The Russian Defector ~ Review

The Russian Defector
Justin Hall #15
By Ethan Jones

To sum this book up in one sentence - Great reading spy suspense that will keep you turning the page from the first page!

Justin Hall finds himself dealing with the after-effects of his latest injury while having to deal with a possible Russian Defector. There is just one problem Justin isn't sure their defector is all that he seems. But proving which way the man leans is a little more difficult than one would think.

Acting on intelligence that they are provided with, Justin along with his longtime partner Carrie and an unknown team are dispatched into Chechnya to neutralize a lost nuclear weapon. But there is a traitor who is determined to interfere and taking out Justin, Carrie, and their team.

If you like clean reading suspense you will LOVE this newest addition from Ethan Jones. 

Spoiler to read what it is use your mouse to highlight between the * below. It is a spoiler that doesn't really reveal much but if you are like me you like the unexpected to not be revealed.

** If you have read any of Ethan's other series you may have a character from one of them make an appearance in this book! **


I received a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:
Is he a Russian defector or a double agent?

A bloodied Russian SRV operative crawls through the front doors of the Canadian embassy in Helsinki...

A Russian dissident is tapped for elimination...

An intercontinental ballistic missile disappears in Russia and surfaces in Ukraine...

What ties these events together? Can CIS spymaster Justin Hall trust the Russian defector and keep Europe from descending into an all-out war?

On Wings of Devotion ~ Review

On Wings of Devotion
The Codebreakers #2
By Roseanne M. White

Major Phillip Camden should have died that day - if he had he wouldn't have to live with the guilt or the nightmares. And he wouldn't be known to all of England as that traitor Black Heart. But live he did and now he finds himself not in the prison cell he expected to live out his few remaining days but rather in service to the Admiralty's codebreaking division. He tries to avoid everyone and any possibility of friendship or attachments - he doesn't deserve any.

When Camden's sister Cassandra gets herself into a situation he must use his persuasive charms (some of which are less than charming) to help her out. But first, he needs to convince Arabelle Denler to break off her engagement.

Arabelle, or Ara to those who know her best, is doing her bit for king and country as a nurse caring for soldiers who have come back injured in the war. The work is hard and heartbreaking but she feels called to help the hurting to heal. As she obverses the Black Heart as he goes by the hospital where she works she sees not the villain he has been labeled but rather a man hurting and in need of God. What she never expected was actually meet him, having her own dreams destroyed in the process, and starting an acquaintance that would have the most unexpected results.

Ara knows no man would ever look twice at her and her only attraction is her fortune. When Phillip Camden begins to escort her home she is at a loss as to reason until he admits to his guilt at the situation she is soon to find herself in - with her fortune and the potential, it will offer to gentlemen in need of capital being the draw. She wants nothing to do with Camden's plan but he is just as stubborn as she is and she feels that he needs to do this.

What neither Ara or Camden know is that someone is working against him and he is about to become the means to their goal - a goal that could severely cripple England and allow Germany to obtain the upper hand in the war. Will the codebreakers of Room 40 uncover the truth before it is too late?

On Wings of Devotion is a fantastic sequel to The Number of Love. And those who have followed Roseanna M. White's previous series will be delighted to have some of them make an appearance in this book. The book is most definitely one you won't want to put down once you start reading so set aside a weekend or a long afternoon and read away - you won't regret it. I read this last night when I got the mail at 6:30 pm and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning (4:30 am) because for some reason the "just one more chapter" promise to myself was too easily broken when the end of the said chapter came.

This book is Historical Romance Fiction and is set in England during the early months of 1918. The war is the backdrop throughout as it is an ever-present threat affecting the lives of all who live beneath its shadow. The characters are well developed and easy to click with. Even though this is the second book of the series it can easily be read as a stand-alone, though once you've read it you will want to read the first book. An altogether lovely book that I highly recommend adding to your home as you'll want to reread this one.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:

Against Every Warning,

She’s Drawn Ever Closer to 

the Man Known as “Black Heart”

All of England thinks Major Phillip Camden a monster–a man who deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But he would have preferred to die that day with his men rather than be recruited to the Admiralty’s codebreaking division. The threats he receives daily are no great surprise and, in his opinion, well deserved.

As nurse Arabelle Denler observes the so-dubbed “Black Heart,” she sees something far different: a hurting man desperate for mercy. And when their families and paths twist together unexpectedly, she realizes she has a role to play in his healing–and some of her own to do as well.

With Camden’s court-martial looming, an old acquaintance shows up, intent on using him in a plot that sends the codebreakers of Room 40 into a frenzy. With their fragile hopes for the future in the crosshairs, Arabelle and Camden must hold on to hope–and to each other–if they want to survive.

Available for Purchase at:

Signed copy from Roseanna's website  | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Christian Book 

About the Author:

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. 

Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. 

You can learn more about her and her stories at: 

www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

You can also connect with her online at: 

Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter |

Collateral Damage ~ Review

Collateral Damage
Danger Never Sleeps #1
By Lynette Eason

A missed appointment, a traitor in their midst, a deadly attack, and nightmares that won't stop. Brooke Adams wants to stay as far away from everything that will remind her of her time in Afghanistan. And she won't see former military personnel in her private practice psychiatric duties. But when pictures from the worst day of her life are published she soon finds her path crossing with Asher James, former Army Special Ops.

Asher needs to talk to someone who understands, someone who has been where he's been and he's fairly certain Brooke will get it. But when he shows up for his appointment with Brooke something is very wrong. Brooke's office has been trashed and there is a murdered woman in it.

All too soon it becomes obvious that someone is targetting Brooke and it somehow seems to be related to her time in Afghanistan. But what exactly is something she and Asher will have to determine and soon.

FBI Special Agent Caden Denning is working a case that could have far-reaching repercussions - a secluded location that has been being used as a mass gravesite. But when he gets a call from his sister that he needs to warn Brooke that she is in danger he gets pulled into the situation with Asher and Brooke. Meanwhile, his sister Sarah knows that she has stumbled on to the story of a lifetime - she just needs to be sure no one realizes just what she is up to.

As each case races towards a potentially dangerous conclusion unexpected twists make this a page-turner you won't be able to put down. The book quickly draws one in and doesn't let go. The characters are quickly introduced and seemingly well-developed almost immediately so that the story progresses at a quick pace with no bogging down in attempting to create a rapport with the characters. And the conclusion lets just say WOW! Not quite what I was expecting and the way everything came together just made for excellent reading.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion, All thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:

They thought they left the fight behind on

the battlefield. But their greatest struggles

are just beginning.

Honorably discharged from the Army after an explosion nearly killed her, former military psychiatrist Brooke Adams has set up shop to help others--but her days of helping military personnel are over. She's got her own battles to fight from her time overseas, and she's not equipped to take on more. Former Army Special Ops Sergeant First Class Asher James could handle anything that war sent his way--terrorists, bombs, bullets. The only thing that scares him now is sleep. As the shadows close in, the nightmares begin.

Finally convinced that he needs help, Asher makes an appointment with a counselor, and Brooke is pressed by her boss to take him on. When he arrives at her office she isn't there--but a dead body is. Brooke is devastated when she walks in, and Asher is a conveniently strong shoulder to cry on. But she can't take him on as a client after sharing such an intimate and unprofessional moment, can she? And he's not sure he can handle sharing his deepest fears with such a beautiful woman.

When it becomes clear that Brooke was the real target of the attack--and that her secrets go even deeper than his own--Asher vows to protect her no matter what.

Bestselling author Lynette Eason is back with a new series that spans the globe and will have your heart working overtime.

Seconds to Live ~ Review

Seconds to Live
Homeland Heroes #1
By Susan Sleeman

A cybercriminal has compromised the U.S. Marshals database of persons who are in their Witness Protection Program (WITSEC) and the data is available for purchase. With time running against them RED Team is assigned the lead in this case. FBI Agent Sean Nichols is the led agent in this multi-agency team and they need to move fast to stop the individual they believe responsible for this breach - Phantom is known for not only incredible hacking skills but a deadly ruthlessness.

First stop is Portland, Oregon, to connect with U.S. Marshal Taylor Mills, with whom RED Team had previous dealings. Taylor's charge in WITSEC is of particular interest as she has the hacking skills needed to pull this off and she has had previous dealings with Phantom. Dealings that have her life in danger and on Phantom's radar.

There is just one little problem though they have never met in person Sean and Taylor have a relationship that is about to put a serious dose of awkward into their face-to-face dealings. Working with someone who knows some of your deepest feelings is never easy and Sean and Taylor are about to find out just how hard it is very quickly. Can you say stepping on toes when they each try to do their job with no compromise?

With the threat that someone inside the U.S. Marshal office is involved Taylor is effectively cut off from her normal support team with need to know severely limited. Phantom is always seemingly two steps ahead of them and every lead soon becomes a dead-end.

Tick-tock is the refrain that must be running through the minds of this group as the threat to protected witnesses begins to become reality. Trust is what is needed to get them to their goal - Phatom's capture and the recovery of the stolen database and trust is the one thing that both Sean and Taylor have in short supply.

Seconds to Live is the first book in Susan Sleeman's new Homeland Heroes series and it has a wide cast of characters whom one is more than willing to get to know in future books. One would assume that the RED Team will continue to work on a seemingly cold case that they haven't solved - the Montgomery Three has haunted all of them (we are given little about this case other than that the team sees this as a failure). I like that little hints are offered throughout about the other team members but nothing to truly flesh them out so that they become a friend rather they are like the neighbor you only pass on the way to and from work. The book works well as a series staring point but also works well as a standalone book.

This book is classified as Romantic Suspense and falls well into that genre - those who have read Susan Sleeman's work with Love Inspired Suspense will not be disappointed in this offering from Bethany House. Great way to pass the late-night hours when you should probably be sleeping but what can I say I was hooked and could not stop reading.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:

The Seconds Are Ticking Down before Someone Dies

When cybercriminals hack into the U.S. Marshals' Witness Protection database and auction off witnesses' personal details to the highest bidders, the RED Team, led by FBI Agent Sean Nichols, begins a high-stakes chase to find the hacker. But before he can even get started, the first witness is targeted and barely escapes with her life. Sean believes Phantom, an obsessed hacker who previously outwitted the top minds in the field, is behind the attack, and Sean needs this witness's help, as she's the person who has come closest to discovering Phantom's identity.

Trouble is, she's under the care of U.S. Marshal Taylor Mills, and Sean is reluctant to work with the captivating Marshal who knows his deepest secrets. But Phantom seems to be one step ahead at every turn and will stop at nothing to kill the witness. To stop the hacker, Sean and Taylor must learn to trust each other as danger draws ever closer.

The Painted Castle ~ Review

The Painted Castle
The Lost Castle #3
By Kristy Cambron

Keira Foley finds herself working in her family's Dublin pub rather than making use of her skills as an art authenticator. But when Emory Scott starts making a nuisance of himself hanging out in the pub Keira finds herself running interference with American and her overprotective brother Cormac. But Emory has a proposition for Keira that requires her art knowledge. But it will take her to East Suffolk and Parham Hill Estate.

Parham Hill has a history that has a bearing on the mysterious painting that Keira has been hired to authenticate.

1843 finds Elizabeth Meade in search of her father's killer. Ten years have passed since he died before her eyes and she is determined to find the man she thinks responsible. When a possible match with Viscount Huxley brings her to Parham Hill she becomes acquainted with portrait artist Franz Winterhalter and the man she believes she has been searching for. But what Elizabeth thinks she knows is far from the truth she never knew.

1944 finds Parham Hill caught up in the midst of a world at war. Amelia Woods has lost her husband to the war and grieves the life she will never have. Parham has been turned into a boarding school for refugee children when most unexpectedly they are ordered to offering housing American pilots who have no room on the nearby base.

What ties these three women together is Parham Hill, a painting of Queen Victoria, and hearts that are hurting from loss. As with the previous Lost Castle novels, this book is a delightful blending of three stories into one. As the story progresses every third chapter focuses on a different character/timeline in a seamless fashion. One knows that the story is changing but it is not a sudden and abrupt departure that leaves the reader wondering what happened. This is the perfect read for those who love contemporary and historical fiction with a generous pinch of mystery and romance. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a book-getaway that ends well.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher through Amazon's Vine Program with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion.

About the Book:

A lost painting of Queen Victoria... 

A centuries-old English estate with a library bricked off from the world...

And three women, separated by time, whose lives are irrevocably changed.

When art historian Keira Foley is hired to authenticate a painting at a centuries-old East Suffolk manor, she hopes this is just the thing to get her career and life back on track. But from the time she arrives at Parham Hill Estate and begins working alongside rumored art thief Emory Scott, she’s left with far more questions than answers. Could this lost painting of Queen Victoria be a duplicate of the original Winterhalter masterpiece, and if so, who is the artist?

As Keira begins to unravel the mystery behind the portrait of the queen, two women emerge from the estate’s forgotten past. In Victorian England, talented sketch artist Elizabeth Meade is engaged to Viscount Huxley, then owner of Parham Hill. While there, master portrait artist Franz Winterhalter takes her under his wing, but Elizabeth’s real motive for being at Parham Hill has nothing to do with art. She’s determined to avenge her father’s brutal murder—even if it means feigning an engagement to the very man she believes committed the crime.

A century later, Amelia Woods—a WWII widow who has turned Parham Hill Estate and its beloved library into a boarding school for refugee children—receives military orders to house a troop of American pilots. She is determined that the children in her care remain untouched by the war, but it’s proving difficult with officers taking up every square inch of their world… and one in particular vying for a space in her long shut up heart.

Set in three time periods—the rapid change of Victorian England, the peak of England’s home front tensions at the end of World War II, and modern day—The Painted Castle unfolds a story of heartache and hope and unlocks secrets lost for generations, just waiting to be found.

The Painted Castle is a sweet romance, the third in the Lost Castle series. It can be read as a stand-alone but is better if read with The Lost Castle and Castle on the Rise.

North by Northanger ~ Review

North by Northanger
By Rebecca H. Jamison

It was just supposed to be a blind date with her brother's roommate but when a stranger accidentally mixes up phones with Eva Morland she is drawn into something she'd never imagined. There was something about Grant Tilney that just made for an almost instantaneous connection so when Eva discovers the phone mix-up she rushes off to switch the phones back. What could go wrong with a good deed?

But instead of Grant, Eva finds herself being kidnapped and taken to a remote location. When Eva manages to escape no one believes her. In fact, Eva finds herself instead on the wrong side of the law and her life in danger. What's a girl to do???

When Eva manages to find Grant and get her phone back she soon needs his help to again get away from her kidnappers. But can she trust a stranger who just happens to know things that he shouldn't? Who is Grant and is he truly trying to help her? Or will he be the one to bring her down? But they are on the run and she needs to trust someone.

North by Northanger is a fun read that keeps the reader wondering just what is truly going on. Who can Eva trust and will she ever get home to her family? Or will she just be an unexplained disappearance?

Overall an enjoyable clean mystery that won't keep you up at night unless you can't stop turning the pages. My takeaway from this is don't chase after a stranger to return a phone if you don't know exactly where they went you might end up on the wrong side of a gun. This could be a cute movie but just as fun reading and imagining the characters for yourself.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:

While Eva Morland waits for her first-ever blind date to arrive, she meets Grant Tilney. Not only does flirting come easily with Grant, but he also shares her appreciation for black-and-white movies and vintage diners. After he leaves, she notices that he left his phone behind. Setting out to find his office and return the phone, she knocks on a warehouse door. The man who answers mistakes Eva for a government spy, who’s come to investigate his crime ring. He and his partner force Eva into a car and drive her to a secluded trailer in the country.

Eva’s kidnapping sets her down a path of suspense and romance, as she uses all her wits to escape from the bad guys and prove her true identity. Grant comes to her rescue, hiding her in the cab of his semi-truck, but it seems that the criminals are always a step ahead.

Grant is the only one who believes Eva, but as they journey North, Eva starts to question Grant’s identity and motives. She must discover for herself if Grant is one of the good guys or bad guys. Only then will she know whether he’s worth the risk of her own life.

Fans of Hitchcock and Jane Austen will enjoy this modern mash-up of North by Northwest with Northanger Abbey.

Kaya: The Journey Begins

The Journey Begins
Kaya #1
By Janet Shaw

Kaya is constantly being told boasting is wrong, but she can't help it if the truths she tells sound like boasting. After all her Appaloosa mare is the most beautiful and the fastest horse in the herd. But when Kaya's boasting leads her to neglect her assigned task of watching her younger brothers all the children suffer as a result of her boasting and disobedience.  Worse her actions have earned her a nickname she would rather not have.

When her sister Brown Deer is hurt, Kaya's quick thinking and Steps High speed are the only things that prevent a tragedy from occurring. But Kaya still bears the nickname that she despises.

When enemies raid their camp during the night Kaya fears that Steps High will be stolen away and she leads her sister Speaking Rain into danger. Worse both girls are captured and taken for from their family and friends. When they arrive in the raiders camp Kaya and Speaking Rain are put to work as slaves - is there any hope of rescue or escape? And with Speaking Rain's blindness is there any way the two girls could escape together? Or will Kaya be forced to leave her sister behind?

This book is set in 1764 and focuses on Kaya's way of life with the Nimiipuu, today we know them as the Nez Perce. The importance of following instructions is stressed as is the need to avoid boasting (which as Kaya proved leads to actions one later regrets). The story is well-paced and the characters well developed. The illustrations work well to help bring the story to life. There are 6 pages after the story portion of the book that focuses on what Kaya's world was like giving historical facts that will help the reader further understand the context of the story.

I received this book via Amazon's Vine Program with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion.




About the Book:

Kaya and her horse are in the lead...

Kaya knows in her heart that her beautiful Appaloosa mare, Steps High, is the fastest horse in the herd. But when boasting leads to a daring bareback race, Kaya pushes Steps High too hard. She puts herself and the horse in danger and earns a terrible nickname for being untrustworthy. Kaya vows to be a girl her horse and her people can trust. When enemy raiders storm Kaya's village, she tries to save Steps High but gets taken captive herself, along with her sister. All Kaya can think of is escape, but how?