BLOG TOUR: Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley + GIVEAWAY!

Hi there!

Welcome back to the Friday edition of Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're playing host to a stop along the TLC Book Tours promotion for a new-ish release via Gallery Books.  It stars a work of Fiction that will make you think, while letting all the feels and possibilities roam through your mind.  I mean, really, could you imagine not being able to touch...ANYONE?  While you ponder that little tidbit, I'll make the introductions.  Ladies and gents, please join me in welcoming today's blog tour guest and book of choice...

Close Enough to Touch

by

Colleen Oakley

9781501139260

Gallery Books

About the book...

One time a boy kissed me and I almost died...
And so begins the story of Jubilee Jenkins, a young woman with a rare and debilitating medical condition: she’s allergic to other humans. After a humiliating near-death experience in high school, Jubilee has become a recluse, living the past nine years in the confines of the small town New Jersey house her unaffectionate mother left to her when she ran off with a Long Island businessman. But now, her mother is dead, and without her financial support, Jubilee is forced to leave home and face the world—and the people in it—that she’s been hiding from.

One of those people is Eric Keegan, a man who just moved into town for work. With a daughter from his failed marriage who is no longer speaking to him, and a brilliant, if psychologically troubled, adopted son, Eric’s struggling to figure out how his life got so off-course, and how to be the dad—and man—he wants so desperately to be. Then, one day, he meets a mysterious woman named Jubilee, with a unique condition...

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This is the story of one woman forced out into the world by circumstance, thrust into a limelight she never really desired, and shattered by the whole of the events that unfold, for both better and worse.

Jubilee is a unique character.  She loves to read, adores routine, and...hasn't left her house for the last NINE YEARS.  Brings new meaning to the word "home body", am I right?  Seriously, though, there's a good reason for that, or at least a good enough one all things considered.  All it took was for one boy to kiss her and everything stopped...no really, her breathing, her circulation, the whole nine yards.  You see, Jubilee has severe allergies, and we're not talking simply about the latest flower blooming in your neck of the woods.  We're talking about an allergy to HUMANS. 

Could you just imagine?  You can never be touched, in any fashion.  We're talking no handshakes, hugs, pats on the back, help off the floor, as well as those more intimate moments such as a kiss on the lips, the caress of a cheek, or a joining of hands.  NOTHING...unless of course she wants to die.  I'm sure it wasn't fun, but at least when she was in her self-created hermitage, she didn't have to worry about an accident happening, but then fate took matters into its own hands and turned her world upside down.  How she copes is nothing short of extraordinary, but how she blossoms once in that outside world is the real miracle. 

It was a joy to watch her experience things for what was essentially the first time, even as she awkwardly made her way through our every day.  Initially she met everything with trepidation and overthinking, but by book's end, her shell is split wide open and the changes that come over her turn this remarkable woman into a character you won't soon forget.  Her compassion for others despite not being shown much herself, her selflessness when faced with misfortunes that could quickly turn tragic, and her way of connecting with people without even lifting a finger.  These things and more all endeared her to my heart (not to mention that she's a fellow bookworm!), and had me hoping against hope that she'd find her happily ever after.

In the end, it was a wonderful and curious story, filled with heart racing and breaking moments that will really have you looking at the connections we form in life in a new light.  It reminds us to never withhold a hug for a friend, a kiss for a loved one, or a shoulder to cry on for those in need.  It shows us that those seemingly infinite moments are not always as unlimited as we might believe, and that the regret of not having acted will always be greater than any embarrassment we may suffer in the moment.  Jubilee was brave when the world said she shouldn't be, taking chances and experiencing things that seemed at first out of reach.  The connections she forged with her old classmate, potential beau, and the child who'd experienced so much pain in life already, just prove that there are no limits to the ways we can connect with others, if we're only willing to try. My thanks to the author for giving us such a wonder cast of characters and a story to cherish long after the final page is turned.

Recommended read for Fiction fans that like finding humor, curiosities, possibilities, and a whole lot of heart between the pages.

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About the author...

Colleen Oakley is an Atlanta-based writer and author of the novel Before I Go. Her articles, essays, and interviews have been featured in The New York Times, Ladies’ Home Journal, Marie Claire, Women’s Health, Redbook, Parade, and Martha Stewart Weddings. Before she was a freelance writer, Colleen was editor in chief of Women’s Health & Fitness and senior editor at Marie Claire. Close Enough to Touch is her second novel.

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Special thanks to Lisa at TLC Book Tours and the Gallery Books team for the copy for review.  (THANKS!)   For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, THIS TOUR, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now via Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

BEFORE YOU GO...

DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF THIS VERY BOOK TO CALL YOUR OWN!  TO ENTER, CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM, SUBMIT YOUR ENTRIES, AND BOOM...THE CHANCE TO WIN IS YOURS!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!