Mountain Fugitive by Lynette Eason

 

Mountain Fugitive by Lynette Eason

3 Stars

This is a solid Christian romantic suspense read with plenty of action and danger throughout the story. The premise immediately grabbed my attention, and I liked how quickly the plot got moving. Dr. Katherine Gilroy is out horseback riding and stumbles into a deadly shoot-out and she helps US marshal Dominic O'Ryan. She is determined to find her brother who they think murdered his partner. Is all that it seems?

The suspense side of the story was definitely the strongest aspect for me. There were several twists, plenty of tense moments, and enough mystery to keep me interested in finding out what was really going on with Katherine's brother and the shooting that set everything in motion. If you like fast-paced Love Inspired Suspense books, you will likely enjoy the nonstop action as you usually see.

While I liked both Katherine and Dominic as characters, I never fully connected with them on a deeper level. Their relationship developed well enough for the story, but I found myself more invested in the suspense plot than in the romance. 

That said, this was still an enjoyable read. The pacing was strong, the mystery kept me engaged and there were enough to hold my interest. I also appreciated the clean romance and the faith elements, which felt natural to the story.

Overall, this is a good read that I think many Christian Love Inspired romantic suspense fans will enjoy, even if it wasn't a standout favorite for me personally.

Thank you to the Harlequin Audio for a copy of the audiobook to listen to for review. The narrator was good. All thoughts are my own.

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Whiteout by Dani Pettrey and Lynette Eason

 

Whiteout by Lynette Eason and Dani Pettrey 
4 Stars (3.5 Rounded Up)
Novella Collections

I always enjoy a good Christian, romantic suspense read and these were some great novellas! Very much an on the edge of your seat read for both novellas in this collection.

If you are looking for a good quick winter read, check these out because both have snowed in, avalanches type of storylines, with high-stakes suspense. 

The first one, Dani Pettrey's, follows Joel and Cassandra in a second chance romance. She left him at the alter years ago over this crazy situation with a stalker she had. Now, they are back around each other when they are both part of a destination wedding party. Everyone ends up being snowed in at an abandoned lodge with their friends after a tragic avalanche happens. But is her stalker lurking in every corner? Will she reveal the real reason she left so long ago?

I was really engaged in this one! Loved the characters and suspense. It was very intense though, with several murders taking place. 

In the second one, Lynette Eason's, we follow Dr. Maya who is escaping her past and planning a retreat for veterans at the ranch she has inherited. She runs into her high school crush, Gideon, and soon realizes someone is targeting her. They work together to find the person who is after her. I liked this one but I think Dani's was my fav! I just connected with those characters more.

content warnings: mentioned of friends being murdered semi-detailed and disturbing  POV of killer, would be triggering probably to someone who has been through a stalker situation so be aware of this content, no language, clean romance.

I recommend for anyone who likes Christian romantic suspense and wants something quick. Thank you to Revell for a complimentary copy for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Oh, and the audio narration is great!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8295558431

Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/9780764245978_whiteout

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4q3sSpZ

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Final Approach by Lynette Eason

Final Approach by Lynette Eason 
3.5 Stars - rounded up to 4 

Book 4 in the Lake City Heroes Series

This book starts off with a BIG suspense aspect! LOTS of action, feels like a movie or tv show. We see Air Marshal Kristine on a flight to Florida with her law enforcement friends & FBI Special Agent Andrew. A hijacker all of a sudden tries to take control of the plane in a whirlwind of suspense. People get hurt but they make it out alive....unfortunately, this investigation is more than just trying to understand why this man randomly hijacks the place. Andrew and Kristine work together to figure out how this all ties in with some past circumstances and as usual, a slow burn romance ensues. 

I have enjoyed my time in this series by Lynette. I think they are best read all around the same time since all the characters are friend groups and make cameos in other books. My brain likes to forget names so easily haha. 

I really liked the suspense and friend group. The ending was wild, I did NOT guess it, as always! It was a sad situation what our character went through, so much trauma. Enjoyed the faith elements and if you like Christian Romantic Suspense, this series will be up your alley. 

My favorite of this series has to still be book 1, Double Take. While I ultimately don't have a ton to say, I would recommend. 

Content: parental death, mentions but not extremely detailed of violence like cut throats, blood, suicide, terrorism, deaths, obviously plane hijacking, and standard gunfire/shooters etc. grief, guilt, parental abuse, drugs, toxic parent. 

Thank you to Revell for providing a complimentary copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7640548371
Amazon: https://amzn.to/42QEXGS
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/618545

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

 

Serial Burn by Lynette Eason

 

Serial Burn by Lynette Eason

Book 3 in the Lake City Heroes Series
4 Stars 

This follows Jesslyn McMcormick, the fire marshal of Lake City. She is determined to find who started a fire that killed her family when she was 7 years old. As the 20th anniversary of their deaths approaches, we see a number of fires being set, one being at her church. She must find the person responsible and get answers for who set the fire and killed her family all those years ago. We see FBI Special Agent Nathan Carlisle called in to work this case with local police. He helped her and they have quite the chemistry together romantically. The story goes on from here.

I really enjoyed this 3rd book in the series! I love a good arson plot in romantic suspense since it's not a common one and seeing the Jesslyn as a fire marshal was so interesting! I loved her character because she was trying to figure out who she really was outside of losing her family 20 years ago in the fire. I also really enjoyed the side story of Nathan and his brother's - the trauma he went through really had me wanting to know the backstory and seeing the start of healing through that was beautifully done - especially with the faith elements.

For the mystery itself, I did not figure it out and was surprised by the ending! Lot of high suspense moments throughout where someone is after Jesslyn that I enjoyed too. 

While the romance between Jesslyn and Nathan wasn't my favorite as I just didn't connect fully with that portion personally, I did really enjoy the suspense aspect and their interactions working together. I also think this series is best read back to back though because I do find I forget the characters from previous books since so much time has passed. 

Overall, glad I finished this one and looking forward to book 4! Thank you to Revell for a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7033101578
Baker: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/598753
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PgPVhl

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Cornered by Lynette Eason, Lynn H Blackburn and Natalie Walters

 

Cornered Novella Collection - Lynette Eason, Lynn H. Blackburn and Natalie Walters - 4 Stars

Y'all I really think Romantic Suspense books are PERFECT in Novella format! I loved this one. After reading Targeted and now Cornered, I think this author trio should definitely continue these! They are fun, short reads with just the right amount of suspense and romance I prefer! Highly recommend to my Romantic Suspense fans!

5/5 The first novella is In The Dark by Lynette Eason. This features accountant Steph Cross who is cleaning out her co-workers desk after her shocking and unexpected death. It seems like an accident, but when she finds a cryptic note in her desk that looks like she was investigating something, it looks like her death was no accident at all. Detective Tate Cooper comes in and is determined to help her figure everything out before someone else gets hurt. Steph has quickly become someone important to him and he will do anything to help keep her safe. This is tied to her Lake City Heroes series and since I have read books 1 and 2 in that series, I really liked this novella because I was familiar with the setting.

4/5 The second novella is In Downfall by Lynn H. Blackburn. This features chef Cassie Quinn who fills in as chef at an exclusive mountain resort. The kitchen gets destroyed, she is in danger and thrown into a situation where her ex-boyfriend, Detective Donovan Bledsoe, has to help her. I haven't read Never Fall Again, but this is in the same setting of Gossamer Falls. I have to dive into that series now because this one was again, great suspense and romance! We had good depth with the characters here because they had history together. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was some of the second chance stuff because second chance can be hit or miss with me, but I did like their characters and ending to the romance.

3.5 to 4-ish /5 The third novella is In Perilous Obsession by Natalie Walters. This features Lahela Young, the sister of Kekoa from the S.N.A.P agency series. I really liked our characters here because it was familiar to me, as I have read the novella and book 1 for the S.N.A.P agency series. It is hard for me to remember the character names for some reason so I had a hard time there, but overall it was good. Lahela becomes the target of someone with a twister obsession to right a wrong. She turns to her friend Briggs Turner, who used to be a police officer, but wants to help protect Lahela in what is going on. The ending in this one was very unique in the suspense, wanted a little more romance here but great suspense and action.

Overall, these are some AWESOME novellas that I think a lot of y'all will enjoy! Highly recommend these author's books and series to look into if you want some good Christian romantic suspense options.

Thank you to Revell for a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6737999848
Baker Book House (Recommended): https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/579837
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3B7ar0k

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Target Acquired by Lynette Eason

 Target Acquired by Lynette Eason
(Book 2 in the Lake City Heroes Series)

3.5 Stars 

Double Take is one book I absolutely loved, so this one was one of my most anticipated releases for the year. This one is a dual timeline story and I really liked the past timeline of 1940s from the mental institution where we follow a woman's story of being thrown in this hospital by her father, the doctor and friend she has while in there that help her throughout the story and her doing what she has to do to get out of there. In the present day timeline we follow Kenzie King who finally earned her place as a medic on the SWAT team and Cole Garrison who cares for Kenzie and works with her to solve the mysteries that keep unfolding. Seeing how the past timeline was tied into the current and how the characters were related to our present day group was something I really enjoyed.

However, I will say I liked the first book better than this one. For some reason, I was not as engaged or connected to the present day timeline. I love her writing, I just don't know why I wasn't really connecting to the characters in the present day as much as I would have liked to be. One thing I don't love is Kenzie's place on the team had some of the "because I'm a woman" talk that I never usually like just in general in books. I get that is the whole point of her joining this all male team that some of the men would not take too keen to her, but having it be a big part of the plot really wasn't my favorite thing.

I did enjoy the romance that was here overall, as it was a slow burn and they really got to know each other, but the action and suspense left me wanting more. I also struggled to keep up with who was who sometimes and wanted more in the ending. We didn't really get shown what happened in the past so I personally would have preferred that.

Either way, please take me with a grain of salt on this one - I am going to read the next one in the series because it deals with fire and I love Lynette's writing. If you like suspense, give this one a go.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-book copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6433340348
Amazon: https://amzn.to/470FC9b
Baker Book House (Recommended): https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/553563

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Double Take by Lynette Eason

 

Double Take by Lynette Eason - 5 Stars - Book 1 in the Lake City Heroes Series

I loved this story! A great start to a new Christian Romantic Suspense series! 

- Fast paced suspense story

- The best friend's brother trope

- Nice faith thread

- Crazy storyline of being stalked by your ex-fiancé that you thought was dead 

In this story, we have detective James Cross who works with the Lake City Police Department. He has a lot of crazy family dynamics going on so he's rooming with his friend and partner Cole. Cut to Physician Assistant Lanie Jackson who is 18 months post her attempted murder by her ex, which ended when she managed to grab the gun and shoot him. He's been dead this whole time....or so she thought......is he back to finish the job? Crazy things start to happen where they are questioning if he is alive or dead and James steps in to help solve the case and protect Lanie. 

I loved this because James knew Lanie for most of his life as her best friends brother and the connection they had was great. I loved seeing them reconnect and the romance threads grow throughout the suspense. I definitely want to read the next book in the series! Bonus for a great narrator via audiobook.

Trigger warnings: Domestic violence, stalking, PTSD, panic attacks. 

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6084380973
Amazon: https://amzn.to/43DTW5V
Baker Books: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/542754

*Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.