Plaid and Plagiarism

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO-READ DAY!

MACRAE, MOLLY
PLAID AND PLAGIARISM

A murder in a garden turns the four new owners of Yon Bonnie Books into amateur detectives, in a captivating new cozy mystery novel from Molly MacRae.

Set in the weeks before the annual Inversgall Literature Festival in Scotland, Plaid and Plagiarism begins on a morning shortly after the four women take possession of their bookshop in the Highlands. Unfortunately, the move to Inversgall hasn't gone as smoothly as they'd planned.

First, Janet Marsh is told she'll have to wait before moving into her new home. Then she finds out the house has been vandalized. Again. The chief suspect? Una Graham, and advice columnist for the local paper -- who's trying to make a name for herself as an investigative reporter. When Janet and her business partners go looking for clues at the house, they find a body -- it's Una, in the garden shed, with a sickle in her neck. Janet never did like that garden shed.

Who wanted Una dead? After discovering a cache of nasty letters, Janet and her friends are beginning to wonder who didn't, including Janet's ex-husband. Surrounded by a cast of characters with whom readers will fall in love, the new owners of Yon Bonnie Books set out to solve Una's murder so they can get back to business.

A delightful and deadly new novel about recognizing one's strengths and weakness -- while also trying to open a new book shop -- Plaid and Plagiarism is the start of an entertaining new Scottish mystery series.

My Review:

Woohoo -- a new-to-me cozy mystery series to tickle my funny bone and challenge my armchair sleuthing skills! And it's set in a book shop in Scotland! With a retired librarian heroine! I'm all agog over the bookiliciousness of it all!

This is a really smart murder mystery. Loved the diverse skills the four friends bring to the table -- Janet, the retired librarian, her daughter, Tally a former lawyer, and friends Christine (retired social worker) and Summer (a journalist taking a sabbatical from the profession.) Their combined talents give credence to their amateur sleuthing. Witty dialogue, a bevy of quirky secondary characters, no end of potential suspects and the quaint Scottish town itself combine to make this one fabulous not-to-be-missed cozy read.

I listened to the audio version of this book which was a real treat. I love it when the narrator sounds like she's enjoying the book as much as I am! Elaine Claxton did a wonderful job. A real pleasure to listen to.

Please note: this isn't a Christian Fiction selection but it is a clean read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Plaid and Plagiarism, 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 July 13 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

July Giveaway - Week One

WON BY KAY GARRETT

WON BY WENDY NEWCOMB

WON BY TRIXI

WON BY BOOKS ARE A BLESSING

WON BY LINDA MOFFITT

WON BY MELISSA ANDRES

You know the drill: winners will be contacted if they left their email address. Otherwise it's up to the winner to contact me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca with your mailing address. From time to time a winner and I do not connect so I have a one month time frame on giveaway wins. If I haven't been able to reach you within 30 days of your win, it will be forfeited. This has happened a few times now so, please, DON'T BE SHY -- CONTACT ME IF YOU DIDN'T LEAVE YOUR EMAIL OR IF I HAVEN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN REACHING YOU. Books will be ordered within a week of receiving your mailing address and I'll email you to confirm your win is on its way. Give it a full month before inquiring about the status of an order to allow for processing and shipping time. Thank you!

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK'S GIVEAWAYS:

By some happy coincidence, all of the books featured next week are about...sqqquuueeealllll...bookshops! Well, five were so I added in a revisit of a retro read on Friday -- Lynn Austin's Wonderland Creek so we could have a completely bookcentric week of reviews/giveaways. How cool is that?!

The Unexpected Champion

GIVEAWAY

CONNEALY, MARY
THE UNEXPECTED CHAMPION

They're different as could be. But they'll need to trust each other to survive the wilderness...and the dangers chasing them.

City dweller John McCall never expected to be out in the High Sierras of 1868 on a wild-goose chase to find the Chiltons' supposedly lost grandson. But now that he's out here, things have gotten even more complicated, mostly due to wildcat Penny Scott. She's not like any woman he's ever met -- comfortable in the woods, with a horse, and with a gun.

When Penny and John are taken against their will by a shadowy figure looking for evidence they don't have, both realize they've stumbled into something dangerous. With their friends and family desperately searching for them, Penny and John must make a daring escape.

When they emerge back the real world, they discover their kidnapper just won't stop. This city man and country woman must bring a powerful, ruthless man to justice, all while fighting a very inconvenient attraction to each other.

My Review:

Nobody delivers deadpan better than Mary Connealy. Her one liners in the midst of bedlam and danger kept me in snorty guffaws from start to finish. (Not the kind of book you want to read in public! Trust me, this genteel reader got quite a few stares -- even some glares -- when I availed myself of the library's air conditioning  the afternoon I read The Unexpected Champion. The epitome of literary elegance I was not. Oops.)

Another Connealy trademark is her rough and tumble heroines. These ladies don't sit around waiting to be rescued. They're the rescuers! Penny is tough and capable and a match for any man when it comes to survival skills  Even the city slicker Pinkerton Agent dogging her heels in the wilderness can learn a thing or two from her.  Theirs is a case of opposites attract which means crackling tension of the romantical kind!

The action is intense, the danger relentless and the romance (while dodging endless calamities) is toe-curling perfection. A breath-snatching, heart-stomping, adrenaline-rushing conclusion to the Sierra Sweethearts series.

Side note: It's probably best if you've read the first two books in this series -- The Accidental Guardian and The Reluctant Warrior -- before reading this one. There's a continuous thread that's finally resolved in this one and quite a few characters and plot points to be aware of before diving into The Unexpected Champion.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If  you would like a chance to win a copy of The Unexpected Champion, 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 July 6 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

A Love for Lizzie

GIVEAWAY

LYONS, TRACEY J.
A LOVE FOR LIZZIE

Childhood friends joined by a painful past...can love blossom between them?

After her father falls ill, Lizzie Miller and her family desperately need help to keep the farm going during harvest time. Neighbor Paul Burkholder is eager to lend a hand -- and to court Lizzie.But Paul has a secret that he fears could push Lizzie away. Can they finally heal from a tragedy in their pasts...and open their hearts to each other?

My Review:

Tracey Lyons' Love Inspired debut is a heartwarming friendship-to-love romance set in a New York Amish settlement. Love the unusual locale (for this genre) and the way the author has set things up for future fictional visits to Miller's Crossing (at least, I hope there will be more!)

Lizzie and Paul share a childhood tragedy that has shaped their lives and burdened them both with misplaced guilt. Now adults, with a friendship bordering on something deeper, it's finally time to lay the past to rest once and for all. Paul's keen, but Lizzie is reluctant and there's a spectacular clashing of wills before they get things sorted.

This angst-riddled, faith-filled love story made the perfect escape-the-heat summer read!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If  you would like a chance to win a gently read copy of A Love for Lizzie, 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 July 6 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

More Than Words Can Say

GIVEAWAY

WITEMEYER, KAREN
MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY

After fulfilling a pledge to a dying friend, Zacharias Hamilton is finally free. No family entanglements. No disappointing those around him. Just the quiet bachelor existence he's always craved. Until fate snatches his freedom away when the bake of his favorite breakfast bun is railroaded by the city council. Despite not wanting to get involved, he can't turn a blind eye to her predicament...or her adorable dimples.

Abigail Kemp needs a man's name on her bakery's deed. A marriage of convenience seems the best solution...if it involves a man she can control. That person definitely isn't the stoick lumberman who oozes silent confidence whenever he enters her shop. Control Zacharias Hamilton? She can't even control her pulse when she's around him.

When vows are spoken, Abigail's troubles should be over. Yet threats to the bakery worsen, and darker dangers hound her sister. Can she put ever more trust in Zach without losing her dreams of independence?

My Review:

Eeeeepppppp! Marriage of Convenience romance alert! And that aspect of the story is swooniferously well-done!

Zach makes my pulse race too! He's the strong silent type with a checkered past and a heart of gold. If you read the first book in this Patchwork Family series, you'll know that Zach and two other orphans created their own little family unit after their orphan train derailed. In the wake of the tragedy, Zach, as the eldest and most streetwise, became the head of their ragtag household. He wasn't much for talking then and his gruff demeanor hasn't improved over the years either. Finally, now that both his siblings are happily married and situated in their own households, Zach is  free to live the solitary life he's been craving...

Until Abby audaciously propositions him! All flashing dimples and as sweet as her famed breakfast buns. Of course he'll say no. Absolutely. Positively. There's no way he'd ever consider agreeing to a marriage of convenience until...well, he finds himself saying yes. But he has some conditions of his own...like taking the 'convenience' out of the marriage though Abby is stubbornly wary on that score. What's a husband to do but woo his lovely wife? Scrumptious sigh. Toe-curls and heart palpitations ensue so don't say I didn't warn you!

But there's also the kind of secondary character I love to hate! Gah, but my blood pressure got a workout over that one's shenanigans! Family, faith, forgiveness and the glorious hope that comes from trusting God no matter what,  make this a breathtaking, hallelujah-cheering, sweet perfection of a read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of More Than Words Can Say, 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 July 6 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Low Country Dreams

GIVEAWAY

MCCLAIN, LEE TOBIN
LOW COUNTRY DREAMS

Return to Safe Haven, where a new beginning with your first love is only a heartbeat away.

Yasmin Tanner has devoted her life to making other people's dreams come true. But between running Safe Haven's women's shelter and caring for her brother, the long days -- and lonely nights -- are catching up with her...until Officer Liam O'Dwyer knocks on her door. She had good reasons for breaking Liam's heart all those years ago, but that hasn't made sharing their small town any easier. She's missed him -- that's painfully clear to her now. But that's not the only secret she's keeping from him.

Ever since Yasmin left, Liam has kept his head down and his chin up. But when a woman from Yasmin's shelter goes missing, leaving her teenage son alone, it hits home for Liam. He'll do whatever it takes to reunite this family...even work closely with the one woman he can't forget. Yet as late summer days turn into cozy autumn nights rekindling the past, Liam suspects yasmin is hiding something. And where her loyalties fall could mean the difference between lost love and a second chance at forever.

My Review:

I enjoyed the first book in the Safe Haven series (one of last week's giveaways) so much that I raced back to the library and managed to get my hands on book 2. Love that the books in this series are being released so close together. The third one will be out in September and it looks to be a doozy! But let's concentrate on Yasmin and Liam for now. What an angst-riddled second chance (if we can claw our way through all that aforementioned angst) love story!  And a stellar cast of secondary characters plus lots of brotherly love and a suspense element. This book kept me hopping right to the very last page. Again, it's not a Christian fiction selection but it is a clean read. I love the way the author tackles some tough subjects with compassion and grace.

Side-note: There's the continuation of a secondary character plot point from the first book that's resolved in this one but the author does a great job of catching new-to-the-series readers up to speed so Low Country Dreams could be read as a standalone. Rita's story will make more of an emotional impact though, if you've read Low Country Hero.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Low Country Dreams, 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 July 6 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Over the Line

GIVEAWAY

IRVIN, KELLY
OVER THE LINE

In this high-stakes romantic suspense novel where tensions mount on both sides of the border, bestselling author Kelly Ivin explores what happens when the past explodes against the present and the only person you can turn to is the one who broke your heart.

When a college student dies at Gabriella's feet, after muttering her brother's name, vicious gun smugglers believe she knows too much. And they're determined to make sure she suffers the same fate. With no one else to turn to, Gabriella reunites with her former fiance,  homicide detective Eli Cavazasos, to investigate the dead man's murder and her brother's disappearance.

In a desperate race against time, Gabriella and Eli are determined to clear her brother and find him before the gun smugglers can kill them both. Bit by bit, they tear away the masks worn by men masquerading as law-abiding citizens. No one can be trusted.

Working as a team forces Gabriella and Eli to face the problems that ended their relationship. She realizes she's the one who needs to learn to forgive, but Eli must also learn to trust her with his secrets.

This ragtag team must fight a powerful ring of criminals protected by the very institutions that should prosecute them in an all-out battle that may cost them their lives.

My Review:

Whoa! What an intense, complicated, adrenaline-rush of a read! Power. Greed. Corruption. And a desperate race to find Gabriella's brother...while avoiding capture or death! And the dynamics between Gabriella and Eli -- oh la la! Gabriella is still carrying a major grudge after their break up but Eli is so penitent and besotted and all together droolworthy! While Gabriella is super intense and annoyingly stubborn and in-your-face opinionated and not shy about letting Eli know exactly how she feels about him. It broke my heart. And his. So there's angst in their romance and plenty more in the suspense which makes for a riveting page turner.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Over the Line, 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 July 6 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!