Category: Christy Awards

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 2023 finalists are books published in 2022. 

How does this giveaway work?

You select ONE of the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller 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.)

By Way of Deception by Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn (Harvest House)

Nir Favor Mossad #2

Nuclear Deception 

The Mossad has uncovered Iran’s plans to smuggle untraceable weapons of mass destruction into Israel. The clock is ticking, and agents Nir Tavor and Nicole le Roux can’t act quickly enough.

Nir and Nicole find themselves caught in a whirlwind plot of assassinations, espionage, and undercover recon, fighting against the clock to stop this threat against the Middle East. As they draw closer to danger—and closer to each other—they find themselves ensnared in a lethal web of secrets. Will they have to sacrifice their own lives to protect the lives of millions?

Inspired by real events, authors Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn reteam for this suspenseful follow-up to the bestselling Operation Joktan . Filled with danger, romance, and international intrigue, this Nir Tavor thriller reveals breathtaking true insights into the lives and duties of Mossad agents—and delivers a story that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Cold Light of Day by Elizabeth Goddard (Revell)

Police Chief Autumn Long is fighting to keep her job in the quiet Alaska town of Shadow Gap when an unexpected string of criminal activity leaves her with a wounded officer, unexplained murders, and even an attack on her own father. Despite her mistrust of outsiders, she turns to Grier Brenner, a newcomer who seems to have the skills and training Autumn needs to face this threat to her community.

Grier is in Alaska for the same reason so many others are–to disappear–when Chief Long enlists his help. He emerges from the shadows and proves his mettle, but his presence in her life could be a deadly trap for them both. If his secret is exposed, all will be lost. And he’s not sure even Autumn could save him.

As the stakes rise and the dangers increase, Autumn and Grier must rely on each other to extinguish the deadly threats.

My Review: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/03/13/cold-light-of-day-giveaway/

Forged by Sara Davison (Mountain Brook Ink)

The Night Guardians #4

The one missing person he can’t find is the one who matters the most.

Private Investigator Jax Rodriguez has been searching for his brother, Diego, for twenty years. When he stumbles upon another lead, he makes an agonizing decision—he will follow this last trail until it grows cold, and then he will marry the woman he loves and abandon his quest once and for all.

Artist Mikayla Grant is terrified of losing another person close to her, but she has to let Jax go after his brother. Given the secrecy surrounding Diego’s disappearance, clearly Jax is heading into danger. When all contact with him is abruptly cut off, can Mikayla trust that God’s promise to never leave nor forsake Jax will be enough to bring him safely home? Or does she need to take matters into her own hands?

As Jax attempts to survive the dangerous streets of Caracas, Venezuela, and then face the myriad of unknown threats in the El Yunque Rainforest in Puerto Rico, he is not the only one hunting down his brother.

A ruthless drug lord bent on revenge is using all his resources to discover the truth about what happened to Diego. If Jax can’t stay one step ahead of his pursuer, then he, like his brother, could disappear and never be heard from again.

The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright (Bethany House)

Wren Blythe has long enjoyed being among the Northwoods, helping her father with programming at a youth camp. But when a little girl in the area goes missing, an all-out search ensues, reviving the decades-old campfire story of Ava Coons, the murderess, who still roams the woods. Joining the search, Wren stumbles upon the Coons cabin ruins and a rotting porcelain doll. But even more terrifying is seeing her name etched on the doll’s foot like a sinister omen.

In 1930, Ava Coons has spent the last ten years carrying the mantle of mystery since she emerged from the forest as an eight-year-old girl, spattered with blood, dragging a logger’s axe. She has accepted she’ll never remember what happened to her family. When a member of the town of Tempter’s Creek is murdered, rumors spread that Ava’s secret is more malicious than previously imagined.

My Review: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-souls-of-lost-lake.html

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Giveaway available to US and Canadian readers (book or ebook where available) as well as anyone who has a US Kindle account (Amazon.com) for ebook wins.

Christy Award book giveaways vary by title. Please check the list below for formats available.

All Mystery/Suspense/Thriller books are available in both paperback or ebook format. Winner’s choice (US and Canada). Only ebooks for International winners.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of one of the  Mystery/Suspense/Thriller finalists, leave a comment below (including the title you would like to win) or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. 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 November 18 2023 .

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 2023 finalists are books published in 2022. 

How does this giveaway work?

You select ONE of the Historical 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.)

The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron (Thomas Nelson)

At the height of the Nazi occupation of Rome, an unlikely band of heroes comes together to save innocent lives in this breathtaking World War II novel based on real historical events.

Rome, 1943 . With the fall of Italy’s Fascist government and the Nazi regime occupying the streets of Rome, British ballerina Julia Bradbury is stranded and forced to take refuge at a hospital on Tiber Island. But when she learns of a deadly sickness that is sweeping through the quarantine wards—a fake disease known only as Syndrome K—she is drawn into one of the greatest cons in history. Alongside hospital staff, friars of the adjoining church, and two Allied medics, Julia risks everything to rescue Italian Jews from the deadly clutches of the Holocaust. But when one little girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina arrives at their door, Julia and the others are determined to reunite the young dancer with her family—if only she would reveal one crucial secret: her name.

Present Day . With the recent loss of her grandfather—a beloved small-town doctor and WWII veteran—Delaney Coleman returns home to help her aging parents, even as she struggles to pick up the pieces of her own life. When a mysterious Italian woman claims she owns one of the family’s precious heirlooms, Delaney is compelled to uncover what’s true of her grandfather’s hidden past. Together with the woman’s skeptical but charming grandson, Delaney learns of a Roman hospital that saved hundreds of Jewish people during the war. Soon, everything Delaney thought she knew about her grandfather comes into question as she wrestles with the possibility that the man she’d revered all her life had unknown ties to Rome and may have taken noble secrets to his grave.

Based on true accounts of the invented Syndrome K sickness, The Italian Ballerina journeys from the Allied storming of the beaches at Salerno to the London ballet stage and the war-torn streets of WWII Rome, exploring the sometimes heart-wrenching choices we must make to find faith and forgiveness, and how saving just one life can impact countless others.

The Rose and the Thistle by Laura Frantz (Revell)

In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley’s father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known.

No sooner has Everard Hume lost his father, Lord Wedderburn, than Lady Hedley arrives with the clothes on her back and her mistress in tow. He has his own problems–a volatile brother with dangerous political leanings, an estate to manage, and a very young brother in need of comfort and direction in the wake of losing his father. It would be best for everyone if he could send this misfit heiress on her way as soon as possible.

Drawn into a whirlwind of intrigue, shifting alliances, and ambitions, Lady Blythe must be careful whom she trusts. Her fortune, her future, and her very life are at stake. Those who appear to be adversaries may turn out to be allies–and those who pretend friendship may be enemies.

My Review: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/02/07/the-rose-and-the-thistle/

The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin (Revell)

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/

Yesterday’s Tides by Roseanna M. White (Bethany House)

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 man 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, but he doesn’t count on falling in love with Louisa Adair, the innkeeper’s daughter. When war breaks out in Europe, and their relationship is put in jeopardy, will their love survive?

As Evie and Sterling work to track down an elusive German agent, they unravel mysteries that go back a generation. The ripples from the Great War are still rocking their lives, and it seems yesterday’s tides may sweep them all into danger again today.

Bestselling and award-winning author Roseanna M. White whisks you away to two periods fraught with peril in this sweeping and romantic dual-time tale.

My Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5250507706

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Giveaway available to US and Canadian readers (book or ebook where available) as well as anyone who has a US Kindle account (Amazon.com) for ebook wins.

Christy Award book giveaways vary by title. Please check the list below for formats available.

The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron – ebook only

The Rose and The Thistle by Laura Frantz, The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin and Yesterday’s Tides by Roseanna M. White — print or ebook

If you would like a chance to win a copy of one of the  Historical Romance finalists, leave a comment below (including the title you would like to win) or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. 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 November 11 2023 .

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 2023 finalists are books published in 2022. 

How does this giveaway work?

You select ONE of the General Fiction OR Young Adult 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.)

GENERAL FICTION

By Way of the Moonlight by Elizabeth Musser (Bethany House)

Two courageous young women, tied together by blood and shared passion, will risk everything to save what they love most.

For as long as she can remember, Allie Massey, a gifted physical therapist, has dreamed of making her grandparents’ ten-acre estate into a trauma recovery center using equine therapy—a dream her grandmother, Nana Dale, embraced wholeheartedly. But when her grandmother’s will is read, Allie is shocked to learn the property has been sold to a developer.

Decades earlier, headstrong Dale Butler’s driving passion is to bring home the prized filly her family lost to the Great Depression, but with World War II looming, she’s called upon in ways she never could have imagined. And while her world expands to include new friends and new love, tragedy strikes close to home one fateful night during the Battle of the Atlantic, changing her life forever.

As Nana Dale’s past comes to light in Allie’s search for answers, Dale’s courage and persistence may be just what Allie needs to carry on her grandmother’s legacy and keep her own dreams alive.

My Review: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2022/08/by-way-of-moonlight.html

When Stone Wings Fly by Karen Barnett (Kregel)

Uncovering a long-lost family story is the only way to bring her grandmother peace
Kieran Lucas’s grandmother is slipping into dementia, and, when her memory is gone, Kieran’s last tie to the family she barely knows will be lost forever. Worse, Granny Mac is being tormented by flashbacks of her mother’s death and the loss of their home.

In 1931, Rosie McCauley’s Smoky Mountains home is threatened by the Tennessee Great Smokies Park Commission as they create a new national park. But Rosie vows the only way they’ll get her land is if they haul her out in a pine box. When a compromise offers her and her disabled sister the opportunity to stay for her lifetime, it seems too good to be true.

Ornithologist Benton Fuller arrives to conduct a bird survey for the park and the two form a tenuous bond. But their friendship broadens a rift between her and the other mountain folk who are suspicious of any government connections. Then the discovery of an illegal still in the woods near her cabin leads to a violent clash between sides that could destroy them all.

Eighty-five years later, Kieran heads back to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to find answers to her great-grandmother’s mysterious death and bring peace to Granny Mac before it’s too late. Park Historian Zach Jensen may be the key to locating both the answers and a precious family heirloom. But just as in the past, Kieran’s needs clash with government regulations. Will Zach block her from recovering what she needs and solving this family mystery?

My Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4826547161

Where the Blue Sky Begins by Katie Powner (Bethany House)

Sometimes the hardest road of all is the road home.

When confident and handsome Eric Larson is sent to a rural Montana town to work in the local branch of his uncle’s financial company, he’s determined to exceed everyone’s expectations, earn a promotion, and be back in Seattle by the end of summer. Yet nothing could prepare him for the lessons this small town has in store.

At forty-six years old, eccentric and outspoken Eunice Parker has come to accept her terminal illness and has given herself one final task: seek forgiveness from everyone on her bucket list before her time runs out. But it will take more courage than she can muster on her own.

After an accident pushes Eric and Eunice together, the unlikely pair is forced to spend more time with each other than either would like, which challenges their deepest prejudices and beliefs. As summer draws to a close, neither Eric nor Eunice is where they thought they would be, but they both wrestle with the same important What matters most when the end is near?

YOUNG ADULT

Blood Secrets by Morgan L. Busse (Enclave Escape)

Skyworld, Book Two

Not everyone wants to see the world saved . . .

Time is running out. Cities are being engulfed in the Mist and humanity is on the brink of extinction. Theo believes he has found a way to stop mankind from Turning, but he doesn’t know how to alter Cass’s unique blood into a cure. Or if it can even be done.

Meanwhile, Cass struggles with the idea that she is possibly the savior of the world—a world she is not sure is worth saving.

From the Winchester manse to the steel city of Decadenn, there is something more chasing Cass than the House of Lords or the masked man who can walk in the Mist. Soon she must decide if she will use her blood to save mankind or let those who only care about themselves perish.

This Dreamer by Sara Patterson (Independent)

Watchers, Guardians, Strength Wielders, Water Movers, and, of course, THE DREAMER

Evie grows restless observing mortals from the safety of her desk in the Control Room. When a friend offers to smuggle her by portal into the human world, she jumps at the opportunity. Secretly, though, she also hopes to observe Adan, the human Dreamer. Only a glimpse, she promises herself.

But trouble awaits after her captivating adventure and delayed return. Not only did she take an unsanctioned trip to the ground, but the boy, the Dreamer, is missing. Worse still, her director believes she is to blame. 

Evidence soon places Adan in another sector, where Gifted humans are forbidden. 

Donning a human body and wielding a golden blade, Evie’s orders are to travel to this uncharted territory, find Adan, and take care of the problem.

As she attempts to keep the human emotions at bay, she discovers this intriguing boy was smuggled here for a reason, and perhaps the culprit—the Deceiver—is a threat to them all.

The Whisperer’s Wish by Janilise Lloyd (Scrivenings Press)

For sixteen years, Laurelin Moore has been keeping a secret. She is a whisperer and she knows that to reveal her gift now is a dangerous risk. Past whisperers have been exploited for their power. But Ausland’s queen is dead and acknowledging her magic is her only chance at becoming a Rook in the Pentax—a competition that will decide the kingdom’s next ruler.

Laurelin isn’t in it for the crown, though. She’s after the wish that will be granted to the victor. A wish that would save her dying brother, Pippin. But there are dangerous undercurrents to the competition, and Laurelin finds herself at the center of it. She begins to search for answers and discovers a secret with the potential to shatter the entire kingdom.

Wishtress by Nadine Brandes (Thomas Nelson)

She didn’t ask to be the Wishtress.

Myrthe was born with the ability to turn her tears into wishes. But when a granted wish goes wrong, she is cursed: the next tear she sheds will kill her. She must travel to the Well to break the curse before it claims her life—and before the king’s militairen find her. To survive the journey, Myrthe must harden her heart to keep herself from crying even a single tear.

He can stop time with a snap of his fingers.

Bastiaan’s powerful—and rare—Talent came in handy when he kidnapped the old king. Now the new king has a job for him: find the Wishtress and deliver her to the schloss. But Bastiaan needs a wish of his own. He gains Myrthe’s trust by promising to take her to the Well, but once he gets what he needs, he’ll turn her in. As long as his growing feelings for the girl with a stone heart don’t compromise him.

Their quest can end only one way: with her death.

Everyone seems to need a wish—the king, Myrthe’s cousin, the boy she thinks she loves. And they’re ready to bully, beg, and betray her for it. No one knows that to grant even one wish, Myrthe would pay with her life. And if she tells them about the curse . . . they’ll just kill her anyway.

The Wonderland Trials by Sara Ella (Enclave)

Solve the clues. Face your fears. Survive the Trials.

All Alice Liddell wants is to escape her Normal life in Oxford and find the parents who abandoned her ten years ago. But she gets more than she bargained for when her older sister Charlotte is arrested for having the infamous Wonder Gene—the key to unlocking the curious Wonderland Reality.

Soon, Alice receives a rather cryptic invitation to play for Team Heart in this year’s annual—and often deadly—Wonderland Trials. Now she has less than twenty-four hours to find her way into Wonderland where nothing is impossible . . . or what it seems.

The stakes are raised when she discovers players go missing during the Trials each year. Will she and her team solve the clues and find the missing players? Or will betrayal and distrust win, leaving Alice alone in a world of her own? Follow the White Rabbit into this topsy-turvy fantasy where players become prey, a sip of the wrong tea might as well be poison, and a queen’s ways do not always lead one where they ought to go.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Giveaway available to US and Canadian readers (book or ebook where available) as well as anyone who has a US Kindle account (Amazon.com) for ebook wins.

Christy Award book giveaways vary by title. Please check the list below for formats available.

All GENERAL FICTION books are available in both paperback or ebook format. Winner’s choice (US and Canada). Only ebooks for International winners.

YOUNG ADULT giveaway formats:

Bood Secrets by Morgan L. Busse – ebook only

This Dreamer by Sara Patterson — print or ebook

The Whisperer’s Wise by Janilise Lloyd — print or ebook

Wishtress by Nadine Brandes — print or ebook

The Wonderland Trials by Sara Ella — ebook only

If you would like a chance to win a copy of one of the  General Fiction or YA finalists, leave a comment below (including the title you would like to win) or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. 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 October 28 2023 .

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 2023 finalists are books published in 2022. 

How does this giveaway work?

You select ONE of the First Novel 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.)

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold (Revell)

Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she’s been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who’s just entered hospice care. But there’s more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she’s not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it’s a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that’s just what Mrs. Kip will give her—but she’s going to have to work for it.

My Review: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-extraordinary-deaths-of-mrs-kip.html

The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon by Linda MacKillop (Kregel)

Eva wants to run away from her life–if only she could remember how Failing memory has forced Eva Gordon to move in with her granddaughter, Breezy. But Eva hates the bustle of Boston. All she wants to do is move back to her quiet, cozy Cape Cod home and be left alone.

Then Breezy announces she’s getting married, and they’ll be moving to her new husband’s rundown family farm, where he lives with an elderly uncle. They’ll be one big family–but only Breezy and Brent think it’ll be a happy one.

It’s all too much for Eva. Too much change, too much togetherness, too much of an over-crowded life she never wanted. But as her desire for privacy collides with her worsening memory, Eva may find herself in a pickle she can’t get out of.

Porch Music by Kathy Maresca (TouchPoint Press Faith)

All sixteen-year-old Rose has is what she carries: a pillowcase of clothes, her boyfriend’s unborn child, and a heart full of shame. In the face of 1952’s strict moral code, Seminole matriarch Ma-Ki Ebbing embraces Rose. Ma-Ki, on the fringe of society, clings to her Native American traditions and secrets surrounding her husband’s murder while her adult children unravel from social injustice.

When Ma-Ki’s children were young, Burl Ebbing approached a wealthy, powerful man who had sexually abused his children. The villain shot Burl’s heart right out of him. Twenty years later, Ma-Ki fears that her children will avenge their father’s death and refuses to disclose the criminal’s identity. The Ebbing women band together, marching through a chorus of grit and grind to unite a family once rendered powerless by a people who invaded their land. Will the tragic death of one of her daughters cause Ma-Ki to identify the villain and embrace Rose’s newfound faith?

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Giveaway available to US and Canadian readers (book or ebook where available) as well as anyone who has a US Kindle account (Amazon.com) for ebook wins.

Christy Award book giveaways vary by title. Please check the list below for formats available.

All First Novel books are available in both paperback or ebook format. Winner’s choice (US and Canada). Only ebooks for International winners.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of one of the  First Novel finalists, leave a comment below (including the title you would like to win) or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. 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 October 21, 2023 .

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 2023 finalists are books published in 2022. 

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.)

A Seaside Wonder by Melissa Tagg (Larkspur Press)

In one evening, Indi’s world falls apart. Enter the shy professor her family mistakes for her fiancé…make that ex-fiancé.

Professor Philip West never wanted to return to Maine . . . or his grandfather’s miserable old house. But after his mother’s death, he’s now the guardian of a teenage half sister he barely knows—one who doesn’t want anything to do with him. He longs to help her heal, but he’s exhausted and numb, desperate for relief of his own. Maybe that’s why he’s so easily distracted when he happens upon the little shop with a name on its storefront window that sounds familiar, a hint of a mystery nudging him inside.

More than a decade has passed since Indi Muir made the heartbreaking decision she’s never recovered from—though she’s certainly tried. She has a full life running her shop and creating the artsy pieces that fill its shelves. If she can just stay busy, she’ll keep her hurt and regret at bay. But when her ex-fiancé returns to Muir Harbor, he brings news that shatters her carefully built walls. Things only get worse when lurking danger comes calling at her childhood home.

The one bright spot amid Indi’s turmoil is the shy stranger who wandered into her shop months ago and his moody but lovable sister. As she confronts her past and the mysterious threat facing her family, she’s intent on helping Philip win over his sister. He just might win over Indi, too, if they can overcome old secrets and wounds, outrun rising peril . . . and take a chance on love.

Breathtaking romance, a captivating mystery, and an enchanting wintry seaside . . . return to Muir Harbor in bestselling author Melissa Tagg’s latest.

My Review: https://kavsbestreads.ca/2023/03/23/a-seaside-wonder-giveaway/

All That it Takes by Nicole Dees (Bethany House)

When the ever-cautious Val Locklier moves cross-country with her son for a secure job, everything she’d planned unravels within the first week. After Val reluctantly agrees to rent an apartment from her best friend’s brother, an unexpected chance at an elite filmmakers’ mentorship ignites fresh hope for a dream career. But as Val’s community begins to expand, so do her insecurities, especially those heightened by her growing attraction to a certain friendly landlord.

Pastor Miles McKenzie returns home from a short-term mission trip to discover that not only does he have an intriguing new tenant living upstairs, he’s also been reassigned to a local ministry on life support. Disillusioned and restless, he distracts himself by throwing his energy into a host of new projects–not the least of which is pursuing Val–without stopping to consider the future.

As Val struggles to stop hiding behind the camera and Miles wrestles with shattered expectations, they’ll find that authentic love and sacrifice must go hand in hand.

My Review: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2022/05/all-that-it-takes.html

To Believe in You by Emily Conrad (Hope Anchor LLC)

Can she trust her heart to a man who can’t trust himself?

Since his dismissal from the rock band Awestruck, former bassist and addict Matt Visser has been transformed by faith and a year of sobriety.

If he can repay his parents for one last major debt from his years of irresponsible living, he can move into the future with a clear conscience. Now if only his latest stunt hadn’t gotten him fired from the family business.

After Lina Abbey’s fiancé gambled away their wedding savings, she surrendered her hopes of a family of her own—what man could she trust enough to marry?—and moved for a fresh start in Wisconsin.

She busies herself with her jobs managing Awestruck’s social media and directing Key of Hope, a non-profit funded by the band to teach music lessons to kids from low-income families.

She would never hire a man with Matt’s track record as a bass guitar instructor, but Awestruck’s manager, Tim, forces her hand. In need of a job and eager to clear his debts, Matt begins work. Unable to resist a challenge, he soon adds the goal of winning the trust of his beautiful but cautious coworker.

Lina is impressed that Matt resists Tim’s ongoing efforts to reconnect him with Awestruck, but when a new truth about Matt’s past reveals a wrong he can never right, he and Lina both need something more trustworthy than Matt to believe in. Otherwise, history will repeat itself in all the worst ways.

To Win a Prince by Toni Shiloh (Bethany House)

As a fashion aficionado and best friend of the queen of the African island country Oloro Ilé, Iris Blakely dreams of using her talent to start a business to help citizens in impoverished areas. But when she discovers that Ekon Diallo will be her business consultant, the battle between her desires and reality begins.

Ekon Diallo has lost everything: his princely title, his material possessions, his friends, and the respect of his countrymen. To pay for his actions against Oloro Ilé, he’s forced to assist the charismatic Iris Blakely–but he can’t allow his heart to distract him from regaining his status.

As Iris strives to get her business off the ground while keeping her heart intact, will her dreams of happily ever after survive the challenges she faces?

My Review: https://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2022/09/to-win-prince.html

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Giveaway available to US and Canadian readers (book or ebook where available) as well as anyone who has a US Kindle account (Amazon.com) for ebook wins.

Christy Award book giveaways vary by title. Please check the list below for formats available.

All Contemporary Romance books are available in both paperback or ebook format. Winner’s choice (US and Canada). Only ebooks for International winners.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of one of the  Contemporary Romance finalists, leave a comment below (including the title you would like to win) or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. 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 October 14 2023 .