No Way Back

Imagine going about your day like every other day. Getting up, getting ready for work and expecting to come home to your husband and end your day just like every other one. Only today's going to be different. All those normal days of the same old boring routine will be something you wish you could get back. You'd never complain again. Today will be the day you wished you never got out of bed. The day where all those what if's questions that play in your mind would simply go away. Today is the day where you will spend every single minute trying to stay one step ahead of people who want you dead and there is No Way Back to the life you had before.

In the novel, No Way Back by best selling author Andrew Gross, Wendy Gould, an attractive wife and step mother to David's children from a previous message is sitting in a bar waiting for her friend Pam to show up. It seems that talking things over with your best friend is better than attempting to go home and have yet another argument with your husband. Even if she were to head home, David has late night business meetings in hopes of securing another contract that will add even more money to their already lavish and comfortable lifestyle.

The one thing Wendy doesn't count on is that an attractive man in the bar approaches her during one of her most vulnerable times in her marriage. She loves the attention he provides and when her friend Pam calls to tell her she can't meet her, Wendy makes the mistake of leaving the bar with the man knowing the choice she makes tonight will alter her life forever. When she arrives in his apartment, she suddenly comes to grip with her moral conviction and kindly tells Curtis that she needs to go home before things go any further than simply being in his apartment.

While she freshens up in his bathroom, she overhears voices in the other room and slowly picks out the door expecting to find Curtis on the phone. What she sees is another man sitting across from Curtis telling him to pick up the gun he has placed before him. When Curtis refuses, the man shots him anyway. Wendy knows that she is likely to be next since the man who shot Curtis has obviously heard the water running in the bathroom and knows she is likely to be shot next.

She sees the gun that Curtis refused to pick up lying just within her reach outside the bathroom door and while the other man is distracted she rushes out and picks it up. She informs the man she is an ex-cop and to put his hands up. However, when he draws his weapon on her, she has no other choice but to shoot him. What has just happened? She can't go home? How will she be able to tell David what happened even though nothing happened with Curtis? When she reaches into the pocket of the shooters jacket, she finds an ID that tells her that just has just killed an agent with the Department of Homeland Security which mean that even know she can't even go to the police. What will she do? What would you do?

I received No Way Back by Andrew Gross compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. This one is action packed on every single page. It is a nail biter and a jaw clincher to be certain and I quite literally inhaled this one in a matter of hours. There are some uses of profanity and vulgarity but overall the story is amazing. For those of you that love a bit of adrenaline to go along with your murder mystery, then this one will be one you'll want to pick up. I would rate this one a 4 out of 5 simply based on my review scale and have enjoyed the previous Andrew Gross novels I have had the opportunity to review in the past, Eyes Wide Open and 15 Seconds.

For more information about No Way Back, Andrew Gross or where to preorder a copy of this book that is due out in early April of this year, please click on the links below:

No Way Back by Andrew Gross

You can also find Andrew Gross on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest novels.

Memory of Murder

The one thing that Deputy Jeff Gage didn't want to happen, has happened. He has failed at what he was hired to do and now must face the consequences of his actions. While assigned to escort Lindsey Presley, a restaurant owner on her night deposits to the bank, he is brutally attacked and Lindsey is kidnapped. When he regains consciousness, he hears someone standing over him handcuffing him with his own handcuffs and telling him that Lindsey will be dead before he can get to his feet. He reminds Jeff that Sheriff Taylor will fire him by the time they get through with him. They will be watching and waiting for the next chance to make him fail. Those are the last words he hears before he feels electricity shooting through his body once again.

Had it not been for Lindsey's quick reaction, she knows without a doubt she would be dead. The one thing she understood about being kidnapped is that if she didn't act, when she arrived at the destination he had planned on taking her to, she would be dead anyway. Even as great as the risk was that she might end up dead anyway, she waited for just the right moment and kicked the driver in the head with the force of both of her feet resulting in the car she was traveling in, to crash into the guardrail. The last thing she remembers before losing consciousness is a man telling her that they were not finished with her and they are around ever corner.

Now she and Jeff must work together to piece together the clues to figure out just who wants Lindsey dead and for what reason. She can't think of any reason why someone would want to kill her. She is just attempting to start over by opening her own restaurant and wants to make sure the last thing she gets involved with is a man who wants a relationship with her. Nope she has thick walls in place to ensure that doesn't happen. Yet Jeff Gage can't help himself but fall in love with Lindsey as he has gotten to know her over these last few months. If only he can convince her that is feelings are true and that love isn't such a bad thing. If only he can find a way to break down the walls before they both wind up dead.

In the novel, Memory of Murder by author Ramona Richards the pulse pounding suspense hits you full force within the first chapter. You can barely take a breath while watching this all unfold before your very eyes. It is that type of adrenaline that keeps you flipping pages as fast as possible to help figure out what is going on, who is trying to kill Lindsey and if they will fall in love with one another before either of them winds up dead. At little over 200 pages long, this is the perfect Christian Suspense novel to read just about anywhere you have time for a thrill ride. I finished mine just after dinner and absolutely LOVED this one. Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense series, is for those fans of Harlequin romance but looking for a clean version with an impactful message of hope and love for Christian readers. If you are a die hard romance fan looking for a great novel without all the added details of romance but with the thrill of suspense added in, pick up Memory of Murder by Ramona Richards today.

I received Memory of Murder by Ramona Richards compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense for my honest review and have to say this one hold its own at a 5 out of 5 stars!!! I want to personally thank Ramona Richards for signing my book as well. That always makes it special to open the cover and find that as a special surprise!!! For more information about Memory of Murder, Ramona Richards, or where you can pick up this book, please click on the links below:

Memory of Murder by Ramona Richards

You can also find Ramona Richards on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews from the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Book Tour on Memory of Murder, please click here.

Shattered

Mystery book lovers who are looking for a great Christian Romantic Suspense series need look no further than Dani Pettrey's Alaskan Courage Series! In her latest novel, Shattered, the second book in the series, we find the McKenna family dealing with a possible murder conviction of their brother, Reef. He was found holding Karli Davis in the women's locker room covered in blood and with the murder weapon next to him. Sheriff Slidell is facing a reelection campaign and believes this is an open and shut case. However Deputy Landon Grainger has been a family friend of the McKenna's forever and knows that just because the evidence appears to point one way, you still have to conduct a thorough investigation to cover all your bases. What he doesn't look forward to, is telling his sister Piper McKenna that he needs to arrest her brother, Reef. Piper still holds the keys to his heart even though she has moved on in her love life.

The one thing that Reef has going against him is fleeing the scene of the crime and heading straight for his sisters house. Piper would be the one person who would believe Reef no matter what and knowing her, she will find out who really murdered Karli and left her brother holding the bag of evidence. However when Landon questions Reef about what happened that night and learns that they had an argument of sorts, he wonders if it's possible that Reef could have killed her in a moment of heated anger. He wouldn't be able to face the McKenna's if he had to be the one to tell them. Worse yet, the Sheriff feels so strongly that Reef's the murderer without considering all the evidence, he's pushing for a speedy trial. They only have a few weeks to find enough evidence to prove Reef didn't kill Karli and find the person or persons who did.

When the Sheriff feels that Landon is too close to the case to remain objective, Landon takes a leave of absence to continue to follow whatever leads he can find, and that may in fact put the entire family at risk when their investigation begins to get too close to the answer. But how can Landon work with Piper when he finds himself falling more and more in love with her the more time they spend together? Sometimes however, God can take our shattered pasts and restore them like new. Yet first Landon will have to come to terms with accepting whether God is real or not and it may take an unfortunate accident with Piper to bring him to his knees and believe.

I received Shattered by Dani Pettrey compliments of Litfuse Publicity and Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. This is my second book in the Alaskan Courage series I have been honored to review and once again think Dani did an exceptional job at keeping the reader on the edge of their seats but also second guessing themselves just when they think they know all the answers. This book has all the earmarks of a classic suspense thriller with the element of romance woven in to keep you hoping for a positive outcome between Piper and Landon despite all the odds working against them. Truly a roller coaster ride set in the wild outback of Alaska and a must read for Christian Murder Mystery Genre Lovers! This one hits home with a 5 out of 5 stars!

For more information about Shattered, Dani Pettrey or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Shattered by Dani Pettrey

You can also find Dani Pettrey on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest books.

To read more reviews from the Litfuse Publicity Book Tour on Shattered, please click here.

Swept Away

Lucas Stone had spent several years fighting in the War Between the States and living off the land afterwards. He was boiling with anger as he made his way home to avenge his father's death. Those things combined to make him a careful, knowing man. A dangerous man. And now a man wanted in connection with stagecoach robbery and a man being murdered. Funny how things like that just seemed to happen to him when he had least expected it. Now all he had to do was convince the local deputy that he was innocent despite what he might find in his saddlebags. Come to think about it, they did look different but now was not the time to attempt to convince the deputy of that fact. He had to stall for time to figure out who'd tried to frame him and only one name came to mind. The same man who was responsible for the murder of his father, Flint Greer.

Greer was the only one who knew he was coming back home. He had just sent Greer a legal document accompanied by a letter telling Greer to get off Stone land. Greer didn't want Luke to make it home. He knew a set up when he saw one. Which meant there was little or no chance he could talk his way of this one. Now if he could only figure out a way not to hurt a lawman - at least not too bad. That's how all the trouble began on what was supposed to be a simple trip home to reclaim what was his and to find justice for the man who killed his father. Luke wondered how much Greer had paid to kill Pa. Top dollar most likely, because the job had been done right.

Pa dead.

His S Bar S Ranch stolen.

Luke was headed home to set things right.

Ruthy MacNeil was looking for a way out. Any sign from God that showed her a different path than the one she saw herself on now. "Shut up and do as you're told." That seemed to be the theme that the Reinhardt family attempted to instill in her. That was the way of things in this family she'd been dragged into. Ma resting her aching back. Pa yelled and doled out punishment. Her dear brother, Virgil, leered. Ruthy worked. They'd be married when they reached California - Pa and Ma declared it so. Virgil was willing. How Ruthy felt about it had never come up. This would be her life forever if she married into this family. She'd been looking for a chance to runaway and beg for protection and hadn't found one. And she feared greatly what tactics Pa, Ma, and Virgil might use to force her to say, "I do." The only way to stop the marriage was to be gone from the family and never be found.

God was about to provide such an opportunity when the wagon train she was part of attempted to cross a ford during a thunderstorm. Despite Ruthy's protests that even though it wasn't raining here, it might be further up river and cause a flash flood to occur. Yet her standard reply came from her Pa, "Shut up and do as you're told". Halfway across the river was when trouble occurred and suddenly the wagon Ruthy was driving began to float downstream as a rush of water was headed their way. Soon the entire wagon train was in danger and the last thing Ruthy remembered as she hit the granite bank and the floodwaters pulled her down was darkness.

Swept Away by Mary Connealy introduces the reader to the first book in an exciting new series, Trouble in Texas just as things are about to get interesting for our main characters Lucas Stone and Ruthy MacNeil. Seems as if life has handed them both a challenging situation with a unique twist on how to get out of it as well. Will life get interesting for both of them when they intersect? You'll have to find out by picking up this one that is guaranteed to get your heart racing in many different ways. It is bound to be an unforgettable book geared to keep the reader guessing and literally on the edge of their seat. There is even a sneak peek into Fired Up, the second book in the Trouble in Texas series to wet your appetite for more western romance and adventure.

I received Swept Away by Mary Connealy compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. Having read The Kincaid Bride series, I was already a solid fan of Mary Connealy's work and knew I would be interested in more. She creates such unforgettable and real characters you have a difficult time believing they are not real. The premise behind this unique story creates a strong and determined female character you can truly come to appreciate and admire. There still remains a sense of femininity and softness to her but she can definitely hold her own. One of the most amazing facets I love when reading a western romance. I don't like the stereo typical women in distress that has to have a man rescue her. Mary does an exceptional job at pulling out all the stops and giving you something real in this one. I rate this a 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait for the next book in this exciting and unforgettable series.

For more information about Swept Away, Mary Connealy or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Swept Away by Mary Connealy

You can also find Mary Connealy on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Swept Away from the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Book Tour, please click here. 

An Angel Comes Home

George Farmer is a special man with a purpose directed from God. He lives however, in two different worlds. One from the historical Biblical past and one from present day. He has discovered the uncanny ability to time travel through a portal found within the basement of his church Lady by the Bay. It is here, he has discovered his higher purpose quite accidentally and one that God has found favor in.

In the novelette, An Angel Comes Home by Michael John Sullivan, we, the readers,  are once more transported along with the character of George Farmer, but also with a beaten down single father, Michael Stewart and his teenage daughter, Elizabeth who are trying to survive in 21st century America, while they also travel back to the biblical past to Jerusalem during the time of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is the prequel for Michael John Sullivan's fascinating novel Everybody's Daughter and gives the readers a brief glimpse into the life of George Farmer who was a character we meet ever so briefly in the second novel in the time travel series. Yet when we meet him there is so much we don't know about his life and what kind of man he was, Michael Sullivan grants us all the opportunity to see George's life in this short novelette.

Once more the story captivates the reader and we hold our breath in anticipation of what's to come and what we'll see in traveling back in time with George. He helps to rescue countless babies that are being murdered under the Roman soldier's orders and one by one, George saves them. While he knows he can't save them all, he is making a difference in the lives of the ones he does save. Now that George is getting old, he fears his purpose is about up. He struggles between choosing to live in two different periods of time for two completely different reasons. In the present day he is hoping to live out his final days with his long time wife, Cecilia whom he feels he has neglected for far too long, and in the past, he never knows if the life of the baby he saves, will be critical enough to change the history of the world by who they will turn out to be.

However when George doesn't return home one evening, Cecilia fears something has gone terribly wrong. When Dennis, the pastor of the church arrives to speak with George, he learns from that George went back to the church to do something and now he hasn't come home. The one thing Dennis remembers is George's warning to make sure that Michael and Elizabeth don't travel through time any longer. He trusts Dennis to keep his world and keep them both out of the past. George has learned that what they all seek is love and meaning in a very confusing world. Having been given the gift of time-travel, he discovers that sometimes what you wish for can lead to dangerous, even tragic, encounters.

 I've been truly blessed with the opportunity to review all these wonderful novels and if you haven't read any of them, you are truly in for a treasure. Whether you love historical fictions, biblical fiction, romance, action adventure or even a bit of inspiration, you are bound to find it in this wonderful series of books from Michael John Sullivan. I received An Angel Comes Home compliments of Michael John Sullivan for my honest review and was not required to write a favorable one. With that being said, I've been blessed in the process.
The one thing that Michael had hoped to convey to the reader through this novelette and even the subsequent novels that follow in this series is this,to breathe the air we are given with passion and meaning each day, to love those who love you most, and to accept your own flaws. Most importantly, it is a reminder to collect moments rather than objects. I personally rate this eBook a 5 out of 5 stars and have once more picked up the first two, Necessary Heartbreak and Everybody's Daughter to reread them with a new set of eyes. This is truly a series with a message of hope! At the conclusion of this story, we are gifted with an excerpt of Everybody's Daughter, but trust me, pick them all up so you can continue to journey one step at a time through history!

For more information about An Angel Comes Home, Michael John Sullivan, or where you can pick up a copy of this eBook today, please click on the links below:

An Angel Comes Home by Michael John Sullivan

You can also find Michael John Sullivan on Facebook to keep up to date with all his latest novels.

The Chance

Hope lives for those willing to take a chance.

Ellie Tucker would be considered rich beyond measure to some. She carried with her the love for both of her parents even despite the odds now challenging their marriage, but most of all she carried the love of her childhood friend Nolan Cook. Now it seemed like everything she had come to love and accept was slowly being ripped apart from her by the choices her parents had made.

When her father confronts her mother late one evening after coming home late from work again, the truth spills out from their bedroom door during an argument, that her mom, Caroline was having an affair and is now pregnant. Her father, Alan, has asked her to leave and move out. He can't raise another man's child under his roof and he no longer loves Caroline after this. Thinking only of her best interests, Alan arranges for him and Ellie to move from Savannah, Georgia to Camp Pendleton in California. He believes the further away from her mother she is, the more he can control what is happening in her life.

On the eve of her move, she spends her final night like most every night previously, hanging out in Gordonston Park, where they claimed their very own personal spot in the park. Their spot was the same every time. The patch of grass, alongside the biggest oak tree in the park - maybe the biggest in the city. The one dripping with Spanish moss, with gnarled old roots big enough to sit on. They had come here to talk about life since the summer before sixth grade. Back then they played hide-and-seek among the trees, with the enormous oak serving as home base. During the school year, when it was warm enough, they'd do their homework here. And on nights like this, they would do what came easiest for them.

They would simply crack open their hears and share whatever came out. Nolan had always confessed to Ellie that he loved her and would marry her someday and now it seemed that someday would never ever come. Not with Ellie living so far away. So they made a plan. Like always they ran past the smaller trees to the biggest one in the park, thirty yards from the gate. Their tree. Nolan set the down the box he had brought and the shovel beside the largest root., the one they used as a bench. "Here's the plan. We'll write each other a letter and put it in the box. Today's June first. We'll bury tour letters here by the tree, and eleven years from now, on June first, we'll meet here and read what we wrote." They agreed to write and call each other and hopefully find a way to see one another before the eleven years, but at least they had hope that one day things might be different then they are now.

In the latest novel by Karen Kingsbury, The Chance, is an inspiring look at what the power of faith, hope and love can offer to those dealing with such a profound sense of loss. The loss of her parents marriage, the loss of her friendship with Nolan, and the loss of ever seeing him again like she had been every single night since the sixth grade. This is the story of the eleven years since that day and seeing what Ellie and Nolan's lives have gone. Did Nolan make it to the NBA after all? Did Ellie ever write her best selling novel? Or did God have far different plans for all of them that they never saw coming? You'll have to pick this one up to find out!

I received The Chance by Karen Kingsbury compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Publishers for my honest review. I have never read a Karen Kingsbury novel that didn't impact my life in some way. This one really makes you appreciate what you have and to never take for granted one day. It's too easy to miss the bigger picture happening right in front of you, thinking you will always have a tomorrow. This is more than just a novel about hope but also one of forgiveness. The message is one you won't want to miss. I compare her novels to Nicholas Sparks in the Christian world of publishing and she really makes an impact in the way you see your own personal life. I love her dedications in her novel, each a personal letter to her children and husband to inspire and encourage them in their own lives. You can honestly feel she puts a part of herself in each of her books. I easily rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait for her next book, Fifteen Minutes that you get an excerpt to read at the conclusion of this novel. If you've never read a novel by Karen Kingsbury, pick one up and see if it doesn't impact you on a deeper level than you ever thought possible!

For more information about The Chance, Karen Kingsbury or where to pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

You can also find Karen Kingsbury on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest books.

You can also visit Karen Kingsbury's website by clicking here. 

Firefly Island

"Mallory, a smart woman doesn't settle for a man, just to have a man. That's like buying shoes just because they're cheap. If they don't fit, what good are they? 

You wait for fireworks!" 

Great advice from Mallory Hale's grandmother and one she finds she must follow through with despite all her unsuccessful romances with men up to this point. But when a chance encounter with a handsome, green-eyed man keeps coming back to her wishing she would have made a point to talk to him and get his number, she wonders if she'll ever see him again.

Her best friend Kaylyn believes in fate and in way too many romance stories she reads all the time, and bets Mallory that she will not only meet this mystery man again but that he asks her out before the month is over. All that is on the line is a year's supply of romance novels for Kaylyn. Mallory feels it's a sure bet. Yet not only does she meet Daniel Webster Everson again, but he does ask her out. More than just once. In fact within a month they are dating exclusively and she finds herself falling in love with him but his 3-year-old son, Nick as well.

Just when the happily ever after is about to commence, Daniel receives a phone call that will literally change their entire lives. A job offer. In Texas. They both live in Washington D.C. Soon that fairy tale romance is about to fade into history when Daniel asks her to come with them. To marry him. His new job is working for a man named Jack West, the owner of tiny, but well funded, West Research. He felt that Daniel's work with genetically modified grains would fit nicely into West's master plan to develop super crops and super growth environments designed to produce food in the increasingly harsh conditions of a world plagued with erratic weather.

But when the family arrives, they soon find out that there is more to this offer than they thought. First the house that is included in the deal is less than liveable, unless you find sharing the home with scorpions, mice and a handful of other insects and the elusive Jack West warns them that they are not allowed on Firefly Island or in Jack's little house that remains locked up. Mallory has been given a handful of information from one of her brother in laws who's a reporter that Jack West was married and had a son. But both of them disappeared and no one knows what happened.

Pretty soon Mallory gets a feeling that there is more going on in the small town of Moses Lake than what she's been lead to believe. No one the town's residents will take about Jack West. When her trailer gets a flat after going in to town to gather groceries, and she's given a ride home, even the driver won't enter the property and just leaves Mallory's groceries and supplies next to the fence outside of her property. Just what is really going on with Jack West? Why all the secrecy about Firefly Island? What is with the floating lights she sees at night on the island? Is Jack West a murderer who has managed to evade the police after all these years? You'll need to pick up novel to find out!

I received Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate compliments of Bethany House Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. Having read the other two books in the Moses Lake Series, Larkspur Cove and Blue Moon Bay, I knew I would once again love reading this one. First of all Lisa Wingate's writing style is so poetic at times, you can completely imagine you are at Moses Lake. The sights, sounds and people are so creatively written that you almost feel like they are being created right before your very eyes.

"I imagine that I am at home, not here in DC. I hear the waters of Moses Lake lapping at the shore, feel the rhythm of it beneath my feet. My eyes fall closed, and I drink in the water-scented Texas air, the oleander blooming, the sound of small feet tramping up the hallway, a favorite blanket dragging behind. The honey-sweet tastes of a summer morning."

From the very first page, I was captivated and the deeper you get into the relationship between Mallory and Daniel along with their son Nick, the more you become part of their lives. Lisa does an exceptional job at keeping just enough about Jack West hidden that you find yourself reading faster because you simply have to know what's going on, like a nosy neighbor who believes something is really up! While I won't spoil the novel, trust me, it's a great book to pick up for a summer day. But be warned, you won't be able to put it down! I rate this one a perfect 5 out of 5 stars and this can be read as a stand alone!

For more information about Firefly Island, Lisa Wingate or where you can pick up a copy of this amazing book, please click on the links below:

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate

You can also read more reviews from the Litfuse Publicity Book Tour on Firefly Island by clicking here.

You can find Lisa Wingate on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest books.