The Week Ahead July 31-Aug 5

Here’s a look at what’s happening this week at Book Talk & More with Kathy:

Monday’s Book Talk: What have you been reading lately?

Spotlights

Mystery Monday
Reading Challenge
Teen Tuesday-returns 8/8
Thrifty Thursday
Friday Feature

Winning Wednesday (8/2) eBooks up for grabs:

Change of Plans by Dylan Newton
The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley
Through the Flames by Andrew Grey

Click here for more info on entering the eBook contests.

This week’s Saturday Series Spotlight is Amy Aislin’s Vancouver Orcas and contest for one of the books in the series (winner’s choice).

Have a great week!!

***All the eBooks in this week’s Winning Wednesday & Saturday Series Spotlight giveaways have been purchased by Book Talk & More with Kathy.***

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Saturday Series Spotlight & Giveaway: Sara Richardson’s Star Valley

Here are the eBooks in this week’s Saturday Series Spotlight contest:

Title: Wishing on a Christmas Cowboy by Sara Richardson
Star Valley Book One
Publisher: Forever
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 336 pages

Summary:

This city girl could use a dose of good old-fashioned cowboy Christmas cheer in this charming holiday romance for fans of Jennifer Ryan and Maisey Yates!

Pediatric nurse Kyra Fowler is finally going to realize her dream. She’s got a job lined up at the most prestigious children’s hospital in London. There’s only one little snag—first she has to sell the Wyoming town she’s just inherited from her estranged father. After a little fixing up, the place should easily attract a buyer. Hopefully she’ll be celebrating the sale by New Year’s.

Ex-Navy SEAL Aiden Steele couldn’t save his brother-in-law on the battlefield, but he can save his sister’s ranch and give his nieces the life they deserve in the town they love. He’s not about to let some outsider make a mint selling to a ruthless developer. Operation Save Star Valley is foolproof: show Kyra the sights, let the Christmas spirit work its magic, and bam! She’ll decide not to sell and he can ensure his family is taken care of. Except as he tries to make Kyra fall in love with the town, Aiden starts falling for her.


Title: Betting on a Good Luck Cowboy by Sara Richardson
Star Valley Book Two
Publisher: Forever
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 448 pages

Summary:

A former SEAL and his best friend’s widow find that the path of healing leads to forbidden feelings in this emotional western romance for fans of Maisey Yates and Jennifer Ryan!

For widow Tess Valdez, there are two things keeping her husband’s memory alive: her daughters and the ranch he loved. And Tess has thrown herself into caring for both. But when the wild horses that roam her land are threatened, Tess seizes the opportunity to become their advocate—and finds a new purpose that is hers alone. She expects resistance from some of the locals, but what she doesn’t anticipate is needing the one man she can’t have by her side…

No one understands Tess’s pain better than SEAL Silas Beck. He lost his best friend on the battlefield, and he’s spent every day since living up to the promise he’d made Jace to take care of the family he left behind. Falling for Tess was never supposed to happen, and Silas knows he should leave for both of their sakes—but he can’t say no when she asks him for one last favor. Even if staying means confronting feelings they’d both rather ignore . . .
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Giveaway

I am giving away one eBook from the Star Valley series-WINNER’S CHOICE. Here’s how to enter the Saturday Series Spotlight contest:

You must do the Following:

1. Sign up for e-mail updates (below). One email daily with the day’s posts.

Enter your Email:


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AND:

2. Be or become a fan of Book Talk & More with Kathy Facebook page

AND:

Make sure you have filled out the contest entry form:

3. To be eligible to enter contests on Book Talk & More with Kathy you MUST fill out the contest entry form (found HERE). This form only needs to be filled out ONCE. Your privacy is important to me, and I will not share your information.

And don't forget to:

4. Fill out the form below by 4 PM Mountain Time Monday afternoon.

CONTEST OVER

* I am the only person who will have access to info that is submitted to me UNLESS a publisher or author has donated an eBook for the giveaway. For a prize donated by an author or publisher, I will forward your e-mail and format selection to the person responsible for distributing the eBook. Please refer to the privacy page HERE if you have questions about how your information is used. In the event the contest form is not working, please leave your book selection in the comments below.*

It’s that easy! The winner will be selected using random.org. I will e-mail one lucky winner the eBook of their choice in their preferred format. The winner will be posted HERE on Tuesday.

***The eBooks in this giveaway have been purchased by Book Talk & More with Kathy.***

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Friday Feature Review: The Second Chance Store by Lauren Bravo

Title: The Second Chance Store by Lauren Bravo
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Contemporary, Friendship, Fiction
Length: 444 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

If clothes can get a second chance, why can’t we? Brimming with life, love, and the stories bound up in even the most everyday items, The Second Chance Store is a tale of friendship, loss, and dusting yourself off and starting over—a novel filled with humor and a testament to the enduring power and joy of charity shops.

City dweller Gwen feels like she’s living a secondhand life. She’s thirty-eight, perpetually single, and in dire need of a dentist’s appointment. Her friends are busy procreating in the country, and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around hedge borders and the trash pickup schedule. Above all she’s lonely. But then, isn’t everyone?

Then she’s let go from a job she drifted into a decade ago and never left, and Gwen realizes it’s time to make a change, starting with cleaning out her apartment. In the charity shop where she literally and metaphorically unloads her baggage, she discovers a group of weird and wonderful people devoted to finding a new home for donated items that have lost their use elsewhere. Gwen volunteers there—and finds a new home for herself among her fellow workers while discovering joy in the untold stories of secondhand things.

Now it’s time for Gwen to get out of her life in pause, and to find a way to move forward with bravery and humanity—and more regular dental care.

Review:

The Second Chance Store by Lauren Bravo is a lovely novel of new friendships and beginnings.

After losing her job, Gwen Grundle takes stock of her life which comes up lacking. Deciding to make changes, she begins volunteering at a local charity shop. Gwen works with an eclectic group of people where she also finds unexpected connections and friendships. She also reflects on her strained relationship with her parents. Will Gwen find the impetus to pick up the pieces of her life and find happiness? Or is she doomed to repeat the mistakes of her past?

The novel’s pacing is a little slow as Gwen struggles to find the energy she needs to move forward after losing her job. Two unexpected plot twists offer the reasons for how she ended up in her current situation. Gwen is not the most likable character but the people she meets at the charity shop are quite interesting. In between chapters are short vignettes about the objects that end up in the charity shop. While the importance of these detours is not always apparent, they do play a vital role in the unfolding story. The novel ends on an uplifting note that readers will appreciate.

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Thrifty Thursday: Wayward by Mary Calmes

Do you love gay romances? Do you have Kindle Unlimited? If not, are you looking for a book that costs less than $5.00? Then you might want to check out:

Title: Wayward by Mary Calmes
Publisher: Mary Calmes
Genre: Contemporary, Gay, Romance, Suspense
Length: 260 pages

Summary:

Maksim Lenkov is certain he’s not a good man. His father isn’t, and since Maks is his second in command, then certainly, he’s just as evil. The list of sins is long, and there’s no getting around that. What’s messing him up is that despite all that, in the midst of life and death, his only friend tells him he’s been a blessing; law enforcement is treating him like he prevented more bloodshed than he caused, and everyone is concerned with doing right by him. Why? And how is Maks supposed to figure out who he is, when everything he thought he knew is suddenly turned upside down?

It only gets weirder once he begins his new life in witness protection. Because if he’s a guardian angel of women and children, dogs, and one eccentric heiress, can he really be a bad man? Added into the mix is a handsome, loyal deputy chief of police, who lives next door and thinks Maks hangs the moon. Is it possible that living in hell never actually made him into the devil? Perhaps it was only a wayward life, and now it’s time to chart a new course.

Goodreads

Purchase Link: Amazon

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eBook Contest 7/26

Here are the eBooks for this week’s Winning Wednesday contest:

Title: Flirting with Fire by Jane Porter
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 319 pages

Summary:

Love isn’t just an act in this captivating and flirty romance by New York Times bestselling author Jane Porter.

Forty-nine-year-old Margot Hughes has lived and breathed theater for the past twenty-five years. After a devastating breakup with her playwright fiancé, she wants nothing to do with the industry. She has sworn off New York, theater, actors—all of it. She returns to her hometown on California’s central coast and takes a job in real estate, where she manages significant investment properties. But Margot’s suddenly thrown back into the theater world when Sally, her friend and boss, who had been restoring and funding Cambria’s historic theater, has a heart attack. Before she knows it, Margot is tapped to take over the troubled summer production of Barefoot in the Park.

But the play is no walk in the park—the leads and director have all quit, and Margot struggles to find new actors…until Max Russo arrives. Forty-five-year-old Max is a former soap opera star turned rugged cowboy on TV’s most popular western series. Max has a huge following and is the perfect hero to step up and save the play, provided Margot stars opposite him. Although adamant she would never return to theater, Margot enjoys the long hours of rehearsal with a professional like Max, who is charming, witty, and passionate. But when the curtains close, can Margot allow herself to fall for Max when he represents everything she left behind?


Title: The Rough Rider by Maisey Yates
Four Corners Ranch Book Four
Publisher: Canary Street Press
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 328 pages

Summary:

Return to Maisey Yates’s fan-favorite Four Corners for a marriage of convenience between two unlikely souls—a hopeless romantic and a man who has long given up hope

When Alaina finds herself pregnant and alone, she knows she’s in a tight spot. Small towns like hers tend to raise eyebrows at unwed mothers, and she knows the vicious gossip mill will soon be churning. Thankfully, her ruggedly stoic childhood protector, Gus McCloud, knows a thing or two about guarding secrets. Offering Alaina a marriage on paper is the least he can do.

As a hardworking rancher, Gus is well equipped to provide for Alaina and her baby. And despite plans for a solitary life, he wants to. He knows what it’s like to be an outsider, especially after a traumatic childhood left him with scars inside and out. Alaina has long dreamed of a fairy-tale romance, but as the growing fire between her and Gus starts feeling real enough to burn, she questions what that means. Maybe her fake marriage to Gus is the real love she’s been missing all along.

Four Corners Ranch

Book 1: Unbridled Cowboy
Book 2: Merry Christmas Cowboy
Book 3: Cowboy Wild
Book 4: The Rough Rider
Book 5: The Holiday Heartbreaker
Book 6: The Troublemaker


Title: In the Case of Heartbreak by Courtney Kae
Fern Falls Book Two
Publisher: Kensington Books
Genre: Contemporary, Gay, Romance, Comedy
Length: 317 pages

Summary:

With a gorgeous beachfront mansion, salty ocean breeze, steamy nights, and ALL the summertime feels, this funny, sexy queer rom-com is a celebration of summer love, as a cinnamon roll of a pastry chef finds his indie rocker crush suddenly within reach. Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston, Roan Parrish, Alexandria Bellefleur, Ruby Barrett, and Alexis Hall!

Ben has been baking his mother’s cinnamon rolls at the family café for years. He’s been quietly in love with Adam Reed, his musician-slash-mechanic neighbor, for just as long. But Ben’s done waiting behind the pastry case. Despite his fear of failure, he’s entered a make-or-break competition to build his recipes into a national brand. He’s going to take charge of his business instead of nearly tanking the café—again. And he’s going to finally confess his feelings for Adam. ON LIVE TV.

Except his big plans get punched down before they even half-rise. Soon Ben is dashing down the coast to his grandma’s 80th birthday party on the beach, hiding his broken heart in Maywell Bay, California. Sun, sea, and fresh breezes should blow in something new—except they don’t. They blow in Adam Reed, grinning like a pirate and stealing the show as the musical entertainment hired by Grandma for her big bash. Grandma’s signature Heartbreak Tea is the only remedy, and Grandma’s tea could take the paint off a fence.

But there’s a burn of truth along with the booze in his bottle, and Ben has a decision to make. Can he take the sweetness in front of him, and brave the bitterness that comes after? Or is a little sea salt just what this cinnamon roll needs?

Salty cinnamon rolls? Ew. Ben would never.


Wednesday is contest day on Book Talk and More with Kathy. Three lucky winners will win the eBook of their choice! Here’s how to enter:

You must do the Following:

1. Sign up for e-mail updates (below). One email daily with the day’s posts.

Enter your Email:

Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz


AND:

2. Be or become a fan of Book Talk & More with Kathy Facebook page

AND:

Make sure you have filled out the contest entry form:

3. To be eligible to enter contests on Book Talk and More with Kathy you MUST fill out the contest entry form (found HERE). This form only needs to be filled out ONCE. Your privacy is important to me, and I will not share your information.

And don't forget to:

4. Fill out the form below by 4 PM Mountain Time Friday afternoon:

CONTEST OVER

* I am the only person who will have access to info that is submitted to me UNLESS a publisher or author has donated an eBook for the giveaway. For a prize donated by an author or publisher, I will forward your e-mail and format selection to the person responsible for distributing the eBook. Please refer to the privacy page HERE if you have questions about how your information is used. In the event the contest form is not working, please leave your book selection in the comments below.*

It’s that easy! The winners will be selected using random.org. I will e-mail the winners the eBook of their choice in their preferred format. The winners will be posted HERE on Saturday.

***The eBooks in this giveaway have been purchased by Book Talk & More with Kathy.***

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Review: I Did It For You by Amy Engel

Title: I Did It For You by Amy Engel
Publisher: Dutton
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 288 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

A twisty thriller from the beloved author of The Familiar Dark, in which a woman returns to the town where her sister was murdered and finds a presumed copycat on the loose

It’s been fourteen years since Greer Dunning’s older sister, Eliza, was murdered, and Greer’s family has never been the same. And now there’s been a similar killing in Greer’s small Kansas hometown. A copycat, according to the authorities, but Greer is convinced there is more to the story. That Eliza’s murderer had help all those years ago.

So Greer returns home after more than a decade away, desperate to answer the questions that have haunted her for years. And in her drive to uncover the truth, she forms a bond with the unlikeliest of allies. One that puts her in grave danger, as almost everyone in her small town becomes a suspect.

At once a riveting mystery and a deep exploration of guilt, loss, and the ways in which a violent murder transforms both the family of the victim and the family of the killer, I Did It For You will keep readers captivated through the very last page.

Review:

I Did It For You by Amy Engel is a compelling mystery about copycat murders.

After learning about the new murders, Greer Dunning returns to her small hometown in Kansas. She immediately reconnects with her childhood friends Ryan and Cassie. But Greer does not make much headway in trying to repair her fractured relationship with her parents. She also pairs up with an unlikely person as she tries to find the connection between her sister Eliza’s and the present day murders.

With plenty of tension, this atmospheric mystery is fast-paced with well-drawn characters. Greer remains haunted by her sister’s death and being home provides her the opportunity to search for answers. Despite the murders, she is a little reckless and takes unnecessary risks. Greer also unearths stunning secrets that leave her wondering whom she can trust. The shocking dénouement is full of unexpected twists and turns. The conclusion of this suspense-laden mystery is somewhat bittersweet.

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