Fan-art and Fangirl-ing

Five words that describe “Even In the Grey” : debut, snack-sized, deep, WWII, artistic.

I first read this short story when Laura entered it in a story contest. I was in awe. She perfectly incorporated the required train and quote, while delivering a tear-jerking, thought-provoking drama.

As you can imagine, I was rather excited when she reached out to me. Laura had published “Even In the Grey” as an ebook and wondered if I wanted to talk about it on my blog! Months later and here I am. 🙂

First off, feast your eyes on this cover!!! All greys and whites and foreboding but then with a brilliant splash of cheery color! Poetic, right?!

 

Daniel Rogers, a young American soldier, harbors bitterness against the one man who ruined his life. Memories torment him, and he can’t seem to forget the past.  

How can a horrible train accident, a pretty French artist, an unplanned reunion, and a pocket-full of crayons help him see through his grey world and into the light of forgiveness?

 

See on Goodreads 

 

Laura worked in bits of humor and some of the lines are unforgettable… XD like this one, “well, you’re as pleasant as my sister’s cat”. That’s totally something a specific one of my friends would come up with randomly!! 😂😂

The German doctor.

Even though this story is deep and a little gritty (WWII, ya know) somehow it’s not 100% miserable. Which is a big requirement right now if I’m going to read a book.

Crayons are cool.

The French refugee girl is a super character! Spunky, cute, sweet, earnest.

The dear poetry of the theme– the real acknowledgment that the world was (is) grey and empty and lifeless but also that there is hope for something more, something beautiful, in the midst of that.

OH MY HEART. the description of Claire’s sketch of home and how the drawing is missing the color and warmth that were there in real life just wow hit me.

Daniel’s character arc.

The flashbacks didn’t break up the flow of the story and action but actually added to it, giving us a deeper look into what was currently going on!

I enjoyed the setting of a cold snowy climate and the complications that brought to the plot. 😉

I loved Aaron just from hearing about him. I connected with him from the very first page and (spoiler 😀 ) missed him for the entire rest of the story.

While it made me struggle with what I would do if I were in that situation, it was neat to see this really unusual theme for war stories–> “God has forgiven me, how can I not forgive them?”

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click the image to look at Laura’s blog and follow what she’s working on next 🙂

 

Thanks to Laura for a free review copy, I read “Even In the Grey” on my phone’s Kindle app in one sitting. I was pleasantly surprised by how much the writing style had improved since the original version, and I look forward to reading more works by Miss Laura Guenot. I’ll be waiting. 😉 😛

Grab your 99c copy of “Even In the Grey” and let’s talk in the comments!! ~A

 

(Sorry this post is so late, Laura! Y’all, it’s safe to say that one of my goals this year is catching up on promised blog collabs… so plz remind my forgetful brain if you’ve said you wanted to do one with me!)