What’s your view on novels with cliffhanger endings?

Bookish Question #243 | What’s your view on novels with cliffhanger endings?

by Iola Goulton

What’s my view on novels with cliffhanger endings?

This is an easy question.

I loathe cliffhanger endings. They feel like cheating, as though the author

I especially loathe cliffhanger endings in novels that are billed as romance. Tip: romances have to have a happy-ever-after ending, and a cliffhanger doesn’t meet that criteria.

My view is that a novel is like a movie: it has a start, a middle, and an end, and they all happen between the first and last pages. A cliffhanger ending feels like the author has cut the novel in two so they can sell more copies because they’ve hooked the reader.

Yes, a novel that’s part of a series can have a few loose ends that will be picked up in the next novel in the series, but each novel in the series should be complete.

In romance, this will mean that the hero and heroine get their happy ever after ending, but the novel might have an over-arching plot question that isn’t answered, or it might introduce the hero and heroine of the next book in the series.

That’s okay.

What isn’t okay is leaving the hero and heroine on opposite sides of Berlin as the Wall goes up (#TrueStory) or having them break up in the final chapter only to reunite and marry in the gap between the first and second books in the series (also #TrueStory).

So no, I don’t like cliffhanger endings. Do you?

Maybe he would stop chasing the impossible and trying to live up to standards he was never meant to live up to.

Book Review | To Win a Prince by Toni Shiloh

by Iola Goulton

To Win a Prince is the sequel to In Search of a Prince, and is Toni Shiloh’s second romance set in the fictional island nation of Ọlọrọ Ilé, off the coast of Africa. To Win a Prince is a standalone romance, and you don’t have to have read In Search of A Prince to read this, although it will introduce the main characters and some of the background.

We met both the main characters in In Search for a Prince.

Fashion designer Iris Blakely is the best friend of Bri, the new Queen of Ọlọrọ Ilé, and is starting her own fashion label to employ local women and help lift them out of poverty.

Prince Ekon Diallo was found guilty of conspiring to undermine the line of succession to the throne. His punishment is to be stripped of his title and to undertake community service.

It’s always a challenge for a writer to take the antagonist from one novel and turn that character into a sympathetic hero in the next in the series, and to make that believable for the reader. Toni Shiloh has done an excellent job of that with Ekon, and it’s a definite strength of the novel.

What I liked most was the fact Iris and Ekon had a relationship of equals.

Iris is an intelligent and independent woman, but one who recognises her limitations. Ekon, despite his arrogance and life of privilege, does have valuable information to contribute to Iris’s business. Equally, Ekon also has limitations, and learns to ask for help. That’s a solid foundation for a lasting relationship, and it’s good to see.

Another strength was the natural way faith and prayer flowed seamlessly from the narrative.

It never felt forced, not even when Iris and Ekon went to church. I liked the way their relationship developed. Iris had found Ekon attractive, which made their developing relationship feel real and not forced. I also liked the fact that she deliberately tried to distance herself from Ekon emotionally once she found out he wasn’t a Christian.

Ekon was a well-written character. He was suitably arrogant and unpleasant at the beginning of the novel but softened as the story progressed. This gave their relationship an additional sense of realism.

To Win a Prince is an excellent contemporary Christian romance which will appeal to fans of royalty romance, or people looking for romances set outside the USA.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a fee ebook for review.

About Toni Shiloh

tonishiloh_highresToni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace of the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior.

She writes soulfully romantic novels to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness.

Before pursuing her dream as a writer, Toni served in the United States Air Force. It was there she met her husband. After countless moves, they ended up in Virginia, where they are raising their two boys.

When she’s not typing in imagination land, Toni enjoys reading, playing video games, ​making jewelry, and spending time with ​her family.

About To Win a Prince

Can she stop herself from falling before she’s too far gone?

As a fashion aficionado and best friend of the queen of the African island country Ọlọrọ Ilé, Iris Blakely dreams of using her talent to start a sustainable clothing line to help citizens in impoverished areas and honor the country’s resources. But when she discovers that Ekon Diallo–the man who betrayed her best friend–will be her business consultant, the battle between her desires and reality begins.

Ekon Diallo has lost everything: his princely title, his material possessions, his friends, and the respect of his fellow Ọlọrans. To pay for his actions against Ọlọrọ Ilé, he’s forced to assist the charismatic Iris Blakely–but he can’t allow his heart to distract him from regaining his status.

Though they come from vastly different worlds, Iris and Ekon are both determined to reach their goals, and the only way to do that is to work together–if they can just keep their hearts from getting in the way . . .

You can find Told You So online at

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Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week #250 | No Filter by Lisa Renee

by Iola Goulton

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from No Filter by Lisa Renee, an Australian rom-com author.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Melissa Turner's stomach twisted like her camera strap as she strode down the half-decorated church aisle.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About No Filter

When San Diego videographer, Chance McMillan discovers a food photographer will shoot his friend’s wedding, he’s outraged.

Australian, Melissa Turner isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Her fire and spunk surprise Chance, and now he doesn’t want her to leave the US. He offers Melissa a documentary project to extend her stay, but as single parents, could two nations, two broken families build a bridge to a safe middle ground?

Melissa tags along to San Diego as a photographer for Lachlan’s sister’s wedding. Head strong Melissa, who has “no filter” clashes with videographer, Chance, who’s also a single parent.

Can she overcome her misconceptions of relationships and give him a chance before she leaves the US?

You can find No Filter online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

Do you prefer romance novels with “just like you” characters, or billionaires or royalty?

Bookish Question #242 | Do you prefer romance novels with “just like you” characters, or billionaires or royalty?

by Iola Goulton

Do you prefer romance novels with “just like you” characters, or stories with billionaires or royalty or superstars of some kind?

I tend to prefer characters I can relate to, which tend to be the “just like me” characters.

I don’t mind the occasional sports star or rock star or actor. They add interest, and glimpse into a different world … especially if they’re paired with a more relatable character.

I’m not normally a big fan of royalty romance, but I did enjoy In Search of a Prince by Toni Shiloh (a Christian twist on The Princess Diaries, set in a fictional African island kingdom). I have the sequel, To Win a Prince, on my to-read pile.

But there are exceptions.

For example, I enjoy Regency Romance (and Victorian and Georgian romance), and stories in those time periods often feature the affluent members of the upper classes, if not actual royalty. Many of these characters are rich—not billionaires, but certainly the equivalent in their times.

For example, I have read and enjoyed several series set in the Restoration era, such as the Empire State series by Elizabeth Camden (starting with A Dangerous Legacy). But I’m not as much of a fan of billionaire romance, although there are exceptions.

So I guess I don’t mind reading about royalty or rich people in historical romance. But I definitely prefer the main characters in contemporary romance to be “just like me” characters.

What about you? Do you prefer romances novels with “just-like-you” characters, or fairy tale stories with billionaires and royalty?

It was too late now. They both knew when he had first embarked on this road to debauchery.

Book Review | Midnight’s Budding Morrow by Carolyn Miller

by Iola Goulton

I almost didn’t request this book to review because the cover didn’t appeal to me. It felt too dark, although I could see it reflected the title (actually, I wasn’t too keen on the title, either). But it’s by Carolyn Miller, and I’ve enjoyed every one of her novels so far … so I decided to give it a go.

Sarah Drayton is single and of “advanced age” (about twenty-eight) in a time when ladies are supposed to be married much younger. She goes to stay with Beatrice Langley, an old school friend, but is tricked into a marriage of convenience with Beatrice’s  badly behaved brother, Captain James Langley.

We see James from Sarah’s point of view at first, and he doesn’t come across as a likeable person. But we get to know him better as the story progresses, and have more sympathy for him as we understand him better.

For his part, James has no desire to marry Sarah—but has even less desire to see his estate go to a distant cousin. But if he wants an heir, he’s going to have to spend time with his bride and court her properly.

Midnight’s Budding Morrow is darker than many of Carolyn Miller’s previous books.

The combination of the decaying old house, unhelpful servants, and overbearing patriarch give the story a gothic feel, like old Victoria Holt or Mary Stewart stories. The age-old rumours of a hidden treasure in the house only reinforce that feeling.

While the start is somewhat dark and a little contrived (aren’t all marriage of convenience stories? Isn’t that why we love them?), the novel progresses well. It is yet another strong novel from Carolyn Miller, with excellent characters, a unique setting, and a strong Christian faith arc.

Thanks to Kregel Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Carolyn Miller

Carolyn MillerCarolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. She is married, with four gorgeous children, who all love to read (and write!).

A longtime lover of Regency romance, Carolyn’s novels have won a number of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers. Her favourite authors are classics like Jane Austen (of course!), Georgette Heyer, and Agatha Christie, but she also enjoys contemporary authors like Susan May Warren and Becky Wade.

Her stories are fun and witty, yet also deal with real issues, such as dealing with forgiveness, the nature of really loving versus ‘true love’, and other challenges we all face at different times.

Find Carolyn Miller online at:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads| Pinterest | Twitter

About Midnight’s Budding Morrow

Can real love grow between a wallflower and an unrepentant rogue?

Sarah Drayton is eager to spend time with her best friend at her crumbling Northumberland castle estate. Matrimony is the last thing on her mind and the last thing she expects to be faced with on a holiday. Yet she finds herself being inveigled into a marriage of convenience with her friend’s rakish brother.

When James Langley returns to his family’s estate, he can’t be bothered to pay attention to his responsibilities as the heir. War is raging and he wants only distraction, not serious tethers. But his roguish ways have backed him into a corner, and he has little choice but to obey his father’s stunning decree: marry before returning to war, or else. Suddenly he finds himself wedded to a clever and capable woman he does not love.

Sarah craves love and a place to belong, neither of which James offered before returning to the battlefront. Now everyone around her thinks she married above her station, and they have no intention of rewarding her for such impertinence. It isn’t until her husband returns from war seemingly changed that she begins to hope they may find real happiness. But can she trust that this rake has truly reformed?

When tragedy strikes, this pair must learn to trust God and his plans. Will they be destroyed . . . or will they discover that even in the darkest depths of night, the morning still holds hope?

Find Midnight’s Budding Morrow online:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Read the introduction to Midnight’s Budding Morrow:

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week #249 | Desert Willow by Patricia Beal

by Iola Goulton

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from Desert Willow by Patricia Beal.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Clara Malone sat alone in the airport, her grandmother's labored request rushing through her mind.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About Desert Willow

After a failed engagement, Captain Andrew Lee James has focused on building a career in the Army he loves. That commitment includes helping a feisty, out-of-work ballerina whose devotion to her grandmother’s dying wish immediately grabs his heart. She’s the one, but will he be able to win the heart of a woman who has vowed to never be involved with a soldier?

College graduate Clara Malone swore to never love anyone in the military again but when her dying grandmother asks her to deliver a love letter to the general who broke her heart decades ago, she agrees and finds herself escorted by a handsome Army captain whose kindness challenges her beliefs. Surrounded by desert willows that shower her path with pretty pink flowers and sing with the buzzing of hummingbirds, Clara enjoys the wild beauty of El Paso—and her time with Andrew—more than expected.

Can she deliver her grandmother’s last love letter without losing her heart to a man who represents everything she fears?

You can find Desert Willow online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

How do you feel about spoilers in book descriptions or reviews?

Bookish Question #241 | How do you feel about spoilers in book descriptions or reviews?

by Iola Goulton

I’m not a fan of spoilers in book descriptions or reviews.

Having said that, I can see they might sometimes be needed in a review.

Book Descriptions

In general, I think the book description should introduce the main characters and the central plot. That’s it. The book description shouldn’t give spoilers about what’s going to happen later in the book. In my view, anything that’s mentioned in the book description should occur in the opening chapters.

(Otherwise, I find myself skimming as I wait for the promised events.)

Book Reviews

Book reviews are a little different. While I don’t want to read (or write) spoilers in book reviews, there are times when they are unavoidable.

A good review will share the basic plot, but should also share something of the reviewer’s emotional response to the book. That can be hard to do without giving spoilers …

One difficulty comes in defining what is actually a spoiler. Some novels contain content that some readers would prefer to know about in advance so they can make an informed decision as to whether they want to read the book or not. Other readers dislike content warnings or trigger warnings as they can be spoilers.

For example, I recently read and reviewed a historical romance where the heroine was married against her will, and the husband consumated the marriage. We call that rape now, but the act was not considered rape in the laws of the time. All the same, a modern reader may well want to be aware of the fact … but it’s two spoilers (saying she was married, and saying the marriage was consumated).

Some novels include references to historical events. If a reviewer mentions that, say, the Titanic sank or the Germans lost World War One, is revealing that a spoiler or is it general knowledge?

My knowledge of history is centred around the history of English-speaking and European countries. A Japanese or Indian reader would have a very different knowledge of history. What about lesser-known historical facts, or historical facts that are common knowledge in other countries but unknown to the reader? Is it a spoiler simply because I didn’t already know about it?

Goodreads allows reviewers to tag some or all of their review as containing spoilers, and hides that part of the review. This is a nice compromise. Those people who want to know the spoiler can read the full review, and those who don’t want the spoiler don’t have to read it.

What about you? What’s your view on spoilers in book descriptions or reviews?

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week #248 | A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams

by Iola Goulton

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m back in my to-read pile today. Well, the to-read folder on my Kindle 🙂

I’m sharing from A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

I need to get this dress right. More than right. I need to get this dress perfect.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About A Lowcountry Bride

Maya Jackson has worked for a renowned New York City bridal gown brand for years and dreams of becoming Head Designer. She has the talent, she just needs a chance to showcase her unique style. Due to an illness, she’s always prioritized her career over her personal life until Maya’s father fractures his hip and she returns to Charleston, SC. While home for only a few months, she’s thrilled to find an opportunity at the local bridal gown boutique, never expecting sparks to fly with its owner…

A military veteran and widowed father, Derek Sullivan hopes to save Always a Bride from bankruptcy in order to preserve the legacy of his family. He also wants to reconnect with his estranged, twelve-year-old daughter, who is still recovering from the loss of her mother. The last thing he needs is a relationship with a beautiful, smart, complicated woman who will be leaving soon.

When Derek begins to fall for the lovely Maya, he knows there’s no future. But destiny has its own plans, and these two lonely people with big hearts discover that coming home to love is the best gift life can give.

You can find A Lowcountry Bride online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

What Christian fiction has another pet as a character?

Bookish Question #240 | What Christian fiction has another pet as a character?

by Iola Goulton

We’ve previously looked at:

This week it’s time to look at other pets. What Christian fiction has another pet as a character?

I read this question, and thought I’d already answered it. But I was thinking of another post: What is your favourite fictional pet and why?

Anyway, my answer to this week’s question is closely related to my answer to the favourite fictional pet question. Here the main series I can think of with non-traditional pets is Heather Day Gilbert’s Exotic Pet Sitter series:

Belinda Blake and the Snake in the Grass (click here to read my review)
Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (click here to read my review)
Belinda Blake and the Birds of a Feather (click here to read my review)

I have also read a lot of Christian fiction that features horses, although they are generally treated as work animals rather than pets. In case you’re wondering, pets are allowed in the house. Work animals are not.

My list is pretty short.

What Christian fiction has another pet as a character?

Book Review | Critical Alliance by Elizabeth Goddard

by Iola Goulton

Mackenzie Hanson is on a date when she sees a face from her secret past—Julian Abel.

Julian is then hit by a car and she finds a business card in her pocket … a message from Julian which sends her home to Montana in time to find her brother dead in his home. There she meets her sister, now the CEO of the family IT business, and Alex Knight, who she met three years ago when she was approached then rejected for a role in a secret three-letter agency.

Yes, it’s a fast-paced start with a lot of characters introduced and a lot of complex information shared very quickly. This did make it difficult to follow the plot at first … although perhaps that’s to be expected with a romantic suspense story about cybercrime.

Critical Alliance was an odd mix of too much information and not enough.

There were scenes that seemed to speed past and I was left feeling as though valuable information was missing. There were other scenes where things were spelled out that didn’t need to be (e.g. I think most suspense readers know what Interpol is).

Once I got into the cybercrime element of the plot (and had worked out who all the characters were), the plot did start to make sense. The suspense element was fast-paced and compelling, with enough real-world relevance to make it just a little scary.

The faith element was good—not so much as to be preachy, but written so it felt integrated into the characters (sometimes the Christian elements can feel tacked on, and sometimes they’re so subtle as to feel almost invisible). Critical Alliance struck this balance well.

The romance aspect was also well done. The novel takes place over a very short timeframe (days), and I’ve never been a fan of instalust in Christian fiction, so I appreciated the fact Mackenzie and Alex had previously met, even it they hadn’t spent much time together. It made their attraction feel a little more reasonable.

Critical Alliance is the third and final book in the Rocky Mountain Courage series.

That explains why I thought it introduced too many characters too quickly – they were probably characters from the previous books in the series, which I would have known if I’d read one or both of Present Danger or Deadly Target.

Critical Alliance by @BethGoddard is a solid Christian romantic suspense, but I do recommend reading the rest of the series first. #BookReview Share on X

Overall, Critical Alliance is a solid Christian romantic suspense, but is probably best read as part of the series.

Thanks to Revell and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Elizabeth Goddard

With over a million books sold, Elizabeth Goddard is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of over fifty novels and counting, including the romantic mystery, THE CAMERA NEVER LIES–a 2011 Carol Award winner. Four of her six Mountain Cove books have been contest finalists. Buried, Backfire and Deception are finalists in the Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense, and Submerged is a Carol Award finalist. A 7th generation Texan, Elizabeth graduated from North Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and worked in high-level software sales for several years before retiring to fulfill her dreams of writing full-time.

Find Elizabeth Goddard online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

About Critical Alliance

Mackenzie Hanson’s special set of skills opened the door to a successful career as a professor of cybersecurity at a Michigan university, allowing her to put her criminal past behind her. But when a long-ago partner in crime delivers a cryptic message about her father’s tech company being under cyberattack, she heads for Montana to secure exposed assets, close security breaches, and hopefully save lives.

Diplomatic Security Services special agent Alex Knight is back home in Montana to decompress from a mission gone wrong. But even as he’s trying to relax, he’s drawn into another mystery, complete with suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and whispers of espionage that all have one thing in common–a beautiful cybersecurity expert with a dark past.

When the situation turns deadly, Alex and Mackenzie will have to work together to find the answers they need–before someone silences Mackenzie for good.

You can find Told You So online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Read the introduction to Critical Alliance below: