Book Giveaway of Virginia Carmichael

I’m so excited to host my first book giveaway on the blog! I want to welcome Virginia Carmichael and thank her for providing not one, but two signed paperbacks of one of her great series. Virginia writes contemporary and historical Christian romances, and also has the pen name Mary Jane Hathaway for her ‘Austen Takes the South’ series. She’s a hybrid author, meaning she has titles that are published traditionally, and titles that are indie published. Season of Joy and Season of Hope are published by Love Inspired.

Here’s the first one (click on the image for the Amazon link):

From the blurb:

As the holiday season approaches, wealthy CEO Calista Sheffield wants to give instead of receive. So she volunteers at a downtown Denver shelter, never expecting that her own scarred heart will be
with hope and healing. The mission’s director, handsome Grant Monohan, has devoted his life to helping those in need. But his harrowing past—and what he sees every day—makes him wary of Calista. Unless she shares her painful history, he’ll never believe they can have a future. But a future with Grant at the shelter is the only Christmas gift Calista truly wants.

My review:
4 1/2 stars!
Calista and Grant were awesome lead characters, leading imperfect lives and trying to get better. I found it inspirational, yet grounded and realistic. It was very interesting to read about the behind-the-scenes of day-to-day life in a mission of this kind, and the secondary characters were very well built as well.
I wouldn’t mind having a little update on Calista and Grant in a future book, and see how they’re doing. 😉

 

And the new one (click on the image for the Amazon link):

The Gift Of Forgiveness
Gavin Sawyer knows he’s in trouble the moment he meets Evie Thorne at the downtown Denver mission where they both volunteer. He’s drawn to the pretty journalist, even though reporters have caused him nothing but heartache in the past. Soon Gavin begins to let his guard down as he sees that this wonderful woman may be someone he can trust with his heart. But when he brings her home to meet his family during the holidays, Evie’s secret past suddenly comes to light. Will their newfound love survive when he learns the truth?

My review:
4 and 1/2 stars!
Such a great story about forgiveness and growing from past mistakes. I loved to see some of the old characters from Season of Joy, and catch up with them in the familiar setting of the Denver mission.
Gavin and Evie have a great pull, not only between them, but also towards the reader. I became interested in them, in their situations, and their problems, and wondered how they’d overcome the obstacles.
I love the skill of the author as a storyteller. Nothing feels force or contrived, especially between the characters, both main and secondary. They feel real in their flaws and their strengths, and this is what makes it such a good reading experience. Couldn’t put it down.
It got me in a Christmas mood and I don’t even like to think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving.

 

And here’s your chance to win one of these great books to inspire you for the upcoming Christmas season, or to gift to a special friend. This giveaway will end on Saturday, and I’ll post the results on Monday on the Facebook page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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