Tag: Historical Romance

The Juliet Code + Giveaway

Newlyweds Lord and Lady Astley Finally Reach Their Honeymoon Destination Only to Encounter a New Mystery in Need of Solving
 
Frederick and Grace Percy finally make it to Italy to enjoy a delayed honeymoon and explore the beauties of the historic city of Venice. To their surprise, their friend, Detective Jack Miracle, is also in the city, investigating a series of art heists starting at the house of eccentric millionaire, Laraby Covington. Drawn into a world of boat races, mysterious houses, and parties of the rich and unusual in Venice, Frederick and Grace learn of the existence of the Juliet paintings, (Renaissance paintings feature Shakespeare’s tragic heroine) rumored to hold a secret code to an underground vault of similarly treasured artwork assumed lost over the centuries. As Freddie and Grace are pulled deeper into the mystery and their beloved Detective Jack disappears, can they use their wits and work as a team to find the thieves and Jack before it’s too late. 
 
The Juliet Code is a Freddie and Grace Mystery, sequel to The Mistletoe Countess and The Cairo Curse.

My Review:

Squeeeeeeeepppppp! It’s official: Freddie & Grace are my favourite sleuthing couple ever and there better be more books in this mystery series or I will fall into the depths of bibliophile despair! Not only do I have an insatiable need to keep current with Freddie and Grace, but there are secondary characters who have become dear to my heart in these second and third books and I need to check in on them and their potential love interests. We need to start a ‘More Freddie & Grace’ campaign!

Ahem — back to my actual purpose here — this review: Did I enjoy this book? Positively, absolutely ADORED it! Fast paced, tons of banter, delectable toe-curling scenes (be still my heart…I’m still feeling the palpitations) and an intriguing Agathat Christie-ish mystery that was so much fun to try and figure out.

Indomitable Grace, of course, steals the show, saves the day and Frederick is more smitten than ever! I love the way her mind works — she’s funny and thoughtful and book-centric. Grace makes some lovely references to God being the author of our stories and I love that kind of detail which fits so perfectly with who Grace is and shares profound truth in a very natural way. So well done.

‘The Juliet Code’ is the third book in this series and, while you could easily read this one as a standalone, there are a few spoilers from previous books you may or may not pick up on. So, if you intend to read the other books, I’d suggest reading them in order to get the most bibliophile enjoyment.

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 The Juliet Code , 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 20 2024.

Manor for Sale, Baron Included + Giveaway

Random Retro Read

She has everything Lord Farnsworth wants, including his manor.

Lord Farnsworth would rather rot in debtor’s prison than sell the one place that feels like home to him—his mother’s manor. That is, until he meets the woman who wants to buy it. Sally Duncan is beautiful, intelligent, and as rich as a baron—a rich baron, not a cash-strapped one like Lord Farnsworth. She’s the solution to every one of his financial problems and is bewitching to boot. All he needs to do is sell her his beloved manor and then charm her to the altar, and the manor will be his again. Simple, right?

But nothing is simple when Sally starts tearing apart his ancestral home and renovating it in a way no one would consider tasteful. She is wreaking havoc on everything, but he cannot give up on owning his mother’s estate again, nor can he imagine anyone but Sally as his wife.

And so he sticks with his plan.

What a horrible mistake.

My Review:

published in 2021

I’ve had my eye on this book for a long time. The playful cover art and the clever title initially drew my attention . Plus, I kept hearing great things about the story so I have no idea why it took me so long to finally hit the ‘Buy Now’ button on Audible! But I did and then flew through Noah Wall’s entertaining narration, laughing all the way.

In a word, this book is: BRILLIANT! From the banter to the side characters to the oh so charming dunderhead of a hero! Bless his heart, he means well…more or less…but he hadn’t counted on Sally being so…Sallyish! 🙂

Strong heroine, kinda clueless (but not totally) hero, delightfully clashing wills, lots of playful moments, some toe-curling kisses and, well, there’s plenty to swoon over when it comes to ‘Manor for Sale, Baron Included.’ I definitely won’t be waiting as long to dive into the rest of the series!

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 Manor for Sale, Baron Included , 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 27 2024.

The Rancher Takes a Cowgirl + Giveaway

RANDOM RETRO READ

A quiet Texas ranch may be just the place to disappear…

Grace Harper is in hiding. When her father died six months before, she never imagined her unexpected inheritance would threaten her life. What better place to disappear than on a cattle ranch, doing the work she spent the last nine years helping her father with? And surely she’ll be safe hidden in Texas, thousands of miles from her trouble.

Monty Dominguez has spent much of his life working on the Double Rocking B Ranch in Seguin, Texas. He’s worked his way from a 12-year-old orphan stable boy, to ranch foreman and trusted friend of the family. There’s not much he wouldn’t do to protect the people and land he loves, even if it means giving up his own dreams.

When the danger trailing Grace catches up to her, there’s only one way to save the people—especially the man—she’s come to love. Can she find the courage for the ultimate sacrifice to protect those she’s put at risk? Just as Monty’s dreams might finally be within reach, will one misstep cost him everything?

My Review:

published in 2020

A fast read and not just because of the shorter length (196 p.) This Western Romance is full of heart and action and all kinds of ranching details that make it the kind of ‘devour in one sitting’ read I love. It harkens back to a simpler time — the kind glorified in old Westerns where good is good and bad is evil and trusting in others can either be your salvation or your undoing. Loved that old-timey vibe carried throughout the story.

Action, adventure and romance all wrapped up in a ‘Bonanza’ type setting impressed, so my first Misty M. Beiler novel won’t be my last!

Of Note: This is the third and final book in the Texas Rancher Trilogy and, while there is an overlap in characters from the first two books, it can definitely be read as a standalone. I dove in here and I didn’t have any problem though there was a reunion of sorts with lots of new-to-me characters who play a secondary role. Just made me want to read the first two book to get everybody’s love stories! 🙂

I listened to the audio book, narrated by Peggy Sowersby and she did a great job with the Texan drawl and rancher lingo. 🙂

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 Rancher Takes a Cowgirl , 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 27 2024.

A Noble Masquerade + Giveaway

RANDOM RETRO REREAD

Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside she longs to be bold and carefree. Entering her fourth Season and approaching spinsterhood in the eyes of society, she pours her innermost feelings out not in a diary but in letters to her brother’s old school friend, a duke–with no intention of ever sending these private thoughts to a man she’s heard stories about but never met. Meanwhile, she also finds herself intrigued by Marlow, her brother’s new valet, and although she may wish to break free of the strictures that bind her, falling in love with a servant is more of a rebellion than she planned.

When Marlow accidentally discovers and mails one of the letters to her unwitting confidant, Miranda is beyond mortified. And even more shocked when the duke returns her note with one of his own that initiates a courtship-by-mail. Insecurity about her lack of suitors shifts into confusion at her growing feelings for two men–one she’s never met but whose words deeply resonate with her heart, and one she has come to depend on but whose behavior is more and more suspicious. When it becomes apparent state secrets are at risk and Marcus is right in the thick of the conflict, one thing is certain: Miranda’s heart is far from all that’s at risk for the Hawthornes and those they love.

My Review:

published in 2015

I was inspired to revisit this series after reading The Hawthorne House novella collection. This time I listened to the audible edition and was just as captivated by this story and these characters!

—

Thrilled me to my toes. I adore Regency novels — but Regency novels full of tongue-in-cheek humour is in a category all its own. Stupendous. And not the genteel laughter kind of humour — more like the snorting guffaw kind. Very unladylike. Miranda’s mother would so not approve, but I snorted and chuckled my way through A Noble Masquerade with complete abandon.

This is the kind of book that you want to make last. I found myself putting it aside in order to savor the delight of the read. I’d play over a scene, twist it around in my mind, imagine where the plot was heading and only when I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer, I’d pick up the book and start reading again. It took my three days to read this book. Three days!!!!! (says the woman who usually reads a book a day.)

Captivating plot, delicious intrigue, and an endearing, funny, outlandish romance that will keep you alternately laughing and swooning — honestly, what more could you want in a story?

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 A Noble Masquerade , 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 20 2024.

To Spark a Match + Giveaway

After five unsuccessful Seasons on the marriage mart, Miss Adelaide Duveen has resigned herself to the notion that she’s destined to remain a spinster forever–a rather dismal prospect, but one that will allow her to concentrate on her darling cats and books. However, when she inadvertently stumbles upon Mr. Gideon Abbott engaged in a clandestine activity during a dinner party, Adelaide finds herself thrust into a world of intrigue that resembles the plots in the spy novels she devours.

Former intelligence agent Gideon Abbott feels responsible for Adelaide after society threatens to banish her because of the distraction she caused to save his case. Hoping to return the favor, he turns to a good friend–and one of high society’s leaders–to take Adelaide in hand and turn her fashionable.

When danger surrounds them and Adelaide finds herself a target of the criminals in Gideon’s case, the spark of love between them threatens to be quenched for good–along with their lives.

My Review:

Romance and mystery woven together with all the quirkiness only Jen Turano can create makes for some enchanting madcap mayhem!

Poor Gideon — so out of his depth for all he’s a former Navy man and intelligence agent! Nothing in the field has prepared him for Miss Adelaide Duveen or the pandemonium that follows in her wake. 🙂 She’s all but shunned from society, considered a hopeless lost cause on the marriage mart and has a penchant for rescuing cats. which she can’t find homes for so she has cats. Lots of cats. Oh, and she’s a voracious reader. Gasp!

And she’s smart enough to figure out that Gideon isn’t an ordinary gentleman and tenacious enough to suss out his secrets and then demand to assist in his investigative work. Wills clash, hearts are won, hilarity ensues. And, oh my, the banter! Cunning dialogue that hovers on the absurd but makes complete sense and kept me grinning all the way through.

All that as well as mystery and danger and a happily ever after to be won. Escape read perfection!

Nancy Peterson’s wonderful narration does justice to these characters and made for a highly entertaining listening experience.

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 To Spark a Match , 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 20 2024.

A Heart Worth Stealing + Giveaway

Little Sowerby, England, 1802

Miss Genevieve Wilde—a magistrate’s daughter and independent heiress—is determined to meet life’s challenges all on her own, just as her late father had taught her. So when her father’s pocket watch is stolen, she will do anything to get it back, especially when the local authorities prove incompetent.

Upon reading an advertisement in the paper, she takes a chance and contacts a thief-taker to find the watch. It’s a choice Ginny regrets when former Bow Street officer Jack Travers arrives on her doorstep. He is frustratingly flirtatious, irritatingly handsome, and entirely unpredictable, and Ginny wonders if she’ll be able to resist such a man.

But after Ginny discovers that the missing watch is just a small part of a larger, more frightening plot against her, she needs Jack’s help more than ever. To protect her home and her reputation, the two enter into a risky charade—pretending Jack is her cousin so he can begin his investigation, starting with the household staff. As they work together to unravel the mystery, Ginny finds herself falling fast for her charismatic thief-taker, leaving her heart in just as much danger as her life.

My Review:

Eeeeeeppp!!! Trixi told me that I should read more Joanna Barker and this book would be a great place to start so I did, because I’m obedient like that when I get a book referral from a kindred reading spirit. 🙂 Now I’m passing along the recommendation — if you enjoy Regency romance with an air of mystery and more than a few toe-curling kisses, then ‘A Heart Worth Stealing‘ is a book worth reading!

I totally swooned my way through this novel courtesy of Jack Travers and his unorthodox ways — including his sometimes outrageous flirtations. He keeps Ginny all in a dither and I’m afraid that often looks like she’s a short-tempered shrew which totally delights Jack to no end. Such great dynamics! And both hero and heroine have great back stories that play a part in the way they approach life, and specifically this investigation.

The mystery had a wee bit of a Gothic vibe with Ginny reluctantly playing the damsel in distress (though she’s no shrinking violet.) But her home and life are threatened and she needs Jack’s streetwise ways to help her set things to right. I will say that I picked out the villain early on but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the evolving plot.

I listened to the audible edition and enjoyed Elizabeth Knowelden’s narration and highly recommend the audio book to readers who also enjoy listening to their favourite stories.

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 edition with audible.ca account

If you would like a chance to win a copy of A Heart Worth Stealing, 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 2, 2023

A Return to Hawthorne House + Giveaway

Random Retro Read

Always a Lady

Despite the fact that her daughter is not cooperating, Caroline, Duchess of Riverton is determined to ensure every one of her children marries someone they love as much as she loved their late father. William, the widowered Earl of Blackstone, is delighted to have his days of escorting daughters approaching an end. The last thing he expects is to find himself drawn to a woman who is just starting such a journey. Are they each too set in their ways to grasp this chance to have a second love?

A Lady of Esteem

Miss Amelia Starwood may live in her absent guardian’s London townhouse, but she knows far more about associating with servants than aristocrats. When she bumps into Anthony, reformed Marquis of Raebourne, it starts a string of events that change her life forever. As the two of them try to navigate London in ways they’ve never done before, will they be able to hold onto love?

The Lady’s Maid

When Lydia Smith began her career as a parlor maid, she knew love and marriage wasn’t likely in her future. Dreaming about the boy next door as she dusted seemed harmless until he started working as the new valet under the same roof. When Finch needs her help with a special project, will it give them a chance to defy expectations and find love or ruin their happiness forever?

My Review:

published in 2022

An absolutely charming collection of novellas set at the beginning of the author’s ‘Hawthorne House’ world. These stories are so good I’ve been inspired to reread all the books in the series…soon!

‘A Return to Hawthorne House‘ is intriguing and playful and with enough swoonable banter to keep your fainting couch actively engaged. And I love the variety Hunter provides — a lovely combination of upstairs/downstairs — and even one ‘mature’ romance which made for an engrossing read. The characters are delightful, the dialogue witty, the angst gentle but still impactful and each happily ever after is blissfully satisfying. I’m reminded of how much I loved this series and I’m eager to get started on my rereads.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

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

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of A Return to Hawthorne House, 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 easier for me to spot. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday December 2 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

O Little Town + Giveaway

Random Retro Re-read


Stores of small-town Christmas and the enduring love of God from three critically acclaimed authors. In the sleepy small town of Mapleview, Michigan, Christmas is always something special. In this charming collection of romance novellas, join three generations of Mapleview residents longing for love — and finding it — on the most wonderful night of the year.

Hopes and Fears by Amanda Wen

Emma Trowbridge is determined to give her students the Christmas pageant of a lifetime. The last person she expected, or wanted, to encounter in her two-room schoolhouse is her childhood rival, Frederick Oberstein. He would rather be far away himself. He wants no part of cheer, Christmas or otherwise. Can they learn to see each other in a new light — embrace a new season of hope and faith tougher?

While Mortals Sleep by Janyre Tromp

While World War II rages overseas, news reporter Eleanor Sweers returns home to Mapleview to face the repercussions of the death of her sister and her nightmare of Christmases past. But the Homefront isn’t as far from the war as she thought: a bomb has landed in the middle of the U.S. Now Eleanor and family friend Gideon Braum may have to choose between the scoop of a lifetime and the love of a lifetime.

The Wondrous Gift by Deborah Raney

High school football coach Caleb Janssen and music teacher Rachel Hamblin bond when they both lose their jobs at a Christian school. But when they discover their plans for the future are mutually exclusive, the fallout threatens to tear them apart.

My Review:

published in 2022

A stunning collection of Christmas stories that I will cherish every year. These authors deliver the very essence of the season in classic tales of loss and hope and the wonder of new beginnings during the most magical time of the year.

I felt all kinds of ‘Anne and Gilbert’ vibes from Amanda Wen’s ‘Hopes and Fears’.  As students, Emma and Fredrick shared a long standing school rivalry, but they are adults now, teachers in the same two room school house where that rivalry has the chance to spark into something so much more…if only past sorrows and mistakes can be faced and forgiven. Brilliantly paced and beautifully told, the author has managed to capture the heart of Christmas and its everlasting promise of hope. 

Janrye Tromp’s Christmas offering includes a compelling World War II mystery which was a fun surprise. She has packed all the depth and substance you’d find in a full length novel into‘While Mortals Sleep’ — from characterization to plot and beautiful descriptive writing. Unputdownable!

Deb Raney’s ‘Wonderous Gift’ was the least Christmas-y of this trio. It starts a week before Christmas (present day) and ends on Christmas the following year. So seasonal bookends to a fun and flirty contemporary romance with just the right touch of angst. And there’s a very sweet ‘coming full circle’ vibe between the first story in this collection and this one. Uplifting and inspiring.

I enjoyed listening to the audible edition of ‘O Little Town’. Excellent narrators in Leah Horowitz and Matt Godfrey (though only Janyre Tromp’s novella included both a male and female narrator.)

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  O Little Town , leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. 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 November 25 2023 .

A Beautiful Disguise + Giveaway

Left with an estate on the brink of bankruptcy after their father’s death, Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother open a private investigation firm marketed to the elite . . . to spy on the elite. Dubbed The Imposters, Ltd., their anonymous group soon becomes the go-to for the crème of society when they want answers delivered surreptitiously. But the many secrets Marigold learns about her peers pale in comparison to her shock when she and her brother are hired to investigate her best friend’s father as a potential traitor.

Sir Merritt Livingstone has spent a decade serving the monarch in the most elite guard, but when pneumonia lands him behind a desk in the War Office Intelligence Division just as they’re creating a new secret intelligence branch, he’s intent on showing his worth. He suspects a man of leaking information to Germany as tensions mount between the two countries, but needs someone to help him prove it, so he turns to The Imposters, Ltd. No one knows who they are, but their results are beyond compare.

Lady Marigold is determined to discover the truth for her friend’s sake, and she’s more determined still to keep her heart from getting involved with this enigmatic new client . . . who can’t possibly be as noble as he seems.

My Review:

Honestly, I didn’t think that this author could top her ‘Shadows Over England’ series as my all time favourite, but after reading this first book in the ‘Imposters’ series, I might have to rethink that. And for a lot of reasons that I can’t say in a review without posting spoilers so excuse me if I turn all enthusiastically vague!

Love the found family vibe going on here. Marigold and her brother have the support of some very interesting allies and they have been instrumental in molding her into a unique, multi-talented woman. And what exactly are those talents, you ask? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to discover Marigold’s quirks for yourself. She’s an uncommon heroine with an exceptional story and I loved the way the author reveals her novel background and unrivalled flair for…well so many things. (Insert an image of me Cheshire grin happy dancing here.)

And Merritt…imagine swoons between every couple of words and you’ll get an insight into my state of mind. I do so love a hero in full protective mode. One dedicated to King and country and unwilling to be sidelined by a pesky health problem. I especially love a hero who recognizes the genius within his heroine while the rest of the world complacently overlooks her. And the more Merritt finds out about Marigold’s ummmm….novel traits…the more intrigued he becomes.

Of course there’s subterfuge and spying. Mystery with a hint of danger. An incredible cast of secondary characters who add light and laughter and sage wisdom. Not to mention complicated relationships with the promise of more to come in the next book in the series. All brilliantly executed with plot twists and delightfully building tension until the resounding stand-up-and-cheer conclusion.

I was happily bibliophile comatose by the time I reached the end. Replete on captivating storytelling paired with the expert narration delivered by Susan Lyons (yay audiobooks!) Cannot wait until the second book, A Noble Scheme, comes out in March 2024.

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 Beautiful Disguise, 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 November 18, 2023

The Holly and the Ivy + Giveaway

Random Retro Read

Spend the holidays with four of your favorite historical romance authors, whose stories of Yuletide romance will brighten the season with humor, hope, and the promise of true love.

“The Holly and the Ivy” by Sarah M. Eden
As nursemaid to the eight-year-old Duke of Kielder, Robbie will spend her holidays with her young charge as a guest of Lord and Lady Jonquil. While the couple makes the child’s holiday magical, the handsome gardener works his own magic on Nurse Robbie’s heart.

“Hiding Christmas” by Esther Hatch
Celebrating Christmas in Scotland will only invite persecution. But that never stopped Kirstine’s English grandmother. When they are almost caught, Kirstine is forced to beg for the help of the one man she cannot abide.

“A Twist of Christmas” by Dana LeCheminant
A Christmas house party offers two members of the ton an irresistible opportunity: a weekend of anonymity. But their charade comes with unexpected romantic consequences.

“A Season to Love” by Anneka R. Walker
Alice Hunt is searching for a Christmas miracle: a husband of her choosing. With the threat of an arranged marriage looming, she looks to an unlikely matchmaker for help.

My Review:

published in 2022

A fantastic collection of holiday romances. I listened to the audible edition narrated by Noah Wall. She’s one of my favourite narrators and does a great job with the British and Scottish accents.

Christmas in spring? How does that even work? Why, beautifully if you’re reading “The Holly and the Ivy” by Sarah M. Eden. And…eeeeeepppppp…totally fan-girling here because it’s about the Duke of Kielder when he’s an eight-year old boy. And, oh my heart! Eden gives us a glimpse into why the austere Duke of ‘Seeking Persephone’ fame is the way he is. Plus we are treated to the Jonquil family at it’s very beginning. So much to love about this novella!!! No worries if you haven’t met these characters in the author’s previous books — this will still read wonderfully as a standalone. Especially since it features a working class romance between the Duke’s nurse maid and the Jonquil’s gardener. And lots of lovely Christmas traditions besides.

Be still my heart. Close proximity and fake relationship tropes feature in Esther Hatch’s Hiding Christmas. As well as some interesting facts about a Christmas ban in Scotland! That sent me on a google deep dive, let me tell you! Love the inauspicious meet-cute for this Scottish lass and English gentleman. Funny and poignant by turns.

Dana LeCheminant is a new-to-me-author and ‘A Twist of Christmas’ was the perfect introduction to her storytelling style. A seasonal Regency Romance? Yes please! Add in some mistaken identities, the lure of forbidden love and a whole lot of enticing mix-ups and you get the recipe for a highly entertaining holiday read. Loved the banter so much but also appreciated the more serious look at what it was like for this hero and heroine to deal with the expectations placed on them due to their social standing. This story is a bit light on seasonal flare, though it culminates at a Christmas ball.

‘A Season to Love’ by Anneka R. Walker is playful and fun with a light touch of angst as the romance builds. The meet-cute between the hero and heroine is hilarious! Alice is only too aware of her short-comings when compared to her successful (and well-married) sisters…or so she thinks. But a visit to her grandmother’s home for the holidays provides her with some unexpected enlightenment. And romance. Eeep! Clever and sweet and laugh out loud funny at times. And achingly tender too.

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 Holly and the Ivy, 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 November 11, 2023