Category: Carol Awards

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2025 finalists are books published in 2024. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 6 2025 at the ACFW Gala in Springfield, Missouri (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2025 – Historical Romance Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

Historical Romance Finalists

The Girl from the Hidden Forest by Hannah Linder – Barbour Publishing – Editor: Becky Fish -Giveaway options: US: paperback or ebook, Canada: paperback, ebook or audible, International: ebook with US Kindle account.

The nightmares may free her…but destroy the man she loves

Eliza Ellis has stayed hidden in Balfour Forest for as long as she can remember. Perhaps her only friends are the trees, or her little dog, or her story-telling father called Captain. But at least she is safe from the cruel world outside, a world Captain has warned her against and protected her from.
 
That is, until a handsome stranger named Felton Northwood invades her quiet forest and steals her away. Why does he tell such lies? Why does he insist that her name is Miss Eliza Gillingham, daughter of a viscount, who disappeared fourteen years ago after the murder of her own mother? A murder Eliza is said to have witnessed.
 
When Felton returns Eliza to Monbury Manor and reunites her with a man who is told to be her father, all she remembers are the strange nightmares that have plagued her since childhood. Why have they suddenly grown worse? Are the answers hidden inside her own mind?
 
As danger mounts and lethal attempts are made on her life, Eliza and Felton must work together to uncover the identity of a killer who has stayed silent for fourteen years. When she finally uncovers the horrendous memories trapped in her mind, will divulging the truth cost her the man she loves―and both of their lives?

Of Love and Treason by Jamie Ogle – Tyndale House – Editors: Elizabeth Jackson and Sarah Rische – Giveaway options: US: paperback or ebook, Canada: ebook or audible, International: ebook with US Kindle account.

Valentine defies the emperor and becomes a hero . . . and the most wanted man in the empire. Compelled by his faith, he has nothing to lose, until a chance encounter with the daughter of a Roman jailor changes everything.

Rome, AD 270. In the wake of the emperor’s marriage ban, rumors swirl that there is one man brave enough to perform wedding ceremonies in secret. A public notarius and leader of an underground church, Valentine believes the emperor’s edict unjust and risks his own life for the sake of his convictions. But as his fame grows, so do fears for his safety.

Iris, the daughter of a Roman jailor, believes regaining her sight will ease the mounting troubles at home. Her last hope rests in searching out Valentine and his church, but the danger of associating with people labeled a threat to the empire is great. Still, as Iris’s new friends lead her to faith in God, Iris is drawn to Valentine and they both begin to hope for a future together beyond the treacherous empire.

But when a past debt and a staggering betrayal collide, Valentine, Iris, and everyone they love must fight for their lives . . . and wrestle with trusting a God who can restore sight yet does not always keep His followers from peril.

My Review: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2024/01/22/of-love-and-treason-giveaway/

Above All Dreams by Naomi Rawlings – Indie – Editor: Erin Healy – ebook giveaway for US, Canada and International with US Kindle account.

Ever since she was a girl, Kate Amos wanted to be a doctor, a dream that made her leave Alaska and travel clear to Boston for medical school. The problem is, there aren’t too many female doctors in 1886, and there are even fewer people who will let a female doctor treat them.

Fortunately for Kate, the only other doctor in the growing town of Juneau Alaska is drunk more than he’s sober, and he doesn’t know the first thing about medicine. So even though the townsfolk might not want a woman doctor to treat them, they don’t have much choice.

Until Dr. Nathan Reid arrives in town.

Nathan has been tasked by the Marine Hospital Service to start a hospital in the gold rush town of Juneau, and he’s excited to get started. His research on the area showed him the town was desperately in need of a competent doctor. But Nathan is only in town for a few minutes before discovering that Juneau already has a competent doctor. She just happens to be a woman.

A rather beautiful woman—who’s worried he’s going to take away her patients.

But when trying to save a man’s life leaves them in a compromising situation, Nathan finds himself standing at the front of a church while Kate walks down the aisle toward him.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday June 14 2024. REMEMBER TO CHECK EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH BOOK

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2025 finalists are books published in 2024. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 6 2025 at the ACFW Gala in Springfield, Missouri (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2025 —Historical Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

HISTORICAL FINALISTS

Patriot at the River by Jayna Baas – indie – Editor: Robert Siedenburg – ebook giveaway for US, Canada and International (with a US Kindle account)

Book 2 in the Liberty and Conscience series

The fight he got wasn’t the fight he wanted.

It’s 1780, and North Carolina is a battleground. Backcountry scout Benjamin Woodbridge is guarding a Patriot camp when he sees the king’s men pursuing a civilian. Never one to stand by while someone is in trouble, Benjamin steps in to help the stranger and finds an unexpected ally.

But the same British officer who targeted the stranger is also targeting Benjamin’s settlement. After Benjamin is wounded on a lonely mountain trail, he watches Sunrising fall to the man who crushed his father’s cause nine years earlier. Benjamin’s fight has come home to the very people he wanted to protect—his shy younger sister and the woman who has given them both a home.

Now, with the help of some unlikely comrades and the indomitable Aunt Kate, Benjamin must fight for what he loves before his settlement goes up in flames. But only if he can fight himself first.

Where Trees Touch the Sky by Karen Barnett – Kregel Publications – Editor: Janyre Tromp – Giveaway Options: US: ebook, Canada: ebook or audible, International: ebook with a US Kindle account.

Some secrets have shadows as long as the redwoods are tall.

In the early 1920s, the accelerating destruction of the California redwoods is more than nature-loving Marion Baker can bear. Throwing herself headlong into the work of the Save the Redwoods League, she is shocked to learn that Frank Duncan, a man she’s grown to love, is the son of one of the area’s worst timber barons. Though devastated by the betrayal, she realizes this could also be an opportunity–if only she can convince him to help preserve her favorite grove from his father’s greedy grasp. Is her love strong enough to persuade him to save these precious trees? Or will Marion choose to sacrifice her beliefs to keep Frank by her side?

Nearly fifty years later, in 1972, polio survivor June Turner is deeply proud of the legacy her great aunt Marion has left as a redwood warrior. And despite her disability, June is determined to prove herself capable as a ranger at the recently established Redwood National Park, even if it means taking to the trails with her crutch in hand. What better way to carry on the family tradition of preserving God’s magnificent creation?

When aspiring film student Adam Garner approaches June to help make a documentary about Marion’s life, she swiftly grabs the opportunity to spread her aunt’s worthy reputation. That is, until they unearth a secret that might shatter the family legacy. In the scramble for answers, June may lose not only her family pride but also her own dreams.

Karen Barnett’s beautifully crafted split-time novel, set against the majestic backdrop of a beloved national park, immerses the reader in history that feels as fresh as if it happened yesterday.

Up From the Dust by Heather Kaufman – Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group) – Editors: Rochelle Gloege and Jennifer Veilleux – Giveaway options: US: paperback or ebook, Canada: paperback, ebook or audible, International: ebook with US Kindle account

Martha of Bethany is no stranger to adversity. After her mother’s untimely death, Martha shoulders the responsibility of raising her siblings–quiet and studious Lazarus, and wild and rambunctious Mary. She finds solace in friendship and the beginnings of first love, but just as Martha begins to imagine a new future, hardship strikes again and her dreams crumble into dust.

Ten years later, Martha’s friend pleads for the new teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, to come and heal her husband. When Martha discovers that the carpenter-rabbi is connected to her past, she’s not sure she can trust him with her future. But as he continues to perform miracles, the invitation to believe becomes harder to resist, renewing Martha’s hardened heart, even as she faces an unknown future.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday June 7 2025. REMEMBER TO CHECK EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH BOOK.

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2025 finalists are books published in 2024. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 6 2025 at the ACFW Gala in Springfield, Missouri (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2025 —Contemporary Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

Contemporary Finalists

Reaching For Grace by Anna Daugherty – Black Rose Writing – Editor: Katy Schlomach – Giveaway Options: US: ebook, Canada: ebook or audible, International : ebook with a US Kindle account

After a vagrant upbringing, free-spirited Wren Atwood has fought to beat the odds. She has a career as a massage therapist, a solid church community, and now her lifelong dream is coming true, with a little blue house to call her own. But the first person to congratulate her is the last person she wants to see: pompous businessman Daniel Hollis.

Adored by most of Ridley Bay, Hollis has found success as an entrepreneur. Yet no amount of money can buy love from his family or health for his sister.

When a hurricane rips through the Texas coast and forces Wren and Hollis together, the walls they have built are exposed, along with the family secrets they hide.

As Wren turns to her toxic family for help, and Hollis fights to save his sister’s life, they discover their efforts alone will never be enough. If grace can’t repair the past, how can it rescue the future?

A Year in the Room by Steven Rogers – Elk Lake Publishing – Editors: Michelle Chynoweth and Deb Haggerty – Giveaway Options: ebook for US, Canada and International (with US Kindle account). Also available on Kindle Unlimited for US and Canada

Reluctant pilgrim Ben Cahill steps off a flight from Israel facing an unrelenting list of challenges—a fractured family, no job, no place to live, and a dubious grip on his newly-found sobriety. He has no plans for the next steps in his life.

Ben starts over, settling into a small, rented room and working three part-time jobs. As his first year of recovery unfolds, Ben fights an unrelenting spiritual war against his personal demons and the consequences of his past actions. Can a chain-smoking, no-nonsense grandmother, a retired navy cook, a crusty old Scotsman, and an unexpected pilgrimage to the legendary Scottish Island of Iona, clear away the wreckage of Ben’s life and lead him to hope? Join Ben on his journey in this sequel to the award-winning novel Into the Room.

When the Wildflowers Bloom Again by Donna Jo Stone – Indie – Editor: Anne Victory – Giveaway Options: ebook for US, Canada and International (with US Kindle account.) Also available on Kindle Unlimited for US and Canada.

Fourteen-year-old Marigold (Mary) Parker spends the summer of ’78 with her cousin and best friend, Sharon, biking the roads of their rural neighborhood in Pleasant Waters, North Louisiana. The girls while away the days at the local pond, listening to the BeeGees and talking about boys. Caring for her emotionally fragile mother is Mary’s only worry, until Sharon’s older half-brother finds Mary alone at the pond one day.

She can’t speak of what happened in the woods. The truth will destroy her family and cost her the relationships she holds most precious.

But secrets have a way of making themselves known, and when Mary finds herself pregnant, she’s forced to grapple with hard decisions. Babies are a gift from God. Mary knows this full well, but she doesn’t know how to deal with a pregnancy, or who to turn to for help.

Trials seem to multiply as Mary struggles to keep faith in the God her parents have taught her to trust.

Richly detailed and evocative, When the Wildflowers Bloom Again captures the emotions and the heart, vividly detailing the struggle of facing impossible choices, the true test of family ties, and of the hope found in new beginnings. Infused with both sorrow and faith, Marigold Parker’s tale is a story you won’t soon forget.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday May 31 2025. REMEMBER TO CHECK EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH BOOK.

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2024 finalists are books published in 2023. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 7 2024 at the ACFW Gala in New Orleans, Louisiana (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2024 —Debut Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

Steal Fire From the Gods by Clint Hall – Enclave Publishing – Editor: Lisa Laube – Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook – The Human Alliance knew the war was over when the machines started using magic to cast fire, shake the ground, conjure storms, and part the seas.

We fought back anyway.

22-year-old soldier Gunnar Graves lost his faith and his family when a platoon of AI-driven war machines—led by an android fire mage—destroyed his unit. Forced to live in a machine-controlled village and hiding a dark secret, he spends his days trying to learn elemental power so he can take his revenge. After years of failure, his ability ignites when he least expects it.

On the run and hunted by the war machines, Gunnar discovers that an ancient, life-based strength has awakened to help humanity fight back. Joined by the other life mages, Gunnar is thrust into a mad world of android overlords, cyborg clans, and evil forces bent on his destruction.

To protect his newfound family, Gunnar must discover the truth behind a power he doesn’t understand and wage a war he doesn’t believe they can win.

Dear Henry, Love Edith by Becca Kinzer – Tyndale House – Editor: Kathy Olson – Winner’s choice of paperback or ebook – After a short and difficult marriage, recently widowed Edith Sherman has learned her lesson. Forget love. Forget marriage. She plans to fill her thirties with adventure. As she awaits the final paperwork for a humanitarian trip to South Africa, she accepts a short-term nursing position in a small Midwestern town. The last thing she needs is a handsome local catching her eye. How inconvenient is that?

Henry Hobbes isn’t exactly thrilled to have Edith, who he assumes is an elderly widow, dumped on him as a houseguest for the summer. But he’d do almost anything for his niece, who is practically like a sister to him given how close they are in age. Especially since Edith will be working nights and Henry works most days. When he and Edith keep missing each other in person, they begin exchanging notes–short messages at first, then longer letters, sharing increasingly personal parts of their lives.

By the time Henry realizes his mistake–that Edith is actually the brown-eyed beauty he keeps bumping into around town–their hearts are so intertwined he hopes they never unravel. But with her departure date rapidly approaching, and Henry’s roots firmly planted at home, Edith must ultimately decide if the adventure of her dreams is the one right in front of her.

Show Me Betrayal by Ellen E. Withers – Scrivenings Press – Editors: Susan Page Davis and Elena Hill – Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook – Two deaths occur decades apart. Is it possible these deaths are related? What motivates a killer, who got away with murder sixty years ago, to kill again? Was it uncontrollable rage or the hope of silencing someone who fit all the puzzle pieces together and deduced who committed the crime?

Set in the picturesque town of Mexico, Missouri, Show Me Betrayal takes flight in words and emotions of rich characters woven together into a story you won’t want to put down.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday August 24 2024. REMEMBER TO CHECK GIVEAWAY EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH TITLE!

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2024 finalists are books published in 2023. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 7 2024 at the ACFW Gala in New Orleans, Louisiana (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2024 —Short Novel Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

Short Novel Finalists

Their Holiday Secret by Betsy St. Amant — Love Inspired — Editor: Emily Rodmell and Caroline Timmings — Winner’s Choice of Paperback or ebook

Can their pretend relationship

Turn into a true Christmas gift?

Preston Green will do anything for a fake girlfriend—even bid on one at a charity auction. Sweet and quirky baker Lulu Boyd is the perfect choice to stop his mother’s constant matchmaking. And it’s just for one holiday family dinner—until his father’s failing health makes ending their ruse impossible. Soon it feels all too real…but another secret might make this their last Christmas together.

Together for the Twins by Laurel Blount — Love Inspired — Editor: Dina Davis — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook.

He opened his home to twin boys

Will he open his heart to their nanny?

Self-made man Ryder Montgomery is the guy with all the answers…until he inherits custody of his out-of-control twin nephews. Nanny Elise Cooper is a lifesaver and even agrees to give him parenting lessons. Soon they’re starting to feel like a real family. But with an end-of-summer expiration date, is it even possible to build a future together?  

The Cowboy Bargain by Tina Radcliffe –– Love Inspired — Editor: Katie Gowrie — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook

A little competition…

Brings a change of heart.

Sam Morgan never thought he’d see his ex-fiancée again after she skipped town days before their wedding. He certainly didn’t expect to find her opening a restaurant on his property—in the building he’d intended to sell his crafts from. This time Olivia’s sticking around, forcing Sam to strike a deal: work together and see whose products sell best. Could their business venture lead to a surprising reunion?

My Review:https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/09/15/the-cowboy-bargain-giveaway/

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday August 3 2024. REMEMBER TO CHECK GIVEAWAY EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH TITLE!

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2024 finalists are books published in 2023. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 7 2024 at the ACFW Gala in New Orleans, Louisiana (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2024 —Romance Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

Romance Finalists

The Words We Lost by Nicole Reese — Bethany House — Editors: Sarah Long and Jessica Sharpe — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook (also audible in Canada)

Three friends. Two broken promises. One missing manuscript.

As a senior acquisitions editor for Fog Harbor Books in San Francisco, Ingrid Erikson has rejected many a manuscript for lack of defined conflict and dramatic irony—two elements her current life possesses in spades. In the months following the death of her childhood best friend and international bestselling author Cecelia Campbell, Ingrid has not only lost her ability to escape into fiction due to a rare trauma response, but she’s also desperate to find the closure she’s convinced will come with Cecelia’s missing final manuscript.

After Ingrid jeopardizes her career, she fears her future will remain irrevocably broken. But then Joel Campbell—the man who shattered her belief in happily-ever-afters—offers her a sealed envelope from his late cousin, Cecelia, asking Joel and Ingrid to put their differences aside and retrieve a mysterious package in their coastal Washington hometown.

Honoring Cecelia’s last request will challenge their convictions and test their loyalties, but through it all, will Ingrid and Joel be brave enough to uncover a twice-in-a-lifetime love?

Wedding at Sea by Melissa Tagg — Indie — Editor: Charlene Patterson — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook

Lilian doesn’t remember anything about her life before the day Maggie Muir found her on her front porch—a toddler, abandoned and alone. And maybe that’s okay. She has a beautiful life at Muir Farm, including an adopted family she adores and a successful career as a lawyer. But she also has a secret . . . one that raises just as many questions about her future as it does her unknown past.

And, of course, it would be private investigator Wilder Monroe, her brother’s best friend and the bane of her existence, who sniffs out her secret before anyone else.

Wilder has spent the past three years trying to close the one case his father couldn’t—the mystery of Maggie Muir’s long-lost granddaughter. But the decades-long search has become more tangled than ever. It’s become more personal, too. Not only are the Muirs the closest thing to family he has left, but if he can solve this mystery, maybe he’ll keep himself from drowning in the one he can’t . . . the truth about his father’s death.

In the midst of secrets and swirling questions, Maggie asks a favor of both Lilian and put aside their bickering and work together to plan her summer wedding. It’s a big ask, made all the more difficult when danger comes calling at Muir Farm. But if the two enemies can stand each other long enough to pull off the event of the year, they just might solve a mystery in the process.

And the biggest discovery of all? That sometimes the one your heart longs for is the last person you ever would’ve expected.

Memory Lane by Becky Wade — Indie — Editor: Charlene Patterson –winner’s choice of paperback or ebook (or audible in Canada)

After surviving a trauma several years back, Remy Reed relocated to a cottage on one of Maine’s most remote islands. She’s arranged her life just the way she wants it, spending her time working on her wood sculptures and soaking in the beauty of nature. It’s quiet and solitary—until the day she spots something bobbing in the ocean.

Her binoculars reveal the “something” to be a man, and he’s struggling to keep his head above water. She races out to save him and brings him into her home. He’s injured, which doesn’t detract from his handsomeness nor make him any easier to bear. He acts like a duke who’s misplaced his dukedom…expensive tastes, lazy charm, bossy ideas.

Remy would love nothing more than to return him to his people, but he has no recollection of his life prior to the moment she rescued him. Though she’s not interested in relationships other than the safe ones she’s already established, she begins to realize that he’s coming to depend on her. 

Who is he? What happened that landed him in the Atlantic Ocean? And why is she drawn to him more and more as time goes by? 

There’s no way to discover those answers except to walk beside him down memory lane.

My Review: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/05/04/memory-lane-giveaway/

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday July 20 2024. REMEMBER TO CHECK GIVEAWAY EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH TITLE!

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2024 finalists are books published in 2023. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 7 2024 at the ACFW Gala in New Orleans, Louisiana (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2024 —Novella Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

Novella Finalists

Christmas Snowstorm Standoff by Sami A. Abrams (in the Christmas in the Crosshairs Collection) — Sunrise Publishing — Editors: Lynette Eason and Susan May Warren — Giveaway will be for the collection Christmas in the Crosshairs — ebook copy

It’s finally time for bodyguard Lizzie Tremaine to tie the knot with the man she’s loved for years—fellow bodyguard Charlie Lee.

But maybe fate is still against them, because on the eve of their big day, a snowstorm hits. And, while it’s kept the guests away, it’s brought trouble in the form of a woman from Charlie’s past. More, she’s on the run from a killer…

A man who will stop at nothing to make sure Charlie and Lizzie never make it to the altar.

Now Lizzie and Charlie must battle the storm, stop the killer, and defeat the doubts that suddenly have them wondering if they are truly meant to be.

Honor’s Mountain Promise by Misty M. Beller — Indie — Editors: Robin Patchen and Jalayne Setzer — winner’s choice of paperback or ebook (also audible in Canada)

They both want a new start, but nothing prepared them for this treacherous journey.

Finally on the right side of the law, Aaron Long expected his life to take an upward turn. Instead, he ends up with a bum leg and driving a freight wagon through the wild Rocky Mountains. At least he has the joy of his newfound faith in God. The last thing he expects in the middle of an urgent delivery to Settler’s Fort is to discover a woman begging him to take her the opposite direction. She’s heavy with child, so he can’t leave her, but neither can he take her where she wants to go.

Katie Barlowe has never had control of her life. Especially not when her parents married her off to a successful businessman who was determined to start a ranch in the faraway Montana Territory. Now she’s a widow left on her own in these breathtaking but treacherous mountains. She’s determined to forge a better future for herself and the new life growing inside her. To do so, she needs to get back to civilization before the babe is born. When she finally finds a freighter to take her the first leg of the journey east, all seems to be falling into place. Then the driver is killed and she’s left with a stranger who’s unwilling to take her farther than a tiny mining town, far from Fort Benton and the steamship she’d hoped would carry her home.

When Aaron and Katie set out through the mountain winter, the journey ahead will change their lives more than they could have known.

Return of the Monarchs by Beth Wiseman — Indie — Editors: Janet Murphy and Audrey Wick — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook

Janelle Herron isn’t interested in having a boyfriend. She wears black clothes, dark makeup, and sees herself metaphorically as a caterpillar who hopes to transform into a butterfly someday. She hopes that she will grow into a vision of herself that she can live with, and she has her reasons—reasons that only her parents are aware of—but that doesn’t include having a romantic relationship. But when she sees a handsome Amish man being harassed by bullies, she gets involved and becomes friends with Thomas Schrock. He’s safe. They can never be together romantically because he’s Amish.

Thomas Schrock is intrigued—and a little embarrassed—when a Goth-looking young English woman intervenes in a one-sided fight Thomas is about to be lured into by three bullies. Janelle is spunky, brave, and might even be pretty behind all the dark makeup she wears. She is easy to talk to, fun to be around, and as they spend more time together, he begins to understand some of the reasons she dresses the way she does. But as Janelle and Thomas’s feelings begin to lean toward romance, Janelle holds tightly to a secret she has no plans to share. Her plan is to stay on course and leave for college at the end of the summer.

But will a magical meadow filled with monarchs and a little divine intervention turn things around for Janelle? Will she finally share her secret with Thomas and become the butterfly she’s always wanted to be?

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday July 13 2024. REMEMBER TO CHECK GIVEAWAY EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH TITLE!

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2024 finalists are books published in 2023. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 7 2024 at the ACFW Gala in New Orleans, Louisiana (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2024 —Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Finalists

What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson — Bethany House — Editors: Rochelle Gloege and Jennifer Veilleux — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook (or audible for Canada)

“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 older daughter intervenes, she agrees to counseling 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: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/02/01/what-happens-next-giveaway/

Show Me Betrayal by Ellen E. Withers –– Scrivenings Press — Editors: Elena Hill and Susan Page Davis — ebook giveaway

Two deaths occur decades apart. Is it possible these deaths are related? What motivates a killer, who got away with murder sixty years ago, to kill again? Was it uncontrollable rage or the hope of silencing someone who fit all the puzzle pieces together and deduced who committed the crime? Set in the picturesque town of Mexico, Missouri, Show Me Betrayal takes flight in words and emotions of rich characters woven together into a story you won’t want to put down.

26 Below by Kimberley Woodhouse –– Kregel Publications — Editor: Janyre Tromp — Winner’s choice of paperback or ebook (or audible in Canada)

In her new role as Emergency Operations Center director for Fairbanks, Alaska, Darcie Phillips prevents disasters. But none of her training can prepare her for the terror that’s coming.

As a cybersecurity specialist, Jason Myers is determined to ferret out any threats to the town he now calls home–and that includes his reckless brother and his ecoterrorist friends.

When an old woman’s wild prediction–widespread destruction as soon as the Fairbanks temperature falls to 26 below–hits national headlines, neither Darcie nor Jason sees a real risk to anything but tourism.

Then the bodies start dropping.

Darcie is relying on her experience and intelligence to stop a killer; Jason is relying on God to guide the way. They’ll have to work together to find the truth and prevent their Alaskan town from becoming a city of nightmares. The first in a thrilling new suspense series from best-selling author Kimberley Woodhouse, 26 Below will delight fans of Lynnette Eason, Irene Hannon, and Lynn Blackburn.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday June 22 2024. REMEMBER TO CHECK GIVEAWAY EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH TITLE!

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2024 finalists are books published in 2023. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 7 2024 at the ACFW Gala in New Orleans, Louisiana (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2024 —Historical Romance Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

Historical Romance Category

Garden of the Midnights by Hannah Linder –– Barbour Publishing – Editor: Becky Fish — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook (or audible in Canada)

The accidents are not a matter of chance. They are deliberate. As English gentleman William Kensley becomes aware of the danger at Rosenleigh Manor, he pleads for the truth of his past from the only man he can trust—until that man is murdered. 

As the secrets unfold into scandal, William’s world is tipped into destitution, leaving him penniless and alone. His only comfort is in the constant friendship and love of Isabella Gresham. If he does not have their nonsense at the seashore, their laughter, their reckless adventures, has he anything at all?

He should have known that would be ripped from him too. When a hidden foe arises from their acquaintances and imperils Isabella’s life, William may be the only one willing to risk his life to rescue her. But even if he frees Isabella from her captors, will he still have to forsake her heart? 

Some sacrifice everything for love. Others sacrifice love for everything else. In this haunting tale of rigid social prejudices and heart-aching regrets, the greatest decision of their life will be determined in the garden of the midnights.

The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin –– Revell — Editors: Kristin Kornoelje, Vicki Crumpton, and Rachel McRae — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook (or audible for Canada)

When the Germans march into Denmark, Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt exchanges his nobility for anonymity, assuming a new identity so he can secretly row messages for the Danish Resistance across the waters to Sweden.

American physicist Dr. Else Jensen refuses to leave Copenhagen and abandon her research–her life’s dream. While printing resistance newspapers, she hears stories of the movement’s legendary Havmand–the merman–and wonders if the mysterious and silent shipyard worker living in the same boardinghouse has something to hide.

When the Occupation cracks down on the Danes, these two passionate people will discover if there is more power in speech . . . or in silence. Bestselling author of more than a dozen WWII novels, Sarah Sundin offers pens another story of ordinary people responding to extraordinary circumstances with faith, fortitude, and hope for a brighter future.

My Review: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/03/20/the-sound-of-light/

The Legacy of Longdale Manor by Carrie Turansky — Bethany House — Editors: Jessica Sharpe and Jennifer Veilleux — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook (or audible in Canada)

In 2012, art historian Gwen Monroe travels to England’s Lake District to appraise the paintings and antiques of an old family friend, hoping to prove herself to her prestigious grandfather. While at Longdale Manor, she becomes acquainted with David Bradley–the owner’s handsome grandson–who is desperate to save the crumbling estate by turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. When Gwen stumbles upon a one-hundred-year-old journal and an intricately carved shepherd’s staff similar to one in a photo of her parents, she uncovers a connection to the father she never knew.

In 1912, after her father’s death, Charlotte Harper uncovers a painful family secret she can only confess to her journal. She and her family travel to the Lake District to stay on a sheep farm, hoping eventually to find a home with Charlotte’s grandfather at Longdale Manor, but old wounds and bitter regrets make it a difficult challenge. As Charlotte grows closer to shepherd Ian Storey and rebuilds her shattered faith, she must decide whether she will ever trust in love again.

Two women a century apart are taken on a journey to healing, faith, and forgiveness in this heartfelt dual-time Edwardian romance from bestselling author Carrie Turansky.

My Review: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/10/03/the-legacy-of-longdale-manor-giveaway/

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday June 15 2024. REMEMBER TO CHECK EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH BOOK.

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2024 finalists are books published in 2023. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on September 7 2024 at the ACFW Gala in New Orleans, Louisiana (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2024 —Historical Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

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.

Historical Finalists

The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt — Revell — Editors: Rachel McRae and Robin Turici — winner’s choice of paperback or ebook (or audible for Canada)

On a golden August morning in 1939, sisters Antonina and Helena Dąbrowska send their father off to defend Poland against the looming threat of German invasion. The next day, the first bombs fall on Warsaw, decimating their beloved city and shattering the world of their youth.

When Antonina’s beloved Marek is forced behind ghetto walls along with the rest of Warsaw’s Jewish population, Antonina turns her worry into action and becomes a key figure in a daring network of women risking their lives to shelter Jewish children. Helena finds herself drawn into the ranks of Poland’s secret army, joining the fight to free her homeland from occupation. But the secrets both are forced to keep threaten to tear the sisters apart–and the cost of resistance proves greater than either ever imagined.

Shining a light on the oft-forgotten history of Poland during WWII and inspired by true stories of ordinary individuals who fought to preserve freedom and humanity in the darkest of times, The Warsaw Sisters is a richly rendered portrait of courage, sacrifice, and the resilience of our deepest ties.

My Review: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/12/12/the-warsaw-sisters-giveaway/

Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem – Tyndale – Editor: Kathy Olson — Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook (or audible for Canada)

“What I am looking for–what I desperately need, Mrs. Weiss–is a spy.”

Adolf Hitler is still a distant rumble on the horizon, but a Jewish spymaster and his courageous spies uncover a storm of Nazi terror in their own backyard.

In the summer of 1933, a man named Adolf Hitler is the new and powerful anti-Semitic chancellor of Germany. But in Los Angeles, no-nonsense secretary Liesl Weiss has concerns much closer to home. The Great Depression is tightening its grip and Liesl is the sole supporter of two children, an opinionated mother, and a troubled brother.

Leon Lewis is a Jewish lawyer who has watched Adolf Hitler’s rise to power–and the increase in anti-Semitism in America–with growing alarm. He believes Nazi agents are working to seize control of Hollywood, the greatest propaganda machine the world has ever known. The trouble is, authorities scoff at his dire warnings.

When Liesl loses her job at MGM, her only choice is to work with Leon Lewis and the mysterious Agent Thirteen to spy on her friends and neighbors in her German American community. What Leon Lewis and his spies find is more chilling–and more dangerous–than any of them suspected.

Code Name Edelweiss is based on a true story, unknown until recent years: How a lone Jewish lawyer and a handful of amateur spies discovered and foiled Adolf Hitler’s plan to take over Hollywood.

April’s Promise by Terrie Todd –– Little Sparrow Press — Editor: Shari MacDonald-Strong –– ebook giveaway

Emmaleen Kimball is fourteen when she becomes convinced she was born to traveling acrobats and left on her parents’ doorstep. Why else would there be a thirteen-year age gap between her and her closest sibling? When her family won’t tell her the truth about her origins, she’s determined to solve the mystery herself.

Bernadette Kimball is twenty-seven and living back at home to help with a family crisis, but she can’t wait to get back to her career in the city. She doesn’t fit in with her family. Not that she cares. Who needs a family? Families are just one big mess of secrets and lies.

April Kimball-Madden carries the burden of a secret she promised never to reveal. She wishes she could tell Emmaleen the truth. But she’s convinced that if her husband Joey ever finds out who Emmaleen’s biological parents are, her marriage won’t survive.

As a world war wages across the globe, the Kimball family faces a different kind of conflict at home. Will their personal battles drag them down and tear their family apart? Or can the faith they’ve been taught, and the mercy they’re shown, lead them to victory?

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday June 8 2024. REMEMBER TO CHECK EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH BOOK.