16 July 2018

Romance & Watermelons | Loving Grace by April Smith

Welcome to the Loving Grace by April Smith blog & review tour plus giveaway, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Grace Summer lands herself in a melon load of trouble when she becomes torn between the boy of her dreams and the boy almost next door.

As the newly crowned Watermelon Queen, she is thrust into the spotlight, meets the dreamy Warren Hartley, and continues trying to get over an accident that rocked her world. Mix in working with Beau Baron who Grace happens to fight with just about as much as breathing and the metaphorical sparks fly.

Like most things in life, Grace must learn to take the good with the bad. While the good is the handsome and fun Warren Hartley, the bad is Beau Baron—or at least being around his annoying and rude self way more than she would like. For Beau, Grace is nothing more than aggravating and an irritating reminder from the night of the accident.

Tensions soar as Grace and Beau fight to love themselves and maybe, just maybe, each other.

Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: March 20, 2018

MY REVIEW

A sweet YA contemporary story with a little bit of romance and a whole lot of watermelon, Loving Grace by April Smith is a delightful summer-y read. 

When Grace Summer becomes the Watermelon Queen, the readers get a peek behind the scenes of the watermelon industry. With traveling and promoting, plus marketing a new product, Grace’s role is one to take seriously. Her passion for the industry is endearing, and it’s fun to follow her summer experience with the Barons, her sponsors and friends. 

I do wish the character and relationship development had been a little more fleshed out within the story. Grace deals with a personal tragedy and a love triangle, which naturally stir up a host of emotions, and as she processes everything, there seem to be jumps in emotion rather than seamless, authentic growth. To me, this felt disjointed and I would have appreciated seeing more of the in-between aspects. 

Still, Loving Grace is a cute, uplifting story of friendship, faith, and watermelons. It could very well please a contemporary-loving reader, so if you’re looking for a fun way to pass an afternoon or two, check it out. 

★★★

Thanks to JustRead Tours, I received a complimentary copy of Loving Grace and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

April Smith grew up spending summers working on her best friend’s family watermelon farm and she was one of those watermelon queens she writes about. She has her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in the Art of Teaching.


GIVEAWAY

Ambassador International is giving away:

(1) JustRead Summer Fun Book Box, which features Loving Grace as well as at least 4 quality items which complement the story. Find out more here.


Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight July 16, 2018 and last through 11:59pm July 23, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week 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.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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4 comments:

  1. thanks so much, Hallie! :)

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  2. I'd love for you to share your review on Book Club Tuesday at Colletta's Kitchen Sink:

    www.collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com

    Colletta

    ReplyDelete
  3. A meaningful and light read!!

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  4. Thanks for sharing your honest review!

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