauty with a bit of financial sense and you get an art business. She does local art and craft shows, as well as sending her art to various science fiction conventions throughout the country and abroad.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~



a Rafflecopter giveaway

16 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for the lovely review!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I enjoyed the excerpt, and thank you for the chance to win :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. What comes first for you--the story or the characters?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I usually come up with a very basic story line - one sentence. Then I think of who will be part of that story line. After I know who is involved, I can flesh out the story a bit more. So I go back and forth, letting each one drive the next step.

      For this novel, of course, since it's based on a true story, I had real personalities and events to draw upon.

      Delete
  5. Thanks for the wonderful tour, I enjoyed all of the reviews and teasers along the way :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautiful review. I loved it and really loved the excerpt.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have to ask: Why the Green Dragon?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I was 12, I read the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. She has dragons that work with humans to defend their world. The green and gold dragons were female. The gold had lots of responsibilities, but the greens had fun :)

      Delete
  8. I enjoyed reading the excerpt. This book sounds like such an interesting and intriguing read. Looking forward to checking out this book.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This sounds like a lovely book. Very intriguing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This book sounds great and I would love to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for the giveaway!!

    Blessings,
    Edye | Http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good Afternoon! Have a terrific day and thank you for the chance to win

    ReplyDelete