Second Chance Christmas

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ST. AMANT, BETSY

SECOND CHANCE CHRISTMAS

Holiday wishes can come true...if they work together.

Charlie Bussey is ready to fight the corporation threatening to shut down the local animal shelter -- she just didn't expect the enemy would be her former best friend, Blake Bryant. To adopt his newly discovered niece, Blake needs this property deal to succeed. But when he discovers Charlie is his niece's child advocate, can he help his childhood crush...and gain a family for Christmas?

My Review:

A nice balance between angst, humour and toe-curls with lots of Christmassy goodness throughout. Recipe for the perfect holiday read, in my opinion. Especially since we have dogs galore -- homeless ones that need to be rescued yet again. Talk about pulling at a reader's heartstrings and setting up the hero to be the bad guy. :-) 

Only he's not! Blake has valid reasons for charging ahead despite the emotional turmoil he's leaving in his wake. Complications ensue when Charlie becomes involved. These two have history. Best friends on the cusp of becoming so much more until Blake left town...and Charlie with a broken heart. Sniffle. But 'tis the season of miracles and St. Amant provides a sleighful of 'em to the delight of her readers.

A captivating holiday second chance romance.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Second Chance Christmas, 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 October 15 2022 . Offer open to 

Tacos for Two

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ST. AMANT, BETSY

TACOS FOR TWO

Rory Perez, a food truck owner who can't cook, is struggling to keep the business she inherited from her aunt out of the red -- and an upcoming contest during Modest's annual food truck festival seems the best way to do it. The prize money could finally give her a solid financial footing and keep her cousin with special needs paid up at her beloved assisted living home. Then maybe Rory will have enough time to meet the man she's been talking to via an anonymous online dating site.

Jude Strong is tired of being a puppet at his manipulative father's law firm, and the food truck festival seems like the perfect opportunity to drive into his passion for cooking and finally call his life his own. But if he loses the contest, he's back at the law firm for good. Failure is not an option.

Complications arise when Rory's chef gets mono and she realizes she has to cook after all. Then Jude discovers that his stiffest competition is the same woman he's been falling for online the past month.

Will these unlikely chefs sacrifice it all for the sake of love? Or will there only ever be tacos for one?

My Review:

So...I was both excited and anxious over this new release. Excited because...Betsy St. Amant and that cute cover!!!! Anxious because I'd been hearing all the buzz about the You've Got Mail influences and I am so not a fan of that movie. Yes, I realize I'm likely a party of one but I can't get behind a romance between a couple already in committed relationships with other people and, more importantly, the bookstore dies. 'Nuf side. :-)

Rest assured this novel contains neither emotional cheating or the demise of a bookstore -- phew!!!! It does, however, contain humour and drama and quirky characters I loved and a few not-so-quirky that I loved to hate. 

The dialogue keeps the story moving, whether it's in the form of pithy text messages or heated arguments or soul-baring candour. Impeccably paced and just when I thought the plot was going in one direction, it veered off in another. So, classic rom/com elements but enough surprising twists to keep a reader on her toes. 

I felt both protagonists' struggles, though I have to admit to being a Jude fan way before I became a Rory fan. She was so quick to leap to wrong conclusions, and even quicker to snap out in anger. She's all prickly and fiery and...confused. I became more drawn to her as bits of her back story were revealed and I began to understand the reasons behind her distrust of Jude. 

He has his own history to overcome as well, and a truly deplorable family, but somehow, Jude managed to be more optimistic and not allow his past experiences to encroach on the new life he's making for himself, especially when it comes to his interactions with Rory. Loved the way the whole identity mix-up plays out and brings a lovely push-pull between comedy and angst to the already emotionally layered story.

The only thing missing was a solid faith thread -- and this surprised me because it is published by Revell which is a Christian Publishing house. Forgiveness , loving your enemies and the importance of family relationships are a major focus of the conflict, just not fleshed out in the inspirational way I was expecting.

All in all a captivating rom/com that's sure to please readers who are fans (or not!) of You've Got Mail.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Tacos for Two 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 December 4 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

Love Arrives in Pieces

GIVEAWAY

ST. AMANT, BETSY
LOVE ARRIVES IN PIECES

Love Arrives in Pieces

For so long, Stella was known for her beauty. Now, with her heart stripped bare, she must discover who she really is.

 Former pageant queen Stella Varland doesn’t trust beauty anymore after her divorce. Her appearance betrayed her and led to her brokenness—so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things, but always falls short. So she keeps her passion for her secret art to herself and focuses on her interior design work. But if she doesn’t get another job soon, she’ll be stuck living with her parents.

 

Contractor Chase Taylor is determined to live a life of no regrets after losing his fiancée in a car crash. Now he lives life at full speed, striving to see how much he can accomplish. He knows if he slows down, he’ll fall apart. So he returns home to Bayou Bend to renovate the town’s old theater, and is shocked to learn former flame Stella is the designer for the project.

 

Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and their pasts as they struggle to compromise and come together on a vision for the theater. Chase doesn’t understand why Stella is such a subdued version of herself, while Stella doesn’t get why Chase thinks he understands her. Their wills clash as they attempt to hide their brokenness—and their unresolved feelings for each other—until Chase discovers the hidden parts of Stella, losing her trust in the process.

 

A near catastrophe, a fire, and a small-town gossip mill finally force both Stella and Chase to realize that they have a choice—to hold on to the shards of their pasts, or surrender their fragmented pieces to the One who makes a beautiful masterpiece from the broken.

 My Review:

A powerful and stirring novel that really touched me. St. Amant does an excellent job of capturing Stella's struggle accepting and moving on from her brokenness. Raw and real and such a necessary story to be told in the Christian fiction market.

I felt like I was in Stella's skin the whole read. The word choice, the pacing, the measured back story reveals all combine to make the greatest impact on the reader. I was close to an emotional wreck by the end.

But St. Amant's sassy, tongue-in-cheek wit brings light and gentle humour to balance everything out. Sometimes I was laughing and crying on the very same page.

Chase is a redemptive hero who struggles with his own brokenness. He's also the catalyst that wakes Stella up from her self-imposed Sleeping Beauty façade. Their journey towards self-discovery is awkward and uncomfortable and exhilarating. Such a gamut of emotions! And I felt them all.

A stunning contemporary romance that packs a punch.
 

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity Group and Zondervan for supplying me with a review copy of this book.

http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/love-arrives-in-pieces-betsy-st-amant
 

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Love Arrives in Pieces 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 June 28 2015. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

Winter Brides : a Year of Weddings Novella Collection

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HUNTER, DENISE
RANEY, DEBORAH
ST. AMANT, BETSY
WINTER BRIDES : A YEAR OF WEDDINGS NOVELLA COLLECTION

Happily ever after begins today. The honor of your presence is requested at three winter weddings . . .
A December Bride by Denise Hunter
When Layla O'Reilly and Seth Murphy make their engagement public, she knows it's only to convince a major client that she's high-society enough to work for his agency. Seth has secretly loved Layla for years, but she’s never given him the time of day. For Layla, this romantic illusion is the chance to save her career. And for Seth, it's the chance to finally win her heart.

A January Bride by Deborah Raney
Novelist Madeleine Houser arranges a temporary office in a local bed and breakfast to escape the distracting renovations on her own house. Although she's never laid eyes on the inn's owner, an unlikely friendship blossoms between them as they leave daily notes for each other, and before long, Maddie finds herself falling for her mysterious host—a man likely many years her senior—and a man she's never even met.

A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant
History repeats itself when Allie Andrews escapes the church on her wedding day—wearing the same dress passed down for generations of women in her family, all women with histories of failed marriages. Allie loves Marcus but fears she's destined to repeat her family's mistakes. When thrown unexpectedly together for a wedding months later, Allie and Marcus discover their own story might be far from over.

My Review:

Sqqqquuuueaaaalllll!  I'm so excited about Zondervan releasing the A Year of Weddings novellas in print format. They were originally published as ebooks -- one novella every month for a year. I don't have an e-reader so I missed out on this incredible collection by some amazing authors. The print versions are arranged by season -- three novellas to a book and I just had to order Winter Brides as soon as I heard about it. I mean, seriously, how could I resist with these extraordinary authors?

A December Bride by Denise Hunter -- What a premise! My heart ached for poor lovelorn Seth. And he's so stoic and kind and romantic. Insert swoon here. Of course Layla is clueless and a tad bitter but inexplicably attracted to the man playing her fiancé. Toe-curling good.

A January Bride by Deborah Raney -- Really fun read. The hero and heroine don't meet right away -- the relationship develops in the form of letters and both make incorrect assumptions about the other. Their first meet is hysterical! Romance soon follows in sigh-worthy splendour.

A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant -- A runaway bride story that pulled at my heartstrings. Allie is so lost and Marcus is so wounded and they're thrown together months later. Raw emotion ensues. I ached for them both as I worked my way to their (thankfully) happily ever after.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Winter Brides 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 December 21  2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes

GIVEAWAY

ST. AMANT, BETSY
ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND CUPCAKES

Kat Varland has had enough of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.

At twenty-six years old, Kat is still living in the shadows of her family in Bayou Bend, Louisiana. Still working shifts at her Aunt Maggie s bakery. Still wondering what to do with her passion for baking and her business degree. And still single.

But when Lucas Brannen, Kat s best friend, signs her up for a reality TV bake-off on Cupcake Combat, everything Kat ever wanted is suddenly dangled in front of her: creative license as a baker, recognition as a visionary . . . and a job at a famous bakery in New York.

As the competition heats up, Lucas realizes he might have made a huge mistake. As much as he wants the best for Kat, the only thing he wants for himself her is suddenly in danger of slipping away.

The bright lights of reality cooking wars and the chance at a successful career dazzle Kat s senses and Lucas is faced with a difficult choice: help his friend achieve her dreams . . . or sabotage her chances to keep her in Louisiana

My Review:

Lucas and Kat are friends. For years. You know -- easy relationship, lots of camaraderie. They can almost finish each other's sentences. Who wants to mess with that? The agony of knowing that Lucas is falling in love with Kat but doesn't want to tell her in case it wrecks their friendship and Kat is in love with Lucas but doesn't want to tell him in case it wrecks their friendship...oy...the tantalizing attraction zinging across every page. I was ready for them to kiss and declare undying love around page 18! What exquisite torture that it took nearly three hundred pages. Three hundred toe-curling, heart-palpitating pages.

I was an inanely blathering pile of mush by the end. Emotionally exhausted, with very few finger nails left and a permanent nervous twitch under my left eye. The lengths this reader will go to for a good book! And this book is more than good. It's if-you-don't-read-this-book-now-you-will-regret-it-the-rest-of-your-life good. I could say more. Wax poetic about complex characters, riveting plot, laugh out loud humour, emotional angst of every kind and a whole lot more but I'm not going to. Just. Read. The. Book.  'nuf said. :-)

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes 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 September 13 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

My thanks to Litfuse Publicity Group and Zondervan for my review copy of this book.

http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/alls-fair-in-love-and-cupcakes-betsy-st-amant