"Shattered Promises" by Linda Trout is a contemporary romance novel that explores themes of love, betrayal, and second chances. While the book offers an intriguing premise, the execution falls somewhat short. The pacing can feel uneven, with certain sections dragging while others rush through important plot points. Additionally, the character development could have been more robust, as the protagonists lack depth and fail to evoke a strong emotional connection. Overall, "Shattered Promises" has potential but falls into the realm of an average read in the genre.

Wade strolls back into her life and she’s stunned at what he’s become. Randi finds comfort in the life she’s made for herself. She’s a successful artist living in a small rural town. Her world is shattered when she sees a plane crash in her backyard. The look of fear on the pilot’s face just before the crash will haunt her for the rest of her life. As the federal, state, and local authorities arrive to investigate, Randi comes face-to-face with the man who broke her heart years ago. She was known as Miranda back then. He’s cold, angry, and standoffish to her. She doesn’t understand why as she’s the injured party. He abandoned her. Before she can find the time to sit down with Wade to talk things out, bullets fly. There’s a killer on the loose gunning for one of them, but who? Is Wade or Randi the target? As Wade hunts down clues, Randi knows she has to tell him her dark secret. As the killer moves to strike, Wade discovers what she’s been hiding all these years. Can Wade and she survive long enough to reconcile or will promises made long ago shatter like crystal?


Shattered Promises is an unputdownable romantic suspense from start to finish. The action starts right away with the crash. I connected with Randi and she quickly tugged at my heartstrings. As the story unfolded, I got to know what makes Randi tick and how much pain she’s been in. I also met Wade, but he was a puzzle to unravel, and once I did, the emotions overwhelmed me. Why is this important? As a reader, I need to connect with the characters and what they’re going through. Linda Trout has a poignant gift for writing romantic suspense and connecting her characters with the reader. She builds up the suspense without overdoing it. The descriptive narration is intricate and therefore allows the reader to become part of the story. An emotionally charged romantic suspense, Shattered Promises needs to be read and enjoyed. Highly recommend!


My Rating: 5+ stars

Exciting and engaging romantic suspense. Interesting characters. Delightful cat. Glad that the basis for their problems didn't last longer than necessary. I get frustrated with books when a simple conversation would settle things or create understanding. This story did not prolong the misunderstanding. Of course, lots of other things were also happening and causing problems. Fast paced and a quick read. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

This was the first novel I have read by Linda Trout. I was hoping for more of a suspenseful romance novel, but this was more romance with just a touch of romance. Shattered promises tells the story of Wade, an GNI agent and Randi, his first love who shattered his life many years earlier by disappearing while he was stationed overseas. The push-pull relationship was too contrived to be believable and took away from the story, itself. The best character in the book was Sebastian, the cat, who in my opinion, was the hero of the novel. With all that said, it was an easy read and if you have a free afternoon, you could certainly do worse than sit down and reading this book.

Good book! This book had suspense, action, intrigue, plenty of twists and turns and a bit of a who done it and great police work! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I will definitely recommend reading this book! It was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

When a plane crashes on her rural property, Randi Johnson has no idea that this will reunite her with the man who broke her heart years ago. The plane was transporting a prisoner, the only survivor, who was killed when attempting to take a woman hostage. FBI Special Agent Wade Malone arrives at the crash site only to learn that one of the marshals on the flight was a good friend. When Randi sees Wade again, she has no idea that he believes she refused to see him when he returned from overseas. When he didn’t return, she had to make a heart-breaking decision for both of them. While they try to come to terms with their painful pasts, they are unaware that someone at the crash site is plotting revenge against them. As they fight for their lives, it is a fight they have no intention of losing. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)