About the Book
Author: JL Crosswhite
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release date: December 28, 2022
It was supposed to be a fresh start for her…
…He’d never expected to find love again.
Will they find a second chance or will small-town secrets spell disaster?
Former big-city architect and single mom, Carissa Carver, found just enough to hope to begin a new life with her boys in Holcomb Springs. She dropped all her savings into a vacant Victorian in an online auction, hoping to flip it and build a better life.
However, it didn’t take long to learn nothing was as promised, including a chocolate Lab that came with the house, who adopted her son with Asperger’s. Could her boys handle being uprooted one more time?
But when things go missing, her house is vandalized, and she finds human bones in the basement, she wonders what she’s really gotten them into. Is this one more bad decision or something truly dangerous?
Deputy Jonas McCann came to Holcomb Springs to heal after the death of his wife and daughter. The last thing he needs is matchmaking by the meddling librarian, even if Carissa and her boys stir something long dormant in his heart.
As more strange things happen, he is drawn further into his desire to protect her and the boys he’s come to have a heart for. Can he solve the mystery before they get hurt? Does it have anything to do with the missing teenager? Or are those just ghost stories and small-town rumors? Especially the ones about the indigo blue moon.
Author JL Crosswhite will have you on the edge of your seat, unable to turn pages fast enough.
Click here to get your copy!
My Review
This is an enjoyable romantic suspense that highlights living in a very supportive community. I liked how people came together to help one another, whether a young man aging out of foster care or a single mother with charming but demanding boys.
The focus of the novel is mostly romance. Both Carissa and Jonas must get through obstacles to find a new possibility for love. Both characters are developed well and are quite likable. One of Carissa's sons is on the autism spectrum so we see a little of care and concern required with him. Carissa is rehabbing a house to flip so we also get to learn some about all that involves. There is an old mystery to be solved and a tiny bit of suspense near the end but the focus is on the characters and the potential romance.
This is the second novel in a series but reads well on its own. Crosswhite's writing style is clear and the novel was fun to read.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
You can read my review of the first book in this series, Beneath a Star-Lit Sky.
About the Author
More from JL Crosswhite
It may surprise you, but I actually started writing Under an Indigo Moon about fourteen years ago (my books can germinate for a long time!). It started out as a women’s fiction book called Under the Blueberry Sky. It even finaled in the Frasier contest for first chapters in 2011.
But as I began planning the Holcomb Springs series, I knew I wanted to tell Carissa and Jonas’s story. While there are parts of me in all of my characters, Carissa has a unique place in my heart as the mom of a special needs kid. Her six-year-old son, Jayden, is based a lot on my experiences with my son who’s on the autism spectrum.
Because I had written much of the early part of the book a long time ago when I was closer to those long and difficult days, re-reading and writing those scenes took me back. My son is a young adult now, and I was amazed at how much I had forgotten about the day-to-day challenges of living with someone who sees the world so differently. And now I can look back and see how far he has come.
Jonas McCann was a bit of a mystery to me. Because my original envisioning of this book was as women’s fiction, there wasn’t a romance thread. So I had to create one. I’m fortunate to have law enforcement officers in my family to draw from. But as I got to know Jonas, he became as beloved to me as all of my characters (They feel like my children; I can’t pick a favorite!).
One of the highest compliments I received was from a book-coaching client (my day job) who read Beneath a Star-Lit Sky, the first book in the Holcomb Springs series. Her husband is a small-town sheriff, and she felt I really captured the role. That meant a lot to me. Even though I write fiction, I want my characters to feel like real people with real problems and challenges.
Under an Indigo Moon takes place in a fictional world—Holcomb Springs—that already has a lot of threads and tie ins. It’s book 2 in the Holcomb Springs Small Town Romantic Suspense series, but it ties in with the two previous series I’ve written—Hometown Heroes and In the Shadow. I don’t know about you, but I love seeing characters from previous books pop up again in later books.
You can certainly enjoy the book without knowing about all the “Easter eggs” hidden inside, but isn’t it more fun to be in on the jokes? So make sure you grab Claire and Alex’s story in Inn at Cherry Blossom Lane (grab it here for free) and the short story that introduces us to the Holcomb Springs group in “An Evening to Remember” (grab it here). There are clues in the story that play out in the book.
I hope you enjoy Jonas and Carissa’s journey as much as I enjoyed writing it—a story of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, April 6
By the Book, April 7
Vicky Sluiter, April 7
Texas Book-aholic, April 8
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 9
Debbie's Dusty Deliberations, April 9
Locks, Hooks and Books, April 10
Daysong Reflections, April 11
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 11
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 12
Book Looks by Lisa, April 13
Lily's Book Reviews, April 14
Because I said so -- and other adventures in Parenting, April 15
For Him and My Family, April 15
Blogging With Carol, April 16
The Sacred Line, April 17
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, April 18 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, April 18
Betti Mace, April 19
Where Crisis & Christ Collide, April 19
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, J.L. is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a signed 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/25496/under-an-indigo-moon-celebration-tour-giveaway
(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)
10 comments:
Great review. Sounds like a good book.
Thanks for reviewing and sharing!
Thanks for sharing your review. I'm looking forward to reading this.
This sounds terrific!
Thank you for sharing your review of Under an Indigo Moon, this sounds like an exciting story and I am looking forward to reading it myself
Thank you for the review.
Marilyn
Thanks for sharing!
Love this cover! Sounds like an awesome book! Thanks for sharing!
This looks like an amazing book. Thanks for sharing
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. The cover is fabulous.
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