In this episode, I’m talking about why I recommend INTO THE FIRE by IRENE HANNON to romantic suspense readers who like Christian romance novels.
Here is the link to my recommendation for the book from Irene Hannon’s UNDAUNTED COURAGE series.
I’d love for you to subscribe at your preferred podcasting app or at YouTube if you’re planning to tune in and listen to future episodes.
As a former smokejumper, arson investigator Bri Tucker knows her way around fires. But after a mysterious blaze takes the life of a former colleague, Bri inherits a curious puzzle from him that raises questions about several fiery deaths. Someone, however, doesn’t want her picking up where he left off in search of answers.
When she teams up with ATF Special Agent Marc Davis to solve the puzzle, the danger escalates. But will they manage to track down the person behind the mysterious deaths before their budding romance–and maybe even their lives–go up in flames?
The bestselling and award-winning queen of romantic suspense is back with a brand-new series that is sure to get your adrenaline pumping as you burn through the pages to discover the truth.
I enjoyed reading Into the Fire, the first book in Irene Hannon’s Undaunted Courage series. Bri is investigating a house fire in St. Louis that would be ruled an accident, if not for a few unanswered questions. One of those questions relates to the victim—a retired arson investigator who had planned to speak with Bri about something important before he perished in the fire.
Marc is a special agent who’s assisting Bri with her investigation. They work together and try to ignore the sparks flying between them. Danger is lurking and a series of bad things happen to Bri that seem coincidental but might be sinister.
Marc and Bri’s romance is sweet and they both have emotional baggage to unpack during the story. Bri doesn’t trust easily and Marc has relocated from Chicago to assist his grandmother who’s undergoing cancer treatment.
Secrets are revealed and forgiveness themes are explored in the story. The suspense plot kept me guessing and I appreciated how all the puzzle pieces came together to solve the mysteries in an exciting and satisfying story ending.
I recommend Into the Fire to romantic suspense readers who like friends-to-more romances with law enforcement characters, forced proximity, danger, intriguing mysteries and relevant faith elements in the story.
In this episode, I’m talking about why I recommend MY MERRY MISTAKE by COURTNEY WALSH to contemporary romance readers who like clean and wholesome romance novels.
Here are the links to my book recommendations for the books by Courtney Walsh that I mentioned in the episode.
My Merry Mistake by Courtney Walsh
Merry Ex-Mas by Courtney Walsh
A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh
Episode 19 – Love Contemporary Romance: Everything’s Coming Up Rosie by Courtney Walsh
I’d love for you to subscribe at your preferred podcasting app or at YouTube if you’re planning to tune in and listen to future episodes.
Sometimes the perfect gift is standing right in front of you. . . You’re just too stubborn to see it.
I don’t like to make mistakes. Ever.
Especially when those mistakes are witnessed by the same person—flirty Finn Holbrook—who can’t seem to leave me alone. Can I really trust him not to tell anyone that the night we met, I tried to kiss him? Or that I fell apart after I got fired from a job I loved? Or that I’m not as strong as I want everyone to think I am?
The simple fact that he’s boomeranged back into my orbit after all these years feels like a great, big cosmic joke.
Only now he’s a professional hockey player, and while he doesn’t look like the goofy college bartender I met all those years ago, he still acts like one—immature, flirty, and unable to take anything seriously.
Which is why I never, ever fall for his game.
I know better than to get swept up in romance. I don’t have time. I’m busy making myself irreplaceable in my new job with the Chicago Comets. Work isn’t just something I do, it’s who I am.
And while my sisters are constantly on me to slow down and take breaks, those things aren’t on my schedule, so . . . I push on. Do more. Load up my schedule. Overcommit. Until eventually, my stress lands me in the emergency room.
The prescription? A month off. No emails. No work. No distractions.
Unless you count Finn Holbrook, who keeps showing up at my door, determined to leverage his positive, golden retriever energy to show me there’s a great, big world outside that I haven’t bothered to explore, most of it covered with white twinkle lights and Christmas decorations.
I begrudgingly go along with his grand plans, and little by little, I start to see there really is more to life than work—and more to Finn than flirting.
Which makes me wonder . . . how can someone so obviously wrong for me start to feel completely right? And more importantly . . . how do I make those feelings go away?
My Merry Mistake is an opposites attract hockey romance with all of the sizzle but none of the steam. It’s the third book in the Holidays with Hart series, but can be read as a stand alone.
I enjoyed reading My Merry Mistake, the third book in Courtney Walsh’s Holidays with Hart Romance series set in Chicago. Raya is the eldest Hart sister who is determined to not follow in the footsteps of her younger sisters and date an ice hockey player. Raya reluctantly attends a Halloween party with her sisters that’s hosted by a hockey player. She finds herself in an awkward and embarrassing situation with Finn, who she accidentally met five years earlier in an even more embarrassing situation she’d prefer to forget.
Fast forward two years and Raya is working as a corporate executive in recruiting for the hockey team. Finn is intrigued by Raya and he’s frustrated by her attitude. His friends on the team are dating her sisters and he’s seeking a friendship with Raya that he hopes will have the potential to become something more.
Raya is on a journey of self discovery and working out what’s important in her life. Finn surprises her and debunks a few of her wrong assumptions. Their romance is sweet and amusing, and they both have emotional baggage to unpack as they overcome obstacles in the story.
Trust issues and forgiveness themes are explored and I loved the story ending. I recommend My Merry Mistake to contemporary romance readers who like opposites attract and friends-to-more sports romances with a hockey player hero, unrequited love, and wholesome low spice story elements.
Please check the price before preordering. Amazon will always give you the lowest preorder price and bill your payment method on release day.
Click on the book cover to preorder the ebook at Amazon USA. Direct Sales Links (if listed under the book category) will take you to the author or publisher’s website or a universal link to multiple book retailers.
Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment if there’s a book in my post that’s on your TBR (to be read) list. Or, if you’ve already had the pleasure of reading an advanced reader copy. I’m always looking for book recommendations. Have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year. My next roundup post will be in the new year on January 2, 2026.
December 30
Romantic Suspense
Christian
December 30
Romantic Suspense
Christian
December 30
Contemporary Romance
Christian
December 30
Fantasy
Christian
https://shannontaylorvannatter.com/inkslinger-blog
https://faithhopeandheartwarming.com/free-99c-clean-christian-romance-ebooks
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Disclaimer: Book information is provided by third parties. Book prices are subject to change. The inclusion of a book in this post is not necessarily an endorsement.
Authors and Publishers: If you’d like to submit a book for consideration for a future post, please fill out the Google form here.
In this episode, I’m talking about why I recommend MISTLETOE AND MALICE by LORI DEJONG to romantic suspense readers who like Christian romance novels.
Here is the link for my book recommendation that I mentioned in the episode.
Mistletoe and Malice by Lori DeJong
I’d love for you to subscribe at your preferred podcasting app or at YouTube if you’re planning to tune in and listen to future episodes.
Please check the price before preordering. Amazon will always give you the lowest preorder price and bill your payment method on release day.
Click on the book cover to preorder the ebook at Amazon USA. Direct Sales Links (if listed under the book category) will take you to the author or publisher’s website or a universal link to multiple book retailers.
Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment if there’s a book in my post that’s on your TBR (to be read) list. Or, if you’ve already had the pleasure of reading an advanced reader copy. I’m always looking for book recommendations.
December 16
Historical Romance
Christian
December 16
Romantic Suspense
Clean and Wholesome
December 16
Romantic Suspense
Christian
December 20
Young Adult
Christian
https://shannontaylorvannatter.com/inkslinger-blog
https://faithhopeandheartwarming.com/free-99c-clean-christian-romance-ebooks
*~*~*~*~*~*
Disclaimer: Book information is provided by third parties. Book prices are subject to change. The inclusion of a book in this post is not necessarily an endorsement.
Authors and Publishers: If you’d like to submit a book for consideration for a future post, please fill out the Google form here.
In this episode, I’m talking about why I recommend THE CHRISTMAS RING by KAREN KINGSBURY to contemporary romance readers who like Christian romance novels.
Here is the link for my book recommendation that I mentioned in the episode.
The Christmas Ring by Karen Kingsbury
I’d love for you to subscribe at your preferred podcasting app or at YouTube if you’re planning to tune in and listen to future episodes.
After barely escaping an attempted abduction, Houston attorney Riley Hudson is forced to accept her wealthy father’s demand for private security. The last thing she wants is a bodyguard—especially one as maddeningly arrogant, bossy … and handsome as Colton Blankenship. Yet as the threat against her escalates, she begins to rely not only on his skills, but his steadfast presence.
Colton isn’t thrilled about giving up his hard-earned holiday vacation to protect a spoiled heiress. But he soon learns Riley is nothing like he expected. Fierce, independent, and unwavering in her faith, she’s everything he thought he’d left behind after tragedy shattered his own beliefs. As the unknown threat circles closer, the tension between them ignites into something deeper … and far more perilous.
When a second attempt on Riley’s life nearly succeeds, Colton faces a terrifying truth. Protecting her means risking more than just his life. Haunted by a past he can’t outrun, and a faith he’s all but lost, he must decide if he can trust God again … before he loses Riley—and his heart—for good.
I enjoyed reading Mistletoe and Malice, the first book in Lori DeJong’s Guardian Hearts series set in Houston, Texas. Riley is an heiress with a heart of gold who does pro bono attorney work to help wrongly convicted felons get their freedom in addition to her charity work.
An attempted abduction turns Riley’s life upside down. She relocates to her childhood home on a sprawling estate and isn’t happy when her father insists she needs round the clock security. Colton leads the security team protecting Riley and temporarily lives onsite.
Colton and Riley’s meet cute is fiery and their romance is sweet. They quickly become friends who can’t ignore the sparks of attraction. Unknown danger is a constant threat. I loved how Colton cared for Riley and acknowledged that he couldn’t afford to get distracted by his feelings. They both have emotional baggage to unpack during the story and obstacles to overcome.
The suspense plot kept me guessing and I loved putting together the puzzle pieces to work out why Riley was being targeted. The side characters were interesting and played important roles in the story. I loved journeying with Riley and Colton and seeing their faith journeys. Justice and forgiveness themes are explored in the story.
I recommend Mistletoe and Malice to romantic suspense readers who like friends-to-more bodyguard romances with forced proximity, unknown danger, a stalker with a twist, intriguing mysteries and strong faith elements in the story.
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
While searching for her family’s long-lost heirloom ring, military widow Vanessa Mayfield meets handsome antique dealer Ben Miller. The two are drawn to each other and forge a friendship that soon becomes a deep and breathtaking romance. But neither are sure that what they’ve found can last.
As Vanessa organizes her annual Columbus Cares Christmas Military Dance, she looks forward to her daughter’s return from college. But Vanessa hasn’t told Sadie about Ben. After all, Vanessa hadn’t anticipated finding love again after losing her husband. And now she wrestles with feelings that are becoming hard to ignore.
Just as Ben is about to declare his love for Vanessa, he learns more about her missing Christmas ring: her great grandfather found it in France on D-Day, and engraved on the band is a single meaningful word. The details confirm a terrible truth, one that Ben cannot ignore.
Certain he now knows where Vanessa’s ring is, Ben leaves town in a frantic rush. But can he stop a certain sale, or will Vanessa’s ring be lost forever? Days before Christmas, when all seems hopeless, Ben and Vanessa learn an important eternal truth: Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
INSTANT NYT BESTSELLER! | Read the book and rent or buy the movie across digital platforms–starring Kelsey Grammer, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Jana Kramer, and Jessie James Decker!
I enjoyed reading The Christmas Ring, a heartwarming Christmas contemporary romance set in Georgia. Vanessa is devastated when she loses a family heirloom ring and prays she’ll somehow find it. She meets Ben at his family’s antique store after visiting her daughter at college. He joins her quest to find the ring, and a lovely friendship develops that has the potential to become a romantic relationship.
It was fun journeying with Vanessa and Ben in the story, and I loved seeing them overcome obstacles to have a second chance at love. I appreciated Vanessa’s volunteer work supporting military families in their community. The mystery of the missing ring was intriguing and played an important role in the story.
The story includes strong faith elements that are organic and show the characters living their faith. I recommend The Christmas Ring to contemporary romance readers who like lighthearted friends-to-more and second chances romances with military connections, family drama, a fun mystery and forgiveness themes in the story.
