Seashells Tell No Tales by Amanda Tru (Suamalie Islands Book 10)

 

About the Book

Book: Seashells Tell No Tales

Author: Amanda Tru

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release Date: February 27, 2024

A tropical island tale of danger, secrets, love, and seashells that won’t reveal any of it.

Faith Marlowe made a promise to her dying brother. Unfortunately that promise involves helping an injured and embittered Army Ranger vet, Gideon Sundquist (Sunny).

Sunny doesn’t want help. He lost both his legs in a black ops mission he can’t breathe a word about. Now he’s exiled on an island in the middle of the South Pacific, hiding from the world.

Both Faith and Sunny have secrets to keep. If Sunny finds out who Faith is, Faith will lose her only chance to keep her promise. If Faith finds out the truth of Sunny’s mission, it will put both of their lives at risk.

On a beautiful, remote island in the Pacific, Faith will try to teach Sunny to live again. But if the tales of their secrets are told, neither will see the sun rise in the Suamalie Islands again.

Beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

 

Click here to get your copy!

My Review: 

For some reason, I didn't realize this was the tenth book in a series, but it stood alone just fine. Faith's brother made her promise, on his deathbed, to go take care of Sunny. I was pulled to this book with its cute title. It surprised me, as it's not just a romance, it has a lot of suspense, drama, faith, and so much that it's hard to put it into a review. From beautiful ocean vistas and warm sands to every emotion you can think of, this book covers it all. This is a wonderful story. 

5 Stars 

About the Author

Amanda Tru is a best-selling author of over thirty Christian fiction books. She writes page-turning fiction to inspire real-life stories. In her own real story, she sheds her super-hero writing cape to be mommy to four kids in a small Idaho town.

 

More from Amanda

I believe that the best fiction contains a seed of truth. After all, sometimes life breathes emotions that can never be faked and tells stories no imagination can paint. Seashells Tell No Tales is a fantastic story of romance, heartache, family, and friendship with a splash of humor and suspense. In some ways, it is a fresh take on the classic Beauty and the Beast motif. But what may be most surprising is that the original idea for the plot is based on a true story.

My father-in-law was in the army when he was a young man. He never served in war combat, but his memories still reveal that it was a life-changing experience for him. One day, he told us a story about another soldier he befriended in basic training. Though his military story didn’t carry the thill and danger of some military tales, its impact on him was profound, so much so that over fifty years later, his voice shook with tears as he told it.

It was a tale of a paradigm shift when he realized that someone who was different did not intend to be different, but very much wished to not be weighed down with the lot life had assigned him. The other young man did not want to be as he was. My father-in-law’s response to his fellow soldier spoke of understanding, friendship, and a life-altering perspective that still resonates in his actions today.

And it’s a message that should inspire us all.

As often happens, when I hear a story that touches me, I mentally file it away. It bubbles up in my memory ever so often and eventually, an idea may form around it. The foundation Seashells Tell No Tales is the true-life encounter my father-in-law had in basic training. Sunny’s flashback scene at the beginning of the book is as identical as I could make it to what my father-in-law described. I used my imagination to fill in the details of the circumstances surrounding the event, but the conversation, the emotions, and the actions are all real.

In turn, that event forms the basis of a friendship that defines the rest of the book. Also real to life, friendships are not fairy-tales; they are messy. In some ways, Sunny’s life may have been better had he never taken the time to offer friendship to an outcast, but in every way that matters, Sunny—like all of us—is a better human for experiencing the trials of life we’d never choose for ourselves.

Yes, Seashells Tell No Tales is very much a fiction story. But I believe the truth in it adds a profound dimension. As you read it, feel free to laugh at the humor, white-knuckle your way through the suspense, feel your heart flutter with the romance, be touched by the themes of family and friendship—but I also want you to shut the last page of the book inspired.

May we all offer friendship to those on the sidelines of life. And may we recognize our own faces in theirs. Through our love for others, may we realize that we truly are exactly who we are meant to be.

Blog Stops

She Lives To Read, March 16

Devoted To Hope, March 17

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 18

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, March 19

Texas Book-aholic, March 20

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 21

Sylvan Reads, March 22

Karen Baney Reviews, March 23

Inspired by fiction, March 23

Life, Love, Writing, March 24

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 25

Blogging With Carol, March 26

For Him and My Family, March 27

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, March 28 (Author Interview)

The Lofty Pages, March 28

Holly’s Book Corner, March 29

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Amanda is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2a7ac/seashells-tell-no-tales-celebration-tour-giveaway

Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing by Lisa R. Howeler (Gladwynn Grant Mysteries Book 1)

 

About the Book

Book: Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing

Author: Lisa R. Howeler

Genre: Clean Cozy Mystery

Release Date: July 11, 2023

A little bit of mystery, a dash of romance, and a whole lot of heart

After being laid off from her job as a librarian at a small college, Gladwynn Grant isn’t sure what her next step in life is. When a job as a small-town newspaper reporter opens up in the town her grandmother Lucinda Grant lives in, she decides to take it to get away from a lot of things – Bennett Steele for one.

Lucinda has been living alone since Gladwynn’s grandfather passed away six years ago and she isn’t a take-it-easy, rock-on-your-front-porch kind of grandma. She’s always on the go and lately, she’s been on the go with a man who Gladwynn doesn’t know.

Gladwynn thought Brookstone was a small, quiet town, but within a few days of being there, she has to rethink that notion. Someone has cut the bank loan officer’s brakes, threatening letters are being sent, and memories of a jewelry theft from the 1990s have everyone looking at the cold case again.

What, if anything, will Gladwynn uncover about her new hometown and her grandmother’s new male friend? And what will she do about her grandmother’s attempt to set her up with the handsome Pastor Luke Callahan?

Find out in this modern mystery with a vintage feel.

 

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

This book is really so much fun. Gladwynn is a really fun character. We get to watch her transform from an out-of-work librarian to an amazing newspaper reporter in a small town. 

There's a good bit of family relationships involved in this story. Gladwynn and her grandmother have a very funny relationship. I quite enjoyed it and I think they almost stole the show. Grandma Lu is well connected and she's got a lot of friends who are male, and she's also got some ideas about who Gladwynn might should be with. This story has several twists and turns, and I really enjoyed that. 

I felt that this story was fun and had a lot of faith in it. I loved Grandma Lu's personality and her perspectives. I would be very happy to read more of this series. 

5 Stars 

About the Author 

Lisa Robinson-Howeler is a writer and photographer from Northeastern Pennsylvania, where she lives with her husband and two children, her dog Zooma and her two cats Pixel and Scout. She is a former small-town newspaper reporter. She is also a wife, blogger, and a homeschooling mother. She blogs about fiction, faith, photography, and life.

 

 

 

 

More from Lisa

I can’t say that Gladwynn Grant’s character is based completely on my grandmother, but, in some ways, I did. I named her Gladwynn after my paternal grandmother who I grew up living over the creek and through the woods from.

Gladwynn was her middle name but I’m not really sure how she spelled it because she never really used it. She usually just wrote G. as the middle initial. When we did a search on Ancestry, we saw that some spellings on her documents were Gladwin and some were Gladwyn. I guess her family wasn’t sure either, but if I remember right (I don’t have the document right in front of me) on her birth certificate it was spelled Gladwin.

I liked the spelling of Gladwynn with a “y” and two “n’s” though so that is how I spelled Gladwynn’s name for the books.

My grandmother was tough and to the point. She wasn’t mean but she didn’t pull punches. She was not super maternal or affectionate. Again, though, she was not mean.

She lived through the Great Depression and raised children during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Her youngest, my dad, was in the Air Force when Vietnam broke out. He was never sent overseas but he helped build bombs and work on airplanes during that time.

She knew about hardship, trials, and heartbreak. Her husband died of cancer when he was in his 60s and she spent the next 35 years without him. She began to lose her eyesight to macular degeneration in her 80s.

None of what life threw at her stopped her from living her best life.

She still traveled and kept her house and property up. At the age of 86 I caught her on a ladder cleaning out the gutters. Around the same age she marched down the dirt road in front of her house with a walking stick and told the township road workers to make sure the drainage pipe they were putting in didn’t run into her field and flood it.

If she was afraid of things, she didn’t show it very often.

My family lived with her while I was in college and I learned so much about how to preserve and live a happy and fulfilled life despite the tragedies or trials of my life.

When I started thinking about writing a cozy mystery series, I wanted the main character to be a lot like grandma, but also more affectionate and sentimental than my grandmother seemed at times.

I only remember my grandmother telling me she loved me once or twice in my life, but I know she did because she showed it in her actions toward me.

I wrote Gladwynn to be bold and tough, but also to be affectionate and open with her feelings – a lot like my grandmother, but also a little different.

I think my grandmother would love the idea that I am writing a series of books based on her name and partially on her personality.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 12

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 13

Holly’s Book Corner, March 13

Texas Book-aholic, March 14

Devoted To Hope, March 15

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 16

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 17

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 18

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, March 19 (Author Interview)

Mornings at Character Cafe, March 19

Book Looks by Lisa, March 20

An Author’s Take, March 21

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 22

Blogging With Carol, March 23

Pause for Tales, March 23

Lily’s Corner, March 24

For Him and My Family, March 25

Mary Hake, March 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lisa is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon Gift Card and a paperback copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2a7a8/gladwynn-grant-gets-her-footing-celebration-tour-giveaway

If The Boot Fits by Karen Witemeyer (Texas Ever After) (A Christian Historical Western Romance Fairy Tale Retelling of Cinderella)

 

About the Book

Book: If the Boot Fits

Author: Karen Witemeyer

Genre: Historical Romance

Release Date: March 12, 2024

One fateful night will change their destinies forever. . . .

Convinced that his stepmother and half brothers have been wrongfully evicted by cattle king Eli Dearing, Asher Ellis uses the cover of an extravagant ball to break into the Three Cedars’ ranch house to search for proof. On the verge of discovery, he flees, but a boy’s cry compels him to make a daring rescue.

Spunky and independent Samantha Dearing balks when she learns the ball her father is hosting is nothing more than a matrimonial ambush. Taking a break from unwanted suitors, Samantha spots a thief fleeing her home. When the stranger ends up saving her brother’s life, she hides the only clue to his identity left behind–his boot–and resolves to find him herself.

When Samantha encounters the older brother of a student she tutors, all thoughts of the bootless mystery man vanish. Asher values family above wealth, a rare trait that opens her heart. Afraid she will discover his past misconduct, Asher tries to keep his distance, but when a series of suspicious accidents befall her, he vows to protect her, even though saving her life could mean losing her love.

 

Click here to get your copy!

My Review: 

I find it that it is sometimes fun to read different re-makes of fairytales. I thought this author's take on the title alone was cute. This is the second book in the series. Samantha was a wonderful leading lady. She's got a family name for our family, and her personality is every bit matching our Samantha. I thought that was just so cool! I loved the twists, humor and faith worked into this Western Cinderella story. The hero was good, the heroine is one to fall for - for sure, and faith wasn't left out. I was surprised, but this is one of my top five favorite retellings now. 

5 Texas Sized Stars 

About the Author

Voted #1 Reader’s Favorite Christian Historical Author of 2023 by Family Fiction magazine, bestselling and Carol and Christy Award-winning author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. She and her husband make their home in Abilene, Texas.

 

More from Karen

Character Names and Word Games

One of my favorite parts of writing any book is finding the perfect names for my characters. Names are so important. They carry meaning and expectation. They add historical flavor and help create a picture in the reader’s mind about who that character is. They can also add hidden joy to a story for me as the author that may or may not be realized by the reader.

If the Boot Fits was inspired by the classic fairy tale, Cinderella. I give it a fresh western twist and mixed up the plot a bit, but it was important to me to fill this tale with subtle nods to the version I loved as a child. One of the main ways I did this was through the naming of my characters.

I worked hard to create names that would harken back to the original while still carrying meaning of their own. Instead of Cinderella, we have a hero named Asher Ellis—Ash being a synonym of Cinder, and Ellis playing off of Ella. For our heroine, I wanted something to play on the “charming” motif without being too on-the-nose. I ended up selecting Samantha Dearing—Dearing like endearing or charming. Samantha is the feminine version of Samuel which comes into play in the story since her father’s name is Eli. The three key older ladies of the story all of names inspired by royalty, as befits a fairy tale—Regina, Elizabeth, and Victoria. Asher’s step brothers are named Jonathan and Fergus. However, Jonathan goes by Jack, giving a nod to the mice from Disney’s Cinderella, Jaq and Gus. Asher’s horse is named Bruno in honor of the dog who saved Cinderella from the tower room. We have a cattle king with a foreman named Duke as well. Whether readers catch all of these nods or not, they made me as the author smile while writing the story.

Here’s another way to have fun with names and other key story elements. I’ve created a word search for you to enjoy. Have fun!

Click here to play.

 

 

 

 

Blog Stops

Book Looks by Lisa, March 13

Melissa’s Bookshelf, March 13

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 14

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 14

Batya’s Bits, March 14

By the Book, March 15

Madi’s Musings, March 15

Texas Book-aholic, March 15

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 16

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 16

EmpowerMoms, March 16

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 17

Blossoms and Blessings, March 17

She Lives To Read, March 18

Where Faith and Books Meet, March 18

Blogging With Carol, March 19

Life of Literature, March 19

Simple Harvest Reads, March 19 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

ABBA’s Prayer Warrior Princess, March 20

Books You Can Feel Good About, March 20

lakesidelivingsite, March 20

Alena Mentink, March 21

Jeanette’s Thoughts, March 21

Splashes of Joy, March 21

Betti Mace, March 22

For Him and My Family, March 22

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, March 22

Cover Lover Book Review, March 23

Holly’s Book Corner, March 23

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, March 23

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, March 24 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, March 24

Lily’s Corner, March 25

Wishful Endings, March 25

Pause for Tales, March 25

Life on Chickadee Lane, March 26

Just Your Average reviews, March 26

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, March 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Karen is giving away the grand prize package of a $15 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of If the Boot Fits!! (US only)

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2a7a9/if-the-boot-fits-celebration-tour-giveaway

Guardian by Cathy McCrumb ((Children of the Consortium Book 3)

About the Book

Book: Guardian

Author: Cathy McCrumb

Genre: Science Fiction

Release Date: February 20, 2024

The Recorder’s fate has been sealed, but the Consortium is not the only enemy. 

Labeled an aberration by the Consortium, the Recorder is not yet free. Time is running out as an engineered bioweapon wreaks havoc on friend and foe alike.

Stopping both the biological agent and the people who created it is no easy task, especially since the Recorder and her friends are trapped on a research station infested with behemoth insects. Without Consortium technology, the probability of neutralizing the threat falls to nothing. In order to save her allies, the Recorder must activate a drone, but her success might destroy any hope for freedom, a future, and a name.

 

Click here to get your copy!

My Review: 

The third book in this series is every bit as good as the prior two, maybe more so! The cover is just fantastic, it hooked me instantly. In this story I returned to a world where The Recorder is dealing with a plague, among other things. Like the other two books, the suspense is perfect and while there are twists and turns, the author didn't leave me hanging. She answered so many of my questions in this story. The ending isn't what I thought it would be, but it's beautiful and I liked it. This would be so amazing as movies too. It's a re-readable series, I'm probably going to get physical copies for my library. 

5 Giant Stars 

About the Author

Cathy McCrumb graduated from Biola University with a degree in English Literature and a love for stories. She and her husband, whom she met while writing letters to soldiers, have five children and currently live within the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. While writing is one of her favorite things to do, she also enjoys reading, long hikes and long naps, gluten-free brownies and raspberries, and crocheting while watching science fiction movies with friends and family.

 

More from Cathy

Someone asked me recently why I wrote Guardian.  My answer was that the whole Children of the Consortium trilogy is my love song to people who feel left out.

In the first novel, the Recorder—a young woman with no name, no family, and no friends—doesn’t see her life as valuable. As she discovers friendship and love, however, she realizes that every person in the system is unique, and this by definition must include her, too.

How often do we doubt our own value and that of the people around us? In a world that prioritizes youth, beauty, health, and success, many people are on the outside, looking in. I suspect that deep down, a lot of us wrestle with who we are and how we fall short of this external measuring tape.

The truth, however, is very, very different from the lie of worthlessness. While we have names (and don’t usually encounter two-meter insects, for which I am extremely thankful), we frequently forget that as humans, even though we are fallen, we are made in God’s image. Furthermore, as Christians, we have been both called and adopted.

Zephaniah 3:17 says that the Lord is with us. He takes “great delight” in us and rejoices over us. What an amazing, beautiful, and comforting image. The One who formed the stars, who breathed life into every human on the planet rejoices over YOU.

My prayer is that you find hope and joy in the midst of darkness, whether or not you find friends in the pages of these novels. Look to the Lord and hold fast to the fact that you are unique and valuable. Because even when you feel like you’re on the outside looking in, you are never alone.

Blog Stops

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 7

Through the Fire Blogs, March 8 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, March 9

Splashes of Joy, March 10 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 11

Artistic Nobody, March 12 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, March 13 (Author Interview)

A Reader’s Brain, March 14 (Author Interview)

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, March 15 (Author Interview)

Wishful Endings, March 15

Simple Harvest Reads, March 16 (Author Interview)

Blossoms and Blessings, March 17 (Author Interview)

The Lofty Pages, March 17

Fiction Book Lover, March 18 (Author Interview)

Blogging With Carol , March 19

Vicky Sluiter, March 20 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Cathy is giving away the grand prize of a copy of Guardian!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2a552/guardian-celebration-tour-giveaway