Welcome to my tour stop! Read my review and enter the giveaway below...
Summertime Lilies
(Oak Street Series #1)
By LM Karen
Adult Contemporary Romance, Christian
Paperback & ebook, 196 Pages
January 30, 2021
Summary
A sweet and sentimental contemporary romance with a uniquely witty voice.
There are three things you should know about Brittany Masters:
She’s a single mom and a nurse manager at the local cancer clinic
She has big plans for a quiet summer
She’s convinced that fudge pops are the answer to almost all of life’s most important questions
A new neighbor, Matt, making friends with her son while simultaneously pursuing her blow plans for a predictable summer right out of the water. A chance meeting at the cancer clinic where she works renews a connection with an old friend and gives her the perspective she’s been missing. From quiet nights on her front porch swing in Matt’s company to long talks in the clinic with her old/new friend, Brittany’s summer is anything but routine.
My Review
SUMMERTIME LILIES is a story about a single mom and the guy who moves next door and befriends her and her son. It's about finding love in unexpected places and learning to trust someone else with your happiness. Great characters and a sweet romance is sure to delight fans of clean romance as well as Christian romance.
I loved Brittany and her son from the start! She is a woman who has had to depend on herself to support her little family, except for her parents who help out quite a bit. She's good at what she does as a managing nurse and as a mom, but her life is real and genuine. There were so many things I could relate to as a mom and everything felt realistic. I also really liked that this romance focused on a single mom as one of the main characters. There aren't as many of these stories out there as there should be. I also really liked Matt. He seems a bit too good to be true, but he is a genuinely good guy. They were both surprised to find themselves attracted to each other since they're next door neighbors. They also both have some baggage they had to work through.
I really loved the friendship and romance aspect of this story. Obviously the romance is why I read these types of books, but this was a slowly building and I loved how Matt slowly woos Brittany. It was sweet, very romantic and also showed the good heart he had. I also liked the family dynamics in this story. They're varied and all added an additional depth to the story. I wouldn't actually call this Christian. It is mentioned that the characters attend church and they prayers and such are referenced, but there isn't a religious theme or any preaching. It would make a good read for the clean romance general market.
I didn't have a lot of complaints with the actual story. There were things that could have been developed more or a resolution that could have lasted a bit longer with more depth, but didn't necessarily affect my enjoyment of the story. The only things that I really have to complain about were technical. There were a lot of mixed up tenses, grammatical errors, and a few misspellings. However, these might have been fixed in the final manuscript (if not, it definitely needed more editing to fix all those issues).
In the end, was it what I wished for? This was a pretty quick and light read, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. It made me smile and pulled on my heart. I'll definitely check out future releases from this author.
Content: A brief reference to date drug rape (not descriptive in any way). Clean.
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Celebrate Lit, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
LM Karen writes contemporary Christian fiction romance. As a longtime lover of words, she can generally be found behind her laptop or with a book in her hand. A graduate of Toccoa Falls College, her heart is in the mountains. She eventually made use of the voices in her head by putting them on the page.
More from LM Karen
I am not artistic. I’m not someone who can look at a space, or an item and see it’s potential. If you give me white space, I will have no idea what to fill it with. Even if I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like, there is no way I could make it look like the picture in my head. My stick figures have always been lop-sided.
What I am pretty good at is making up stories in my head. At restaurants I enjoy observing other customers and giving them stories. In the grocery store I consider what a post-apocalyptic shopping experience might look like. On my drive home I might imagine the lives of the occupants in any given house I pass.
It became a hobby when I slowly began to write these stories down. If I considered a particularly interesting character the natural progression was to wonder what their story was. What started as a hobby quickly evolved into an obsession. Often times I consider myself a citizen of the world in my head more than reality (which has it’s pros and cons). I spent a lot of time quietly working on my stories, trying to become a better writer and honing my craft.
As an avid reader from a young age, I can’t count the characters that have influenced my life and the stories that have touched my heart. My deepest hope is to use my predilection for make believe to touch someone else’s life. That maybe a young girl would be positively influenced by one of my characters.
Tour Schedule
Vicky Sluiter, June 2
The Write Escape, June 3
She Lives To Read, June 4
Locks, Hooks and Books, June 4
Inklings and notions, June 5
The Christian Fiction Girl, June 6
Batya’s Bits, June 6
Texas Book-aholic, June 7
For Him and My Family, June 8
Genesis 5020, June 8
deb’s Book Review, June 10
The Meanderings of a Bookworm, June 10
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 11
Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, June 12
Kayem Reads, June 12
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, June 13
Wishful Endings, June 14
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, June 14
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 15
Tour-Wide Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, L.M. is giving away the grand prize package of a signed paperback copy of the book and $25 Amazon Gift Card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
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