Irene Hannon: Into the Fire

By Kelly Bridgewater

As a former smokejumper, arson investigator Bri Tucker knows her way around fires. But after a mysterious blaze takes the life of a former colleague, Bri inherits a curious puzzle from him that raises questions about several fiery deaths. Someone, however, doesn't want her picking up where he left off in search of answers.

When she teams up with ATF Special Agent Marc Davis to solve the puzzle, the danger escalates. But will they manage to track down the person behind the mysterious deaths before their budding romance--and maybe even their lives--go up in flames?

The bestselling and award-winning queen of romantic suspense is back with a brand-new series that is sure to get your adrenaline pumping as you burn through the pages to discover the truth.

 My Thoughts:

Into the Fire by Irene Hannon dives into the world of Fire inspectors. From the first page, readers are introduced to the hero and the heroine as they try to investigate a fire scene. Hannon does a wonderful job at crafting a suspense element that keeps readers guessing and hoping for more. I have only seen one other story that featured fire inspectors, and that was Dee Henderson's The Protector. I love the past and the hard reality of the heroine's past. Domestic abuse and violence was brought to reality in this story. The faith element was not really an element in the story. Hannon did not have the characters have some faith driven moment of reality. Instead, they had a reality of what love is and how that will affect their future relationship. The heroine is part of a trio of adopted siblings that I think Hannon will feature in the next two stories. Already readers will see their deep relationship and what bonds them together. Overall, Into the Fire by Irene Hannon is a good introduction to the Tucker family, and I can't wait to meet Jack and Caroline in a more personal close way. 

I received a complimentary copy of Into the Fire by Irene Hannon from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.  

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

Purchase Into the Fire

Happy Halloween

By Kelly Bridgewater

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Happy Halloween!

I love the spookiness of the season.

Cooler temperatures.

Costumes.

Candy.

Watching the Halloween episodes of Roseanne. Even though I have seen them a million times, I look forward to seeing all of them during Halloween.

Have a great weekend!

 

Elizabeth Goddard: Shadows at Dusk

By Kelly Bridgewater

Montana Detective Trevor West is desperate to learn what happened to his sister, who went missing in Alaska over a year ago, leaving nothing but a few photographs as clues to her whereabouts. At the advice of Police Chief Autumn Long, Trevor enlists the help of an experienced bush pilot. If Carrie James can't help him find the places in the photographs, no one can.

But Carrie has her own agenda. Grieving the death of her closest friend and the only person she could trust, Carrie will help Trevor find his sister on one condition--that he help her track down her friend's killer.

As the two close in on the answers they crave, they'll face dangers and connections they could not have imagined. They'll have to learn to trust one another--and face the dark secrets of the past--if they are ever to discover the truth and bring a killer to justice.

 

My Thoughts:

Shadows at Dusk by Elizabeth Goddard took a while for me to get into. Right from the beginning, there was a high octane moment, but then when the story moved into Alaska, it took a little bit of time to dive into the actual story. A lot of flying over places. Questioning locals with the image of Jennifer in Trevor's pocket. While the heroine and hero expressed they were falling in love, I, personally, had a really hard time buying it. Yes, they had a past, but then they wanted to trust each other and fell in love way too quickly. Personally, if I was running for my life, I would not stop think of my feelings for this other person were real or not. As for the plot, it was okay. Not really that exciting until the characters landed on Jacob's Mountain. I did find it odd that as they were searching for answers people would come out of the woodwork and hit them, sabotage their plane, and simple things to keep them from looking. Because not even the characters knew what they were looking for. Pictures that Jennifer left were the only clue, but they honestly were not clues, in my book. Overall, Shadows at Dusk by Elizabeth Goddard needed more depth to the plot and the suspense element. I found the romance unbelievable too.

I received a complimentary copy of Shadows at Dusk by Elizabeth Goddard from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Purchase Shadows at Dusk 

Erica Vetsch: Children of the Shadows

By Kelly Bridgewater

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Children of the Shadows by Erica Vetsch, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Children of the Shadows
Series: Thorndike & Swann Regency Mysteries #3
Author: Erica Vetsch
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: October 23, 2023
Genre: Christian Regency Mystery

Detective Daniel Swann and debutante Juliette Thorndike once again team up to solve a dangerous mystery--while trying to keep their growing romance secret.

Someone is preying upon the street children of Regency London. They seem to think no one will notice when urchins go missing--and even if they are noticed, who will care?

Daniel needs to do something about the missing children. But with recent revelations about his past and an unexpected, somewhat unwelcome inheritance to deal with, this is a terrible time to dive back into the seedy underbelly of the crime world. Nevertheless, he's still a Bow Street runner, and his partner Lady Juliette is sensitive to the plight of these wayward youngsters. They're on the case, searching shadowed alleys and coal-drenched streets to find the missing.

But the tangle of expectation and the dynamics of power cannot be easily ignored, even if there are children in danger. When Daniel's past threatens to overwhelm his future, he will need a miracle and the help of his friends to both apprehend the villain and unravel his tangled family web. And it may be that his new responsibilities demand that he leave the children of the shadows to their terrible fate--or lose everything.

Erica Vetsch's popular Regency mystery series concludes with a bang, sure to satisfy readers who have hung on every page since book one.

 

My Thoughts:

Missing Children. Rightful heir to a name. Emotions running wild. These are some of the events that will happen when readers approach and dive into Children of the Shadows by Erica Vetsch. I enjoy the tame mystery element of the Regency era mystery. Nothing over the top, but enough of a head scratcher that readers will keep flipping through the pages to find out what is happening to the children. I love how seamless the story flows. Once I dove into the lives of Daniel and Juliette, it was like returning to friends that readers have not seen for a while. It was nice to play catch up and feel the hurt and love just alongside them. The setting is nicely handled and developed in my imagination as the characters roam through London from the wealthy to the poor side of town. Readers should definitely read the first two books in the series to help set up some of the backstory for Daniel. Not that this story cannot be read as a stand alone novel, but the first two stories give more information on what happens in this story. Vetsch does a wonderful job at crafting a couple of threads that has woven through all three stories and delivered them nicely to the readers like she promised. Overall, Children of the Shadows by Erica Vetsch is definitely a book that I want to own in my personal library and would recommend this story to young mystery lovers.

I received a complimentary copy of Children of the Shadows by Erica Vetsch from Kregel Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:   4.5 out of 5 stars

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop | BookBub

More in This Series

 

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About the Author

Erica Vetsch is a New York Times best-selling author and ACFW Carol Award winner, and has been a

Romantic Times top pick for her previous books. She loves Jesus, history, romance, and watching sports.

This transplanted Kansan now makes her home in Rochester, Minnesota.

Connect with Erica by visiting ericavetsch.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will win a complete paperback set of the Thorndike and Swann series, and a $10 amazon gift card

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 23, 2023 and will last through 11:59

PM EST on October 30, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48

hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

Daddy’s Birthday

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Tomorrow is my Daddy’s 75^th birthday.

cliparting.com

It is also the eighth year since he left us.

I can’t remember the sound of his voice anymore.

I can’t remember the Russian phrases he used to say to us. Not that my Daddy was Russian, but during the early 70’s my father was in the United States Army and learned Russian, so he could spy on the Russians.

I don’t write anymore! He was my main inspiration, and he always asked about my writing. Now I have no accountability.

Yes, I feel guilty when ideas come. I even have the itch to go write the story, but when I sit down to write, I don’t feel like I can do this, so I put in away and ignore it again.

Never going to be published if I can’t move past this blockade in my brain.

Anyways,  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

Wish I could celebrate with you!

Love you always!

Amanda Cabot: Against the Wind

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Doctor-in-training Louisa Vaughn has no intention of remaining in Sweetwater Crossing. She's just there for a few days to help a friend. But she can't abandon the injured man she finds at the side of the road. Until his broken leg heals, she'll serve as the town's doctor and midwife. She may not be fully qualified yet, but surely she's better than nothing.

Josh Porter's plans to win his grandfather's challenge and fulfill his father's final wish to gain full control of the family business hit a roadblock when he breaks his leg. But his enforced stay in Sweetwater Crossing gives him new ideas about the expansion of the company into new territory--ideas Louisa could help turn into reality.

If only the town were more accepting of Louisa's talents! Someone is determined to convince her to abandon her dream of healing others. Can Josh help her uncover the person behind the threats before it's too late? And is there any future for them together when neither of them plans to stay?

 

My Thoughts:

Against the Wind by Amanda Cabot features the small town of Sweetwater Crossing. Cabot does a wonderful job at creating characters that are unique and special as the town itself. Louisa Vaughn comes home and comes to reality with her sister, Emily, and what it means to stand on her own two feet. Cabot does a wonderful job at crafting a story that happened over 150 years ago, but still can ring true in modern society. Louisa wants to be respected as a woman doctor, even though she did not have the professional training that most male doctors have had. She has worked with a doctor and mid-wife in a nearby town. Louisa needs to learn to rely on her knowledge instead of allowing others to guilt her into thinking she is not doing her job right. On the other hand, the hero, Joseph Proctor has to prove to his uncle that he can survive without his uncle’s approval. The romance does sparkle across the page, allowing Louisa and Joseph to fall in love amid the circumstances surrounding their daily lives. Overall, Against the Wind by Amanda Cabot features the small town with many unique characters.

I received a complimentary copy of Against the Wind by Amanda Cabot from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Purchase Against the Wind 

Ronie Kendig: Havoc

By Kelly Bridgewater

About the Book:

Title: Havoc
Series: A Breed Apart: Legacy #1
Author: Ronie Kendig
Publisher: Sunrise Publishing
Release Date: October 17, 2023
Genre: Paramilitary Romantic Thriller

A soldier, a Malinois, and a stuntwoman walk onto a TV set . . .

Former Special Forces operator Sergeant Crew Gatlin takes everything in stride, even the career-ending incident that separated him from the Army, half a leg, and his beloved working dog, Havoc K027. Putting his life back together and lying low, he takes a job with A Breed Apart and is unexpectedly reunited with Havoc. It’s too good to be true—and the proof is in their first assignment: to work as a K-9 team for a television drama in Los Angeles. Miffed at being relegated to TV fodder, he’s willing to pay the price when he sees the stuntwoman.

Being a stunt double allows Vienna Foxcroft to fulfill her acting dream—with a side of MMA—and stay out of the limelight. The same one that plagued her childhood and put her through a nightmare scenario. Now, her tight-knit stunt team are the only ones she trusts. Then in walks Mr. Mountain-of-Muscle and his tough-as-nails dog, and Vienna has a bad feeling her life is about to turn upside down.

Ticked as they head overseas for a location shoot in Turkey, Crew guts it up—after all, he has Havoc again. Okay, and yeah—Vienna is going, too. When an attack sends the cast fleeing into the streets of Turkey, Vienna must face the demons of her past or be devoured by them. And Crew and Havoc are tested like never before.

Experience the high-octane thrill ride that is the first book in the A Breed Apart: Legacy series.

 

My Thoughts:

I love the way that Ronie Kendig crafts a military story like a movie. With precise language and crafted movement, I can see the fight scenes as the characters engage in warfare dance across my imagination. Havoc starts a little odd, I thought, as I was reading the beginning of the story. Why are we on a movie set? It really made no sense to me. But as the story progressed, Kendig showed readers why this was important to set up the rest of the story. Using Crew’s military background with Havoc, he does a wonderful job at protecting Vienna from the people who want to cause her harm. As for the romance, the story takes place in roughly three weeks, and Crew and Vienna fall pretty hard and pretty fast. With the backgrounds with romantic relationships that they both have been in; I had a hard time believing that they would allow their walls to fall that fast. Maybe have them interested, then in the next book or two, they can make a reappearance, and readers can re-familiarize themselves with their growing relationship. As for the characterization of Crew, he is a strong, determined, and brave soldier. Once a soldier, always a soldier. Vienna, on the other hand, is roughly his equal with determination and trying to make a name for herself away from her parents’ shadow. Overall, Havoc by Ronie Kendig is a thrilling adventure with an adorable military dog and some high-octane romance to round out the plotline. Definitely a book that will be added to my personal library.

I received a complimentary copy of Havoc by Ronie Kendig from Sunrise Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookBub

More in This Series

About the Author

Ronie Kendig is a bestselling, award-winning author of over thirty-five books. She grew up an Army brat, and now she and her Army-veteran husband have returned to their beloved Texas after a nearly ten-year stint in the Northeast. They survive on Sonic runs, barbecue, and peach cobbler that they share—sometimes—with Benning the Stealth Golden and AAndromeda the MWD Washout. Ronie’s degree in psychology has helped her pen novels of intense, raw characters.

Connect with Ronie by visiting roniekendig.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will win a paperback copy of Havoc and a $10 gift card to the Sunrise Shop!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 16, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 23, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

Author Spotlight: Jaime Jo Wright

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Being the month of Halloween, I thought I would feature an author who I knew from before she became published. I sat at a table at the ACFW conference with Jaime Jo Wright, Erica Vetsch, and Gabriella Meyer. Now all published authors. Yeah!!!

Jaime crafts spooky time-slip novels. Love the idea of spooky Christian stories with a spiritual twist to them. I look forward to every book that she has written.

Have you read anything by Jaime Jo Wright?

Here are her books with links to the Goodread’s synopsis: (All images come from Goodreads.) 

The House on Foster Hill

The Reckoning of Gossamer Pond

The Curse of Misty Wayfair

Echoes Among the Stones

The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus

On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor

The Souls of Lost Lake

The Premonition at Withers Farm

 

Do you enjoy spooky stories? I do. I LOVE them. Have you read any of Wright’s stories