Fragile Designs is a clean romantic suspense novel. The mystery is not solved until the very end which keeps the reader wondering and guessing.
The problem is there are so many characters and it was difficult to keep track of them. Additionally, the storyline is so fantastical that even with suspension of disbelief, the plot is too implausible to be realistic. Numerous murders and home invasions occur yet there is no protection provided for those who are involved nor FBI investigation although this is an international issue involving Russia mafia.

It kept my interest until the 80% mark at which point the home invasions and murders became too redundant, the plot too convoluted, and the characters too numerous to care.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

Fragile designs- Colleen Coble

Thank you netgalley for the ARC and for Colleen Coble’s masterful work and her publishers for allowing me the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

BRAVO. My new favorite author. Just wow.
I have never come close to tears by any book, I had goosebumps throughout the story, smiles, and tears (happy of course). The ending was perfect. The story was perfect, the characters PERFECT. I need a paper copy of this book and I know that I will be gifting this book to loved ones this Christmas.
The story starts with making you feel Carly’s (the main character) heartbreak me, you will fall in love with her and Lucas, the detective helping her solve the case of her murdered husband, almost instantly and will intensify as you read the book.
This is a clean book absolutely zero spicy scenes. I have been trying SO hard to find an author who writes without using spicy scenes to capture its readers and she outdid and exceeded my expectations.
If I could rate this a 10/5 I would. My new #1 favorite book.

Colleen Coble is a prolific, bestselling author and this book keeps the reader engaged. A woman’s husband is killed while investigating some of her grandmother’s history. This starts the race to find and confirm potential treasure. Besides the action, there are many emotional turmoils as the woman, Carly, tries to reconcile with her sisters, redeem relationships with two brothers who live next door, one of whom was an old boyfriend and the other a close friend of her late husband. While she’s trying to figure out if the treasure is authentic, several other parties are also try to take it from her and her family—violently in some cases.

While the story holds together mostly in the timeframe depicted—not sure why there’s a multi-month gap in effort between the death of her husband, the birth of her son and beginning the renovation of the grandmother’s house. If her husband’s inquiries set off the chain of events in the book, why did the other parties wait to try to find and steal the treasure? I also wondered why the documents her husband found in the grandmother’s storage were never researched by the grandmother as she was growing up or her parents. If they indeed did have a treasure, wouldn’t Carly’s great-grandparents, grandparents or parents do something with the treasure when they hit rough times—lost employment in one of many recessions through these generations or medical expenses, etc.? Most people when they’ve hit tough times have sold off baseball or vinyl record or chinaware collections and anything else that might have value to collectors. So are we to assume Carly’s forebears never had tough times, never had a need to go through the storage boxes, find the documents, answer the questions raised by them, and so on?

But then, I can hear my wife tell me, as she often does when I point out a logical gap in a movie, tv show or book: “It’s only a story.”

I’m appreciative of the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read a preview copy.

Here are a few reasons I love Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble. First, the storyline was something I hadn’t read before, with fantastic insight and research into the rich history of Faberge eggs. Second, Coble’s secondary characters stole my heart. I just loved little Noah, all of his cooing, and Gram, with all of her stylish attire and warmth. Third, the title was perfectly selected for its faith-filled theme.

A few minor details that could be given a second thought… Siela Chen is also mentioned in Dark of Night, book two of the Annie Pederson series. Due to her unusual first name, I checked, but the name is Siela “Cheng” in that story. I appreciate the diverse cast and hope Coble gives Siela a story if she hasn’t already. There was one more that I can’t recall now. The story wrapped up perfectly.

Whether your favorite genre is mystery or romance, this is an enjoyable story. I enjoyed the fast pace, the cast of characters, and the plot with international intrigue. It would have received five stars except that there were a couple of key characters whose destiny was left unknown. The reader doesn't know if one went to jail and if his youngest daughter had a happy life. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was all in on the premise of this book: single mom recovering from heartbreaking loss, returns to her small hometown for a second chance at love, etc. Throw in mystery and the renovation of an old home and I was gathering my cozy blankets and settling in. All was good until about 1/3 of the way in. The characters were interesting and relatively believable, and the mystery was starting to shape up and then things went off the rails. Suddenly there are a bunch of side characters including estranged family members, long-lost relatives, former friends, another baby and…Russian mobsters? Then, the body count increases in an almost comical way and the dialogue starts to sound oddly archaic – a 30 something guy uses the word “heel” to describe a cheating spouse and apologizes for being a “player” in the past. Who says that?
Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely love Colleen Coble’s books! She pulls you into the story, you fall in love with the endearing characters and you don’t want the book to end. I loved this book, so full of intrigue and mystery with unexpected twists and turns throughout. Fragile Designs is a book you will want to read.

My gratitude to the publisher and Netgalley for a complementary copy of this novel. I was not required to post a review and the opinions expressed are my own.

Carly and her newborn son have been living with her grandmother since her husband's murder. Life is going smoothly until she makes a surprising find in an old trunk. As more family arrives, so do tensions and Carly finds herself leaning more on neighbor Lucas than she ever intended. Suspenseful and full of joy.

I really enjoyed this twisty, turvy, Christian mystery romance book. The central mystery was intriguing and the love story between Carly and Lucas was sweet and comforting. I appreciated the struggles that the characters suffered through and came out stronger on the other end. Faith was mentioned in a natural and realistic way. This book epitomizes that life does not always go according to plane, but there is beauty in the journey.

Highly recommend for those who are looking for a Christian romantic thriller!

Fascinating read! A bit different with the story line but incredibly intriguing!
The discovery of a Russian Faberge egg brings mystery, danger, and death.
I identified with the main character a lot. As the oldest of ten, I too was a mother to my younger siblings, always making sure everyone around me was taken care of. It takes a heavy toll on you.
I love Colleen Coble’s book and look forward to each new one. You don’t want to miss out on this read!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

Edge of your seat romantic thriller by suspense queen Colleen Coble. Red herrings, wonderful characters with intriguing back stories and priceless antiquities woven into a delightful story that is well worth the read. This book was provided through Netgalley, the publisher-Harper Collins, and the author for me to read. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I greatly enjoyed Colleen Coble's latest suspense novel. The characters were relatable & it was pretty fast paced. It intrigued me from the beginning & had surprising twists & turns. Would read it again!

I appreciated the author & character's Faith & strong morals & family dynamics.

I received this ARC to preview. All opinions are my own.

Fragile Designs, by Colleen Coble, opens with Carly Harris finding her husband dead on the floor of her shop filled with her great-grandmother’s collectibles. She had wanted to share news with him of her pregnancy, now she must focus on setting up a funeral!

Two months after Carly’s baby is born, she begins looking through paperwork her great-grandmother had left her. She discovers evidence indicating that her grandmother was actually adopted. Carly has no idea how she will respond to this information. The adoption paperwork also indicates that her grandmother actually has a twin sister who was also placed!

When Carly discovers a valuable Faberge egg amongst her great-grandmother’s possessions, she knows she must find someone to assist in protecting this amazing find. Carly turns to Lucas Bennett, a former acquaintance and more importantly, a police officer. As these two begin looking for the truth about this egg, you will not believe how the pieces of this tale come together by the final page!

After Carly Harris' police officer husband's mysterious murder, she finds herself living with her grandmother in her large Beaufort home. She's always loved to find treasures in the old, frequenting auctions and flea markets. Now she's a new widow with an infant son partnering with her sisters to remodel her grandmother's home into a beautiful bed and breakfast. With remodeling comes sorting, selling, or pitching all the things she moved from her workshop where her husband was killed. In her sorting she stumbles across a family secret and an heirloom that that sends her pulse racing.
Looking for someone she can trust she turns to her neighbor and ex-boyfriend's brother, Lucas Bennet. Lucas has never been a fan of Carly. She broke his brother's heart, and he does not trust her. But as she shares her discovery, he can't help but get involved and promise to keep her secret safe (for the sake of her grandmother who he adores).
Racing against the clock of a killer, the timing of the renovations, and their pounding hearts Carly and Eric do whatever it takes to keep her family safe. But will it be enough, or will they be too late?
Colleen Coble does an excellent job weaving this story and keeping fiction fans engaged. Her love of older settings for mysterious discoveries is fun and exciting.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to review this novel. All opinions are my own.

Riveting! The suspense and twists keep you glued to the page and invested in what happens with the Faberge egg but also the backstory of it. How the plot came together between all the different lines and finding out some not-so-good things about Carly's murdered husband alongside her made you feel along with her. It was a well-written inspirational romantic suspense from one of my favorite authors.

I read a lot of Christian Suspense novels but Fragile Designs just had something about it that just felt different. It was a great novel that I had a hard time putting down. The history and addition of the Faberge eggs was interesting. The threat level always felt like it was at a 10 and I never knew what was going to happen next. A home run for Colleen Coble.

Another must read from Colleen Coble. I'm not sure how she does it over and over but each book keeps getting better.
I loved the back story of the characters and how they grew up next to each other. The mystery was good and it wasn't too graphic.
I will be recommending this to our library patrons.
Thank you Ms. Coble for another great novel!

An epic suspense read that will keep you up way too late turning pages. This fast paced book is packed full of action, drama, and a good balance of romance. It’s definitely going on my reread shelf. It’s clean of course, without any cursing, but still overflowing with excitement and intrigue. I’m recommending this book to all my friends who love suspense.

This is such a fascinating book. Ive heard of Fabergė eggs but didn’t know the history behind them. This book is loaded with twists and turns. At times it’s a wild roller coaster ride. I love a story that centers around a man with a soft spot for babies. The writing is wonderful. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Fragile Designs
By Colleen Coble
Jan 2: 2024
Thomas.Nelson
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I have read most of Coble’s books and this is one of her best! The characters, setting, mystery and conflict were amazing. I especially enjoyed the unique subject matter. Something I knew very little about. I recommend this book for people who want to try a Christian fiction writer and don’t want to read a series right now. So good!
4 stars