Monday, January 12, 2026

The Voice I Couldn’t Ignore by Johanna Frank

 

About the Book

Book: The Voice I Couldn’t Ignore

Author: Johanna Frank

Genre: Christian Nonfiction / Memoirs/ Christian Death and Grief

Release Date: October 2, 2025

Through a vision, God told Hanna he was going to take her child. Seven years later, he did.

The Voice I Couldn’t Ignore

Hanna’s relationship with God is undeniably unusual—of that, she is certain.

Kept secret for three generations, a stranger’s prophecy that a window from heaven would open was aimed squarely at her. But instead, deeply wounded scars shut her off from that promised breeze, sealing away any hope for self-worth and true identity. As the years continue and she navigates motherhood, she’s drawn in and shaken by vivid dreams and visions—some illuminating, others quite alarming.

“Did God just tell me he’s going to take my child?”

When the fiercest storm of Hanna’s life strikes—a brutal whirlwind of unseen daggers—it hurls her skyward only to shatter her fragile house of faith, leaving her to wrestle in a deep pit of relentless grief. She can’t imagine trusting a soul on earth to explain why God moved the way he did in her life. And even if she tried, no one would ever believe her.

“Don’t get comfy down here.” For all her inner warnings, she’s bound in anguish and despair with no visible way out.

So she begins to piece together the God-given dreams and visions, aligning her interpretations of his handiwork in the Holy Land with Scripture. From these fragments, she shapes a parable of her own—an illustration of a new house of faith. This one on a solid foundation with gentle reminders of truth, particularly the one that sets her free: it takes the Trinity to lift a soul.

Keep a window open. Catch the breeze that binds.

Based on a true story.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

The Voice I Couldn’t Ignore" by Johanna Frank is a true account of her struggle with her daughter's cancer and death. Hannah is honest about her grief. She shares about visions she has had, I admit I struggled with this part of the book because I am not familiar with visions and such! I could understand the grief part. She shares that the sorrow and grief lead her to study God's word more deeply and drew her to Jesus. This wasn't an easy book to read but it was inspiring and hopeful! 

I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own. 

About the Author

Johanna Frank is a Canadian author based in Southern Ontario, where she lives with her husband, and delights in time with her children and grandchildren.

Her award-winning A Lifeline Fantasy Series includes The Gatekeeper’s Descendants (Readers’ Favorite 5-Star Medalist), Jophiel’s Secret (Winner of the 2023 General Market Suspense Fiction Award and the Christian Speculative Fiction Award), and Here Lyeth (finalist for The Word Guild’s 2025 Christian Speculative Award).

In addition, Johanna has just released a creative memoir, The Voice I Can’t Ignore, a deeply personal work that explores God’s abundant mystery and healing.

More from Johanna

A creative nonfiction based on a true story; how I rebuilt a house of faith following the death of my daughter.

This story leads the reader through an ancestral prophecy, profound visions and dreams, and a mother’s journey through symbolisms in the Holy Land. It shares how she guided her teenage daughter through a devastating diagnosis while wrestling with God, and reveals her spiritual rebuilding of an unshakable house of faith in the aftermath of loss.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, January 10

Simple Harvest Reads, January 11 (Author Interview)

A Reader’s Brain , January 12 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 12

Artistic Nobody, January 13 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, January 14

Guild Master, January 15 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 16

Fiction Book Lover, January 17 (Author Interview)

Cover Lover Book Review, January 18

Tell Tale Book Reviews, January 19 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, January 20

Blossoms and Blessings, January 21 (Author Interview)

Stories By Gina, January 22 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, January 22

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, January 23 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Johanna is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/j2Twg/the-voice-i-couldnt-ignore-celebration-tour-giveaway

Friday, January 9, 2026

Not Exactly Mr. Darcy by Carolyn Miller

 

About the Book

Book: Not Exactly Mr. Darcy

Author: Carolyn Miller

Genre: Romance/Contemporary/Christian Fiction

Release Date: December, 2025

Pride, Pemberley, and Second Chances

When history-loving Olivia Bennett’s teaching contract isn’t renewed, she is considered her family’s logical choice to care for her ailing grandmother in a tiny English village. While there, she soon finds additional work at nearby Hartbury Hall—one of England’s great houses once used as Pemberley in a filmed production of Pride and Prejudice. The head gardener there, however, proves to be anything but the gentlemanly hero of that famous book. Little does she know that behind Liam Browne’s brusque exterior is both a family tragedy and a legacy that demands truth and honor, creating a crisis that only Liv’s vivacious determination can resolve. Along the way, she may just learn that appearances count for naught. . .and that love can be found in unexpected ways.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

"Not Exactly Mr. Darcy" by Carolyn Miller was a fun read. I am not a Jane Austen fan usually, but I did enjoy this book, because it isn't a retelling of any of her books. It is more a story about fixing up an estate and a fountain that was used in a movie that was based on "Pride & Prejudice". This is a novel for readers who likes clean love stories where the female and male characters aren't fond of each other at first. I will be reading the next book in this series.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own. 

About the Author

Carolyn Miller is an inspirational Regency and contemporary romance author who lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband, she has pastored a church for ten years and worked as a public high school English and Learning and Support teacher.

A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English Literature and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives.

 

 

More from Carolyn

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, January 6

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, January 6

The Sacred Line, January 7

Leslie’s Library Escape, January 8

Vicky Sluiter, January 9

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 9

Texas Book-aholic, January 10

Life on Chickadee Lane, January 11

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 11

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, January 12

Tell Tale Book Reviews , January 12

For Him and My Family, January 13

Lyssa Loves Books, January 13

Blossoms and Blessings, January 14

Mornings at Character Cafe, January 14

Holly’s Book Corner, January 15

Mrs. Ryan Moser’s book and movie reviews , January 15

Pause for Tales, January 16

Mary Hake, January 16

Cover Lover Book Review, January 17

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, January 18

To Everything There Is A Season, January 19

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Carolyn is giving away the grand prize of a print copy of the book and a $25 Amazon eGift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/P3So9/not-exactly-mr-darcy-celebration-tour-giveaway

Saturday, December 27, 2025

The Search for the Shadow Cat: Book 3 of the Jaguar Oracle Series by Kurt Mähler


About the Book

Book: The Search for the Shadow Cat: Book 3 of the Jaguar Oracle Series

Author: Kurt Mähler

Genre: Magical Realism Fantasy

Release Date: October 26, 2025

Venture into a lush, mystically supercharged natural world where the fate of an entire animal kingdom hangs in the balance in The Search for the Shadow Cat, the captivating third installment of the Jaguar Oracle series.

After a long absence from the Rio Grande Valley, the majestic jaguar named Oracle returns for a perilous quest to restore the three feline tribes—bobcat, ocelot, and long-lost jaguarundi: the “shadow cat.”

With Patch the raccoon, Plod the horse, Bog the toad, and the child named Miracle, Oracle navigates a richly-drawn landscape, pressing through pain and perplexity to rediscover ancient wisdom that will awaken creation, from a jabber of green jays to secretive turtles to trees holding on to treasured knowledge. Along the way, Oracle finds an unexpected ally in a conflicted young entrepreneur, while a hermit holds the key to unlocking the jaguar’s destiny.

Blending magical realism, mythology, and environmental advocacy, this pulse-pounding adventure will captivate readers with its tale of courage, honor, and the power of reclaiming our forgotten roots.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 "The Search for the Shadow Cat" by Kurt Mähler is the third book in the series and I strongly recommend that you read the books in order. This book is about working together and finding courage to overcome obstacles and friendships.  There is a human child in the story named Miracle, but the main characters are animals.  I don't usually like to read fantasy stories, but I have enjoyed this series so far. If a reader likes clean stories and likes animals, then this series is a hit!

I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own. 


About the Author

Kurt helps those who built someone else’s dream finally build their own.

As a speaker, advisor, and award-winning poet, he draws from twenty years of lived experience in forty nations.

He is a sought-after voice on five continents, advising expats in places as challenging as Cuba, Persia, and North Korea. He has published multiple books , hundreds of articles, and well-respected poetry.

Kurt and his wife Karen have been married since 1993 and raised their family in Afghanistan, where they founded a community development agency. They are Americans living in the Emirates with ties to the Gulf Coast, the Rio Grande Valley, Central Texas, Louisiana, and New England.

He writes in the poetic tradition, inspired by the wonder of creation, the mysteries of the Ancient Faith, and the drama of the nations. Guiding sources for his work include the Hebrew prophets, the Desert Fathers, Dante, Milton, George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien.

Why? Because thought leaders go back to the beginning to find the way forward.

The key to the future begins with a memory. Our calling comes from the original self the Creator had in mind when He said, “Let there be you.”

More from Kurt

How do you begin again? How do you take the first step alone?

Sometimes we don’t need a how-to manual to answer these questions. We need an encounter.  We need a story.

That’s why I wrote this epic tale.

Saturated with poetry, proverbs, parables, and prayers, this book is in the tradition of the Christian poets and the Hebrew prophets. It is an immersion in a mystically supercharged natural world alongside a very real human drama.

Why? Because poetic storytelling, when done well, gives prophetic insight for the decisions we face. Then we can begin again. Then we can take the first step alone. Then we can do the thing that is in our heart to do. The thing the Creator placed there. Your calling: the original self He had in mind before the Fall when He said, “Let there be you.”

That’s what this story is about.

An epic quest for redemption and self-discovery

Venture into a lush, mystically supercharged natural world where the fate of an entire animal kingdom hangs in the balance in The Search for the Shadow Cat, the captivating third installment of the Jaguar Oracle series.

A long, mysterious absence and the fulfillment of a legacy

The majestic jaguar named Oracle has returned to the Rio Grande Valley to pick up the trail left by the last guardian of this endangered realm, Kahoo the Grave. Awakening  a dormant legend, Oracle embarks on a perilous quest to restore the three feline tribes—bobcat, ocelot, and long-lost jaguarundi: the “shadow cat”—to their rightful place as stewards of the animal kingdom.

With Patch the raccoon, Plod the horse, Bog the toad, and the child named Miracle, the jaguar navigates a richly-drawn landscape where created things have a voice. Oracle  must press through pain and wrestle perplexity to rediscover the wisdom of the Days of First Things and restore the fragmented animal realm. As he does, creation awakens, from a jabber of green jays to secretive turtles to trees holding on to ancient knowledge.

Reclaiming lost wisdom and honoring our connection to nature

But Oracle is not alone in his quest. He finds an unexpected ally in Tripp Menefee, the ambitious and conflicted young entrepreneur who runs the Eden’s Bend preserve and high-tech ranch, where a rhino, zebras, and other exotic beasts dwell alongside native ones.

Tripp and Oracle forge an invisible partnership as both seek to restore the animal kingdom while Tripp grapples with his own motivations—and the growing affection he has for the woman confronting him on the toll his development plans are taking on the delicate ecosystem.

Meanwhile, the hermit Brazos Ben, who had once nursed Oracle back to health, holds the key to unlocking the jaguar’s past and the secrets of the Lonely Tree at the heart of this landscape. As Ben is forced to confront his own painful history, he must decide whether to help Oracle complete his legacy or remain trapped in the shadows of the past.

Blog Stops

Simple Harvest Reads, December 17 (Author Interview)

Artistic Nobody, December 18 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, December 19 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, December 20

Fiction Book Lover, December 21 (Author Interview)

Blogging With Carol, December 22

Vicky Sluiter, December 23 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 24

For the Love of Literature, December 25 (Author Interview)

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 26 (Author Interview)

Blossoms and Blessings, December 27 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 27

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 28

Stories By Gina, December 29 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, December 29

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 30 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

The Search for the Shadow Cat Celebration Tour Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Kurt is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card; a high-resolution digital map of the entire series, a high-resolution cover, and the audiobook version featuring Nashville actor Zach Lazar Hoffman when it is released!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/JLkld/the-search-for-the-shadow-cat-celebration-tour-giveaway

Release Date: October 26, 2025

Venture into a lush, mystically supercharged natural world where the fate of an entire animal kingdom hangs in the balance in The Search for the Shadow Cat, the captivating third installment of the Jaguar Oracle series.

After a long absence from the Rio Grande Valley, the majestic jaguar named Oracle returns for a perilous quest to restore the three feline tribes—bobcat, ocelot, and long-lost jaguarundi: the “shadow cat.”

With Patch the raccoon, Plod the horse, Bog the toad, and the child named Miracle, Oracle navigates a richly-drawn landscape, pressing through pain and perplexity to rediscover ancient wisdom that will awaken creation, from a jabber of green jays to secretive turtles to trees holding on to treasured knowledge. Along the way, Oracle finds an unexpected ally in a conflicted young entrepreneur, while a hermit holds the key to unlocking the jaguar’s destiny.

Blending magical realism, mythology, and environmental advocacy, this pulse-pounding adventure will captivate readers with its tale of courage, honor, and the power of reclaiming our forgotten roots.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 


About the Author

Kurt helps those who built someone else’s dream finally build their own.

As a speaker, advisor, and award-winning poet, he draws from twenty years of lived experience in forty nations.

He is a sought-after voice on five continents, advising expats in places as challenging as Cuba, Persia, and North Korea. He has published multiple books , hundreds of articles, and well-respected poetry.

Kurt and his wife Karen have been married since 1993 and raised their family in Afghanistan, where they founded a community development agency. They are Americans living in the Emirates with ties to the Gulf Coast, the Rio Grande Valley, Central Texas, Louisiana, and New England.

He writes in the poetic tradition, inspired by the wonder of creation, the mysteries of the Ancient Faith, and the drama of the nations. Guiding sources for his work include the Hebrew prophets, the Desert Fathers, Dante, Milton, George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien.

Why? Because thought leaders go back to the beginning to find the way forward.

The key to the future begins with a memory. Our calling comes from the original self the Creator had in mind when He said, “Let there be you.”

More from Kurt

How do you begin again? How do you take the first step alone?

Sometimes we don’t need a how-to manual to answer these questions. We need an encounter.  We need a story.

That’s why I wrote this epic tale.

Saturated with poetry, proverbs, parables, and prayers, this book is in the tradition of the Christian poets and the Hebrew prophets. It is an immersion in a mystically supercharged natural world alongside a very real human drama.

Why? Because poetic storytelling, when done well, gives prophetic insight for the decisions we face. Then we can begin again. Then we can take the first step alone. Then we can do the thing that is in our heart to do. The thing the Creator placed there. Your calling: the original self He had in mind before the Fall when He said, “Let there be you.”

That’s what this story is about.

An epic quest for redemption and self-discovery

Venture into a lush, mystically supercharged natural world where the fate of an entire animal kingdom hangs in the balance in The Search for the Shadow Cat, the captivating third installment of the Jaguar Oracle series.

A long, mysterious absence and the fulfillment of a legacy

The majestic jaguar named Oracle has returned to the Rio Grande Valley to pick up the trail left by the last guardian of this endangered realm, Kahoo the Grave. Awakening  a dormant legend, Oracle embarks on a perilous quest to restore the three feline tribes—bobcat, ocelot, and long-lost jaguarundi: the “shadow cat”—to their rightful place as stewards of the animal kingdom.

With Patch the raccoon, Plod the horse, Bog the toad, and the child named Miracle, the jaguar navigates a richly-drawn landscape where created things have a voice. Oracle  must press through pain and wrestle perplexity to rediscover the wisdom of the Days of First Things and restore the fragmented animal realm. As he does, creation awakens, from a jabber of green jays to secretive turtles to trees holding on to ancient knowledge.

Reclaiming lost wisdom and honoring our connection to nature

But Oracle is not alone in his quest. He finds an unexpected ally in Tripp Menefee, the ambitious and conflicted young entrepreneur who runs the Eden’s Bend preserve and high-tech ranch, where a rhino, zebras, and other exotic beasts dwell alongside native ones.

Tripp and Oracle forge an invisible partnership as both seek to restore the animal kingdom while Tripp grapples with his own motivations—and the growing affection he has for the woman confronting him on the toll his development plans are taking on the delicate ecosystem.

Meanwhile, the hermit Brazos Ben, who had once nursed Oracle back to health, holds the key to unlocking the jaguar’s past and the secrets of the Lonely Tree at the heart of this landscape. As Ben is forced to confront his own painful history, he must decide whether to help Oracle complete his legacy or remain trapped in the shadows of the past.

Blog Stops

Simple Harvest Reads, December 17 (Author Interview)

Artistic Nobody, December 18 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, December 19 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, December 20

Fiction Book Lover, December 21 (Author Interview)

Blogging With Carol, December 22

Vicky Sluiter, December 23 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 24

For the Love of Literature, December 25 (Author Interview)

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 26 (Author Interview)

Blossoms and Blessings, December 27 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 27

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 28

Stories By Gina, December 29 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, December 29

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 30 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

The Search for the Shadow Cat Celebration Tour Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Kurt is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card; a high-resolution digital map of the entire series, a high-resolution cover, and the audiobook version featuring Nashville actor Zach Lazar Hoffman when it is released!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/JLkld/the-search-for-the-shadow-cat-celebration-tour-giveaway

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

The Goodness of Unicorns by Kayla E. Green

 

About the Book

Book: The Goodness of Unicorns

Author: Kayla E. Green

Genre: YA Noblebright Fantasy

Release Date: October 21, 2025

One girl determined to heal her sister and another looking for purpose in a nation on the brink of war. And unicorns—with a twist you’ve never seen before.

It’s Rowan Tritonia’s sixteenth Naming Anniversary. Her plans for the day never included a headache that causes her to almost faint on a day meant for celebration. When the world comes back into focus, her brown eyes have changed to magenta. But what scares her more is that everything around her is now black and white coupled with a mysterious ability to see the light and shadows in a person’s soul. Then a local cleric implies that Rowan could have the power of Sight, a gift which has only been seen in the stories of unicorns in the Book of Verimor, an ancient text. Rowan is perplexed. Why would Verimor give her something she never asked for instead of answering her greatest prayer to help her younger sister, Blythe?

News of the girl with Sight quickly travels beyond Rowan’s local village. When the King of Wisteria learns of her gift from a letter, he summons her to the castle. With growing political tensions from neighboring nations, Rowan may be able to provide the aid they desperately need. Linnea, the king’s sister and his primary advisor, prays that Rowan has truly been blessed by a unicorn and can save the nation and its people from encroaching darkness.

Meanwhile, back at home, Blythe, sets out on her own journey. She feels helpless, tied down by the pain that keeps her homebound most of the time. Although she wears a smile to comfort those around her—especially her family—Blythe wonders if her life will ever amount to anything more than fading into the background. Is she truly too broken for any greater purpose, or can Verimor still use her?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

"The Goodness of Unicorns by Kayla E. Green is a fast paced ya fantasy. This book has plenty of "real life" messages on dealing with fear! This is the first book of the series.  If you like Christian fantasy I believe you will enjoy this read! 


I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own.

About the Author

Kayla E. Green is an author and poet who writes to remind others—and herself—that light always prevails over darkness. When she isn’t writing, reading, or spending time with her family, she loves singing loudly and off-key to KLove Radio and pretending she’s a unicorn. Fittingly, her debut novel is The Goodness of Unicorns. Kayla has also written an award-winning YA fantasy novella, Aivan: The One Truth, and an inspirational poetry collection, Metamorphosis. Kayla also has stories, poems, and devotionals featured in various anthologies, and she has several flash fiction stories available through Havok Publishing

 

 

More from Kayla

Do you enjoy reading book dedications? The Goodness of Unicorns’ dedication reads:

For my twin sister and first friend, Kari:

My world, and the world at large, is brighter with you in it.

May everyone who reads this find the strength in their own journeys to embrace the beacon of hope God has placed in their hearts for both themselves and those around them.

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15, NIV

It will come as no surprise to those who read the book’s dedication that TGOU is a story about two sisters who are best friends; but, like any relationship, conflict happens. And, sometimes, it arises from the best of intentions.

Sisters, navigating chronic pain, finding purpose and learning that bravery doesn’t always look like charging into battle are all elements you will find in The Goodness of Unicorns. Join sisters Rowan and Blythe in the world of Wisteria where they each have important choices to make for the sake of light, goodness, and one another.

Blog Stops

Simple Harvest Reads, December 20 (Author Interview)

Inspired by Fiction, December 21

Artistic Nobody, December 22 (Author Interview)

CeCe Reads and Sings, December 22

Stories By Gina, December 23 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 23

Fiction Book Lover, December 24 (Author Interview)

Vicky Sluiter, December 25 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, December 26

The Lofty Pages, December 27

For the Love of Literature, December 28 (Author Interview)

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 29

Blossoms and Blessings, December 30 (Author Interview)

Paula’s Pad of Inspiration, December 31

Guild Master, January 1

Blogging With Carol, January 2

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kayla is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card, journal, pen, and unicorn themed item!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/2SyFy/the-goodness-of-unicorns-celebration-tour-giveaway