Thrifty Thursday: Holiday Edition @vdanaewnu @Justine_D_Davis @janiecrouch @ReganBlack #ThriftyThursday #Challenge #Giveaway #HoHoHoRAT2024

Posted December 19, 2024 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review, Thrifty Thursday / 14 Comments

The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).

This is a collection of freebies I have read which are in the romance genre .

Audible freebie on October  31, 2019  (currently $6.96 at Audible as of writing this post)

Overall rating 3.40 with 386 ratings and  44 reviews

 

Thrifty Thursday: Holiday Edition @vdanaewnu @Justine_D_Davis @janiecrouch @ReganBlack #ThriftyThursday #Challenge #Giveaway #HoHoHoRAT2024How Chefs Holiday by Dana Cowin
Published by Audible on October 31, 2019
Genres: Non Fiction
Length: 1 hour, 1 minute
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Audible
One StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

Once autumn hits, the holiday season has begun! And nothing embodies holiday spirit more than family traditions and recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. Maybe it’s sharing stories at the dinner table, having a laugh on the front porch, or just relaxing with loved ones—everyone has their own ritual.

Join Dana Cowin, author and former Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine, as she chats with some of today’s most popular chefs and food personalities. Together they pass along their own holiday traditions and stories, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Dana and company also discuss how these experiences impact their current holiday traditions and menus.

Cowin takes advantage of her career-spanning relationships with these top chefs to have them share

• Unique ways to celebrate Thanksgiving with Padma Lakshmi
• The Swedish Christmas with Marcus Samuelsson
• The "hard knocks of the holidays" with Kwame Onwuachi
• A holiday catastrophe with Carla Hall
• The importance of gratitude with Mike Solomonov
• The Anti-Christmas with Alex Guarnaschelli.

The start was a bit scattered because of different conversations with people but not saying who they were. It would have helped if I had read the blurb probably.  But then it got more fun when I recognized my favorite Alex Guarnaschelli and also Marcus Samuelsson.

Each chef told stories about what they make at home for the holidays. Some of them talked about their childhood foods,  and then what they do now.  Some of the chefs are restaurant owners and they shared what they offer for the holidays at their restaurants. There is a .pdf included with the recipes they shared.

 


Kindle freebie on November 28, 2024  (currently FREE at Amazon and $4.99 at Barnes & Noble as of writing this post)

Overall rating 4.59 with 377 ratings and 38 reviews

 

Thrifty Thursday: Holiday Edition @vdanaewnu @Justine_D_Davis @janiecrouch @ReganBlack #ThriftyThursday #Challenge #Giveaway #HoHoHoRAT2024A Texas Christmas Miracle by Justine Davis
Series: The Raffertys of Last Stand #2
Published by Tule Publishing Group on October 19, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 318
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
AmazonAudibleLibro.fmBarnes & NobleApple
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

Retired from special forces and back on his family’s Texas ranch, Chance Rafferty’s finally found some peace through creating a foundation to rescue and retrain military K-9s thought to be beyond redemption. He prefers to be left alone with his dogs and his work, but when a woman arrives shortly before Christmas looking for the dog that saved her husband’s life, Chance is astonished at the dog’s—and his own—response to her.

Though it’s been years, Ariel Larson still dreads the Christmas season because it marks the anniversary of her deployed husband’s death. When she learns her husband’s K-9 partner survived combat, Ariel feels she’s been given a lifeline to escape her grief. She suddenly has a sense of purpose she’s been desperately missing. But she never expected the man determined to rehabilitate the traumatized animal would have such a stunning impact on her own life.

Can these two wounded hearts come together to create their own Christmas miracle?

Besides being highly rated,  A Texas Christmas Miracle has a main character who is a traumatized military K9.  I love K9 stories. He is saved by a veteran who has a non-profit for rehabilitating injured working dogs.  Tri’s handler died overseas.  Now his widow, Ariel, is coming to adopt Tri.

It is heartwarming to see Ariel change Tri’s whole outlook and behavior while she also lightens the perspective of Chance who has his own issues and guilt as a veteran.  As she spends time with Chance and Tri, learning to work with Tri and care for him, she is revived herself.

Of course, Chance and Ariel fall in love and end up making a home for Tri.  I enjoyed the story and felt mostly it was realistic. All three of them are dealing with grief, and some guilt.  Together they build a fresh start.

 


Kindle freebie on December 22, 2023  (currently $9.99 at Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited as of writing this post)

Overall rating 4.45 with 622 ratings and 118 reviews

 

Thrifty Thursday: Holiday Edition @vdanaewnu @Justine_D_Davis @janiecrouch @ReganBlack #ThriftyThursday #Challenge #Giveaway #HoHoHoRAT2024Holiday Heroes by Regan Black, Janie Crouch
Series: Never Too Late For Love #4
Published by Self-Published on December 6, 2023
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 256
Format: eBook
Source: Author
Goodreads
Amazon
two-half-flames
One StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

A Fairytale Hero
— Jackson Prince thought love was done for him when his wife died five years ago. But the shy girl he never forgot from high school saving his life on Christmas Eve proves him wrong. Now they'll both learn it's never too late for love.

A Hero in Paradise
- The holidays lost their shine for Will Frasier after his wife passed. Bucking traditions, he’s headed for Key West to do a friend a favor. One that brings him face to face with a woman who still believes in miracles… and that it’s never too late for love.

I received this little anthology for subscribing to a newsletter.  Romantic suspense is one of my favorite romance genres.  Holiday Heroes has two short stories, one each by Regan Black and Janie Crouch. I have previously enjoyed Crouch but Black is new for me. These heroes are older, and both are widowed.  Also in both stories, the widowed father has military or law enforcement skills, with a group of sons as his “pack.”  If you notice,  the blurb doesn’t even contain the woman’s names.   The woman have had bad experiences with men and each have one son.

A Fairytale Hero  by Janie Crouch   118 pages      One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

I really enjoyed this!  Chandra has moved back to her hometown after her divorce to open a cafe.  She was the quiet, smart girl in high school.   Jackson Prince has lived here his whole life, after being a high school sports star.  He went into the Army Rangers. He and his wife Lisa have 10 children (some adopted) and now when she died of cancer, he came home to be closer to them.

Jackson is working undercover for one of his sons, Beau who is a sheriff here.   He’s found the criminals and now they are out to kill him.  Chandra is just ready to close the cafe on Christmas Eve and the thugs come in to ask her about a photo of a man.  She says she just moved to town and doesn’t know him. (well she recognizes him from high school) .

Chandra and Jackson end up fleeing together and trying to summon law enforcement to arrest the bad guys.  A storm delays the fight but eventually the bad guys catch up to them.  I found this charming.  Chandra is smart and sassy.  Jackson is skilled and kind.  They make a decent team. Now I want to read the series with books about the kids, starting with Beau the sheriff.

A Hero in Paradise by Regan Black   138 pages      One StarOne StarOne Star

I liked the couple in this story Maureen and Will.  Maureen runs a bar and restaurant with her son.  But the son and his family are off at Disneyworld for vacation when bad things happen.  Will is hired to protect Maureen and this gives them the time together and heightened sense of suspense to form a relationship.   Someone left a dead body behind the bar and now is after Maureen.

I enjoyed Will and his sons, the care and protection they gave Maureen.  Everyone was exceptionally kind and caring.   Some of the things around the criminal were rather unbelievable.  I also didn’t like the open ending where we don’t know how Will and Maureen are going to resolve that Will is a law enforcement officer in South Carolina and Maureen is involved in a business in Florida (although her son is mostly running it now).

 


Definition of Freebies for the challenge:

  • Kindle or other platform freebies where you purchase it for $0
  • Freebies through author newsletters that anyone can sign up and get for free
  • Giveaways won or gifts received

These do NOT include Audible Plus, Kindle Unlimited, Prime Free Reading,  Prime First Reads, or library books.

FYI – My Thrifty Thursday post with my reviews and the linkups and giveaway will normally post on the 3rd Thursday of the month. Sometimes though, due to blog tours, mood reading, and other personal problems, it will be moved around. There WILL be one each month on some Thursday.  You can post your reviews any Thursday though on your own site.  The linkup will be open until the next month’s post is published. You can easily find all the Thrifty Thursday posts under the Features tab on my top menu.

(Reminder – If I get more than 10 linkups in a month, I will randomly pick one to select a prize from a list I send them which may include gift cards or giveaway books I have. (Open International))


Add your review link here: 

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Giveaway:

The prize will be an $30 Amazon Gift card or $30 gift certificate at of Better World Books or $30 (2 months at Audible).  Open International.  Runs January 1, 2024 to January 6, 2025.

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You can sign up for the 2024 Thrifty Thursday Challenge HERE

 

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Posted December 19, 2024 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review, Thrifty Thursday / 14 Comments


14 responses to “Thrifty Thursday: Holiday Edition

  1. I think I have that Christmas K9 one so I’m happy to see how much you loved it. Nice finds from three of your favorite elements- cooking, dogs, and rom suspense. 🙂

    I was so excited to push a little and hit my freebie goal for the year with this past group of reading. Thanks so much for hosting. It got me motivated to pull down more freebies from my shelf. 🙂

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