Author: Iola Goulton

2 February 2026

Book Review | You Belong With Me by Beth Moran

When a developer arrives on the Isle of Siskin to build a mega-resort, podcaster Blue Beddoes and her mother Goldie, the unofficial Mayor of Siskin, form an action committee to find a way to prevent the development. They have two possible ways to foil the plan, both involving finding the truth behind old island rumours. Do rare natterjack toads live on the farm known as Jack’s Place? And is Sienna Griffin the rightful owner of Jack’s Place?

Blue teams up with Jonathan White, the attractive and very personable environmental consultant hired to search for the elusive toads. She’d be interested in him if it wasn’t for her disastrous relationship history, and the fact she doesn’t need a man to be happy. Her (many) declarations to this effect add several comedy moments, particularly as she is pursued by some less than desirable men and more than a few zealous fans of her podcast, Only on Siskin.

That’s the present story. You Belong With Me is a dual timeline novel, and the past timeline is set in the late 1950s and shows Sorrel falling in love with Calvin Griffin, who inherited Jack’s Place when his parents died when he was seventeen. This story is beautiful yet bittersweet, because we know from the present storyline that Calvin lives and dies alone.

I loved everything about You Belong With Me.

I loved the tiny Isle of Siskin, home to just over 3000 people, which means everyone knows (or knows of) everyone else. I love Beth Moran’s writing style–full of humour and emotion that brings her characters to life. And I loved her characters, especially Blue and Jonathan in the present timeline, and Sorrel and Calvin in the past.

While You Belong With Me isn’t overtly Christian fiction, it’s an excellent novel with characters who are quietly Christian, and with no inappropriate language or content.

Recommended for readers who love a little mystery and a little romance in a British setting full of quirky characters.

About Beth Moran

Beth Moran is the award-winning author of women’s fiction, including number one bestseller Let It Snow and top ten bestseller Just the Way You Are. Her books are set in and around Sherwood Forest, where she can be found most mornings walking with her spaniel Murphy. She has the privilege of also being a foster carer to teenagers, and enjoys nothing better than curling up with a pot of tea and a good story.

Find Beth Moran online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram

About You Belong With Me

Three times a fiancée but never a bride is not a claim to fame Bluebell Beddoes is proud of. But she is taking it as a sign…

Sworn off romance, instead the love of Blue’s life is the beautiful Isle of Siskin. Her home from birth, her community and now her job with the wildly successful podcast Only on Siskin. Her life is full and her future is set.

So, when the peace on Siskin is threatened with being destroyed forever, Blue knows she has to act. There are secrets from the past that may be able to save the future of the island, and only Blue can get to the bottom of them.

When handsome and mysterious Jonathan White arrives on Siskin, Blue is unsure if he’s here to help or hinder. But when it becomes clear Jonathan holds the key to unlocking the past, Blue will have to learn to trust again or risk losing everything she loves…

Find You Belong With Me online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

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30 January 2026

First Line Friday #420 | Not What We Pictured by Becca Kinzer

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from Not What We Pictured, an upcoming rom-com from Becca Kinzer, who also wrote Dear Henry, Love Edith, Love in Tandem, and First Love, Second Draft (which I loved). Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Not What We Pictured

This is absolutely not how they pictured their summer going.

McKenna Boston is feeling stuck. She’s spent years growing her photography skills only for her career to hit a wall. She’s ready to move on, and she will, just as soon as she helps her sister’s boyfriend stage the perfect proposal. But when her best laid plans go awry and a handsome stranger accidentally ends up with the heirloom ring, McKenna hops on a flight to retrieve it. Piece of cake, right?

Nate Lambert was hoping to enjoy a relaxing summer before starting his new job as a literature professor, but he arrives in Tennessee to discover his mom’s bed and breakfast is struggling and there’s a long list of repairs to be tackled. The last thing he needs is a gorgeous, determined photographer searching for a ring he doesn’t have since the airline lost his luggage somewhere on his route from Nebraska.

With the ring nowhere to be found, all McKenna can do is wait and use the time to build her portfolio and plan her next career move. But she also can’t help getting swept up in Nate’s bed and breakfast renovations and in planning a community concert with the townsfolk. As both await news of Nate’s suitcase, it begins to seem their serendipitous meeting, and the proposal gone wrong, could actually be everything going right . . . and that this may be their chance at a love neither could have pictured.

Find Not What We Pictured online at:

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Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

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26 January 2026

Book Review | The Angel of Second Street by Barbara Tifft Blakey

I always enjoy novels based on real historical events

It’s good to understand how past events influence our lives today. The Angel of Second Street brings 1880’s Eureka, California, to life – the good (Ida and Blaine, and their commitment to living as Jesus commands) and the bad (those with power and control over them, who basically forbid them from following their beliefs).

I especially liked the way the story shone a light on immigration, showing that current views on immigration are nothing new but also showing that communication is key (and banishing the immigrants is not the answer). One thing I’ve never understood is why “good Christians” would forbid sharing the gospel with immigrants (or slaves).

I suspect that illustrates another age-old problem: the love of money is the root of all evil.

Ida is only seventeen, and has had a relatively sheltered upbringing, which meant she sometimes came off as naive and a little immature. However, her heart is set on following God which means it’s in the right place. She did have a lot of freedom, often more than I’d expect for someone of her age and upbringing. Like any teenager, she sometimes misused that freedom, believing that she knew better than the aunt and uncle who raised her.

Sometimes she was right.

Blaine is older, having just graduated college, and now preparing to work in his father’s business. Unfortunately, his father is not the nicest of men (to put it politely), and the two don’t see eye-to-eye on Blaine’s future or on how to deal with the “problem” of Eureka’s Chinatown. It’s great to see a hero who takes a truly Biblical approach to life, and I was really rooting for Blaine and Ida to get together.

I recommend The Angel of Second Street for historical fiction fans, especially those looking for solid Christian fiction suitable for teenagers.

Thanks to Barbour and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Barbara Tifft Blakey

Barbara Blakey is a freelance writer and the author of the award-winning literature-based language arts program Total Language Plus. Barbara is also a nationally recognized speaker, conducting workshops and seminars for Christian women’s groups and homeschooling conventions for more than fifteen years. She lives in Olympia, Washington, with her husband, Terry.

Find Barbara Tifft Blakey online at:

Website

About The Angel of Second Street

How Can Compassion be Considered Wrong?

When life is weighed down by challenges, pillars of enduring hope and love are always waiting to be discovered.

Ida Dempsey has grown up in a privileged life of luxury thanks to her aunt and uncle. Although Second Street—where women of ill repute ply their wares—is off limits to respectable citizens, her heart of compassion compels her to frequent the area, hoping to make a difference in their lives. Ida has also befriended Qui Shau, a Chinese woman who keeps house for her family, but friendships between the whites and Chinese are taboo in Eureka. Ida tries to keep secret her forbidden compassion, but someone is watching and will use it against her.

When Blaine Prescott meets Ida at a church picnic, his parents warn him away from any relationship with the young lady who has been seen on Second Street in the company of a Chinese woman. But how could such a kindhearted, lovely young woman be anything but good? But when riots break out in Chinatown and Ida disappears, Blaine will do anything to find out where and why she has gone.

Find The Angel of Second Street online at:

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23 January 2026

First Line Friday #419 | Reclaiming Hope (Greener Gardens #3) by Carolyn Miller

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m currently reading Carolyn Miller’s republished Greener Gardens series, and Reclaiming Hope is next in line.

Here’s the first line of Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Reclaiming Hope

Opposites attract—but can they last?

Callie Steele might be a bit…focused on work, but despite what her employers say, she enjoys her well-ordered, productive life. When she’s sent to meet the owners of an estate requiring post-hurricane landscaping, Callie meets their son, Kai Brody, a super-chilled pro surfer, who is as opposite from her as they come. Though initially smitten, Callie knows a relationship with Kai is a bad idea—a very bad idea.

Kai, however, can’t help but be intrigued by someone who challenges him to make something of his life again. He’s determined to pursue her, if she’ll give him half a chance.

The more time they spend together, negotiating the challenges of work, illness, and family, the more their opposing outlooks clash and connect. What do these unlikely friends really want from life? Is it best to focus on work or recreation?

As Kai and Callie seek answers from the Lord, they also must consider if such complete opposites have enough in common to make a relationship last.

Reclaiming Hope is the third of the Greener Gardens romance series, where true love grows.

Find Reclaiming Hope online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

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Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

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19 January 2026

Book Review | The Lies we Trade by Kristine Delano

The Lies We Trade is a thriller set in and around Wall Street, which is a new-to-me fiction setting.

Just as Meredith is celebrating the successful launch of her new exchange-traded funds (ETFs), she is also signing a restraining order against her colleague, Betsey. What wasn’t clear to me (and possibly to Meredith) is why Betsey has been ousted from the firm.

I found the beginning a little confusing.

It wasn’t immediately obvious what was happening–at least, not to me, someone who has close to zero knowledge of stocks, shares, options, securities, or trading. I’d never even heard of exchange-traded funds, and that probably meant I missed some of the context (like the significance of ringing the bell on the trading floor in the opening scene).

It’s obvious Kristine Delano has deep insider knowledge of Wall Street, and the business of trading stock and securities. She did her best to find the balance between making the technical aspects intelligible to the lay reader without losing the tension, and to intertwine Meredith’s work and personal lives.

I did find the personal side of the story easier to read and more interesting, probably because having problems with teenage daughters is more relatable.

The Lies We Trade is written in first person present tense point of view.

I’m usually a fan of first person, although it’s more common in genres such as romance or rom-com. I did find the combination of first person, present tense difficult at first, although present tense did give the story a more edgy feel than the more traditional past tense.

Despite the somewhat confusing beginning, I did enjoy The Lies We Trade once I got into the story. The writing was good and the author certainly knows the ins and outs of Wall Street and is able to use that knowledge to craft a compelling thriller.

Recommended for readers looking for something different from a debut author.

Thanks to Tyndale Fiction and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Kristine Delano

Kristine Delano is a former Wall Street executive turned award-winning author of domestic thrillers set in the high-stakes finance world. She hosts the We Talk Careers podcast and mentors women on work-life balance. When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys scuba diving, playing games with friends, and chasing her family down the ski slopes of western Maine.

Find Kristine Delano online at:

Website | Instagram

About The Lies We Trade

A high-powered Wall Street career, a beautiful family in a quiet suburban neighborhood―she seems to have everything. Which means she has everything to lose.

Meredith Hansel should be having the best week of her life. After establishing herself as a portfolio manager at a prestigious Wall Street firm, she’s in the national spotlight for the innovative funds she created. But as Meredith prepares to celebrate, the plates she’s kept spinning for years begin to crash: Her strained marriage reaches a breaking point. Her conscientious teenage daughter acts out under mysterious pressures. Someone vandalizes her home with disturbing graffiti. And Betsey, her most trusted ally at the financial firm, goes rogue, and Meredith is forced to sign a restraining order against her.

Then her worlds collide when she receives a thumb drive and a cryptic note from Betsey threatening to reveal a secret that could have devastating effects on Meredith’s family . . . unless she can figure out what Betsey wants and deliver it in time.

As Meredith begins to dig into the data, however, she begins to suspect that it’s no coincidence her life is crumbling. That maybe what’s happening to her family is connected to what’s boiling beneath the surface at her investment company. Soon Meredith realizes there’s only one way to avoid taking the fall, and it all hinges on Betsey’s true motives. Was she really threatening Meredith or trying to warn her?

Find The Lies We Trade online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

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16 January 2026

First Line Friday #418 | A Promise For Her Heart by Elizabeth Marie

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’ve recently finished reading A Harbor For Her Heart by Kiwi author Elizabeth Marie, and next on my list is the second book in the Seacliff Romance series: A Promise for Her Heart. Here’s the first line of Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About A Promise for Her Heart

She’s holding fast to the life she loves. He’s forgotten how to need anything for himself.

Claire Chandler has always believed in showing up for her family, her café, and the seaside town that shaped her. Her roots run deep, her heart generous, and her sense of responsibility unwavering. But loyalty does not pay overdue bills. With the Seabean Café slipping further into debt and a local real estate agent circling with offers she is not ready to consider, Claire begins to wonder how long she can carry everything on her own.

The café was meant to be a legacy. Now it feels like the weight she carries alone.

Elliot James came to Seacliff Shores with a clear sense of purpose. He is there to serve the community as a pastor, drawn to a life of service rather than ambition. A man shaped by loss and hard truths, Elliot knows how to endure. Trusting his own heart, however, feels far riskier than caring for everyone else. When a phone call pulls him back toward a painful past and an estranged, dying father, Elliot is forced to face questions he has avoided for years about forgiveness, family, and what it means to move forward.

Drawn together through quiet moments and shared purpose, Claire and Elliot discover that healing often begins in ordinary places. Late night coffees. Honest conversations. The courage to let someone see the cracks. But as Elliot’s past resurfaces and Claire’s carefully balanced world starts to unravel, both must decide whether opening their hearts is worth the risk.

Set against the charm of a close knit coastal town, this is a clean, emotionally rich romance about loyalty, forgiveness, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again. The story concludes with a deeply satisfying, hope-filled happily ever after.

Find A Promise for Her Heart online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

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12 January 2026

Book Review | The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Beth Moran

Pregnant and alone, Mary Whittington has no one to call when her labour pains start in the middle of a snowstorm. She calls a taxi, but they can’t get to the hospital because of an accident, so the driver takes charge and she ends up giving birth in the local New Life Community Church, assisted by the taxi driver and a local equine vet.

Beckett Bywater is a doctor who gave up medicine six years ago and became a taxi driver so he could take care of the grandfather who raised him. Gramps is getting more and more belligerent, and Beckett has become as isolated as Mary in his own way.

The two form a friendship as Beckett helps Mary with her newborn son, then Mary returns the favour with Gramps. At the same time, both are being befriended by the people of New Life Community Church.

I loved watching Mary and Beckett get involved with the church community (sometimes unwillingly) at the same time as they are falling for each other.

It’s not immediately obvious why Mary is living alone, in an isolated house with no family or friends nearby. That does come out through the course of the story, in short flashbacks from Mary’s past. This means we’re kind of reading two stories at the same time, the present and the past, and they both come to a climax at the same time. This dual storyline makes for a satisfying read.

Beth Moran’s first couple of novels were published as Christian fiction but never quite hit the mark (perhaps because they were and are quintessentially English and therefore didn’t appeal to the US-dominated Christian market). Personally, I loved the Englishness of the writing–the vocabulary, the traditions, the Doctor Who reference.

Moran has since switched to general market romance/rom-com.

I’ve read several and loved them all. Stories like The Most Wonderful Time of the Year are not Christian fiction as such, but they all feature Christian characters or a Christian community, but in a low-key way that brings an authenticity to the stories. They don’t have any on-the-page swearing, sex, or violence. They also don’t mention God, Jesus, or anything even vaguely theological.

They’re simply feel-good stories that show people with problems overcoming those problems with the help of their (often Christian) friends.

I recommend The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (and other Beth Moran titles) as object lessons in how to weave Christianity into a novel without leaving non-Christian readers feeling as though they’re the victim of a bait-and-switch.

If you’re looking for a sweet Christmas novel in a small-town setting, I think you’ll enjoy The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

About Beth Moran

Find Beth Moran online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram

About The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Mary never planned to stop running.

With a past she’s desperate to leave behind and a baby on the way, she’s found a new home, deep in the forest, hidden from the world. But when the time comes to go to the hospital, she has no idea that Beckett, the quiet, steady taxi driver who braves the blizzard to reach her, will change everything.

As Mary adjusts to life with her newborn, she finds herself drawn into a local close-knit community she never expected to be part of. Beckett is always there – dependable, patient and offering a friendship she doesn’t know how to accept but slowly comes to rely on.

In a place she thought she’d only ever be passing through, Mary finally learns what it truly means to belong. And as Christmas approaches, she begins to believe that maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t have to do this alone, and that this could be the start of something wonderful…

Find The Most Wonderful Time of the Year online at:

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9 January 2026

First Line Friday #417 | The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Beth Moran

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by English author Beth Moran.

Here’s the first line of Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Mary never planned to stop running.

Find The Most Wonderful Time of the Year online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

5 January 2026

Book Review | A Harbor for Her Heart by Elizabeth Marie

Journalist Emily Harper has recently lost her sister. Her grief is compounded by her guilt for not making time to say goodbye. She escapes her life, moving to the seaside town of Seacliff Shores, where she signs up for a surf live saving class. Her trainer is Luke Chandler, for whom she feels an immediate connection. Luke is battling his own grief and guilt, and sees the same in Emily.

This is the first Elizabeth Marie book I’ve read and I was impressed. I enjoy finding new authors who write strong Christian romance, and A Harbor for Her Heart definitely falls into that category. I loved the way the townspeople embraced Emily.

I loved the way both Emily and Luke searched for healing and for God.

There were a couple of minor frustrations about the writing and the plot, but these were easily overshadowed by a compelling plot, believable characters, and by the way their Christian faith (and doubts) were woven into the story.

Recommended for fans of small-town contemporary Christian romance.

About Elizabeth Marie

Elizabeth Marie lives in the Northern part of the Southern Island of New Zealand on a farm with her husband. She has three grown children. She loves all things related to stories and devours books and movies. She loves to walk in the hills and hang out with her dog and friends. She also loves music singing and playing the guitar. She attends the local New Life church.

Find Elizabeth Marie online at:

Website

About A Harbor for Her Heart

She came to the sea to escape her grief. He is the one man who makes her face it.

Emily Harper believed she could outrun pain. After the sudden loss of her sister, silence feels safer than belief, and the ocean is the only place vast enough to hold her sorrow. So she runs from the memories and into a small coastal town where no one knows her name. Training as a surf rescue trainee is meant to be a fresh start, not a reminder of everything she has lost.

Luke Chandler once believed he could fix what was broken. Until the day he could not. Now structure keeps him steady, discipline keeps him focused, and emotional distance feels safer than hope. He trains others to face the waves while keeping his own wounds carefully hidden.

When Emily steps into Luke’s training program, fragile yet fiercely determined, he recognizes the same haunted look he sees in his own reflection. Against his better judgment, the walls he has built begin to crack. What neither of them expects is a connection that feels both risky and impossible to ignore.

As long days on the sand turn into quiet conversations beneath starlit skies, attraction grows alongside fear. Then the threatening notes begin. Someone in town wants Emily gone. Luke’s instinct is to protect. Emily’s instinct is to run.

When danger rises and secrets surface, both must decide whether love is worth the risk and whether healing can begin where everything once fell apart.

Find A Harbor for Her Heart online at:

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Click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

2 January 2026

First Line Friday #416 | Marrying the Accidental Groom by Tara Grace Ericson

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from Marrying the Accidental Groom by Tara Grace Ericson, another one of the Redemption Ranch stories. Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Marrying the Accidental Groom

She color-codes her planner. He barely plans the next fifteen minutes.

Neither planned on getting married.

When Juliana Emerson finds herself dumped days before her dream honeymoon, she goes anyway—armed with an iron-clad itinerary and determined not to let her ex-fiance dictate her life.

Gideon Reynolds is all charm, chaos, and mountain-man grins. Crashing Juliana’s vacation wasn’t in his plans—and neither was participating in a symbolic island wedding ceremony.

Now, months later and just before Christmas, Juliana shows up in Colorado at Redemption Ridge Ranch determined to fix their symbolic marriage that turned out to be very real. But between his unpredictable nature, a calendar full of holiday events, and a growing attraction that wasn’t part of anyone’s plan, “fixing it” might not be so simple.

As sparks fly and tempers flare, both will have to confront what they believe about control, commitment, and the kind of love worth surrendering to.

Find Marrying the Accidental Groom online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.