It’s another month of our challenge: Tackle Your TBR Pile. So go dig through that stack taller than you of books you’ve been meaning to read and start reading away. Since this year is based on your TBR pile, I will not have a recommendations page, but I’m leaving the link here so it’s easier for me to set up NEXT year’s blog posts.
Find recommendations at Reading Challenge Recommendations, Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends Facebook group, Avid Readers of Christian Fiction, or Inspirational Historical Fiction Index.
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes from my shelf can be found here.*
Reading Challenge 2025: Tackle the TBR Pile
If you’re anything like me, you have a TBR pile that is bigger than you can hope to read in a lifetime. This is the year we’re going to try an tackle at least twelve of those books. Head to your shelves and find books that fit each month’s challenge.
This Month: February – Author of a different generation
Next Month: March – Author with the same starting letter as you
Calico Spy
by Margaret Brownley
Review by:
I can always count on Margaret Brownley to provide a completely satisfying romance blended with mystery, crime, and adventure. This final installment of the Undercover Ladies series is definitely my favorite from her so far.
Katie is a wonderful Pinkerton operative, different from any of the other “Pink” women in her series. Her own set of observation skills paired with the handsome sheriff, and reluctant love interest, is perfect for the hunt of the Harvey Girl Killer. While her observation skills were envious, they were human.
As a woman, she has a strong personality, but with the vulnerable undertone we all try to hide. She is a character who draws you in and molds you into her. Her emotions, thought patterns, and uncertainties are complex and real. She is my absolute favorite character developed by Margaret Brownley thus far.
Sheriff Branch Whitman is his own strong character with a past that emotionally attaches you to him. His is the tall, strong hero who is not really intimidated by an equally strong-minded woman. He is wounded, yet gentle. He is intelligent, but a complete buffoon at times. I love him to no end as a character.
There is a restrained passion that emerges and evolves naturally as the story progresses. Honestly, it made me want to curl up in my husband’s arms and feel that strong connection Katie and Branch have but fear to acknowledge. It is a love that feels real and not just the pat on the back, superficially love found in a lot of romance novels.
The plot is fantastic with several twists, turns, and added layers which hold your attention from beginning to end. While the murder does seem to drag on, it was a realistic drawing out of how murders are not solved in an hour. I don’t wish to give anything away, but let me assure you every layer is addressed satisfactorily, and all loose ends are tied up.
I highly recommend picking up Calico Spy if you like historical crime solving mixed with romance. Margaret Brownley is a master.
Genre: Historical Romance, Western
Plot Overview:
Pinkerton operative Katie Madison’s newest case takes her to Calico, Kansas, where two Harvey House restaurant waitresses were murdered in mysterious circumstances. Calico s sheriff, Branch Whitman, has never met a Pink he liked and is stunned to learn the pretty redhead s true identity as she works undercover as a Harvey girl. A tornado hits town, and a past deception puts Branch s eight-year-old-son in danger. Now the Sheriff has no choice but to work with Katie or chance losing everything he holds dear.
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook.com
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget. *Giveaway Policies can be found here.
I read Small Town Girl by Ann Gabhart. Love this series and all of Ann’s books.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
I read “The Mayflower Bride” by Kimberley Woodhouse. I’ve been meaning to read it for years, and am glad I finally did! 🙂
Yay! It feels so good to get to the books on our TBR.
I read Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin. I always enjoy Sarah Sundin’s books and this one was actually one of my new favorites! Would highly recommend! I really enjoyed the spy aspect in this book and in turn was able to learn more about that side of WWII.
Yay! Sarah is still on my TBR pile, but I have several of her books waiting for me.
I read Love on a Whim by Suzanne Woods Fisher. Its the third book in her Cape Cod Creamery series and I really enjoyed it. It gave a fitting end to all the characters and was a fun read, but can also be read as a stand alone too.
Good to know!
I read Deadlock by Diann Mills. I also read Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin this month, too…and I wasn’t thinking about it, but it would work for this month’s challenge also!
Yay! Perfect!
I read The Song of Sourwood Mountain by Ann H. Gabhart. It was a really interesting book.
She’s still on my TBR pile. Very sweet woman though. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her.
I read Naomi Stephens new release, The Scarlet Ribbon for the February challenge. It was a revolutionary era retelling of Rahab. Very well written and I enjoyed it.
I endorsed that book. I was very impressed. It’s such a hard story to tell.
I read Beyond the Tides by Liz Johnson. Contemporary romance isn’t usually my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
At the recommendation of my father in law, I read “By Searching” by Isobell Kuhn. It was good, though I had a hard time with her style of writing
Oh dear. I hope you enjoy your other reads better.
I followed this book by reading Counterfeit Love, which I could not put down
I’,m so glad you enjoyed it!
I read Kiera by Kate Willis.
I’m sure more of my books would have worked, but I had no clue what generation each of the authors belong to.
I’m not sure if I will get to a book for March. I’m hoping to have time for Specters in the Glass House by Jaime Jo Wright