(First, sorry to be missing here and around. Dealing with alot of storms and flooding and the like. We are fine but power and internet has been off and on)
SO INTO YOU by Sandra Hill was absolutely the best 'pick me up' mood read for me! This book so captivated me from page one til the very end where I ended in wanting to read anything and everything of hers! I really enjoy contemporary romances that have a strong romance, meaning the emotional and sexual tension that grows as their romance grows. This book so perfectly had it! I was on the edge of my seat at times, teary eyed and other times laughing right out loud!
Even though I haven't read the
JINX's books of Sandra Hill's (I'll be changing that soon!), this book so stands on its own. SO INTO YOU is the first in the Bayou Angel series and they connect too with the Jinx Series (
WILD JINX,
PEARL JINX and
PINK JINX), which are centered around an elderly but young at heart, Louise Rivard, known as Tante Lulu.
Tante Lulu is a 93 year old Traiteur and folk healer. Grace O'Brien, an apprentice to Tante Lulu is tagging along with together to learn as well about folk healing. Set 4 years in Louisiana after the Katrina Hurricane and devastation of the families and homes there, Tante Lulu pairs up with another foundation that helping wishes become true. Together they call it Louisiana Hope Foundation consisting of Starr's Hope and St. Jude's Angels. As Tante Lulu has her faith in St. Jude, she's determined to keep families together, specifically the family that lost both parents over time and a young 19 year old taking care of keeping 3 other siblings and her together and out of Child Protective Services reach. Bringing together too her nephew and family of the LeDeux's, Tante Lulu brings in Angel Sabato who's a half brother of Tee-John (John LeDeux's) wife (WILD JINX). As Tante Lulu and history of her matchmaking adventures in her previous books, she's at it again, this time bringing Angel back to help this family in building a home and fund-raising to keep the family together. This also brings Angel back with Grace to work together. Angel is determined for Grace to see beyond their friendship and Tante Lulu is there to help!
As times I cried when I felt so much for Grace's past and all the healing she's needs to do, I felt like I was going through it with her as I read this book. This author Sandra Hill writes in a way that will have you feeling the empathy, sensitivity and reactions as the characters do. Without giving away her past and secrets, I could so understand and sense the hesitancy that Grace felt to make big steps in her life. As she make changes through her life from being a nun, to a poker player and now learning about folk healing, her helping this family in need brought out so much of her heart in how well she relates to others and children. Angel has his own heart to heal about Grace's past rejection and making decisions about setting down to find his own home and where his heart belongs, as his racing away from rejection doesn't ease the pain. Tante Lulu is there with it all! I so much laughed that I had to elbow my hubby 'read this' 'read that' and he did with delight! Other times I was teary eyed and looked up to him and he knows that even tho these characters may not be real life ones, there is still so much true in them about our own growing in our life that never ends both personally and in our relationship with our significant other. Too, it so brings out how we should not forget the devastation of what Katrina did to Louisiana and surrounding areas and states. The need there still continues today. I not only fell in love with Angel (gosh his hot and heaven!) and Grace, but I absolutely adored Tante Lulu! I never had anyone in my life like her but I had parts of her in my life with others in my extended family and friends. Everyone who reads this book will find parts of this book or the story as a whole, reflecting in their own life but even more, laughing, which is just wonderful! I so tried to do a 'professional' review of this but the best words that came were from my heart. There's no other words more I can say but read SO INTO YOU by Sandra Hill! If you haven't read Sandra Hill yet, you can start here or with the beginning of her various series listed at her
SITE. Since this is my first contemporary of hers and she has all that I love from a contemporary romance, I'll be diving in from the beginning with
THE LOVE POTION. Don't hesitate with her Viking historicals which I enjoyed a few that I read so far and looking forward to more of
VIKING HEAT is coming 9/1/2009.
To celebrate again this release, I have another SO INTO YOU to give away! Just post away anything related to Sandra Hill's books you read or other contemporary's that you read that you found too gave ALL the great tension of emotional, physical, sexual and romantic in the books. Post away til Sunday the 16th and I'll announce a winner on Monday the 17th of August. Don't miss the
video on Sandra Hill's site. It has Tante Lulu!
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