Episode 203: Secrets, Sharks & a Billionaire Navy SEAL: Our Book Club Review of Austen by Susan May Warren

About This Episode

Secrets, Sharks & a Billionaire Navy SEAL: Our Book Club Review of Austen by Susan May Warren

A Minnesota Kingstons Book Club Discussion | LiteraryScape Podcast Episode 203

What happens when a fearless treasure hunter meets a billionaire with a secret identity? You get Austen — book four in Susan May Warren’s Minnesota Kingstons series. And if our latest LiteraryScape book club discussion is any indication, this one left us all breathless.

Tune in to Episode 203 of the LiteraryScape Podcast as we dive deep into one of our absolute favorites in the entire series.

What Is Austen About? A Quick Book Summary

Austen Kingston is a treasure hunter and shark diver who prides herself on needing no one. She has seen what falling for someone can cost a person, and she wants no part of it. That resolve is tested when a routine dive goes dangerously wrong and she surfaces to find her boat gone — leaving her completely alone in the open ocean.

Declan Stone is a tech billionaire with a polished public image and a hidden life. He is a former Navy SEAL who was quietly recruited back into government service. When his tracking data reveals a sinking signal in the middle of the Caribbean, he races to the rescue — and scoops Austen right out of the water.

What follows is a non-stop chase across open seas, through Cuba, and onto a yacht that becomes a battleground. International hitmen, double agents, a deadly conspiracy, and a slow-burning romance all collide in this pulse-pounding story.

Explore the full Minnesota Kingstons series at Susan May Warren’s website: susanmaywarren.com/series/the-minnesota-kingstons

Our Favorite Moment: Stranded at Sea

The opening scene is one for the books. Austen surfaces from a solo dive to find her vessel has vanished in a sudden storm. She spends an entire night — and then some — clinging to her air tank in shark-infested water, completely alone.

Our book club hosts admitted they had to stop breathing while reading it. The tension is suffocating in the best possible way. Sharks circle. Her tank gets punctured. She inflates a bright-red flotation device to signal for help.

Meanwhile, Declan is tracking her location beacon — and watching it slowly sink. He burns his yacht engines at full speed for sixteen hours straight just to reach her in time.

That detail alone? The woman on the yacht tells Austen: he could have destroyed his yacht and he would not have cared. He simply needed to get to you. Swoon.

Declan Stone: The Hero We Did Not Know We Needed

Declan is equal parts Prince Charming and action hero. He grew up without wealth and built his empire from scratch. His Russian-speaking mother gives him an unusual edge in certain undercover situations — one that proves critical to the plot.

The complication? Everyone around him, including his closest friend Steinbeck, suspects he has turned against them. Declan is living as a double agent for the U.S. government, and he cannot breathe a word of it. So he absorbs the mistrust in silence.

That tension — being a good man who cannot defend himself — gives his character incredible depth. He prays, he quotes Scripture, and he treats Austen with a gentleness that feels earned rather than easy.

One host put it simply: she completely fell in love with Declan.

A Cinderella Story on the High Seas

After the terrifying night adrift, Austen is brought aboard Declan’s luxury yacht. Hot meals. Safety. Warmth. The contrast with everything she just survived is striking.

The book club compared it to a modern Cinderella story — the billionaire swoops in, brings the girl onto his floating palace, and treats her like royalty. Except this Cinderella can fight off sharks. And this prince is running from assassins.

Non-Stop Action: The Yacht That Would Not Let Them Leave

Once the action shifts to the yacht, the story never slows down. Every time the characters find an escape route, something blocks it. Bad guys board the vessel. Crew members turn out to be working for the enemy. Jet skis run low on fuel. Dinghies become the only option.

The group recapped a dizzying sequence: a cargo ship to Cuba, Steinbeck and Phoenix jumping overboard, Declan and Austen bluffing their way through customs, a dash to a waiting plane that gets intercepted, a sprint back to the yacht, and then — more pirates.

You truly cannot put it down.

Faith Woven Into the Story

What sets this book apart from similar romantic suspense titles is the spiritual layer. Austen prays while she floats alone in the dark ocean. Declan prays too. Scripture appears naturally throughout the story, not as a lecture but as a genuine expression of how these characters face fear.

That faith element elevates the entire emotional experience. It moves the book from mocha-level inspiration (our rating scale) closer to espresso for some readers in our group.

LiteraryScape Coffee Rating System: How Does Austen Score?

We use a fun coffee-themed rating scale on the show. Here is how Austen measured up:

• Mystery Level: Latte
• Suspense Level: Triple Latte (at minimum)
• Inspiration Level: Mocha (stronger than usual for this series)
• Drama Level: Latte to Mocha
• Romance Level: Espresso

Overall Lasso Rating: We max out at three lassos — and everyone in our group said this one deserved to go beyond that. One host declared six lassos. This book wins the rodeo.

Should You Read Austen Before the Other Kingston Books?

The Minnesota Kingstons series is best read in order. By book four, you already know and love this family. You have watched Austin grow across the earlier stories. You have met Steinbeck and Phoenix, whose subplot adds real texture here.

If you are new to the series, start at the beginning — but know that Austen is the kind of reward waiting for you when you get there.

Browse the complete reading order at: susanmaywarren.com/series/the-minnesota-kingstons

Listen to Our Full Episode 203 Discussion

We cover all of this and more — including a lively debate about whether anyone actually reads author’s notes (spoiler: the results are divided), a shoutout to Taylor Alexander’s Civil War series, and a dream of hosting a future book club on a real yacht.

Next week we wrap up the Minnesota Kingstons with Steinbeck and Phoenix. You will not want to miss it.