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Guest Post and Review of Joyfully Yours by Amy Lamont

joyfullyyours

 

Giveaway:

One $25 Amazon giftcard plus gift bag that includes some book swag and some other holiday goodies.  Rafflecopter and tour schedule links are at the bottom of the post.  Good luck!

Synopsis:

 

A musician and a priest walk into a grocery store—singer Faith Leary thinks this is a better opening for an off-color joke than a recipe for romance, until she finds herself ogling Father Michael in the checkout line the day before Thanksgiving.

 

When Father Michael first steps in to bail Faith out of her financial jam, Faith thinks she’s being picked up at the grocery store. Right up until she catches sight of the black shirt and tab collar. Since not much in her life is going her way lately, it doesn’t come as much of a shock when Michael turns up at her mother’s Thanksgiving dinner. What does come as a surprise is the attraction that springs up between them. If only he weren’t a priest, he would be perfect for her.

 

Faith’s sister finds Father Michael attractive, too, and she’s making no bones about it. Scenes from the Thorn Birds flitting through her head, it comes as a relief to Faith to find out Michael is not exactly what he seems. It’s good news until she realizes her sister is a far better match for him than her screw-up self could ever be. But if that’s true, why does Michael insist on seeing only the good in Faith, no matter how often she falls short of her too perfect sister?

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18713149-joyfully-yours?from_search=true

 

Buy Link:

 

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Joyfully-Yours-Amy-Lamont-ebook/dp/B00GCWLZX6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1383780545&sr=1-1&keywords=joyfully+yours+amy+lamont

 

Church Music

 

I’m so grateful to Harlie for having me here to chat about my debut novella, Joyfully Yours.

 

One of my favorite scenes in Joyfully Yours is when my hero, Michael, asks the heroine, Faith, to fill in for the music director at his church. He wants her to sing at mass one evening.

 

Faith is a musician who loves all kinds of music. But nowhere on her long list of favorites is there room for “church music.” She struggles to find a way to refuse gracefully.

 

Michael loves Faith’s very obvious distaste for his church music. Early on they share they have a love of many of the same bands, much to Faith’s surprise. But obviously she doesn’t think Michael’s personal taste in music is a reflection of what she’ll be asked to play for his church service.

 

She couldn’t be more wrong. Michael introduced a lot of new music to his congregation in order to attract a younger crowd. It works, and Faith is bowled over by the response she gets playing modern music in church.

 

I think this scene really shows a lot of what the book is about. While it’s mostly a fun, sweet holiday romance, we do see Faith questioning whether she’s worthy of a relationship with Michael. And I think we get to see in this scene, exactly how perfect they are for each other.

 

I hope you enjoyed getting a little glimpse into why Faith and Michael are perfect for each other.

Harlie here:  I’m an Episcopalian just like Michael and at my old church, we had a “modern” service with modern music and a band.  It was a huge hit and we had all different religions that would come to it.  I can totally relate to that scene in the book.  🙂

Review:

Where do I start?  Love, loved this book.  Put me in the spirit and I could relate to Michael on so many levels.  When I was single and living in Dallas, I was extremely active in my own church.  I was in choir, taught 1st and 2nd grade Sunday School and played church league coed volleyball.  Yes, I went to church.  Stop laughing.  I was married in a church, too.  In fact, one of my cousins, who is a minister by profession, married us.  He couldn’t bless the union because he wasn’t an Episcopalian priest but it made our day that much more special.

Okay, moving on to the review.  Sorry got off topic…As most people DON’T know about me, I like sweet romance books.  While Joyfully Yours is sweet it does a have moment or three of Faith imagining what it would be like to be with Michael.  Of course, the Thorn Birds reference got to me.  🙂  What endeared me the most about Faith and Michael was Michael’s steadfast faith in Faith herself.  He kept encouraging Faith.  Unfortunately, when you have a gay brother (his is hilarious), a perfect sister and a meddling mother, Faith always considered herself the family screw up.

Michael never saw that.  He saw her as a compassionate, talented woman that hadn’t tapped her full potential.  Don’t get me wrong, he’s not perfect.  Just when Faith thought that Michael, her sister has to throw the curve ball.  The conversation that Faith had with her mother at her apartment was unexpected and eye opening.  I never saw that coming but it did explain a lot of things to me.

Don’t worry if you think that this is Christian/Inspirational book.  Its not that all.  Its a story about a man and a woman who fall in love with each other despite some preconceived notions about the other.  And yes, Episcopalian priests can marry.  They encourage it!  Our priest in Dallas was AWESOME!  We still miss him, too.

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5harlies

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Author Bio:

 

Amy Lamont writes contemporary and New Adult romance about quirky heroines and hunky heroes. Over the years she’s had some jobs she loved (working as a program coordinator for a non-profit animal rescue), some jobs she liked (freelance writing), and some jobs she hated (her experience as a waitress has turned her into the excellent tipper she is today). But nothing gives her greater joy than writing romances that pack an emotional punch and come with a guaranteed happily ever after.

Amy lives in New England with her husband, twin daughters, and two rescue mutts. She loves chatting with readers. To get in touch, visit her at www.amylamont.com.

 

Contact Links:

 

Website: http://amylamont.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmyLamontAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Amy_Lamont
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