Tag Archives: Crystal Caudill

Top 10 Tuesday — New-To-Me Authors

27 Jan

Happy Tuesday! Today we are talking about bookish discoveries (new authors, new genres, new bookstores, etc.). My lists consists of new-to-me-authors and the first book (but not the last) I read in 2025. I had a great reading year, and these authors added greatly to the fun. I hope you discover a new author too!

For more bookish discoveries, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top New-To-Me Authors from 2025

Jayna Breigh — The Hunted Heir

Crystal Caudill — Written in Secret

Leslie Kirby DeVooght — Stealing Magnolias

T. I. Lowe — Indigo Isle

Jamie Ogle — Of Love And Treason

Naomi Stephens — The Burning of Rosemont Abbey

Donna Jo Stone — When Wildflowers Bloom Again

Hope Welborn — Hidden

Mini-Book Review — Written in Secret

8 Oct

Written in Secret, a historical mystery/suspense/ romance novel by Crystal Caudill, is fun and thought-provoking. I loved the late 1800s setting — there’s some great detail about Chicago of the era and interesting info about book publishing of the time. It was just so much fun for this book nerd! The novel follows romance and mystery writer Lydia Pelton who is devoted to her craft and to justice as she sees it. Unfortunately a killer takes her books a little too seriously. She meets her match in police detective Abraham Hall who views her novels as inappropriate and dangerous. The two clash as the killer gets closer to Lydia. I found the views of both MCs to be insightful. There is a great deal of power in one’s words. Caudill does a great job of balancing the tension of the narrative with humor. I loved this book!

If you like historical mystery/suspense, then put Written in Secret on your TBR list. I look forward to more books in the series.

Highly recommended.

Great for book clubs.

Audience: adults.

(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

What happens when fiction becomes reality? In the corruption-infested Queen City, danger lurks in every shadow, but Lydia Pelton refuses to stay silent. She writes under a pseudonym, E. A. Dupin, crafting crime novels to exact justice and right the wrongs she sees in society. When a serial killer decides to be the sword to her pen, Lydia is confronted with the consequences of her words. Four men are dead, and the city blames her.

With murders on the rise, Officer Abraham Hall’s only lead is Lydia’s fiction, and he is thrust into an investigation with the “Killer Queen of Romance.” Despite his misgivings about the woman, he realizes that even with his reputation for catching elusive criminals, he needs her help. But his unexpected attraction to Lydia proves as difficult to manage as the woman herself.

As the mystery unfolds, Abraham and Lydia race to rewrite the ending, not only for Cincinnati’s citizens, but for their own hearts too.

Crystal Caudill is a tea-drinking, book-hoarding, history nerd. Her award-winning stories are ripe with history, danger, love, and hope. When not writing, Crystal can be found playing board games with her husband and boys, caregiving for loved ones, hiding in a book, drinking copious amounts of hot tea, or connecting with readers. You can connect with her at http://www.crystalcaudill.com or by joining her newsletter crew at bitly.com/CaudillNews.

Spotlight On Historical Fiction — Counterfeit Faith

31 May

Counterfeit Faith JustRead Takeover + Review Blitz

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for Counterfeit Faith by Crystal Caudill, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

Counterfeit Faith

Title: Counterfeit Faith
Series: Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age #3
Author: Crystal Caudill
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: May 16, 2023
Genre: Christian Historical Romance

She’s losing her faith in mankind. He’s lost his faith in God. Can working together restore them both?

As matron of Final Chance House of Refuge, Gwendolyn Ellison has dedicated her life to serving the children deemed delinquents by society. She’ll protect them with everything she has. So when she suspects someone is using Final Chance for criminal deeds, she’s determined to investigate and put a stop to it. But villains don’t like to be crossed–and they’re willing to kill to get their way.

Gwendolyn knows she can’t quit fighting. More than her own life is on the line if counterfeiters go free. She must find someone she can trust to help her expose the criminals and protect the children under her care.

Charming and chivalrous Secret Service operative Josiah Isaacs has never been able to turn his back on a woman in trouble–and capturing counterfeiters is his job, after all. The danger he’s truly worried about is his growing attraction to Gwendolyn when his heart wants to remain faithful to his deceased wife.

As both peril and interest grow, he begins to consider whether a second love may be possible–if they can live through this case. At the same time, he’s put off by her faith in a God he no longer trusts. How can a future together even be possible when their beliefs are at odds?

“Page-turning action combines with depth and richness to create a full-bodied, rewarding read.”

–Jocelyn Green, Christy Award-winning author of The Metropolitan Affair

“Readers who love romance, suspense, and a graceful amount of faith won’t want to miss this story.”

–Toni Shiloh, Christy Award-winning author

“With a host of sympathetic and likable characters (and a few not so likable), a riveting plot that clips along at the perfect pace, and a relatable faith thread, this book [is a] completely enjoyable read.”

–Kimberly Duffy, Carol Award finalist and author of A Tapestry of Light

Excerpt

His ragged breath caught as he focused on her for the first time. He remembered having been gripped by her pale face and fear-stricken eyes, but now the beauty of her visage struck him as worthy of belonging in a Grecian temple. It was as if Aphrodite had taken on breath and walked off the page Robert had shown him at the Philadelphia Library.

Except this Grecian goddess looked like she’d been kicked down from Mount Olympus by a vengeful Hera. Dirt and debris imprinted Shaveless’s shoe across her temple on the right side of her face. Based on her thin-pressed lips and deep furrows between her brows, she probably had one devil of a headache. Long soft curls knocked free from their confines spilled onto the ground like sheaves of wheat during harvest season.

Do your job and stop gawking. The woman could be bleeding.

He inspected the length of her, from the high neck of her worn, black wool coat, down her unfashionable but sturdy brown skirts, to the scuffed toes of her heeled buttoned boots. Thankfully, nothing indicated blood was seeping into the material, and her chest rose and fell in even—albeit shuddered—breaths. Once the ambulance arrived, he’d insist on traveling with her to the hospital to ensure she received proper treatment and an examination for a concussion.

“Miss, can you speak to me?”

Languid eyelids opened to reveal stunning copper orbs. Was there anything not breathtaking about this woman?

She blinked at him and then nearly collided heads with him as she shot up to a sitting position. “You’re bleeding!”
(pp 19-20)

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

More Books in This Series

Counterfeit Love Counterfeit Hope


About The Author

Crystal Caudill

Crystal Caudill is the author of “dangerously good historical romance,” with her work garnering awards from Romance Writers of America and ACFW. She is a stay-at-home mom and caregiver, and when she isn’t writing, Caudill can be found playing board games with her family, drinking hot tea, or reading other great books at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio.

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


Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive print copies of Counterfeit Love, Counterfeit Hope, and Counterfeit Faith, a set of bookmarks, 2 stickers with quotes, and a magnet with a QR code to a “test your Secret Service knowledge” quiz!

Counterfeit Faith JustRead Giveaway

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight May 31, 2023 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on June 7, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

Enter Giveaway


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

JustRead Publicity Tours