About the Book

Book: Seashells Tell No Tales

Author: Amanda Tru

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release Date: February 27, 2024

A tropical island tale of danger, secrets, love, and seashells that won’t reveal any of it.

Faith Marlowe made a promise to her dying brother. Unfortunately that promise involves helping an injured and embittered Army Ranger vet, Gideon Sundquist (Sunny).

Sunny doesn’t want help. He lost both his legs in a black ops mission he can’t breathe a word about. Now he’s exiled on an island in the middle of the South Pacific, hiding from the world.

Both Faith and Sunny have secrets to keep. If Sunny finds out who Faith is, Faith will lose her only chance to keep her promise. If Faith finds out the truth of Sunny’s mission, it will put both of their lives at risk.

On a beautiful, remote island in the Pacific, Faith will try to teach Sunny to live again. But if the tales of their secrets are told, neither will see the sun rise in the Suamalie Islands again.

Beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

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My Thoughts

I have to tell you that I was expecting a light hearted vacation read, but this one had me in tears at the start. This book touches on a difficult subject of post traumatic stress (generational trauma and combat trauma), and physical and spiritual healing. It also mentions occupational therapy, which is a win for me! There were some "twists" that I definitely saw coming, but that didn't detract from my reading experience. The relationship developed naturally. The characters' emotions were real and understandable. I really liked this book. I wish it was a little longer because I would have liked to spend more time with the characters getting to know them better. I love Dundee and am sort of hoping that there is a follow up book for her.

Another thing you need to know is every Christian fiction book that I have read by an Amanda has been solid. (Amanda Dykes, Amanda Cox, Amanda Barratt, and now Amanda Tru). Having an old dream of becoming an author myself, and having a twin named Amanda makes me a little jealous of her name for the first time in my life. I would definitely recommend this book! Great read with character growth including spiritual growth and a continued theme of hope and healing.

About the Author

Amanda Tru is a best-selling author of over thirty Christian fiction books. She writes page-turning fiction to inspire real-life stories. In her own real story, she sheds her super-hero writing cape to be mommy to four kids in a small Idaho town.

More from Amanda

I believe that the best fiction contains a seed of truth. After all, sometimes life breathes emotions that can never be faked and tells stories no imagination can paint. Seashells Tell No Tales is a fantastic story of romance, heartache, family, and friendship with a splash of humor and suspense. In some ways, it is a fresh take on the classic Beauty and the Beast motif. But what may be most surprising is that the original idea for the plot is based on a true story.

My father-in-law was in the army when he was a young man. He never served in war combat, but his memories still reveal that it was a life-changing experience for him. One day, he told us a story about another soldier he befriended in basic training. Though his military story didn’t carry the thill and danger of some military tales, its impact on him was profound, so much so that over fifty years later, his voice shook with tears as he told it.

It was a tale of a paradigm shift when he realized that someone who was different did not intend to be different, but very much wished to not be weighed down with the lot life had assigned him. The other young man did not want to be as he was. My father-in-law’s response to his fellow soldier spoke of understanding, friendship, and a life-altering perspective that still resonates in his actions today.

And it’s a message that should inspire us all.

As often happens, when I hear a story that touches me, I mentally file it away. It bubbles up in my memory ever so often and eventually, an idea may form around it. The foundation Seashells Tell No Tales is the true-life encounter my father-in-law had in basic training. Sunny’s flashback scene at the beginning of the book is as identical as I could make it to what my father-in-law described. I used my imagination to fill in the details of the circumstances surrounding the event, but the conversation, the emotions, and the actions are all real.

In turn, that event forms the basis of a friendship that defines the rest of the book. Also real to life, friendships are not fairy-tales; they are messy. In some ways, Sunny’s life may have been better had he never taken the time to offer friendship to an outcast, but in every way that matters, Sunny—like all of us—is a better human for experiencing the trials of life we’d never choose for ourselves.

Yes, Seashells Tell No Tales is very much a fiction story. But I believe the truth in it adds a profound dimension. As you read it, feel free to laugh at the humor, white-knuckle your way through the suspense, feel your heart flutter with the romance, be touched by the themes of family and friendship—but I also want you to shut the last page of the book inspired.

May we all offer friendship to those on the sidelines of life. And may we recognize our own faces in theirs. Through our love for others, may we realize that we truly are exactly who we are meant to be.