Tag: Contemporary Romance

Mistletoe Seasons + Giveaway

This Christmas, three couples find themselves under the mistletoe . . . whether they want to be there or not.

Return to Mistletoe by Kathleen Fuller–Emmy Banks has always loved Christmas. How could she not when she lives in Mistletoe, Missouri? Kieran O’Neill has spent years abroad, renovating an old Irish castle, but returns to Mistletoe for his mother’s seventieth birthday. He reconnects with Emmy, his sister’s close friend, and spends time with her in her charming antique shop. When the weather turns colder, things start to warm up between Emmy and Kieran. But can Emmy risk her heart when she knows he’ll never stay in Mistletoe, and she will never leave?

The Mistletoe Prince by Pepper Basham–Prince Arran St. Clare has lost his freedom and fairytale life in exchange for a three-month “punishment” in the small town of Ransom, North Carolina. To prove he is ready for the royal life for which he was born, Arran must engage in the Christmas charity fundraiser, The Mistletoe Wish. But when kindness, authenticity, and hard work prove more appreciated in Appalachia than a royal pedigree, Arran must face the mirror and find out who he is beyond the crown. Add a beautiful and intelligent woman who doesn’t recognize her own worth, some mistletoe, and a little Christmas magic and it all might be enough to help the rebel-prince understand what truly matters most.

Say No to Mistletoe by Sheila Roberts–Mistletoe is Hailey Fairchild’s kryptonite. Every time she’s kissed someone under the mistletoe it’s led to love disaster. Not a good thing for a romance writer! When she was a gawky high school girl, her hunky neighbor, Carwyn Davies, star of the basketball team (and her dreams) kissed her under the mistletoe on a dare. But the kiss wasn’t a dream come true. It was a mortifying moment she’s never forgotten, and now she’s about to go home for the holidays, unengaged and . . . determined to say no to mistletoe. Especially if Carwyn is anywhere around.

My Review:

There’s something about the Christmas season that has me craving holiday novella collections. I’m not a huge novella reader at other times of the year but come Christmas, I’m all in and the stories in ‘Mistletoe Season’ remind me of why I love these collections so much!

Love the way each author took the mistletoe theme in a different direction. Great creative approaches and each author brings their unique storytelling gifts to this collection.

In ‘Return to Mistletoe’ by Kathleen Fuller, Emmy and Kieran are older than the typical hero and heroine in a contemporary romance — not that old, early forties — but old enough to have lived life, experienced both joy and heartache and become a little jaded about love.

Kieran’s home for the holidays after spending years abroad. Emmy never left Mistletoe. She’s his sister’s best friend and had a crush on him in high school. He was oblivious. And now, here they are twenty odd years later and sparks are flying, the air around them is sizzling but he has no intention of staying and she will never leave so….They need a Christmas miracle…and a healthy dose of mistletoe!

Be still my heart — it’s another royal romance from Pepper Basham in ‘The Mistletoe Prince’, featuring a Skymar prince! And Luke manages to wangle his way into the story quite a bit, always ready with a quip or a piece of no-nonsense advice.

And then there’s Arran, redemptive prince who is guaranteed to curl your toes and leave you in a constant swoony state. So prepare to spend some quality time reading on your fainting couch.

Construction worker Charlie (Charlotte) is a princess in the making only she doesn’t know it. And the way Arran goes about showing her is, well, all kinds of swoony. Charlie’s spunky though, and kind with a heart for serving others. And quick with the smart-aleck comebacks — her nicknames for the prince are hysterical! As is their very unique meet-cute. Haven’t read anything like it. Ever! Bwahaha!

If you love heartwarming romance with a healthy dose of humour, this is the story for you. Oh — and no worries if you haven’t read any of the Skymar books (there are three), this would read well as a standalone — and serve to whet your appetite for the rest of the series!

Shelia Roberts’ ‘Say No to Mistletoe’ wraps up this collection beautifully. It’s shorter than the other two stories, but delivers a satisfying read nonetheless.

Hailey has never been able to resist the lure of the mistletoe, and it always ends in disaster so she’s determined that this year her Christmas will be mistletoeless! But she’s back home for a visit and well meaning family are causing all kinds of grief. Plus, meeting up with her high school crush tests her mistletoe resolve.

Love the pacing of this short story — the author packed so much emotion into the read. I was wincing and angsting and fuming right along with Hailey as she comes to terms with her past in her small hometown and finds her way to an unexpected happily ever after.

I listened to the audio edition of ‘Mistletoe Season’, thrilled with Tanya Eby’s narration as she is a favourite narrator. She does these stories justice and created an enjoyable, easy-listening experience. Highly recommend the audio book.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson, Zondervan Fiction Audio and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY

ebook copy available to anyone with a US Kindle account (.com) 

Canadians will have a choice of receiving an Amazon.ca gift card towards the purchase of an ebook OR an audible copy. Winner’s Choice.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOK DOESN’T RELEASE UNTIL OCTOBER 8.

If you would like a chance to win an ecopy of Mistletoe Season, 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 14 2024.

Greetings From Next Door + Giveaway

Christmas is supposed to be about “peace on earth” and “goodwill toward men.”

Glynn Darrow bought that lie for the first three decades of her life, but
whoever said that (it was one of God’s angels, wasn’t it?) clearly hadn’t met Glynn’s new neighbor. He’s stolen all the peace from her life and any goodwill she might have had toward men. 

If only his notes wouldn’t make visions of mistletoe dance in her head.
When Clay Ruskin moved onto Elderberry Close, he didn’t imagine that he’d be “greeted” by a note from his uptight new neighbor… or that she’d drive him to distraction–good and bad. 

She’s determined to do the right thing–always.

He thinks she’s got weird ideas about what the “right thing” even is. 
They do agree on one thing, though. This will be the most memorable Christmas ever. If they survive it.

My Review:

Glynn has a new neighbour…and he’s a grump. Bah Humbug. Mind you, she doesn’t make the best first impression (but then she thinks he made the worst impression first so…) Letters are carried back and forth — sometimes snippy, sometimes sweet, always funny and a…well, we can’t really call it a friendship but something like…is formed.

The book starts in late October and ends on Christmas so there’s lots of time for hearts to thaw and nurture warmer emotions. A sweet novella that explores deeper feelings of love and acceptance with dry wit to smooth out the angst and a healthy dollop of faith to seal the deal.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy and is available to any reader, any where — so, yay, another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Greetings From Next Door , 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 7 2024.

Before We Were Us + Giveaway

She can’t remember. He can’t forget.

Seven months ago, after graduating with a hospitality degree, city girl Lauren Wentworth travelled to rural New Hampshire to become temporary manager of Pinehaven Lodges, a rustic family-owned resort. What started as just a springboard to her dream job became so much more when she fell in love with the owner’s son Jonah, the Landry family, and her simple but rewarding position at the resort. Now she’s reaching toward a different kind of future than she’d imagined for herself–and happier than she’s ever been. But then she falls from a ladder.

When Lauren wakes up in the hospital, she only recalls her first couple months at the resort. She remembers her adversarial relationship with Jonah and her major crush on small-town doctor, Carson, who also has big-city ambitions–but is, unfortunately, taken. However, according to everyone around her, she’s now madly love with Jonah and has forfeited the dream job awaiting her in Boston. It seems impossible to believe she could’ve made such drastic changes in a matter of months!

Jonah is heartbroken at her memory loss and determined to help Lauren remember the deep feelings they’ve developed for one another. But Lauren isn’t sure she wants to remember falling in love with someone she doesn’t even like or giving up her dream career for a rustic resort in Podunk, New Hampshire.

Especially when Dr. Carson is now available. . .

My Review:

What an interesting approach to a romance! I’ve never read anything like it and, wow, just upped the angst factor so much and had my emotions tied up in knots so that I was completely invested in the outcome. I mean, I knew there had to be a happily ever after, but what was that going to look like?! Rabid reading (well, listening in my case) ensued in order to find out!

So, the very first chapter reads like the happily ever after epilogue of a traditional romance. Jonah and Lauren are crazy in love and soooooo sweet together, I was already swooning. Then…bam! (and I mean that quite literally) Lauren falls from a ladder, conks her head, and loses several months worth of her memories. Like the falling in love with Jonah months!

She wakes up in the hospital thinking it’s April when it’s actually Labor Day weekend. And back in April, Jonah was the enemy. I mean she really didn’t like Jonah and with good reason because he was quite the brooding grump. And, oh my heart hurt, because, of course Jonah is still madly in love with Lauren, only she can’t stand him! So, an enemy-to-more/second chance romance! I think Denise Hunter invented a new trope!

And this is a bit of a dual timeline novel too, because Hunter takes us back to the falling-in-love-the-first-time moments through Jonah’s memories. All, while he is trying to win Lauren’s heart for a second time! Oh. My. Stars! This was soooooo good. Beautifully written, incredibly crafted. And that ending! Unexpected!

Kim Churchill did a fantastic job narrating Lauren and Jonah’s story. She captured their personalities and emotions perfectly. I really enjoyed my listening time and would definitely recommend the audio edition of ‘Before We Were Us.’

P.S. If you are as love triangle phobic as I am, have no fear, that tease in the synopsis really doesn’t have any bite. You can read easy on that angst score…though there are plenty of other tumultuous dilemmas you can stew over.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson, Zondervan Fiction Audio and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition of this book.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a print or ebook copy. Winner’s choice.

US – available in print or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada – available in print or ebook or audible (if available) — winner’s choice

International – ebook copy if you have a US Kindle account.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of the Before We Were Us, 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 7 2024.

Hometown Hero’s Redemption

Random Retro Read

A Temporary Father 

When he becomes guardian to his friend’s troubled ten-year-old boy, firefighter Drew Gannon knows he needs help. But before he can get former social worker Lauren Pierce to agree, he’s got to prove he’s changed from the sports jock who gave her a hard time back in high school. Returning home, Lauren wants no part of her old profession. She only wants to forget the unspeakable tragedy she left behind. She can’t take responsibility for another child. Or a reunion with Drew–no matter how generous he’s become. But a desperate boy and his handsome guardian may be more than Lauren can resist…

My Review:

published in 2017

Though this book was published seven years ago, the audio edition just released this month and I was happy to dive into ‘Hometown Hero’s Redemption’ since I missed it first time round.

I do love the way Jill Kemerer weaves emotion into her stories. Complex layers of accumulated angst that our hero and heroine have to fight their way through. Both their backstories are challenging, but the one they share together is what stands in the way of them working through everything else.

Nothing like revisiting high school angst to set already raw emotions on edge and Drew and Lauren’s meet-cute is a pretty much a disaster. She has reasons for being wary of him and he has reasons for needing her to believe he’s changed.

Loved the way they come together to help a traumatized child. The author realistically portrays the complications and turmoil involved. No sugar-coating the way to their happily ever after, but creating a hope-filled one just the same. I might have gotten teary at the end. 🙂

An Uncommon Grace + Giveaway

Random Retro Re-Read

A moving and inspirational novel about the power of faith, family and above all, love, as a young Amish man must turn to his Englisch neighbor for help after a devastating tragedy.

Grace Connor, a military nurse formerly stationed in Afghanistan, hopes that moving to a farm in rural Ohio will help her recover from the ravages of war.

Levi Troer finds his pacifist beliefs challenged when he discovers his stepfather has been killed and his mother wounded by an unknown intruder. Levi and Grace are thrown together when she comes to his family’s rescue and saves his mother’s life. A deep attraction develops — even though a relationship between them is strictly forbidden.

Levi belongs to the most conservative and isolated of all Amish sects — the Swartzentruber Amish. Even before meeting Grace, Levi had begun to question some of their teachings. He has considered leaving, but knows he will be banned forever from contact with his younger siblings and widowed mother — who need him to survive. He is torn between his love for Grace and his responsibility to his family.

Grace considered leaving her beloved farm and reenlisting rather than continuing to live near the man she loves but cannot have. Levi must confront the Bank if he pursues Grace. And a murderer must be caught. When lifelong allegiances are tested, can love and justice prevail?

My Review:

published in 2012

Captivating from the very first page, An Uncommon Grace made me think as much as it entertained.

First things first — you have to get past the misleading cover. I’ve never seen such a misrepresentation of a book before! Who is that woman looking off into the distance and why is she on the cover of Grace and Levi’s story? LOL. Grace is obviously not Amish and this book is just as much about Grace and her family as it is about Levi’s and his.  In fact, if you aren’t into Amish fiction, I’d wager that you’d still find this a compelling read on so many levels.

One of the most fascinating part of this book is the glimpse Miller gives us into the strict Swartzentruber Amish order. The story is peppered with so many interesting facts and comparisons with the Old Order Amish that is usually featured in fiction.

The addition of a murder mystery along with the complicated relationship that slowly develops between Levi and Grace makes this  the kind of read you just won’t want to put down. Miller’s characters become living, breathing people with minds and hearts of their own. Grace’s grandmother is an incredible rock for both of them — a genteel lady with a quick sense of humour and deep understanding of the Savior’s love.

As Levi struggles to make sense of the sudden upheaval in his life, Grace finds herself drawn into a chaos of her own. Both ardently support their families, willing to sacrifice anything for those they love. In a perfect world, they would be perfect for each other — but perfection doesn’t come in this life and their journey isn’t an easy one. Miller has spun an emotional tale that I soon won’t forget…and hopefully you won’t either because you’re sure to want to read it now too, right?

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy and is available to any reader, any where — so, yay, another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of An Uncommon Grace, 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 August 17 2024.

The Perfect Putt + Giveaway

Golf is for rich, pretentious jerks who need something to do while they gossip.

That’s always been my opinion. So when my best friend lands me an interview with Miles Day–the youngest golfer to ever win the Masters–I almost say no. 

But the six-figure salary attached to the position is too good to pass up. 

Miles gives me the job as his assistant, with one caveat–don’t fall in love with him. Easy. So easy that I laugh in his face when he so much as suggests the possibility. 

Except… the more time I spend with Miles, the harder it is to resist his charming smile and glittering green eyes. 

Catching feelings for him isn’t an option though, because I have goals to reach, and he has an aversion to commitment. Falling in love would be a mistake, one neither of us are willing to make.

My Review:

It’s official. My second Annah Conwell book and I am in love! Perfect pacing, witty banter, toe-curling kisses, lots of zinging sparks and sizzles and characters who are easy to root for.

And I barely noticed that this story featured golf. I am so not a sports fan (unless it’s figure skating or horse jumping…or the Olympics) but if I had to pick my least favourite sport, it would be golf. About as exciting as watching paint dry, right? And how sporty can it be when you ride all around the course in a cart and someone else carries your golf clubs? But, you know what? Conwell made all that exciting and there was a point at the end where I was on tenterhooks because…well, can’t say why but, I couldn’t believe how invested I was in the outcome. And, mercy, but she had my emotions churning all over the place in those scenes!

And the fun thing is that Ellie thinks just like me. Not a golf fan. Not a Miles fan. She has some preconceived notions and a bit of a chip on her shoulder, if I’m being truthful. In fact she’s a bit of a grump in this reverse grumpy/sunshine trope, though Miles isn’t always sunshine-y…but, oh my, how he likes to tease!

Love the way the romance develops and how the author threw a few emotional sucker punches at this unsuspecting reader. I really like how she handles romantic conflict — it’s realistic but she doesn’t leave us wallowing in the depths of despair for too long. Phew!

‘The Perfect Putt’ is the second book in Conwell’s ‘More Than a Game’ series but reads fine as a standalone. Each book features a different sport and the guy friend group of athletes is fantastic. Their texting banter is so much fun! I’m looking forward to reading all the books in the series.

I enjoyed listening to the audio edition narrated by Sybil Johnson and Dillon Sickels. I’m discovering that I really enjoy dual narration for rom/coms and these performers really enhanced my ‘reading’ enjoyment. They captured the energy of the story perfectly.

My thanks to the author, Dreamscape Media and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY

ebook copy available to anyone with a US Kindle account (.com) 

Canadians will have a choice of receiving an Amazon.ca gift card towards the purchase of an ebook OR an audible copy. Winner’s Choice.

If you would like a chance to win an ecopy of The Perfect Putt, 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 August 24 2024.

When Hope Blossoms + Giveaway

Random Retro Re-Read

Amy Knackstedt moves with her children to Weaverly, Kansas, to escape the speculation surrounding her husband’s untimely death. She hopes the new location will provide a fresh start for them all. But her neighbor, Tim Roper, is not pleased to have a Mennonite family living next to his apple orchard. When the children try to befriend him, he resists. Tim left the Mennonite faith years ago and doesn’t want any reminders of his former life. Yet Amy and Tim find their paths colliding far more than either could have foreseen. Will this tentative relationship blossom into something more?

My Review:

published in 2012

Sweet, sweet, SWEET! Brilliantly crafted, Sawyer delivers a story that brings hope from despair — a theme that aptly matches the title. Amazingly tight plotting blends three life experiences into one incredibly moving conclusion. Sawyer is a gifted storyteller.

Told from three POVs — Amy’s, Tim’s and Beckah’s (Amy’s 13-year-old daughter) — their diverse take on life and circumstances propel the story along at the perfect pace. I’m still marveling at how various story strands meshed together, building to one of the best feel-good endings I’ve ever read. Just LOVED this book so much. 

And yes it is a Mennonite story — but it’s so much more as well with themes that will attract and satisfy even non-Amish/non-Mennonite fans. Themes like searching for a fresh start, finding ones faith, staying true to that faith no matter what, coping with grief, and learning to accept help from others in times of need. When Hope Blossoms is a wonderful celebration of the hope Christ can bring into every life.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy and is available to any reader, any where — so, yay, another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of When Hope Blossoms, 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 August 24 2024.

Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor

Random Retro Read

When Heather Toulson returns to her parents cottage in the English countryside, she uncovers long-hidden secrets about her family history and stumbles onto the truth about a sixty-year-old murder. 

Libby, a free spirit who can’t be tamed by her parents, finds solace with her neighbor Oliver, the son of Lord Croft of Ladenbrooke Manor. Libby finds herself pregnant and alone when her father kicks her out and Oliver mysteriously drowns in a nearby river. Though theories spread across the English countryside, no one is ever held responsible for Oliver’s death.

Sixty years later, Heather Toulson, returning to her family’s cottage in the shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor, is filled with mixed emotions. She’s mourning her father’s passing but can’t let go of the anger and resentment over their strained relationship. Adding to her confusion, Heather has an uneasy reunion with her first love, all while sorting through her family’s belongings left behind in the cottage. As Heather digs, she finds a mysterious journal that belonged to a woman she never knew and it contains clues that lead to the truth about a mysterious drowning decades ago. What she uncovers will change everything she thought she knew about her family’s history. 

Award-winning author Melanie Dobson seamlessly weaves the past and present together, fluidly unraveling the decades-old mystery and reveals how the characters are connected in shocking ways. Set in a charming world of thatched cottages, lush gardens, and lovely summer evenings, this romantic and historical mystery brings to light the secrets and heartaches that have divided a family for generations.

My Review:

published in 2015

I’m feeling a bit pensive and sad after finishing this novel. It’s an amazing story but not everyone gets a happily ever after. Three generations of women in the same family, all repeating the same mistakes and it just hurt to see how easily history can repeat itself.

It starts with Heather in present day and then flashes back in time, first to Maggie and then to Libby. Melanie Dobson is a genius at connecting the separate stories in a dual timeline novel, slowly giving her readers tiny pieces of the puzzle but not nearly enough to prevent a few earth shattering “aha” moments.

So, I was captivated and compelled to non-stop listen to ‘Shadows of Ladenbrooke’ (great narration by Nancy Peterson. Highly recommend the audio book.) Family history and mystery, a second chance romance and the very real, raw, messiness of broken people doing their best. I definitely need to follow this read up with a rom/com to lighten my spirits!

The Christmas Inn

Explore this delightfully cozy and joyful novel of second chances at the most wonderful time of the year, from USA Today bestselling author Pamela Kelley.

A feel-good novel as delightful and comforting as a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night, The Christmas Inn is bestselling author Pamela Kelley’s most heartwarming and magical book yet

Riley Sanders didn’t plan on losing her job as a content marketing manager right before Christmas. When she calls her sister Amy to vent, she learns that their mother has broken her leg and could really use some help at the inn. Riley decides to head home to the inn, nestled along the shores of Cape Cod, in time for the Christmas rush. She is happy to help and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall.

When she gets there, she not only finds delicious cookies and a crackling fire to lift her spirits, but also the sense of family she’s been missing all along. There’s Franny, a woman who has just lost her sister and has four unopened letters from her that she plans to use to open her up to new experiences on the Cape. And there’s Aidan, her high school sweetheart, now a widower, who is staying at the inn with his nine year-old son, Luke. What begins as a quick stay over the holidays to help her mom turns into something that means much more—a second chance at romance, a deeper sense of found family, and all the joy and wonder that comes with Christmastime on Cape Cod.

My Review:

Reads like a Hallmark movie in book form. A heartwarming exploration of three women’s fresh starts at a pivotal time in their lives.

An unexplained job loss has Riley heading home just weeks before Christmas to help her convalescing mom run her inn. The perfect time to rethink life’s choices, especially when she comes face to face with her teenage sweetheart.

Beth (Riley’s mom) is barely coping with a broken leg while running her inn. Her daughter’s visit home breathes fresh life into the business and provides the catalyst for Beth making the acquaintance of a dashing carpenter.

Widowed Franny has just buried her sister and is spending the Christmas season at the inn before returning home until an unexpected reunion with an old flame has her second guessing what comes next.

Three second chance love stories (though lighter on the romance with more of a focus on the journey to get there) at the most magical time of the year. I enjoyed the three perspectives of women of different ages and stages in life. And the inn makes a perfect setting for these holiday romances.

Stephanie Nemeth-Parker’s audio book narration made for a pleasant listening interlude. A lovely match for these characters and their stories.

My thanks to MacMillan Audio and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition of this book.

Plotting Summer + Giveaway

The book is always better than the movie. But occasionally, life is better than the book.

Ten years ago I made a mortifying, life-altering mistake. Now, this once seemingly insignificant choice is threatening to wreck my entire existence. And possibly throw Tristan Palmer—my next-door-neighbor and the guy I’ve had a secret crush on for the entirety of my life—into the fray unaware.

The mistake?

I am Sunny Palmer. As in the anonymous, best-selling author of over a dozen beloved romances and renowned thief of Tristan’s last name. Okay, not renowned yet, thank the high heavens! But that news will spread like wildfire if people discover that this introverted book nerd is the woman behind the pen name. And the fact that my first book, Secret Crush, is Tristan’s and my fictionalized love story leaves zero room for calling it anything but what it is—a travesty of greatest proportions.

That’s why NO ONE can know! Ever!

So it’s wretched luck that when I finally visit Sunset Harbor, the small-town island where I grew up, I run into the still heart-stopping, book-boyfriend-worthy man himself. And shockingly, Tristan seems intent on reminding me what the island has to offer. Because that’s what friends do.

Logic demands I resist his charm and guard my secret at all costs, which is why it’s vastly unfortunate that Tristan Palmer was and always will be … my greatest weakness.

My Review:

I am in a stupefied state of post-reading euphoria, so excuse me if this review doesn’t make any sense but I think my mind might have imploded from all the romanticalness (so I might have made the word up, but it fits) that is ‘Plotting Summer.’

Working on corralling a lucid thought or two so that I can make sense and do justice to this book. In the meantime — ssssqqqquuuueeeeaaaallllll – new-to-me author alert! How did I not know about Jess Heileman? And she writes Regencies too! Her books are now on all my online wishlists and in my ‘Author Catch-up’ goal list because I need to read everything by this author. Now.

Because she writes with such heart! Capri and Tristan’s romance is so emotionally fraught with all the delicious nuances I enjoy in a romance. And Heileman exactly captures all the feels that go with the yearning for that first crush you never got over.

And, oh my, but Capri has never gotten over her high school days with Tristan. Not that he ever noticed her as anything but a friend. Capri’s imagination, however, took their ‘relationship’ to a whole other level. And she turned that into a best selling novel, published under a pseudonym that has all kinds of significance if Tristan took any time to think about it. So now she’s a popular romance author with a posse of book boyfriends who are all Tristan in some form or other. Only she can’t tell anyone that she’s Sunny Palmer because a) that name (!) and b) that first book might have been somewhat autobiographical. 🙂

I can’t gush enough about the way their love story plays out. Impeccable pacing where the laugh out loud comedic scenes are perfectly balanced by deeper emotional ones. These characters are vulnerable and hurting but careful about each other’s feelings. I love the way the romance builds — so many toe-curling almost kisses! And the playful banter! Kept me giggling my way into a swoon over and over again.

And the central theme of Capri’s story — ‘you’re worth being seen’ — and the way Tristan becomes ‘the man who always sees her.’ The way the author develops that throughout the story is…just…powerful…and meaningful…and so, so, beautiful. Sniffle. I kinda cried at the end. Happily ever after tears, which are the best kind. 🙂

I listened to the audio book narrated by Ellen Quay and she was a perfect match for these characters and their story. Her performance made for an immersive ‘reading’ experience — and made me love ‘Plotting Summer’ even more.

My thanks to the publisher, Dreamscape Media and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition of this book.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a print or ebook copy. Winner’s choice.

US – available in print or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada – available in print or ebook or audible (if available) — winner’s choice

International – ebook copy if you have a US Kindle account.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Plotting Summer, 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 August 10 2024.