Tag: Dual Timeline

The Italian Ballerina + Giveaway

At the height of the Nazi occupation of Rome, an unlikely band of heroes comes together to save innocent lives in this breathtaking World War II novel based on real historical events.

Rome, 1943 . With the fall of Italy’s Fascist government and the Nazi regime occupying the streets of Rome, British ballerina Julia Bradbury is stranded and forced to take refuge at a hospital on Tiber Island. But when she learns of a deadly sickness that is sweeping through the quarantine wards—a fake disease known only as Syndrome K—she is drawn into one of the greatest cons in history. Alongside hospital staff, friars of the adjoining church, and two Allied medics, Julia risks everything to rescue Italian Jews from the deadly clutches of the Holocaust. But when one little girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina arrives at their door, Julia and the others are determined to reunite the young dancer with her family—if only she would reveal one crucial secret: her name.

Present Day . With the recent loss of her grandfather—a beloved small-town doctor and WWII veteran—Delaney Coleman returns home to help her aging parents, even as she struggles to pick up the pieces of her own life. When a mysterious Italian woman claims she owns one of the family’s precious heirlooms, Delaney is compelled to uncover what’s true of her grandfather’s hidden past. Together with the woman’s skeptical but charming grandson, Delaney learns of a Roman hospital that saved hundreds of Jewish people during the war. Soon, everything Delaney thought she knew about her grandfather comes into question as she wrestles with the possibility that the man she’d revered all her life had unknown ties to Rome and may have taken noble secrets to his grave.

Based on true accounts of the invented Syndrome K sickness, The Italian Ballerina journeys from the Allied storming of the beaches at Salerno to the London ballet stage and the war-torn streets of WWII Rome, exploring the sometimes heart-wrenching choices we must make to find faith and forgiveness, and how saving just one life can impact countless others.

My Review:

Phew! This one was a heartbreaker! I’m a bit of an emotional mess now that it’s all over. A vulnerable mix of aching and hope and everything in-between.

Kristy Cambron is known for writing complex dual timeline novels full of rich layers and important bits of history that should never be forgotten. She accomplishes that again with ‘The Italian Ballerina’ though I will admit to sometimes getting lost in the un-chronological yo-yoing in the past timeline. This might have been because I listened to the audible edition (expertly narrated by Barrie Kreinik by the way.) It probably would have helped to see the dates/places printed out every time we broke away from the present day. It’s not like there was a huge leap of decades — more like a 5-6 year span — but we’d be in 1943, then the next time in 1939 and then 1941 — and in the POV of two different characters so I was always scrambling to properly place the character and situations. I really enjoy dual timeline stories but I am finding that I enjoy them more when the historical story unfolds chronologically.

Amazed once again to discover yet another aspect of World War II that I knew nothing about. That an Italian hospital created a fictitious highly contagious sickness in order to hide Jews in quarantine wards is — well it sounds like it could only happen in fiction! And Cambron has cleverly woven it into a story that bridges decades and continents. How on earth does she keep it all straight in her mind as she writes?! Sheer genius!

I liked the contrast in the present day timeline. Not without its own emotional upheavals, but it was still lighter and served to highlight the powerful impact the choices of the past have on our present.

This book gutted me though — so not a light read but an important one.

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 one of the Secondary Target, 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 June 1 2024.

Rhythm of Fractured Grace + Giveaway

Is Siobhan too far gone to respond to the song of a God who’s calling her back to him?

When a new customer brings a badly damaged violin into Siobhan Walsh’s shop, it is exactly the sort of challenge she craves. The man who brought it in is not. He’s too close to the painful past that left her heart and her faith in shambles.

Matt Buchanan has had a rough start as the new worship pastor. A car accident on his way into town left him with a nearly totaled truck, and an heirloom violin in pieces. When he takes it to a repair shop, he’s fascinated with the restoration process–and with the edgy, closed-off woman doing the work.

As their friendship deepens and turns into more, they both discover secrets that force them to face past wounds. And the history of the violin reveals more about their current problems than they could have ever expected.

On the nineteenth-century frontier, a gruesome tomahawk attack wiped out most of Deborah Caldwell’s family. Her greatest solace after the tragedy is the music from her father’s prized violin. Given her horrendous scars, she’d resigned herself to a spinster’s life. But Levi Martinson’s gentle love starts to chip away at her hardened heart, until devastating details about the attack are revealed, putting their love–and Deborah’s shaky faith–to the ultimate test.

Full of forgiveness and the message that no one is too damaged for God’s healing touch, the final book in the split-time Sedgwick County Chronicles will thrill fans of Rachel Hauck, Lisa Wingate, and Kristy Cambron.

My Review:

Well…this story was unexpected — in a very good way! You know how you go into a book thinking you know where it’s heading only to be catapulted in a completely different direction? That’s this novel. Plus, I felt like there was no way to predict what was really going to happen in either timeline. Mind boggling good at every turn!

Emotional! Compelling! Jaw-dropping revelations! Faith-stirring! The kind of read that makes you examine your own relationship with the Lord and highlights some toxic aspects of church culture.

Tons of thought provoking quotes. This one from Chapter Two took on a whole new meaning as the story progressed. “It’s the Lord who got you here. And it’s the Lord who’ll equip you to do what he’s so clearly called and gifted you to do.” You could spend a whole book club meeting just talking about that quote, who said it, who it was said to, how it affected their relationship, how God ultimately worked His will around them, the foreshadowing…and…oy…so much I want to say but can’t without spoilers!

So, dual timelines with the kind of gentle, persistent, genuinely kind, heroes that made me want to weep! Not just because of their true, steadfast natures, but because of the traumas both heroines endured. Gut-wrenching and infuriating — this was such an emotional read for me!

“Forgiveness is an act of grace and a gift from God.”

Simple enough statement until you’ve journeyed with Siobhan and Deborah through these pages. And then…another wow…what women of faith! And what a struggle to get there. Loved how relatable that was. (And what a perfect tie-in the title is!)

Okay, I feel like I’m rambling a bit. Mostly because there’s tons I want to say, but can’t because of spoilers. If you’re looking for a ‘meaty’, discussion promoting book for your next book club, look no further. ‘Fragments of Fractured Grace’ could keep you talking for months!

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 one of the Rhythm of Fractured 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 May 18 2024.

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue + Giveaway

In 1910, Effie James is living a dream for two. Her younger sister is harboring a secret that has left timid Effie determined to fulfill her daring sister’s grand plan of seeking out adventure in their small Iowa town. When a British gentleman arrives, disrupting their peace with efforts to find the wife many claim lived her final days at the now abandoned house at 322 Predicament Avenue, Effie is thrust into intrigue she couldn’t have prepared for. But what she finds inside will forever link her to the scandal staining the house’s walls and to a woman whose secrets promise a curse.

A century later, Norah Richman is living out her late-twin’s dream of running their great aunt’s bed-and-breakfast on Predicament Avenue–a place Norah believes nothing good can come out of after her sister’s abduction and murder thirteen years ago. Her first guest is a crime historian and podcaster, and Norah resolves to stay far away from the charming and enigmatic man–until another guest is found dead. As they dig deeper, something sinister unfurls that will reveal an ominous unknown far greater than the possibility of death itself.

My Review:

“The house at 322 Predicament Avenue had secrets and they were screaming out to be revealed.”

Cue the creepy background music and prepare to be perplexed and confused and intrigued and just a wee bit spooked because ‘Night Falls on Predicament Avenue’ is classic Jaime Jo Wright. So many mysterious layers in both timelines, with just the barest hints on character backstories at first so I was constantly flummoxed and anxious to know more. And the author takes her sweet time with those reveals which about drove me crazy (in a good way.) Because, as much as I wanted to figure everything out I was enjoying the read too much to want it to end.

“Ghosts were rising unwanted from the dead like unfinished stories.”

Such an atmospheric read! Wright spins a web of intrigue and danger filled with so many unanswered questions I kept frantically turning pages looking for the answers. So many gasp-out-loud plot twists! And tension drawing everything together in a delightfully spooky way.

Beautifully written. Emotionally driven. Flawed characters fighting to make sense of the impossible.

“What was it about being afraid that pushed a person away from God instead of toward Him?”

Inspirational threads are woven throughout as the author explores the different facets of grief. Multi-layered. Profound and ultimately hopeful. This novel packs an emotional wallop and makes for one compelling read. Unputdownable.

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 Night Falls On Predicament Avenue, 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 April 27 2024.

The British Booksellers + Giveaway

Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.

A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington . . . until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.

When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.

As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.

From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of WWII, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.

My Review:

Stunning…but my heart hurts. So, the kind of emotional read that twists your innards into pretzels and pummels your heart into a misshapen lump…to start off anyway.

I knew going in (from the synopsis) that there would be a doomed love scenario, I just wasn’t prepared for how bereaved I would be. Kudos to Cambron for creating such engaging characters. Easy to love and root for even though you know it’s a train wreck waiting to happen. And then it’s twenty-five years later.

And my heart still hurt.

The dual timeline is written so artfully and the way the author feeds us bits of pertinent information gradually is delightfully frustrating. I wanted to know everything NOW but at the same time enjoyed the anticipation. So, well plotted and beautifully written.

And my heart stopped hurting…though it still aches a little.

Two wars. Two love stories. The miracle of finding faith and basking in hope in the midst of the horror of war. Breathtakingly beautiful prose. Deeply emotional. So easy to live and breathe in every detail right along with the characters. A story to savour and hold on to even after you reach the end.

I really enjoyed the audio edition narrated by Barrie Kreinik. Well performed and easy to listen to. Her performance enhanced my appreciation of these characters and their story.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition 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 the option of an audible.ca edition.

If you would like a chance to win an ecopy of The British Booksellers, 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 April 6 2024.

The Berlin Letters + Giveaway

Bestselling author Katherine Reay returns with an unforgettable tale of the Cold War and a CIA code breaker who risks everything to free her father from an East German prison.

From the time she was a young girl, Luisa Voekler has loved solving puzzles and cracking codes. Brilliant and logical, she’s expected to quickly climb the career ladder at the CIA. But while her coworkers have moved on to thrilling Cold War assignments—especially in the exhilarating era of the late 1980s—Luisa’s work remains stuck in the past decoding messages from World War II.

Journalist Haris Voekler grew up a proud East Berliner. But as his eyes open to the realities of postwar East Germany, he realizes that the Soviet promises of a better future are not coming to fruition. After the Berlin Wall goes up, Haris finds himself separated from his young daughter and all alone after his wife dies. There’s only one way to reach his family—by sending coded letters to his father-in-law who lives on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

When Luisa Voekler discovers a secret cache of letters written by the father she has long presumed dead, she learns the truth about her grandfather’s work, her father’s identity, and why she has never progressed in her career. With little more than a rudimentary plan and hope, she journeys to Berlin and risks everything to free her father and get him out of East Berlin alive.

As Luisa and Haris take turns telling their stories, events speed toward one of the twentieth century’s most dramatic moments—the fall of the Berlin Wall and that night’s promise of freedom, truth, and reconciliation for those who lived, for twenty-eight years, behind the bleak shadow of the Iron Curtain’s most iconic symbol.

My Review:

I’ve been mulling over what to say in a review for a few days now, trying to find the words to convey the impact this story had on me. Maybe because of the political times we live in world wide — so many people are living out their own Iron Curtain situations, or can see the threat looming on the horizon. And even in countries where democracy is supposedly safeguarded, the perils of exclusion, book bans, groups of people being treated as ‘other’ etc. is very real. So, to say ‘The Berlin Letters’ got me thinking would be an understatement. This is definitely the kind of read that will sit with me for a long time to come.

Reay has done an exceptional job of merging two timelines into a cohesive whole with the kind of block buster ending worthy of an Oscar. In fact, I could easily imagine this novel in cinematic splendour. The author’s descriptions of setting and character emotions brought everything into sharp focus and made me feel my way through to the spectacular ending.

The espionage/thriller aspects had me gasping out loud and I was so invested in Luisa’s family history mystery I couldn’t stop reading…well listening. (I highly recommend the audio book. The multi-narration delivered by Saskia Maarleveld, Ann Marie Gideon and P.J. Ochlan is stunning. Their portrayal of these characters really added to my emotional investment in the story.)

I read a lot of fiction and love most of what I read but, once in awhile a spectacular novel comes my way and I know it’s spectacular because I am changed for having read it. ‘The Berlin Letters’ is that kind of book. The author challenged some of my preconceived ideas and opened my heart to being more understanding and accepting and I am grateful for that.

My thanks to Harper Muse audiobooks and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition of The Berlin Letters.

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 the option of an audible.ca edition.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Berlin Letters , 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 9 2024.

Appalachian Song + Giveaway

Forever within the memories of my heart.

Always remember, you are perfectly loved.

Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture Songbird back to health, the bond between the childless midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision that will tear this little family apart.

Thirty years later, the day after his father’s funeral, Walker Wylie is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The famous country singer enlists the help of adoption advocate Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents. With the only clue he has in hand, Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down Bertie Jenkins, the midwife who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.

For fans of historical and Southern fiction comes a poignant story of love and sacrifice set in the heart of Appalachia, from award-winning author Michelle Shocklee.

My Review:

“Livin’ life ain’t about seein’ and doin’. It’s about lovin’ and takin’ care of those who’ve been put in your path.” (p. 180)

Words to live by right there — and this book is full of like-minded wisdom so it’s the kind of read that requires savouring. Time to bask in bookish wonder and sit a spell with these characters. Especially Bertie and her sisters.

I was particularly drawn to the relationship that developed between Bertie and Songbird. Found family at it’s finest. But even as I devoured all that goodness, an ominous sense of foreboding hung over me. Because I didn’t know the whole story yet, but I knew it had to be heartbreaking since we meet Walker thirty years later in search of his past and then, well, whoooaaaa, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough despite the desire to linger over all the sweet moments.

Appalachian Song is a dual timeline story set in two historical eras and the author did an amazing job of intertwining both stories. Rich with history and emotion and inspiration. The kind of faith that gives a sensitive reader goosebumps and provides teary-eyed moments. Over and over again. Just…indescribably wonderful!

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 Appalachian Song, 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 9 2024.

Trust the Stars + Giveaway

Olivia Garza, a woman committed to making a difference in the world, thrives in her unconventional, service-oriented life. By day, she helps troubled teens in inner-city Little Rock. By night, she creates a viral docu-series in an attempt to better understand her mother’s desperate decisions by retracing her steps with a camera. So far, Olivia has always been the anonymous narrator, but she’s promised to reveal herself in the last stop on her documentary: Kenya.

Prince Louis, heir to the throne of the small European kingdom of Alloria, is in Kenya to run away from a broken heart—and the media circus that comes with it. When he meets Olivia, he recognizes her voice right away from the docu-series that has stirred his heart. Though they share a magical day on safari, any dreams of happily ever after come crashing down with the flash of the paparazzi cameras when Olivia realizes that he represents everything she most despises in the world.

In World War II Rome, another royal, however, has her own life-changing choices to make. Princess Alessandra Appiani could have chosen quiet safety within the walls of the Vatican, but instead she risks her life—and her family—to save the Jewish children so in need of someone to show them the love of God.

When Olivia is hired to help create a documentary about Alessandra, learning about the sacrifice of a royal who goes from palace to prison forces her to face the hardest questions of all: Should she continue on the path she’s carved for herself or trust God to give her the future she never thought she wanted?

My Review:

Me after finishing this book: languishing on my fainting couch in a gobsmacked swoon of astounded delight. I did not expect this story to be so…royal and deep and spellbinding! And the faith thread about trusting God and how easy/hard that is all rolled into one. Goyer touched my heart and made me think and stunned me with the richness of this not quite fairy tale.

Okay — first off — I’m not a huge Royal Romance fan. I’ve read some, but I don’t go out of my way to find them so I went into this read without the expectation of becoming over-the-moon thrilled with it. Ha! Shows me how rewarding it is to venture out of a my bibliophile comfort zone from time to time!

While this is a dual timeline novel, most of the focus is on the present day story, with the WWII snippets about a courageous princess providing an intriguing sub-plot that eventually merges with the current timeline. And it’s done beautifully. At first I wasn’t sure how the two would connect, but they do to goose-bumping satisfaction.

And the romance! Happy sigh! Heavenly! Louis is the epic storybook hero and his gentle pursuit of a very reluctant Olivia kept me in a fully twitterpated state all the way through! I feel like Goyer really captured the complexities of a royal longing to live a ‘normal’ life and the compromises necessary to satisfy both the prince and his country.

Plus there’s banter! Sigh. And humour. And soul-searching conversations. Even some tears. So much hope too though and when Olivia visits the prince’s country the story takes on a whole different vibe. Fantastically divine!

I listened to the audio edition of Trust the Stars and Zura Johnson gave a truly amazing performance. Multiple accents, male and female characters of various ages — she made each one unique and captivating.

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 the book OR the option of an audible.ca edition.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Trust the Stars , 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 January 13 2024.

The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater + Giveaway

Barlowe Theater stole the life of Greta Mercy’s brother during its construction. Now in 1915, the completed theater appears every bit as deadly. When Greta’s younger brother goes missing after breaking into the building, Greta engages the assistance of a local police officer to help her uncover the already ghostly secrets of the theater. But when help comes from an unlikely source, Greta decides that to save her family she must put the threat of the phantoms to rest.

Decades later, Kit Boyd’s best friend vanishes during a ghost walk at the Barlowe Theater, and old stories of mysterious disappearances and ghoulish happenings are revived. When television ghost-hunting host and skeptic Evan Fisher engages Kit in the quest to identify the truth behind the theater’s history, Kit reluctantly agrees to work with him in hopes of also finding out what happened to her friend. As the theater’s curse begins to unravel Kit’s own life, she sets out not only to save the historical building and her friend, but to end the pattern of evil that has marked their hometown for a century.

In this atmospheric dual-time tale, two women–separated by a century yet bound by the ghosts of the past–pursue light in the face of darkness.

My Review:

Epic Jaime Jo Wright! A bit of woo woo mystery with lots of eerie ambiance that you know has a sensible explanation but you just can’t figure it out. I was hooked from the opening line: “Sometimes death comes quietly.” Uh, yeah, I needed to read on!

Dual timelines — both with their own mystery — and I was invested in both equally. There’s also very light romance for both Greta and Kit…emphasis on the light though, but I liked the way it brings hope to the reader without shadowing the already murky waters of the mysteries.

And, oh, those mysteries! Blended to perfection by the end but made for a rabid read until then. I couldn’t put this book down though my poor eyes were screaming, “Rest! Rest! We need rest!” Huh, as if! And I was gobsmacked more than a few times — in both timelines.

Love the way the author wove in some humour amidst all the angst — especially in the current timeline. Kit is my kind of heroine. Impatient. Prickly. Stubborn.:

“Even now she could see Mom’s cautionary look that told Kit to breathe deep and let God be God.

“Maybe God wanted to work through her to slap Evan Fischer silly?” (p 55)

Bwahaha! Haven’t we all been there a time or two? But, whoa, this was also such an emotional read! I felt for both heroines and the complicated emotions churning within and around them. And the way they faced adversity with grit and courage and loyalty to those they loved. Made for such an intense read.

To sum up in one word: Unputdownable!

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

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

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

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater, 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 December 16, 2023.

I’ll Be Seeing You + Giveaway

Generations of secrets unfold as a young college student learns the truth about her great-grandmother’s World War II heartbreak and love.

Brianna Hastings’s life seems dull and full of disappointment until a handsome young man visits her church. She’s instantly smitten by the charming Greg, who leads an exciting, independent life—the kind of life she longs for. But when a college history assignment forces Brianna to interview her great-grandmother about life during World War II, she can’t believe it when Daisy presses her with questions about Greg’s character. “What sort of man is he? Who is he at his core?”

What could her great-grandmother possibly know about love at first sight?

The questions take both women back to Boise, Idaho, in the early 1940s, when war emphasized how fragile life could be. Daisy and her older sister pine for the same handsome bomber pilot—until one night of terrible judgment reveals their true characters and drives them apart. Trying to protect the people she loves the most, Daisy condemns herself to live a lie.

In the years that follow, as Daisy grapples with the consequences, she receives unexpected grace from a man she’s known her whole life but never looked at twice. Could what she learned about love save Brianna from heartache three generations later?

My Review:

I love intergenerational stories and this one is extra special because it involves a great-grandmother and her great-granddaughter. Love the way the two timelines compliment each other as we follow two young women, decades apart, learning about love and heartbreak and living in God’s grace with the choices made.

Present day Brianna (19 and with a bit of an attitude) tested my patience at the beginning of this book. Very much a product of our modern, fast-paced, want-it-now society. Thankfully, she matures over the course of the story, growing in her faith as she deepens her bond with her great-grandmother who patiently guides her and isn’t afraid to ask Brianna the hard questions.

Daisy (our 1940s heroine) is just as young, but in some ways more mature. In other ways she’s quite naive. She too, is a product of her time and the backdrop of war adds a whole other dimension to her story.

Oh, the foibles of youth and the mistakes we make! That’s at the heart of both timelines and Hatcher portrays both women realistically. There’s angst and romance and more angst. My heart hurt for both of them at different points in their stories. But there’s rejoicing also and a stirring conclusion that delivers hope and happily ever afters.

I so appreciated the myriad of faith threads. There is no doubt that this is a Christian Fiction offering and the author pours her heart into the lives of these characters, showing them the difference a deeper relationship with Christ can make in their lives. So inspiring!

I listened to the audible edition narrated by Windy Lanzl who did an excellent job of bringing these characters to life.

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 I’ll Be Seeing You, 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 October 21, 2023

The Wings of Poppy Pendleton + Giveaway

In this compelling new time-slip mystery, a little girl goes missing from her family’s castle in the Thousand Islands of New York. Eighty-five years later, a journalist teams up with a woman living on Koster Isle to find out what happened to Poppy, once and for all.

1907. On the eve of her fifth birthday, Poppy Pendleton is tucked safely in her bed, listening to her parents entertain New York’s gilded society in their Thousand Islands castle; the next morning, she is gone, and her father is found dead in his smoking room.

1992. Though Chloe Ridell lives in the shadows of Poppy’s castle, now in ruins, she has little interest in the mystery that still captivates tourists and locals alike. She is focused on preserving the island she inherited from her grandparents and reviving their vintage candy shop. Until the day a girl named Emma shows up on Chloe’s doorstep, with few possessions, save a tattered scrapbook that connects her to the Pendleton family. When a reporter arrives at Chloe’s store, asking questions about her grandfather, Chloe decides to help him dig into a past she’d thought best left buried. The haunting truth about Poppy, they soon discover, could save Emma’s life, so Chloe and Logan must work together to investigate exactly what happened long ago on Koster Isle.

My Review:

It’s been a week since I finished listening to this book and I’m still deep in a stupefied bibliophile state. Epically struck dumb and blown away and…well, gobsmacked! So, I beg forgiveness ahead of time for my incoherent ramblings.

Random thoughts:

Astonishing! Just when I thought I had something figured out, I didn’t and there are so many ‘aha’ moments!

Which brings me to pacing. The tension between the two timelines is expertly drawn out. We slip seamlessly back and forth from past to present and back again, almost gently at first but, as the story progresses, the pacing picks up and the pressure increases until I was so wired up I wanted to rush to the end. (Of course, I didn’t because I am not the kind of reader who reads the last page first…no offence meant to anyone who is, of course. You read you, and I’ll read me. lol)

And the way the mystery of Poppy’s disappearance is developed in both timelines — brilliantly executed. Kept me on edge all the way through. The author is very clever in the way she teases hints without full reveals until the exact perfect time. Made the read that much more excruciatingly wonderful.

The setting gave me all kinds of thrills. My family vacationed around the Thousand Island area when I was a kid. No private island mansions for me, though every year we toured the islands and visited Bolt Castle and I imagined what it would have been like to live in my own island castle. 🙂 It’s not often that I get to read about a place I’ve actually visited so that was loads of fun.

I could say a whole lot more, but I don’t want to fall into spoiler territory. There is some romance which always makes me happy. And found family themes. There’s heartbreak — some almost too much to bear. At one point I wasn’t sure if I could go on but reading some reviews soothed my jangled nerves and I persisted and am so glad I did! Ecstatic, actually.

I listened to the audible edition of The Wings of Poppy Pendleton and Nancy Peterson’s narration paired with Melanie Dobson’s storytelling kept me captivated right to the very end.

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 The Wings of Poppy Pendleton, 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 October 14, 2023