Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors.

I received a complimentary copy of “A Cowboy’s Christmas Proposal” direct from the author Cathy McDavid in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Cathy McDavid (via her author’s blog):

I feel especially blessed to have started reading Harlequin Heartwarming titles through hosting for PRISM over the past year – hard to believe I haven’t been hosting for them longer than that as I have found so many wonderful authors who are writing for Harlequin as a result of hosting their tours. One thing is for certain – I am finding Contemporary Romance authors I can appreciate reading through Harlequin’s imprints inasmuch as Western Romance authors as well! I have noticed a slight leaning towards the Westerns, as I have a personal preference for Western Fiction, Cowboys & Ranches and anything set where the skies erupt over open range! The kind of place a girl can ride a horse and feel a certain layer of freedom in having an endless path to ride!

As I’ve been hosting Heartwarming authors, I’ve also noticed that there seems to be a disconnect in marketing as Ms McDavid was not the only Heartwarming author voicing her concerns over how the line is marketed to readers. I’ve been a bit puzzled by this as despite all readers having some authors and stories resonate with them moreso than others, there are now two Harlequin imprints I can attest as to drawing my eye into their stories on a seriously regular basis: #LoveINSPIRED Suspense and the Heartwarming Romances!! I am hopeful it is only a matter of time before the momentum picks up and more readers will find what these writers are writing! Blessedly they also have a Heartwarming Blog!

For starters, although I read a heap of Romances & Women’s Fiction stories (hence why I host @SatBookChat on Saturdays on Twitter) – I do have to admit, I love relationship-based romances where the romance is gentler, sweeter and mostly on the cleaner side. I don’t mind a bit of extra heat round the edges, but I’m not a fan of overt descriptive sensuality either – from the notes I leave on the reviews where stories cross a certain line of tolerance for my own readerly sensibilities. I think this is why these two Harlequin imprints tend to have a lasting impression on me the most – I would also say the Love Inspired Historical imprint but it was discontinued for reasons I’m still trying to sort out even though I’ve read massive articles and tweet *threads about which imprints were dissolved recently at Harlequin.

I have a similar outlook really about it all to Ms McDavid – celebrate the here and now, fiercely support the authors you love reading and try to encourage other readers who love the same stories to take a chance on someone you read yourself and enjoyed reading. That is honestly the best way to ‘market’ a book – good ole’ fashioned IRL social communication – if you can gush and love on a book, odds are in favour someone else is going to feel curious and want to read the book themselves! At least, this is something I’ve found to be true – both IRL and online, through my blog and my Twitter feeds.

I pulled up the author’s blog getting the chance to know Ms McDavid a bit on a personal level and finding several of her posts rather enjoyable! The one about how she addresses giving away free copies of her novels (read: her author copies) is charmingly heartwarming in of itself! I also felt a bit sad to once again hear about the publishing travails of offering free ebooks to readers, as sadly most of the authors I personally love reading are either a) Digital First authors or b) authors who release across platforms and always include ebooks before they seek out audiobooks.

A good case in point of how I try to offset the fact my purchasing budget is on the smaller humbling side of the ledger is how I make regular purchase requests at my local library. This year alone they’ve blessed me with many titles I’ve requested and I am forever grateful as they allowed me to get introduced to authors who were either new to me or were writing another story in sequence of a past work. For instance, I have a blog tour coming up for the second book in a series, I opted to request the first and it was accepted to where I can read the first novel ahead of the second I am reviewing for a blog tour. In other cases, I might request previous releases of authors I discover on blog tours (ones I host or tours I follow by other bloggers) or authors I discover on Twitter.

One note for authors who are trying to get books in front of more readers – I have honestly crossed paths with more authors I will be reading and following their careers for the rest of my readerly life due to blog tours than I was able to discover on my own prior to becoming a book blogger. And, not just blog tours directly – as I’ve crossed paths with writers on Twitter as well, and by becoming active in the book blogosphere and chatting on Twitter in bookish chats or finding authors as we all find each other on the #bookish side of Twitter – has been a way forward for me to seek out the authors writing the stories I most desire to find on my bookshelf! It has increased the selections for me and has widened my reading life. I used to seek out a lot of stories before I blogged/tweeted – but those authors who have either gone on Twitter and/or have participated on blog tours – I’m telling you, I am grateful to each of you, as it led me to your STORIES.

I’m uncertain why most ebooks go for .99 cents when the profit margins are extremely short for authors as it were – I hope one day the price for the ebook will match the work the writers are putting into their stories and become a living wage rather than a discount for readers who have huge storage files of ebooks they’ve never read.

Counter to this, I loved reading about her resilience in book world and how she started to carve out her own path after imprints dissolved. Publishing is similar to life – you have to adapt to the circumstances which arise and do the best you can to set your attitude to where you are not defeated but can find a way to champion the moment, seek out the best new route of transition and find a tomorrow of possibilities.

Ms McDavid has a great blog with an insightful voice threading through it – I encourage you to visit with her and see for yourself the pearls of wisdom she is disclosing. She also has a comedic side to her blogging voice – one which made me think I might find it within her novels as well! Do remember though – she cuts the comments off on older blog posts, which is why I posted my reactions here as her blog was limited in where you could respond. I presumed that was for spam issues as most bloggers do that whereas I do not as I moderate the comment threads on Jorie Loves A Story.

A Cowboy's Christmas Proposal
Subtitle: The Sweetheart Ranch
by Cathy McDavid
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

At a magical time of year…

Can a cowboy help falling in love?

For single dad Owen Caufield, living and working at Sweetheart Ranch for a month is the perfect change of pace. While the cowboy turned wedding officiant can now spend more time with his children, Molly O’Malley, his new boss, is less thrilled. A wedding ranch isn’t the best place for three rambunctious youngsters. But amid the chaos—and the coming holidays—it may be the best place to fall in love…

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781335633873

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Heartland Fiction, Ranches & Cowboys, Western Fiction, Western Romance

Published by Harlequin Books, Harlequin Heartwarming

on 6th November, 2018

Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)

Pages: 384

Published by: Harlequin Heartwarming,
an imprint of Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

The Sweetheart Ranch series:

A Cowboy’s Christmas Proposal (book one)

The Cowboy’s Perfect Match (book two) | forthcoming: May, 2019

This series is evolving into a proper quartet – there are four books planned!

Unsure if there is a connection, but previously there were three novels set in Sweetheart, Nevada under the imprint: American Romance (by Harlequin) – I was wondering if the new series was a bridge between her current stories & this series. It could also be a coincidence in choice of titles – as just as I opened the first chapter I noted the new series takes place in Arizona and not Nevada! Still though, I know I’ll be fetching copies of this series as it is written with a similar venue and subject in mind at its heart!

The Rancher’s Homecoming (book one)

His Christmas Sweetheart (book two)

Most Eligible Sheriff (book three)

Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #Harlequin Heartwarming

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