- Paperback: 442 pages
- Publisher: WickedKilt Publishing (22 Jun. 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1999866614
- ISBN-13: 978-1999866617
- Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.5 x 19.8 cm
Synopsis
Are you ‘living’ your life or just living your life? Elsa Clairmont was widowed barely five years after marrying her childhood sweetheart. She has struggled to come to terms with the loss and, six years later, has almost ceased to live herself. She does just enough to get by. Danny Delaney is the ultimate ‘Mr Nice Guy’. He’s kind, caring and sweet. A talented artist in his teens, his abusive mother ruined his career in art and he turned his back on his exceptional gift. Now, he does just enough to get by. On New Year’s Eve, both Danny and Elsa die in unrelated accidents. Thanks to some poker playing shenanigans, Elsa’s husband Harry, and Danny’s old Art teacher, William, manage to orchestrate a deal with Death that allows Danny and Elsa to live for one more year on the condition they both agree to complete three tasks. They have until the last chime of Big Ben on the 31st December to fulfill their quests. If they succeed, they stay in the world of the living. If they should fail however… ‘An Artisan Lovestyle’ is a story of personal growth and self-discovery as two people find themselves forced to make overdue changes in their lives, changes in other people’s lives, and all with the added challenge of finding true love before their time runs out. Will they do it? Can they do it? After all, it’s a matter of Life or Death…
Review
An Artisan Lovestyle has the most wonderful and quirky beginning; who would have thought ‘Death’ like playing poker and getting drunk! If you are already thinking that this book may not be for you then stop; I thought that but I have to say I loved it. This is so much more than a romantic comedy, this book is about Carpe Diem, and living everyday as if it was your last, as it could be.
The plot is narrated by Elsa and Danny with interluding chapters by Death, William and Harry. Elsa is a character who elicits your empathy, widowed in her twenties and finding it hard to move forward as Harry had been her childhood sweetheart. But, her brush with death makes her realise that after seven years she has to reclaim her life and find out who she is as a single person. Danny is in a different predicament, he is in a job he doesn’t really like, with a girl who he is ambivalent towards, and he gave up his dream to support his alcoholic and abusive mother. Again, he has the chance to reclaim his life, return to his art and build a new future. Elsa and Danny are like ships in the night in that they share many acquaintances but always just see to miss each other. Both of their circumstances and lives are so real and ordinary; they represent so many people who have lost someone and find it hard to move on and those who, for whatever reason, give up their dreams for a job that pays the bills. There is also wonderful supporting cast; Suki and her rock star husband Pete who I loved for being so down to earth, Guy who is cat mad and Danny’s best friend and the repulsive, money grabbing, horrible Sandra, Danny’s girlfriend. These characters will soon become your friends, with the exception of Sandra, and make you laugh and cry at times, sometimes in frustration.
Who would have thought that the character of Death would be the one to inject humour in this book, but he had me laughing out loud. As Harry, William, and Death follow Elsa and Danny on their journey Death has some great one liners, and the image of him dressing up and singing is brilliant; very clever writing from Kiltie Jackson. Kiltie manages to take, what at first seems a bit of a bizarre plot line and turn it into a real page turner of a book that you can’t put down. It has a charm to it, Kiltie brings the characters and places to life, as if you know them, and this is important in a book as you feel invested and care about what happens and thus enjoy the book more. I hadn’t realised there was a previous book, A Rock and Roll Lovestyle, but you don’t need to have read that to enjoy this book.
I am really glad I got the opportunity to be part of the blog tour for An Artisan Lovestyle, as if I am completely honest, if I had seen the cover before I read the blurb, I may not have read it; the cover is a little twee for me and the book is far from twee. So please don’t be put off by the cover or the quirky plot, this is a wonderful read full of emotion, and memorable characters (some for the wrong reasons). So, follow Elsa and Danny and ‘Seize the Day’, enjoy your life and add this book to your tbr pile.
Thank you for reading my review of An Artisan Lifestyle by Kiltie Jackson. I appreciate your support of my blog so please continue to like and share my blog posts and follow me on social media. You can also subscribe to my blog to stay up to date with my latest reviews.
