Dani Pettrey Archives | Lynn H. Blackburn

Silenced by Dani Pettrey

Lynn Blackburn — Mon, 19 May 2014 14:00:00 +0000

I’m so excited about today’s post. We’ve got a great book, an opportunity to win a FREE copy from Bethany House publishers, and a fun sweepstakes you can enter.

All of these great opportunities are in celebration of the release of Silenced, the fourth book in Dani Pettrey‘s Alaskan Courage series.

The Alaskan Courage series follows the adventures of the five McKenna siblings. When Silenced opens, Cole and Bailey (from Submerged) are in the final stages of planning their wedding, with Piper and Landon (from Shattered) just a few months behind. Reef (who gets his own story in Book 5, yeah!) has promised to come home for the weddings and Darcy and Gage (from Stranded) are doing great.

Silenced is Jake and Kayden’s story, and I was so excited to finally figure out what made the cool and distant Kayden McKenna tick, and to find out how she would treat Jake Westin, now that the truth about his past has come to light.

Here’s the scoop on Silenced…

A relaxing day of rock climbing takes a dark turn when Kayden McKenna’s route brings her face-to-face with a dead climber. Was the climber’s death a terrible accident or something more sinister?

When the case is handed to Yancey’s overburdened sheriff, he turns to Jake Westin for help. With the truth of Jake’s past now revealed, Jake agrees to use his investigation skills for this one case–but nothing could prepare him for where the case will take him.

As Kayden and Jake work together to uncover the truth, will they also find a refuge in each other? Or will the deadly plans of a killer destroy their chance at love?

I’ve come to expect page-turning reads from Dani, and Silenced did not disappoint. I tried, really tried, to stretch it into a three-day read.

Didn’t happen.

I got about 1/3 of the way in before life pulled me away, but once I picked it back up the next evening, I knew I’d be reading until I got to the end. I closed the book after midnight, exhausted and satisfied.

I read a lot of romantic suspense, so as it became clear that the investigation into the murder of the rock climber was winding down, I started to get a little anxious. There was still a lot of book and not a lot of story left.

WRONG.

That was when the story really cranked up, and I loved that twist. You know how I feel about spoilers, so that’s really all I can say.

As a rule, I only read a series in order, and while I realize not everyone feels like that is the only way to do it (even though it totally is) I should say that if you read these books out of order, I think you’ll be missing too much to be able to fully appreciate the character and romantic development. By the time you get to Silenced, you’ve already seen Jake and Kayden interacting for three books, and been in their heads quite a bit in the last book, so these characters are already familiar. And I know for me, I was rooting for Jake to finally break through Kayden’s tough shell.

So, who wants to win their own free copy of Silenced?!?! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here on the blog, or you can also earn entries by sharing this post on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can earn up to 4 entries! I’ll draw a name from all the entries on May 26th and Bethany House will mail a copy to the winner. (There’s a lot of fine print below, so be sure to read that part.)

Another great giveaway is happening until May 21st over on Dani’s site. You have a chance to win airline tickets, a gorgeous Alaskan print, or a very fun picnic basket.

All you have to do is visit http://www.danipettrey.com/rugged-romance-sweepstakes/ to enter!

Wow! Such a packed post! Be sure to enter both for the free copy of Silenced and the great prizes in the Rugged Romance Sweepstakes!

Super fine print for the free book…

No purchase is necessary. Odds of winning are based on number of entries.Giveaway begins May 19 and ends at midnight May 26. Up to 4 entries per person. Entries can be made by commenting on this blog post or by sharing this post on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Giveaway open to US residents, 18 and older. I will contact the winner via email and winners will have three days to respond before I will award the book to the next winner.

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The Alaskan Adventures Sweepstakes

Lynn Blackburn — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you my review of Stranded by Dani Pettrey.

You can click here to read it.

In Stranded, Book 3 in author Dani Pettrey’s acclaimed Alaskan Courage series, reporter Darcy St. James knows something is wrong when her friend vanishes from her job on a cruise ship. Everyone else believes Abby simply left of her own accord, but something isn’t lining up, and Darcy knows the only way to find the truth is to put herself in Abby’s position.

Gage McKenna has taken a summer-long stint leading adventure excursions for the passengers of various cruise lines that dock in Alaska for a few days of sightseeing. He’s surprised to find Darcy onboard one of the ships, working undercover as a reporter.

Something sinister is going on, and the deeper they dig, the more they realize they’ve only discovered the tip of the iceberg.

To celebrate the story, author Dani Pettrey and Bethany House Publishers are pleased to present the ALASKAN ADVENTURES Sweepstakes, and your chance to win one of three fabulous prizes connected with the story!

Timeframe & Notifications:

This giveaway starts September 2, 2013 and ends September 19, 2013 @ 11:59 pm (PST). Winners will be selected Friday, September 20, 2013, and announced at DaniPettrey.com.

GRAND PRIZE:

BUILD-YOUR-OWN-ADVENTURE PACKAGE

In Stranded, Darcy, Gage, and the McKenna family launch into all kinds of adventures: from high-octane ocean kayaking, to rugged island camping beneath the vast Alaskan skies.

Our grand prize winner will have the chance to build their own adventure, with a $300 adventure gear gift card of their choice from either Eddie Bauer or L.L. Bean.

And what would our hero and heroine do if they won the prize? Gage would use it towards one of L.L. Bean’s gorgeous ocean kayaks, while Darcy would go for “Glamping” gear:)

SECOND PRIZE:

CULINARY CONQUEROR PACKAGE

Everyone knows Gage McKenna’s campfire cooking is second to none. But in Stranded, Darcy discovers that before Gage was a search and rescue hero, he secretly dreamed of attending culinary school.

Our second prize winner will have the chance to fulfill Gage’s dream with a $200 value, 1-year membership to Top Chef University.

Membership includes over 200 video lessons taught by Top Chef contestants, covering everything from soups to desserts.

THIRD PRIZE:

SHIMMER & SHINE PACKAGE

Darcy once gave her missing friend, Abby, a beautiful shell necklace, engraved with a special message that made it one-of-a-kind.

Our third prize winner will receive their very own, one-of-a-kind “Earth & Sea” necklace valued at $100.

Handmade of New Zealand Paua shells, hammered copper, and Tahitian pearls, this necklace is the perfect compliment for a soft sweater and jeans, or a unique finishing touch for a little black dress on a special date night.

How to Enter:

Go to http://www.danipettrey.com/alaskan-adventures-sweepstakes/ and complete the entry box, anytime between September 2 and September 19

All you have to do to enter is include your name and email. You won’t be spammed or stalked in any way, but she’s going to need that email address to let you know if you’ve won! You’ll be asked which prize you’d most like to win, and then you’ll have an opportunity to earn additional entries by sharing about the contest on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, etc. It’s ridiculously easy to enter multiple times and each entry increases your odds of winning while helping spread the word about a great book!

I would LOVE IT if one of my Out of the Boat readers won one of these fabulous prizes. Please pop over to Dani’s website and enter today, and if you’re so inclined, leave us a comment telling us which package you would most enjoy and why.

I’ll start…I love to cook, so I’d have to say the Top Chef University package would be my first choice. But I certainly wouldn’t turn down that gorgeous necklace, and I’m sure I could find lots of fun stuff to buy at L.L. Bean!

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Stranded

Lynn Blackburn — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 23:31:00 +0000

There are few things that make me happier than walking to my mailbox and finding a new book. I particularly enjoy it when the book isn’t available for purchase yet. This is probably because I have the patience of a fruit fly and I don’t like waiting for anything.

Right now, I’ve got four—that’s right—four books in my TBR (to-be-read) stack that fit this criteria. It’s like Christmas in August!

For today, let’s talk about the Alaskan Courage series written by Dani Pettrey—specifically, book three, Stranded, which releases on September 1 (but I’ve heard can already be found in some stores).

The Alaskan Courage series follows the adventures of the McKenna family—Cole, Gage, Reef, Kayden, and Piper. (Aren’t those great names!)

The McKenna’s own and operate Last Frontier Adventures in Yancey, Alaska. When they aren’t helping tourists enjoy the vast beauty of the Alaskan frontier, they serve their community as volunteers on the search and rescue team.

We met Cole and his long lost love, Bailey, in Book 1, Submerged. Then we had the fun of watching the baby sister, Piper, fall in love with longtime family friend Deputy Sheriff Landon Grainger in Book 2, Shattered.

We also met Darcy St. James and watched her get under Gage McKenna’s skin in Shattered. Now, in Stranded, Gage and Darcy take center stage as they search for Darcy’s missing friend and uncover a sinister plot in the icy waters off the Alaskan coast.

And that’s all I’m going to tell you about the specifics. You know how I feel about spoilers. They are evil.

What I will tell you is…
I.Love.This.Series.
(True confession…I read Stranded in one night. I couldn’t put it down).

These books make me happy. They have just enough suspense to keep me turning the pages and just enough romance to keep my heart fluttering.

The McKenna’s are a great family. The siblings are as different as five siblings can be. Feisty, fun, flawed. You will love them.
I certainly do.

**************

After you’ve read the books, you’ll want to check out Dani’s website. She’s got some fun bios, playlists, and videos for each of the three books.

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