Christy Awards Finalists 2023 – Contemporary Romance

What are the Christy Awards?

The Christy Award is destined to nurture creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview and showcase the diversity of genres. These 2023 finalists are books published in 2022. 

How does this giveaway work?

You select ONE of the Contemporary Romance finalists you would like to receive if your name is drawn. Mention the title in a comment. If you win that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. Here are the finalists. (I have provided links to my reviews of the books I have read.)

A Seaside Wonder by Melissa Tagg (Larkspur Press)

In one evening, Indi’s world falls apart. Enter the shy professor her family mistakes for her fiancé…make that ex-fiancé.

Professor Philip West never wanted to return to Maine . . . or his grandfather’s miserable old house. But after his mother’s death, he’s now the guardian of a teenage half sister he barely knows—one who doesn’t want anything to do with him. He longs to help her heal, but he’s exhausted and numb, desperate for relief of his own. Maybe that’s why he’s so easily distracted when he happens upon the little shop with a name on its storefront window that sounds familiar, a hint of a mystery nudging him inside.

More than a decade has passed since Indi Muir made the heartbreaking decision she’s never recovered from—though she’s certainly tried. She has a full life running her shop and creating the artsy pieces that fill its shelves. If she can just stay busy, she’ll keep her hurt and regret at bay. But when her ex-fiancé returns to Muir Harbor, he brings news that shatters her carefully built walls. Things only get worse when lurking danger comes calling at her childhood home.

The one bright spot amid Indi’s turmoil is the shy stranger who wandered into her shop months ago and his moody but lovable sister. As she confronts her past and the mysterious threat facing her family, she’s intent on helping Philip win over his sister. He just might win over Indi, too, if they can overcome old secrets and wounds, outrun rising peril . . . and take a chance on love.

Breathtaking romance, a captivating mystery, and an enchanting wintry seaside . . . return to Muir Harbor in bestselling author Melissa Tagg’s latest.

My Review: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/03/23/a-seaside-wonder-giveaway/

All That it Takes by Nicole Dees (Bethany House)

When the ever-cautious Val Locklier moves cross-country with her son for a secure job, everything she’d planned unravels within the first week. After Val reluctantly agrees to rent an apartment from her best friend’s brother, an unexpected chance at an elite filmmakers’ mentorship ignites fresh hope for a dream career. But as Val’s community begins to expand, so do her insecurities, especially those heightened by her growing attraction to a certain friendly landlord.

Pastor Miles McKenzie returns home from a short-term mission trip to discover that not only does he have an intriguing new tenant living upstairs, he’s also been reassigned to a local ministry on life support. Disillusioned and restless, he distracts himself by throwing his energy into a host of new projects–not the least of which is pursuing Val–without stopping to consider the future.

As Val struggles to stop hiding behind the camera and Miles wrestles with shattered expectations, they’ll find that authentic love and sacrifice must go hand in hand.

My Review: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2022/05/all-that-it-takes.html

To Believe in You by Emily Conrad (Hope Anchor LLC)

Can she trust her heart to a man who can’t trust himself?

Since his dismissal from the rock band Awestruck, former bassist and addict Matt Visser has been transformed by faith and a year of sobriety.

If he can repay his parents for one last major debt from his years of irresponsible living, he can move into the future with a clear conscience. Now if only his latest stunt hadn’t gotten him fired from the family business.

After Lina Abbey’s fiancé gambled away their wedding savings, she surrendered her hopes of a family of her own—what man could she trust enough to marry?—and moved for a fresh start in Wisconsin.

She busies herself with her jobs managing Awestruck’s social media and directing Key of Hope, a non-profit funded by the band to teach music lessons to kids from low-income families.

She would never hire a man with Matt’s track record as a bass guitar instructor, but Awestruck’s manager, Tim, forces her hand. In need of a job and eager to clear his debts, Matt begins work. Unable to resist a challenge, he soon adds the goal of winning the trust of his beautiful but cautious coworker.

Lina is impressed that Matt resists Tim’s ongoing efforts to reconnect him with Awestruck, but when a new truth about Matt’s past reveals a wrong he can never right, he and Lina both need something more trustworthy than Matt to believe in. Otherwise, history will repeat itself in all the worst ways.

To Win a Prince by Toni Shiloh (Bethany House)

As a fashion aficionado and best friend of the queen of the African island country Oloro Ilé, Iris Blakely dreams of using her talent to start a business to help citizens in impoverished areas. But when she discovers that Ekon Diallo will be her business consultant, the battle between her desires and reality begins.

Ekon Diallo has lost everything: his princely title, his material possessions, his friends, and the respect of his countrymen. To pay for his actions against Oloro Ilé, he’s forced to assist the charismatic Iris Blakely–but he can’t allow his heart to distract him from regaining his status.

As Iris strives to get her business off the ground while keeping her heart intact, will her dreams of happily ever after survive the challenges she faces?

My Review: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2022/09/to-win-prince.html

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Giveaway available to US and Canadian readers (book or ebook where available) as well as anyone who has a US Kindle account (Amazon.com) for ebook wins.

Christy Award book giveaways vary by title. Please check the list below for formats available.

All Contemporary Romance books are available in both paperback or ebook format. Winner’s choice (US and Canada). Only ebooks for International winners.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of one of the  Contemporary Romance finalists, leave a comment below (including the title you would like to win) 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 October 14 2023 .

46 thoughts on “Christy Awards Finalists 2023 – Contemporary Romance”

  2. Good morning! I’ve read 2 of these books & they were both super good! I’ve only read one of Nicole’s so it’s time to broaden my horizons.

    All That It Takes by Nicole Deese

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  8. Kav, so excited for the Christy Awards finalists giveaways you’re offering Thanks for doing this again! I’ll go with All That It Takes by Nicole Deese. I read my first book of hers earlier this year — The Words We Lost — and absolutely loved it. Decided I need to read her others now too so am excited for this chance. Fingers crossed! 🙂

    ckbarker at gmail dot com

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  9. I would LOVE the opportunity to read “To Win a Prince” by Toni Shiloh.

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

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  10. Looks like some great finalists! It’s been awhile since I’ve read anything by Melissa Tagg so I would choose
    A Seaside Wonder. Thanks for the chance.
    cps1950ATgmailDOTcom

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  12. To Win a Prince is my choice since I’ve read the others 😊 Plus, I have In Search of a Prince on my bookshelf!

    I’ve seen the line-up of Carol Award finalists and there are some fantastic books by equally fantastic authors!! It’ll be a hard choice for the judges fore sure 💖

    teamob4 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  14. Since I’ve read the others, I’ll choose Emily Conrad’s book, To Believe in You. There are some great books in the finalists! Glad I’m not a judge!
    whthomas13 at yahoo dot com

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