Tag: Christian Romantic Suspense

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Sabotage Games by Danielle Grandinetti Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Sabotage Games by Danielle Grandinetti, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Book Info

Title: Sabotage Games
Series: Di Stasio Giornaliste Agency #2
Author: Danielle Grandinetti
Publisher: Hearth Spot Press
Release Date: September 22, 2026
Genre: Historical Romantic Mystery

Who will pay the ultimate price for Olympic Gold?

LAKE PLACID, N.Y., 1932—Sports journalist Emma Hancock is determined to claim her place in the press box, despite the male colleagues who slam the door in her face. But when a mysterious illness begins systematically sidelining athletes, Emma’s gift for spotting patterns reveals a plot far more sinister than mere competition.

With the Games in his own backyard, Olympic sprinter Ryan Callahan laces up his speed skates to compete in his first winter games. He has no time for distractions—especially not the inconvenience of the beautiful female journalist staying as a guest in his family’s crowded home.

But when the pattern of sabotage deepens, Emma and Ryan must work together to follow the threads before they become the next targets to fall.

La Verità con Integrità. Truth with Integrity. The Legacy of a (Girl) Stunt Reporter.

A 1930s Historical Romantic Mystery

This page-turning novel offers a sweet, slow-burn romance mixed with cozy suspense. Set during the historic III Olympic Winter Games—the first year women’s speed skating was featured—it unfolds against the snow-covered, high-stakes press boxes of Lake Placid, New York, in 1932. Perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and J’nell Ciesielski looking for an inspirational read.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Danielle Grandinetti’s Shop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub

More Books in This Series

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Meet the Author

Danielle Grandinetti writes award-winning 1930s historical romantic mystery and suspense. She is the 2026 Holt Medallion winner and a second-generation Italian-American. Fueled by tea and nature, she crafts hope-filled historical romance novels exploring immigrant heritage, found family, and cozy Midwest traditions. Find her at daniellegrandinetti.com.

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My Impressions

“That is not all that women can do. They can be queens and heads of state. Doctors and business women. I think it’s amazing what these female athletes can do here at the Olympics, and we should definitely have more females in sports.”

Such an impassioned speech by Danielle Grandinetti’s main female character, Emma, in Sabotage Games. Ali has sent a couple of the reporters of the all female DiStasio Giornaliste Agency undercover to the Lake Placid Olympics in 1932. Emma and Lena (a political journalist) meet a Federal agent on the train who befriends them and joins them in their adventure. Billeted at the Callahan home because the Olympic Village was not yet created, nor were female reporters well-received in the hotel that housed reporters, Emma meets Ryan, a contender in the men’s speed skating competition. 

Whew! Emma is not your usual female. She loves to play baseball, cannot stop talking sports if given the chance to start, and isn’t afraid to pursue the stories surrounding the male athletes. But the times mold people and most refuse to take a female reporter, especially a sports reporter, seriously, casting aspersions and difficulty Emma’s way every chance possible. 

I loved Emma and Ryan’s story. I especially love the way Emma sacrifices for and builds up Ryan truthfully, not with platitudes. I love the way Ryan begins to see how beautiful Emma is, inside and out, and supports her as best he can. Each learns to appreciate the other as they see respect being given towards them, in a way unusual from the opposite gender. 

When the needed snow doesn’t appear, Ryan remarks that the weather is not the biggest problem the Olympics are having, but it is rather a mysterious illness. Can Emma work with Ryan, Lena, and Noah to find out who is sickening the athletes and why? Or will the character attacks by the other reporters, especially as they begin to notice the time Ryan and Emma are spending together, end any hope of success for either Emma or Ryan?

I loved racing through the pages, trying to get ahead of the plot enough to figure out who was causing the great difficulties and who was actually being targeted. “Sports is a team effort. No one wins or loses because of one person. Okay, maybe one person makes a spectacular play, or a horrible play at an inopportune time. But it is a team of spectacular athletes that wins at team sports.” So says Emma, and she’s right. But it also takes a team of investigators, reporters, family, and friends to dive deep enough into the mystery to uncover the hidden answers. I loved how Sabotage Games is at once a romantic suspense, an inspirational read, a history lesson, and a political lesson as well. So many threads, all well connected, coming together slowly, at just the right time! 

We see real-life famous people from the Olympics, a famous politician, real heart attitudes, and real firsts-like the first women’s sports in the Olympics and the first Olympic Village. 

Just in case you think your heart is settled when you finish the book, we are given a sneak peak at Lena’s story. And can I say it involves a brother of one of my fave Grandinetti characters? Oh, dear, I’m sure I might see a swoon coming on!!

I received a copy of the book from the author and JustRead Tours. I also bought my own ecopy, and will be purchasing a pb for the trophy shelf. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“We are commodities. People watch us, they place bets on us, and when we don’t perform, they toss us aside or they blame us for losing their paycheck.”

“I found that a wonderful way to discover a story is to be present. Let the story come to me, instead of trying to chase one. Oftentimes, an angle I didn’t expect pops up because I wasn’t looking for it.”

“…I know I am a reporter of integrity and that’s what matters.”

 “it’s not about how you do in a race, it’s about who you look for when you cross that finish line.” 

“But I cover sports because … perhaps there’s another family out there that needs to know their child is succeeding.”

And the quote that made me want to cry because of its context…

“ The hardware is nice, but when you reach that finish line, it’s who you want to celebrate with that really matters.” (The speaker is a quiet gem!)

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Superior! Danielle Grandinetti once again knocks it out of the park with this story of women sports reporters, the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics, and political intrigue! Run now to get your copy!

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Want to Win? ( Tour Giveaway)

(2) winners will each receive a paperback copy of Undercover Wish & Eyewitness Sketch!

The Fine Print

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 22, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 29, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Enter Giveaway

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Get more opinions and chances to win!

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

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High Exposure by Kelly Borjas Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for High Exposure by Kelly Borjas, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Book Details

Title: High Exposure
Series: Jagged Edges #1
Author: Kelly Borjas
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: September 15, 2026
Genre: Romantic Suspense

The riveting start to an adventure-driven romantic suspense series from a debut author

Determined travel blogger Julia Stevens is on her final assignment in snowy Silverberg, Colorado. She’s running from her past—and God—but the charm of small-town life brings little comfort when she’s face-to-face with the winter sport that killed her sister: skiing. Upon her arrival in town, she discovers a dead body and is quickly compelled to research the situation, give justice to the man’s story, and kick off her new career in journalism.

Cade Haskins is back home after a failed mission and his subsequent retirement from the DEA. His father’s declining health has pushed Cade to prioritize family, and he helps at the historic Silverberg Hotel on his dad’s behalf. When Julia shows up at the hotel, Cade becomes her local contact. He quickly realizes she has a knack for sniffing around where she shouldn’t, and he attaches himself to her side.

With the local death connected to a meth ring, Julia’s investigation has unknowingly put a target on her back. As the danger increases and she begins to learn more about Cade and his family, she finds herself trusting the God she was running from. And Cade? He doesn’t want to get dragged back into DEA work, but it seems like he may not have a choice if he wants to protect Julia . . . and his growing attraction to her.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Kregel Books | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub

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Author Details

Kelly Borjas grew up in Southwest Colorado and later moved to Southern California. She has a degree in communication studies from Biola University and a master’s in leadership and organizational studies from Azusa Pacific University. She is a cohost of the Lit Ladies podcast. Find her at kellyborjas.com.

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My Impressions

“The time had come—to face her past … and her future.”

Why should you  pick up High Exposure, Bk 1 of Jagged Edges, from debut author Kelly Borjas? To be honest, covers can make or break a book. This one lets you know you’ll be frozen cold along with the characters before you’re very deep into this great romantic suspense novel. Brrrr! And a travel blogger? Right now, in America, there are some very successful individuals visiting different sites, taking pictures, trying local food offerings, and describing local scenery to invite tourists. And this is exactly what our determined heroine, Julia, is doing for a living. Plus, the locale? A small, obscure town in the wintry Colorado mountains. Yes, please! I want to visit Silverberg! Or maybe not, there may be a little too much tension and cooking going on in that small town, and not the legal kind! Now, attach the Kregel publishing name to a book, and I am convinced I am going to love the book. Last, but not least, Kelly’s literary agent is Lynnette Eason. There’s a very well-known name in romantic suspense that promises this book will be well-worth the read!

And it is! While Julia’s attempt to outrun a tragedy in her past sends her touring the States as a photo-journalist for a travel magazine, her real desire is to become a news journalist. Can her depiction of a dead-in-the-winter Colorado mountain town boost the town’s winter tourism and help the town’s hotel (that Cade’s family owns)? Will that be enough to move her into the realm of serious reporting? Little does Julia know the avalanche that will begin to build slowly when she first enters town to find a very unpleasant surprise in her rental air bnb!

Thanks to his dad’s cancer battle, Cade has recently returned home to Silverberg to help run the hotel. Now, in his dad’s sickness, former DEA agent Cade needs to show newly arrived photo-journalist Julia all the alluring winter possibilities of Silverberg. Unfortunately, getting stalked, threatened, and facing constant danger from an unknown source might put the town in the most positive light. Can Cade run the hotel, protect Julia, protect his DEA association, and protect his heart from the beautiful travel blogger as well? 

Borjas quickly got me invested. The town seems so picture-perfect in so many ways. Until Julia’s present begins to unravel, a bit at a time, just as she’s struggling to put it back together.  “If she were still a praying woman, she’d ask God for a solution. But she’d abandoned that faith element the day Nikki had died.” Julia convinces a grudging, hot-and-cold Cade to help her investigate the mystery she lands in the middle of. But the deeper they delve into trying to solve the oddities of the town, the more complex their relationship becomes, as both try to keep secrets yet work together. 

Themes running through the novel are family, belonging, faith, secrets, meth, DEA, travel photographer, skiing, and Colorado. 

I’m already looking forward to Borjas’s second book, Dark Chasm. I need more of Cade’s family! I received a copy of the book from the author and publisher through JustRead Tours via NetGalley. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“…you don’t have to be all things to all people. You’re human and can ask for help, even if you’ve messed up before.”…

“Especially if you’ve messed up before.”

“He would choose to be thankful today for all that he had. No one ever knew how much time was left. But they had today.”

“Men like to give solutions to problems. Women just want to be heard.”

“As a writer, I work to convey the beauty around me—sometimes it’s in the orthodox; other times it’s in the unorthodox that beauty shines. Most of all, truth and love showcase beauty, shining through despair and lies.”

“Struggles create either endurance or termination. As humans we must decide whether to pursue the challenge or give up.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superb! A very exciting start to an amazing new romantic suspense series from debut author Borjas! More, please!

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Want to Win? (Tour Giveaway)

(1) winner will receive a signed copy of High Exposure, a bookmark, and a $20 Amazon gift card!

The Fine Print… because, of course, it’s necessary!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 15, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 22, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Want more opinions and info?

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

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Shadowing You by Robin Patchen Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: Shadowing You (The Wright Heroes Book 10)

Author: Robin Patchen

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release Date: September 8, 2026

When the wife he believed dead calls from China, an ER doctor races to find her before her enemies silence her forever.

Ethan Wright never recovered from the death of his first love.

Six years ago, Mei Lin discovered evidence linking powerful officials to a human trafficking ring. She planned to smuggle the details out of China and join her new husband in America—but COVID sealed the borders before she could escape. Snatched by the men she’d been investigating, she was wrongfully imprisoned while authorities claimed she had died in quarantine. Now, Mei Lin’s sudden release doesn’t mean she’s free.

Ethan will stop at nothing to get his wife out of China, but he has no idea where she is. He must reach out to his estranged father, a former CIA agent who has powerful connections. With his dad’s help, Ethan begins a desperate search. He finally finds Mei Lin, but she refuses to run without the evidence that could expose the conspiracy—and ensure they’re never hunted again.

Reunited after years apart, Ethan and Mei Lin must rediscover the love they thought they’d lost—while staying one step ahead of enemies who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden.

From a USA Today bestselling author… You’ll love this heart-pounding suspense and gripping romance as Ethan and Mei Lin discover that real love is strong enough to survive anything.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Robin Patchen is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Christian romantic suspense. She grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, the setting of her Coventry Saga books, and then headed to Boston to earn a journalism degree. Working in marketing, she discovered how much she loathed the nine-to-five ball and chain. After relocating to the Southwest, she started writing her first novel while homeschooling her three children. The novel was dreadful, but her passion for storytelling didn’t wane. Thankfully, as her children grew, so did her writing ability. Now that her kids are adults, she has more time to play with the lives of fictional heroes and heroines, wreaking havoc and working magic to give her characters happy endings. When she’s not writing, she’s editing or reading, proving that most of her life revolves around the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Visit robinpatchen.com/subscribe to receive a free book and stay informed about Robin’s latest projects.

More from Robin

Saying Goodbye to Shadow Cove

When I typed the last sentence of Shadowing You, the final Wright Heroes of Maine book, I was dehydrated from all the tears I’d shed. These Wrights feel like family to me. I can’t imagine leaving them behind.

From about book five, I knew about Ethan, the son his father kept secret. I didn’t know his plot yet, though. When I met Mei Lin and understood where she’d been for the last six years, I couldn’t wait to share their story.

But first, I want you to get to know Gavin.

The Wright family has two branches. Roger Wright and his wife, Peggy, raised six sons on an apple farm in central Maine. Roger was a physician who never put his work ahead of his children. He was steady and present, the kind of man his boys grew up wanting to be.

His brother Gavin is a different story. He was a CIA officer, gallivanting the world while his wife, Evelyn, raised their five daughters. For most of the girls’ lives, he was distant and guarded, always one assignment away from coming home. Even after he retired from the CIA, he started a business that kept him close to DC—and far from his family in Shadow Cove.

None of those girls knew anything about their father’s son.

Ethan was raised by a single mother in Virginia. Gavin supported them but visited on his own terms. Ethan grew up knowing he was his father’s secret, too shameful to share with Gavin’s real family.

All Ethan ever wanted was a family of his own, which might be the reason that, when his girlfriend finished nursing school and returned home to China, he followed her and proposed. They were married the same week. But after the honeymoon, Ethan had to return to the States, and Mei Lin had to stay in China until her visa came through.

It should have been a matter of weeks, maybe a couple of months at most. But the pandemic hit. And then Mei Lin disappeared. A few months later, Ethan and her parents got word that she’d contracted the disease and died.

But Mei Lin isn’t dead. Six years ago, she uncovered a human trafficking ring and started gathering evidence against the man in charge. She didn’t know he was on to her until she was arrested and thrown into prison. Nobody came to visit her, not her parents, not her brother, and not the husband who’d promised to love her forever. A few years into her imprisonment, she lost hope that she’d ever be freed. And then, after six torturous years, she was released—just like that.

She might be out of prison, but her enemy can’t let her escape from China. Mei Lin calls the husband who left her to rot, not asking—or expecting—anything from him except some money to help her get to safety.

She certainly doesn’t expect him to fly around the world to find her.

But Ethan hasn’t forgotten Mei Lin. Now that he knows she’s alive, he’ll do everything in his power to get her to safety, including rushing into a country he barely understands. And reaching out to the father he rarely speaks to.

But Gavin isn’t the only one who jumps in to help Ethan and Mei Lin escape China. I won’t spoil it for you, but I know you’ll enjoy seeing some old friends in this story.

Thanks for spending your valuable time in Shadow Cove. Enjoy one last story before you move on to your next destination.

As for me, I’ll be just up the coast in Briar Bay, Maine, where three castaway children…

Well, we’ll talk about that one next time.

My Impressions

“The Lord sees you. The Lord knows you. The Lord loves you.” 

These words, first spoken by an old lady in prison to Mei Lin, find purchase all the way through Robin Patchen’s last book of The Wright Heroes of Maine, Shadowing You. How long will it take these words of positive, Biblical affirmation to break through the negative words planted in Mei Lin’s mind early in life by her grandmother? 

Freed from prison China after 6 years, but realizing she has a mortal enemy, Mei Lin contacts her American husband, Ethan Wright. Ethan is stunned to hear from Mei Lin, whom he was married to very briefly before he left China. While waiting for her visa to come through, he was informed six years ago that she contracted the plague and died during the pandemic. 

From one stunning connection to another, Ethan reaches out to his estranged father, Gavin Wright, for help in locating Mei Lin in China and getting back out again.  

Expect the usual high adventure, constant movement, imminent danger, and romantic suspense built around faith that Patchen weaves into all of her stories. Because this is the series wrap-up, we get to see the hidden son (Ethan) decide whether or not he is an accepted part of the Wright family, plus character growth in the patriarch of this branch of the family, Gavin Wright. And we see a beaten-in-spirit woman. Can she ever recover who she was originally? To understand all the moving pieces and players, this book needs to be read as the last of its series. Otherwise, I believe one might be overwhelmed by the huge number of Wright family members who populate the novel’s pages. 

Words that come to mind to describe the book might be control, worthy, seen, trafficking, mistake, found family, betrayal, assumptions,and loved. 

If you dare open this book, try to read fast. The tension will force you to race your thundering heartbeat and the action to discover if Ethan and Mei Lin and their allies can indeed escape China and be safe from those who will stop at nothing to hide their secrets. We say goodbye to the Wrights, but Patchen holds out an ocean of hope for a new series, starting with The Castaways in January. I’m there!! 

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

Notable Quotables:

“You can be right about everything,” his mother used to say, “or you can be happy. You get to choose.”

“Our God is a God of miracles, sweetheart. There’s no heart He can’t reach.” 

“You’re priceless, so obviously, you can’t be more trouble than you’re worth.”

“You’re priceless because Jesus says so. And I happen to agree. I would sacrifice all that I am and all that I have for you.”

“One step at a time. Okay?” She put her hand in his. “But we do not know the steps.” “We’re going to have to trust God to lead us.”

“Why grieve a storm before it happens?”

“He liked to believe he was in control. China had torn that fantasy to shreds.”

“And love didn’t weigh a person to decide whether she was worth the cost. It simply gave everything it had. It wasn’t about what she was worth or he was worth. Love was worth the sacrifice.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior! Loved the story, the character growth, the family warmth.

Blog Stops

Book Looks by Lisa, September 9

lakesidelivingsite, September 9

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 10

Texas Book-aholic, September 11

For Him and My Family, September 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 13

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, September 14

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 15

Blossoms and Blessings, September 16

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, September 17

Mary Hake, September 17

Holly’s Book Corner, September 18

Cover Lover Book Review, September 19

Pause for Tales, September 20

Devoted To Hope, September 21

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, September 22

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Robin is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card and a copy of Anchoring You!!

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

https://gleam.io/VphI6/shadowing-you-celebration-tour-giveaway

ARC, BLOG, Kindle, NetGalley, New-to-Me Author, Partners in Crime Tours, Purchase, Revell

When the Silence Breaks by Elizabeth Goddard Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

Welcome to the Blog Tour Hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for When the Silence Breaks by Elizabeth Goddard!

About the Book

WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS

by Elizabeth Goddard

August 3 – 28, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

A deathbed confession. A decades-old secret. A mountain that holds the answers–and danger closing in.

When intelligence analyst Sarah Ellison learns of her grandfather’s deathbed confession connected to her brother’s murder, she’s determined to protect her remaining family. After further investigation, she discovers the disclosed information points to a decades-old government secret buried deep in the Cascade Mountains. With this knowledge, she looks for a guide who knows the terrain like the back of their hand.

After his father’s death in a tragic mountain accident, former Navy SEAL Ryder Goodwin no longer guides for the family business. At first, Ryder refuses to help Sarah, but he sees the trouble chasing her and can’t stand by while someone brings danger to his small-town mountain community.

Ryder and Sarah gear up to climb the mountain in a race against time and a looming storm. When the danger escalates, their search for answers shifts to a survival mission. Their only chance to make it through involves trusting each other and confronting the truth no one wants them to find.

This gripping romantic-suspense thriller set in the Pacific Northwest from USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard is a series opener that will sweep you away in a rush of adrenaline.

Book Details:

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense
Published by: Revell 
Publication Date: August 4, 2026
Number of Pages: 352 
ISBN: 9780800747688 (ISBN10: 0800747682)
Series:MERCY RIDGE, Book 1
Book Links:AMAZON | KINDLE | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOKSHOP.ORG | CHRISTIANBOOK | AUDIBLE | GOODREADS | BOOKBUB | BAKER BOOK HOUSE

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Author Bio

Elizabeth Goddard is the USA Todaybestselling and Christy Award-winning author of more than sixty-five novels. She is a Carol Award winner, a two-time Reader’s Choice Award winner, and a Daphne du Maurier Award and HOLT Medallion finalist. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, traveling to find inspiration for her next book, and serving with her husband in ministry.

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Connect with Elizabeth Goddard

ELIZABETHGODDARD.COM

AMAZON AUTHOR PROFILE

BOOKBUB -@ELIZABETHGODDARD

INSTAGRAM – @ELIZABETHGODDARDAUTHOR

PINTEREST – @ELIZABETHGODDARDAUTHOR

X – @BETHGODDARD

FACEBOOK – @ELIZABETHGODDARDAUTHOR

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My Impressions

“Secrets can’t stay buried forever.” 

What an à propos opener for this hard-hitting, fast-paced inspirational romantic suspense, When the Silence Breaks, by Elizabeth Goddard! Ex-CIA agent Sarah Ellison has lost both her husband and now her brother to nefarious events. Leaving her only two remaining family members, her sister-in-law, Tessa, and 3-yr-old Jeremy in a safe house, Sarah handpicks a wilderness survival guide to take her into the Cascade Mountains. Only one problem there- former Navy Seal and mountain trail guide Ryder Goodwin is no longer accepting assignments on the mountain. I thought the first meeting of Ryder and Sarah is quite memorable. Def not a meet-cute, though! 

“Family is everything,” says the broken compass Sarah has of her grandfather’s. Sarah is determined to finish what her brother Aaron started, and find out what got him killed. What secret did their grandfather(who raised the two of them)divulge to Aaron as he was dying, that led to Aaron’s death? If “family is everything,” is a motto that Ryder also lives by, it may explain why he refuses to re-address the mountain where he saw his father die. I appreciated the way this motto actually carried throughout the book. 

I was a little less happy by how much time Sarah and Ryder spend deciding whether to trust each other. Each has a reason, very viable reasons, for their secrets. Yet, once they decide to be partners, I was amazed at how much info each can keep close to the vest. In a need-to-know situation, where the two end up on a dangerous volcanic mountain known for avalanches, somehow the wrong people know more of the truth than Sarah and Ryder. Can they let down their guards enough to totally trust each other with their histories and their hearts? 

I was totally impressed with the amount of research it must take to understand various mountain conditions, government agencies, WWII secrets, chemical safety precautions, whew! My mind just spun with all the information Goddard would have had to compile to compose a book with this many varied elements. 

The action seemed to really pick up, once I hit the 40% mark or so. I enjoyed the unexpected twists. I may have gasped aloud at some of the revelations.  Finally, both the reader and the characters are beginning to get a grasp on how dangerous this particular mission for justice is that Sarah has embarked on. 

Since this is book one of the Mercy Ridge Series, I am eager to see where Goddard will take the next characters of the town and just who the mcs will be. 

I received a copy of the book from Partners in Crime Tours via NetGalley. I also bought my own ebook. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“Sarah might just be in full-blown panic. The agency training hadn’t taught her how to navigate the very heart of her soul being in jeopardy.”

“Because now, her mission wasn’t about exposing the past. It was about preventing the future.”- ( Sarah)

“But it was too late for Ryder—Sarah Ellison had gotten under his skin the moment they’d survived a mudslide together.”

“this isn’t some kind of effort on your part to redeem the past, is it?”

“He didn’t like caves because they came with too many unknowns. But if they were going to find the truth, they had to walk straight into the dark.” – (Ryder)

“Once . . . she’d been good at her job with the federal government. She’d left that part of her life—left the secrets, the lies, and the burden of knowing too much—behind. But sometimes, the past didn’t let go so easily.” -( Sarah)

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great! I will def be in line for the next book in the series, featuring Holt Goodwin and slated for release in February of 2027.

Tour Participants

Click through the other tour stops for can’t-miss reviews, insider interviews, exclusive guest posts, and more chances to win!

1.

08/06 BOOK REVIEWS FROM AN AVID READER WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

2.

08/07 INKWELL INSPIRATIONS WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

3.

08/08 JODYS BOOKISH HAVEN WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS SHOWCASE

4.

08/08 THE AR CRITIQUE WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

5.

08/09 MELOPLANNER WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS SHOWCASE

6.

08/10 SARCASTICALLY YOURS, JEN WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS SHOWCASE

7.

08/12 BABBLING BECKY L’S BOOK IMPRESSIONS WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

8.

08/13 COUNTRY MAMAS WITH KIDS WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

9.

08/14 SOPHIAROSE1816 WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

10.

08/15 FROM THE TBR PILE WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

11.

08/17 FUONLYKNEW WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS SHOWCASE

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Find Out More About WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS on Amazon+1

08/18 DEAL SHARING AUNT WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

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08/18 FUNDINMENTAL WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

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08/19 NOVELS ALIVE WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

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08/19 THE PAGE LADIES WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

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08/20 DIANAS_BOOKS_CARS_COFFEE WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

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08/20 SILVERS REVIEWS WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS SHOWCASE

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08/21 PAT FAYO REVIEWS WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

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08/25 GUATEMALA PAULA LOVES TO READ WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS SHOWCASE

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08/27 A ROOM WITHOUT BOOKS IS EMPTY WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS REVIEW

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08/28 TEATIME AND BOOKS WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS SHOWCASE

Giveaway

This giveaway is hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for When the Silence Breaks by Elizabeth Goddard. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS by Elizabeth Goddard

Terms And Conditions:

There will be ONE (1) winner, US-ONLY, for this tour. The winner will receive a print edition of WHEN THE SILENCE BREAKS by Elizabeth Goddard AND a $25 Bookshop.org gift card. The winner will be emailed and have 48 hours to respond or the prize will be awarded to a different contestant. This giveaway is open to all eligible participants in the US.

One Winner Per Household. Please Do not enter if you have won a prize from this author in the past year so that someone else may have a chance to win. THANK YOU.

  • All entries are verified. Any entry that is incomplete, inaccurate, or awarded to a participant in a country of origin not allowed/specified in the drawing rules will be disqualified. 
  • A working and monitored email address must be shared to win. That will be the method by which winners are notified.
  • By entering this giveaway you consent to join the monthly email list featuring updates on the current Partners in Crime & Providence Book Promotions giveaways. Otherwise, your email address will be used for this giveaway and will not be shared or sold. Occasionally, the author may send an email asking you to join their list.
  • Winners will be notified from the email address gina@partnersincrimetours.com OR gina@partnersincrimetours.net. Check your spam and promotions folders for these limited-time acceptance emails.
  • Gift cards will be issued from US accounts and are primarily valid only in the USA. There will be no transfer to a different country or currency. Most gift cards will only be usable in the US. 
  • Tweets, Posts, and Follower Lists must be public to confirm eligibility. Locked accounts and private tweets/posts will be disqualified.
  • Neither Partners In Crime Tours (PICT), Providence Book Promotions (PBP), the publisher, nor the author is responsible for lost or damaged awards emailed, mailed, or shipped. We reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries if the rules or intent of the giveaway are not followed.
  • One Winner Per Household. Please Do not enter if you have won a prize from this author in the past year so that someone else may have a chance to win. THANK YOU.

Giveaway Link Below!

https://www.promoamp.com/c/when-the-silence-breaks-by-elizabeth-goddard

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

ARC, BLOG, JustRead Tour, Kindle, New-to-Me Author, Purchase

Crossbones by C.C. Warrens Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

Welcome to the JustRead Tour for Crossbones, by C. C. Warrens.

About the Book

Title: Crossbones
Series: A Holly Novel #6
Author: C.C. Warrens
Publisher: Independently Published
Release Date: May 15th, 2026
Genre: Romantic Suspense

“Sticks and stones will break your bones, if you make me hurt you.”

Some truths are better left buried, but Jace Walker is determined to unearth the skeletons in her family’s closet. Leverage is all she needs to keep her brother alive, and she’s willing to risk everything to save him.

Even her life.
But is she willing to risk the lives of her friends?

Holly and Jordan take on the case, but what should be a simple investigation takes a deadly turn when they stumble onto a murder. Family secrets are the least of their concerns as their path intertwines with a killer intent on remaining hidden.

He doesn’t want to be found.
He doesn’t want to be known.
And anyone who threatens his anonymity dies.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Buy from the Author | Amazon | BookBub

More in This Series

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About the Author

Jesus and laughter have brought C.C. Warrens through some very difficult times in life, and she weaves both into every story she writes, creating a world of breath-stealing intensity, laugh-out-loud humor, and a sparkle of hope. Writing has been a slowly blossoming dream inside her for most of her life until one day it spilled out onto the pages that would become her first published book.

If she’s not writing, she’s attempting to bake something—however catastrophic that might be—or she’s enjoying the beauty of the outdoors with her husband. One of the many things she’s learned since she started this journey is that the best way to write a book is to go on a long stroll with her husband. That is when the characters—from their backgrounds to the moments that make them laugh or bubble over with anger—come to life.

Connect with C.C. by visiting ccwarrens.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email updates.

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My Impressions

“I survived, and I wouldn’t give the rest of my life over to bitterness. Whatever days I had left were mine, and I would focus on the joy rather than the pain.”

Whew! I have safely survived reading Crossbones, A Holly Novel #6, by C. C. Warrens! I thoroughly enjoyed myself as I journeyed with Jordan, Holly, Sam, and Jace through the dangerous and complex cold case of Jace’s brother, Scott. This is the first C. C. Warrens book I have read. I must say, while I would not suggest most pick up the series this far through, Warrens gives enough backstory that this novel made perfect sense. Will I have spoiled previous novels? Perhaps, but more so, I now need all the deets that I just have an inkling of, in so many cases. So, now I need to go back and read all the Holly series books! 

Jace, a young woman from one of New York’s most affluent families, is suing her mother in court for the power of attorney rights over her comatose brother, Scott. Jace idolizes her big brother, and even though he’s been kept alive by machines for four years, she is certain her mother has an ulterior motives in wanting to pull the plug. So, Jace hires her best friend’s boyfriend’s detective agency to discover her mother’s secret. Time is essential, and Holly, part of the JGH agency, refuses to stand by, as requested, and let her boyfriend, Jordan, investigate by himself. Noble of her, but after reading just a few paragraphs, the reader will be pretty uncertain Holly has the physical prowess to defend herself. 

While headstrong Holly is begged by both her boyfriend and her police officer “dad” to be careful and do nothing on her own, somehow… she sure gets herself into lots of situations that require either a quick escape or a rescue! Holly has a strong faith that she tries to share with her bestie, Jace, as they work the case. “Church is not gonna fix this.” “It’s not about fixing things. It’s about drawing closer to God and letting Him fill you up when the world has drained you dry.” Unfortunately, Jace has been indoctrinated against Christianity from her mother. 

One question is often at the forefront of Jace’s mind, and also Holly’s. What happened that caused Mrs. Walker to turn her back on her son? Why is Mrs.  Walker such a difficult, controlling person? The answers are very shocking! 

Warrens does show a bit more detail of the crimes than some authors. However, no more than one might see on an intense crime show mystery. What I absolutely love about her writing is the way she inserts such humor into very tense situations. I actually laughed out loud many times just after I had bitten my nails down! I’ll never see Chia seeds the same! 

And just when I thought it was safe to peek out from under the covers… Bang! Huge plot twist! Well-played!! 

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

Notable Quotables:

“I know that, too often, people dismiss the truth because it’s easier to cling to what they already believe, even if that belief is wrong and harmful.” – Holly 

“I’ve seen a lot of people sink so deeply into their anger that it consumes them, and eventually, it’s all they have left. I don’t want that for you.” – Holly

“Before was a concept I knew too well. The life, dreams, and identity that existed before tragedy tore them away and forced a person to start over.” (Holly)

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior! Chilling romantic suspense with messages of Hope and Faith. Recommended!

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a grand prize of a signed Crossbones paperback with bookmark, sticker, character art card, and a $10 Amazon gift card!

Up to (5) winners will each receive an ebook of Crossbones, delivered via Bookfunnel!

Up to (4) winners will each receive an audiobook download of Crossbones!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight May 25, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 1, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only for grand prize. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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

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Anchoring You By Robin Patchen Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

(Note: I am late with this post due to a family emergency. I notified Celebrate Lit that this would be late. Thank you for your understanding!)

About the Book

Book: Anchoring You

Author: Robin Patchen

Genre: Christian romantic suspense

Release Date: May 12, 2026

On the glittering waters of the Caribbean, a yacht captain’s fight for survival forces her to rely on a man she swore she’d never trust. 

A fiercely independent yacht captain, Kenzie Wright has spent her life disregarding her family’s expectations. She thrives on freedom, charting her own course, and never staying in one place—or with one person—for long. But when a routine voyage thrusts her into the crosshairs of a deadly drug cartel, her carefully crafted agenda is blown apart. Her last hope to save herself and her crew is the partying playboy, Jaz.

DEA informant Jasper Aylett has spent years hunting the cartel leader known only as “the Phantom.” The mission has cost him everything—his family, his reputation, and his chance at redemption. When a beautiful yacht captain gets caught in the Phantom’s web, Jaz risks his life to rescue her. It’s his last chance to secure the information he needs to take his enemy down—and get his life back.

Kenzie is forced into hiding with Jaz, and now two cartels want her dead. With their lives on the line, Kenzie and Jaz must work together to unravel the Phantom’s network before it’s too late. But the closer they get to the truth—and to each other—the more their past wounds and buried fears threaten to tear them apart, leaving them vulnerable to an enemy who won’t stop until they’re both destroyed.

From a USA Today bestselling author… Don’t miss this heart-pounding suspense and swoon-worthy romance as Kenzie and Jasper discover their fight for survival—and for love—can only be won together.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Robin Patchen is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Christian romantic suspense. She grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, the setting of her Coventry Saga books, and then headed to Boston to earn a journalism degree. Working in marketing, she discovered how much she loathed the nine-to-five ball and chain. After relocating to the Southwest, she started writing her first novel while homeschooling her three children. The novel was dreadful, but her passion for storytelling didn’t wane. Thankfully, as her children grew, so did her writing ability. Now that her kids are adults, she has more time to play with the lives of fictional heroes and heroines, wreaking havoc and working magic to give her characters happy endings. When she’s not writing, she’s editing or reading, proving that most of her life revolves around the twenty-six letters of the alphabet.

More from Robin

Too Far Gone? Writing a Prodigal Hero

When I started writing Anchoring You, I knew the hero was going to be a challenge.

On the surface, Jaz is everything my heroine Kenzie despises: a charming playboy who flits around the Caribbean with a different woman on his arm every week and a drink perpetually in his hand. When he tries to get to know her, she wants nothing to do with him. She’s heard the rumors. She knows exactly what kind of man he is.

Except she doesn’t know the real Jaz. Nobody does.

Underneath the polished persona, Jaz is drowning. A gambling addiction led to crushing debt, which led to a desperate deal with a dangerous man, which led to five years of living undercover as a DEA informant. He’s lost everything that matters—his money, his reputation, his relationship with his brother, Noah, and most painfully, his daughter Charlotte, whom he left with Noah to keep her safe from the criminals who control his life.

Somewhere in the midst of all that, Jaz also lost his faith.

The Prodigal Who Doesn’t Come Home

We all know the parable of the prodigal son. He squanders his inheritance, hits rock bottom, and returns to his father’s open arms.

But what happens when the prodigal believes he’s wandered too far, done too much, burned too many bridges to ever find his way back?

That’s Jaz’s life when we first meet him. He tells Kenzie at one point, “I’m not sure if I left Him or if He left me, but God and I haven’t had a relationship since I was a teenager.”

Jaz isn’t angry at God. He’s not wrestling with doubt. He’s just disconnected. Numb. He made choices that spiraled out of control. People got hurt, and somewhere along the way, he decided that men like him shouldn’t expect grace.

I think a lot of people can identify with Jaz, even if their circumstances aren’t as dramatic as his. It’s not always a crisis of faith that pulls us away from God. Sometimes it’s shame, the quiet belief that we’ve disqualified ourselves. We believe grace is real, just not for us.

A Faith That Doesn’t Preach

Kenzie could have lectured him or quoted Scripture at him. But Kenzie, a strong believer, doesn’t preach. Instead, she lives her faith, acting on what she believes. In one quiet conversation, when Jaz confesses how far he’s fallen, she offers him truth without judgment:

“There’s no such thing as too far, Jasper. Not with God.”

Kenzie’s relationship with God is evident in how she treats people, how she handles fear, how she extends grace to a man the world has written off. Kenzie’s witness begins to crack Jaz’s defenses.

Writing Broken Heroes

I’m drawn to characters who carry weight—who’ve made real mistakes with real consequences, not just minor flaws designed to make them “relatable.” Jaz gambled away half his family’s estate. He slept around. He abandoned his daughter—even if it was to protect her. He spent five years lying to everyone he met.

These aren’t small things. I didn’t want to minimize them or sweep them under the rug in the rush to make him likable.

I believe in redemption. I believe people can change—not by willpower but by the power of God.

Jaz doesn’t have a dramatic conversion moment in the middle of the action. His journey back to faith starts with prayer, the gentle testing of God in moments of crisis.

And God answered, protecting and guiding him through the most difficult time of his life. When it was over, Jaz realized God had been there all along.

That’s the heart of the prodigal story, isn’t it? The father doesn’t chase the son down the road. He doesn’t force him to come home. But when the son finally turns around, the father is already running to meet him.

Jaz spent years believing he’d gone too far. Kenzie helped him see that there is no “too far” for God.

Because if grace only works for people who haven’t messed up too badly, it’s not really grace at all.

My Impressions

“But I know God is big enough for my mess, no matter how ugly it is. Which means He’s big enough for yours too. The question isn’t whether He’ll take you back. It’s whether you’ll let Him.”

What an exciting, fast-paced romantic suspense novel Anchoring You by Robin Patchen is! We have arrived at the fourth and last daughter of Gavin Wright, in the Heroes of Maine series. Kenzie has fled her father’s overprotective cocoon tendencies and has established a yacht-running business in the Caribbean. She loves the freedom of the water, and she enjoys her Caribbean life until the day her life is upended. 

Pirates attack Kenzie’s boat. Determined to protect her crew and herself, Kenzie puts on a brave front, but is rescued by an island playboy, Jaz, she had met the night before. Then the struggle begins as Jaz tries to protect her, and Kenzie strives to retain her hard-earned independence. 

Kenzie discovers that Jaz’s carefully cultivated wild reputation is a front so he can work with the DEA. He has his sights on a very big fish in the ocean, indeed! But his methods require Kenzie to trust him. Kenzie has long ago decided that no man should be in charge of her future or her choices. In a world of fast living, fast guns, and the seemingly omnipresent evil bent on their death, Kenzie’s trust in Jaz is vital. But, can Kenzie relinquish control of her life to someone else?

Kenzie slowly begins to see past Jaz’s playboy persona to his deep longing for redemption. Jaz has lost everything, and is quite sure God cannot forgive the man he has become. Once upon a time Jaz had faith. But now, he’s turned too far away, done too much to ever be good enough. Kenzie gently reminds him, “Grace is a gift. Even when you don’t feel lovable, even when you think you’ve gone too far, God is right there, loving you, holding grace out to you, waiting for you to accept it.” Another time, she builds on that and challenges him to view himself and his past with more grace. “Maybe you need to quit thinking you’re smarter than God and start seeing yourself the way He sees you.” 

I loved the high-action story and the romance that seems like it cannot go anywhere. Both main characters and a secondary one show significant growth in their lives as the book progresses. But what really stood out to me? It was Kenzie’s prayers. They were real, every day conversations with God. Neither super short nor long, just matter-of fact, here’s the issue, we need help. Plus, Kenzie is also an example of praying God’s Word back to Him. We know God’s Word is powerful. I loved those reminders of great prayers!

By the end of the book, I was so connected with the characters, I felt their cold, their terror, their confusion, and their astonishment as they finally figure out the surprising identity of the cartel! 

Another Robin Patchen book you’ll not want to miss!

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: 

“He’d lived on the edge of a sword for so long he was starting to feel the stab, the dripping blood—his own and everyone else’s.” ( Jaz)

“She’d spent years on the water because it was the only place she felt safe. She’d built a business so she could control her own life, just to wind up a pawn in somebody else’s elaborate scheme.” ( Kenzie)

“She didn’t mind being known as Jesus’s girl. She wouldn’t mind being known as Jaz’s girl either.” ( Kenzie)

“What do you see? What can you use? Don’t just react. Think. Your greatest weapon is your mind.”- Kenzie’s dad

“She’d more than “do.” She looked…she looked like the kind of trouble that could blow up his whole life.” 

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior! I always love each installment in this series, and seeing how they all fit together!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, May 25

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, May 25

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 26

lakesidelivingsite, May 27

Texas Book-aholic, May 28

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 29

For Him and My Family, May 30

Cover Lover Book Review, May 31

Book Looks by Lisa, June 1

Blogging With Carol, June 2

Fiction Book Lover, June 3 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, June 3

Holly’s Book Corner, June 4

Pause for Tales, June 5

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, June 6

The Bookish Ledger, June 7 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Robin is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card and a copy of Capturing You!!

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

https://gleam.io/XXPAN/anchoring-you-celebration-tour-giveaway

BLOG, Favorite, JustRead Tour, Kindle, Purchase, Scrivenings Press

The Escape Game by Gina Holder Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for The Escape Game by Gina Holder, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: The Escape Game
Series: The Game Masters
Author: Gina Holder
Publisher: Scrivenings Press
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Twenty years ago, the world’s leading enigmatologist disappeared, leaving behind a cipher no one could solve… not without his journal.

Puzzle shop owner Demi Kayne has spent twenty years hoping her father would return home. When she discovers his hidden journal, she finally uncovers the clue she’s been waiting for—but it leads somewhere far more dangerous than she imagined.

Liam Shepherd, a missionary and escape-room enthusiast, is searching for answers of his own. His sister has vanished without a trace, and the trail of clues leads him straight to Demi—and the secrets hidden in her father’s journal.

Their search brings them to the eerie Ives Mansion, where its brilliant and reclusive owner has designed a deadly challenge. Once inside, Demi and Liam realize they’re no longer guests.

They’re players.

Trapped inside a twisted real-life mystery game, they must solve a series of lethal riddles before time runs out. Each puzzle brings them closer to the truth about Demi’s missing father and Liam’s sister —but also deeper into a carefully crafted game where the stakes are far higher than they’re ready to face.

With the clock ticking and lives hanging in the balance, Demi and Liam must confront their fears, their pasts, and the faith that may be their only hope of escape.

In this gripping Christian suspense novel, every clue matters—and every mistake could be fatal.

Can Demi and Liam solve the final puzzle before the game ends…or will the escape room become their tomb?

Perfect for fans of Lynette Eason, Dani Pettrey, and Irene Hannon who enjoy puzzle-driven Christian suspense filled with danger, secrets, and faith under fire.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

More in This Series

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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, Whither Shall I Go, in 2017, marking the beginning of her writing career. Her works often weave themes of faith, redemption, and forgiveness, aiming to inspire readers with uplifting messages rooted in Biblical principles.

Gina is also an active member of the Christian readers and writers community and is involved in the writing community through her blog, where she shares insights, interviews, and book reviews.

Her first traditionally published novel released in June 2025 with Scrivenings Press LLC, after winning their “”GetPubbed”” contest’s grand prize.

Gina lives in Wyoming with her husband and daughter.

Connect with Gina by visiting storiesbygina.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email updates.

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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 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. 

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 JustRead Tours. 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.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior!! If you’ve never read this author’s romantic suspense, push her books to the top of your list!! Pronto!!

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $50 gift card and a copy of The Escape Game (eBook or paperback, Winner’s Choice)!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight May 5, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on May 12, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Enter Giveaway

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

BLOG, Just Read Tours, Kindle, Love Inspired Suspense, New-to-Me Author, Purchase

Guarding the Child Witness by Sharee Stover Review

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Title: Guarding the Child Witness

Series: Iowa State Troopers, #1

Author: Sharee Stover

Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense

Released: February 24, 2026

Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense

When Iowa state trooper Jaysa Camerota and her K-9, Remy, discover a scared boy trapped in a car wreck, they narrowly survive the gunfire that follows. With an unknown assailant closing in fast and the nonverbal child struggling to communicate, Jaysa is forced to accept help from her ex-fiancé, social worker Ender Hammett. Soon it becomes clear that young Trevor is harboring perilous secrets—and that someone will do anything to have him silenced. When Ender’s past becomes the key to exposing a killer, can they unravel this lethal plot…or is survival out of reach?

Get your copy here!

https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335957580_guarding-the-child-witness.html

About the Author

Colorado native Sharee Stover lives in the Midwest with her real-life-hero husband, three too-good-to-be-true children, and a ridiculously spoiled dog. A self-proclaimed word nerd, she loves the power of the written word to ignite, transform, and restore. She writes Christian romantic suspense combining heart-racing, nail-biting suspense and the delight of falling in love all in one. Visit her at http://www.shareestover.com.

My Impressions

“…they needed to get answers out of Trevor and fast, because constantly living on edge with a faceless killer coming after them was not working.”

Sharee Stover has created quite a twisty inspirational romantic suspense novel in Guarding the Child Witness. The first book of Iowa State Troopers, what a great time to get in on a new series! This is my first book by Stover, but I will be back for more!

Iowa State Trooper Jaysa Camerota is charged with the protection detail for a young boy who has seen his father murdered. This case is important to Jaysa because she is on a mission to prove through her dog, Remy, that a multiagency K-9 team program should be developed.  Remy is great at narcotics detection and also comforting people. But, Jaysa will have to successfully guard young, incident-mute Trevor for any hopes of her dream to come true. And, honestly, it does not seem very likely. At times, though Jaysa considers her ex, Ender Hammett, to be selfish, I wondered how self-serving Jaysa’s interests were. 

Then there is the ex- this is a story of lovers -to-enemies-to-more. Jaysa is dismayed when Emmet, once a police officer, now a social worker and forensic interviewer, is assigned to work with Trevor. Now she has to keep them both safe. And she is still hurting from their break-up years past. Plus, as Jaysa grumps to her dog, “Ender’s a control freak, so expect a battle of the wills at every turn. But he’s no longer a trooper, which means I have the final say between the two of us.” Things get heated, and not necessarily in a good way!

There is so much danger and action at every juncture in this story. Who is the real target? “Everyone has enemies,” he said. “My thoughts exactly. They just might not know it.”

Until Jaysa and Ender can figure this out, they might just be spinning their wheels.

I didn’t know who to finger as the suspect for most of the book. It seemed the case was so convoluted. Just like Jaysa and Ender’s relationship. They seem to soften towards each other, then take steps backwards. Can they find their way back to their former love, or will that have to be jettisoned for good?

I loved how good Ender is with Trevor, and how much Remy helps Trevor, too, but will that be enough to cure Trevor’s incidental muteness? I also liked how Jaysa begins to see the past with Ender through a more honest lens. But will she be willing to take a chance on the future- provided they survive to have one?

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

Notable Quotables:

“She’d never embraced Ender for who he was, because she’d planned to change him from the start.”(Jaysa)

“Isn’t it funny that we both found healing outside of our relationship, and in doing so, discovered our mission to help others?” – Ender

“Normally, getting him to share his feelings was akin to pulling molars from a shark with a pair of tweezers dipped in cooking oil.”- (about Ender)

“Her heart’s defrosting toward Ender had to stop. She couldn’t afford to love him again.” 

“He felt like he’d been sucked into a vortex of his past or endured surgery without anesthesia.”

“Your training trumps instincts, but your instincts enhance your training.” -Academy instructor

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed this book, my first by Sharee Stover. I hope the next in the series is just as twisty!

ARC, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, Launch Team, NetGalley, PB, Purchase, Revell

Raging Waters by Dana Mentink Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: Raging Waters

Author: Dana Mentink

Genre: Inspirational Romantic Suspense

Release Date: March 3, 2026

As the dam crumbles and water sweeps across the terrain, their battle for justice and survival is just beginning.

When Mackenzie Bardine’s brother Aaron was murdered in a drug deal gone wrong, she started a true crime podcast dedicated to exposing “Bullseye,” the drug kingpin responsible. But her protective heart has never let go of the blame she places on herself and Aaron’s best friend, Gideon Landry. On the run to the wilds of Washington to chase a recent lead, she meets none other than Gideon himself.

While conducting a wilderness survival class in remote Washington, Gideon never expected to cross paths with Mackenzie, and he’s certainly not interested in helping her after he’s already declined to participate in her vigilante podcasting. He carries a mountain of guilt about Aaron’s fatal choices, but not for the reasons Mackenzie suspects.

As killers begin to circle Mackenzie like sharks, it’s clear to Gideon she’s in over her head, and in light of his troubled past with her brother, he can’t bring himself to ignore her perilous situation. Then a flood threatens the town, turning their investigation into a race to escape the raging waters and the wrath of a powerful kingpin who wants to sink them both.

A gripping, clean romantic suspense featuring enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance, and high-stakes investigations set in small-town Washington, sweeping readers away on a turbulent wave of thrills and chills. Perfect for fans of forced proximity, wilderness survival, protective heroes, and justice-driven heroines.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Dana Mentink is a New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author as well as a two-time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, and a Holt Medallion winner. She is the author of over fifty titles in the suspense and lighthearted romance genres. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, Revell and Poisoned Pen Press.

More from Dana

I’m afraid of deep water. There. I’ve said it. I live in California, famous for beaches sand and surf. If that’s not enough, there are swimming pools aplenty. I should be enjoying the surfing, boating, kayaking, sailing culture, but I’d much rather sit on a deck somewhere and watch others partake. So what’s a gal like me doing writing an adventure that takes place as a dam rupture overwhelms a town? I love to write that type of wilderness story, where stakes are high and the help is scarce. Similar to the previous book, Fire Mountain, the characters will have to dig deep of their strength and faith to survive. And you and I can enjoy it from the safety of our decks! Are you ready? Grab your book and your cuppa and let’s go!

My Impressions

“Being around Mackenzie Bardine was hazardous to a man’s health.”

When Dana Mentink publishes a new Romantic suspense, I run, not walk, for my favorite bookstore! This newest series of hers, Elements of Danger, now includes bk #2, Raging Waters. As someone who has only experienced being on the edges of a hurricane, Mentink’s descriptions of a violent storm, waterlogged earth, and threatened dam break were terrifying. But in a good way. The kind of terrifying of watching a scary movie or choosing a wild ride at the fair. Adrenaline pumping fast, I made sure I was breathing air, not choking on water, as I swiped my pages hoping that MacKenzie ( Zee) Bardine and Gideon (Gid) Landry could learn to get along. Maybe that would make the job of staying alive and out of the enemy’s crosshairs a tad bit easier. 

Unfortunately, MacKenzie, now a cold crimes podcaster, has lost her brother Aaron a few years back. After helping police solve a few other cold cases with her results, Zee takes on her brother’s murder.  She is upset when Gideon won’t help her in her endeavors, as he was Aaron’s best friend.  “Their rapport since Aaron’s death had been at the matches and gasoline type of reactivity level.” Will the secrets that Gideon is hiding protect MacKenzie or will they backfire and leave her ripe for attacks? Fighting the awesome power of nature, some extremely powerful people, their own secrets, plus their attraction for each other…Whew! That’s a lot of conflict that makes for a very fast-moving, nail-biting suspense. Every character they meet is suspect.  Can they trust anyone they meet? Can they trust each other? Most importantly, can they trust God? 

Great twists! I loved the faith arcs, and loved how Gideon chooses to be present for MacKenzie even when he doesn’t feel like she has all the information, and she can treat him like a heel at times. As Gideon tells Zee, “I have a choice in all this, too. I choose to stay.”  Sometimes I thought he was crazy! I was grateful to still be on dry land when the book was done, feeling safe and satisfied with the mystery of the novel worked out. 

I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit via NetGalley. I also bought an ecopy, and a few pb copies for myself and a friend. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables: 

“In that moment he knew she was trapped, unable to free herself any more than her brother could from his torment. She was bound to this man by her need for revenge. It would blind her.

It would kill her.” ( Gideon)

“How easy it would be to kiss him properly, to let the feeling seep into her fragile glass heart that hadn’t beat right for a very long time. But there was such a thin coating around that battered organ. One crack, one tiny fissure and it might disintegrate into a pile of useless shards.”

(MacKenzie)

“Whom to trust? The environment might be hostile, but it was nowhere near as dangerous as a human enemy, the kind pretending to be a friend.”

“God will bring justice in this world or the next. In His time, not yours.”- Gideon

“Ugly and vengeful . . . Mackenzie wondered suddenly if that described her too. She shook the thought away. Maybe it had until Gideon convinced her otherwise. She’d let that be her core for way too long. That wasn’t the identity God meant for her, and he’d used Gideon to deliver the message.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Magnificent!! Sometimes who we think we are and who God shows us we are, are exact opposites!! What a lesson!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 3

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 3

The Avid Reader, March 3

The Sacred Line, March 4

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 4

She Lives To Read, March 5

Texas Book-aholic, March 5

Leslie’s Library Escape, March 6

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 6

Lily’s Corner, March 7

Pause for Tales, March 7

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 7

Devoted To Hope, March 8

For Him and My Family, March 8

Tell Tale Book Reviews, March 9

Melissa’s Bookshelf, March 9

EmpowerMoms, March 10

Blogging With Carol, March 10

Just Your Average reviews, March 10

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, March 11

Simple Harvest Reads, March 11 (Guest Review from Donna)

Lyssa Loves Books, March 12

Blossoms and Blessings, March 12

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, March 12

Cover Lover Book Review, March 13

Labor Not in Vain, March 13

Betti Mace, March 14

Bigreadersite, March 14

Life on Chickadee Lane, March 15

Lights in a Dark World, March 15

Holly’s Book Corner, March 15

Stories By Gina, March 16 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, March 16

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Dana is giving away the grand prize of a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a signed 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/OQ5p4/raging-waters-celebration-tour-giveaway