True Gold is the first book I remember having read by Michelle Pace. I was exciting to receive a copy through NetGalley but the book was not exactly as I imagined it being. It is romantic suspense with characters who have know each other nearly their entire lives. The past years they have been out of touch and yes, this was intentional on both their parts.

A missing mother brings Lilah and Connor back together to find her and then to find the last missing gold. The story is mysterious and suspenseful as the hunt begins. It is a well-developed plot with clues to think on as the story progresses. The setting in the Alaskan summer is a vivid backdrop to the story.

It is the characters that just didn’t make my lists of favorites with True Gold. Connor and Lilah have such massive chips on their shoulders that it was difficult for me to like either one. While they have regrets about how they parted and who said what at the end, neither seemed to have a true perspective on it. Instead they had spent many years blaming each other, claiming that they had moved on, only to keep rehashing it all in the mind all these years. Snarky dialogue makes way for sarcastic dialogue to lustful dialogue. They never moved on but are still stuck in a high schoolish mindset. Please let the grown-up show up.

A career ending injury has put an end to Connor’s 10 year career as a Green Beret so he returns to his hometown to be close to his family. He now guides excursions through the remote parts of Alaska which is why Delilah re-enters his life.

When both Delilah’s mom and her plane are missing Delilah knows that something is very wrong. She calls the one man she knows can help her but after the way they hurt each other when they were younger, will he?

This is a second chance at love story that takes you on an adventured filled with suspense and intrigue. If they are going to find Delilah’s mom they will have to work together as a team and that means working through the pain and misunderstandings of their past.

I recently had the pleasure of reading True Gold and let me tell you, what a ride!
Connor and Delilah, have a shared past that had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Young love lost, anger and mystery surround these two. Someone is baiting them and bringing them back together for the first time since Connor lost his Mom. Delilah, is keeping secrets that Connor is unaware of that are life altering.
Can these two put the past behind them enough to save someone they love? Can they trust each other again?
This is a great Mystery/Romance story and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting it!!!!!

Reading this has reiterated to me that I haven’t read enough by this author as I absolutely loved this story.

Connor and Delilah have known each other years. When Delilahs mums plane disappears she needs help and calls her ex Connor. This call will change both their lives forever.

This is a great story that had me gripped from start to finish. There are some great characters in this story but Connor is certainly my favourite.

I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author. I highly recommend this read.

Michelle Pace is a new to me author and after reading True Gold, I will be going back for more. A self defined “rom-com” girl, I found this romantic suspense engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. Ms. Pace’s writing, character development and storyline were excellent. I was hooked from the first page.
Connor was a favorite of mine, but all the characters in this story had their own unique narrative. The chemistry between Connor and Delilah was intense, but had been for years only to be muted until circumstances brought them back together.
There were a lot of twists and turns in this story, which kept you engaged to the end. I will be highly recommending this book to everyone.

After many years apart Connor and Lilah reunite to find her mom. Tensions are high which means a lot of sarcastic witt and quick comebacks as they find a way to work together. The two are yearning for another chance but something important needs to be done first. Following Pace on Facebook I knew exactly who her muses were and I could see the characters clearly. The fight scenes were detailed and descriptive, and quite realistic. Clues were dropped and carefully placed about some missing gold and her mom. I found myself intrigued from the first chapter, these characters have history and tons of baggage to let out. Only two days to read it because I picked it up whenever I could, fast paced and an attention grabber. I was thrilled to get my request approved for an early copy from Netgalley, this review was voluntarily written.

When one of your favorite book buddies tells you to read something you do it. Case and point, my first title from Michelle Pace. I was intrigued by the plot and the fact that it covered a lot of bases that you don't really see in romance.

Alaska. Treasure hunters, a missing person and a second-chance romance. This book had it all. I was hooked from the first page. The intensity and twists kept piling on and it only added to the story. To the urgency for Lie and Connor to work through their past pain and secrets and half truths so they could work together to find her mom. I loved that this adventure could've pushed Connor and Lie further apart but it didn't. It forced them to face their own feelings and move forward with honesty.

Holy double crossing, unexpected, jaw on the floor ending. My heart was pounding as the final showdown played out. Though, I will say that things got a hair muddled as everything was revealed. For me, there were just too many players involved in everything. But other than that detail, Michelle Pace nailed it. True Gold was a a suspenseful and dangerously sexy adventure.

2.5 Stars

I spent most of this book waiting for something to happen. It felt like we were always on the verge of something but then it would peter out. Near the end the action started and then it lived up to it’s romantic suspense genre. However, I do wish Lilah and Connor would have worked through the past and their issues a little better. It seems as if they just swept everything under the rug all because of being each other’s first loves.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Delilah and Connor’s story is an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end, and had me on tenterhooks throughout. This is a well written flawless story which is fast paced, and is gritty, raw, heartbreaking, and with twists, action, suspense, mystery, and thrilling. I was intrigued and hooked throughout and I look forward to reading more form this talented author, whose work I recommend for all.

Connor and Lie’s story took me on a journey of twists and turns. Trying to figure out who was in the wrong and who was in the right just between them was difficult. Add in other people to the mix and it is hard to figure out who to trust.

This book has the mystery, suspense with a touch of romance to give you a book that keeps you on your toes.

Gold and past love in Alaska

Connor Garrett left Delilah "Lie" Campbell, his first love, his first everything, in Alaska when he joined the military and became a Special Forces Green Beret. He was hurt while serving, discharged, and now leads hunting and fishing expeditions in his home state of Alaska.

He thought he had Lie out of his system until one day she calls and asks for help. Her mother, a commercial delivery pilot in Alaska, has disappeared and has been missing four days.

Also missing is a hijacked shipment of gold bars. Connor and Garrett found some of the missing gold when they were just teenagers but there's still some unaccounted for.

This was a good, not great, adventure romance. I liked the main characters - most of the time. There was at least one character I wish had played a bigger part in the story. I'm not sure whether the author plans on any follow-up stories to this one. If not, then I'm really disappointed that this character didn't play a bigger part.

I probably would have rated it 3 1/2 stars if I could have.

I received this book from Tule Publishing through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

This book had nail-biting intensity. I didn’t know who to trust.

It all started with the hijacking of a plane carrying ten pallets of gold bars for Aurora Corporation and the gold getting dropped in various locations throughout the Alaskan wilderness.

Many years ago, Delilah and Conner were teenagers and in love. They gained fame when they discovered the ninth drop location. There are still people with gold fever looking for the last of the treasure. Now, Delilah’s mother, Luann, has gone missing. Not knowing if she is dead or alive, Delilah and Conner are on a mission to find LuAnn before it’s too late. Delilah and Conner find themselves in some serious jeopardy and the threat for their lives also brings them closer together again.

I sat on the edge of my seat reading this book. I had a hard time putting it down or finding a place to stop reading. I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense part, but I also kept hoping Delilah and Conner would find a way to get back together. They split on bad terms and through a lot of the book, they don’t get along very well, but they knew they needed each other to complete their mission. In the story, LuAnn said not to trust anyone. That statement was very true. I had no idea who was good or bad in this book until the very end. I definitely recommend this exciting book.

Tortured Romance 3.5*
Delilah (Lilah, Lie) and Connor have a second chance at love when the disappearance of Delilah’s mother in the wilds of Alaska throws them into close proximity. During the search they are forced to communicate with each other and eventually release the poison of their past. The reader is drip fed snippets of their shared past in order, I assume, to rack up tension. Unfortunately for me this torturously slow reveal of their life meant that I didn’t connect or care about the characters because I didn’t understand their motivations or actions. If I hadn’t committed to review this book, I might have given up long before the suspense element of the story kicked in at Chp 20 (80% of the way through). Best thing about this story was the wonderful cover!
Please note strong language is used throughout the book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Having read True Gold when it was first written, it is everything I remember, but better. Here's hoping this story gets made into a movie. I can already picture the dream cast!

Riveting and suspenseful, this story has it all.
Childhood friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, enemies. While Connor and Delilah have know each other forever, their relationship has never been the same. And when Lilah calls Connor, needing his help to find her mother, their future will never be the same again.
A thought provoking mystery that keeps you guessing through the entire story, Michelle Pace has raised the bar! I've been recommending this to anyone who will listen, and I don't plan to stop now! Definitely a must!

True Gold was the first book I've read from Michelle Pace. It was fantastic. The story was like peeling layers off an onion. Just when you think you have it all figured out, you realize there's so much more to it. From the gold, to the relationship between Conner and Lie, to Lie's search for her mother. It definitely kept me reading. This book is hard to put down. Loved, loved, loved it. I can't wait to read more from Michelle Pace! Five well deserved stars!

Connor is a former Green Beret soldier who was injured in the line of duty. Since he can no longer perform up to the standards of the Green Beret’s, he was given a choice; either leave the military or take a desk job. Knowing that he could never be a paper pusher, he chose to leave. As soon as he makes that gut-wrenching decision, he get’s a call. His mother’s cancers back and this time she’s not going to fight it. He heads back to True, Alaska, his hometown to spend her last days with her.
Now he spends his time taking people out into the wilderness as a guide. He doesn’t like it very much, but it’s a job, one he’s very good at.
Then one day he picks up the phone and hears the one voice he never hoped to hear from again. Delilah, the girl he loved. The one he grew up with. His first love. The one who broke his heart. She’s currently heading back to True, because her mom and her plane’s gone missing. There’s a search party out there looking for her, but Lie would rather be looking for her herself and needs help. She really doesn’t want to see Connor, Connor broke her heart just as much as she broke his. But she’s desperate, she needs to find her mom as soon as possible. It’s a race against time and she needs the best.
The book starts out a little slow, that’s the reason I gave it four stars. It does pick up, and by the middle, you’re invested and needing to know what’s happening, who’s actually involved, and trying to figure out who the bad guys really are, the one’s behind it all. There’s good character development and world building, a wonderful storyline. Like I said, my only issue was the book starts off a little slow.
*I received an ARC of this story from Netgalley and this is my honest and voluntary review

The first thing that caught my attention was the absolutely stunning cover. After reading the synopsis, I knew I had to read it.

Delilah's mom is missing and Delilah finds herself back in Alaska where she grew up. Needing help searching for her mom's missing plane, Delilah contact's her high school ex - retired Green Beret Connor.

As the story unfolds you get to see Delilah and Conner as teenagers - in love and searching for gold that's been missing since before they were born. You see them as adults, discovering each other again as they search for clues regarding Delilah's mom.

I found the story started a bit slow and at places was bogged down with detail from the past. Just keep going. The story really picks up at after a while and I could not put the book down.

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

While I enjoyed it..I didn’t get any real closure.
I really enjoyed but I felt like there were holes.
I have so many questions. So much still doesn’t make sense to me.
~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
Plot~ 4/5
Main Characters (hero/heroine)~ 4/5
Secondary Characters~ 4/5
The Feels~ 4/5
Pacing~ 4/5
Addictiveness~4/5
Angst~ 4/5
Steam/Hotness/Chemisty ~ 4/5
Theme or Tone~ 4/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 4/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 4/5
Originality~ 4/5
Ending~ 4/5
Book Cover~ Gorgeous
Source~ Kindle eBook - copy provided by NetGalley
Would I read more from the author? Yes
Would I recommend this book? Yes

I have read and loved Michelle Pace's books in the past, so I absolutely leapt on the opportunity to pick this one up. Everything about it appealed to me: the author, the title, the blurb, and that utterly stunning cover.

Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I just could not connect with the stories and I didn't particularly care for either of the characters. I kept waiting for something to hook me, something to make my heart attach to someone or something. It never came and my patience quickly ran out. Maybe it's the wrong book at the wrong time, or maybe this is just one of those stories that I didn't connect with. In any case, it was a DNF for me at 25%.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.