Blog Tour: Valencia and Valentine by Suzy Krause

Valencia and Valentine by Suzy Krause is an Adult Contemporary story of two women and their journey through life and mental health.

“For readers of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, debut author Suzy Krause delivers a quirky, colorful story about love, loss, second chances, and what it means to truly live.

Valencia, a timid debt collector with crippling OCD, is afraid of many things, but the two that scare her most are flying and turning thirty-five. To confront those fears, Valencia’s therapist suggests that she fly somewhere—anywhere—before her upcoming birthday. And as Valencia begins a telephone romance with a man from New York, she suddenly has a destination in mind. There’s only one problem—he might not actually exist.

Mrs. Valentine is an eccentric old woman desperate for company, be it from neighbors, telemarketers, or even the funeral director (when you’re her age, you go to a lot of funerals). So she’s thrilled when the new cleaning girl provides a listening ear for her life’s story—a tale of storybook love and incredible adventures around the world with her husband before his mysterious and sudden disappearance.

The stories of Valencia and Mrs. Valentine may at first appear to have nothing in common…but then again, nothing in life is as straightforward as it seems“

If you are looking for a more chill story to dive into, this is it!

We follow two women in very different, yet similar, stages of life. One is an elderly woman who tends to live life on her own yet finds everyone as her social butterfly network. Then, we meet a middle-aged girl suffering from OCD.

Both come together to create a friendship that neither of them saw coming.

This is a book that takes a hot minute to get into. The beginning chapters include a bit of pertinent backstory leading up to full character development. We get a more morbid view of life and death which had me a little skeptical at first.

But as their lives come together, we discover a deeper, insightful meaning about life, mental health, and beliefs. Now, this is a mental-health-heavy book, so if this is a category that you enjoy exploring, I highly recommend this one!

But, don’t go into this thinking it will be a lighter read.

I gave this one 3 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed the depth the author took her characters and the raw emotions they have towards their lives. I felt like the mental representation was expressed well creating a fairly enticing story to read.

Published: 1 June 2019

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Genre: Adult Contemporary

Pages: 254

How I Read It: ARC from TLC Book Tours

*Disclaimer: I requested a copy of this book from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All of my book reviews contain my honest opinion only and are not influenced in any way.*

Check out other Bloggers’ thoughts through the Official Blog Tour Schedule:

Monday, June 3rd: @my_book_journey

Tuesday, June 4th: @jackiereadsbooks

Wednesday, June 5th: @cassidys.bookshelf

Thursday, June 6th: The Hungry Bookworm

Friday, June 7th: @crystals_library

Monday, June 10th: She Reads With Cats

Tuesday, June 11th: Audio Killed the Bookmark and @beritaudiokilledthebookmark

Wednesday, June 12th: Books and Bindings

Wednesday, June 12th: @saturday_nite_reader

Thursday, June 13th: A Bookish Way of Life

Monday, June 17th: Eliot’s Eats

Tuesday, June 18th: Run Wright

Wednesday, June 19th: @thriftybibliophile

Thursday, June 20th: Treestand Book Reviews

Friday, June 21st: Not in Jersey

Monday, June 24th: Broken Teepee

Tuesday, June 25th: @angelareadsbooks

Wednesday, June 26th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Thursday, June 27th: Tar Heel Reader and @tarheelreader

Friday, June 28th: Lori’s Reading Corner – spotlight

This Blog Tour is organized by: TLC Book Tours!

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