Guide to Categories : Adult Review – review of books for adults – may or may not be appropriate for a school library

Links in this post may be affiliate links. Purchases made using these links will not cost you more but may pay me an affiliate fee.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and related sites. Thank you for using my links.

About the Book

Book: Bold of Heart

Author: Susan K. Beatty

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release date: May 28, 2024

A reporter, a rich man, and a chaplain walk into a mystery…

Tamzin Murray has three goals: Follow Jesus. Control her no-filter mouth. And no romance. When her friend offers her a job as a reporter on the South Pacific Suamalie Islands, she jumps at the chance for a fresh start. But when she’s forced to meet the handsome, wealthy investor, she not only finds herself involved in a love triangle, but also a dangerous mystery.

When Wentworth “Sully” Sullivan’s yacht is sabotaged, he did not expect to fall for the reporter covering his story. Especially since his experience with women has mostly been with gold-diggers.

Émile Durand is too shy to date, but when he meets his sister’s new coworker, he can’t help his attraction to her. And the more he helps her out of scrapes, the further he falls in love with her.

As the mystery becomes more dangerous, and the more their hearts get entangled, how will Tamzin, Sully, and Émile get out of the messes they’ve put themselves into?

Take a trip to the Suamalie Islands where palm trees sway, the sand and sea pulse with life, and the people will steal your heart.

Click here to get your copy!

My Adult Review

Beatty, Susan K. Bold of Heart. 2024.

Suamalie Islands year 2 book 4

Bold of Heart is the second book by Susan K. Beatty in the Suamalie Islands series. We met most of the characters in the story in her previous book in the series.

If you enjoy romance with characters who are many (15) years apart or stories of romance between an “average” income person and someone who is very wealthy but doesn’t flaunt it – this is probably a book for you. Tamzin is younger and of average wealth. Sully is older and could possibly be classified as a billionaire but all the money isn’t really that important to him – he does use it for good, not just for himself.

The story includes mystery, attempted murder, and revenge making this more of a thriller type story. I didn’t find the story to be too intense, however. It is a nice shorter book – an easy read for a lazy afternoon.

The Suamalie Island books are more disjointed than the Independence Island books were. It feels like the only time there is character overlap in the Suamalie Island series is in books by the same author – making it feel like the books aren’t really all in the same series, other than sharing the same imaginary group of islands for their setting. With the Independence Island books you felt like you really got to know the characters because they showed up across the series, not just in books by the same author. 

I think the continuity could be helped by a summary of the previous books involving the characters who will be in the current book or a character sketch. While reading each new book, I remember bits and pieces of a character’s story but often feel like I am missing information since it has been a year or more since the previous book with the same characters came out. 

I do enjoy the books in the series and look forward to each new edition.

While these are adult contemporary romance books, I do think they could find a place in a K-12 Christian school library. High schoolers would probably enjoy them.

I received a complimentary copy of Bold of Heart. This is my honest review.

About the Author – Susan K. Beatty

Susan K. Beatty is in her third career—from journalist to homeschool tech writer to her life-long dream of becoming a novelist. She is proof you can start a new writing career late in life. Susan released her first published fiction in September 2019, and now an awarding winner author, this is her third novel, with several novelettes and short stories to her credit. She is passionate about finding courage through faith and grit. Susan lives with her husband of forty-nine years in Southern California. Add children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to the mix and she has little time for her favorite hobbies of reading, watching classic movies, British crime dramas, and traveling.

More from Susan Beatty

I love to follow my characters from struggling with a character flaw (or two or three) to victory, even if it isn’t complete. Yet. It blesses me when I see the characters becoming bold and courageous through following Christ and with the support of those around them.

Yes, I know I’m talking as if they do this without my help as the author. And, in some respects, that would almost be true. I may have an idea what the character is going to say or do next, but often what appears on my computer monitor is not what I expected. Yes, as if they had a mind of their own.

Such is the case with my three main characters in Bold of Heart. I had planned that Tamzin would fall for one character, only to have her go for the other one. Then there was of who was Sully’s bad guy. Again, I thought was going to be one character until another character shot to the forefront. And Émile? I didn’t expect him to be so bold. It would be a spoiler if I gave more detail here. (Do you hear Simon Legree-like laughing here?)

I’ve known a couple people who just have no filter on their mouths, but still good-hearted, well-meaning folks. Thus, Tamzin’s major character flaw. Getting her to the Suamalie Islands, and away from her prime example, her mother, for a fresh start, gives Tamzin a chance to work on softening her remarks.

How can a hospital chaplain be shy? Well, that is Émile’s issue. Actually, he’s only shy outside of the hospital room. Near women.

I’ve never been wealthy, and don’t expect to be, so I had to imagine how our millionaire Sully could be wary of dating. It didn’t help he’d already been through an unpleasant experience after his wife passed away.

Love triangles are a familiar Christian romance trope, but to keep it from getting sticky, I threw in some mystery and suspense. It was a bonus that the experiences helped the characters develop their bold hearts.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, June 28

Stories By Gina, June 29 (Author Interview)

Karen Baney Reviews, June 29

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 30

Artistic Nobody, July 1 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 1

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, July 2

She Lives to Read, July 3

Back Porch Reads, July 4 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, July 5

Locks, Hooks and Books, July 6

Holly’s Book Corner, July 7

An Author’s Take, July 8

Sylvan Reads, July 9

Blossoms and Blessings, July 10 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 11

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Susan 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/2c561/bold-of-heart-celebration-tour-giveaway

Read more Adult Review posts

Get these 4th of July printables in myEtsy shop.