Ava’s Prize
(City by the Bay Stories #3)
By Cari Lynn Webb
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 Pages
November 1st 2018 by Harlequin Heartwarming
He needs a great idea
She can provide it—but at what cost?
The battle lines are drawn when army medic turned EMT Ava Andrews enters a contest devised by San Francisco entrepreneur Kyle Quinn. The first responder isn’t just competing for a tempting grand prize. She’s fighting her attraction to the self-made millionaire…and losing the war. But private and professional boundaries blur when a breach of trust threatens Ava’s future with Kyle.
Guest Post – Family Game Night by Cari Lynn Webb
In my new release, Ava’s Prize-a Harlequin Heartwarming sweet romance-my heroine, Ava Andrews plays a game called: You Know What We Need with her family and friends.
Here is an explanation from ten-year old, Ben Sawyer-the son of Ava’s best friend and paramedic partner, Dan Sawyer.
Confidence tipped the boy’s chin up and strengthened his voice. “My aunt and I are inventors, too.”
“That’s nothing.” Ava waved her hands between them as if trying to wipe Ben’s words from the air. “That’s just a game we play.”
Kyle liked the tinge on Ava’s cheeks. “What’s the game?”
Ben rubbed his hands together. “It’s called You Know What We Need?”
Kyle knew what he needed. He needed another million-dollar idea. And he needed it yesterday. Still, he wanted to share Ben’s enthusiasm, feel that same innocent excitement for something. He’d felt it once with the Medi-Spy. “How do you play?”
“Someone says, ‘You know what we need?’ and then tells everyone their idea. We discuss the idea, then vote if we like it or not. You get points if everyone likes it.” Ben’s eyes widened, and horror lowered his voice to secret-telling level. “But if we vote it down, you lose double the points.”
“You have rules?”
“Every good game has rules.” Ben looked at him as if Kyle shouldn’t ask such ridiculous questions. “It needs to be fair.”
Kyle nodded. His contest would be fair, too. But could it work? Could one simple contest keep him from financial ruin? “What are the rules?”
“Everyone gets a turn. You can tell your idea anytime. Any place, except church and anytime Dad tells you to be quiet. Otherwise you can’t interrupt.” Ben held up his fingers and counted. “This is the most important one—you can’t make fun of an idea.”
“What does the winner get?” Kyle asked. A family game was all fine and good. But his contest needed a winner. In a viable contest, there needed to be a prize.
“Bragging rights.” Dan’s voice was matter-of-fact, as if nothing else mattered.
Family game night is also a huge part of our family. I have two teenage daughters and they like to remind me and family and friends that I wouldn’t let them win even when they were five years old. We might be a little competitive in our house, but I can also say that we’ve enjoyed many nights of laughter and fun during an intense game of Monopoly or Sorry. We also like to play cards: Five Crowns, Thirty-One and Uno all rank high on our list of favorites. Early favorites were Clue Junior, Candyland and SpongeBob SquarePants Operation.
For car rides, carpools, waiting rooms and restaurants, we’ve relied on I Spy and Twenty Questions. More recently, Would You Rather, Punch Buggy and If I questions have filled the time with more laughs, on-going conversations and debates.
We like to include family and friends in our game nights as often as possible. And like Ava and her friends, everyone wants to win, if only to earn bragging rights until the next game night.
So, tell me – do you have a favorite game we should add to our family game nights?
Happy Reading!
Cari Lynn Webb
Other Books in the Series
Cari Lynn Webb lives?in South Carolina with her husband, daughters and assorted four-legged family members. She’s been blessed to see the power of true love in her grandparent’s 70 year marriage and her parent’s marriage of over 50 years. She knows love isn’t always sweet and perfect, it can be challenging, complicated and risky. But she believes happily-ever-afters are worth fighting for. She loves to connect with readers. Visit her at her website.
Tour Giveaway
Sounds great, I enjoy contemporary romance books.
Thanks Susan! This was a fun book to write. ??
Sounds like an excellent Harlequin read
We love Uno too! We recently picked up the Legends of Zelda version and it can take hours to finish a game. It’s so fun. We also love Exploding Kittens ?? (and if Cari sees this, I’m having a very hard time signing up for your email newsletter. I’ve tried the link in a few different browsers and still no luck)
Thanks, Lacey! Sorry about the newsletter link … I will check my website. You can e-mail me at carilynnwebb@gmail.com – happy to add you to my newsletter list. And I’m going to look into Exploding Kittens. ??
Sounds like a wonderful book, I’m definitely intrigued by the blurb and I also love the cover. Thanks for sharing ??
Victoria – this is one of my favorite covers too. Enjoy your week!
This book sounds like an awesome read.
Thanks, Debbie!
We’ll see which of them is really the first to respond.
I love the covers, so romantic ??
Cover is nice and romantic. Good luck with the novel.
Debra – I agree on the cover. This one really catches the heart of the book. Take care!
Sounds really good. I love a good contemporary romance. Thanks for sharing.
Great review thank you! This sounds very good.
Penney
I’d love to read this romance! Cute cover!
Oh wow, I love the cover and the excerpt. We used to have game night even went to championships. My husband and I are playing them again. We enjoy playing Mille Bornes, Uno, Skip Bo.
Kathleen – that sounds like some serious game nights with championships involved. I need to look into Mille Bornes. Happy reading!
This sounds wonderful.
The cover reminds me of past fun, love it! Wonderful post, so looking forward to reading Ava’s Prize. Oh, I too had a problem with her email, not sure if it worked or not, gave up after trying several times,
I am drawn to this book!! I am looking forward to reading it!!
Thank you, Amy Hope you enjoy reading it!
Kathy – thank you for featuring Ava’s Prize on I Am A Reader. I appreciate the support! Hope you have a wonderful week.
I love this book cover! It’s adorable! And this book series sounds great.
This book cover is adorable!
I like this book cover. Looks fresh and interesting.
Thanks for the chance
Awesome covers!! Can’t wait to read this ????