Christy Awards Finalists 2024 – 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 2024 finalists are books published in 2023. 

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.)

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:

Giveaway details may vary with each book (print, ebook only or winner’s choice of either, plus audible options for Canadians.) Edition availability will be noted in bold after the title/author/publisher of each entry. ALSO NOTE: Giveaway is for US and Canada OR ebook international if you have US Kindle account.

Her Only Wish by Shelley Shepard Gray – Revell (Baker Publishing Group) – Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook —
Sheltered yet adventurous, Betsy Detweiler is on a mission to get out of Kentucky and experience new things in life. She’s got a list–a life list. What better place to start than with her friends in beautiful Pinecraft, Florida?

From the moment Betsy walks into the Snow Bird Golf Course to sign up for lessons, August Troyer is mesmerized. Betsy is a mass of contradictions–beautiful yet awkward, outgoing yet unsure, joyful yet hesitant. She’s like no one he’s ever met before, and as the only child of missionary parents, he’s met a lot of people.

As Betsy and August embark on a month of enjoying life to the fullest, they’ll encounter several reasons to back off and play it safe. But playing it safe has its own consequences. This tender romance reminds us that life–and love–requires a fair amount of risk.

Indigo Isle by T. I. Lowe – Tyndale House – Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook — “Storms show up and there ain’t a thing we can do to stop them.”

Sonny Bates left South Carolina fifteen years ago and never looked back. Now she’s a successful Hollywood location scout who travels the world, finding perfect places for movie shoots. Home is wherever she lands, and between her busy schedule and dealing with her boss’s demands, she has little time to think about the past . . . until her latest gig lands her a stone’s throw from everything she left behind.

Searching off the coast of Charleston for a secluded site to film a key scene, Sonny wanders onto a private barrier island and encounters its reclusive owner, known by locals as the Monster of Indigo Isle. What she finds is a man much more complex than the myth.

Once a successful New York attorney, Hudson Renfrow’s grief has exiled him to his island for several years. He spends his days alone, tending his fields of indigo, then making indigo dye–and he has no interest in serving the intrusive needs of a film company or yielding to Sonny’s determined curiosity. But when a hurricane makes landfall on the Carolina coast, stranding them together, an unlikely friendship forms between the two damaged souls. Soon the gruff exterior Hudson has long hidden behind crumbles–exposing the tender part of him that’s desperate for forgiveness and a second chance.

A story of hanging on and letting go, of redemption and reconciliation, and of a love that heals the deepest wounds, from the author of the breakout Southern fiction bestseller Under the Magnolias.

The Rhythm of Fractured Grace by Amanda Wen – Kregel Publications – Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook – Is Siobhan too far gone to respond to the song of a God who’s calling her back to him?

When a new customer brings a badly damaged violin into Siobhan Walsh’s shop, it is exactly the sort of challenge she craves. The man who brought it in is not. He’s too close to the painful past that left her heart and her faith in shambles.

Matt Buchanan has had a rough start as the new worship pastor. A car accident on his way into town left him with a nearly totaled truck, and an heirloom violin in pieces. When he takes it to a repair shop, he’s fascinated with the restoration process–and with the edgy, closed-off woman doing the work.

As their friendship deepens and turns into more, they both discover secrets that force them to face past wounds. And the history of the violin reveals more about their current problems than they could have ever expected.

On the nineteenth-century frontier, a gruesome tomahawk attack wiped out most of Deborah Caldwell’s family. Her greatest solace after the tragedy is the music from her father’s prized violin. Given her horrendous scars, she’d resigned herself to a spinster’s life. But Levi Martinson’s gentle love starts to chip away at her hardened heart, until devastating details about the attack are revealed, putting their love–and Deborah’s shaky faith–to the ultimate test.

Full of forgiveness and the message that no one is too damaged for God’s healing touch, the final book in the split-time Sedgwick County Chronicles will thrill fans of Rachel Hauck, Lisa Wingate, and Kristy Cambron.

https://kavsbestreads.ca/2024/05/13/rhythm-of-fractured-grace-giveaway/

The Thing About Home by Rhonda McKnight – Thomas Nelson – Winner’s choice of paperback or ebook –

Home is not a place—it’s a feeling. 

Casey Black needs an escape. When her picture-perfect vow renewal ceremony ends in her being left at the altar, the former model turned social media influencer has new fame—the kind she never wanted. An embarrassing viral video has cost her millions of followers, and her seven-year marriage is over. With her personal and business lives in shambles, Casey runs from New York City to South Carolina’s Lowcountry hoping to find long-lost family. Family who can give her more answers about her past than her controlling mom-slash-manager has ever been willing to share.

What Casey doesn’t expect is a postcard-worthy property on a three-hundred-acre farm, history, culture, and a love of sweet tea. She spends her days caring for the land and her nights cooking much needed Southern comfort foods. She also meets Nigel, the handsome farm manager whose friendship has become everything she’s never had. And then there are the secrets her mother can no longer hide.

Through the pages of her great-grandmother’s journals, Casey discovers her roots run deeper than the Lowcountry soil. She learns that she has people. A home. A legacy to uphold. And a great new love story—if only she is brave enough to leave her old life behind.

https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/07/13/the-thing-about-home-giveaway/

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 21 2024 (after 12 pm) REMEMBER TO CHECK GIVEAWAY EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH TITLE!

53 thoughts on “Christy Awards Finalists 2024 – Contemporary Romance”

  1. I would choose The Thing About Home by Rhonda McNight who would be a new to me author. I love the fact that she’s a new author and the storyline description gives me vibes similar to author T.I. Lowe. You can’t go wrong there and she’s a Christy Award Finalist!

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      1. It was between this one and the last one. But this one won out, it just sounded like the one I would be the most drawn to reading.

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  9. Don’t enter me as I’ve read all these (minus the Amish book) and they’re all in my top 10 faves. Unusual for me! Indigo Isle is an amazing coastal beach read you don’t want to miss. About an island recluse aka the Monster and the curious heroine who continually invades his space! Just my 2 cents worth. Carry on. 😅

    BTW sent you an important email, Kav! They’re always important. 😉

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    1. Wow! I’m impressed — you are in tune with the Christy Awards. I don’t see an email from you anywhere, Diane, which is curious. Maybe there’s a delivery lag? I’ll keep an eye out. Happy Reading!

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      1. It’s a good thing bc I sure wasn’t in tune with the Carol Awards. It seems there were a lot of those I hadn’t read yet. 🤔 This is only one genre of the Christy Awards, will see how I do with the others. I saw a few listed on FB & can’t remember how many of those I read. Read Laura Frantz’s but beyond that? 🙃

        Maybe my email landed in your spam mail? No worries, I’ll just resend it. 💖

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  11. My choice is The Rhythm of Fractured Grace by Amanda Wen. I keep meaning to read one of her books but haven’t done so yet. This one sounds really interesting.

    Indigo Isle was one of my favorite books from last year, fantastic!

    Sandyavery at comcast dot net

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  12. Would LOVE the opportunity to read and review THE THING ABOUT HOME by Rhonda McKnight. Sounds absolutely amazing and due to your previous review is already on my TBR list. Love dual timeline stories and I believe this one will be an exceptional one.

    Thank you for the chance to win a copy!

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  13. Well, Her Only Wish sounds a little more down to earth (not Hollywoodish or otherwise) and more relaxing than some of the others. Her books are usually good, be they historical or Amish. Thanks!

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  14. Kav, I love that you do giveaways for the Christy finalists – thank you! Hard to choose in this category. I think I’ll go with The Thing About Home. If you were gobsmacked by it (per your review 🙂 ), then I am interested! 🙂

    cbarker at gmail dot com

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  20. I’ve already read two of these books so I would choose The Thing About Home. It looks intriguing and I haven’t read anything by Rhonda McKnight.

    pmkellogg56[at]gmail[dot]com

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  22. I choose The Thing About Home. I’ve got a couple of the others.
    I admittedly have a serious bias on this one and I hope Amanda Wen wins. That series is top notch. I gave all the books five stars and I don’t give them out easily.

    tam – appletamoATyahooDOTca

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  23. The Thing About Home was one I was already eyeballing for a future read….so that’s my choice for this giveaway 😊💖 Thanks Kav for doing these Carol Award picks, it’s fun to see what books & authors made the cut!

    teamob4 (at) gmail (dot) com

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