Carol Award Finalists -- Historical Romance

GIVEAWAY

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 2021 finalists are books published in 2020. 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 -- Historical Romance 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:

Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar, Tyndale House, Editors: Stephanie Broene and Kathy Olson

A woman with a devastating secret. A man bent on proving his worth. A chance encounter that catapults them into the heart of history.

When the daughter of a prominent Roman general meets a disinherited Jewish immigrant, neither one can dream of God's plan to transform them into the most influential couple of the early church. Nor can they anticipate the mountains that will threaten to bury them.

Their courtship unwittingly shadowed by murder and betrayal, Priscilla and Aquila slowly work to build a community of believers, while their lives grow increasingly complicated thanks to a shaggy dog, a mysterious runaway, and a ruthless foe desperate for love. But when they're banished from their home by a capricious emperor, they must join forces with an unusual rabbi named Paul and fight to turn treachery into redemption.

With impeccable research and vivid detail, Daughter of Rome is both an emotive love story and an immersive journey through first-century Rome and Corinth, reminding readers once again why Debbie Macomber has said "no one brings the Bible to life like Tessa Afshar."

Like Flames in the Night by Connilyn Cossette, Bethany House (Baker) Publishing, Editors: Raela Schoenherr and Jennifer Veillieux

Strong-willed Tirzah wants to join her people in driving the enemy from the land of Israel and undergoes training for a secret mission inside the stronghold of Shechem. But soon after she has infiltrated the ruthless Aramean commander's kitchen, she makes a reckless decision that puts her and her allies in grave danger.

Fresh off the battlefield, Liyam returns home to discover his beloved daughter is dead. After his vow to hunt down her killer leads to months of fruitless pursuit, his last hope is in a family connection that comes with strings attached -- strings that force him to pose as a mercenary and rescue an infuriating woman who refuses to leave her mission uncompleted.

When an opportunity to pave a path to a Hebrew victory arises, can Tirzah convince Liyam to fight alongside her in the refuge city of her birth? Or will Liyam's thirst for vengeance outweigh his duty to his people, his God, and the woman he's come to love?

The Runaway Bride by Jody Hedlund, Bethany House (Baker) Publishing, Editor: Dave Long

Haunted by mistakes in her past, will she ever again trust her heart to another?

Wealthy Arabella Lawrence flees to British Columbia on a bride ship, still bearing the scars of past mistakes. One of the few single women in the boomtown, she immediately attracts suitors, but she is determined not to find herself trapped again by making a poor choice.

Vying for her hand are two very different men. Lieutenant Richard Drummond is a gentleman in the Navy, held in high esteem. Peter Kelly is the town's baker who has worked hard to build a thriving business. He and Drummon not only compete for Arabella's affections, but also clash over their views on how the natives should be treated in the midst of a smallpox outbreak.

As Arabella begins to overcome her fears, she discovers someone in dire need -- a starving girl left behind by her tribe. Intent on helping the child, Arabella leans Peter's advice and guidance. Will she have the wisdom to make the right decision, or will seeking what's right cost both her and Peter everything?

Link to my Review: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-runaway-bride.html

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is a paperback or ebook copy of the title you choose

If you would like a chance to win a copy of one of the 2021 Historical Romance Carol Awards finalists, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. 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 July 24 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Breakwater Protector

GIVEAWAY

BARRITT, CHRISTY

BREAKWATER PROTECTOR

One secret will tear them apart. The other will pull them closer.

Lizzie McCreary needs to disappear. As danger stalks her, she examples to windswept Cape Corral with her eight-year-old son, Preston. The isolated island offers her a desperate hope for safety.

Saltwater cowboy Dash Fulton isn't looking for love. Yet when he rescues a woman and boy from the woods, he immediately feels a bond with the two. He can sense the pair are harbouring secrets. The question is, what are they?

Dash has secrets of his own and pressure continues to mount for him to come clean. But as he's caught up in the peril surrounding Lizzie and Preston, his own problems become a low priority. He can't let anyone hurt the sweet single mom and her precocious son.

As more details come to light, will wounds from the past ultimately drive Lizzie and Dash apart? Or will the man chasing Lizzie destroy any hope for the future?

My Review:

I'm quite enamoured with this Saltwater Cowboy series -- love the setting and all the wild horses and the dreamy guys lined up to be heroes in future books. :-) Breakwater Protector is the perfect reading escape for a hot summer afternoon. 

And though it's the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone. There is a bit of an island mystery that is developing and looks like it won't be fully solved until the end of the series, but you won't feel lost diving into this book if you haven't read Saltwater Cowboy. Barritt is a pro at keeping readers current without bogging the story down.

Love the way this mystery develops -- all stalkerish spooky. Lizzie is so out of her element and I felt every panicky second as her fear amps up. Dash can sense that something is off when he rides to the rescue (literally...be still my heart!) but Lizzie is tight-lipped and wary. Her son, Preston, is the exact opposite though and the more he's around the boy, the more he's intrigued by the mother. 

Lizzie isn't the only one harbouring secrets -- Dash has been keeping one buried for months. Even from some of his closest law enforcement and fire fighting buddies and as emotions run high among the islanders, he's afraid his secret is on the verge of being revealed.

Cue your favourite suspense-y background music track and settle into your comfiest sleuthing armchair and get ready for a captivating page-turning adventure.

I listened to the audible edition narrated by Stacey Glemboski and I enjoyed every breathtaking moment! 

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 Breakwater Protector, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. 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 July 24 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

July Giveaway -- Week Three

 

WON BY TIGHEFAN42

WON BY KAYLEE

WON BY CAITLIN M.

WON BY ANNE RIGHTLER

WON BY BOOS MUM

WON BY LIZ R.

You know the drill: winners will be contacted if they left their email address in the comments, 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.

REMINDER: If you've been following my blog through email updates, you need to re-subscribe (blogger stopped it's subscription service so I had to switch to another.) Just fill in your email address in the white box in the upper right hand corner of the blog and click on subscribe. 

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK'S GIVEAWAYS:

SUNDAY

MONDAY

Carol Award Finalists 2021 -- Historical Romance

I did this last year and it was lots of fun so consider it a blog tradition. You get to choose which Carol Award Finalist you would like to win and if your name is drawn, that's the book you'll get. Every Monday I'll highlight the three finalists in a specific genre. This week it's the Historical category.

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Undercover Mission

GIVEAWAY

DUNN, SHARON

UNDERCOVER MISSION

Trapped on a ship with a killer...can her K-9 partner sniff out the clues?

Undercover on a cruise ship with her K-9 dog, Alaskan State Trooper Maya Rodriguez uses herself as bait to catch a murderer. And security officer David Garrison is the only person she can trust with the truth. But with a possible serial killer dead set on taking out anyone who stands in the way, will Maya and David make it off the ship alive?

My Review:

Being isolated on a cruise ship without extensive back up brings an added edge to this romantic suspense (no offence to Sarge who is a wonderful K-9 partner!) 

This is the third book in the Alaska K-9 Unit continuity series. That means that while there's an over-arcing suspense thread that carries through the entire series, each book has it's own fully resolved suspense plot (and romance too!) I've enjoyed meeting the dogs (and their human partners!) -- so much variety in both breeds and K-9 specialties. This time it's Sarge, a Malinois who is undercover as a service dog. :-)

Mega action scenes paired with a creepy stalker vibe kept me turning pages. And the setting -- never mind Alaska, but an Alaskan cruise! I've never been on a cruise ship -- or even seen one up close -- so I enjoyed Dunn's descriptions. She really brought it all to life.

I'm loving this series and am super excited to start reading Tracing Stolen Secrets as soon as it hits my mailbox. In transit as we speak. 

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy 

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Undercover Mission, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. 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 July 17 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Power Play

GIVEAWAY

DYLAN, RACHEL

POWER PLAY

Trapped in a dangerous game, can she counter enemy's deadly power play?

When Vivian Steele, an attorney at the State Department, witnesses two ambassaders collapse as if poisoned at a diplomatic dinner in Washington DC, she is recruited to be a member of a joint FBI task force assigned to investigate. But she soon finds her by-the-book ways clashing with a special agent in the Diplomatic Security Service, Jacob Cruz. A former Navy SEAL and in charge of the event's security, Jacob takes the attack personally and is driven to act quickly, unhampered by rules and regulations.

As Viv start to work her diplomatic sources, her past as a State Department lawyer comes back to haunt her, and secrets held tightly by the government thrust her into a web of danger. Afraid, she turns to the one man bent on protecting others. But can she accept Jacob's reckless ways as exactly what she needs to stay alive and to discover the truth behind the attacks?

My Review:

Eeeeppp! Another page-turning frenzy of a read in the Capital Intrigue series....but, sob, this is the last book and that makes me sad. Funny too, because I wasn't sure if I would like this series based on it's DC setting and the political thriller nature of the books. Especially since I'm Canadian and I was worried I'd be lost with all the US bureaucracy, but Dylan did a great job writing the legal and political parts so that a layman foreigner like myself could easily follow along. :-)

Intense is my buzz word for this series and Power Play keeps up the tradition of nerve-wracking suspense paired with toe-curling romance. And I loved that Viv is 'just' a lawyer. The previous heroines have been active federal agents so it was fun to have Viv caught up in the storm of intrigue that's way outside her comfort zone. She's all 'letter of the law' while Jacob is about getting the job done as efficiently (and creatively) as possible.

These two clash from day one and I love the unexpected chuckles that surface over their dialogue and inner thoughts. Jacob is all stoicism and so very serious but even his SEAL training hasn't prepared him for dealing with Viv.

"Stop frowning," she whispered.

"I'm really not. This is just the way I look." (p 25) (Snort. Guffaw.)

I love the way Jacob and Viv are reluctantly drawn together -- two seemingly opposites who slowly discover that they have enough similarities to build a foundation upon. All in the midst of desperate danger and time sensitive investigation. 

And there's a faith thread intricately woven throughout. It doesn't get much better than that, does it?

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

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy 

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Power Play, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. 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 July 17 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

Freedom's Kiss

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO READ!

MONZON, SARAH

FREEDOM'S KISS

They were both prisoners of their past. Could legacy be the key to setting them free?

Olivia Arroyo knows who she is and where she's going -- her sense of family responsibility a stepping stone to her dream of becoming a chef. When her employer refuses her the chance to move from server to the kitchen, she makes another opportunity for herself with the owner of a new food truck. But her life derails when a hidden piece of her past suddenly comes to light, and she discovers everything she thought she knew about herself had been a lie.

A single decision can have innumerable consequences -- a truth that has changed Adam Carrington's life. A criminal defense attorney turned food truck owner, he is haunted by his role in an unpardonable act and driven by his need to make restitution. Unexpected help comes in the form fo a feisty, raven-haired beauty, but she soon begins challenging his kitchen as well as his heart.

Florida, 1816

Propelled by a fleeting hope of freedom, Winnie and her family escape slavery and find refuge and new life with the Seminole Indians of Florida. But their future is still uncertain as threats of war, a return to slavery, and removal to the west shake their tentative grasp on freedom. Will they ever step out of the shadow of fear to leave a legacy of deliverance.

My Review:

published in 2018

This is the series that got away from me (she confesses, head hanging in shame.) I read the first two books in the series and then --pouf -- too many books, so little time and a brain that is only as good as the nearest overflowing TBR list. But I'm remedying that right now with this third Carrington novel...and yay...there is one more on my reading horizon.

So, yeah, these Carringtons. Three brothers and a sister and I'm swooning over them all...well, not Amber, but I'll swoon over her guy when he comes along. :-) Love the sibling bickering and teasing and typical big family shenanigans along with the way they aren't afraid to speak truth into a brother's (or sister's) life when the situation calls for it. 

This time round it's Adam's chance for romance. (And by the way, each book in this series reads well as a standalone too so you can jump in here if you've missed the first two books without any problem.) There's two sides to Adam -- exuberant, full-of-life, compassionate and just plain fun but that's contrasted by a darker side as he struggles with a circumstance in his past that he can't forgive himself for. He's forgotten about what grace means and lucky for him, Olivia pops into his life at the perfect time to show him.

The first time they meet is a riot! It's touched with whimsy and a meant-to-be kinda vibe that promises a stellar romance. Olivia's devoted to her family and driven to succeed in her culinary pursuits which is what lands her on Adam's doorstep finagling for a chance to prove herself. Life is looking pretty near perfect until her world spins off its axis when she discovers a secret about her past. Luckily, Adam is right there, a stable influence to help her remember what's important.

Meanwhile, back in 1816...eeeeeppp, yes, this is a dual timeline novel! And what an interesting historical setting -- escaped slaves from Georgia fleeing into the Florida wilderness to join a Seminole tribe as free people. I learned quite a bit of new-to-me history courtesy of this timeline. But how does it connect with Adam and Olivia's present day you ask? Weeeelllll....you'll just have to read Freedom's Kiss to find out.

Love that title, by the way. Because both present and historical heroes and heroines are all searching for freedom in one way or another. From slavery, political tyranny, fears, regret, unforgiveness...there are so many ways we humans shackle ourselves! And Monzon points us to the only way we can truly be free.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy 

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Freedom's Kiss, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. 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 July 17 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

My Hope Next Door

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO READ

GRAY, TAMMY L.

MY HOPE NEXT DOOR

Can love grow in the shadow of a broken past?

Former bad girl Katie Stone can feel the weight of her reputation settle over her as she drives home for the first time in years. Feeling deeply guilty about her past mistakes, Katie wants to do the right thing for once. But the small town where she grew up is not nearly as forgiving as she'd hoped. Despite it all, she's determined to help her parents cope with her mother's recent illness, and Katie finds a surprise ally in the man next door.

Asher Powell never minded being the son of a small-town pastor until a recent breakup leaves him wounded by lifelong members of his church. He remember his new neighbor as a mean-spirited high school troublemaker, but he senses that her newfound faith and desire for forgiveness are sincere.

Through an unexpected friendship, two people from different worlds find peace, hope, and a second chance they never dreamed was possible.

My Review:

published in 2016

"You saw a person I hadn't become yet."

This book literally pursued me. It kept popping up on social media feeds and multiple times on random Christian Fiction podcasts where it made multiple top reads hit lists, all in a matter of a couple of weeks which is kinda funny since it was published five years ago. So, I took the hint, checked out audible and it was on sale! Clearly, The Hope Next Door was my reading destiny. :-)

What a powerful novel! it's realistic and gritty, even harsh in places as Gray deals with multiple social issues -- some uniquely connected to the church. My heart still feels stomped on and stretched out of shape from all the pummeling it endured. So, definitely not a light read. More the kind that has the power to grow a reader's faith...and her conscience.  And though it's a tough read, it's as hopeful as the title promises.

And there's toe-curling romance! The kind that grows from awkward friendship and sizzles into something charged and complicated. Something that can't fully blossom until all the secrets are laid to rest. And, oh my, are there ever a lot of secrets! The layers in this story are precariously balanced on even more layers and delving into the past is the only way for Katie and Asher to secure their future. But that takes courage. And grace. So much grace.

A stirring redemptive story wrapped up in faith and the hope of second chances. 

"Faith is a journey. It doesn't have a start and stop date."

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

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

If you would like a chance to win a copy of My Hope Next Door, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. 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 July 17 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!