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Canyon of Deceit by DiAnn Mills Review and Giveaway

September 11, 2025 Babbling Becky L

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for Canyon of Deceit by DiAnn Mills hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Canyon of Deceit
Author: DiAnn Mills
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
Release Date: September 9, 2025
Genre: Romantic Mystery & Suspense

A rescue team searches for a missing young girl and suspects all is not as it seems in this high-stakes romantic suspense novel from the author of Lethal Standoff and Facing the Enemy.

When wilderness survival expert Therese Palmer receives a frantic phone call from former colleague Professor Rurik Ivanov, she is shocked by the news that his young daughter, Alina, is missing—and that Rurik wants Therese’s help finding her. She’s sure Rurik hasn’t given her the whole story . . . especially since he refuses to report the kidnapping to the police. Yet with a child’s life hanging in the balance, Therese can’t turn down this mission. She knows the clock is ticking and she can’t do this alone.

Therese reaches out to Texas Ranger Blane Gardner, whom she met seven months ago during one of her training courses in wilderness survival skills. Blane’s specialized training and background with the Crisis Negotiation Unit make him uniquely prepared for this search-and-rescue mission. He agrees to help Therese and to accept Rurik’s terms to keep Alina’s disappearance quiet, and as the two begin working together, Therese is determined the spark growing between them won’t distract from their mission to save Alina.

Traversing deep into the desert of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Alina’s last known location, Therese and Blane struggle to separate truth from lies within the mix of intel they’re receiving. As they close in on answers that suggest the involvement of Russian organized crime and a high-profile international assassination attempt, they must fight to rescue Alina before she becomes an innocent casualty of a much bigger plot—no matter the risk to their own lives.

About the Author

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She weaves memorable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels with threads of romance. DiAnn believes every breath of life is someone’s story, so why not capture those moments and create a thrilling adventure?

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards, the Selah Award, and the Golden Scroll; and been finalists for the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award and the Carol Award.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and an active member of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and International Thriller Writers. DiAnn continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.

DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on social media or her website, diannmills.com

My Impressions

“Hope is a reason to live when the world erupts into madness.”

This quote is an absolute fave, and given the timing I read it, it applies super well in multiple ways to our country and world today! Diann Mills’s Canyon of Deceit is billeted as a romantic mystery and suspense, but I would also add the category of political thriller. Expecting romantic suspense with lots of continuous action, I felt the storyline didn’t move as fast as I expected at first. Being such a politically-based novel, there were a lot of mental gymnastics to work through in this 1st person , alternate narrator pov. Blane, a Texas Ranger and top-notch negotiator, and Therese, the best wilderness survival guide, must locate a kidnapped Russian child in Fog Canyon, a dangerous part of the Guadalupe National Park. Their former attraction rears its head, as do their painful pasts. But what set my mind spinning ( and theirs) was whose intel to trust. Trusting the wrong person will cost them time, but most likely their lives, that of 8-year-old Alina, and ultimately, possibly untold others.

Twists!! As I stuck with the story, I began to be able to sort out the multiple characters, see the need for so many, and was totally surprised more than once just as I thought I had the “bad guy head honcho” figured out!!

By this time, I was well-invested in the characters! I wanted Blane to do more than blame God for tragedy in his past. His honest thought is one that I find interesting, and I have personally heard from another non-believing friend. “A bit ironic to blame someone I didn’t believe in.” Blane knows God is after Him… but does he want to forgive God- or himself?

Interestingly enough, Therese also is dealing with her fear of failure from the past, plus fear. Can she trust God enough to forgive herself? I love that she keeps returning to her Source of strength, even in the midst of impossible odds. “God understood my doubts, and He’d help me.” Another thought she shared with Blane until he was tired of her God talk!

“You’re not afraid?” “Depends on how you define fear. For me exploring new territory and revisiting special places is a type of respect, a mix of love and fear.” I swung another look at the sky. “Like how I feel about God.” But the one that personally shores me up, I will share below.

While I was uncertain about how invested I could become in these characters, I found that the political aspect just needed more time to establish the character’s uncertainties and complexities that made for great action and twists once we had enough information in our arsenal. The inclusion of a wonderfully brave, sweet, 8-year- old certainly drew me into the story with tattered heartstrings!

I bought my own copy of this book. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.

Notable Quotables:

“Every problem has a solution, and it usually involves teamwork.”– Sergio

“It’s not what we lose that defines our character—it’s what we learn.”- Therese

“We called this fence-coffee on the ranch. The only thing available when riding fence. Tastes like it was brewed over a pile of manure.”– Blane (just for laughs)

So many times I’d asked why evil and injustice exist. But if I had the answers, God wouldn’t be God.” – Therese

“I sent a silent prayer to the One who routinely out-negotiated the devil.”– Therese- (what comfort that sentence brings!)

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Magnificent!

Mills won me over with her great political intrigue and complex mystery with unexpected twists!

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a print copy of Canyon of Deceit and $25 gift card to winner’s choice bookstore!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight September 9, 2025 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on September 16, 2025. 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

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

BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Kindle, Purchase

Hidden Danger by Gail Pallotta Review and Giveaway

February 9, 2025 Babbling Becky L

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

Bethany House, BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour, Favorite, Kindle, NetGalley, Purchase

Peace in the Mountain Haven by Misty Beller Review and Giveaway

April 6, 2022April 7, 2022 Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: Peace in the Mountain Haven

Author: Misty M. Beller

Genre: Christian historical romance

Release date: March 15, 2022

This epic journey is her best chance to find the family she and her daughter long for.

Watkuese is desperate to return across the Rocky Mountains before winter sets in. Time is running out for her to get her adopted daughter back to the familiar surroundings of the Shoshone village before the grief of her parents’ death causes irreparable damage.

Hugh Charpentier has spent his life watching over his siblings, which meant also ensuring his brother’s widow and babe are settled well into their new life. Now he’s asked to help shepherd a woman and child he barely knows across the mountains. As hard as it is to keep up with a six-year-old in the treacherous Rockies, it’s not nearly as dangerous as risking his heart to a woman and child who may not ever be his.

From a USA Today bestselling author comes another epic journey through breathless landscapes and adventure so intense, lives will never be the same.

Click here to get your copy! $3, $15, $30

My Impressions

Ack!! Misty Beller is another author whose books I am starting to really anticipate! I was not overly impressed by the first book I read, but now, I am hopelessly a fan. Peace in the Mountain Haven is on my favorites list. Beller’s beautiful mountain settings, multi-cultural characters, and ability to recount a compelling story of both faith and love have me hooked.

In 1831, the future Idaho Territory area is home to Watkuese, a single Native American, who is raising her deceased friend’s six-year-old daughter, Pop-pank. Searching for inner peace for herself and her sullen, grieving charge, Watkuese decides to return to Pop-pank’s tribal home. Hugh Charpentier and his brother, Louis, are assigned to accompany the two back to the village.

Watkuese is a strong, independent woman who wants to make her own way and rely on no one. She is not close to the family she has, but considers Pop-pank “the daughter of her heart” and will give her life to protect the stand-offish young one.

Hugh Charpentier is a white trapper who is hardened to relationships with others because of his past. “The more you kept your distance from others, the easier it was to part ways.” He is very aloof, but he still takes great care of Wautkuese and Pop-pank. With enough nurturing, will a tender, dedicated heart emerge?

I loved Louis. He is such a happy soul, yet it is not because his life is easy. He chooses to look for ways to engage others and make them feel comfortable. He can see past walls built up to protect a heart, and isn’t afraid to meddle to encourage better thinking.

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

Notable Quotables:

Firewood he knew far better than people.

She’d already promised herself she would give her life to protect Pop-pank. Should she give her freedom as well?

If only he could be the man Louis thought he was.

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Magnificent!! A Beautiful Frontier Fave!!

About the Author

Misty M. Belleris a USA Todaybestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.

Raised on a farm and surrounded by family, Misty developed her love for horses, history, and adventure. These days, her husband and children provide fresh adventure every day, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

Misty’s passion is to create inspiring Christian fiction infused with the grandeur of the mountains, writing historical romance that displays God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.

Sharing her stories with readers is a dream come true for Misty. She writes from her country home in South Carolina and escapes to the mountains any chance she gets.

More from Misty

What do you love most about this genre?

I tend to be a bit of a sentimentalist, so Historical Romance is perfect for me! My favorite period is between 1800 – 1880, when the west was still an extreme frontier. I love the simpler life, where there’s no rat race. Just hard work, plenty of alone time (can you tell I’m an introvert?), and a strong family unit.

Are readers always promised a “happily ever after” in your novels? Why or why not?

Absolutely! I read as an escape, so that happily ever after is important to me. I know my characters will face challenges after the story ends, but I want to finish the book knowing they’ve grown through the story and will be able to meet future struggles with God’s strength and the support of each other—as well as family and friends!

How can readers connect with you?

I love to connect with readers! One of my favorite ways is through my newsletter, and readers can get a free copy of my book, A Pony Express Romance, when they sign up for the newsletter. Here’s the link for that: https://mistymbeller.com/freebook

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, April 7

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 8

Miriam Jacob, April 8

Texas Book-aholic, April 9

Inklings and notions, April 10

Mary Hake, April 10

For Him and My Family, April 11

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, April 12

deb’s Book Review, April 12

Betti Mace, April 13

Bizwings Blog, April 13

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 14

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 15

Connie’s History Classroom, April 16

For the Love of Literature, April 16

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 17

Splashes of Joy, April 18

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 18

Blossoms and Blessings, April 19

Pause for Tales, April 20

Jeanette’s Thoughts, April 20

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Misty is giving away the grand prize of a $50 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/1c94c/peace-in-the-mountain-haven-celebration-tour-giveaway

BLOG, Celebrate Lit Tour

This Healing Journey by Misty Beller with Guest Post and Giveaway

June 24, 2019 Babbling Becky L

About the Book

Book: This Healing Journey, #7 The Heart of the Mountains Series

Author: Misty M Beller

Genre: Christian Historical Romance 44599445

Release date: July 18, 2019

The mountain wilderness of her family’s home in the Canadian Rockies is all Hannah Grant has ever known. Now at the age of twenty-four, she’s on a journey to help her father to find the son he gave up for adoption three decades before. This is Hannah’s chance to discover the life she’s missed out on so far—and hopefully find a husband along the way. But she certainly doesn’t plan to fall for the first man she meets.

Years in the Calvary provided Nathaniel Peak with more than his share of violence and adventure. That life behind him, he wants nothing more than to settle down in the beautiful Montana mountains and raise his own stock—in peace. The last thing he expects is the savagely wounded child who shows up in his barn. Nor the woman he comes to rely on for the girl’s care.

Hannah can’t help but fall in love with the brave Indian child who so desperately needs her, but no matter what, she can’t let herself fall for the man whose past choices go against everything she believes in. As the situation grows worse, Hannah and Nathaniel are forced to make a heart-rending decision to save the girl’s life. Little do they imagine, the choice they make could spell disaster for them all.

Click here to purchase your copy.

My Review

I have never read Misty Beller before, but that was not a problem in reading this last book of the Heart of the Mountains Series, This Healing Journey. Well-titled, several people actually find a form of healing in this novel of the 1880s in Montana.
Nathaniel Peak is a former cavalryman with regrets, hoping to leave that life behind to start his own ranch. Neighbors and visitors play heavily into this historical romance, with some visitors more welcome than others.
Who will not lose their heart to sweet, stoic, little Itu, both brave and afraid? I wasn’t really sure how Beller was going to play her cards with little Itu, but I thought Beller did an excellent job of creating some extra love, fear, excitement, and tension with this character.
The point-of-view is always third person, although each chapter starts with a first person thought. We juggle back and forth between several people’s third person pov throughout the story. Since I had not read any books before this, I did have to go back a time or two and see who was whom. However, I felt that was pretty minor for picking up a series at book seven.
“Wasn’t a cow a cow?” Oh, boy!!
At least Nathaniel knew his horses better than that! This Healing Journey
Hannah surprised me. After experiencing her father’s love all her life, she becomes keenly aware that she may be on a path to disappoint him. This, then, leads her to worry that she will lose his love. To be fair, relationships were changing around her, and she had to realize that the most important voice to listen to was God’s.
”When my spirit has this much unrest, it’s usually God guiding me a different way.”
This Healing Journey started slow, and I would have liked to see more dimension to the characters. However, this is a great story of faith, beginning anew, loving enough to forgive, and loving enough to let go. By the end, this had become a very exciting and unnerving story.
A quote of forgiveness:
“I don’t know what our lives would have looked like if you’d decided the other way, but what if’s don’t matter at the end of the day. You made the choice you felt was right, and God worked good from it.”
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and Celebrate Lit. This in no way affects my opinions which are solely my own.

My Rating

About the Author

Misty M. Beller writes romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love. Misty-300x271

She was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and they continue to keep that priority today. Her husband and children now add another dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

More from Misty

Occasionally I hear readers debate about whether they prefer to read a series of books from an author, or only standalone novels. Personally, I love series—both reading and writing them. There’s something about seeing characters I know and love from past books that makes me warm and happy inside. Can you relate?

One of the first series I wrote, the Mountain Dreams Series, included five books that told the stories of several families intertwined through marriage and God’s connections. Those characters are still so dear to my heart! When book 5 ended, I had so many readers ask for more in the series, I began dreaming of a spin-off series with a very special connection to the hero in book 5. Enter: the Heart of the Mountains Series.

I’ve LOVED every story in this 7-book collection, taking each journey with the characters as I laughed and cried and uncovered their secrets. For the final 7^thbook, I’m thrilled to announce that I’m reuniting many of the characters from BOTH series! Simeon Grant (from Heart of the Mountains, book 1) goes on a journey to find the son he gave up for adoption as an infant (the hero in Mountain Dreams, book 5).

This Healing Journey has its own leading lady, Hannah Grant (the baby born at the end of This Treacherous Journey, all grown up and as tough as any lady raised in the Canadian mountain wilderness). And a new character, Nathaniel Peak, who stars as the hero (and who I fell in love with IMMEDIATELY!).

Even if you’ve never read any of my stories, I think you’ll enjoy this one. Especially if you love adventurous mountain stories as much as I do!