An Unpresentable Glory (2018) — A JustRead Publicity Tour + Giveaway

Welcome to An Unpresentable Glory Blog Tour and Giveaway hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

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About the Book

Title: An Unpresentable Glory
Author: Eleanor K. Gustafson
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: July 1, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Romance

“I trusted you, and some day, you may know just how much you hold in your hands.”

Linda Jensen leads a relatively quiet life in Westchester County, New York, as the owner of a highly-acclaimed garden. Inherited from her parents, the garden is her pride and joy. What is not so joyful is finding a strange man sprawled near her delphiniums! The mysterious man is sick, unable to do anything more than drink water—and beg for secrecy. Ignoring all alarm bells, Linda sees to his needs, but her caring act takes on unexpected significance, an unpresentable glory.

Seeds of trust, and perhaps love, are planted in Linda’s garden haven. But as secrets are revealed and scandal hits the headlines, the act of caring for this man threatens to tarnish both of their reputations. Like weeds in Linda’s garden, circumstances threaten to choke out their fledgling relationship, and small moments prove to be the biggest influencers—on a national scale.

PURCHASE: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | CBD | Book Depository

About the Author

Ellie grew up in Branchville, NJ, in a county with more cows than people. She attended Wheaton College in Illinois as a music major, then married a pastor/college professor/ tree farmer/ organist and writer. Together, they have three children and eight grandchildren. Music was Ellie’s first love until she tried on the cloak of writing and found it a comfortable fit. However, early writing attempts saw friends — and even her mother — advising her to stick to music as a career. She pushed manfully along, though, and An Unpresentable Glory is her sixth novel. “God first touched me through story,” Ellie says, “and made the bigger Story come alive. I love Him passionately!”

CONNECT: website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

I enjoyed An Unpresentable Glory by Eleanor Gustafson very much. This book is a fast-paced, highly engaging page turner that I struggled to put down unless I absolutely had to.

I enjoyed the premise to this novel — this idea of an unpresentable glory. An unpresentable glory is an action that at surface level looks not so good, but that is actually a kindness done to another person that allows that person to witness God’s glory. It’s kind of a confusing idea, but this concept reminded me of the men and women in the Bible who did things quietly not looking for recognition, but who were doing things simply because it was the right thing to do. Immediately, Jael from the book of Judges sprung to my mind. She was a typical Bedouin woman going about her day. She wasn’t looking for any special attention. But when a moment presented itself to rid the world of an awful human, she took it and ended up saving an entire nation! On the surface, Jael’s execution of Sisera was an unpresentable act. She killed a man in his sleep. But, to the Israelites who had been oppressed by this cruel man for 20+ years, Jael’s act showed the downtrodden Israelites God’s glory. This concept of unpresentable glory appears time and time again in this novel, and convicted me to check my own heart — am I going about my day seeking glory for myself, or am I giving glory to God? Am I being a Jael? Am I taking those moments God presents to me and helping others?

In addition to the theme that runs throughout the novel, I also really loved Lawrie’s conversion to Christianity. Lawrie, our story’s hero, has a really tough life. I won’t spill the beans as to why his life is so rough, but I will say that I often asked as I was reading, “Man, how much more can this guy take?!” After a particularly bad moment, Lawrie begins to go to a men’s Bible study. At first he is forced to go and hates it. God is not for him. But, after a particularly harrowing incident, Lawrie realizes just how much he actually needs the Lord. While Lawrie’s heart-change moment is awesome, what I really love is his need to surround himself with good, upstanding, hard working, Christian men. To be held accountable in his new walk with God, Lawrie realizes that he must have a strong support system so he can appropriately navigate the good, the bad, and the ugly of his life. I love this idea of having a network of strong, like-minded, like-hearted friends who pray, praise, and tell it like it is in order to help keep each other on the right path — God’s path.

There is quite a lot more that I could discuss about this epic novel, but I don’t want to risk an accidental spoiler. Suffice to say, I enjoyed my time reading this novel. I found the characters to be unique and multi-faceted; the complications to be highly engaging (I could not stop turning the pages because I had to find out what happens next); and, the theme timely. An Unpresented Glory forced me to take a good long look at my heart. Truly, you can’t ask for a better book than this!

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the author via Just Read Tours. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive:

a print copy of An Unpresentable Glory, and

choice of (1) garden in a bag from Potting Shed Creations

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight September 10, 2018 and last through 11:59 pm September 17, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow along at JustRead for a full schedule & more chances to win!