Some Bright Someday

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RANDOM RETRO READ DAY

TAGG, MELISSA

SOME BRIGHT SOMEDAY

Lucas Danby has always regretted the end of his Army career -- and he's never stopped trying to redeem his honor. He's spent the past decade as an elite private soldier, but the high-risk work never cures his shame. Now he's stuck stateside, mentoring a new recruit. Worse, he's sick of lying to the people he cares about -- including the woman he's secretly loved for years.

Jenessa Belville is the last Belville left -- and if she had her way, she'd leave the name and all its painful memories behind. Which is exactly what she hopes to do once she sells Belville Park, the massive estate she inherited from her parents. But on the same day she puts up the 'For Sale' sign, she discovers three children hiding in the caretaker's cottage.

Struggling to mentor a young man with scars nearly as piercing as his own, Lucas offers to help Jenessa restore the Belville grounds. Though drawn together by a trio of kids who tug on their hearts, past secrets and current sorrows threaten to pull them apart. Only the brightest love and hardest sacrifice can turn the house Jenessa never wanted into the home she and Lucas have always longed for.

My Review:

published in 2020

"You can trust God and still wish things were different. Faith doesn't mean you stop dreaming about the future or desiring something you don't yet have. God cares about the things that matter to you." (p 333)

The kind of novel that begs to be savoured -- from the exquisite prose to the captivating friendships and especially for the emotional love story. 

And the trio of kids!!! Oh my heart, they gutted me and made me smile and tugged at every last one of my heart strings. I'm an emotional basket case now that the read is completed and I'm left luxuriating in all the after-read warm fuzzies. And that's a pretty cozy place to be.

Tagg knows how to create characters that come to life and take over mine! And the way she wove myriad plot threads that cocooned Lucas and Jen's unique love story...well, just, wowzers! I hung on every word. Swooned over Lucas in all his stubborn, save-the-people-he-loves-from-himself misguided glory. My, but that man has a heart for service that conflicts with a fear that he will never be worthy. And while Jen draws people to her, she keeps her broken pieces hidden. Their emotionally fraught journey to their happily-ever-after made my heart sing!

A rich and vibrant story with boundless depths. The perfect autumnal read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for an ebook copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Some Bright Someday, 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 November 27 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

Autumn by the Sea

GIVEAWAY

TAGG, MELISSA

AUTUMN BY THE SEA

Abandoned as a toddler, Sydney Rose has spent years wondering who she really is, homesick for a life she's never lived. When a private investigator crashes into her world, she finds herself heading to a tiny seaside town in Maine to meet a woman named Maggie, who's searching for the granddaughter she lost decades ago.

If not for Maggie, Neill MacKean might still be back in Scotland, bereft and alone, instead, he has a full life in Muir Harbor with an adopted family he loves and a blueberry farm to run. But the farm is struggling and strange occurrences have him concerned. Worse, Maggie's once again caught up in the past, convinced she's finally found her long-lost granddaughter.

Worried for Maggie, Neil is suspicious of the city girl who shows up at the farm. But there's something about Sydney that tugs on him, drawing out secrets he never meant to share. While Neill grapples with the future of the farm, Sydney wrestles with a past that's messier than ever. Together, they're pulled into a mystery complete with a centuries-old legend, unexpected danger...and a love as deep and wild as the sea.

My Review:

Seriously the most eye-popping meet cute I've ever read!!!! Funny and cringy and blush worthy. Bwahahahaha! 

And Tagg just keeps on giving all the way through to the very end. I mean, doesn't that cover set the tone for autumnal reading? Cue the cozy fire and a cuppa of your choice (I'll make mine hot cocoa with marshmallows, please) and be prepared to lose yourself in small town Maine. Blueberry farming no less!!! I've been in love with blueberry harvesting ever since I read Blueberries for Sal way back when...and then kept on reading it to my own daughter and then all my kindergarteners when I was a school librarian. Sometimes old-fashioned simplicity is best...but I digress.

Love, love, love these characters! Their farm! the small town! The mysteries (and, yes, some aren't explained...yet.) Tagg has the ability to transform a reader into a participant and I really felt like I was right there in Muir Harbor, experiencing it all from the fresh eyes of one very confused, warily hopeful Sydney. And I was emotionally invested in this heroine from the very nail-biter of a first chapter. 

Sydney's past has always been a mystery and the hope that she might find answers in this quaint New England town is...well, almost too much to hope for! :-) 

"I think Maggie would say that's what love does. It keeps hoping even when the answers don't come easily. It invites strangers in. It doesn't give up. Love keeps searching." (p 165)

Who is Maggie, you ask? The wisest most open-hearted woman on the planet -- and possibly, maybe, Sydney's grandmother. But there are three other grandchildren who are all kinds of skeptical about that. This isn't their first rodeo when it comes to long lost heirs. And Neil in particular has his dander up.

Cue the fireworks, lightning bolts and every other kind of pyrotechnics you can think of 'cause Sydney and Neil have chemistry! And watching their barriers crumble while they sizzle their way to each other makes for one toe-curling reading extravaganza.

Their romance is all wrapped up in multiple mysteries -- not the high-octane suspense kind though. More questions without answers. Perplexing occurrences. And family history conundrums. Some of them are answered in this book. Others are still a big '?' so I'm anxiously keeping an eye out for A Seaside Wonder, the second book in the Muir Harbor series to release...gah, I don't know when -- it's another mystery! 

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for an ebook copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Autumn by the Sea, 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 November 6 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck! 

Now and Then and Always

GIVEAWAY

TAGG, MELISSA
NOW AND THEN AND ALWAYS

After traumatic circumstances forced her from her job as a nanny, Mara Bristol finally found a place to belong -- the Everwood Bed & Breakfast. For months, she's helped its owner, Lenora, maintain the ramshackle property. But when Lenora fails to return from a long trip and the bank threatens foreclosure, Mara worries she's about to lose the only true home she's ever known.

Detective Marshall Hawkins is no closer to whole today than he was two years ago...the day his daughter died. When a reckless decision on the job propels him into administrative leave, he has no other plan but to get in his truck and drive. A one-night stay at the Everwood was supposed to be just that. But there's something about the old house -- or maybe its intriguing caretaker -- that pulls him in.

Together, Mara and Marshall set out to save the Everwood. But its secrets run deeper than they could've imagined. As they renovate the house and search for its missing owner, they'll each confront the pain that brought them to the Everwood in the first place...and just maybe discover an unexpected love to help them carry on.

My Review:

"Far be it from me to speak for the Almighty, but I feel fairly confident saying God isn't looking for impressive people. He's looking for people who are willing to be impressed by Him." (p 132)

Well, now, this is one of those 'this book is so good I can't find the right words to tell you how good it is" reviews. I'm flummoxed, confounded, disconcerted and clearly consumed by redundancy. :-) In other words, Melissa Tagg has left me addle-pated. 

Or maybe that was Marshall. Because, seriously, if he does not sweep you off your feet and jump start your heart then...well, you don't have one! It's tricky to write a wounded hero with the right combination of realistic grit and toe-curling warmth, but Tagg has created a broody hero worthy of Olympic size swoons. He's broken. And messed up. And cut off from God. Hurting and angry and balancing on the edge of something much darker. But all of that cannot completely bury the decent, honest, compassionate man at his core.

And then Everwood happens. An antiquated mansion that has a personality all of it's own. Welcoming in all its decaying beauty. Harboring secrets that it won't give up readily. Sheltering lost souls. Promising better futures. This house is a third main character and I love that!

Mara has been hiding out at Everwood for nearly a year. She's as captivated by the mansion as I am! Her reasons for going underground are hers to share and, if you're patient, she'll reveal all in her own time. Marshall's intrigued. And suspicious. His detective spidey senses are tingling...but so is his heart. There is such emotional depth to this romance! An angst-riddled path leads to their HEA, though, complete with mystery and danger! That was a fun twist. It doesn't overtake the relationship building and the soul-searching but it adds an intriguing undercurrent that amped up my reading enjoyment that much more.

"And I started thinking, what if that's like God? What if when we've fallen, when we're hurt, when we're in our greatest pain, He runs towards us?...What if it's not about me pulling myself together and getting up, but just...looking up? To see Him. Running to me." (p 306)


GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Now and Then and Always, 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 12 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

All This Time

GIVEAWAY

TAGG, MELISSA
ALL THIS TIME

Bear's past refuses to let go

Ten years ago, Bear McKinley gave up everything -- his freedom and his reputation -- for his mess of a family. But after years of distance and too many attempts at starting over, he finally has a new life...until his past catches up to him once again. Suddenly he finds himself charged with the care of his missing brother's children, convinced he's out of second chances to make his life count. And yet, with every day that passes, these kids and the woman he never stopped missing help patch the holes in his heart. Maybe this is the fresh start he's been longing for all along. But as his newfound hope grows, so does the mystery surrounding his brother's activities -- and when the threat reaches into the lives of those he loves, it's clear can't run away this time.

Fear holds Raegen's future captive

Raegan Walker is fine. She's happy working part-time obs and rarely venturing from her hometown. At least, that's what she tells everyone...and herself. But she can't help wondering what might've happened if she hadn't abandoned her art so many years ago -- and if Bear McKinley had never left. When Bear returns and she's commissioned for a painting that just might revive her artistic ambition all in one week. It's time to finally reach for more than fine. But doing so means facing the fears that have held her back all this time, including admitting the secret she's kept from Bear and her family. With her dream and her heart on the line, how much will Raegan have to risk tofinally chase her happy ending!

My Review:

Well, I'm all weepy now. Not only because this novel packs an emotional wallop, but because it is the last in the Walker Family series and I'm so not ready to say goodbye! Not to them or Maple Valley. Or Melissa Tagg's incredible gift of sharing hard hitting faith cushioned by love and grace. Though I expect we readers will see that aspect of her writing in future books with new characters and places. Still -- the Walkers are a pretty awesome family and I am going to miss them. Sniffle.

And I have to say that Tagg really preached to me when it came to the inspirational threads in this book. Not that it's preachy, mind, just that she said some things that I desperately needed to hear. Let's just say I'm a little bit Bear and a whole lot Raegan and leave it at that. But, seriously, this is why I read Christian Fiction -- to gain insight and perspective on my faith journey because stories reach me in a way that all the non-fiction 'how-to' books can't.

So,on to Bear and Raegan. Make sure you have tissue and a fainting couch on hand...and possibly smelling salts for readers of a particularly sensitive nature. :-) Bear is everything his name conjures up. A bit rough around the edges, big and brawny but he isn't afraid to let his inner teddy bear shine through on appropriate occasions...which often involves Raegan. Melting  puddle sigh.

The scenes with these two -- the banter, the teasing, the aching tenderness. My heart hurt for them. Bear because he's so stubborn in his confusion. His faith is strong but has a hairline fracture running through it -- "Sure he believed in a God who forgave his sins; forgot them even. But the world didn't forget. Bear didn't." (p 105) And Raegan, trying so hard not to fall for the guy who has no intention of staying in town long term. Because she is frozen in place by a secret that has way too much power over her.

So the stage is set for an angsty romance, but the author doesn't leave it there. There's some intrigue and mystery, the shadow of Bear's past that brings danger to this quiet rural town. And the Walker family is present in full force. Lots of delightful cameos with former heroes and heroines from previous novels as well as the clan's patriarch, Case Walker. If this Walker family saga has to come to a close, this is a pretty awesome way to do it!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of All This Time, 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 . 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 April 8 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Keep Holding On

GIVEAWAY

TAGG, MELISSA
KEEP HOLDING ON

Beckett Walker hasn't stepped foot in Maple Valley in years. There's no getting past the painful memories, and there's every chance he'll be arrested as soon as he shows his face. Which is exactly what happens when he finally returns. Suddenly his dream of adventure as a military lawyer comes skidding to a halt.

Horticulturalist Kit Danby has spent too much missing home and her childhood best friend -- Beckett Walker. Now she might have a shot at reclaiming both. After years of living abroad, she returns to run her family's apple orchard. She has one season to turn a profit and impress the father she barely knows. But she can't do it alone.

It should be simple: Beckett needs community service hours. Kit needs a helping hand. But there's more at stake than either of them planned. With a tangled past and futures that look nothing alike, they'll have to find a way to weather the storms of the present...or risk losing everything.

My Review:

Five tissue box alert. I bawled my eyes out towards the end of this novel. In fact my poor book is quite water logged -- there are pages that look like I left it out in the rain. :-(  So, if you have any kind of heart at all, be prepared to sob your way to the end. And that's because Melissa Tagg makes you feel so much a part of the story that you can't help becoming emotionally invested.

After reading three of the Walker Family novels I feel like an extended member of the clan and I can't understand why they won't listen to my counsel when they get themselves into complicated situations. :-)

Take Beckett for example. He is one stubborn man. Complicated as all get out. Passionate and spontaneous -- some might even call him reckless. The exact opposite to Kit's more cautious nature. They made a great team growing up and the potential to restore that friendship...and more...is what drove me into a reading frenzy.  And talk about toe-curling! Oh my! There are some deliciously swoonworthy scenes to offset the stomach churning ones.

Heart-wrenching angst laced with unwavering hope fueled by an inspiring faith thread make this a truly memorable read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Keep Holding On please leave a comment or send me an email 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 to make it easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday April 16 2017. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

Like Never Before

GIVEAWAY

TAGG, MELISSA
LIKE NEVER BEFORE

Maple Valley became Amelia Bentley's haven after her heart and her dreams of a family were shattered. But when the newspaper she runs is in danger of closing, she puts all her hopes on a story that just might convince the new owner to keep the paper running.

After his biggest campaign success yet, widowed speechwriter Logan Walker has the chance of a lifetime: a spot on a presidential campaign. But first he has to return to his hometown to sell the newspaper he's suddenly inherited.

But instead of a quick sale, Logan finds himself helping Amelia chase her story. She's scrappy, but wounded. He's dependable, but lost. And working together to break the story on Maple Valley's unsolved mystery is just the start of the sparks that fly in the office and in their hearts.

My Review:

This book makes me deliriously happy. Yes, it has an angsty, bawl-your-eyes-out kind of vibe in places but there's also a winning combination of swoons and laughter.

In fact be forewarned -- this book may be injurious to the health of an unsuspecting reader. Chronic hiccups can result from laughing and swooning at the same time because Tagg can turn a rapturously romantic moment into a funny one in the blink of an eye. And use caution when consuming a beverage while reading Like Never Before. Snorting liquid up your nose is a serious potential hazard due to frequent witty banter between hero and heroine. And lastly -- try to remember to breathe...at least occasionally. Yes, there will be moments when you must swallow back a gasp, or hold in a pent-up breath but keep in mind that you can't read if you aren't breathing so pace yourself. :-)

What did I love about this book? Everything! The whole complicated Walker family, the town of Maple Valley, the idea of saving an old local newspaper and, of course, the romance. Crazy impossible though it may seem.

And -- be still my heart. Logan Walker! Devoted papa, driven to succeed, aching for a past he can never have again. All turmoil and trouble wrapped up in a hunk of masculinity with a surprising tendency towards tenderness and compassion. And Amelia! A heroine after my own heart. Spunky and sweet, her goals are at cross-purposes with Logan's. The thrill of angst in their relationship is tantalizing and leads to a toe-curling romance of the highest order. An all-round sublime read!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. in exchange for my honest review.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of  Like Never Before 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 April 17 2016. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

Here To Stay

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TAGG, MELISSA
HERE TO STAY

Witty and Heartwarming Contemporary Romance by an Up-and-Coming Author

Blake Hunziker has played nomad for five years and landed in his fair share of trouble too. But now he's finally returning to his hometown--the Lake Michigan tourist town of Whisper Shore. Counting on a not-so-warm welcome, he's surprised at not only a positive reception but also a job offer. Determined to settle down and prove himself responsible, he agrees to the catch that comes with the job offer--coordinating the annual Christmas festival--even though he has no idea how he'll pull it off.

Autumn Kingsley, inn owner and experienced organizer of the Christmas festival, has always dreamed of traveling the world. Now she has a job opportunity in Paris and a surprise potential investor coming to town who just might take on her family's inn and finally leave her free to go. The only problem is that she has just two weeks to whip the inn into shape.

Their families have a long history of not getting along, but when Blake comes to Autumn for help with the festival, she actually agrees...in exchange for his help with the repairs to her inn. They may have struck a simple deal, but complications are quick to pile on when the guy who's had enough of running away and the woman who can't wait to leave join forces.  

My Review:

Loved this to bits. Really. One of the best contemporary romances around. There's a campy Gilmore Girls vibe about this story. Autumn might not have a teenage daughter but she's got the small town inn and the quirky employees that go along with it. And oh my goodness, there are so many laugh out loud scenes I think I cracked a rib or two laughing so hard! Tagg wields the unexpected with delightful aplomb. And all that witty mayhem is punctuated with toe-curling romance. Best almost kisses ever!

Let's take a moment to exhale a happy sigh over Blake. He's the epitome of good hero material. Endearing charm matched with a tortured soul. He is finally ready to come back home after a family tragedy has kept him wandering for the past five years. Determined to prove himself, he's blindsided by his attraction to Autumn. She's just as confused. Her plans are set and they don't include a romance. Delicious complications tied this reader's heart into way too many knots before reaching the end.

A contemporary romance that will make you a tad shy of giddy -- both during the read and for a long while after!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Here To Stay 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 October 4 2015. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

From the Start

GIVEAWAY

TAGG, MELISSA
FROM THE START

Kate Walker used to believe in true love and happily ever after. While her own love life may have left her brokenhearted, it hasn't kept her from churning out made-for-TV romance movie screenplays...until a major career slump and a longing to do something meaningful send her running back to her hometown of Maple Valley.

Permanently sidelined by an injury, former NFL quarterback Colton Greene is temporarily hiding out in a friend's hometown to avoid the media and the reminders of all he's lost. Maple Valley seems like the perfect place to learn how to adjust to normal life. The only trouble is he's never really done normal before.

While Kate plays things safe and Colton is all about big risks and grand gestures, they both get what it's like to desperately need direction in life. An unexpected project gives them both a chance to jumpstart their new lives, but old wounds and new dreams are hard to ignore. Starting over wasn't part of the plan, but could it be the best thing that's ever happened to them?  

My Review:

How can this be the first book I've read by Melissa Tagg? My once stellar book spidey senses must be slipping! There can be no other explanation. All I can say is: check for more of this author on Retro Saturdays in the near future!

What a captivating read! And I'm so excited that this is the first novel in the Walker Family series and even more excited because there are a goodly number of siblings crying out for their stories to be told. From the Start puts me in mind of Denise Hunter's McKinley series and Susan May Warren's Christiansen family so if you are  a fan of those authors you're going to love Melissa Tagg as well.

This is the kind of read you can all too easily lose yourself in. By the end I felt like an honorary Maple Valley citizen and member of the Walker family. Have to admit it was kind of a shock to 'wake up' to my solitary life in a big city. I'm feeling rather homesick right now and that's because Tagg has created a community with such vivid detail that it feels...well, real! And I'm pretty sure the Walker clan is too.

I adore this large and opinionated family. Love the sibling rivalry -- all the friendly digs, relentless teasing and the way they rally around each other at the least sign of trouble. Everyone should grow up in a family like that.

But Colton didn't. Sometimes he feels like he's on the outside looking in -- even when the Walkers pull him into their midst. A past cluttered with grief and sorrow has caused him to retreat behind a protective wall. He only lets people so close...until the Walkers, and Kate in particular, smash those bricks to smithereens.

Tagg tells his story with compassion and humour. She has a unique style -- part sarcastic wit/part exquisite prose. She really has an incredible way with words. They paint images that add depth to the story. Like this: He started up the porch steps, trying to ignore the awkward tension that'd dropped like precipitation, despite a cloudless sky. (p.142)

I especially appreciated the solid inspirational thread that takes root in so many ways. There's a wonderful football analogy about waiting for God's direction that even this football flunky could not only comprehend but apply in my own life.

And by the end, I felt like I'd lived Colton and Kate's story, rather than merely reading about them. Now that it's over, I'm in mourning -- always the sign of a truly great book. And this one definitely is.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of From the Start 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 6 2015. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!