All is Calm, All is Bright

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO READ DAY!

COBLE, COLLEEN

ALL IS CALM, ALL IS BRIGHT

All is Calm

Brendan Waddell needs a place to recuperate. Lauren Everman needs a place to hide. It's going to be an unexpectedly romantic Christmas at Bluebird Ranch.

Brendan Waddell has always considered Bluebird Ranch a little piece of heaven; an idyllic ranch that  pairs abused children with abused horses, run by one of his old Marine buddies. Now, recovering from an on-the-job injury, Brendan thinks the ranch is the perfect place to spend Christmas healing up.

When Lauren Everman was a seventeen-year-old foster kid, Bluebird Ranch was the safest place she knew. Now it's the perfect hideout for a woman on the run. As the witness to a murder, Lauren needs somewhere to lie low, and her skills with horses means she'll be able to lend a hand with the troubled kids at Bluebird -- without answering too many questions.

Lauren's rich hair, high-cheekbones and dark eyes immediately get Brendan's attention -- but so does her secretive behaviou. This Special Ops Intel man knows a woman on the run when he sees one, and he's not about to let her put Bluebird Ranch at risk.

But as Brendan and Lauren get to know each other, their suspicions evaporate and romance starts to sizzle. But this would-be couple has more to worry about than each other -- there's a killer on the loose who wants Lauren kept quiet.

All Is Bright

A romantic, Christmas wedding at her seaside hotel gives Delilah a chance to shine with her unique gifts. But will her light be snuffed out before the bride and groom say "I do"?

As manager of the Tidewater Inn, Delilah Carter has been planning a spectacular Christmas wedding for her friends at the grand hotel overlooking the ocean. While picking up still more twinkly lights  and some last-minute groceries for the reception dinner, a huge truck runs her off the freezing, wet roads into the dark night.  Her car stops just short of an enormous tree and the truck speeds off into the night.  Delilah escapes with her life and has almost convinced herself the whole thing was an accident, but then she begins to receive threatening phone calls. With the wedding just hours away, she's distracted and anxious Then Sheriff Tom Bourne stops by the inn and volunteers to help.

Tom has always had a soft spot for Delilah, and he's determined to protect her. But he's pulled away by a bizarre Christmas stunt that has the neighborhood reeling and Delilah is attacked again.

Will Delilah have to cancel the Christmas wedding at Tidewater Inn? And will Tom's protection be enough to save Delilah from the shadowy figure looming in the background?

My Review:

published in 2015

Just a friendly reviewers note: I'm only going to review All is Bright because that's the one I happily discovered in my library's Libby audio collection. They've since added All Is Calm, but I'm fifth on the waiting list so it'll be a bit of a wait. Mind you, with each novella only lasting two hours I'm hoping it will be sooner than later. So, why am I telling you all this other than I'm naturally chatty about books? Because when I looked to see if All Is Bright was available in paperback, I discovered it as part of this collection. So, yippee, the winner of this giveaway will receive both novellas in either paperback or ebook format even though I'm only reviewing one of them. And now that's out of the way, on to my review...which will likely be shorter than this explanation. lol

All Is Bright

I love the Hope Beach series so I was excited to meet up with so many of its heroes and heroines while desperately keeping an eye on Delilah and her welfare, of course. It might feel a bit overwhelming for readers who haven't met all these characters, but Coble is really good at keeping the focus on Delilah and Tom and a few other central characters so I think you could read this as a standalone.

It's packed with Coble-esque fast-paced suspense and edge-of-your-seat danger. I'm amazed that the author managed to deliver so much in such a limited page count, but this definitely has the satisfying feel of her longer novels. It helps that Delilah and Tom have been friends for ages, both with the secret desire for something more which blossoms beautifully in this holiday treat of a romance....once they get that pesky stalker thing dealt with. :-)

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of All is Calm, All is Bright, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT AND DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday December 11 2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck