For the Record

GIVEAWAY

JENNINGS, REGINA
FOR THE RECORD

Rather than wait for a hero, she decided to create one...

Betsy Huckabee has big-city dreams, but nobody outside of tiny Pine Gap, Missouri, seems interested in the articles she writes for her uncle's newspaper. Her hopes for independence may he crushed, until the best idea she's ever had comes riding into town.

Deputy Joel Puckett didn't want to leave Texas, but unfair circumstances have made moving to Pine Gap his only shot at keeping a badge. Worse, this small town has big problems, and masked marauders have become too comfortable taking justice into their own hands. He needs to make clear that he's the law in this town -- and that job is made more difficult with a nosy reporter who seems to follow him everywhere he goes.

The hero Betsy creates to be the star in a serial for the ladies pages is based on the dashing deputy, but he's definitely fictional. And since the pieces run only in newspapers far away, no one will ever know. But the more time she spends with Deputy Puckett, the more she appreciates the real hero -- and the more she realizes what her ambition could cost him.

My Review:

Another lively gem from Regina Jennings. Love her mix of humour and angst and this one even has a mystery to unravel. All the ingredients for a spellbinding read.

There's nothing quite like a doomed romance. From the moment Joel lays eyes on Betsy he knows she's trouble. And she doesn't cotton to him either -- at least not right away. Though the writer in her is tempted to romanticize the dashing deputy even though he labels her the most bothersome woman he's ever come across. They don't court as much as they spar. Heated arguments that had me laughing out loud. Like: "I'm particularly incensed, three notches past riled. And you deserve to be doused with dredges of my vocabulary." (p. 215)

Then there are the tender moments when things turn heatedly romantical. Be. Still. My. Heart. Can you say toe-curling kisses? Delicious! Tantalizing! And oh so sweet in the midst of the turbulence that surrounds them.

A scrumptious blend of romance, action and mystery for discerning readers who like to laugh while they swoon.

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

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of  For the Record 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 January 22 2017. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

The Bounty Hunter's Baby

GIVEAWAY

VETSCH, ERICA
THE BOUNTY HUNTER'S BABY

Brought together by a baby

Bounty hunter Thomas Beaufort has no problem handling outlaws, but when he's left with a criminal's baby to care for, he's in over his head. And the only person he can think of to ask for help is Esther Jensen, the woman whose heart he broke when he left town. But can he convince her to put aside the past until he tracks down the baby's outlaw father?

Esther is ready to run Thomas off her Texas ranch -- until she spies the abandoned newborn in his arms. Soon, working together to care for the precious babe stirs old hopes of a family. With trouble heading to their door, they could overcome it together -- if she'll entrust her wary heart to this sweet, second-chance family...

My Review:

I think that Erica Vetsch is really a pseudonym for a tough-as-nail cowpoke who roams the wild west. The truth leaks out in her ability to infuse cowboy colloquialisms into her stories. I swear I read the whole book with a Texas twang! And she has created the perfect cowboy hero, Thomas Beaufort. Bounty hunter extraordinaire who doesn't flinch at tracking down a murderer but can't get the best of one small nanny goat. A man devoted to his dog appropriately named after a famous Texas Ranger. Bested by a tiny scrap of humanity, he seeks aid from his former sweetheart. Be still my cowboy lovin' heart.

Of course Esther isn't as easily impressed. She's a heartbroken woman who has fallen on hard times and the last person she needs back in her life is the man who broke her heart in the first place. But she can't help falling in love with the orphaned baby he brings to her door. I spent my reading hours alternately laughing and swooning as these two lock horns. And there's the thrill of some good old-fashioned wild west action as well.  A sweet perfection of a read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of  The Bounty Hunter's Baby 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 January 22 2017. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

Unblemished

GIVEAWAY

ELLA, SARA
UNBLEMISHED

Eliyana can't bear to look at her own reflection. But what if there were only one reflection -- one world? What if another world exists where her blemish could become her strength?

Eliyana is used to the shadows. With a birthmark covering half her face, she just hopes to graduate high school unscathed. That is, until Joshua hops a fence and changes her perspective. No one, aside from her mother, has ever treated her like he does: normal. Maybe even beautiful. Because of Joshua, Eliyana finally begins to believe she could be loved.

But one night her mother doesn't come home, and that's when everything gets weird. Now Joshua is her new, and rather reluctant, Guardian. Add a hooded stalker and a Central Park battle to the mix and you've gone from weird to otherworldly.

Eliyana soon finds herself in a world much larger and more complicated than she's ever known. A world enslaved by a powerful and vile man. And Eliyana holds the answer to defeating him.  How can an ordinary girl, a blemished girl, become a savior when she can't even save herself?

My Review:

Sheer brilliance! I am gobsmacked over this being a debut novel! It's astounding! Every detail of this parallel world is so carefully thought out. And the plot is so complicated -- the twists and turns have twists and turns! And yet I never felt lost -- well, occasionally my brain felt scrambled -- and my questions had questions -- but otherwise this was an easy fantasy to navigate through.

I love the way Sara Ella delivers the story -- the blend of real and alternate worlds. And the way she uses easy-to-picture pop culture references to build quick images that help set the stage....and give us a glimpse into El's droll sense of humour. Like: "Things are looking up. I'm not going to smell like a hobbit today." (p.119) I do so love a heroine with a clever wit.

And poor El has to live by her wits when her world implodes just weeks before her eighteenth birthday! Told entirely from her viewpoint -- first person, present tense no less (not a favourite of mine but somehow it works here) -- I was so captivated by her story it consumed me. It's the kind of book that is so good you can't wait to read more but you don't want to read more because it will be over much too soon.

 There are so many reader's-heart-stops-beating-as-she-collapses-on-floor moments that I still feel like I'm riding a tilt-a-whirl. I was constantly stunned. Gasping out loud. Had to stop reading in places while I wrestled with the whole 'need to know but don't really want to know' conundrum.

And can we say love triangle? Nooooooooo! Yes! Nooooooooo! Yes! Wait. What??????? Stay tuned for book two? And there it is...the dreaded cliffhanger of an ending. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of resolution and tons of answers covered in Unblemished BUT there are loose ends left dangling. And my mind is whirling with all the possibilities and ramifications and I'm not sure how I'll manage the wait until Unravelling releases this summer.

 GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of  Unblemished 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 January 22 2017. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

At Home in Last Chance

GIVEAWAY

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!

Consipiracy of Silence

GIVEAWAY

KENDIG, RONIE
CONSIPIRACY OF SILENCE

This is the way the world ends.

Four years after a tragic mission decimated his team, Cole "Tox" Russell has been disavowed by the United States. And that's fine -- he just wants to be left alone. But when a dormant, centuries-old disease is unleashed. Tox is lured back into action.

Tox and his former Special Forces team regroup to work with FBI deception expert, Kasey Cortes, and fiery archaeologist, Tzivia Khalon, to search the globe for answers -- and a cure. As the mission leads them from one continent to another, it becomes clear they're not just fighting a plague but battling an ancient secret society whose true goals remain hidden.

With time running out and the threat of a global pandemic rising. Tox and his team realize their sole chance might be to reach back through centuries of silence to find the only answer that can save them all.

My Review:

Wow. Intense. Action-packed. Complex. This is a blockbuster thriller that could easily play out on the big screen. Has a Bourne Identity/Indiana Jones/ NCIS kind of vibe. Mind you, I always close my eyes in the fight scenes when I view a show but you can't do that when you're reading them so be prepared for some armchair cringing and wincing when those action-filled scenarios crop up...which is about every couple of pages. LOL  Compelling reading but my whole body is sore in sympathy with Tox and his crew.

This is the first book in a series -- The Tox Files -- and a free ebook novella (The Warrior's Seal) provides the backstory to Conspiracy of Silence, I didn't read the novella and had no trouble diving into this first book, but it's so complex, I think it might be a good idea to read the novella before cracking this one open.

Rife with intrigue, political corruption and secrets too many to mention Tox is reluctantly pushed into the center of it all. The story is told mainly from his point of view and all the more raw and gritty because of it.  Kendig writes a believable military scenario and the dynamics between the team -- the banter, support and wisecracks -- provide a bit of relief from the never-ending heart-in-throat action scenes. And I love the diversity of the team as well. Am eager to read their stories in future books.

The intricacies of a plot centered around biblical history and archeology makes for a fascinating twist to the typical suspense plot. And, while that suspense definitely takes center-stage, there is a thread of romance running through this tale as well.  And since Tox is involved, it's just as complicated as their mission. A mesmerizing read from start to finish. Eagerly waiting for book two. Crown of Souls which releases later this year.

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

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Conspiracy of Silence 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!

January Giveaway - Week Three

WON BY SWEETPEA

WON BY PAM K.

WON BY MARY

WON BY J DENNIS

WON BY DONNA BROOKMYER

WON BY DIANE BLASER

As always, I will contact the winners by email, however, thanks to the nefarious ways of the internet, my email might land in your spam folder so keep your eyes peeled! :-) If you haven't heard from me by Monday evening, please email me your snail mail address at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. From time to time winners and I don't seem to connect, so I have a month time frame. If I can't reach you within four weeks your win will be forfeited.

 LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK'S GIVEAWAYS:

The Search

GIVEAWAY

FISHER, SUZANNE WOODS
THE SEARCH

As a child caught up in a crisis, Lainey O'Toole made a split-second decision with far-reaching effects. Fifteen years later, when her car breaks down in Stoney Ridge -- the very town in which that decision was made -- she is forced to face the past and discover how her decision has impacted so many.

Bess Reihl is less than thrilled to be spending the summer at Rose Hill Farm helping her intimidating grandmother coaxed her to Stoney Ridge for an entirely different reason. But once Bess meets hired hand Billy Lapp, the summer starts to hold some promise.

Lainey's and Bess's worlds are about to collide, and the secrets that come to light will shock them both.

Beautifully written, The Secret is a skillfully woven story that takes you through unexpected twists and turns on the long country road toward truth. Immerse yourself in this heartwarming -- and surprising -- tale of young love, forgiveness, and healing.

My Review:

Another amazing retro read from one of my favourite authors. I just love how Suzanne Woods Fisher brings an Amish community to life! And Stoney Ridge is the kind of town I want to live in.

I laughed until my tummy hurt over Bertha's antics. Bess's grandmother is a law unto herself and she has a lovable way of mashing words that kept me chuckling throughout the read. But she's crusty and opinionated  and downright intimidating at times as well. Kind of reminded me of Marilla Cuthburt (Anne of Green Gables.) But this isn't Bertha's story -- though she plays a pivotal role -- it's Bess and Lainey's tale.

I was gobsmacked in places. Literally stunned. And my emotions dipped and soared as the story unfolded. True confession -- I shed more than a tear or two. And spiritually moved by such faith-filled concepts as: "Are we going to be part of condemning a man? Or are we going to be a part of releasing him from condemnation?" (p. 191) A rich read that is sure to stir your emotions and get you thinking.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of The Search 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 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 February 5. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!