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Capturing You by Robin Patchen Review

June 26, 2025 Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Title: Capturing You

Series: The Wright Heroes of Maine #6

Author: Robin Patchen

Release Date: June 17, 2025

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

In a town shrouded by secrets, a photographer and the reclusive heir of the Ballentine fortune join forces to unravel a deadly conspiracy.

Brooklynn Wright must win a photography contest to save her gallery, and the perfect sunrise shot at a remote inlet north of town is her best hope. But when she witnesses a smuggling operation at a hidden dock and is chased by armed men, her dreams of artistic glory become a nightmare flight for survival. Rescued by a mysterious stranger, Brooklynn is forced to take refuge with him in an abandoned mansion the townspeople claim is cursed—afraid to trust her grumpy protector but with no other choice.

Billionaire Forbes Ballentine returned to Shadow Cove for answers, not distractions. Haunted by the unsolved murder of his family twenty years ago, he’s spent his life in the shadows, hunting for the truth. He believes the network Brooklynn stumbled upon is tied to his family’s deaths, but protecting the cheerful photographer means jeopardizing the investigation he’s been chasing for decades. Especially when her presence stirs feelings he’s not prepared to face.

As Brooklynn and Forbes grow closer, so do the network’s ruthless enforcers. With everyone in town hiding something, they must navigate lies, betrayal, and deadly truths. When the network closes in, they’ll have to trust each other completely—or lose everything.

Dive into this gripping romantic suspense full of mystery, secrets, and danger, where two broken souls must uncover the truth while battling the enemies outside—and the wounds within.

Get your copy at the link below!

https://www.amazon.com/Capturing-You-Killers-Shadow-Wright-ebook/dp/B0DJL7B62X

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 Nutfield Saga books, and then headed to Boston to earn a journalism degree. After college, working in marketing and public relations, 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 she homeschooled 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 most of her life revolves around the twenty-six letters of the alphabet.

Visit https://robinpatchen.com/subscribe to receive a free book and stay informed about Robin’s latest projects.

My Impressions

“There was only one thing Forbes wanted, one thing he’d lived for since he was eight years old. Justice.”

I have truly enjoyed The Wright Heroes of Maine romantic suspense series by Robin Patchen. In most of the previous books, we have seen Michael, Sam, Derrick, and others family members tackle huge intrigue challenges, often overseas. Now, in book six, Capturing You, and book five, we have moved on to their cousins’ family. Capturing You is unique so far in that the enemy is much closer to home.

Brooklynn Wright desperately wants to win the local photography contest. Free publicity for her struggling photography studio in town would be a boon, and she also badly wants to show her father she is competent in her field. Gavin Wright and others seem to see only fluff and lightweight when they see Brooklynn.

Unfortunately, Brooklynn’s great curiosity (which Ford Baker, identified as the handyman at the local mansion) would call a propensity to snoop. Brooklynn’s inquisitiveness turn her desire for the perfect photo into a run for her life on a Maine shore. Knowing she will be caught and probably killed, she is surprised to be rescued by Baker.

Afraid of her new protector, afraid of the men chasing her, knowing she can’t go home, Brooklynn doesn’t know what her next step is. But she does know, unlike Ford, that “God always made a way. All her life, He’d guided her. And He wouldn’t stop today. He was her protector, after all. Her strong tower. Her fortress.”

Ford is using an alias he’s had since childhood, when his parents and sister were murdered in their Shadow Cove mansion. Life has made him grumpy, pessimistic, quiet, and suspicious. When he starts to get to know Brooklynn, who is sweet, optimistic, talkative, and trusting, he finds himself wanting to protect her.

Ford and Brooklynn eventually begin to work together, but the trust is slow and fragile. Gradually, clues are uncovered which reveal a truth the two suspected: someone they know is behind the murderous game of cat-and- mouse. “She used to think of her town as one big family. Now it felt more like a spiderweb, everyone connected to everyone else, the silky fibers hidden until they trapped the innocent.”

I was in a race against the novel as I read, as if my figuring out the mystery before it was revealed could save their lives! Patchen’s characters certainly were alive for me! Fortunately, Brooklynn and Ford did not require my skills. Patchen threw in some twists that left me off the mark. Can Brooklynn and Ford discover who was behind the heinous crime 25 years ago and what connection there is to the smugglers today? Can Ford decide God does indeed care about him, despite the past?

You will not want to miss a book of this series! I would suggest reading these in order, although the book probably could stand alone.

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

Notable Quotables:

“There’s no shame in knowing who you are, who God created you to be.”– Ford

“She needn’t worry. She only needed to ask Him to open the doors she was meant to walk through. To pray that His will would be done. It was a prayer He loved to answer.”

“Sticking your head in the sand isn’t a plan.”- Ford

“It seemed her grouchy friend was a lot like this old mansion. A little rough on the outside, but filled with beauty. And secrets.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Magnificent! Patchen’s books are first-class, taut, faith-filled romantic suspense but pass on the grit and gore.

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

Protecting You by Robin Patchen Review and Giveaway

February 4, 2025 Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: Protecting You

Author: Robin Patchen

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release date: February 4, 2025

In a high-stakes game of deception, two rivals must work together to bring down a ruthless terrorist.

After Alyssa’s dream of working in US intelligence is thwarted, she leaves her mundane profession to pursue a career as a cyber investigator. Though she aces every case she gets, securing enough customers to pay her rent proves challenging. When a lucrative commission comes along, she thinks she’s hit the jackpot. But this client isn’t the British entrepreneur he claims to be. And then her old nemesis interrupts their meeting with a startling move.

NSA agent Gideon Todd is floundering in his new role as a single father to a surprise daughter, but he still has a job to do. He follows a tip about a terrorist, only to be shocked when he finds his old college adversary dining with the notorious killer. Maybe there was a better way to step in than by posing as Alyssa’s fiancé, but it was the best excuse he could come up with to insert himself into their meeting.

Gideon once stole the job Alyssa coveted, and now the last thing she wants is his help. But when he explains who her client really is, she realizes she’s in way over her head. Dariush Ghazi knew exactly what he was doing when he targeted her. She’s trapped. She must go along with a dangerous scheme, pretending to help him while working with Gideon…or end up dead.

In their quest to dismantle Dariush’s network of evil, Gideon and Alyssa risk sacrificing each other—and everything they hold dear.

Prepare to dive into this gripping tale of enemies turned allies, a fake engagement, and a deadly conspiracy.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Robin Patchenis 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

Picture this:

You’re a cyber investigator, sitting across from a client in a Boston restaurant. It’s the first time you’ve ever met the man in person, but you’ve worked for him before. In person, he isn’t like you’d imagined he would be.

His arrogance doesn’t impress you, and he’s giving off a slightly creepy vibe, but he’s polite enough when he hires you to locate somebody for him.

It should be a simple job, right up your alley. He hands over a check, and you glance at the number. All those zeroes. This one job will keep your new business out of the red for months.

You slide the check into your purse and shake your client’s hand, still reveling in the knowledge that your business isn’t going under, not this month.

And then you hear a call from across the room. “Darling!”

You know the endearment can’t be directed at you. You’re nobody’s darling.

Still, you glance toward the too-loud patron and realize it’s Gideon, your fiercest rival.

You haven’t seen him in years, and even back when you were in college together, you’d barely been more than acquaintances.

When he was offered the CIA job you coveted, your thoughts turned altogether uncharitable toward the man who’d bested you one too many times.

Gideon must be mistaking you for someone else.

But he locks eyes with you. Wearing a wide smile, he reaches your table, leans close, and presses his lips to yours.

The kiss lights a fire that warms you to your toes. You ignore the reaction, though it takes considerable effort.

What in the world is he doing?

His whisper is so low that you barely hear him. “Trust me. Go with it.”

Trust him?

How are you supposed to trust him when you have no idea what he’s doing? Or why?

Before you can come up with a suitable response—and really, what are you supposed to say?—he stands and thrusts out his hand to your client, introducing himself as…

Your fiancé.

And then things really get interesting.

This is the scene that presented itself to me before I knew anything about Protecting You. After I wrote the first chapter, and with the help of wonderful brainstorming partners, I fleshed out the idea, turning it into a full-length novel.

This story features a single father who’s trying to figure out how to fill that role, a beautiful cyber-investigator, and a familiar enemy working to exploit the heroine and her entire family.

I’m so excited about this one. I can’t wait to hear what you think.

(And don’t worry. It’s not written in second person. Wouldn’t that be annoying for 300 pages?)

My Impressions

“What can we do?” “Just keep praying. There’s nothing more important than that.”

This line may not sum up the whole of Protecting You, Book 5 of the Wright Heroes of Maine by Robin Patchen, but it is certainly my favorite line. Being a very intense romantic suspense, involving a terrorist, the CIA, and the FBI, this novel contains constant action and tension. Heart-in-your-throat tension. Yet, when the male main character, Callan aka Caleb, comes to his senses, he realizes as we all should, that prayer is not sitting idly by, twiddling our thumbs. It is storming the gates of Heaven for the answers we need and only God Himself, though He may use humans, can provide.

To be fair, this story can be read by itself and enjoyed, but it is so much more beautiful read in the sequence of the series. We see characters we feel like we already know and love, and we quickly recall their backstories as the action ramps up in this one. I was pleased to have this book answer questions that had been previously raised about two of the Wright family members. I also noted that by involving cousins, Patchen is able to stretch out her series in a good way. I mean, how many siblings can there be in one family?!

Patchen nearly had me calling my cardiac doctor as I was reading. The suspense was unbearable. I would not even pretend that I knew what was going to happen next. I was along for a very fast, very dangerous ride!!

I can’t relate to being a computer genius like Alyssa or an ex-FBI agent like Callan, but I can relate to loving a young child, wanting to see children protected, feeling like I need to be in control, or like I need to prove myself to someone. This novel really brings out strong emotions. I loved seeing Alyssa, Callan, and Gavin navigate handling their emotions while fighting for the safety of those they love.

I also love seeing the Wrights as family “circle up the wagons” to protect one of their own.

I highly recommend Protecting You as part of the Wright Heroes of Maine series by Robin Patchen.

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

Notable Quotables:

“Go look in the mirror in there”—he waved toward the bathroom—“and tell the man looking back at you the truth. That you’re not in control, and you’re not supposed to be.”

”Trauma, like bacteria, thrived in darkness. It reproduced and spread, infecting everything it touched. The only cure for trauma was bringing it to the light.”

“But her God wasn’t a God of logic. Or more to the point, He transcended logic.”

“A million seemingly small decisions, many wrong decisions, had led her right here.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Magnificent! I was on pins and needles throughout the whole book!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, February 5

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, February 5

Book Looks by Lisa, February 6

For Him and My Family, February 7

Pens Pages & Pulses, February 7

An Author’s Take, February 8

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 9

Texas Book-aholic, February 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 11

Holly’s Book Corner, February 11

Betti Mace, February 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 13

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 14

Pause for Tales, February 14

Blogging With Carol, February 15

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, February 16

Stories By Gina, February 17 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, February 17

Blossoms and Blessings, February 18

Leslie’s Library Escape, February 18

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Robin is giving away the grand prize of a $100 Amazon gift card AND a box of goodies including a print copy of Running to You, a Welcome to Nutfield coffee mug, and a few surprise goodies!!

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/00adcf54148

ARC, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Kindle, Purchase

Sheltering You by Robin Patchen Review and Giveaway

August 9, 2024 Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: Sheltering You (Wright Heroes of Maine Book 4)

Author: Robin Patchen

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release Date: August 6, 2024

In the sleepy town of Shadow Cove, Maine, a woman’s desperate flight becomes a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse.

After escaping Iraq with her twin sister, Jasmine seeks refuge from Qasim, the terrorist she was forced to marry. She’s determined to carve out a safe haven in this peaceful coastal town for herself and her unborn child. But her polygamous husband’s relentless pursuit threatens to shatter her fragile world, leaving her with nowhere to hide.

Enter Derrick, a guardian angel in the guise of a friend.

Drawn to Jasmine’s quiet strength, Derrick vows to shield her from harm, even as the boundaries of friendship blur into something deeper. Unaware of Jasmine’s secret, he agrees to help her rescue and hide another Iraqi refugee woman and her younger brother in the US. Derrick will do anything for Jasmine, his heart yearning for a connection she refuses to embrace.

All the while, Qasim is closing in.

He took Jasmine as his second wife for one reason, and she carries that reason her womb. Once his heir is born, nothing will stop Qasim from bringing him home to his beloved first wife and disposing of Jasmine—and he will take out anybody else who stands in his way.

Join the Wright Heroes of Maine for an edge-of-your-seat international romantic suspense that takes you on the run with a heroine in hiding, a secret baby, and unrequited love.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

More from Robin

Back when I first started writing fiction, I used to worry that each story idea would be my last, that I’d never get another good one. Since then, I’ve learned that stories somehow beget more stories.

For instance, back in 2022, I created a character named Grant, who was secretly in love with his coworker, Summer. In the process of figuring out who Grant was, I realized he had five brothers. All I knew about them was that they grew up in Maine and one had a limp and blamed Grant for it.

I had no idea why.

Grant’s story came out in Courage in the Shadows, the ninth book in the Coventry Saga. Then I told his brother Daniel’s story in A Mountain Too Steep, book eleven in the same series, a bridge to the Wright Heroes of Maine.

In the middle of writing Running to You, the first book in that series, which is about Sam, I “met” his older brother, Michael, a CIA agent, and thought, wouldn’t it be fun if his girlfriend was kidnapped? Oh, and what if she was Middle Eastern? And what if she was taken by terrorists?

Well, crazily enough, that’s what happened. (It’s fun to be the little-g-god of my little story world, always submitting to the Big-G-God in the real world, of course.)

In Rescuing You, Michael heads to Iraq to rescue Leila and meets her twin sister, Jasmine, who’s also being held against her will. And their family has ties to terrorists, which gave me a great idea for the next book, Finding You, which takes place in Germany with Bryan, the brother with the limp.

After he and his beautiful heroine, Sophie, survive their plot, we head back to the US, which brings us to Sheltering You, my most recent release.

And now it’s getting really fun because Jasmine is hiding from her terrorist (and bigamist) husband, who’s searching for her and his unborn child.

See what I mean? Each story births the next.

You’re going to love Sheltering You. Derrick, the youngest of the Wright brothers, is already smitten with Jasmine, but he has no idea she’s married and expecting a child. And she might loathe her husband—so much that she ran from him and is hiding a half a world away. Even so, she’s married, and that means something. So no matter what she feels for Derrick, she can’t act on it.

The situation is complicated, and it just gets more complicated as the story progresses. Which is what makes it So. Much. Fun!

And guess what. This series isn’t over, not even close. We’ve gone through all the brothers, but there are more Wrights out there…cousins. I don’t know all their stories yet, but Alyssa’s is already coming together. It’ll release in the winter of 2025 with some familiar faces—good guys, of course, and maybe bad guys as well.

I hope you’ll check out Sheltering You and all the stories in the Wright Heroes of Maine series.

My Impressions

“Work together? He liked the sound of that. Would that they could work together on more than just a stupid card game.”

Robin Patchen showcases riveting romantic suspense in Sheltering You:Terror in Shadow Cove ( The Wright Heroes of Maine, Bk #4)! I was anxiously scrolling pages as fast as I could with this novel, hoping that Jasmine( Yasamin) and Derrick would ultimately be safe and have their own happy ending. The tension is so well built, whether between Derrick and Jasmine, or Derrick and his brothers, or the Wrights vs. the terrorists! I was happy to meet some characters I’d met in previous books. I was also happy that missing a few books, I could still enjoy this book, but this book also gave me the desire to go back and catch up on the brothers whose stories I’d missed.

Trust, freedom, working together, human slavery, and conflict are all themes explored in this novel.

Talk about culture shock! This is a great opportunity to realize how different life can be for people in other cultures, especially in cultures where women are seen as property and worthless. We as Americans don’t always realize how good we have it. Although Yasmine challenges Derrick when he talks about her need for freedom from her former life. “…true freedom isn’t the ability to do what I want. True freedom comes from doing what God says. True freedom is in walking with Him, is it not?”

Jasmine’s situation is heart-wrenching, in the way it has caused her to think of herself, as less than nothing, unworthy, “the other one” who “is barely a shadow.” I love seeing her growth and her faith.

Derrick starts with what would seem like a bigger advantage than Jasmine. He has a large, loving family, access to God’s Word, and much more freedom as an American. Yet, Derrick, the peacemaker, has a difficult time with his family. He has many copies of God’s Word, but has not studied it like Jasmine has. And his freedoms just might cause him to think the American way is God’s way.

When Jasmine tries to protect a friend and things go sideways, can Jadmine and Derrick work together and possibly become more than friends? And as the danger increases, can Derrick discover his own motivations within the family and work together with his brothers with pure motives?

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

Notable Quotables:

“He gave me hope when there was no hope.” She yawned. “There was always eternity.”

“That was as close to a real apology as a red Skittle was to a fresh strawberry.”

“Feelings were not grains of rice one could simply flick away. They clung like grime, impossible to remove without painful scrubbing and stinging bleach. How did one bleach a soul?”

“Slavery looked different here than it had in Iraq, but it existed everywhere.”

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Magnificent! Intense, romantic suspense with relatable, flawed, characters you want to help and cheer for!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 10

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, August 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 11

Stories By Gina, August 12 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, August 12

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 13

Book Looks by Lisa, August 14

Betti Mace, August 15

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 16

Blossoms and Blessings, August 17

Blogging With Carol, August 18

For the Love of Literature, August 19 (Spotlight)

Holly’s Book Corner, August 20

Artistic Nobody, August 21 (Spotlight)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 22

Back Porch Reads, August 23 (Spotlight)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Robin is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of Finding You!!

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/2dbe4/sheltering-you-celebration-tour-giveaway

ARC, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, LibraryThing Early Readers, NetGalley, PB, Revell

At Lighthouse Point, #3 Three Sisters Island, by Suzanne Woods Fisher

May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: At Lighthouse Point

Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release date: May 4, 2021

Blaine Grayson returns to Three Sisters Island with a grand plan–to take Camp Kicking Moose to the next level. Her dream starts to unravel when she discovers Moose Manor’s kitchen has been badly remodeled by her sister, Cam, who doesn’t know how to cook. Added to that blow is the cold shoulder given by her best friend, Artie Lotosky, now a doctor to the unbridged Maine islands.

As old wounds are opened, Blaine starts to wonder if she made a mistake by coming home. Little by little, she must let go of one dream to discover a new one, opening her heart to a purpose and a future she had never imagined.

Click here to get your copy!

My Impressions

Welcome back to Three Sisters Island, ME, and another visit with Paul Grayson and his three grown daughters. (I was thankful for the character list at beginning of this book. With the books in the series a year apart, it can be hard to remember who’s who.) At Lighthouse Point, #3 Three Sisters Island, by Suzanne Woods Fisher is very enjoyable as it focuses especially on Blaine’s return to the island, yet we see Cam and Maddie maturing in their marriages and the dynamics of the family as a whole. There are so many character developments or relationships examined, that the flow of the storyline is wonderfully robust and busy from every angle. With healthy doses of faith that are spoken in Woods’ trademark profound but easy-to-understand style, this book is the perfect conclusion to The Three Sisters’ Island series. Woods even surprised me a few times with her twists and turns.

I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher through Celebrate Lit via Net Galley and LibraryThing Early Reviewers. No positive review was required and all thoughts are my own.

My Rating

Magnificent!! A fave for its truths and tightly woven storyline.

About the Author

Award winning author Suzanne Woods Fisher writes for readers who have learned to expect the unexpected. With more than one million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the bestselling author of more than 30 works, ranging from novels to non-fiction books to children’s books. Currently, she lives with her very big family in the East Bay.

More from Suzanne

10 Curious Facts about Lighthouses

People love lighthouses. There’s just something special about those sturdy sentinels with their beacons of light, patiently sweeping the water, their mournful and haunting wail of a foghorn. Longfollow’s poem, The Lighthouse, written in 1850, captured the allure so well:

And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,
Through the deep purple of the twilight air,
Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light,
With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare!

“Unearthly splendor.” Wow, doesn’t that hit the nail on the head? A lighthouse, to me, represents a spiritual truth: Someone’s watching out for us, looking out for the dangers ahead, and always glad to welcome us home.

Here are 10 facts about lighthouses that you might not know:

THE FIRST KNOWN LIGHTHOUSE was Egypt’s Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt, built in the third century B.C. The lighthouse was made from a fire on a platform to warn sailors of the port’s entrance. This lighthouse was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

THE OLDEST EXISTING LIGHTHOUSE IN THE WORLD is considered to be La Coruna in Spain that dates from ca. 20 B.C. A Roman lighthouse is located on the Cliffs of Dover in the UK that was constructed in 40 A.D.

THE UNITED STATES IS HOME to more lighthouses than any other country.

THE FIRST LIGHTHOUSE IN AMERICA was at Boston on Little Brewster Island (1716). The first keeper was George Worthylake who, sadly, was drowned, along with his wife and daughter, when returning to the island in 1718.

THE TALLEST LIGHTHOUSE is on Cape Hatteras, NC. Built in 1872, it reached 196 feet tall.

THE FIRST WEST COAST LIGHTHOUSE was built on Alcatraz Island in 1854.

DAYMARKS are the painted colors and patterns (diamonds, spirals and stripes) on lighthouse towers to distinguish them from each other.

LIGHTHOUSE KEEPING was one of the first U.S. government jobs available to women, as far back as the 19th century. Most obtained their position when their husband died or became incapacitated.

THE RANGE OF THE LIGHTHOUSE LIGHT produces a light seen 25 miles at sea.

ABOUT 700 LIGHTHOUSES are still in active use in the United States.

As I wrote the third book in the ‘Three Sisters island’ series, I just had to give that little charred lighthouse its day in the sun. It had patiently played a role in the first two books, waiting for its turn on center stage. Not only did its setting provide a very unexpected “WHAT? How did that happen?” conclusion to the series, it even stole the headline! The undisputed title: At Lighthouse Point.

Do you have a favorite lighthouse? If so, please add your picture in the comments below. Don’t forget to include its location.

Thanks for reading! Stay well, stay home, and read.

Suzanne

Blog Stops

lakesidelivingsite, May 11

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 11

Wishful Endings, May 11

The Avid Reader, May 12

Just Writing, May 12

The Write Escape, May 12

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 12

By The Book, May 13

HappyWhenReading, May 13

Mypreciousbitsandmusings, May 13

Texas Book-aholic, May 13

Inklings and notions, May 14

Cultivating Us, May 14

Blogging With Carol, May 14

Batya’s Bits , May 14

Betti Mace, May 15

Bizwings Blog, May 15

Southern Gal Loves to Read, May 15

For Him and My Family, May 15

deb’s Book Review, May 16

Jeanette’s Thoughts , May 16

HookMeInABook, May 16

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, May 16

Connie’s History Classroom, May 17

Lighthouse-Academy, May 17

Where Crisis & Christ Collide, May 17

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 18

Godly Book Reviews, May 18

Daysong Reflections, May 18

Mary Hake, May 18

Artistic Nobody, May 19 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 19

EmpowerMoms, May 19

SusanLovesBooks, May 19

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, May 20

Older & Smarter?, May 20

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, May 20

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, May 21

Simple Harvest Reads, May 21 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Splashes of Joy, May 21

Blossoms and Blessings, May 21

Through the Fire Blogs, May 22

Vicky Sluiter, May 22

Pause for Tales, May 22

Moments, May 22

She Lives To Read, May 23

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 23

Labor Not in Vain, May 23

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, May 24

Life, Love, Writing, May 24

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, May 24

Remembrancy, May 24

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Suzanne 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/10bb6/at-lighthouse-point-celebration-tour-giveaway

Bethany House, BLOG, Favorite, NetGalley

Whose Waves These Are by Amanda Dykes

June 18, 2019June 18, 2019 Babbling Becky L

ABOUT THE BOOK

TITLE: Whose Waves These Are

AUTHOR: Amanda Dykes

PUBLISHER: Bethany House

DATE RELEASED: April 2019

GENRE: Christian Historical Romance

In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper asking readers to send rocks in honor of loved ones to create something life-giving but the building halts when tragedy strikes. Decades later, Annie returns to the coastal Maine town where stone ruins spark her curiosity and her search for answers faces a battle against time.

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My Review

“Every wave in that big old blue sea is a story.” With these words, young Annie’s great-uncle finds a way to unlock some of her fears and turn them into something beautiful. But when she returns to Ansel-by-the-Sea as an adult, will she have the key she needs to unlock her adult fears and turn them to confident love and purpose?
Amanda Dykes may be a name I had never heard before, but by penning Whose Waves These Are she is rapidly garnering attention in the Christian fiction world. I predict this novel will win an award for a debut novel in 2019.
A time-slip book, the reader is tossed like the sea between young Annie as she grows up, a mature Annie of the present, and a young Robert Bliss whose twin is drafted in 1944.
Annie is a great heroine. One can’t help but root for her as she returns to look for her great-uncle. Will she grow enough to fit in and find her place in this seashore town? The pieces to this puzzle are more numerous than I expected and definitely include Annie’s parents. A story like this, told chronologically, would have been interesting. By creating a time-slip out of it, and adding the unexpected twists, Dykes produces a work nothing short of amazing!
Some favorite quotes:
The first and most important to me-

“Life is big. And God is bigger.”
“You’re a good man. Let me try to be one, too.”
“He wasn’t the oldest, but they both knew he was the one who had the fury of a nor’easter inside him, a fury he could use to fight.”
“She imagines people as combination locks, each bit of information a tick on the dial as she works to build up their story in her mind, to unlock them.”

“…if everything around you is broken, it’s time to unbreak something.”
When Annie is trying to figure out her purpose:
“‘The microbes,’ he says, ‘only have a single cell. And they use it to capture sunlight all day— their sole purpose. At night, when danger comes, …they don’t run. They don’t shrivel up or hide. They release the sunlight they’ve been storing up, right into the darkness. They fight it back by lighting up.’”
Expect a small town, big hearts, sweet romances, tragedy, and miracles. Expect a blessing in this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinions, which are solely my own.

My Rating

About the Author

Amanda Dykes is the author of Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale, the critically-acclaimed bicycle story that invited readers together to fund bicycles for missionaries in Asia. A former English teacher, she has a soft spot for classic literature and happy endings. She is a drinker of tea, a dweller of Truth, and a spinner of hope-filled tales, grateful for the grace of a God who loves extravagantly.

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On a Summer Tide, #1 Three Sisters Island by Suzanne Woods Fisher

April 1, 2019 Babbling Becky L

42075479

ABOUT THE BOOK:

TITLE: On a Summer Tide, #1 Three Sisters Island

AUTHOR: Suzanne Woods Fisher

PUBLISHER, PUBLISHED: Revell, April 2019

GENRE: Contemporary Romance (Not Amish or Mennonite)

When her father buys an island off the coast of Maine with the hope of breathing new life into it, Camden Grayson thinks he’s lost his mind. An unexpected event sends Cam to his rescue, and she discovers the island has its own way of living . . . and loving.

_I don't think that's God's view of Life, Cam. You don't earn purpose._ (2).png

MY REVIEW:

Family dynamics can be really messy. I can’t imagine a father selling his home (the children are grown, or nearly so); buying an island in the state of déshabillé; AND expecting all three daughters to move there improve it. Maybe Paul Grayson truly has lost his mind.
Suzanne Woods Fisher writes about this widower’s family with three disconnected sisters in such a beautiful way that I found myself quickly mired in the quicksand of uncomfortable and dysfunctional family relationships.
Each sister is delightful, yet shortsighted in her own way, which leads to a mess for them and an intriguing story for us, the readers. The island and its wildlife sound wonderful, yet there are drawbacks.
Anybody not born there is a foreigner. No wi-fi. And a diner with a lady who can’t cook anything, let alone make coffee. I laughed and laughed over the silly antics until the tale wove back upon itself in a serious way that calls for tears.
So many worthy quotes.
“Mom always told us that life would surprise us with important choices, and our true character would emerge in how we responded.”
“…life was full of simple miracles if you just opened your eyes to them.”
“Life presents you with important choices. You can lash out, become bitter. Or draw closer to God, become better.”
“…it’s never too late to learn to listen.”
“We love each other, we tell each other the truth, and we keep working on things. That’s what families are all about.”
Woods leaves just enough threads dangling that I am anxious for the next book in the series already. Good discussion questions follow, making this an excellent choice for book clubs.
I received this complimentary book from the publisher and NetGalley. No positive review is required and all opinions are my own.

MY RATING:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling, award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction books about the Old Order Amish for Revell Books, host of the radio-show-turned-blog Amish Wisdom, a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazine. 1922565

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, who was raised Plain. A theme in her books (her life!) is that you don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate the principles of simple living.

Suzanne lives in California with her family and raises puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To her way of thinking, you just can’t life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone’s underwear in its mouth.

Suzanne can be found online at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

Just one more word… look for this amazing book on April 30th!