There is an intensity to everything that is happening to Paradise and Blake. Both have returned to Pelican Bay because they have to, and now they wonder if they might have a second chance at love. First they have to survive everything going wrong at the sanctuary for exotic animals that Blake and his mom runs much is happening, but this redemptive story will keep you coming back for more. I highly recommend it!

Ambush by Colleen Coble is set in a wildlife refuge in Nova Cambridge, Alabama and sends veterinarian Paradise Alden, and her high school sweetheart, Blake Lawson, on an adventure they won't soon forget.
Paradise comes back to her hometown after being away for 15 years. Having faced multiple traumas Paradise never expected to return to this place. But now she's determined to put her parents' murders to rest and finds herself facing multiple fears.
Coble does a good job of navigating several hard issues and the battle to determine whether trusting God is worth the surrender. I enjoyed this story though I would not want to be one of the characters! So many dangers lurking ahead!
I did struggle with the attempt to mix a small town feel with so many unknowns. My experience with small towns and what's navigated through the pages of this book don't mesh though maybe things are a bit different in the south. :)
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read this saga! I enjoyed this journey and look forward to reading more! All opinions are my own.

This is the first Colleen Coble book I have read. Originally I picked this book up through my local book store ARC program because of the cover. I haver seen some online chatter about Coble, and figured I could get in on the hype.

Coble's writing style has a smooth flow to it that made this story an easy read. There were no errors that made the story difficult to follow. The story started out slow and towards the ending the pace picked up. It was time to put the book down for the night, but it had me at the edge of my seat...so I stayed up way to late to finish it. It was unpredictable. I was drawn into the book from the first chapter and my interest was peaked through out the story. It was entertaining and definitely a page turner.

The characters were strong and didn’t give into letting their fears control their decisions. The book ended with some things left in the air. I will be waiting eagerly to read book two in this series to find out if these questions get answers.

Ambush is a thrilling adventure set in a wildlife sanctuary. The story is captivating, the characters are inviting, and the location is perfect. There are multiple layers to the plot, so each page is gripping and satisfying, but not complete, which meant the pages kept flying! Like Paradise, I wanted answers, and I wanted closure. Instead, I received an adventure with a little bit of both. I love that this is a series starter, so I know there is more to come. In the meantime, this story is brilliant and a satisfying intro. I don’t want to divulge any details, so if you enjoy thrilling adventures, mystery on multiple layers, romance, and small town living amid a wildlife sanctuary, you are going to love this.
I also had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook version and the narrator did an excellent job of capturing the characters: personalities, accents, and emotions.
I received a copy from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

Wildlife veterinarian Paradise returns to her hometown and a wildlife sanctuary operated by her former boyfriend and his mother. She is hoping to regain her confidence dealing with large cats after being attacked by a leopard. She must also face the demons from her past, the death of her parents and rejection by family and friends. The refuge is under by animal activists. A murder, sabotage, burglary and hurricane add to the tension. Can Paradise overcome her fears and feeling of rejection?
This book had me hooked from the beginning and I highly recommend it. I was given an advanced copy for my unbiased review.

Colleen Coble is a master storyteller, weaving tales that pull the reader in and keep you there until the end. Ambush is no different. With a unique setting at an animal sanctuary and unknown danger at every turn, the pages will fly by as you race to find all the answers.
The characters are so real: flawed and not perfect but genuine in their efforts to improve. The reader gets to learn alongside them as they navigate life. With a present time threat and cold case murders, the danger grows every day. Throw in danger, mystery attacks, and threats in the most unexpected places and the learning curve is huge. I loved being along for the ride! The setting helped add to the story, like the backdrop to a movie. The layers make the story come to life.
Colleen Coble kept me engrossed in the story from beginning to end. Each twist added another layer of adrenaline and suspense to keep me glued to the book. A must read for anyone looking for suspense, faith, and romance in one wonderful story. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank You Netgalley and Colleen Coble for another great mystery. I received the electronic and audio ARC. My favorite way to read books are as a tandem read. I would say this book was a second chance romance with a mystery involved. The mystery part wasn't cheesy and was very real. I loved the safari feel of the book and enjoyed the whole thing. This is a Christian tagged read so if any mention of the big guy bothers you, I would pass.

Colleen Coble presents Ambush (A Sanctuary Novel Book 1), and things are dangerous in the wildlife refuge known as The Sanctuary! Paradise Alden has accepted a veterinarian job in her old hometown, the one place she never thought she would return to for many reasons. It has been fifteen years, and maybe Paradise is going to find out if she is strong enough to face the demons from her past—abuse in the foster care system, betrayal by her first love, and the near-deadly jaguar attack that almost cost her career. She does not trust men or God and is unsure she can trust herself.
Blake Lawson is the man who broke Paradise’s heart and has since made her distrust all men. However, seeing him makes her heart beat faster and her knees weak. Paradise knows he has grown into a good man who has returned home to help his mom run the Sanctuary and help take care of his young half-brothers.
The day Paradise arrives, a body is found on the grounds. That was only the beginning of her “Welcome Home Party,” as much more mischief, mayhem, and murder continued. The setting of The Sanctuary is almost like the character itself. While it is a beautiful habitat during the day, it can be creepy and deadly at night. And never more so than during a raging storm when electricity is lost. Then, you plunge into a depth of darkness like nowhere else, surrounded by wild animals in enclosures depicting their natural habitats. And when a murderer is on the loose somewhere on the premises, where can you hide for protection? Will the animals protect you or harm you? This one is a thriller!
Thomas Nelson and NetGalley provided me with a complimentary copy of this book. However, my opinions are entirely my own and uninfluenced.

"Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!" No, I'm not reviewing 'The Wizard of Oz'—but 'Ambush' is an intriguing suspense set on a wildlife refuge which protects exotic, but frightening animals such as lions, tigers, jaguars, laughing hyenas, and bears! Oh my! 😳

Once attacked by a black jaguar, Paradise Alden accepts a position working as a veterinarian on a wildlife sanctuary in her hometown. Suffering from more than one trauma in her life causes her to be somewhat withdrawn and defensive at first, but her courage and fortitude causes her character to evolve tremendously. And Blake is just about perfect . . . godly, compassionate, brave, loving, and selfless.

I enjoyed learning about the wild animals in their habitat—even the BIG cats have a way of greeting their caretakers in an affectionate manner and who knew hippos liked whole watermelons? Interesting stuff! Although not preachy at all, the author included a faith thread throughout which served to enhance the novel for me. It's actually a mystery within a mystery as a major whodunit is solved and others are left unresolvable for future books, I presume. Cannot wait!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review.*

Colleen Coble has written another nail-biter plot in “Ambush.” The whole story takes place around a wild animal sanctuary down south, and the descriptions and such make me wish I could visit an animal sanctuary for myself! Blake, his mom, Jenna, and his two young brothers run the wildlife sanctuary. Strange events and attacks have been happening at the sanctuary. Paradise Alden comes to town to fill in as vet at the sanctuary, and for her it is coming home to a place that holds good memories and bad ones. We see so much growth in Paradise as a person throughout the book. She is real to life, and her life experiences make the reader’s heart ache for the tragedies in her life. Paradise, led by Blake and Jenna, grows spiritually as well. Blake is a calm and steady presence, despite the repeated attacks on the Sanctuary, the family, Paradise, and himself. The mysteries are deeply embedded in this plot. The ending doesn’t even reveal the solution to all of the mysteries! Ms. Coble does an amazing job weaving a plot that keeps the reader pushing through to the end. I highly recommend this book, especially to those who enjoy suspense stories.

I requested a copy of this book for review. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

The overall mystery portion of the story was good. This starts off really fast paced. I love the setting at an Animal Sanctuary - that felt really unique. The characters are well developed. I picked this book up not realizing that it is faith based - and that is really just not for me. There wasn't an initial mention of religion during the first parts of the story - but as it was incorporated more and more it felt forced and overt. I feel like I can generally be subjective when it comes to these elements - but this just didn't appeal to me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story had just the right amount of intrigue, danger and romance. I enjoyed this character driven story about Paradise, Blake and his family. The history the characters had with each other, including past and present traumas, and current mysteries made for an exciting story. The character arcs and the romantic feelings between Blake and Paradise were believable. I look forward to further books with these characters.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Coble! She has outdone herself in my opinion. I really enjoyed the location living in Alabama myself. I love that it was wild animals and that there was a redeeming quality with the main female character having experienced some trauma with big cats before. I love that it’s just the start of a whole series and can’t wait to read more! I loved the little boys and truly felt all the emotions as though I was reading a true account. Really well written, exciting novel!

Ambush by Colleen Coble, book 1 of her Sanctuary series, had me glued to my chair, lost in this fictional world of danger and secrets. Amongst love and tragedy, animals—some cute and fuzzy, some definitely not—and so many action-packed shenanigans, I was trying to catch my breath. Seriously, it was exciting. Colleen’s writing is every bit as intriguing and intricate as any of Agatha Christie’s mystery. Don’t miss this suspenseful read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions expressed are completely my own.

When it comes to romantic suspense, Colleen Coble is one of my go tos. She never fails to create unique stories that will keep me at the edge of my seat from start to finish, while also weaving in romance and faith effortlessly. This one was no exception. The last thing that Paradise expected when she returned to her hometown to work at a wildlife refuge and learn more about her parents' murder was... well, another murder. A murder that it seems someone is trying to pin on her first love. Despite their initial rocky reunion, the two find themselves dodging danger and trying to discover the truth behind both murders... all while those old feelings start to creep back in. This was definitely an exciting read. The setting of the wild animal sanctuary really added an extra sense of danger to the story too--- not only do we have to worry about the human killers, but also the added risks that these animals brought with them. I'm always a fan of second chance romances as well, so that definitely drew me in as well. While the primary mystery is solved in the end, there are definitely some questions that go unanswered, leaving me looking forward to seeing what is to come next in the series. If you love Christian romantic suspense, this is definitely one to check out.

(Please note, there are some brief, non-descriptive mentions of sexual assault in the past which could be triggering for some readers.)

**ARC received via Netgalley for consideration. All opinions are my own.

Interesting characters. Second-chance romance. Wild animals with danger from them and humans. Lots of challenging mishaps. Nice that this is the beginning of a series. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary. Four-and-a half stars, rounded up.

This is an interesting second chance/romantic suspense book, with the emphasis on the suspense. The small Southern town and characters are well written. This is part of a series and is Christian fiction.

Ambush is the first of a new series set in the coastal area near Gulf Shores, Alabama. This was hard to put down with lots of action, danger, mystery, and suspense. It is a sweet story of new faith and a second chance at romance with great characters and setting. Paradise and Blake, high school sweethearts, have to work together on Blake's mom animal reserve when Paradise returns to work as the reserve veterinarian. She is also trying to find who murdered her parents. But there are more pressing matters with a body found and numerous incidents that endanger the people and animals. This edgy story kept me engrossed to the end with all the things going on and possible suspects, and with some real surprises from the past. It was fun seeing characters from other series show up. This is another winner by one of my favorite authors. Looking forward to the next one. I received a copy for the purpose of an honest review. These are my thoughts.

Ambush by Colleen Coble
I loved this one – mystery, suspense, romance, murder, and an animal sanctuary! Wow!
Paradise returns to her hometown, now as a veterinarian for the animal sanctuary. She has questions to answer about her past and maybe some fences to mend in old relationships. With strange mishaps at the animal sanctuary, it seems that someone wants to send a dangerous message.
Blake has guarded his broken heart for a long time. Now he’s back to help his family and run the animal sanctuary. With lots of unanswered questions about close calls at the sanctuary, it’s up to Blake and Paradise to find the truth,
Loved, loved, loved it!
Murder, romance, mystery, an animal sanctuary- all welcome back some favorites from Pelican Harbor!
Imaginative, suspenseful, Colleen Coble impresses me with every new story! This one has it all and you won’t want to put it down! Christian fiction at its finest, I loved it!
The characters are so relatable and well developed, I was with them in the story. I can't wait to buy a hardcopy for my personal library!

I would like to Thank NetGalley and Colleen Coble for the wonderful opportunity to review an ARC of the audiobook and the eBook! 5/5⭐

This is the first book by this author that I have read and I really enjoyed it. Her writing style has a smooth flow to it that I thought made this story an easy read. The story started out slowly and towards the ending the pace picked up and it turned into an edge of seat adventure. It was unpredictable a time or two. I was drawn into the book from the first chapter and my interest was peaked through out the story. It was entertaining and definitely a page turner. The characters were strong and didn’t give into letting their fears control how they lived their lives. The book ended with some things left in the air. I will be waiting eagerly to read book two in this series to find out if these questions get answers.
The two main characters, Paradise Alden and Blake Lawson dated in High School. Life hasn’t been kind to Paradise. She became an orphan at an early age and later in life suffered a traumatic experience that both physically and emotionally scarred her. Blake and Paradise come together again when she comes to work at the wild life sanctuary that Blake and his mother Jenna own. The reunion is not pleasant as far as Paradise is concerned. She has agreed to work at the sanctuary in hopes that it will help her heal physically and emotionally from her recent experiences . She wonders if it was a mistake to return to her home town where painful memories from her past are so strong. Can she overcome her fears and find healing at the wild life Sanctuary?
I highly recommend Ambush to readers of Suspense And romance books. It’s the first book in a new series so it’s a good opportunity to start at the beginning. This book is scheduled for release on 3/4/25.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#Ambush #NetGalley