HF Tours Virtual Tour Review and Giveaway: Romancing Olive by Holly Bush

Title: Romancing Olive
Author: Holly Bush
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Book Baby
Publish Date: November 1, 2011
Source: HF Virtual Tours

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a historical fiction fan.
• You're a romance fan.
• You like character-driven stories.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "In 1891, spinster librarian, Olive Wilkins, is shocked to learn of her brother’s violent death at a saloon gaming table and her sister-in-law’s subsequent murder, traveling far from her staid life to rescue her niece and nephew, now orphans. She arrives to find the circumstances of her brother’s life deplorable and her long held beliefs of family and tradition, shaken.

Accustomed to the sophistication of Philadelphia, Olive arrives in Spencer, Ohio, a rough and tumble world she is not familiar with, facing two traumatized children. Her niece and nephew, Mary and John, have been living with a neighboring farmer, widower Jacob Butler, the father of three young children of his own and a man still in pain from the recent loss of his wife.

Real danger threatens Olive and Mary and John while Jacob and his own brood battle the day-to-day struggles for survival. Will Olive and Jacob find the strength to fight their battles alone or together? Will love conquer the bitterness of loss and broken dreams?"

My Two Cents:

"Romancing Olive" is a historical fiction story that takes place in the late 1800s in the middle of America (Ohio specifically) that still was not really settled at that time. The story also has a really good dose of romance that I absolutely loved. I haven't read a lot of books set in this time period and I loved being able to explore it through this book.

I loved the characters in this book, especially the main characters, Olive and Jacob. This book is very much a character driven novel. Olive has no idea what sort of situation she's walking into when she goes to claim her niece and nephew after her brother's untimely death. She fully intends to take Mary and John back to her sophisticated city of Philadelphia where Olive believes that she will be able to give them a better life but fate has other plans. Olive is such a great character. For her time, she's very brave wanting to go out to Ohio and with so many of the things that she tries to do for Mary and John.

I also loved the romance in the book. I was really happy with the way that it ended. It's one of those endings that just makes you smile (who doesn't like a good and sweet happy ending?). It's definitely not love at first sight for Olive and Jacob. Jacob is still reeling from the death of his young wife. He's struggling to take care of his kids and he's too proud to admit that he needs help and that he might just be falling for Olive. There's a lot of twists and turns and complications and I loved following these characters through it all.

Overall: Historical fiction lovers will love this character driven novel.

Giveaway:

One lucky winner will win an ebook copy of "Romancing Olive" (International giveaway)!






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Don't Forget to Follow the Rest of the Tour:

Monday, February 18
Review at nomadreader (Romancing Olive)
Giveaway at History Undressed
Tuesday, February 19
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee (Romancing Olive)
Wednesday, February 20
Review & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair (Romancing Olive)
Thursday, February 21
Review at Flashlight Commentary (Reconstructing Jackson)
Friday, February 22
Review at Adventures of an Intrepid Reader (Reconstructing Jackson)
Giveaway at A Writer’s Life: Working with the Muse
Monday, February 25
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time (Romancing Olive)
Review & Giveaway at The Life and Times of a Book Addict (Romancing Olive)
Tuesday, February 26
Giveaway at The Maiden’s Court
Wednesday, February 27
Review at The Musings of a Book Junkie (Reconstructing Jackson)
Thursday, February 28
Review at Book Drunkard (Reconstructing Jackson)
Friday, March 1
Interview at Tribute Books
Monday, March 4
Review & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books (Romancing Olive)
Tuesday, March 5
Review at Raging Bibliomania (Reconstructing Jackson)
Review at Griperang’s Bookmarks (Romancing Olive)
Wednesday, March 6
Giveaway at Layered Pages
Thursday, March 7
Review & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books (Reconstructing Jackson)
Friday, March 8
Review at Raging Bibliomania (Romancing Olive)
Review at The Novel Life (Romancing Olive)
Monday, March 11
Review at Griperang’s Bookmarks (Reconstructing Jackson)
Review at Books in the Burbs (Romancing Olive)
Interview & Giveaway at The Novel Life (Romancing Olive)
Tuesday, March 12
Review at Books in the Burbs (Reconstructing Jackson)