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I love to read, have always loved to read. In fact, I can have three to four books going at a time usually. This is a blog of my journey through different reading challenges, in which I hope to share the books I read along with my thoughts, inspirations and the weird ideas gleaned from each book along the way. Come and join me! In addition, I will be attempting to improve my own writing to move along the path I see before me, a path strewn with the words I desire to form into stories.
I've enjoyed getting to know Chelsea and Michelle in the mini mysteries, and even though I enjoyed those stories, I have to say, I absolutely loved this book. I loved getting to know the twins even better. I loved that there was a murder mystery that they were trying to solve to help clear the name of a friend. I love the twists that were thrown in. I love that we see the importance of faith. I can't wait to read the next book.
Wasted, the second book in the Windy City Westons series by Jerusha Agen is an awesome romantic suspense story. I was thrilled to get to see the Weston siblings again. This time the story focuses on Victoria, the oldest sibling, and the one who has been like a mother to the rest of her siblings, ever since the death of their mother when she was just a teenager. All these years she has been living with guilt, but also living under the thumb of her authoritative father who she refuses to disappoint. She does her best to try to live the way she thinks her mother would want her to live in order to keep her family together.
We also get to see the story through the point of view of Cillian, her ex from when they were teenagers. He recently moved back into the area and is now working at the same place of employment. She tries to resist his charms while trying to figure out what he's doing back in town. And as much as she'd like to avoid him, he becomes her protector after the death of one of her patients has her falsely accused of murder, and in the crosshairs of who they assume is the real murderer.
While there are multiple people who may have had a motive to kill her patient, it isn't the villains who got under my skin. It was the detective who wouldn't listen and insisted on Victoria's guilt in the murder. How were they going to prove her innocence when those who were supposed to be the good guys weren't listening? It is this plot point that had me riveted to the story. Yes, I wanted to know who the actual killer was. But I wanted Victoria and Cillian and the Weston siblings to make things right.
At the same time Cillian is dealing with trying to get back with Victoria in a way that made him not my favorite person for quite a bit of the book. Yes, he wanted to protect her, but the way he went about things was just not right. Additionally Victoria tried to deal with arguments and controversy in the way she though was right, but I started to want to shake some sense into her as well. Let's just say they both had things they needed to work through, and faith played an important role.
The only concern I had was that there were a couple of things that didn't quite get wrapped up as neatly I as I hoped for.
Awesome suspense. Awesome second chance romance. Awesome faith. A wonderful group of siblings. And an adorable dog. All working together to make another un-put-downable book by this author.
I received an e-copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.
Every Life Treasured is a wonderful collection of novellas about the value of life. Stories that take place in three seperate eras. They were each very powerful, and yes, emotional. And the reader can see the redemption found in Christ.
A Mother's Tender Touch by Jennifer Q. Hunt:
This story dealt with unwed mothers during the Depresssion Era, along with a child who had Downs Syndrome.
Alice was a social worker who worked for a charity that helped people in need. At the beginning of the book she comes to the Tanner's home to see how she can help them. The family was struggling because the father had been injured and was unable to work. The oldest son, Seth, had taken jobs to help bring in some income, but they were still struggling. At first I wasn't a huge fan of Alice because even though she was helping, she was quite judgmental of the family's circumstances. However, as she got to know them her eyes were opened to the love and faith they had, even in their troubles. And as a reader we learn more of her background and understand the struggles she herself is going through.
The Missionary and the Marine by Hannah Hood Lucero:
This story dealt with a baby conceived by rape and learning to love that baby and see the worth in her.
Unlike the other two books which are historical, this one takes place in current times. Walt and Dee were planning to get married after she returned from a mission trip to the Middle East. However, she was abducted and spent months imprisoned by Muslims who abused her. When reunited with Walt they need to work through the new reality of her being a mother of a child conceived by rape. Even through such adversity, the value of all life is seen.
Born for Adversity by Aubrey Reiss Taylor:
This story dealt with an unwed mother in the years after WWI and choosing adoption over abortion.
This story took place in Germany in the years after WWI. Lani finds herself with child after spending time with a man she cared for; however she is engaged to another guy she met in France during the war. The father abandons her and the other guy wants her to get an abortion. She has to choose whether she wants to keep the baby or give it up for adoption. This was actually my least favorite in the collection. I'm not sure if it was because there are three separate men she finds herself having feelings for. Or it could be because of how it comes from a Catholic point of view in the story, with Lani having to continually go to confession and do her penance. Also the ending was quite different than what I was expecting.
I do highly recommend these stories and definitely want to look into other stories by these authors. From my understanding each of these stories does connect to other books by the authors.
I received an e-copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.
Danger in the Wilderness by Darlene Turner is an awesome Christian romantic suspense story, heavy on the danger and suspense.
There is a serial killer that has been abducting people from campsites in Canadian national parks, then torturing them and ultimately killing them. Dekker Hoyt is a park ranger who is trying to restore his relationship with his father. While on a camping trip, his father is abducted. It is a race against the clock to find his father and discover the identity of the PCK (Park Campfire Killer), while at the same time trying to find additional victims and discover the pattern which is eluding Blaire Tremblay and her team of criminal investigative analysts.
There was a lot of action and suspense in this book, which I loved. The villain was diabolical and always seemed to be a step ahead. Lots of twists and turns kept me on my toes and zinging through the pages. I wasn't sure who the killer was for sure, though I did have a bit of a suspicion. But the author did a great job of keeping me guessing.
Faith was an important part of this book, which I loved. And I loved the relationship that developed between Dekker and Blaire. Though they definitely had issues they had to work through.
This is the first book I have read by this author, and I can't wait to read more. I did want to mention that I didn't realize that this book, even though it is book one of a series, has characters that have appeared in earlier books. If I had known that, I would have read them first. The story itself is a stand alone; however, I felt I was missing things because I didn't know the characters' histories and their relationships with each other.
I received an e-copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.
Innocent Lives by Julie Bonn Blank is an intense book dealing with the horrors of child sex trafficking. When I originally read it two and a half years ago I zinged through it in less than a day. This book wasn't on my radar until I saw the author mention it. I assumed, because the author was Christian, that this book would have more Christian faith in it; however, I did realize afterward that it wasn't marketed as Christian fiction. So yes, there was more detail than I expected, but I was thankful there wasn't explicit detail. There is talk of angels but no real mention of God or faith.
The book is told from multiple points of view. Jasmine and Cienna are the main characters, two young girls who were kidnapped and sold, one into a brothel, the other to one man. However, we also see the story from the points of view of their parents, the detectives, and one chapter from the point of view of one of the horrid men holding one of the girls in captivity.
Yes the book is disturbing. The truth of this horror should be disturbing. If you do not want to read a story about such abuse, you may want to skip this book. However, it is quite powerful, so I do recommend it.
I reread it, and will be rereading book two, because I recently learned that book 3, Innocent Souls just released.
Spoiler:
It also deals with the aftermath of the effects on the families and the individual girls after they are freed.
Unexpected Danger by Penny Zeller is a great romantic suspense story, the second in the Mountain Justice series. In this story we return to Pronghorn Falls, the setting from book one. We get to see beloved characters from the first book, Unexpected Witness and meet new characters. This book focuses on Brodie Brenneman who is the sheriff of Pronghorn Falls and his ex, Londyn Siegler who left town after breaking his heart in the past.
Londyn has been living in a city where she has made some new friends, has a new job, and, as the book opens, we learn she has a stalker. It didn't take me long to figure out exactly who the real stalker was, I think the author meant for it to be a bit obvious to the reader. But once Londyn realizes who her stalker is, the suspense really gears up. Personally I loved that there was even more suspense than the first book. Brodie, who is trying his hardest to protect the woman he still loves, and Londyn and the reader have no clue when or where the stalker is going to strike next. The anticipation keeps building. More than once Londyn's life is in danger. Not only her life, but those around her. The author sure did make a villain who is dispicable. He's crafty, and manipulative, and always a step ahead.
And of course, this is a romantic suspense, so I was rooting for Brodie and Londyn to be able to work out their relationship. I thought they made a cute couple.
As with all the author's books, faith is an important part of the story. The main characters are both Christians and they pray and seek the Lord's will throughout the book. We also see how Londyn realizes she never sought God's will before making the big move taking her away from Pronghorn Falls.
If you are looking for a faith-filled book that will keep you on the edge of your seat you will want to read this book.
I received an e-copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.