A Love To Come Home To: Blog Tour and Giveaway!

I am so excited to announce the release of the third book in Alicia G. Ruggieri's 

 A Time of Grace Trilogy:

A Love To Come Home To

July 22, 2016 in softcover and on Kindle

Purchase: http://bit.ly/1XVezoM

Please read to the end of the post to enter a wonderful giveaway! 

Hardened Ben Picoletti thought he’d turned his back on Depression-era Rhode Island years ago. Nothing remains there for him, except for haunting memories of an abusive childhood. Yet when a criminal accusation shatters his ambitions, Ben has nowhere to flee but back to his stepfather’s home.

There, he finds that redemption yet waits for him… but the sacrifice required to attain it may exceed the limits of his family’s hearts.

Meanwhile, his musical sister Grace continues her studies in New York. She longs to hear a word of affection from her high-school beau… yet only Paulie’s silence greets her. Grace must decide whether she wants to live in the past or move into an unknown future with unexpected love.

Lyrical and sensitive to the aching heart, A Love to Come Home To affirms that God delights in being a stronghold in times of trouble; that He renews His mercy every morning; and that He will work every bitter thing together for the good of His 
children.

My Review of A Love To Come Home To:

This book . . . so, so beautiful. It just captivated me. It brought me back in time, it brought me to tears, it brought me to the cross. The first two books led up to this one so perfectly, and A Love To Come Home To was such a fragrant offering to complete the trilogy.

I love Alicia’s writing. I love her style which is not overtly feminine or frilly, but is also not wooden or stiff. I love the way that she develops her characters, getting inside their mind for a glimpse of what and why they are thinking and doing what they think and do—it adds a depth and a realness to her writing.

I love the character of Ben. I love the way that one can relate to his struggles and fears and sorrows. I love his sensitivity that shyly emerges throughout the story and then blossoms into spiritual life at the end of the book. His character repels the reader and then draws them in at the same time.  And Alicia develops his story so well throughout the book and makes him such a believable character—rough around the edges, but loveable at the same time!

Grace’s story and her romance with Paulie is also beautifully played out throughout this book. The theme of surrender is one which I love and Alicia captures that wonderfully, both in Paulie’s and Grace’s actions and lives. I won’t give the ending away, but it is so, so well done! Anyone looking for a good romance with substance won’t be disappointed in this one!

The conclusion took my breath away and brought me to tears. I won’t give it away here, but as one who has always loved symbolism in stories, the ending was deeply satisfying for me. The way that Alicia tied everything together, using a symbol from the first book, and bringing restoration symbolically and physically to what had been lost through Ben’s father’s sin was really brilliant.

This is a book that the reader will not want to put down. It is deeply spiritual without being preachy. It is gritty and Alicia is not afraid to delve into difficult and ugly situations, but she handles it with thoughtful tact and grace—something that I find as a rarity in modern literature.  Her end motive is always healing and restoration, not “grittiness” for the sake of the “shock” value.

I love the Spirit-filled sense that the book gives me, that the author was relying on the Holy Spirit as she wrote, and the Word of God comes through richly because of this, I think.

I highly recommend this book, and the two before it, read in order.  What a blessing these books have been to me! I pray that the Lord may continue to use Alicia’s writing to show powerfully the grace and redemption of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well done!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alicia G. Ruggieri writes grace-filled, Christ-centered fiction, including the A Time of Grace Trilogy. She’s a graduate of Rhode Island College, where she studied Communications and History, and her adventures include children’s theatre direction, restaurant management, and small business ownership. Alicia and her husband live in coastal New England, where she may be found drinking far too much coffee and penning stories with her emotionally-disturbed second-hand pug by her side.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://www.aliciagruggieri.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AliciaGRuggieri

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AliciaRuggieri

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/AliciaGRuggieri

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/aliciagruggieri

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/aliciagruggieri

RELEASE WEEK SALE INFORMATION FOR A TIME OF GRACE TRILOGY:

·        July 21-25, 2016 – The Fragrance of Geraniums (Book 1) – FREE on Kindle – http://bit.ly/1VXSyDO

·        July 22-28, 2016 – All Our Empty Places (Book 2) - $1.99 on Kindle - http://bit.ly/1UOfV02

A LOVE TO COME HOME TO RELEASE GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

·        July 19 (12 a.m. EST) – July 29 (8 p.m. EST)

·        Wrap-up and winner announced on Saturday morning, July 30, 2016 at www.aliciagruggieri.com.

·        

·        Open to U.S. residents only due to shipping costs.

One winner will receive:

·        A complete set of signed softcovers of the A Time of Grace Trilogy.

·        “Paulie’s Pearls” – So named in honor of Paulie’s first gift to Grace, these are freshwater pearl earrings set in 10k gold.

“One Day in Your Courts” journal

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Inspire Me Monday, Literacy Musing Mondays, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, Raising Homemakers, Classical Homemaking, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, Women With Intention Wednesdays, Messy Marriage,  Graced Simplicity, Children Are A Blessing, Imparting Grace, Thought Provoking Thursday, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Counting My Blessings, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, SHINE Blog Hop, A Little R&R Wednesdays. TGI Saturdays Blog Hop, RaRaLinkup, Word of God Speak, Booknificent Thursday, Living Proverbs 31, Sharing His Beauty Blog Linkup, Coffee For Your Heart Weekly LinkUp