About The Book “A heart-stopping, breath-stealing masterpiece of romantic suspense!”– Colleen Coble, USA Today bestselling author
***
EMS helicopter pilot Penny Carlton is used to high stress situations, but being forced to land on a mountain in a raging storm with a critical patient–and a serial killer on the loose–tests her skills and her nerve to the limit. She survives with FBI Special Agent Holt Satterfield’s help. But she’s not out of the woods yet.
In the ensuing days, Penny finds herself under attack. And when news reaches Holt that he may not have gotten his man after all, it will take all he and Penny have to catch a killer–before he catches one of them.
Bestselling and award-winning author Lynette Eason is back with another high-octane tale of close calls, narrow escapes, and the fight to bring a nefarious criminal to justice.
About Lynette Eason
Award-winning, best-selling author, Lynette Eason writes for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line and for Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Her books have hit the Publisher’s Weekly, CBA and ECPA bestseller lists and have won numerous awards such as the prestigious Carol Award, the Selah, the Daphne, the IRCC award and more. Lynette is married, has two children, and lives in Greenville, SC.
My Rating: 5 Stars!
‘She was getting really tired of people aiming guns at her.’
Lynette Eason begins a new series with this one and it is incredibly good. Penny and Holt are great primary characters and each also have issues that need to be dealt with, which makes the story even better. They are fighting for their lives from the get-go here and the action rarely lets up for more than a few hours.
Eason has once again crafted very real characters and an awesome plot. She also manages to create a super bad, bad guy. I was on pins and needles on more than one occasion. Eason really knows her stuff when it comes to writing a suspenseful novel.
Skillfully told and populated with good characters, this is one for the keeper shelf for sure.
My thanks to Revell Publishing for a copy of this book via Net Galley. The opinion here is entirely my own.
About The Book Pilot Dodge Kingston has always been the heir to Sky King Ranch. But after a terrible family fight, he left to become a pararescue jumper. A decade later, he’s headed home to the destiny that awaits him.
That’s not all that’s waiting for Dodge. His childhood best friend and former flame, Echo Yazzie, is a true Alaskan–a homesteader, dogsledder, and research guide for the DNR. Most of all, she’s living a life Dodge knows could get her killed. One of these days she’s going to get lost in the woods again, and his worst fear is that he won’t be there to find her.
When one of Echo’s fellow researchers goes missing, Echo sets out to find her, despite a blizzard, a rogue grizzly haunting the woods, and the biting cold. Plus, there’s more than just the regular dangers of the Alaskan forests stalking her . . .
Will Dodge be able to find her in time? And if he does, is there still room for him in her heart?
Sunrise is the first explosive volume in a new nail-biting series from USA Today bestselling author Susan May Warren.
About Susan May Warren Growing up in Minneapolis and attending the U of MN, I learned to love city life, although I’m a woodsy girl at heart. Or maybe I’m an adventurer — having lived and traveled all over the world, including Siberia Russia as a missionary for eight years. Probably that’s why my characters can’t sit still, and seem to get into one scrape after another — they’re too much like me! I love God, my family, my country, my church, and feel privileged every day to be able to write stories. Here’s my “Official” Bio. With over 1 million books sold, critically acclaimed novelist Susan May Warren is the Christy, RITA and Carol award-winning author of over seventy-five novels with Revell, Tyndale, Barbour, Steeple Hill and Summerside Press. Known for her compelling plots and unforgettable characters, Susan has written contemporary and historical romances, romantic-suspense, thrillers, rom-com and Christmas novellas. With books translated into eight languages, many of her novels have been ECPA and CBA bestsellers, were chosen as Top Picks by Romantic Times, and have won the RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice contest and the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award. Of her books, Publisher’s Weekly has written, “Warren lays bare her characters’ human frailties, including fear, grief, and resentment, as openly as she details their virtues of love, devotion, and resiliency. She has crafted an engaging tale of romance, rivalry, and the power of forgiveness.” And Library Journal adds, “Warren’s characters are well-developed and she knows how to create a first rate contemporary romance…” Susan is also a nationally acclaimed writing coach, teaching at conferences around the nation and winner of the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers Mentor of the Year award. She loves to help people launch their writing careers and is the founder of Novel.Academy and http://www.LearnHowtoWriteaNovel.com, a writing website that helps authors get published and stay published. She’s also the author of the popular writing method, The Story Equation.
My Rating: 5 Stars!
‘You’re afraid of God not doing things your way. Stop telling God what you want, and let him work his will in you. You might find answers.’
The instant I put down a Susan May Warren book, my heart and head are so full, it’s nearly impossible to think of anything else and craft a review worthy of said book. My heart is just so full, totally captivated by these amazing characters and their lives.
Warren begins a new series, Sky King Ranch, with this book. Set in the state of Alaska, her descriptions are so incredibly vivid, I can very nearly feel the cold and see with my mind’s eye the beautiful vistas in the scenes of the book. The dog sleds, the plane rescues, the cabins, the grizzlies, all seem so real!
Dodge and Echo captured my heart with their love that began as children. Makes me want to follow them into old age because this is a forever love destined to never dim one bit. This story was totally satisfying in every way and one I will not forget. And it ends on a note that left me gasping. Perfection. Well done!
I won a copy of this book on the Library Thing site. I was not required to leave a review. The opinion here is my own.
About The Book In 1779, when genteel Virginia spinster Roxanna Rowan arrives at the Kentucky fort commanded by Colonel Cassius McLinn, she finds that her officer father has died. Penniless and destitute, Roxanna is forced to take her father’s place as scrivener. Before long, it’s clear that the colonel himself is attracted to her. But she soon realizes the colonel has grave secrets of his own–some of which have to do with her father’s sudden death. Can she ever truly love him?
Readers will be enchanted by this powerful story of love, faith, and forgiveness from reader favorite Laura Frantz. Her solid research and deft writing immerse readers in the world of the early frontier while her realistic characters become intimate friends.
About Laura Frantz Christy Award-winning author, Laura Frantz, is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century, and writes her manuscripts in longhand first. Her stories often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Proud of her heritage, she is also a Daughter of the American Revolution. When not at home in Kentucky, she and her husband live in Washington State. According to Publishers Weekly, “Frantz has done her historical homework.” With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, she is represented by Janet Kobobel Grant, Literary Agent & Founder, Books & Such Literary Agency of Santa Rosa, California. Foreign language editions include French, Dutch, Spanish, Slovakian, & Polish. Readers can find Laura Frantz at http://www.laurafrantz.net *Subscribe to Laura’s seasonal newsletter and receive new release information, news about contests, giveaways, and reader events, sneak peaks and teasers, signings and appearances, and more! To subscribe, copy and paste this into your browser’s address window: http://laurafrantz.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=7614118e6260a9d0224905ecf&id=f2301c63f8
I read this book over ten years ago and just now reread it. It was even better the second time around and I do see a third reading in my future. It is a powerful story and Laura Frantz’s research is absolutely impeccable. She brings the American Frontier to life vividly! Her descriptions are superb! Read on for my review.
My Rating: 5 Stars!!! (It deserves 10)
I have read and own all Laura Frantz’s books and I wish I could give this book 10 stars! It was that good. Not often do I continue to think about a book long after I’ve closed the last page, but I do with her books. She doesn’t just write to give a reader something to read, a bit of fluff with a few scriptures thrown in. Her books cause you to think about your own walk with Christ.
Roxanna Rowan is heading to Fort Endeavor after her mother has died and her engagement is broken. She means to surprise her father who is scrivener at the fort. Circumstances happen and she finds herself at the fort with no place to go or means to get there. Colonel Cassius McLinn is commander of the fort and runs it with an iron hand. It seems everyone walks on egg shells around him, but Roxanna must trust him for her support now. I will not give away more of the story so as not to spoil it for other readers.
This book blew me away. Laura Frantz’s books are not ones that,when you are finished with them, you donate, toss or put in a yard sale. They are books you put on your shelf and cherish to read again. She writes with such depth of feeling and unfathomable emotion from the very beginning and it only gets deeper as you continue to read. She plumbs the absolute depths of human emotion. Just when you think the emotional impact of the book can’t go any further, yet it does!
She describes her characters so vividly and their psyche that you feel as if you’re a part of them. Their pain, love, longings, heartaches. Here are two flawed individuals who have lost everything, basically, and yet they continue to feel as if there might be something for them. Yet their pride is almost their undoing. Then they both realize that surrendering to God is what they need and surrender they do in a most wonderful way.
Frantz writes with meticulous and rich attention to historical detail. I found myself researching some of the dishes her characters cooked in the fort kitchen like: apple tansy, coffin pie and cherry bounce. She writes so convincingly that I felt the dark wintry gray atmosphere in the fort when Roxanna first arrived and her heart was as gray as the winter skies. I love history and it’s very clear she has done her research well. You feel yourself in the woods during battle scenes, feel fear as you walk through the trees and hear little sounds, knowing that Indians are probably watching your every move.
But what sets this book apart is the depth of feeling in Cass and Roxanna. You want to reach out and touch them and pray for them, it seems so real! There were scenes that had me in tears. I can’t say enough good things about this book and I’m not articulate enough to describe it as it truly deserves. This book was a masterpiece and I am so glad that I bought it. I will continue to buy all Laura Frantz’s books. I don’t even have to read the synopsis. I know for a fact they will be worth it. I will be thinking about this book all day today and how good it was. It’s hard to pick up another cause you know it won’t measure up to the wealth in The Colonel’s Lady.
Widow Sophia Seymour never planned to marry again—let alone become a duchess. But with her father missing and her family impoverished, an old betrothal contract promising her hand to a notorious duke is her only hope. And Edmund DeVane intends to honor the agreement—in name only. After all, Edmund needs a wife with an impeccable reputation to protect his debuting niece. But as their arrangement starts to feel much more real, can their budding love survive Edmund’s deepest secret?
About Jessica Nelson Jessica Nelson believes romance happens every day, and thinks the greatest, most intense romance comes from a God who woos people to himself with passionate tenderness. When Jessica is not chasing her three beautiful, wild little boys around the living room, she can be found staring into space as she plots her next story. Or she might be daydreaming about a raspberry mocha from Starbucks. Or thinking about what kind of chocolate she should have for dinner that night. She could be thinking of any number of things, really. One thing is for certain, she is blessed with a wonderful family and a lovely life.
My Rating: 5 Stars! ‘Prayer had been foreign to him for many years.’
I do love a good Regency and this one is one of the very best I’ve read. Jessica Nelson has certainly written one for the keeper shelf this time. She has crafted characters that are real to me from the start, something I especially need when I read a book. Nothing will make me set a book aside quicker than wooden characters. These certainly are not that. They are people who display real emotions and problems that a reader can relate to. I couldn’t put it down! It held a very good spiritual thread that was very thought provoking and centering. I loved every minute! Well done!
Still processing his grief, Jet Mayer is shocked to learn his late brother had a secret wife and child. Though he’s neck-deep running his family’s ranch, nothing will keep Jet from supporting Holly and little Clara. But Holly wants to follow her own path—even if Jet’s the steadfast man she once wished for. Can they somehow reconcile their dreams to make a forever life together?
From Love Inspired: Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.
Wyoming Ranchers
Book 1: The Prodigal’s Holiday Hope Book 2: A Cowboy to Rely On
About Jill Kemerer Jill Kemerer is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of heartwarming, emotional, small-town romance novels often featuring cowboys. She is a multi-published author of Christian romance novels with Harlequin Love Inspired–over half a million of her books have sold worldwide. A former electrical engineer, Jill now writes full-time. Her essentials include coffee, caramels, a stack of books, her mini-doxie, and long walks outdoors. She rarely passes up a bookstore and spends too much time at the library. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two almost-grown children. For more information, visit her website, jillkemerer.com.
My Rating: 4 Stars! ‘This I know. God is for me. Always and forever. Amen.’ Jill Kemerer adds to her Wyoming Ranchers series here and tells a wonderful, sweet story. I do enjoy a good cowboy story and Kemerer does them very well indeed. She is always good and I enjoy her books so much. I can highly recommend this book. Great characters, good plot, sweet romance and good spiritual thread. And I saw some secondary characters whose stories I would like to read. Hint, hint. My thanks to the publisher and author for a digital copy of this book. The review here is my own.Publisher: Love Inspired Publication Date: December 28, 2021 Buy Link:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09736NVWN/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1
Okay, so it’s that time of year again to publish my top reads for the year. Now, most bloggers post their top ten reads. Not me. I can’t do that. I. Just. Can’t. So far this year, I’ve read 235 books and the year is not over! I can get a few more in, for sure. So, I’ve decided to group them by genre and do as many as I want in each genre. It’s my list and I can.
Seriously, I have loved to read ever since I knew what reading was. I read mostly Christian fiction because it honors God and blesses me. I do like nonfiction and a few secular authors, but for the most part, it’s CF for this reader. I’ve not included buy links because there are so many books listed. You can find them on Amazon or your favorite book platform. Here goes!
So there you go! I can highly recommend all these books. All are worthy of a re-read, which is something I love to do. I hope you will choose at least one to read. Let me know how you like it.
Sometimes, Prince Charming isn’t what you expect. Lady Larissa, oldest daughter of the Duke of Wey, has one goal: find suitable husbands for her two younger sisters and best friend so they may live happily ever after. Despite their attempts at matchmaking for her, she’s all but given up on finding her own groom, a gentleman good enough to meet her late mother’s and grandmother’s expectations. She has a hard enough time meeting those expectations for poise, propriety, and perfection. But a chance encounter brings the most marvelous gentleman to her attention. A shame he is merely a captain of the Imperial Guard of Batavaria and in no way the suitable husband for the daughter of a duke. Prince Otto Leopold Augustus of Batavaria has one goal: to win back his country from those who ousted his family. But someone seems intent on stopping him, for danger stalks the corridors of their palace in England. So why not trade places with his identical twin brother, the leader of the Imperial Guard? Leo might just uncover their enemies before someone is hurt. And having an ally in the thoroughly proper and pretty duke’s daughter can only help. The more Larissa and Leo are thrown together, the more secrets come to light and the more their attraction grows. Would the daughter of a duke dare to throw off propriety, if it means winning the heart of the most princely of men? If you like warm, witty historical romances, with a touch of intrigue, then you’ll love this series starter by an award-winning author. “Regina Scott is a first-rate storyteller who knows what her readers want in their romances.” Huntress Reviews Start pursuing your prince, today.
About Regina Scott
Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn’t actually sell her first novel until she’d learned a bit more about writing. Since then, she’s had published more than 50 clean historical romances. Her books have earned praise from reviewers and readers alike. Booklist calls her work “quietly compelling” and “impeccably written.” Huntress Reviews says, “Regina Scott delivers,” and “I will always buy a book with Regina Scott’s name on it.”
Regina Scott is the author of the American Wonders Collection, set in the history of our national parks, and the Frontier Bachelors series set in pioneer Seattle. She is also the author of more than three dozen sweet historical romances set in Regency England in such series as Grace-by-the-Sea, Fortune’s Brides, Uncommon Courtships, and the Lady Emily Capers. She has twice been awarded best book of the year for her type of story from industry favorite RT Book Reviews. A Distance Too Grand in the American Wonders Collection was named one of the top 10 romances of the year by Booklist.
I love Regina Scott’s stories so much! She sure does a Regency novel well! Here she begins a new series and I can’t wait for the next one! She has such a wonderful way of capturing the time period and creating such great characters. I recommend her work! My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book.
About Colleen Coble Best-selling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over 4 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana. Visit her website at http://colleencoble.com.
4 Stars!
I have read this author a long time and you can always count on Colleen Coble to write a good book with a great mystery involved! This time she sets her story on Jekyll Island and the plot is quite good.
My thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishing for a copy of the book via Net Galley. The opinion expressed in this review is expressly my own.
About The Book It’s one thing to say you can find what people need–it’s another to actually do it.
It’s 1932 and Sullivan Harris is on the run. An occasionally successful dowser, he promised the people of Kline, West Virginia, that he would find them water. But when wells turned up dry, he disappeared with their cash just a step or two ahead of Jeremiah Weber, who was elected to run him down.
Postmistress Gainey Floyd is suspicious of Sulley’s abilities when he appears in her town but reconsiders after new wells fill with sweet water. Rather, it’s Sulley who grows uneasy when his success makes folks wonder if he can find more than water–like forgotten items or missing people. He lights out to escape such expectations and runs smack into something worse.
Hundreds of men have found jobs digging the Hawks Nest Tunnel–but what they thought was a blessing is killing them. And no one seems to care. Here, Sulley finds something new–a desire to help. With it, he becomes an unexpected catalyst, bringing Jeremiah and Gainey together to find what even he has forgotten: hope.
About Sarah Loudin Thomas Sarah Loudin Thomas grew up on a 100-acre farm in French Creek, WV, the seventh generation to live there. Her Christian fiction is set in West Virginia and celebrates the people, the land, and the heritage of Appalachia. Sarah is a fund-raiser for a children’s ministry who has time to write because she doesn’t have children of her own. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Coastal Carolina University and is the author of the acclaimed novels The Right Kind of Fool–winner of the 2021 Selah Book of the Year–and Miracle in a Dry Season–winner of the 2015 Inspy Award. Sarah has also been a finalist for the Christy Award, ACFW Carol Award and the Christian Book of the Year Award. She and her husband live near Asheville, NC. Learn more at http://www.SarahLoudinThomas.com
My Review: 5 Stars!
‘Other people’s expectations can make you do all sorts of things against your better judgment.’
Sometimes you just settle down deep into a book and forget the present time. This happened to me here. Sarah Loudin Thomas has such a wonderful way with the written word and her stories are so rich and full. Set in 1932 for the most part, The Finder of Forgotten Things brings three unlikely people together on a journey that none will ever forget.
Sully, Jeremiah and Gainey are three people who seem as if they would never form a relationship with each other. And yet they do and all three are made better by knowing the others.
Thomas brings in actual history here, the Hawks Nest Tunnel and the horrific dangers it caused. I was not familiar with this event in history and her research compelled me to learn more. Thomas manages to craft the best characters and not just the main protagonists, either. All her characters are wonderful, even the secondary ones and make reading about them a great pleasure.
Things forgotten are sometimes found and are treasured all the more greatly for having been found after a long while. I love this writer’s work for she makes you richer for having read her books. Highly recommended.
My thanks to Bethany House Publishers for a copy of this book via the Net Galley platform. The opinion in this review is entirely my own.
About The Book Agatha Christie meets Jane Austenin this atmospheric Regency tale brimming with mystery, intrigue, and romance.
When Miss Rebecca Lane returns to her home village after a few years away, her brother begs for a favor: go to nearby Swanford Abbey and deliver his manuscript to an author staying there who could help him get published. Feeling responsible for her brother’s desperate state, she reluctantly agrees.
The medieval monastery turned grand hotel is rumored to be haunted. Once there, Rebecca begins noticing strange things, including a figure in a hooded black gown gliding silently through the abbey’s cloisters. For all its renovations and veneer of luxury, the ancient foundations seem to echo with whispers of the past–including her own. For there she encounters Sir Frederick–magistrate, widower, and former neighbor–who long ago broke her heart.
When the famous author is found murdered in the abbey, Sir Frederick begins questioning staff and guests and quickly discovers that several people held grudges against the man, including Miss Lane and her brother. Haunted by a painful betrayal in his past, Sir Frederick searches for answers but is torn between his growing feelings for Rebecca and his pursuit of the truth. For Miss Lane is clearly hiding something. . . .
About Julie Klassen Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. She worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her novels have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. She has also won the Minnesota Book Award, the Midwest Book Award, and Christian Retailing’s BEST Award. Julie is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota. Visit http://www.julieklassen.com and talesfromivyhill.com for more information.
My review: 4 stars!
‘God seemed silent and forgiveness not forthcoming.’
Julie Klassen has been a favorite since I read her first book, the Lady of Milkweed Manor, which I have read twice. This current book, described as ‘Agatha Christie meets Jane Austen’ is very good indeed. And the blurb is quite true. All through the reading of it, I kept thinking how much it reminded me of an Agatha Christie mystery. Klassen is very adept here and I never once guessed the culprit, even though there were a plethora of suspects. Her books are always filled with likeable characters and believable plots. This one fit the bill for me indeed. Well done!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House. The opinion in this review is expressly my own.
Simply Susan 