Kav's Best Reads

Reader’s Choice Giveaway, Fall Into Books Edition — Contemporary Romance/Fiction

The leaves are starting to change colour, the nights are getting cooler (hallelujah!) and there’s a distinct scent of Autumn in the air. What else is a dedicated bibliophile to do but celebrate the new season with new books?! But I need your help to fatten up my TBR wishlist. So let’s get this weeklong Reader’s Choice party started!

Here’s how this week’s giveaways works: You recommend CHRISTIAN FICTION genre specific titles with release dates in October, November or December 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.

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 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 October, November or December 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.)

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 30 , 2023

(You can enter any of the giveaways up until noon on September 30. Winners will be announced later that afternoon.)

Reader’s Choice Giveaway, Fall Into Books Edition — Historical Fiction

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 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 October, November or December 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.)

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 30 , 2023

(You can enter any of the giveaways up until noon on September 30. Winners will be announced later that afternoon.)

September Giveaway – Week Four

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

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK’S GIVEAWAYS:

For all that the hot, humid weather made the summer feel like it was dragging by, I’m still gobsmacked that a whole quarter year as flown by and we’re at the point where —EEEEPPP — it’s time for another Reader’s Choice Week!!!! So, welcome to the Fall Into Books Edition 2023.

In case you’re new here (or need a refresher) here’s what Reader’s Choice Week is all about:

You recommend Christian Fiction titles with release dates in October, November or December 2023 (up to three entries per genre day) and you have a chance at winning one of your suggested titles…or more accurately, a IOU for when the book releases.

But it’s a little more complicated than that so be sure to read ALL the details listed each day before entering. Each day is genre specific which means you can only suggest historical titles on historical fiction day etc.) Here’s the posting schedule:

Monday September 25 — Historical Fiction — any full-length novel 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.

Tuesday September 26 — Contemporary Fiction — any full length novel 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.

Wednesday September 27 — Suspense / Mystery Fiction — any full length novel 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 or dual timelines etc.

Thursday September 28 — Amish Fiction — any full length novel or novella or collection of novellas where the hero or heroine (or both) are Amish OR the story has significant Amish involvement through Amish secondary characters and Amish community. Can be historical or contemporary and cross genres such as YA, suspense or dual timelines.

Friday September 29 — General Christian Fiction — Any full length novel 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 such as Women’s Fiction, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, etc.

The Billionaire’s Backup + Giveaway

Jenna and I have been friends since college.

Not besties or anything. Just the kind of friend you hit up when you want to go to a party but don’t want the pressure of a date.

She’s fun. Independent. And she gets me.

Which is probably why we dated for a while – more for fun than anything..

The kiss was completely out of left field. And so was the ridiculous pact to get married if we were still single in our thirties.

Neither of us have ever mentioned that pact again.

But man, a lot of years have passed and I can sometimes still feel her lips on mine. Now that she’s going to be renovating my house, it could definitely be a problem.

The whole pact thing might have been dumb, but would it really be such a bad idea for us to get together?

My Giveaway:

This is me keeping current with a billionaire romance series — who’d o’ thunk it?! Not me! And yet, here I am, devouring each book with bibliophile glee!

I’ve really bonded with this friend group and am anxious to see how wealth and romance pans out for each of the guys. Having said that, you could also read these books out of order and not feel like you’ve missed out on much. Well, a few happily ever afters and some lifestyle changes — but not enough to make a new to the series reader feel on the outside looking in if you were to pick up this fourth book first. (Gasp! I know there are a lot of ‘must read a series in order’ folks out there. My apologies.)

A real strength of this Billionaire Next Door series is the way the author works faith and ethics into each story. These were average guys who pooled their financial resources and made a ton of money, but, for the most part, life hasn’t changed significantly for any of them. Oh, they might enjoy a jet-setting moment or two (there’s this incredible date night in this one…all I can say is…eeeeppp) but basically, each of our billionaire heroes has to figure out how to manage their new found wealth…and they do that prayerfully, searching for the ways God is leading them.

In The Billionaire Backup, Noah, is grappling with feeling the need to make changes in both his professional and personal life, but not quite sure how. He’s finally made the plunge and bought a house and has given his long time friend, Jenna, carte blanche on restoring it (she’s an architect.) And Jenna just happens to be the girl from high school he made a ‘marriage pact’ with — if they are both unmarried by 33, they’ll just marry each other. Bwahahaha — guess who’s closing in on that magic number?

Love that these two have lots of positive friend zone history. They’ve been each other’s backup date to social events for years and now that they are spending way more time together things start to sizzle. Only there are complications. Like the guy Jenna has been dating — only, no worries, this is in no way a love triangle trope. And there’s Noah worrying about losing a good friend if things don’t work out. So, cue some angst, but not enough that you’d choke the stuffing out of your comfort bear from an anxiety induced death grip. 🙂 Just enough to make things v-e-r-y interesting.

And I’m happy to report that there are still unattached billionaires in need of romance so we don’t have to say ‘bye’ to these fan-favourite characters quite yet.

I listened to the audible edition expertly narrated by Joel Simler and Emma Faye and enjoyed their portrayal of these characters and their love story.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook available to anyone, anywhere who has a .com (US) Kindle account

US — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada — paperback or ebook (via a gift card to Canadian Amazon) or audible (.ca)

If you would like a chance to win a copy The Billionaire Backup, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 23, 2023

Iscariot + Giveaway

In Jesus, Judas believes he has found the One—a miracle-worker. The promised Messiah and future king of the Jews, destined to overthrow Roman rule. Galvanized, Judas joins the Nazarene’s followers, ready to enact the change he has waited for all his life.

But Judas’ vision of a nation free from Roman rule is crushed by the inexplicable actions of the Nazarene himself, who will not bow to social or religious convention—who seems in the end to even turn against his own people. At last, Judas must confront the fact that the master he loves is not the liberator he hoped for, but a man bent on a drastically different agenda.

Iscariot is the story of Judas—from his tumultuous childhood and tenuous entry into a career and family life as a devout Jew, to a man known to the world as the betrayer of Jesus. But even more, it is a singular and surprising view into the life of Jesus himself that forces us all to reexamine everything we thought we knew about the most famous—and infamous—religious icons in history.

My Review:

This is me venturing waaaaaay out of my comfort zone with this novel. I don’t read a lot of biblical fiction in the first place, and I tend to steer clear of fictionalized accounts of actual historical figures. And yet I found myself with book in hand, completely intrigued by the first two lines of the prologue.

“A dog chokes by the side of the road to Capernaum. He is rabid and manged. He is foul and unloved. He is more worthy to live than I.”

Thought-provoking. Profound. Reverent. Deeply layered. Difficult to read at times but convicting nonetheless. Lee brings this time and these people to life in a refreshing and relatable way.

I mean, really, Judas is not my idea of a storybook hero, but the way the author tells his story enthralled me. Yes, it’s a fictionalized account, but it’s clear the author has done her research on customs and traditions of the time. She makes Judas approachable — he is no longer the one dimensional villain in a Passion Play. He is complex and confused. A product of his upbringing and the legalistic religion of his time. He is flawed. Makes mistakes. Epic mistakes. But there’s humanity in him too and his faltering frailty is all too relatable.

This is very much Judas’s narrative, told in his first person Point of View. Understandably, sometimes that’s skewed — so his impressions of Jesus and events are distorted and can make for a challenging read at times. But, oh so fascinating!

Tosca Lee is an epic wordsmith and her gifted storytelling brought the bible alive for me. Inspired me to reach for the biblical accounts found in the gospels – and really, can you ask anything more from biblical fiction?

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read hardcover copy — open to any reader, anywhere in the world so…yay…another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Iscariot, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 23, 2023

Mountain Abduction Rescue + Giveaway

A wildfire threat…becomes a missing person search.

A serial arsonist is out for revenge in the Canadian Rocky Mountains—and kidnaps park warden Hazel Hoyt’s son and his camping troop. Now Hazel must team up with the man who broke her heart, firefighter Mitchell Booth, to find the missing boys as wildfires blaze around them. But someone has no intention of letting the pair get off the mountain alive…

My Review:

An exciting mix of wilderness adventure and suspense set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains! And there’s nothing as heartrending as a child stolen away from his mother, so this one has a real emotional kick to it.

Hazel is spunky and stubborn — a Mama Bear personified and she’s relentless in her search for her son. Heedless of every set back, of raging fires, fierce storms, crazed killers, she just won’t give up. Mitchell is right there by her side trying to be a voice of reason, and keep her safe even as he pursues the serial arsonist who seems to be holding Hazel’s son captive.

Lots of edge of your seat, rabid page-turning goodness paired with the rekindling of a high school romance…and a timely read given the amount of raging wildfires Canada experienced this summer.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy — open to any reader, anywhere in the world so…yay…another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Mountain Abduction Rescue, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 16, 2023

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas + Giveaway

Two workplace rivals. One festive competition. And a romance that upends it all.

Every December two things are guaranteed for graphic designer Mackenzie Graham–Christmas celebrations and the annual promotion at her workplace. Those two things are by no means mutually exclusive. In fact, the better an employee is at harnessing the Christmas spirit, the more likely they’ll win the new job. With her social anxiety, Mackenzie never thought she’d be a contender in her company’s holiday competition, so how exactly has she found herself dueling her workplace crush with wrapping paper tubes and using tinsel as her weapon of choice for a much-needed raise?

Jeremy Fletcher’s life is meticulously planned out, including how to win this year’s promotion at work. Not only will the new position fulfill some of his career goals, but the raise will help him as a single guardian to his twin niece and nephew. Jeremy has barely noticed Mackenzie Graham around the office, but now that she’s his rival, he can’t stop thinking about her. Her quirkiness intrigues him, and he’s afraid that if he can’t get his head on straight, the job isn’t the only thing he’ll end up losing to Mackenzie.

‘Tis the season for romance, faith, and humor–all wrapped up in this enchanting holiday rom-com from award-winning author Sarah Monzon.

My Review:

This is me gobsmacked — again — by a Sarah Monzon book that defies description. A rom/com with so much heart that it had me laughing and wincing and tearing up and cheering all the way through. My bibliophile heart was put through the paces 🙂 by all the Jeremy and Mackenzie shenanigans.

And there’s so much Christmas!!! Monzon captures the joy of the season to sweet perfection. When I first read the synopsis about the holiday competition in the office, I was worried things might get nasty and spiteful but I couldn’t have been more wrong! And I can’t say more than that without major spoilers, but the way this hero and heroine are drawn together in the midst of all the holiday hubbub is sheer swoony delight!

I haven’t read many books that feature a heroine (or hero) with a social anxiety disorder and the author certainly managed to capture all the nuances that go along with that condition. And she does it with such compassion and understanding– a lovely blend of humour and angst. I alternately chuckled and cringed over some of the situations Mackenzie found herself in — even blushed for her a time or two. And I love, love, love (!) how the author addressed the faith aspects of this part of Mackenzie’s story. Again, I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoilers, but I really connected with the profound truths shared. Amen and amen again! So uplifting and confirming.

Even though I had a paperback copy on hand, I couldn’t resist purchasing the audible edition as well. Loved CJ Bloom’s narration — definitely a Christmas story I will happily return to every year.

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

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy — open to any reader, anywhere in the world so…yay…another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of All’s Fair in Love and Christmas, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 23, 2023

A Murderous Charade + Giveaway

A timeless villainy, a growing love, and the couple who battles them both . . .

Miss Marianne Beaumont, a spinster, and her younger sister are on their way home from a night at the theater when they come upon a townhouse fire. They stop to help the victims, including Mr. James Harcourt, a confirmed bachelor, and his parents Sir and Lady Harcourt. Although Mr. Harcourt distrusts the beau monde, he accepts Marianne’s ministrations. That should have been the end of their association, but then a folded piece of paper shaped like a chameleon slips out of his mother’s sleeve. It’s an ornament Marianne has come across only one time before—next to her father’s dead body.

Recognizing that ornament—an orikata—might at last help her catch her father’s killer, Marianne joins forces with Mr. Harcourt. He has a penchant for solving mysteries and has been searching for the elusive criminal who uses that identifier.

Together—with a chaperone, of course—their investigations take them from one baffling clue to another. But the closer they get to finding their answers, the more they discover that all isn’t as it seems, and the dangers are more sinister—and personal—than they’d realized.

A gripping Regency cozy mystery packed with romance and secrets.

My Review:

I’m patting myself on the back over this gem of a find! Not even sure how I stumbled onto it — Good Reads or Audible browsing, I’m guessing. The cover intrigued me enough to dig deeper and, voila, new-to-me author turns into must-read author after spending a few hours in the company of Marianne and the enigmatic Mr. Harcourt.

A Regency Mystery with swoon factor — can a reader ask for anything more? Well, yes, if that includes a secret society seeking justice. And an illusive foe who threatens their very existence. Eeeeep!!! And this is just the first book in the Relentless Society Mystery series which has me all discombobulated in anticipation of the next instalment!

While there is closure on some aspects of the mystery by the end of this first book, it’s clear that Marianne and James have more work to do! Their alliance started out rocky, developed into friendship and is at the brink of becoming something much deeper which makes the anticipation for book two all the more excruciating!

A brilliant mix of Regency, mystery and romance.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook available to anyone, anywhere who has a .com (US) Kindle account

US — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada — paperback or ebook (via a gift card to Canadian Amazon) or audible (.ca)

If you would like a chance to win a copy of A Murderous Charade, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 23, 2023

September Giveaway – Week Three

WON BY LESLIE H

WON BY LANE HILL HOUSE

WON BY MARK

WON BY WINNIE

WON BY ROXANNE

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK’S GIVEAWAYS:

The Cowboy Bargain + Giveaway

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 work together and see whose products sell best. Could their business venture lead to a surprising reunion?

A Lazy M Ranch Tale

My Review:

Yikes! A runaway bride / second chance love story which kinda made me apprehensive at first because, really, how could I connect with a heroine who dumped our hero in such an abrupt way? I shouldn’t have worried, not with Tina Radcliffe telling the tale.

So, Olivia — equal parts defensive and repentant — was surprisingly easy to like, despite her past decision to leave Sam virtually at the altar. Did I buy her reasons fully? Weeelll, truthfully, not really…but that doesn’t mean she didn’t find them valid at the time and who among us hasn’t made a bad decision we’re left ruminating over years later?

And, oh my, is Sam ever flummoxed when he discovers Liv setting up shop (literally) in the small town they were supposed to live out their happily ever after in? Especially when he learns that through a series of unfortunate events, he is her landlord! And then…well…stuff happens, throwing them together and forcing them to figure out how to get along…and maybe rekindle the love that never quite faded.

Happy sigh. I do love the way Radcliffe writes her big family/small town cowboy romances! And the Morgans are fabulous — from gramps to Sam’s brothers (two who are still unattached so — eep — more Lazy My Ranch visits in my literary future! Yeehaw! ) So many laugh-out-loud moments courtesy of brotherly banter. Nothing like a ranch house full of rowdy cowboys to steal a reader’s heart!

So…if you like cowboys and cozy small town vibes as the backdrop for heartfelt romance, look no further. The Cowboy Bargain is destined to be your next read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy — open to any reader, anywhere in the world so…yay…another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Cowboy Bargain, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 16, 2023