Novel Novel Review Blog Tour version

It's that time again, but this time I'm taking part in a blog tour as well as telling you about a great book. I feel honored and I'm happy to be doing this for Joyce. So, let's get to it. =)

Here's a quick reminder of my rating system

A+--I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. In most cases, I passed it on to my child/teen.

A--I enjoyed this book and I might pass it on to my child/teen.

B--I liked this book, but probably won't pass it on to my child/teen.

C--I thought it was okay, but I won't pass it on to my child/teen.

D--I didn't like this book, and won't allow my child/teen to read it.

F--I hope I never have to go here. =D

I will give reasons for my rating in my review, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you find your book here, don't panic if I rate it below an A. These are my personal preferences and I'm only one small person in a large market. =D

If you'll remember, I also did a review of another book by Joyce, LOYALTY'S WEB, so I was thrilled with the opportunity to read this one as well.

Okay, now here we go.

Illuminations of the Heart by Joyce DiPastena

Rating: A+ I didn't pass it on to my teen (he wasn't interested), but I did pass it on to my mother and sisters who also loved it.

Category: Historical

After the deaths of her husband and brother, Siriol de Calendri is directed by her brother's will to travel to France and live under the guardianship of her brother's friend, Sir Triston de Brielle. Unfortunately, Siri is nearly identical to Triston's late wife, Clothilde, and to make matters worse, her brother's will requested that Triston find a husband for Siri.

Siri wants to put her training in illumination to good use and earn her living in an illuminator's shop, and besides, she has no desire to marry anyone else; she's in love with Triston. But can he get past her resemblance to his first wife and learn to love her for herself?

Using some of the characters introduced in LOYALTY'S WEB, DiPastena paints a tale of sweet romance in twelfth century France. In the classic romance format, the characters lives are entwined and twisted together with difficulties at every turn until the reader isn't sure they'll be unraveled in the end.

It was my pleasure to be drawn in by ILLUMINATIONS OF THE HEART and once I started Siri's journey, I couldn't put it down until I reached the last page . . . and then I still wanted more. While this is an adult title, I believe it's appropriate for teens as well.

As part of the blog tour, if you leave a comment, you'll be entered in a drawing for an autographed copy of ILLUMINATIONS OF THE HEART. You can comment on more than one review (on other blogs) and be entered multiple times.

Here are some blog links you can check out for further information on the contest and the book:

Walnut Springs Press's blog

Joyce's blog

Buy the book at Amazon.com

Write on!