Category: Book Review

12 March 2018

Book Review | The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrel

Thirty-two year old Megan Jacobs has spent most of her life wrapped in proverbial cotton wool, the result of a diagnosis of hypertropic cardiomyopathy. She spend much of her teenage years in hospital, watching National Geographic and the Travel Channel and daydreaming of a life travelling the world as a freelance journalist with her best friend and fellow heart patient, Caleb.

She received her heart transplant a year ago, but never followed her dreams despite Caleb—a successful freelance photographer—offering her an opportunity in London. Instead, she’s still stuck in her same old job and same old routines.

That changes following a meeting with her donor family.

Eighteen-year-old Amanda had everything to live for, as shown in her diary. It contains her 25-point bucket list, a list which inspires Megan to chase Amanda’s dreams even if she doesn’t have the courage to face her own.

Crystal is Megan’s identical twin. Except she’s always been healthy, and is now married to Brian, a firefighter, and working in her dream job as an up-and-coming architect in New York. She’s in line for a promotion, but her marriage is suffering, and her relationship with her twin is non-existent. So they’re off to visit five continents in five weeks, and hopefully rediscover their relationship, and themselves.

The Heart Between Us is excellent, both as armchair travel and as a novel that examines twin sisters, their ambitions, dreams, and relationships, and the way we sometimes make dumb choices because they are the safe choices,and how life doesn’t always work out as planned.

The writing was excellent, and I especially liked the way there were no easy answers. Both Megan and Crystal had to work through their problems, and both had to learn to turn to God. A great novel about the power of choices. Recommended.

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 Heart Between Us

Megan Jacobs always wished for a different heart. Her entire childhood was spent in and out of hospitals, sitting on the sidelines while her twin sister Crystal played all the sports, got all the guys, and had all the fun. But even a heart transplant three years ago wasn’t enough to propel Megan’s life forward. She’s still working as a library aide in her small Minnesota hometown and living with her parents, dreaming of the adventure she plans to take “once she’s well enough.” Meanwhile, her sister is a successful architect with a handsome husband and the perfect life—or so Megan thinks.

When her heart donor’s parents give Megan their teenage daughter’s journal—complete with an unfulfilled bucket list—Megan connects with the girl she meets between the pages and is inspired to venture out and check off each item. Caleb—a friend from her years in and out of the hospital—reenters her life and pushes her to find the courage to take the leap and begin her journey. She’s thrown for a loop when Crystal offers to join her for reasons of her own, but she welcomes the company and the opportunity to mend their tenuous relationship.

As Megan and Crystal check items off the bucket list, Megan fights the fears that have been instilled in her after a lifetime of illness. She must choose between safety and adventure and learn to embrace the heart she’s been given so that she can finally share it with the people she loves most.

You can find The Heart Between Us online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

8 March 2018

Book Review | The Long Highway Home by Elizabeth Musser

An Outstanding Story of Christian Faith

The Long Highway Home is the story of Bobbie, an ex-missionary who has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer at the age of 39. It’s the story of Tracie, Bobbie’s niece, who accompanies her to Europe, to visit the missionaries she used to serve with before tragedy sent her back to the US. It’s the story of Hamid, a devout Muslim who is forced to flee Iran after a well-meaning missionary gives his six-year-old daughter a New Testament.

But my favourite character is Rasa, the child with a faith that puts mine to shame.

The structure of The Long Highway Home is more like a thriller novel than the women’s fiction and romance I’m more used to reading. There are a lot of viewpoint characters spanning the US, Holland, France, Austria, and Iran. Unlike most thrillers, it’s always obvious who the characters are and how they are related, which kept me turning pages to find out how they’d eventually be brought together.

The author has drawn on her own missionary experiences in writing this excellent novel.

This shines through in both the story of Hamid and his family, and in the advice from some of the minor characters (e.g. Peggy, the elderly prayer warrior who supports Bobbie). These sound like real conversations Ms Musser has had in her years as a missionary—stories of the refugees who survived the refugee highway and made it to The Oasis in Austria.

It’s a story of human courage in the face of adversity, persecution, and possible death.

It’s a story of hope, of perfect love driving out fear. It challenges our views of refugees by introducing us to real refugees—we know Hamid and Rasheed and Rasa and Omid aren’t real people, but at the same time their stories have that ring of truth, of authenticity. They could be real stories. They may well be.

After all, significant elements of the story are real.

The Oasis is a real place, and welcomes volunteers and short-term missionaries (and long-term missionaries!) to support its outreach to refugees in Austria. Elizabeth Musser is a missionary with International Teams, an organisation dedicated to helping those who survive the refugee highway. World Wide Radio was inspired by the real-life work of Trans World Radio, which broadcasts in 230 languages to reach listeners in 160 countries.

It’s inspiring and humbling to read about people like this—missionaries who are risking their lives to bring the gospel to others. Refugees who are risking their lives to escape a government that wants them dead. Normal, everyday people who are doing extraordinary things every day.

Recommended.

Thanks to Elizabeth Musser for providing a free ebook for review.

About Elizabeth Musser

Elizabeth Musser writes ‘entertainment with a soul’ from her writing chalet—tool shed—outside Lyon, France. Elizabeth’s highly acclaimed, best-selling novel, The Swan House, was named one of Amazon’s Top Christian Books of the Year and one of Georgia’s Top Ten Novels of the Past 100 Years (Georgia Backroads, 2009). All of Elizabeth’s novels have been translated into multiple languages.

From an interview with Publisher’s Weekly, “Elizabeth Musser likes to say she has two part-time jobs. Not only is she an award-winning novelist, but she and her husband serve as missionaries at a small Protestant church in Lyon, France. In both lines of work, she avoids preaching and simplistic answers, choosing instead to portray a God who cares in the midst of life’s complexity…”

Elizabeth adds, “My desire is to offer the best literature I can write, drawing the reader into a story that is compelling, believable and sprinkled with historical detail. I seek to give a realistic picture of what faith lived out in this world looks like, and, as always, I hope that my stories can be appreciated by all audiences, not just those readers who hold my same religious beliefs. It is a delight to receive confirmation of this through reader letters.”

For over twenty-five years, Elizabeth and her husband, Paul, have been involved in missions’ work in Europe with International Teams. The Mussers have two sons, a daughter-in-law and three grandchildren who all live way too far away in America.

You can find Elizabeth online at:

Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter

You can read her Friday Fifteen here.

About The Long Highway Home

When the doctor pronounces “incurable cancer” and gives Bobbie Blake one year to live, she agrees to accompany her niece, Tracie, on a trip back to Austria, back to The Oasis, a ministry center for refugees that Bobbie helped start twenty years earlier. Back to where there are so many memories of love and loss.

Bobbie and Tracie are moved by the plight of the refugees and in particular, the story of the Iranian Hamid, whose young daughter was caught with a New Testament in her possession back in Iran, causing Hamid to flee along the refugee Highway and putting the whole family in danger. Can a network of helpers bring the family to safety in time? And at what cost?

Filled with action, danger, heartache and romance, The Long Highway Home is a hymn to freedom in life’s darkest moments.

Find The Long Highway Home online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

You can read the introduction to The Long Highway Home below:

5 March 2018

Book Review | If I Live (If I Run #3) by Terri Blackstock

If I Live is the final book in a trilogy, and don’t even think about reading it if you haven’t already read If I Run and If I’m Found.

If I Live picks up almost exactly where If I’m Found ends, so if you’re one of those readers who has the patience to wait for the whole series before you read the first book, this series is perfect for you.

Also, if you haven’t read If I Run and If I’m Found, you probably shouldn’t read this (or any) review, as they will inevitably contain spoilers about the earlier books. You have been warned …

Casey Cox is on the run again (still?) after being set up as the supposed killer of her friend, Brent Pace.

Brent’s parents don’t believe Casey is responsible, so hire PI Dylan Roberts to investigate. As he tracks her through If I Run and If I’m Found, he comes to believe her story—that she’s been set up the men behind her father’s death twelve years ago.

If I Live starts with a bang, as fugitive Casey narrowly escapes capture. The suspense never lets up, and there are plenty of unpredictable twists as Casey and Dylan work together to evade the police. The whole novel takes place over a matter of days, rather than the months or weeks of the previous novels. That adds to the pace.

One of the potential dangers of reading suspense novels, especially a trilogy such as this, is that the focus is all on the suspense plot. It’s all action-action-action with no character. The If I Run trilogy doesn’t make that mistake. Casey and Dylan both grow as characters over the course of the series, and that focus on character lifts the series, and especially If I Live, out of the ordinary. I especially liked Casey’s unusual faith journey:

If I Live is written in first person present tense from several points of view. I thought those choices added to the suspense, although I know some readers don’t like first person and/or present tense. If that’s you but you like a good thriller, don’t let it put you off. First person present tense can be agonising in the hands of an amateur writer, but Terri Blackstock is no amateur. Start reading, and you’ll soon forget it’s first person.

Recommended for thriller and suspense fans … but only for those who read the first books first!

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

About Terri Blackstock

Terri Blackstock is a New York Times best-seller, with over six million copies sold worldwide. She has had over twenty-five years of success as a novelist. Terri spent the first twelve years of her life traveling in an Air Force family. She lived in nine states and attended the first four years of school in The Netherlands. Because she was a perpetual “new kid,” her imagination became her closest friend. That, she believes, was the biggest factor in her becoming a novelist. She sold her first novel at the age of twenty-five, and has had a successful career ever since.

In 1994 Terri was writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, Dell and Silhouette, when a spiritual awakening drew her into the Christian market. As she was praying about her transition, she went on a cruise and noticed that almost everyone on the boat (including her) had a John Grisham novel. It occurred to her that some of Grisham’s readers were Christians, and that if she wrote a fast-paced thriller with an added faith element, she might just find her niche. As God would have it, Christian publishers were showing interest in the suspense genre, so she quickly sold a four-book series to Zondervan. Since that time, she’s written over thirty Christian titles, most of them suspense novels.

You can find Terri Blackstock online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

About If I Live

The hunt is almost over.

Casey Cox is still on the run after being indicted for murder. The hunt that began with her bloody footprints escalates, and she’s running out of places to hide. Her face is all over the news, and her disguises are no longer enough. It’s only a matter of time before someone recognizes her.

Dylan Roberts, the investigator who once hunted her, is now her only hope. Terrifying attempts on Dylan’s life could force Casey out of hiding. The clock is ticking on both their lives, but exposing the real killers is more complicated than they knew. Amassing the evidence to convict their enemies draws Dylan and Casey together, but their relationship has consequences. Will one life have to be sacrificed to protect the other?

With If I Live, Terri Blackstock takes us on one more heart-stopping chase in the sensational conclusion to the If I Run series.

You can find If I Live online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

1 March 2018

Book Review | Enemy Action by Mike Hollow

It’s Throwback Thursday, where I reshare an older review, or share a review of an older book. I’ve just finished reading Firing Line, the next book in Mike Hollow’s The Blitz Detective series, so it seems like a good time to share my review of Enemy Action, the third book in the series. This review previously appeared at Suspense Sisters Reviews.

It’s 1940, the middle of the London Blitz, and there is a body in the aftermath of the nightly bombing raids. But this body isn’t a victim of the bombs. No. This body was stabbed to death. Whodunit?

The investigation starts with Inspector Jago and his partner meeting all manner of people whose only relationship was that they knew or knew of the victim, none of whom appear to have any motive for killing him. As the story progresses, unexpected relationships emerge between the characters, which leave us with several having both motive and opportunity for the murder. Yes, there were plenty of red herrings, and the end managed to both surprise me and make perfect sense.

That’s always the sign of an excellent mystery.

I was impressed by the character voices, about the way I could ‘hear’ the different accents. I was also impressed with the overall setting and background—the subplot around contract mismanagement, the comments about gender equity, the history in general. It gave the novel a sense of time and place I rarely see in Christian fiction.

And this was Christian fiction, although it’s Christian fiction of a more understated variety (as is typical with British fiction). It’s clear Inspector Jago is on a spiritual journey, whether he knows it or not. I’ll watch that with interest in future books, along with his relationship with the pretty American journalist.

This is the third book in the Blitz Detective series, but can easily be read as a standalone novel. I haven’t read the first two in the series, but will be ordering them soon. Recommended for historical fiction lovers, especially those who like police procedural mysteries.

Thanks to Lion Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Mike Hollow

Photo: Stephen Crockford

I was born in 1953 in the Essex County Borough of West Ham – home of the Blitz Detective – on the eastern edge of London. I grew up mainly in Romford and went to the Royal Liberty School, then studied Russian and French at Cambridge University.

My first job was translating for the BBC, and I did various jobs there for sixteen years before moving to work in communications for development agency Tearfund, travelling widely in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 2002 I went freelance as a writer, editor and creative project manager. Now I earn a living by translating and spend the rest of my time in the cellar of my house in Hampshire chronicling the adventures of the Blitz Detective.

Why write detective novels? Because I enjoy reading them and I love to create entertaining stories. Why set them in that place and time? Because overnight the Blitz turned everyday existence into a life-and-death struggle for ordinary people – and some of them were my family.

You can find Mike Hollow online at:

Website | Twitter

About Enemy Action

Fifty people squashed into a stinking public air-raid shelter all night – babies screaming, old ladies crying, no beds, not even a light to see by. When the all-clear siren sounds, people disperse to home and work. But one man remains. He’s Paul Ramsey, a young teacher, and he’s dead – stabbed through the heart.

DI Jago quickly establishes that the victim was a pacifist, desperate to avoid military service. Why, then, was he carrying a loaded revolver in his pocket? Did he have enemies? Was he intent on harming someone – or even himself?

Jago discovers that Paul isn’t the only pacifist whose convictions have been challenged. For some, anger and violence lie just below the surface. And despite Ramsey’s moral stance, it seems there were dark shadows in his life. In fact, more than one person might have had a motive for murder …

You can find Enemy Action online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

You can read the introduction to Enemy Action below:

26 February 2018

Book Review | Loose Ends by Jennifer Haynie

Loose Ends is the third book in Jennifer Haynie’s Unit 28 series, following Orb Web and Panama Deception. I would recommend reading the first two novels first—I found the beginning of Loose Ends confusing. There were a lot of characters to meet, and many had names or nicknames that made it difficult to know whether they were male or female.

There was also a lot of history I didn’t know that played into the present story of the main characters, especially Alex and Jamir. They are already an established couple (and spy partners) at the beginning of the novel. Yes, Loose Ends is a thriller, not a romantic suspense novel. This lackof history is also a plus: there is nothing worse than reading a novel that’s part of the series I’ve been following, and finding half the novel is rehashing the plots of the novels I’ve already read.

The story moved quickly, with lots of characters, lots of locations, and lots of external conflict. This was good, but I actually preferred the tension that was closer to home: the secret about Alex’s biological father. No, this wasn’t the big save-the-world conflict, but it was my favourite aspect to the story.

Loose Ends was overtly Christian: Alex and Jabir both talk about their faith (and struggle with their committment to remain celibate until marriage). But it also had a lot more realism than most of the Christian thrillers I’ve read. No, there was no overt swearing, and no detailed descriptions of violence. But it definitely leaned towards the edgy end of the Christian fiction spectrum.

Recommended for fans of fast-paced Christian thrillers from authors such as Ronie Kendig or Brandilyn Collins.

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

About Jennifer Haynie

After being an avid reader of suspense fiction for most of her life, Jennifer Haynie began writing and publishing suspense novels in 2012. She has now written over five indie suspense novels. In her spare time, she works for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, enjoys working out, and loves traveling. She currently lives outside of Raleigh with her husband and their Basenji dog.

You can find Jennifer Haynie online at:

Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter

About Loose Ends

Hot off her first mission as a Unit 28 contractor agent, Alex Thornton wants nothing more than to focus on building a life with Jabir al-Omri, her best friend and boyfriend of five months.

A secret chains Jabir, one with such dire consequences that seeking freedom from it will cost him dearly. He finds himself caught between honoring those he cares about and being completely truthful with Alex.

Hashim al-Hassan craves vengeance against the woman who deceived him ten years before. The target of his wrath? Alex.

When Alex and Jabir receive an assignment to find the murderers of a shipping executive, their investigation brings them to the attention of Hashim. He begins stalking her. The bodies pile up, and people disappear.

Now, with Alex squarely within Hashim’s crosshairs, Jabir yearns to tell her what he knows. Yet the truth may destroy both her and those she loves the most.

Find Loose Ends online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

19 February 2018

Book Review | The Saturday Night Supper Club by Carla Laureano

Wonderful!

If you ask readers what plot points or ideas they don’t like in novels, there is always one that comes up: the impossibly good-looking hero or heroine. Others dislike too-rich heroes. Or writers. Or all of the above. I confess: I’m one of them. I especially don’t like the impossibly handsome rich writer (except for Richard Castle, but we all know he’s a joke).

The Saturday Night Supper Club has all these things (except for Richard Castle.) Despite that, it’s a great read—almost perfect contemporary Christian romance. It’s also a lesson in the power of the media—especially social media—to work for good and for evil.

And the food … I wanted it all. Well, except the chard. And the fennel. It was a weed where I grew up, and we were all told not to eat it.

Anyway, about the book …

Rachel Bishop is the darling of the Denver casual fine dining scene until a misplaced comment to the wrong person goes viral. Writer Alex Kanin unintentionally started the whole media firestorm, but doesn’t realise the full extent of the repercussions until he tries to apologise to Rachel, and finds his article has cost Rachel her job.

Yes, he’s the impossibly handsome writer whose debut memoir jumped to the top of all the right bestseller lists. He’s also rich, thanks to a couple of timely investments, and grew up in a well-off immigrant family. In contrast, Rachel left home without graduating high school, and has risen to the top of her profession through hard work and determination.

The Saturday Night Supper Club is the story of how Alex and Rachel work together to try and resurrect her career.

It’s a romance, so you know how that goes. It also has a solid Christian thread, in that both Rachel and Alex are Christians, and each has lessons to learn about the nature of God. But it’s not preachy, which is great.

Overall, The Saturday Night Supper Club is a great contemporary Christian romance, with wonderful characters, and wonderful food. I do hope there are a couple of sequels in the works!

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

About Carla Laureano

Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.

You can find Carla Laureano online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

About The Saturday Night Supper Club

Denver chef Rachel Bishop has accomplished everything she’s dreamed and some things she never dared hope, like winning a James Beard Award and heading up her own fine-dining restaurant. But when a targeted smear campaign causes her to be pushed out of the business by her partners, she vows to do whatever it takes to get her life back . . . even if that means joining forces with the man who inadvertently set the disaster in motion.

Essayist Alex Kanin never imagined his pointed editorial would go viral. Ironically, his attempt to highlight the pitfalls of online criticism has the opposite effect: it revives his own flagging career by destroying that of a perfect stranger. Plagued by guilt-fueled writer’s block, Alex vows to do whatever he can to repair the damage. He just doesn’t expect his interest in the beautiful chef to turn personal.

Alex agrees to help rebuild Rachel’s tarnished image by offering his connections and his home to host an exclusive pop-up dinner party targeted to Denver’s most influential citizens: the Saturday Night Supper Club. As they work together to make the project a success, Rachel begins to realize Alex is not the unfeeling opportunist she once thought he was, and that perhaps there’s life—and love—outside the pressure-cooker of her chosen career. But can she give up her lifelong goals without losing her identity as well?

You can find The Saturday Night Supper Club online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

15 February 2018

Book Review | Out of the Shadows by Emma Carrie

It’s Throwback Thursday, so I’m resharing my review of Out of the Shadows, the first in The Tacket Secret series by Emma Carrie. It’s a fast-paced YA series that will appeal to thriller fans.

Teenager Emily Brelin’s adoptive mother has just died, and now Child Protective Services needs to find her a place to live. At least, that’s what they think. Emily needs to stay off the grid, to make sure her past doesn’t find her. That means staying out of the system.

Detective Victoria Tacket didn’t even know her friend Dr Jennifer Brelin was ill, let alone that she’d adopted a teenager. And why has Jen nominated her as guardian? She’s not fit to be a parent—which she tells CPS. But then Emily disappears, and Vick knows she has to find the missing teen.

Emily is a fascinating character, with more skills that people would expect for her age—including the ability to lip-read. She takes the lead in this game of hide and seek, and her willingness to run away and disappear introduce a lot of questions. Who is Emily? Why is it so important she stays out of the system? Who is looking for her … and what will happen if they find her?

This is the first book in a series—thank goodness, because I want to know what happens next! It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, but the end definitely leaves some unanswered questions for future books. (Cliffhanger endings too often give me the impression the author didn’t know how to finish the book, which breaks the illusion that it’s real).

Out of the Shadows is a fast-paced read with plenty of suspense. The plot and writing are solid, and the characters are excellent. If there was a failing, it was that it was too quick to read (I read it in a single sitting, because I couldn’t put it down). Not a novel to start late in the evening …

Recommended for those looking for Young Adult suspense.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review (although it’s now permanently free on Kindle).

About Out of the Shadows

Abducted as a child. Groomed to be a teen spy. Expected to become a female assassin.

Emily won’t be a test specimen too.

After years of prolonged mental and physical abuse during combat training, Emily Brelin’s genetic structure changed. New abilities emerged, which she hid from her captor, a rogue general.

Fearing she’d be experimented on, Emily escaped and fled across the globe to New York’s largest metropolitan area, Golden City. There, she met a sympathetic professor who offered her a new home, a new identity, and a new start.

The professor protected Emily’s secrets, until cancer intervened. On her deathbed, she made Emily promise to meet her best friend, a female detective who could keep the teen safe.

Now, despite reservations, Emily is racing to complete her vow. But the general wants his prized teen weapon back. He’s hunting Emily–and her cover is unraveling.

Detective Vick Tacket is shocked when she learns her best friend has died. She’s more stunned to learn the professor had a hidden dependent and named Vick–a single woman with no maternal interest–as the teen’s guardian.

But when mysterious girl disappears, Vick scours the streets of Golden City searching for the missing teen.

What she discovers could get them both killed.

About Emma Carrie

Emma Carrie writes clean YA books with strong female characters. Her debut YA action adventure series, The Tacket Secret, features a teen spy assassin and a homicide detective who are thrown into an awkward adoption that puts both in danger. Each chapter alternates between teen and adult POVs. This 7-book series is packed with suspense and a touch of science fiction fantasy.

When not writing, Emma enjoys her own adventures. She’s explored an active coal mine, fired a Gatling gun from a Humvee, and examined chromosomes with a scanning electron microscope. She’s also hitched a ride in a corporate jet and wiped out on stage while modeling. Unique moments like those fuel her stories.

Emma loves strong female characters who are driven by unconquerable determination–the encouragement she hopes readers take from her stories.

You can find Emma online at:

Website | Facebook

You can read the introduction to Out of the Shadows below:

12 February 2018

Book Review | The Lost Castle by Kristy Cambron

The Lost Castle is a split-time romance with a difference. I’ve read several dual-timeline romances, but this is the first with three timelines, all three centering around a mysterious lost castle in the Loire Valley, France—an area famous for wine and chateaux.

The oldest timeline is set amongst the French nobility in 1789, the eve of the Revolution. Aveline Saint-Moreau is about to be married when the castle is stormed and the nobility flee for their lives. She remains at the Chateau des Doux-Reves in the care of the master vinter, recovering from her injuries. She is the Sleeping Beauty, the origin of the legend of the ruined castle.

The middle timeline is set in the same location towards the end of World War II, shortly before D-Day (well, I knew D-Day was coming even though the characters didn’t). This is the story of Viola Hart, an English woman escaping from the Nazis in France. But how did she get there? Her story unfolds as the novel progresses, but ties together both the past and the present story.

The modern story is that of Ellison Carver—Ellie (although I did a double take when I first read the name, as I’m a James Bond fan and Elliot Carver was a James Bond baddie). Ellie was raised by her grandmother, Lady Vi, who is now confined to an Alzheimer’s unit, but who has a request for Ellie: go to France, find the Sleeping Beauty castle, and discover the significance of the castle and the handsome man in the photograph.

The writing is spectacular, especially the descriptions of 1789 France—the clothes, the chateau, the social inequity. This was definitely my favourite of the three timelines, because it’s a less common period to read about. I also enjoyed the Christian theme of God’s faithfulness woven throughout the three timelines.

Kristy Cambron’s first stories were dual timeline, and both had World War II settings (and in both, I thought the historical portion of the story was more compelling than the present). Her later novels have been straight historical fiction, in American settings. Personally, I prefer her dual (and now triple) timeline stories.

The Lost Castle takes Cambron’s talents in writing and researching, and brings the French Revolution and D-Day France to life. Recommended for readers looking for Christian fiction that’s a little out of the ordinary.

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

About The Lost Castle

Broken-down walls and crumbling stones seemed to possess a secret language all their own.

What stories would they tell, if she finally listened?

Ellie Carver arrives at her grandmother’s bedside expecting to find her silently slipping away. Instead, the beloved woman begins speaking. Of a secret past and castle ruins forgotten by time. Of a hidden chapel that served as a rendezvous for the French Resistance in World War II. Of lost love and deep regret . . .

Each piece that unlocks the story seems to unlock part of Ellie too—where she came from and who she is becoming. But her grandmother is quickly disappearing into the shadows of Alzheimer’s and Ellie must act fast if she wants to uncover the truth of her family’s history. Drawn by the mystery surrounding The Sleeping Beauty—a castle so named for Charles Perrault’s beloved fairy tale—Ellie embarks on a journey to France’s Loire Valley in hopes that she can unearth its secrets before time silences them forever.

Bridging the past to the present in three time periods—the French Revolution, World War II, and present day—The Lost Castle is a story of loves won and lost, of battles waged in the hearts of men, and of an enchanted castle that stood witness to it all, inspiring a legacy of faith through the generations.

You can find The Lost Castle online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

About Kristy Cambron

Kristy Cambron has a background in art and design, but she fancies life as a vintage-inspired storyteller. Her debut novel, The Butterfly and the Violin, was named to Library Journal’s Best Books of 2014 and nominated for RT Book Reviews’ Choice Awards Best Inspirational Novel of 2014 and for the 2015 INSPY Awards for Best Debut Novel. Her second novel, A Sparrow in Terezin, was named Library Journal’s Pick of the Month (Christian Fiction) for February 2015 and a Top Pick for RT Book Reviews. Kristy holds a degree in Art History from Indiana University. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three young sons.

You can find Kristy Cambron online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

8 February 2018

#ThrowbackThursday | If I Live by Terri Blackstock

It’s Throwback Thursday! Today I’m resharing my reivew of If I Run by Terri Blackstock, because the final book in the trilogy (If I Live) releases soon, and you’ll want to read all three.

When Casey Cox finds her best friend’s bloody body, she knows she’s going to be the main suspect in his murder, because the investigation will be conducted by the same police officers who ignored the evidence in her father’s death and called it a suicide. Thanks to a healthy ‘rainy day’ stash of cash, tricks learned from her cop father, and prolific reading of suspense novels, Casey is able to keep several steps ahead of the local police.

The victim’s family hire Dylan Roberts, ex-army Criminal Investigations Division, to find the missing Casey Cox. But Dylan finds the police are reluctant to allow him access to all the information relating to the crime, and to the earlier Cox suicide, and this—along with some of his findings—means he questions Casey’s guilt.

If I Run is suspense at its finest.

Casey is intelligent—very intelligent—and suspicious of the local police force. We (and Dylan) find out more and more of her personal history as the story progresses, which confirms Casey’s innocence but doesn’t necessarily tell us who is guilty—or why. She’s also kind and shows concern for others—a thoroughly likeable character. Dylan was equally intelligent and likeable, especially with his curiosity and empathy.

The story was well-plotted with a significant subplot that rose naturally out of what seemed like a coincidental meeting, but which ended up playing a major part in the Dylan-chases-Casey story. There was also a strong underlying Christian thread with Casey’s views on faith, but this was subtle and never got in the way of the story.

And the ending was excellent, setting Casey and Dylan up for a sequel . . . which I now want to read as soon as possible! Recommended for all suspense fans.

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

About Terri Blackstock

You can find Terri Blackstock online at:

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About If I Run

Casey knows the truth. But it won’t set her free.

Casey Cox’s DNA is all over the crime scene. There’s no use talking to police; they’ve failed her abysmally before. She has to flee before she’s arrested . . . or worse. The truth doesn’t matter anymore.

But what is the truth? That’s the question haunting Dylan Roberts, the war-weary veteran hired to find Casey. PTSD has marked him damaged goods, but bringing Casey back can redeem him. Though the crime scene seems to tell the whole story, details of the murder aren’t adding up.

Casey Cox doesn’t fit the profile of a killer. But are Dylan’s skewed perceptions keeping him from being objective? If she isn’t guilty, why did she run?

Unraveling her past and the evidence that condemns her will take more time than he has, but as Dylan’s damaged soul intersects with hers, he is faced with two choices: the girl who occupies his every thought is a psychopathic killer . . . or a selfless hero. And the truth could be the most deadly weapon yet.

You can find If I Run online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

You can read the introduction to If I Run below:

5 February 2018

Book Review | Lady Jayne Disappears by Joanna Davidson Politano

I’m not the biggest fan of writers writing novels about writers—it seems to take the advice to “write what you know” a little too literally for my taste. But Lady Jayne Disappears worked in spite of this, perhaps because Aurelie Harcourt is the transcriber for author Nathaniel Droll rather than the author himself … although that changes as the story moves forward.

Aurelie is trying to find the identity of her mother, who disappeared from her ancestral home of Lyndhurst Manor when she was a baby. Mr Rotherham is trying to find the identity of Nathaniel Droll (great name, by the way). And various members of the Harcourt household are keeping their own secrets as well …

Lady Jayne Disappears has a strong plot with an intriguing mystery and more than a hint of romance. The characters are strong and likeable, and many have their own secrets which adds to the overall mystery. The writing was excellent. I especially liked the many lines about reading and writing. Here are a few of my favourite:

There were also some excellent lines about human nature, such as:

I also liked the strong Christian thread, and the distinction between religion and true Christianity:

My one problem with Lady Jayne Disappears was the number of anachronisms. I’m a history fan and a marketing major, and a character discussing book marketing in Victorian England isn’t right (my dictionary confirms my marketing lecturer was right: “marketing” in Victorian England was the activity of going to the market). Victorian English residents were also unlikely to “schlep”, and didn’t write checks (okay, that’s an Americanism rather than an anachronism). I also suspect they were more likely to eat French pastries than Danish.

I know, I know. Most people won’t notice these things, and they certainly shouldn’t allow them to detract from a solid debut novel with a unique twist. I hope to see more of Aurelie and Nathaniel Droll in future.

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

About Joanna Davidson Politano

Joanna Davidson Politano freelances for a small nonfiction publisher but spends much of her time spinning tales that capture the colorful, exquisite details in ordinary lives.

Her manuscript for Lady Jayne Disappears was a finalist for several contests, including the 2016 Genesis Award from ACFW, and won the OCW Cascade Award and the Maggie Award for Excellence.

She is always on the hunt for random acts of kindness, people willing to share their deepest secrets with a stranger, and hidden stashes of sweets. She lives with her husband and their two babies in a house in the woods near Lake Michigan.

You can find Joanna online at:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Twitter

About Lady Jayne Disappears

When Aurelie Harcourt’s father dies in debtor’s prison, he leaves her just two things: his wealthy family, whom she has never met, and his famous pen name, Nathaniel Droll. Her new family greets her with apathy and even resentment. Only the quiet houseguest, Silas Rotherham, welcomes her company.

When Aurelie decides to complete her father’s unfinished serial novel, writing the family into the story as unflattering characters, she must keep her identity as Nathaniel Droll hidden while searching for the truth about her mother’s disappearance–and perhaps even her father’s death.

Author Joanna Davidson Politano’s stunning debut set in Victorian England will delight readers with its highly original plot, lush setting, vibrant characters, and reluctant romance.

You can find Lady Jayne Disappears online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Or click here to find Lady Jayne Disappears in my Amazon shop!