Category: Book Review

How long’s it been since you shared a sermon only you could preach.

Book Review | A Surefire Love by Emily Conrad

Blaze Astley has raised her half-sister practically since birth, and certainly since their mother died four years ago. Now she’s volunteering to help out in youth groups after Mercy came home crying after the youth pastor told her off.

Anson Marsh is the youth pastor who has his own set of problems, not least of which is an elder who wants to see him fired.

While I do have some sympathy for an elder who wonders why the church employs a full-time paid youth pastor to run a youth group with only a dozen attendees, it’s not the youth pastor’s job to grow the entire church. I also felt the head pastor didn’t stand up for Anson as much as he could have, particularly since the elder seems more focused on growing a social club than a church.

So the story has been set up as a romance between Blaze and Anson, with some obvious issues for them to overcome … not least that Anson is currently dating someone else.

I’m not a big fan of romances where one of the main characters is dating someone else, even if they do break up. I also wasn’t keen on the reason for the breakup–because Anson and Sydney didn’t have “passion”. The foundation of a strong Christian marriage is a strong shared faith, not passion. Too often, passion burns and dies, and divorce ensues.

During the story, Blaze and her sister Mercy were both tested for and diagnosed with ADHD.

The story did a great job of showing how the disorder presents differently in females than in males, the difficulty in getting a formal diagnosis, but the difference a diagnosis can make.

All in all, while I thought A Surefire Love did a great job of showing a great redemption story and the challenges of ADHD (and it certainly had some thought-provoking lines), I didn’t enjoy this nearly as much as I enjoyed The Rhythms of Redemption Romances.

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

About Emily Conrad

Author Photo - Emily Conrad

Emily Conrad writes Christian fiction. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two 60+ pound rescue dogs. Some of her favorite things (other than Jesus and writing, of course) are coffee, walks, and road trips to the mountains.

Find Emily Conrad online at:

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About A Surefire Love

Small towns have long memories, and generations of dysfunction burned Blaze’s reputation before her own faults could.

A Surefire Love

Twenty-six and guardian to her preteen sister, Blaze is determined to give her sister the stability she never had. Her church is a big part of that plan, until a run-in with an uptight youth pastor derails their progress. Blaze goes toe-to-toe with a man who looked down on her back in high school—and volunteers for his team of youth leaders.

A survivor of the wreck that took his high school basketball coach, Anson sacrificed a promising athletic career to pick up Coach Voss’s legacy. Now a youth pastor, his mission to offer students real hope clashes with a leadership board that’s more concerned about numbers.

As his allies turn their backs and Blaze explores the impact of undiagnosed ADHD on the patterns of her life, Blaze and Anson find unexpected support in each other. Perhaps her preconceived ideas about him are as far off base as his are about her and her sister. When scandal ignites around them, will their love prove to be surefire—or crash and burn?

Fans of Nicole Deese and Melissa Tagg will fall in love with this opposites-attract romance about faith, second chances, and sacrificial love.

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Being adopted was a gift I'd never take for granted. But I was tired of letting it keep me from living life.

Book Review | A Run at Love (Love in the Spotlight #2) by Toni Shiloh

A Run At Love is another winner from Toni Shiloh.

At twenty-eight years old, Piper McKinney has finally gained her independence from her somewhat overprotective adoptive parents, and bought her own farm … and her own racehorse. She’s hired Tucker Hale, her best friend and secret crush, as her trainer, hoping to take Dream to the Kentucky Derby.

A Run At Love has all the things I most love in contemporary Christian romance.

Friends-to-more plot? Check.

It’s one of my favourite tropes, and A Run At Love is the perfect illustration of why I love it so much.

Christian romance where the characters live their faith? Check.

It’s a strength of Toni Shiloh’s writing in general, and I loved the way Piper and Tucker both had spiritual lessons to learn.

Unique characters? Check.

Piper is an orphan adopted from Oloro Ile (a nod to Toni Shiloh’s In Search of A Prince), and has spent a lifetime navigating being the only African American in white-dominated spaces.

Unique plotline? Check.

There are a lot of Christian novels about cowboys and ranchers and their horses, but this is the first novel I recall reading about the Kentucky Derby, horseracing in general, and the issues in the industry.

And, of course, romance.

The friends-to-more plotline is obvious from the opening chapter and Toni Shiloh does a great job of bringing Piper and Tucker together late enough to build tension, but early enough to make for happy readers.

Recommended for fans of contemporary Christian romance, especially from BIPOC authors or with BIPOC characters.

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

About Toni Shiloh

tonishiloh_highresToni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace of the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior.

She writes soulfully romantic novels to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness.

Before pursuing her dream as a writer, Toni served in the United States Air Force. It was there she met her husband. After countless moves, they ended up in Virginia, where they are raising their two boys.

When she’s not typing in imagination land, Toni enjoys reading, playing video games, ​making jewelry, and spending time with ​her family.

Find Toni Shiloh online at:

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About A Run at Love

A CONTENDER RUNNING FOR THE ROSES

A Run at Love

As a Black woman in a field with little diversity, Piper McKinney is determined to make her mark on the horse-racing world. Raised on a Thoroughbred farm in Kentucky, Piper’s dream is for her horse to win the prestigious Kentucky Derby. With the help of her best friend and trainer, Tucker Hale, she gains national attention but must grapple with the complications that arise when a journalist delves into her past as a transracial adoptee.

A BEST FRIEND RACING FOR LOVE

In an effort to win Piper’s heart, Tucker formulates a plan to train Piper’s horse to victory, hoping to prove himself to her, her parents, and his own self-doubts. Then a shocking scandal hits the media, implicating both Piper and her parents, and she and Tucker will have to survive the onslaught to find their way to the winner’s circle–and each other.

A ROMANCE WORTH THE CHALLENGE

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Book Review | The Road Before Us by Janine Rosche

Twenty-nine-year-old Jade Jessup is jobless, homeless, and owns little more than the fancy finance executive wardrobe she wore before she found out her fiancé and his father (her boss) were using her client’s money to finance their extravagant lifestyles through a giant Ponzi scheme.

Jade gets a shot at redemption when Berenice “Benny” Alderidge and her foster son, handsome playboy Bridger Rosenblum, invite her to join them on their roadtrip down Route 66, following Benny’s trip close to seventy years earlier.

The story starts with a Prologue which, honestly, was a little confusing. It’s one of those prologues that turns out to be from somewhere in the middle of the story, but it took a while to work out it was the future.

The story then moves between three timelines: Jade’s present story (told in first person present tense), Jades’s past story (also told in first person), and Benny’s past story (told in first person past tense). I enjoy stories told in first person, but I know not everyone does.

The Prologue, combined with the three timelines, made the story a little hard for me to follow at first.

Perhaps I should have read the book description …

The book description makes it quite clear there are three stories in this novel. However, I did work out the present journey was echoing the past—Benny’s original road trip to Hollywood with the man she later married, and Jade’s less-happy road trip as a child, when she was kidnapped by her father. As such, the time shifts were a clever way of sharing the information and showing the progression of the three stories.

Once I got into the flow of the story, I loved it.

Jade, Benny, and Bridger all had their own emotional journeys. I was fascinated by Bridger’s backstory—I hadn’t known about the Samoan adoption scandal before, and it’s horrible to think of all the people hurt through the lies. I love it when I read a novel and learn something new like this.

Bridger’s backstory was fascinating and tragic, but it came out fairly easily and naturally through the story. Jade’s backstory was fascinating and tragic in a different way, but was far harder to uncover, even though Jade was the main point of view character. It’s a testament to Janine Rosch’s strong writing that it never felt like Jade was hiding information from the reader, even though there were some big surprises in her story.

The writing was excellent, and while the novels wasn’t overtly Christian (in that there was no on-the-page prayers or church services), the story had definite Christian themes. And for the romance lovers out there, there is also a romance subplot …

Recommended for fans of dual (or triple) timeline fiction who don’t mind first person present tense.

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

About Janine Rosche

Janine Rosche - author photo
Janine Rosche is the author of the Madison River Romance and Whisper Canyon series of novels. Prone to wander, she finds as much comfort on the open road as she does at home. This longing to chase adventure, behold splendor, and experience redemption is woven into her stories. When she isn’t traveling or writing novels, she teaches family life education courses, produces The Love Wander Read Journal, and takes too many pictures of her sleeping dogs.

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About The Road Before Us

How far would you go to fix the mistakes you’ve made and regain the trust you lost? For Jade Jessup, the answer is 2,448 miles. Once one of Chicago’s significant financial advisors, Jade lost her credibility when her fiancé (and coworker) stole millions of dollars from their clients in a Ponzi scheme. Now she’s agreed to help one of them–an aging 1960s Hollywood starlet named Berenice “Benny” Alderidge–seek financial restoration.

Jade sets off along Route 66 with Benny and her handsome adult foster son, Bridger, who is filming a documentary retracing the 1956 trip that started the love story between Benny and her recently deceased husband, Paul. Listening to Benny recount her story draws Jade into memories of her own darker association with Route 66, when she was kidnapped as a child by a man the media labeled a monster–but she remembers only as daddy.

Together, all three of these pilgrims will learn about family, forgiveness, and what it means to live free of the past. But not before Jade faces a second staggering betrayal that changes everything.

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God knew what I needed more than I did. So I simply asked if He would sit with me, to be my Comfort, my Peace, my Rock amidst the storm.

Book Review | For a Lifetime (Timeless #3) by Gabrielle Meyer

In a departure from the two previous books in the Timeless series, For a Lifetime is told from two points of view: identical twins Grace and Hope. Both are time-crossers, with their consciousnesses living in two separate times: 1692 and 1912. They are both twenty-four years old, and the time is coming when they each must decide when to live the rest of their lives.

In 1692, they are the daughters of widowed Puritan Uriah Eaton.

They work in their father’s business, the Salem village ordinary (ordinary is a new-to-me term which apparently refers to the local tavern and eating establishment). Anyone who knows anything about American history will know this is a challenging time and place—the Salem witch trials are about to begin, with Grace and Hope stuck right in the middle.

In 1912, Grace is a journalist and Hope is an aviatrix.

It’s therefore no surprise that both women have already decided they will stay in 1912, where their time-crossing mother still lives, and where women are viewed as people with rights, not possessions under the control of their fathers and husbands.

The story starts in 1692, and is told from Grace’s point of view. Based on the previous stories, I was expecting the whole story to be from Grace’s point of view so was a little discombobulated when I realised the 1912 portions were being told from Hope’s point of view. The two women have very different characters and very different voices, so it was easy enough to tell the difference once I realised they were each telling a portion of the story (the identity of the point of view characters was clearly identified at the beginning of each chapter. However, I have developed a habit of not reading chapter titles, which is why I missed that vital information).

I did find the beginning of the story a little frustrating, particularly as I related to Grace’s character best. I found Hope to be more impetuous and insensitive, almost to the point of being selfish (although that view did change in the second half of the story).

I wondered for a time if I was going to enjoy For a Lifetime as much as I enjoyed the previous books, When the Day Comes and In This Moment. My worries were unfounded: although For a Lifetime took longer to get going than the earlier books, it got better and better as the story progressed, and the ending was both unexpected and excellent.

The book has a romance element, although this isn’t as strong as in the previous stories.

In This Moment forced Maggie to choose between three different men in three timelines, while Grace and Hope had a different choice: each other. While they each do have a romance, the story was more about the relationship between the sisters than their relationships with the men in their lives.

The two historic periods were also interesting to read about. I’m relatively familiar with the history of aviation, but less familiar with the history of the Salem witch trials. On that basis, I enjoyed the 1912 side of the story most, but learned more from the 1692 side. I certainly would not have wanted to live in Puritan America, which came across as religious yet godless … perhaps much like the modern world.

For a Lifetime will be a must-read for anyone who has read the earlier books in the series.

However, it is a standalone story so you don’t have to read the other two in order to enjoy this. (But if you read For a Lifetime, you will absolutely want to go back and read In This Moment, which is the story of Grace and Hope’s mother, and that will ensure you want to read the first book, which is the story of their grandmother).

The best part is finding out the Timeless series is going to continue!

I had thought it was going to be a trilogy, so was a little disappointed to realise this would be the final story. But the end of the book has an excerpt from Across the Ages, which will release in November 2024! I’m looking forward to it already. I hear there will also be a book #5 in 2025.

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

About Gabrielle Meyer

Gabrielle Meyer

Gabrielle lives on the banks of the Upper Mississippi River with her husband and four children. As an employee of the Minnesota Historical Society, she fell in love with the rich history of her state and enjoys writing historical and contemporary novels inspired by real people, places, and events. The river is a constant source of inspiration for Gabrielle, and if you look closely, you will find a river in each of her stories.

When Gabrielle is not writing, you might find her homeschooling her children, cheering them on at sporting and theatrical events, or hosting a gathering at her home with family and friends.

Find Gabrielle Meyer online at:

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About For a Lifetime

Cover image - For a LifetimeGrace and Hope are identical twin sisters born with the ability to time-cross together between 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, and 1912 New York City. As their twenty-fifth birthday approaches, they will have to choose one life to keep and one to leave behind forever–no matter the cost.

In 1692, they live and work in their father’s tavern, where they must watch helplessly as the witch trials unfold in their village, threatening everyone. With the help of a handsome childhood friend, they search for the truth behind their mother’s mysterious death, risking everything to expose a secret that could save their lives–or be their undoing.

In 1912, Hope dreams of becoming one of the first female pilots in America, and Grace works as an investigative journalist, uncovering corruption and injustice. After their parents’ orphanage is threatened by an adversary, they enter a contest to complete a perilous cross-country flight under the guidance of a daring French aviator.

The sisters have already decided which timeline they will choose, but an unthinkable tragedy complicates the future they planned for themselves. As their birthday looms, how will they determine the lives–and loves–that are best for both of them?

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One day sure made a difference. May fifteenth would go down in the books as the day her life changed.

Book Review | Emma’s Hero by Carrie Walker

Interior designer Emma Reynolds is doing great after a bad year … until her twenty-week scan reveals her baby boy has semi-lobar holoprosencephaly, a brain abormality that causes seizures, developmental delays, diabetes, and other health problems. Despite the obvious challenges ahead, she is determined to keep her baby.

EMT supervisor Ben Sullivan sees the distraught woman as he’s delivering a patient to the hospital. He can’t do anything but pray … but God brings them back together when he is the EMT who answers the emergency call for Theo’s birth.

Mason Hughes is a high school student with no idea what to do with his life. He’s less than pleased when his mother signs him up to shop for Emma once a week. He’d rather be playing Minecraft or Fortnite and building his blog. In that, he echoed the preferences of many teenage boys.

As the title implies, Ben is the real hero of this story.

He’s a Christian, an EMT (always a great start), and a genuinely good guy. His main fault is that he likes to be in charge, which makes it difficult for him to give his backup EMTs the freedom to actually do their jobs. However, his desire to take charge never crosses the line into being controlling,and I appreciated that.

Mason also turns out to be a hero in his own way, mostly because of Ben’s encouragement and good example.

I will admit to some apprehension from the opening line—so many novels have All the Bad Things happen to their characters that I was afraid Emma was going to lose her job and have to figure out not only how to raise a child with special healthcare needs on her own, but have to do it with no job and no medical insurance. Fortunately that turned out not to be the case.

I found Emma’s character a little confusing at first. Where is her baby’s father? He’s not mentioned, which got me wondering why not. The question was eventually addressed, but that did mean, it took a little longer for me to warm to Emma as a character. She came into her own once Theo was born and we could see her inspirational tenacity and determination to keep Theo alive.

What I especially liked was the character growth from each of the three main characters, especially Emma and Mason. In some ways, they are different sides of the same coin: Emma is the single parent raising her son alone who still needs to forgive herself and accept God’s forgiveness, and Mason is the son of a single mother who needs to forgive the father who abandoned him.

Emma’s Hero was inspired by a real-life baby.

It’s great to see Christian fiction—especially Christian romance—that deals with some of the hard situations and show we can rely on God to bring us through.

Recommended for readers who want a solid Christian romance and aren’t going to be triggered by a baby with a life-threatening condition.

Thanks to Mountain Brook Ink for providing a free ebook for review.

About Carrie Walker

Carrie WalkerCarrie Walker lives in Michigan with her husband and seven children. From her ten years serving as a high school youth minister, adventures around the globe, and raising a family, many stories have been knit within her heart.

As an avid reader she pens what she loves to read, contemporary stories that bring hope to a hurting world. Weaving romance among story lines of characters in struggle, she aims to show God working in all situations. When she’s not playing board games with her husband, shuttling kids in the Walker bus or wishing for snow, Carrie can be found at the keyboard bringing those stories to life.

Carrie’s writing has been recognized in many contests. Her debut novel, Emma’s Hero, placed in the ACFW Crown Award, Monroe Walton Center for the Arts Award, and won the 2020 ACFW First Impressions Contest.

Find Carrie Walker online at:

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About Emma’s Hero

Emma's Hero“God won’t give me more than I can handle? I’m pretty sure He just did.”

After a year of loss and bad choices distance Emma Reynolds from her lifelong beliefs, she finds herself pregnant and alone at a twenty-week ultrasound, hearing the words “incompatible with life.” When her son, Theo, survives birth, she fights to give him the best care possible. As each day passes, Emma’s love for Theo grows—along with her fear of losing him. She can’t understand why God allows her son to suffer.

Seventeen-year-old blogger, Mason Hughes, feels lonely and worthless after his father left their family years ago. When he ignores his mother’s push to “contribute to society,” she volunteers him to help Emma each week. Wishing he’d applied for any other job, Mason has no choice but to grocery shop and practice his rusty social skills with a mother and son he doesn’t know.

Paramedic Ben Sullivan has earned himself the title of “most eligible” bachelor among his friends as they continually set him up on blind dates. While he’d love to avoid the uncomfortable events, his heart can’t help but seek the one thing missing in his life—a marriage like his parents have. If only he could find the woman himself.

As Theo’s tiny life connects them to each other, their loneliness breaks under the love of community, and they will never be the same.

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"I'm fine." "Feelings inside not expressed. That's what fine stands for. It's a cop-out people use when they want to avoid having a real conversation."

Book Review | The Roads We Follow (Fog Harbor 2) by Nicole Deese

Raegan Farrow is the much-younger sister of control freak Adele, who is the CEO of the family record label, and distraught and depressed Hattie, whose slimy ex has taken their two children to Greece for the summer to meet his much-younger fiancé’s family. Raegan also works for the family record label as general assistant and gopher, constantly being ordered about by Adele and generally taking care of Hattie.

But Raegan has a secret dream to write.

She has actually completed a young adult fantasy novel that she submits for publication. The publisher is interested because of her family name, but Raegan wants to publish under a pen name—she’s had enough of being part of the family rather than her own person.

I admired Raegan for not taking the easy way out, of wanting her writing to sell and be read because of the story, not because she was trading on her mother’s name … even when that meant her own dream was less likely to come to fruition. I admired her loyalty to her family and her willingness to stay with them and do the hard things, even when that meant she wasn’t following her own dreams.

Luella is singing at Watershed, a music festival in California. Almost at the last minute, she upends Adele’s careful plans with a decision the family will take a road trip from Nashville to California, and impels her daughters to join her.

Micah Davenport has recently lost his mother to kidney disease.

That would be devastating enough. What is even more devastating is the discover that he and his brother are only half-brothers, which leads Micah to volunteer to be Luella’s bus driver for her cross-country road trip in the hope that will help him discover the identity of his biological father.

Micah was born to be a therapist and is a great character because his professional expertise and consequent emotional maturity provides the perfect foil to the messed-up Farrow family. But he’s not perfect–he’s currently unemployed and searching for his identity and purpose in life in exactly the same way as Raegan.

The story is alternately narrated by Raegan, the youngest daughter of country music icon Luella Farrow, and Micah Davenport, oldest son of Luella’s once-best friend and onstage co-star, Lynn Hershel-Davenport. Raegan and Micah’s stories are both told in first person, which was a little confusing at first (and which I know some people don’t like). If that’s you … this story is worth the effort.

The main story is about search for identity.

Micah is searching for his biological father and Raegan is searching for her identity as someone other than the daughter of Luella Farrow. But there is also a sweet slow-build romance between Raegan and Micah (after a slightly awkward case of mistaken identity, where Micah is attracted to Raegan before realising she could be his half-sister, and his subsequent relief when he finds out she can’t be).

I particularly liked the faith elements of the story.

All the main characters are Christians with a deep level of faith that underpins what they say and do. They start each day of their travels with prayer, but their faith is understated and personal—this isn’t a rah-rah-rah-come-to-Jesus story, but the faith elements are clear.

The story is a kind-of sequel to The Words We Lost, with a common underlying story element, but with a completely different setting and only one character in common—Chip, the acquisitions editor at Fog Harbor Books. (I like Chip, and I hope he gets his own story at some point.)

Overall, The Roads We Follow is an excellent story that’s part family relationships, part romance, and all Christian. Recommended.

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

About Nicole Deese

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

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About The Roads We Follow

Cover image: The Roads We Follow by Nicole DeeseAs the youngest daughter of a country music legend, Raegan Farrow longs to establish an identity away from the spotlight and publish her small-town romances under a pen name. But after her dream is dashed when she won’t exploit her mother’s fame to further her own career, she hears a rumor from a reliable source regarding a tell-all being written about the Farrow family. Making matters worse, the unknown author has gone to great lengths to remain anonymous until publication.

Raegan chooses to keep the tell-all a secret from her scandal-leery sisters as they embark on a two-week, cross-country road trip at their mother’s request and makes it her mission to expose the identity of the author behind the unsanctioned biography. But all is complicated when she discovers their hired bus driver, Micah Davenport, has a hidden agenda of his own–one involving both of their mothers and an old box of journals. As they rely on each other to find the answers they seek, the surprising revelations they unearth will steer them toward their undeniable connection and may even lead them down the most unexpected of paths.

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That’s the thing about change; it just shows up, and it never asks permission. You never know how it will affect you until you’re forced to face it.

Book Review | Walking in Circles by Amy Matayo

High school senior Emma Lee and her mother have just moved to Pendleton, South Carolina, population 3,084. After an embarassing and awkward first day at her new school, she makes a fool of herself (again) with neighbour and school hottie Shane Michaels.

Emma has a temper. She also comes from an abusive household—that’s why she and her mother have moved, to get away from Emma’s father. Unsurprisingly, this has also left Emma with a distrust of men. So she’s not keen on developing any kind of relationship with Shane, or with Old Will, her neighbour. But Old Will, with the benefit of age and wisdom, manages to break through her barriers.

I will admit that I didn’t really read the book description before I bought the book or before I read it. It was a new book from Amy Matayo. What else did I need to know?

Walking in Circles has similarities to her previous books: great characters in messy relationships, strong writing that pulls the reader in and doesn’t let up (well, this reader anyway), and a subtle faith arc that shows rather than tells God’s truth.

It is a novel about surviving domestic violence and physical abuse, and there are a few other triggers as well (including sibling death). But it’s also a novel about finding hope in the mess and brokenness.

Recommended for Young Adult readers looking for fiction that examines how broken people can find joy in a broken world.

About Amy Matayo

Amy Matayo is an award winning author of  The Wedding Game, Love Gone Wild, Sway, In Tune with Love, A Painted Summer, The End of the World, The Thirteenth Chance, The Whys Have It, Christmas at Gate 18, and the upcoming Lies We Tell Ourselves.

She graduated with barely passing grades from John Brown University with a degree in Journalism. But don’t feel sorry for her–she’s super proud of that degree and all the ways she hasn’t put it to good use.

She laughs often, cries easily, feels deeply, and loves hard. She lives in Arkansas with her husband and four kids and is always working on her next novel, whichever one that may be.

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About Walking in Circles

“When you’ve been hurt the worst by the one who should love you most, trusting anyone is a dangerous game.”

Emma Lee was four the first time her dad hit her, eight when he left without a word, and nine by the time she’d developed a serious case of Male Trust Issues. So, when her mom moves her from their beloved California city to a small South Carolina town, the last person she wants to get to know is her elderly male neighbor. But the man won’t stop talking to her. And it isn’t like she can avoid him. She passes his house twice a day on her walk to and from school.

Old Will knows a fractured soul when he sees one, and his young new neighbor is certainly that. Emma wears a cautious demeanor like an old sweater, and it tugs at his heartstrings. His late wife would have his hide if he didn’t welcome the girl onto their front porch and treat her like one of their own. And if his grandson Shane happened to come by and meet her…well, that wouldn’t be his fault, would it?

Shane Michaels is the school jock, prom king, all-around popular kid, and miserable. He’s already lost so much in his eighteen years, more than his classmates could ever understand. And he is lonely. So, when Emma moves into the house next to Old Will, Shane makes it his mission to meet her. He invites her on a walk. He joins her on Old Will’s front porch. He asks her to dinner and to prom and eventually spills the secret he’s been keeping for years, the secret only his parents and Old Will know about.

That is, until a tragic accident brings everything into the open and throws their newly formed bond into chaos. A bond Emma hadn’t seen coming until she’d already learned to depend on it. But isn’t that how life works?

Sometimes learning to trust people is only a matter of meeting the right ones.

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New Releases in Christian Fiction

New Releases in Christian Fiction | April 2024

I can’t believe it’s April already! Here are the new releases in Christian fiction for April … happy reading!

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.

Contemporary Romance

Love in Tandem by Becca Kinzer — She’s perfectly content leading a quiet life in her small hometown. He’s an adventurer with unquenchable wanderlust. The two couldn’t be any more opposite if they tried. But a tandem bicycle and a 500-mile road trip just might change all that. (Contemporary Romance from Tyndale House)

Playing For Keeps by Deborah Raney — The love story of Art and Maddie continues in Playing for Keeps. But their fledgling marriage faces challenges when expectations collide. When Maddie is offered a chance to take a research trip to Paris, it appears a short separation might help them both figure out what happily-ever-after looks like for them. Yet even the beautiful City of Lights is lonely without the man she loves with all her heart. (Contemporary Romance, Independently Published [ACFW QIP])

Safe Haven Ranch by Louise M Gouge — It should be easy for widow Olivia Ortiz to despise Will Mattson, the man keeping her from buying the ranchland she needs for herself and her daughter, Emily. But when Emily becomes instant friends with Will’s nephew, Jemmy, Olivia and Will find themselves growing closer as well. And as Olivia’s feelings for the handsome cowboy shift, competing for the property could be the start of something more… (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired [Harlequin])

General Contemporary and Women’s Fiction

Cookies & Eggnog from Welcombe Bay by Kate Darroch — The prequel to the first novel in the Sweets By the Sea series, “Thanksgiving in Welcombe Bay.” In this Christmas novella we learn that Lily met her former husband Gary on her 18th birthday, and we see how Gary establishes his ascendancy over her. We watch God’s love operating in her life through the actions of her grandparents and her vicar’s wife, and learn why that ultimately leads Lily to a moment of truth when she must seek to reclaim her wavering faith. (General Contemporary, Independently Published [Ad Astra Press, Inc.])

Always Think of Me by Lori Keesey — Tyrus Cal, TC for short, had no plans to leave his party boy life, but when he met Ginny at an outdoor music festival, he fell. Hard. When their budding relationship ends abruptly, TC moves on, assuming he won’t get a second chance with the captivating Ginny. But then he does. Just not in the way he expected. (General Contemporary, Mascot Books)

Why the Mountains Stand by Ashlyn McKayla Ohm — When skating coach Addisyn Miles becomes responsible for Kenzie, a turbulent new student, she’s blindsided by the girl’s troubling link to her own past. But when Kenzie rediscovers a local legend, more is at stake than either of them realized. Now, Addisyn must choose between allowing the secrets to destroy them both…or finally finding the purpose behind their shared pain. (Contemporary, Independently Published [ACFW QIP])

General Historical

Secrets of the Wildflowers by Sarah Talbert — After a tragic event involving the sacrifice of her brother, Miu escapes the stifling gods and patriarchal norms of ancient Ur, embarking on a transformative quest for freedom, like wildflowers in bloom; she grapples with control issues and learns to trust in Abraham’s personal god, Yahweh, finding a community where she can live as she was created to be. (General Historical, Eternal Threads Publishing)

Historical Romance

Earning the Mountain Man’s Trust by Misty M Beller — Naomi Wyatt has finally given up on the man who once promised to love her for the rest of his life—then disappeared with no way to contact him. She’s now a single mother with a beautiful baby girl to provide for. When Jonah Coulter asks for her hand in marriage, she knows she would be hard-pressed to find a better husband and father. But when her first love rides onto the ranch property saying he’d been searching for her for months, her heart is shredded once again. Before she has time to catch her breath though, a new threat appears on the horizon. This time she has far more at stake than her heart, and only a Divine hand can turn this disaster for their good. (Historical Romance, Independently Published [ACFW QIP])

The Sleuth of Blackfriars Lane by Michelle Griep — As co-owner of The Blackfriars Lane Enquiry Agency, Kit Forge fearlessly takes on a missing child case, only to find herself and her husband, Chief Inspector Jackson Forge, risking everything to save their own baby from the dangerous criminals involved. (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)

A Spring at The Greenbrier by Sandra Merville Hart — Marilla has resigned herself to spinsterhood in order to help care for her sister but more than that obstacle stands in the way of courting the wealthy brother of her sister’s best friend. (Historical Romance from Wild Heart Books)

Dreams for Courage by Shanna Hatfield — When a private investigator’s trail leads her to an aloof rancher, will love give them the courage they need to face his past and dream of a future together? (Historical Romance from Wholesome Hearts Publishing)

Even in Death by Rebecca Hemlock — Private Detective Trix Fredson wants her husband’s murder solved, and the couple responsible live in her old home. Her husband’s best friend, Ted Mcallister pulled some strings to get Trix the job at the detective agency. He promised to help her solve Ron’s murder, which would be difficult. But how can he do that and keep himself from revealing his true feelings for her? That was going to be even harder. (Historical Romance from Bluecap Publishing)

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

The Garden Girls by Jessica R Patch — On a remote Outer Banks island, a serial killer collects his prized specimens. And to stop him, an FBI agent must confront his own twisted past. (Contemporary Psychological Suspense Thriller from Love Inspired [Harlequin])

Romantic Suspense

Lethal Danger by Jerusha Agen — This K-9 team is trained to eliminate threats. This threat could eliminate them. (Romantic Suspense, Independently Published [ACFW QIP])


One Good Time by Luana Ehrlich — CIA covert operative Titus Ray is asked to do the unthinkable and allow a terrorist to enter the country illegally in order to stop an attack on the U. S., but as he tracks the terrorist to his destination, he suffers a devastating loss that threatens to derail the mission. (Romantic Suspense, Independently Published [ACFW QIP])

Grave Consequences by Elle E. Kay — Cate Garrison is working as a wildlife biologist for the Pennsylvania Game Commission and crosses paths with a mysterious park ranger whose dangerous past has caught up with him. (Romantic Suspense, Independently Published [ACFW QIP])

Yukon Wilderness Evidence by Darlene L. Turner — When skeletal remains are uncovered in the Yukon forest, forensic botanist Keeley Ash is called to the crime scene—and ends up abducted. She never expects her ex, paramedic Brett Ryerson, to come to her rescue, or her gathered evidence to be linked to a cold case. And when their son—who Brett never knew existed—is kidnapped, they’ll stop at nothing to save him and outrun the hunters determined to silence Keeley. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])

Speculative Fiction

Never Forget the Truth by F.D. Adkins — When the forces of darkness masquerade in the light, is your sword sharpened in TRUTH and wielded to fight? (Speculative Fiction, Independently Published [ACFW QIP])

Split-Time

Braving Strange Waters by Sarah Hanks — Stella Lindy is supposed to be soaking up the sunshine with her bridesmaids on a bachelorette cruise to Hawaii. But when she hits the wrong button on the elevator, the glamorous luxury of the modern ship is replaced with the Missouri River steamboat Arabia filled with strangers—and a mysterious doctor informs her it is 1856. Communicating through an antique mailbox, her friends on the cruise try to guide her back home before the steamboat sinks, but Stella finds herself caught in a tangled web between pro-slavery Border Ruffians and anti-slavery Jayhawkers. Standing up for what’s right in the face of peril and uncertainty might mean never making it home. (General/Split-Time, Independently Published [SonFlower Books])

Young Adult


Protector by Megan Schaulis — Nanotech, royal romance, and biblical themes combine in this YA dystopian retelling of Esther—perfect for fans of The Selection or The Hunger Games. (Young Adult from WhiteCrown Publishing)

Plus check out these recent additions to Fiction Finder published within the past month

Deep Trouble by Mary Connealy — When an aimless wanderer and fearless female determined to find a city of gold are forced to work together and set out to find the treasure, trouble is hot on their trail. (Historical (Western) Romance)

His Unexpected Grandchild by Myra Johnson — This toddler will steal his heart…Just in time to open it… (Contemporary Romance)

An Unlikely Arrangement by Cindy Patterson — Abigail stands to lose all if Garrett Barringer sees past her physical beauty and uncovers the ugliness of her imperfect past. Will Abigail continue on the condemned path she’s fashioned for herself, or trust that God wants a future for her she never believed possible? (Historical Romance)

Phooey Kerflooey by Kristen Joy Wilks — Through a raucous tornado of personal growth, the boys and Phooey work together to save the day. But when the dust (and squirrel poo) settles, can they convince Dad and Mom to let them keep their puppy princess? (Middle-grade Chapter book)

 

It’d be nice to spend one entire day where nobody looks at me like I’m on the verge of jumping off a bridge because my brother stole the love of my life.

Book Review | Love in Tandem by Becca Kinzer

Charlotte Carter is a music teacher who is about to lose her job because of a lack of funding. So it’s up to her to figure out how to earn the money over the summer. She also wants to avoid her ex-fiancé … which becomes a little more difficult when she meets his brother in somewhat awkward circumstances.

Things go from bad to worse when Charlotte finds herself and Zach signed up to complete a five-hundred mile tandem bicycle ride which, if they can complete the ride in ten days, will earn hem enough to fund the music programme. The catch is that the cycle ride is for couples, so Charlotte and Zach have to pretend to be dating. Pretending should be harder than it is.

Given the title and book description, I’d expected the race to start earlier in the book. As it was, we were a third of the way through the story before the race was introduced, which meant I spent a good portion waiting for the “actual” story to start. As a result, I found the early chapters didn’t capture my interest.

Love in Tandem is a rom-com with an emphasis on the comedy, from Charlotte and Zach’s initial meeting to the tandem bicycle ride. Becca Kinzer says in her author’s note that many of these scenes were inspired by her own long-distance tandem bicycle ride with her then boyfriend (now husband) in 2010. All I can say is that she hasn’t convinced me to take up the sport.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Becca Kinzer, and I thought it was her debut. It’s not—she is also the author of Dear Henry, Love Edith, which got excellent reviews when it released last year. I guess it’s time I put that on my to-read list.

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

About Becca Kinzer

Becca KinzerBecca Kinzer lives in Springfield, Illinois where she works as a critical care nurse. When she’s not taking care of sick patients or reminding her husband and two kids that frozen chicken nuggets is a gourmet meal, she enjoys making up lighthearted stories with serious laughs. She is a 2018 ACFW First Impressions Contest winner, a 2019 Genesis Contest winner, 2021 Cascade Award winner, and all-around champion coffee drinker.

Find Becca Kinzer online at:

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About Love in Tandem

Cover image - Love in Tandem by Becca KinzerShe’s perfectly content leading a quiet life in her small hometown. He’s an adventurer with unquenchable wanderlust. The two couldn’t be any more opposite if they tried. But a tandem bicycle and a 500-mile road trip just might change all that.

After a failed engagement and her mother’s battle with cancer, Charlotte Carter’s life is finally turning around now that she’s landed a dream job teaching music. What she didn’t see coming was the imminent closure of the school’s music program. She’s determined to save it, even if it means getting creative. There’s no way she’s chalking this up as just another failure in her book of recent embarrassments.

Zach Bryant is back in town just long enough to see his brother Ben get married and then he’s off traveling the world again. He never imagined he’d run into Charlotte Carter, his brother’s ex-fiancé, or that everyone would believe he and Charlotte are an item. He certainly didn’t dream he’d end up riding a tandem bicycle hundreds of miles with her in an attempt to raise funds for a defunct music program, but how can he say no when the prize money would help him out of his financial predicament too?

Charlotte is sure she can set aside her differences with Zach long enough to cross the finish line and win the giant cash prize . . . can’t she? A few hundred miles in, she’s questioning her deeply held assumptions about Zach and wondering if maybe tandem biking is only the start of their biggest adventure yet.

Find Love in Tandem online at:

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This is God’s proof to me that He is the only Father whose approval I must seek.

Book Review | Uncharted Peace (Uncharted #13) by Keely Brooke Keith

I didn’t enjoy Uncharted Peace as much as I’ve enjoyed previous novels in the Land Uncharted series. I think there are two reasons for that. One was because the romance was largely completed via letters before the story started. The second was because the “secret” hinted at in the book description is something the dedicated series reader already knows, because it was revealed in the previous book in the series, Uncharted Grace.

Rather than being a story of Lena and Phillip’s romance, it was a story about how an obscure law almost prevented their marriage … a plot device that felt a little contrived, given it hasn’t been mentioned in the twelve previous romances in this series. We read romance to watch the couple fall in love. Sure, we know there are going to be a few problems along the way, but Uncharted Peace seemed to be mostly problems with not enough of the falling-in-love phase of romance.

I’m also not a big fan of marriages where there is a big age gap between the hero and heroine. It wasn’t immediately obvious, but Philip Roberts is much older, and he does sometimes seem almost patronising in his attitude towards Lena. I didn’t find that attractive, which made it harder to want their relationship to move forward.

The best part about Uncharted Hope is the Christian element.

Despite being older and a preacher, Philip Roberts still had a few things to learn about God and life, and it was good to see him learning those lessons.

Overall, Uncharted Peace wasn’t my favourite in the series, but I’m still looking forward to the next book.

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

About Keely Brooke Keith

Keely Keely Brooke KeithBrooke Keith writes inspirational frontier-style fiction with a slight Sci-Fi twist, including The Land Uncharted (Shelf Unbound Notable Romance 2015) and Aboard Providence (2017 INSPY Awards Longlist). Keely also creates resources for writers such as The Writer’s Book Launch Guide and The Writer’s Character Journal.

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Keely grew up in a family that frequently relocated. By graduation, she lived in 8 states and attended 14 schools.  When she isn’t writing, Keely enjoys playing bass guitar, preparing homeschool lessons, and collecting antique textbooks. Keely, her husband, and their daughter live on a hilltop south of Nashville, Tennessee.

Find Keely Brooke Keith online at:

Website | Facebook

About Uncharted Peace

Lena’s stay at The Inn at Falls Creek leaves her torn between loyalty to her family and marrying Philip for love.

Lena Vestal enjoys spending her days cooking for her siblings and her nights curled up with a good book… or a letter from Philip Roberts, the overseer of Falls Creek and only man ever to capture her heart. It’s safe to dream of a future with him while she is still sheltered by the older brother and sister who raised her. When Philip’s final letter announces his forthcoming arrival to take her to Falls Creek, Lena must leave all that is familiar to make her dream a reality.

Philip Roberts takes his duties as the overseer of Falls Creek seriously, not only to please God but also to prove his competence. Having been in the pastoral position for two years, Philip’s dissertation is anticipated by all the overseers of the Land, particularly his father. Producing a work of great merit would prove his worth, as would setting an excellent example of holy matrimony in his church.

Lena’s yearning for the security of Philip’s love compels her to spend a month without her siblings at the isolated Inn at Falls Creek. To prepare for their nuptials, Philip informs her the Land’s tradition requires they compare family lineage. When she receives hers from her sister, a shocking secret about her true origins means she must choose between protecting her family and marrying the man of her dreams.

And when Philip’s published book is distributed before he can check it, both feel their hopes dissolve.

But at the Inn at Falls Creek, no one is alone and everyone is worthy.

Find Uncharted Peace online at:

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