of blades and thorns

the official blog of author grace a. johnson

Grace A. Johnson

Mar 22
2 min

introducing...her heart's home

*rushes in, breathless* HULLO, ALL! Yes, I know, I disappeared for over two weeks, but I'M BACK! This month (like this whole year thus far) has been c r a z y. Editing, web design, life, VA work, church projects, writing, reading and reviewing - it's all taken first priority lately, folks. You know how it is. ANYWAY. I have a very special announcement for y'all. Your girl is being published in an anthology! 😊 And not just any anthology. I'm talking Springtime in Surrey, Wild

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review: the sound of light by sarah sundin

Grace A. Johnson

Feb 27
3 min

review: the sound of light by sarah sundin

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 Let’s face it, I’ve never read a Sarah Sundin novel I didn’t like—and I’m sure the same goes for most of y’all too! There’s something about how she weaves war and intrigue with romance and faith, with a dash of delicious mystery and suspense, that makes for an altogether amazing and adventure page-turner. The Sound of Light is no different! I loved how we got to see the war from Denmark’s perspective (something that’s becoming a wee bit more common after all these year

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review: all the lost places by amanda dykes

Grace A. Johnson

Feb 24
4 min

review: all the lost places by amanda dykes

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 I’ve been hearing absolutely amazing things about Amanda Dykes for years, but when I first read one of her novellas in The Kissing Tree collection, I wasn’t impressed. The “pizzazz” in her writing that everyone lauded never caught my eye. Then came December. I received an ARC of All the Lost Places in the mail, which I’d requested to read because I am a sucker for anything set in Italy and because I was determined to ferret out what made Dykes so beloved. (Before I got

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enemies-to-lovers: the beauty of the trope

Grace A. Johnson

Feb 16
3 min

enemies-to-lovers: the beauty of the trope

In honor of Valentine's Day, R.M. Archer, Kellyn Roth, and I have joined up to bring you three fantastic posts about some the top romance tropes! Y'all be sure to check out R.M. and Kellyn's posts here and here! If you’ve hung around the romance reader community long enough, you’ve probably seen/heard all the opinions out there on enemies-to-lovers (also known as hate-to-love) romance. Personally, I hang around the anti-TikTokxic community, where tropes like enemies-to-lovers

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Grace A. Johnson

Feb 14
2 min

tell me you love me is here!

HAPPY RELEASE DAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and happy Valentine's Day too. 😉 To show our love for readers and our appreciation for the beautiful love of Christ, twelve authors and I (alongside the lovely Issabelle Perry) spent the past year crafting a collection of love stories that are sure to inspire and entertain...and now the day has arrived that this amazing anthology makes its debut into the world! To celebrate, I have a very special giveaway for just for y'all! (Because

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Grace A. Johnson

Feb 10
8 min

enemies-to-lovers: how to do it right

This romance trope everyone calls toxic is actually supposed to be one of the strongest and most beautiful relationships out there. Why? Because, to get to a place of unconditional love, the hero and heroine have to go through a lot of conflict. They have to learn honesty, communication, forgiveness, and more before their romance can blossom—unlike other relationships, in which these traits aren’t cultivated until after the romance starts. So how you do accurately and authent

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enter to win the anthologies (tmylm & stl blog tour)

Grace A. Johnson

Feb 8
3 min

enter to win the anthologies (tmylm & stl blog tour)

God bless H.S. Kylian. I have been so off my game this year, but this girl has kept me straight and reminded me that I yet again forgot to post. *facepalm* Thank y'all for putting up with my forgetfulness and incompetence. Y'all are the best. ANYWAY. I have a special giveaway for y'all, but to enter, y'all must first read the blurbs about the two amazing anthologies we're releasing and answer a couple questions! about tell me you love me Tell Me You Love Me – a timeless colle

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welcome to the tour! (tmylm & stl blog tour)

Grace A. Johnson

Feb 7
2 min

welcome to the tour! (tmylm & stl blog tour)

Here I go again, forgetting to write my kickoff post. *glares at self* ANYWAY, today begins the epic, giveaway-filled, love-centered tour for not one but TWO beautiful, God-honoring romance anthologies! Most of y'all know about Tell Me You Love Me, but it's not the only Christian romance anthology releasing on Valentine's Day! Allow me to introduce y'all to Seize the Love! about seize the love Honoring the Love of the Savior Agape. Eros. Philia. Storge All forms of love… Seiz

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review: yesterday's tides by roseanna m. white

Grace A. Johnson

Feb 2
5 min

review: yesterday's tides by roseanna m. white

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Y’all, I have been waiting for this novel for years. When I first began reading Roseanna M. White’s books back in 2016-2017, I found her blog and scoured her archives, digging up details about old stories she’d been working on. One of those was Yesterday’s Tides, a contemporary about Remington and Louisa and an inn on an island. Suffice to say I immediately fell in love, but this story never came into fruition...until The Codebreakers series released, and one of the cry

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Grace A. Johnson

Jan 31
3 min

tell me you love me author tour wrapup (& giveaway winner!)

The end is here, my lovelies! The time has come to bring this fun (if a wee bit chaotic) tour to an end...and the announce the ✨winner✨ of our giveaway! But before we dive into that, I want to thank you all for following the tour and checking out all the amazing posts the authors of Tell Me You Love Me anthology have shared! From character Q&As and author interviews to beautiful graphics and behind-the-scenes, this tour has been jam-packed with wonder and romance - and that's

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about the anthology (tell me you love me tour)

Grace A. Johnson

Jan 23
3 min

about the anthology (tell me you love me tour)

Around Valentine's Day last year, I came up with the idea to challenge myself to write one romance flash fiction story every day for a week. Well, just as soon as I wrote that idea down, another one popped into my head: a romance anthology. That night, Tell Me You Love Me was born. A day or two later, I got everything together and posted about open submissions for my romance short story anthology contest, and within a mere month I had over twenty submissions of all kinds - hi

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book review: the rose and the thistle by laura frantz

Grace A. Johnson

Jan 9
5 min

book review: the rose and the thistle by laura frantz

Where do I begin? How can I put into words the enchanting beauty of this novel, this lovely work of art? I’ve noticed many reviews for The Rose and the Thistle thus far coming from first-time Frantz readers—and I’m not surprised that they all say this book of hers won’t be their last. TRATT is exactly the exquisite wonder I have come to expect from Laura Frantz, and I know everyone—long-time fans and new readers—will be as captivated by this story of an English rose and a Sco

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coming soon: yesterday's tides by roseanna m. white

Grace A. Johnson

Dec 20, 2022
3 min

coming soon: yesterday's tides by roseanna m. white

Y'all, Roseanna M. White is writing a dual-time novel and I AM HERE FOR IT. Who cares that I hate dual-time/split-time novels 90% of the time. This a White novel we're talking about. Not only that, but Roseanna's upcoming release, Yesterday's Tides, includes a character from The Codebreakers series (Remington Culbreth, if you're curious, who I am already in love with) AND is split between two historical timelines - which is such a refresher from all the historical/contemporar

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featured story: not unrequited love by hannah foster

Grace A. Johnson

Dec 19, 2022
11 min

featured story: not unrequited love by hannah foster

I just adore this sweet romance! Not only does it include one of my favorite tropes (governess x father romance), it's also full of hope! I hope y'all enjoy Not Unrequited Love by Hannah Foster as much as I did! Allison Walker leaned her head back against the interior of the train trying to regain composure. She slouched down just outside of the compartment where she was supposed to be watching four rambunctious children but from whom a moment ago she had fled. She took a few

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book review: the lost melody by joanna davidson politano

Grace A. Johnson

Nov 21, 2022
7 min

book review: the lost melody by joanna davidson politano

Warnings: #1 This is a long review, so pull up a chair and grab a bowl of popcorn. You’ll be here awhile. #2 When I read a review, I want substantial information. So I will not skimp on the details. Which may mean some spoilers, so watch out. Someone please explain to me...HOW DOES THIS WOMAN DO IT? No matter the story, the characters, or my reservations, Politano has me savoring every word of every one of her books and suffering from severe book hangover when I’ve finished r

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Grace A. Johnson

Nov 17, 2022
7 min

the day hath arrived

Bound and Determined… What if we added more? What if we totally ditched what I was going to do, and completely redid everything? I’m liking this idea. Say Xavier did indeed decide to captain another ship. Say Rina is tested to the max. Say we still don’t give up on Keaton. Say we slap in a couple of slave traders, slaves, pirates, naval officers, and temptations. What do you think? I’m liking this. Three years and six months ago, I opened up a document and started typing. I t

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Review: Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder

Grace A. Johnson

Nov 3, 2022
6 min

Review: Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder

Before we begin, I must preface this review by saying that I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, before I even thought to begin reading this book, that I was going to love it. I’ve loved everything Hannah has written up to this point (that I’ve read, at least), and I know her writing is positively exquisite. Sure, I’ve never read a full-blown novel by her...or a Regency one, for that matter...or a Gothic romance. BUT I had it already ingrained in my mind and heart that I woul

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Cover Reveal: Tell Me You Love Me Anthology

Grace A. Johnson

Oct 11, 2022
2 min

Cover Reveal: Tell Me You Love Me Anthology

Y'ALL. I AM ASHAMED OF MYSELF. I meant to have this post scheduled for 5am WEEKS AGO, and was it? Nope. Was it even remotely close to ready? Nope. Am I having to put this together when I should be doing school? Yes. In my defense, it's been an insanely busy couple weeks (*coughs year) lately, but that's no excuse. So, my incompetence aside, allow me to share one of the most amazing projects I have ever heard of (totally not saying that because it was my idea), Tell Me You Lov

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Release Day: The Glass Road by Alyssa Schwarz

Grace A. Johnson

Oct 11, 2022
2 min

Release Day: The Glass Road by Alyssa Schwarz

Happy, happy release day to The Glass Road, a contemporary Christian romance by Alyssa Schwarz! I've read some lovely reviews for her first book in the Prescott Family Romance, and I can't wait to give her series a try! about the book Austin Wright had bigger dreams than to inherit his grandfather’s old property, but with the help of his nephew and a few volunteers, he decides to reopen the idyllic summer camp of his youth. Following her accident at the first triathlon of the

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Featured Story: Heart of Keys by Kaytlin Phillips

Grace A. Johnson

Oct 10, 2022
11 min

Featured Story: Heart of Keys by Kaytlin Phillips

Hullo, all! Remember my short story contest back in August? Well, I had SO many AMAZING entries that I couldn't bear not to share them...so here we are! Our first featured story is Heart of Keys by Kaytlin Phillips! I absolutely love the themes and messages, and how sweet and tender it is! I know y'all will enjoy it too! (Also, I apologize. I meant to have these stories out last month, but September was, suffice to say, crazy. So here we are now! Better late than never, eh?)

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of blades and thorns

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