Welcome to the Blog Tour for Chasing Kensie by Drew Taylor, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: Chasing Kensie
Author: Drew Taylor
Publisher: Taylor Made Publishing
Release Date: December 23, 2025
Genre: Contemporary Romance
She moved to Alaska for a fresh start. He made her the object of his wry affection. Kensington Smith, a high school English teacher fueled by coffee and plaid, looks for the good in people. The hot-but-vexing P.E. teacher and football coach, who is unfortunately her best friend’s older brother, is the exception. When he’s tapped to assist her with the annual Winter Solstice Dance, he rewrites Kensie’s long-held lesson plans of loathing as he reveals the man behind the flirtatious façade. Nicolas Lancaster has a little thing for the pretentious, people-pleasing English teacher of Crescent Cove High School… a thing where he revels in riling her up. But as his proclivities shift and he chases the heart of the woman he’s taught to despise him, Nick begins to understand the pain behind the practiced smile she dons—a mirror that reflects his own inner demons. Two hearts. Two histories. One source of Hope.
Chasing Kensie is a Christian contemporary romance sparkling with Alaskan winters, unknown feelings, and a love that will light up the darkest of nights.
PURCHASE LINKS:Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub
*Thank you to Just Read Tours for the gifted e-copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
This book is such a cute and cozy read! It’s the perfect type of book to lift your spirits this dreary January.
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I can hardly believe how fast 2025 went! It was a good year for me, but I am looking forward to seeing what good happens in 2026 as well. I managed to read 60 books last year. In order of date read, here are ten of the best books I read.
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Welcome to the Blog Tour for Midnight Offensive by Elle E. Kay, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: Midnight Offensive
Series: Toxic Truths #1
Author: Elle E. Kay
Publisher: Faith Writes Publishing
Release Date: May 14, 2025
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense / Thriller
Former Navy SEAL Craig Malone is now a Tactical Operations Leader for Homeland Security with a critical mission: protect the only antidote to Viper-X, a stolen bioweapon about to be sold to the highest bidder. But the mission becomes dangerously personal when the investigation leads him to Sadie Kline—an emergency room nurse and his best friend’s little sister. He’s always kept his distance, but now her life is on the line. As a ruthless enemy closes in, kidnapping their loved ones and setting deadly traps, Craig must protect the woman he can’t get out of his head while stopping a catastrophic attack. Duty and a decade of unspoken feelings collide in a race to stop a traitor before it’s too late.
PURCHASE LINKS:Goodreads | Buy from the Author | Amazon | BookBub
Excerpt
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Welcome to the Blog Tour for Echoes of Darkness by Darlene L. Turner, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: Echoes of Darkness
Author: Darlene L. Turner
Publisher: Love Inspired Trade
Release Date: June 24, 2025
Genre: Christian Suspense/Romantic Thriller
A serial killer stalks a small town, and a police officer must face her family’s dark past to catch him.
The sleepy community of Kenorapeake Falls in northern Ontario seems like somewhere Constable Oaklynn Brock can finally outrun her violent past. That is, until she’s assigned to investigate a series of suspicious deaths. She can’t reveal that she knows how serial killers think because she grew up with one. Yet the eerie similarities between these murders and those committed by her father, known as the Suicide Slayer, hint at a copycat in their midst. But why here and why now? Caleb Greene of the Canadian Watchers Squad, a special task force, has his own reasons to be wary of working alongside Oaklynn. But with rumors of a local cult known as the Light Paragons gaining power, the stakes are too high to refuse. As they explore connections between the killings and cult, Oaklynn and Caleb are forced to confront old secrets…and a terrifying new threat. Someone is watching Oaklynn’s every move. They know exactly who she is and what she might be capable of. And soon her biggest fear isn’t just having her past exposed, but that a killer will turn whatever days she has left into a living nightmare…
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Harlequin | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop | BookBub
*I received a gifted e-copy of this book. Thank you to the author and publisher! All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
This was such an intense and gripping mystery! The premise of Echoes of Darkness is just so intriguing and the actual book itself is even more so than that. Once I started reading this one, I found myself unable to put it down.
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Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for The Puzzle Within by Gina Holder, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: The Puzzle Within
Series: The Game Masters #1
Author: Gina Holder
Publisher: Scrivenings Press LLC
Release Date: June 3, 2025
Genre: Romantic Suspense
FBI agent Arizona Powers is haunted by nightmares—fragments of a childhood kidnapping no one believes ever happened. Still recovering from a nervous breakdown, she accepts a protection assignment for Bridgette Van Sloan, the strong-willed teenage daughter of a U.S. ambassador who’s been receiving threats signed: Enigma. Nick Trueheart, a former escape artist known as “Nick of Time” turned diplomatic risk analyst, is grieving the loss of his beloved wife—and obsessed with finding her killer. When assigned to Bridgette’s security detail, his biggest concern isn’t the threats—it’s the unstable agent with a vendetta against kidnappers. When Bridgette disappears from an escape room, Nick and Arizona become entangled in a high-stakes puzzlehunt and a race against time. They must confront their own failures and unravel the secrets hidden within themselves to rescue Bridgette … and survive a madman’s twisted game. Because one thing becomes clear: Enigma’s real target is much bigger — and far more personal.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Scrivenings Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub
*I received a gifted copy of this book. Thank you to the author and publisher! All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
This book gripped me! From the very first chapter I was hooked and the story kept me that way until the very end. This was my first Gina Holder book, but it definitely will not be my last!
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Title: The Voice We Find by Nicole Deese
Pages: 416
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (Apr. 15, 2025)
Genre: contemporary fiction, romance, Christian fiction
Summary
Two voices. One story. A chance to rewrite their future.
Sophie Wilder returns home to California with nothing more than a failed Broadway career and a geriatric cat. Stuck working at the family winery with her egotistical brother and desperate for a way to revive her acting dreams, she takes a side gig as an audiobook narrator with Fog Harbor Books. But getting mixed up in the life of her reluctant sound engineer was never a part of her plans.
August Tate is still reeling from taking on guardianship of his teen sister. Determined to find a solution to her degenerative hearing loss and to prevent his private recording studio from going under, he agrees to produce audiobooks part-time. When Sophie breathes new life into his creativity and forms an unexpected bond with his sister rooted in their common faith, he must confront the reasons he turned away from his own or risk losing the second chance he’s only just started to believe in.
The Voice We Find is the third book in Nicole Deese’s Fog Harbor Romance Series for fans of clean, faith-based stories, deaf and hard of hearing representation, workplace romance, books about books, found family, and sibling bonds.
*I received a gifted copy of this book. Thank you to the author and publisher! All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
I loved this book! For the past month, I’ve been in such a reading slump. Even books that I knew I would love were not catching my attention like the way they should. Then I picked up The Voice We Find and suddenly I could not stop reading.
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Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for Some Like it Scot by Pepper Basham hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: Some Like it Scot
Author: Pepper Basham
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: April 8, 2025
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance
She lives her life on the fly. His heart is double-knotted to home. Can two different souls create a life together? Popular travel writer and podcaster Katie Campbell roams the world collecting other people’s stories. She’s built a career as “Miss Adventure,” known for saying yes to anything new–country, food, or experience–and predictably finding those adventures taking a downward turn into misadventures. Offered the chance to explore her ancestral roots through a three-week Edwardian experience, Katie finds herself immersed in the beauty and eccentricity of Scotland. In her period attire, with traditional foods and activities, the opportunities for misadventures are endless, especially with the presence of a maniacal macaw, a jealous co-worker, and an all-too-surly Scotsman. Reclusive and protective Graeme MacKerrow doesn’t venture far from his island home. A stoic Scotsman, Graeme’s comfort zone has always been family, and after his sister’s death, he’s even more determined to save the MacKerrow ancestral home and keep those he loves close. The sudden intrusion of a six-foot-one American lass, famous for her traveling misfortunes, was far from his plan. As this world of folklore, community, and woodworkers-in-kilts tempts Katie to discover her own story, could this one grand series of misadventures lead her directly to where she belongs? And would a settled-in-Scot ever risk loosening his grip on what’s familiar to allow a wanderlust writer a home in his heart? How could their very different worlds share the same page of life’s story when “home” is in two very different places? But maybe home–and the future–isn’t quite what either one imagined it would be. Maybe home is less about a place . . . and more about a person.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Faith Gateway | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook | Bookshop
*I received a gifted copy of this book. Thank you to the author and publisher! All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
Pepper Basham has done it again! I absolutely loved the Skymar series, so I was excited to read her latest romcom, and this one did NOT disappoint. From the setting to the characters and everything in between, Some Like It Scot is a must read!
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Title: The Restless Wrangler (Colter Sons #5) by Karen Baney
Pages: 219
Publisher: Desert Life Media (Mar. 8, 2023)
Genre: Christian, romance, historical
Summary
Compelling love story full of heartache and redemption set in Ash Fork, Arizona Territory in 1893-1894.
Preston Colter felt like he was the forgotten son. Years of drinking and drifting finally catch up to him. When a near-death experience recharts the course of his life, he finds himself face-to-face with an old flame. Will he prove he is a new and different man, or will he fall back into his old destructive ways?
*Thank you to the publisher and JustRead Tours for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
This was such a sweet and heartfelt read! This story follows Hetty Clark, a young, single mom, who is navigating life after inheriting her father’s ranch after a tragic incident. To make matters more complicated, the unbeknownst father, Preston Colter, arrives back in town and is trying to prove he is no longer the ”bad boy” of his past.
I really loved reading about Preston and Hetty’s relationship. Hetty is a very confident and fierce character – which I really appreciated. Her son, Remi, is her number one priority, and she is willing to do anything to make sure he has a good life. Not only that, but I loved how Hetty wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Meanwhile, Preston, even though he had made a lot of mistakes in his past, worked so hard to improve his life.
This is a closed-door, sweet romance. Preston does struggle with alcoholism but works toward recovery in this novel.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The storyline was simple but sweet and the characters were well-written. I think fans of historical romances will enjoy this one.
Title: Up to this Pointe by Jennifer Longo
Pages: 368
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (Jan. 19, 2016)
Genre: YA, contemporary
Summary
She had a plan. It went south.
Harper is a dancer. She and her best friend, Kate, have one goal: becoming professional ballerinas. And Harper won’t let anything—or anyone—get in the way of The Plan, not even the boy she and Kate are both drawn to.
Harper is a Scott. She’s related to Robert Falcon Scott, the explorer who died racing to the South Pole. So when Harper’s life takes an unexpected turn, she finagles (read: lies) her way to the icy dark of McMurdo Station . . . in Antarctica. Extreme, but somehow fitting—apparently she has always been in the dark, dancing on ice this whole time. And no one warned her. Not her family, not her best friend, not even the boy who has somehow found a way into her heart.
At the end of 2024/beginning of 2025, I was in a bit of a reading slump. No book was standing out to me. Then I saw Up to this Pointe on my shelf. It was in the back, and I had forgotten I owned this one. That’s when I decided now was the perfect time to give it a chance – and I am so glad I did!
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Title: Set Your Eyes Higher by Whitney Lowe
Pages: 208
Publisher: Zondervan (Sept. 24, 2024)
Genre: Christian non-fiction, devotional
Summary
Find peace and rest for your spirit when you fix your eyes on God.
Life feeling out of control? Overwhelmed and need a break? You’re invited to a 40-day reset that will help you let go of what’s not serving you, honor your limitations, and turn your gaze toward a God who loves you. Set Your Eyes Higher is a life-changing devotional journey from anxiety to peace.
We spend a lot of time looking down. Mostly at our phones. Sometimes at ourselves. The artificial blue light in our eyes makes us anxious about the world. It makes us chase trends that have nothing to do with who we want to be. It causes us to put time, energy, and brain space into what won’t last.
It’s time to look up.
Each daily devotion in Set Your Eyes Higher from Whitney Lowe includes honest reflections, a suggestion for a Scripture reading, and a prayer that will help you refocus your attention on God. This insightful guide for our modern world will help you if you are:
- Searching for a rhythm to anchor your spiritual practices
- Looking to take control of your time, and gain clarity on what you want in life
- Seeking long-lasting contentment over trends
- Wanting to let go of the world’s worries you are carrying on your shoulders
- Eager to know the Bible but don’t know where to start
Set Your Eyes Higher will help you find new perspective, purpose, power, and peace. If you’re feeling unmoored because you’ve taken your eyes off of what matters most, the hope you’re searching for is within reach–if you’re ready to look up.
*Thank you to the publisher and TLC Tours for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
I’ve been following Whitney Lowe’s instagram, Scribbled Devos, for several years now. So, when I was given the opportunity to review her debut book, I was very excited! This is 40-day devotional has been the perfect book to start off my 2025.
Read more: Book Review | Set Your Eyes HigherHonestly, for the past few years, I’ve struggled to find daily devotionals that actually feel genuine, biblical, and applicable to my life. Yet, somehow, Set Your Eyes Higher, managed to do all three of those things! I appreciate how Whitney shares her life and struggles with anxiety. That being said, she writes in a way that makes it clear this book isn’t “about” her. As someone who has dealt with anxiety my entire life, I appreciated Whitney’s vulnerability and honesty.
Another aspect I loved, which is surprisingly lacking in many devotionals, is that Whitney was able to back up everything she was saying with Scripture. This isn’t a devotional that just throws in a bible verse or two at the end to make it “Christian.” The author clearly did her research and made sure her advice was biblically sound.
Overall, I would recommend Set Your Eyes Higher to anyone looking for an authentic devotional. I loved the format and the option to study scripture even deeper.
the calico books 