8 Down ~ Review

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for 8 Down by Kimberley Woodhouse hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

8 Down 

Alaskan Cyber Hunters #2 

By Kimberley Woodhouse 

First off, this is the second book in the Alaskan Cyber Hunters series, and you absolutely must read 26 Below first! 

This book opens right at the conclusion of book one before jumping us forward in time. An unexplained problem with traffic lights results in a fatal collision. Okay, traffic lights have a problem; it's not unheard of. But it is something far worse—this is just the beginning of a cyber attack on the Alaskan capital city of Anchorage.

The man behind the cyberattack in Fairbanks has turned his attention to Anchorage, and his plans are pure evil. Teetering on the edge of genius and insanity, he has no qualms about taunting the ABI (Alaska Bureau of Investigation) and the state of Alaska. And he's leaving them clues in crossword puzzles.

Investigator Carrie Kintz is fairly new to the job, and she never expected to be given the role of lead investigator of such an important case. And the killer has decided to taunt her and call her out as his killings continue. Ouch!

Well, the ABI is understaffed and needs to call in a cybersecurity expert and Scott Patteson gets the call. A call that will test his skills. And his efforts aren't about to be ignored by their UNSUB.       

Get ready for some intense reading as the stakes are about to go higher. This book continues the edge of danger from the first book and this book will keep you turning the pages far too late into the night. Can they stop a killer who is using technology to do his killing? And how do you even attempt to think like a mind so twisted that it enjoys terrorizing its victims in their last moments?  Time is running out!                                                                                                                                                    

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

Title: 8 Down 

Series: Alaskan Cyber Hunters #2 

Author: Kimberley Woodhouse 

Publisher: Kregel Publications 

Release Date: February 20, 2024 

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

8 bodies down.

8 more lives at stake. 

Investigator Carrie Kintz is new blood with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation in Anchorage. But with a serial killer on the loose, there's no easing into the job. It's sink or swim. The only clues to help law enforcement stop this madman are the taunts he drops into crossword puzzles across the country--always in the same 8 DOWN position.

Carrie is desperate to prove her worth to the force and the community by catching the killer. But when she discovers signs that these deaths are just the tip of the iceberg in a frighteningly elaborate cyberattack, it's time to admit she needs help.

Calling in security specialist Scott Patteson for his expertise seems like the right move--until Carrie realizes that he may be a dangerous distraction for her heart. With her faith fading in the face of horror and uncertainty and her career in danger of ending, this is no time for flirtation.

But with a killer who is determined to prove that he's smarter than everyone else, it may be impossible to fight both the madman and their feelings for each other...

Put on your parkas as we head into a cold world of cybercrime, and hang on for the ride! Kimberley Woodhouse once again takes us on a nail-biter of a ride, and you won't want to quit until you've read the last page!" --Jaime Jo Wright, author of The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater

"An amazing, breath-stealing, knuckle-biting thrill of a ride!" --Lynette Eason, award-winning, best-selling suspense author

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook| Bookshop | BookBub

More Books in Series

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About the Author

Kimberley Woodhouse is the best-selling author of more than thirty books and novellas, including A Deep Divide, Bridge of Gold, and The Mayflower Bride, as well as the coauthor of the Heart of Alaska series with Tracie Peterson. Kimberley’s writing has earned a Carol Award, the Christian Market Novel of the Year, the Holt Medallion, and many others. A proud former resident of Alaska, she now lives and writes in Colorado where she's traded in her hat of "Craziest Mom" for "Nana the Great."

Connect with Kimberley by visiting kimberleywoodhouse.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to her email newsletter updates.

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive signed copies of 26 Below and 8 Down, 

bookmarks, and other book-related goodies!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. 

The full tour schedule is linked below. 

The giveaway began at midnight on March 6, 2024, and 

lasts through 11:59 PM EST on March 13, 2024. 

The winner will be notified within 2 weeks of the close of the giveaway 

and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of the prize. 

US only. 

Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

The giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

Hidden Yellow Star ~ Review

Hidden Yellow Star

By Rebecca Connolly

What would you do if those around you were facing persecution merely because of their heritage? This is the question that Andrée Geulen faced when the students in her classroom of Jewish heritage were forced to wear a yellow star - a yellow Star of David marking them as lesser beings in the eyes of Nazis. 

When her Jewish heritage causes her to lose her job, Ida Sterno joins the Committee for the Defense of Jews in Belgium. This resistance movement is helping to hide Jewish children from the very people who seek to destroy them. This connection and concern brings Ida and Andrée together in their fight. 

The very nature of their efforts if discovered is sure to be a death sentence, even if it is while in a camp. And asking people, children to deny who they are was a danger that threatened all involved. And the threat of betrayal was all too real.

This is a story of bravery and risk. A story of love and sacrifice. A story of standing up for what is right. This story will touch your heart as mothers give up their children, in hopes of a life away from the very real danger they daily faced. The efforts of those who do all that they can out of love. Hidden Yellow Stars will move you. 

The characters heartbreak, their despair, their feelings of injustice, their righteous anger, and their fear resonated with me as I worked my way through the book. The historical aspects come alive. One phrase really struck me: He who saves one life saves all of humanity. These people saved many lives, knowing what they risked doing so. One has to wonder what one would do in a similar situation. I highly recommend this book for anyone who reads WW2 Fiction.

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:

Based on the true story of two World War II heroines who risked everything

to save Jewish children from the Gestapo by hiding them throughout Belgium.

Belgium, 1942

Young schoolteacher Andrée Geulen secretly defies the Nazis in Belgium, who are forcing Jews to wear a yellow Star of David. Andrée is not Jewish, but she feels a maternal connection to her students, who are living in constant fear, and decides to take action. No child should have to suffer under such persecution. But what can one woman do against an entire army?

Ida Sterno is a Jewish woman who works with the Committee for the Defense of Jews in Belgium, a clandestine resistance group tasked with hiding children from the Gestapo. She wants to recruit Andrée because her Aryan appearance can provide crucial security measures for their efforts. Andrée agrees to join and begins work immediately by adopting a code name: Claude Fournier.

Together, Andrée and Ida, and their undercover operatives, work around the clock to move Jewish children from their families and smuggle them to safety through the secret channels established by the resistance. As each child is hidden, Andrée commits to memory their true name and history. Someday, she vows, she will help reunite as many of these families as she can.

But with the Gestapo closing in and the traitorous Fat Jacques who has turned from ally to enemy and is threatening to identify and expose any Jew he meets, Andrée and Ida must work even harder against increasingly impossible odds to save as many children as possible and keep them safely hidden—even if it might cost them their own lives.

About the Author:

Rebecca Connolly is the author of more than two dozen novels. She calls herself a Midwest girl, having lived in Ohio and Indiana. She's always been a bookworm, and her grandma would send her books almost every month so she would never run out. Book Fairs were her carnival, and libraries are her happy place. She received a master's degree from West Virginia University.

While doing research for this book, she discovered information about her own family history, including the fates of several unknown family members who perished in the concentration camps of World War II.

Finding Jane Fairfax ~ Review

Finding Jane Fairfax
By Robbin J. Peterson

You know Jane Fairfax from Jane Austen's Emma. You know that Emma wasn't her biggest fan or even her bestie. But what was her story before she left the Campbells, before Miss Campbell became Mrs. Dixon. And how did she and Frank Churchill meet and form a secret attachment? Well, Finding Jane Fairfax will give a glimpse into the lives of two young people who were an important part of Highbury Society even when they didn't call it home.

This was an interesting read. Jane never felt she deserved the life she was living with the Campbells. The Campbells were a loving family who treated Jane as if she were part of their family. The problem was that Society didn't accept her or her situation. She knew that her only hope for the future lay in taking a position as a governess.

Frank felt unwanted and cast off by his father, as his Aunt and Uncle Churchill raised him. And by raising, he was under his aunt's disapproval almost constantly. His friends were too lowly; standing up for the defenseless was beneath him. In short, his aunt was raising him to be a kowtowed snob. And as for his future wife, his aunt would choose her and mold her into a replica of herself.  I didn't like Frank's Aunt Churchill in Emma but in Finding Jane Fairfax she is so much worse, making Lady Catherine de Bourgh seem positively docile. 

The characters were well-developed, as was the setting. I appreciated how aspects of Jane's letters to Highbury were worked into the story. Overall, this was a well-written and engaging book. And as anyone who is familiar with Emma knows how Frank and Jane's story ends, but this book ends before either of them returns to Highbury.

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.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

 

Jane Fairfax knows she is truly fortunate. Most orphans face lives of hardship, whereas she was adopted by doting surrogate parents who elevated her place in Society and loved her as their own. Yet even they cannot shield her from the grim realities of life without a suitable marriage. In moments of despair, Jane comforts herself with a well-worn memory: that of a young man whose kind words when they were children once soothed her heartbreak. But now that boy has grown into a dashing gentleman―and their lives could not be more distant.

 

Frank Churchill is a prisoner of his station. His inheritance is held in the balance by his demanding aunt, and the weight of her expectations is suffocating him. But when a chance encounter brings the lovely Miss Fairfax back into his life, he discovers what it is to truly live. As the pair secretly become acquainted amid the confines of Society’s strict rules, their friendship blossoms into love. But in a world ruled by unyielding traditions, endeavoring to build a life together would mean inviting a scandal that would shake the very foundation of the ton.

 

AUTHOR BIO

Robbin J. Peterson is the author of Going Home, Conviction, and 13 Days of Girls Camp. She earned her degree in English literature from Utah State University and her associate of arts degree from Snow College. She has six kids, plays the viola, and works as an elementary school librarian.

 

The Berlin Letters ~ Review

The Berlin Letters

By Katherine Reay

Luisa Voekler is good at what she does - breaking codes that have been encrypted. While the rest of the code breakers in her secret CIA division have moved on to the Cold War, her work is during WW2 and will stay there for the foreseeable future, if not longer. But when a colleague reaches out for help, Luisa notices something from her own past. Something that could change everything she thought she knew about herself.  Worse, she begins to question what she knew about the grandparents who raised her.   

This book is told in an alternating fashion from Luisa's viewpoint and that of her father, Haris Voekler, a man she has long believed dead. We are given a glimpse into the nightmare that divided friends, families, and neighbors overnight when the Eastern sector was cut off from the Western. Overnight, lives were destroyed while the rest of the world did nothing. A handful of people wasn't worth risking another war over.

The Berlin Letters offers an interesting look at a world that many, myself included, know little about. This is an interesting bit of history that is often overlooked or just given a brief mention.  Enter into a world of spies, codes, and a war fought not with weapons but with policy, propaganda, and words. This book spans nearly 30 years (1961 - 1989), is set in Berlin and Washington, D.C., and covers nearly as many emotions as years.   

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:

Bestselling author Katherine Reay returns with an unforgettable tale of the Cold War and a CIA code-breaker who risks everything to free her father from an East German prison.

From the time she was a young girl, Luisa Voekler has loved solving puzzles and cracking codes. Brilliant and logical, she’s expected to quickly climb the career ladder at the CIA. But while her coworkers have moved on to thrilling Cold War assignments—especially in the exhilarating era of the late 1980s—Luisa’s work remains stuck in the past, decoding messages from World War II.

Journalist Haris Voekler grew up a proud East Berliner. But as his eyes open to the realities of postwar East Germany, he realizes that the Soviet promises of a better future are not coming to fruition. After the Berlin Wall goes up, Haris finds himself separated from his young daughter and all alone after his wife dies. There’s only one way to reach his family—by sending coded letters to his father-in-law, who lives on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

When Luisa Voekler discovers a secret cache of letters written by the father she has long presumed dead, she learns the truth about her grandfather’s work, her father’s identity, and why she has never progressed in her career. With little more than a rudimentary plan and hope, she journeys to Berlin and risks everything to free her father and get him out of East Berlin alive.

As Luisa and Haris take turns telling their stories, events speed toward one of the twentieth century’s most dramatic moments—the fall of the Berlin Wall and that night’s promise of freedom, truth, and reconciliation for those who lived for twenty-eight years, behind the bleak shadow of the Iron Curtain’s most iconic symbol.

About the Author:

Katherine Reay is a national bestselling and award-winning author who has enjoyed a lifelong affair with books. She publishes both fiction and nonfiction, holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University, and currently lives outside Chicago, Illinois, with her husband and three children. 

You can meet her at katherinereay.com.

or on SOCIAL MEDIA 
X: @Katherine_Reay     Instagram: @katherinereay 

The Fallen Woman's Daughter ~ Review

The Fallen Woman's Daughter

By Michelle Cox

This is a story of mistakes, secrets, regrets, and missed opportunities. This is a story of family, of mothers and daughters, of what binds us together and what tears us apart.

Told from the viewpoints of Gertie and her daughter Nora, we are given a unique look into one family's life. A life defined by a single decision and the decisions that followed after.

At seventeen years of age, Gertie Gufftason wanted to see more of the world, wanted more than what her small mining town could offer. She allows her head to be turned by a carnie who expertly manipulates her until she realizes far too late the mistake she has made. But Gertie is proud and refuses to leave the man she married or to seek help. 

When Lorenzo loses his life, Gertie has to support her young family, her two daughters Nora and Patsy. This struggle keeps her often away from home as she struggles to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Once again Gertie is tricked by a man who isn't who he claimed to be and this time it costs her her daughters.

The Park Ridge School for Girls is awful in Nora's initial opinion, and poor Patsy can never do the right thing in the eyes of the woman "in charge" of their cabin. As the years go on, Nora determines to raise herself above the woman she believes her mother to be. Patsy never gives up hope of what the world can and should be. 

This is a story that has moments that will break your heart, especially when one thinks of what could have been. But as Nora once reflected if all this turmoil hadn't come into her (and their) lives what they eventually had would not have been. But the relationship Nora desired and longed for with her mother was lost in the disappointments. Until she discovers the truth behind her mother's past - the secret that helped set everything in motion.

Gertie's naivete at times just astounded me. But then I remind myself that her upbringing was so different from today's. The news was probably very limited in the town she grew up in - it was local doings or major world events, like unrest in Europe. But that assumes she listened to it on the radio or someone who read it in a newspaper shared it with her. This was a time when instant anything wasn't part of the day-to-day norm.

Now this book most definitely drifts into the adult category with some of the subject matter and some language. This isn't to say that it wasn't a good read or that you should avoid it, but rather, it is something to be aware of when picking this book up. Compared to some popular works, it is considered extremely tame.

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:

When eight-year-old Nora arrives at the Park Ridge School for Girls in 1932, she is sure there’s been some mistake. She can’t imagine why she and her little sister, Patsy, were torn from their mother only to be subjected to the cruel whims of the house matron, Mrs. Morris. When their mother fails to rescue them week after week—and Mrs. Morris drops hints that their mother may be a “fallen woman”—Nora begins to doubt they will ever see her again. 

Nine years prior, at seventeen, Gertie Gufftason runs off with Lorenzo, the barker for the traveling carnival passing through her small coal-mining town in Southern Iowa. Thinking she is embarking on a fantastic adventure, Gertie is bitterly disappointed by the life that follows and is thrown into despair when the State removes their two daughters. Gertie eventually tracks down her girls at the Park Ridge, but, expecting a warm welcome, she is shocked by Nora’s cool reception. Nora reluctantly returns home with Gertie and Patsy, determined to live a more perfect life than her mother. 

It is only when she discovers a secret Gertie has kept hidden all these years that Nora begins to fully understand—and forgive—her mother’s tragic choices . . .

"A compelling, poignant story of mothers, sisters, and daughters"— Kate Quinn, New York Times best-selling author"An addictive read!"—Kirkus Reviews

Top Secret Project Cover Reveal

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Explosive Romantic Suspense

Starting in April, immerse yourself in a world of short, captivating novels that are designed to be devoured in one sitting. Each book is a standalone masterpiece (no story cliffhangers!), although you’ll be craving the next one in the series!

Follow the Montana Hotshots and Smokejumpers as they chase a wildfire through northwest Montana. The pages ignite with clean romance and high-stakes danger—these heroes (and heroines!) will capture your heart. The biggest question is...who will be your summer book boyfriend?

Book 1:Flashpoint by Susan May Warren (Amazon release date-May 7, 2024)

Book 2:Flashover by Megan Besing (Amazon release date-June 11, 2024)

Book 3:Flashback by Michelle Sass Aleckson (Amazon release date-July 9, 2024)

Book 4: Firestorm by Lisa Phillips (Amazon release date-July 30, 2024)

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An Unlikely Proposition ~ Review

An Unlikely Proposition

Unexpected Seasons #2

By Roselyn Eves

Imagine being a widow at seventeen years of age. Well, Eleanor Lockhart finds herself in just such a position. Not only is she a widow, she's finished her year of mourning after a mere month of marriage. Yikes!!!! 

But her husband's death has left her with means, and she means to enjoy life a little and have some fun. Her late husband's nephew and heir has other ideas. If Eleanor marries, her inheritance then goes to her dear, loving nephew-in-law. He is so concerned at her widowed state he is determined to help her find someone to become husband number two, and the sooner, the better. After all, he can certainly make better use of her money.

But first, Eleanor needs a new companion, one who won't steer her into a new marriage. Enter Thalia Aubrey, a young woman with poetic tendencies. A friendship between the two young women soon forms.

This is a lovely and delightful Regency read that finds a young woman having to navigate a new period of life. But she's determined to keep her independence, an independence afforded her by her late husband. But she'll have to figure out how to thwart those who are after her inheritance (namely her late husband's nephew). There are heroes and villains, fake engagements, and discovered loves. And they all end in a tangled mess that has a most satisfying conclusion. 

This an enjoyable read that, though written for the young adult reader, can easily be enjoyed by most, especially if you are a fan of Regency Romance. Highly recommended for a quiet afternoon or a long weekend in your favorite cozy corner.

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

About the Book:

A standalone companion to An Improbable Season, this Regency romance ⁠― perfect for fans of Bridgerton ― is about following your heart, pursuing your dreams, and falling head over heels in love.

Eleanor did not come to London to be proper and boring. After the death of her husband and a year of mourning, the seventeen-year-old wants nothing more than her independence and to have a little fun. She’s hardly looking to remarry, despite pressures from her late husband’s nephew, who is keen on obtaining her inheritance. Eleanor quickly devises a plan that includes a fake engagement. What’s not a part of the plan? Falling for a dashing, quiet man outside of her social circle – a man who is not her betrothed. Can she survive the Season with her heart and her fortune intact?

Thalia is determined to begin afresh after a disastrous first Season in London. No romantic distractions, but only her work as a poet and newfound companion to Eleanor. Determined to get her poems published, she struggles to be taken seriously as a female writer. As the spring progresses, Thalia does not expect to take interest in a man from her past (a man who is engaged to her employer, no less!), but some feelings demand to be felt even if the timing isn’t quite right.

Rosalyn Eves's An Unlikely Proposition is a transportive Regency drama that captures the sparkle of London, the thrill of friendship, and the swoon of new love.