Forged in Steele

GIVEAWAY

SLEEMAN, SUSAN

FORGED IN STEELE

When a baby goes missing...

The ink was barely dry on the contract Bristol Steele had signed for Steele Guardians to provide security for a metro hospital when a baby is abducted from the nursery. Horrified and devastated for the family, Bristol puts everything in her life aside to find the abducted child and return her to her devastated parents. But when FBI agent Jared Wolfe steps in and tries to shut down her efforts, Bristol isn't prepared for the sparks that fly between them. 

She'll risk everything, even her life.

Bristol can't back down and soon finds herself working alongside Jared. She struggles to make sure her growing feelings for him aren't a distraction, but as she tugs at Jared's heart and he makes his feelings clear, she's not sure she's succeeding. Maybe she does need to back off for the good of the missing baby, but that might leave her company's reputation in the dirt and proving her abilities to her family has always been her driving force.

My Review:

I get positively giddy when a new Susan Sleeman novel releases. I especially love the way she builds a whole series around a family. The Byrd brothers (Nighthawk Security) might have the edge but these Steele sisters/cousins are nosing in pretty close. Their agency is very much a family affair and I love the occasional assist they get from their parents and grandparents too. These older Steeles add humour and wisdom and a healthy dose of faith to these stories.

Plus there's a bunch of cameos from a previous series -- Truth Seekers -- which I haven't read yet, but I have to now! One of this author's strengths is the ability she has to create a standalone novel within a series so you could totally jump in with this third book. But she also manages to add in former heroes and heroines from earlier series without losing readers who haven't met them yet. If that makes any sense. Like, rather than feeling overwhelmed when these characters pop up, I'm so intrigued I know I have to hit her backlist and read their stories too. 

Forged in Steele has an emotionally compelling suspense plot. Who can't empathize with distraught parents over the abduction of their newborn?! The investigative process was fascinating -- I could feel the impatience of everyone involved as they meticulously attend to every tedious detail in their search for the missing child. At times it felt like they were working in slow-mo and then they'd suddenly be catapulted forward with a new lead and it see-sawed back and forth that way for the whole read. Kept me on the edge right to very end.

Come to think of it, the romance was kinda like that too. Hellooo, reunion romance angst. Nothing like a chance to mend young love gone awry! More reasons that make this book unputdownable...

...or unstoppable, because I listened to the audible edition narrated by Whitney Dykhouse and I couldn't stop listening. 

Goal Update: #1 Read more indie authors, #6 Stay current with a series, #8 Play author catch-up (I'm just 2 series away from being caught up with Susan Sleeman!)

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  Forged in Steele, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your 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 August 27 2022 . Offer open to