There are so many great Christian fiction novels releasing this spring that my TBR pile is exploding! I consider this an explosion of wonderfulness since a Cara without a new book to read is a pretty unhappy Cara. Anyone else feel that way about good books?

I’ve read some really fun ones and want to share the joy, so be sure to read to the end where I’m doing a giveaway of Change of Heart. I’ve also read a few books that are coming this summer for endorsement. Oh, dear readers, stay tuned for delightful new reads like Beth Vogt’s Almost Like Being in Love and Kristy Cambron’s The Ringmaster’s Wife. Wow. Wow. Wow. Next up for that category is Carrie Stuart Park’s When Death Draws Near. And just a quick sidenote for those of you who love ebooks,  The Ringmaster’s Wife and When Death Draws Near are on preorder ebook sale for $4.99. These are some great authors and books, though very different. When Death Draws Near is for those of you who love suspense while The Ringmaster’s Wife will satisfy historical romance lovers. Very happy sigh.

Now on to the books I wanted to profile today.

Oh how I love books!

The first book I want to share with you today is Change of Heart by my dear writing friend Courtney Walsh. Courtney writes these amazing contemporary romance novels set in the Colorado mountains. That’s enough to make me very happy from page one. Then you add in complex characters, a heart-tugging history, and sweet romance, and it is perfection. Absolute perfection.

I adored Change of Heart. Courtney Walsh has a gift for creating novels that illustrate some aspect of love. With Paper Hearts, it was cherishing the good and the bad. With Change of Hearts it’s pulling out the weeds that have grown up in our lives to rediscover who we are. It’s also about true surrender of the dream of love. The story is so sweet and the characters compelling. I truly loved this story and can’t wait for Courtney’s next book. She truly has a style I enjoy with the secondary characters and setting that move a story from good to wonderful. This book is perfection for those who adore contemporary romance with complex underlying issues that must be dealt with, but doesn’t quite hit a women’s fiction tone. A lovely read.

This trailer is perfection, too. Courtney is so talented! And be sure to read to the end where I’m doing a giveaway of Change of Heart.

Now for those of you who love a good suspense I have another great recommendation. Terri Blackstock is one of the queens of Christian suspense. She’s been writing it a long time and somehow manages to make each book fresh and new. The longer you write, the more you realize what a challenge that really is. Her latest If I Run starts with Casey on the run trying to stay ahead of the police and her boyfriend’s murderer and simply doesn’t stop. Imagine you’ve been accused of a crime you didn’t commit, but going to the police to clear things up isn’t an option. You’re on the run, trying to stay one step ahead, while also trying to figure out what did happen. Then the victim’s family hires a private detective, so you have to stay ahead of two groups searching for you, all while solving the murder.

The pacing is fast, the intensity ratcheting up with each page.

This is a book that latches on to you and doesn’t stop. Perfect for all the Christian suspense lovers out there. Just a note that this is the first in a series, so not everything wraps up cleanly in this book. I don’t think you’ll mind though!

If I Run (Zondervan, February 2016)

Casey knows the truth. But it won’t set her free.

Casey Cox’s DNA is all over the crime scene. There’s no use talking to police; they have failed her abysmally before. She has to flee before she’s arrested . . . or worse. The truth doesn’t matter anymore.

But what is the truth? That’s the question haunting Dylan Roberts, the war-weary veteran hired to find Casey. PTSD has marked him damaged goods, but bringing Casey back can redeem him. Though the crime scene seems to tell the whole story, details of the murder aren’t adding up. Casey Cox doesn’t fit the profile of a killer. But are Dylan’s skewed perceptions keeping him from being objective? If she isn’t guilty, why did she run?

Unraveling her past and the evidence that condemns her will take more time than he has, but as Dylan’s damaged soul intersects with hers, he is faced with two choices. The girl who occupies his every thought is a psychopathic killer . . . or a selfless hero. And the truth could be the most deadly weapon yet.

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