Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Traces by Denise Weimer, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
Even if she evades The Eye, someone wants her silenced.
When a failed romance and a $500,000 prize lure Kate Carson into participating in the reality TV show, Traces, the least she expects is to pick her partner. After all, she’s the PR spokeswoman of the company that derived a thirteen-lens, rotating camera from military use and installed it atop Atlanta’s tallest skyscraper. But she never would have chosen to evade techno hunters for twenty days with “G.I. Joe.”
Stoic, ex-military Alex Mitchell is the sort of man she always vowed to avoid, while the shadows of Alex’s past cause him to spurn emotional involvement. When Kate’s insider knowledge makes her a target of someone more threatening than game show hunters, Alex offers her only hope to reveal the dark plans of proponents of The Eye.
Amazon
Why This Book:
I chose this book because it sounded different from my usual read but was still within the Christian Romance genre.
First Impressions:
I made the mistake of beginning this book at dinner time, thinking that I would read a little and then go to sleep and continue reading again the next night. Don’t follow in my footsteps! If you want any sleep at all, start much earlier in the day. I could not put this book down! By the climax of the novel, my eyes were burning to the point of tearing, I was so tired, but I had to know what happened next!
Main Characters:
From the very first page, I was hooked right in by the sassy heroine and the pressure she immediately faces. Then there was the obvious chemistry between her and the hero even though she already has a boyfriend.
Kate Carson – She’s been through some tough times that have caused her to place a lot of her self-worth in her appearance and lose trust in men, but she manages to hang on to her sass and has a good sense of humor. She hangs on to that which is comfortable to a point that annoyed me slightly, but not enough for me to dislike her. She carries a lot of guilt connected with her family. Overall, she’s a relatable character you will root for.
Alex Mitchell – A secret good Samaritan who’s too humble to toot his own horn. He takes the role of protecting Kate seriously even before they form any sort of bond. He does and says some boneheaded things that occasionally made me want to shake him, but overall, I liked him. In fact, I liked him more for being flawed. He also Carries a lot of guilt connected with his family.
Emotional Engagement & Pacing of the Story:
There were so many fun and surprising twists to this story that I want to tell you about, but also don’t want to tell you about because I want you to experience this crazy ride for yourself. I laughed out loud, choked up, and even talked aloud to the characters a time or two. And did I mention that I could not put it down? The pacing of this story was spot on for its genre.
Elements I Especially Liked/Disliked:
My favorite part of the story was the realistically bumpy relationship road the hero and heroine follow. I LOVE that they straight-up argue. And not pretty argue, but really argue in ways that shows their flaws and forces them to seek and exercise forgiveness with one another. In my opinion, many relationships are tested and strengthened through such moments.
Then there were the swoony moments. Yep. The author nails those too. Those moments were just the kind of perfection that makes you sigh and (in my case) look around for your hubby to cuddle with.
I have never been to Atlanta and I’m certainly not a tech head, so I can’t vouch for accuracy in those departments, but the author certainly sold me on her details. They seemed plausible and well thought through to me. I definitely got the impression that she did her research.
The only thing that took me out of the story were multiple formatting errors which I encountered and a minor editing mistake or two. But I was reading an advance copy so those will probably be ironed out before the book is officially released. And in any case, the story was so good I mostly just flew on by those errors.
FAITH ELEMENT:
I would describe the faith element as minimal. There is very little mention of God (and what’s there is primarily in the last chapter or two), but the story is still told from a Christian world view. I got the impression that Alex’s faith was stronger than Kate’s but that neither had a particularly close relationship with God (at least at first). I didn’t have a problem with this. The way the faith element was included couldn’t be considered preachy by any stretch of imagination, but neither was it apologetic. Where included, it felt natural and unforced.
THEME:
Running from your past is no way to start your future.
ENDING:
I was very satisfied with the ending of this novel. It didn’t wrap everything into a nice bow but it didn’t leave you feeling the story was unfinished either. The way the romance was wrapped up was cute, funny, realistic, and exactly what this romantic wanted.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:
This story is a compelling page turner with relatable characters and a romance you will cheer for. I highly recommend it to fans of Clean/Christian Romantic Suspense.
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Overall Rating:
4.5 out of 5 stars
TWEETABLES:
Psst! Feel free to borrow any of the photos above for sharing on social media and remember to tag me @KathleenDenly !
Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance and romantic suspense set in her home state of Georgia. She’s authored eleven published novels and a number of novellas. As a managing editor at Smitten Historical Romance and Heritage Beacon Fiction, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, she also helps others reach their publishing dreams. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.
CONNECT WITH DENISE: Website | Facebook | Twitter
(1) winner will receive a print copy of Traces and Fall Flip by Denise Weimer plus a $25 Amazon gift card!
What do you look for in romantic suspense novels? What most intrigues you about Traces?
Let me know in the comments below!
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Note: Although I did receive a free ARC of the digital version of this book, I was under no obligation to write a review. All views expressed are 100% my own and 100% sincere. You may read my full disclosure of materials HERE.
Thank you for your review on “Traces” by Denise Weimer and for being part of the book tour by JustRead Publicity Tours.
You have confirmed that this would be a book I would greatly enjoy having the opportunity to read. I have it on my TBR list and hoping to get to read it soon.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
I’m glad you enjoyed the review! I hope you get a chance to read Traces soon.
I cannot wait to read this amazing sounding book.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Kathleen, thank you for the great review of “Traces” by Denise Weimer. I already have it on my TBR list, but now I want to read it sooner rather than later because a book that one can’t put down or stop reading at bedtime is my kind of story. I want to know who or what is The Eye!
Well, as I said, this is definitely a page turner. I hope you get to read it soon. 🙂
Sounds like a great book.
Thanks for reading my review.
Thank you for sharing! – JustRead Tours
My pleasure! It’s so easy to share when the book is this good. 🙂
Great review! I like how you explained the things that you liked about the book.
I’m glad you enjoyed the details! 🙂
I’ve been hearing about this book in several places, I can’t wait to read it!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. 🙂 I hope you get to read this book soon. 🙂
Great review! You’ve certainly added to my interest in this book!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the review. 🙂