Tough as Steele

Books Review, Christian Fiction, First Line Friday, Novels, Romantic Suspense, Writing Spot

Welcome to First Line Friday!
Today I’m featuring

Tough as Steele by Susan Sleeman.

Searching for an abducted woman…
Detective Londyn Steel is thrown into the deep end when she’s assigned to find an abducted socialite. Problem is, her family’s company, Steele Guardians, was supposed to protect the family matriarch at her eightieth birthday party when she disappears, and Londyn fears her investigation will expose problems in her family’s company and bring them down. Especially when County Detective Nate Ryder declares jurisdiction over the scene, and Londyn must take a back seat in one of the most important cases she’s ever investigated.

Could put them in a deadly killer’s crosshairs.
Londyn has no choice but to work with Nate and bristles at his interference at first, but soon forms a working truce so they can combine forces to locate this missing woman before it’s too late. As they search for leads, emotions he hasn’t felt since before his service as a Navy SEAL come to the surface. He credits Londyn for unearthing the guy he used to be before his military service, and Londyn can barely fight her attraction for him. But when they fear the socialite was murdered and the killer is still hunting, seeking another prey, their feelings for each other have to be put on hold to stay alive.

From Goodreads

Author Information

Susan Sleeman is the bestselling author of more than forty-five romantic suspense and mystery novels with sales exceeding one million copies. She’s won several awards, including the ACFW Carol Award for Suspense for Fatal Mistake, and the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Thread of Suspicion.

In addition to writing, Susan hosts the popular Suspense Zone website, http://www.thesuspensezone.com. She’s lived in nine states but now calls Portland, Oregon, her home.

From Author Website

First Line

[Graphic Text]: If Londyn had to stay at this party for one more minute, she couldn’t be responsible for her actions.

My Review

Tough as Steele is the first book in Susan Sleeman’s new romantic suspense series Steele Guardians.

Every time I read a new book by Susan Sleeman, I’m reminded why I enjoy her stories so much. The characters are real. They approach their relationships like adults. And the spiritual struggles are not met with platitudes.

In this particular book, I absolutely loved the interaction between her and Nate! Admittedly, I sometimes struggled with her motivations, but in all honesty, as long as she and Nate were together together, I didn’t mind not always understanding why. And the suspenseful ending! One of my favorite kinds. (I’d gush about it, but I don’t want to risk spoilers.)

If you’re looking for a new series to dive into, then definitely grab a copy of Tough as Steele. I’m excited to learn more about the Steele family!


I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC guidelines.

Retail Links

Amazon | BN.com | Indiebound
Goodreads | BookBub

Now it’s your turn.
Pull out the book beside you and leave a comment with the first line.

First Line Friday is hosted by Reading is my Super Power.


9 thoughts on “Tough as Steele

  1. I need to catch up on Susan’s books!

    My first line is from Ever Constant by Tracie Peterson and KimberleyWoodhouse:
    Chapter 1. 1905 Nome, Alaska
    Snow glimmered in the moonlight. A beautiful start to another morning in Nome,

  2. I’m currently reading Drawn by the Current by Jocelyn Green. It is SO good! I’m just beginning chapter 18, so I’ll share from there.
    “Thursday, August 5, 1915
    Today was the day.”
    I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Happy reading. 😀❤📚

  3. Hi Danielle,
    Great review!
    My first line is from Persuasion by Jane Austen.

    Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch-hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs, changed naturally into pity and contempt, as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century – and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed – this was the page at which the favourite volume always opened: ‘ELLIOT OF KELLYNCH-HALL.
    Julie Hess

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