Category: Celebrate Lit Tour

ARC, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, PB, Purchase, Wild Heart Books

A Contrary Betrothal by Denise Farnsworth Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: A Contrary Betrothal

Author: Denise Farnsworth writing as Denise Weimer

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: August 18, 2026

A Cherokee lieutenant, a colonel’s daughter, and a desperate fight to protect both land and love.

Sam Hicks may be the educated son of a Cherokee chief, but his command of multiple languages and diplomatic skills can’t erase the prejudice he faces as a mixed-blood warrior. When he’s tasked with guarding Colonel Moore’s spirited daughter, Susanna, at a wilderness fort, he never expects to lose his heart to a woman he can never have.

Susanna Moore dreams of making her own way on the frontier like her Cherokee stepmother. The last thing she wants is an arranged marriage to the fort’s stuffy doctor—especially after she meets the noble and intelligent Sam Hicks. When she’s captured by a turncoat warrior during a Creek uprising, Sam risks everything to save her.

Their shared values and growing love give them hope—but with the Creek War raging and cultural pressures mounting, can a Cherokee lieutenant and a colonel’s daughter overcome the loyalties and prejudices set against them?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

North Georgia native Denise Farnsworth, formerly Denise Weimer, has authored over twenty traditionally published novels and novellas—historical and contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and time slip. As a freelance editor and Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books, she’s helped other authors reach their publishing dreams. A wife and mother of two adult daughters, Denise always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

More from Denise

The seed idea for A Contrary Betrothal came from another author a number of years ago. She proposed a collection of stories in which the heroes were all Native Americans who served their country in different wars. I still love the idea even though it never came to pass! In fact, I loved it so much, I went ahead and wrote my story. And that story became Bent Tree Bride, first published with Smitten Romance. Now, it’s joining my Scouts of the Georgia Frontier series as book six.

Many people are unaware that the Cherokees fought alongside American troops under Andrew Jackson during the Creek War or Red Stick War, a portion of the War of 1812 that occurred in present-day Alabama. The Creek people were allied to the British, as the Cherokees themselves had been during the American Revolution. The motivation for this was, of course, to keep their land. Their warriors were so valuable to Jackson that they broke the ineffective cannonade on the town of Tohopeka, swimming across the river from behind and making the victory possible that ended the war at Horseshoe Bend.

Sam Hicks, the hero of A Contrary Betrothal, is a mixed-blood Cherokee lieutenant with the head of a scholar and the heart of a warrior. His struggle to intermingle the old ways and the new ways proves reflective of the metamorphosis of his people. Even though he’s been educated as the wealthy son of a chief, he knows his white colonel’s daughter, Susanna Moore, is out of his reach. But when he’s assigned to guard her and her little brother at a wilderness fort, he can no longer deny his attraction to the feisty young woman who’s determined to convince her father she can survive on the frontier as well as her Cherokee stepmother.

A Contrary Betrothal will resonate with readers who enjoy stories by authors like Laura Frantz, Shannon McNear, Michelle Griep, and Lori Benton. The forbidden love and fish out of water tropes create plenty of angst, and the battlefield scenes echo Last of the Mohicans. When people have asked me which of my books would translate well onto the big screen, in fact, this is one I think of. I invite you, dear reader, to be swept away by the action and romance of my final book of the Scouts of the Georgia Frontier.

My Impressions

“‘Not yet.’ ‘Soon.’ ‘Almost.’” George picked up a pine frond and examined it carefully. “Seems like a lot of things not happening.” “That is the way of it for our people, George.” 

An obscure quote? Perhaps. But I find it very accurately describes the frustration of the Cherokee people in the time of this book, A Contrary Betrothal, by Denise Farnsworth. ( Which, though book #6 in this series, Scouts of the Revolution, this was originally published as Bent Tree Bride. Fair warning to those who don’t like to buy a new book only to discover they have already read it!)

I think I could wax eloquent and write a whole book about my thoughts on this novel. At the very least, I would love to discuss the political intrigue and double standards presented between the Caucasians, the  Cherokee, and the Red Stick people (who I was motivated to research on my own). If I were still teaching upper elementary, this book’s facts (delineated with historical figures mentioned and separating fact from artistic license) along with the very real political climate would help provide background into my lessons.  Farnsworth makes me feel deeply the angst of the Cherokee people and the Red Sticks, both who realize the precariousness of their possession of the Tennessee-North Carolina mountain forest land. Each tribe must choose a side of the War of 1812 to side with- the British or the Americans- and pray that their side wins, and that said government will keep the promises they make to their Native American partners.

It is into this massive backdrop of confusion that Farnsworth places her two star-crossed lovers. One, Sam Hicks, is a mixed-blood Cherokee and Caucasian. Which means, he fights for his place in either world. Trained in both, he has the skills of a Cherokee warrior, but is ridiculed because he doesn’t follow all their tortuous customs, having learned about Jesus from missionaries. His ultimate questions: can he fight like a Cherokee and restore his lost honor? Will his mixed blood mean he must relinquish his love for Susanna which grows as he is assigned by her double-standard enforcing father to be her body guard? 

“The man who’d captured her imagination from a single day’s meeting was a Cherokee. White women did not marry Cherokee men.” Poor Susanna! Her  powerful Caucasian father, himself married a second time to a wonderful Cherokee woman, insists Susanna can only marry a Caucasian man, esp. his choice, Dr. Hawkins.  The whole book, I was rather violently seething with Susanna at her father’s total inability to see his double standards. Unfortunately, it is one I see exhibited by people today, some very close to me. How can you honestly love a spouse and denounce or hold prejudice against their people? What about ourselves? Do we say we don’t have prejudices, but they linger in big and small ways? Our faith speaks to that!!

I think what makes this book one of true sadness for me, is that we have the perspective of history behind us. We know how the greed for land and gain in this area affects the Native Americans. But I would be a liar not to be grateful that this land is part of our country now where we can travel, visit,or live freely. Farnsworth shows both the underbelly of all three cultures, and those who are honestly trying to, through faith in God, and following human kindness, make the best of trying times. Keep your eyes open for important historical figures (one I didn’t recognize!) that are included in this emotional, faith-filled, romantic book!

At the risk of running on too long, when I saw the list of comparable Christian historical authors, I understood immediately why I loved this book. Here they are: Michelle Griep, Shannon McNear, Laura Frantz, and Lori Benton. *Le Sigh*

I received a copy of the book from CelebrateLit, the author and Wild Heart Books via BookFunnel. I bought my own ecopy and I’m off to buy a pb copy for trophy shelf. No positive opinion was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“She was most definitely not in control. But she believed in Someone who was. And if she believed His goodness, she also must believe He had a good future for her.”

“To be without a clan is to be without an identity.”

“Then you cannot fight this war to prove yourself to the colonel. That is fighting from a position of weakness. You are sure to lose. Instead, you must forgive the colonel. If you fight, it must be what you believe is right before God, asking Him to come alongside you to help our people. That is fighting from a position of strength.”

“Is it ever a just cause to turn brothers against each other? Do we deceive ourselves that the English won’t take the land of the Creeks if they win this war, then turn on us for ours?”

“Save your anger. To show restraint is wiser than to engage a fool.”

“I want the two wolves to lie together inside. In peace.”

“He’d fallen to quoting scriptures in his head after that. By the time they crossed Chockelocko Creek, he’d restored some semblance of inner peace.”

“Sam saw the way forward in words, not wars.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior! I believe this is one of Farnsworth’s best! Whether I remember the names of the characters a year from now, I will never forget the accurate depiction of the swirling vortex of cultural clash, greed, and those who strove to leave a mark of love for their fellow man, regardless of skin color!

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, August 25

lakesidelivingsite, August 26

Books, Books, & More Books, August 27 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, August 27

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 28

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 29

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 30

Cover Lover Book Review, August 31

Jeanette’s Thoughts , September 1

Books You Can Feel Good About, September 2

Connie’s History Classroom, September 3

Simple Harvest Reads, September 4 (Guest Review from Donna)

Blossoms and Blessings, September 5

Life on Chickadee Lane, September 6

Holly’s Book Corner, September 7

Pause for Tales, September 7

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Denise is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/7zfBE/a-contrary-betrothal-celebration-tour-giveaway

ARC, Barbour, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, NetGalley, Purchase

The Reluctant Healer of Halifax by Terrie Todd Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: The Reluctant Healer of Halifax

Author: Terrie Todd

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: August, 2026

Her Family, Her Home, Her Future—All Leveled in One Thunderous Explosion

When life seems weighed down by challenges, there are always pillars of enduring hope and love to be discovered.

Three days ago, Pearline Campbell’s family was whole, and Oliver Hamilton still loved her. But upon returning to Halifax disfigured and shellshocked, Oliver ended their relationship. Then came Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the Halifax harbor was leveled by a tremendous explosion. . .and Pearline fears nothing will ever be whole again. Her parents are dead, her brother is missing, and her sister refuses to speak. Pearline must fortify herself to open her home to needy orphans, including an unidentified baby. Where can she find the strength for each new day as misery grips the city?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Terrie Todd is a Canadian author of nine historical and split-time novels and one nonfiction book. Her work has earned numerous Word Awards from The Word Guild, the 2018 Janette Oke Award from Inscribe Christian Writers Fellowship, and the 2022 Braun Book Award. She is also a Carol Award Finalist. From 2010-2024, she wrote a weekly “Faith and Humor” column for her hometown newspaper, and since 2021, a monthly column for the Heroes, Heroines, and History blog. Terrie lives with her husband, Jon, in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, where they raised their three children. They are grandparents to five boys.

More from Terrie

It wasn’t until I was interviewing a friend for a newspaper column that the Halifax Explosion of 1917 began to interest me. My friend, Gene, had gone blind from macular degeneration, and I wanted to write a series of columns about what it was like for him to lose his sight and now live with blindness. One of the books Gene mentioned as having inspired him was the true story of Eric Davidson. At the time of the explosion, Eric was a toddler, playing with his toy car on a windowsill in his Halifax home. The glass exploded, permanently blinding Eric. The north end of Halifax was destroyed, and roughly two thousand residents died. Nine thousand more were wounded, including hundreds blinded or partially blinded by flying glass. The mass blinding helped birth the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). Eric’s daughter, Marilyn Davidson Elliott, wrote the book The Blind Mechanic about her father.

I found Eric’s story fascinating. When given the opportunity to try for a spot in Barbour’s series of books about historical disasters, I decided to write one about the Halifax explosion. The more I researched, the more I wondered why we didn’t learn about this in school, and the harder it was to imagine the devastation that the city and its people survived. This was during a world war and only five years after being highly involved in the recovery of the Titanic’s victims and survivors, a disaster that helped prepare them for this one. Story after story, many revealing the incredible determination of the stalwart people of Nova Scotia and the Bostonians who came to their aid, moved me to tears. It was difficult to choose which experiences to borrow for my characters. I was thrilled to visit Halifax in 2025, a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Naturally, the book includes some blind and partially blind characters. I so appreciate the input from my two blind beta readers, Alexandra Banwell and Leanne Merren. One of my favorite things to do with each book I launch is to choose a charity to which I give a portion of the proceeds from my local book launch. For this book, I’ve chosen the CNIB’s Guide Dog program.

Although my book never became a part of that series, Barbour decided it would be a good fit for their “Enduring Hope” series. The rest is, literally, history. I’m thrilled to be part of this series and have enjoyed the first five immensely. I hope you read them all!

My Impressions

“Fires erupted every few minutes, and the air was filled with racking, bubbling coughs, cries of devastation, alarm bells, and sirens. Surely she was in hell.”

And so we are given in vivid clarity a recounting of the horrible harbor ship explosion of 1917 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I am enjoying this series, Enduring Hope, by Barbour very much. Each stand-alone book tells the story of an American ( including Canadian) disaster that many have never learned from history class. Terrie Todd brings the WWI setting and Halifax tragedy to unforgettable life in her novel, The Reluctant Healer of Halifax. 

One of the main characters is an injured soldier, Oliver Hamilton, who returns from the European front minus an eye and with internal emotional scars. Certain his bright future is over, he breaks things off with his almost-fiancée, deciding he will not saddle her with a lifetime married to a freak. Heartbroken, Pearline shares with her wise parents. Her mother thoughtfully responds,“Sounds like whatever’s hiding under Oliver’s bandages is not nearly as bad as what’s deep inside him right now.” 

But, will Pearline ever get a chance to show Oliver that she loves him for his character, not his face? Or has his character been marred as badly as his face?

Soon, Pearline, the female main character, must put aside her broken heart to deal with the incredible shock and tragedy of the harbor explosion. What starts as a ship collision turns into a disaster of epic proportions as a ship with wartime cargo explodes, raining death, destruction, blindness, and literal Hell down upon the town. Search for family and friends becomes her consuming passion. What will Pearline and her hired hand, Daisy find in their quest for answers? How will their lives change from normal to “normal isn’t coming back,” how do we deal with our new reality? 

I loved how there was great cooperation between American (particularly Bostonian)people and the people of Nova Scotia. We can be good neighbors!! 

Emotional, heart-rending, with God-incidences, great character growth arcs and historical fact all presented so compellingly. I couldn’t close this book, once opened, until I’d devoured the final word!

I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit via NetGalley. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“No one could ever love me. I can never ask Pearline to marry me now; it would be cruel. I can never teach again. God’s punishing me for not wanting to follow Pop’s career. I deserve this. Like machine-gun fire, nefarious notions had pounded his brain.” 

“God had already given her the strength to survive the unthinkable. He’d provide for this too, if she leaned into Him and followed His purposes for her.”

“He’d grown much through the challenges, the losses, the trauma. Why had it not occurred to him that Pearline would have matured, too?”

“Bringing buried things to the surface can feel painful.” “Like digging up a dead dog. Why would I want to do that?”

“I’ve been doing extra studies in the areas of plastic surgery and the psychology of shell shock. The more patients can tell me, the more honestly they share, the more we learn how to help.”

“God, make me more aware of others. Open my eyes—or my eye, I suppose—to the significance of the lives around me before they’re gone and it’s too late.”

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Magnificent! Another book I highly recommend!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 26

Devoted Steps, August 26

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 27

Texas Book-aholic, August 28

Pause for Tales, August 29

For Him and My Family, August 29

Life on Chickadee Lane, August 30

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 31

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 1

Books You Can Feel Good About, September 2

Connie’s History Classroom, September 3

Cover Lover Book Review, September 4

Sydney Schmied Books, September 5

Mary Hake, September 5

Blossoms and Blessings , September 6

The Bookish Pilgrim, September 7

Devoted to Hope, September 7

Holly’s Book Corner, September 8

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Terrie is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon e-Gift Card and a print copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/9yOdf/the-reluctant-healer-of-halifax-celebration-tour-giveaway

ARC, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, Launch Team, New Author, PB, Purchase, Wild Heart Books

The Darling’s Daughter by Sydney Schmied Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: The Darling’s Daughter

Author: Sydney Schmied

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: August 4, 2026

A woman chasing the truth. A man running from his past. And a secret that threatens the fragile trust between them.

Searching for answers about her mother’s suspicious death, artist Angelica Woods takes a job painting backdrops at the Majestic Theater—the very place her famous actress mother warned her to avoid. When she discovers cryptic notes and bloody evidence of an old murder, Angie realizes her mother’s warning may have been meant to protect her from a deadly secret.

Architect Trace Ackerman has worked hard to build a quiet, respectable life far removed from his former mistakes. Renovating the Majestic is meant to be a fresh start—until Angie awakens feelings he never planned to risk again. Drawn to her courage and vulnerability, Trace offers his protection as rumors swirl and danger edges closer. But the past he’s worked so hard to outrun threatens to surface, and Trace fears the truth could cost him Angie’s trust—and the future he longs to build.

With a killer determined to silence them both, Angie and Trace must decide if uncovering the truth about her mother’s death is worth risking their own lives—and hearts. Set against the backdrop of a historic theater in 1912 Ohio, this romantic suspense weaves together murder, betrayal, and the redeeming power of faith and forgiveness.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Sydney Schmiedwrites sweet and intriguing historical romantic suspense stories with a whole lot of faith. She is a 2023 ACFW First Impressions Contest finalist and a 2024 Genesis Contest Semi-finalist, as well as a two-time Scrivenings Press Get Pubbed Finalist. When she is not writing, she enjoys reading, painting, and sipping on a classic London Fog.

More from Sydney

Theaters tell so many stories, and in The Darling’s Daughter, The Majestic Theater itself has been shaped by the people who have passed through its doors. While it was known as The Masonic Opera House from 1853 to 1915, The Majestic has stood through nearly 173 years of history. I can’t help but wonder about all the individuals who walked its halls, performers, musicians, and attendees alike, and what stories they might tell about how their lives once intertwined with the Majestic.

In my research, I came across so many real accounts of people who visited theaters like this one, and I was able to glimpse bits and pieces of that connection. For Angie, the heroine in The Darling’s Daughter, The Majestic becomes a place of reckoning and reconciliation. Her mother was her only family, and even that relationship was strained. Angie carries a deep loneliness as she peels back the complicated layers of her late mother’s life, wrestling with questions of worth, belonging, and whether she is truly loved.

For Trace, The Majestic offers both a meaningful project and a chance to rebuild. Unfortunately, his identity has been constructed atop the fragile foundation of guilt, and that foundation begins to crack as his past resurfaces.

Just as The Majestic has stood strong through seasons of change and still stands today, Angie and Trace are refined through their struggles as everything around them begins to shift. Neither of them are defined by the broken parts of their story, but by their hope in Christ, even when that hope feels uncertain and their faith is shaky. If this resonates with you, I hope you’ll join Angie and Trace in The Darling’s Daughter and find encouragement in their journey.

My Impressions

“Dear Daughter, now that I am gone, I cannot protect you from the ghosts of my past. Trust no one, and stay away from the Majestic.”

Have you been introduced to debut author Sydney Schmied? If not, I’d love to tell you why I picked up her inspirational historical romance novel, The Darling’s Daughter. This novel was like a big, warm hug to my reading soul! Two individuals who feel like they are either unworthy or longing for a love that they never received . They will either help each other towards healing, faith, and redemption, or their hopes and dreams will be forever buried with the secrets of the old Majestic Theater. 

My interest was first piqued when I saw the setting is Chillicothe, OH. That got my attention as I have traveled through Chillicothe in years past and noted the heavy paper smell clogging the air. Little surprise to discover that newspapers are an important, albeit negative, part of this story. 

I enjoyed learning about the Majestic Theater. I love books that impart history of little-known sites that were once well-known. The theater life and atmosphere spring to life between Angie’s backdrop paintings for performances, her search for her mother’s forbidden secrets, and Trace’s refurbishing of the old theater. 

I loved the eeriness that stayed with me as I searched with (or at least, I felt like I was there with !)Angie, looking about in the old mansion, trying to remember why feelings were connected with some places. Then, there is the suspense of not knowing who is after Angie. Is it her mother’s enemy? An enemy of Trace’s? The tension is nearly unbearable, and I was so grateful that kind, thoughtful Trace is there for Angie. “Yes, he needed to protect her from outside threats, but the threat to his heart was growing by the minute.”

Unfortunately, Trace has his own skeletons hidden in the closet. Will they emerge just in time to spell death for Trace’s and Angie’s budding relationship?

I loved Mrs. Ackerman and her loving ways. She is so physically worn-down by the cares of life, but still exudes the kind of love that reaches out and envelops those around her- just like her bakery smells- whether they are worthy or not. 

What made me stand up and outright applaud this book, though, was the twists! Wow, did they ever catch me off guard! I loved it!! Please, Miss Schmied, can I have your next book NOW?!!

I received a copy of the book from the author and Celebrate Lit. I also took a chance and bought a paperback for the keeper shelf! I am so glad!! No positive opinion was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“What you have to say will not shock me. Or God. Jesus’s death paid for our sins. To hold onto a burden of sin is denying that Jesus’s blood is enough. Don’t hold onto what he has freed you from long ago.” -Mutti

“Love forgives.” – Mutti

“People do terrible things for those they love, especially when fear is involved,” -Trace

“‘What if the answers you seek are not the answers you want?’ ‘I want the truth.’ No matter what it turns out to be.”- Trace, Angie

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! This is a debut?! Where is book 2? And I just saw there is a book 3 coming. Anticipation, Sweet agony!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 19

Devoted Steps, August 19

Books Less Travelled, August 20

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 21

Texas Book-aholic, August 22

Connie’s History Classroom, August 23

For Him and My Family, August 23

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 24

Lyssa Loves Books, August 25

Holly’s Book Corner, August 26

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 27

Pause for Tales, August 28

Devoted to Hope, August 29

Book Looks by Lisa, August 30

Paula’s Pad of Inspiration, August 30

Cover Lover Book Review, August 31

Lily’s Corner, September 1

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sydney is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/TyDfI/the-darlings-daughter-celebration-tour-giveaway

ARC, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Kindle, Purchase, Wild Heart Books

When the South Wind Blows by Barbara A. Curtis Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: When the South Wind Blows

Author: Barbara A. Curtis

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: July 14, 2026

He’s spent his life chasing headlines—until the woman behind the story captures his heart.

Elizabeth Canton never planned to abandon her budding theater career, but after witnessing a crime, she has no choice but to disappear. When a family invitation offers refuge at the Double E Ranch, she seizes the chance to hide and finds unexpected purpose helping her young cousin rehearse for the stage, never expecting to be drawn to the local reporter who sees past her carefully kept secrets.

Ranch hand Logan Palmer has always dreamed of writing stories that matter, not livestock columns for the town paper. Elizabeth’s grace catches his eye. But it’s her patience and tenderness with her cousin that captures his heart, even as her mystery stirs his reporter’s instincts. The closer he grows to her, the more he questions whether some stories are better left untold.

As Elizabeth and Logan grow closer, danger follows her to Idaho. When her past catches up with her, she’ll have to choose between protecting her heart and trusting in love. And Logan must decide what matters more—the story that could launch his career, or the woman who’s stolen his heart.

Set against the rugged beauty of the American West, this touching historical romance explores the healing power of family, second chances, and learning that sometimes the greatest role we can play is simply being ourselves.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Barbara A. Curtis lives in Connecticut with her husband, and they have one grown son, a blessing to their hearts. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Novel Academy.

More from Barbara

Chocolate, Chocolate

What part does chocolate play in When the South Wind Blows? To little Susannah, it plays a big part, as Logan is going to help her frost her salvaged cake.

“Miss Lizzie?” Logan hadn’t moved from his spot next to the stove. “If it’s all right with you, may Susannah and I make the frosting for the cake?”

He knew how to make frosting? And again, he included the little girl.

“Thank you. Susannah, why don’t you pull out the cookbook for chocolate that your grandma and I like, and you and Logan will be in charge?”

“Oh yay! The Hershey’s Cookbook? They have the best frosting recipe.”

Yes, in 1934 Hershey’s had published a cookbook, so it would have been well loved and used in the Double E Ranch kitchen in 1950.

And Nestlé’s Toll House cookies weren’t far behind, as Nestlé acquired the rights to the original recipe in 1939. By World War II, the cookies were a staple included in packages sent to US servicemen overseas. Do you think they’d mind that Elizabeth called her version Victory cookies? Though they had nothing to do with the war but a little victory right at home.

Have you ever renamed a favorite recipe just for your family for fun?

I hope you enjoy When the South Wind Blows, the final book in the Blooms of the Bitterbrush series. Maybe with a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie to go along with it.

Blessings.

Barbara

My Impressions

“Always remember, little one, what you’ve been rescued from. Go to your new family and live with joy.”

The above words are a part of the play in which Susannah and Elizabeth perform, in When the South Wind Blows by Barbara A. Curtis. I chose these words as my teaser because, after reading the novel, I can picture God saying this to us, His children. What freedom can be found as we realize the depth of His love and the forgiveness He offers, as He places us in His family. Found family, freedom, forgiveness, second chances, and being oneself are all tag words for this historical romance, #4 in Blooms of the Bitterbrush. 

An aspiring 1950 NYC Broadway actress, Liesel Rosette Roberts, née Elizabeth Canton, abruptly leaves the Broadway scene, fleeing for her life to distant family on the Double E Ranch. Hiding her occupation and her true purpose for being on the ranch leaves hopeful newspaper man Logan Palmer suspicious.

Everyone wants to belong and be accepted. Elizabeth watches the Calloway family interact with genuine, warm love and care for each other. She wishes her own family of origin could be like them. Truly, I liked all the Calloways and Morgans are special, but Lizzie, Miss Eliza, and little Susannah are my faves. We see many characters from past novels, so this series is best read in order. 

Struggling to make his mark on the world, Logan has designs beyond the ranch. Logan’s main job is being a ranch hand, living at the ranch, doing chores, and training horses. He wants desperately to fit in at the ranch, to feel like he is part of the family. Indeed, the family treats him like part of their circle, but Logan can’t feel the love because of his past and lack of ties. Will his obsession of discovering the story of Elizabeth’s past cement his place in the family? Is he really helping,  or “were some stories better left untold?”

A beautiful story of love, trust, danger and a romance that requires putting aside personal gain for others’ good. 

 

I received a copy of the book from the author and publisher through CelebrateLit via Bookfunnel. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.

Notable Quotables: 

“How about we let God do whatever fretting needs to be done?” “Silly, God doesn’t fret.” “No, He doesn’t. So we don’t need to either.” – Elizabeth, Susannah

“We’ve tried to reach out to him, to offer forgiveness, but he wants none of it. But we’ll keep trying.” -Lizzie

“Wasn’t that the story of his life? Always too late or in the wrong place or… Just not good enough.” – (Logan)

“So even though he wasn’t a real member of this family, he loved them and would do whatever he could for them. Including—no, especially—exposing Elizabeth Rose Canton if she was an imposter.” -( Logan)

“…God promises that when the south wind blows through, when its destruction is past, that behind it He sends the quiet by a south wind also.” -Pastor

“‘I spend my days bringing joy to people. With words.’ He’d relate to that, as he dealt with words in his writing. ‘To strangers I’ve never met. To those who feel unseen.’”- Elizabeth

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great! Some fave Truth Nuggets in this story of found family, love, and danger.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 4

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 5

Simple Harvest Reads, August 6 (Guest Review from Marilyn)

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 7

Texas Book-aholic, August 8

Life on Chickadee Lane, August 9

lakesidelivingsite, August 10

Books Less Travelled, August 11 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, August 11

DevotedToHope, August 12

Connie’s History Classroom , August 13

Cover Lover Book Review, August 14

Sydney Schmied Books, August 15

History, Hope & Happily Ever After, August 16 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, August 17

Pause for Tales, August 17

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Barbara is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/oVpBV/when-the-south-wind-blows-celebration-tour-giveaway

ARC, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, Purchase

Lethal Design by S. F. Baumgartner Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: Lethal Design (KC & Orlando Prime Book 2)

Author: S.F. Baumgartner

Genre: Crime Thriller with Christian elements

Release Date: August 4, 2026

Some deaths are designed.

The death looks routine — no foul play, no reason to dig. But KC knows this building and what happened here a year ago. And the pattern spreading across the city is no coincidence.

Professionals with no addiction history are dying along eerily similar paths. Someone patient and invisible is engineering these outcomes. As the Orlando Prime task force chases separate leads across the city, the threads begin pointing to the same dark center.

The closer they get, the more dangerous the truth becomes. Some designs were never meant to be uncovered — and the cost of exposing this one may be more than any of them are prepared to pay.

Perfect for fans of Terri Blackstock and Lynette Eason who love fast-paced, clean crime thrillers with the intensity of Criminal Minds and the grit of NCIS.

Follow Kylie “KC” Cassidy and the Orlando Prime task force as they take on the cases no one else can crack, starting with Lethal Design.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

S.F. Baumgartner crafts fast-paced Christian suspense thrillers, weaving tales of complex characters, secretive operatives, and relentless agents. Her gripping storytelling has earned acclaim, with Living Secrets and Forgotten Secret—Books 1 & 2 of her Mirror Estate series—named Top Picks in the thriller & suspense categories, respectively, at Killer Nashville, and Tangled Secrets—Book 3 of Mirror Estateseries—won couple of awards in the Christian Indie Awards and the Incipere Awards. When she’s not plotting her next twist, she’s binge-watching crime TV shows, like NCIS or playing with her cats. Fans of James Patterson’s style, especially those who appreciate short, punchy chapters, will find much to love in her work.

More from S.F.

Lethal Design, Book 2 in the KC & Orlando Prime series, shifts the spotlight in a powerful way. While Fatal Invitation centered on Detective Kylie Cassidy, this installment dives deep into the elite Prime Task Force, especially its leader, Commander Frank Travers.

A year ago, Travers lost his wife to a brutal, unsolved murder. The case went cold. The killer vanished. But in Lethal Design, that past refuses to stay buried.

As KC and the Prime team investigate a new wave of suspicious deaths, threads begin to surface, threads that may finally lead Travers to the truth he’s been chasing. And this time, it’s personal.

What makes this story especially layered is how it connects back to the larger conspiracy introduced in Stolen Secrets. Pieces are moving. Secrets are colliding. And everything must align as the story builds toward a confrontation that’s been a long time coming.

Expect high-stakes action, tight investigative work, and emotional tension as justice and revenge blur into something far more dangerous.

Because when Travers comes face-to-face with his wife’s killer… there’s no guarantee he walks away.

And KC may be the only one who can keep him from crossing a line he can’t come back from.

My Impressions

“On the floor beside her body, smeared and uneven, traced in her own blood with a finger that must have been failing, were the words ‘no suicide confutatis m.’”

I hope you read prologues! If you skip the prologue for S. F. Baumgartner’s Lethal Design (K.C. & Orlando Prime Series #2), you’ll miss vital info in this clean, exciting, thriller novel. I definitely recommend reading the first book of the series, and possibly The Mirror Estate Series first for background. 

Baumgartner creates great tension with her Orlando Prime team, a special crime team, led by Frank Travers, a retired navy commander. Frank’s team is tasked with investigating seven different cases of apparent opioid suicide across cental FL in little over a year. The odd element is, none of the deceased had previous drug histories. While Frank’s team is investigating these, he has quietly asked Detective Kylie (K. C.) Cassidy and her partner on the Orlando Major Crimes police force, Rick Spaulding, to investigate his wife’s murder a year previous.

So interesting to see the workings of the different police, FBI, and other forces as they slowly converge, overlapping each other, sometimes competing, sometimes cooperating with each other. Viewers of shows like NCIS and Criminal Minds will love the procedural detail. 

I enjoyed getting to know Frank Travers and KC better in this story. We also get re-acquainted with the people on the Prime team. Jack is especially interesting.  Probably the youngest on the team, he is the forensic specialist on the team. Smarter than a whip, he can uncover anything asked of him, but can he ever birdwalk! So many eyerolls when team members are conversing with Jack!

The Architect. He is a main player on the adversary side in this drama, and we are privy to much of his convoluted thought life and plans. Can the reader figure out his identity before we are told?  Like the Mirror Estate series, this is very much a psychological thriller! Baumgartner somehow pulls me into a world I don’t frequent or fully understand, but makes me fully invested and ready to lose sleep to discover the answers.  Twists! This book has them in spades! I was a little disappointed to find that the end has a bit of a cliffhanger. But I should know by now! 

Now, I wonder, what direction will this series go? And there will be another spin-off series as well, The Zoe Hunter Mysteries. Wow! Bring ‘em on! 

I received a copy of the book from the author and publisher via Celebrate Lit and BookFunnel. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“Truth mattered far less than narrative.”

“Need-to-know had kept people alive for centuries. It also kept them ignorant.”

“…desperation makes people vulnerable,”

“Whoever staged this is good.” “Or arrogant.” “Those usually overlap.”

“His right hand went into his pocket to stroke the key chain he took from his target. A symbol of his win.” -The Architect

“Interesting how memory preserves sensory details.” [too true!]

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, July 31

The Lofty Pages, July 31

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 1

Vicky Sluiter, August 2 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, August 3

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 4

Texas Book-aholic, August 5

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 6

For the Love of Literature, August 7 (Author Interview)

Blogging with Carol, August 8

Because I said so, August 9

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 10

Tell Tale Book Reviews, August 11 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, August 12

Betti Mace, August 13

Leslie’s Library Escape, August 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, S.F. is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card and an eBook copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/uhz7K/lethal-design-celebration-tour-giveaway

ARC, Barbour, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, NetGalley, Purchase

The Bachelor Spy by Pepper Basham Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: The Bachelor Spy (A Freddie and Grace Mystery Book 5)

Author: Pepper Basham

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction

Release Date: July, 2026

Spies Infiltrate Havensbooke Hall. . .and Another Mystery Adventure Begins

Stephen Blake’s life goal is to protect people, especially those closest to him, but war in 1914 England doesn’t follow any rules. When Blake is informed that a noted German spy may have taken up residence at Havensbrooke Hall—his cousin Lord Astley’s estate, which is being used as a convalescent war hospital—he’s sent there to uncover the plot.

Lady Grace Astley has become a force to be reckoned with while Frederick is out on the war front. With Havensbrooke as a hospital, she’s shocked by the devastation the war is bringing home; but ever hopeful, she is determined to help these weary soldiers find some relief. However, not everything is as it seems inside Havensbrooke. Precious items soon start disappearing. . .and not just the kind that are worth a lot of money.

Through a case of mistaken identity, a comedy of errors, a kidnapping, and a race for time within the crumbling subterranean passageways beneath Havensbrooke, can Blake and Gracie work together to root out the criminals, thieves, and spies before time runs out?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor with southern Appalachian flair. Both her historical and contemporary novels have garnered recognition in the Grace Awards, Inspys, and ACFW Carol Awards. Her historical romance, The Thorn Healer, was a finalist in the 2018 RT Awards. Her historical romance novels, My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge and The Red Ribbon, and her contemporary novels, the Mitchell’s Crossroadsand Pleasant Gap series, showcase her Appalachian heritage, as well as her love for humor and family. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist to about fifty more, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus.

Excerpt

Prologue

May 7, 1915

Stephen Blake had been trailing the presumed spy most of the voyage—first to secure his target, and then. . .to strike. Every clue pointed to the fact that the gregarious businessman Donald Leaman was none other than Albert Stein, a German informant ferrying English war secrets straight to the fatherland.

Unfortunately, every opportunity Blake had found to confront the man had been thwarted: too many watchful eyes, too much pomp and luxury for a clean cornering. With the Lusitania’s transatlantic voyage ending in less than a day, his time to complete this mission was slipping away.

Worse, he couldn’t shake the feeling he was being followed himself. Only a limited few knew of his operation to uncover a ghostlike informant who’d used their “ordinary” position to gain extraordinary intelligence—from transfer stations, casualty clearing posts, even a general’s bunker at the Western Front. The spy had proven madden-ingly elusive, slipping through every trap British intelligence laid

with almost theatrical flair.

But what did they know? Stein was the spy’s last contact. And Blake was tasked with finding out what he knew.

The Lusitania was hardly Blake’s first ship, but certainly it was the grandest. It felt as though Claridge’s, the famous hotel in London, had taken to the sea, complete with its extravagant marble floors and its crystal chandeliers, with champagne in the air and ease all around. Just after luncheon, Stein had excused himself early and started down the grand staircase toward the lower decks. An odd choice for a first-class passenger, especially so near the end of the trip and with

his companions urging him to remain for cards.

So, of course, Blake followed.

Deck by deck, corridor by corridor, until the music and chatter faded into the deep measured thrum of the engines.

Occasionally, Stein cast a look behind him but never appeared concerned enough to stop his descent. This was certainly a planned meeting.

The elegance of the upper floors gave way to simpler decor, narrower corridors. Second-class accommodations. Stein stopped before a cabin door. His knock held an unnatural rhythm—three quick raps, a pause, two more. After only a beat of silence, a murmur from within responded.

Stein’s immediate whispered answer? “Octavia.” A code word, no doubt.

The door opened. Stein slipped inside, but before the door could click shut, Blake rushed soundlessly forward and caught it with his fingertips.

Perfect.

He released a self-satisfied grin and then pressed himself against the corridor wall, listening through the crack over the hum of the ship’s engine.

The cabin was small—voices carried easily in the confined space—and the faint scent of cigarette smoke drifted through the opening. “You’re late.” A man’s voice, crisp and impatient. Something about the cadence nagged at Blake’s memory, but he couldn’t place

  1. English, certainly. Kentish?

Blake frowned. He could overpower Stein easily—the man was more socialite than combatant, the sort who’d probably never thrown a proper punch in his life. But this unknown fellow, clearly in charge and confident enough to smoke a cigarette while conducting treason? That suggested either experience or exceptional stupidity. Blake hoped for the latter but suspected the former.

“It was difficult to get away without raising suspicion,” Stein replied, his accent thickening into full German. “Blake is on this ship.”

Blake’s pulse quickened. So Stein knew he was being followed. “I know.” The other man’s tone didn’t waver. A long exhale

followed, as if he were breathing out smoke. “We’ve been watching him to ensure he didn’t wreck things.”

We? Who?

Blake’s mind raced through the passenger manifest, through his team members, through every face he’d seen on this voyage. That voice. . .

“But with that in mind, we need to move quickly,” the Englishman continued. “What do you have for me?”

A rustle of papers. “The Midnight Angel’s next assignment. She’s to embed herself in a convalescent hospital—but not in France this time. There is too much interest in her there.”

Blake’s breath caught. She was called the Midnight Angel? The informant they’d been hunting for months. And she was a woman.

“Italy, then?”

“Nein,” Stein answered simply. “A place much closer to your front door, mein Herr.”

England? A convalescent hospital in England?

“Perfect,” the Englishman murmured. “Wounded officers talk too freely around nurses they think are angels of mercy.”

“Clever, no?” Stein’s voice held a note of pride. “No one suspects the nurses. They’re invisible, really. Moving between stations, tending to generals and privates alike. She’s already proven invaluable.”

“This is excellent information, Stein.” A pause. “And you’ve given

it so freely. Too freely, I’m afraid.”

Blake froze. He knew that tone—the shift from curiosity to finality. The Englishman was finished with Stein. The German had served his purpose, been found wanting, and now. . .had become a liability.

He couldn’t wait any longer. Stein had to be taken alive—had to be questioned, catalogued, and wrung dry of every detail about the Midnight Angel and her network before—

He drew his revolver and pushed through the door. The scene materialized in a horrifying instant.

Stein stood near a narrow desk, documents scattered before him. And holding a gun already drawn, already aimed at Stein’s head with casual confidence, stood Evan Montgomery.

Blake’s breath squeezed closed in his throat.

Montgomery? His colleague. His friend. The man he’d trained with in Scotland, shared terrible army rations with in the trenches, trusted with his life on half a dozen missions across the Channel. The man whose sister Blake had been half in love with for six months but was far too professional to mention. The man who was, apparently, a traitor.

My Impressions

“That’s what family does, Grace. We muddle through the terrifying bits together and hope for the best.” 

The. Perfect. Wrap-up! Well-done, Ms. Basham. Pepper Basham’s The Bachelor Spy is everything that we readers were anticipating! A light-hearted whimsical mystery, plenty of action, several different storyline threads, “new” characters,  faith strengtheners, and romance! And insight into Freddie’s past as well. 

Most books have twists in the second half of the book, if not near the end. The Bachelor Spy starts with a twist that sets up the uncertain mood of England during WWI. We begin with Stephen Blake, (cousin of Freddie’s) on board the ill-fated Lusitania in 1915. Uncertain relationships, treacherous dealings, and the search for a mole within the British spy system. Plus, the search for The Midnight Angel, a very dangerous and clever spy for the Germans who has eluded capture, resulting in many British deaths. 

Soon, the action switches to reveal Freddie and Grace’s estate, Havensbrooke. Freddie has been recalled to service in the army. Grace, needing to fill her time and feel useful, turns the house into a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. The secrets under that roof! Blake arrives wounded, but Grace is sure something’s off with their relative and beloved friend. Blake recognizes Grace has a secret, yet to be discovered, and he tries to hide his own identity, especially as a few of the nurses seem sharper than warranted. One nurse had my suspicions up, then another, till I suspected them all. 

Through it all, Grace traipses through life with her humor-filled,  adorable but childlike approach. When thievery begins,     Grace throws herself and the household staff into full-on mystery-solving mode.  Instructing the staff, Grace says, “we all ought to increase our mystery reading….“If our minds are already attuned to sleuthing, I imagine it will only make us more aware of clues and suspicious behavior.” Smiles from me, eyerolls from the staff!

When Grace’s secret is revealed, it ignites a latent fear in her heart. A character reminds her, “I hope you will remember that God is in this very moment, as well as the ones you cannot even see yet.” 

Another time, when asked why she shows unusual mercy and grace, Grace replies, “Because we all need second chances,” Grace said with a soft laugh. “Sometimes third. Or fourth.” Her faith comes back to buoy her. It’s a good thing it does, because there are plenty of twists, surprises (other than an orange cat causing mayhem 😊), and danger yet to come!! 

I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit via NetGalley. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“One simply does what needs doing for those in one’s … family.”

“The mission had grown substantially more dangerous. The Midnight Angel wasn’t just passing along intelligence about troop movements, patterns, and locations. She was building a kill list.”

“When she couldn’t see the future and didn’t understand all the reasons, if she believed He loved her as much as He promised, she could trust His timing.”

“…we all could do with a bit of kindness with all the very difficult things going on in the world.”

“…she was acting as if she didn’t trust God’s love at all! Even when hard things happened, didn’t He always promise to be the strength she needed for whatever the task?”

”Not enjoying reading certainly had to give the woman a dreary outlook on the world. Especially a world at war.“

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior! Well-done, Ms. Basham. It’s hard to keep a series going this strong for this many books, but each Freddie and Grace Mystery has been just as good, if not better, than the one before it. So long, little Zahra. You are one of my fave characters, along with Brandon in this book. 

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, July 30

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, July 30

Melissa’s Bookshelf, July 30

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 31

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 31

Texas Book-aholic, August 1

Books You Can Feel Good About, August 1

For Him and My Family, August 2

Book Holds and Jello Molds, August 2

Sylvan Musings, August 3

Jodie Wolfe, August 3

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 3

Where Faith and Books Meet, August 4

Connie’s History Classroom , August 4

Simple Harvest Reads, August 5 (Guest Review from Donna)

The Vine and The Branch, August 5

Stories By Gina, August 6 (Author Interview)

Betti Mace, August 6

Mary Hake, August 6

Min Reads and Reviews, August 7

Wishful Endings, August 7

She Lives To Read, August 8

Blossoms and Blessings, August 8

Labor Not in Vain , August 9

Holly’s Book Corner, August 9

Lily’s Corner, August 10

Cover Lover Book Review, August 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 11

Pause for Tales, August 11

The Sacred Line, August 12

Devoted to Hope, August 12

Mrs. Ryan Moser’s Book and Movie Reviews, August 12

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Pepper is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon e-Gift Card and a print copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/ovQ5J/the-bachelor-spy-celebration-tour-giveaway

BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, Purchase, Wild Heart Books

Freed by the Frontier by Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: Freed by the Frontier

Authors: Sherry Shindelar, Denise Farnsworth, Susan F. Craft

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: June 30, 2026

Three remarkable women find themselves caught between two worlds on the American frontier. A captive of the Comanche must choose between escaping to white society or her growing feelings for a rising war chief in 1850s Texas. A Georgia judge’s daughter flees an unwanted betrothal during the War of 1812, only to be captured by Creek warriors but protected by a mysterious brave. And in 1754, an English lady traveling the Great Wagon Road to become a music teacher discovers her carefully planned future may not survive her attraction to a protective frontiersman.

From quaint civilized towns to treacherous mountain passes and wilderness villages, three couples navigate cultural divisions, overcome past wounds, and face deadly dangers to discover that love knows no boundaries. But as war clouds gather and ancient tribal alliances shift, will their newfound relationships survive the coming storm? Or will the clash of worlds tear them apart?

Three unforgettable romances prove that God’s greatest blessings often come disguised as our greatest challenges, and that true love can bridge any divide.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Authors

Originally from Tennessee, Sherry loves to take her readers into the past. A romantic at heart, she is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. When she is not busy writing, she is an English professor working to pass on her love of writing to her students. Sherry is an award-winning writer: 2025 Maggie winner, 2023 Genesis finalist, Maggie finalist, and Crown finalist. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of forty-one years. She has three grown children and three grandchildren. Connect with Sherry at sherryshindelar.com.

North Georgia native Denise Farnsworth, formerly Denise Weimer, has authored over twenty traditionally published novels and novellas—historical and contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and time slip. As a freelance editor and Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books, she’s helped other authors reach their publishing dreams. A wife and mother of two adult daughters, Denise always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

Nationally acclaimed writer of inspirational historical romance, Susan F. Craft retired after a 45-year career in communications. A widow who was married 48 years to her high school sweetheart, she has two adult children, one granddaughter, and a granddog. A history nerd, she enjoys painting, singing, and sitting on her porch watching chipmunks dine from her bird feeder. She recently learned how to play the ukulele. Soli Deo Gloria

More from the Authors

Imagine a time when the U.S. not far from the coast was unsettled wilderness. Where brave settlers faced the challenges of isolation and nature as they established a toehold of civilization. Where multiple nations clashed in battle as they vied for control of land and waterways.

This setting seeded with inherent danger and wild beauty calls to those of us who write frontier historical romances from the 1700s and 1800s. Three of us from Wild Heart Books—Sherry Shindelar, Denise Farnsworth, and Susan Craft—came together to pen a trio of novellas, Freed by the Frontier. Each of our stories connects to one of our previous series, but each novella can be read independently. We invite you to journey with us back to rugged mountains, wagon roads, and frontier settlements.

Wichita Path Sacrifice by Sherry Shindelar

The frontier has always captured my imagination. It is a place of hope and hardship, new beginnings and trials, dreams and risk, and in my stories, a place where love is forged. My novella is the prequel to Texas Forsaken, Book One in my Lone Star Redemption series. Wichita Path Sacrifice tells the love story of captive Maggie Logan (Eyes-Like-Sky) and Dancing Eagle, a renowned Comanche warrior. The story is set in Comancheria in the 1850’s when the Comanches ruled the southern Plains and settlers entered the Texas frontier at their own risk. Years ago, the real-life story of Cynthia Ann Parker broke my heart. Cynthia was captured by Comanches at age nine, and lived with them for twenty-four years, married, and had children. When she was eventually recaptured by cavalry and Texas Rangers, she wanted nothing to do with the settlers’ world. Her heart belonged to the Comanche and her husband and children who were lost to her. Cynthia’s story had a sad ending that haunted me. I wanted to write a captive story with a happier ending, and that desire led to Texas Forsaken. The prequel, Wichita Path Sacrifice, inspired by the real-life stories of Cynthia Ann Parker and her cousin Rachel Plummer, is an enemy-to-lovers story of love blossoming in the midst of trials, when it seems all hope is gone. It’s a story of choices between paths. Love requires sacrifice. Eyes-Like-Sky and Dancing Eagle must decide how much they’re willing to let go of and risk if they are to claim the dreams of their heart.

Ofuskee Trail Surrender by Denise Farnsworth

Keturah Caldwell disappeared from A Counterfeit Betrothal, the first book of my Scouts of the Georgia Frontier series. Pledged to wed the hero of that novel, the daughter of a Georgia judge  was abducted by thieves and sold to a war party of Creek braves. One of them, known as Wildcat, quietly protects her on the journey to his village in present-day Alabama. Keturah soon learns she has more in common with the adopted son of the micco than she would ever have guessed. When his cruel stepbrother turns his sights on Keturah and her younger sister, Keturah is forced to trust Wildcat in a marriage of convenience, though she vows to convince him to help them escape. They grow from enemies to lovers amid the War of 1812, as she learns that sometimes, greater blessings can come from abiding than from escaping.

Keturah also meets another captive, Susannah Moore, heroine of A Contrary Betrothal(formerly released as Bent Tree Bride), coming August 18 of this year.

Wagon Road Serenade by Susan F. Craft

An enemies-to-lovers historical romance, this novella is set in1754 on the Great Wagon Road spanning from Philadelphia, PA, to Augusta, GA. I wrote this novella as a complement to my three-novel Great Wagon Road series.

Elizabeth Stanton, her reputation marred from an injustice in London, seeks a second chance as a music teacher for a women’s academy in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She joins a wagon train, but scarred from her past, she vows never to rely on a man again. James Morgan, a widowed trapper, hears a vile rumor about Elizabeth and regrets agreeing to drive one of the academy’s wagons. To Elizabeth, James is another charming scoundrel. To James, Elizabeth is a tainted woman to be avoided. Both resist a growing attraction. James admires her willingness to help others. Her soft soprano voice fills the nights with a melancholy sweetness. Had he received false information and misjudged? Elizabeth tries to remain indifferent, but when he saves her and an orphan girl after Indians kidnap them, her heart softens.

Will his gentle treatment erase her misgivings? Can she trust him? Will their hearts reject discord and blend into a serenade of love?

My Impressions

Freed by the Frontier, by familiar authors feels like I’m coming to a visit with three friends, as I recognize author names whose historical fiction I love to read in this compilation. Sherry Shindelar, Denise Weimer, and Susan F. Craft have collaborated to show us that culture can be appreciated without dividing, and seeing the heart is more important than any outer appearance or speech. As I finish the set, I am comfortably sated, full of historical stories of the frontier and times of two people of widely different backgrounds finding common ground and love as they grow in faith. 

I loved Sherry Shindelar’s Wichita Path Sacrifice as I recognized a character from another book she has authored, Texas Forsaken. In this prequel to the latter, Shindelar gives us the background of Eyes-Like-Sky and how she becomes a part of the Comanche tribe. I love how brave Eyes-Like-Sky is, in standing up for herself when no one else would. Oddly, it is that moment that becomes a turning point for Eyes-Like-Sky. I must admit, when this book ended, I was sad, having read its sequel. I wanted the story world that had finally found peace, to stay that way. 

Notable Quotables:

“Sometimes courage takes a charging bull to give it fire.” – Dancing Eagle

“Is that why he’d survived? Did the Creator of the wind, moon, and sky notice him?” – Dancing Eagle

“You are my spring, Eyes-Like-Sky, and it has been winter too long.”- Dancing Eagle

Denise Farnsworth pens another story titled, ”Ofuskee Trail Surrender.” As we meet spoiled, rich Keturah Caldwell, her family has been abducted by Creek Indians. While two young warriors of the tribe desire Keturah or her sister, the safety of the girls relies of a marriage of convenience. How long will Keturah look only for escape back to her former way of life? Can she accept her unwanted marriage and learn to trust her new husband and God Himself? Will Keturah understand she doesn’t have the resources in herself to make her iwn way in life?

“Where had her beauty, her education, and her spirit gotten her? Defenseless and alone in enemy territory.”

I especially love how Wildcat recignizes a kindred spirit in Keturah and gives her the name he himself bears. Plus, he realizes, as he considers his past and her situation, they are not so different. “Tears he could never show burned behind his eyes. They had more in common than she would ever guess.” Of course, he eon me over with his gifts!

Notable Quotables:

“‘You set your course in life by how you rise to hardship.”- Mrs. Foote

“Had God sent the Caldwell women to remind him of who he had been? Of an identity he had given up? To find out who he might have become?”

Lastly, but just as historically and romantically enticing is Susan F. Craft’s novella, Wagon Road Serenade. Craft explains the history briefly of the great wagon train road, which is helpful.  A young woman, Elizabeth Stanton, has suffered shame in England, and now travels on the wagon train to South Carolina to teach in a girls’ school. The wagon driver is a single trapper, James Morgan, who is returning to the town, Graniteville, where the school is located. Elizabeth proves herself kind, puts others first, and is very courageous (as well as musical and beautiful. How can James reconcile this personality with the rumors he hears of her in Pennsylvania? Many tense adventures await these two as they slowly discover the other’s real person and their lives become enmeshed with others surrounding them. Loved it! 

Notable Quotables:

“Divorce. Adultery. Betrayal. He knew the bitterness of betrayal…Honesty and loyalty meant everything to him.” – (James)

“Have courage, little one. God is with us no matter what happens. Keep hope and pray without ceasing.” – Elizabeth

“How many times have I fallen to my knees and asked You for forgiveness, and how many times have You answered me with grace?”-James

I received a copy of the book from CelebrateLit. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Magnificent! Each story was everything I’d hoped for from that author, tying in with other books of theirs that I have previously read.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 11

Artistic Nobody, July 12 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 13

Texas Book-aholic, July 14

Jeanette’s Thoughts, July 15

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, July 16

Tell Tale Book Reviews, July 16

Lyssa Loves Books, July 17

lakesidelivingsite, July 17

Guild Master, July 18 (Author Interview)

Books You Can Feel Good About, July 19

Cover Lover Book Review, July 20

Simple Harvest Reads, July 21 (Guest Review from Donna)

Holly’s Book Corner, July 22

Fiction Book Lover, July 23 (Author Interview)

Pause for Tales, July 24

Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, the Wild Heart Authors aare giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/7zZDM/freed-by-the-frontier-celebration-tour-giveaway
BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, New-to-Me Author, Purchase

For This Very Purpose by EJ Ashmore Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE

Author: EJ Ashmore

Genre: Biblical Fiction/young adult

Release Date: October 15, 2025

Sixteen-year-old Eliza has accepted life as a Hebrew slave in Egypt, never to be seen, heard, or loved. After all, she has it good, working alongside her sister for the wealthy Ameneten family. Though unworthy of love, she is free to love others, and she loves her master’s oldest son, Seti (unbeknownst to him).

Only when Moses returns to the land of Egypt to free his people is she emboldened to pray to the ancient God her mother used to speak of, and she prays for the love of Seti, but only if he first rejects his gods and falls for the Hebrew God.

As the God of gods hardens Pharaoh’s heart, He softens Seti’s and pursues him with a love Seti has never known, while also shining His face on Eliza who learns she is indeed worthy of love.

This is the Exodus as told from both Eliza and Seti as a love story between God and His people, God and Seti, and Seti and Eliza.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

EJ Ashmore, a mother, wife, and a nurse, only wrote for fun as a teenager. Once babies and college got in the way, she stopped, but she also no longer wanted to write unless it was for God. When her son was 15 and trying to grapple with why God would harden Pharaoh’s heart, then punish him, she took to writing again. Best to show him rather than explain it. But then Joel Richardson’s SINAI TO ZION came out, and she fell in love with how the whole exodus and wilderness scenario was God’s love story- from pursuit, winning the love of the people, to betrothal, complete with a wedding supper which has yet to happen. It’s a literal play-by-play of the ancient Jewish wedding customs, but so is Christianity. Not only that, but human marriage was designed to reflect God’s desired relationship with His people.

This became EJ’s passion: to demonstrate this in a story for young people, as is to reach the average teenager who feels unworthy of God’s (or anybody’s) love.

FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE comes from Exodus 9:16 and is EJ’s debut novel.

More from EJ

When Lisa Phillip’s son was 15 and trying to grapple with why God would harden Pharaoh’s heart, then punish him for it, she took to writing. Best to show him rather than explain it. But then Joel Richardson’s SINAI TO ZION came out, and she fell in love with how the whole exodus and wilderness scenario was God’s love story—from pursuit, winning the love of the people, to betrothal, complete with a wedding supper which has yet to happen. It’s a literal play-by-play of the ancient Jewish wedding customs, but so is Christianity. Not only that, but human marriage was designed to reflect God’s desired relationship with His people.

This became Lisa’s passion: to demonstrate this in a story for young people, as is to reach the average teenager who feels unworthy of God’s (or anybody’s) love.

FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE comes from Exodus 9:16 and is Lisa’s debut novel. Since there is already a well-known author by the name of Lisa Phillips, a pen name was chosen.

My Impressions

“Who was she to talk to this ancient God? She had nothing with which to sacrifice or gain His favor. Nothing but herself.”

For This Very Purpose, (a story of the Exodus) by EJ Ashmore, is so engrossing and suspenseful, I had to give it five stars! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started Ashmore’s debut novel. I was sure happy to find a list of characters at the front ( that always makes me happy). I take a picture of those lists and put them in my notes to refer back to as I read, if necessary. The book is what it purports to be: a love story between God and His people, God and Seti, and Seti (an Egyptian priest-in-training) and Eliza (one of his family’s slaves.) 

Eliza is a young 16-yr-old slave who develops a crush on the master’s slightly older son. A forbidden relationship if ever there was one. Seti is arrogant, selfish, and cruel, finding ways to humiliate the young slave in front of his friends. But when Eliza becomes fed up with the Egyptian family’s cruelty, her actions that bring calamity may create room for something new. I was amused to realize that both Seti and Eliza tend to jump into things and think about consequences later, but these tendencies make for a very tense novel! 

Seti has an enormous growth arc throughout the story. He starts out cruel, except to his closest friends and family, and arrogant (names places after himself- “My Mesa,”  “the S-Curve”). Seti doesn’t believe slaves can have thoughts worthy of sharing, and even when with Sabu, his best friend, he doesn’t realize a relationship is a two-way street, with both parties being equal. 

But I loved seeing his growth from worshipping the gods of Egypt, which is truly his heritage as a priest, to considering the claims of the God of the Hebrews. As each plague strikes Egypt, Seti puzzles and agonizes over why the particular god of Egypt doesn’t respond to save the Egyptian people. In one desperate appeal to a god, Seti, in his brash, entitled way, breaks a law that threatens to unravel his whole life. Which gods or God will look upon him with favor? The ones he’s dedicated his life to, or the Hebrew God who Eliza claims keeps promises to His people, who uses difficulties to turn them back to him? 

“The Hebrew God cares for his people. He fights for them and loves them. Our gods don’t love.” 

Wow! The plagues themselves are so well described. I would have hated to be in total darkness. And with the darkness threatening the sanity of creatures? Oy! I could smell the stench of the dead fish of the Nile, the dead frogs (after the 3 days of frogs everywhere!), the deafening roar of the locusts. The horrors felt very real, and go on and on. 

I felt the book does a good job of explaining the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.  I would not recommend this book for “young adults” on the lower end of the age range due to subject matter including the detail and discussion of the priestessess’ duties and circumcision. Still, in the mature reader’s hands, a very impactful book. 

I received a copy of the book from CelebrateLit. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“His God proclaimed He raised up Pharaoh for this purpose, and that He will display His power over him. That’s why Pharaoh won’t listen. The Hebrew God isn’t finished displaying His power yet. Pharaoh is a son of the gods, right? The spirits of Isis and Osiris are in him. This is a war between gods, and the Hebrew God wants us to witness it.”– Seti

“…nothing would return to normal. The damage had been done, and the end result would be either a heart of stone or of flesh.” – [the chills of this statement, applicable to so many in the story!]

“You want to guard your heart from ungodly things as well as ungodly patterns of behavior, speech, and thoughts. They become who you are otherwise. It’s kind of like hardening your heart toward those ungodly things. But hardening your heart can manifest as stubbornness, an unwillingness to let God change you for the better and protect your soul.” – Aharon

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Magnificent! I felt like I was there, as both an Egyptian and a Hebrew, to see the plagues take place! I had to feel like I would have certainly been convinced to follow the God of the Hebrews-if I had been an Egyptian!!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, July 8

Simple Harvest Reads, July 9 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, July 10

Artistic Nobody, July 11 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 11

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 12

Guild Master, July 13 (Author Interview)

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, July 14

Fiction Book Lover, July 15 (Author Interview)

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, July 16

The Bookish Ledger, July 17 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, July 17

The Bookish Pilgrim, July 18

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, July 19 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, July 20

Books Less Travelled, July 21 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, EJ is giving away the grand prize of a $75 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/tMHcl/for-this-very-purpose-celebration-tour-giveaway

ARC, Barbour, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, NetGalley, Purchase

The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town (Enduring Hope Book 5)

Author: Naomi Musch

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: June, 2026

Past and Present Collide on the Railway

When life seems weighed down by challenges, there are always pillars of enduring hope and love to be discovered.

Lily Mae Dodge flees Wyoming by night to find her mother, who sent her west on an orphan train ten years ago. After she’s arrested in Chicago, help comes from a man with a rare vision impairment whom she only just met on a train. Francis Basnett is a roustabout for the famous Hagenbeck-Wallace circus, where he helps Lily gain employment. Their friendship grows into more, and it seems Lily is closer than ever to finding her mother. . .until the night a rogue troop train slams into the stalled circus train, killing dozens and splintering hope.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Naomi Musch is an award-winning author who writes from a deer farm in the pristine north woods of Wisconsin, where she and husband Jeff live as epically as God allows near the families of their five adult children. When not in the physical act of writing or spending time loving on her passel of grandchildren, she can be found plotting stories as she roams around the farm, snacks out of the garden, and relaxes in her vintage camper. Naomi is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Wisconsin Writers’ Association, and the Lake Superior Writers. She loves engaging with others and can be found all around social media or at her site.

More from Naomi

Did you ever dream of running away with the circus? I must admit, it was never something I imagined doing, but like most kids of my generation, my wonderment did soar the first time I stepped foot beneath a “big top”. Some of those sensory memories stayed with me through the decades since, and of course, made their way into my novel. Nowadays, the trains or wagons no longer roll into town. There are very few circuses still around.

I grew up in the region not far from Barnum and Bailey’s Circus World in Wisconsin, but when traveling circuses were at their peak (much earlier than my day, I will add), there were nearly 100 of them traversing the country, nearly a third of them by rail. One of the largest was the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus based in southern Indiana. (Originally northern Indiana, but they transitioned to a warmer location where they wintered their animals.) They traveled in two trains—one that hauled the animals, laborers, and roustabouts, and the other that hauled the performers with their families and other work staff.

The circus was a city within itself, and more importantly, it became like family to most of the performers. Into this world is where my cast of characters gathers in The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town. Lily Mae Dodge is in search of just such a place to call home and people she can think of as family while she searches for her mother, lost to her when she was sent west on an orphan train as a child.

I never imagined myself writing a circus story, but when I learned about the real-life history of the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus, and tragically, the terrible circus train crash that stands as the most devastating in history, I needed to get to know some of the performers and people who worked there. I also wanted to add my own characters in a way that would bring this historic circus family to life. To tell the story of the crash, it was important to me that I do it in a way that would honor the lives and memories of those who were involved.

“Tomorrow’s Town” is a circus phrase referring to the place of the next show. The traveling circus season was a busy one, and sometimes performers who were already looking ahead to the next show simply referred to the next location as “tomorrow’s town.” While The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town is set in 1918 during WWI when the tragedy took place, it is primarily a story of hope, dreams, love, healing, and found family.

I hope you enjoy Lily and Francis’s story, and that you’ll settle into dazzling discovery with the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus!

My Impressions

“He might not see well, but everything about Lily was perfectly clear. She was searching for home, possibly for the mother who had never returned to claim her.”

The Girl from Tomorrow’s Train by Naomi Musch is a five-star read for me! Published by Barbour as part of its loosely connected series Enduring Hope, this is book #5. Sent West on an orphan train at nine years old, Lily Mae Dodge escapes a life of enforced slavery with her adopted family. Traveling East on a train, she meets Francis Basnett, a young man whose curious eye condition prohibits him from joining the War efforts in 1918. 

This novel is so many things. It is a historical romance. It is a story of an American tradition- the orphan train- that helped many, but harmed just as many, while adults turned a blind eye to children’s suffering. It is the tale of a young woman searching for the acceptance and love that she was denied as a child, her soul searching for answers.  

We also see a young man whose eye disease makes him the object of unaware society’s scorn. A young man who thinks his inability to see reflects on his ability to be the man God made him to be. Musch presents the historical Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train wreck of 1918, the largest and most disastrous circus train wreck in history. More than that, we are treated to a slice of life under the Big Top, backstage with the workers who  become family for each other. Faith shines through in the dark of the tragedy, and hope is born again.

Francis quickly falls for Lily, but feels himself unworthy. He realizes how much Lily is winging her every decision, and invites her to join him in working for the circus. He often encourages her in her faith, with sayings like this: “He’s a big God. There’s no telling what He’ll accomplish through your prayers. The charge to pray might seem simple yet be bigger than you know.” How I loved that reminder for my own life. And, he is so kind, so patient, and thoughtful of Lily. I was always rooting for the two of them, but Francis about “slew” me when he spoke a certain phrase to Lily, in a voice she couldn’t hear, but in the pattern in which she often speaks aloud to herself!

Lily grabbed my heart from the get-go, in her suspenseful escape, her cautiousness, and her need for someone to love her. Yet, she opens her heart to the people around her: first, Jenny; then Alice and Leslie. She looks for ways to help in the search for survivors among the train wreck and to offer aid. And finding Suzie, Lily recognizes and fills a big need. I also loved the way Lily helps Francis as she acts as his eyes, whether alighting from the train, or reading the news to him. Then…how do you describe colors to someone who had never seen them? “Pink is the first breeze on a summer morning, tingling up your arms with the dawn.” No wonder Francis falls hard!!

One paragraph made me especially think. 

“People happily came to see the shows and delight in the thrills, but many believed that the folk who lived and worked with the circus were mostly freaks and shysters. At best, they viewed them as a peculiar lot and not meant to associate in pubic life.”  THIS MAKES ME SO SAD!! But it is such a true statement of how we as society pass easy judgment, often ignoring the fact we’re guilty on the other hand of promoting an activity or (particpating in one) we claim is wrong. 

I received a copy of the book from CelebrateLit. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables: 

“It’s not ridiculous to want to go home.” A puff of air escaped her lips. “Is there such a place?” – Francis, Lily

“I can’t give up on the future. I must cling to hope if it takes my last breath.”- Lily

“God didn’t promise to remove our suffering while we’re here, but He promises to be the lap we can climb into while we go through it. He will hold us and love us through. He’ll give us peace.” – Francis 

“A still, small voice whispered into her ear that this was how it should be, that something good could come of her own hard past.” -( Lily)

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior! I love these stories of historical fact woven into fiction, where I learn so much while being entertained and built up in my faith at the same time. The romance doesn’t hurt!😁😮

Blog Stops

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 1

Simple Harvest Reads, July 2 (Author Interview)

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, July 3

Artistic Nobody, July 4 (Author Interview)

Life on Chickadee Lane, July 5

Connie’s history classroom, July 5

Guild Master, July 6 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 7

Fiction Book Lover, July 8 (Author Interview)

Pause for Tales, July 9

The Bookish Ledger, July 10 (Author Interview)

Cover Lover Book Review, July 11

Holly’s Book Corner, July 11

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, July 12 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, July 13

Books, Books, & More Books, July 14 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Naomi is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon e-Gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/M32Wq/the-girl-from-tomorrows-town-celebration-tour-giveaway

BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, Purchase

The Escape Game by Gina Holder Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

(My note for my regular blog visitors. Yes, you have seen this post before. I mistakenly signed up for the book in two different review teams. Fortunately, it’s such a great book, it deserves a second go-round!! Sooooo… here we go!!)

About the Book

Book: The Escape Game (The Game Masters Book 2)

Author: Gina Holder

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: May 5, 2026

20 years ago, the world’s leading enigmatologist disappeared…

Demi Kayne, owner of a popular puzzle shop, has spent years searching for her father, who vanished without a trace. When she cracks the code he left behind, the trail leads her to a secluded mansion—and straight into danger.

Liam Shepherd, a missionary with a passion for puzzles, is desperate to find his missing sister. His investigation brings him to Silver Falls, where his path collides with Demi’s in ways neither of them expects.

Drawn into a deadly escape game designed by a brilliant and vengeful mind, Demi and Liam must unravel twisted riddles and confront buried secrets before time runs out. Losing could cost them everything. Their faith and each other may be their only means of escape.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Gina Holder is a Christian award-winning author of romantic suspense and cozy mysteries filled with faith, intrigue, danger, romance, and epic twists you’ll never see coming.

She’s had an infatuation with books for as long as she can remember. She loves sharing uplifting messages from God’s Word and introducing readers to new and new-to-them authors on her blog.

When she’s not writing, Gina enjoys playing the piano, cooking, reading, watching Hallmark mysteries, and solving “escape room” puzzles. She loves growing in her craft as an author. She published her debut novel in 2017. Gina lives in Wyoming with her husband and daughter.

More from Gina

The Book I Almost Gave Up On

When I turned in the first full draft of The Escape Game last September, I hated it.

Not in a playful, self-deprecating way. I really, truly hated it.

I had that awful, hollow feeling in my stomach. The one that whispers, This isn’t good enough. You aren’t good enough. Why did you ever think you could pull this off?

Honestly, I believed this book was beyond my abilities.

And it was.

But I forgot I have Someone on my side who can do all things.

Back in 2022, this story idea was supposed to be simple. A shorter novel inside a collection. I had a fun premise, a few intriguing characters, and a basic plot: a second chance romance with the two main characters locked in a deadly mansion.

Easy peasy, right?

Wrong.

I realized the story needed space to breathe, so I wrote something else for the collection, and put this story back on the shelf until the right time.

Fast forward to 2025. The Escape Game was proposed as book 2 of The Game Master series.

I started writing. Characters pushed back. They wouldn’t talk. Inside my head, there was silence.

Some books flow. This one fought.

I wrestled with tone and pacing. I rewrote entire sections only to delete them again. Scenes that sparkled in my head fell flat on the page. I second-guessed everything.

My heroine was supposed to be the faithful Christian girl who wins the bad boy to the Lord.

She wasn’t.

And my hero? He was all wrong.

So, I did something terrifying.

I replaced him.

Completely.

I created an entirely new character—Liam Shepherd.

On the surface, Liam was perfect—kind, protective, devoted to the Lord, close to his family. Every Christian girl’s dream.

But fiction doesn’t work that way. Perfection isn’t compelling.

I asked God to show me Liam’s wound.

When it came, I cried.

No, I bawled like a baby.

Liam wasn’t abused. He didn’t come from a broken home. He had love and stability. Then tragedy struck, and he faced a choice.

He chose wrong.

And it haunted him.

But the troubles were far from over.

This wasn’t just a tricky plot or a stubborn manuscript.

This story touched some deep places in my own heart—places I didn’t expect to have to revisit. Writing it meant digging into tender, uncomfortable emotions, facing truths about fear, grief, and courage that I hadn’t fully confronted. It hit a little too close to home.

Some days it felt less like writing fiction and more like surgery.

And surgery is exhausting.

By the time I reached the end, I wasn’t excited. I was just tired. I turned it in because it was due, not because it felt finished.

Then the editing began.

If drafting this book was wandering through a dark forest, editing was finally being handed a flashlight. Sentences tightened. Motivations clarified. Scenes I thought were essential were cut, and others grew stronger. What felt hopeless started to feel possible.

Slowly—painfully at times—the story started to come into focus.

My editor asked hard questions. I rewrote the entire book. (Not completely, but it felt like it.)

Each round of edits chipped away at the parts I disliked and revealed the story underneath—the one I’d been trying to tell all along.

Somewhere along the way, something unexpected happened.

I stopped hating it.

More than that, I started to like it.

Everything clicked. The story finally had the depth—and the heart—it had been missing.

And now, sitting on the other side of the process, I can honestly say something I never imagined saying last fall:

I’m proud of The Escape Game.

Not because it’s perfect—no book ever is—but because it represents persistence. Growth. The courage to dig into hard places and stay long enough to find the heart of the story.

And that heart is what I hope you feel when you read it.

What started as a small, simple idea grew into something deeper than I expected. Something that required more from me than I thought I had to give.

And in the end, it became something God and I built together.

This book reminded me of something important:

We’re all first drafts.

God is shaping us, molding us … and we fight back. We look at our lives and wish things were different. We replay our wrong choices. We feel regret, frustration, and fear.

Sometimes, we even hate what we see.

But hating your draft doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6 (KJV)

It just means God isn’t finished yet.

And sometimes, the stories we struggle with the most end up being the ones we’re proudest to hold in our hands.

My Impressions

“Something in his gut warned this would be unlike anything he’d ever faced before. Were they up to the challenge?”

Whew! I am never going to be able to do another escape room! The Escape Game, bk 2 of The Game Masters series, by Gina Holder, kept me spellbound and enthralled.  This gripping, romantic suspense novel of chilling proportions stands well on its own. I had not read the first book, but now, of course, it’s on my TBR pile!

I was reminded of a Shakespearean tragedy set in current times as I read through this nail-biting suspense. Poor grown-up Demi, puzzle solver extraordinaire with an IQ off the charts, desperately seeking the love and affirmation that she missed all her life. Her father disappears when she is younger, and she feels abandoned by any who may get close to her. Her intelligence level and social awkwardness allow her few friends. Then her best friend, Maddie, gives her unsettling news. As she meets Liam, a daring missionary and escape room solver expert, she develops a tenuous bond as they search for his sister. Yet, she realizes as their dangerous search of an unknown real-life escape experience escalates, Liam, too, has future plans that don’t include her, should they be so fortunate to escape alive. 

“Trust—the word hit like a gut punch. It hurt to trust—people always let her down. Abandoned her when she needed them.”

Liam is a great, noble, selfless, brave, daring, and handsome young man who is frantically searching for his missing sister.  Joining forces with Demi, the two form an attraction which Liam realizes will not last, given Demi’s lack of true belief in God. He shares his faith with Demi whenever he can, but Demi has learned to protect her heart and believes her intellect and self-sufficiency will eventually save her. 

My Rating

There are some great twists involved in the story, that threaten to rewrite the narrative. A great look into different kinds of relationships and how they affect the human behavior. And how God is willing to step in and re-direct our stories, forgiving the unthinkable, IF we will let him!

Don’t miss this book!! I know I won’t miss another of Gina Holder’s in this series!

I received a copy of the book from the author through CelebrateLit. I also bought my own ecopy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“This was not the lost-and-found box. These were trophies. And someone was still collecting.”

“You can’t win by playing smarter. You need a Savior, not a strategy.”

“Pride is the monster; humility is the key.”

“My IQ would make Einstein jealous.”

“The eagle does not fight the snake on the ground. It changes the battlefield.”

“Because forgiveness doesn’t mean pretending it didn’t hurt.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior!! If you’ve never read this author’s romantic suspense, you’ll be in good shape if you start with this series!

Blog Stops

SydneySchmied books, June 26

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 27

Lyssa Loves Books, June 28

Book Looks by Lisa, June 28

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, June 29

Inspired by Fiction, June 30

Texas Book-aholic, July 1

For Him and My Family, July 2

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 3

Holly’s Book Corner, July 4

Mary Hake, July 5

Pause for Tales, July 6

Cover Lover Book Review, July 7

The Lofty Pages, July 8

Lights in a Dark World, July 8

Lily’s Corner, July 9

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Gina is giving away the grand prize of a copy of The Puzzle Within and a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/P1o9U/the-escape-game-celebration-tour-giveaway