Tag: Contemporary Romance

Winning His Trust + Giveaway

To build a future together they must both let go of the past…

Returning home after a bad breakup, Jordan Wood is eager to prove she can run her family’s store. Setting up a partnership with Declan Porter’s struggling adventure business might do the trick. But the handsome single dad is set in his ways — in business and in love. Can winning his — and his son’s — heart help them all heal?

My Review:

My oh my, but I love the way Toni Shiloh spins a story! This one is so heartfelt and touching. There’s a lighter side too — little spurts of comic relief, often provided by Declan’s little boy. “When I grow up, I’m going to save dinosaurs from extinction.” (p 72) Bwahahaha! Cutest kid ever!

Both Jordan and Declan have overcome difficulties and I appreciate how the author worked faith into their situations. They are both guarded in different ways and it’s only through allowing themselves to be vulnerable that they can truly overcome. So many inspiring discussions — the kind that a reader can take to heart right along with the characters.

Love the small town Arkansas setting and Jordan’s large and loving, though sometimes misguided, family. Each book in this series features a Wood sibling. Though I’ve read the first book, this second one reads very well as a standalone. That’s one of the great things about the Love Inspired line, it’s easy to jump into a series at any point.

The kind of read-in-one-sitting book that has all the feels.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Winning His Trust, 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 March 4, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

A Steadfast Companion + Giveaway

Offering a helping hand…could give him everything he needs.

Fighting his way back from a troubled past, handyman Angus “Witt” Wittenbauer needs refuge. When do sanctuary owner Maddie McNeill needs someone to fix her kennel’s roof, it seems like the answer to his prayers, especially when he’s reunited with his long lost dog, Ranger. His growing friendship with Maddie hints at the promise of something more, but will Witt ever feel deserving of love again?

K-9 Companions

My Review:

Oh my — gobsmacked over this emotional romance that tugged at my heart and buoyed up my spirits. I got teary-eyed on page 24 and that wasn’t the only time during this read. Witt’s story is so…gah, I can’t say anything without sharing spoilers so all I will say is you’d have to have a heart of stone to not feel a connection with this hero!

And the whole idea of a dog sanctuary, where aging, ailing or ‘unadoptable’ dogs can find a fur-ever home. Well, there goes the waterworks again! But Maddie has been struggling to bounce back from some losses and the sanctuary is perilously low on funds. She needs a miracle and that might just be Witt. You’ll have to read the book to find out.

This Love Inspired features ‘older’ (than the norm, anyway) characters. Witt is fifty-one and Maddie is in her mid forties or so. I was surprised at how much depth that brought to the story because that’s a lot of life lived, mistakes made, struggles to overcome…well, it just made this romance that much richer. And the redemptive faith thread is so beautiful.

Absolutely stunning addition to the multi-authored K-9 Companions series.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of A Steadfast Companion, 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 February 25, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Coming Home + Giveaway

When an army vet becomes a firefighter in small-town Colorado, the flames of an old love reignite in this sweet romance by bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray.

In Woodland Park, a small town nestled in the foothills of Pikes Peak, Anderson Kelly and Chelsea Davis were once the high school “it” couple — the star quarterback and the cheerleader. They broke up when Anderson joined the army, and one poor decision at a college party changed Chelsea’s like. Now she works long shifts in a senior center to support her eight-year-old son, Jack.

After multiple tours in Afghanistan, Anderson has changed too. Physically scarred but mentally strong, he decides to move back to Woodland Park. Anderson and Chelsea steer clear of each other to avoid reopening old wounds, until they are forced to reconnect through the senior center. They soon discover that the love they once shared never completely vanished. But it will take a fire, a dangerous collision, and the love of one little boy to help Anderson and Chelsea see that the future they’ve always yearned for is in sight…

My Review:

A whole romance series featuring fire-fighter army veterans?! Yes please!!!! And Coming Home is the perfect introduction to this crew and the community they serve. I’m super excited about this series.

Love the reunion romance trope and Gray writes it well with just the right balance of angst and new hope. Anderson and Chelsea have grown up quite a bit since their high school days, both dealing with life experiences that have transformed them. Once they stop avoiding each other, they ease into a wary friendship that gradually blossoms into something more. Love that they meet challenges head on — choosing to discuss issues rather than stew over misconceptions…for the most part! 🙂

There’s a nice blend of action and romance and I particularly enjoyed all the details as far as the day in the life of a fire-fighter goes. From the mundane to the heroic, the author showcases the career in a positive and realistic light.

And the community of Woodland Park is definitely a place I’d like to visit. There are some wonderful secondary characters, including a bonus senior romance, that added to my reading enjoyment.

Waiting with bated breath now for the second book in the Woodland Park Firefighers series which comes out in August of this year.

P.S. Can you spot the heart in the picture? That’s my nod to Valentine’s Day!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy, reader’s choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Coming Home, 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 February 11 2023. Offer open to International Readers..

Rescuing Her Ranch + Giveaway

A fight for her future…might not be the one she things.

Returning home after losing her job, Macey Stone agrees to care for the daughter of old friend Cole Crawford. Then she discovers that Cole’s uncle’s company wants to bulldoze her family’s land. Seeing the devoted dad with his child soon has her falling for the enemy. But can she choose between saving Stone River Ranch…and helping the man who’s stolen her heart?

A Stone River Ranch Novel

My Review:

Phew! This one gave me all the feels. Totally immersed from the very first paragraph. And the way Jordan writes makes everything come alive: these characters, the town and the myriad of emotions that mess with an unsuspecting reader’s equilibrium.

A kind of second chance romance (Macey and Cole were friends in high school…until they weren’t!) I could feel the energy crackling all around them and feel the hurt and regret and I so wanted them to make things right and just when they have a chance…bam…it’s emotional sucker punch time! Oy, my heart feels pummelled. And there’s one nefarious character that had me steaming mad! Luckily Cole’s sweet little daughter soothed my ire some.

This looks to be the first in a new series centered around the Stone clan and the author has done a magnificent job of introducing us to Macey’s siblings as she sets the stage for future books. I’m really exciting about this series. Can’t wait for the next one to release!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy.

If you would like an chance to win a copy of Rescuing Her Ranch, 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 February 11 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Her Heart’s Desire + Giveaway

What happens when we allow our pasts to define our futures?

Mary Margaret Miller needs an escape from her small Amish community. She boards a bus, all alone, for a vacation in Pinecraft, Florida. Meeting Betsy and Lilly on the way, she’s amazed to find two kindred spirits. They become fast friends and determine to have the best two weeks of their lives. For Mary, it starts when she meets Jayson Raber, a handsome and charming carpenter.

Jayson is taken with Mary from the get go, but he’s responsibilities back home in Kentucky — including a girl he’s supposed to marry. And when someone from Mary’s past shows up in Minecraft, it seems like her perfect vacation is ruined. But that’s nothing compared to what’s coming when she realizes what Jayson has been hiding.

My Review:

I’m bewitched by the Pinecraft setting for starters. Shelley Shepard Gray introduced me to this Amish ‘hot spot’ in a previous series she wrote — Amish Brides of Pinecraft. and I’m thrilled she’s returned for this new series. There’s nothing like sun, sand and romance to warm a northerner on a cold, wintry day!

Told in what I’ve come to think of as ‘Classic Shelley Shepard Gray style’, she delivers a thought-provoking and engaging read. We have multiple points of view, each character struggling with some aspect of their past that has led them to this point and time: the much needed escape a carefree holiday can bring.

Relationships are at the forefront of this story. New friendships, old enemies, budding romances and all the complications that entails. And I love the way the author ties myriad plot threads together by the end. Very excited to continue on with this ‘A Season in Pinecraft’ series. And, woohoo, we won’t have long to wait because the second book, Her Only Wish, releases this coming June!

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

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Her Heart’s Desire, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you leave your email in a comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter via email, please add the book title to the subject line so it’s easier to spot. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday February 11 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Dear Henry, Love Edith + Giveaway

After a short and difficult marriage, recently widowed Edith Sherman has learned her lesson. Forget love. Forget marriage. She plans to fill her thirties with adventure. As she awaits the first paperwork for a humanitarian trip to South Africa, she accepts a short-term nursing position in a small Midwestern town. The last thing she needs is a handsome local catching her eye. How inconvenient is that?

Henry Hobbes isn’t exactly thrilled to have Edith, who he assumes is an elderly widow, dumped on him as a houseguest for the summer. But he’d do almost anything for his niece, who is practically like a sister to him given how close they are in age. Especially since Edith will be working nights and Henry works most days. When he and Edith keep missing each other in person, they begin exchanging notes — short messages at first, then longer letters, sharing increasingly personal parts of their lives.

By the time Henry realizes his mistake — that Edith is actually the brown-eyed beauty he keeps bumping into around town — their hearts are so intertwined he hopes they never unravel. But with her departure rapidly approaching, and Henry’s roots firmly planted at home, Edith must ultimately decide if the adventure of her dreams is the one right in front of her.

My Review:

I’m flabbergasted! And gobsmacked. And besotted over Becca Kinzer’s incredible comedic gift. She gets the ‘beats’ just right and the way she creates mass confusion out of a simple sentence uttered by the hapless Edith…or Henry…reaches new levels of hilarity. Helped, I think, by the sublime performance of narrator Liam DiCosimo. He gets all the voices right — and there are a ton of small town neighbours who aren’t shy about sticking their oar in at the most inopportune time. I laughed so hard! Hardy guffaws in the grocery store which got me all kinds of wary looks. (I usually stop listening to an audio book when I’m out in the masses but I couldn’t leave myself dangling at a pertinent point in the story.)

So, if you are looking for a light-hearted read, this is it. But there’s depth too. In the characters and their situations. Their back stories and the issues they wrestle with. But it’s the kind of angst you can chuckle through as well as wince over.

I thought the faith thread was so relatable. Edith is searching for an adventure through mission work. She’s determined to make a difference, do something significant with her life only to discover that those she serves actually serve her best. Henry is battling with feelings of not measuring up to his family name. He’s significantly younger than his older brother, hence the niece who is a mere two years younger than him. Both hero and heroine battle with self-doubt and their journey towards trusting God…and themselves…with the future He plans for them is inspiring.

And then there’s romance and witty banter and toe-curling kisses. I mean, really, can you ask for anything more from a rom/com?!

GIVEAWAY OPPORUNTITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy, winner’s choice.

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Dear Henry, Love Edith, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you leave your email in a comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw vie email, please add the book title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday February 11 2023. Offer open to International Readers.