Second Chance Ranch

GIVEAWAY

HARDERS, AUDRA
SECOND CHANCE RANCH

The Trails’ End Ranch is For Sale. 
Pediatric nurse, Jennifer O’Reilly returns home to Hawk Ridge, Colorado to establish a mountain recreation camp as a safe adventure for children battling cancer. Her path to ownership depends on developing a profitable business plan to convince the bank she can manage not only the camping facility, but the entire Trails’ End Ranch operation.

Generations earlier, one misplayed hand of poker lost the family ranch, and Zac Davidson, youngest son and financial genius of the Circle D, wants it back. Intrigued since childhood by the legend of his great grandfather, Zac is the only family member who holds out hope that one day the Trails’ End would become Davidson property again. When the Trails’ End goes on the market, cost is no object — only Jennifer O’Reilly stands between Zac and his dream.

Once high school sweethearts, Jennifer and Zac have wounded each other, and the scars run deep. Jennifer is forced to reveal a secret she’s protected for twelve years. Will it jeopardize the future of both of their dreams or offer them a second chance?

My Review:

Definitely a read to lose yourself in. I loved the deep characterization and angsty plot -- both made for an emotional read. Harders has pit her hero and heroine against each other in a high stakes battle that threatens to irrevocably fracture their relationship forever. And it's already on shaky ground. Has been for twelve years. The way their story unfolds, how the past and present merge into a triumphant conclusion, made me want to stand up and cheer. A soul-satisfying tale about forgiveness and acceptance.

Giveaway Opportunity:
Available in ebook format only:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Second Chance Ranch 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 . to protect yourself from spammers. If you email me, please be sure to put the title in the subject line so it is easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday April 6 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck.

Top Secret Identity

GIVEAWAY

DUNN, SHARON
TOP SECRET IDENTITY

Her new life...

Morgan Smith had to give up her name, her calling and her past when she entered the witness protection program. Now a caretaker of horses on an Iowa farm, she spends her days in the stables and helping kids learn to ride. But danger has followed her. She longs to tell her handsome boss, Alex Reardon, everything—about the troubled adoption agency she worked for, a missing infant and the attempt on her life. But sharing her past with Alex could put him in grave danger and lead a killer to their door….

Witness Protection: Hiding in plain sight

My Review:

I am so loving this continuity series. I think I'm as anxious as the U.S. Marshals are to break this baby snatching ring! And like the other books, Top Secret Identity is chalk full of suspense and nail-biting reader moments. Love the way Dunn builds the suspense and keeps me on my toes. Is this a real threat? A coincidence? Or something totally different? Honestly, I had goosebumps for must of the read.

And the author really tortures her characters. Morgan is in the impossible situation of living one life while running from another. It's like she's lulled into a false sense of security with the ideal life witness protection has provided for her and then -- bam -- she's hit hard by the reality of her past and I realized right along with her that it's all an illusion. It caught my breath over and over again.

Then there's Alex, who senses that there is some trauma in Morgan's past but doesn't come close to figuring out what it is. He's drawn to her though and as the romance builds so does the tension because Morgan can't give in to her feelings and he doesn't understand why. Perfect way to wrap a reader up in knots. I was a pretzel by the end. :-)

Riveting stuff. Well worth the read.

Giveaway Opportunity:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Top Secret Identity 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 . to protect yourself from spammers. If you email me, please be sure to put the title in the subject line so it is easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday April 6 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck.

Tide and Tempest

GIVEAWAY

LUDWIG, ELIZABETH
TIDE AND TEMPEST

Two years ago, her fiancé perished
during their voyage to America.

Now she discovers it may have been murder...
Dreaming of a better life, Tillie McGrath leaves Ireland behind and, with her beloved fiancé by her side, sets sail for America. But when illness robs her of the man she holds dear, she's left alone with only a handful of tattered memories. While forging on proves difficult, Tillie soon finds some new friends at her New York boardinghouse, and begins pursuing a new dream--to open a home for orphaned children.

Despite two years passing, Captain Keondric Morgan has never forgotten the lass who left his ship so heartbroken. When a crewman's deathbed confession reveals her fiancé's demise was the result of murder, the captain knows he must try to contact her. But his attention draws the notice of others as well--dangerous men who believe Tillie has in her possession something that could expose their crimes. And to their way of thinking, the best way to prevent such an outcome is to seize the evidence and then hand Tillie the same fate as her naïve fiancé.

My Review:

Amazing conclusion to the Edge of Freedom series. You don't necessarily have to have read the first two books in order to enjoy this one, but I think you'd get more out of it if you have. I read the first book, No Safe Harbor, but missed Dark Road Home and I did feel a bit lost in few places. Not enough to dim my reading enjoyment. It's just that the complicated suspense plot relies a bit on the previous books.

The suspense is intriguing. Loved how Tillie won't take a back seat to solving the mystery of her fiancé's death. And especially love how that determination completely flummoxes poor Captain Morgan. The man has definitely met his match. He is used to being obeyed at sea but Tillie challenges him every step of the way on land.

Their love story is a complicated one, fraught with anxiety and miscommunication until the very end. Talk about keeping rabid romance reader's on the edge of their seats! The romance is almost as suspenseful as the mystery.

And, of course, I loved the Irish angle because I'm Irish-born. Though I have to admit that I found some of 'Irishisms' more Scottish then Irish.

My thanks to so many of my blog readers who recommend this title in a recent reader's choice week. This series had escaped my rabid reader radar and I likely would have missed an awesome read without your input. Going to have to back track and get that second book in the series as well.

Giveaway Opportunity:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Tide and Tempest 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 . to protect yourself from spammers. If you email me, please be sure to put the title in the subject line so it is easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday April 6 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck.

The Shepherd's Bride

GIVEAWAY

DAVIDS, PATRICIA
THE SHEPHERD'S BRIDE

Finding Refuge

Shunned by the Amish community, shepherd Carl King has given up on his dream for a family. Yet when captivating Lizzie Barkman shows up at the sheep farm where he works, Carl sees the wife he once dreamed of. Lizzie is looking for a new start, for herself and her sisters, and discovers Carl to be a kind and gentle man who cares deeply about the Amish way of life. But he is under the bann. Is it possible that this forbidden man holds the key to her family's safety—and the one to her heart?

My Review:

An emotional love story that uncovers some deep issues. Carl in particular is grappling with something that causes him to lose sight of our Saviour's redeeming love. He believes in its existence -- just not for himself. There's one simple little poignant scene...really just a paragraph of one that left me aching for Carl. So, I guess it would be an understatement to say that The Shepherd's Bride definitely engaged me emotionally.

Feisty, determined Lizzie is just what Carl needs to shake his self-exiled world upside down and sideways. But Lizzie has her own problems to worry about - a past to overcome and three sisters she desperately wants to find a safe haven for. And Hope Springs is certainly looking as if it might be the perfect place.

Add in a grouchy grandfather, a multitude of caring neighbours and a hard-working sheepdog and you get an incredible read full of conflict and romance...and, of course, a happy ever after for everyone.

Giveaway Opportunity:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of The Shepherd's Bride 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 . to protect yourself from spammers. If you email me, please be sure to put the title in the subject line so it is easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday April 6 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck.

March Giveaway - Week Five

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 frame. If I can't reach you within four weeks your win will be forfeited and I will add an extra win to a future draw to even things up.

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK'S GIVEAWAYS:

Pine Country Cowboy

GIVEAWAY

KAYE, GLYNNA
PINE COUNTRY COWBOY

No Place Like Home

Abby Diaz longs to reestablish a relationship with her father, so she heads to Canyon Springs, her Arizona hometown, with a painful past she can't share with anyone. But then she's needed to care for her young nephew. The little boy takes a shine to a happy-go-lucky cowboy, a handsome man who's everything Abby can never have. The more time she spends with Brett, the more she realizes he's harboring a heartache of his own. As she works on repairing family ties with her father, Abby knows that opening up to Brett is key to forging a new future…together.

My Review:

Buckle up for an emotionally rocky ride! This cowboy is wrangling some pretty raw emotions and you're going to feel for him. Deeply. Such a sad, but hopeful, story line. Abby is coming to terms with a pretty raw deal as well -- completely not the best time to meet Mr. Right...or wait...maybe it's a God thing. I was rooting for them both as I witnessed their struggles and triumphs on their way to that coveted happily ever after.

Kaye knows how to reach this reader's heart and Pine Country Cowboy totally wrecked havoc on mine. It's the kind of read you want to devour in one sitting because there just isn't a good place to stop. And even when I reached the end, I didn't want it to be over. I just love it when an author creates characters that become living breathing people and my new best friends!

Giveaway Opportunity:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Pine Country Cowboy 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 . to protect yourself from spammers. If you email me, please be sure to put the title in the subject line so it is easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday March  30 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck.

Four Weddings and a Kiss : A Western Bride Collection

GIVEAWAY

BROWNLEY, MARGARET
CLOPTON, DEBRA
CONNEALY, MARY
HATCHER, ROBIN LEE
FOUR WEDDINGS AND A KISS : A WESTERN BRIDE COLLECTION

In 1885 five western preachers sit around a campfire talking about unlikely couples they’ve seen God bring together.

“Spitfire Sweetheart” by Mary Connealy

Maizy Place is an unruly tomboy. When she causes an accident, injuring neighbor Rylan Carstens, she becomes his unlikely caregiver. Rylan has never noticed how pretty his infuriating neighbor is, and he never expected to fall in love.

“Love Letter to the Editor” by Robin Lee Hatcher

Molly Everton is the outspoken daughter of the town newspaper’s owner. When her father brings in an outsider to be editor, she tries to drive him out of town. But Jack Ludgrove is not intimidated. He’s resolved to change Molly’s mind about him—as an editor and as a man.

“A Cowboy for Katie” by Debra Clopton

Katie Pearl is uninterested in men and love. But she needs help on her ranch and hires Thad Rayburn, a wandering cowboy looking to make a buck. Will Thad change Katie’s mind?

“Saving Grace” by Margaret Brownley

Grace Davenport is either the unluckiest woman alive—or a killer. When her third husband is found dead, Grace is arrested. Attorney Brock Daniels isn’t interested in the case—until he meets Grace. Only a miracle will prove her innocence, but the joining of two lonely hearts may be their saving grace.

My Review:

Squeeeeaaaalllll! I got my hands on an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) of Four Weddings and a Kiss and couldn't wait to dive in. What a treat! Better than chocolate...almost. :-)

Four dynamic authors combine their considerable talent to create a fantastic read. I really enjoyed the introductory scene with all the preachers gathered around the campfire trying to out do each other with unlikely matrimony tales. What a clever thread to pull these four different stories together!

All hail to 'true grit' heroines of the wild west. There's nothing as inspiring as the women who helped settled the West. These authors do our pioneer ancestors justice with vivid tales of courage and love.

And the heroes -- as diverse in temperament as they are in looks, each one swoonworthy in his own way. Stubborn, irritable, and sometimes rough around the edges perhaps, but all set my heart a pitter-patter as I read their stories.

I'm amazed at the ability of these authors to deliver such a rich, satisfying read in a novella length story. Each one is pact with action, romance and humour -- a lethal combination! Four Weddings and a Kiss belongs on every TBR pile -- but you'll have to wait until June to get your hands on a copy but I promise, it's worth the wait.

My thanks goes to Mary Connealy who provided me with an advanced reader's copy of this book.

Giveaway Opportunity:

PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOK DOESN'T RELEASE UNTIL JUNE. YOUR BOOK WILL BE PREORDERED FOR YOU.

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Four Weddings and a Kiss : a Western Bride Collection 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 . to protect yourself from spammers. If you email me, please be sure to put the title in the subject line so it is easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday March  30 2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck.