October Giveaway - Week One

WON BY JASMINE A.

WON BY LINDA MOFFITT

WON BY CARYL KANE

WON BY KATE

WON BY NICOLE SAGER

WON BY MARIA

You know the drill: winners will be contact 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 order 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:

True as Fate

GIVEAWAY

EAKES, LAURIE ALICE
TRUE AS FATE

Lady Chloe Ashford detests going to balls, loathes social pretense, and finds the very idea of hunting for a husband obscene. But she has an even more scandalous secret: she once helped an American -- the enemy -- escape from Dartmoor Prison. Now it's three years later, and Ross Trenerry is back -- and in trouble again. So is her traitorous heart. He doesn't know she's the one responsible for sending him to a second prison, and she has no intention of telling him.

A former privateer, Ross's legendary luck has finally run out. Only one woman lies between him and freedom. He desperately needs Chloe's help to prove he hasn't committed treason, but he's distracted by the passion that flares between them.

They set out on a cross-country adventure together to prove Ross's innocence, but peril soon dogs their heels. As they race to reach their appointed rendezvous on time, they must fight their growing attraction and focus on discovering who is behind this deadly plot. Will they finally admit their love and put the pieces together before it's too late?

My Review:
published in 2017
My thanks to my public library for keeping me in astounding retro reads like this one!

Treachery, intrigue and forbidden love in Regency England. SQUUUEEEEPPP! Grab the smelling salts and a sturdy fan and dust off the fainting couch because Ross Trenerry will definitely make you weak in the knees. Be still my heart. But, oh my, Eakes puts this hero and heroine through some nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat action in their desperate bid to clear Ross's name and restore order to the Ashford household.

Mind you, there's also ample time for some toe-curling scenes hence the warning for the necessary romance reading accoutrements. Chloe is harboring feelings for a man she knows she can never have and he thinks his heart belongs to another. Talk about emotional angst! But how can Ross resist the ever resourceful Chloe? She's stubborn and brave and does her share of the rescuing. And she's intense! Not at all the kind of fragile, lighthearted lady he thinks he's attracted to. Such a conundrum for a hero on the run! And Eakes barely gives him a second of respite so he can figure it all out. Tense drama right to the very last page and then the reward of the sweetest epilogue ever to soothe our bruised hearts.

True as Fate is the second book in the Ashford Chronicles series and pretty much takes off where My Enemy, My Heart left off. It can be read as standalone, just be prepared to feel a bit discombobulated by events at first if you haven't read book one. No worries, though, it will all soon come clear and you'll have no problem following this breathtaking plot. And once you've begun you'll be hard pressed to stop until you reach the swoonworthy ending! Blissful Sigh!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITYi

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  True as Fate, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a 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 Sunday October 7 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

A Twist of Faith

RETRO READ

GIVEAWAY

BASHAM, PEPPER
A TWIST OF FAITH

Dr. Adelina Roseland has worked ten years in research as an accent reduction specialist to attain her dream job. But a secret wager to transform Appalachian cattle farmer Reese Mitchell into corporate material challenges Adelina in ways she never expected, threatening her new position.

For one, Adelina didn't plan for the faith and friction of Reese, or the unexpected influence of his chaotic family. Now, drawn into a culture she'd tried to forget, Adelina finds the warmth of the family, the hope of faith, and the joy of love melting away the deep wounds of her past.

But when Reese discovers that he's a pawn in her climb up the academic ladder, will forgive Adelina's deceit or will he forgive Adelina's deceit or will their miscommunication end in two broken lives?

My Review:
published in 2016

Whew!!! Even though the weather's getting colder, you might need to bring the fans up from the basement, for this read due to the scrumptious amount of toe-curling kisses peppered throughout (get the pun?) That Reese is one swoonworthy hero! A gentle mountain man filled with faith and unending love for his family. Layered  with intriguing depths that uptight Adelina doesn't recognize at first.

Ewwww --- sometimes I wanted to slap that girl! She was that snooty and aloof and Reese was so charming, no matter what he was really thinking. His mama raised him to have gentlemanly manners and I appreciated it even if Dee didn't. But then the kissing started and that swayed her some and pretty soon these two are on a delightful romantic romp towards....

...well, not a happily ever after because there's complications and secrets and my tummy was tied up in knots as Dee blunders on and I might have reached for a kleenex or two along the way. A slow reveal of the wounds from her childhood explain a lot and had me rooting for her even though that meant I wouldn't get to keep Reese for myself! But that's a sacrifice this avid reader was willing to make for the greater good of the story. :-) Emotional angst nicely balanced with romantic comedy make this the perfect kind of frantic-page-turning- must-finish-it-right-now kind of read.

And there's a profoundly beautiful inspirational thread about the power of Grace and forgiveness -- some of the best conversations on the subject I've ever seen in a novel. Uplifting and toe-curling liberally dosed with humour. Sweet perfection!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITYi

If you would like a chance to win a copy of A Twist of Faith, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a 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 Sunday October 7 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Playing the Part

RETRO READ

GIVEAWAY

TURANO, JEN
PLAYING THE PART

Lucetta Plum is an actress on the rise in New York City, but is forced to abandon her starring role when a fan's interest turns threatening. Lucetta's widowed friend, Abigail Hart, is delighted at the opportunity to meddle in Lucetta's life and promptly whisks her away to her grandson's estate to hide out.

Bram Haverstein may appear to simply be a somewhat eccentric gentleman of means, but a mysterious career and a secret fascination for a certain actress mean there's much more to him than society knows.

Lucetta, who has no interest in Abigail's matchmaking machinations, has the best intentions of remaining cordial but coolly distant to Bram. But when she can't ignore the strange and mysterious things going on in his house, it'll take more than good intentions to keep her from trying to discover who Bram is behind the part he plays.

My Review:
published in 2016
My thanks to my library for providing me with this fabulously funny retro read!!

Hands down my absolute favourite Jen Turano novel! I snorted my way through this read, which is what happens when you gasp and snicker at the same time....kind of like a chortle on steroids.

In fact I was having way too much fun reading at the library and people kept staring at me every time I made an indelicate snort until finally one lady asked me what book I was reading and then another lady said, "I'm so glad you asked. I was wondering the same thing." So now Playing the Part has two holds on it. That's me doing my bit for Christian Fiction via a little public humiliation. :-)

So we have a goat named Geoffrey who takes exception to females wearing skirts, Igor, the shaggy mutt with selective hearing, a castle complete with moat and cannon and an odd assortment of staff who come with questionable histories. Just another run-of-the-mill historical romance. Not! More like award winning romantic comedy.

And our hero -- Bram...my toes still haven't uncurled. A recluse dodging matrimonial minded mamas and their simpering daughters. He has some delightful secrets that aren't revealed until well into the read. I do so love a man with an air of mystery. But what we know right from the start is what an old softie he is -- all tenderhearted and compassionate as he collects misfits of both the two-legged and four-legged variety and offers them a better life. I mean, how can you not fall for a man like that?!

Lucetta thinks she's immune -- she's one tough, stubborn, independent thinking woman! And she holds herself aloof from Bram's charms way longer than I was able to! Loved the witty dialogue, the misconceptions, the countless shenanigans and the downright sinister villain who tries to steal their happiness! This book delivers it all and will keep you grinning well after you reach the end!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Playing the Part, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a 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 Sunday October 7 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Rise of the Mystics

GIVEAWAY

DEKKER, TED
RISE OF THE MYSTICS

Some say the great mystery of how one can live in two worlds at once died with Thomas Hunter many years ago. Still others that the gateway to that greater reality was and is only the stuff of dreams. They are all wrong.

Rachelle Matthews, who grew up in the small town of Eden, Utah, discovered just how wrong when she dreamed and awoke in another world. There she learned that she was the 49th Mystic, the prophesied one, tasked with finding five ancient seals before powerful enemies destroy her. If Rachelle succeeds in her quest, peace will reign. If she fails, the world will forever be locked in darkness.

In The 49th Mystic, Rachelle found the first three of those five seals through great peril and mind-altering adventure. But two seals remain hidden, and the fate of both worlds hangs in the balance.

As Rachelle sits deep in a dungeon, Vlad Smith is just getting started. Thomas Hunter's world is about to be turned inside out. The Mystics say that there is no defense against the Fifth Seal -- but finding it will cost Rachelle everything. So begins the final volume of high stakes in one girl's quest to find an ancient path that will save humanity. The clock is tickingl the end rushes forward.

Ready? Set? Dream.

My Review:

That wheezing you hear is me trying to catch my breath after finishing the sequel to The 49th Mystic! And this is definitely the case where you need to read that book first. Dekker does give a great catch-up to refresh a reader's mind but The Rise of the Mystics is way too intense and involved to pick up as a standalone read.

Once again I'm gobsmacked over this author's ability to create such depth and meaning in a work of fiction. This is a truly inspired piece of work. The kind of faith driven speculative thriller that makes you think. And wrestle. And stretch. Not to be read lightly -- or quickly -- or you'll miss experiencing the full spiritual journey.

"Do not resist. Enter that fear with love, which casts it out. Work out your salvation from the storm through that fear. It's the only way to finally see fear for what it is, a shadow." (p 138)

Rachelle is back, facing the greatest battle of her life -- and most of it happens inwardly -- the war of wills, a conflict between heart and mind. Learning what it means to live love without judgement. And that includes self-doubt and condemnation. There are times I had to pull back and just sit in the story as I made connections between Rachelle's journey and my own.

"I was now condemning myself by calling myself a failure. Did it never stop? It was no wonder there were so few water walkers in the world." (p 253)

Dekker writes about the masks we hide behind and the power they have to block out the Light. Honestly, there are layers and layers of mind blowing concepts that have the ability to lead a reader deeper into her faith. At least, that is my experience with this novel.

The Rise of the Mystic challenges and entertains -- a heart-stopping, soul-stirring thrill of a read!

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

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Rise of the Mystics, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a 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 Sunday October 7 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

A Miracle of Hope

RETRO READ

GIVEAWAY

REID, RUTH
A MIRACLE OF HOPE

Lindie Wyse is pregnant out of wedlock and thinks an arranged marriage is the only way to preserve her future. Josiah Plank is certain he'll never love again, but he needs someone to care for his eight-year-old daughter, Hannah. The two take on their arrangement tentatively at first but soon realize they are each in for more than they imagined.

Lindie experiences a breakthrough with Hannah when she recognizes Hannah's special gifts, but a risky pregnancy and serious health issues threaten to demolish the foundation Josiah and Lindie are building. How far can God's mercy reach? Will their growing love survive despite their struggles, or will their hearts become as cold as the northern winter?

My Review:

published in 2014
My thanks to my public library for providing me with this amazing retro read!

Amish marriage of convenience story with heart and hope!

And so sweetly tender! It's in  the way Josiah gently pursues Lindie and how her lukewarm response slowly heats up. And in the way Lindie is able to reach her silent, withdrawn step-daughter. It's a struggle, filled with lots of mistakes and heartache but I found myself holding my breath, getting excited over the slightest breakthrough. And that sweet tenderness even comes through in the developing relationship Lindie has with her husband's former father-in-law who lives with them. He's terse and unwelcoming at first but slowly thaws as the story progresses.Such wonderful family dynamics and Reid really captures the tremulous uncertainty that comes with this kind of second chance romance.

"Warmth spread through Josiah's core. Lindie offered Hannah exactly what she needed -- a mother's embrace -- a gift of love that couldn't be bought or made." (p 291)

But there's a whole lot more going on here than romance. Both Lindie and Josiah have secrets that the author isn't in any hurry to reveal. She hints and teases, leaving lots of leeway for the reader to try and fit the pieces together and when all is revealed -- Whoa!!!!!! And the Northern Michigan Amish community is a new locale for me so that adds to the appeal as well. But what completely captured my heart is the compelling inspirational thread cleverly woven throughout. So much hope in God's mercy and trust that 'joy comes with the morning'. (Psalm 30:5)

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like the chance to win a copy of A Miracle of hope, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a 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 Sunday October 7 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

A Cry From the Dust

GIVEAWAY

PARKS, CARRIE STUART
A CRY FROM THE DUST

A secret from a grim page of American history threatens to destroy thousands of lives.

Gwen Marcey was tops in her forensic field. Then cancer struck, her husband left, and her teenage daughter engaged in active rebellion. Gwen's best chance to start a new life was a temporary job in Utah reconstructing faces from an 1857 massacre site.

The Mountain Meadows Interpretive Center asked Gwen to reconstruct the faces of three intact bodies that were discovered from the wagon train massacre of more 120 people by Mormon fanatics calling themselves Avenging Angels. But just as she is nearing completion on her reconstructions, things around the center turn deadly.

Gwen discovers the ritualized murder of a young college student  with a stolen identity and is called on by the local people to use her forensic skills to aid the investigation. Soon she discovers an uncanny resemblance between one of her reconstructions and the death mask of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church. And realizes that she's next target of the recreated Avenging Angels who believe she has an icon from the grave.

Gwen must weave through a labyrinth of Mormon history, discovering secret societies and festering grudges in a race against time.

Will she be able to stop another massacre?

My Review:

published in 2014
My thanks to my public library for providing me with this retro read!

Whoa!!!! What took me so long to become acquainted with Carrie Stuart Parks? I have no excuse. None -- and I'm four books behind! What gripping, edge-of-your-seat, rabid-page-turning, thrilling suspense! I couldn't put this one down from the get go.

Love Gwen -- messy life, personal conflicts, sardonic humour -- what a heroine! And what an intriguing profession -- the forensic art details are fascinating and bring a fresh kind of charge to the story.

What an adrenaline rush of a read! Sinister mysteries all tangled together in a puzzling net of conspiracies and just when I thought I had a grasp on it all -- I didn't! And be forewarned -- you get to a point where there is no putting this book down until the end. Tremendously good and I'm already on the hunt for the next Gwen Marcey novel.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of A Cry From the Dust, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a 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 October 7 2018. Offer open to International Readers.