Review & Giveaway: A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker

 

Adventure and romance await you in A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker. 

After the loss of his wife, Sir Cardin, now known as Basati, the Basque Wolf, drowns his guilt with golden mead in raucous taverns, amassing incredible debt and acquiring dangerous enemies. 

Ulla, the widowed daughter of a Viking chieftain, was rendered mute by trauma. She now avoids humans--especially babies and children--preferring the company of her wolf and falcon as she hunts in the Brocéliande Forest.

Summoned home by his dying mother's wish, Cardin finally meets the son he abandoned and Ulla, who is teaching his son to hunt. With the holidays approaching, Basati finds himself smitten with the beautiful Ulla as he bonds with his forsaken child. But with past enemies plotting against him, Basati is soon ensnared in a dangerous trap. 

Can music lure his savage heart into the light of love? 

EXCERPT

Cardin watched the beguiling dark-haired priestess quietly exit the castle through the back kitchen door, her loyal lupine companion at her heels.

She’s breathtaking. Beautiful.

But not for you, Basati. You’re a drunken brute. A savage beast.

No woman will ever want the Basque Wolf from Biarritz.

The reader first meets a drunken Cardin after his brother Gaultier comes to collect him after another barfight has left him incapacitated. None too happy, Gaultier vows to bring his brother home. But it will be their mother's letter stating she wants to see her sons before she dies that brings them back, giving Cardin a chance to meet the son he abandoned on the the night he was born. 

In the following chapter, the reader meets Ulla, who has experienced her own tragedy, which traumatized her so much that she lost her beautiful voice and is now mute. They also meet Cardin's parents and his son. 

The romance unfolds between Cardin and Ulla nicely, but their happiness is threatened by powerful enemies determined to seek revenge on the Basque Wolf from Biarritz and motivated to interfere in world affairs. 

While I found the opening a bit slow, once Cardin and Gaultier returned, the pace picked up and the fate of well-developed characters in A Celtic Yuletide Carol encouraged me to turn page after page to see how Cardin and Ulla's intense, yet new, romance would survive and if Cardin could become the father his son desperately wanted. With a hint of healing magic, fans of historical holiday romances will be intrigued with A Celtic Yuletide Carol. 

This book is a part of the author's Christmas in the Castle series. You can visit her at https://jenniferivywalker.com to learn more.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CXMB26VL
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Wild Rose Press, Inc. (November 6, 2024)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 6, 2024
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 816 KB
• Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 187 pages

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213034332-a-celtic-yuletide-carol

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jennifer-ivy-walker

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferIvyWalker

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/bohemienneivy

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/jenniferivywalkerauthor/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenniferivywalker

The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a copy of this book from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Nov 18

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.    

Here we are again, back at Monday. As they say, time flies when you're having fun. In eight days, the Lil' Princess will be home for Thanksgiving break. I can't wait!

So much going on in our world. We just bought our first investment property in Wilmington, NC. It is up on Airbnb if you are interested in taking a look. It sleeps seven and is pet friendly. I leased a rental last week and had a closing. Three more closings are scheduled through the end of the year. Might add one more to it if tonight's offer gets accepted. I also sold seven children's books! That makes waiting to hear back from the agent easier to handle. Finished an editing project on Saturday. 

Here are a few photos from my week:

Boxing up books to send to MO

Dwight likes when I move the cat tower into the other room to make space for the Christmas tree

Saw this fun movie thanks to FrndlyTV

Check out the festive vest the Lil' Princess bought me

Not much reading getting done with all I have going on. Look for my review of this one on the 20th. 

Still need to write the review for this cute one. 

Posted my review of this one last week. You can check it out here.

These are the books I'm planning to read through the end of the year:  

Not sure if I will make reading all of these, but I added them to my list.

I visited a holiday bazaar this weekend at my former pastor's church. While there, I ran into an author friend of mine, so I had to say hi and grab one of his books. If you like horror, mystery, sci-fi, or young adult novels, you need to check out Kevin's website.

Upcoming events:

• A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker - November 20 (Review)
• Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir by Mike Martin - December 2 (Review - TC&TBC)
• Jingles by D.F. Jones - December 11 (Review)

You can read the latest Christmas news at the Christmas Year Round blog. This week, we are talking about Dwayne Johnson's new movie that released over the weekend, the best artificial Christmas trees, and the planned Christmas day opening of Boardman Christmas Cafe. Check it all out here!

With any luck, the next two days should bring a lighter workload, so my goal is to clean the house, get some Christmas decorations put out, keep writing my novel, and move my office furniture around. Fingers crossed. 

Looking forward to visiting your blogs. Enjoy your day!

Audible Book Review: The 6 Habits of Growth by Brendon Burchard

 

This has been a year of personal growth and professional development. If you are interested in resources for such topics, then you should grab a copy of The 6 Habits of Growth by Brendon Burchard.

In this audiobook, narrated by the author, Burchard outlines six habits to help you create the life of your dreams:

• Motivation
• Focus
• Confidence
• Energy
• Purpose
• Leadership

In his conversational style, he digs deep into each habit, offering insight and experience. While there is not a lot that is new or groundbreaking in The 6 Habits of Growth, Burchard is encouraging and inspiring in his delivery. 

The topic that most spoke to me is the habit of Focus. The author encourages readers to assess where they are in ten main areas of life: mental health, physical health, family, friends, finances, mission, spirit, adventure, learning, and growth. This allows you to focus on who you "could be." This chapter talks about how to plan for greater performance; encourages you to make time to attend to your physical health; and journal so you can reflect. 

There is some pitching of Burchard's self-improvement app that is subscription based, but if you read enough of these books, you come to expect it. At least it's not heavy handed. 

The 6 Habits of Growth is a helpful tool for your personal growth and professional development tool box.

Listening Length	5 hours and 4 minutes
Author	Brendon Burchard
Narrator	Brendon Burchard
Audible.com Release Date	September 15, 2022
Publisher	Audible Originals
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Original recording
Language	English
ASIN	B0BBXX6LSY

I downloaded this book on Audible. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Nov 11

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.    

Before we get into this week's post, I would like to take a moment to thank Veterans everywhere for their service. We honor your service and your sacrifice today. God bless you all. 

Another busy real estate week, which means I didn't get a chance to read... unless you want to talk about contracts.

I focused last week and will continue to focus this coming week on finding my voice and connecting with other women on the same journey. I've been creating personal videos and thinking about some of my dreams. 

My latest novel is going excruciatingly slow, but I am writing something every day, so I consider that a success.

Here are a few photos from this week.

Visited The Crepes Tea House this weekend for breakfast.

Saw a Christmas tree on the neighboring street.

View from our open house on Sunday.

The hubby and I walking Theo Sunday.

As for my reading world, I am reading on this one. 

Still need to write the review for this cute one. 

Hope to write a review of this one this week. 

These are the books I'm planning to read through the end of the year:  

Upcoming events:

• A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker - November 20 (Review)
• Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir by Mike Martin - December 2 (Review - TC&TBC)
• Jingles by D.F. Jones - December 11 (Review)

You can read the latest Christmas news at the Christmas Year Round blog. What a great week of Christmas news that embraces the spirit of the season. The story behind this year's Rockefeller Center's Christmas tree and the story of a man who decorated his entire street early as a gift to his wife. Read more here!

I will be on appointments today, so probably won't check in until the afternoon. Hope you have a great week!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Nov 4

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.    

Welcome to November! Did everyone remember to turn their clocks back this weekend? I sure was happy with the extra hour of sleep. Had another busy work week, but managed some fun, too. My sister and I took in dinner and local theater on Saturday.

Nothing like waking up to these two goofballs. Giggles loves hanging out by the window. Travis appears to be studying her. 

Found these antlers while walking Theo in the woods behind the house.

Speaking of houses, this is the view from one of the properties I saw this weekend. 

NaNoWriMo has started. My writing is slow going because I was not as prepared going into it this year. Work hasn't left a lot of free time either. I'm okay with not finishing the book, but it is a good distraction while waiting to hear back from the agent about my first novel. 

As for my reading world, I am working on this one. 

Need to write the review for this cute one. 

Finished this book. Loved it!

These are the books I'm planning to read through the end of the year:  

Upcoming events:

• A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker - November 20 (Review)
• Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir by Mike Martin - December 2 (Review - TC&TBC)
• Jingles by D.F. Jones - December 11 (Review)

You can read the latest Christmas news at the Christmas Year Round blog. This week, we are talking about the Magic Kingdom Christmas tree, Freeform's '25 Days of Christmas' schedule, and Netflix streaming Hallmark Channel movies. Check it out here!

That's it for me this week. Looking forward to checking out your blogs!