Category: Book Review

He'd never had a job in his life, but most men worked for a living. How hard could it be?

Book Review | The Stable Hand Lord (Escape to the West #9) by Nerys Leigh

Lord Aaron Wetherington, third son of His Lordship The Marquess of Ipswich, has arrived in the tiny town of Green Hill Creek to find Josephine Carter, to determine whether he is the father of her child. If so, he wants to take responsibility for his actions, even though his father has cut off his allowance in punishment for making the journey. He soon finds Josephine is happily married and he is not the father of her baby. But a minor accident introduces him to Miss Jemima Wood, and he decides to stay in town a little longer.

Jemima is visiting her sister, ostensibly to help her care for her newborn. A badly sprained ankle makes that difficult, but it does introduce her to Aaron, who has some handy tips for dealing with a crying baby. He’s also handsome and kind and attractive … a shame he’s only a stable hand, because her parents want her to marry well, especially after neither of her sisters have. As such, she is entertaining the well-off Mr Wilcox.

Yes, that’s a great setup, in that Aaron and Jem are obviously perfect for each other.

The fun is in watching the characters work out what we already know is going to happen, and wondering how they’ll get out of a few less-good situations.

I have read and enjoyed the entire Escape to the West series.

The first five books were a unique concept: concurrent stories of five mail-order brides in the same small Western town. As such, they could be read in any order. The later books run sequentially, so should be read in order (although they don’t have to be, as they are all standalone stories). The Stable Hand Lord also has a link back to one of Nerys Leigh’s Pinkerton Detective stories, which are also great fun.

In The Stable Hand Lord (Escape to the West #9), Nerys Leigh again takes a well-worn Western romance trope and make it her own. #ChristianRomance #BookReview Share on X

The reason I like Nerys Leigh’s writing so much is that she manages to take the well-worn Western romance trope and make it her own. The plot always has a little something extra, often a low-key suspense element. Her characters are excellent–clever and funny–and there is plenty of witty dialogue. The series isn’t specifically Christian fiction, but the characters do all go to church and it’s definitely wholesome fiction.

All in all, The Stable Hand Lord is another winner from Nerys Leigh.

Recommended for fans of historical romantic comedy from authors such as Jen Turano.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

About Nerys Leigh

Nerys LeighNerys Leigh writes thoroughly romantic Christian historical love stories. She loves heroes who are strong but sweet and heroines who are willing to fight for the life they want.

She’s from the UK, which you would think puts her in a unique position to not write about mail order brides in the American west, but the old adage of writing what you know has never appealed to her. She has an actual American read each book before publishing to make sure she hasn’t gone all English on it.

No One’s Bride is the first in the Escape to the West series which tells the stories of a group of women willing to travel across America to find happiness, and the men determined to win their hearts.

You can find Nerys Leigh online relaxing and generally enjoying the view at:

 Website | Facebook

About The Stable Hand Lord

Lord Aaron Wetherington, third son of the Marquess of Ipswich, is a very long way out of his depth.

Having traveled to California to make up for the mistakes of his past, he runs, literally, into Jemima Wood. And his whole world changes.

Jem doesn’t know Aaron is a nobleman, but she likes him anyway, and he decides to stay for as long as it takes to win her heart. He has two problems, however.

First, his father has stopped his allowance, and funds are rapidly running out. And second, there’s a rival for Jem’s affections, one who is, as far as she knows, a far better prospect than Aaron.

So he’ll have to find a job and learn how to attract a woman without using his title, and he has no idea how to accomplish either.

But for Jem, he’ll do anything. He just wants her to love him for who he is.

And for that, he’ll have to risk losing her before he’s even won.

Find The Stable Hand Lord online at:

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Read the introduction to The Stable Hand Lord below:

God has chosen this story for us, and not another one, and I mean to live this story as best I can with the time I'm given.

Book Review | Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green

Things We Didn’t Say is an unusual novel with an unusual heroine.

Johanna Berglund, the main character, speaks seven languages (and is trying to learn Japanese) when she is “persuaded” to return to her hometown of Ironside Lake to serve as a translator for the Germans in the new prisoner of war camp.

Johanna finds herself accused of treason, and the novel is the collection of documents she prepares for her lawyer to prove her innocence—letters to, from, and about her, and a collection of newspaper articles, editorials, and letters to the editor. The letters show Johanna’s virtues and faults in her own eyes, and through the eyes of friends, family, and foe.

I think this country needs a voice willing to speak up and question blind patriotism, and that's what you're doing.

The best historical fiction uses historical events and characters to highlight issues in the present.

Things We Didn’t Say does a masterful job of examining racism and our often irrational feelings towards those who are different to us—whether they look like us or not. It’s also telling that Green has chosen to set her story in a small town that’s home to Americans of Scandinavian descent—people who sometimes look more Aryan than their German enemies, yet people who also discriminate against Japanese Americans and African Americans.

What often has the most impact isn’t the obvious themes of the story, but the offhand comments—like the US Constitution’s definition of treason, or the kitchen hand who owns a copy of “The Negro Motorist Green Book, with safe hotels, filing stations, and eateries marked.” I’ve read my share of travel guides, but they have all aimed to sort the good from the less-good, not the safe from the unsafe.

The unusual structure gives the novel a more slow-paced feel than a “normal” novel might have. It’s also easier to stop reading than in a novel written in more traditional chapters with the cliffhanger or hook at the end of each chapter. Letters have a different structure, and mean it is a little easier to put the novel down. But it’s also easy to pick up again, and to only read one or two letters at a time. If anything, reading slowly is more representative of the timescale covered in the novel.

Every letter has two messages: the one written on the lines and the one written between them. Both are necessary.

The title is also apt, in that a lot of the story is hidden in the things the characters don’t say in writing—another reason to read it slowly. The Things We Didn’t Say is an excellent if unusual novel.

Recommended for historical fiction fans or those interested in a Christian novel written in a non-traditional style.

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

About Amy Lynn Green

Find Amy Lynn Green online at:

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About Things We Didn’t Say

Headstrong Johanna Berglund, a linguistics student at the University of Minnesota, has very definite plans for her future . . . plans that do not include returning to her hometown and the secrets and heartaches she left behind there. But the US Army wants her to work as a translator at a nearby camp for German POWs.

Johanna arrives to find the once-sleepy town exploding with hostility. Most patriotic citizens want nothing to do with German soldiers laboring in their fields, and they’re not afraid to criticize those who work at the camp as well. When Johanna describes the trouble to her friend Peter Ito, a language instructor at a school for military intelligence officers, he encourages her to give the town that rejected her a second chance.

As Johanna interacts with the men of the camp and censors their letters home, she begins to see the prisoners in a more sympathetic light. But advocating for better treatment makes her enemies in the community, especially when charismatic German spokesman Stefan Werner begins to show interest in Johanna and her work. The longer Johanna wages her home-front battle, the more the lines between compassion and treason become blurred–and it’s no longer clear whom she can trust.

You can find Things We Didn’t Say online at

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"She lived in parallel worlds—one literal, one literary. That meant she had twice as much to remember as most people."

Book Review | Murder, Forgotten by Deb Richardson-Moore

Julianna Burke is a murder mystery writer who is experiencing memory issues, cleverly indicated with an odd feeling of distance in the scenes from Julianna’s point of view. As the title implies, Julianna’s memory issues are a key and tragic plot point: Julianna’s husband, Connor, was murdered recently, but Julianna doesn’t remember.

Logan, Julianna’s daughter, returns to the family home to help her mother cope with Connor’s death. The police don’t seem to getting anywhere in the murder investigation, but Logan finds some information that could help … even if she doesn’t like where that information is pointing.

One of the challenges of reading a mystery novel is always seeing if I can work out whodunit.

With Murder, Forgotten I was on the right track in terms of who, but didn’t know why. That ended up being a little convoluted, perhaps because there were a lot of characters and relationships to keep track of. That’s also a key point in a good murder mystery. After all, there have to be several possible evildoers, and Murder, Forgotten had a strong cast of characters, many of whom had motive or opportunity.

There were some writing oddities which annoyed me a little, such as the creative dialogue tags (she thought peevishly), the slips into omniscient point of view (I’m not a fan), and the fact that one factoid was dropped in so often that it was obvious that it was going to be Very Important (and it was).

Murder, Forgotten by Deb Richardson-Moore is an intriguing mystery with a unique plot, and several unexpected twists. A satisfying read. #BookReview #Mystery Share on X

Thanks to Lion Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Deb Richardson-Moore

Deb Richardson-Moore is the author of four fiction titles and a memoir, The Weight of Mercy, about her early years as a pastor at the Triune Mercy Center in Greenville, S.C.

A former national award-winning reporter for The Greenville News, Deb is a popular speaker at book clubs, universities and churches. She has won numerous awards for community involvement, including the 2017 Leadership Greenville Distinguished Alumni Award and being named one of Greenville’s 50 Most Influential People by Greenville Business Magazine in 2013.

A graduate of Wake Forest University, Deb and her husband live in South Carolina.

Find Deb Richardson-Moore online at:

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About Murder, Forgotten

Julianna Burke, bestselling mystery novelist, has a secret that those closest to her are hiding from the world. Julianna is losing her memory, and with it her powerful gift for storytelling that propelled her to fame. A further devastating blow comes when Connor, Julianna’s beloved husband, is murdered. Even this is not something Julianna’s mind can hold on to, and every day her assistant has to break the heart-wrenching news all over again.

Julianna is desperate to know what happened to her husband. As she battles her failing mind to investigate, a detail of the murder surfaces that makes Julianna question everything she’s ever known. Somehow she must fight to find the truth, even though her grip on reality is fading…

Find Murder, Forgotten online at:

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Read the introduction to Murder, Forgotten below:

Now she had to put up with Gus, who clearly wished she'd landed in someone else's sheep paddock.

Book Review | Remind Me Why I’m Here by Kat Colmer

Remind Me Why I’m Here is a fun Australian Young Adult fish out of water story.

Maya Sorenson of Chicago, Illinois, thinks she’s headed to Barangaroo in Sydney, Australia, famous for its harbourside views. Instead, she’s headed to a sheep farm in Barangaroo Creek, hours away from the Sydney beaches and cafes. To make things worse, she arrives at the farm to find Ruth, her host sister, has had to leave to nurse a sick family member. Instead, she’s going to be shown around by Gus, Ruth’s brother, who plainly has somewhere he’d rather be.

Gus’s dreams are digital, and he had his summer planned and paid for–a design course in Sydney. Why can’t their brother Pat look after this girl? Pat loves the farm and always wanted to be a farmer. But his dreams are over now he’s in a wheelchair following a farm accident. The result? Two brothers trapped in roles they don’t want, a trapped tourist determined to tick off her to-do list, and more than enough guilt to go around.

Maya and Gus don’t have a good start, especially given May has no interest in staying on a farm.

While Maya learns to enjoy her real Aussie farm experience, she’s also battling with Gus–which gives a lot of opportunity for some fun scenes. Together, they both have to learn to deal with their guilt, and stand up for themselves to get the lives they want.

All that sounds very serious. Remind Me Why I’m Here is anything but. Kat Colmer has a unique ability to deliver soften the blog of potentially tough messages with excellent writing and a healthy dose of humour.

Thanks to Rhiza Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Kat Colmer

Kat ColmerKat Colmer is a Sydney-based Young Adult author who writes coming-of-age stories with humor and heart. She has a Master of Education in Teacher Librarianship and loves working with teens and young adults. When not writing, teaching, or reading the latest in YA fiction, Kat spends time with her husband and two children.

Find Kat Colmer online at:

About Remind Me Why I’m Here

An Australian to-do list. A broody host brother. A disaster in the making.

When Maya leaves Chicago armed with an important Aussie must-do list, she assumes she’s heading to Barangaroo with its beautiful Sydney Harbour views–NOT Barangaroo Creek, a fly-ridden, wi-fi dead zone hours from a decent body of water. Like that’s not bad enough, her home-stay host brother Gus clearly wishes she’d landed in somebody else’s sheep paddock.

Gus has important plans this summer– plans that do NOT involve helping an animal-phobe from the States tick off items on her seriously clichéd must-do list. So he devises a list of his own–one guaranteed to send Maya packing, allowing him to enjoy the last of his freedom before he trudges off to agricultural college.

But Maya doesn’t scare that easily and soon sparks fly. Before long, Gus and Maya discover hidden depths to clichéd bucket-lists and secret summer plans. Because sometimes it takes someone half a world away to remind you why you’re really here.

You can find Remind Me Why I’m Here online at

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Read the introduction to Remind Me Why I’m Here below:

Reading people was part of Wyatt Jenning's job, and judging by the look on his boss's face, the news wasn't good.

Book Review | Autumn Skies (Bluebell Inn #3) by Denise Hunter

I  can’t remember the title of the first Denise Hunter novel I read, but I do remember I wasn’t impressed—the central conflict hinged on the heroine having done something so completely out of character that I couldn’t buy into the concept. The next Denise Hunter book I read had an amnesia plot—one of my favourite tropes, and that got me hooked.

Since then, I think I’ve read every book Denise Hunter has published, and they get better and better.

Some of her novels have a strong and obvious Christian message, such as Sweetbriar Cottage, which was brilliant. Others are less overt—like Autumn Skies, the third and final novel in the Bluebell Inn series.

The Bluebell Inn series centres on the three siblings who co-own the Bluebell Inn, on the shore of Bluebell Lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The first two novels paired the other sister and brother off with a world-famous author and a Hollywood actress.

Autumn Skies focuses on the youngest sibling, Grace, who has established a business hiring out bicycles and canoes to tourists. Wyatt Jennings is a Secret Service agent who has been told to take time off for psychological reasons after being shot in the line of duty. He chooses to visit Bluebell Lake, because he wants to find the place where his mother died when he was a boy. They meet when Wyatt checks in to the Bluebell Inn—his childhood vacation home until his mother’s death.

There were two things that didn’t grab me in the beginning.

Grace’s instant attraction to Wyatt, and their age gap. I’m not a fan of instalust (shouldn’t true love be built on a meeting of minds and faith?). I’m also not a fan of big age gaps, and the beginning gave the impression Wyatt was in his thirties, compared to Grace’s mere twenty years. However, that was later clarified: she is twenty-one, and he’s only twenty-six.

That set my mind at ease, and I was able to enjoy the book.

As romance novels go, this one went fairly smoothly. That made for an enjoyable and relaxing read. Both Grace and Wyatt have external issues from their past they had to get over, and there was an unexpected twist near the end which gave the plot extra power. And the final chapter has that all-important aww factor we want from a romance novel 🙂

The story ends with an epilogue which rounds out the trilogy—so while this is a standalone story, Denise Hunter fans will want to read the trilogy in order.

Overall, Autumn Skies by Denise Hunter is a standalone #ChristianRomance that also serves as a fitting finale to the Bluebell Inn trilogy. #BookReview Share on X

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for provding a free ebook for review.

About Denise Hunter

Denise HunterDenise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 30 books, including “The Convenient Groom” and “A December Bride” which have been made into Hallmark movies. She has appeared on the The 700 club and won awards such as The Holt Medallion Award, The Carol Award, The Reader’s Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist.

Denise writes heartwarming, small-town love stories. Her readers enjoy the vicarious thrill of falling in love and the promise of a happily-ever-after sigh as they savor the final pages of her books.

In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

When Denise isn’t orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking good coffee, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband raised three boys and are currently enjoying an empty nest.

Find Denise Hunter online at:

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About Autumn Skies

When a mysterious man turns up at Grace’s family-run inn, it’s instant attraction. But she’s already got a lot on her plate: running the Bluebell Inn, getting Blue Ridge Outfitters off the ground, and coping with a childhood event she’d thought was long past.

A gunshot wound has resurrected the past for secret service agent Wyatt Jennings, and a mandatory leave of absence lands him in Bluebell, North Carolina. There he must try and come to grips with the crisis that altered his life forever.

Grace needs experience for her new outfitters business, so when Wyatt needs a mountain guide, she’s more than happy to step up to the plate. As their journey progresses, Grace soon has an elusive Wyatt opening up, and Wyatt is unwittingly drawn to Grace’s fresh outlook and sense of humor.

There’s no doubt the two have formed a special bond, but will Wyatt’s secrets bring Grace’s world crashing down? Or will those secrets end up healing them both?

Find Autumn Skies online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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

The Art Fiasco by Fiona Veitch Smith

Book Review | The Art Fiasco (Polly Denby #5) by Fiona Veitch Smith

I requested a copy of The Art Fiasco for review because the cover struck me. Also, I’m a longtime fan of 1920s and 1930s murder mysteries from the likes of Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, as well as their more modern counterparts like The Drew Farthering Mysteries by Julianna Deering.

When I opened the book, I found it is actually the fifth book in the Poppy Denby Investigates series. A little investigation of my own showed that the first two books in the series series were on sale on Kindle. So I bought the first book in the series, The Jazz Files, devoured it, and bought and read the second, The Kill Fee (I’ve now bought book three as well, The Death Beat. Unfortunately, The Jazz Files is now full price again, so the paper version is cheaper than the Kindle version).

The Jazz Files opens in 1920.

We are introduced to Poppy Denby, the daughter of a northern clergyman. She moves to London to live and work with her paraplegic aunt, but she gets a job at the Daily Globe newspaper. She makes good use of Aunt Dot’s contacts … and gets involved in solving a murder. The Kill Fee follows Poppy navigating London nightlife in her job as the arts and entertainment reporter, along with another murder, and Russian immigrants and Faberge eggs.

What I liked about The Jazz Files and The Kill Fee were the way Poppy’s murder investigations tied into some of the major events of the era. The Jazz Files incorporated the suffragette and their fight to procure the vote for women in Britain. The Kill Fee was set in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, and the political differences between the White and Red Russians. Both were excellent murder mysteries enhanced by a fascinating historical backdrop.

Poppy Denby Investigates

The Art Fiasco is set in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1924.

Poppy travels north to visit her parents and to attend the opening of an art exhibition. But her plans for a nice family holiday go astray when she is the sole witness of a woman’s death … or murder.

The story took a long time to get going. While there was a death in the Prologue, this wasn’t the main murder, which I didn’t work out until the main murder occurred at around the one-quarter mark. Also, there was a lot of backstory, and it wasn’t always clear how it related to the main story. That slowed the story down for me.

I didn’t enjoy The Art Fiasco as much as I enjoyed The Jazz Files and The Kill Fee.

It did have a historic crime that linked to the present (well, 1924) crime, but I didn’t think it had the same level of insight into the issues of the day. Yes, it was interesting to see some working-class characters and see how the class divide operated a century ago. Yes, it touched on a few trigger issues like #MeToo and unmarried pregnancy, but they are issues that have been dealt with in fiction before. They weren’t new and unusual in the way Aunt Dot’s experiences as a suffragette were unusual.

The story worked well as a standalone, although there are some ongoing plot threads, such as Poppy’s relationship with her aunt, friendship with Delilah, and her on-off romance with the newspaper’s photographer. Those who have read one or all of the previous books in the series will probably enjoy the threads more, but the novel still works as a standalone murder mystery.

The Poppy Denby Investigates series is published by Lion Fiction, a UK-based publisher of Christian fiction and nonfiction. The series has a different approach to faith than fiction from the major US Christian publishers. Poppy is the daughter of a clergyman, so was raised as a Christian. She still retains her faith, but her circumstances are causing her to question it in a healthy way. Like us, Poppy has to work out for herself what she believes and realise that she can’t simply inherit her faith from her father.

While Poppy retains her Christian values (although she does drink alcohol, which would shock her mother), the other characters are not people of faith, and nor do they act like it. Delilah has many boyfriends, and reminds us that the sexual revolution started long before the 1960s. Poppy’s boss is having a longstanding affair. And Poppy realises her aunt’s live-in companion might be something more. As such, the Poppy Debby novels don’t fit some of the conceptions of “Christian fiction”. Personally, I think they’re stronger for it.

Recommended for fans of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Julianna Deering.

Thanks to Lion Fiction for providing a free ebook for review.

About Fiona Veitch Smith

Fiona Veitch Smith

Formerly a professional journalist, Fiona Veitch Smith is now an author of books for adults and children. She has also written theatre plays and screenplays. Her adult mystery series, Poppy Denby Investigates, set in the 1920s, is published by Lion Fiction (paperback & ebook) and audiobook (HW Howes). The first book in the series, The Jazz Files, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Historical Dagger award, 2016. Other titles in the series include: The Kill Fee, The Death Beat, The Cairo Brief, and The Art Fiasco.

She has two standalone novels Pilate’s Daughter (Lume Books – formerly Endeavour Press) and The Peace Garden (Crafty Publishing)

Her books for children include the Young David and the Young Joseph picturebooks, published by SPCK, and a new series of graphic novels called The Time-twisters, published by SPCK in collaboration with the Faraday Institute at Cambridge University.

Fiona lives in Newcastle upon Tyne with her family.

Find Fiona online at:

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About The Art Fiasco

It’s 1924 and Poppy Denby is heading up to Northumberland to celebrate her father’s sixtieth birthday. She stops off in Newcastle en route to visit her Aunt Dot, who has temporarily relocated from London to renovate a house she’s inherited.

One of Aunt Dot’s guests is the world-renowned artist, Agnes Robson, who is staging an exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery. Reluctantly, Poppy is roped in to help when the artist’s press liaison man falls ill.

She soon discovers that the local press has dug up some dirt on Agnes relating to the tragic death of a young art teacher in Ashington Colliery, twenty-seven years earlier. As she tries to suppress the story, Poppy begins to suspect that the teacher might have been murdered and that the killer may still be on the loose…

Find The Art Fiasco online at:

Amazon | Goodreads | Koorong

(If you read on Kindle, the first four books in the series are on sale for USD 1.99 each until the end of November 2020. Click here to check them out.)

Somehow I have been rescued from a furnace only to be thrown into the sun.

Book Review | Apprentice (Collective Underground #1) by Kristen Young

Apprentice Kerr Flick is a teenager about to sit the selection exams which will lead to her future career. Kerr isn’t like the others in her class. She has a perfect memory, which means she can remember everything she’s ever read or seen, and every conversation she’s ever had. That is, she can remember everything since the age of five. Trying to remember before that isn’t a blur. It’s physical pain …

Kerr is part of the Love Collective, ruled by Supreme Lover Midgate. Teachers are called Lovers, and everyone has to speak in the approved lexicon, memorise a range of catechisms (no problem for Memory Freak Kerr), and be on the lookout for Haters so they can be reported to the Collective and sent to Embracement.

The worldbuilding is strong, and puled me in immediately.

This is partly because the novel utilises some familiar speculative fiction tropes, like the Chosen One (well, I assume Kerr is going to end up in that role), and a testing procedure to assign people to occupations or further education (as in Divergent or The Giver).

Apprentice isn’t set on an overt Earth like, say, The Hunger Games or Divergent. In fact, the location is never made clear. But it could be our Earth. Or not. Wherever it is, there are chilling reminders of Nazi Germany, of people being brainwashed into reporting their friends and family as enemies of the state.

In Apprentice, Kristen Young paints a convincing and chilling portrait of a 1984-eque world, and I’m looking forward to the next instalment.

Thanks to Enclave Escape for providing a free ebook for review.

About Kristen Young

Kristen YoungKristen Young was born (and spent a memorable first few months of her life) in the UK, grew up in Sydney, but now lives in the Central West of NSW with her husband, three children, and slightly neurotic dog. She has been involved in church-based ministry for over 20 years, and loves helping people of any age to see how awesome Jesus is.

Kristen has had a number of books published, beginning with The Survival Guide series of devotions for teens. What if? Dealing with Doubt is a book for anyone from high school age onward, and aims to help anyone struggling with doubts about God, Jesus, or faith. In more recent years she has been writing fiction. Apprentice is her first published novel.

Find Kristen Young online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

About Apprentice

The Love Collective is everywhere.
It sees everything.
Be not afraid.

Apprentice Flick remembers everything, except the first five years of her life. And for as long as she can remember, Flick has wanted to enter the Elite Academy—home to the best, brightest, and most loyal members of the Love Collective government.

Flick’s uncanny memory might get her there, too … even if it is the very thing that marks her as a freak. But frightening hallucinations start intruding into her days and threaten to bring down all she has worked so hard to accomplish. Why is she being hijacked by a stranger’s nightmare over and over again?

Moving to the Elite Academy could give Flick the future she’s always wanted. But her search for truth may lead to a danger she cannot escape.

You can find Apprentice online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads

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

"I thought grandmothers were supposed to be nice." "She was Italian."

Book Review | Everywhere to Hide by Siri Mitchell

Siri Mitchell is an incredibly versatile writer. She’s written contemporary rom-com (e.g. Kissing Adrien). She’s written historical fiction (e.g. She Walks in Beauty, and her general market novels written as Iris Anthony) and historical romance (e.g. Love Comes Calling). And now she’s writing suspense.

Mitchell’s first suspense novel was State of Lies, which I thought was excellent. Everywhere to Hide is even better.

The main character (and first-person narrator) is Whitney Garrison, who works two jobs while studying for the bar exam in Arlington, Virginia. She’s recently moved to escape an abusive boyfriend, and worries he might find her. But that becomes the least of her worries when she discovers a dead body behind the coffee shop where she works, and sees the likely murderer fleeing the scene.

Whitney suffers from face blindness. She literally can’t remember faces … which is bad for Whitney, but good for the murderer. As such, Whitney’s condition is a major plot point, and brings an extra layer of meaning to the title. Because the murderer literally does have everywhere to hide: Whitney will never be able to pick him out of a lineup.

Things get worse when someone breaks into her new apartment …

Yes, this is a story that starts with a bang and doesn’t let up. It’s full of twists and turns, and is anything but predictable. That’s what I like in a suspense novel. It also has touches of humour (as you can see from the quote above), and some romance. What it doesn’t have (which is perhaps a surprise, given the publisher) is overt Christian content. However, it doesn’t have any graphic language, violence, or sex either.

Mitchell says in her author’s note that it was difficult to write a character who couldn’t pick up emotions from facial expressions they way most people—and characters—can. It’s a testament to the strength of her writing that I didn’t even notice this as I was reading. Yes, I noticed that Whitney was odd even before she revealed her face blindness. But I never felt the story was lacking in any way. Instead, it serves to give Whitney a strong and unique character voice.

Overall, Everywhere to Hide is an excellent suspense novel, and Whitney’s condition provides a unique source of conflict. Recommended.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Siri Mitchell

Siri MitchellSiri Mitchell is the author of 14 novels. She has also written 2 novels under the pseudonym of Iris Anthony. She graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and has worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she lived all over the world, including Paris and Tokyo. Siri is a big fan of the semi-colon but thinks the Oxford comma is irritatingly redundant.

Find Siri Mitchell online at:

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About Everywhere to Hide

How can she protect herself from an enemy she can’t see?

Law school graduate Whitney Garrison is a survivor. She admirably deals with an abusive boyfriend, her mother’s death, mounting student debt, dwindling job opportunities, and a rare neurological condition that prevents her from recognizing human faces.

But witnessing a murder might be the crisis she can’t overcome.

The killer has every advantage. Though Whitney saw him, she has no idea what he looks like. He knows where she lives and works. He anticipates her every move. Worst of all, he’s hiding in plain sight and believes she has information he needs. Information worth killing for. Again.

As the hunter drives his prey into a net of terror and international intrigue, Whitney’s only ally, Detective Leo Baroni, is taken off the case. Stripped of all semblance of safety, Whitney must suspect everyone and trust no one—and hope to come out alive.

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You can be whoever you want. The only thing that will ever limit you is the belief you can be limited.

Book Review | Nine by Rachelle Dekker

Lucy has lost her memory.

All she knows is that Olivia has sent her west, to Corpus Christi, to find Summer Wallace and the robin. People are after her, to find the secret Olivia buried in her mind. Lucy meets Zoe, a waitress, in the first place she finds, and the two join up to get Lucy to Corpus Christi and hopefully figure out who Lucy is, who is chasing her, and why.

Nine is a fast-paced novel with lots of questions.

The early questions are obvious: who is Lucy? Where has she come from? Why can’t she remember anything? The more challenging questions are those that appear as the novel progresses: who is Zoe? What secret is she hiding from her past? Who does Seely work for? Can Lucy and Zoe trust him?

The novel is set in our world and in our time, but has dystopian elements. I hope.

It centres around the supersecret government department Olivia and Seely work for, and where Lucy aka Nine was born and raised. It’s one of those novels that gets you wondering about what the US government is up to in Area 51 or deep in the Colorado mountains … or other places. What is happening to people—children—in the name of research and politics?

There were a few things about the writing that bugged me. Some scenes were violent and showed the torture of children or teenagers. Was that necessary for the story? I don’t think we needed to see Nine almost drown while the “leader of the free world” watched (in case you’re wondering, he wore a blue suit and red tie). Zoe also had trauma in her background, but that was from a certified religious extremist, not from a government in “the land of the free”.

The evildoers worked for an unnamed organisation they refer to as Xerox, just not the Xerox we know (although I suppose Lucy and her compatriots were copies of sorts). And I wasn’t convinced by Seely’s character—it was never clear whether he was a good guy or a bad guy. Some readers might appreciate this ambiguity, but I like to know. I also found the ending somewhat abrupt—maybe there will be a sequel to answer the remaining questions.

The story isn’t overtly Christian fiction, but the overall message has definite echoes of John 15:13.

The writing is excellent, and there are solid themes about identity and sacrifice. Recommended for fans of speculative and dystopian young adult fiction.

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

About Rachelle Dekker

Rachelle DekkerRachelle Dekker is the Christy Award-winning author of The ChoosingThe Calling, and The Returning in the Seer series. The oldest daughter of New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker and coauthor with him of The Girl behind the Red Rope, Rachelle was inspired early on to discover truth through the avenue of storytelling. She writes full-time from her home in Nashville, where she lives with her husband, Daniel, and their son, Jack.

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About Nine

Zoe Johnson spent most of her life living in the shadows, never drawing attention to herself, never investing in people or places. But when a wide-eyed, bedraggled teenager with no memory walks into the diner where Zoe works, everything changes. Now, against her better judgment, Zoe, who has been trying to outrun her own painful memories of the past, finds herself attempting to help a girl who doesn’t seem to have any past at all. The girl knows only one thing: she must reach a woman in Corpus Christi, Texas, hundreds of miles away, before the government agents who are searching for her catch up to them.

Award-winning author Rachelle Dekker throws you into the middle of the action and keeps the pressure on in this page-turning story that, asks Are we who the world says we are–or can we change our story and be something more?

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People considered him homeless because he didn't have an address of his own, but Harvey James would have been homeless even if he owned the turreted mansion of State Route 460.

Book Review | The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox

The Edge of Belonging is one of the best debut novels I’ve read in years.

It’s a dual timeline story where the past and present are only twenty-four years apart and feature the same characters.

In the present day, Ivy Rose Lashley is a school counsellor who loves her job and the children she works with, and is engaged to the handsome Seth. But that all unravels after her grandmother’s death, and she returns to her hometown where she finds her grandmother has left her a puzzle to solve—the mystery of her birth and subsequent adoption.

In 1994, Harvey James finds an abandoned newborn, so takes her back to the camp he calls home.

But he doesn’t have baby milk or diapers or anything needed to care for a newborn, and he doesn’t have money to buy any. He finds supplies in an unlocked church, and proceeds to name the baby Ivy Rose, and to care for her as his own.

I know this is supposed to be Ivy’s story, but I thought Harvey was the more interesting and sympathetic character, because his problems were not problems of his own making. Having said hat, nor were Ivy’s. At first, I thought Ivy’s problems with Seth were the result of her own bad judgment, but as the novel progressed it became obvious that their relationship was the result of her own emotional needs weaknesses, many of which stemmed from being adopted.

But Harvey was the character who tugged at my heartstrings.

He’s had a rough deal in life but hasn’t let it turn him bitter. In fact, he doesn’t seem to realise how bad it’s been. Instead, all he wants to do is love and protect baby Ivy, and you can’t hold that against him. At the same time, the present story gave an idea of the direction the past story would take, and that tugged the heartstrings even more.

There were lots of twists in the story, most of which only became obvious towards the end so I won’t give spoilers. Let’s just say that I started by saying this is one of the best debut novels I’ve read in years, and I stand by that opinion.

Edge of Belonging has a great dual-timeline plot, wonderful characters, a strong underlying Christian message, and writing that is good enough to make the strongest person weep. Recommended.

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

About Amanda Cox

Author photo - Amanda CoxAmanda Cox is a blogger and a curriculum developer for a national nonprofit youth leadership organization, but her first love is communicating through story. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Bible and theology and a master’s degree in professional counseling. Her studies and her interactions with hurting families over a decade have allowed her to create multidimensional characters that connect emotionally with readers. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband and their three children.

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About The Edge of Belonging

When Ivy Rose returns to her hometown to oversee an estate sale, she soon discovers that her grandmother left behind more than trinkets and photo frames–she provided a path to the truth behind Ivy’s adoption. Shocked, Ivy seeks clues to her past, but a key piece to the mystery is missing.

Twenty-four years earlier, Harvey James finds an abandoned newborn who gives him a sense of human connection for the first time in his life. His desire to care for the baby runs up against the stark fact that he is homeless. When he becomes entwined with two people seeking to help him find his way, Harvey knows he must keep the baby a secret or risk losing the only person he’s ever loved.

In this dual-time story from debut novelist Amanda Cox, the truth–both the search for it and the desire to keep it from others–takes center stage as Ivy and Harvey grapple with love, loss, and letting go.

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