Hello, reader friends! Join me in welcoming back our author friend Mary Connealy for a JustRead Publicity Tours blog and review tour celebrating The Unexpected Champion! I’m still devouring this wonderful story after a crazy weekend at the Christian Fiction Readers Retreat (WITH Mary Connealy) so my review will appear next week but y’all can check out the excerpt and enter the giveaway now!

about the book

Title: The Unexpected Champion
Series: High Sierra Sweethearts, Book 3
Author: Mary Connealy
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Release Date: March 5, 2019
Genre: Historical Romance / Western

They’re as Different as Could Be.
But They’ll Need to Trust Each Other to Survive the Wilderness . . . and the Dangers Chasing Them.

City dweller John McCall never expected to be out in the High Sierras of 1868 on a wild-goose chase to find the Chiltons’ supposedly lost grandson. But now that he’s out here, things have gotten even more complicated, mostly due to wildcat Penny Scott. She’s not like any woman he’s ever met–comfortable in the woods, with a horse, and with a gun.

When Penny and John are taken against their will by a shadowy figure looking for evidence they don’t have, both realize they’ve stumbled into something dangerous. With their friends and family desperately searching for them, Penny and John must make a daring escape.

When they emerge back into the real world, they discover their kidnapper just won’t stop. This city man and country woman must bring a powerful, ruthless man to justice, all while fighting a very inconvenient attraction to each other.

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excerpt

He’d never before been this close to a woman like Penny Scott. A woman in boots and trousers who knew the frontier, who truly was closer to an untamed creature than a civilized, proper woman.

How could a man not find her fascinating?

She didn’t move, and he sure didn’t tell her to.

It went on far too long before the cry of an owl, the whisper of the breeze, and the rustling of branches from far overhead broke the trance. He straightened away and her fingertips, cold from the cloth, slid down his face and his neck, then dropped to her side.

He cleared his throat and said quickly, “This plan to quit leaving tracks made sense up on that trail, but down here, with these banks hanging high over our heads and the stream just beginning from springs out of solid rock, there’s nowhere else we can walk, so if they follow us this far they’ll pick the same direction.”

Miss Scott sighed. “You’re right. But we still don’t want them to know where we break off. How long do you think we should walk? Should we try and get out of this canyon? Or look for a sheltered place down here?”

She was consulting him. It was a proud moment. “The stars are out now, let’s keep pushing. And if a place to stay pops up, we’ll rest a while.”

“It’s a decent night, not too cold, but the water must be runoff from the snowcaps. It’s nearly as cold as ice. I’ve got some beef jerky in my bag here.” She fished it out and handed him a couple of pieces. “But no blanket, certainly no dry clothes. I can’t hunt, the noise would give us away. We’ll be none too comfortable.”

She kicked into the icy water and began wading knee-deep. “Watch for a bank that has a stony surface. We’ll need to get out of this water now and then, or our feet will freeze.”

He couldn’t help but notice her lovely figure right in front of him, despite those outrageous trousers she had on. A man had to be very careful of his mind wandering off, thinking thoughts he ought not to ponder. Instead, he thought about whether to take up their talk of Ronnie again but decided to opt for peace, at least for a time. What became of that little boy needed to be settled, and yet John had accepted money to complete the job.

But he wouldn’t steal a child away except to protect that child. “Since I’ve met you, you’ve threatened to shoot me, you’re wearing disreputable clothes, and you’re traipsing through the wilderness alone with a man you only met today.”

And he’d decided to keep his mouth shut, hadn’t he? And yet here he was, yammering. “I’m not sure Ronnie is safe with you.”

Even in the dark, with her a few paces ahead, he saw her shoulders square. He’d bet her chin just jutted out and her eyes flashed fire.

Well, at least he was getting to know her.

about the author

Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys always with a strong suspense thread. She is a two time Carol Award winner, and a Rita, Christy and Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist. She is the bestselling author of over 50 books and novellas.

Her most recent book series are: Garrison’s Law, High Sierra Sweethearts, Cimarron Legacy, Wild at Heart, Trouble in Texas, and Kincaid Bride for Bethany House Publishing. She’s also written four other series for Barbour Publishing and many novellas.

Mary has nearly a million books in print. Visit her website, Seekerville, and Petticoats & Pistols!

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tour giveaway

One winner will win a complete set of all three High Sierra Sweethearts books (print, US only) and a $20 Barnes & Noble gift card!

Be sure to check out each stop on this tour for more chances to win!

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight April 8, 2019 and last through 11:59 pm April 15, 2019. US only. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

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tour schedule

Follow along at the link above to learn more about this book and earn more giveaway entries!