Drawing Lessons by Patricia Sands ~ My Thoughts and a Giveaway!

Drawing Lessons

Drawing Lessons by Patricia Sands 
Print and e-book, 354 pages
Published October 1st 2017 by Lake Union Publishing

The author of the Love in Provence series returns to the South of France with a poignant portrait of a woman who must learn how to create a new life for herself…

Sixty-two-year-old Arianna arrives in the South of France for a two-week artists’ workshop full of anticipation but burdened by guilt. Back home in Toronto, she has been living with the devastating diagnosis of her husband’s dementia and the heartbreak of watching the man she has loved for decades slip away before her eyes. What does her future hold without Ben? Before her is a blank canvas.

Encouraged by her family to take some time for herself, she has traveled to Arles to set up her easel in the same fields of poppies and sunflowers that inspired Van Gogh. Gradually, she rediscovers the inner artist she abandoned long ago. Drawing strength from the warm companionship and gentle wisdom of her fellow artists at the retreat—as well as the vitality of guest lecturer Jacques de Villeneuve, an artist and a cowboy—Arianna searches her heart for permission to embrace the life in front of her and, like the sunflowers, once again face the light.

My thoughts about Drawing Lessons ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"The first time her life came to a screeching halt was twenty years earlier when the pre-dawn phone call came from Greece where her parents, Sophia and Nikos, were vacationing. Everything changed with that tragic car accident."

Oh my gosh, reading Drawing Lessons took me to the South of France where I was in seventh heaven—enjoying the food, wine, friendships, art, and the absolute beauty of the area. The words the author wrote were so descriptive and beautifully written that I felt like I was there. I truly savoured those words as I soaked up the experience.

Arianna travels to Provence to escape her life for just a mere two weeks, as she tries to reconnect with herself. Her love of art has been put aside all these years as she fulfilled her life's duties as wife and mother. What she finds is a house full of strangers who have come together because of their love of art, strangers who quickly become friends.

I appreciated the fact that the author made Arianna a women of a mature age, dealing with issues common to that age. Her life experiences and the situation she finds herself in are different from what a 20-something would be dealing with and as a more mature reader, I found myself relating to her and her life.

Drawing Lessons is the first book by Patricia Sands that I have read but it will not be my last. I fell in love with her prose and descriptive passages. I became totally immersed in the story and loved my trip to the South of France. I found myself thinking about the characters and the setting when I wasn't reading the story and couldn't wait to go back there. Thank you, Patricia, for the wonderful little vacation that I was able to take without leaving my couch. 

I received Drawing Lessons from Goodreads in exchange for my honest review. 

Be sure to check out the giveaway I have going on now for just a few more days. Patricia will be sending a paperback copy of Drawing Lessons to someone in the US/Canada. 

Ends November 28th! 

Enter HERE. 

About the author

Patricia Sands lives in Toronto, Canada, when she isn't somewhere else, and calls the south of France her second home. She is the award-winning author of The Bridge Club and the best-selling Love in Provence trilogy. Her fifth novel, Drawing Lessons which is also set in the south of France, was released by Lake Union Publishing on October 1, 2017.

Find out more at Patricia’s Facebook Author Page, Amazon Author Page or her website. There are links to her books, social media, and a monthly newsletter that has special giveaways, photography from France, and sneak peeks at her next book. She loves hearing from readers.

Follow her on Instagram @patricialsands for fabulous photography. Her annual South of France calendar is available for order at patriciasandsauthor@gmail.com, payable by Paypal or credit card.

Represented by Pamela Harty of The Knight Agency.

Connect with Patricia

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Sign up for her newsletter 

*************************

Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!