It is my great pleasure to be part of the blog tour for Kiltie Jackson’s An Artisan Lovestyle today. Many thanks to the author and Rachel’s Random Resources for asking me to take part.
An Artisan Lovestyle
Are you ‘living’ your life or just living your life?
Elsa Clairmont is widowed barely five years after marrying her childhood sweetheart. She has struggled to come to terms with the loss and, six years later, has almost ceased to live herself. She does just enough to get by.
Danny Delaney is the ultimate ‘Mr Nice Guy’. He’s kind, caring and sweet. A talented artist in his teens, his abusive mother ruined his career in art and he turned his back on his exceptional gift. Now, he does just enough to get by.
On New Year’s Eve, both Danny and Elsa die in unrelated accidents.
Thanks to some poker playing shenanigans, Elsa’s husband Harry, and Danny’s old Art teacher, William, manage to orchestrate a deal with Death that allows Danny and Elsa to live for one more year on the condition they both agree
to complete three tasks.
They have until the last chime of Big Ben on the 31st December to fulfil their quests.
If they succeed, they stay in the world of the living.
If they should fail however…
‘An Artisan Lovestyle’ is a story of personal growth and self-discovery as two people find themselves forced to make overdue changes in their lives, changes in other people’s lives, and all with the added challenge of
finding true love before their time runs out.
Will they do it?
Can they do it?
After all, it’s a matter of Life or Death…
My Review
This is the second book I have read and reviewed written by Kiltie Jackson. The first in the series called A Rock n Roll Lovestyle was a highly enjoyable debut novel but I have to say that An Artisan Lovestyle topped it for me.
As it says in the blurb, Elsa and Danny die suddenly in unexpected and unrelated incidents. However, Elsa’s late husband Harry and Danny’s childhood art teacher, William, strike up a deal with Death that might mean they can actually carry on living. In order to do this, they both have a set of three tasks to pass.
Now I know that this kind of supernatural plot doesn’t appeal to everyone, and I would usually run a mile when approached with this type of book. I only gave this one a chance because I had enjoyed Ms. Kilties first book, and it just goes to show that you should expand your genres whenever possible because I was utterly compelled by this story.
As well as some familiar characters from A Rock n Roll Lovestyle, we meet Danny and Elsa, the main characters in the book. They are both what you would describe as ‘good eggs’…not in a sickly, vomit inducing way but just good people, the type you would love to have as a best friend, warm, honest, unselfish and humble. In fact, it is the depth of character of these two personalities that make the book so utterly gripping because you care so deeply about what happens to them.
Kiltie also produces the sort of character you love to hate with equal talent and there are some truly funny moments too, which keeps the plot lighthearted and endearing.
The book reminded me of the Christmas film ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ in some ways and it certainly provoked some deep thinking from me. Sometimes it takes a book about dying to appreciate the privilege of living and it certainly isn’t ‘preachy’, dark or too moralistic.
A unique, heartwarming story with lovable characters and a thought-provoking plot. As the synopsis says ‘Are you living your life or just living your life?’
Thank you for my copy of the book which I have reviewed honestly.
My review of A RocknRoll Lovestyle can be read here
AUTHOR BIO
Kiltie grew up in Glasgow in Scotland,
This is a very unique city with a very unique way of looking at life.
When she was old enough to do so, she moved to London and then,
after several years of obtaining interesting experiences -which are
finding their way into her writing – she moved up to the Midlands.
Kiltie currently lives in Staffordshire with five cats and one grumpy husband.
Her little home is known as Moggy Towers, even though despite having
plenty of moggies, there are no towers!
The cats kindly allow her and Mr Mogs to share their house on the
condition they keep paying the mortgage!
She loves reading, watching movies, and visiting old castles.
She really dislikes going to the gym!
Her biggest desire is that one day she can give up the day job
and write her stories for a living.
Kiltie’s debut novel, ‘A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle’, was released in September 2017 and won
a “Chill With A Book – Reader Award” in December 2017.
She first began writing her debut novel eleven years before it was released but shelved
it as she didn’t think it was very good.
In November 2016 when, having read more on a best-selling author who had begun
her own career as a self-published author, it inspires her to revisit the unfinished
manuscript and finally finish what she had started.
Since beginning to write again, the ideas have not stopped flowing.
‘An Artisan Lovestyle’ is the second book in the Lovestyle Series.
Work is due to begin on book three (not yet titled but also part of the Lovestyle Series)
in the Summer of 2018.
She currently has a further ten plots and ideas stored in her file (it’s costing a
fortune in USB drives as each story has its own memory stick!) and
the ideas still keep on coming.
Kiltie now lives her life around the following three quotes:
“I love having weird dreams, they’re great fodder for book plots!”
“Why wait for your ship to come in when you can swim out to meet it?”
“Old enough to know better, young enough not to care!”
Website www.kiltiejackson.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/kiltiejackson
Twitter – https://twitter.com/KiltieJackson
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