Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Today’s topic is: Genre Freebie.
- Today’s is about ways (or books) that will pull you out of a reading slump. Somehow I accidently mixed up this topic with last week’s prompt, but since I went with Romantic Suspense, I suppose it works for both. XD
The suggestion for last week was also offered to ‘narrow down’ the topic, so I’m going with something new and also adding on the condition of trying to only list indie books for today’s post.
(The book covers link to Goodreads. The titles link to my review for each book.)
1. Unknown (Grace Sufficient #1) by Vanessa Hall –
He knew there was a cost. He just didn’t know how great it’d be.
Gabriel Kelly returned to Russia for one reason—to bury his parents. After ten years in the United States, he hadn’t expected to return to his childhood home in the face of tragedy. However, after short days in Moscow, he begins to consider if the same call that cost his parents’ lives is now upon him.
Sofia Rykova’s dreams finally came true when she became a principal soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet. One night, though, an old crush walks back into her life, making her wonder if there is more to life than ballet. Gabe Kelly is just as she remembered, just as she longed for—yet religion stands between them.
Unknown to Gabe and Sofia, danger lurks closer than either would have guessed. The deaths of Gabe’s parents grow more suspicious by the day, and Gabe and Sofia are drawn into the midst of a plot neither can escape. Will obedience to God’s call—in spite of their fears and desires—result in a price too steep to bear?
When Eliza’s life is threatened, she turns to a handsome veteran for help.
I left everything I’d ever known behind. And that decision may cost me my life.
The moving truck hadn’t even been unpacked when my fresh start went up in flames.
A frightening letter left in my mailbox and signed Always Yours sends me running to the only man in town who can help me.
Driven by his protective nature and a mission he believes comes from God, ex-Army Ranger Lance Knight agrees, despite the fact that I’ve made it no secret I want nothing to do with him–or anyone for that matter.
The longer we’re together, the more I begin to realize that Lance is more than I gave him credit for. Something that troubles me nearly as much as the fact that an unknown man seems to have already claimed me as his.
Trouble is, my admirer has a jealous side, and it’s not long before Lance is pulled into the crosshairs right alongside me…
3. In the Midst of the Storm by Latisha Sexton –
A deadly threat. A woman in hiding. A man who isn’t all he seems.
Olivia James is on the brink of success at a prestigious marketing firm. But when a deadly stalker sets his sights on her, she’s forced to leave everything behind and go into hiding to protect herself and those she loves.
While volunteering her marketing expertise to help a struggling café, she meets William Cooper. Their brewing attraction has her longing to share her secret and deepen their connection. But the closer she gets to Will, the more withdrawn and secretive he becomes.
Uncertain who to trust—even herself—can Olivia discern God’s plan and trust Him in the midst of the storm?
4. Gold Digger (Unconquerable Faith #1) by Skylar J. Kent –
LAYNE
Marrying a filthy rich womanizer with an ego that needs its own zip code wasn’t on my bucket list. But God had other plans.
Six years ago, a chronic illness tore me from competitive climbing, leaving me with crippling pain and fatigue. After being denied Disability because “it’s all in my head,” I grab the last viable option for provision—a marriage of convenience.
Being the wife of a millionaire while protecting my health brings a whole new set of challenges. Then I discover Keaton Grady guards a secret that could get us both killed.
KEATON
Get hitched or lose everything—that ultimatum upended my life.
Poised to fulfill the lifelong goal of taking over my family’s multigenerational whiskey company, I’m caught up in a scandal that costs Lincoln Grady Distillery our most valuable client. That’s when my parents lay down the find a wife and restore my reputation or walk away from it all.
Fine. I’ll play their little game—and own it. Marrying a sick woman makes me look like a saint, but Layne Rhyner challenges me to rethink my values. Not only do I bare the darkest parts of my soul to her, I realize she isn’t digging my gold—I’m digging hers.
But the more I care about her, the more I drag her into harm’s way.
5. Line of Fire (Dauntless Defenders #1) by Taylor S Newport –
The enemy is relentless, but they made one fatal they underestimated him.
Australian mercenary Tyler Reid, known as “The Ghost of OZ,” has a talent for evading detection, a skill that has caught the eye of multiple government agencies. When a shadowy group targets a CIA asset and her revolutionary drug ND1, the Deputy Director calls in Tyler. Eager for action, Tyler takes the job. He soon realizes that the enemy is not only after the drug, but also out for his blood. Then the mission goes south, and he is forced to seek an unlikely ally.
For covert foreign operative Alexandra Romanova, freedom is a distant dream. Escaping one prison only led her to a more dangerous one. Her deadly skills are at her boss’s disposal, but she’ll use them only to escape. Her final chance hinges on retrieving ND1, but the elusive Ghost of Oz complicates things. Tyler Reid isn’t an easy mark, and the better she gets to know him, the more she questions the mission she’s tasked with. Soon she faces a dire kill a man she is convinced is good, or pay with her own life.
As Tyler and Alex venture beyond their orders, the line between enemy and ally blurs. On the edge of failure, trust becomes a dangerous gamble with every decision dragging them deeper into the line of fire. As enemies close in and alliances shift, they are ensnared in a ruthless battle where survival depends on split-second choices. In this high-stakes fight, time is running out, and the margin for error is zero.
Olivia Lloyd left the U.K. to work in Texas as head of security for a tech firm. Her training in the British Army gave her a chance to get into the SAS—Special Air Service. But she washed out, with the help of her uncle and his contacts. Now, here at her uncle’s request, she’s lonely and miserable after running away from her last life-altering loss.
Kenton Matthews’ recon days are over. He now works as a detective in Dallas, offering assessments for security when high-value targets come to town. But a request from an old friend has his heart pounding, as the threat to the large tech firm holds more than just a breach of security.
Kenton is determined to battle the failed mission from long ago and will do everything he can to protect Olivia from facing the same torturous man her uncle faced. But can Olivia trust the one man her uncle deems more than worthy?
7. A Rebel’s Beacon (Alaskan Rebels #1) by Sara Blackard –
An ex-army pilot on his next adventure. A dog trainer establishing her mark. Can they rely on each other when a rescue mission turns deadly?
Bjørn Rebel has achieved his lifelong dreams: a helicopter of his own and a business showing-off his beloved Alaska.
When the local search and rescue team asks for air support, he jumps at the chance to volunteer. Not only will his experience flying evac missions for an elite division of the army give search and rescue a big advantage, it will give Bjørn a chance to redeem himself after a botched mission left rumors clinging to him he can’t shake.
Sadie Wilde is flying high on the success of the K9 breeding and training program she started with her family.
Since childhood, Sadie, her sister, and her cousins planned to have a kennel dedicated to breeding superior dogs for search and rescue and law enforcement. With her father and uncle heading up the local SAR, she’s seen first hand how a well-trained dog can mean the difference between life and death. Sadie’s determined to do whatever she can to ensure her dogs are the best. Bjørn, Search and Rescue’s newest recruit, just might be the ticket to taking her training program to new heights.
When a routine rescue mission takes a sinister turn, will Bjørn and Sadie be able to uncover the truth in time or will they be the ones needing to be saved?
8. Crimson Sands (Task Force Sear #1) by JJ Samie Myles –
He trusts her with his life, but not with his heart.
Bible Smuggler Dakota Kimani is fearless in spreading the Gospel. When her friends are abducted by a Somali terror organization, she will do anything to rescue them—even reach out to the one man she wronged and vowed to never again contact.
Former Marine Raider Keith McCord isn’t one to look the other way when innocents are slaughtered. So yeah, he agrees to help the woman who ripped out his heart. With a team of trusted operators, he infiltrates Somalia and finds himself waging war on terror and old feelings.
“No plan survives contact with the enemy” proves true when the hostage rescue turns dicey. The terrorists’ tactics are aggressive and shrewd, leaving Keith questioning the loyalty of his teammates and allies. Meanwhile Dakota wrestles with a dark secret that threatens to destroy the tenuous bond she and Keith have reforged.
Death breathing down their necks, Keith and Dakota are in a fight for their lives, their faith, skills, and trust in each other pushed to the breaking point.
9. Suspicious Minds (Dry Brook #1) by Sherri Kukla –
Lorelai Gatlin is single with a good career, solid friendships and a strong Christian foundation.
But then she dreams about hiding evidence of a murder.
Awakens to discovers her gun is missing and her memory is gone.
And the morning news reports a body has been discovered.
Maybe she isn’t the upstanding citizen everyone believed her to be.
10. Already in the Kudzu (Sons of Vigilance #1) by Hannah Hood Lucero –
A suspenseful story of love, loss, and redemption.
A series of bad choices culminated in the worst day of Jamie Moreno’s life. Although she narrowly escaped her abusive boyfriend, he left her drowning in guilt over unspeakable secrets. Now, seven years later, she’s rebuilt a meaningful but lonely existence—and then one telephone call shatters her peace as her past threatens to destroy everyone she loves.
Staff Sergeant Kael Flynn is no stranger to standing between innocence and the evil men who seek to destroy it. On the cusp of trading in his combat boots for a quiet life, his final mission leaves him with a debt he can never repay. When he uncovers his fallen friend’s plan to keep a young woman safe, he sees a chance to do right by his fellow Marine. The last thing he anticipated was falling in love with the mysterious J. Moreno.
Will Jamie’s tormentor prove to be the one Kael can’t defeat before it’s too late?
*Bonus*
Shadows of the Valley (The McCade Family #2) by Britt Howard –
Wounded and retired veteran Kasey Carter walks alone.
But when the one person she’s tried the hardest to push away begs for her help, she can’t resist the call of duty and devotion. Thrown on a path more dangerous than she expected, she’ll do anything to protect the people she loves, even if that means hiding out for months in the forested mountains of Cascade Valley, Montana.
When a nosy—and handsome—local rancher stumbles across her hiding place, she’ll have to decide if she can risk trusting him or if she’ll have to walk through the shadows alone in a battle to survive.
Rancher Dean McCade is used to devoting himself to protecting the people and the land he loves.
When a chance encounter brings him face-to-face with a mysterious woman living in the woods, he can’t stop thinking about her. Probably because the woman won’t stop putting him in her rifle sights every time they meet. It’s obvious she’s running from something, but her fiercely guarded secrets keep him at a distance.
As he works to earn her trust and the truth unfolds, he knows God put him in her path. But as his feelings grow and the danger lurking in the shadows collides with their hope for a future, the right choice might mean loving her enough to let her go.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
I’m adding this one as a ‘bonus’ since the first book isn’t a suspense story. It’s actually a Contemporary Romance series, but this one has enough suspense to count and ranks right up there with several others on today’s list, so if you like those, you should give this one a try. That said, I also highly recommend the first book in this series, Song of the Valley is one of my favorites and is on I’m hoping to reread soon! I don’t re-read…every really, so if it makes me want to go back and read it again, it’s clearly one that stuck with me long after I read it.
And special bonus, Shadows of the Valley released TODAY!
What are some of you favorite Romantic Suspense (Or Thriller) books?
Did any of these grab your attention?
Have you read any of them?
Let me know in the comments below.
Top 10 Romantic Suspense Authors You Might Not Know About – Books Less Travelled