Lethal Target

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO READ DAY!

CANTORE, JANICE
LETHAL TARGET

Police Chief Tess O'Rourke thought she'd taken care of her small town's drug problem last year. But now Rogue's Hollow residents are up in arms over a contentious vote on legalizing the sale of  marijuana within city limits. And when an eighteen-year-old is found dead of a possible overdose, Tess wonders if the local pot farms might be involved and begins to fear that a new, deadlier drug supply chain has cropped up. As tempers flare and emotions boil over, Tess faces the possibility of losing the town's support.

With her relationship to Sergeant Steve Logan on shaky ground, Tess could really use a friend, and she feels drawn to Pastor Oliver Macpherson's quiet presence. But the anger she holds over her father's death prevents her from embracing his faith and finding peace.

Battling storms within and without, Tess is shocked when a familiar face from her past shows up in town to stir up more trouble. And his threats against Tess may prove lethal.

My Review:

published in 2018

What gripping police procedural kind of suspense! It's been a while since I read the first book in Cantore's Line of Duty series but I had no problem picking up with all the Rogue Hollow drama in this one. Having said that, Lethal Target can definitely be read as a standalone novel, so no worries if you aren't familiar with this series.

Book two takes up about six months after Tess's gritty introduction to small town policing. She's established herself as police chief and is just as zealous at protecting her community from the growing drug problem as ever. As a retired Long Beach police officer (22 years service), Cantore brings an authenticity to the policing scenes that add an extra measure of 'umph' to the story.

And what a story this is! Page-turning (or in my case rabid-listening) fiction that held me spellbound. Small town politics clash with Tess's meticulous investigative work and that makes for lots of charged scenes filled with tension and angst. The suspense is incredibly well thought out with so many suspects and potential motives I felt like maybe I should start my own white board breakdown. :-) There's also the subtle hint of romance playing in the background which made my romantical heart  so happy.

And huge kudos to the author for incorporating significant faith threads throughout this story. Love, love, love Pastor Oliver and his steady resolve to be the hands and feet of Christ and Tess's faith journey is especially moving.

Plenty of twists and turns and sucker punch 'aha' moments added to the frenetic pace of my read (listen.) Simply outstanding! Heading over to audible to download the final Line of Duty book -- Cold Aim -- right now!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Lethal Target 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 June 13 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

June Giveaway -- Week One

WON BY LORI

WON BY LAURA WALTZ

WON BY CONNIE LEE

WON BY JASMINE A.

WON BY MELISSA ANDRES

WON BY TRIXI

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:

A Mother's Homecoming

GIVEAWAY

CARTER, LISA
A MOTHER'S HOMECOMING

She'd put the past behind her...but her secret has just returned.

Charmed by the two-year-old twins in her toddler tumbling class, Maggie Arledge is shocked to learn they're the children she gave up for adoption. And when Bridger Hollingsworth -- the uncle caring for the boys -- needs an emergency nanny, she fits the bill. But with sparks flying between her and Bridger, can she let herself get attached...and risk exposing secrets from her past?

My Review:

Wooheee -- there's tons of sizzle and pop in this toe-curling romance. My fingers are slightly scorched from page-turning my way through these charged pages. I'm a huge fan of this kind of romance -- where there's a swift connection between the hero and heroine despite their attempts to ignore the attraction. And I wasn't the only one noticing the sparks flying. No sirree, the officially unofficial Truelove matchmakers noticed too and they are back to their exasperating antics. :-)

While not marked as a series, this isn't the first Truelove  ( town slogan - "Where true love awaits") novel by Lisa Carter. By my calculations there are three novels before this one, but they can all be read as standalones. Although, since this is a small town, we get to meet up with previous heroes and heroines in A Mother's Homecoming which was lots of fun.

Carter messed with my emotions big time. She knows how to immerse a reader in the complex lives of her characters. I felt a little wrung out by the end, in an exhausted but blissfully happy kind of way. And there's a sweet inspirational message about learning to trust -- both in God and each other -- which brought depth to Maggie and Bridger's story. All in all, another stunning read from one of my favourite authors.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a gently copy of  A Mother's Homecoming 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 June 6 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

Storing Up Trouble

GIVEAWAY

TURANO, JEN
STORING UP TROUBLE

When Miss Beatrix Waterbury's Chicago-bound train ride is interrupted by a heist, Mr. Norman Nesbit, a man of science who believes his research was the target of the heist, comes to her aid. Despite the fact that they immediately butt heads, they join forces to make a quick escape.

Upon her arrival in Chicago, Beatrix is surprised to discover her supposedly querulous Aunt Gladys shares her own suffragette passions. Encouraged by Gladys to leave her sheltered world, Beatrix begins working as a salesclerk at the Marshall Field and Company department store. When she again encounters Norman on a shopping expedition, he is quickly swept up in the havoc she always seems to attract.

But when another attempt is made to part Norman from his research papers, and it becomes clear Beatrix's safety is also at risk, they soon discover the curious way feelings can grow between two very different people in the midst of chaos.

My Review:

Bwahahahahaha! There's nothing like a Jen Turano novel to lift a reader out of the doldrums and she's back with another wickedly funny, slap-stick rom/com. Witty dialogue, outrageous characters and absurd situations are this author's trademarks and she blends them all into the kind of hilarious escape read that still has me giggling.

Beatrix is a march-to-a-different-drummer kind of heroine. Earnest but floundering and prone to charging headlong into all kinds of escapades. Norman is an eccentric scientist who is just a little out of step with society. Their lives collide in a spectacular fashion and it's a maelstrom of mayhem from that point on!

Throw in a mystery and adventure and the result is outrageous pandemonium of the very best kind!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Storing Up Trouble 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 June 6 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

Stolen Child

GIVEAWAY

CHOATE, JANE M.
STOLEN CHILD

A little girl taken...and a murderer on the loose

Nothing will stop army ranger Grey Nighthorse from finding his abducted daughter -- except maybe whoever is trying to kill him. hiring former FBI agent Rachel Martin is his best shot at tracking down the kidnappers and staying alive. But Rachel failed to save a child before. Can she risk everything again to rescue Grey's little girl...and perhaps become part of the family she's trying to reunite?

My Review:

What a heart-in-throat page-turner of a read! A twisted tale of murder and betrayal with an impossible to track villain who is bent on destruction. But just who is this villain and what exactly is his end game? You'll have to race-read your way to the volatile end to find out.

Loved the dynamics between Rachel and Grey. She's as tough as the army ranger and just as good at kick-butt tactics when it comes to facing off with criminals. He respects her talent and professionalism, but he also sees through the chinks in the wall she's built around her heart. Happy toe-curling sighs ensued from this reader, even as I dodged bullets right along with this dynamic duo.

An intense, breath-snatching romantic suspense.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a gently read copy of  Stolen Child 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 June 6 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

Listening to Love

GIVEAWAY

WISEMAN, BETH
LISTENING TO LOVE

He's Amish. She's Englisch. They are best friends, despite what the gossips say. But could the rumor mill know more than they do?

Englischer Natalie Collins looks forward to Friday night suppers at Levi and Mary Shetler's house every week: delicious food, wonderful conversation with her Amish friends, and best of all, the presence of Levi's older brother Lucas. Natalie and Lucas have become best friends despite their different backgrounds. They share a love of books, and he is teaching her about God in a waythat she can understand.

But the closer they become, the more opinions everyone seem to have. Levi and Mary, Lucas's family, and even Natalie's mother -- whose own life is a mess at the moment -- have concerns about their relationship. Why can't everyone understand that it's possible to just be friends? Besides, they couldn't be together even if they wanted to be. Lucas would never leave the Amish faith, and Natalie is Englisch and pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine.

But when a terrifying accident happens, Natalie and Lucas are forced to confront their true feelings and decide if they can stay true to themselves and each other.

The second novel in the Amish Journey's series by bestselling author Beth Wiseman explores the compromises and sacrifices it takes to truly listen to love.

My Review:

What a stunning story! I was all tears and laughter and tearing my hair out in frustration by turns throughout the read. Wiseman caught my attention with the book blurb and I was a goner once I started reading...with dread and anticipation. Because this Amish and Englisch pairing just can't work. Can it?

Both Natalie and Lucas are committed to their lifestyles. They're great friends but they know they could never be anything more. But then the people around them start to voice concerns which, ironically, turns their focus onto the possibility of there actually being something more between them. Which is ridiculous, right? For so many reasons. Their story made me so anxious! I couldn't see a way through for it to work out without one of them losing themselves in the process. Gah! Beware -- romantical tenterhooks abound!

And I loved the secondary plot that Wiseman weaves throughout, as she gives both Amish and Englisch mothers their own points of view.  Both are opposed to a relationship developing between their son and daughter. Meddling mamas in stereo! lol

There's such a powerful inspirational thread embedded in the lives of all these characters. And I'm ecstatic over the way Wiseman used a classic Christian fiction novel as a catalyst for change in Lucas and Natalie's lives. That was such a fun discovery -- a bookish treasure hidden in a book! Very clever. And moving.

IA soul-satisfying, basking-in-the-after-reader-glow kind of novel that stays with a reader long after she reaches 'The End.'

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Listening to Love 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 June 6 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

The Spice King

GIVEAWAY

CAMDEN, ELIZABETH
THE SPICE KING

Gray Delacroix has dedicated his life to building an acclaimed global spice empire, but it has come at a cost. Resolved to salvage his family before they spiral out of control, he returns to his ancestral home for good after years of traveling the world.

As a junior botanist for the Smithsonian, Annabelle Larkin has been charged with the impossible task of gaining access to the notoriously private Delacroix plant collection. If she fails, she will be out of a job and the family farm in Kansas will go under. She has no idea that in gaining entrance to the Delacroix world, she will unwittingly step into a web of dangerous political intrigue far beyond her experience.

Unable to deny her attraction to the reclusive business tycoon, Annabelle will be forced to choose between her heart and loyalty to her country. Can Gray and Annabelle find a way through the storm of scandal without destroying the family Gray is fighting to save?

My Review:

Elizabeth Camden can always be trusted to deliver riveting fiction from fascinating, lesser known bits of history. I mean, I've never even thought about the politics of the food industry from a historical perspective and yet this author has woven a complex tale of intrigue and betrayal and impossible choices around that very topic.

Annabelle is smart and gutsy and driven! She has to be if she wants to succeed in her male dominated field. Love her strength and determination, anchored in the roots of her mid-west values. Her life is the polar opposite of Gray's privileged upbringing. A well-traveled businessman, he's used to getting what he wants when he wants it. He's arrogant at times, and a bit of a brooder -- I do so love a fretful fictional hero (in real life, not so much!) Their romance doesn't fully take center stage -- family drama , political intrigue and secrets get in the way all too often -- but a happily-ever-after is on the horizon once all the dust settles.

A captivating first book in Camden's Hope and Glory series and she's done an excellent job of setting up the next story -- Gray's sister, Caroline (who I didn't much like in this one) is set to star in her own political intrigue -- at the White House! A Gilded Lady releases on June 2. I can't wait for Camden to work her magic and make me a Caroline Convert!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  The Spice King 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 June 6 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck