Where Secrets Lie by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Title:  Where Secrets Lie

Author:  Colleen Coble and Rick Acker

Narrated by:  Karen Peakes

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 16 minutes

Source: Thank-you NetGalley for the Audiobook Review Copy and Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @tnzfiction for the physical book copy as part of the Bibliolifestyle Book Tour.

What is your favorite book series?

Savannah Webster and her ex-husband Hez are trying to give their love a second chance.  They had previously been married, but their marriage broke when they lost their child and Hez turned to alcohol. Things look bright until Savannah finds an empty wine bottle in Hez’s garbage.  Has he turned back to alcohol?  Savannah takes on a new role as the president of her beloved Tupelo Grove University and Hez starts a new legal clinic.  Together they discover many problems with finances at the university including someone at the university using it as a front for a smuggling ring.  Will they be able to save the university?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This is the second book in the Tupelo Grove series.  I enjoyed the settings, characters, and suspense in the first book and was excited to read more in the series.  I would definitely recommend reading both books in order in this series. 

·       There is a theme of forgiveness throughout the novel paired together with the desire for revenge.

·       This novel also showed that the path of love is not always simple and takes work. 

·       This was a great family drama that was action packed and showed the importance of family.

·       It was a clean read.

·       I really enjoyed the audiobook narration.  The narrator did different voices for each character and even had a British accent for Savannah’s nephew, Simon.

·       There were faith elements throughout the novel relative to forgiveness and a character’s death.

·       Colleen Coble and Rick Acker are a great writing team.  Colleen is an experienced writer and Rick knows the legal ins and outs.

·       The novel had a fantastic ending with a mic drop moment.  I can’t wait to see what happens next and look forward to the third book in the series.

·       I also like the authors note at the end which included interesting information about artifact smuggling.

Overall, Where Secrets Lie by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker is a great Southern romantic suspense novel.  I highly recommend this enjoyable series.

What We Hide by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @tnzfiction for the review copy of What We Hide by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker.

Have you started any new series (book, TV, or movie) that you are enjoying lately?  What We Hide is a new series (Tupelo Grove) by two new to me authors, Colleen Coble and Rick Acker.  I really enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait for the rest of the series.

Savannah Webster is a history professor at Tupelo Grove University.  Her roots stretch far back at the university as her family helped to start it a century ago.  She has moved forward with her life after a tragedy destroyed her family a couple of years before.  Her estranged husband, Hex arrives, hoping for a second chance.  After Savannah unwittingly becomes a prime suspect in a murder case, she turns to Hex to assist her as her lawyer.  Why are people being murdered at Tupelo Grove University and what does it have to do with the “Willard Treasure,” pre-Columbian artifacts that are owned by the University?

My thoughts on this book:

·       I enjoyed the characters, especially Savannah and Hez.  The book explored their past relationship, the tragedy of losing their daughter, and mistakes that were made along the way.  There is still love there, will they find their way back to each other?

·       Hez’s rescue dog Cody was a hoot and a great character himself.

·       The novel explored the grief of losing a child.  I felt like my heart was ripped out when the novel described what happened to Savannah and Hez’s daughter, Ella.

·       It also explored addiction. After Ella’s death, Hez turned to alcohol, pills, and work to mask his pain.  He has since been in recovery and is working on staying clean.

·       I love romantic suspense and this novel was a great example of it.  I really enjoyed the mystery.  It felt like Savannah and Hez were in peril and that the chemistry between them was palpable.

·       I was intrigued that the murder victims have a slip of paper with a Ray Bradbury book title on it found near them.  As Savannah has Ray Bradbury novels in her office, suspicion turns on her.

·       The novel had a theme of forgiveness.  “But it was all white noise to him, empty phrases he’d heard a thousand times growing up.  How exactly was he supposed to ‘accept God’s forgiveness,’ ‘experience healing grace,’ and so on?  None of those platitudes would let him go back and undo that terrible day.”

·       This book was a page turner that kept me reading far too late into the night.

·       The story was told through three different viewpoints:  Savannah, Hex, and an unnamed third person involved in the crime which kept the plot moving quickly.

·       The ending was a great cliffhanger, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Overall, What We Hide by Colleen Coble and Rick Aker is a great new romantic suspense novel that kept me on the edge of my seat.  Book two cannot come fast enough!