Category: Reader’s Choice

I recently listened to an author interview and was surprised to learn that a book’s success or failure is often determined by first month sales! (Though I bet preorders play into that as well.) Publishing houses look at those stats to determine whether they’ll add on to a series or accept the author’s next manuscript! All that literary goodness hanging in the balance but for a month’s worth of sales! (This was a cozy mystery author, but I imagine all traditional publishers use the same ‘system’.) So, I thought I should do my wee little bit to promote Christian Fiction by introducing a new tradition.

So, sometime during the first week of each month I’ll run a special “Hello — insert month” giveaway. It’s easy to play along, especially since we have all our lists organized after Reader’s Choice Week! You just have to choose one of the April 2023 books on your TBR wishlist and mention it in a comment below (or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca) If your name is drawn, that April release is the book you will win and we’re one book count closer to keeping our fave authors in business. 🙂

Before we get to the fun stuff, here’s some bibliophile nerdy stats for you. I always find it fascinating to see what the most requested books are in each category. If you don’t, just scroll down until we get to the part where I announce the winners. 🙂

MOST REQUESTED HISTORICAL

MOST REQUESTED CONTEMPORARY

MOST REQUESTED SUSPENSE/MYSTERY

MOST REQUESTED AMISH

And now it’s time to move on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. (Thank you for indulging my inner nerdiness.)

SPRING INTO BOOKS WINNERS!

HISTORICAL FICTION WINNERS

CONTEMPORARY FICTION WINNERS

MYSTERY / SUSPENSE WINNERS

AMISH FICTION WINNERS

CHRISTIAN FICTION WINNERS

READING GOAL WINNERS

But wait, it’s not over yet. The Vanity category has become a blog tradition. It’s where a book is actually judged by its cover and I choose my favourite cover art per genre and then draw from a pool of readers who requested that title. Here are my COVER LOVE winners!!

HISTORICAL COVER LOVE WINNER

(I adore the punch of colour, the nod to Disney’s Snow White. I want to twirl around the meadow with her! So excited for this fairy tale retelling, Texas style!)

CONTEMPORARY COVER LOVE WINNER

(Those colours just pop — it almost looks like a batik print which is oh so retro-Bohemian. I remember those days fondly.)

MYSTERY/SUSPENSE COVER LOVE WINNER

(There’s just something about this stark graphic design that grabs me.)

AMISH COVER LOVE WINNER

(I like this one because it’s a bit different from the normal Amish cover. We actually see a profile of the heroine’s face, and who doesn’t love a horse on the cover?)

WAIT! Don’t go away ’cause we’re not through. We have another Reader’s Choice tradition of picking a random number which becomes a ‘just because giveaway’ on the genre specific days. If that doesn’t make sense, all you need to know is that it means more book giveaways. Woohoo! This time the number is: 50

HISTORICAL 50TH

CONTEMPORARY 50TH

MYSTERY/SUSPENSE 50TH

That’s another RC wrap up. I’ll send winners an email stating their book win, publication date and requesting contact info so that I’ll have everything ready for release day. Then I’ll email you once again once the book has been ordered.

Looking ahead to next week’s giveaways:

And for Thursday and Friday I have something a little bit different but I’m too brain-dead right now to explain so you’ll just have to stop by and see what all the fuss is about. 🙂

I haven’t shared my 2023 reading goals with you yet so I thought I would do that here as well as tally up my first quarterly report. So, to enter this giveaway, just share anything goal related in the comments. Then, in the same comment, list a book that will help you reach your goal. So it looks like this:

“I want to catch up on some suspense series. Night Prey by Susan Sleeman.”

****NOTE: BOOKS MUST BE CHRISTIAN FICTION****

You can enter up to three times in three separate comments — and you can use the same goal for a different one each time.

Books can be published any time through June 2023. Currently published books will be ordered right away, otherwise you’ll get an IOU for a later title.

See? Easy Peasy. But, if you’re still not clear, don’t be shy about asking questions.

Here’s how I’m doing on my goals so far this year (Jan to March):

• 121 (ish) books read — I’ve added on that ish ’cause I’m going by my Good Reads # but I read ahead for the blog so the count is a wee bit higher. And here’s some fun stats:
• 31 Audible
• 34 Audible Plus
• 6 Chirp
• 5 for Review
• 41 from the library (print and audio)
• 12 print purchased by me

And broken down by genre (because I’m that much of a book nerd these days.)

• 14 Historical
• 9 Regency
• 3 WWI
• 4 WWII
• 16 Contemporary
• 2 Amish
• 18 Romantic Suspense
• 1 Suspense
• 2 Mystery
• 59 Cozy Mysteries (yikes!)
• 14 Historical Mysteries
• 2 Dual Time lines
• 1 Novella set
• 6 Middle Grade

Now for my goals:

#1 READ MORE INDIE BOOKS

14 books — not great given the number of books I’ve read overall so I’ll try to improve next quarter.

#2 READ MORE DEBUT BOOKS

7 books — not bad, that’s about two a month.

#3 READ MORE NEW TO ME AUTHORS

28 authors — and have found some new faves too, which is going to make my reading life that much more complicated. 🙂

#4 DIVERSIFY MY READING

40 books — largely due to setting (thank you Regencies!) so I’m going to try harder to branch out next quarter.

Diverse Settings:

• 23 books set in England
• 4 books set in Canada
• 3 books set in Ireland
• 3 books set in Germany
• 2 books set in Africa
• 2 books set in France
• 2 books set in Asia
• 1 book set in Denmark
• 1 book set in Greece
• 1 book set in Austria
• 1 book set in Wales
• 1 book set in Scotland

Diverse author by nationality:

• 6 Canadian
• 3 British
• 1 Irish
• 1 Australian

• 5 ethnically diverse authors
• 6 books with at least one ethnically diverse MC
• 2 books with disabled or chronically ill characters

#5 PLAY AUTHOR CATCH-UP

Last year I put way too many authors on this list one of which was Christy Barritt (what was I thinking?!) so I failed dismally. This year I’m going to concentrate on one or two each quarter. This time round it was:

Sally Britton (surprised?) — I’ve read 8 out of 19 books (still have some work to do!) and Susan Sleeman — just have 7 books to go (8 if you count her May release) out of…a bazillion books! I’m getting closer!

#6 GIVE UNLOVED TROPES A SECOND CHANCE

3 books read. Sigh — I really don’t like to move out of my comfort zone and I don’t think that’s likely to change any time soon. I enjoyed the books I read for the most part, but I’m not going out of my way to find these tropes. 🙂

#7 STORY CHATS RECOMMENDS

Story Chats is a Booktube video (podcast?) hosted by three indie authors — Valerie Comer, Elizabeth Maddrey and Narelle Atkins. It’s a weekly show where they highlight contemporary Christian Romance (CCR) using various themes/tropes, as well as host guest authors. My goal is to read at least one book recommend a month and, yay, I’m 3 for 3!

SERIOUS ABOUT SERIES:

And then there’s this whole other beast called a SAS list, that stand for Serious About Series. I might have been overly ambitious when I made up these lists…they fill an entire book after all, but here it is in a nutshell:

TRILIGOIES IN PROGRESS

10 completed (or up to date) out of 28

TRILIGOIES TO START:

4 started out of 27

SERIES I’M CURRENT WITH

33 out of 37 (a few new releases slipped passed me!)

SERIES IN PROGRESS:

Have been randomly reading through 8 out of 29! Nothing completed yet.

SERIES TO START

24 started, 5 up to date out of 95!!!!!

So, here’s how this week’s giveaways works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in April, May or June 2023 (up to three suggestions per genre day) and you have a chance to win one of your recommendations! BUT it’s a little more complicated than that so be sure to read ALL the details before entering.

IT’S CHRISTIAN FICTION GIVEAWAY DAY!

To be entered in the draw just leave a comment (or 3) below, including the title(s) of the book(s) in the Amish Fiction genre you would like to win.

Christian Fiction –– a full length story or novella or collection of novellas. Any genre, including previous selections you’ve made on other days and also for specific genres not covered this week like Women’s Fiction, Sci-Fi, Speculative etc.

How does it work?

Easy peasy! Make recommendations in the comment section and if you win, you win the book you suggested.

BUT YOU GOTTA FOLLOW THE RULES!

Publication date must be April, May or June 2023

Each day is genre specific, so only submit titles from that genre

Christian Fiction books only please!

You can offer up to three suggestions per genre day BUT they need to be made in 3 separate comments (easier for me to keep track of.)

No email entries this time round since comments are working on WP

OF SPECIAL NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN’T COMMENTED ON THIS BLOG BEFORE, YOUR FIRST COMMENT WON’T APPEAR UNTIL I APPROVE IT. AFTER THAT YOUR COMMENTS WILL POST AUTOMATICALLY.

Entrants must submit their own selections (no piggybacking on someone else’s log in.)

Open to International Readers (I’m all about sharing the love of Christian Fiction far and wide!)

It’s helpful to include your email (using AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers) but you only need to add it to one of your comments per day. If you choose not to include your email, then it’s up to you to contact me if you are a winner.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 1

So, here’s how this week’s giveaways works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in April, May or June 2023 (up to three suggestions per genre day) and you have a chance to win one of your recommendations! BUT it’s a little more complicated than that so be sure to read ALL the details before entering.

IT’S AMISH FICTION GIVEAWAY DAY!

To be entered in the draw just leave a comment (or 3) below, including the title(s) of the book(s) in the Amish Fiction genre you would like to win.

Amish Fiction –– a full length story or novella or collection of novellas where the hero or heroine (or both) are Amish OR the story has significant Amish involvement through secondary characters and an Amish community. Can be set in any time period — contemporary or historical — and cross genres such as YA, suspense, dual timeline etc.

How does it work?

Easy peasy! Make recommendations in the comment section and if you win, you win the book you suggested.

BUT YOU GOTTA FOLLOW THE RULES!

Publication date must be April, May or June 2023

Each day is genre specific, so only submit titles from that genre

Christian Fiction books only please!

You can offer up to three suggestions per genre day BUT they need to be made in 3 separate comments (easier for me to keep track of.)

No email entries this time round since comments are working on WP

OF SPECIAL NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN’T COMMENTED ON THIS BLOG BEFORE, YOUR FIRST COMMENT WON’T APPEAR UNTIL I APPROVE IT. AFTER THAT YOUR COMMENTS WILL POST AUTOMATICALLY.

Entrants must submit their own selections (no piggybacking on someone else’s log in.)

Open to International Readers (I’m all about sharing the love of Christian Fiction far and wide!)

It’s helpful to include your email (using AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers) but you only need to add it to one of your comments per day. If you choose not to include your email, then it’s up to you to contact me if you are a winner.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 1

So, here’s how this week’s giveaways works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in April, May or June 2023 (up to three suggestions per genre day) and you have a chance to win one of your recommendations! BUT it’s a little more complicated than that so be sure to read ALL the details before entering.

IT’S MYSTERY/SUSPENSE GIVEAWAY DAY!

To be entered in the draw just leave a comment (or 3) below, including the title(s) of the book(s) in the Mystery / Suspense Fiction genre you would like to win.

Mystery/Suspense Fiction — a full length story or novella or collection of novellas where mystery is an important part of the plot. The hero or heroine (or both) are often in peril (more so in suspense.) Can be set in any time period — contemporary or historical — and cross genres such as YA, Amish, dual timeline etc.

How does it work?

Easy peasy! Make recommendations in the comment section and if you win, you win the book you suggested.

BUT YOU GOTTA FOLLOW THE RULES!

Publication date must be April, May or June 2023

Each day is genre specific, so only submit titles from that genre

Christian Fiction books only please!

You can offer up to three suggestions per genre day BUT they need to be made in 3 separate comments (easier for me to keep track of.)

No email entries this time round since comments are working on WP

OF SPECIAL NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN’T COMMENTED ON THIS BLOG BEFORE, YOUR FIRST COMMENT WON’T APPEAR UNTIL I APPROVE IT. AFTER THAT YOUR COMMENTS WILL POST AUTOMATICALLY.

Entrants must submit their own selections (no piggybacking on someone else’s log in.)

Open to International Readers (I’m all about sharing the love of Christian Fiction far and wide!)

It’s helpful to include your email (using AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers) but you only need to add it to one of your comments per day. If you choose not to include your email, then it’s up to you to contact me if you are a winner.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 1

(You can enter any of the giveaways up until noon on April 1. Winners will be announced later that afternoon.)

So, here’s how this week’s giveaways works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in April, May or June 2023 (up to three suggestions per genre day) and you have a chance to win one of your recommendations! BUT it’s a little more complicated than that so be sure to read ALL the details before entering.

IT’S CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE / FICTION GIVEAWAY DAY!

To be entered in the draw just leave a comment (or 3) below, including the title(s) of the book(s) in the Contemporary Romance / Fiction genre you would like to win.

Contemporary Romance / Fiction — a full length story or novella or collection of novellas set in any time period after 1980. May cross genres such as YA, Suspense, Amish etc and may include dual timelines.

How does it work?

Easy peasy! Make recommendations in the comment section and if you win, you win the book you suggested.

BUT YOU GOTTA FOLLOW THE RULES!

Publication date must be April, May or June 2023

Each day is genre specific, so only submit titles from that genre

Christian Fiction books only please!

You can offer up to three suggestions per genre day BUT they need to be made in 3 separate comments (easier for me to keep track of.)

No email entries this time round since comments are working on WP

OF SPECIAL NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN’T COMMENTED ON THIS BLOG BEFORE, YOUR FIRST COMMENT WON’T APPEAR UNTIL I APPROVE IT. AFTER THAT YOUR COMMENTS WILL POST AUTOMATICALLY.

Entrants must submit their own selections (no piggybacking on someone else’s log in.)

Open to International Readers (I’m all about sharing the love of Christian Fiction far and wide!)

It’s helpful to include your email (using AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers) but you only need to add it to one of your comments per day. If you choose not to include your email, then it’s up to you to contact me if you are a winner.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 1

(You can enter any of the giveaways up until noon on April 1. Winners will be announced later that afternoon.)

Reader’s Choice Giveaway – Spring into Books Edition

So, here’s how this week’s giveaways works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in April, May or June 2023 (up to three suggestions per genre day) and you have a chance to win one of your recommendations! BUT it’s a little more complicated than that so be sure to read ALL the details before entering.

IT’S HISTORICAL ROMANCE / FICTION GIVEAWAY DAY!

To be entered in the draw just leave a comment (or 3) below, including the title(s) of the book(s) in the Historical Romance / Fiction genre you would like to win.

Historical Romance / Fiction — a full length story or novella or collection of novellas set in any time period before 1980. May cross genres such as YA, Suspense, Amish etc and may include dual timelines.

How does it work?

Easy peasy! Make recommendations in the comment section and if you win, you win the book you suggested.

BUT YOU GOTTA FOLLOW THE RULES!

Publication date must be April, May or June 2023

Each day is genre specific, so only submit titles from that genre

Christian Fiction books only please!

You can offer up to three suggestions per genre day BUT they need to be made in 3 separate comments (easier for me to keep track of.)

No email entries this time round since comments are working on WP

OF SPECIAL NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN’T COMMENTED ON THIS BLOG BEFORE, YOUR FIRST COMMENT WON’T APPEAR UNTIL I APPROVE IT. AFTER THAT YOUR COMMENTS WILL POST AUTOMATICALLY.

Entrants must submit their own selections (no piggybacking on someone else’s log in.)

Open to International Readers (I’m all about sharing the love of Christian Fiction far and wide!)

It’s helpful to include your email (using AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers) but you only need to add it to one of your comments per day. If you choose not to include your email, then it’s up to you to contact me if you are a winner.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 1

(You can enter any of the giveaways up until noon on April 1. Winners will be announced later that afternoon.)