Tag Archives: romantic suspense fiction

Spotlight on Romantic Suspense — Ribbons of Guilt

15 Jul
Ribbons of Guilt JustRead Blog Tour

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Ribbons of Guilt by Laura Thomas, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

Ribbons of Guilt

Title: Ribbons of Guilt
Series: Bite of Betrayal #3
Author: Laura Thomas
Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink
Release Date: July 5, 2026
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

A marriage in crisis. A betrayer in the wings. A life at stake.

Harriet Duval has it all—a handsome French husband, a delightful young daughter, a successful career as a professional ballerina behind her, and a beautiful future in a charming village in the English countryside. Even her beloved sisters can’t see the painful truth she hides beneath her perfect mask…

Successful businessman Leo Duval is at a breaking point physically, emotionally, and spiritually as he is forced to harbor secrets in Paris while his marriage in England dissolves before his very eyes.

The magnetic pull of Harriet’s old dancing life and the shocking murder of a Swan Lake ballerina causes her to question everything: faith, future, family. When the killer begins targeting the Duval family, Leo and Harriet’s vulnerable marriage is tested by an unimaginable traumatic event. Will the guilt they carry divide them when they need each other most?

Excerpt

“Leo, do you trust me?”

His forehead wrinkled. “I do.”

“Remember when we first met and you said I was born for the stage?”

“Yes.”

“When you used to say I was a performer who could play any part and dance whatever was required of me?” 

“Absolutely.”

Her pulse quickened as she devised a plan. Betray the betrayer.

Leo tucked her windswept hair behind her ears and nodded. “I used to tell you that all the time. I’m glad you still remember. You were amazing. Always.” 

“Thanks.” Harriet stretched her spine as long as possible and lengthened her neck. “It’s time.”

“Time for what?”

 “I need to put the mask in place for the performance of my life.”

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

More in This Series

The Final Word

About The Author

Laura Thomas

A multi-award-winning Christian author, Laura Thomas writes heartwarming encouragement for your soul—especially in her numerous romantic suspense novels, Christmas novellas, teen fiction and children’s books, as well as her non-fiction writing.

Laura is a certified writing coach, a book-loving chocoholic mom and nanny, and is married to her high school sweetheart. Originally from the UK, they now live the empty nest life in Kelowna, British Columbia, with their French bulldog!

Connect with Laura by visiting laurathomasauthor.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card and an ebook copy of Captured in Frame!

Ribbons of Guilt blog tour Giveaway JustRead

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight July 13, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on July 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. US/CAN only. 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

Tags: ,

First Line Friday — When Silence Breaks

3 Jul

Happy Friday! Today I am featuring Elizabeth Goddard‘s upcoming release When Silence Breaks, the first book in the Mercy Ridge romantic suspense series. Goddard will take readers on a thrilling ride in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Releasing on August 4, 2026, this novel will be the perfect book to round out your summer reading!

Here’s the first line:

Secrets can’t stay buried forever.

A deathbed confession. A decades-old secret. A mountain that holds the answers–and danger closing in. 

When intelligence analyst Sarah Ellison learns of her grandfather’s deathbed confession connected to her brother’s murder, she’s determined to protect her remaining family. After further investigation, she discovers the disclosed information points to a decades-old government secret buried deep in the Cascade Mountains. With this knowledge, she looks for a guide who knows the terrain like the back of their hand. 

After his father’s death in a tragic mountain accident, former Navy SEAL Ryder Goodwin no longer guides for the family business. At first, Ryder refuses to help Sarah, but he sees the trouble chasing her and can’t stand by while someone brings danger to his small-town mountain community.

Ryder and Sarah gear up to climb the mountain in a race against time and a looming storm. When the danger escalates, their search for answers shifts to a survival mission. Their only chance to make it through involves trusting each other and confronting the truth no one wants them to find. 

This gripping romantic-suspense thriller set in the Pacific Northwest from USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard is a series opener that will sweep you away in a rush of adrenaline.

Elizabeth Goddard is the PW, ECPA, and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of over sixty novels, including the Missing in Alaska and Rocky Mountain Courage series. Her books have sold more than 1.5 million copies. She is a Christy Award, Carol Award and Reader’s Choice Award winner and a Daphne du Maurier Award and HOLT Medallion finalist. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, traveling to find inspiration for her next book, and serving with her husband in ministry.

Tags: ,

Top 10 Tuesday — Most Anticipated Books of The Second Half of 2026

30 Jun

Happy Tuesday! Today TTT bloggers are sharing upcoming books that they cannot wait to read. It’s really hard to limit the list to just 10, but here goes.

For more books bloggers can’t wait for, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Books I Can’t Wait to Read (Releasing Second Half of 2026)

The Bachelor Spy by Pepper Basham (July)

Fatal Finale by Nancy Mehl (August)

Library of Forbidden Books by Mario Escobar (September)

The Resurrection of Evania James by Jaime Jo Wright (October)

The Second Chance Trailer Park by Katie Powner (July)

Taken without A Trace by Hope Welborn (August)

Things We Cannot Keep by Amanda Cox (August)

Twelve Days And Twelfth Night by Sarah Sundin (September)

Twilight Tactics by Lynette Eason (August)

When Silence Breaks by Elizabeth Goddard (August)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Tuesday — Summer TBR

23 Jun

Happy Tuesday and happy summer! Today TTT is featuring bloggers’ Summer TBR Lists. Mine is short, but sweet 😉 . I do have a favor to ask of you, though. I need to pick something for my book club to read in August. I’ve presented 3 choices — please tell me which you would choose and why. Thanks so much!

For more from bloggers, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

My Summer TBR List

All The Glimmering Stars by Mark Sullivan

South of Somewhere by T. I. Lowe

Things We Cannot Keep by Amanda Cox

Until April by Janet W. Ferguson

When Silence Breaks by Elizabeth Goddard

And Three To Vote For

A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham

The Brunswick by Callie Murray

Sense And Suitability by Pepper Basham

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Tuesday — Favorite Authors/Favorite Books

26 May

Happy Tuesday! Today’s TTT topic is Favorite Books By Favorite Authors. This is a really hard post to write. Not because I can’t think of any authors/books that fit, but because there are too many! I read a wide variety of genres, so narrowing down the list to 10 is nearly impossible. So, today I am going to feature some of my favorite romantic suspense authors and the one book that I think you should read. Ugh! Too hard! But here goes. The books I’ve listed are perfect for those of you who haven’t read anything by these authors yet because they offer a good introduction with a lot of great reading to come! Enjoy!

For more favorites from favorites, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Read This Book from Some of My Favorite Suspense Authors

Lynn Blackburn — Beneath The Surface

Patricia Bradley — Shadows of The Past

Rachel Dylan — Deadly Proof

Lynette Eason — Always Watching

Elizabeth Goddard — Never Let Go

Irene Hannon — Vanished

Lisa Harris — Dangerous Passage

Nancy Mehl — Mind Games

Carrie Stuart Parks — A Cry in The Dust

Natalie Walters — Living Lies

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Spotlight on Romantic Suspense — Crossbones

25 May
Crossbones JustRead Blog + Review Tour

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Crossbones by C.C. Warrens, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

Crossbones

Title: Crossbones
Series: A Holly Novel #6
Author: C.C. Warrens
Publisher: Independently Published
Release Date: May 15th, 2026
Genre: Romantic Suspense

“Sticks and stones will break your bones, if you make me hurt you.”

Some truths are better left buried, but Jace Walker is determined to unearth the skeletons in her family’s closet. Leverage is all she needs to keep her brother alive, and she’s willing to risk everything to save him.

Even her life.
But is she willing to risk the lives of her friends?

Holly and Jordan take on the case, but what should be a simple investigation takes a deadly turn when they stumble onto a murder. Family secrets are the least of their concerns as their path intertwines with a killer intent on remaining hidden.

He doesn’t want to be found.
He doesn’t want to be known.
And anyone who threatens his anonymity dies.

Excerpt

Maybe my history was making me overly cautious, but I would rather look paranoid than end up in the trunk of a car.

I backed up a few steps. One of the alleys would take me through to the back side of the agency, and I could come in through the storage room.

As I turned to go back the way I had come, the car rumbled forward.

I quickened my steps to the nearest alley and turned into it. The car engine roared louder as the vehicle sped up before grinding to a stop where I’d been standing a moment before.

My heart jolted, and I broke into a run.

I cut left down the intersecting alley and collided with the first door I saw—a back exit for one of the local businesses. I wrenched at the handle. Locked.

I pounded a hand against the door. “Help!”

A car door closed.

He was coming after me on foot. I stumbled back from the building and searched for a place to hide.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Buy from the Author | Amazon | BookBub

More in This Series

About The Author

CC Warrens

Jesus and laughter have brought C.C. Warrens through some very difficult times in life, and she weaves both into every story she writes, creating a world of breath-stealing intensity, laugh-out-loud humor, and a sparkle of hope. Writing has been a slowly blossoming dream inside her for most of her life until one day it spilled out onto the pages that would become her first published book.

If she’s not writing, she’s attempting to bake something—however catastrophic that might be—or she’s enjoying the beauty of the outdoors with her husband. One of the many things she’s learned since she started this journey is that the best way to write a book is to go on a long stroll with her husband. That is when the characters—from their backgrounds to the moments that make them laugh or bubble over with anger—come to life.

Connect with C.C. by visiting ccwarrens.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email updates.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a grand prize of a signed Crossbones paperback with bookmark, sticker, character art card, and a $10 Amazon gift card!

Up to (5) winners will each receive an ebook of Crossbones, delivered via Bookfunnel!

Up to (4) winners will each receive an audiobook download of Crossbones!

Crossbones blog tour giveaway JustRead Tours

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight May 25, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 1, 2026. 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 for grand prize. 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

Tags: ,

First Line Friday — The Targeted

22 May

Happy Friday! I am always excited to add a new suspense novel to my towering TBR stack. One of the latest to hit my ereader is The Targeted by Cara Putman. The Targeted is the third, and I believe, final book in Putman’s Secrets to Keep series. If you like suspense with added romance and legal drama thrown in, then check it out. Each book in the series can be read as a standalone, but with 3 out in the wild, you may just want to schedule some book-binge reading time!

Here’s the first line:

The man towers above me, and I want to stand firm.

Can she protect her gym students before her past catches up?

When Chloe Ainsworth’s older sister reappears after fourteen years, she brings with her the news that Chloe’s abuser is back in town. Chloe is a coach at her childhood gym and fiercely protective of her young gymnasts. She won’t allow them to suffer the way she did, but she’s desperate for an ally—one who can help her make her case.

Law student Dare Shepherd works at the local legal clinic, where he meets Chloe and hears her out. He believes her case but can’t get the clinic director on board. As he learns more about her story, he finds himself bound by a deepening personal care for Chloe.

They band together in search of answers, and suddenly the stakes skyrocket. It’s clear they’re onto something, but will they be able to find the answers before it’s too late?

Cara Putman is a professor, an attorney, and an award-winning, best-selling author of more than forty novels, including the Cornhusker Dreams series, the Hidden Justice series, and The Vanished.

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

Tags: ,

Spotlight on Thriller/Romance — Now Until Forever

21 May
Now Until Forever JustRead Blog + Review Tour

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Now Until Forever by Lisa Phillips, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

Now Until Forever

Title: Now Until Forever
Series: Brand of Justice #16
Author: Lisa Phillips
Publisher: Two Dogs Publishing, LLC
Release Date: May 6, 2026
Genre: Christian Thriller with Romance

**The Epic Stand-alone Finale**

Born into a legacy, Eliana must find her own brand of justice.

After moving to Chicago to work at the mysterious Shrine museum, Eliana is determined to uncover the family secrets she’s never been told. When she stumbles upon her first ever dead body, everyone around her believes she should try and solve the murder. But taking cases isn’t what she came here for. Despite her plans, things are about to turn far more sinister, and the path she’s on seems determined to drag her back into a nightmare.

Chicago PD Officer Carlos Ryson was born into a legacy of his own. He’s here to look for his missing sister, Luci, and wants to enlist Eliana’s help. This is a family problem, and only family working together can solve it. But Eliana has never forgotten the way Carlos shredded her heart. If he wants them to team up, he’ll have to confront the damage he did and find a way to repair it.

While the city around them descends into a chaos that resembles the end times, someone has seized the opportunity to get what they want from the Shrine. Only Eliana stands in their way, but if she’s going to figure this out she’ll need to trust that the people around her have her back.

Before it’s too late.

Now Until Forever is the stand-alone finale to the Brand of Justice series, and is set in the near-future. It features a happily ever after romance mixed with high-stakes suspense in this gripping crime fiction story.

Excerpt

She wanted to sit forward and lean the outside of her arm against his. Doing so would shift this to something else entirely, so she stayed where she was. Right around when she got comfortable with him being in her life again, he’d meet someone and she’d have to let him go.

It would be much safer to keep this thing firmly in the friends and family zone and keep her heart from getting shredded again.Who knew. Maybe she would be the one who met someone.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Buy from the Author | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub

More in This Series

About The Author

Lisa Phillips

Lisa Phillips is a USA Today and top ten Publishers Weekly bestselling author of Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense, independently published series romantic suspense, and thriller novels. She’s discovered a penchant for high-stakes stories of mayhem and disaster where you can find made-for-each-other love that always ends in happily ever after.

Lisa is a British ex-pat who grew up an hour outside of London and attended Calvary Chapel Bible College, where she met her husband. He’s from California, but nobody’s perfect. It wasn’t until her Bible College graduation that she figured out she was a writer (someone told her). Lisa is a worship leader, tea aficionado, and dog lover of two crazy Airedales.

Connect with Lisa by visiting authorlisaphillips.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email updates.

Tour Giveaway

(3) winners will each receive a paperback copy of Now Until Forever and various book merch goodies!

Now Until Forever JustRead blog tour giveaway

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight May 18, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on May 25, 2026. 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 for print. If winner is outside the US, he/she will receive an ebook instead of paperback, along with some book swag. 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

Tags: , ,

Spotlight on Romantic Suspense — The Targeted

20 May
The Takeover JustRead Takeover + Review Blitz

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for The Targeted by Cara Putman, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

The Targeted

Title: The Targeted
Series: Secrets to Keep #3
Author: Cara Putman
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Can she protect her gym students before her past catches up?

When Chloe Ainsworth’s older sister reappears after fourteen years, she brings with her the news that Chloe’s abuser is back in town. Chloe is a coach at her childhood gym and fiercely protective of her young gymnasts. She won’t allow them to suffer the way she did, but she’s desperate for an ally—one who can help her make her case.

Law student Dare Shepherd works at the local legal clinic, where he meets Chloe and hears her out. He believes her case but can’t get the clinic director on board. As he learns more about her story, he finds himself bound by a deepening personal care for Chloe.

They band together in search of answers, and suddenly the stakes skyrocket. It’s clear they’re onto something, but will they be able to find the answers before it’s too late?

Excerpt

The drive back to Kedgewick took only forty-five minutes, but she would have sworn it extended for days. As the wheels spun over the road, Chloe tried not to call herself a fool. She’d spent the time in therapy and prayer to own the part of the past that was hers and push back the lies that paralyzed her. The constant work surprised her at times, but she’d done it. Then why had she frozen and bolted from the clinic?

She had prepared hard.

And it hadn’t mattered.

Her thoughts screamed that she had failed, when a part of her logical mind knew that wasn’t true. She had shown up, and that had taken supernatural courage. Next time maybe she could stay and get into her story.

When the man had smiled at her in that slightly goofy way, she’d experienced a flicker of something . . . interest? . . . and she’d bolted.

She couldn’t afford a distraction or any confusion. Not when she was risking everything to show up. If she allowed anything to pull her away, she would never move toward confronting Alex. It was too hard and too vulnerable. Who would want to invest time with someone so damaged anyway? Not when there were so many beautiful, unscathed women out there.

A whisper in the depths of her heart pointed to Janae and Margeaux and their beautiful, emerging stories, but she couldn’t go there. Not now. Not as the panic pushed further against her pounding chest.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Kregel Publications | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook | Bookshop

More Books from This Series:

The Vanished
The Accused

About The Author

Cara Putman

Cara Putman is a professor, an attorney, and an award-winning, best-selling author of more than forty novels, including the Cornhusker Dreams series, the Hidden Justice series, and The Vanished.

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

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a signed copy of The Targeted and $20 Amazon gift card!

The Targeted 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 20, 2026 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on May 27, 2026. 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

Tags: ,

Top 10 Tuesday — Supporting Characters

19 May

Happy Tuesday! Today TTT’s topic is secondary, or as I like to call them, supporting characters. I see supporting characters as integral to creating a complete story. A reader gets an in-depth look at the struggles of the mains, as well as a richer reading experience. I’m not great at remembering secondary/supporting characters, so I did a search with the term in my blog reviews. I think you’ll find some great books to check out that have great supporting characters, and there’s a variety of genres that should appeal to any reading mood.

For more interesting characters, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Books with Great Supporting Characters

Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner

Facing The Dawn by Cynthia Ruchti

The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon by Linda MacKillop

The Foxhole Victory Tour by Amy Lynn Green

In Search of A Prince by Toni Shiloh

Memory Lane by Becky Wade

A Mosaic of Wings by Kimberly Duffy

A Place to Land by Lauren K. Denton

Power Play by Rachel Dylan

The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries