Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: Leaving Liberty by Virginia Carmichael



Leaving Liberty
by Virginia Carmichael
Adult Romance
ebook240 Pages
July 1st 2013 by Gumbo Books


Summary

At eighteen, Daisy McConnell left Liberty, Colorado and never looked back. The only bright spot in a childhood of neglect and loneliness was the town librarian, Marie. Now settled as a teacher in sunny Fresno, Daisy does her best to forget everything about Liberty including her drunk father, her MIA mother, and the town she hated with every beat of her heart.

Lane Bennett’s life as a small town cop is pretty close to perfect. He’s got his dog, a pretty date when he needs one, and plenty of time to fish on the weekends. No other place can compare to his hometown and he’s happy to devote his life to keeping the folks of Liberty safe. When Marie passes away, Lane knows one of the best parts about living in Liberty is gone, along with the old Carnegie library. It needs repairs the city can’t afford and the city managers won’t pay the new flood insurance. It’s too bad, but safety comes first.

When Daisy comes home for Marie’s funeral and hears the only safe place she knew as a child is going to close, she refuses to let it happen. She hatches a plan to save the old library, run the summer reading program, and keep Marie’s legacy alive.

She once vowed never to come home and he’s vowed never to leave. Daisy and Lane discover together that true love happens when you least expect it and you should never say never in Liberty.

My Review

I really enjoyed reading Leaving Liberty! It was sweet, heartfelt, full of laughter and love with characters I loved. I also really liked that it was set in this little town and that the story revolved around Daisy trying to save the town's library. I have a soft spot in my heart for libraries.

Daisy was a little bit of a mess as a character, but it made her more likable. She has history in this town and had sworn off ever really coming back. When she decides to try to save the library, which was the place that saved her (really, it was Marie that saved her, but that's where they first met), it makes her question her choices as she stays in the town over the summer. Then there's Lane. I loved him! He was great as a small-town cop with the loyal dog and hero complex. I also loved how he teased Daisy and also wasn't afraid to challenge her. A lot of their conversations cracked me up and also made me smile. Just sweet through and through with a few sparks.

I loved the setting. There were some fun characters and some rather strong personalities. The children's reading time was rather humorous and cracked me up because you could definitely tell that Daisy hadn't worked with a lot of little kids before. I liked that in the middle of the romance and all that was going on Daisy also had some personal and very emotional issues that she was dealing with. It brought some depth to the story.

Overall, Leaving Liberty was a story I really enjoyed. I loved the small-town feel, characters, humor, romance, and heartfelt moments. It's definitely worth grabbing a copy if you're in the mood for light, sweet, and quick. I'll definitely be checking out this author's future books.


Content: Clean

Source: From the tour host, which did not affect my review in any way.

About the Author

Virginia was born near the Rocky Mountains and although she has traveled around the world, the wilds of Colorado run in her veins. A big fan of the wide open sky and all four seasons, she believes in embracing the small moments of everyday life. A home schooling mom of six young children who rarely wear shoes, those moments usually involve a lot of noise, a lot of mess, or a whole bunch of warm cookies. Virginia holds degrees in Linguistics and Religious Studies from the University of Oregon. She lives with her habanero-eating husband, Crusberto, who is her polar opposite in all things except faith. They’ve learned to speak in short-hand code and look forward to the day they can actually finish a sentence. In the meantime, Virginia thanks God for the laughter and abundance of hugs that fill her day as she plots her next book.

Giveaways

1 ebook of Leaving Liberty (INT)
Ends September 23rd

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tour-wide giveaway (INT)
Awesome swag pack with the following (will be customized with the winner's preferred name) - images attached! A doc is also attached containing the links to the Etsy stores these are from.
 
  
  • Custom self inking books stamp
  • Library book necklace
  • Dr. Who library quote magnet
  • Got Books? necklace
  • Library card Love note
Ends Sept 23rd

a Rafflecopter giveaway

31 comments

  1. Great review, Tressa! I like the sounds of this one and how character driven it seems overall! Being from a small town I love books set in one! :) Glad you liked it!

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  2. Courtney Whisenant9/15/14, 12:02 PM

    I too am from a small town and I can't imagine leaving "home" and then coming back. I do hope she's able to save the library!

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  3. Really enjoy your review. This looks like a good read, and items are cute.

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  4. Hey! They still count. :)

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  5. Well your mom coming sound great. Surgery, not so much. I hope it's nothing too intrusive and that you still get a little reading done. :)

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  6. Well, we all have our priorities. Mine was hanging with the family and taking a nap, so no complaints about your football. ;)

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  7. Now you rock even more, if that's possible. :D

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  8. I've never been to Chicago, but I do have some distant relations who live there!!! One day, one day lol!! :)

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  9. Nicole Krutz9/15/14, 6:41 PM

    Great review! I want to read!

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  10. i reallyreallyreally want the dr who magnet, thats awful of me:P lol great review tho!

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  11. I know some people were so-so about it, but I thought it was a perfect HEA romance. :) Thanks for stopping by, Giselle!

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  12. It's a pretty close call with the library, especially with a town that faces a much bigger problem. I hope you enjoy this one if you get your hands on a copy!

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  13. Isn't the giveaway so cute?!!! I love the two necklaces and the stamp. :)

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  14. Well, I'll wish you luck that you win the ebook. :)

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  15. Why is that awful of you? It's very fun! I like all the stuff. :)

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  16. I have family there too, but not too distant. I've been once and hope to go again with the family. :)

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  17. Sounds good, Natalie. I can't see your status since we aren't friends, so just leave in comments where you are. Three books is still a great goal! :)

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  18. Natalie Hughes9/15/14, 9:25 PM

    Oops!! Sorry!!
    Total read so far: 1
    Books read so far: Once An Outlaw
    But like I said, in the middle of several :)

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  19. Not a problem, Natalie. Some people have public profiles on FB. I hope you get those others finished this week. You've got time. :)

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  20. I really love the library book necklace!! thanks for the review too ! I am definitely adding this book to my tbr list

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  21. Wow, you are doing awesome Tressa!

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  22. Me too! I hope you enjoy it!

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  23. Thanks, Kimba! Lots of listening to books on my Kindle while I do other things. :)

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  24. No books were read yesterday. I did read lots of pages in my text books though. :/

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  25. This looks so good, and i love CO, hope to move back someday

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  26. You know, I love CO too! Nice place. It's one that I actually wouldn't mind moving to. :)

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  27. Virginia Munoz9/20/14, 9:08 PM

    Hi everybody! Thanks so much for having my book on the tour! Good luck on the giveaway!

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  28. I really enjoyed Leaving Liberty, Virginia! I'd love to read future books and help with future tours too. :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  29. Great review, books sounds awesome!

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  30. I hope you enjoy the book if you get a chance to read it!

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