Survival in the Mountains by Carrie Stuart Parks Review

 

I discovered Carrie Stuart Parks' books several years ago, devouring her Gwen Marcey series and a couple of stand alone books in a month's time. Unfortunately I had completely missed the book she published with Love Inspired Suspense last fall, so I'm going to have to find some time to read that one. But when I realized that Survival in the Mountains was releasing a couple of months ago, I knew I had to read it. Let's just say, I am very glad I did, it's an awesome romantic suspense book. It was a quick read at just over 200 pages, and I was able to zing through it in a couple of days. 

The reader enters the story in the middle of peril. Bethany, our FMC is being pulled out of her blazing vehicle by Joshua, our MMC, after an "accident." We get to see the story from both of their points of view, so we know Joshua is a good guy, though Bethany has her doubts, for reasons I won't disclose. Bethany on the other hand? We don't really know much about her at first, because she has amnesia from her car accident. All we know is that someone ran her off the road and now she is running for her life, aided by Joshua. To make matters crazier, it's discovered that either she is being erased from existence, or the things she starts remembering about herself aren't the truth about her life. 

The danger keeps ramping up as they try to figure out who is trying to kill Bethany and why. Plus Joshua is dealing with his own dilemmas. This story definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and zinging through the pages to figure out what in the world was going on. I was quite intrigued when they started to figure things out.

Of course, it is a Love Inspired book, so there is going to be some romance. Bethany and Joshua really don't know each other, but the time they spend together trying to keep her safe, evade the bad guys, and find answers starts to draw them together. But they both have pasts that make it difficult to open up to the other and start a relationship. Part of me did wonder if it wasn't quite the right time or circumstances to be falling for each other, especially because she couldn't remember details about her life, and he was hiding things about his. But I liked the way their relationship, and that both of them were Christians and would pray to the Lord.

And of course, this is a Carrie Stuart Park book, so there is going to be a dog. And boy did I love Izzy. She was actually important to the plot, not just a pet that gets mentioned every now and then. 

I loved the way everything was wrapped up at the end with no loose ends, though I did think some things seemed a bit rushed.

All in all, this is an awesome romantic suspense book, and one I highly recommend.

I received an e-copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.

Friday Fun - July 10, 2026

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with three different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays, the Friday 56, and First Line Friday.

This week I have one book to share with you.

I'm starting Survival in the Mountains by Carrie Stuart Parks.

        Book Beginnings on Friday    

 

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

and

First Line Friday

(Please join Carrie for First Line Friday.)

Here is my Book Beginnings/First Line Friday selection:

 Survival in the Mountains by Carrie Stuart Parks:

"Pain radiated through her skull, sharp and relentless."

Ouch. Having read the blurb, I figured this was the accident the main character was supposed to get in. Didn't realize the book was going to start right here.

Now for:

The Friday 56 

The Friday 56 is normally hosted over at Freda's Voice. But Anne from My Head is Full of Books is taking over for a while. 

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here is my Friday 56 selection:

Survival in the Mountains by Carrie Stuart Parks:

"'Did you get a name?' Bethany asked him when he got in the truck.

'Yup. And an address.' Well, sort of, he added silently. He started the truck and drove up the street.

'Do you think this diary contains information on what we talked about before? Something about land or money?'

He shrugged. 'Could be. Maybe a map, or something illegal that no one wants to come to light.'

'Or a confession about a love in her life?'

He flashed her a grin. 'So, the romantic side of you is coming out.' He snapped his mouth shut, instantly regretting his words."

Reviews:

Last week I shared one book in my Friday Fun. Here's my review:

Conspiracy by Colleen Coble

Two weeks ago, I also shared one book. I finally had a chance to write my review. Here it is:

A Heart's Hope by Penny Zeller

And six weeks ago I shared a book that I had to set aside in order to read several other books. But, I just finished it this morning. To be fair, it's also quite a long book, but once I got past the 50% mark, I couldn't put it down. Here is my review:

Superstar by Cali Black

Superstar by Cali Black Review

 

Superstar is the awesome first book in Cali Black's The Nashville Series. I absolutely loved it, though it did take me a while to read. For two reasons. I had some other books I had to get to first. Plus, this book is quite long. Don't get me wrong. I am NOT complaining. Just explaining why it took me a while to read it. That said, once the other books were out of the way and I hit the 50% mark, I could not put this book down. I sort of zinged through the last half of the book. 

There is romance, and it can get a bit sizzly, but don't worry, no inappropriate spice. I very much appreciated that Sierra was a Christian who stuck to her morals. And there is action and suspense. Yes, I love my suspense. This story has a stalker, one who keeps increasing the peril in the attacks. But there is also tension coming in the form of a contract that can't be broken. Causing our main characters, Jayce and Sierra to have to sneak around and avoid the paparazzi. And there is a possible conspiracy and intrigue. But there is also humor and friendship and music and family.

Jayce and Sierra are thrown together as judges on The Noise of Nashville, a country music competition show. Jayce, the bad boy of country music, is attracted to her right away, even though he is not supposed to be pursuing women. Sierra, an up-and-coming indie musician known as America's Sweetheart, on the other hand isn't fond of his attitude and does everything she can at first to discourage him. However, she has always admired him as a musician and she finds herself falling for him. 

I loved the close friendship circle Sierra had and the fun that they had, including the bets concerning Sierra and Jayce's relationship. And Jayce also had his friends. Plus there are the other two country artists who make up the other team on The Noise of Nashville, people who also become close friends. There is a lot of camaraderie and celebrating, plus coming together in times of need. 

I was rooting for Jayce and Sierra's relationship, hoping it could stand strong in the face of the many obstacles they were facing. There were definitely some tears shed, it was very emotional at times. But that just showed me that I was quite invested in these characters that Cali Black had brought to life.

While faith wasn't a huge part of this story, there are characters who are Christian and morals are stuck to. Forgiveness also plays an important role in this story. Though I do wish it was mentioned that we have forgiveness through Jesus. I was really hoping for that during a time of struggling. 

All in all, I love this book and can't wait for the next book in the series. I'm looking forward to visiting with these characters again.

A Heart's Hope by Penny Zeller Review

 

I've read quite a few of Penny Zeller's Christian historical romance books and I have to say, I think Montana Hearts is going to be my favorite series. I absolutely loved A Heart's Hope which is a marriage of convenience story featuring a mail order bride from a well-to-do family in Boston and a rancher in Montana territory. The majority of the story is told through the alternating points of view of McKenzie and Noah. Though we do also get to see McKenzie's sister's POV occasionally. 

Noah is looking for a wife and mother for his adopted son Davey. McKenzie is looking for a way to safely come out west so she can find her sister who is in dire circumstances. After McKenzie answers Noah's advertisement for a wife, they get to know each other a bit through writing letters back and forth. But McKenzie is in a hurry to find and hopefully save her sister, that she agrees to marriage quite quickly. However, she doesn't tell Noah her real reason for her decision, nor does she tell him she doesn't plan on staying out west once she finds her sister. 

I admit, I was not a huge fan of McKenzie at first because of her deception. But, I understood her desperation as her sister was in dire straits. At the same time, I felt bad for Noah and Davey because it wouldn't be fair to them for her to become a part of their family and then to up and leave. Noah was a godly man, one who prayed seeking God's will, and was in the Word. McKenzie grew up going to church, but she had a lot to learn about being a true Christian. And I loved the growth that I saw in her thanks to Noah's leading. I also appreciated the godly wisdom that they received from Asa and Rosemary, plus the way Rosemary took the spoiled rich girl and taught her how to become a homemaker.

I was curious how the author was going to work things out between them, and I also needed to know if McKenzie was going to find her sister before it was too late. I loved the way everything worked out and am greatly anticipating book two. 

I received an e-copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.

Conspiracy by Colleen Coble Review

 

I absolutely LOVED this final book in Colleen Coble's Sanctuary series. What a conclusion!! The author wrapped up the series that began with Ambush perfectly. Conspiracy continued the story of Blake and Paradise along with their family, friends, and enemies. The Sanctuary is the wildlife park that Blake's mother owns, the park were Paradise works as the veterinarian. We also get to see characters from the Tupelo Grove series that Colleen Coble co-authors with Rick Acker, plus her Pelican Grove series. So, if you are like me and you want to really get to know the characters in the order they are introduced, I would highly recommend reading the Pelican Grove series first. I would also recommend reading the Tupelo Grove books and the Sanctuary books in the order they were published, alternating between the two series. 

If knowing the relationship connections doesn't really bother you, I would still highly recommend reading the Sanctuary series in order as the main mystery has continued through the series. 

Also, if you haven't read the previous books, you may want to skip this review as there will be spoilers to the previous books.

You've been warned.

The story is told from the points of view of both Paradise and Blake, a couple who knew each other when they were younger and have now gotten back together when Paradise began working at the Sanctuary. They have gone through quite a bit already in this series, and the author wasn't done yet with all the danger she was going to put them through. A new character has also joined them in their quest to discover who killed her parents. She finally connected with her half brother Drew, who happens to be a police detective. 

While the story begins with a sweet scene with baby lemurs, the suspense quickly escalates as Paradise is warned off of digging into the cold case of her parents' murder. However, Blake, Paradise and Drew remain determined to bring the murderer to justice. Big cats play a big role in the danger that they are facing and bring some suspenseful scenes. But there are also wonderful moments with friends and family. I loved seeing Paradise and Blake's relationship continue to grow.

There were a whole lot of suspects and I have to admit, I was not sure who the culprit was. I definitely was surprised by one twist, though close to the actual big reveal, I was starting to suspect a certain person. The author definitely took me by surprise when everything was finally brought out into the open. 

Can I just ask, why in the world does the FMC always seem to do something stupid to get herself into a predicament in suspense books??? Okay, maybe not always, but I was a bit disappointed in Paradise for a certain scene. 

I appreciated that faith was important in the lives of the characters. This is a passage that really spoke to me: 

"'God always knew the plans he had for us, but we sure couldn't see them in the rough times.' 

Blake pulled her away from his chest so he could see her face. 'There will be more tough times, babe. Our whole lives those times will come. But let's hold on to this certainty that God has us, that his plan will work for our good because we love him and want his will.'"

I absolutely loved this book, loved this series, loved the connected series, and I am definitely sad that this book seems to be wrapping up our time with all of these awesome characters. I can't wait to see what the author has for us next. She is an awesome author of Christian suspense who always leaves me on the edge of my seat, zinging through the pages. 

I received an e-copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.

Friday Fun - July 3, 2026

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with three different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays, the Friday 56, and First Line Friday.

This week I have one book to share with you.

I'm starting Conspiracy by Colleen Coble. This is the third book in the Sanctuary series.

        Book Beginnings on Friday    

 

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

and

First Line Friday

(Please join Carrie for First Line Friday.)

Here is my Book Beginnings/First Line Friday selection:

 Conspiracy by Colleen Coble:

"Wildlife veterinarian Paradise Alden smiled at the two tiny lemurs as they nudged closer to their mother, Fiona."

Awww. Now I want to go to the zoo and see the lemurs.

Now for:

The Friday 56 

The Friday 56 is normally hosted over at Freda's Voice. But Anne from My Head is Full of Books is taking over for a while. 

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here is my Friday 56 selection:

Conspiracy by Colleen Coble:

"Unease rippled down her back. Had her mother feared the killer had left it? It wouldn't be unheard of for her to mention to Ben that her daughter loved The Phantom of the Opera. Maybe someone close to Ben had left it. Paradise rubber her head. Maybe she was seeing connections that didn't exist."

Reviews:

Last week I shared one book in my Friday Fun. I did finish the book, I just haven't had a chance to sit down to write the review.

And two weeks ago I shared one book. I had finished it last week, I just hadn't had a chance to write my review. So, here is that review:

The Eyes of River by Cindy K. Sproles

The Eyes of River by Cindy K. Sproles Review

 

The Eyes of River is the newest Appalachian novel by Cindy K. Sproles. I have read a couple of the author's other books, and I found this one to be my favorite so far. It drew me right in and kept me swiping through the pages to see what was going to happen. 

This story is told mainly through the eyes of Lizzy Haney, the teenage girl who has been taking care of her younger brother since their mother was killed. She loves him so much and wants to do what is best for him, which at the beginnning of the story seems to be mailing him to a friend to keep him safe from their drunkard of a father. However, she has second thoughts the moment he leaves on the train. Questioning whether she had just made a huge mistake. But suddenly, that isn't the only thing she has to worry about. She herself finds herself running for her life when her friend Alton tells her she has been accused of murder. 

We also get to see the story through Alton's POV at times. He is the son of the local sheriff and has learned a lot from a native friend named Meko. He offers Lizzy his help in keeping ahead of the posse and finding her brother. 

I really don't want to give too much away regarding where they find help, and what all is going on in this story. But I will say I sort of have mixed emotions about those who come to Lizzy's aid, including Alton. It's made out to be wrong that Lizzy cares so much about her brother and is focused on making sure he is safe. I'm not a fan of the way she is called selfish. Yeah, she has a hard attitude. She was raised by an abusive father and had to look out for both herself and her brother. And over the course of the story buried memories begin to surface, and we see just how much she has lived through. I wish those who were helping her had been more understanding of her plight. I love that they helped her. I agree that she needed to learn to trust. But I felt sorry for her because of the way she was treated. This is one of the things that lowered my rating. 

I had one other thing that bothered me a bit. Yes, faith was important in this story. We see the importance of learning to trust fully and be open to the truth. The importance of prayer and the Bible. Lizzy grows a lot in her spiritual walk. Going from someone who didn't really believe in God, to someone who trusts Him. And it was quite the journey in between. However, there is no mention of Jesus. No mention of the sacrifice He made for us and that we have eternal life through our belief in Him. I was waiting for one of the characters to bring Him up to Lizzy, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. Maybe there is something I don't understand about the Christian faith in Appalachia. But it seems to me, Jesus should have been introduced to Lizzy. 

I still loved this book. But I wanted to address my concerns. This book had some great action and twists. Once the truth started to be revealed, it got quite dark. There is violence and murder, the mention of marital rape and the selling of children. There were definitely some things that I didn't see coming. Things that really turned Lizzy's life upside down. 

The author really brought these characters and the setting to life for me. I loved that the author included real history into the story. One thing I knew about, the other took me by surprise. 

I loved this book and highly recommend it. 

I received an e-copyb of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.