Book Review — The Heartfelt Formula

20 Oct

I love a good Christmas story with some romance and a definite merry-vibe. I got that and much more with The Heartfelt Formula by Leslie Kirby DeVooght. If you need a good book to get you in the holiday mood, then I recommend that you put The Heartfelt Formula at the top your TBR list.

She’s got a formula for love… but real life isn’t a Christmas movie.

After another breakup, Atlanta attorney Hope Elliot decides to stop waiting for her happily-ever-after and write it herself. Inspired by her beloved Christmas romance movies, Hope crafts The Heartfelt Formula: a foolproof plan including snowball fights, cookie baking, and a perfectly timed first kiss.

Trading the big city for coastal Georgia, Hope sets out to find her small-town soulmate. But the actors in her carefully plotted scenes keep shuffling—especially when Brennan Taylor, her ambitious co-counsel continues to fill in for Cole Walker, the carefree furniture maker, who Hope cast as her hero.

Between courtroom drama, a mismatched leading man, and a mistletoe mishap, Hope must decide if she’ll trust her formula or accept a plot twist that might leave her all alone, or perhaps, with happiest ending of all.

A faith-filled romantic comedy for anyone who believes love, like Christmas, can still surprise you.

PW Best-Selling Author Leslie Kirby DeVooght writes women’s fiction inspired by romcoms, coastal Georgia, and fried okra! While Leslie and her family live in Jacksonville, Florida, they often visit her hometown of St. Simons Island, Georgia, where she loves to go for long walks on the beach. A graduate of Florida Southern College and Mercer Law School, Leslie is always revising her life from prosecutor to judge to PTA president to author of happily-ever-afters.

My Impressions:

I admit that I am not a Hallmark Movie-gal. I really watch very little TV, preferring to indulge in romance reading instead. That’s not to say I am uninformed on the formulas those movies tend to use to get the characters to an HEA. Leslie Kirby DeVooght has taken the tried and true methods of finding the perfect man (at least by romance movie standards) and translated them into a sassy rom-com that will get you thinking about love and life. The Heartfelt Formula is a great read to begin your holiday season, whether you celebrate from the first nip in the air or wait until after Thanksgiving to trim the tree. On the surface this book is a fun and funny journey with main character Hope as she does everything to create the perfect playbook to get the love of her life. But DeVoooght takes the formula a step further to speak to the deeper meaning of love. This romance has meat! It really is the perfect combo of entertainment and thought-provoking moments that made me ponder my own relationships, especially with the One who really counts. The characters, both main and secondary, are wonderfully fleshed-out, the plot is fresh, and the spiritual truths are naturally woven throughout the narrative. I loved how Hope grew in her understanding of her past and the knowledge that her future was safe and secure. I laughed, I shook my head, and I may have shed a tear or two. 😉

So make sure you put The Heartfelt Formula on the top of your TBR. You’re going to love it!

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(Thanks to the author for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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Top 10 Tuesday — (Not So) Picture Perfect Settings

20 Oct

Happy Tuesday! Today I am changing TTT‘s prompt of Perfect Day, to picture perfect book settings that turn out to be not so much. You know, something like the idyllic vacation spot with cartel killers. I read a lot of suspense, so I have a lot of material to work with. 😉 Hope you find one to love.

For on-topic blogger lists, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top (Not So) Picture Perfect Settings

26 Below by Kimberly Woodhouse — Alaska and a madman killer

Better Watch Out by Natalie Walters — Christmas in New York City and killers

Cascade by Linda Rodante — Tennessee waterfall hike with a shooting and bear attacks

The Choice by D. L. Wood — luxury yacht with people out to get you

The Girl Upstairs by Jessica R. Patch — small Maine coastal town with ghostly intruders

Mists over The Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin — Nazi invasion

Love Makes Way by Hallee Bridgeman — destination wedding on a cruise ship that is taken over by pirates

Queen of Hearts by Heather Day Gilbert — luxurious WV mountain cabin with a stalker

When The Silence Breaks by Elizabeth Goddard — Cascade Mountains of Washington with a snowstorm and deadly bio-weapon

Whiteout by Dani Pettrey and Lynette Eason — Colorado ski resort with an avalanche and not 1, but 2 (or more) killers on the loose

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Mini-Book Review: Fire Mountain

19 Oct

Fire Mountain, the first book in the Elements of Danger series by Dana Mentink, is a classic example of the man-against-nature trope. In this fast-paced romantic suspense, the two main characters, long-haul trucker Kit and former cop Cullen, battle the elements while trying to elude seriously bad, bad guys. And before you think a volcano erupting is a never-going-to-happen occurrence, just think back to Mount St. Helens. 😉 I loved the two main characters and the secondary characters. There were plenty of times I was concerned for the survival of all of them! The bad guys are tenacious and always seem to be a step ahead, but you can’t underestimate the determination to survive and protect the vulnerable. Fire Mountain is a great choice for those who love their romantic suspense filled with danger, twists and turns, and nightmarish landscapes — it has it all! I loved it and think you will too. Book 2, Raging Waters, is on my TBR wishlist.

Highly Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased the ebook for my Kindle. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Fire rains from above as they fight to discover the truth and stay alive. 

In the shadow of a threatening volcano, long-haul trucker Kit Garrido wakes up in her crashed big rig, unable to recall what happened or why she’s suddenly in possession of someone’s baby. Fiercely independent, she has to admit that perhaps this time she could use a little help.

As the threat of eruption grows, former cop Cullen Landry refuses to leave his cabin in the evacuation area, which is why he’s the only one left who can help Kit escape the crumpled cab of her truck. He doesn’t want to get tangled up in the mystery of the beautiful woman with an abandoned infant, but when he sees the bullet hole in the windshield and the bloody handprint on the interior, he realizes that he’s in this thing, like it or not. 

When two armed men with ill intent approach, the race is on to stay alive, discover the truth, and find the baby’s missing mother–all while a deadly mountain rains fire from above.

Dana Mentink is a New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty novels for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, Revell, Poisoned Pen Press, and other publishers. She lives in sunny California with Papa Bear and close to her two cubs, affectionately nicknamed Yogi and Boo Boo.

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First Line Friday — The Lies We Trade

16 Oct

The Lies We Trade by debut novelist Kristine Delano was a unique read for me. I admit that most of my suspense comes in the romantic version with unmarried main characters. The plots also do not usually include white color crime. Arsonists, serial killers, drug cartels are the usual suspects. The Lies We Trade has none of the above. The main character is married with kids, and the suspense arises from underhanded Wall Street types. I liked it a lot.

Here’s the first line:

I always watch for the pivot — I sense it before I see it and I notice it before the crowd.

A high-powered Wall Street career, a beautiful family in a quiet suburban neighborhood—she seems to have everything. Which means she has everything to lose.

Meredith Hansel should be having the best week of her life. After establishing herself as a portfolio manager at a prestigious Wall Street firm, she’s in the national spotlight for the innovative funds she created. But as Meredith prepares to celebrate, the plates she’s kept spinning for years begin to crash: Her strained marriage reaches a breaking point. Her conscientious teenage daughter acts out under mysterious pressures. Someone vandalizes her home with disturbing graffiti. And Betsey, her most trusted ally at the financial firm, goes rogue, and Meredith is forced to sign a restraining order against her.

Then her worlds collide when she receives a thumb drive and a cryptic note from Betsey threatening to reveal a secret that could have devastating effects on Meredith’s family . . . unless she can figure out what Betsey wants and deliver it in time.

As Meredith begins to dig into the data, however, she begins to suspect that it’s no coincidence her life is crumbling. That maybe what’s happening to her family is connected to what’s boiling beneath the surface at her investment company. Soon Meredith realizes there’s only one way to avoid taking the fall, and it all hinges on Betsey’s true motives. Was she really threatening Meredith or trying to warn her?

Kristine Delano is a former Wall Street executive turned award-winning author of domestic thrillers set in the high-stakes finance world. She hosts the We Talk Careers podcast and mentors women on work-life balance. When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys scuba diving, playing games with friends, and chasing her family down the ski slopes of western Maine.

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Spotlight on Thriller/Suspense — The Glades

15 Oct
The Glades JustRead Blog Tour

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Glades by Angela Hunt, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

The Glades

Title: The Glades
Author: Angela Hunt
Publisher: Hunt Haven Press
Release Date: October 13, 2026
Genre: Suspense Thriller

When Katherine Armstrong arranges a birthday weekend on her husband’s private island in the Everglades, she plans for everything: the guest list, the menu, the flowers, the careful distance between herself and the dark water beyond the dock.

She does not plan for the storm.

By nightfall, the power is gone, the mainland is unreachable, and something in the mangrove shadows has begun to move. Katherine has spent years building a life that looks flawless from the outside. Now, with her children beside her and the water on every side, she will have to decide what that life was actually worth.

Sixty years earlier, a World War II veteran named Conrad Boone made a decision on these same waters — one that seemed containable, even necessary, at the time. He passed the consequence of that decision to his family. They learned to live with it. And the island learned to keep its secrets.

Until the storm.

The Glades moves between a Florida that no longer exists and a Florida that is drowning in its own inheritance, between a man who thought he could manage what he’d done and a woman who never knew there was anything to manage. What lives beneath the water has been patient for sixty years.

It will not be patient much longer.

Excerpt

The Armstrong Island dining room shimmers with crystal and candlelight. 

Katherine stands at the head of the table, her pulse pounding in her ears as she does a last- minute check of the presentation. Like a director scanning the stage before the curtain rises, she approves the glowing teak floors, the smooth linen on the table, the dripless candles. Beyond the glass wall, the canal reflects the coral streaks of a Florida sunset. 

She has timed this dinner exactly, and Dylan will bring out the food just as the light goes gold. 

Happy birthday to her. She smiles. Thirty-five years. 

She sits and nods at Flora, who moves first, placing a plate of stone crab claws on each charger. Dylan Cross sweeps in behind her, his black button-down fitted and his hands in motion. 

“Ladies.” He dips his head in a bow. “Stone crab harvested yesterday and promptly chilled. Mustard sauce balanced with cream and just enough heat to be interesting. Tell me what you think.” 

He steps away, but not too far. 

Katherine smiles at her friends, then cracks the first claw. Sweet brine floods her mouth, absolutely perfect. Her shoulders drop an inch. She allows herself one moment of pure satisfaction, no asterisk attached. Appetizer course. A success. 

“To our Katherine,” Taylor says, lifting her glass. “Who apparently now hosts birthday dinners

 in protected wetlands.”PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | AngelaHuntBooks.com | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub

About The Author

Angela Hunt

Christy-Award winner Angela Hunt writes for readers who have learned to expect the unexpected in novels from this versatile author. With nearly six million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the best-selling author of more than 160 works ranging from picture books (The Tale of Three Trees) to novels and nonfiction.

Now that her two children are grown, Angie and her husband live in Florida with Very Big Dogs (a direct result of watching Sandlot too many times). This affinity for mastiffs has not been without its rewards–one of their dogs was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly as the second-largest canine in America. Their dog received this dubious honor after an all-expenses-paid trip to Manhattan for the dog and the Hunts, complete with VIP air travel and a stretch limo in which they toured New York City. Afterward, the dog gave out paw-tographs at the airport.

When she’s not home writing, Angie often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers’ conferences. And to talk about her dogs, of course.

Readers may visit her web site at www.angelahuntbooks.com.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card!

The Glades blog tour JustRead Tours

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 13, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 20, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. No delivery restrictions. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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

JustRead Publicity Tours

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Mini-Book Review — The Lies We Trade

14 Oct

The background of The Lies We Trade, the debut domestic thriller by Kristine Delano, is Wall Street. I admit I know nothing about the trading of stocks, the formation of ETFs, and other financial details. So while I love a good suspense novel, this book’s setting was as foreign as they come. But Delano did a great job of establishing an accessible backstory for main character Meredith Hansel while creating a riveting plot of betrayal in both her personal and professional lives. This book was definitely an edge-of-the seat read with lots of twists and turns. I especially liked the family life portrayed in the book. I don’t often run across a suspense novel in which the main character has a husband and kids. Even without all the nefarious work goings-on, Meredith has her hands full with a less than forthcoming teenager and a marriage that is teetering on a precipice. I loved that neither her work life or her home life were shorted — Meredith had work to do in both areas. The ending was surprising as well. All in all, The Lies We Trade kept me guessing and thinking. Kudos to Delano in this first offering. I hope there will be many more.

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased the Kindle version of this book. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

A high-powered Wall Street career, a beautiful family in a quiet suburban neighborhood—she seems to have everything. Which means she has everything to lose.

Meredith Hansel should be having the best week of her life. After establishing herself as a portfolio manager at a prestigious Wall Street firm, she’s in the national spotlight for the innovative funds she created. But as Meredith prepares to celebrate, the plates she’s kept spinning for years begin to crash: Her strained marriage reaches a breaking point. Her conscientious teenage daughter acts out under mysterious pressures. Someone vandalizes her home with disturbing graffiti. And Betsey, her most trusted ally at the financial firm, goes rogue, and Meredith is forced to sign a restraining order against her.

Then her worlds collide when she receives a thumb drive and a cryptic note from Betsey threatening to reveal a secret that could have devastating effects on Meredith’s family . . . unless she can figure out what Betsey wants and deliver it in time.

As Meredith begins to dig into the data, however, she begins to suspect that it’s no coincidence her life is crumbling. That maybe what’s happening to her family is connected to what’s boiling beneath the surface at her investment company. Soon Meredith realizes there’s only one way to avoid taking the fall, and it all hinges on Betsey’s true motives. Was she really threatening Meredith or trying to warn her?

Kristine Delano is a former Wall Street executive turned award-winning author of domestic thrillers set in the high-stakes finance world. She hosts the We Talk Careers podcast and mentors women on work-life balance. When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys scuba diving, playing games with friends, and chasing her family down the ski slopes of western Maine.

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Top 10 Tuesday — Fall Colors

13 Oct

Happy Tuesday! Here in the sunny South, our fall leaves have yet to change. We have a bit of color from the Japanese maple in our yard, but our azaleas are still blooming! It’s gonna be a while. So I have to content myself with book covers repping the colors of autumn (though not necessarily autumn-inspired artwork). Thank goodness for TTT! The books on my list are recent-ish reads (or soon-to be read books) whose colors remind me of the upcoming glorious colors in nature. Hope you find one that interests you.

For more cover art with the colors of fall, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Books with Fall Color Covers

Fire Mountain by Dana Mentink

The Girl Upstairs by Jessica R. Patch

On Living Stone by Heather Kaufman

The Second Story Bookshop by Denise Hunter

The Shadow Friends by Tess Gerritsen

Spies, Lies, And Alibis by Natalie Walters

The Spring at Trulee Holler by Jana Hutcheson

Watch Your Back by Kristen Hogrefe Parnell

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Happy Release Day! — A Love That Leads Home

13 Oct

Today is the release day for the latest contemporary romance by Lara Van Hulzen. A Love That Leads Home is the 3rd book in The Nearlake series and features a second-chance at love and a new, hope-filled future for main characters Anne and Chase. If you like small-town, contemporary romance, check it out (and the others in the series).

After graduation, Anne Avery left Nearlake and never looked back. More than happy to get away from an angry, alcoholic father and a small town that she felt did nothing but judge her, she created a life for herself. Her decision meant turning away from her first love, but it was clear she would never be good enough for him anyway.

After her mother falls and is injured, Anne returns to Nearlake for what she believes will be a short visit, but as her life unravels, her past catches up with her.

Chase Coulter, the oldest son of a founding family, is considered the “golden boy” of Nearlake. Content with life, owning and running a Dude Ranch, he finds his world turns sideways with Anne’s return. The one who got away. The one who broke his heart. The one he never should have let go of.

As Chase attempts to come to terms with his feelings while treading carefully with hers, he hopes for a future with Anne.

Writing stories since she was a young girl, Lara Van Hulzen’s dream of being a novelist became a reality with her Men of Honor Series.

An avid reader, she worked as a book reviewer for 18 years with various organizations. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a Masters of Divinity in Chaplaincy.

Lara loves tea, baseball and living in Idaho with her husband and Great Dane.

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Book Review — The Last Noel

12 Oct

Is it too soon to read Christmas fiction? Absolutely not! Especially when there’s a 3-novella collection of authors who continually deliver great mystery/suspense! The Last Noel features stories by Sarah Hamaker, Jayna Breigh, and Kimberly Woodhouse. All three have different styles, but the theme of forgiveness and the plot device of second chance at love tie them together in a complimentary way. I loved each unique voice. First up is Do You See What I See? by Hamaker. This novella is all about fast-paced suspense and dangerous situations! Main characters Oakleigh and Joseph never stopped loving each other. When Oakleigh and the two children of her best friend/foster sister are threatened, Joseph was the one to call. I loved the protective natures of both MCs and the lengths they went to protect the vulnerable. This novella examines foster care in a realistic manner. The second story is Do You Hear What I Hear? by Jayna Breigh. I have come to love Breigh’s characters through her full-length novels. This story doesn’t scrimp on developing MCs Elise and Jack. Their love is just waiting for forgiveness to uncover it. And you are going to love Elise’s grandmother! Breigh uses the woman to bring about the healing they both need. This one is more romantic mystery, than suspense. I love the legal drama foundation of this one. The magic of the holiday season as depicted in its Asheville, North Carolina setting is just what you want in a Christmas read. The third novel is Do You Know What I Know? by Kimberly Woodhouse. I loved that Woodhouse set this novella in both south Louisiana and Alaska. I have been to both places, and her descriptions brought my memories back. I also loved the food references and cooking scenes. This one is part Food Network competition and part Hallmark movie, with a good dose of serious bad guys. LOL. I rooted for Faith to heal from the betrayal that gutted her and reach out to love. Warning: you will be hungry after reading this book. Luckily there’s a link to great recipes!

As stated, forgiveness is the overarching theme in the novella collection. It’s really hard to give, but brings such freedom to the one who forgives. The Last Noel explores that through the varied stories in such a great way. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery/suspense and the Christmas season. 😉

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the ebook. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)


The Last Noel is a riveting Christmas novella collection with suspense, intrigue, and second-chance romance.


“Do You See What I See?” by Sarah Hamaker

Oakleigh Wright’s estranged foster sister reappears late one night desperate to hand off her children. Oakleigh agrees to bring them to their aunt out of state, but her travels are intercepted by a ruthless gang. She turns to her ex, Joseph, for help. Will they rekindle their love as they uncover what the gang seeks?


“Do You Hear What I Hear?” by Jayna Breigh

Trial lawyer Elise Sinclair resigns herself to a lonely Christmas reviewing legal documents—until her renegade fiancé, Jack, reappears. He is jobless, broken, and seeking forgiveness. Can two battered hearts overcome secrets and restore their love?


“Do You Know What I Know?” by Kimberley Woodhouse

When Faith Thibodeaux returns to her Cajun-style food truck in Alaska after an accident, the last thing she expects is to find out that her ex-boyfriend is the executive chef of a new restaurant. When they return to their hometown over the holidays to fundraise, will the “friendly” competition restore their love or rip them apart forever?

Kimberley Woodhouse is the best-selling and award-winning author of more than two dozen books. She is a wife, mother, author, and musician with a quick wit and positive outlook despite difficult circumstances. A popular speaker, she’s shared at more than 2,000 venues across the country. Kimberley and her family’s story have garnered national media attention for many years including ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Montel Williams Show, Discovery Health channel’s Mystery ER, The Hour of Power, The Harvest Show, and over 1,000 other TV appearances and radio interviews.

Jayna Breigh is an award-winning writer of Romantic Legal Dramas – Suspenseful, Twist-Filled Mystery/Thrillers with Romance. She practiced “Big City Law” in Los Angeles for over a decade. Jayna loves funny, inspirational and painfully cute social media. The only real life drama allowed—British period pieces and games of Wordfeud.

Sarah Hamaker loves writing books “where the hero and heroine fall in love while running for their lives.” As a writers coach, her heart is encouraging writers along their journey to publication. She’s written romantic suspense novels and nonfiction books, as well as stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul volumes. She’s a member of ACFW; ACFW Virginia Chapter; and Faith, Hope and Love, and Capital Christian Writers Fellowship. Her podcast, “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” can be found wherever you listen to podcasts. Sarah lives in Virginia with her husband, four teenagers, a preschool foster child and three cats.

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First Line Friday — Girl Lost

9 Oct

Happy Friday! Leading up to the 2026 Christy Awards next month, I am featuring first lines from some of the nominees. Today I am featuring Girl Lost by Kate Angelo. This romantic suspense is book 1 in The King Legacy. Set in south Florida, it is a chilling novel — real enough to make you believe the unthinkable is possible. Nominated for the mystery/supense/thriller category, this book is perfect for fans of the genre.

Here’s the first line:

Luna Rosati could disappear into any crowd, any city, any life.

A LOST BABY
Luna Rosati found acceptance and comfort with her childhood foster family, but when she became pregnant at sixteen, she gave the baby up for adoption and left without a word. Now a CIA counterintelligence officer, Luna wants to reconcile her fractured sense of self by finding the only blood family she has–the teenage daughter she’s never met. As Luna closes in on learning the girl’s identity with the help of her mentor, Stryker, she prepares to meet him in her old neighborhood–the last place she wants to be. Then Stryker is captured.   

AN INESCAPABLE PAST
Special Agent Corbin King changed his last name to escape the shadow of his convicted father serving a life sentence. When he runs into Luna, the object of his failed teenage romance, the two must put their pasts aside and work together to expose a secret that someone’s willing to kill for.

A DEADLY THREAT
But when they encounter a kidnapping, missing bodies, and murder, the secrets Corbin and Luna are keeping from one another are only the beginning of the threat they face with more than their own lives at stake.

Kate Angelo is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author, Selah Award winner, and Amazon Top 100 bestseller from Southwest Missouri. She writes fast-paced romantic suspense novels where her characters confront trauma and find faith and healing.

When she’s not putting fictional people through the wringer, Kate works alongside her husband, Jerry Angelo, as the co-founder of their nonprofit ministry dedicated to strengthening marriages and families. Whether she’s helping people survive in fiction or thrive in real life, Kate is passionate about helping others discover their happily ever after.

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