Review Tour + #Giveaway: Beautiful Evil Winter by Kelly K. Lavender @KellyKLavender @GoddessFish

BEAUTIFUL EVIL WINTER

Kelly K. Lavender

GENRE: Suspense

BLURB:

Can a novel about an American couple's quest to adopt a Russian baby be called a Multi-Award-Winning Suspense Thriller? Yes.

"...The book is difficult to put down, enticing you to read a few more chapters before bed. In the end, the book leaves the reader satisfied, but the story never fully leaves your mind." The US Review of Books

In the late 1990s, a time in Moscow reminiscent of the unforgiving gun-slinging days of the frontier west, mild-mannered Ethan and hot-blooded Sophia board a Russian bound plane. Armed only with a homespun plan, the desperate American couple hopes to to adopt a baby boy.

What can go wrong? Maybe, an innocent ill-fated encounter with the Mafia or maybe, being marked as a target for mob revenge. Perhaps, having to rely on a first-time adoption coordinator to complete the process and shelter them from harm. Honestly, what won’t go wrong?

Crippled by circumstances - confined and monitored in a Moscow apartment, no language skills, no cell phone, no clue, no landline, no gun, no nearby family and a baby to protect, they have to find a way to out. Everything and anything can go wrong. How can they prevail?

Purchase BEAUTIFUL EVIL WINTER on Amazon

Excerpt:

Will it happen this time? The ban announced last night—will it ruin everything? Dad says Russian law takes effect the moment it’s ratified. I’m so worried, Ethan.” I rub my eyes and lean my head back while the American jet engines roar in the background. My head throbs and my hands sweat as we try to begin our thirteen- hour journey. We’ve been sitting on the tarmac for two hours due to a mechanical problem.

Ethan grabs my hand and squeezes it softly, then leans over to plant a kiss on my forehead. I gaze at his face; bags frame his red eyes. I look out the window to distract myself. It’s a sunny, cold day, the sky clear of clouds and full of promise for flight.

“One step at a time, Sophia. We’re closer than we’ve ever been. Remember that,” he says soothingly. Turning back to him, my body becomes rigid as anger spills over me like hot molten lava.

“You’re thinking the same thing I am! We should be overjoyed at the prospect of meeting our son! This is a time for celebration, a time for effervescent bottles of uncorked champagne! But this do- it-yourself adoption is a nightmare! How much longer can we handle disappointment after disappointment? The closer we think we are...the farther away we are,” I vent.

The conversation with Natasha on the phone last night burns in my brain.

“Adoption very risky in Russia now. The ban make Mafia watch money very close.”

How could she say that on the eve of our trip?

I play back what Natasha said.

“This trip big gamble for you. I work to keep adoption away from Mafia. If I do not, police arrest you for human trafficking or Mafia take you. Better to go to prison. My name not appear anywhere, only yours. Phone will be disconnected. And I never know you.”

 

My Review:

When I read the summary for Beautiful Evil Winter, I wasn’t sure what I was going to find between its covers, but what I found was not what I expected. It was way more intense than anything I could have imagined.

An American couple wants to adopt a baby or child. After extensive research, they decided their best option would be to adopt a child from Russia. The woman who agrees to help them in Russia gives them the runaround for weeks/months, but finally, the big day comes.

Ethan and his wife Sophia board a plane bound for Russia. I don’t know what they expected when they arrived, but I am sure what they found was nowhere near what they were thinking. As Ethan and Sophia soon learned, adopting a child in Russia was not as easy as they thought it might be.

When they arrived they were told to stay in their room. It would be very dangerous for them if they went out and caught the attention of the Russian mafia. But after weeks of being held up in a hotel room with no connection to the outside world, they decided to go to the bar downstairs.

A very bad group of men arrived at the bar while Ethan and Sophia were there. The were some very bad awful scenes in the bar some very sad, heartbreaking, tragic scenes. The descriptions were so well done you could feel the tension that was floating around the room. I felt as if I was standing against that wall with everyone else with tears rolling down my face.

Beautiful Evil Winter is a sad, scary, heartfelt story that held my attention from the first page until the last. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as I couldn’t stop reading. Beautiful Evil Winter had me racing to the end as I tore through each page as if the devil was on my tail. The suspense kept me hanging on every word wanting to know what was going to happen next. I can’t wait to read more in the Fifty Shades of Mystery, Moxie and Suspense series.

I highly recommend Beautiful Evil Winter to all mystery/suspenseful fans! Grab a copy of Beautiful Evil Winter today!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Kelly’s fascination with fiction began in middle school when she entered a book-reading contest and won. As an ardent fan of the resonating narrative and the cliffhanger, she decided to dedicate herself to becoming a skilled writer. When college professors spotlighted her writing in the classroom, it anchored her interest in becoming a novelist.

After earning a business degree, she continued to pursue her education at UCLA, via the UCLA Writers' Extension Program, where her work earned praise from an award-winning author. A rickety project trip to Russia, to adopt a baby boy, provided the inspiration for her debut novel, Beautiful Evil Winter.

Connect with Kelly K. Lavender

Website ~ Facebook ~ X ~ Instagram

 

Giveaway:

$15 Amazon/BN GC 

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