Love in Tandem + Giveaway

She’s perfectly content leading a quiet life in her small hometown. He’s an adventurer with unquenchable wanderlust. The two couldn’t be any more opposite if they tried. But a tandem bicycle and a 500-mile road trip just might change all that.

After a failed engagement and her mother’s battle with cancer, Charlotte Carter’s life is finally turning around now that she’s landed a dream job teaching music. What she didn’t see coming was the imminent closure of the school’s music program. She’s determined to save it, even if it means getting creative. There’s no way she’s chalking this up as just another failure in her book of recent embarrassments.

Zach Bryant is back in town just long enough to see his brother Ben get married and then he’s off traveling the world again. He never imagined he’d run into Charlotte Carter, his brother’s ex-fiancé, or that everyone would believe he and Charlotte are an item. He certainly didn’t dream he’d end up riding a tandem bicycle hundreds of miles with her in an attempt to raise funds for a defunct music program, but how can he say no when the prize money would help him out of his financial predicament too?

Charlotte is sure she can set aside her differences with Zach long enough to cross the finish line and win the giant cash prize . . . can’t she? A few hundred miles in, she’s questioning her deeply held assumptions about Zach and wondering if maybe tandem biking is only the start of their biggest adventure yet.

My Review:

I don’t even know where to start…except to say that I laughed my way through the entire book. And not just mild bubbles of mirth but frequent full out belly laughs which leads me to my first reader warning: Do not read this book in public. I did, since I walk and listen, and I was enthusiastically enjoying C.J. Bloom’s narration which resulted in staccato bursts of chuckles, high-pitched peels of laughter, and even the occasional oh so embarrassing snort chortle which caused dogs to bark and pedestrians to cross over to the other side of the street. My standing in the neighbourhood is now in question but I don’t even care.

So – 5 stars plus a billion more! Impeccable comedic pacing delivered masterfully by the narrator to bring the most impact and ensure my 15 facial smile muscles got a coordinated workout. All the way through. And it never got absurd…well, okay it did but it didn’t feel like it. The way Charlotte and Zach’s situation snowballed out of control made for an epic farce. Excellent combination of physical comedy and smart banter with a healthy dose of zaniness just because.

But there’s so much heart in this story too. Emotional depth and great character development as Zach and Charlotte wrestle with angst and past trauma. Somehow the author manages to strike the right balance between the heavy and the light which made ‘Love in Tandem’ not only an entertaining read, but an impactful one as well.

Love a good fake dating trope with all the ensuing romantical complications and this one is outstanding! Plus, we’re given a secondary plot line featuring Charlotte’s sister which was just as compelling and a whole lot quirky. These sisters don’t know how to do ‘normal.’

As I mentioned, I listened to the audio edition and I really think C.J. Bloom’s performance amped up my ‘reading’ enjoyment that much more. Brilliant choice of narrator and she did these characters justice.

My thanks to the publisher, RB Media and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a print or ebook copy. Winner’s choice.

US – available in print or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada – available in print or ebook or audible (if available) — winner’s choice

International – ebook copy if you have a US Kindle account.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Love in Tandem, 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 April 6 2024.

40 thoughts on “Love in Tandem + Giveaway”

  3. I loved this one too! I can’t remember a book that I laughed all the way through like I did this one. The story is over-the-top in believability, but it doesn’t even matter because there’s a laugh on every single page! I think it’s even better than her first book, Dear Henry, Love Edith.

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  6. Just knew when I first heard about “Love in Tandem” that it was going to be a great read. Your review confirms that and increased my desire to read it. Now I sure enough can’t wait for the opportunity to do so. 

    Thank you for the fabulous chance to win a copy!

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  13. This sounds like or makes me think of those I Love Lucy reruns with the constant laugh out loud physical comedy. So much fun to escape routine and laugh! You may not have those on your tv stations. Thank you for the fun introduction to this author, as I have not previously read anything of hers. I just discovered my library has her Dear Henry, Love Edith, and I am now on an approximate 8-week hold.

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    1. Eeeeppp — I predict that you will enjoy Dear Henry, Love Edith. What a debut! And this one is amazing too. Definitely brings some classic comedies to mind and you’re right — a delightful way to escape routine and laugh! Good luck, CC!

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  14. Oh my gosh, I enjoyed “Dear Henry, Love Edith” SO much!!! That concludes that I absolutely MUST read this one….which has been on my want-to-read-NOW list since the first thrilling look at this cover & realizing who wrote it 🙂

    teamob4 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  16. I always love a good book that will make me laugh but still has some depth. Love in Tandem sounds like just such a book.

    pmkellogg56[at]gmail[dot]com

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  19. I’ve recently been listening to several rom-coms through the Libby app. They were available, so I tried them out and enjoyed them. Most recently The Do Over by Bethany Turner.

    I think I have Becca’s first book in my TBR stack, but haven’t read it yet.

    pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. I haven’t read anything by Bethany Turner in a while. If your library has hoopla, check that out too — it’s another great resource for audio books. Gotta love our libraries. Good luck, Patty!

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  20. After reading Dear Henry, Love Edith, I knew this book would be going on my TBR! I’d love a chance to win it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one.

    kcrhoadesATroadrunnerDOTcom

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  21. Just found out this is one of the two possible choices for an online book club I’m part of so throw my name in the hat, please, Kav 🙂

    ckbarker at gmail dot com

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      1. Kav, it’s actually a Facebook group. You can look it up and join if you’d like! 🙂 It’s called A Christian Fiction Book Club. We only read one book per quarter and usually have a Zoom meeting with the author. The replay is posted too so if you can’t make the Zoom meeting, you can still watch later 🙂 Here’s the link to the group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/3280804305568769

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