About the Book

Book: Footprints on Her Heart

Author: Tabitha Bouldin

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release date: November 23, 2021

He’s saving the world, one animal at a time.

Trent Raines’ opinion, happily ever after has four paws and doggy breath. He spends his days isolated at the shelter, taking care of animals. Especially now that romance seems to be spreading across the islands faster than fleas in summer.

She lives a safe life behind the camera lens.

Kara Parker’s job at the animal shelter keeps her too busy to worry about romance. Sure, the boss is cute and all, but her introverted nature is perfectly happy as a photographer and website designer, thank you very much.

Even a quick trip to the mainland to retrieve a truckful of animals won’t change their minds.

Or so they think.

As Trent comes to understand Kara, he discovers there’s more than meets the eye in his quiet employee. Together, they plan a Christmas adoption festival that’s certain to empty the animal shelter in record time. Until a blast from Trent’s past puts all the animals in danger.

Sure, Trent and Kara are fine on their own, but they’re even better together.

What will it take for these soulmates conquer their fears and rescue the animals before it’s too late?

Footprints on Her Heart continues the Hooper Island stories of the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts:

Footprints on Her Heart by Tabitha Bouldin is one of several novels in the Independence Island Series. What a clever idea to have a series written by different authors. This is not my first Independence Island Series read, but it is my first by Tabitha Bouldin.

What I liked:

The characters are rich and diverse. Trent Raines is struggling with poor decisions from his past, and part of his repentance comes in the form of owning and operating a dog rescue business—Forever Pals. I love all things dogs, so I was excited to read this particular book. Tabitha did a wonderful job weaving Trent’s past into the story without info dumping. It was clean and heartfelt.

Kara Parker has definite issues with insecurity and is phobic about being put in the spotlight. The story doesn’t start at the beginning, which I also like. Kara works for Trent and is also a photographer—a skill she incorporates into the dog rescue business. Since I’ve always had my own bouts of insecurity and fear of being the center of attention, it was very easy for me to connect with Kara.

This is a romance, so of course, we can assume the two will fall in love. However, it was sweet to watch the way their own individual backstories, challenges, and strengths played into their coming together—so perfectly God. The spiritual component is well done.

What I struggled with:

First off, let me offer a caveat—I did not read the preceding books leading up to Footprints on Her Heart. It could be that there was information and background on the characters in other books that I was not privy to when reading this one.

Although Trent’s background and relationship with his father was satisfying, Kara’s was very sketchy. I didn’t understand where her phobias came from, and even when the book ended, it still wasn’t clear. I understood that she felt “unseen” in her family, but that wasn’t a satisfying explanation. She had trouble even connecting with a few other women, and I kept expecting to find out why. Again, this very well could have been part of another book, if so this is not the author’s fault—it would be on me to read them all.

The story dragged in areas and then ended abruptly and felt unfinished. I assume it will be continued in another novel, so that may be why it felt this way. Again, it could be because it’s part of a series, and is one reason I believe this particular novel wouldn’t be good as a stand-alone.

Still, it’s a fun read with rich characters, which is why I’m giving it a 4/5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher for reviewing purposes, but the opinions are my own.

About the Author

Tabitha Bouldin has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing/English from Southern New Hampshire University. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and has been writing since 2015. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, you’ll find her curled up with a book. Tabitha’s genre of choice is Contemporary Christian Romance which she describes as: Adventure with heart.

 

More from Tabitha

I love animals. Always have. I was the kid who always brought home the injured animals and tried to make them better. I am the adult who feels guilty for walking by a hungry cat without feeding it.

When I write, those animal-loving tendencies come out. My characters will rescue animals, care for them, and love them unconditionally. My contributions to the Independence Islands are no different. When it began, I knew I needed a pet groomer, and the animal shelter developed from Mel’s love of animals. That’s when Trent showed up.

Trent walked onto the page as Mel’s partner in founding the animal shelter, Forever Pals, but I didn’t know he wanted his story told until several months after I started writing the series. I tried putting him off, but Trent was having none of that. He’s a bit overzealous and ready to share his love story with you, even if he’d rather I didn’t tell you about his troubled past.

The more I dove into Trent’s story, the more I realized he’s the kind of guy you’d call in the middle of the night when a stray dog shows up in your backyard. He doesn’t care. He’d upend his entire life to care for the animals, and he loves each one instantly, no questions asked. People…not so much.

I had the best time writing this story. Footprints on Her Heart is one of those books that I fell in love with from the very beginning. The story put itself on the page, all I had to do was be the engine and let it come to life. Those are my favorite. I wish every book came as easily as Footprints. Even though that isn’t the case, I’ll always hold this one as a dear friend. Kara and Trent make such a cute couple that I think they need to make an appearance in every island book I write from here on out.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 7

Blossoms and Blessings, December 7

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions , December 8

Texas Book-aholic, December 8

Inklings and notions, December 9

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, December 9 (Author Interview)

By the Book, December 10

For Him and My Family, December 10

lakesidelivingsite, December 11

deb’s Book Review, December 11

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 12

Mary Hake, December 12

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 13

Connect in Fiction, December 13

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 14

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 14

Aryn the Libraryan, December 15

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 15

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, December 16

Mypreciousbitsandmusings, December 16

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 17

Life, Love, Writing, December 17

She Lives To Read, December 18

Blogging With Carol, December 18

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 19

Simple Harvest Reads, December 19 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Splashes of Joy, December 20

Where Crisis & Christ Collide, December 20

 

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Tabitha is giving away the grand prize package a $50 Amazon gift card and a 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.