The Red Door Inn by Liz Johnson

Series: Prince Edward Island Dreams #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Revell 
Released: February 23, 2016
332 pages

About the Book:

Marie Carrington is running from a host of bad memories. Broke and desperate, she's hoping to find safety and sanctuary on Prince Edward Island, where she reluctantly agrees to help decorate a renovated bed-and-breakfast before it opens for prime tourist season.

Seth Sloane didn't move three thousand miles to work on his uncle's B&B so he could babysit a woman with a taste for expensive antiques and a bewildering habit of jumping every time he brushes past her. He came to help restore the old Victorian--and to forget about the fiancée who broke his heart.

The only thing Marie and Seth agree on is that getting the Red Door Inn ready to open in just two months will take everything they've got. Can these two wounded souls find hope, healing, and perhaps a bit of romance on this beautiful island?

Step into the Red Door Inn, a lovely home away from home tucked along the north shore of fabled Prince Edward Island. It's a place where the wounded come to heal, the broken find forgiveness, and the lonely find a family. Won't you stay for the season?

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book takes three people each dealing issues and puts them working together on a common goal, getting the B&B ready to open. Marie is scared of getting close to people, Seth is hesitant to trust and is suspicious of Marie, Jack is dealing with the loss of his wife and is trying to make her goal of the inn a success but is struggling. Marie has gone through a life-changing event and when her father should have been there for her he tried to use her. Thankfully Marie meets Jack who shows her what a father's love should look like and shows her how much God loves her. Even though Marie is scared for what will happen to her, she does whatever she needs to do to help out others. I loved the humor and sarcastic banter back and forth between the characters. The addition of the little notes back and forth between two characters was fun. I found myself looking forward to these moments. I feel like I really got to know these characters and grew to love each of them. I absolutely loved the setting of PEI, it is such a beautiful island and the author did a wonderful job of portraying the beauty and character of the island. I felt like I was right there with them. With the help of Marie and Seth, will the inn get open on time? Will Seth deal with his trust issues? Will Marie find the family she needs? Read to find out. I look forward to reading more of this series.

Favourite Quote: 

“Even if you're having a hard time loving him (God), he's not having a hard time loving you.”

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Other books from this author that I have reviewed:   

   

A Sparkle of Silver- Georgia Coast Romance #1

A Glitter of Gold - Georgia Coast Romance #2

Navy Seal Noel - Men of Valor #3

Navy Seal Security - Men of Valor #4

Where Two Hearts Meet - PEI Dreams #2

On Love's Gentle Shore - PEI Dreams #3

The Last Way Home - Prince Edward Island Shores #2

Summer in the Spotlight - Prince Edward Island Shores #3

Vanishing Act   

Echoes of Darkness by Darlene L. Turner

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Love Inspired Trade
Releases: June 24, 2025
352 pages

About the Book:

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…
 

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Constable Oaklynn Brock is the daughter of a serial killer and an abuse victim herself. She entered the police force to catch those responsible for horrible crimes. Caleb is part of a civilian group tasked by the Mayor to assist the police in figuring out what is going on in their community and putting a stop to it. There appears to be a copycat serial killer in the community who is taunting and targeting Oaklynn. Both Caleb and Oaklynn having issues from their pasts that are hitting very close to home with this case. Can they work together to stop the person or people responsible before others or themselves get hurt? This was dark and creepy at times as the case involves a serial killer, a cult, and drugs. In the midst of the darkness though there is a light and quite a bit of conversation about God and faith. I enjoyed the friendships and family support portrayed, along with a bit of humor from a matchmaking teen. It is filled with twists and turns, light verses dark and overcoming struggles with God's help. I had no idea who was responsible and was along for the ride trying to figure it out.

(I received an ARC of this book from the author; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Check out my reviews of other books by this author: 

   

Alaskan Avalanche Escape  

Buried Grave Secrets

Fatal Forensic Investigation

K-9 Ranch Protection  

Lethal Cover-Up

Mountain Abduction Rescue

Safe House Exposed  

The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Series: Cape Cod Creamery #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Revell
Released: May 3, 2022
283 pages

About the Book:

Dawn Dixon can hardly believe she's on a groomless honeymoon on beautiful Cape Cod . . . with her mother. Sure, Marnie Dixon is good company, but Dawn was supposed to be here with Kevin, the love of her life (or so she thought).

Marnie Dixon needs some time away from the absolute realness of life as much as her jilted daughter does, and she's not about to let her only child suffer alone--even if Marnie herself had been doing precisely that for the past month.

Given the circumstances, maybe it was inevitable that Marnie would do something as rash as buy a run-down ice-cream shop in the town's tightly regulated historic district. After all, everything's better with ice cream.

Her exasperated daughter knows that she's the one who will have to clean up this mess. Even when her mother's impulsive real estate purchase brings Kevin back into her life, Dawn doesn't get her hopes up. Everyone knows that broken romances stay broken . . . don't they?

Welcome to a summer of sweet surprises on Cape Cod--a place where dreams just might come true.

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Mother-Daughter story filled with characters I wanted to root for. If you love ice cream this will definitely have you craving some. Dawn and her mother are completely different personalities and approach life differently, but they are family and support one another. I related to Dawn so much. When Dawn's fiancé breaks up with her but gives her the honeymoon vacation she takes her mom to Cape Cod. This trip changes the direction of both of their lives. Dawn's mom, Marnie, decides to stay at the Cape and buys an ice cream shop. We follow the process of fixing up the shop and preparing to open for the season and the struggles faced along the way. The story deals with touches on various life challenges - the loss of a family member, cancer, and unexpected changes in life's direction. There was a character I didn't like at the beginning, but as the story progressed my opinion began to change and by the end I was okay with them. There was one character that really intrigued me and I am looking forward to the next in the series in hopes that we get to know more about them. Also there are some fun quotes shared at the beginning of each chapter.

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Other books from this author that I have reviewed:   

   

On a Summer Tide - Three Sisters Island #1 

On a Coastal Breeze - Three Sisters Island #2 

At Lighthouse Point - Three Sisters Island #3 

The Letters - Inn at Eagle Hill #1 

 

Distortion by Terri Blackstock

Series: Moonlighters #2
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Zondervan 
Released: March 11, 2014
338 pages

About the Book:

A husband's lies can have deadly consequences.

When Juliet Cole's husband of fifteen years is murdered before her eyes, she thinks it was a random shooting. Devastated and traumatized, she answers hours of questioning, then returns home to break the tragic news to her boys. But a threatening voicemail takes this from a random shooting to a planned, deliberate attack.

Juliet realizes that she and her children are in danger too, unless she meets the killers' demands. But as she and her sisters untangle the clues, her husband's dark secrets come to light. The more she learns, the more of her life is dismantled. Was her husband an innocent victim or a hardened criminal?

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book 2 of the Moonlighter series. This book picks up a couple months after book 1 ends. It starts out with a bang, literally, right in chapter one Juliet witnesses the murder of her husband. As the three sisters and friend, Michael, begin to investigate his death they unravel things about his life that none of them knew or suspected. As they dig deeper and deeper, the lives of her children are threatened by those who don't want her to know the truth. I felt for Juliet as the life she knew came crashing down around her and she tried to pick up the pieces, move forward and also make sure the guilty people where held responsible. I was surprised to find out who was the one that had recruited Juliet's husband into this whole situation. And then for Michael to be punished for trying to do the right thing, so not right, this better be rectified in the next book. The story held my interest the whole way through and moved at a good pace.

(I was purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Other books from this author that I have reviewed:   

   

Aftermath

Catching Christmas

Emerald Windows

Predator

Smoke Screen

Cape Refuge - Cape Refuge #1

Southern Storm - Cape Refuge #2

River's Edge - Cape Refuge #3

Beakers Reef - Cape Refuge #4

Double Minds

If I Run - If I Run #1

If I'm Found - If I Run #2

If I Live - If I Run #3

Intervention - Intervention #1

Vicious Cycle - Intervention #2

Downfall - Intervention #3

Truth Stained Lies - Moonlighters #1 

Private Justice - Newpointe 911 #1 

Shadow of Doubt - Newpointe 911 #2 

Word of Honor - Newpointe 911 #3  

Trial by Fire - Newpointe 911 #4 

Line of Duty - Newpointe 911 #5 

Last Light - Restoration #1 

Night Light - Restoration #2

True Light - Restoration #3 

Dawn's Light - Restoration # 4

Never Again Good-bye - Second Chances #1

When Dreams Cross - Second Chances #2

Blind Trust - Second Chances #3

Broken Wings- Second Chances #4