Diamond Rings are Deadly Things by Rachelle J. Christensen — Blog Tour

 Posted by  Book Reviews
Jul 162014
 

Diamond Rings Deadly.fDiamond Rings are Deadly Things

Author: Rachelle J. Christensen

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published: July 8th, 2014

ISBN13: 9781609078614

Paperback: 320 pages

FTC FYI: Received a paperback copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads Summary

Adrielle Pyper knows how to plan a wedding, and she’s especially good at pleasing bridezillas. But when her biggest client and best friend is married just three days before the wedding, Adri’s world falls apart. She moves to the resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho, and starts from scratch. Thanks to Adri’s impeccable tast and unique style, she lands two celebrity clients, and her business seems headed for success—that is, until someone vandalizes the specialty wedding dresses she imported from overseas. The race is on to uncover a secret hidden within the yards of satin and lace before Adri becomes the next victim.

With a delightful blend of mystery, toe-curling kisses, humor, and spine-tingling thrills, Diamond Rings are Deadly Things is a romantic suspense novel that will keep you turning pages long into the night.

My Review

I am so thrilled to be a part of this blog tour.  This book is an absolute delight!  I loved the characters, the mystery, the romance, the humor, the crafts (and I don’t craft).  Such a fun book with excellent writing by its author and entertainment all around.  Adri is so much fun and I loved her attention to detail and preciseness.  The way she went about her day and planned her weddings (even under loads of stress and a sad past) was fun to read.  I loved the chapter headings too with all the fun tips.  This book reminds me a lot of Josi S. Kilpack’s Sadie Hoffmiller series, which is a favorite of mine.  Although they are different ages, I think Sadie and Adri have a lot in common.  That being said, Adri can stand on her own!  I also enjoyed the Ketchum/Sun Valley setting and small town feel and the careful details and expression about things.  I enjoyed how Rachelle didn’t throw all the back story and previous events before the book began, at the reader all at once.  I loved easing in to the story and welcomed the addition of past events told throughout.  It was a great way to keep me reading and reading!

Pick up your copy today!  I know you will like it as much as I did.

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Deseret Book

Author Links

Goodreads / Website / Twitter

Christensen, RachelleAbout the Author

Rachelle J. Christensen is a mom of four cute kids. She has an amazing husband, three cats, and five chickens. Her first novel, Wrong Number was awarded Outstanding Book of the Year from the League of Utah Writers and was also a 2010 Whitney Finalist. Her second suspense novel, Caller ID was released March 2012. She is also the author of a nonfiction book, Lost Children: Coping with Miscarriage for Latter Day Saints. Rachelle enjoys singing and songwriting, playing the piano, running, motivational speaking, and of course reading. Visit herwww.rachellewrites.blogspot.com to learn more about upcoming books.

 

 

 

 

 

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Augustina by Rebecca Belliston

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Sep 032013
 

AugustinaAugustina (Sadie #2)

Author: Rebecca Belliston

Publisher: Gated Publishing

Published Date: August 5, 2013

Paperback: 396 pages

Genre: Romantic Suspense

ISBN# 978-1490453958

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: free digital PDF in exchange for an honest review

Summary

Against the odds, Sarah Augustina Dawson (Sadie) survived the wrath of Guillermo. But not without a price. Forced to leave her beloved Montana behind, she and Josh are on the run. Within the warmth of the South, she’s determined to find peace and conquer her past, even if only in her mind.

But Guillermo can’t let go. He’s still orchestrating, hunting, and devising ways to exact his own kind of justice. When the law swings in his favor, he’s ready to end the feud that started the moment Josh walked into Sadie’s life.

Review

Augustina is the sequel to LDS romantic suspense Sadie and continues where that book left off. While technically you could read Augustina without reading Sadie first, I wouldn’t recommend it, not just because of events and characters that are referred to in the second book, but also because Sadie is an enjoyable read.

Augustina has several fast-moving and suspenseful sections. At times the back and forth between the should-we-or-shouldn’t-we decision felt a bit drawn out and overall the story probably could have been trimmed a little, but there is plenty of what’s-going-to-happen-next to keep readers turning pages.

Guillermo is one of those terrifyingly powerful and well-funded bad guys that has the resources to find whoever he wants no matter where they hide. The scenes involving Amy and Katie were intensely written. I appreciated the dedication of the two Marshalls assigned to Josh and Sadie/Augustina. It frustrated me at times that there was so much resistance from Josh and Sadie against the people who were actually trying to help them, though in a stressful situation like that, not knowing who to trust or what the consequences of testifying will be, their indecision is understandable.

All in all, Augustina is a good follow up to Sadie, and readers who like LDS romantic suspense will enjoy both books. I look forward to reading more from Rebecca in the future.

Visit Rebecca:

WEBSITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | GOODREADS

Find Augustina:

AMAZON | KINDLE | BARNES & NOBLE | NOOK | GOODREADS

 

Royal Secrets by Traci Hunter Abramson

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Jun 042012
 

Royal Secrets

Author: Traci Hunter Abramson

Published Date: February 2012

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Softcover; 288 pages

Genre: Romantic Suspense

ISBN# 978-1-60681-868-2

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: review copy in exchange for an honest review

Summary

Alora DeSanto and her sons, Giancarlo and Dante, survived the fire that killed her husband and extended family, but life would never be the same. When her friend, Janessa, needs a personal assistent with Alora’s security skills to help her plan her wedding to Prince Garrett, Alora and her sons move to the royal chateau in Meridia. Also at the chateau is Prince Stefano, on orders to relax as he recovers from a car accident and suspected attempt on his life.

Alora is awed by her surroundings and the warm welcome she receives from everyone at the chateau. A friendship soon develops between Alora and Prince Stefano, one that the prince wants to further into a relationship but Alora isn’t sure her heart can handle it. With someone out to destroy the royal family, can she and her boys risk losing someone they love again?

Review

Royal Secrets is the long-awaited sequel to Royal Target and picks up shortly after Royal Target ends. Those of you who follow the blog know that I am a big fan of Traci’s Saint Squad series and how Traci weaves romance into her suspense. Royal Target and Royal Secrets are my guilty pleasures, though, based more in romance yet with enough of Traci’s classic suspense to keep things moving at a good pace.

Royal Secrets (and Royal Target) appeal to me because for a little while, I get to suspend reality and experience something very different from my normal life. For example:

  • Meeting and falling in love with a handsome prince. (What woman hasn’t wondered what THAT would be like?)
  • A faithful LDS woman as a main character who speaks several languages, travels the world and knows how to handle a weapon.
  • A strong, well-trained security operative who can protect herself AND her man.
  • Life in a Mediterranean beach-side chateau with a closet full of ball gowns and plenty of opportunities to wear them.

Something I appreciated in Royal Secrets was that though the focus is on Alora and Prince Stefano, the reader gets enough of a continuation of Janessa and Prince Garrett’s story to tie them all seamlessly together without detracting from Alora and Stefano’s budding romance. We get to see how things go when Prince Garrett meets Janessa’s parents (though I think Janessa should have clarified with Prince Garrett much earlier the importance of keeping her CIA employment status a secret from her family), as well as how the royal family handles things when the truth of Prince Garrett’s conversion is revealed.

Because I read 100+ books a year and it’s been a while since I read Royal Target, I took the opportunity to re-read it before reading Royal Secrets and I’m glad I did. It was nice to have the characters fresh in my mind as I read through Royal Secrets. If you have not read Royal Target yet, I suggest doing so first as the characters and plot in Royal Secrets rely heavily on the continuation of events from the first book.

Royal Secrets is an enjoyable read that I would recommend to any fan of romantic suspense.

Royal Secrets is available for purchase at AMAZON | DESERET BOOK | SEAGULL BOOK

 

Jayhawk by Dorothy Keddington – Book Review

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Feb 012010
 

Title: Jayhawk

Author: Dorothy Keddington
Publisher: Granite Publishing
Published Date: originally published in 1978, rereleased in 2010
ISBN#: 978-1-890558-39-0
From the back cover: To Angela Stewart, a summer on a Wyoming ranch with her college roommate’s family seemed like an ideal vacation. For Jay Bradford, his return to the Triple J Ranch involves a potentially dangerous quest and the search for an answer to a 26-year old mystery. Jay and Angela’s chance meeting on a lonely road at dusk, marks the beginning of their unforgettable journey into danger and love.
Many years ago, in junior high, my good friend Hillary let me borrow one of her mom’s books. It was Shadow’s Song by Dorothy Keddington. I read the rest of Dorothy’s romantic-suspense novels in the following years: Jayhawk, Return to Red Castle, Flower of the Winds, The Mermaid’s Purse, and as an adult, Aisling of Eire.

I’ve read each of her books at least half a dozen times or more over the years, and even though I know the story, the enjoyment has never faded. Each of Dorothy’s novels are written in her classic first-person style and never fail to draw me in.

Those of you who are faithful listeners of our podcasts have heard Sheila, Hillary and I mention several times over the years how much we wished for a new book from Dorothy and how great it would be to have her previous books rereleased. They’ve been out of print for years, and used copies were selling for, well, a lot of money.

Imagine my excitement when I discovered one of my good friends in our neighborhood was Dorothy Keddington’s daughter-in-law. I was soon introduced to Dorothy. We talked about the new book she was working on (I had read the manuscript thanks to her daughter-in-law) and I let Dorothy know about the large number of fans we’d heard from wondering how to get their hands on her books. We spoke about what it would take to get her books rereleased and the excitement of that possibility filled the room.

The Fairy Thorn was released in December 2009. The only thing that topped the release of a new book from Dorothy was the news that Granite Publishing would be rereleasing her older books in the coming months as well.

Jayhawk is the first of Dorothy’s romantic-suspense novels to be rereleased. Despite the fact that Jayhawk was first published in 1978, the story doesn’t feel dated (except for the absence of cell phones, but they are on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming). The suspense is well done and keeps the reader turning pages to the very end.

What makes the romance in Dorothy’s novels so effective is that it doesn’t take a significant portion of the book for the hero and heroine to get together. Instead, the reader gets to experience the excitement and anticipation of a new romantic relationship and watch it grow and strengthen as the hero and heroine struggle for survival through the action and suspense.

Dorothy has a way of describing actions and surroundings without disrupting the flow of the story, giving just enough detail and trusting in the reader’s imagination to fill in the blanks. The romance is toe-curling but doesn’t cross the bounds of propriety and the suspense remains effective through numerous rereads.

Jayhawk and The Fairy Thorn are available for purchase from Granite Publishing and Amazon.com.