BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Kindle, Purchase

Hidden Danger by Gail Pallotta Review and Giveaway

About the Book

Book: Hidden Danger (Discipleship Series Book 1)

Author: Gail Pallotta

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release date: August 21, 2024

After Emily Hanover’s left standing at the altar in Blue Mountain, North Carolina, she goes to Sky High Campground to put her life back together. Because it’s February and few people come here this time of year, she’s alone on the premises. When noises in the middle of the night frighten her, she gathers her courage and peeks outside. A man carrying a body over his shoulder emerges from the dark shadows onto her front yard. Horrified, she collapses onto the floor.

The next morning, she visits ex-military. officer turned security guard, Nick Lancaster. He listens intently to Emily, but dismisses her claim of foul play as a hunter carrying a deer. Finally, after he sees a freshly dug hole in Emily’s yard and finds two more in the woods, he agrees—there’s suspicious activity. Then he and Emily embark on a mission exposing murder and a far-reaching sinister plot, neither suspecting danger can bring romance.

Click here to get your copy

About the Author

Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. A 2013 Grace Awards finalist, she’s a Reader’s Favorite 2017 Book Award winner, a TopShelf 2020 Book Awards Finalist and a Top Author pick. She’s published seven books, poems, short stories and several hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. She enjoys connecting with readers.

More from Gail

The story behind Hidden Danger started with my love of mysteries and suspense, which began many years ago when I discovered Nancy Drew. Then I wanted to become a detective. That didn’t happen, but I turned my heroine, Emily Hanover, and the hero, Nick Lancaster, into amateur sleuths.

The granddaughter of a minister who planted churches in the far reaches of the Western North Carolina Mountains, I grew up at the foothills of them. As I pondered the setting for a good mystery, the area with lots of underbrush and caves offered opportunities for suspenseful scenes.

Emily works as a newspaper reporter, a job similar to one I had in a public relations department under a retired Associated Press guy. My husband was in the military. After all these years of marriage, I’m familiar with that type of personality, so Nick is an ex-military guy turned security guard.

Emily goes to the campground to find peace and comfort after she was left standing at the altar  on her wedding day. To say she has a chip on her shoulder over men is an understatement. The only true love Nick ever had died while he was overseas. Guilt because he couldn’t be by her side plagues him. He believes he’ll never love another.

Emily meets Nick because her first night at the campground, she sees a man carrying a dead body. Or, does she? Thus, a mystery in the Western North Carolina Mountains begins.

My Impressions

“She could trust Jesus no matter how confusing or turbulent her life grew. He remained the same and He still loved her.”

Emily Hanover certainly has had some turbulence in her life, and it’s about to ramp up! Gail Pallotta, author of Hidden Danger, has put Emily in the unenviable position of being jilted at the altar. To escape reminders of her ex-fiancé, Emily leaves her job as a crime reporter at a small paper for a vacation in the North Carolina mountains. Choosing a small, empty campground, instead of peace and quiet Emily finds disturbing things going on. But can she convince the security guard that what she saw is worth investigating?

Camp security guard Nick Lancaster, fresh out of the military, is barely holding his life together after his fiancée’s death. Yet something about Emily attracts him. And Emily seems to be good at attracting trouble! Will the two broken-hearted young people put aside their hurts and help each other as it appears there is murderous danger nearby?

I was most impressed by Emily’s ability to see beyond the outside of a person. “She focused on the man’s twisted half smile. What turned him into a criminal?…The more important question was—what had gone wrong with his heart? His mind?” At this point, I wouldn’t have cared about the person, I’d be getting myself far, far away fast! It is very interesting what Emily is willing to do as she uses her Father’s eyes to see the worth of a person. 

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

Notable Quotables:

“Love isn’t like tea in a pitcher. Love never runs out. There’s plenty of it to go around for everyone.”

“Sometimes I have this voice inside my brain that tells me to do something because it’s the right thing to do.”

“she’d been so lost in pain, she didn’t know she needed a friend.”

“Admitting her spirit was injured had freed a tiny piece of dirt from her heart as though the mountain breeze had blown it away.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great!

Blog Stops

Leslie’s Library Escape, February 8

Texas Book-aholic, February 9

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, February 10

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, February 11

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 12

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 13

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 14

Blogging With Carol, February 15

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 16

For him and My Family, February 19

Stories By Gina, February 18 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, February 18

Simple Harvest Reads, February 19 (Author Interview)

Betti Mace, February 20

Book Looks by Lisa, February 20

Lily’s Corner, February 21

Giveaway

To celebrate he tour, Gail is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon 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.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54150

BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour

Ghosted at the Altar, #3 New Cheltenham Shopkeepers by Chautona Havig and Giveaway

About the Book

Book: Ghosted at the Altar

Author: Chautona Havig

Genre: Christian fiction, Christmas romance

Release Date: September, 2020

Ghosted at the Altar -sm

He’s goin’ to the chapel and he’s gonna get… ghosted?

Guys don’t always “get into” the whole wedding thing, but there’s one thing Mitchell Bogaert has been anticipating for the last two years–that first glimpse of Brenna coming to meet him at the altar. So, when the back doors open to reveal a missing bride, he’s shocked, disappointed, hurt, angry–pick your negative emotion. It probably fits.

Brenna Kinsey didn’t know she’d bolt at the last minute, but now she’s trying to figure out what happened and how to prevent it happening again before Mitchell decides she’s not worth the emotional trauma–or the town drama!

Lauren Kinsey, on the other hand, is more than just the kid-sister bridesmaid. She’s a self-proclaimed sleuth and determined to ferret out the problem, arrive at a solution, and get things back on track before broken hearts shatter into more pieces than Humpty Dumpty.

Time’s running out, only the bride and groom don’t realize it. How will Lauren fix this mess before the “clock strikes midnight” and there isn’t a ghost of a chance to save the marriage that never got a chance to be?

Click here to get your copy!

My Impressions

I honestly wasn’t sure what to think of Ghosted at the Altar by Chautona Havig for much of the story. Brenna flees her wedding to Mitchell but still loves him and wants to marry him? There’s a very unusual premise.
What made me like this novel was its ending. All of the sudden, I ”got it.” What had previously made little sense to me before, now made perfect sense. A literary coup d’etat as Brenna, Mitchell, and Brenna’s sister, Lauren, travel from the botched wedding to the finale. Havig took me from incredulity to applause. I do wish some of the characters had more openly shared their feelings. Unfortunately, many times people choose not to be transparent, and life truly is as messy as the novel.


Lauren was an amazing character. She often seemed to be the one in the ”mothering” position of the two orphaned girls, although she was only fourteen.
I also loved finding out just exactly why Aunt (gimme) Mercy was called that. Hilarious!


I received a copy of the book from the author through Celebrate Lit. I am voluntarily leaving my thoughts, and all opinions are my own.

My Rating

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great!

About the Author

Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name

More from Chautona

How Did One Silly Story Become a Favorite Series?

Dickens and his revival of the “ghost story” at Christmas inspired the kick-off book in a series I’d planned almost twenty years ago. The little village of New Cheltenham first appeared in None So Blind and Thirty Days Hath…. However, the touristy village with its obsession with all things English was actually conceived almost twenty years ago!

That first book… still isn’t in print. I’ve reimagined it, and it will be coming out soon. However, Dickens… well, that guy has a way of getting under your skin, and what better place for a Dickens Ghost Storytelling Contest than in a village that looks ripped from England’s countryside?

The Ghosts of New Cheltenham was born. I actually thought it would be a great way for me to force myself to finish that book I’d started so long ago. But then Amanda Tru sent me a message that said, “We’re going to do one about wedding dresses,” and Something Borrowed, Someone Blue became the second book instead. I wanted more of Mitchell, Brenna, and the loveable Lauren, so I concocted a story that would give me just that.

Is it any wonder, then, when Amanda messaged again with our next collection theme of jilted brides or grooms, I immediately thought, “Oh, dear! What if Mitchell got ghosted at the altar?” That is the fastest title I’ve ever come up with!

Because one more Christmas story in New Cheltenham wasn’t quite enough, I set a third one there this year! The Bells of New Cheltenham. In that one, Mitchell is done with this ghost storytelling stuff and starts a contest of his own!

While you can read these books as stand alones (both mine and the ones within the collections), mine will be a richer reading experience if they are read in the following order

The Ghosts of New Cheltenham (read the companion short story free on Kindle Unlimited HERE)

Something Borrowed, Someone Blue (in The Wedding Dress Yes CrossRoads Collection)

Ghosted at the Altar (in the Five Gold Rings CrossRoads Collection)

The Bells of New Cheltenham. (in the Melodies of Christmas Love Collection)

(note, the last two really can be read in any order.)

How did my silly idea for a plasmaphobic guy who had to tell a ghost story to inherit spark one of my favorite series? All things considered, how could he not?

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, December 7

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 8

CarpeDiem, December 8

Inklings and notions, December 9

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, December 10

For Him and My Family, December 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 11

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, December 12

deb’s Book Review, December 12

Artistic Nobody, December 13 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

Holly Jo Morris, December 13

Ashley’s Bookshelf, December 14

Pause for Tales, December 14

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 15

Blogging With Carol, December 15

Lots of Helpers, December 16

Captive Dreams Window, December 16

Sara Jane Jacobs, December 17

Vicky Sluiter, December 17

lakesidelivingsite, December 18

Rachael’s Inkwell, December 18

She Lives To Read, December 19

Mary Hake, December 19

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 20

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away  the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!

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

https://promosimple.com/ps/1045d/ghosted-at-the-altar-celebration-tour-giveaway