kavlovestoread

February Giveaway – Week One

Be sure and check out a few housekeeping details at the end of this post!

WON BY PATTY

WON BY A PAYNE

WON BY PAM K

Winners will be contacted if they left their email address in a comment, otherwise it’s up to the winner to contact me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca (please note it’s ca as in Canada not com) From time to time a winner and I do not connect so I have a one month time frame on giveaway wins. If I haven’t been able to reach you within 30 days of your win, it will be forfeited. This has happened a few times now, so please, DON’T BE SHY — CONTACT ME IF YOU DIDN’T LEAVE AN EMAIL OR IF I HAVEN’T BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN REACHING YOU!

Books will be ordered within a week of receiving your mailing address (or email address for ebooks) and I’ll email you to confirm your book is on its way. Give it a full month before inquiring on the status of an order to allow for processing and shipping times.

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK’S GIVEAWAYS:

***IMPORTANT — PLEASE NOTE GIVEAWAY EDITIONS AS THEY VARY***

Paperback or ebook — winner can choose either format

Paperback — I have a new physical book on hand to give away

Gently Read Paperback — It’s the actual book I read to review

ebook — that’s the only format option available, often because it’s an indie book where a paperback copy is either unavailable or exorbitantly priced. Or when a physical edition is out of print.

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

A WEE BIT OF HOUSEKEEPING DETAILS:

I’m very much a newbie on WordPress and finding it challenging to figure some things out…like today’s post of multiple images and headings — oy! But I conquered. Anyway, I’m leaving Sundays free for a bit so I can dedicate some time to tweaking the blog some more. I have a very limited capacity for online work these days, so it’s just going to help to have a dedicated day to tinker (and hopefully not blow up the blog!) And then have a stress free week of just enjoying this blogging community. So reviews and giveaways will be posted Monday through Friday and winners announced (hopefully in a more timely fashion in the future!) on Saturdays.

There has been some confusion over following the blog — both how to and the number of emails some people are getting. Since I’m a techno dunce, and, as the blog creator, don’t see the same thing you see, I’m bowing to the wisdom of those…well, wiser than I. 🙂

Each and every post has a 2 boxes at the bottom that ask if you want to receive any comments on that particular day’s post. I clicked on it for the first post, so I got them all. Going forward on a daily basis, if you don’t click either of the 2 buttons at the bottom after you comment you will not get email notifications about other people’s comments on that book/review. Those two boxes will appear daily under any comment yo make, so don’t click either of them and you won’t get every comment made sent to you. I hope that makes sense.
From Tracey

There is a little “follow” pop up on the bottom right of my screen as I scroll around your site and comments page. It isn’t consistently there but did appear as I moved around the page or at opening. Perhaps if folks move their mouse around a bit it might appear. I clicked that to follow you and have now confirmed it. I do follow a few authors on Word Press, so I don’t know if that makes a difference.
From CC

I am looking at the website and see the wonderful new Follow Kav’s Best Reads and, also, the new Search button. Interesting……when I click on the new Follow button, it opens a generously sized page/pop up which says Log In To Your Account or gives several options using Google or Apple or underneath that Create New Account, plus also email link, password, etc.

That is in definite contrast to the little teasing tiny “Follow” at bottom right which, when clicked, simply says enter your email and then underneath that space you click a button that says sign me up. There is small print under that which says if you have an account click to log in. When I originally signed up, I simply entered my email and clicked the sign me up button.
also from CC

This last quote from CC (aren’t y’all impressed at how I figured out how to do the quote thing with citation even?! I am! Bwahaha!) shows two different ways to follow this blog. One seeming to require a word press, google or apple account (the imbedded button at the top of the page). If you don’t have accounts you can still follow as per the instructions in her last paragraph. Hope this helps!

Yesterday’s Tides + Giveaway

In two world wars, intelligence and counterintelligence, prejudice, and self-sacrifice collide across two generations.

In 1942, Evie Farrow is used to life on Ocracoke Island, where every day is the same — until the German U-boats haunting their waters begin to wreak havoc. And when special agent Sterling Bertrand is washed ashore at Evie’s inn, her life is turned upside down. While Sterling’s injuries keep him inn-bound for weeks, making him even more anxious about the SS officer he’s tracking, he becomes increasingly intrigued by Evie, who seems to be hiding secrets of her own.

Decades earlier, in 1914, Englishman Remington Culbreth arrives at the Ocracoke Inn for the summer, never expecting to fall in love with Louisa Adair, the innkeeper’s daughter. But when war breaks out in Europe, their relationship is put in jeopardy and may not survive what lies ahead for them.

As the ripples from the Great War rock Evie and Sterling’s lives in World War II, it seems yesterday’s tides may sweep them all into danger again today.

My Review:

I have no words. Seriously speechless but heart-filled and gobsmacked and wondering what I’m going to do now that this book is over. Yesterday’s Tides (such an apt title — love when a story and title are a perfect match!) is the kind of read that you want to linger over and rush through all at the same time. I mean, I didn’t want it to end but I couldn’t wait to get to the ending!

I love Roseanna M. White’s books, but this might just be her best yet. And such a thrill to encounter some fave characters from previous series in this one! Though, no worries if you haven’t met them, it will totally make sense anyway — just gave me an extra thrill of bibliophile bliss!

And — squeeeeaaaalllll — this is a dual timeline story set in two historical eras. And the way past and ‘present’ mesh together is breathtakingly beautiful and filled with some unique twists. Two heroines. Two heroes. Two world wars. The clash of conflict over race and class. (Gah, but I was spitting-nails-furious in places!) Absolutely stunning. And unputdownable.

I listened to the audible edition expertly narrated by Pilar Witherspoon. Her performance kept me riveted through to the very last world.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Yesterday’s Tides, 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 February 4 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Critical Threat + Giveaway

FBI Special Agent Grace Billingsley tracks serial killers, using her skills as a psychiatrist and behavioural analyst to get dangerous people off the street and safely behind bars. But prison psychiatrist Sam Monroe knows that just because a killer is incarcerated doesn’t mean they’re not a threat. His own father, Peter, is a serial killer — in prison but certainly not out of Sam’s life, as much as he wishes he was.

When bodies start showing up with Peter’s MO, Sam and Grace are both called in to consult. They’ve met before — and though Grace thought they’d made a real connection, Sam ghosted her. They’ll have to get past the awkwardness and mistrust to solve this case — especially because it’s about to get personal.

My Review:

Wowzers! This one crept out of my comfort zone a wee bit, ’cause serial killers aren’t a favourite suspense trope of mine. My all too active imagination ran riot with the thriller-ish aspects of this story. Plus there’s a rather gruesome murder detail that isn’t overtly described but just knowing about it raised the creep factor for me. But, this is Lynette Eason and her characters are so real and relatable that I couldn’t resist.

Lots of edge-of-your-seat moments that include heart-stopping near misses and ominous foreshadowing which made me rush through the read. Well, listen, actually — I enjoyed Sheryl Sheckells’ gripping narration. Made it seem all the more real to me which is both a good thing and a bad thing. 🙂

One of Eason’s many talents is the way she creates characters who are honest and vulnerable and flawed. And then she gives them complicated back stories and throws them into a vortex of chaos and mayhem. She really is an evil genius, at least, I bet that’s how her characters think of her!

Both Sam and Grace have complex family issues which add a whole other level of angst to their lives. I loved the way they respected each other’s boundaries, willing to listen but open to waiting for the ‘right time’. They never pushed for more but they also didn’t shy away from sharing for long. Such a rich, emotionally laden romance that felt believable.

Critical Threat is the third book in Extreme Measures series but it can easily be read as a standalone. And, yay, we have a fourth book to look forward to later this year and it’s going to have a stalkerish vibe! Can’t wait for Countdown’s release this summer!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy — winner’s choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Critical Threat, 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 February 4, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

What Happens Next + Giveaway

Everyone has a story, and maybe everyone needs a little help toward healing.

Popular podcaster and ex-reporter Faith Byrne made a name for herself telling stories of greatness after tragedy — but her real life does not mirror the stories she tells. While her daughters spend the summer in Hawaii with her ex-husband and his new wife, she must manage life on her own. All of that changes when she’s asked to spotlight her childhood best friend’s missing person case on her podcast.

Dora Crane has never accepted that her younger daughter could be dead, keeping her home looking the same as when her daughter disappeared. But when her husband leaves her and her old daughter intervenes, she agrees to counselling and to pack up her missing daughter’s belongings under one condition: Faith Byrne comes to Deep Valley and sheds light on the cold case.

As the long-abandoned investigation moves forward, old wounds and long-buried secrets are exposed. Will these two women, whose lives have never been the same, finally get the answers they need to reconcile the past and the future?

My Review:

Enthralling is an apt descriptor for this unputdownable novel. I stayed up until midnight (which might not sound late to you, but I’m of the early to be, early to rise mindset) to finish reading What Happens Next because…well…I needed to know what happened next! And, oh, what an incredibly emotional read! My heart felt like it had been yanked out of my chest and stomped on and then crammed back in — upside down and inside out. 🙂

The story is told from three points of view: Dora (the mother of the missing girl) and Faith (the childhood friend) in present day and from Heather in occasional flashbacks to that fateful summer. They flow together beautifully, building tension and plot while delivering emotional sucker punches left and right.

And there are so many layers to each character, which kept me on tenterhooks as well. I could sympathize with each of them and it was easy to lose myself in the drama unfolding right in front of me. At least, it felt like I was there, living out that long ago summer and this present day one, my heart on my sleeve.

Mesmerizing. Captivating. Unforgettable.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of What Happens Next, 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 February 4, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

A New Year and a New Blog

Welcome to Best Read’s new blogging home. For those of you who have been following me over the last — gasp! – twelve years — on blogger, I hope you enjoy the new digs and have patience with my extremely non-techy self as I continue to figure things out here. It’s been quite the learning curve and I have to admit that I’ve only gotten this far by happenstance so bear with me as this site will continue to change as I figure things out. Like how to add a subscribe button! And tags etc. So, we might be bare bones in these early days. But, the comments should work…hooray!

The blog’s official debut will be on Wednesday February 1, 2023 and will feature the first book review and giveaway of the year. Woohoo! Until then I’ll continue tinkering around behind the scenes and try to spruce things up a bit…once I figure out what a widget is and what the difference between categories and tags are and…

In the meantime…Happy Reading everybody!