Colleen Coble is one of my favorite authors and always a must read!

Ambush is everything you love about Colleen's books and then some - this read has something for every reader for sure. The main female lead, Paradise started life out great with loving parents the boy "next door" and then "Life" happened and everything she knew & loved was gone and the worst kept happening. Fast forward, she returns to her childhood home and mysteries abound and murders too. Secrets are unfolding and right when you think some answers are coming to light... THE END - is book two ready yet? Can't wait to see Paradise's story continue and learn more about those hidden secrets coming to light.

Disappointing mystery with forced religious elements and a flat narration. Felt more like a Lifetime movie than a thriller. Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC.

What a ride! This is my first book of Cable’s and it was so good. I was hooked from the start. There was danger lurking in every page, from human and animal. I loved the tension and suspense. This book is well done.

Paradise returns home to try to find her parent’s killer from years ago. It brings with it complications of a past relationship and hurt. Not only from their murders, but what happens to Paradise after. There is so much to this story. I enjoyed the behind the scenes glimpse of an animal preserve. Even though these animals aren’t in the wild, the author does a great job of showing the that they are still smart, skilled predators and quite dangerous. Even behind the fences.

I enjoyed the relationship of Blake and Paradise and I appreciated the forgiveness shown and how the reader was able to see their relationship grow and develop in the book. Jenna and the boys were also great. Each character helping Paradise trust again. As well as help in healing past trauma.

There is a great sense of found family through the book. And the author does a great job of keeping the suspense and sense of urgency through the story. There is a great balance of tension, while bringing in romance. I am excited to read another book from Colleen Cable.

The narrator was fabulous. There is a variety of southern accents that were expressed well for the needed characters. Peakes’ performance was perfect for the setting and the variety of tension needed for each situation. From young boys to older characters, each was done well. I was completely invested in the story.

I received a NetGalley approval for the audio from the publisher. All views are my own.

Colleen Coble's Ambush masterfully intertwines second-chance romance, suspenseful mystery, and the charm of a Hallmark drama, creating a compelling narrative that keeps readers engaged from start to finish.
Set in Nova Cambridge, Alabama, the story follows Paradise Alden, a veterinarian returning to her hometown after a traumatic past, including the unresolved murder of her parents. Her new position at a wildlife refuge, managed by her former love, Blake Lawson, sets the stage for rekindled emotions and unresolved tensions. The refuge becomes a focal point for mysterious events-sabotage, arson, and break-ins
-that threaten both the sanctuary and its inhabitants.
As Paradise delves deeper into these incidents, she confronts her own past traumas and the lingering feelings she harbors for Blake.
Coble's portrayal of Paradise and Blake's relationship is both heartfelt and realistic, capturing the complexities of rekindled love amidst adversity. The suspense elements are well-crafted, with each twist adding depth to the overarching mystery. Fans of Coble's previous works will appreciate the subtle nods to characters from her other novels, offering delightful Easter eggs for loyal readers.
I listened to the audio for this book and enjoyed my listening quite a lot !
Ambush is a testament to Coble's ability to blend romance and suspense seamlessly, making it a must-read for those seeking a story rich in emotion, intrigue, and the enduring power of love.

I went into this book with high expectations, however, I was left disappointed. The romance aspect of it was fine, but the mystery aspect was far from the best. There seemed to be a lot going on, and unfortunately, not as much suspense of twists as I would have liked. It is Christian-based, so I expected some talk about God and religion, however, the moments where it was brought up felt unnecessary. This book was just not the book for me, but I'm sure it will appeal to the right audience.
Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, and Colleen Cobble for this ARC.

Too much Lifetime and TBN and too little thriller. I wish it had been better described. I feel like I wasted a bunch of time with obvious plots, shallow characters, and ridiculous stretches in order to try to wrap the whole thing up.

The narration was flat. There wasn’t variation in the characters. And there were way too many characters to not distinguish between them better.

Paradise comes back home to her tragic past, and her first love that broke her heart. Her parents were murdered and she intends to find out who did it.

This audiobook had a great storyline, a great plot, great characters and a great narrator! 5 stars!

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I just discovered Colleen Coble and I can say she is good at what she writes. I was hooked into the mystery and story from the beginning.
Paradise returns home to Alabama and ends up working for her ex-boyfriend, the one she maybe never got over. Blake never got over Paradise and knows it was his fault she wasn't taken care of. Paradise has one goal: find out who murdered her parents. She gets a lot more than she expected.

Karen as the narrator did a wonderful job adding the suspense and the southern accents into her narration. It kept the story interesting and had me coming back for a few minutes each time to fit more . I tend to listen to books on a faster speed because I'm a fast talker, so the voices worked for me with the faster speed. Karen did a great job at differentiating between the characters and their voices. Even the little boys voices were different.

The setting for this story was new and intriguing, an animal sanctuary. This is the first novel in the series and has a lot going on. There are elements of mystery, suspense, second chance, romance and faith. There are twists and turns I didn't expect and you will be guessing the entire book. You don't want to miss this!

This was my first time reading a romantic suspense novel and I really loved it! I definitely need to read more. I really enjoy Colleen’s writing. I was completely invested the entire time mostly on the mystery than the romance. But their story was still pretty endearing. The young boys made the story that much sweeter 🥹 every time they talked about their faith in God I teared up a little. Paradises journey with her faulty was probably my favorite part to the story. If you like romantic suspense with closed door romance then I highly suggest this one! I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I listened to most of this on audio and I loved the narration! Karen Peakes (narrator) keeps me interested the entire time.

Ambush presented itself as a mystery to be solved but seemed to pull in too many directions. There was a constant stream of accidents that was over the top. Then the last half went from mystery focused to sudden love and religion, It was predictable and lacks connecting the original plot.

This was my first Coleen Coble book, which is weird as a mystery lover, and I was sadly a little disappointed! I didn't like the characters together at all, and I understood why they broke up. In addition, I felt the religious elements to be a bit over the top. I have no problem with religious beliefs being written into books, but when it's thrown out there this often, it feels so forced.

I hate writing bad reviews because I think every book has a reader that will love it, so I never want to sway an opinion. I do think that someone will appreciate this book and I would definitely recommend it should that reader find me!

Ambush by Colleen Coble is a fast-paced blend of romance, suspense, and family dynamics. You will stay intrigued from the beginning to the very end, because the twists and turns just keep your attention because you just never know what will happen next.

The main character Paradise (who is a veterinarian, lost her parents and is trying to overcome her fear of big cats) had an old relationship with Blake that is reopened when she returns to town 15 years later.

I love all of Colleen Colbe’s books and this is no exception. This is the first of a new series and I can’t wait to see where this series goes.

I enjoyed this ARC edition (audiobook) and it had good narration.

Loved so much.

Great story, great characters, nice mystery. The narrator was great. The characters had a lot of potential. Love the backstory and coming love story.
I’m happy this is gonna be a series because it would really like to read more.

Also big plus……not sleazy and sexualized, no gore. Definitely a Christian author without pushing GOD and religion on the reader. Very refreshing read.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy

I really enjoyed a new start to Colleen's new Christian romantic suspense series! This has ties to the Tupelo Grove series with her and rick, which I really enjoyed What We Hide and seeing Hez and Savannah back in this book. You can read this though without reading What We Hide.

This is about Blake and Paradise. Blake Lawson is the man who broke Paradise Alden's heart many years ago. (So this is a second chance romance and I realllly liked how it was done!) Paradise has been through so much in her life - from the murder of her parents to assault - she has certainly had trauma in her life. It's 15 years later when she is back in town in Alabama and she is seeking a fresh start and also wants to figure out who was involved in the murder of her parents. While she is there, she finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation on Blake's family sanctuary preserve. Blake is helping his mother (widowed) take care of his little brother's on the preserve while Paradise waltz back into his life and old feelings emerge between them as they are walking through this troubling investigation and past.

I really liked the animals, the sanctuary, small town and family vibes in this one. I think the setting was actually really unique because I have not seen that before in a book. I think this was more romance than suspense, which I liked. Blake and Paradise had a TON of interactions with them and the family - it was just great.

Oh, and the faith content was well done. I loved seeing Paradise grow in her faith and take action when she felt like the Lord was leading her.

Looking forward to the next one!

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. (The narrator was also great!)

*Content warning: brief mention of past sexual assault

I enjoy the way that Colleen Coble can combine mystery, romance and Jesus within the pages of her books. There is an intensity to everything that is happening with Paradise and Blake along with all the things going on around the sanctuary. Will their close proximity rekindle their love? Will they survive all the threats coming their way at the sanctuary?

While some people may not like the predictability of what's going to happen within he pages of a book I like know that though a lot may go wrong Colleen has her characters rooted in faith, reconciling relationships and ending with things on top. There are a few times throughout the book that I got frustrated by just another obstacle or just another finger pointed at the wrong person but it helps knowing it always works out in the end.

I fell in love with the characters and the setting and will look forward to book 2 in the future.

Ambush is the newest book by Colleen Coble and the first installment in her new Sanctuary series. This is an action-packed and intense read. There is a lot going on so it would be hard to cover it all in this review. This is a second chance romance complete with heart pumping suspense. Someone is causing sinister events to occur at the animal sanctuary and the wild animals add an extra layer of intensity to the story. I really liked the main characters and there are even some visits from characters in Coble's Pelican Harbor and Tupelo Grove series. It's a race against time as Blake and Paradise try to figure out who is after them and causing all this chaos at the sanctuary. In addition to page-turning suspense and some romance, readers also walk along side the characters as they deal with past traumas, reconciliation, and forgiveness. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I thought the narrator did a great job and I did not have any complaints. The pace was on track and her voice was clear.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC. This was a lovely Christian based mystery-romance with a bit of intrigue, albeit a bit predictable at times. This is book 1, so it's assumed future books will follow. Fans of Colleen Coble will thoroughly enjoy this story.

This audiobook was a hard one for me to determine a rating for. For one, it's a little out of my usual realm of books and comfort zone because I don't normally listen or read Christian fiction. In this book, the religious themes seemed to be unbalanced and I really struggled with that. The first part of the book, religion wasn't really mentioned much, but in the second half of the book it was a constant theme. It felt to me as if the author forgot to include these themse to fit into the genre and overcompensated in the latter half of the book.

The pacing of this book felt a little off as well. While the ending felt paced well and had a satisfying conclusion, the first part of the book felt rushed. It felt as if the author was trying to get as many dramatic events in as quickly as possible.

There were good parts to this book and I enjoyed the relationships between all of the characters, but overall the plot seemed unbalanced.

This is my third Coble book and won't be my last. I really enjoyed the first in this series surrounding the lives of former sweethearts, Blake and Paradise and their family and friends. I appreciated Coble's research on animal refuges; those details came through in a nicely laid-out plot. I felt the characters were well-developed and all added to the storyline. They are not perfect and have pasts and have made mistakes, but are strong and resilient, ready to be led on a spiritual level.
It is refreshing to read a clever story with some mystery, but that is clean and weaves redemption all throughout. I will be looking forward to #2 in the Sanctuary series! The narrator also did an excellent job on this audio version with different accents, genders and ages of characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this ARC. All opinions are mine.

Colleen Coble once again delivers an engrossing story with Ambush, blending suspense, small-town intrigue, and a touch of romance in a way that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. The novel is rich in detail, with Coble skillfully weaving together background history and character depth to create an immersive experience.

Set in a town brimming with secrets and tension, Ambush follows Paradise and Blake as they navigate both personal struggles and a larger web of drama unfolding around them. The town itself becomes a character in the story, adding layers of complexity to the narrative. Coble does a fantastic job building suspense, ensuring that every twist and turn adds to the overarching mystery.

The romance between Paradise and Blake is well-paced, developing naturally amid the chaos, and adds an emotional depth that enhances the story rather than overshadowing the suspense. Coble’s signature ability to balance tension with heartfelt moments shines through, making the relationship feel authentic and engaging.

The build-up throughout the novel is expertly crafted, leading to a climax that is both thrilling and satisfying. As the story unravels, readers are treated to a well-executed resolution that ties together the various plot threads without feeling rushed.

Overall, Ambush is a compelling read for fans of romantic suspense and small-town drama. Colleen Coble’s attention to detail, strong character development, and gripping storytelling make this a must-read for anyone who enjoys an engaging mystery with an emotional core.