Category: Book Review

20 April 2026

Book Review | Mostly Dead by Susan J Bruce

It’s Easter in Pelican Bay, which means it’s time for the Easter Egg treasure hunt. When Ruth Smythe teams up with her new friends, she’s hoping to find the treasure, not another dead body. This time, the victim is Theo, who is none too popular around town.

Unfortunately for Ruth, the main suspect is Dan, her not-so-secret crush.

Add in an incompetent ring-in police inspector, and it’s clear Ruth has another mystery to solve to clear Dan’s name. Dan is a popular man around the small town, which means she has help … except that help isn’t always helpful. This leads to several awkward and funny situations that somehow come across as completely plausible despite being completely unrealistic in real life.

Doug isn’t the only non-human character. Susan J Bruce is an animal lover, and that comes through in lines like this:

It was a universal truth that the more you disliked cats, the more they wanted to sit on your lap.

As any cat lover knows, they are characters in their own right, and something I always enjoy. I loved the town of Pelican Bay, with it’s quirky characters (human, bird and feline), endless banter, and a true community spirit—especially when it comes to solving a murder.

Mostly Dead is the second book of the Ruthless the Killer Mysteries, following Dead Ahead. It’s an excellent cozy mystery in a fun Australian setting, complete with Doug the cockatoo, who delights in embarrassing the locals by repeating their secrets at the most inopportune times.

If you prefer strictly Christian fiction, Mostly Dead may not be the book for you. Having said that, it would still be G-rated if it was a book (or perhaps PG, given there is a rather nasty murder).

But if you’re a cozy mystery fan who doesn’t mind the odd murder in your fiction (along with a little not-quite-Christian content), you’ll enjoy Mostly Dead.

Recommended for fans of cozy mystery authors such as Heather Gilbert and Amanda Ashby.

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

About Susan J Bruce

Susan J Bruce is a former veterinarian turned award-winning author, professional copywriter and animal artist. Susan’s veterinary background invades her writing and animals run, fly, or crawl into nearly all of her tales. When Susan’s writing group challenged her to write a story that didn’t mention any animals—she failed! Susan lives in sunny South Australia with her husband, Marc, and their furred and feathered family. This currently includes a fat tortoiseshell cat, a rescue cockatiel, and an irrepressible ShiChi (Shih Tzu x Chihuahua) who thinks her mission in life is to stop Susan writing.

Running Scared is Susan’s first novel and was awarded the 2018 Caleb Prize for an unpublished manuscript.

Find Susan J Bruce online at:

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About Mostly Dead

Murder and romance. What could possibly go wrong?

Ruth Smythe is still getting used to small-town life when she stumbles on a body at Pelican Bay’s annual Easter egg hunt.

Two bodies in just a few weeks is bad enough—but it gets worse when Dan Rivers is arrested for murder.

Sure, Dan’s a little guarded and hard to read sometimes. But a killer?

No way. He’s kind. Loyal. Brave. And possibly her almost-boyfriend. (Not that she’s admitting it.)

As the case against him builds—and her reputation as Ruthless-the-Killer roars back to life—Ruth throws herself into the investigation.

With loyal friends, a cockatoo with no filter, and more at stake than she dares to admit, she’s determined to clear Dan’s name.

Because Dan could lose everything. She could lose… him.

And the real killer? Still out there.

Find Mostly Dead online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

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30 March 2026

Book Review | Lake Shore Renewal by Jennifer Rodewald

Charlotte Jensen—Charlee —and Noah meet when they are both invited to the wedding of their respective exes, and Noah makes a drunken toast to the bride and groom. He can’t remember much else until he wakes the next morning, by which time his toast has unfortunately gone viral.

Charlee has some sympathy for Noel, a guest in the run-down motel she’s recently purchased in Luna, Montana. Unfortunately, her co-owner is Mason, her ex and business partner, who has just married Emily, Noah’s ex, who was Charlee’s best friend right up until Emily started dating Mason.

(It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Honest.)

Charlee and Noah are brought together by the common awkwardness of their exes, and a common (temporary) address. When Noah realises how much work needs to be done at the motel, he takes some time off work to help Charlee out, both because he feels he owes her a favour and because he’s in no hurry to return to the house he bought in anticipation of marrying Emily.

Despite the awkward beginning, we soon get to see that Noah isn’t a jerk.

He’s a decent guy with a solid job and lots of great handyman skills who made one mistake (or perhaps two, if you count dating Emily in the first place). All the same, it’s a set-up that provides a lot of natural tension as Charlee and Noah have to work through their feelings towards Mason and Emily, and to consider what their lives will look like. There’s a lot of room for hard conversations, redemption, and renewal, and Jennifer Rodewald nails the delivery in way that feels authentic and true to the characters.

These are the kind of characters I want to see more of, which is one of the reasons I’m enjoying Jenifer Rodewald’s Redemption Shores series. Lake Shores Redemption is the sixth book in the series, so features characters series readers will recognise. Having said that, is definitely a standalone story—you don’t have to read the other books to read and enjoy Lake Shores Renewal. It is perhaps more of a romance than the previous stories in the series.

As Jennifer Rodewald says in the introduction, this is a reminder of the greatest love story: God’s love for us. I love that about her work: her Christian fiction is strong on Christian, with a focus on flawed characters learning to rely on God as they work through tough situations.

Recommended for fans of Christine Dillon or anyone looking for more Christian in their fiction.

About Jennifer Rodewald

Jennifer Rodewald is passionate about the Word of God and the powerful vehicle of story. Four kids and her own personal superman make her home in southwestern Nebraska delightfully chaotic.

Born in Colorado, she experienced both the seclusion of rugged mountain living and the busy streets of a Denver suburb during her growing up years. Somewhere in the middle of college, she married a Husker and found her way back to the quiet lifestyle of a rural area, which suits just fine.

Blessed with a robust curiosity, Jen loves to research. Whether she’s investigating the history of a given area, the biography of a Christian icon, or how nature declares the glory of God, her daily goal is to learn something new. Aiming to live with boundless enthusiasm, her creed is vision, pursuit, and excellence.

Jen lives and writes in a lovely speck of a town where she watches with amazement while her children grow up way too fast, gardens, and marvels at God’s mighty hand in everyday life.

You can find Jennifer Rodewald online at:

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About Lake Shore Renewal

Sometimes the roughest roads in life lead to the most beautiful places. But to get there, one needs faith to let go.

Charlee Jensen walked herself straight into heartbreak. Now she is left questioning her ability to make good choices—especially since she’s not only not married to Mason, the man she’d planned her forever with, but she’s also the joint owner of the Creek View Inn—a run-down hotel in Luna, Montana that needs way more work than she’d anticipated. The best part of that disaster? Her partner in this misadventure is the very same man who broke her heart.

Yeah. In two short years, Charlee had made a real mess of her life. Now she’s back in Luna—the small, picturesque mountain town she grew up in, failure and shame her new companions. Somehow, she needs figure out how to make the Creek View Inn something that doesn’t summon Bates Hotel vibes—and to pay off the debt to her ex.

Noah Newellen’s life plans were hijacked the moment his fiancée returned the diamond he’d given her. But that wasn’t the worst day ever. Nope, not by a longshot. The absolute worst was a beautiful fall evening in Montana when he watched her marry another man—and he has the viral video to memorialize it. A video in which he’s giving a drunken, spiteful, country-song-inspired toast to the bride. Thanks to that drunken folly, and social media, he can never go back home.

Starting over in Luna, Montana isn’t logical. But as one door opens to another, Noah finds it might be exactly the grace he needs. A quiet, small town. An opportunity to pursue an old passion. Gracious, friendly people who help him to hold onto the goodness of God.

And a woman named Charlee, whose friendship sooths the wounds in his heart and inspires him to believe in second chances.

A tender story of love after heartbreak, hope beyond failure—and grace that doesn’t quit.

Find Lake Shore Renewal online at:

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23 March 2026

Book Review | Claire Holloway is Winging It by Angela Ruth Strong

Claire Holloway is Winging It draws on Angela Ruth Strong’s own experiences as a flight attendant, which only adds to the appeal.

After all, didn’t we all want to be a flight attendant (or air hostess) at some point?

True story: I used to work for a recruitment company, and we once received over 12,000 applications when we advertised for airline cabin crew. That was back in the day when everyone posted paper applications, so processing those applications was quite literally all hands on deck to read each application, score them based on a very narrow set of parameters (we had so many applicants that they had to score 10/10 before we could even consider them for an interview), then sent literally thousands of actual paper letters to the thousands we couldn’t even interview).

Anyway, back Claire Holloway is Winging It …

After injury forces Claire to give up her dream career in ballet, she trains as a fight attendant and moves to a “crash pad” in Seattle to take up her first role. That was my first big surprise—eight women crammed into a two-bedroom apartment. How is that even legal? And as for tipping flight attendants? I know I come from a no-tipping culture (pay everyone a living wage!), so that sounds crazy to me (but boy, does it explain the attitudes of some of the flight attendants I’ve had on US airlines). There were a few others surprises, but I’ll let you discover those for yourself.

I loved the story itself.

What I didn’t like were some of the parts that were based on fact, on the author’s own experiences. I work in human resources, and there were so many places—sooo many—where I just couldn’t believe the way the airline was treating their employees.

I loved watching Claire discover herself and regain her confidence. I loved watching her make new friends. I loved watching her reconsider her relationship with Wyatt. Most of all, I loved the way she and Nathan drew closer, yet Nathan honored and respected her relationship with Wyatt even though it was obvious he wanted more.

I don’t usually read the blurbs at the beginning of a book because I want to form my own opinion. But this time, one caught my eye: Sarah Monzon says “Fans of Melissa Ferguson and Courtney Walsh will want to ad this one to their TBR list.” Having recently read rom-coms from Sarah Monzon, Melissa Ferguson and Courtney Walsh, I have to agree.

Claire Holloway is Winging It is a fun rom-com that ticks all my boxes.

It’s got a heroine who’s doing the best she can in the face of a major life change, a loveable hero, and new friends who support her as she finds her way. Most of all, it’s genuinely funny and has a solid Christian subtext.

Thanks to Kregel Publications and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Angela Ruth Strong

Angela Ruth Strong sold her first Christian romance novel in 2009 then quit writing romance when her husband left her. Ten years later, God has shown her the true meaning of love, and there’s nothing else she’d rather write about. Her books have since earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been optioned for film, won the Cascade Award, and been Amazon best-sellers.

She also writes non-fiction for SpiritLed Woman. To help aspiring authors, she started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho, and she teaches as an expert online at WRITE THAT BOOK.

You can find Angela Ruth Strong online at

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About Claire Holloway is Winging It

After Claire Holloway’s dream of becoming a ballerina plummets, she’s left with her boyfriend as her only support. . . until she decides to become a flight attendant for the free travel. Based out of state, she moves into a crash pad with a gaggle of other flight attendants, and her fear of losing Wyatt seems to become a reality.

First Officer Nathan Stuart — a bit cynical since he and his fiance broke up — meets a somewhat frazzled Claire on her very first day in the Seattle airport. When they end up on the same crew, he takes her under his wing, and they quickly bond.

When Claire’s once-supportive boyfriend’s attitude sours into resentment, she’s left wondering whether her newfound joy is the right way to go. Pulled between two men and her new career, Claire must learn to listen for God’s direction the same way her flight crew follows air traffic control.

In this hilarious rom-com, readers will lift off into the turbulent skies of romantic adventures as Claire navigates God’s plan for her life.

Find Claire Holloway is Winging It online at:

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16 February 2026

Book Review | Without a Clue by Melissa Ferguson

Without a Clue starts out as a rom-com, quickly turns into a mystery, and ends up as a fun romance/mystery fusion that ticks all the boxes of both genres.

Twenty-seven year-old Penelope Mae Dupont (Pip) is personal assistant to The Magnificent Seven, seven successful authors in seven different genres who banded together decades ago to jointly promote each other’s books. There have been a couple of new additions to the team as authors have retired, so they’ve been joined by Crystal and Nash, who write YA and cowboys respectively.

Pip, Hugh (her official employer), and the rest of the Magnificent Seven are leading a reader cruise, where fans of the seven authors will be treated to days at sea in the company of their favorite authors.

But all is not well, and the trip of a lifetime faces an unexpected challenge when Pip discovers the body of one of her authors …

The cruise ship is at sea, which sets up a classic closed-room mystery in a modern shipboard twist on an Agatha Christie novel. As Pip tries to keep the death a secret from the passengers while still ensuring all the promised entertainments go ahead, she’s also working with Nash to try and solve the mystery, which leads to more than a few fun moments.

The one thing I don’t necessarily like about rom-coms is the obligatory comedy scenes, which I often find cross the line from comedy into cringe. While Without a Clue started with such a scene (think John Cusack and his boombox standing in the ocean), the rest of the book was worth the effort. I did have a few nagging questions as I read and was pleased to find they were all answered in the big reveal scene.

After all, this is a mystery. The big reveal is compulsory!

It’s also a romance, and the developing relationship between Pip and Nash ticked all the boxes for me. He’s a gentleman in a cowboy hat, a worthy hero, and I loved the way he supported Pip right from the start. I also loved the lack of angst: as the quote above shows, the stakes in romance is the heart willing to get hurt.

In fact, my only complaint about Without a Clue is that despite being published by Harper Collins Christian Publishers, it’s not actually Christian fiction. It’s fun, but there is no faith element. So if you’re looking for Christian romance with emphasis on the Christian, this probably isn’t going to float your boat (pun intended).

Recommended for fans of Sarah Monzon, Angela Ruth Strong, and Courtney Walsh.

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

About Melissa Ferguson

Melissa Ferguson is an adjunct professor for Bible and religion at King University. She lives in the charming town of Bristol, Tennessee, with her husband, twin toddlers, and baby girl. She used to have hobbies like running and backpacking the Appalachian Trail outside her door. Now her hobbies include admiring the Appalachian Trail out her minivan window while singing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” en route to the library.

Find Melissa Ferguson online at:

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About Without a Clue

A laugh-out-loud rom-com wrapped in a whodunit, this high-seas adventure proves that sometimes the best love stories start with a little murder.

Penelope Mae Dupont has one superpower: keeping her cool. Which is essential when you’re the personal assistant to renowned mystery author Hugh Griffin. But when Pip organizes a luxury book cruise featuring The Fabulous Seven–a glittering cast of seven bestselling authors known for both their brilliance and their drama–her trademark composure starts slipping. One boat. Seven egos. Hundreds of fans. What could possibly go wrong?

Well . . . murder, for starters.

On day two, Hugh is found dead–and the cruise security team proves to be utterly incompetent. Stranded in the middle of the Atlantic with no help in sight, Pip realizes if anyone’s going to solve the case, it’ll have to be her. And so, with her friend and ally Nash, the dreamy Western author who’s just as rugged as the cowboys he writes about, she puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test.

As Pip and Nash navigate an ocean of secrets, shocking twists, and one too many red herrings, she’ll have to decide whether she’s meant to stay behind the scenes–or finally step into the spotlight . . . and maybe, just maybe, find love along the way.

In the world of mystery and love, sometimes you have to risk going overboard to find the truth.

Find Without a Clue online at:

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9 February 2026

Book Review | An Unconventional Lady by Sarah E Ladd

An Unconventional Lady is a Regency romance featuring Ella Wilde, who wants to open a school for girls in the grounds of her family home … a home she stands to lose if she doesn’t marry before her father dies.

Her father is the current headmaster of the Keatley Hall School for Young Men, and wants Ella to marry a man who could take over as headmaster and so secure her future. Before that, they will again play host to the annual Natural Philosophers’ Society gathering. This year’s guest speaker is Mr. Thomas Bauer, one of the men who labelled her dead mother–and her–as unstable.

Ella is an intelligent woman destined to become a victim of the laws of the age, that a woman must marry to secure her financial future.

I love novels with intelligent heroines.

I liked and admired her tenacity in standing up for what she believed, even when all the men around her didn’t agree with her.

Gabriel Rowe is a lawyer who has his own reasons for distrusting Thomas Bauer. Ella and Gabriel join forces to try and show the other members of the Society that phrenology is fake science, and that Mr. Bauer is a fraud.

The story was excellent.

There was a well-executed balance between the predictable (the romance) and the unpredictable (but saying what would be a spoiler). The romance was nicely done, moving fast enough to be interesting but not so fast as to be unbelievable or inappropriate.

My one criticism of the story is that it’s godless, as illustrated by this quote:

“A true home did not reside in a place, but in loving another person wholeheartedly–and being loved in return.”

As Christians, we believe our true home is heaven, and our true purpose comes in loving God wholeheartedly because that’s how he loves us.

Having said that, the story is a strong historical romance with suspense elements, and I enjoyed reading about an intelligent woman meeting a man who isn’t intimidated by her and doesn’t try to turn her into something she’s not.

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

About Sarah E Ladd

Sarah E. Ladd is an award-winning, bestselling author who has always loved the Regency period–the clothes, the music, the literature, and the art. A college trip to England and Scotland confirmed her interest in the time period, and she began seriously writing in 2010. Since then, she has released several novels set during the Regency era. Sarah is a graduate of Ball State University and holds degrees in public relations and marketing. She lives in Indiana with her family.

Find Sarah E Ladd online at:

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About An Unconventional Lady

She faces the worst ultimatum possible for a woman–marry a man she detests or lose the future she’s always imagined.

Charming and headstrong, Ella Wilde always knew she was different than other women. Thanks to her unorthodox upbringing as the daughter of Keatley Hall School for Young Men’s headmaster, Ella has long dreamed of opening a school for girls that would meet the needs of inquisitive, brilliant, unconventional young women just like her–girls who longed for the education exclusively reserved for boys. But there’s just one catch: Unless she marries before her father dies, Keatley Hall will pass into the hands of a distant cousin. In that case, Ella will be left destitute, and at this point her only option appears to be an undesirable marriage.

Ella’s family had long been proponents of phrenology, the belief that an individual’s personality and dispositions were predetermined by the shape of their head. Shortly before her death, however, Ella’s mother’s views on phrenology changed, and she endeavored to expose phrenology as nothing more than a fraudulent parlor trick. Consequently, she earned the wrath of phrenologist community, who called her “unstable,” “bizarre,” even “dangerous”–and branded her daughter the same.

Now, renowned phrenologist Thomas Bauer is about to arrive at Keatley Hall to speak at the Natural Philosophers’ Society gathering, and Ella embraces the opportunity to clear her mother’s name–and her own–once and for all. And her partner in crime? None other than her childhood friend Gabriel Rowe, who’s grown into an ambitious, handsome London solicitor.

Gabriel has his own scores to settle, and when he learns that Thomas Bauer is visiting Keatley Hall, he jumps at the chance to prove himself and right past wrongs. As he is drawn deeper into the unusual happenings, it’s clear that he and Ella must work together if they want to unmask the truth. Over time, Gabriel’s attraction to Ella’s beauty and wit becomes impossible to ignore, and as the lines between professionalism and passion blur, they both must decide what they’re willing to risk for happiness.

Find An Unconventional Lady online at:

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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:

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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:

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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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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:

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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:

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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:

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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…

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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.

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