Lead Me Not

Stone River #4

by Kay Stockham, Kay Lyons Stockham

Bethany literally carries the result of her last relationship, and she blames pregnancy hormones for the absurd feelings she experiences for the man adding yet another complication to her insanely complicated life. It’s her fault her brother’s disappeared, she has yet to tell her parents they’re about to be grandparents, and she has to prepare for the birth. Fall for Duncan MacGregor? Now? Yeah, right. She gave in to temptation once and look at the consequences. Meeting her brother’s best friend at this late date has to be a punishment...

Buddies know the unwritten hands off your friends’ sisters. That’s why Duncan MacGregor is reluctant to team up with his best friend’s sister to search for her missing brother, but Bethany Redd’s determination to go it alone doesn’t leave him much choice. A Security Specialist, Duncan’s worked with plenty of beautiful women, so hands off should be easy. Especially under the circumstances...

Bethany and Duncan battle their emotions and growing feelings as Bethany becomes the latest target for danger, leaving Duncan desperate to protect her and her unborn child while searching for answers. Maybe Duncan came into her life to keep her safe but, in the end, will their paths to redemption tear them apart?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense, Ebooks, Amazon, Contemporary Romance

232 pages, ebook

First published November 22, 2013

About the author

Kay Lyons Stockham is an award-winning author of 25+ books published by Harlequin Enterprises, Berkley Publishing and Kindred Spirits Publishing. She has also been a Book Buyers Best, HOLT Medallion and RITA Award finalist with a million books in print.

For more information on Kay's work, please visit her website at http://www.kaystockham.com or find her at one of the following:

Kay Lyons Stockham, Author (FB)
@KayStockham (Twitter)
Kay Stockham (Authorgraph)
Kay Lyons Stockham (Pinterest)

Reviews

[HolliePolly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story line but the epilogue doesn’t actually say anything about what happened or happens to Owen so has he been fine? We don’t know. Also based around religion which I don’t usually mind but for a book that’s romantic I don’t like it. I wouldn’t read the book due to this if I was aware

[Glenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This being a Christian book surprised me because it wasn't sold as one. I enjoyed the book even though it was a cliffhanger. If I had known that I wouldn't have read it though. I like the fact that Duncan and Bethany realized they cared for each other. Bethany was kind of stubborn and not thinking about the baby's safety a lot. I just hate the fact I didn't get closure on what happened to Owen. I'm leery about reading others by her because of this cliffhanger and think others will be the same.

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

After checking things out it would seem I read the closed door version of this book… Oh well. The ending was rubbish, the mystery plot line was unresolved

[Black Butterfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

NICE, CUTE, CLEAN ROMANCE, I REALLY LIKED THE H/h THEY WERE REALLY GOOD TOGETHER. THE STORYLINE WAS INTERESTING AND BELIEVABLE. THIS STORY ENDED WITH SOME UN-ASWERED QUESTIONS, WHICH I DID NOT LIKE SO, I GAVE THIS 3* INSTEAD OF 4* STARS. ;D

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

i see this is book 4 ...i got it thanks to Bookbub ...and it was free at that time. i love Bookbub for that reason. please check them out often for that reason. i think i have read KL before ...need to be sure on that. i wonder if certain readers (reviewers) only read certain books (genres)???! i don't ...i jump around. i just read a paranormal kind of read ...now please don't get me wrong i love must genres but i enjoy more than some ...if you can hold my interest that is the point ...so GENRE doesn't matter ...it is now you write ...hold Beth's interest you are great to go. i am not thinking ...whatever you might think i am thinking ...take me away to your world you are making up ...i guess i tend to read ...i always get the wrong ...fiction verses nonfiction, i think fiction ...but i will never say never. grab me ...keep me curious ...and often when folks say that a book is one genre ...i still see a true mystery in the book for me ...because it is unknown or that i don't get where you are headed 'cause i am not a mind reader.

[Lorie - Bookaholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of suspense -

This is the fourth book I have read in this series.... absolutely amazing!

Here is a passage from page 140:

"Do you feel that? Feel how strong she is."

He nodded, smiled, because not only had he felt it once, but the baby did it again, a tiny hand or foot pushing hard against his. "That's amazing." It was more than amazing, it was... spiritual. He'd seen a lot of things in his life and over the course of his career. Watched life fade from a person's eyes as a body died and the spirit left. But this... was different. That was life, new and just beginning, fighting her way into the world."

I glad Duncan and Bethany named their baby girl Hollyn and not after her sperm-donor daddy.

Check out the rest of this series if you haven't already. Stone River (8 book series) Kindle Edition

Enjoy and happy reading!

[Penny Leidecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duncan and Bethany

This is book four in the Stone River series and Duncan’s book. Duncan is searching for his best friend and vice-president, Owen Redd, and hopes he’s at the farmhouse that saved him as a teen. Owen not at the farmhouse, but his sister, Bethany is. When they meet, she’s aiming a gun at him. It seems her ex-boyfriend got into something he shouldn’t have and Owen left Bethany there to investigate and hasn’t returned. Duncan disappointed to hear that, but he’s not giving up on looking for Owen. Then, he learns that Owen’s younger sister is pregnant and she’s not going to be left behind again. Looks like Duncan will have company. No spoilers, so grab your copy and see what happens in this suspenseful page turner. You’ll absolutely love Duncan and Bethany will have you laughing out loud at times.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

What in the actual hell? For one, this book is peppered with preachy christian garbage. The characters and story were intriguing enough to keep me reading while skipping over the religious crap and then I get to the end and there's literally no resolution to the main plot of the book. They never find the guy. They seem to just give up even looking. The epilogue is months later and there's no mention of the character they've been searching for since page one. What an incredible letdown. If this book actually had a conclusion, I would have rated it much higher but this was the absolute worst ending ever and I'm not reading another book to find out what happens. Giant steaming pile of horse hockey.

[Debbie West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Christian romance!

This was a great romantic mystery. The characters were great, there was a humorous part that broke the seriousness of the mystery, a little suspense. The only bad thing is that part of the mystery was solved but not all of it. Left me frustrated, as it would have been easy to finish the mystery completely. I can only assume that another book may finish it or the reader is to assume that it was resolved in a bad way, as there was a hint to that. Otherwise a great read though

[Holidayhabit · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is clearly a Christian novel and should be labeled as such. If it had been I would never have started it. There’s far too much praying, it’s pro-life and shames sex before marriage. Bethany was also difficult, stubborn and refused to truly appreciate the danger she put them in. Duncan should have left her ass at home and solved it without her, because she was frustrating as hell and a liability

[Will Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christian Romance is not my thing. And while the entire story is written around finding a certain individual it never happens? Or did it? Market the book properly and give it a real ending. It's digital so it's not going to take that much to do. The one thing I liked was the interaction between the main characters. For that I'll give the story 3 stars. In the spice department it's a flop.

[Rhondia Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clean romantic suspense is my favorite genre. To Protect Her fits that mold perfectly in addition to the strong Christian message wrapped around Bethany’s story. Duncan is a swoon worthy hero with an unapologetic warrior’s soul. This is a complete book but leans on characters seen in earlier books in this series. Can’t wait to read the next book!

[Denise Kearney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle-free

[Sharon Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book I have read by Kay Lyons and it was a very enjoyable read. It kept my interest from start to finish. I would recommend it to any one.

[Kerry - Readkerryread · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story, from the beginning you have Beth holding a shotgun on Duncan. Duncan is just trying to find out what happened to his employee and friend Owen. When he reaches the cabin Owen talked about as his safe place, he wasn't expecting anyone to be there, except hopefully Owen.

Finding Beth, Owen's sister was a shock. Beth is hiding out after her ex-boyfriend was killed. Duncan is willing to take over protecting her, while also trying to find out what happened to Owen, until then there is a real threat against Beth. Her apartment has been trashed twice. Little did Duncan know that he would find himself attracted to his best friends sister. I liked the continuation of the series, however there is a cliffhanger which was a little annoying.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need to start my review by stating that my review is based from my experience with the audiobook version. I did enjoy this book as well as the characters....The reason for the three star review is due to the flow of the story. It had its moments of suspense and drama but then began to drag until the next suspenseful or dramatic moment. My opinion may differ from others given the fact I had the audiobook version but the narrator did a good job of conveying the emotion from this book regardless of the flow of the story.
Regardless of my three star review I still recommend this book because the story is enjoyable...

[Ryanne Wolfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review is based on the more sexy version of this book. There are two versions of this series under different pen names - which is confusing. Same plot and the same story but one is more pure/innocent and wholesome (no sex) and the other has more passion and sex scenes.

The third book in this series was def kind of adventure/thriller than rom com but I still enjoyed it. Didn’t like the cliff hanger or how the main search was unresolved but I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

[Samantha]

I really dislike books where the heroine is dumb. And I don't know what else to say about Bethany than dumb! She constantly puts her unborn child in danger. I just generally found her character frustrating.

[Edwina Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous story! Two strong people brought together by there concern over another. Owen is Betthany’s Brother and Duncan’s friend and employee. Owen is missing. Bethany and Duncan find they are attracted to each other even though Bethany is pregnant.

[Doreen Ewasiuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duncan and Bethany...

What a wonderful story of Duncan; who is out searching for his best friend who disappeared . Meets up with Bethany, who is 7 month pregnant and is the sister of his best friend that he is searching for.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed first 2 books in series. This one was a good story but rushed to finish without wrapping everything up. Main point of story left unanswered. Won't bother with remaining books. Very disappointing.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it like all the others in this series.

[Sandra L.]

Very good

This keep me up al night, again seeing if my daughter and her daughters want to read these books, love love

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 3 of 6
*Amazing! Loved it!

[Emily Hodum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Owen???

What happened to Owen? The book ended before we found out what happened to Owen. Now we all have to wonder is he dead or alive.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this story even tho they mentioned God a lot

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this story very exciting. This is Bethany & Duncan's story. There were some racy scenes.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

Oh. My. Goodness! As I said in my review of the previous book in this series, each one is better than the one before! This one was so exciting. I loved it!