The Heiress and the Woodsman by Christine Hill Suntz

The Heiress and the Woodsman
by Christine Hill Suntz

ISBN-13: 9798400507984
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
Released: August 11, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Canada, 1837. Charlotte is determined to hold onto her family’s crumbling estate—the last vestige of their former place in Toronto society before her mother’s death and her father’s financial ruin. But when her missing brother Simon is suspected of aiding a political rebellion, Charlotte heads north to find him before his impulsive decisions ruin what’s left of their family’s standing and break her ailing father’s heart.

Joshua has worked tirelessly to carve a home from the wilderness for the younger brother he was forced to leave behind, only to learn his first harvest is nearly worthless and his brother has been sold into an indenture Joshua can’t afford to redeem. When a stranger offers him work tracking down a settler in the bush, he’s desperate enough to agree.

Nothing has prepared Charlotte for the challenges of surviving the wilderness. When Joshua comes to her aid, she offers to pay him for guidance through the bush. Though he knows a spoiled city girl will slow him down, he can’t refuse the money. As Charlotte and Joshua face the dangers of travel through rough terrain, admiration and friendship grow, even as class divides and hidden truths complicate their bond. But when they are caught in the crossfire of rebellion, they must decide if the futures they’ve fought for are truly their hearts’ desire—or if something unexpected awaits.


My Review:
The Heiress and the Woodsman is a romance set in 1837 in Toronto, Canada. Charlotte's been slaving away to keep the family estate running with the help of one elderly servant after her father lost their fortune. It's her duty to preserve the estate for her brother, the future heir. A neighbor says he'll claim her brother is a rebel so he'll be arrested and hanged. Her brother's off homesteading in a remote area, so impulsive Charlotte headed off with a poorly drawn map to find her brother, determined to get him to return with her. Joshua needed the money and was homesteading in the same area, so he agreed to guide her to her brother--and make sure she survived to see her home again.

This story just didn't feel realistic. For one thing, the author kept forgetting things she'd previously said. Like Joshua got down from his wagon, then suddenly he's back in the driver's seat. The author also had unrealistic things happen, like Joshua carried Charlotte in his arms while climbing a ladder. I read an Advanced Reader Copy, so some of this will hopefully be fixed in the final book.

Finally, I just didn't bond with the main characters. Charlotte played her role of thoughtless damsel in destress to the hilt. Charlotte gave away all of the food Joshua had for the winter and constantly put his life in danger with her impulsive stunts, yet that's easily forgiven. Probably because he wanted to be a hero to someone. And he's a gifted woodworker, but instead he focused on raising crops (very poorly) and didn't even realize that he needed to keep some seed for his own use rather than buying seed and flour back at a higher price.

To top it all off, Charlotte did come into money at the end, but Joshua--while claiming he'll be the one person to put her first--refused to let her spend her money on improving their life once they got married. He was determined to keep on slaving away as a failing farmer rather than use his woodworking gifts or her money. Pride! I know, people who make mistake after mistake without learning much deserve love, too, but it's not what I care for in a romance. There was no sex or bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

In Too Deep by Susan May Warren and Tari Faris

In Too Deep
by Susan May Warren
and Tari Faris

ISBN-13: 9780800747619
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: June 30, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Weeks after the first Roosevelt treasure cache was discovered, the Grand Canyon has become a madhouse. Reckless treasure hunters swarm the park and a young college student dies. For Dr. Meg Lewis, the chaos hits close to home. She came to the park to stitch up cuts and wrap sprains—not dive back into a world of live-or-die medical drama that triggers her panic attacks.

Ranger Director and widower Noah Wilde, has spent years keeping everyone at arm's length, terrified that loving again will only lead to grief. He's not about to let any more deaths happen on his watch.

When another group becomes trapped in the dangerous Tapeats cave system, Noah assembles a rescue team with Meg as medical officer. But what they find underground isn't an accident. Someone has turned the caves into a death trap—and now the rescue team itself is the target.

As floodwaters rise and the cave ceiling collapses, their enemy hunts them. With no communication and innocent lives hanging in the balance, Meg must push past her past to figure out how to save lives and Noah must find a way out.


My Review:
In Too Deep is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the second in a series but works as a standalone. Noah felt like he had to be in control as if everything depended upon him. He had to lead the rescues, and surely his wife and unborn baby wouldn't have died in a car accident if only he'd been driving. Meg loved healing people, forming relationships. But she froze during life-or-death situations as a young child and similar medical situations trigger her old panic attacks. When she's forced to deal with emergency situations in the field, she reconsiders a job offer in a research position. Though Noah can help Meg stay calm in medical emergencies, he acts on his attraction to her only to pull back, driving Meg to distraction with his hot/cold act.

Between volence due to the gold rush, young people needing rescue, storms, eathquakes causing cave-ins, medical emergencies, and attacks, the suspense stayed high throughout the story. The characters were complex, realistic people, and I cared about what happened to them. Once Noah and Meg came to realize that God's in control so the situations didn't depend solely on them, they both were able to accept risks that used to overwhelm them. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this suspenseful novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

City of Promises by Victoria Thompson & Ellen Thompson

City of Promises
by Victoria Thompson
and Ellen Thompson

ISBN-13: 9780593816516
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: July 28, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Famed former police detective turned private investigator Frank Malloy and his wife, Sarah, come to Gideon Bates desperate for legal guidance. The Malloys’ adopted daughter, Catherine, a burgeoning star of the stage, has announced her engagement to a man she barely knows. Catherine has recently gained access to her trust fund, and Sebastian Talbot appears very eager to marry her as quickly as possible.

As Gideon and his wife, Elizabeth, investigate, it becomes all the clearer that Talbot may not be who he says he is. As a former con artist herself, Elizabeth suspects one may be in their midst. Undeterred by her pregnancy, she must pull out all the stops to save another woman from ruin.


My Review:
City of Promises is a historical set in 1920 in New York City. This is the 8th book in the series, and it also included the characters from the Gaslight Mysteries, 20 years later from their timeline. Catherine has grown up, become a famous actress, and she let slip that she had inherited money. A con man has her convinced she's found true love, and no one thinks she believe them if they simply confirm he's a con man (which Elizabeth does) and tell her. So Elizabeth set up this overly complicated "con" where another woman catches the con man's attention to divert him from Catherine.

While I enjoyed the fun story, it seemed like the characters lost focus on what they were about at times. We got a funny sequence about Elizabeth trying out to play in films. Elizabeth could have just asked various actresses about how much film actresses made, or, really, that whole section could have been removed without anyone noticing. It ended up playing no role in the actual "con." Also, her brother Jake was an experienced con artist, yet he kept getting distracted mooning over the married woman playing the rich widow decoy. Mother Bates somehow changed from a strong suffragist to drinking gin (during prohibition and behind her son's back) to calm her nerves.

The historical details were woven into the story to create a sense of the specific time and place and brought the story alive. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this entertaining historical novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Rodeo Witness Protector by Sami A. Abrams

Rodeo Witness Protector
by Sami A. Abrams

ISBN-13: 9781488238895
Audiobook, Unabridged: 208 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Released: July 28, 2026

Source: audiobook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from NetGalley:
While stopping an attack near the rodeo grounds, bullfighter and part-time deputy Daniel Sinclair is stunned to see his high school sweetheart attempting to save a stabbed undercover deputy. As a witness now in possession of crucial evidence about a narcotics investigation, new rodeo doctor Annie Davis needs Daniel’s protection—for her and her missing four-year-old daughter. And the stakes only grow higher when the girl’s babysitter is found murdered and the recovered child refuses to speak. To safeguard the targeted family, can Daniel uncover who is behind it all before a drug ring silences them for good?


My Review:
Rodeo Witness Protector is a Christian romantic suspense. Deputy Daniel was once unable to save a child and now feels like he can't be trusted to watch over any child. When his high school sweetheart returns to town with an adopted 4-year-old, he finds that both mother and daughter need his protection. Not only did Annie testify against a fellow doctor who was illegally selling drugs, but she was just handed evidence by a dying undercover agent who was trying to uncover a drug dealer ring that used the rodeo and carnival circuit. Local law enforcement worked to figure out the evidence while Daniel helped protect Annie and her daughter.

The suspense came from the attacks on Annie and her daughter and trying to find the daughter when she went missing. The main characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. Annie and Daniel got to know each other again as they spent time together and quickly renewed their friendship. Daniel and Annie prayed for guidance and safety. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable suspense novel.

The narrator of the audiobook did a good job, making it easy to follow who was talking and what was going on. She used different voices for the different characters and narrated the story in a way that allowed me to become immersed in the story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

A Lady's Handbook to Gadgets and Guile by Angela Bell

A Lady's Handbook to Gadgets and Guile
by Angela Bell

ISBN-13: 9780764242144
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Bethany House
Released: July 7, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
London, England, 1895. Ambulatory wheelchair user Margaret Kingsley secretly crafts gadgets for the Daughters of Genius Society, a covert team of lady inspectors disguised as harmless bluestocking spinsters. While her fellow inspectors gallivant about London solving crimes, Margaret has been perfectly content assisting from the sidelines--until her expertise is needed to infiltrate the domain of London's most prolific inventor, Alvan T. Harrison.

Charles Noble sacrificed his career as a musician to support his family after his father's stroke. Now he balances ledgers as a secretary by day and tends his disabled father by night, until taking a temporary job as event coordinator for a famous inventor commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of his mechanical empire. As strange occurrences surface, Charles's event planning collides with Margaret's case, and the pair must investigate the inventor's legacy while attraction sparks between them.


My Review:
A Lady's Handbook to Gadgets and Guile is a fantasy romance supposedly set in 1895 in England. The author made little effort to explain how things worked. Margaret and her father were geniuses, so of course their inventions worked. Somehow. Just don't look to hard. Some of the inventions made no sense: a steam-engine-powered vacuum? Do you actually understand how steam engines work, author? And the umbrella that could lift multiple people didn't appear to have a power source. Even people's attitudes and the technology available to everyone reflected much more modern times, so it didn't feel remotely historical to me.

Charles really saw Margaret and thought her beautiful and smart. His own father had struggles due to a stroke, so Charles understood her situation somewhat and honestly didn't feel like a life spent with her would be a burden. It's a sweet, fun romance that developed as they worked to solve the mystery. Well, the patent thief was pretty obvious. It was more about collecting the evidence needed to prove the case in a court of law.I liked their relationship.

The author spent a lot of time developing how Margaret suffered a severe injury to her back which left her in constant pain. Sometimes she's too tired to do anything, other times she could carefully dole out her energy. Her back also spasmed painfully when compressed (like a corset), after certain movements, etc. This sounds like a 'you can't push through it' injury that restricts what you can do. Yet, of course, we have her wearing a corset as a disguise (like the self-powered wheelchair doesn't give her away!) and still able to function. These back spasms were so bad it took up to an hour just to get out of bed, yet by the end she's doing things that would hurt a fully able-bodied woman with a great back. No real consequences beyond now being able to wake up to hanky-panky with her husband rather than an hour of pain getting out of bed. I wish that's the way things worked.

Margaret worshiped God with music when in pain. Both she and Charles found soul-healing in music and trusted God. There was no sex or bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Fugitive Manhunt by Sharee Stover

Fugitive Manhunt
by Sharee Stover
Mac Fowler (Narrator)

ISBN-13: 9781488238826
Audiobook, Unabridged
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Released: July 28, 2026

Source: audiobook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
After a prison break, K-9 officer Lizzie Reynolds is ready to join the search for the criminals—but one of the escapees finds her first and ambushes her. She’s rescued by Deputy US Marshal Walker McCane, her high school crush, and they’re forced to work together to find the fugitives. Soon they realize that one of the prisoners has a personal vendetta against Lizzie. As they face persistent attacks, Walker and Lizzie must rely on each other to survive a dangerous game with a convict who wants to complete his deadly plan.


My Review:
Fugitive Manhunt is a romantic suspense. Lizzie worked with her team to solve an ongoing case of a pregnant girl who's been kidnapped, the last in a series of kidnapped pregnant girls that have been found murdered after giving birth. She interviewed some people, but this is the ongoing mystery that will be solved at the end of the series. She and her tracking K9 also helped search for a bunch of prison escapees, though this seemed to consist of walking a hiking trail in the search grid rather than asking the dog to start at the site of the escape and then track people. One of the escapees kept trying to kidnap Lizzie, so Walker, a US Marshal, tried to protect her while they figured out who's behind it. Lizzie was grabbed multiple times, so the suspense not only came from the attacks but from her needing to free herself.

Lizzie and Walker were both manipulated by a friend in high school and thought the other wasn't interested in a relationship. As they worked together and finally talked about it, they found that they still liked each other. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable suspense novel.

The narrator of the audiobook did a good job of saying the text in a way consistent with the text (with surprise if surprised, etc.), and read the story in a way that easily kept my interest. It was easy to follow who was talking and what was going on because she not only gave each character their own tone of voice but their own speech mannerisms as well.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Ambushed in Yosemite by Kellie VanHorn

Ambushed in Yosemite
by Kellie VanHorn

ISBN-13: 9781335919069
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Released: July 28, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Park ranger Skylar Jansen’s morning hike turns into a nightmare when she witnesses a man burying a body—and then the killer chases her through the wilderness. She’s saved by Special Agent Bode Tucker, a devoted single dad, who suspects a serial killer is at work. Soon it becomes clear that the killer may be connected to the cold case disappearance of Sky’s father. With targets now on both of their backs, they team up to investigate, but outrunning danger could be beyond their reach.


My Review:
Ambushed in Yosemite is a Christian romantic suspense. Skylar is the perfect damsel in distress, and I mean this in the nicest way as we are, after all, reading a suspense novel and most women aren't kick-ass law enforcement. Skylar's an average, kind woman with low self-worth and confidence. She often got in trouble because she didn't trust her own judgment. (The serial killer knows my name, where I live, and I don't really feel safe sleeping in my canvas-sided cabin, but the experts think I'll be safe with the police officer on guard outside, so, okay....) She's too trusting that people know what they're doing and are telling the truth. She had extremely good luck, though, in being matched with a serial killer that liked to play games rather than just kill his victim.

However, I can't imagine how Bode became a detective. The killer kept literally telling him the clues he needs, and Bode still couldn't figure out what was so blaring obvious. He did eventually figure it out when an evidence tech told him who the fingerprints belonged to, but the killer had to explain it to Skylar as he tied her up. Bode's also constantly running into known danger (as in, he knows it's a trap) because he can't stand leaving a loved one tied up as bait for even a moment. Sweet, but not generally a successful strategy. Some things just didn't make sense, like they knew that Skylar's phone had been used by the killer, and it's crime scene evidence at the very least. Yet she picked it up and just started using it again. Huh?

There was no sex or bad language. Despite the unrealistic elements, it was a sweet romance in that it gave hope that a man who wasn't that good at his job and a woman who wasn't very discerning could not only survive but end up happily matched.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.