Tag: Romantic Suspense

Counter Attack + Giveaway

No sooner has Alexis Stone been sworn in as the interim sheriff for Russell County, Tennessee, when a serial killer dubbed the Queen’s Gambit Killer strikes again–this time in her hometown. Pearl Springs is just supposed to be a temporary stop along the way to Alex’s real dream: becoming the first female police chief of Chattanooga. But the killer’s calling card–a white pawn and a note with a chess move printed on it–cannot be ignored.

My Review:

Intense, emotional and unputdownable! I flew through Patricia Bradley’s latest release. Just never found a good place to set the book aside and do other things and I do so love getting lost in a book…even if it’s sometimes scary and a little bit creepy like this one is.

Just the right blend of investigative work interspersed with all the action/danger. And so many things are happening at the same time it’s hard for Alex and Nathan, her police chief counterpart, to keep on top of things. (I’ve always found the US police hierarchy so interesting — where a town has a chief but also a sheriff. And Bradley describes the various responsibilities of each really well.)

I did a good job of sleuthing out some things and was totally clueless about others, so that made for an exciting read. I’m so proud of what I did figure out but agog at what I missed. I won’t quit my day job to become a professional armchair sleuth anytime soon. 🙂

And — woohoo — reunion romance in the making after a high school romance went sour a decade earlier. Love how well they know each other and how irked they are about that. Kinda grumpy and edgy and oh so reluctantly slipping back into old habits. I do so love the second chance romance trope and this one made me all kinds of happy.

A stellar, faith-infused romantic suspense that somehow also manages to ooze Southern Charm. And did I mention that Counter Attack is the first in Bradley’s new Pearl River series? I’m giddy with anticipation for book two’s release.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Gently read paperback copy available internationally — so, yay, everybody’s included in this giveaway no matter where you live.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Counter Attack, 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 June 3, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Mistaken Mountain Abduction + Giveaway

Tracking a kidnapper leads to a deadly pursuit.

After her twin is abducted and mistaken for her, former army helicopter pilot Aggie Newton must move fast. She has to find her sister and figure out why she’s become a target — even if it means working with her ex. But Detective Bronson Young knows there criminals will do anything to stop their investigation. Can they dodge deadly attacks long enough to save Aggie’s sister and expose the kidnapers?

My Review:

Love the unique twists, Redmon brings to this Love Inspired Suspense…starting with Aggie being an Army helicopter pilot! She’s capable, no nonsense and determined. Every inch the soldier, even though she’s a civilian now. A nice change from the military alpha male lead (though I do love them as well!!!) Also love the twist in Aggie and Bronson’s former romance — again, a departure from the norm, so that was fun too. (I don’t want to say anything else for fear of spoilers, but when you meet this pair and read their story you’ll understand what I mean.)

Equal parts investigation and action and no end of danger (including some awesome flight scenes) made this a high-octane page-turner. All wrapped around the promise of a second chance love story. I’m one happy reader!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Gently read paperback copy available anywhere — so — yay — International Readers Alert!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Mistaken Mountain Abduction, 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 27, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

Deadly Vengeance + Giveaway

The easiest way to murder someone is to make sure they don’t exist…

Someone has erased profiler Gabe Buchanan’s identity…and now they’re trying to kill him. And although Chief Warrant Officer Hannah Austin betrayed him in the past when she was undercover investigating his friend, now she’s his only hope to stay alive and restore his name. With the clock ticking down, can they track down the killer who wants to silence him permanently?

My Review:

Woohoo, twisty turny and completely riveting. Love the cyber aspects of the crime — the concept of losing your entire identity in this day and age with all the repercussions! Shudder! That’s a nightmare all on it’s own but add in the relentless pursuit of the villains and, yikes, hair-raising stuff!

This is a kinda second chance romance — Gabe and Hannah were good friends in college, on the cusp of something more until….well, you’ll have to read the book ’cause it’s complicated. 🙂

A perfect romantic suspense escape read!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Gently read paperback copy to anyone, anywhere in the world. Yay, another International giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Only the Beautiful, 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 20, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

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.