2026 Carol Award Finalists – Romantic Suspense + Giveaway

First off — what exactly are the Carol Awards?

They are awards given out by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in recognition of outstanding Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. So these 2026 finalists are books published in 2025. You might have read them already, you might not. I’ll include links to books I’ve read and reviewed.

Carol Award Winners will be announced on August 29 2026 at the ACFW Gala in Memphis, Tennessee (wouldn’t you love to be there?!)

How does this giveaway work?

You select which of the Carol Award finalists 2026 – Romantic Suspense Category you would like to receive. Mention the title in your comment (or an email if you’re entering that way) and if you win, that’s the book that will be sent to you. Easy Peasy. 

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:

Giveaway details may vary with each book (print, ebook only or winner’s choice of either, plus audible options for Canadians.) Edition availability will be noted in bold after the title/author/publisher of each entry. ALSO NOTE: Giveaway is for US and Canada OR ebook international if you have US Kindle account.

Romanctic Suspense Finalists

Failed Protocol by Cindy Bonds – Scrivenings Press – Giveaway Options: US – paperback or ebook, Canada – paperback or ebook, International – ebook with a US kindle account.

Olivia Lloyd left the U.K. to work in Texas as head of security for a tech firm. Her training in the British Army gave her a chance to get into the SAS—Special Air Service. But she washed out, with the help of her uncle and his contacts. Now, here at her uncle’s request, she’s lonely and miserable after running away from her last life-altering loss.

Kenton Matthews’ recon days are over. He now works as a detective in Dallas, offering assessments for security when high-value targets come to town. But a request from an old friend has his heart pounding, as the threat to the large tech firm holds more than just a breach of security.

Kenton is determined to battle the failed mission from long ago and will do everything he can to protect Olivia from facing the same torturous man her uncle faced. But can Olivia trust the one man her uncle deems more than worthy?

Mistletoe and Malice by Lori DeJong – Scrivenings Press – Giveaway Options: US – paperback or ebook, Canada – paperback or ebook, International – ebook with a US kindle account.

After barely escaping an attempted abduction, Houston attorney Riley Hudson is forced to accept her wealthy father’s demand for private security. The last thing she wants is a bodyguard—especially one as maddeningly arrogant, bossy … and handsome as Colton Blankenship. Yet as the threat against her escalates, she begins to rely not only on his skills, but his steadfast presence.

Colton isn’t thrilled about giving up his hard-earned holiday vacation to protect a spoiled heiress. But he soon learns Riley is nothing like he expected. Fierce, independent, and unwavering in her faith, she’s everything he thought he’d left behind after tragedy shattered his own beliefs. As the unknown threat circles closer, the tension between them ignites into something deeper … and far more perilous.

When a second attempt on Riley’s life nearly succeeds, Colton faces a terrifying truth. Protecting her means risking more than just his life. Haunted by a past he can’t outrun, and a faith he’s all but lost, he must decide if he can trust God again … before he loses Riley—and his heart—for good. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8178522686

I Can’t Hear You by Vikki Kestrel – independently published – Giveaway Options: US – ebook, Canada – ebook, International – ebook with a US kindle account.

TWO SCENES, TWO WOMEN, two separate deaths, yet neither death suspicious in and of itself. What confounds Detective Richard Hawke and his partner Dov Mayer is the blood left at both scenes . . . blood that does not belong to either of the deceased.

The mystery surrounding the two deaths and the inexplicable “blood ritual” found with both bodies grows when Grace Warner, a local physician and psychiatrist specializing in hearing disorders, receives a scrawled note and brings it to the homicide I dint meen to skare her.

Was the note written by a juvenile or by an adult with a patchy education?

Hawke and Mayer’s working theories fall apart when the city experiences a third death, a definite homicide this time, complete with the same strange blood ritual found with the first two bodies. Worse, the grisly murder is followed by another . . . and another and another.

As panic takes hold of the city, pressure on Hawke and Mayer to find the killer and end his killing spree intensifies. At the same time, the commonalities between the first two deaths and the ongoing string of murders cannot be ignored.

Hawke begins to realize that something much deeper is in play, something hidden yet intensely sinister. Can Hawke and Mayer outthink the killer and capture him before they or those close to them become the hunted?

Protecting You by Robin Patchen – independently published – Giveaway Options: US – paperback or ebook, Canada – paperback, ebook or audible, International – ebook with US Kindle account.

In a high-stakes game of deception, two rivals must work together to bring down a ruthless terrorist network.After Alyssa’s dream of working in US intelligence is thwarted, she leaves her mundane profession to pursue a career as a cyber investigator. Though she aces every case she gets, securing enough customers to pay her rent proves challenging. When a lucrative commission comes along, she thinks she’s hit the jackpot. But this client isn’t the British entrepreneur he claims to be. And then her old nemesis interrupts their meeting with a startling move.

NSA agent Gideon Todd is floundering in his new role as a single father to a surprise daughter, but he still has a job to do. He follows a tip about a terrorist, only to be shocked when he finds his old college adversary dining with the notorious killer. Maybe there was a better way to step in than by posing as Alyssa’s fiancé, but it was the best excuse he could come up with to insert himself into their meeting.

Gideon once stole the job Alyssa coveted, and now the last thing she wants is his help. But when he explains who her client actually is, she realizes she’s in way over her head. Dariush Ghazi knew exactly what he was doing when he targeted her. She’s trapped. She must go along with a dangerous scheme, pretending to help him while working with Gideon…or end up dead.

In their quest to dismantle Dariush’s network of evil, Gideon and Alyssa risk sacrificing each other—and everything they hold dear.

Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday July 25 2026. REMEMBER TO CHECK EDITION AVAILABILITY FOR EACH BOOK