Author: Iola Goulton

20 April 2020

Book Review | Border Breach by Darlene L Turner

Kaylin Poirier is a border patrol officer on the US/Canadian border with a particular passion to stop the import of illegal drugs after her brother died. Kaylin knows something is off when she stops a suspicious-looking van on the border and finds the driver has a photograph of her. But she doesn’t expect to become a target after the van crosses the border illegally …

Hudson Steeves is a police constable assigned to work with Kaylin to find the missing van, which belonged to a local florist. He’s attracted to her, but she’s not a Christian. And some of the things she says and people she knows point to an unexpected history.

This is Darlene L Turner’s debut novel, from Love Inspired Suspense.

LIS books tend to be plot-driven and fast-paced, and Border Breach is no exception. It’s a fast read with plenty of action that barely gives the reader a chance to draw a breath as Kaylin and Hudson overcome their initial animosity and agree to work together to find the person behind the drugs entering the country and circulating through the schools (I did guess the evildoer’s identity early on, but my logic turned out to be 100% wrong!).

The one problem with such a fast-paced approach is that it can sometimes feel like the character development is lacking. Kaylin and Hudson have plenty of personal history as individuals and together. There’s almost too much history for such a short novel—but I’d much rather read a book and wish it could have been longer than the opposite!

I particularly enjoyed the fact the novel was set in Canada, as that provided a new perspective on the war against drugs.

A solid debut, recommended for romantic suspense fans.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free ebook for review.

About Darlene L Turner

Darlene L. Turner is an award-winning author and lives with her husband, Jeff in Ontario, Canada. Her love of suspense began when she read her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and moved by her inspirational message.

Find Darlene L Turner online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

About Border Breach

When drugs are smuggled across the border …

It’s their duty to stop the culprits … at any cost.

Forming a joint task force, Canada border officer Kaylin Poirier and police constable Hudson Steeves have one objective: take down a drug-smuggling ring trying to sell a new lethal product. But when the smugglers come after Kaylin and Hudson, this mission becomes more than just a job. Can they live long enough to solve the case?

Find Border Breach online at:

Amazon | Goodreads | Kobo

17 April 2020

First Line Friday | Week 131 | Carolina Breeze by Denise Hunter

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from Carolina Breeze by Denise Hunter. Here’s the first line of Chapter One:

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

About Carolina Breeze

A jilted bride. A struggling innkeeper. And a romantic mountain getaway that changes everything.

Rising Hollywood star Mia Emerson is looking for a safe place to land in the wake of a public breakup and celebrity scandal, and she finds it in the lake town of Bluebell, North Carolina—the location of her canceled honeymoon. She wants nothing more than to hide and wait for the tabloids to die down.

Soon after her arrival at the Bluebell Inn, Mia meets Levi Bennett, who runs the inn along with his two younger sisters. Drawn to one another from the start, Mia trusts Levi to keep her location from the press, and Levi confides in Mia about the precarious financial state of the inn—a secret he’s been keeping from his sisters.

When Mia and Levi discover an old journal that hints at a rare diamond necklace hidden in the inn, they set off on a treasure hunt to find the long-lost heirloom. What they don’t expect to surface are feelings they thought were safely locked away. Mia and Levi must decide if falling in love again is too big a risk—or if it will uncover a treasure of its own instead.

You can find Carolina Breeze online at

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Click the button to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

You can then click the link which will take you to the master page of all this week’s #FirstLineFriday posts.

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

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

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

14 April 2020

Bookish Question #150 | What’s your favorite classic Christian novel?

I’m never entirely sure what qualifies a novel to be called a classic.

It’s partly age—no one would argue that Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, or Dickens are anything but classic. But Christian fiction, as a genre, isn’t that old.

Yes, there are older novels written that are explicitly Christian e.g. the novels of George McDonald. There were novels written by Christians with Christian themes from authors such as CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. There were more overtly Christian novels from authors like Grace Livingston Hill or Taylor Caldwell, but they never caught my interest. There were no doubt others that haven’t stood the test of time.

So I guess that’s what makes a classic: a combination of time and popularity.

On that basis, my first favourite classic Christian novel was Christy by Catherine Marshall. It is considered one of the earliest success stories in modern Christian fiction, and it’s the inspiration for the annual Christy Awards, which celebrate the finest in Christian fiction.

My other old favourite is An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers. It’s the middle book in her Mark of the Lion series, and it’s always been my favourite of the three. In fact, I think it’s the only trilogy where the middle book is my favourite.

What about you? What’s your favourite classic Christian novel?

13 April 2020

Book Review | The Joy of Falling by Lindsay Harrel

Eva Jamison lost her husband eighteen months ago.

He and his brother drowned while diving. She was a talented florist, but hasn’t worked since Brent died. Instead, she volunteers at his favourite, lives off the proceeds from the fitness centres he co-founded, and mourns. When a chance telephone call offers the opportunity to raise money for Brent’s favourite charity, Eva is keen to help. But that requires help …

Angela Jamison hasn’t had time or energy to mourn her husband.

Instead, she works two jobs to support their three children, and tries to cope with her moody teenage daughter. She doesn’t have the time or energy to think or grieve, let alone train for an ultramarathon or travel halfway around the world to New Zealand’s South Island. And there’s the money … money she doesn’t have.

Two sisters in law, united by a common grief, and brought together by a unique opportunity—to run an ultramarathon in beautiful New Zealand. The Joy of Falling by Lindsay Harrel #BookReview #JoyofFalling Share on X

Two sisters in law, united by a common grief, and brought together by a unique opportunity.

It’s a great premise, and while it did not motivate me to run any distance, the characters somehow managed to confince me that running an ultramarathon for 155 miles around the South Island was a great idea. (Hint: it’s a noble objective, and the scenery is fantastic, but I prefer to tour via a car, thank you very much.

I’ve visited many of the New Zealand settings from The Joy of Falling, and I definitely enjoyed those parts of the book. It’s great to read about a familiar setting, and especially to see it through the fresh eyes of visitors. Being in a new country gave the women (and the children) a chance to rediscover themselves.

The writing was excellent.

The story is a sensitive examination of grief from different perspectives. It’s also a story of discovery and making choices and finding the blessings in life, even in the hard times. It’s not an overtly Christian story, but the underlying themes and values are definitely Christian, and the overall tone is straight out of the Bible: be joyful always … even when it’s hard.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Lindsay Harrel

Lindsay Harrel is a lifelong book nerd with a B.A. in journalism and M.A. in English. She lives in Arizona with her young family and two golden retrievers in serious need of training. Lindsay has held a variety of jobs, including curriculum editor for two universities, medical and business writer, and copywriter for a digital marketing agency. Now she juggles stay-at-home mommyhood with working freelance jobs, teaching college English courses online, and—of course—writing novels.

When she actually has time to do other things, she loves to sing, read, and sip passion iced teas from Starbucks. She loves to watch God work in ordinary lives to create something extraordinary, and she writes to bring hope to those who may have lost it along the way.

You can find Lindsay Harrel online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

About The Joy of Falling

Eva and Angela must learn to live again. One step at a time.

It has been fifteen months since Eva and Angela lost their thrill-seeking husbands in a scuba diving accident. Both women are trying to navigate their way through the grief, but neither one is making much progress. Angela is barely making ends meet, angry at her husband for leaving her to raise three children on her own. Meanwhile, Eva is stuck, unable to move forward after losing the love of her life and her source of inspiration.

But then Eva gets a life-changing phone call. Before Brent and Wes died, they had signed up for a race of a lifetime—an ultra-marathon in beautiful New Zealand. Eva begs Angela to run the race with her in their husbands’ place, and Angela finally agrees, hoping to finally understand her husband’s choices.

Training is exhausting, and the race is even more demanding. Their journey grows more complicated by the presence of two men—Marc is Brent’s best friend who is running the race with Eva and Angela, and Simon King is a writer who is covering their inspiring story. With every step, Eva and Angela must ask themselves questions that they haven’t had the courage to ask before. As the women literally put one foot in front of the other, they wonder: Is it possible to find their way forward in hope?

You can find The Joy of Falling online at

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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

10 April 2020

First Line Friday | Week 130 | Take a Chance on Me by Becky Wade

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from Take a Chance on Me by Becky Wade, which is a novella prequel to her new series. Here’s the first line of Chapter One:

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

About Take a Chance on Me

When baker Penelope Quinn steps in to help her brother’s family through a medical crisis, she’s forced into close proximity with charming Air Force fighter pilot Eli Price.

Penelope has one iron-clad dating rule—she does not date airmen. Months ago, she relaxed her rule with Eli and immediately lived to regret it. After a long deployment, he’s now back in Misty River and, to her dismay, she finds him just as tempting as always.

Eli’s spent months thinking about funny, feisty, creative Penelope. He once leveraged his focus and drive to become a pilot, his childhood dream. Now he’s set on leveraging that same focus and drive in order to convince Penelope to give him one more chance.

This romantic prequel novella introduces readers to the quaint mountain town of Misty River and a brand-new series from Christy-winning author Becky Wade!

You can find Take a Chance on Me online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

Click the button to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

You can then click the link which will take you to the master page of all this week’s #FirstLineFriday posts.

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

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

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

7 April 2020

Bookish Question #149 | What novels have you read and recommend that feature Easter?

Lots of people write (and lots more read) Christmas stories. Valentine’s Day stories are also popular, especially in romance. But I can’t think of many novels that feature Easter as a central plot point. Sure, several take place in March/April, but there is more to Easter than roast lamb and hot cross buns on Good Friday, and Easter egg hunts on Easter Sunday.

The only novel I can think of that features Easter is A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna M White. It’s one of the many books on my to-read pile … Maybe I’ll get to it over Easter.

What novels can you think of that feature Easter? What do you recommend I check out?

6 April 2020

Book Review | Dead End (Kaely Quin Profiler #3) by Nancy Mehl

Dead End is the third book in Nancy Mehl’s Kaely Quinn Profiler series. Kaely works in law enforcement, profiling and catching serial killers. She’s also the daughter of a serial killer, something that has shaped her life and career (for better and worse). And he’s back. At least, there is another serial killer on the loose, and he’s using her father’s signatures.

The suspense aspect of the plot was excellent.

It’s obvious that Kaely’s father isn’t the killer: he’s safe in jail. So who is it? It must be someone who knows her father well, but who? I had my suspicions, and they were wrong. That made it a nailbiting read that was hard to put down.

Kaely isn’t always an easy character to relate to.

She has her strengths: she’s intelligent, dedicated, and good at her job. But those are also her weaknesses: she can’t detach from her job, and she sometimes puts her own physical and mental health at risk to break the case. She comes across as mostly normal, but that hides a lot of inner insecurities and awkwardness.

Some of that awkwardness comes through in her faith. She’s been forced to seek answers to some of the hard questions about Christianity: can God save even the vilest sinner? Does anyone ever get so far from God that they can’t be saved? Does she have to forgive her father for his sins? Yes, there were strong faith aspects, and they were a strength of the story.

The writing was generally strong, although there were a couple of annoying instances when the point of view character discovered something but the reader didn’t know what. I guess that was supposed to add suspense. It kept me reading, but it did irritate me. My view is that if we’re in the viewpoint character’s head, we should be part of the conversation and not have the salient points blurred out for us to discover later.

But that’s a minor point in an otherwise excellent romantic suspense novel.

It is the third book in the series, but can easily be read as a standalone—while there are a few references to earlier events, they are minor (and won’t spoil the earlier books if you accidentally read them out of order).

Thanks to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Nancy Mehl

Nancy Mehl lives in Missouri, with her husband Norman, and her very active puggle, Watson. She’s authored thirty books and is currently at work on a new FBI suspense series for Bethany House Publishing.

All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “It’s a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”

You can find Nancy Mehl online at:

Website | Suspense Sisters | Facebook

About Dead End

When a body is discovered in a field in Iowa, the police uncover fourteen additional corpses ranging from 20 years old to recent. The remains point to a serial killer with an MO the authorities have seen before–Ed Oliphant, a man who has been in prison for over 20 years . . . and is Special Agent Kaely Quinn’s father. After several failed interview attempts to discover if Ed has been training someone to be a copycat killer, the police turn to Kaely in St. Louis.

Kaely promised herself she would never step foot in her hometown or set eyes on her father again. She’s always refused to confront her past, but if she wants to prevent any more deaths, she must come face-to-face with the man she’s hated for years.

As more bodies are discovered, Kaely races against time and her own personal turmoil to uncover the killer. Will this most personal case yet cost Kaely her identity and perhaps even her life?

Find Dead End online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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

3 April 2020

First Line Friday | Week 129 | Formula for a Perfect Life by Christy Hayes

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from Formula for a Perfect Life by Christy Hayes (which I edited. I can recommend it as a great read for rom com fans).

Here’s the first line of Chapter One:

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

About Formula for a Perfect Life

Two practical strangers. One fateful night. Two pink lines.

College senior and obsessive romantic Kayla Cummings’ dreams of a storybook life are spun off course by an unplanned pregnancy after a one-night stand with her secret crush. Devastated, Kayla turns to her roommates and best friends for advice. No matter what she decides, no matter how deeply embarrassed, she has to tell the father.

Ben Strickland’s future is written in stone—as long as he gets a decent score on the Law School Admission Test. Feeling pressure from all sides, Ben struggles to juggle his upcoming finals, another shot at the LSAT, and his needy girlfriend Darcy. When the girl he spent a memorable night with weeks ago shows up at his doorstep pregnant, his already chaotic life spins out of control.

With the clock ticking, decisions to make, and a boatload of people to disappoint, Ben and Kayla embark on a journey neither anticipated—a journey where falling in love might be the biggest surprise of all. But when old hurts and buried secrets pose a greater threat to their future than impending parenthood, will Ben and Kayla go their separate ways or forge a new path to happy ever after?

You can find Formula for a Perfect Life online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

Click the button to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

You can then click the link which will take you to the master page of all this week’s #FirstLineFriday posts.

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

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

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

31 March 2020

Bookish Question #148 | Do you reread books? Why or why not?

Why or why not? What’s your favourite book to reread?

I used to re-read a lot of my favourite books. Back when I bought and read paper books, most of my bookshelf was books I’d read and re-read (the books I didn’t like enough to re-read were donated to the local charity book sale). I re-read books because I didn’t have an unlimited book budget, which meant there were times when I didn’t have anything new to read. So I’d re-read an old favourite.

I still have a shelf of paper books, and a lot of them are favourites, but I rarely re-read them.

Actually, I rarely re-read at all, and that’s mostly because of the Kindle. First, I do most of my fiction reading on the Kindle. Second, because Kindle has dramatically decreased the average cost of a novel, so I’m never in the situation where I don’t have anything new to read.

What about you? Do you re-read books? Why or why not? What’s your favourite book to re-read?

30 March 2020

Book Review | Before I Called You Mine by Nicole Deese

Before I Called You Mine is the story of Lauren, a single elementary school teacher who wants to adopt an orphan from China.

This means staying single, because the adoption agency only allows children to go to single mothers or to couples who have been married more than two years. Single hasn’t been a problem until she meets the substitute teacher across the hall …

In some respects, Before I Called You Mind is a typical contemporary romance novel with a unique application of the “decides to remain single, then meets Mr Perfect” trope. But setting the novel against a backdrop of international adoption introduced a whole bunch of questions, many of them uncomfortable. One of the characters says of a child adopted internationally:

“Leaving the only place she’s ever called home, and the only people who’ve ever cared for her, is a traumatic event. That’s a fact, not an opinion … She won’t know the language, the food, the sounds, the smells.”

International adoption rips a child from everything familiar—their country, their culture, their language, even their name (yes, the main character planned to change her child’s name). That bugged me. What psychological message does that send to a child, that not even their name is theirs and has value? It smacks of a nineteenth-century white saviour complex, where the missionaries converted the natives and changed their names to “Christian” names. I’d hoped we’d got beyond that, but comments about “dark chocolate, almond-shaped eyes” suggested we haven’t.

When I started the novel, I was in two minds about international adoption.

I read plenty of stories about how the US foster care system is crying out for qualified carers. Why choose international adoption when there are thousands of disadvantaged and needy children in the US?

The author herself has adopted internationally, but says the purpose of the novel isn’t to persuade readers to adopt a child from overseas. Rather, it’s to challenge us to find the hard thing that God’s asking us to partner with Him in. Do I think it met that objective? No. But was it a good story? Mostly.

Lauren is torn between her desire to adopt internationally, and her attraction to Joshua … who also happens to be the son of the education expert who inspired many of Lauren’s most successful teaching methods. The family is everything Lauren’s family isn’t—friendly, loving, Christian.

There were times when I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for Lauren and her predicament.

She complains about her family, then insults her mother and wonders why they don’t have a great relationship. She has been working towards adopting an orphan from China for two years, and had been considering it for three years before that, yet had never bothered to learn any Mandarin, or anything about Chinese food or culture.

Before I Called You Mine by @NicoleDeese is a well-written story with great characters and plenty of conflict. It's memorable, and will definitely make you think. #BookReview #ChristianFiction Share on X

At the same time, I could empathise with Lauren. She’d been earnestly seeking God and was convinced He placed the idea for international adoption on her heart and brought her into contact with people who could encourage and support her in that journey. Then God throws Joshua in her path, and she starts second-guessing herself. It made fascinating and compelling reading.

Overall, this is a well-written story with great characters and plenty of conflict. It’s memorable, and will definitely make you think.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Nicole Deese

Nicole Deese is an award-winning author who specializes in humorous, heartfelt, and hope-filled novels. When not working on her next contemporary romance, she can usually be found reading one by a window overlooking the inspiring beauty of the Pacific Northwest. She currently resides with her happily-ever-after hubby, two sons, and a princess daughter in Idaho.

Find Nicole Deese online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

About Before I Called You Mine

Lauren Bailey may be a romantic at heart, but after a decade of matchmaking schemes gone wrong, there’s only one match she’s committed to now–the one that will make her a mother. Lauren is a dedicated first-grade teacher in Idaho, and her love for children has led her to the path of international adoption. To satisfy her adoption agency’s requirements, she gladly agreed to remain single for the foreseeable future; however, just as her long wait comes to an end, Lauren is blindsided by a complication she never saw coming: Joshua Avery.

Joshua may be a substitute teacher by day, but Lauren finds his passion for creating educational technology as fascinating as his antics in the classroom. Though she does her best to downplay the undeniable connection between them, his relentless pursuit of her heart puts her commitment to stay unattached to the test and causes her once-firm conviction to waver.

With an impossible decision looming, Lauren might very well find herself choosing between the two deepest desires of her heart . . . even if saying yes to one means letting go of the other.

Find Before I Called You Mine online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Kobo | Koorong