Tag: Romantic Suspense

Edge of Steele

With enemies surrounding her…

Ryleigh Steele gives in to mounting pressure from her siblings and cousins and leaves her job as a law enforcement officer to join the Steele Guardians. She’s just getting her feet wet when a lumber company begins receiving threats, and the owner contracts with Ryleigh for the Steele Guardians to protect their workers. But the threats quickly escalate under her watch, and a bomb is detonated at one of the sites, killing one of the workers. Can she find the killer and save her company’s reputation and her life?

Ryleigh takes the man’s death personally and commits to finding the killer. Trouble is, the owner has hired a security manager without Ryleigh’s knowledge, and the manager isn’t about to let anyone cut him out of this investigation. Ryleigh gets ready to do battle with him, but when she meets the handsome head of security, former Navy SEAL Finn Durham, she can barely find the words to speak much less fight. She and Finn had once dated, a tumultuous month, that ended badly. Doesn’t matter. She can’t let their past or her residual feelings for him distract her in the hunt for the killer. If she’s not careful, the killer will find her first.

My Review:

These family based suspense series from Susan Sleeman are absolutely one hundred percent my definition of a ‘Comfort Read’! I get giddy with bookish glee every time one comes out and I snatch it up and race through it and then bask in bibliophile wonder…for a nanosecond…until I start pouting and lamenting because now I have to wait for the next Sleeman read. Thankfully she’s a pretty prolific author so the wait is a matter of a few months rather than a full year. Phew!

So, while I’m sad to see the conclusion of the Steele Guardians series, I’m jazzed about the upcoming new series and the fact that we’ve been given a glimpse into what it’s going to be like and…Eeeeepppppp!!!!!!!! I’m so excited!!! Oh — and even though this is #6 in the series, Edge of Steele reads absolutely fine as a standalone. That’s something this author does really well — creating a unique story with an overlapping cast of characters that need no introduction. You just love ’em on sight and you’ll be wowed by all that Steele charm (especially when it comes to their grandparents!)

So, Ryleigh and Finn — in the mood for a stellar second chance romance, anyone? Sqqqueeallll! And it’s a doozie! Love the connection they have from the very start…even if it’s all bristling animosity! Some fun sniping and bantering and no shortage of sizzle. Paired with an intriguing investigation that kept me on edge right to the exciting conclusion. Great balance between suspense and romance and the camaraderie between friends and family. I really can’t adequately express how much I’ve loved this series (and anything else Susan Sleeman writes!) Except to say she’s an auto-buy author for me and I’m very, very, very close to being caught up on her back list too. I love her storytelling that much!

I listened to the audible edition narrated by Whitney Dykehouse. I really enjoy her narrations — she’s done all of Susan Sleeman’s books and I get a real sense of homecoming whenever I start listening.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook available to anyone with a .com kindle account

US — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada — paperback or gift card for ebook or audible.ca edition

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Edge of Steele, 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 May 13, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Fatal Strike + Giveaway

RANDOM RETRO READ

There’s a killer on the loose in Galveston, targeting law enforcement officials and using a fatal injection of snake venom to take them down. Authorities have reasons to believe the Veneno gang is behind the hits, and FBI agents Leah Riesel and Jon Colbert team up to track down those responsible. Their best lead is an eyewitness ho identifies a young man dumping the third body on a church doorstep. But their suspect has gone into hiding, and those closest to him are reluctant to reveal anything that might help investigators find him.

As Leah and Jon check connections among the victims and dig deeper into movies, they discover appearances may be deceiving. Someone is desperate to keep their secrets hidden, and Leah and Jon must face their greatest fears in order to stop the next fatal strike.

My Review:

published in 2019

A riveting police procedural. There’s tension in every scene as we scramble to figure out who is behind the recent murders in Galveston. And we see it all from a boots-on-the-ground viewpoint through Leah and Jon. I love being able to work the case right along side the hero and heroine in a suspense novel, and this one is written so well.

The pacing is perfection. Mills knows how to build suspense and keep a reader anxious for more. The nuances in every interview, the frustration of not being given the complete truth, the determination to dig deeper and put seemingly random pieces together…my brain got quite the workout and I’m feeling rather smug about figuring some things out before Leah and Jon did.

I quite enjoyed the low key approach to the romance. This is the first time Leah and Jon have been partnered together, though they are acquainted. And they are both snipers which is all kinds of interesting and brings an edginess to their relationship just because of the way they handle that aspect of their job. This isn’t a fall madly in love at first sight kind of romance, rather, it develops from mutual respect, to attraction and to the idea of exploring something more. All in keeping with the rigours of their caseload and desperate bid to stop a killer.

They are both struggling with the idea of trusting a God they know very little about and their combined faith journeys added an extra dimension to the story.

I listened to the audible edition expertly narrated by Cynthia Ferrell and was enthralled right to the end.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook available to anyone with a .com kindle account

US — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada — paperback or gift card for ebook or audible.ca edition

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Fatal Strike, 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 May 13, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Scent of Truth + Giveaway

An innocent suspect. A look-alike killer.

Can a K-9 team crack this case?

After Officer Colt Maxwell and his K-9 partner, Sampson, discover a body, all signs point to Brooke Stevens as the murderer. But Colt suspects someone’s framing the park ranger — and that the killer looks exactly like her. When the imposter turns her sights on Brooke, it’s up to Colt to guard her. But can they track down the truth…before innocent Brooke loses her life?

Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit

My Review:

This second book in the multi-authored Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit continuity series is full of intrigue and danger — and romance (of course!) Love that these books come out every month and especially that they are available in audio format. I have them all preordered and have to admit that this one was ‘read’ in a day since Colt and Brooke kept me company in the garden while I cleaned up and planted peas and beans. Multi-tasking at it’s finest. 🙂

Oh — and, in case you are wondering, these books can be read out of order. Each novel has it’s own unique suspense which is solved as well as a romance that ends in a happily ever after, but there is also an over-arcing suspense thread that gradually builds with each book and won’t be solved until the last story.

I’ve never personally known a bloodhound, but, if they are all like Sampson, I can see I’ve been missing out. Love the bond Colt has with his K-9 and the heart-to-hearts they share. Brings great insight into the characters of both man and beast. And Brooke is a popular topic of ‘conversation.’

Murder and mayhem have unexpectedly become the norm for Brooke as she strives to prove she’s a victim not a suspect. But, oh, it’s so complicated and twisty-turny! Luckily it doesn’t take long to convince Colt of her innocence…right about the time the attempts on her life ramp up. Great pacing and a measured approach to the romance kept me riveted right to the very last word.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook for anyone anywhere who has an Amazon.com kindle account

US – paperback or ebook copy — winner’s choice

Canada -paperback or ebook (in form of an Amazon gift card) or audible.ca audio book – winner’s choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Scent of Truth, 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 May 6, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Yosemite Firestorm + Giveaway

A raging forest fire isn’t the only threat…

When an act of arson claims the life of a hiker, Yosemite Park Ranger Livy Chatham is the only witness — putting her right into the path of determined criminals. Only rock climber Hayden Bryant can protect her from the killers destroying all evidence of their crimes. But can Livy and Hayden outrun the danger that’s as hot on their heels as the fires blazing through Yosemite?

My Review:

I really enjoyed all the wilderness action in this suspense — and the fires were an extra threat that made things that much edgier. Loved all the rock climbing details too — something I’ve always wanted to do but never had the nerve to try! Very fun to get the armchair experience here.

Livy and Hayden make a great dynamic duo — if only they’d let their guard down long enough to explore what a relationship could look like! This is kind of a grumpy / sunshine romance. Livy has ‘Pollyanna’ tendencies, irking the more pragmatic and cynical Hayden to no end. Sometimes his exasperation with her is funny and sometimes I just wanted to smack him upside the head. But Livy holds her own and makes the best kind of impression on this skeptical hero by the end.

Lots of action and adventure with lives — and love — hanging in the balance.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Yosemite Firestorm, 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 April 30, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Targeted in the Desert + Giveaway

Danger from the past…and a little girl in peril.

Family secrets have Felicia Tennison and the sister she never knew existed, on the run. Someone is after them and Felicia will have to turn to someone she never wanted to see again for help — her ex. Sheriff Jude Duke vows to protect them as they race to uncover why the little girl is a target. But the search to find the answers could cost them their futures.

A Desert Justice Novel

My Review:

Dana Mentink concludes her Desert Justice series with her trademark pizzazz. It contains all the elements I’ve come to expect (and love) in her storytelling — humour, romantic tension, twisty turny plot, some critter comic relief and lots of edge-of-your-seat danger.

I appreciated getting glimpses into the lives of some of the past heroes and heroines (but you could totally read this book as a standalone too without any trouble.) And I really enjoyed the fact that Jude and Felicia’s break-up is quite fresh — it’s only been a few weeks and that makes it all kinds of awkward and angsty when they are thrown together under dire circumstances.

And there’s a certain critter that I don’t want to say much about until you meet him for yourself — but he captured my heart and had me imagining what my life would be like with a….no, best not go there. 🙂

This is another suspense that hooked me from the first line: “Felicia Tennison’s hands shook as she idled her car on the side of the road.” Oh, the quandary she’s in, the turmoil she’s already lived through…the uncertainty of her future. I couldn’t stop reading until every last question was answered and the happily ever after became a reality.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Targeted in the Desert 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 April 22, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Blind Trust + Giveaway

Lyla Fox knows she has a reputation at the SNAP Agency to impulsivity, but when she receives a threatening letter from a man she helped put in prison, she can’t stop herself from going all in to find out why he’s coming after her. Unfortunately, she’s going to need the help of the one person who questions her reckless choices more than anyone else.

Explosives and weapons specialist Nicolas Garcia agrees to help Lyla in order to keep her safe, but her recklessness continues to be a major concern, especially when her investigation into a conspiracy puts a target on her back. Dealing with bombs is dangerous. Working with Lyla is proving to be just as treacherous — to both the mission and his heart.

Natalie Walters closes out her SNAP Agency series with a ban with this nail-biting story of a deadly government conspiracy, an unlikely couple, and an ending that will leave you breathless.

My Review:

I’m gobsmacked into speechlessness — maybe — over this grandest of all grand finales! I mean, if you have to end a series, this is the way to do it. There are so many moving parts, and references that reach all the way back to the prequel.

I’ve read the entire series in order, but I think you could jump in here, though you’d miss some of the fun of the ever evolving team dynamics. Don’t get me wrong, they are hilarious and touching in Blind Trust, but if you’ve been with the gang from the very start they are that much more. The banter and teasing are off the charts and kept me grinning even in the tense times. And though this third book is all about Lyla and Nicolas, Kekoa has to be my favourite character. He takes over every scene he’s in. The man doesn’t know how to do subtle and Walters gives him the chance to shine once gain. 🙂 This is me, Cheshire grinning.

Another plus for reading the series in order is that we’ve had two books worth of watching and wondering about Lyla and Nicolas. Are they friends? Or enemies? Frenemies? For sure they are two stubborn people who clash wills at every opportunity. But I could feel the undercurrents sizzling below the surface right from the start and that tension has been mounting and I love how Walters finally brings them together in this epic series conclusion.

The suspense is tense and dramatic and kept me riveted. So many pieces to pull together and there were some jaw dropping moments along the way. My heart rate might not ever be tickety-boo again! Political intrigue, lots of danger with a high stakes end game.

I enjoyed listening to the audible version of Bind Trust. Morgan Hallett did a wonderful job of breathing life into these characters.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy — winner’s choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Blind Trust, 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 April 22, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Wyoming Cold Case Secrets + Giveaway

A decades-old mystery. And extensive cover-up. This investigation could turn lethal.

When the search for her birth parents is met with a threat to leave town, Brynn Evans turns to private investigator Avery Thorpe — and leads armed assailants to his door. With no clue why she’s a target, Brynn and Avery rush to unfold her family’s secret…and to stay alive. But when the truth reveals a decades long conspiracy, can they survive a killer’s plan to cover it up?

My Review:

Action and intrigue on every page make for an unputdownable read.

I love cold cases and this one is a doozie! Plus there’s something extra compelling about an adopted child searching for her birth parents — particularly when it’s all cloaked in mystery!

Brynn and Avery have their work cut out for them…if they can stay alive long enough to figure it all out! Bwahahaha! And, bonus, this is a kinda, sorta second chance romance ’cause both our hero and heroine had crushes on each other in high school, only they didn’t know it! Oh, the foibles of teenage unrequited love!

I didn’t plan on reading Wyoming Cold Case Secrets in one sitting, but I did and enjoyed every second!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Wyoming Cold Case Secrets 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 April 15, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Shielding the Baby + Giveaway

A K-9 Unit has a child to protect…and a murderer to catch.

A double murder and an attempted kidnapping of a baby in a national park have Officer Danica Hayes and her K-9 partner on high alert. She’ll have to protect Luke Stark and his six-month-old son while tracking the person who murdered his sister. Danica and Luke face a battle for their lives to keep from becoming the next victims.

From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit

My Review:

Woohoo! A brand new multi-authored K-9 continuity series from Love Inspired Suspense! And double woohoo because the books are available on audible and I might have them all preordered. 🙂 I’m such a happy reader!…er, listener.

And does Laura Scott ever know how to pull together an unputdownable (unstoppable?) story. The suspense is non-stop, edged with danger and bogged down in a baffling case that has all kinds of twists to it.

Plus, there’s an adorable baby, a kind of wary romance (both Luke and Danica have issues to resolve) and an exceptional K-9 to fur-bond over. My heart is full of bookish glee over this great start to the Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit series.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy — winner’s choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Shielding the Baby, 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 April 8, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Perilous Security Detail + Giveaway

With threats on all sides…secrets can prove deadly.

Narrowly surviving an intentional hit-and-run, Sawyer Blackwood hires his unexpected rescuer to guard his niece. Bodyguard Everly Honor will do anything to protect a child, even if it means working with her ex. But, as attacks escalate, how can she accomplish her mission to keep them safe when Sawyer is keeping secrets from her…and she’s concealing the truth about her own past?

Honor Protection Specialists

My Review:

Elizabeth Goddard always delivers a spellbinding suspense, no matter what the word count. Her Love Inspired books pack the same kind of punch found in her longer novels. She knows how to pace out action and danger with sweet interludes of romance and I’m always swept away by the story.

Perilous Security Detail was a read in one sitting extravaganza. I intended to read only the first three chapters and then get some work done…but, nope, that didn’t happen. Not when the last sentence of chapter three reads like this: “Suddenly, a strong arm hooked around her throat from behind.” (p 45) Love it when the end of one chapter hooks me into diving into the next one!

Desperate danger, a reluctant hero and an angsty preteen all combine to keep protection specialist Everly Honor on her toes…and readers in a page turning frenzy! Love the reunion romance aspect to this story and it about drove me crazy trying to figure out what Sawyer was holding back and then, once I knew, I was gobsmacked. Didn’t see that coming.

An adrenaline rush of a read right to the very last page!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Perilous Security Detail, 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 March 18, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Cold Light of Day + Giveaway

Police Chief Autumn Long is fighting to keep her job in the quiet Alaska town of Shadow Gap when an unexpected string of criminal acitivity leaves her with a wounded officer, unexplained murderes, and even an attack on her own father. Despite her mistrust of outsiders, she turns to Grier Brenner, a newcomer who seems to have the skills and training Autumn needs to face this threat to her community.

Grier is in Alaska for the same reason so many others are — to disappear — when Chief Long enlists his help. He emerges from the shadows and proves his mettle, but his presence in her life could be a deadly trap for them both. If his secret is exposed, all will be lost. And he’s not sure even Autumn could save him.

As the stakes rise and the dangers increase, Autumn and Grier must rely on each other to extinguish the deadly threats.

My Review:

Um…this is me speechless. I’m blaming Goddard’s incredible suspense-y Ninja skills for my addled brain because….Whooooaaaaaaaa. Hence the rambling review that follows:

What just happened here? And here? And here? And all the way through the book I’m like “What’s up with Grier? What’s his secret? Why is he off the grid?” And — gah — but small town politics gets my dander up, especially when it’s aimed at Autumn who, hellllooo, is just doing her job. And mighty fine at it too, I might add.

My spidey senses were all askew, sensing danger (sometimes where it wasn’t, often from unexpected places) so I was on edge the whole entire read. Like all 352 pages (or 9 hr, 45 min in my case.) And the way the author pulls seemingly diverse plot points together by the end. My mouth was agape as in exhaling a, “Whhhaaaaaatttttt??????”

So, that pretty much describes my reading experience…plus there’s romance and a hero husky named Cap (short for Captain America!) And tons of action and adventure in the Alaskan wilderness! The kind of book that gives a reader a cardio workout without having to leave their comfy armchair!

Re audio book: matching a story with the right narrator is paramount to providing the perfect listening experience and the powers that be nailed it when they hired Sara Farrington. She delivered an amazing performance and I’m hoping that she’s on call for the rest of the series. Because….eeeeeeppppp….Cold Light of Day is the first book in Elizabeth Goddard’s new Missing in Alaska series.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy — winner’s choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Cold Light of Day, 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 March 11, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.