🌻 Lulu’s Café 🌻 (2019) - Book Review

MY REVIEW

Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Reissue Edition (June 4, 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1496439503

ISBN-13: 978-1496439505

Click Picture for Purchase Information

“When a damaged young woman is given a chance to reclaim her life in a small South Carolina town, she must reckon with the dark secrets she left behind in order to accept the love she deserves.

On the run from a violent past, Leah Allen arrived in tiny Rivertown, South Carolina, battered and broken, but ready to reinvent herself. By a stroke of fate, Leah is drawn to the Southern hospitality of a small café, looking for a warm meal but finding so much more. Lulu, the owner, offers her a job, a place to stay and a new lease on life. Through Lulu’s tenacious warmth and generosity, Leah quickly finds herself embraced by the quaint community as she tries to put herself back together. Given she’s accustomed to cruelty, the kindness is overwhelming.

Soon Leah meets Crowley Mason, the most eligible bachelor in town. A lawyer and friend of Lulu’s, Crowley is wary of Leah’s sudden, mysterious arrival. Despite his reserve, something sparks between them that can’t be denied. But after all she’s been through, can Leah allow herself to truly love and be loved, especially when her first urge is to run?

Exploring the resiliency of both the heart and the spirit, Lulu’s Café gorgeously illustrates how old scars can finally heal no matter how deep they seem.”

Thank you SO very much to the author T.I. Lowe and Tyndale House publishers for allowing me to be a part of the launch team for this book and sending me a copy before it is released.

My review is in NO way influenced by my involvement, nor was I compensated for such.

[🌻 Lulu’s Café 🌻 has such a beautiful cover for such an inspiring story]

[Working on a launch team task at the library, what better place?]

Very seldom do I add trigger warnings; however this book does contain certain elements that might be disturbing to certain readers, so caution should be taken:

** Domestic Violence

** Sexual Assault

** Miscarriage

** Alcohol Abuse

“Lulu’s Café” is a Contemporary Romance by T.I Lowe. Originally self-published in 2014 through Create Space, it became an e-book phenomenon. Having already sold 100,000+ copies, it is now available as a mass-market paperback for the first time.

Leah Allen is running from a violent past and ends up taking refuge in the Southern Coastal town of Rivertown, South Carolina.

When she walks into Lulu’s Café, Lulu see the mess that Leah is, and takes her in – giving her a place to stay and a job, more importantly – a friend. But, not everyone is on board with Leah. Crowley Mason has his doubts.

As the community takes to Leah, despite his doubts, Crowley does too. He wants to know where she came from, and what happened to her. But, he also wants to help her; he also wants to love her as well.

Leah slowly steps into her new life, away from the hurt and abuse of her past. As she heals, both physically and mentally, she wonders if she can allow herself to love and be loved again. And, she wonders when the past will catch up with her.

Lowe’s novel begins on a disturbing and violent pace. While some readers who have been through it might be taken back, those who haven’t might find a deeper understanding of the situation. If it is uncomfortable for the reader, it is more so for the victim. However, it is worth staying with the novel to see what happens.

Lowe compassionately (and carefully) takes us through Leah’s journey from a young and naïve woman to one who is standing on her own as a survivor, but still experiencing scars that run so deep they can’t heal. Lowe takes the reader into the brutalization and trauma of abuse, the minds of those who observe (even know what is going on) and are powerless to help, and those who see nothing at all.

Leah’s journey isn’t a fast one, and Lowe makes sure to take each step as it occurs without erasing what has happened or its impact on Leah. But, Lowe also shows us what love and the power of faith can do for us.

This is a book that I wanted to take my time with, but ended up sailing through it as it was mesmerizing, captivating, and inspiring. I wanted to keep going to see Leah’s journey and if she could find healing, peace, and love.

“Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”

Jeremiah 17:14

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tonya “T.I.” Lowe is a native of coastal South Carolina. She attended Coastal Carolina University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she majored in Psychology but excelled in Creative Writing. Go figure. Writing was always a dream, and she finally took a leap of faith in 2014 and independently published her first novel, Lulu's Café, which quickly became a bestseller. Now the author of ten published novels with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, she knows she’s just getting started and has many more stories to tell. A wife and mother who’s active in her church community, she resides near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with her family.

She can be found on the following social media channels: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/T.I.Lowe 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tilowe/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TiLowe