After a Fashion

GIVEAWAY

RANDOM RETRO READ DAY

TURANO, JEN
AFTER A FASHION

Miss Harriet Peabody dreams of the day she can open up a shop selling refashioned gowns to independent working women like herself. Unfortunately, when an errand for her millinery shop job goes sadly awry due to a difficult customer, she she finds herself without an income.

Mr. Oliver Addleshaw is on the verge of his biggest business deal yet when he learns his potential partner prefers to deal with men who have settled down and wed. When Oliver witnesses his ex-not-quite-fiancee causing the hapless Harriet to lose her job, he tries to make it up to her by enlisting her help in making a good impression on his business partner.

Harriet quickly finds her love of fashion can't make her fashionable. She'll never truly fit into Oliver's world, with it's fancy dinners and elegant balls, but just as she's ready to call off the fake relationship a threat from her past forces both Oliver and Harriet to discover that love can come in the most surprising packages.

My Review:

published in 2015
My thanks to my public library for providing me with a copy of this retro read.

Chortle. Snort. Guffaw. I've been reading the A Class of Their Own series backwards and I've finally made it to book one which is just as crazy and hilarious as books 2 and 3!  Jen Turano writes with such comedic flair that my cheeks hurt from grinning so much by the time I reach the last page! She excels at throwing -- no -- hurling -- her characters headlong into the most absurd chaos. I can almost hear her maniacal laughter as she plots her riotous mayhem...or maybe that's the echo of my own crazed mirth. If you're a fan of romantic comedy and you haven't given Jen Turano a try -- well, it's about time yo did! And if you are a fan of this author but you missed this book (like moi) here's your chance to make that right! :-)

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like to win a copy of After a Fashion, 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 January 19 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Tracking Justice

GIVEAWAY

RANDOM RETRO READ DAY!

MCCOY, SHIRLEE
TRACKING JUSTICE

Little boy lost

In the night, a young boy goes missing from his bedroom. Police detective Austin Black assures desperate single mother Eva Billows that he'll find her son. He has to, so he can put to rest his own harrowing memories. With his search and rescue bloodhound, Justice, Austin searches every inch of Sagebrush, Texas. And when Eva insists on helping, Austin can't turn her away. Eva trusts no one, especially police, but this time, Austin -- and Justice -- won't let her down.

My Review:

published in 2013
My thanks to my public library for supplying me with a copy of this retro read!

Eeeppp! I just discovered a cache of retro Love Inspired books in my library! I'm going to be able to catch up on the backlists of authors I was late in discovering. I'm so excited because these older LI books aren't available in print copies any more so I wouldn't have a chance to catch up otherwise. Woot! And please note -- this giveaway is for an ecopy!

Tracking Justice is the first book in the Texas K-9 Unit continuity series. I missed the first couple of books back in 2013 so I'm super excited to have had the opportunity to read Austin and Justice's story! How can you not love a suspense with a bloodhound hero?! And his handler is pretty cool too. :-)

Austin's a dedicated K-9 officer who has seen a lot in his career. Enough to know that he can't afford to become personally involved in a search. But somehow Eva gets past his defenses as she doggedly refuses to be left behind. Frustration turns to admiration and a grudging respect for the determined single mom and it isn't long before Austin is falling hard. Eva's wary though -- prickly and guarded, with a past history that makes it hard to trust both cops and men. Great romantic tension explodes off the page as danger draws closer and an intriguing web of mysteries beg to be solved. A page-turning delight!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Available in EBOOK format only.

If you would like to win an ebook copy of Tracking Justice, 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 Satruday January 19 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

January Giveaway -- Week Two

WON BY PAULA S.

WON BY BERNICE KENNEDY

WON BY LADY SNOW ANGEL

WON BY KIM HANSEN

WON BY JASMINE A.

WON BY MARJORIE

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:

Double Minds

GIVEAWAY

 RANDOM RETRO READ DAY!

BLACKSTOCK, TERRI

DOUBLE MINDS

The young girl with the Bohemian style was on the floor where she'd fallen, between Parker's computer case and her file cabinet. She wore a long, flowing skirt -- lavender, the color of calm -- and camel-colored Uggs. She lay on her back, her long, wavy blonde hair matted with blood.

For struggling singer/songwriter Parker James, the music business has just turned deadly. Her desk in the reception area of a busy recording studio has become a crime scene, and Parker finds herself drawn into a mystery where nothing is as it seems. 

Unraveling the truth puts her own life at risk when she uncovers high-level industry corruption and is terrorized by a menacing stalker. As the danger escalates, Parker begins to question her dreams, her future, and even her faith.

Double Minds is a double treat -- combining a compelling suspense novel with an inside look at the world of the Christian music industry in Nashville. Terri Blackstock grabs readers at page one and keeps them riveted until the final plot twist is untangled.

My Review:

published in 2009

Thanks to my public library for providing me with an audio version of this book.

Wow -- riveting! And so much more than a suspense. There's even a bit of sweet romance in this compelling novel. I hardly know where to start my review!

The suspense is clever and well-paced as it almost languidly unfolds until the nail-biting, pulse-racing conclusion! And along the way, Blackstock explores the intriguing world of the Christian music industry. Totally fascinating! And emotionally draining. And infuriating. And devastating. And...there are so many layers to this novel it's a bit mind-boggling!

At the heart of it all are some hard questions about faith and purpose and temptation. About who holds the power in our lives and how personal desires can usurp divine authority with disastrous results.

I'm gobsmacked! Enthralled. The kind of story that lingers long after you've reached the end. Happy, contented sigh. :-)

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Double Minds, 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 Saturday January 12 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Beneath Montana Skies

GIVEAWAY

ROSS, MIA
BENEATH MONTANA SKIES

This cowboy is back home to start over...but two adorable surprises wait at Mustang Ridge.

After one wild ride too man, rodeo star Tyler Wilkins is back to his Montana hometown starting from scratch. But he sure didn't expect to find that he and Morgan Whittaker -- the feisty rancher he left behind -- have two adorable daughters. Can this reckless cowboy become a man Morgan will trust enough to earn the title of daddy...and possibly husband?

My Review:

A second chance romance that packs a punch. I felt for Ty -- rough upbringing, impulsive youth, wounded rodeo star...it seems like he can't hold on to anything good for very long. He may look like a tough cowboy but deep down he's afraid. And fear has been the impetus for a lot of his mistakes. I can totally relate to that! But he keeps on fighting and he's back in his hometown, stripped of everything he thought made him special and looking for a way to start over...and maybe reconnect with the girl he left behind.

Morgan is fierce and proud and not about to forgive and forget. I just wanted to shake some sense into her. Gah! Sometimes she was so hardheaded and mean towards Ty...gah! And he just took it and then that steamed me too! lol Definitely a rocky-road-to-a-happily-ever-after romance.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Beneath Montana Skies, 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 January 12 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Mark of the Raven

GIVEAWAY

BUSSE, MORGAN L.
MARK OF THE RAVEN

Dreamwalker. Nightwatcher. Lady of Ravenwood.
Lady Selene has come into her family's power. But has she inherited a gift or a curse?

Lady Selene is heir to the House of Ravenwood and the secret family gift of dreamwalking. As a dreamwalker, she can enter a person's dreams and manipulate their greatest fears or desires. Soon after the gifting, however, Selene discovers that the Ravenwood women have been secretly using their gift to gather information or to assassinate those responsible for the fall of House Ravenwood to the Dominia Empire hundreds of years ago.

As she becomes more entrenched in Ravenwood's dark past, Selene longs to find out the true reason behind her family's gift, believing that its original intent could not have been for such evil purposes, but she is torn about upholding her family's legacy -- a legacy that supports her people. Selene's dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations -- but who is also prophesied to bring about the downfall of her own house.

One path holds glory and power and will solidify her position as Lady of Ravenwood. The other path holds shame and likely death. Which will she choose? And is she willing to pay the price for the path chosen?

My Review:

Whoa! I'm not quite sure how to write a review for this one! A bit of a departure from my usual reading material because, though I love fantasy, I'm rather picky about which books I choose. A speculative fiction story either grabs me or it doesn't and I'm not sure I can even tell you what the yay or nay factors are but I can tell you that Mark of  the Raven not only grabbed me, it swallowed me whole and refused to regurgitate me until the very end...which is more of a beginning, really. Agh! There's so much I want to say and so much I can't say...ha! I'm like Lady Selene, bound by secrets I cannot share.

Busse has done some really creative world-building -- a kind of Medieval fairy tale ambiance with a lot more edge! I mean, seriously -- a dreamwalking would-be-assassin heroine?! What a hook! And I liked Selene right from the start, even though the burden of her gifting  is beginning to blacken her soul. Such inner turmoil as she struggles with wanting to be the kind of dark leader her mother claims she needs to be while not quite able to let go of what is true and noble and kind. Some parts of her story were hard to read and I kept shouting at her to find a better way but unfortunately, she wasn't dreamwalking in my dreams so it didn't do her (or me) any good!

Grand Lord Damien is the stuff legends are made of.  The kind of hero who puts the welfare of his people before himself. Eager to carry on his father's legacy and bring peace to the nation, he attempts to unite the seven ruling Houses in order to create a stronghold that will keep their common enemy from invading their lands. Treachery, politics, secret alliances...Busse spins an intriguing tale around the age old theme of good versus evil which includes a compelling inspirational thread.

This is the first book in The Ravenwood Saga, and like most fantasy novels, the story doesn't exactly draw to a conclusion as much as it lines things up for the next book. So definitely a cliffhanger ending, but there's enough resolution to keep me somewhat satisfied until Flight of the Raven releases in April 2019.

Book provided by Baker's Publishing Group and Graf-Marting Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Mark of the Raven, 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 Saturday January 12 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

No Safe Place

GIVEAWAY

SHACKELFORD, SHERRI
NO SAFE PLACE

He lives by the law. She's running for her life.

After forensic accountant Beth Greenwood uncovers a money-laundering scheme tying her company to the organization that murdered her mentor, she knows she needs to go into hiding. With ruthless killers in pursuit, she's forced to rely on homeland security agent Corbin Ross's protection -- even as his investigation suggests Beth is complicit in embezzlement. Can their uneasy alliance develop into something deeper -- and keep them alive?

My Review:

Love a nerve-wracking, heart-palpitating start to a romantic suspense and this one is all that and more. It has the kind of opening scene that sends uneasy shivers up and down a reader's spine. Tension and danger and a wary partnership that makes trust seem impossible. Corbin is all too quick to assume Beth's guilt while she has valid reasons for her lack of confidence in law enforcement. Such a delicious tumult of emotions as these two struggle through their issues while trying to stay alive!

A really interesting and unique suspense thread brings fresh appeal to the plot. And I love the way Shackelford balances the urgency of staying a step ahead of the bad guys with the complicated development of their relationship. It's all two steps forward and one step back on both fronts! Sublimely scrumptious and white-knuckling right to the last page!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of No Safe Place, 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 Saturday January 12 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!