Showing posts with label sharon cullen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sharon cullen. Show all posts
Friday, January 9, 2015

Blog Tour: His Saving Grace by Sharon Cullen (Review + Giveaway)


I'm so pleased to welcome Sharon Cullen and her book, His Saving Grace, to Love Saves the World. I'm one of the final stops in this blog tour, but, if you'd like to track back and read more information about this wonderful book, click here to visit Sharon's other stops.

For this blog tour, Loveswept is hosting a Tour-Wide Giveaway for a $25 eGift Card of Winner's Choice Bookseller and Loveswept Mug & Tote. (Enter via Rafflecopter below.)

* * *

About the book:

Blurb:

Perfect for fans of Mary Balogh, Sharon Cullen’s captivating novel tells the deeply emotional tale of two devoted lovers facing the ravages of war.

For months now, Lady Grace Ashworth has mourned the death of her beloved husband -- until the day a very-much-alive Michael arrives at her front door. It’s nothing less than a miracle. However, Grace soon realizes that this Michael isn’t the same man who left for the Crimean War. She’s stunned to learn that he has suffered a devastating head injury. Putting all her own desires aside, Grace resolves to devote herself to Michael’s recovery and to love him no matter what troubles may come.

Convinced that his wife is wasting her time on a broken man, Michael attempts to shield Grace from a life of inconvenience by driving her away. But Grace will have none of that. Despite every obstacle Michael throws in her path, she stubbornly soldiers on, fighting not only for their marriage but for the love they once shared. In the end, will her determination alone be enough to save Michael from the darkness that threatens to consume him?

To read more about the book, visit Goodreads.



Buy Links:


Amazon
B&N
iTunes
Kobo

* * *

My Review:

Grace and Michael have had a fairy-tale story with a fairy-tale ending, except that Michael goes off to war shortly after their marriage and has vanished and is presumed dead by everyone. After nearly a year, Michael returns home to Grace. Michael's return is a miracle, and both of them should have celebrated their happy reunion, but Michael isn't the same man anymore -- the new Michael is a mystery to Grace: Who is Tarik? How did Michael learn Russian? Why does he keep pushing her away and keeping her at a distance?

Sharon Cullen's His Saving Grace takes a look at what happens to a marriage when things don't go as planned. Marriage has become a terrible battlefield for Michael and Grace: Michael has shored up his defences and fortified the walls to his heart, but Grace is determined to make things work. I have to admire Grace for her steadfast devotion to Michael and for her faith in their love. I can understand Michael's need to withdraw -- he knows he has changed and his flaws are greater now and he feels he doesn't deserve what Grace is offering him.

For so long, all he'd thought about was coming home to his Gracie. He'd just known that if he could be with her, everything would be fine. That thought kept him company through horrendous pain, nights when he was positive he wouldn't see the sun again and had so many doubts that he couldn't count them.
- loc 711

Cullen's use of flashbacks, showing us of the couple's happier times served to make their current challenge even more heartbreaking -- and the need to make things right more meaningful and urgent. There is no doubt that Grace and Michael love each other -- the question that faces them now is how do they live with the changes that has happened in their lives. This story is very emotional and honest about the struggles that any married couple face -- it's also very candid about the darkness that threatens to engulf us when we are at our most vulnerable.

"What do you need me to do?"

He wanted to hug her. Just hug her. Take her in his arms and feel her body next to his. They used to hug all the time. It had been one of the greatest joys of his life to hold his wife. He refrained. The old Michael would have done that, but the new Michael was still feeling his way and unsure of everything around him.
- loc 1021

His Saving Grace celebrates love's power to overcome any and all difficulty. It's inspiring to see Michael and Grace weather through their problems and see them work towards a new happily-ever-after for themselves.

Disclosure: I received this review copy for this blog tour. Thank you to Sharon Cullen and Loveswept for the opportunity. Yes, this is an honest review.

* * *

About the author:

Sharon Cullen is the author of the historical romances The Notorious Lady Anne, Loving the Earl, and Pleasing the Pirate, as well as many novels of romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. If you’d like to find out more about the author and her books, you can visit her blog or her website. She is addicted to social networking so you can find her on Facebook and Twitter. Friend her! Like her! Follow her! She’d love to hang out with you and talk about her passion: books.

Author Links:








* * *

Giveaway!

Loveswept is hosting a Tour-Wide Giveaway for a $25 eGift Card of Winner's Choice Bookseller and Loveswept Mug & Tote. To visit Sharon's other stops, click here
.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Monday, November 18, 2013

Blog Tour: Loving the Earl by Sharon Cullen (Review + Giveaway)


Welcome to my stop on Sharon Cullen's blog tour for her latest book, Loving the Earl!

Loveswept is hosting a TOUR-WIDE Rafflecopter Giveaway for a Loveswept Tote or Loveswept Mug. To visit Sharon's other stops, click here.

* * *

About the book:

Blurb:

In Sharon Cullen’s sizzling novel of scandal and seduction, a headstrong beauty is pursued across Europe by London’s most notorious rake.

Having vowed never to wed again, widowed viscountess Claire Hartford is about to do the unthinkable: travel unaccompanied across the continent in search of a lover. Her adventure begins sooner than expected, when she meets a magnificent cloaked stranger on her ship’s gangplank. He is Lord Blythe, a man whispered about in London’s ballrooms and drawing rooms, a scandalous rogue hell-bent on seduction.

Nathan Ferguson curses the day he agreed to look out for his best friend’s wayward sister. The charismatic earl is traveling to Paris to uncover the truth behind his father’s death, but his desire for Claire threatens to be his undoing. From France to Italy, on a journey of passionate discovery and danger, Nathan is honor-bound to protect her --from himself most of all. What can he offer Claire? Only love, as he sets out to prove to the woman of his dreams that she belongs to him -- body, heart, and soul.

Buy Links:

* * *

My Review:

From the first chapter of the novel, Sharon Cullen makes clear what her novel is about: it is a classic road-trip romcom, complete with an unlikely travel pairing, their perilous adventures and emotional revelations.

Claire and Nathan have different reasons for going to the Continent: she's there to escape from the autocracy of her brothers and of men, in general. And Nathan's following clues from a letter, hinting at a deeper reason for his father's death.

I was initially worried about Claire's very reckless and very rebellious attitude: the rash choices she is making seem to be a direct result of going against her brother's guidance and advice. Take her trip, for example, she was scheduled to travel a few days later with a fixed itinerary and an appropriate travel companion. (All arranged and approved by her brother.) Claire, however, decides to take matters into her own hands and books passage on a different ship, traveling on a different date and bringing only a maid with her.

Of course Claire's actions result in her losing important letters and documents and, also, in her losing her maid. But Claire remains determined and her intrepid spirit is not dampened by the initial pitfall (or the pitfalls that follow after the first one).

It becomes an ironic thing for Claire, when she realizes she is, once again, at the mercy of a man: Nathan Ferguson, her brother's friend, who is traveling on the same ship as her -- and who happens to be traveling in the same direction as Claire. It's interesting to see both sides of the same situation: Nathan thinks Claire needs help and Claire thinks she is managing well on her own -- despite not having any money, a companion or any sort of protection. But Claire doesn't see it that way and keeps insisting that she can manage things on her own, proving so when she single-handedly confronted a highwayman.

Why is Claire so determined to break away from her brothers? Why is she rebelling against (good/common) sense? Why is Claire so insistent in doing things her way?

I slowly started understanding Claire as her journey with Nathan continued: she reveals very gradually the abuse she silently suffered when she was married to "the perfect guy" and how very fragile her current sense of self is because of her marriage. Nathan realizes the same thing as well -- and, instead of being exasperated with Claire, he comes to admire (and love) this very brave, very resilient woman.

Claire emerged from her bath and Nathan's body clutched in need. Her wet hair hung well past her shoulders, a dark amber rather than the bright red when it was dry. She shot him a cautious look and he tensed. She was up to something. He hadn't known her long but forced circumstances had taught him well. There was a calculated gleam in her sea green eyes.
- loc 1516

Nathan isn't exactly a knight in shining armor, either. His armor has been quite tarnished because he owns a gambling den and is known to live a very dissolute life. At the start of the story, Nathan displays that he isn't the most reliable person in the world, forgetting details of his friend's request, etc. But, as he journeys through Europe with Claire, he comes to discover that he is capable of some goodness and decency -- that he isn't like his father, who ignored his family when he was alive, and, when he died, left them penniless.

The change these two characters undergo is very dramatic. In the beginning, Claire doesn't trust Nathan and lies about everything. But Nathan proves his sincerity and Claire allows herself to open up to him. In doing so, she's able to give voice to the silence that threatened to consume her. Nathan's initial attraction to Claire was grounded on the physical, very shallow aspect of Claire's being -- but, the more he got to know Claire, the deeper his admiration for her became. By the end of Cullen's Loving the Earl, more discoveries are made -- not just of themselves and of each other, but of the circumstances of Nathan's father's death.

This is the first time I'm reading Sharon Cullen and I discovered that her first historical romance novel, The Notorious Lady Anne, features Claire's brother Nicholas. There's a part in Loving the Earl that makes me wonder if it was mentioned in the previous book -- when I read it, I felt I missed the significance of it in this story (apologies for being vague -- it's a bit of a spoiler).

Despite my slight confusion with that part, I was satisfied with how Sharon Cullen resolved the story. She's a very clear story-teller and has crafted very believable, very sympathetic (though slightly irritating = early chapters Claire) characters.

Favorite insight in the novel: Birth was a gamble, a person's lot in life, the hand they were dealt. Very few, if any, rose above it. He and Claire had been lucky with the hands they'd been dealt. Those people in that town hadn't been and they were angry for it.
- loc 2375

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the blog tour organizer for review purposes. Many thanks to Sharon Cullen, Tasty Book Tours and LoveSwept for the opportunity. Yes, this is an honest review.

* * *

About the author:

Sharon is also the author of romantic suspense, paranormal romance and contemporary romance. The Notorious Lady Anne is Sharon Cullen’s first historical and her debut novel with Loveswept.

If you’d like to find out more about Sharon and her books, you can visit her at her blog or her website. She’s addicted to social networking so you can find her on Facebook and Twitter. Friend her! Like her! Follow her! She’d love to hang out with you and talk about her passion -- books.

Connect with Sharon: Facebook | Twitter | Website








* * *


Loveswept is hosting a TOUR-WIDE Rafflecopter Giveaway for a Loveswept Tote or Loveswept Mug. To visit Sharon's other stops, click here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...