Top Ten Tuesday ~ Romance from the Past ~ 2/11/2025

I've been blogging for 16 years so I have quite a few book reviews posted here on Colletta's Kitchen Sink.  (Go check out my 16th Blogiversary Giveaway post HERE!)  I thought for today's freebie topic I would share a few of my past romance reads and their reviews.  Just click on the cover to go to my review.

Enjoy!

One

2010

Two

2011

Three

2012

Four

2013

Five

2014

Six

2015

Seven

2016

Eight

2017

Nine

2018

Ten

2019

~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a blast from the past!  It was so much fun going back through my archives and seeing ALL the books I've read and reviewed.  I could have kept going but I decided to just stop at 10 :)

Please leave a comment with the link to your Top Ten Tuesday post so I can return the visit :)

Book Review ~ Keturah by Lisa T. Bergren

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title:  Keturah by Lisa T. Bergren

Series:  The Sugar Baron's Daughters Book 1

Pages:  352

Date Published: February 6, 2018 

Publisher:  Bethany House

 

 Blurb:

 

    In 1772 England, Lady Keturah Banning Tomlinson and her sisters find themselves the heiresses of their father's estates and know they have one option: Go to the West Indies to save what is left of their heritage.

Although it flies against all the conventions for women of the time, they're determined to make their own way in the world. But once they arrive in the Caribbean, proper gender roles are the least of their concerns. On the infamous island of Nevis, the sisters discover the legacy of the legendary sugar barons has vastly declined--and that's just the start of
what their eyes are opened to in this unfamiliar world.

Keturah never intends to put herself at the mercy of a man again, but every man on the island seems to be trying to win her hand and, with it, the ownership of her plantation. She could desperately use an ally, but even an unexpected reunion with a childhood friend leaves her questioning his motives.

Set on keeping her family together and saving her father's once-great plantation, can Keturah ever surrender her stubbornness and guarded heart to God and find the healing and love awaiting her?  

My Thoughts:

 

 This was an epic story!

 

From a mansion in England, to a ship on the high seas, to the Caribbean island of Nevis!

 

I was captivated by the details of the sea voyage and by the captain of the ship (hope to see more of him in later books!)

 

I was not prepared for the imagery of the island of Nevis herself!  The author did an AMAZING job with the description and narrative.

 

Keturah (love that name) was strong and stood up for "me and mine" throughout the entire book.  There was one scene which especially showed her vulnerabilities, though.  She had much to work through from her past which at times led her to seem very harsh.

 

Gray (don't you just love that name for a hero) was everything you would want in a best friend.  Sometimes Keturah treated him abominably but (spoiler!) it all works out in the end :)  I really liked Gray's character, flaws and all.

 

I loved getting to know the Banning Sisters.  All three were equally interesting.  I'm already eyeing up "Verity"; "Selah" actually won't be published until Spring 2020.

 

I'm looking forward to both! 

 



Colletta

 

P.S.  I hope you can stop by my ETSY SHOP!

Book Review ~ Fatal Mistake by Susan Sleeman

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 Blurb:

 

 An FBI agent must protect the woman who can identify a terrorist bomber in bestselling author Susan Sleeman's riveting romantic suspense novel. 

 Each day could be her last...but not if he can help it.

Tara Parrish is the only person ever to survive an attack by the Lone Wolf bomber. Scared and emotionally scarred by her near death, she goes into hiding with only one plan--to stay alive for another day. She knows he's coming after her, and if he finds her, he will finish what he started.

Agent Cal Riggins has had only one goal for the past six months--to save lives by ending the Lone Wolf's bombing spree. To succeed, he needs the help of Tara Parrish, the one person who can lead them to the bomber. Cal puts his all into finding Tara, but once he locates her, he realizes if he can find her, the Lone Wolf can, too. He must protect Tara at all costs, and they'll both need to resist the mutual attraction growing between them to focus on hunting down the bomber, because one wrong move could be fatal.    

My Thoughts:

 

 Wow!

 

I absolutely loved this book!

 

Susan Sleeman is another new-to-me author that has fast become a favorite.  One book and I'm a major fan!

 

From the very first line of the book I was gripping the edge of my seat (or bed...wherever I happened to be reading :)  When they called it a "romantic suspense" it was an understatement in my opinion!  The suspense was there full-time with hardly any lulls in action.  I was hanging on for dear life! :)

 

I loved that Tara was pro-active and didn't sit around waiting for a man to save her.  (Except that one time...)  She had a plan for survival and she was above prepared.  She made an excellent romantic suspense heroine.

 

Super Agent Man, Cal, was an amazing hero.  He was methodical and strong and very capable.  He was the not-so-perfect hero who worked through his own life struggles.

 

Even though the book took place in such a short period of time, the story...and the romance...didn't feel rushed at all.  It felt very "organic".  (Isn't that the new word for natural??)

 

I loved getting introduced to the "White Knights" and am oh-so looking forward to reading more about them and anything else written by this author!

 

A must read Inspirational Romantic Suspense!

 

 



Colletta

 

P.S.  I hope you can stop by my ETSY SHOP!