About the Book

Book: Shadowed Doubt

Author: Kathleen J. Robison

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release Date: June 13, 2023

Is street smart enough to save a life and protect a family?

Finally recovering after the abduction of her mother by a human trafficking ring and the mysterious death of her father years ago, Lacey Thompson wants to live again. But things aren’t panning out. Exclusion from Fashion Design School leaves Lacey nursing rejection when a young stranger shows up in Bay Town. He’s brash but beautiful, and Lacey senses she shouldn’t get involved, but she can’t help it.

Wade Bodine Gardner is heir to Gardner Hotel Enterprises. As a long-lost family member discovered on the streets of New Orleans, Wade is living a second chance. Life is good, especially when he meets Lacey Thompson. But his past comes back to haunt him. The man who raised him is released from jail…the man who killed his mother. Beau Bodine wants a piece of the action and will stop at nothing to get Wade’s inheritance. Stalking Lacey is his first plan of action. How far will Beau go?

Instead of fighting their battles together, Lacey and Wade battle each other. Will Lacey draw on what got her through before? Can Wade learn to trust God and Lacey? It’s a race against time to save those whom he loves.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Kathleen is an Okinawan-American. Born in Okinawa, raised in California, Florida, Mississippi, and Singapore. Her travels lend themselves to the settings in her books, and her large family provides fun fodder for her characters. She and her Pastor husband have eight adult children. Seven are married, blessing them with sixteen grandchildren, and more on the way! Her ethnically diverse family of 33 plus personalities presents many opportunities to write about God’s amazing love amid trials, tragedies, and blessings. He is the one true inspiration and hope for us all.

 

More from Kathleen

Writing Shadowed Doubt took a different turn than my other books. I began writing a story about Lacey, Melanie Thompson’s young daughter. But since I write Romantic Suspense, she had to be old enough to be romanced! My husband says that would be age thirty for our youngest daughter, and he’s only half kidding.

But if you read the prequel, Revived Hope, and Book One, Shattered Guilt, you have a complete sketch of this delightful young girl. You don’t have to read those to enjoy Shadowed Doubt, but I hope you will. I think you’ll enjoy the small-town community of characters. Still, like all the Bay Town Series books, I aspire to make them stand-alone, and this book is no different. So you’ll meet Lacey as a young adult, ready to tackle the world.

I have three grown daughters (and five married sons), so watching them grow in their faith, and navigate college, relationships, and marriage, helped me to write Shadowed Doubt and Lacey’s story. Except for the fictional trauma in this story, I portrayed real-life heartache and doubts about what young women experience as they grow up in their faith in our almighty, sovereign God. Even those raised in a loving Christian home struggle with life, especially in today’s dark world. The important thing is to never give up. The Bible calls it perseverance. Trusting in our risen Savior for all things, even things out of our reach, until He gives a clear no.

Doubting is a big part of life. Wouldn’t you agree? We question ourselves, our family, friends and especially every life choices. But as a Christian, doubting God is the most difficult to admit. Without voicing those words out loud, I sometimes doubt that my prayers will be answered in the affirmative. In this book, Lacey definitely experienced this. She often felt like a yo-yo. It’s a lesson her love interest, Wade, also shared. His difficulty? He grew up in a very broken home and on the streets.

Relying on a solid foundation, Lacey trusted in God’s sovereignty and wanted His will above her desires. Something she also prayed for Wade, but sometimes she prayed, not really believing herself worthy of God’s best. But that’s the enemy at work. With spiritual mentors, Lacey came back around, knowing with all her mind and heart that she was worthy because of Jesus’ sacrifice. That she had no doubt. I pray that when doubts arise in your heart, you’ll go straight to God’s Word and be reminded of His height, depth, width and breadth of His love for you. It’s what Shadowed Doubt is all about.

MY REVIEW 

Lacey is feeling lost when her  dream to attend Design School is shattered . Have you ever experienced a disappointment in your life? How did you handle it? Lacey is struggling to keep her faith grounded as her rejection letter seems overwhelming. I do think she is being hard on herself and bitterness does start to rise to the  surface. 

I really liked Wade because he is a  flawed character who is trying so hard to change his life. His back history is very intriguing and helps readers understand why he feels inadequate at times. Someone from his past has come  to cause him misery and Wade isn’t quite sure how to handle it. I love that  his great grandfather has taken him in to give him a second chance. I love second chance stories and this one  is especially emotional. 

Lacey and Wade start out on shaky grounds but soon form a somewhat relationship. From the beginning you can tell that Lacey is not  quite trusting and she starts to turn on Wade when things don’t go her way. I can understand how we all have done that as well. The ones close to us are the ones we turn our anger on. 

I enjoyed the intrigue in the  story which gives our characters a chance to turn to God in their darkest moments. Fighting with each other,   Lacey and Wade start to pull away from each other. They both find themselves lost and alone. Lacey can be stubborn at times and doesn’t give Wade a chance to explain his situation. 

I love the faith element in the story which shows how the enemy can twist the truth and cause you  to walk away  from God. She gets some   very  wise advice from Desmond as she starts to turn her back away from God. “You don’t want to go there.You have your whole life ahead of you, don’t make the mistake of walking away from the Lord for something like this.”  She not not only feels rejected by the Design School, but also by a famous designer who has stolen her design. The anger builds up to a point where she starts to think she is a  loser. 

The  story delivers a great message about forgiveness, second chances and mercy. Lacey has a chance to be an example to Wade so he can see that God has not left him.  The author allows Lacey to decide to let go of something she knows was not fair in order to grow in her faith. I think it would be hard for me to let go of something that caused my reputation to be questioned. We need to remember that God is in control. What the enemy meant for bad, God can turn into good. Here is where Lacey will see how her faith will sustain her. 

Thanks to the author for an emotional, heart pounding story where revenge, forgiveness, bitterness and trust are highlighted in this story. “Remember God never left us during our last trial. He won’t now. He’s always here.” 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

Artistic Nobody, July 26 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 26

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, July 27

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, July 28

Locks, Hooks and Books, July 29

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 30

Texas Book-aholic, July 31

The Book Club Network, August 1

Guild Master, August 2 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 3

Blogging With Carol, August 4

Betti Mace, August 5

For Him and My Family, August 6

Holly’s Book Corner, August 7

Stories By Gina, August 8 (Author Interview)

Books Less Travelled, August 8

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kathleen is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and copy of the book!!

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

https://promosimple.com/ps/26d55/shadowed-doubt-celebration-tour-giveaway