Review & Giveaway: Better To Have Loved by Christy Jackson Nicholas

Better To Have Loved

by Christy Nicholas

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GENRE: Women's Fiction/Romance

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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.

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My Review:

It's a really enjoyable read, a novel rich of good feelings and humor. It's really well written and engaging, once you started it keeps you glued to the pages and it's hard to put it down. This is the first chance I have had to read anything by Christy Nicholas Jackson. It most certainly  will not be my last.

This is the story of Kirsten and Julie. Kirsten is a girl of 80 years, has never had a father, she lives with her mother and grandparents. This seems normal lives but in kindergarten she discovers how fathers are important. As soon as she gets a chance, she goes look for him in around half of Europe. In her research perhaps she finds true love. Julie lives in the '60s, she got pregnant but has to grow her daughter alone. Her life will be really hard.

I really loved the two protagonists and their stories. The author was very good to alternate the two points of view and not to create confusion.  has only made the story much more intriguing.

Better to have loved is one of those books you pick up and read in one sitting. It is amazing and I loved every page. There are some parts very funny and others moving, there is humor, love, friendship, family, solidarity, culture, social movements.

Highly recommended

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EXCERPT:

1967, 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.

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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.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/greendragonauthor  

Homepage: www.greendragonartist.com   

Blog: www.greendragonartist.net

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway