Christy Award Finalists – General Fiction

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 2025 finalists are books published in 2024. 

How does this Giveaway work?

You select ONE of the General Fiction 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.

Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox – Revell/Baker Publishing Group – Giveaway Options: US – paperback or ebook, Canada – ebook or audible, International – ebook if you have a US Kindle account.

Every family has its secrets. Josephina Harris wouldn’t mind if her family still had a few of their own after a lawsuit tarnishes their name. When an opportunity opens to become a temporary keeper of a decommissioned lighthouse on a North Carolina island, she jumps at the chance to escape her small town to oversee its restoration.

As the work begins, “Joey” discovers strange notes tucked deep in the crevices of the old stone walls–pages torn from a lighthouse keeper’s log signed by someone named Mae who recounts harrowing rescues at sea. Fascinated by a woman lighthouse keeper, Joey digs into the past only to discover there’s never been a record of a lighthouse keeper by that name.

When things start to go amiss on the island, locals are convinced that it is the ghost of the lighthouse keeper and his daughter who were lost at sea during World War II. As Joey sifts through decades of rumors and legends and puts together the pieces of the past, what emerges is a love story–one that’s not over yet.

Multiple Christy Award winner Amanda Cox is your guide upon the raging seas of young love, heartbreaking loss, and learning to risk it all for a chance at happiness in this timeless novel.

Bitter and Sweet by Rhonda McKnight – Thomas Nelson – Giveaway Options: US – paperback or ebook, Canada – paperback or ebook or audible, International – ebook if you have a US Kindle account.

Two sisters at a crossroad in life find the answers to their problems in the lessons from the past…

Mariah never pretended her marriage was perfect but that didn’t mean she ever suspected her husband of ten years would not only ask for a divorce but steal the business she built for them. Defeated and depressed, she’s not sure how to bounce back from the manipulative betrayal. Sabrina has been self-destructing for years, maybe since she was born, but certainly since the death of her long-time boyfriend. Barely scraping by and living in her van, she’s struggling to figure out what’s next for her, when all she’s ever wanted to do is bake cakes like her mother did.

When Mariah and Sabrina’s grandmother sends them a cryptic text message summoning them to Georgetown, South Carolina, both assume their ailing grandfather’s health has declined. Instead, the estranged sisters are faced with their grandmother’s undeniable request–save the family restaurant. Through letters written by their great-great-grandmother, Tabitha, Mariah and Sabrina learn a heartbreaking yet powerful story of struggle and survival. As the whole truth about Tabitha’s complicated past unfolds, the sisters are inspired by her ability to forge her own way in Charleston, a beautiful and prosperous city that was also rife with oppression under Jim Crow.

With the lessons in their family’s past guiding them, both sisters have a chance at a different life–if they can find a way to bridge the gap that tragedy and unhealed trauma forced between them. Told in a dual timeline that alternates between the 1920s and present-day Charleston, SC, Bitter and Sweet is an emotional story about love, one family’s perseverance, and the bonds of family and heritage. https://kavsbestreads.ca/2024/06/11/bitter-and-sweet-giveaway/

Lowcountry Lost by T. I. Lowe – Tyndale House – Giveaway Options: US – paperback or ebook, Canada – ebook or audible, International – ebook if you have a US Kindle account.

Sometimes what haunts you most is wondering what could have been . . . Avalee Elvis prides herself with being able to fix just about anything. . . except her past. Unable to put the puzzle of her life together, she pours heart and soul into making neglected places whole again. As the owner of Lowcountry Lost, Avalee spends her days in hot-pink Carhartt overalls and a tool belt reclaiming Lowcountry properties. Making them beautiful again releases the deep sigh that soothes the hurt she holds.

Avalee’s latest project takes her to tiny Somewhere, South Carolina, a long-abandoned town. She ignores its ghostly folklore but can’t miss the shock of hearing the familiar Irish brogue that materializes on the job site–the voice of the man she never wanted to see again.

Rowan Murray is a structural engineer hired by investors to oversee the redevelopment of the quaint downtown Avalee is bringing back to life. Once upon a time, he was also the man who knew Avalee better than anyone else–or so he thought. Turns out he was wrong. Neither of them was prepared for what happened between them six years ago. But as they work together to complete the rehabbing of Somewhere, their broken pieces and the pain that nearly consumed them begin to lose its grip, and both begin to wonder if it’s not too late for a restoration of their own.

From the author of the breakout Southern fiction bestseller Under the Magnolias comes a story of loss and abandonment, forgiveness, and the beauty of undying love. https://kavsbestreads.ca/2024/11/08/lowcountry-lost/

The Way Back by Heidi Chiavaroli – Hope Creek Publishers – Giveaway Options: US – paperback or ebook, Canada – paperback, ebook or audible, International – ebook if you have an US Kindle account.

Young love means everything… until it leaves you with nothing.

The summer before her senior year of high school, Laney Jacobs and her best friend jump from a six-story beachside cliff in an attempt to impress their boyfriends. Laney rose from the water. Her friend did not.

Six years later, when Laney’s troubled mother’s memoir hits the bestseller list airing the family’s destructive secrets, Laney is forced to relive the trauma, this time in the public eye. To escape the scrutiny, she seeks shelter at her estranged grandmother’s seaside inn. But she can’t reconcile the loving woman with the heartless parent in her mother’s book. As she looks for answers, the ex-boyfriend who’d witnessed her darkest days reappears, stirring up both pain and hope. 

When her mother’s vindictive fans threaten her grandmother’s livelihood and the lighthouse Laney has come to love, she turns to the century-old words of a young lighthouse keeper to help her find the courage to move forward. But once truths from the past come to light and old love finds new beginnings, will Laney discover that forgiveness is the only way toward true healing?

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday October 18 2025 (after 12 pm)  REMEMBER TO CHECK GIVEAWAY EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH TITLE!

50 thoughts on “Christy Award Finalists – General Fiction”

  1. The only one I haven’t read or own is Bitter & Sweet by Rhonda McKnight.  It’s a dual timeline and I love those that are written seamlessly.  It sounds pretty incredible & unique! I can certainly relate to sister issues, too.

    perrianne (DOT) askew (AT) me (DOT) com

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  3. I’ll choose Low Country Lost by T.I. Lowe. I’ve read and loved 2 of the others. Thanks for the chance to win, Kav!

    whthomas13 at yahoo dot com

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  6. I’ve read all of these books except one & they were awesome! Don’t enter me. I just wanted to hop by & wish you a Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!! 🇨🇦🍗🍽🇨🇦

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  8. If I was the very fortunate one selected, I would 100% to pick BITTER AND SWEET by Rhonda McKnight! I have had this book on my gotta read list since your fabulous review. Thank you so much for the fabulous chance to win a copy.

    Friday and Saturday we let dear friends have their yard sale here for a county wide garage sale because we live closer to the city limits allowing for more traffic. We had helped with signs and money for the cash box plus we got up at 5:00 each morning to set everything up before they got here. We fixes cheeseburger, chips and homemade pecan pie for 18 Friday night as well. Then yesterday we drove the 550 miles rounds trip to put our flowers on the family gravesites for fall and met up with a nephew and his wife for a short visit. We were gone for 12 hours for the furbabies required lots of loving and being fed supper before we were able to grab what we could find for supper and hit the recliner. So to say I am happy to not to be up and out at the break of day and being able to do what we want today is nothing less than heavenly. Got to rest up for two long distance appointments later this week. I see some recliner time and a good book in my future for today. 🙂

    Have a fabulous day!  HAPPY CANADA THANKSGIVING! ❤

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  10. “A stunning, emotionally-stirring, faith-filled read!” This quote from your review of Bitter and Sweet sealed the deal. I would love to win this book. Thanks for the chance.

    Connie

    cps1950ATgmailDOTcom

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  11. I haven’t read any of these, but two of them are in my tbr! For the giveaway, I’d choose Lowcountry Lost by TI Lowe. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!

    Jolene – iwant2save34 at gmail dot com

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  13. I have read them all except The Way Back by Heidi Chiavaroli. So I will pick that one. paulamarys49ATgmailDOTcom

    thanks for all the great chances to win fabulous books!

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  17. 🍁🦃 HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING, KAV! 🦃🍁 I hope you have a great day of celebration!

    Between the Sound and Sea sounds like such an intriguing tale. I’m going to go with that one, though each of these books sounds fantastic.

    Alison Boss
    nj(dot)bossman(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Thank you, Alison! And the great part about the day after Thanksgiving…well, the week really, is leftovers galore! 🙂 No cooking for the next few days which means more time for reading. Good luck,

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  20. I’ve read two of these and the others are on my TBR list. My pick would be The Way Back, which would be my first book by the author.

    Sandyavery at comcast dot net

    PS, I read five of your first line books from Sundays conversation and you have some great reading ahead of you!

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  25. Kav, I think I’ll go with The Way Back by Heidi Chiavaroli. Have heard good things about it. Thanks, as always for offering the Christy Award finalists!

    ckbarker at gmail dot com

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