The Lady and the Lionheart

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO READ DAY!

BISCHOF, JOANNE

THE LADY AND THE LIONHEART

Raised amid the fame and mystique of the Big Top, Charlie Lionheart holds the audience in the palm of his hand. But while his act captivates thousands, it's away from the spotlight where his true heart lies. Here he humbly cares for his pride of lions as if they were his brothers, a skill of bravery and strength that has prepared him for the most challenging feat yet -- freeing an orphaned infant from the dark bondage of a sideshow. A trade so costly, it requires his life in exchange for hers, leaving him tarnished by the price of that choice.

As the circus tents are raised on the outskirts of Roanoke, nurse Ella Beckley arrives to tend to this Gypsy girl. All under the watchful eye of a guardian who not only bears a striking resemblance to the child, but who protects the baby with a love that wraps around Ella's own tragic past, awakening a hope that goodness may yet reign. When their forbidden friendship deepens, Charlie dares to ask for her heart, bringing her behind the curtain of his secret world to reveal the sacrifice that gave hope to one little girl -- boldly showing Ella that while her tattered faith is deeply scarred, the only marks that need be permanent are his own.

My Review

published in 2016

This was a reread for me when I happened upon it on audible...great performances by narrators Gail Shalan and Joel Clarkson. As magical as the first time around.

I've heard chatter about this book all across cyberspace. Can't count how many people said, "Oh, you must read The Lady and the Lionheart!" And it made the rounds on people's top reads of 2016 lists. The buzz kept getting louder and I was beginning to feel like I was the last person on the planet to read this book! Not for lack of trying but for some reason it was either sold out or unavailable to ship to my country ('cause Canada is so exotic and all!) But finally...FINALLY...I understand the hype and I'm eager to chime in.

I can sum it all up in one word. Charlie. Seriously swoon worthy. Tough and determined. Gentle and kind. Passionate. Committed. Loyal. Fierce. And oh so tender! His faith is his anchor, his desire to share the power of God's grace touched me in ways no other hero has. He has a servant's heart and his powerful example of sacrificial love is mind-blowing. Sigh. There's just something about Charlie. If I was into making lists and composed a Best Herne Ever in the History of the World one, Charlie would be right at the top.

And then there's Ella. The perfect foil for such a noble hero. She hides a tragic past behind her cool professional demeanour. She doesn't know what to make of Charlie. Truthfully, he doesn't make the best first impression but she does find him intriguing and it isn't long before she becomes entangled in his world. There's an exquisite Beauty and the Beast quality to their love story. I savoured every single word. It's not the kind of novel you want to hurry through because I happen to agree with Charlie: "If you're passionate about something, why rush?" (p 123) And I'm passionate about this book. I might just have to read it again!

 

 GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently (very gently -- it's beens stored in a glass-doored bookcase) read copy. 

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  The Lady and the Lionheart, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT AND DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the Draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday June 18 2022. Offer open to International Readers.

The Gold in These Hills

GIVEAWAY

BISCHOF, JOANNE

THE GOLD IN THESE HILLS

One wild and mysterious ghost town. Two second-chance love stories. And the century-old legacy that binds them together.

Upon arriving in Kenworthy, California, mail-order bride Juniper Cohen is met by the pounding of the gold mind, an unnamable landscape, and her greatest surprise of all: the kind of loving man who awaits her. But when the mine proves empty of profit, and when Juniper's husband, John, vanishes, Juniper is left to fend for herself and her young daughter in the dwindling boomtown that is now her home.

Juniper pens letters to her husband but fears she is waiting on a ghost. Perhaps worse, rumours abound claiming the man she loves could be an outlaw. Surviving in a ghost town requires trusting the kindness of a few remaining souls, including the one who can unlock the mystery of her husband's disappearance -- and Juniper's survival depends not only upon these friends but also the strength of heart she must fight to maintain.

Present day. Trying to escape the heartache of his failed marriage, Johnny Sutherland throws himself into raising his children and restoring a hundred-year-old abandoned farmhouse in what was once known as Kenworthy, California, in the San Jacinto Mountains. While exploring its secrets he uncovers Juniper's letters and is moved by the handwritten accounts that bear his name -- and as a love story from the past touches his own world, Johnny might discover yet that hope and resilience go hand in hand.

With The Gold in These Hills, acclaimed and beloved author Joanne Bischof returns with an absorbing masterpiece of faith, perseverance, and love that changes the course of history.

My Review:

Not what I was expecting but oh, so good! Love the dual timeline aspect centered around a mining ghost town. I was expecting more romance in both timelines, but they are on the lighter side while the main characters' stories focus on their personal struggles and faith journeys.

So in present day we have Johnny who is grappling with the reality of an impending divorce. Bischof does an incredible job of capturing the depth of his pain and inner conflict. I was gutted! And really interesting to see this situation from a man's perspective Usually I'm reading about a heroine who's been dumped by the love of her life and trying to put her life back together so the role reversal was a refreshing twist.

And in the historical timeline, Juniper is in limbo, waiting for word of her husband who has mysteriously disappeared. The mine the town was built around has failed and only a handful of people remain, making Juniper and her young daughter's lives all the more precarious.

Wowzers, but does this author know how to set a scene! Her writing is descriptive without being overly flowery and it's so easy to lose yourself in her world building. I could picture everything so vividly! And the way the past and present come together is brilliantly done...though the author deliberately leaves some things open-ended which gave me the poetic license to imagine my own continuing storylines. I do so love it when characters linger in my mind long after the book officially ends!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Gold in These Hills leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT AND DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the Draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday May 21 2022. Offer open to International Readers.

Daughters of Northern Shores

GIVEAWAY

BISCHOF, JOANNE
DAUGHTERS OF NORTHERN SHORES

Aven Norgaard understands courage. Orphaned within an Irish workhouse, then widowed at just nineteen, she voyaged to America where she was wooed and wed by Thor Norgaard, a Deaf man in rural Appalachia. That the Lord saw her along the winding journey and that Aven now carries Thor's child are blessings beyond measure. Yet while Thor holds her heart, it is his younger brother and rival who haunts her memories. Haakon -- whose selfish choices shattered her trust in him.

Having fled the farm after trying to take Aven as his own, Haakon sails on the North Atlantic ice trade where his soul is plagued with regrets that distance cannot heal. Not even the beautiful Norwegian woman he's pursued can ease the torment. When the winds bear him home after four years away, Haakon finds the family on the brink of tragedy.

A decades-old feud with the neighboring farm has wrenched them into the fiercest confrontation on Blackbird Mountain since the Civil War. Haakon's cunning and strength hold the power to seal many fates, including Thor's which is already at stake through a grave illness brought to him as the first prickle of warfare.

Now Haakon faces the hardest choice of his life. One that shapes a battlefield where pride must be broken enough to be restored, and where a prodigal son may finally know the healing peace of surrender and the boundless gift of forgiveness. And when it comes to the woman he left behind in Norway, he just might discover that while his heart belongs to a daughter of the north, she's been awaiting him on shores more distant that the land he's fighting for.

My Review:

My thanks to Diane Flowers for virtual hand holding during the duration of this read.

Well...that's just...I can't...I'm so...befuzzled? discombobulated? shattered? Unable to articulate a cohesive sentence? Sigh, all of the above.

First things first : 5 tissue box alert...in fact you might want to stockpile Kleenex (or hankies if you're the genteel type) before commencing this read. Second -- you really need to read Sons of Blackbird Mountain before starting in on Daughters of Northern Shores. You'll appreciate this story so much more once you've met the Norgaards in the first book.

Be prepared to have your heart torn out and stomped on and your nerves rattled and you might even turn blue from holding your breath before the end. because this story is that majestic and moving and awe-inspiring and just plain lose-yourself-in-the-pages absorbing.

If you are a Thor fan, be prepared for some nose-diving swooning. If you weren't sure you ever wanted to see Haakon again,  be prepared to have your mind changed and your heart softened. What an amazing redemption story! And if you just plain fell in love with the folks on Blackbird Mountain be prepared for an emotionally tumultuous journey of struggles and hope. And heartache. Mine still feels a bit bruised. Sensitive readers might want to keep some therapeutic chocolate at hand -- maybe a whole carton of chocolate chip ice cream as well. (It pays to be prepared.)

Phew!!!! Joanne Bischof is an artiste with words and a spellbinding spinner of tales and the way she weaves faith into the very fiber of this story...well, it made me weep. A not to be missed read.

Oh -- and I listened to the audio version of this book which was excruciatingly delightful! Amy Rubinate is a talented narrator and she really brought these characters to life -- including getting all the accents right!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Daughters of Northern Shores, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday May 18 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Sons of Blackbird Mountain

GIVEAWAY

BISHCHOF, JOANNE
SONS OF BLACKBIRD MOUNTATION

When Aven Norgaard leaves Norway to serve as housekeeper to her late husband's cousins in Appalachia, she expects lads in need of care, not three grown men -- each in need of a wife and bound by a powerful brotherhood. As the men carve out a living by brewing artisan liquor, young Haakon's pursuit tempts Aven's lonely spirit...but it is his Deaf brother, Thor, whose silent strength shows her the depth of real love.

Unable to speak to any woman, Thor Norgaard never anticipates Aven will befriend him, let alone treat him as her safe harbor. Though hard cider is their livelihood, and his greatest talent, he fights his way to sobriety with Haakon's help, defying the bottle for Aven's hand -- only to face a battle of the heart that tests even the strongest bonds of brotherhood.

My Review:

On the brink of speechlessness here, having just finished reading Sons of Blackbird Mountain. This book is so big and deep and powerful and tender and absolutely heart-bruising! It hurts to breathe. The kind of story that forces you to settle into a stupor of literary fogginess as you try to process everything once you come to the end.

Bischof is skilled at writing the kind of rich descriptive prose that tantalizes a reader's senses until she slips into the pages as the story comes to life around her. And these characters! So complex and true to life -- raw and real and flawed. The family dynamics among the Norgaard brothers play an important role in the events that occur on Blackbird Mountain the late summer and fall of 1890. Each brother has unique talents and personal struggles though together they present a united front...until Aven comes and upsets the delicate balance of their lives.

Thor has to be one of the most compelling heroes I've ever met in the pages of a book! He's big and brawny and a little rough around the edges but for all that he's gentle and kind and tenderhearted too. His deafness has kept him apart from the world but that doesn't stop him from communicating with those he counts as family through a mix of Sign and lip-reading and note writing. And the way the author writes his conversations! He can say more with one glance than his hearing brothers can say in a torrent of words.

And there's Aven with her Irish lilt and a heart full of sorrows and a yearning for a place to belong.  This is a messy story. And hard to read in places. The author deals with tough topics including racism, abuse, alcoholism and depression. But she does so with grace and hope and healing. Even laughter. Sons of Blackbird Mountain is a brilliantly crafted work of art. Definitely a 2018 top pick.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Sons of Blackbird Mountain, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday August 26 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck.

The Lady and the Lionheart

GIVEAWAY

BISCHOF, JOANNE
THE LADY AND THE LIONHEART

Carpe Diem...

Raised amid the fame and mystique of the Big Top, Charlie Lionheart holds the audience in the palm of his hand. But while his act captivates thousands, it's away from the spotlight where his true heart lies. Here he humbly cares for his pride of lions as if they were his brothers, a skill of bravery and strength that has prepared him for this most challenging feat yet -- freeing an orphaned infant from the dark bondage of a sideshow. A trade so costly, it requires his life in exchange for hers, leaving him tarnished by the price of that choice.

As the circus tents are raised on the outskirts of Roanoke, nurse Ella Beckley arrives to tend to this Gypsy girl. All under the watful eye of a guardian who not only bears a striking resemblance to the child, but who protects the baby with a lvoe that wraps around Ella's own tragic past, awakening a hope that goodness may yet reign. When their forbidden friendship deepens, Charlie dares to ask for her heart, bringing her behind the curtain of his secret world to reveal the sacrifice that gave hope to one little girl -- boldly showing Ella that while her tattered faith is deeply scarred, the only marks that need be permanent are his own.

My Review:

I've heard chatter about this book all across cyberspace. Can't count how many people said, "Oh, you must read The Lady and the Lionheart!" And it made the rounds on people's top reads of 2016 lists. The buzz kept getting louder and I was beginning to feel like I was the last person on the planet to read this book! Not for lack of trying but for some reason it was either sold out or unavailable to ship to my country ('cause Canada is so exotic and all!) But finally...FINALLY...I understand the hype and I'm eager to chime in.

I can sum it all up in one word. Charlie. Seriously swoonworthy. Tough and determined. Gentle and kind. Passionate. Committed. Loyal. Fierce. And oh so tender! His faith is his anchor, his desire to share the power of God's grace touched me in ways no other hero has. He has a servant's heart and his powerful example of sacrificial love is mind-blowing. Sigh.There's just something about Charlie. If I was into making lists and composed a Best Hero Ever in the History of the World one Charlie would be right at the top.

And then there's Ella. The perfect foil for such a noble hero. She hides a tragic past behind her cool professional demeanor. She doesn't know what to make of Charlie. Truthfully, he doesn't make the best first impression but she does find him intriguing and it isn't long before she finds herself entangled in his world. There's an exquisite Beauty and the Beast quality to their love story. I savored every single word. It's not the kind of novel you want to hurry through because I happen to agree with Charlie: "If you're passionate about something, why rush?" (p 123) And I am passionate about this book. I might just have to read it again.

Giveaway Opportunity:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of The Lady and the Lionheart 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 March 5 2017.  Offer open to international readers. Good luck!