I like the main characters. I like we are dropped in the action and have time to reflect moments as well. I'm looking forward to the new series. Luke is a wounded warrior who thought he wouldn't have to go back home. Amberlynn was speaking to a friend when a bomb went off. It was great to see how they followed leads to solve the bombing and prevent more deaths. I will read more by this author and hope to see more in the series.

Hometown Vendetta (Luke Steele #1) by Traci Hunter Abramson, 320 pages. Shadow Mountain, 2024. $28.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: ADULTS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Amberlyn is intimately involved in tragedy as she works every day as an FBI profiler, but this last domestic terrorism act becomes more personal when it kills her best friend. She gets pulled into a meeting to help update the president, and his military aide, Luke, helps them make a breakthrough on the case. Now Amberlyn and Luke have to work together—hoping beyond hope that the other doesn’t remember when they first met—by going undercover in the last place Luke wants to be: home.
Abramson keeps readers on their toes—anxious about terrorists, seemingly random accidents, new characters with too convenient stories, shoot outs, and a little forced-proximity fake dating. Once I started reading, there was no stopping, and I enjoyed every step of the journey. I’m excited to visit these characters again in the next book.
The majority of characters are implied White. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, mentions of drugs, illegal activity, and kissing. The violence rating is for gun and bomb use, terrorism, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I am so excited for the new "Luke Steele" books! Everything Traci Hunter Abramson puts her hands on is gold, including this book. I loved every page, every character and everything about the storyline. I can't wait to read more Luke Steele books!!!

What a wonderful new series by one of my favorite authors. Hometown Vendetta is intriguing, suspenseful and definitely a page turner. I enjoyed the characters, Luke and Amberlyn were mature, confident and passionate. Each time I thought I had a clue on who the suspect was I was proven wrong and I had to go back and rethink. It was a great who dun it. I appreciate the author writing this suspenseful type of story with a lot of intrigue and detail, but nothing that was too graphic. The story also contains a very sweet growing romance. I can’t wait to see who the next book will spotlight. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I think it is great when an author's books continue to get better and better. This story is no exception! I was sad we left the world of her other stories but the adventure, danger, and romance was wonderful in this story! I am excited to see more stories in the Luke Steele series and am intrigued if it will continue to focus on him or not. Will definitely be reading again!

Wowsers!!! That was a wild ride!!! I loved it so much! Traci Hunter Abramson has knocked it out of the ballpark AGAIN!!! I love her writing. She's got a lifelong fan in me! I'm so happy that this book is a new series, which means we'll have lots of opportunities to get to see more of Luke Steele and FBI Special Agent Amberlyn Reiner! Woohooooo!!!

It was fast-paced and non-stop go from the beginning. Readers are going to love the twists and turns and sleuthing that happens throughout the book. I loved trying to figure out the whodunnit. The author is a pantster writer and she threw lots of possible suspects at us readers. Watch carefully and add up all of those clues. Can you guess whodunnit? Or will you be completely surprised and blown away at the end of the book? I was back and forth several times and then figured it out. Just in the nick of time! ;-)

I will definitely be returning to this book and series. If you're a reader who needs a love story in your books as well, you'll be very happy and satisfied. There's something brewing between these two main characters. They'll pull you in with their goodness, witty banter, smarts and chemistry.

Content: Clean. Some moments of mild peril.

I received a copy from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishing, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

I made the mistake of thinking I would only read a couple of chapters and then go to bed. I couldn't put it down until I finished it! Totally worth the loss of sleep!

I received an ARC through Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

Wow! What an exciting start to a brand new series! As with all Traci Hunter Abramson books, I found myself on the edge of my seat from the very start & things didn’t let up until the very end. Take a wounded hero, a savvy FBI agent & combine them with a terrorist group, small town mystery, and second chance romance, and you have a powerful thrill ride.

Marine Captain Luke Steele escaped his home town where he faced relentless bullying as a young man to become a successful military aide working for the President of the United States. When a group of former football players he went to high school with are implicated in a bombing, Luke is asked to return to his hometown for a high school reunion to see if he can find out who might be responsible. The woman posing as his girlfriend is FBI Special Agent Amberlyn McDowell whom he previously met but through a misunderstanding, lost track of.

The FEMA bombing is personal to Amberlyn & though she’s grieving, she’d determined to work with Luke to find the culprits. Once the misunderstanding of their first meeting is resolved, Amberlyn finds an attractive friend in Luke especially with all the time they’re forced to spend together as they go undercover posing as a couple. Their high stakes investigation leads to mystery and danger as they face numerous threats to their lives.

I loved this book! The suspense, romance, and mystery completely drew me in & I was throughly invested in finding out who the suspects were. Luke & Amberlyn were definitely easy to cheer for & I loved seeing their relationship blossom from a misunderstanding to friendship to more. I enjoyed the close proximity & underlying tension. I just wanted to hug Luke, the reluctant hero with all he was able to overcome & Amberlyn who is still grieving her loss.

The mystery definitely kept me guessing. I enjoyed the small town setting with plenty of suspects & motivations. The thrilling ending had me quickly turning the pages as it leads up to a shocking conclusion. I’m so excited for this series & can’t wait to see what’s next for Luke & Amberlyn.

Highly recommend to romantic suspense fans! I received an advanced complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own and voluntarily provided.

This is a new series by Traci Hunter Abramson. If you're a fan of hers, you can stop reading this review and just buy the book. You'll love it.

The main characters are Amberlyn Reiner, an FBI Special Agent. She recently lost her best friend in a terrorist bombing and is trying to figure out who did it. Luke Steele is a Marine Captain from the hometown of one of the suspected bombers. Together, they go to Pine Falls, VA pretending to be a couple while they track down a suspect.

It took me a couple of chapters to get into this, but by the time Amberlyn and Luke get to Pine Falls, I was hooked. We're introduced to quite a few characters in Pine Falls, and I was suspicious of every single one of them! (Good job, Traci.) There were some I was sure would be the bad guys, and others I was thinking, "Please don't let it be them." The red herrings and suspicions kept me reading until the very end.

I liked the dual POV between Amberlyn and Luke. Their personalities are very different but they seem to balance each other out. I prefer more suspense and less romance in a romantic suspense, and this one hit my personal balance. But if you like it the other way around, I think there's enough sighing, secretive looks, and lip descriptions to keep you happy. Plus I'm sure there will be more of that in future books. I love it when the romance is slow and realistic.

There is violence—punching and shooting, injuries with blood, people die. I mean, terrorists aren't nice. But there's no swearing and G-rated romance. If you like clean romantic suspense, I recommend this to readers 14+. 4.5 stars.

Every time I picked up Hometown Vendetta I just wanted to keep reading. The characters, tone and setting all drew me in. I wanted to settle in and read to the end.
Luke Steele and Amberlyn Reiner are protagonists to admire. Luke has a backstory of bullying and still doesn’t have as much confidence in his worth as he could given his growth in the military and current assignment with the president. There is more we need to learn about Amberlyn, but her story shows a caring person who moved through her pain by gaining knowledge to help analyze and stop bad situations.
The setting involving a bombing perpetrated by homegrown terrorists hits close to home as America displays more and more divisiveness.
This is a book I would highly recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley and Shadow Mountain for the opportunity to read Hometown Vendetta.

Luke Steele and Amberlyn have a second chance to get to know each other. If only it was under better circumstances.

Marine Luke has to return to the hometown he has tried to forget and move on from. When evidence from a terrorist attack points to his hometown, he is called in to help.

FBI agent Amberlyn is determined to find the people responsible for the attack and is sent in with Luke to pose as his girlfriend and uncover intel.

Fake relationships are the best for throwing two unlikely characters together, and what’s even better is that it gives these two a second chance to get to know each other. Perhaps their first impressions weren’t an accurate depiction of who they are.

I loved the mystery to figure out. I definitely want to go back and read it again to see if I missed any clues. I loved how the novel pulled me in right from the begging and kept me turning pages. It was the perfect blend of suspense, mystery, and human emotion.

I love that there’s a lot of wit, humor and heart that are the beginning to a great series romance. I can’t wait for the next book!

Traci has written a lot of book series with beloved characters, but this one is all new, and I have a feeling I’m going to become just as attached to this new series and the characters within.

I am a fan of this brand new series. FBI Special Agent Amber Reiner lost a friend when a FEMA building was blown up. She is part of the briefing to the President about the vigilante group that has claimed responsibility. Marine Captain Luke Steele is on assignment to the white house and catches a clue on the video surveillance before the bombing. He recognizes a class ring from his own high school and from his year. Amber and Luke team up and pose as a couple to attend the reunion and see if they can narrow down the suspect pool.

I really like this story. It is fast paced. Clues make sense, as does relying on other FBI offices to help in the work. Both MCs are skilled and professional. Amber has a psychology background that helps her read people and their reactions. Luke struggles being back in a place where he was bullied when a skinny teen. I found the action scenes exciting as are the more subtle, let’s be seen out and about together. And I like where the story ends. I can see the pair working more cases together in the future. My only negative thought is with both strong leads I would have named the series for Amber, as my guess is more readers are female. But I defer to the author’s judgment and maybe she’s already plotting future storylines that only follow him and not the pair.

If you like mystery thrillers or procedural investigations you will like this. There are bombings and shoot outs but it is clean for language and intimacy.

4.5 stars
This book was simply amazing! I loved everything about it and I did not want to put it down. Hometown Vendetta is the first book in Traci Hunter Abramson’s new series, Luke Steele. I knew that it was going to be great and it was just as good as I had hoped.
Luke was the perfect MMC. I loved him and getting to read about him. He was so earnest and was just trying his best. He had experienced a rough time in high school but learned to overcome his time. However he was still learning to navigate life and figure out who he was. It was cool to see about him opening up to Amberlyn and seeing him grow throughout the book.
Amberlyn was also fun. She had recently been through a horrible experience and was trying to figure out life again. I loved how knowledgeable and strong she was as she worked alongside Luke to solve their case. It was sweet to read about her learning to open up and trust Luke as they worked together.
The romance and the suspense was perfect. I was drawn into the story and I didn’t want it to end. I liked the progression of Luke and Amerlyn’s relationship, they were focused on the mission first. It was also interesting to read about Luke as he navigated being back in his hometown and dealing with the past. I didn’t know how this book was going to end or what was going to happen, it was so fun.
I would totally recommend Hometown Vendetta. The characters, romance, and suspense drew me in. I am so excited to see what will come next in this series! Hometown Vendetta is a clean romantic suspense.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

What an amazing start to a series!! I was sucked in from the first chapter to the last! This book was such a great introduction to Luke - being able to go to his hometown, revisit his childhood and what made him into the man he is today. I love that Amberlyn holds her own with the strong men around her and how she works so well with Luke. This book had all the emotions and adventures and I absolutely cannot wait for the next in the series!!

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Thriller, Crime
Subgenre: Romance, Romantic Suspense
Format: Dual POV
Spice Level: Kisses
Language: No profanity
Trope: Fake dating

I had to read this book fast! As soon as I got into the characters, I just had to know what would happen next.

The dread Luke felt going back to his hometown was palpable. And the stress over the terrorist attack was completely understandable for Amberlyn. I felt for both of them going through trials. It was an interesting dynamic with him being from the Marines and her as in the FBI.

There's a level of realism for how the different departments work together. I'm sure this is from the author's background in the government.

Even if you've never read a thriller or suspense novel, this one is worth reading. It's fast-paced and keeps you guessing of how Luke and Amberlyn are going to solve the crime and prevent another.

I highly recommend this book.

Happy reading!

I love Traci Hunter Abramson's books and this is no exception. I love the characters. Luke and Amberlyn are both smart, strong and dedicated people. When tragedy strikes they are tasked with finding answers to who and why. They are able to work together through all kinds of hard things. I love how they help and support each other and how their relationship grows throughout the book. This is a thriller and I loved trying to solve the puzzle. I would highly recommend this book and any of this author's to anyone who loves a well written and suspenseful book.

I loved this book! This is the first book in a new series and I am so excited for the rest of this series. This book has so much action and twists I never saw coming. The characters were great and the story line was fast paced and thrilling.

Amberlyn Reiner is an FBI criminal profiler. When her best friend is killed in a terrorist attack, she is on the case to find the culprit. Luke Steele is the Marine Corps Military aide to the President of the United States. When he has valuable insight on a lead to do with the terrorist attack, he is brought in to the investigation. With Amberlyn and Luke working together, will they be able to solve the mystery before another attack occurs?

I highly recommend you give this a book a read if you like romantic suspense! I can't wait for the next book already!

Amberlynn is a FBI agent. Luke, a military aide to the president. They team up to stop the next terrorist attack .

This book was a beautiful read addressing long term bullying effects and the damage it does to one’s confidence and self esteem (even years later ) .
It addresses how one person , like the pastor , can have a positive effect on someone’s life (like he did Luke’s.

Amber Lynn and Luke are teamed up because Luke believes he might know the terrorist from his high school graduating class . Unfortunately going back for his 15 year high school reunion isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be as most of the school bullied or ignored him. Going back to his home town stirs up bad memories . Amber Lynn wants to solve the crime particularly because her friend recently died in a terrorist attack. While she’s trying to solve the crime she’s also trying to figure out what about Luke makes her keep thinking of him.

This was an intriguing story. I thought I knew who was the terrorist was however I didn’t find out till close to the end that I was wrong . The love story between Luke and Amberlynn was pretty predictable but still a beautiful read .
Well done !!!

Hometown Vendetta is the first book in a new series by Traci Hunter Abramson. I love all of Traci’s books and this one was no exception.

Luke Steele, military aid to the president and Amberly, FBI agent team up to stop a terrorist group from bombing another building.

This book was a page turner from the first page. I couldn’t put it down! I would highly recommend it to all lovers of a good romantic suspense.

New series by Traci? Sign me up!

This was such a fun beginning!

Luke has worked so hard to get where he is, but when a series of bombings leads him to working with the FBI to connect his nightmare high school days and fellow students to the mastermind of the bombs, he may end up the last place he wants to be: the town he grew up, going to a high school reunion to narrow down the search. And when the FBI send him an agent to be his fake girlfriend, it may all be too much.

I loved the suspense and the hints of potential future romance! I loved the characters and got attached very quickly to them all!

Eee! A great read and looking forward to more!!