Tag: Lake Michigan

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Shipwrecked Faith by Danielle Grandinetti Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for Shipwrecked Faith by Danielle Grandinetti, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Shipwrecked Faith
Series: Dawning Sisters #1
Author: Danielle Grandinetti
Publisher: Ashberry Lane
Release Date: May 15, 2026
Genre: Historical Romance

Chicago, October 1929—Kellan O’Roark is running on borrowed time. After handing over his cousin’s incriminating bootlegging ledger to the police, he intends to vanish before the mobster exacts revenge. His destination: the SS Wisconsin, a steamer headed for Milwaukee, upon which he’s secured work despite his fear of the water.

But despite his pressing need for escape, Kellan faces obstacles while leaving Chicago—including one who may break open his heart. Sadie Dawning, desperate to return to her family’s Wisconsin farm and ailing father, escapes a kidnapping attempt at Chicago Union Station when Kellan steps in and offers to smuggle her aboard the Wisconsin. His decision turns nearly fatal when an autumn storm capsizes the ship.

Washed ashore, the pair arrive at Sadie’s family farm to find new storms brewing on land. While Kellan hides his past to continue evading his cousin, Sadie fights for her place among her sisters while the farm battles the beginnings of the Great Depression. Caught between duty, a dangerous past, and a budding love, Kellan and Sadie must rely on their newfound faith in each other and renewed faith in God to weather the growing storm.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | WhiteFire Publishing | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Also Available:

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About the Author

Danielle Grandinetti writes award-winning 1930s historical romance filled with mystery, suspense, and hope. She is a second-generation Italian-American rooted in Midwest traditions. Fueled by tea, books, and the creative beauty of nature, her stories explore love and belonging in hard times.Connect with Danielle by visiting daniellegrandinetti.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

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My Impressions

“She was a vulnerable, naive, beautiful soul. And he was a streetwise snitch of an orphan. Could someone like him take on the responsibility of getting someone like her home?”

Le Sigh! Instant love. Not the characters. Me for this book, Shipwrecked Faith, by Danielle Grandinetti. The first of a new series about a family of Irish immigrants, we find ourselves plunged into mystery and intrigue in the first sentence. What is Kellan O’Rourk up to? We quickly find out there is a betrayal going down, between Kellan and his older gangster cousin, Tiernan. “Family was complicated, yet family didn’t betray one another.” Especially not in October 1929 in crime-infested Chicago. Now, he must flee. 

Our heroine, Sadie Dawning, has just received a telegram summoning her home from her city job. She is desperately needed to help care for the family farm and her near- death father. 

As Sadie enters the Union Station to catch a train, she finds herself accosted by thugs. A stranger rescues her, then whisks her away through the streets of Chicago. Once they realize Sadie also needs a way home that no longer includes a train ticket, Kellan convinces Sadie to disguise herself and stow away with him on the SS Wisconsin. You’ll have to read the book to find out why that method of travel is the one Kellan is sure will keep Tiernan from discovering his whereabouts. 

I want to research this shipwreck now. One hears much more about shipwrecks on Lake Superior than Lake Michigan, and it’s easy to forget that Michigan has also buried her boats and victims. How terrifying a time Kellan and Sadie have. Can Kellan keep his promise to Sadie to deliver her safely home? “‘I’ll get you home, Sadie. I promise.’ Determination laced his tone. ‘I have my own penance to observe.’” In throes of imminent death, Kellan considers the faith of his mother. “What was he thinking? How could he consider giving his new life to God? With his past, what good could he do?” But God is at work through Mr. Downing. He reminds Kellan, “God sees the heart, and there is always hope for mercy and grace when you put your faith in His son.”

I love the many layers of this story. The physical dangers of the lake. The running from the low-level gangster. The questioning of one’s past making one unacceptable to God. The sister rivalries. Ooch, one sister tries to shoulder all responsibility in her own way, another misinterprets her sister’s intentions and holds resentment. Plus, tries to solve the family’s problems her way. Yet, another feels unseen with the badly ailing father, the “favorite” daughter (as sisters view it), and the disastrous plans of another sister. Surely she is not needed. ( I hear fodder starting for more books! I love these foreshadowed hints!) And, still more trials to surface! 

Mr. Downing, with his sickness, is a fave character as he works hard to be intentional with his daughters and now with Kellan. It’s as if he can see to Keegan’s soul.  When Kellan dodges the question of what his intentions are for Sadie, he states they haven’t known each other long. While agreeing, Mr. Dawning sees what Kellan can’t- that trials also reveal character and feelings. “Love, the kind that makes a marriage, takes time and work to deepen. Trial—the type that leaves one’s wife unable to walk without crutches or a husband unable to take care of his family—it reveals what type of love is between you.” 

I love everything that Danielle Grandinetti’s writes. Shipwrecked Faith is a great chance to get in on a new historical romantic suspense series at the beginning. Highly recommended!

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

Notable Quotables:

 “The more friction and trial that love sees, the faster and hotter the love burns. It might not look pretty, but hard times can prove love that lasts. If you can place your faith in someone to love you when the world falls apart and it strengthens that bond, then you can trust them through anything.” – Mr. Dawning

“Nothing for it but to put one foot in front of the other. To trust God to work out the future while being faithful in the here and now.”

“The words worked themselves past his pride, cracking open a place in his heart he had never planned to unbury.” ( Kellan)

“He’d read her like a book, and she had no way to hide the truth from him.” (Sadie)

“He’d never been a hero before and, right now, he felt like one.” – (Kellan)

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior! I always exit a Grandinetti novel with deep satisfaction, but deep regrets that it’s over. Shipwrecked Faith continues in that wonderful tradition!

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a paperback copy of Shipwrecked Faith, paperback journal, and Danielle Grandinetti tote bag!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight May 19, 2026 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on May 26, 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 the policies found here.

Enter Giveaway

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

ARC, BLOG, Favorite, Kindle, Purchase

Confessions to a Stranger by Danielle Grandinetti Review

Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Title: Confessions to a Stranger

Series: Harbored in Crow’s Nest

Author: Danielle Grandinetti

Publisher: Hearth Spot Press

Released: March, 2023

Genre:Christian Historical Romantic Suspense

She’s lost her future. He’s sacrificed his. Now they have a chance to reclaim it—together.
Wisconsin, 1930—While fleeing for her life, Adaleigh Sirland’s rescue of a child introduces her to a family who provides her safe harbor. When her identity comes under threat of exposure, she must choose between running once more or helping the man who teaches her to hope again.
First mate David Martins is intrigued by the mysterious woman taken in by his grandmother, but she wrestles with a troubled past. When his estranged father is arrested for murder, can David put aside his own struggles in time to discern which secret threatens Adaleigh before it kills them both?
Welcome to Crow’s Nest, where danger and romance meet at the water’s edge.

Get your book here!

https://amz.run/6L9d

(Signed pb). https://bit.ly/CtaS_pp

Danielle Grandinetti

Inspirational romance author, Danielle Grandinetti, writes both historical romantic suspense and contemporary sweet romance. An avid reader, she became a book blogger in 2016 and has been reviewing books since. She also won the University of Northwestern Distinguished Faith in Writing Award.

Danielle’s educational background includes an M.A. in Communication and Culture from Trinity International University, a B.A. in Communication from Louisiana Baptist University, and an A.A. in Biblical Studies from New Tribes Bible Institute, as well the Apprentice, Journeyman, and Craftsman Level certifications from the Christian Writers Guild. She has taught college courses on intercultural communication and group dynamics at Trinity International University and worked for twelve years as a virtual middle school writing coach.

Originally from the Chicagoland area, she now lives along the Wisconsin shoreline of Lake Michigan with her husband, their two young sons, and Labrador puppy. Find her online at daniellegrandinetti.com.

My Impressions

Wow! This great historical, romantic suspense novel by Danielle Grandinetti had me reading very, very slowly.

Let me tell you why I read Confessions to a Stranger so carefully. I just didn’t want it to end, and am in awe at Grandinetti’s writing style. This amazing feeling gradually overtook me after we have met both Adeleigh Sirland and David Martins. Grandinetti slowly reveals the character of each, but includes great humor. “Mustache stuck out a bony hand to help her up as Handsome leapt to his feet in one lithe movement. “( How can you not laugh at the nicknames Adaleigh gives to strangers?!) Not a humor book, Grandinetti inserts her trademark wit at precisely the right points to ease a little tension. “Detective O’Connor’s eyebrow twitched like an electrocuted cornstalk.” And how could I not stop to admire the poetic beauty of lines like this: “an evolution of emotion charged across her countenance”?

By this point in the mystery, I am dying to know who-dunnit, whether Adaleigh will be safe, if there will be a relationship between Adaleigh and David, etc.

However, I still had to read slowly because their are so many good quotes and so many wise words. Mrs. Martins is a wonderful, wise, and gentle, secondary character who knows trouble, yet knows Who to turn to. “…there are a lot of frightful things in the world.” Grandma sipped her tea. “We cannot live in constant fear. We put up reasonable safeguards and trust the good Lord with the rest.”

I appreciated Grandinetti’s knowledge of and the Big Lake and its dangers as well. Many do not give Lake Michigan her due respect and carefulness, but Adaleigh and David do. Also, Grandinetti has done her research and is quite knowledgeable about fishing on the lake.

And the whirlwind of an ending, wow! A lot of authors use up most of the suspense either early in the book, or space it evenly. Let me be clear: Grandinetti paces the suspense well throughout, but when she gets close to the climax, she creates a perfect storm of super-intense suspense that reminds me of a racer. At the end of a tight race, a sudden burst of energy (suspense in this case) appears, and the observer or reader is left wondering how it was possible for that much energy to be available!!

Now I cannot wait for the sequel, Refuge for the Archaeologist, coming out this summer, which will be Silas Ward’s story!!

I received a copy of the book from the author, plus I bought an ebook. No positive review was required, and all options are my own.

Notable Quotables:

“If only she could trust that hiding in God would physically keep her safe.”

“To go from all the bright hope in the world to running for her life … it was a hard pill to swallow.”

“You give me hope, and in the midst of pain, I must hope.” – Mrs. Martins

“We’re more willing to reveal hidden parts about ourselves to someone we think won’t see us again because the risk of judgment is lessened.”

“Sometimes a signpost would be easier than trying to figure out what God wanted.”

“we cannot worry about what we cannot control or we’ll go mad, surrounded only by our self-made fortresses.”- Mrs. Martins

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If only I could give more than 5 stars! I only count a handful of authors whose writing is so captivating and beautiful that I want to savor each word, every turn of the phrase, even as I’m dying to know the story’s resolution!