Last Chance Hero

GIVEAWAY

ARMSTRONG, CATHLEEN
LAST CHANCE HERO

What happens when your heart is intercepted before you even know it's in play?

The folks in Last Chance, New Mexico, could not be more pleased. Dr. Jessica MacLeod has opened an office right on Main Street and Any Ryan, the best athlete the little town ever produced, has come home from the NFL to coach the high school football team. Unfortunately, Dr. Jess immediately gets off on the wrong foot with the football-obsessed town when she admits that she's never seena a football game, isn't really interested in doing so, and in fact doesn't know a first down from a goalpost.

Despite having little in common, Jess and Andy find themselves drawn to each other. But when a disagreement over the future of an injured player puts them both on the defensive, it begins to look like this game is over.

My Review:

Heartwarming conclusion to the A Place to Call Home series. Back in Last Chance one more time to catch up with plenty of quirky characters and former heroes and heroines. You don't need to read the other books first to enjoy this one but I got a kick out of revisiting some old favourites.

I timed the reading of this novel perfectly since I'm not a football fan and I was desperately trying to distract myself from all things football during Superbowl week.  So, yes, I did end up reading a book where football was practically a secondary character but I was right there, cheering Jessica on. We bonded over our lack of interest in this crazy sport that takes over the nation every year. So many funny scenes as residents realize that Jess really doesn't know a thing about the game. And worse -- she doesn't want to. Scandalous!

So of course the hero is a former NFL player and the high school football coach who can't comprehend anyone not loving the sport. I won't hold that against Andy though because he's kind-hearted and chivalrous and well...kind of a hunk. His small-town friendly doesn't quite jive with Jessica's big city reserve. Great learning curve for both of them as they adjust to their differences.

Sweet romance with small-town heart.

Giveaway Opportunity:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Last Chance Hero please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you post a comment and add your email address please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so it's easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday February 12 2017.  Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

At Home in Last Chance

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ARMSTRONG, CATHLEEN
AT HOME IN LAST CHANCE

What happens when the life you're running from won't let go of your heart?

Kaitlyn Reed and Steven Braden have always had a similar philosophy of life: when the going gets tough, they get going -- out of town and away from the problem. Now they are both back in Last Chance, New Mexico, and trying to start over.

Kaitlyn is working to re-establish a relationship with the seven-year-old daughter she left behind six months earlier. Steven is trying to prove to his family that he is not the irresponsible charmer they have always known him to be. As Kaitlyn and Steven find themselves drawn to one another, one big question keeps getting in the way: How ill they learn to trust each other when they don't even trust themselves?

With emotional depth and characters who leap off the page and into your heart, Cathleen Armstrong invites you to return once more to the dusty and delightful town of Last Chance.

My Review:

A touching story that celebrates the miracle of second chances...and third and fourth and fifth....

The third book in the A Place to Call Home series delivers the same caliber of story as the first two. I just love the way this author deals with gnarly circumstances that stretch both a character and a reader. I'd met Kaitlyn in One More Last Chance and I wasn't impressed. In fact, I might just have started this read with a mighty big chip on my shoulder because it's kind of hard to relate to a woman who would ditch her daughter for half a year! But I wasn't bargaining on Armstrong working her magic -- weaving a story of loss and heartache and those all important second chances. And in the process convicting me of grace and forgiveness and accepting people for who they are now, not what they used to be.

News Flash -- Thanks to the intrepid Linda Moffitt we have this exciting piece of information. Cathleen Armstrong's debut novel (and first of this series) Welcome to Last Chance is available free (Kindle edition) on Amazon right now. I loved that book -- and this whole series -- if you like emotional contemporary romance that stretches you heart and soul, you'll love these books. And each book reads well as a standalone...should have mentioned that in my review.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of At Home in Last Chance leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you post your comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday January 22 2017. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

One More Last Chance

GIVEAWAY

ARMSTRONG, CATHLEEN
ONE MORE LAST CHANCE

Some things never change . . . and some things change you forever.Sarah Cooley has come home to Last Chance, New Mexico, for one reason--because it doesn't change. After a relationship gone bad with a man who wanted to change everything about her, Sarah is more than ready for the town whose motto may as well be, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Chris Reed, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to spark some change in the little town. As the new owner of the Dip 'n' Dine, he's shaking things up to draw folks from all over the Southwest into his restaurant.

As it turns out, the winds of change are blowing into Last Chance--just not in the ways that Sarah or Chris might expect.

With the same evocative writing and charming characters that won fans for her debut novel, Cathleen Armstrong invites you back to Last Chance for a heartwarming, romantic story of two people navigating the twists and turns of life in a small town.

My Review:

This second book in the A Place to Call Home series is just as incredible as the first! And we're right back in Last Chance, New Mexico with the same collection of well-meaning town busy bodies who don't know the meaning of the word 'no'. They just bulldoze their way through any situation with enough love to make up for their lack of finesse. I want to live in Last Chance!

And everyone needs a grandmother like Elizabeth. Spunky and gracious and full of unconditional love. There are life lessons to be learned just reading about Sarah's grandmother.

I love the fresh angle of small-town girl wanting to come home after college. She comes back for her first teaching assignment basking in the glory of how unchanged Last Chance remains. Sarah has a problem with change. Unfortunately our hero, Chris, is full of plans to instigate change. Talk about a clash of wills! Sarah is prejudiced right from the very start while poor Chris is royally smitten.

And if that isn't complicated enough there's a gut-wrenching secondary plot that will pull at your heartstrings. One More Last Chance is a beautiful celebration of embracing change in order to live life to the fullest.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of One More Last Chance please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday July 6 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

*My thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Welcome to Last Chance

GIVEAWAY

ARMSTRONG, CATHLEEN
WELCOME TO LAST CHANCE

She's learned you can't count on anyone--but she didn't count on landing in Last Chance.The red warning light on her car dashboard may have driven Lainie Davis to seek help in the tiny town of Last Chance, New Mexico, but as she meets the people who make this one-horse town their home, it's her heart that is flashing bright red warning lights. These people are entirely too nice, too accommodating, and too interested in her personal life--especially since she's on the run and hoping to slip away unnoticed.

Yet in spite of herself, Lainie is increasingly drawn into the small-town dramas and to a handsome local guy with a secret of his own. Could Lainie actually make a life in this little town? Or will the past catch up to her even here in the middle of nowhere?

My Review:

What a stunning debut novel! Lainie is such a complex character -- not your usual run-of-the-mill heroine. She has an edge to her that leaves her hovering on bitterness and definitely cynical about the too-nice, church-going people of Last Chance.  Armstrong has done a tremendous job of creating a sympathetic character who is a product of her past. Realistic. Gritty. Compelling.

Love the way Last Chance woos her. A wonderful collection of secondary characters who all seem oblivious to the word 'no' and immune to Lainie's 'leave me alone' signals. None of them are perfect either, but that doesn't stop them from gathering the newcomer into the fold -- even when she's kicking and screaming!

Except Ray..at first. He's wary and with reason but also intrigued in spite of himself. What ensues is a complicated story that will keep readers turning pages until the very end...which comes way too soon. I wasn't ready to leave Last Chance but luckily this is the first in the A Place to Call Home series so it isn't really goodbye, just so long for now.

Giveaway Opportunity:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Welcome to Last Chance, please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday August 4 2013. Offer open to international readers. Good luck! 

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".