New and notable author: Penny Zeller

 Penny Zeller is an author I discovered back in October. I don't remember how I ran across her, but I ordered her Montana Skies trilogy on eBay and enjoyed them enough that I started reading her other books, and have liked everything I have read by her.

Most of her books are historical fiction, including The Montana Skies Trilogy. She does have a few contemporary  novels, two of which I have. Both are classified as ROMCOMS (Romantic comedy). Love Under Construction is the title I read, and it was an amusing and entertaining read. On my to-read shelf is Love In the Headlines. 

Her books are all sprinkled with humor, and I have enjoyed every one that I have read.

She has two series going at the moment:

1) Wyoming Sunrise. There are four full length books out so far in that series, with a third coming out in December, and a fourth coming out in January. There is also a prequel novella to the series. 

2) Horizon Series. The first book in that series just came out July 19th, and a second is due out in June of 2024. I recently read the first book,  and it may be my favorite of hers so far. 

The plot:

"A most unusual proposal...

Alone in 1870s Idaho Territory, Paisley Abbott has nowhere to turn. With no other options, she finds herself consenting to an unconventional, but mutually beneficial agreement.

During an unplanned return to his family’s farm, prodigal Tyler Shepherdson inherits three orphans. When Tyler finds a woman hiding in the back of his wagon, an idea begins to form and he makes a rash decision that results in perhaps one of the most spontaneous marriages of convenience ever.

Despite an unorthodox beginning to their marriage, will Paisley and Tyler trust God as they forge ahead to create a home for three children? Will love arise from a desperate situation?

In the first book in the Horizon Series, travel to the late 1800s to the town of Horizon in the Idaho Territory with a cast of unforgettable characters, journeys of faith, and abundant humor."

The book I read most recently by her is Love In Disguise. I read it the same day that I typed this post up. 

The plot:

Who knew concealing one’s true identity could be so disastrous?

Who knew asserting one’s independence would cause such embarrassment? If only Almira “Emilie” Crawford Wheeler hadn’t insisted upon carrying her own stack of parcels, she wouldn’t have landed in an unladylike heap on the boardwalk. And what about the half-truth she told the handsome stranger who came to her aid? The stranger she never expected to see again?

Thad Alexander Evanson should have been paying closer attention to the boardwalk, rather than the newfangled automobile motoring down the street. Had he been more astute, a collision with the beautiful parcel-laden stranger might never have happened. And if it never had happened, he wouldn’t have told a partial-truth he figured wouldn’t matter.

Before long, Emilie and Thad are arranging to meet for a noonday meal each weekend in Missoula under the guise of different names. But what happens when their true identities are revealed? When half-truths are exposed? Could God have a plan even in the midst of a tangled web of lies?

 

Loved this one. Thad and Emilie are both wealthy, and both are pursued for marriage by those more interested in their money than a true relationship. So when they meet, they both drop their last names and conceal who they really are.

The funniest part is they are next door neighbors. Not close enough that they can see each other up close. You know the truth is going to come out eventually, and it is entertaining seeing what leads up to it, and the aftermath.

It had a great ending, and I wish I had read it sooner. 

She does have a few other books I have not read yet, including The Love Letters From Ellis Creek Series. 

As I mentioned above, her next book will be out in December. 

She is an author whose books I have come to enjoy, and know each book will be entertaining, faith-filled, and laced with humor.

About the author:

Penny Zeller is known for her heartfelt stories of faith and her passion to impact lives for Christ through fiction. While she has had a love for writing since childhood, she began her adult writing career penning articles for national and regional publications on a wide variety of topics.

Today Penny is a multi-published author of over a dozen books. She is also a homeschool mom and a group fitness instructor. Her desire is to assist and nurture women into a closer relationship with Christ.

When Penny is not dreaming up new characters, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters and camping, hiking, canoeing, reading, running, gardening, and playing volleyball.

Penny is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency and loves to hear from her readers at her website, www.pennyzeller.com, her blog, www.pennyzeller.wordpress.com, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennyzellerbooks.

Video book review: Deadly Sanctuary by Mindy Steele

 I don't remember who suggested that I do this. The person I thought did, did not. 😃

But anyway, I did my first video book review. It has mistakes, and I can definitely do better (is that really how I sound?!) - and it came in at 6.09 minutes, longer than I wanted it to be........but I did give an intro about book reviews and my blog first.

My first attempt is a book I recently reviewed on here: Deadly Sanctuary by Mindy Steele

Notable author Dan Walsh

 

I was introduced to Dan Walsh's books back in 2009 when I reviewed what I think was his first book: The Unfinished Gift:

"Patrick Collins has three items on his Christmas list. He wants the army to find his father. He wants to leave his grandfather’s house. And he wants--very badly--the wooden soldier tucked away in his grandfather’s attic. Set at Christmastime in 1943, The Unfinished Gift is an engaging family story that reminds us of the surprising things that can affect powerful change in our hearts–-like a young boy’s desperate prayers, a shoebox full of love letters, even a dusty, long-forgotten wooden soldier."

It is a great story, and I immediately got hooked on his books and have been reading everything he writes ever since.

His first several books were written with Revell Publishing, who I review books for. Unfortunately, he left them and now self-publishes, so I have not reviewed any of his books for a long time.

Most of the books he wrote while with Revell were the kind comparable to Nicholas Sparks, only Christian. 

One of my favorites of his, and one that was extremely emotional, is The Discovery:
"Gerard Warner was not only a literary giant but a devoted family man. When he dies he leaves his Charleston estate to his grandson, Michael, an aspiring writer. Michael soon discovers an unpublished manuscript his grandfather had written, hidden from everyone but clearly intended for Michael to find. Michael reads an exciting tale of Nazi spies and sabotage, but this story is very different from all of Gerard Warner’s other books. It’s a love story. As Michael delves deeper in, he discovers something that has the power to change not only his future but his past as well. Laced with suspense and intrigue, The Discovery is a richly woven novel that explores the incredible sacrifices that must be made to forge the love of a lifetime."

Also of note is the Restoration Series he did with Gary Smalley. It is a four book series about the fictional Anderson family. It was an amazing series, and had a lot about relationships woven throughout the story. 

Dan did one suspense novel for Revell, What Follows After. 

When he left Revell, he started writing more suspense novels instead of the type of books he had previously written. In November of 2014, he came out with When Night Comes, the first of four books in his Jack Turner Suspense Series. 

He did a spin off series from it, The Joe Boyd Suspense Series. His most recent book was the fourth book in that series, Treacherous Waters, came out in 2022. 

And his other series he did as a self-published author is the Forever Home Series, a series about dogs that get forever homes.

I don't see anything on his Facebook page or website about upcoming books, but hopefully he has something in the works.

While on his website, I noticed if you sign up for his newsletter, you get two full length novels of his (e-book): The first Jack Turner Suspense novel, When Night Comes, and The Deepest Waters...a novel based on a true story. Click here to sign up.

Check out his website for more about Dan and his books. I highly recommend his novels.

About the author:

Dan was born in Philadelphia in 1957 to a mostly blue-collar, hard-working Irish family. His father was the first person on either side of the family to earn a college degree. Took him 9 years, working during the day, going to college at night, using the GI Bill. In the mid-60s, GE hired his dad as an engineer for the Apollo space program. Dan’s family packed up and moved to Florida, which is where Dan spent most of his childhood.

Dan’s primary interests through high school were basketball and surfing. His family attended church every Sunday, but it was’t until his senior year that Dan made a personal decision to become a Christian. In the spring of that same year, he met Cindi, the woman who would become his wife. They were married in 1976. Today, they have 2 grown children, both married, and 5 grandchildren.

During a personal retreat in 1977, Dan experienced a call to pastoral ministry. He began studying and preparing for the next several years. In 1985, he was ordained a pastor and served in the same church for the next 25 years. In August 2010, after 3 of his novels were published by a major publishing house (Revell – Baker Publishing Group), Dan retired from pastoral ministry to write fulltime.

Dan’s novels have received popular and critical acclaim, getting rave reviews from USA Today and magazines like Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, BookList and RT Book ReviewWhen Night Comes - Cover Finals. His very first, The Unfinished Gift, won 2 ACFW Carol Awards. It’s still in print 10 years later and has sold over 85,000 copies. Several of his 25-plus other books have won numerous awards and appeared on several national bestseller lists. Over 1.3 million of them are in print or have been downloaded.

His first 13 were under contract with traditional publishers (Revell and Guideposts). At the end of 2014, seeing that the majority of his readers were buying books online, Dan began to publish his novels “as an indie.” His 14th novel (the first to be published independently), is When Night Comes. It released in 2014 as Book 1 in the Jack Turner Suspense Series. Book 2, Remembering Dresden, released the following May. Since then, he’s added 2 more books to the series (Unintended Consequences and Perilous Treasure). Combined they’ve received over 3,000 Amazon Reviews (avg 4.6 Stars). His newest suspense novel, Treacherous Waters, is Book 4 of a “Sequel Series” with Detective Joe Boyd (a popular character in the Jack Turner books) taking the lead role.

As an indie author, Dan now has the freedom to write both inspirational and suspense novels. Book 1 of his first indie inspirational series, Rescuing Finley, released in November 2015. Rescuing Finley Cover - half sizeSince then he has released 3 additional books to the series. All of them feature a shelter dog as a main character and also include a love story element. The books have been a smashing success with readers (even those who aren’t dog-lovers). Rescuing Finley has received over 2,000 Amazon reviews. Combined the 4 books have over 6,000 reviews (Avg 4.8 Stars).

In addition to his writing, Dan also enjoys public speaking and is frequently invited to speak at writer’s conferences, either as a keynote speaker or teaching workshops and seminars on a variety of writing topics. 

The rights to his novel The Reunion was optioned and adapted into a screenplay by 2-time-Oscar-winning screenwriter and producer Nick Vallelonga. The Reunion movie project is in pre-production (Nick plans to make it his next feature film). Dan has recently co-written the screenplay for his award-winning Christmas novel, The Unfinished Gift with his talented son, Isaac, who is now writing and directing movies himself. They are hoping to get this screenplay in production after The Reunion is made.

The e-book conspiracy

**Slightly tongue in cheek. Calling it a conspiracy, at least.....

**Visual aids ahead

What if there was a conspiracy to do away with the printed book and to force we readers to be reliant on e-books?

  I was at first totally dead set against e-books. I have mellowed a bit, and actually read a lot of them these days, but nowhere near the amount of physical books. There is just something about the feel of a book in your hands, being able to leaf through it, re-read favorite parts, to see books on your bookshelves, pull them off and leaf through them.....you miss all that with e-books.

 And yeah, I get the fact that they are convenient. I currently have 1588 books on my Kindle. No, that is not an exaggeration. And a huge majority were free, and a huge majority will never get read because I have so many physical books to read. 

And the idea of paying much for an e-book boggles my mind. I have paid a couple dollars on rare occasion, and 99 cents more often....but to pay $8 and up as I see a lot of prices.....man. If I am paying that, I want a physical book, not an electroic file I cannot hold in my hands.

The reading I do on my Kindle fire is primarily at work in my car while waiting to go in. I go plenty early to get a good parking place, and the Kindle Fire lights up, making it easy to see if it is dark or not quite light enough to read a regular book. So I actually subscribed to Kindle Unlimited and read books on it before work and on breaks.

But the whole push for e-books frustrates me. Amazon, especially pushes e-books over physical books. 

Here are the promised visual aids😃

Search Amazon for one of my favorite authors, Kimberley Woodhouse (only using her because I love her books and like her so well....this happens with all authors)

Now what do you notice - if you can read it....Two out of three books are showing the Kindle price and version. That is par for the course.

Now what happens if you click on one of her books in the search results:

Again, the Kindle version is what comes up automatically. 
Now let's go a step further, and go to her Amazon page.

Surprise, surprise, surprise: the Kindle version comes up as the first choice. 

When this e-book push really gets to me, is on preorders. Baker Publishing actually offers 40% off  preorders of most of their books, and I do take advantage of that.

However, that is not the norm. A lot of authors I buy books from self-publish, and Amazon always has the e-book up long before the paperback for preorder. Most of the time, the paperback does not even show up to order until release day, and sometimes not for a week after release day.

Here are two books I want to preorder. They are both due out August 8, 11 days from now. And only the e-books are available for preorder. I run onto this over and over again. I want to preorder the paperbacks, but Amazon does not put them up for preorder.

There is another author whose books I love, and she has been offering preorder buys on her last few books. Guess what kind.....if you guessed e-book, you should win a prize....if I had any......

Anyway, I asked a couple times about a preorder buy on paperbacks, and she replied not this time. But there is never a time she does. Sigh.

It is convenient to carry hundreds of books on an electronic device (wonder what the limit is? It is obviously more than 1588).

But I will always prefer physical books. And if an EMP ever happens, e-books will not exist, and all we will have is phsical books. Just like in the old days. 😎

Notable author: Ronie Kendig

  I have been reading and reviewing Ronie Kendig's books since 2010 when I reviewed her first book. I have reviewed pretty much every book she has done until she started self-publishing.  

 Her first book was a suspense novel titled Dead Reckoning. It was updated and added to in 2016. It was a great read, and I was immediately hooked on her books. She switched gears a bit later in 2010 when she came out with the first book in her popular Discarded Heroes Series. With that series, she became known for writing military/special ops fiction, which is what she has mostly written since then.

Nightshade is the first book in the series, and is about the team leader, Max. He has PTSD issues, and is separated from his wife. It is an awesome story, and I have re-read that one a few times. The Discarded Heroes Series is also where the Metcalfe family is introduced. One of them gets his own series later, and Kendig's latest series is titled The Metcalfes.

The covers for the Discarded Heroes Series has been redone, and I am not a fan. The originals had the characters pictured on the covers. The new covers just have silhouettes. 

Ronie also writes what is called speculative fiction, aka science fiction. I am not a fan of that genre', so I have not read those even though she is one of my favorite authors. There are three books in the Abiassa's Fire Series, and two so far in the Droseran Saga.

Favorites of mine:

Discarded Heroes, which I mentioned already.(Aren't the original covers better?) :)

A Breed Apart. This is a trilogy about military war dogs. Though I am far from being a fan of dogs, I loved this series and found it fascinating how dogs are used by the military. That series was written in 2016-2017. In October, she is starting a series based on that, A Breed Apart: Legacy. The first book is titled Havoc. She just released the description and book cover.

The Breed Apart Series is also getting new covers soon.

The Tox Files. Another trilogy. She branched out with this one including supernatural themes that added a lot to the books. The series revolved around Cole "Tox" Russell and his team.

The Metcalfes. There are six Metcalfe siblings, and they all have cool names. Canyon gets his story in Wolfsbane, the third book in her first series, The Discarded Heroes. That is the book where the whole Metcalfe family is introduced. Leif gets a whole trilogy about him in The Book of Wars series. Then the remaining siblings each get their own book in the series simply titled "The Metcalfes." The whole series is about sex trafficking, and how each sibling fights it and rescues those trapped in it. Amazing series. And each book is titled the name of the Metcalfe featured.

As I mentioned earlier, Ronie's next book is due out in October: Havoc, #1 in The Breed Apart Legacy Series.

More about Ronie:

An Army brat, Ronie Kendig grew up in the classic military family, with her father often TDY and her mother holding down the proverbial fort. Their family moved often, which left Ronie attending six schools by the time she’d entered fourth grade. Her respite and “friends” during this time were the characters she created.

It was no surprise when she married a military veteran—her real-life hero—in June 1990 and recently celebrated their 30th Anniversary. Despite the craziness of life, Ronie finds balance and peace with her faith, family, retired military working dog VVolt N629, and Benning the Stealth Golden a short train ride from New York City.

Ronie has a deep love and passion for people, which is why she earned a degree in Psychology from Liberty University. Ronie speaks and teaches across the country and mentors other writers.

Since launching onto the publishing scene in 2010, Ronie and her books have hit bestseller lists and garnered awards and critical acclaim, including:

2020 Realm Award – Science Fiction – Brand of Light

2020 Alliance Award (Reader’s Choice) – Brand of Light

2020 INSPY Award Short List – Storm Rising and Brand of Light

2019 Realm Maker Award – Fantasy – Fierian

2017 RT Reviewers’ Choice Winner – Crown of Souls

2016 RT Reviewers’ Choice Winner – Conspiracy of Silence

2016 ACFW Carol Award Finalist – The Warrior’s Seal

2015 RT Book of the Year Finalist – Firethorn

2015 INSPY Shortlist – Firethorn and Embers

2015 Lime Award Winner – Firethorn

2012 Christy Award Winner – Wolfsbane (Contemporary Romance)

2013 HOLT Medallion Winner – Trinity: Military War Dog (Best Book by a Virginia Author)

2013 Selah Award Winner  – Firethorn (Fiction – Suspense)

2013 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award Winner – Trinity: Military War Dog (Romantic Suspense)

2012 Lime Award Winner – Firethorn (Suspense)

2012 Carol Award Finalist – Wolfsbane (Romantic Suspense)

Christian Retailing’s 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards Finalist – Nightshade

2011 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award Finalist – Nightshade (Romantic Suspense)

Top 25 Christian Fiction Suspense, Mystery, and Thriller Writers by FamilyFiction (Sept 2011)

2011 FamilyFiction Readers’ Choice Awards – New Favorite Author & Novel of the Year.

INSPY Award Shortlist final in Mystery/Thriller (Dead Reckoning)

2010 Lime Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Nightshade)

Notable author: James R Hannibal

James Hannibal started out writing secular fiction. I bought Shadow Catcher (published in 2013) by him in 2018. And I don't know why. That sounds bad, but I don't buy and read secular fiction, but I bought that book for some reason.

I read it, and loved it. It was squeaky clean. No bad language. Nothing inappropriate at all. Seriously...cleaner than some Christian books I have read. And it was really good. I ordered the second one and it was just as good. 

   There is a third book, which actually comes before the other two. I could only find it in hardcover, and only for a lot more than I wanted to pay for a used book - in the $30-$50 range. I emailed the author, thanked him for his service - he is military - told him how much I enjoyed those two books, and asked if he had one he would sell me at a normal price. He replied that if I didn't mind that there were some errors and a few names different from the other two books, he would give me a copy. To my surprise, he also sent all 3 books in his juvenile series, Section 13.

His first book on the Christian market with Revell, Publishing, The Gryphon Heist, came out in 2019, followed by a sequel in 2019, Chasing the White Lion. He has done two other novels on the Christian market: The Paris Betrayal, and Elysium Tide, his most recent novel with Revell.

His most recent novel is Bear Knight, the second book in The Lightraider Academy Series. According to Amazon, it is geared towards 8-12 year olds. Which will not stop me from reading them at some point. :)

In addition to being a great author, he is also an interesting guy. Former stealth pilot, and he  is a rare multi-sense synesthete, meaning all of his senses intersect.

About the Author

Former stealth pilot James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. He has been shot at, locked up with surface to air missiles, and chased down a winding German road by an armed terrorist. He is a two-time Silver Falchion award-winner for his Section 13 mysteries, a Thriller Award nominee for his Nick Baron covert ops series, and a Selah Award winner for his Clandestine Service series. James is a rare multi-sense synesthete, meaning all of his senses intersect. He sees and feels sounds and smells and hears flashes of light. If he tells you the chocolate cake you offered smells blue and sticky, take it as a compliment.

Find out more about him and his books at JamesRHannibal.com

Unseen Danger, Guardians Unleashed #3 by Jerusha Agen

 

Book description:

THIS WOMAN AND HER K-9 PROTECT OTHERS. NOW WHO WILL PROTECT THEM?

After a brutal attack, it took Nevaeh Williams six years to rebuild her life. Now a security specialist at the Phoenix K-9 Security and Detection Agency, she faces danger nearly every day. But when an old friend is targeted, her fragile stability begins to crumble.

Celebrity bodyguard Branson Aaberg could lose more than his career if he fails to end the mysterious threat against his client. Soon he’s more concerned with rescuing the tough but vulnerable woman who joins his security team.

Nevaeh is there to protect her friend, but what if she needs protection? What if the feeling she’s being watched isn’t the result of her traumatized imagination? If the danger is real, Nevaeh's only hope for survival may be the God powerful enough to defeat her worst enemy—the one she doesn't see before it's too late.

My review:
  I have been looking forward to this book ever since I finished the last one. And it was worth the wait.

  Each one of the Phoenix team has been interesting and complex so far, and Nevaeh was no exception to the rule. Subject to panic attacks because of PTSD due to an attack, she is about afraid of her own shadow. Yet she is determined to protect others. It is important to have characters readers like, and she definitely fit the bill. I found myself cheering her on and hoping she could conquer her fears.

 Branson was the hero of the story, and you just can't help liking him. A  Christian protecting celebrities, he found himself living in a world not at all conducive to living the Christian life, always afraid to speak up about his convictions for fear of losing his job. He is the total opposite of Neveah, and scares her into the next atmosphere by his very huge presence. The two of them together, playing off each other, is quite entertaining.

And Branson is quite amusing with his kitten. Quote from the book that someone made a graphic of: "Who would have imagined Hercules would baby talk to a baby feline named Princess?"

Unseen Danger is a non stop adrenaline rush of suspense and drama, with romance, humor, and faith woven throughout the story. Agen is not preachy about it, but brings forth lessons of faith that her fictional character Neveah needs, and even a wakeup call for Branson.

I am not a dog lover. In fact, I don't remotely like dogs...but I for some reason like them in stories like this. Each of the Phoenix team has a dog they use in their work, and Neveah's was great to read about. And in addition to Neveah and her dog, all of the other Phoenix members and their canine helpers made appearances throughout the book.

My favorite of the books in this series so far is the prequel, Rising Danger. Unseen Danger comes next to it in my opinion. This book had a lot happening in it, and was a book I found difficult to put down.

Agen is a newer voice in Christian suspense, but she is quickly becoming a noticeable one. I definitely recommend this book, and the ones preceding it. And they should be read in order. 

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Jerusha Agen imagines danger around every corner but knows God is there, too. So naturally, she writes suspense infused with the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ.

With a B.A. in English and a background in screenwriting, Jerusha is a speaker, writing instructor, and Fear Warrior who sounds the call to battle against fear in our everyday lives.

Jerusha loves to hang out with her big furry dogs and little furry cats. You’ll often find her sharing irresistibly adorable photos of them in her newsletter and on social media.

Get a free suspense story from Jerusha and find more of her thrilling, fear-fighting novels at www.JerushaAgen.com.

Unseen Danger is due to release on July 27.

Check out the rest of the series:

Prequel: Rising Danger

#1: Hidden Danger

#2: Covert Danger

And her Contemporary Romance Series, Sisters Redeemed

Deadly Sanctuary, Mountain Protectors #3 by Mindy Steele

 

Book description:

Years ago, journalist- Emery Bishop survived the unthinkable. Now the single mother is heading home to her grandparent’s bed and breakfast in Kentucky to seek sanctuary. With a dark past looming all around her, Hickory Cove is the one place Emery has always felt safe. Only this time, Emery finds herself the center of attention she doesn’t know how to protect herself from.

Corbin Peachy is the local game warden. Protecting nature is his calling and leaves a man little time for romance. But he is instantly drawn to the guarded journalist. Corbin’s protective nature wants to help her, but can his patience tear down the walls Emery has built all around her or will a string of recent murders send her running again.

Emery has to decide if she is willing to trust the local game warden with more than just her heart.

My review:
   This is still a fairly new author to me, and I have been enjoying this series. This one, the third book, may be the best one yet. In my not so humble opinion.

  I loved the setting for this book: The bed and breakfast, the mountain, woods, water...a good author can paint a picture in the reader's mind so they can easily visualize such things. And this author did a great job doing so.

 The characters: The hero and heroine of the story, Emery and Corbin, were great, strong, and likable characters. Then there is Cooper - or Coop. I feel kids add a lot to a story, and he certainly did. I have to admit Corbin was the most interesting character. The fact he grew up Amish, and left the Amish to do what he felt called to do made him all the more interesting.

Secondary characters are important to a story, and this book had some great ones. Emery's grandparents definitely added a lot to the story, especially Arizona. Emily and Gabe, friends of Emery were also important to the story, and Gabe and Corbin together were amusing as Gabe played protector and tried to stop Corbin's interest.

And of course the suspense. There was a lot in the book. Sure, I had an idea of where the book was going to go, and what was most likely going to happen......but it was still an exciting ride to get to that point.

 This was truly an enjoyable read that I didn't want to put down, so I did pretty much read it in one sitting. I am looking forward to more Christian suspense from this author, and hoping she writes more of it.

There is one thing I would change about the book, and this is just me personally. I will be very vague so to avoid spoilers: I loved the relationship between Cooper and Corbin, and wish that something would have been made of that at the very end of the book.....but I still loved the book. :)

Though these books are a series, they seem to me stand alone titles.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Raised in Kentucky timber country, Steele writes Amish Romance peppered in humor - and now suspense -  using her rural surroundings as her muse. She is a best selling author and the winner of the 2022 FHLCW Reader's Choice award for sweet romance. Steele creates realistic characters for her readers and believes in engaging all the senses to make you laugh, cry, hold your breath, and root for the happy ever after ending. Readers can find themselves, somewhere within her pages. 

Find out more about her at MindySteele.com   

Deadly Sanctuary will be released on July 25.

Check out the rest of the series:

                                         Book #1 Bones On the Mountain

    Book #2 Breaking McKinley's Curse

And if you enjoy Amish books, check out those she has written, such as The Miller's Creek Series

The Adventuress, A Matter of Intrigue #2 by Lori Bates Wright

Book description:

 1870 Cimarron, New Mexico

Former Texas Ranger, Nathaniel Wolfe, has a reputation as the country's most prolific gunslinger. Raised in a Spanish mission on the fringes of Cimarron in the New Mexico Territory, he knows what it's like to be an outcast. He's spent years carving out a name for himself, but someone's out to destroy him. When he joins forces with the Pinkerton Agency as an undercover priest, all goes as planned until he crosses paths with the spitfire daughter of Augus Jamison.

Jessa Jamison has a serious aversion to fast guns and is intent on nabbing the ruthless outlaw who gunned down her father. Certain she's found an advocate in the tall cleric, she soon struggles with feelings of guilt brought on by her unfortunate attraction to the handsome stranger.

As they inch closer to the truth, they discover corruption in the Territory runs deep and no one is beyond suspicion. Soon the imposter strikes again and Nathan is captured at the scene of the crime. It's up to Jessa to listen to her heart and prove his innocence before it's too late. 

My review:
  I had never heard of this author until I had the chance to review this book. It sounded good, as did her others, so I immediately bought and read all three books in her Saberton Legacy Series. (Which are really good).

  This book was not just good, it was awesome. It had two great main characters, Jessa and Nathan. Jessa was a likable character and definitely added a lot to the story. In my not so humble opinion though, Nathan is the one who made the story what it was. You cannot help but like him. Left at a mission as soon as he was born, he was raised by a priest and nuns. He grew up and got the reputation as a gunslinger, though he lived within the law. Determined to do the right thing, he goes undercover as a priest right under the nose of the guy who wants him dead. A guy who is obviously the bad guy in the story.

The book is full of other colorful and delightful characters, and there is a lot of suspense, drama, romance........and even humor. Such as a purple chicken. :) 

And then there is the mystery of who Nathan's mother is. Slight spoiler: her identity is revealed, and I was very surprised.

Everything turns out well for the hero and heroine in the end, and it is an exciting journey the reader is taken on to get to that point.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a delight to read, and I did in fact read it in one sitting. I didn't intend to read the whole thing, but it was worth staying up late to finish.

This is the second book in a series, and I would recommend reading #1 first. The couple from the first book appears in this one, and I would recommend reading their story first.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Lori Bates Wright is an author of Christian Fiction who has a fascination with history and a soft spot for love stories.

Raised in New Mexico, she now lives in Texas with her husband of 34 years. Her two grown kids have blessed her with four adorable grand boys (who leap tall buildings in a single bound!)

When she’s not writing you'll most likely find her sipping coffee and daydreaming on the porch swing. Or cooking for her family when she can get them all together.

Her passion is helping women of all ages discover their God-given strengths. With a touch of humor, her stories help illustrate truths, hard-won lessons, and unwavering perseverance by women from times gone by. In honoring the past, she hopes to encourage today’s women to courageously love, devote their talents, and never give up on their dreams.

You can learn more about Lori and her stories at www.LoriBatesWright.com.

Check out her other books:

                                 The Songstress, A Matter of Intrigue #1