Fragile Designs + Giveaway

Family secrets can be the most dangerous of all.

When Carly Tucker’s police-officer husband is killed during a home break-in, she knows that her side hustle finding the antique treasures at flea markets isn’t enough to support her and their infant son, Noah. So her grandmother’s proposal to have her and her two sisters restore the family’s waterfront Beaufort home into a bed-and-breakfast–that Carly will run–is immediately intriguing. But it’s equally daunting with the animosity that exists between the three sisters.

What Carly never expected as she begins to go through the attic was to find a letter in a trunk, written in her husband’s handwriting . . . dated two days before his death. Eric had discovered that Carly’s grandmother was adopted–a fact Carly is certain Gram is not aware of–and had already begun trying to track down her birth family. Is it possible that Eric’s death wasn’t random after all?

With few options, Carly reaches out to Gram’s neighbor Lucas—and the older brother of her high school sweetheart–who is a local homicide detective. One of the items in the trunk is an enameled egg. If it truly is a Faberge egg, the value could set Carly up for life . . . and would certainly be worth killing for. The journey to find the truth and protect her family will have Carly delving deep into the lost treasures of Eastern Europe–if she and Lucas can survive that long.

My Review:

Classic edge-of-your-seat Coble! Chock full of intrigue and danger paired with bourgeoning romance. And, oh, the family drama! Yikes but I wanted to shake some sense into Carly’s entitled sisters! Gah! I thought the author handled the reasons for the family dynamics and the way they are revealed and resolved really well…but I still want to purse whomp somebody! 🙂

Love the genealogical aspect to the mystery. It brought a bit more edge and emotional rawness to the story. And the Faberge egg angle is unique and captured my imagination. I went on a google deep dive for images and history during the read. Love when a work of fiction prompts me to do that!

The romance is a bit of enemies to more and at first I wasn’t sure I’d become invested in the love story since Carly is recently widowed and a new mother, BUT the author develops the pull between this hero and heroine in a way that had me rooting for them…and swooning over Lucas. Happy sigh. Baby Noah was a heart stealer as well. And when baby-shy Lucas falls for the little guy, well, my heart did happy dancing flip-flops!

Of course, in true Coble style, there’s plenty of intrigue and ominous danger to wade through before the twisty-turny plot can straighten out into a happily ever after and I hung on every last word!

My thanks to the Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition of Fragile Designs. Narrator Karen Peakes has a soothing, easy-to-listen-to voice which captures the nuances of individual characters perfectly — both male and female. Highly recommend the audio edition if you are an avid bibliophile listener like I am!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook copy available to anyone with a US Kindle account (.com) 

Canadians will have a choice of receiving an Amazon.ca gift card towards the purchase of the book OR the option of an audible.ca edition.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Fragile Designs , leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday January 20 2024.

27 thoughts on “Fragile Designs + Giveaway”

  3. Please don’t enter me as I already ordered the ebook with gift card hubby gave me for my sad, sick b’day. 😦 At least THAT cheered me up considerably! 🙂 What a great review! NOW I’m really salivating. lol Love me some Colleen Coble. BTW I commented on another review of yours on Goodreads (should’ve notified you in your email.) Keep warm! It’s 26 degrees in SC. ugh!

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  7. Thanks for the great review. This book is on my library list for future reads. The only books I’ve read by Colleen are the Smitten books that were written years ago with Denise Hunter. I read them while binge reading Denise’s backlist books😊

    Sandyavery at comcast dot net

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    1. I read one of the Smitten books — a collection of novellas, if I remember correctly — but not suspense. Colleen Coble is great at creating intriguing and complex mysteries. Good luck, Sandy!

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  8. It’s been forever and a day that I read a Coble novel (Rock Harbor Mysteries years ago)! With that being said, no need to enter me as I now have the ebook on hold at my library. I’m so excited about this one & has so much going for it, including several troupes I really enjoy reading.

    Lovely review as always Kav! Anytime you inspire me to move a book up on my massive want-to-read list is a bonus in my book (pun intended) 😉

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    1. Oh, yes, Rock Harbor as my first series by her. Still my favourite, I think. Glad your library has a copy of Fragile Designs. Hope you enjoy it once your hold comes in! Ha – pun intended — too clever, Ms. Trixi! Glad to held you prioritize your TBR! Happy Reading!

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  9. I love Colleen Coble’s books, read most of them already and it’s a real pleasure to read some of her series. You actually feel like you’ve met and know her characters personally by the time you’ve read two or three of the books in that series. Looking forward to reading this one too. Your review is great once again.

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  10. I first read Color the Sidewalk For Me by Colleen a long time ago and have been a fan ever since. I have this on my radar. leliamae54(at)aol(dot)com

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