Category: Reader’s Choice

‘Tis the season to start thinking about Christmas reading! Well, I’ve been at it for awhile now but I’m still looking for more books to read. So, this week’s conversation comes with two parts. First, let’s talk about Christmas books we’ve read and loved…maybe enough to read more than once…and would recommend to others. Second, let’s talk about our anticipated Christmas reads for this year and this includes a giveaway. More about that later.

Some of My Favourite Christmas Reads:

There is something so cozy and comforting about revisiting special Christmas books. I spend a good part of the holiday becoming reacquainted with beloved fictional friends. Too many for me to name them all but here’s a glimpse at my reread list. I’ve read some multiple times already, some have actually become an annual tradition while others have only been read once so far but will definitely be read again.

All the Meg Langslow Christmas books! This a cozy mystery series full of quirk and heart and the Christmas books are exceptional in the way the zany mayhem is balanced by the most heartwarming, community gathering together in the true spirit of Christmas kind of vibe. Caerphilly Virginia is where I want to be at Christmastime (if only it wasn’t a fictional town!) This is a long running series, over 30 books by now, but I first met Meg and company through my library’s collection of Christmas audio books. Since then, I’ve read all the Christmas books each year, and for that matter, revisit each one of the books annually.

I’m not a huge novella reader, but I actually adore Christmas novellas. There’s something so cozy about curling up under a comfy quilt with a tantalizing story that I know I can finish in one sitting.

I love Historical Fiction any time of year but Christmas Historicals are extra special, especially Christmas Romances! There’s something about the simplicity of this sacred holiday in earlier eras that touches my heart and soothes my angsty yuletide nerves.

It seems that I’m not only attracted to rom/coms in the summertime! 🙂 I’ve read and re-read a number of wonderful holiday Contemporary Romances. So many favourites!

So, how about you? Are you a Christmas re-reader too? Have any favourite Christmas novels you’d like to share with the rest of us? You know, in case our bookish wish lists are festively depleted? 🙂

Anticipated Christmas Reads (and the giveaway!)

Do you have your eye on a certain Christmas title on your wishlist? Too impatient to wait and see if Santa has a copy for your stocking? Then this giveaway is for you:

Add the title of a Christmas book you’d like to win in a comment (or email to kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca) and I’ll put your name in the draw. Please include the book title and the author(s). Must be Christian Fiction and can be published any time up until the end of this year.

US and Canada winners — your choice of paperback or ebook (or audible for Canadians where available)

International – ebook if you have a US Amazon account.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday November 9.

It’s a Best Reads blog tradition! Celebrating the month’s new releases the first week of each month.

Because I recently discovered 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 hosting a special ‘Hello – insert month’ giveaway. It’s easy to play along. You just have to choose ONE of the October 2024 new releases on your TBR wishlist (must be Christian Fiction) and mention the title in a comment below (or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca) If your name is drawn, that October release is the book you will win and we’re one book closer to keeping our fave authors in business.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook for anyone anywhere who has an Amazon.com kindle account

US – paperback or ebook copy — winner’s choice

Canada -paperback or ebook (in form of an Amazon gift card) or audible.ca audio book (if available) – winner’s choice

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday October 5 2024.

Three cheers for my favourite season! Cooler temps, vibrant fall colours, geese flying south — I am loving the autumn vibes! And what is one of the first things I do to celebrate the start of the new season? Check into all the fall new releases of course! And that’s where this Reader’s Choice Week comes into play.

Here’s how this week’s giveaway works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in October, November or December 2024 (up to 3 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.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: These giveaways are available in paperback or ebook format to US and Canadian readers. Ebooks available internationally if you have a .com kindle account (US Amazon)

IT’S GENERAL CHRISTIAN FICTION GIVEAWAY DAY!

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

General Christian Fiction – a full length story or novella or collection of novellas. Any genre, including previous selections you made on other days this week as well as specific genres not covered yet such as Amish, Speculative, SciFi etc.

How does it work?

Easy Peasy! May 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 October, November or December 2024

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 WP comments are working

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.)

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 September 28 2024

(You can enter any of the giveaways up until noon on September 28. Winners will be announced later that afternoon.

Just in case you need some additional inspiration, I’ve compiled a list of new releases that caught my eye and haven’t been mentioned yet this week. At least, I don’t think they have but if I have some duplicates, my apologies.

OCTOBER:

Historical

• The Innkeeper’s Christmas by Kristie Seif
• A Christmas at Hotel del Coronado by Kathleen Denly
• The Bookbinder’s Daughter by Lynn Dean
• Brave by Mesu Andrews
• A Noble Gift by Elizabeth Fryer
• A Brilliant Alliance by Laura Beers
• Secrets of a Duke by Martha Keyes

Contemporary

• Maid at Christmas by Bell Renshaw
• The Lost Daughter’s Irishman by Carolyn Miller
• Running into Forever by Jennifer Rodewald
• Marrying the Billboard Cowboy by Tara Grace Ericson
• A Weary World Rejoices: Mosaic Christmas Anthology

Mystery/Suspense

• Zeke (Oath of Honor; 7) by Laura Scott
• Perilous Healing by Jessica Ashley

NOVEMBER

Historical

• Investigation of a Journalist by Danielle Grandinetti (also mystery)
• A Path to Healing by Lisa M. James
• A Season for the Heart by J.M. Hochstetler (also Amish)
• Above All Dreams by Naomi Rawlings

Contemporary

• Caring for the Cowboy’s Baby by Hannah Jo Abbot
• Matchmaking the Cowboy by Emily Conrad
• Sugarplum Dreams by Jessie Gussman
• An Amish Thanksgiving by Beth Wiseman

Mystery/Suspense

• Mint Flavored Trouble by Tyora Moody (cozy mystery)
• Fear No Evil by Lisa Phillips
• Surge: a Breed Apart by Ronie Kendig
• Investigation of a Journalist by Danielle Grandinetti (also historical)
• Flynn by Laura Scott
• Shadow of Fear by Susan Sleeman
• Knight Brew by Heather Day Gilbert (cozy mystery)
• The Gory of Light by Hannah Hood Lucero

DECEMBER

Historical

• Let Nothing You Dismay by Jennifer Q. Hunt
• The Last Fashion House in Paris by Renee Ryan

Contemporary

• A Marriage Pact for the Cowboy by Valerie Comer
• The Run Option by Anna Conwell
• His Ninth Promise by Liz Isaacson
• Flirting with Alaska by Belle Calhoun

Mystery/Suspense

• Corralling the Cowboy by Elle E. Kay

Three cheers for my favourite season! Cooler temps, vibrant fall colours, geese flying south — I am loving the autumn vibes! And what is one of the first things I do to celebrate the start of the new season? Check into all the fall new releases of course! And that’s where this Reader’s Choice Week comes into play.

Here’s how this week’s giveaway works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in October, November or December 2024 (up to 3 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.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: These giveaways are available in paperback or ebook format to US and Canadian readers. Ebooks available internationally if you have a .com kindle account (US Amazon)

IT’S MYSTERY/ROMANCE FICTION GIVEAWAY DAY!

To be entered in the draw just leave a comment (or 3) below, including the title(s) of the books in the Mystery/Romance 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 set in any time period and cross genres such as 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 October, November or December 2024

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 WP comments are working

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.)

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 September 28 2024

(You can enter any of the giveaways up until noon on September 28. Winners will be announced later that afternoon.

Three cheers for my favourite season! Cooler temps, vibrant fall colours, geese flying south — I am loving the autumn vibes! And what is one of the first things I do to celebrate the start of the new season? Check into all the fall new releases of course! And that’s where this Reader’s Choice Week comes into play.

Here’s how this week’s giveaway works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in October, November or December 2024 (up to 3 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.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: These giveaways are available in paperback or ebook format to US and Canadian readers. Ebooks available internationally if you have a .com kindle account (US Amazon)

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 books in the Contemporary 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! May 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 October, November or December 2024

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 WP comments are working

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.)

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 September 28 2024

(You can enter any of the giveaways up until noon on September 28. Winners will be announced later that afternoon.

Three cheers for my favourite season! Cooler temps, vibrant fall colours, geese flying south — I am loving the autumn vibes! And what is one of the first things I do to celebrate the start of the new season? Check into all the fall new releases of course! And that’s where this Reader’s Choice Week comes into play.

Here’s how this week’s giveaway works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in October, November or December 2024 (up to 3 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.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: These giveaways are available in paperback or ebook format to US and Canadian readers. Ebooks available internationally if you have a .com kindle account (US Amazon)

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 books in the Historical 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! May 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 October, November or December 2024

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 WP comments are working

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.)

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 September 28 2024

(You can enter any of the giveaways up until noon on September 28. Winners will be announced later that afternoon.

It’s a Best Reads blog tradition! Celebrating the month’s new releases the first week of each month.

Because I recently discovered 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 hosting a special “Hello — insert month” giveaway. It’s easy to play along. You just have to choose ONE of the September 2024 new releases on your TBR wishlist (must be Christian Fiction) and mention the title in a comment below (or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca.) If your name is drawn, that September release is the book you will win and we’re one book count closer to keeping our fave authors in business.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE TO:

ebook for anyone anywhere who has an Amazon.com kindle account

US – paperback or ebook copy — winner’s choice

Canada -paperback or ebook (in form of an Amazon gift card) or audible.ca audio book (if available) – winner’s choice

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 7 2024.

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 —Young Adult 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.

Young Adult Finalists

Sky of Seven Colors by Rachelle Nelson – Enclave Publishing – Editor: Lisa Laube – ebook giveaway – In a strange part of the forest, the divide between worlds grows thin.

After the accident, Meg would do anything to wake her best friend from his deadly coma. At least, that’s what she whispered into the woodland shadows. She never imagined her wish would trap her in a gray other-earth, void of any color.

Meg’s vibrant humanity is a priceless artifact in the gray kingdom, coveted by the royal court. All she wants to do is find a way back home. Until she discovers the other-earth contains healing powers that can save her friend. But only if Meg becomes what the gray people need—a human bride for Kalmus, the powerful king of the capital city.

With her heart torn between earths, Meg’s choices may cost more than she knows.

The Mermaid’s Tale by L. E. Richmond – Enclave Publishing – Editor: Lisa Laube – ebook giveaway – A tail could tell a tale. Locklyn Adair has never fit in. The legs she inherited as a result of her great-great-grandmother’s curse make it impossible for her to belong under the sea. When her niece is also born without a tail, Locklyn is determined to save her from similar rejection by sending her to the only place in the Undersea Realm where legs are acceptable—the Lost Island of Atlantis.

Darin Aalto would do anything to protect his family, even spearheading an impossible quest to find treasure that has been lost for over a hundred years. But when his best friend, Locklyn, joins his crew, his ability to keep her safe—and his shot at winning her heart—comes perilously close to being swept away.

A family curse, lost treasure, unrequited love, and a race against time intertwine as Locklyn and Darin seek to save their family, their kingdom, and eventually the entire Undersea Realm without losing each other.

Dancing in the Silence by Linda Sammaritan – Winged Publications – Editor: Kathryn Eckert – Winner’s Choice of paperback or ebook – How can an Air Force kid survive junior high when her dad’s at war, her little sister is deaf, and friends have abandoned her?

It’s 1967 and Debbie Hansen hates her life. She has to leave all of her New York friends, move to California’s Mojave Desert, then back to New York, all because her dad will be sent to Vietnam for a year. And three out of five pilots never come home. Debbie could be fatherless before she starts high school.

Her only comfort? She’d have her old friends to lean on if the worst happened. Wrong. When Debbie returns to her hometown, she finds the group moved on without her. She tries to reconnect, but their message is clear—NOT interested.

Living under the shadows of war, Debbie and her brothers mask their fears by acting out in anger toward each other until a final showdown erupts into near tragedy. Meanwhile, Mom forbids Debbie to teach Krista sign language. “Experts” say deaf children need to speak. Debbie defies them.

Krista is the only one who’s happy. She blossoms in her world without sound. Before Dad returns, if he returns, Debbie needs to choose—she can keep struggling to earn a place with the “in crowd,” or she can learn to dance with her sister in the silence.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday August 17 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 —Speculative 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.

Speculative Finalists

Of Sea and Smoke by Gillian Bronte Adams –– Enclave — Editor: Lisa Laube — ebook giveaway

He rides a seablood, a steed of salt and spray, born to challenge the tides.

Six years ago, the wrong brother survived, and nothing will ever convince Rafi Tetrani otherwise. But he is done running from his past, and from the truth. As civil war threatens Ceridwen’s tenuous rule in Soldonia, Rafi vows to fight the usurper sitting on the imperial throne of Nadaar, even if it means shouldering his brother’s responsibilities as the empire’s lost heir.

The stolen shipload of magical warhorses offers just the edge he needs. But the steeds have been demanded in ransom by the emperor’s ruthless assassin, and if Rafi hopes to raise a band of riders, he must first outwit his brother’s murderer.

Yet when his best efforts end in disaster, and an audacious raid sparks an empire-wide manhunt, even forging an unexpected alliance might not be enough to help Rafi turn the tides, let alone outrace the wave of destruction intent on sweeping them all away.

Seas boil and jungles burn in this tempestuous second installment of The Fireborn Epic as the outcast queen, captive missionary, and royal rebel strive to unearth the mysterious power that hungers for their world.

Execution Island (Book Three in Jurassic Judgment) by Janice Boekhoff — Indie — Editor: Linda Yezak — ebook giveaway

Stalking dinosaurs. Dangerous convicts. A kidnapping.

No matter where she turns, death waits in her jungle prison …

Trapped on a dinosaur-infested island, Oakley Laveau is haunted by the she was created to kill. But after her latest assassination puts her brother at risk, she vows to end the body count. So when the kidnapper offers to trade her brother for two people she is protecting, she hatches a plan to outwit him without bloodshed.

After the exchange goes wrong, she reluctantly teams up with her vengeful sister, a woman whose deadly genetic ability equals her own. Unless they learn to become allies, Oakley stands to lose everyone she loves. Hunted by deadly predators, pursued by the FBI, and partnered with an assassin who wants her dead, she may be forced to use her enhanced genetics to eliminate her enemies.

She has the power to kill anyone. But can she find the strength to save everyone?

Execution Island is the tense final book in the Jurassic Judgment science fiction series.

The Wayward by Tabitha Caplinger — Blue Ink Press — Editors: Christa Dolan and Liz Sheth — ebook giveaway

Wilder James has spent her entire life in Beartooth, secluded from the Necanians and their domed cities where most of humanity resides. Content to keep her distance within the confines of her rustic community, she desires nothing more than to live out her years with her husband, Declan, in their simple mountain home. 
 
But when an unexpected tragedy rips apart her dreams, and intruders pull her from the safety of her camp and into a dark reality, she discovers the shocking truth. The Necanians are not bringers of peace. They’re harbingers of death. 
 
Now Wilder must decide if she will protect only herself and her people, or risk everything to try to free all of humanity. She is armed with the one thing her people have always had – faith. Will it be enough?

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday August 10 2024. REMEMBER TO CHECK GIVEAWAY EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH TITLE!