Carol Awards Semi-Finalists 2023 – Romantic Suspense + 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 2023 finalists are books published in 2022. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2023 — Romantic Suspense Category you would like to receive. 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.

Of Note: In past years, ACFW has announced the three finalists of each category in June and then the winners during their annual Writer’s Conference in late August/early September. This year they’ve switched it up and have announced seven semi-finalists in each category which will be whittled down to three finalists the first day of the conference at the end of August and then the winners in each category will be announced on the final day of the conference. So., with only two days in between the finalist announcements and the winner announcements, we’re going to have to go with wading through the seven semi-finalists so these weekly giveaways are going to be lengthy. Sorry about that. And now here are the Romantic SuspenseSemi-Finalists.

Targeted Witness by Jacquelin Adam; Love Inspired Suspense — paperback or ebook giveaway —

A witness under protection.

A serial killer out for revenge.

After the killer she identified finds her in witness protection, artist Cassie Whitfield must go on the run to avoid becoming the next victim. But there’s nobody she can trust—except her ex-boyfriend, former FBI agent Ryan Matherson, who doesn’t know her real identity. Now telling him the deadly truth is her only option if she wants to stay alive…

Read and reviewed: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2022/12/targeted-witness.html

Covert Danger (Guardians Unleashed;2) by Jerusha Agen; Indie — paperback or ebook —

A K-9 protection team. An assassin. Only one can survive.

An assassin is on the loose in the Twin Cities, aiming to kill FBI witnesses the Phoenix K-9 Security and Detection Agency is hired to protect. Rogue CIA agent Amalia Pérez and her protection K-9 must get the edge on this deadly opponent before he kills her childhood best friend—the only man who knows her true identity.

Investigative journalist Michael Barrett can’t believe his eyes when the woman he’s spent years searching for walks back into his life. But he soon fears the woman he loved is lost forever beneath the secrets Amalia wears like armor.
As the assassin closes in, Amalia will risk anything to keep Michael safe—anything except believing in the God he trusts. When the layers of deception become as dangerous as bullets, can Amalia and Michael uncover the truth in time to stop the assassin from completing his lethal mission?

Honor’s Refuge (Love and Honor; 3) by Hallee Bridgeman; Revell (Baker Publishing Group) — paperback or ebook giveaway —

When she was just five years old, Melissa Braxton watched her father take her mother’s life. Separated from her sister, Lola, at that time, Melissa grew up with a strong desire to help those stuck in abusive relationships. It’s why she became a family therapist and opened a domestic abuse shelter.

After losing a leg to a gunshot wound in the line of duty, Phil Osbourne has felt like a man without a purpose–until he hears Melissa’s story and decides to use his Special Forces contacts to track down her missing sister. He knows what he discovers will break Melissa’s heart. What he doesn’t realize is that helping the women reunite will bring the cartel down on them like the Category 5 hurricane striking Miami.

Bruised yet not quite broken, Melissa and Phil battle the storm and the cartel, calling on strength they didn’t know they had to escape death, save the innocent, and–just maybe–find healing in each other’s arms.

Word of Honor (Love and Honor; 2) by Hallee Bridgeman; Revell (Baker Publishing Group) — paperback or ebook giveaway —

FBI Special Agent Lynda Cutler is investigating an ecoterrorist organization in the Alaskan wilderness when her partner is taken captive and murdered before her very eyes. The only person who can identify the key players, Lynda gets assigned to take part in a joint operation in Istanbul to take the organization down.

As a woman in a Muslim country, she’ll find it much easier to move around undetected with a fake husband. Unfortunately for her, the man assigned to play the role is none other than US Army weapons specialist Bill Sanders–the man who crushed her heart into a million pieces back in college.

With a cargo bay’s worth of hurt and baggage between them, these two consummate professionals must play their parts perfectly if they hope to stop those responsible for bombing oil pipelines, killing innocent civilians, and threatening to destabilize the oil markets. But love long buried has a way of resurfacing at the most inopportune times–and protecting Lynda has become Bill’s primary focus.

Facing the Enemy by Paige Edwards; Covenant Communications — paperback or ebook giveaway —

Lady Elise Henderson lives two separate lives. At home in Scotland, she’s the titled daughter of the Marquess of Roxbury, an heiress in her own right. In London, however, she’s Elise Taylor, a top MI6 operative for the “home office.” But when a devastating accident threatens to end her career, Elise is left with far too much time for self-reflection and the regret of a decision made long ago that features one man: fellow MI6 agent Harry Benson.

Harry Benson, the son of servants, has loved Elise for the better part of a decade. But life took them on separate journeys until their worlds converged once more. An immediate assignment to the Scottish Borders leaves Harry little time to make provisions for his small, rambunctious son, Sammy. Harry knows only one person he can rely on for the boy’s care—Elise. When Elise brings Sammy to her ancestral estate, she never imagines that a nemesis from her past looms in the shadows, hungry for revenge. Stalked at every turn, Elise and Harry discover that fighting their feelings for one another is futile, but can they survive long enough to get another shot at true love?

Battlefield of Deceit (Faith in the Parks;5) by J. Carol Nemeth; Winged Publications — paperback or ebook giveaway —

A diary on loan to the museum.
An old Civil War house on the edge of the battlefield.
Could these two things be connected?

Gettysburg National Military Park historian, Chloe Rogers, begins her research into both: to prepare for a donor event and to discover if it can be restored for public viewing. Chloe and her fellow historian, Clifford Weston, discover a virtual Pandora’s box in the cellar beneath the house revealing more questions than answers. Park policeman, Blake Hunter, becomes embroiled in the old house mystery but gives Chloe cause for concern when her widowed heart responds to his attentions. She’s simply not ready to move on. Is she?

When unwelcome things begin to occur, they realize they have to discover who’s behind them and soon. Will Chloe find the answers in a packet of old letters discovered in the cellar? Then there are the unexplained footsteps…

Defending Honor (Elite Guardians ; 3) by Kelly Underwood; Sunrise Publishing — paperback or ebook giveaway —

She’ll have to pretend to save his life…but what will it cost her heart?

Laila Rabbinowitz is all business. Tough and stoic, she was the perfect Mossad agent…until a terrible betrayal led to her worst nightmare. Being a bodyguard with the Elite Guardians allows her to keep her heart safe—she’ll never let anyone close enough to betray her again. And she’s certainly not going to trust anyone who doesn’t earn it.

Billionaire and former playboy Preston Whittaker walked away from his famous family after a terrible event, but then his father and brother are killed in a suspicious boating accident. Since he’s next in line to helm the family business, now someone wants him dead.

Preston needs someone by his side 24/7, and the only solution is a fake marriage. In order to keep him safe, Laila will have to convince everyone that she and Preston are in love. She’s used to putting her life on the line for a client. But what will this case cost her heart?

Read and Reviewed: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/02/20/defending-honor-giveaway/

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Please pay attention to the book formats available for this giveaway noted after the publication info for each individual title. Ebook wins are available to anyone, anywhere who has a .com kindle account. Paperbacks are available to readers in US and Canada.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of one of these Carol Awards semi-finalists, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. 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 5, 2023. Good luck!

48 thoughts on “Carol Awards Semi-Finalists 2023 – Romantic Suspense + Giveaway”

  1. I’ve read most of them, and the two I have not read both sound really good. (Battlefield of Deceit is the runner up)…but my pick is Facing the Enemy by Paige Edwards. Never heard of the author, but it sounds really good.
    marcus80202001(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  2. Defending Honor, please. I read the first Elite Guardians series but not this one. I recently got the first book.

    Thanks,
    Tammy
    Obertam at gmail dot com

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    1. I need to check back through that series. I’ve read two — the other one was about being a bodyguard to a dog and it was really good. Different author, though. I think they all have different authors. Good luck, Tammy!

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      1. Yes, 3 different authors and presented by Irene.

        Something similar happened with the Big Sky Amish with Tricia Goyer. She did another series that connected to the first a little. Hers was the first, Christen E. Krumm did the second and Elly Gilbert did the third. It was a way to get new authors out there. I did launch team reads for all of them. The third comes out soon.

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    1. I read the first one in this series and really enjoyed it. Had no idea that the second book was out already and now I think the third one is coming out soon! Gah! I love me a K-9 story!!!! Good luck, Kim!

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    1. I read (well, listened) the first book in that series and it was excellent. I was hoping the rest of the series would come out in audio book format as well, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen so I need to get the paperbacks. Good luck, Melanie!

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  5. If I were fortunate enough to be selected, I would love a paperback copy of “Covert Danger” byJerusha Agen. Love K-9 stories and this one sounds amazing. Already on my TBR list, I can’t wait for the opportunity to read this one.

    Thank you for the chance to win a copy!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  8. I’ve read Targeted Witness and Defending Honor and enjoyed them both.

    Battlefield of Deceit really piqued my interest. I looked it up and the first chapter hooked me. I always gravitate towards books that have journals and old letters for the clues to the mystery. Carol Nemeth is a new to me author, so I’m checking this one as one of my reader goals It’s on KU so I went ahead and downloaded it. Happy book day to me. Thanks for the lead!

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    1. And it’s set in a National Park — I’ve been enjoying a few series featuring National Park settings so that’s a real draw too. Neat that it’s on KU — one of the perks of being an ebook reader, I guess. Oh, I just checked Amazon and it’s the fifth book in this series and they are all set in National Parks! Looks like all of them are on KU, Tracey. I’m kinda jealous. lol Happy Reading!

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      1. I have to say I really do enjoy my kindle ebooks Now that I’m using the text-to-voice feature I’ve increased my number of books read by 50%. I’ve still not read even half of your amazing number of books read according to the Goodreads challenge, but a great way for me to read more of the books I want to get to and I’m happy with that.

        If Battlefield of Deceit turns out to be good, and it must be to be up for a Carol Award, I’ll go back and read the other 4 in the series.

        I love NP books. A great way to read fiction and get a history lesson in the process. I’ve enjoyed Karen Barnett’s National Park series, When Stone Wings Fly was my favorite. Annalisa Daughety has a NP series called A Walk in the Park, I read way back too. It starts with Love is a Battlefield.

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      2. Oooh, I didn’t know about the Annalise Daughety NP series! Must check that out. I read Karen Barnett’s. And Patricia Bradley has a great suspense NP series too. hmm…that’s one I need to catch up. Maybe I’ll use one of this month’s audible credits on it. lol

        Audio books are a real boon to my ‘reading’ numbers for sure. Not sure if I could do the text-to-voice thing or not. Something techy to look into. Nice chatting books with you, Tracey!

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  9. Battlefield of Deceit sounds very interesting, plus being a new to me author. Have visited the National Park and also, nearby the home of WWII Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and former President Dwight Eisenhower. My GG-Grandmother’s home/farm was part of another CW battlefield park – was very interesting to research, including diaries from soldiers who fought actually inside/around their home. Obviously, the family fled and eventually moved elsewhere.

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  11. These all sound great and I haven’t read any of them, so…..my choice is Facing the Enemy by Paige Edwards. I’m not familiar with this author either, so another reason to try her book.

    Sandyavery at comcast dot net

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  13. It’s very difficult to choose but I’m picking Word of Honor by Hallee Bridgeman. I think she’s flown under my radar and I see that she has two books in this list…..that’s amazing! I also see that this is book 2 in a series. I’m wondering if each book is a stand alone? So much for not starting a series in the middle but hats off to a new to me author.

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    1. I have read the first book in this series and it was fantastic! It’s centred around an elite military team and each book features one of the team members. Having read the blurb for the second book, I don’t think there’d be many spoilers to worry about. You’ll have missed out on a bit of the team camaraderie and there is a major event in the first book that affects the team — one member in particular but if you’ve read the blurb on book three you already know what that is. lol Does that help? I think you could read this one as a standalone without feeling it spoiled you for the first one if you decide to backtrack. Good luck, Perrianne!

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  14. I haven’t been much of a suspense reader for quite some time, but my choice would be Covert Danger by Jerusha Agen. I heard she’s a fantastic writer! I know, I’m way behind on her books 😂

    teamob4 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  16. I think I would like several! It’s really hard to choose! But #3 of ! Hallee
    Bridgeman ‘s series Honor’s Refuge looks most tempting.
    paulamarys49ATgmailDOTcom

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  19. There are way too many good ones to chose from this time. It’s hard to pick, but I’ll go with a new author for me this time. Facing the Enemy by Paige Edwards.

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