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| Smoke and Mirrors |
SMOKE AND MIRRORS: A ROMANTIC SUSPENSE COLLECTION
Reviewed by Noela Nancarrow
5 Stars *****
The enthralling ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ collection
masterfully combines fast-paced, breath-stealing suspense with delicious,
sigh-worthy romances, and enriching spiritual reflections. All eight novellas
are exhilarating reads, but I hope the couple I’ve reviewed below will provide
a titillating glance!
THE LONG VIEW by Connie Almony
Destiny Long finds herself thrust into the middle of a
suspected terrorist plot that’s right in the middle of her backyard, so to speak. Daughter of an FBI supervisor, she
knows a few things but is completely inexperienced, placing her in grave danger
as she tries her hand at sleuthing. Two men hold affection for Destiny—Damien, a
close Muslim friend and owner of a gym at the shopping centre she works at, and
the man J.T with whom she’d once shared a mind-altering kiss with, but then
walked out of her life. Discovering J.T head-down praying upon a rug makes her
wonder who she can trust. Who will betray her and will Destiny and those
fighting the war on terror prevail before numerable lives are lost?
I’m a huge fan of Connie Almony’s exceptional stories on important,
present-day concerns and topics. I think we need more novels like this that
give our spirit food and not just milk. But hold on to your seats, this novella
is also chock-full of surprises, mystery, and page-turning suspense—together
with a romance that is just as thrilling!
ON THE ROPES by Hallee Bridgeman
Mara Harrison is in hiding and using a new identification.
Witness in a federal case against a ruthless Russian mafia boss after seeing a
triple murder, she has been keeping low until the trial. Working with the kindly
Pastor Ben to restore his dilapidated church, Mara feels safe and treasured. Formerly a doctor, Mara helps save a boy from
a deadly rattler bite but her picture turns up online just one week out from
the trial. She barely has time to even pack before the mob leader’s son turns
up on the doorstep! Will Victor Kovalev with whom she was once planning to
marry try to stop her from attending his father’s court case, or does he have
other plans?
Thrilling, heart-stopping, hopeless but hopeful—‘On the
Ropes’ is written in the past and the present until the time-frames dramatically
collide. This edgy romantic suspense was so powerful; it took me a while before
I could read anything afterwards. Hallee Bridgeman is a new-to-me author and I can
hardly wait to read more from her!
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
You may purchase SMOKE AND MIRRORS for a bargain price from here: AMAZON
GIVEAWAY: Connie Almony is generously giving away 3 E-BOOKS of 'Smoke and Mirrors'! For your chance to WIN one of these, leave a comment below and be sure to include your email address! Write (at) and (dot), to protect against spammers.
It was an honor and a blessing to be part of this amazing collection with such great authors.Thank you so much for a wonderful post, Noela!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for being the mastermind of the collection, Alexa. We couldn't have done it without you!!!
DeleteThank you Alexa, and what a collection it was, too! Just outstanding. So you were the mastermind behind this? Throwing my thanks out there to you too for organizing such an amazing collection of stories!!
DeleteConnie, you just made my day! I only had the initial idea that I shared with you. It was such a huge blessing that you and so many great authors agreed to make this set. It was a dream come true!
DeleteThank you, Noela! Connie is very kind. I loved being part of this amazing set.
DeleteFast-paced breath stealing suspense and delicious sigh worthy romances? Sounds like my kind of book, NOELA! Thank you for the yummy reviews! :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely your kinda book, Diana! Lol, thanks Diana, I hope you get to feast on these deliciously captivating stories soon! :-)
DeleteLove that sigh-worthy part. My favorite kind of story so it's good to know our collection has achieved that goal.
DeleteNoela, thanks for reviewing Smoke and Mirrors today!!! I can't wait to give away some books!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Connie, and thanks! It was both a pleasure to read and review this amazing collection of stories!! I'd love to read more like this!
DeleteI'm halfway through this collection and loving it. I've read both the stories you reviewed above, and I agree with every word of your praise. Great reviews as always, Noela! Thanks for recommending this set to me. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteAwesome Marcia, thanks!! So glad you're enjoying it and thank you so much for coming by to share!! Hugs!!
DeleteMarcia, so glad you are enjoying it!!!
DeleteWhat an incredible review. Thank you so much. It was an honor to work with these talented authors in this collection!
ReplyDeleteThanks Hallee, and thank you for writing such an impacting story!! It's an amazing collection!
DeleteNoela, wonderful review! The two books you reviewed sound very interesting, full of suspense and some romance. I have read Hallee Bridgeman's books--which I love but none of the other authors in this collection.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Tina
Thank you so much, Tina! They really were truly fascinating stories, as were the others. Here's hoping you get to read it soon, Tina!!
DeleteHope you get a chance to read the collection, Mrs Tina!
DeleteBeautiful, exhilarating, suspenseful reviews also, Noela - thank you!! I was quite taken with the suspenseful, realistic life situations in the novels of Connie's I've read, and so agree with your comment that we need more like them. I also have some of Hallee's beautiful books and hope to find time very soon to read them, likewise with the 'Smoke and Mirrors' collection, which I have. She is a Ky. author I hope to have the pleasure of meeting soon - I love her blog posts, including the ones on cooking!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bonnie! You'll love Smoke and Mirrors when you get to read it, Bonnie!! Thanks for your comment my friend.
DeleteBonnie, you are ALWAYS a dear!!! And yes, Noela's reviews are breathtaking themselves.
DeleteNOELA thanks for this great review. I have this waiting for me on my kindle, can't wait to read it. You know I LOVE a good suspense book and with this treasure there are EIGHT!! :-)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the jackpot right here with this book, Teresa! :) You'll love these!!
DeleteThank you, Teresa! This is a great suspense collection!
DeleteNoela, thank you for reviewing the set! So glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Sally! It was an amazing collection of stories that I was really glad found their way into my hands thanks to Connie's story, and now I have a bunch of new-to-me authors that have caught my attention as well! :)
DeleteThanks for your review of Smoke and Mirrors and for offering this giveaway, Noela! It was a privilege to be part of this set. I read several new-to-me authors in it and enjoyed every one, especially the unique settings across the USA.
ReplyDeleteThat's the great thing about collections isn't it... I've discovered so many authors that are now some of my top favorite's after discovering them in collections! Thank you for your awesome story too, Heather!
DeleteReviews like these make me want to dive right in - thank you :-) cmcfaithingod at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteYayy, love to hear that, Christine!! :) Here's hoping you get to dive in and read this exciting collection soon!
DeleteThis collection sounds wonderful! I would love to win. Thanks so much for the giveaway :)
ReplyDeletebettimace(at)gmail(dot)com
I was very impressed with this collection Betti! Here's to a win for you! :)
DeleteI love a good suspense, or eight! ;) Your review has been the bait to reel me in, NOELA! :-)
ReplyDeleteHaha yes you're definitely getting your money's worth with this collection! :) Thanks Anne!!
DeleteNOELA, I love breath-taking suspense! I can't wait to read this series!
ReplyDeletepsalm103and138 at gmail dot com
Just remember to breathe, Caryl! ;) You will love it!!!
Delete