Giveaway | Finding Joy in Forgiveness by Darlene L. Turner

by Iola Goulton
Today I have a guest post from Canadian Romantic Suspense author, Darlene L Turner. And she has a giveaway—one ebook copy of her latest release, Abducted in Alaska. Welcome, Darlene!

Early morning is my favourite time, especially during the warmer months. I love to sit outside on my patio listening to the cardinals sing during the summer. I enjoy smelling the freshness in the air, and marvelling in the creation of the brilliant heavenly blue morning glories climbing my fence. It’s almost like they smile at me with their huge faces. I smile back.

Blue Morning Glories

When I look at them, I see one thing. Joy.

But joy wasn’t always there. Many mornings I didn’t feel like smiling. Inside, I was wilting like a flower without water. Happiness was zapped out of me after my first husband left me. I had wondered if I would ever get it back.

Anger crept in and took me to a place of bitterness.  I was mad at him for leaving, and yes, even at God for allowing it to happen. But did I stay there?

No, I couldn’t.

I knew even though God allowed this journey to happen in my life, He knew the bigger picture. He wanted me to trust, so I slowly left my anger at the foot of the cross. I began to choose joy and forgiveness.

Did it happen easily? Of course not. It was a difficult journey. A few steps forward, many steps back. I worked through the anger, confusion, and defeat with the help of a counsellor, family, friends, and many prayers. I chose to forgiveness because I did not want the bitterness to consume my life. No one likes to be around someone filled with resentment. We avoid it at all costs. And doesn’t God command us to forgive? Yes, seventy times seven.

In Abducted in Alaska, Layke struggles with forgiving his mother for the years of abuse he suffered by her hand. This causes him trust issues and he holds back in any of his relationships. Throughout the book he has to deal with this in order to move on. Will he? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

However, in my story after months had subsided, I met with my spouse to sign the divorce papers. I felt surprisingly calm. The bitterness was gone and I knew it was time to move on. So I did.

Joy came in the morning, and brought back my smile.

Bitterness can consume our lives so easily. We must learn to recognize it, forgive, and then move on. When we do, God will give us a peace and help us to find joy again.

Question for giveaway: Share a book on forgiveness that has helped you (fiction or non-fiction).

Prize

Answer the question above in the comments below and one random commenter will win an e-book copy of Abducted in Alaska!

Comment on the question before 11:59pm New Zealand Time on 3 March 2021 and you’re automatically entered into the contest.

Prize is open internationally. Here’s how it works. The number of entries are input into a Random Sequence Generator (i.e. 1 through 20). After Darlene clicks the Generate button, whoever’s number corresponds with the number the random generator generates wins!

Note: If the winner is Canadian, they will be required to answer a skill-testing question before being awarded the prize.

Psalm 30:11-12 (The Message)
You did it: you changed wild lament into whirling dance;
You ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflowers.
I’m about to burst with song; I can’t keep quiet about you.
God, my God, I can’t thank you enough.

About Darlene L Turner

Darlene L Turner

Darlene L. Turner’s 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.

Darlene won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense twice and an ACFW Genesis award. She’s represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. Her debut book, Border Breach, released in April, 2020 with Love Inspired Suspense. She has two books releasing in 2021: Abducted in Alaska (March) and Lethal Cover-Up (August).

Darlene met her husband Jeff at the turtle races in Ontario, Canada. She loves flavored coffee and plaid shirts. You can connect with Darlene at www.darlenelturner.com where there’s suspense beyond borders.

Find Darlene L Turner online at:

Website | BookBub | Facebook | Instagram  |LinkedIn | Pinterest | Twitter

Do you have a book buying budget?

Bookish Question #165 | Do you have a book buying budget?

by Iola Goulton

Books. As readers, we can never have too many books. Library books, books we’ve borrowed, books we’ve bought. Which leads to an obvious question:

Do you have a book buying budget? More importantly, if yes, do you stick to it?

I don’t have a specific book buying budget. Being a book blogger helps keep my book buying down, as I get free ebook versions of the books I request for review. When I do buy books, I tend to buy Kindle versions, which are cheaper. I also try and keep my purchases to within my current gift card balance (as I’m a member of Amazon’s affiliate scheme, which pays in Amazon gift vouchers). 

I’m also actively trying (trying!) not to buy books, especially paper books, because I’m actively trying to reduce my to-read pile. (If you read my 2021 Reading Challenge post, you’ll see how successful that is).

There are four main reasons I prefer Kindle books:

  • They’re cheaper
  • They’re lighter to carry
  • They don’t take up space on the bookshelf 
  • I can make the font size bigger if I forgot my glasses (it happens)

What about you? Do you have a book buying budget? If so, do you stick to it?

If circumstances have taught us anything, it's that life doesn't end up happily ever after like it does in the movies

Book Review | Memphis Grace by Catriona McKeown

by Iola Goulton

Grace is having a tough year.

First, her best friend leaves moves away from school with no warning and goes no contact. Then she’s put in a group with the class losers for the group science project, and her final grade depends on doing well in the project. Failure is not an option–if she doesn’t pass Year 10 science, she won’t be able to follow her dream and become a nurse.

Home isn’t any easier. She’s the second daughter of a solo mother with no qualifications, so who works all hours as a waitress to make enough money to keep her family fed. There is no money left over for luxuries, like new clothes. And her mother is too tired to pay much attention. She prefers to watch and rewatch her favourite Elvis movies.

So when Cooper Daly shows he’s interested in Grace, she is more than interested. No matter that he’s her best friend’s boyfriend. Mikayla is gone, and has ghosted them both, and Grace has always had a crush on Cooper. And he’s rich. And generous, buying her clothes and other gifts.

Yes, that was a red flag for me.

As a result, I found the first half of the novel frustrating. The characters couldn’t see the obvious (well, what I thought was obvious). Adult-me could see endless red flags that Grace, her friends, her sister, and even her mother ignored. The only person who saw anything wrong was Jack, the autistic boy in Grace’s science class. The second half was much better, as Grace starts thinking for herself more, and realises that she needs to take responsibility for her life rather than letting other people tell her what to do.

But I can’t blame Grace for her decisions early in the novel.

She’s sixteen, and her decisions and actions aren’t out of line with normal teenage behaviour. And while her life hasn’t been necessarily easy, she’s been raised by a mother who is still grieving the loss of her son, and who still believes in the happy-ever-after of Elvis movies. As such, Grace is all too believable as the damaged child of damaged parents, all of whom are doing their best but not always doing enough.

Memphis Grace is a young adult novel that deals with some tough themes—bullying, teenage sex, date rape, peer pressure, and disability—in a sensitive and realistic manner. Recommended for mature teen readers.

Thanks to Rhiza Press for providing a free ebook for review.

About Catriona McKeown

Catriona McKeown lives on the Fraser Coast in Queensland, Australia, with her husband of 25+ years and three daughters.

​She is passionate about issues of social justice and often writes with such ideals in mind. Her current studies are in Inclusive Education; she is passionate about education that allows every child to reach their full potential and has a particular heart for gifted teens as well as those with autism.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Graduate Diploma of Teaching and a Graduate Certificate in Inclusive Education. Catriona hails from country Victoria, lived a short stint in Western Australia, and has now settled on Queensland as her home state.

Find Catriona McKeown online at:

Website | Facebook

About Memphis Grace

Graceland was named after the King of Pop’s mansion by her Elvis- obsessed mum. But she’s not rich, not famous and definitely not noticeable.

She’s always just been Mikaela’s best friend.

That is, until Mikaela leaves school without explanation and Graceland finds herself noticed by Cooper Dally. Popular boy and Mikaela’s EX-BOYFRIEND. Now she’s the centre of attention: big parties, new dresses and girlfriend to Cooper. Graceland is finally changing her stars.

But Cooper has expectations Graceland can’t meet. And when the truth behind Mikaela’s leaving comes out, Graceland realises Cooper might not be the guy she thought he was. Worse, it could cost Graceland more than she’s willing to give to be noticed.

You can find Memphis Grace online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week 173 | The Girl in the Glass by Susan Meissner

by Iola Goulton

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 The Girl in the Glass, another book from my too-large to-read. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

When I close my eyes and think of home, I always envision Florence—a place I've never been.

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

 

About Girl in the Glass

Renaissance is a word with hope infused in every letter.

Since she was a child, Meg has dreamed of taking a promised trip to Florence, Italy, and being able to finally step into the place captured in a picture at her grandmother’s house. But after her grandmother passes away and it falls to her less-than-reliable father to take her instead, Meg’s long-anticipated travel plans seem permanently on hold.

When her dad finally tells Meg to book the trip, she prays that the experience will heal the fissures left on her life by her parents’ divorce. But when Meg arrives in Florence, her father is nowhere to be found, leaving aspiring memoir-writer Sophia Borelli to introduce Meg to the rich beauty of the ancient city. Sofia claims to be one of the last surviving members of the Medici family and that a long-ago Medici princess, Nora Orsini, communicates with her from within the great masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance.

When Sophia, Meg, and Nora’s stories intersect, their lives will be indelibly changed as they each answer the question: What if renaissance isn’t just a word? What if that’s what happens when you dare to believe that what is isn’t what has to be?

You can find Told You So online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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

First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books

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!

Are you interested in reading books that mention Covid or lockdown?

Bookish Question #164 | Are you interested in reading books that mention Covid or lockdown?

by Iola Goulton

We’ve recently said goodbye to the longest year ever, and vaccines are rolling out (well, we’re still waiting in New Zealand). Covid-19 is part of our modern world, whether we like or not (not).

But does that mean we want Covid-19 in our fiction?

I recently elected not to read and review a dual timeline title set in 1820 and 2020. The story was obviously written and accepted for publication before Covid-19 had been discovered, and well before we all lived through the longest year in creation, 2020. the story centred on a teenage girl in England who had some unspecified bad thing happen that meant she didn’t get into university. Apparently, that was supposed to make readers sympathise with her.

Well, that plot didn’t fly with me.

The UK news in mid-2020 was full of stories of British teens who hadn’t been accepted into their university course of choice because end-of-year exams were cancelled and the grades they’d been assigned by the government algorithm weren’t good enough. As such, one fictional person not getting into university for an unknown mysterious reason didn’t ring true for me.

(The story has now been revised, given a new book description, and is now set in 1821 and 2021. I’m not sure that’s going to work any better … )

So are you interested in reading books that mention Covid and/or lockdown? 

I’m in two minds on the question. On one hand, I’m not interested in reading books that directly mention Covid-19. On the other hand, I’m also not interested in reading books set in 2020 or 2021 that don’t mention Covid-19. I suspect contemporary fiction writers will be better placed to write a novel that is either set before 2020, or not set in a specific year.

I saw this question asked in a Facebook group recently. One author said she’d surveyed her Facebook group and newsletter list and had over 3,500 responses. the vast majority wanted to avoid any mention of Covid-19. Other authors agreed.

They said they read to escape.

Reading about an unpleasant current reality is not escape. Several commented that they’ve stopped watching TV shows that have woven Covid-19 into their ongoing storylines.

The other argument I’ve seen against mentioning Covid-19 or lockdowns is that we’re (unfortunately) still in the middle of the pandemic. We don’t know when or how it’s going to end. The rollout of the vaccines gives us hope life will return to something approaching normal sooner rather than later, but we don’t know how effective the vaccine will be, how long it lasts … We won’t know how this ends until it ends. 

As such, my view is that authors would be wise to avoid books that can be specifically dated to this current period in history.

What about you?

Are you interested in reading books that mention Covid-19 and/or lockdown

Why or why not?

She’d picked users and losers. One bad choice had almost gotten her killed. But sometimes it was the unseen wounds that bled the worst.

Book Review| Trailing a Killer by Carol J Post

by Iola Goulton

Erin Jeffries is a police detective and volunteer canine search and rescue worker. When she’s called to a house that’s collapsed in a hurricane, the last person she expects to rescue is her teenage sweetheart, Cody Elbourne. And neither of them expect a collapsed house to turn into a murder investigation … or for Cody to be worried for his life.

Yes, Trailing a Killer starts off with a bang.

The pace only lets up long enough for Erin and Cody to rediscover their previous relationship (well, this is Love Inspired Suspense. We want the Love as much as the Suspense).

I enjoyed reading about Alcee, Erin’s search and rescue dog. As a cat owner, I’m always impressed by dogs and their willingness to work. In fact, they delight in being helpful. Cats … not so much. I was especially impressed by Alcee’s uncanny canine abilities to identify those she likes and trusts vs. those she doesn’t. I will definitely be interested in reading more books in this series.

There were also some more serious issues. Erin in particular has some scars in her background that affect her ability to trust others, especially men. She’s a new Christian and is working through those issues—and it was great to see a new Christian working through what it means to be a person of faith.

I am a fan of Carol J Post’s novels, and this is no exception.

The plot was perfect romantic suspense, the characters were strong (I’m always a fan of female characters who are competent in an unusual profession), and the ending was spot on.

Trailing a Killer by @CarolJPost is perfect #Christian #RomanticSuspense. The characters are strong, and the ending is just right. Share on X

Thanks to Carol J Post for providing a free ebook for review.

About Carol J Post

Carol J PostFrom medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special events decorating company, Carol’s resume reads as if she doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. But one thing that has remained constant through the years is her love for writing. She currently pens fun and fast-paced inspirational romance and romantic suspense stories. Her books have been nominated for a RITA® award and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award.

Carol lives in sunshiny Central Florida with her husband, who is her own real-life hero, and writes her stories under the shade of the huge oaks in her yard. Besides writing, she works alongside her music minister husband singing and playing the piano. She enjoys sailing, hiking, camping—almost anything outdoors. Her two grown daughters and grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all that nurturing into taking care of a fat and sassy black cat and a highly spoiled dachshund.

You can find Carol J Post online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

About Trailing a Killer

A killer with an explosive agenda…

And a K-9 and determined detective on the case.

In a hurricane’s aftermath, Detective Erin Jeffries is stunned when she and her search-and-rescue K-9, Alcee, uncover a collapsed building’s only survivor—her long-ago ex, Cody Elbourne. And it’s quickly clear that the disaster was no accident. Now only Cody can identify the man who set the explosives that killed his grandfather…and Erin must stop the killer dead set on silencing him.

Find Trailing a Killer online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

 

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week 172 | When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin

by Iola Goulton

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 When Twilight Breaks, a new standalone novel from World War II expert Sarah Sundin. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Evelyn Brand had done a crack bit of journalism, and she hadn't even had to dress like a man to do so.

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

About When Twilight Breaks

Munich, 1938. Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent as determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession as she is to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country–or worse. If she fails to truthfully report on major stories, she’ll never be able to give a voice to the oppressed–and wake up the folks back home.

In another part of the city, American graduate student Peter Lang is working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party–to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can’t get off his mind.

This electric standalone novel from fan-favorite Sarah Sundin puts you right at the intersection of pulse-pounding suspense and heart-stopping romance.

Find When Twilight Breaks online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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

First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books

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!

What books have you read that are set in New Zealand?

Bookish Question #163 | What books have you read that are set in New Zealand?

by Iola Goulton

We have just celebrated Waitangi Day, New Zealand’s national day, on 6 February. What books have you read that are set in New Zealand?

I can only think of a handful of Christian novels:

Close to You by Kara Isaac

A disgraced scholar running from her past and an entrepreneur chasing his future find themselves thrown together—and fall in love—on a Tolkien tour of New Zealand.

Allison Shire (yes, like where the Hobbits live) is a disgraced academic who is done with love. Her belief in “happily ever after” ended the day she discovered her husband was still married to a wife she knew nothing about. She finally finds a use for her English degree by guiding tours through the famous sites featured in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. By living life on the road and traveling New Zealand as a luxury tour guide, Allison manages to outrun the pain of her past she can’t face.

Jackson Gregory was on the cusp of making it big. Then suddenly his girlfriend left him—for his biggest business competitor—and took his most guarded commercial secrets with her. To make matters worse, the Iowa farm that has been in his family for generations is facing foreclosure. Determined to save his parents from financial ruin, he’ll do whatever it takes to convince his wealthy great-uncle to invest in his next scheme, which means accompanying him to the bottom of the world to spend three weeks pretending to be a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan, even though he knows nothing about the stories. The one thing that stands between him and his goal is a know-it-all tour guide who can’t stand him and pegged him as a fake the moment he walked off the plane.

When Allison leads the group through the famous sites of the Tolkien movies, she and Jackson start to see each other differently, and as they keep getting thrown together on the tour, they find themselves drawn to each other. Neither expected to fall in love again, but can they find a way beyond their regrets to take a chance on the one thing they’re not looking for?

Then There Was You by Kara Isaac

RITA Award 2018 Winner – Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements

Paige McAllister needs to do something drastic. Her boyfriend can’t even commit to living in the same country, her promised promotion is dead on arrival and the simultaneous loss of her brother and her dream of being a concert violinist has kept her playing life safe and predictable for six years. Things need to change.

A moment of temporary insanity finds her leaving her life in Chicago to move to Sydney, Australia. There she finds herself, against many of her convictions, as a logistics planner for one of Australia’s biggest churches, and on a collision course with her boss’s son.

Josh Tyler fronts a top-selling worship band and is in demand all over the world. But, in the past, his failed romantic relationships almost destroyed both his reputation and his family. He’s determined to never risk it happening again. The last thing he needs is some American girl tipping his ordered life upside down. Especially one who despises everything he’s ever worked for and manages to push every button he has.

When Josh and Paige are thrown together to organize his band’s next tour, the sparks fly. But can they find a way to bridge the differences that pull them apart? Or will they choose the safety and security of what they know over taking a chance on something that will require them to risk everything?

The Joy of Falling by Lindsay Harrel

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?

I’d love to add more to my list. Can you help?

Luke wouldn't let an inconvenient attraction stand in the way of a lifelong grudge.

Book Review | The Prince of Spies (Hope and Glory #3) by Elizabeth Camden

by Iola Goulton

The Prince of Spies is a twist on the Romeo and Juliet story, complete with feuding families and threats of poison.

When Luke Delacroix helps a lady save a dog, he is immediately intrigued and wants to get to know her better. Unfortunately, she is Marianne Magruder, from the Magruder family who have been Delacroix enemies for decades. She’s the adopted daughter of Congressman Clyde Magruder, who Luke wants removed from office because of his history of favouring his own business interests over the public good. (In this case, “public good” means not producing food that kills people.)

Luke volunteers for medical trials intended to determine if the food additives Magruder and others use are safe. The men become known as the Poison Squad, which is based on real-life research conducted by Dr Wiley, the man responsible for the establishment of the US Food & Drug Administration in 1906. It is thanks to Dr Wiley and his Poison Squad that we now understand what preservatives are safe for use in food, and in what quantities.

That’s the kind of historical factoid which fascinates me and is the element that raises Elizabeth Camden’s novels into the must-read category for me. Anyway, back to the story …

Marianne is attracted to Luke, enough to go behind her father’s back when he forbids her to see Luke again.

But she’s fiercely loyal to her father and the Magruder family, despite Luke’s accusations. As the story goes on, it becomes apparent that she’ll have to choose between her family and Luke (although historical record, as well as the fact this is a romance novel, makes her choice obvious). This doesn’t detract from the plot – if anything, it strengthens it as I wonder how the author is going to achieve the impossible.

The Prince of Spies is the third novel in Elizabeth Camden’s Hope and Glory series. I suspect it’s the final one, as the Delacroix siblings are now all married. however, it’s definitely a cast of characters I’d like to read more about, for the historical context, for the brilliant writing, and for the characters themselves.

The Prince of Spies by Elizabeth Camden by is a must-read for fans of Christian historical romance, or those historical fiction fans who enjoy a good story based around real-life events. #BookReview Share on X

This is definitely a must-read for fans of Christian historical romance, or those historical fiction fans who enjoy a good story based around real-life events. Recommended.

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

About Elizabeth Camden

Elizabeth Camden is a research librarian at a small college in central Florida. Her novels have won the coveted RITA and Christy Awards. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband near Orlando, Florida.

Find Elizabeth Camden online at:

Website | Facebook

About The Prince of Spies

Luke Delacroix has the reputation of a charming man-about-town in Gilded Age Washington, DC. In reality, he is secretly carrying out an ambitious agenda in Congress. His current mission is to thwart the reelection of Congressman Clyde Magruder, his only real enemy in the world.

But trouble begins when Luke meets Marianne Magruder, the congressman’s only daughter, whose job as a government photographer gives her unprecedented access to sites throughout the city. Luke is captivated by Marianne’s quick wit and alluring charm, leading them both into a dangerous gamble to reconcile their feelings for each other with Luke’s driving passion for vital reforms in Congress.

Can their newfound love survive a political firestorm, or will three generations of family rivalry drive them apart forever?

Find The Prince of Spies online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week 171 | This Wandering Heart by Janine Rosche

by Iola Goulton

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 This Wandering Heart by Janine Rosche. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Ever since she was seventeen, Keira Knudsen's internal compass needle had failed to point north.

Doesn’t that make you want to read more?

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

 

About This Wandering Heart

No one in the quaint town of West Yellowstone, Montana knows that unassuming geography teacher Keira Knudsen moonlights as sensational travel blogger Kat Wanderfull. No one, that is, except for her first love, Robbie Matthews, who has just discovered the woman he is falling for online is the same one that broke his heart five years ago.

But Robbie has another problem: the mother of his daughter, Anabelle, has resurfaced after a three-year absence determined to rip Anabelle away from him. Robbie needs a steady paycheck for a chance at custody, and now, on the eve of a grand adventure that could give Keira a chance to flee her old, troubled life once and for all, she is in need of assistance.

With so much broken trust between them, Keira and Robbie must keep an arms-length away to make this partnership work. But the more time they spend together, exploring majestic places and sharing new experiences, the closer they get–until their secrets and dreams threaten to cost them everything.

You can find This Wandering Heart online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

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

First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books

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!