Wounds and Rescues Kathleen Rouser

Wounds and Rescues by Kathleen Rouser Celebrate Lit Tour

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Kathleen Rouser, author of Wounds and Rescues

Book: Wounds and Rescues

Author: Kathleen Rouser

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: October 6, 2026

A nurse with a wounded heart. A former lawman haunted by loss. An attraction neither can afford.

Rose Sinclair has built a careful new life in Stone Creek, hiding her painful past beneath a high lace collar. When private investigator Caleb Ellis arrives claiming he’s found a grandfather for two orphans she’s grown to love, she’s determined not to trust him—or let him take the children she’s come to cherish.

Caleb needs Rose’s cooperation to reunite the children with their family. But as questions begin to surface and shadows from Rose’s past reappear, it becomes clear someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the truth buried.

Forced to travel west posing as husband and wife, Rose and Caleb must protect the children while outrunning a past determined to destroy them. As danger closes in, Caleb must confront the faith he abandoned, and Rose must decide if she can risk her heart again.

Because this time, trusting the wrong person won’t just break them—it could cost them everything.

Perfect for fans of Karen Witemeyer and Mary Connealy, this faith-filled historical romance features a forced-proximity journey, blending danger, redemption, and a road that leads two wounded hearts toward love.

About the Author

Kathleen Rouser is a multi-published, award-winning author of historical and contemporary Christian romance. She is a longtime member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Faith, Hope and Love Christian Writers. She resides in southeast Michigan, a location which she often uses in her novels, with her hero and husband of forty-some years and two sweet cats who found a home in their empty nest.

More from Kathleen

Joining an Orphan Home with Foster Care

Rose Sinclair makes a quick appearance in the third Stone Creek Brides novel, Scandals and Mercies as the head nurse at the local unwed mother’s home. With a tender heart and hurts of her own, she desires to help in a different way and moves to a nursing position at the town’s small orphanage. It is a loving sanctuary to around a dozen children and youth waiting for forever families.

During the era of orphan trains, the Child and Family Services of Michigan was established in 1891. They started “receiving homes” which cared for children with the goal of adoption. By 1906, the organization advocated for children to be placed in foster care when they couldn’t remain with their natural families. Thus began the trend toward foster care rather than orphanages.

The care received in the Anna and Jared Barrington Home for Children falls in between the two. In Rumors and Promises, the first Stone Creek Brides novel, readers see a glimpse into Gloria Myles’s life and how she became the guardian for her granddaughter, Elise. From this situation came her passion to care for orphans, as well as her desire to memorialize her daughter and son-in-law.

While most orphanages were often harmful institutions, I’d like to think that there were places like the Anna and Jared Barrington Home for Children, though I may have taken a bit of literary license.

I thought about what might happen if some of the children had the opportunity to be reunited with a faraway relative. How may that have taken place? Enter private investigator Caleb Ellis, who has lost several people he loved. He’s on a mission to bring together the scattered family.

In Wounds and Rescues, Rose becomes deeply attached to orphans Sam and Nellie Tubbs. The childhood trauma she experienced prompts her to become fiercely protective of them. From small-town Michigan of 1903 to the hills of Montana, she embarks on a journey of forgiveness, healing, and facing the past.

Devoted to Hope's Review of Wounds and Rescues

“Have you been taking your concerns to Jesus?”

I loved finding that question in Wounds and Rescues! What a wonderful thing to ask someone you care about! It says so much about why I loved Rose and Caleb. They genuinely respected one another, and the way they encouraged each other in their Christian walk was especially meaningful to me. There was such a beautiful example of iron sharpening iron in their relationship!

Caleb completely won me over with his protective heart! I loved how deeply he cared for those precious children. Rose was just as endearing! I admired her bravery, her tender heart, and her sincere desire to please Jesus. Even when life was difficult, she kept taking one step after another, depending on Him for the strength and guidance she needed. Their faith truly influenced the way they treated each other and cared for those around them.

Kathleen Rouser's writing was excellent! I loved the historical setting, the journey west, the danger, the tenderness, and the lovely romance. The care Rose and Caleb showed those precious children made the dangerous moments even more compelling. I cared so much about what happened to all of them!

The Scripture Kathleen chose to introduce the story, Philippians 3:13–14, was so beautiful and fitting! Rose and Caleb both carried painful wounds from their pasts, and those verses about forgetting what lies behind and pressing forward were so meaningful as their stories unfolded.

The Christian content was absolutely wonderful! Jesus is spoken of openly and naturally throughout the story. There are sincere prayers, conversations about forgiveness through our Savior, reminders to bring our concerns to Him, and encouragement to trust His will even when life is painful. I especially loved the reminder that Jesus Himself prayed in Gethsemane, submitting to the Father's will. These weren't just beautiful words. Biblical truth was part of how these characters lived and how they encouraged one another!

I absolutely loved Wounds and Rescues! The writing, the characters, the adventure, the romance, and especially the way Jesus was honored throughout the story made this such a joyful reading experience. I'm so thankful for authors who write stories about people who sincerely want to know, trust, and please their Savior!

I received a digital copy of this book via the publisher, Wild Heart Books, and Celebrate Lit Publicity Group. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.