Flirtation Walk

GIVEAWAY
RETRO RE-READ SUNDAY!

MITCHELL, SIRI
FLIRTATION WALK

At West Point, only true love should lead you to Flirtation Walk

Lucinda Pennyworth, the daughter of a con man, is trying her best to leave her father's sordid past behind her. When he dies unexpectedly, she takes the opportunity to move to West Point to live with her aunt, ready to take on a new life and determined to marry a respectable man, a West Point cadet, to impress her relatives.

Seth Westcott, a cadet at the academy, is proud to be at the top of his senior class. But when his mother dies and his sister loses their inheritance to a swindler, Seth wants nothing more than to head west to track down the con man. But the army will only send the cadets at the bottom of the class to the frontier...which leaves Seth with some tough choices.

When a woman trying her best to be good meets a man determined to be anything but, can there be hope for love or will two lonely hearts be condemned to casual flirtations?

My Review:

My tummy did a backflip after reading the synopsis on the back of the book and I knew I was in for a challenging read. Goodbye peace of mind, hello emotional combustion! Both Seth and Lucinda are wrapped up in deceit and oh what a tangled web we all got caught in. A right angsty mess!

Lucinda has a very calculated way of looking at things -- people are objects to be manipulated to achieve an end. At least that's how things start out. Needless to say, I didn't cotton to Lucinda in the beginning, but I could understand where she was coming from. She's her father's daughter, taught his skewed concepts from an early age. Scams and scandal were the norms of her childhood. But now she's free to make something of herself and her desperate journey towards respectability is fascinating. There's even some ironic humour in her scheming approach to securing her future. But as the story progresses, Lucinda discovers that life and relationships are much more than an end to a means.

Seth  is too good to be true until he decides not to be in a desperate attempt to come to the aid of his sister. There are some great scenes with Seth and his outrageous 'tutors' known as the Immortals. A lack lustre crew of cadets who are content to be at the bottom of the pecking order. Unexpected humour and plenty of hijinks.

A stellar host of secondary characters help (or hinder) these two along the way with varying results. A twisty-turny plot with plenty of surprises kept me hooked right until the very end. Insert a huge sigh of relief. And I love the inspirational thread that wound its way around my heart. What if God is love and life isn't about making your own luck? How would that impact your decisions and choices? 

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Flirtation Walk, 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 August 13 2022 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

August Giveaway -- Week One

 

WON BY TWOGALS

WON BY DIANA FLOWERS

WON BY RUBYNREBA

WON BY LADY SNOW ANGEL

WON BY LEA

WON BY ROXANNE

You know the drill: winners will be contacted if they left their email address in a comment, otherwise it's up to the winner to contact me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca (please note it's ca as in Canada not com)

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 AN EMAIL OR IF I HAVEN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN REACHING YOU!

Books will be ordered within a week of receiving your mailing address (or email address for ebooks) and I'll email you to confirm your book is on its way. Give it a full month before inquiring on the status of an order to allow for processing and shipping times.

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK'S GIVEAWAYS:

SUNDAY

MONDAY

'tis the season of the

Carol Awards Finalists Countdown

This week we will look at the

Romance Category

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

The Cowboy's Journey Home

GIVEAWAY

GOODNIGHT, LINDA

THE COWBOY'S JOURNEY

He'll make up for the past...but won't saddle anyone with his future.

Medically discharged from the military, Yates Trudeau and his ex-military dog, Justice, return to the family ranch, vowing to make amends -- and keep his prognosis hidden. Only, civilian life means facing reporter Laurel Maxwell, the woman he left behind but never forgot. Forging a new bond comes naturally, but when she learns the truth, will she risk her heart for an uncertain future?

A K-9 Companions Story

Also a Sundown Valley book

My Review:

What a powerful redemption story! Not just for Yates, but the whole Trudeau family. If you have been following the Sundown Valley series this last (I think) book will make a real impact. But don't worry if you haven't met Wade and Bowie (brother and cousin) and the rest of the gang -- you can still read this book as a standalone and feel a tremendous emotional connection with these characters and their struggles. It'll be just extra special if you've been to Sundown Valley before. :-)

And right here I better explain that this book does double duty in two series which I think is kinda neat. It's the 8th book in the multi-authored K-9 Companions series and the 3rd book in the author's own Sundown Valley series, but, as I said, it can easily be read as a standalone so don't be shy of jumping right in.

Goodnight has really captured all the uncertainties and turmoil of a wounded soldier transitioning to civilian life while accommodating injury. In particular, Yate's inner thoughts, recriminations, his downright wariness, was gut wrenching. As was the prodigal son homecoming he gets from his family. 

But his reunion with Laurel is all kinds of complicated and I had a love/hate relationship with the way the author kept me on tenterhooks waiting to find out their complete story. She doles out tidbits of information at key junctures which made this a land-slide read-in-one-sitting kind of book.

Love, laughter, grief and pain all wrapped up in the uncertainties...and hope...of a future. This lovely quote sums it up nicely:

"No one knows what the future may hold, but we know Who holds the future." (p 217)

Goal Update: #5 Diversify my reading, #6 stay current with a series

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  The Cowboy's Journey Home, 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 August 6 2022 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

As Dawn Breaks

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO READ!

BRESLIN, KATE

AS DAWN BREAKS

Her daring bid for freedom could be her greatest undoing.

Amid the Great War in 1918 England, munitions worker Rosalind Graham is desperate to escape the arranged marriage being forced on her by her ruthless guardian. When the Chilwell factory explodes, killing hundreds of unidentified workers, Rose realizes the world believes she perished in the disaster. Seizing the chance to escape, she risks all and assumes a new identity, taking a supervisory position in Gretna, Scotland as Miss Tilly Lockhart.

RAF Captain Alex Baird is returning home to Gretna on a secret mission to uncover the saboteur suspected in the Chilwell explosion, as Gretna's factory is likely next.  Fearing for his family's safety, he's also haunted by guilt over failing to protect his brother. Alex is surprised to discover a young woman, Miss Lockhart, renting his boyhood room, but the two eventually bond over their mutual affection for his family -- until Alex receives order to surveil her.

Rose squirms beneath Alex's scrutiny while she struggles to gain her workers' respect. But when her deception turns to danger, she and Alex must find a way to put their painful past behind them and together try to safeguard their future.

My Review:

published in 2021

'Downton Abbey' meets 'Bomb Girls' with a splash of espionage! 

Seriously stunning historical details bring this time period and setting to vibrant life. I learned so much reading the novel! Like what 'Canary Girls' refers to and the perils of munition work that seemed to bring emancipation to women  only to confine them in a different kind of bondage. I was appalled and amazed and spent half the read hollering at everybody to get away from all those toxic chemicals! 

And the intrigue and suspense provides a slow build of tension with wonderful twists and turns until it reaches an edge-of-your-seat crescendo.   Loved the spy aspect -- Alex watching Rose -- and Rose's hidden identity. So many complex layers to not only the suspense, but the romance as well.

And now, let's take a moment to swoon over our hero and his Scottish burr. Love the way the author incorporated authentic dialogue and phrasing -- not to the point of making it hard to understand, just enough to make swooning a common occurrence during reading sprints. :-)

The importance of friendship and family create a solid foundation for the rest of the novel. So many great secondary characters! Breslin has really captured the heart and courage of ordinary people facing extraordinary times.

Once again Kate Breslin has entertained and educated me through a work of fiction. If only my history classes had been this captivating!

Goal Update: #5 Diversify my reading.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  As Dawn Breaks, 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 August 6 2022 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

Defending From Danger

GIVEAWAY

BAILEY, JODIE

DEFENDING FROM DANGER

This K-9 has a sanctuary to protect and it's owner to rescue.

Someone wants Paige Bristow's wolf sanctuary gone...and Paige dead. Officer Reece Campbell and his K-9 partner, Maverick, are the only ones she can turn to, but she never told him he as the father of her daughter. As the attacks escalate, Reece must uncover the perp and keep himself from falling for Paige all over again. But will the truth between them cost everything?

Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit

My Review:

This is the fifth book in the Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit continuity series but can easily be read as a standalone novel. I'm really loving this whole series and excited for the big over-arching suspense to be solved but we're still a few months away from that. Each author seamlessly weaves 'need to know' info into her book so it's easy to feel caught up even if you leap into the series midway through.

I love the remote setting for this instalment -- the heroine runs a wolf hybrid sanctuary which is all kinds of interesting on its own! But someone has it out for Paige and malicious mischief is turning more deadly. Who else can help her but her ex-beau, a K-9 officer dedicated to serving the Rocky Mountain area? Cue the Reunion Romance happy dancing music...except...

Gah -- there's a secret baby trope which is one of my least favourite tropes, right up there with love triangles and we all know how I feel about them! Usually I will just skip over this type of story, even if it's written by a fave author, but since this is part of a long running series and I have the books on audible preorder, I decided to grin and bear it. :-)

So, while I enjoyed aspects of this romantic suspense, I really couldn't wrap my head around Paige's reasons for keeping their daughter a secret from Reece for five years! Maybe initially, I could see how she would panic and hightail it out of there but, as time passed and she matured and still didn't reach out, well, I'm still a whole lot peeved at her and while Reece might have forgiven her, I'm still struggling. lol Yes, I know these are characters in a book but I tend to live each moment, each emotion with them so...

You might feel totally different or the secret baby trope might be your absolute favourite thing in the world (?!) -- if so, you'll just have to read this book and let me know what you think.

Goal Update: #6 Stay current with a series, #10 Give unloved tropes a second chance

 GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Lulu's Cafe, 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 August 6 2022 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

To Catch a Hummingbird

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO READ

STEELE, MINDY

TO CATCH A HUMMINGBIRD

Since her father's death, twenty-three-year-old Lydia Miller stays busy, trying to keep the family farm afloat. It leaves little time to think and to regret what she did. Her mother runs the local bakery and unexpectedly sells their home without Lydia's thoughts on the mater. Worse, they now must live with the local widower, and Lydia is expected to care for his children. Nothing in life has prepared her for the resistance she will face or the quick attachments she makes.

Widower Silas Graber fell right into the Bishop's pain. He did need help, but he though he was getting Hazel Miller not her daughter with a chip on her shoulder. Her ways are nothing like his late wife's, and it's clear she knows nothing about raising children.

However, he can't help but notice how she quickly breathes life back into his world. And his children notice it too. Before long, she has become a part of their lives, and she starts learning to leave the past behind her. And falls in love. But she's not so certain Silas is ready to give his heart away again.

My Review:

published in 2021

Mindy Steele is one of the authors I hope to catch up with this year. I can't believe I've been missing out on this 'new' voice in Amish fiction! 

Love the Kentucky setting which is fairly unique to the genre. And Steele has created an alluring little community full of small town charm including the complex relationships that go along with it. A nice mix of Amish and Englischers including one specific character that I just wanted to purse-whomp in the worst way! Gah, but she was so meeeaaaannn. lol I love getting my dander up on behalf of a heroine. :-)

Lydia isn't your typical Amish maidel. She's passionate and impulsive and opinionated. Definitely not shy about speaking her mind, but she's not over-the-top argumentative either. Just feisty in an intriguing way and Silas is trying not to notice. :-)

He's a widower stuck in the past with three adorable and somewhat mischievous children who are soon won over by Lydia's unorthodox caregiving. And their dat isn't far behind.

A really sweet romance with deep emotional layers as both Silas and Lydia have personal issues they have to deal with before they can see their way clear to a future. There's also a nice cast of secondary characters to love (or hate) and some exciting town happenings that leave me waiting with bated breath for the second Miller Creek book which I just discovered is already out! Eeeep!!! I'll be reading The Butterfly Box very soon.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  To Catch a Hummingbird, 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 August 6 2022 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

Carol Awards Finalists 2022 -- Mystery/Thriller/Suspense AND Romantic Suspense

GIVEAWAY

Note: because there are a limited number of weeks before the winners are announced in September, I had to double up on one day and thought this combination was the logical choice. So -- you get to choose between one of the Mystery/Thriller/Suspense novels OR one of the Romantic Suspense novels.

First off -- what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2022 finalists are books published in 2021. You might have read them already, you might not. I'll include links to reviews of the books I've read, but I have a lot of catching up to do so there will be gaps.

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2021 -- Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Category OR Romantic Suspense Category you would like to receive if your name is drawn. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you're entering that way) and if you win, that's the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. Here are the three finalists: 

MYSTERY/THRILLER/SUSPENSE CATERGORY

Right Cross by Andrew Huff

(Shepherd Suspense #3)

First he left the CIA. Then he left pastoral ministry. Now John Cross has been imprisoned in one of Great Britain's most infamous prisons. Has he reached the end of his rope? Or is this another move in a dangerous spy game? 

Christine Lewis, United New Network's rising star television anchor, is determined to find out. But in her pursuit of answers, Christine finds herself at the centre of a cyberterrorist plot to alter the balance of power in the world. 

From the English coastline to the Rocky Mountains, John must partner with the CIA and MI6 in a race against the clock to stop the threat of nuclear war and save the lives of everyone he holds dear.

The concluding story in the Shepherd Suspense trilogy is a globe-trotting, action-packed adventure with threads of biblical truths woven in. Fans of high-octane thrillers will be on the edge of their seats with Right Cross.

Manna Reign by Neena Roth

A legendary artifact. A skeptical scientist. Will her Old Testament discovery cure the planet...or destroy it?

Archeologist Nichole "Nikki" Strauss dreams of ending global hunger. Romantically attached to a world-leading geneticist in San Francisco, she shares his excitement for his new GMO superseed that can grow crops resistant to environmental hazards. But when an ex-flame shows up with news of a metal friend's suspicious death, her grief-filled resolve drives her to join forces with him to uncover the reason behind the murder.

Traveling to Europe and learning her dead colleague had recovered the fabled golden manna jar, Nikki finds herself the target of a shadowy ancient sect. And when a fatal flaw in her boyfriend's genetic design makes the Biblical  relic his only desperate solution, she faces a choice between true love, devotion, and the fate of the world.

Dark Intercept by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson

(The Shepherds, #1)

When dark forces rise, are faith and firepower enough?

On the eve of his medical retirement, Navy SEAL Jedidiah Johnson receives a frantic call from his estranged childhood best friend David Yarnell. David's daughter has been kidnapped off the streets of Nashville in broad daylight. The police have no suspects and no leads. The only clue: the body of a dead priest left behind at the scene. With the clock ticking, David is growing desperate, as is his wife, Rachel...Jed's first love.

Despite his painful history with David and Rachel, Jed agrees to help. But he's spent his career as a door-kicking Navy SEAL, not an investigator. His presence immediately draws unwanted attention, creates friction with the local police, and triggers a mysterious attempt on his life. Just when he thinks things can't get worse, it starts to happen again -- the voices in his head, the nightmares, the visions. Dark memories and strange abilities, things he believed he'd left behind when he fled Nashville for the Navy at eighteen, begin to surface.

Jed realizes that to save the missing girl, he must take a leap of faith and embrace the gifts he's denied for all these years. To foil the dark intercept, he'll need more than just than his years as a SEAL operator, because he has no choice now but to take up arms and join the battle in the unseen spiritual warfare raging all around him. And there is far more at stake than just a missing girl: the world is not the place he thought it was -- and he is not alone.

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE CATEGORY

Driven by  Sara Davison 

(The Night Guardians #3)

Children are't the only ones who disappear...

Driven by ongoing grief and relentless dreams, Holden Kelly is determined to track down the child his brother Gage abducted eight years earlier. The rescue that might have saved Matthew Gibson's life had cost Gage's his. Proving his brother hadn't sacrificed his life for nothing might be the only way Holden can start fully living his again. And it could be the last chance he has to find his way back to the wife he loves but who is also mired in grief and a crisis of faith.

Mikayla Grant has nightmares of her own. A road trip with private Investigator Jax Rodriques -- a man she is strongly drawn to even though his primary goal seems to be to drive her crazy -- can't be the way to heal from a terrible loss. Can it?

As Holden, Mikayla, and Jax follow the missing child's trail from Toronto to Chicago, their mission is not as secret as they thought. Someone knows they are coming and will stop at nothing to prevent them from finding the child Gage rescued.

And to make sure that no one ever hears from the three of them again.  

Danger on the Loch by Paige Edwards

Raised by a cold and distant mother, photographer Paisley Clark has spent her life daydreaming about the father she doesn't remember. Paisley's dream turns to reality when a DNA test brings her in contact with the mysterious man. With her financial situation a disaster and her childhood friend James Presley-Coombes working across the pond in Scotland, Paisley is emboldened to accept her father's invitation to visit him.

She arrives in the Highlands only to discover that she isn't Paisley Clark at all but a titled lady, the daughter of a Scottish duke. Despite the warm welcome and the comfort of James's presence, dangerous undercurrents surround Castle Ranch, her father's estate. Overwhelmed, Paisley takes refuge in her camera and James's steady presence to provide a sense of normalcy in her rags-to-riches transformation. But her once-easy relationship with James is changing, deepening beyond friendship in a surprising twist of events. Before they have time to examine their feelings, Paisley inadvertently captures a shocking image in one of her photographs -- a picture worthy killing for.

Labyrinth of Lies by Irene Hannon

When the daughter of a high-profile businessman disappears from an exclusive girl's boarding school, police detective Cate Reilly is tapped for an undercover assignment. It doesn't take her long to realize that beneath the veneer of polish and wealth, things are not as they seem at Ivy Hill Academy. But the biggest surprise of all? The only man she ever loved is also working at the school.

Zeke Sloan has never forgotten Cate, but now isn't the best time for their paths to cross again. When their two seemingly disparate agendas begin to intertwine -- and startling connections emerge among the players -- the danger escalates significantly. But who is the mastermind behind the elaborate ruse? And how far will they go to protect their house of cards?

Queen of romantic suspense Irene Hannon invites you to scale the heights of human folly and plumb the depths of the human heart in this second gripping book in the Triple Threat series.

Yay, I read this one! Link to my review: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2022/07/labyrinth-of-lies.html

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Edition options vary for some titles -- please check the formats available below:

Right Cross by Andrew Huff -- paperback or ebook

Manna Reign by Neena Roth -- ebook only

Dark Intercept by Andrews & Wilson -- ebook only

Driven by Sara Davison -- paperback or ebook

Danger on the Loch by Paige Edwards -- ebook only

Labyrinth of Lies by Irene Hannon -- paperback or ebook

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  one of these finalist titles, 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 Aug 6 2022 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck