"Deadly Charade" by Lynette Eason & Kelly Underwood

About this book:

  “Special Agent Kira Miller's new career at the FBI has started--in translations. It's not the opportunity she was hoping for to show off her skills, until she detects a lead in the paperwork. Now assigned an undercover role, she's in her element as she gathers intel on an art smuggling ring. She's daunted not by the mission but by her cover--posing as a married woman to the fake husband she met less than twenty-four hours ago. 
    Special Agent Bryce Lambert's assignment to charade as a newlywed couple with Kira has the two of them moving next door to the prime suspects, and a relationship is the last thing he wants, fake or real. With secret auctions, hidden treasures, and a legend of art thought to be lost forever, there's plenty to keep them busy--if only they can play the part their lives and careers depend upon while keeping their own hearts in check.”


Series: Book #1 in the “FBI New Recruits” series.


Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God, Jesus, faith, trusting Him, showing grace, & letting go of bitterness; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; While Kira grew up going to church with her adoptive parents, she doesn’t go anymore and thinks God has been “silent” when she needed Him; She starts to pray as the book continues for God to help her if He is real; Bryce has a faith and share about God with Kira; *Spoilers* Towards the end, Kira realizes it’s time for her to put her trust in God and prays to God about the mission and her doubts *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of God, Jesus, His love, grace, forgiveness, & faiths; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, & a sermon; A few mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of being blessed; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck & being lucky; A mention of a place feeling like a haunted house; A mention of ghost stories.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stinking’, two ‘dumb’s, and two ‘stupid’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Eavesdropping; Fighting, Car crashes (including air bags deploying and passing out), Being ran off the road, Being trapped in a car after an accident, Being attacked and hit, Being kicked, Being grabbed and abducted, Being stuffed in a trunk, Being drugged, Being held at gunpoint (multiple times), Being shot at and Being shot, Gunfire, a flash-bang, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Being knocked unconscious, & Passing out (semi-detailed); A perilous situation involving a dilapidated bridge over a large abyss (semi-detailed); Seeing deaths/murders happen & Finding and seeing other murdered bodies (multiple; up to semi-detailed); Seeing people shot (up to semi-detailed); Kira and Bryce are given cocktails at a dinner party (Kira takes a sip to confirm what it is, but Bryce avoids alcohol due to having an alcoholic family member and does not drink it; Side characters also drink at the dinner and have many drinks); All about & many mentions of stolen art, smuggling rings, illegal auctions, stealing, thieves, criminals, & crimes; Many mentions of murders, murderers, bodies, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of wars (World War II & Civil War), Nazis, & possible future wars; Mentions of deaths (a car accident, heart attack) & grief; Mentions of weapons, being held at gunpoint, & gunfire; Mentions of car accidents; Mentions of terrorists, mafias, mobsters, & assassins; Mentions of kidnappings/abductions (including a child); Mentions of blackmail & threats (including threatening death/murder); Mentions of money laundering; Mentions of jail & arrests; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of divorces; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, bars, drunks, & an alcoholic; Mentions of an addiction to painkillers, being high often, & rehab; Mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of fires; A few mentions of break-ins & burglars; A few mentions of drug dealers & smuggling drugs; A few mentions of gambling & an addiction to it; A few mentions of cigars & cigarettes; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of autopsies; A mention of possible poison; A mention of parents fighting; 
             *Note: Kira lived in a Russian orphanage for some of her childhood until she was adopted by an American family (because of this, she can “adapt to any situation” and make herself appear how others want, but feels like that anyone in her life could leave her if things gets tough; She knows this is not true and her parents have loved her unconditionally, but still struggles with this thought as she remembers overhearing as a child in the orphanage that no one would want her; After being adopted, Kira struggled with the notion that she had to be just how her adoptive parents wanted or she would be returned to Russia even though they never set any expectations or implied this would happen); Bryce comes from a broken home and was never good enough for his deadbeat father and has his father’s voice in his head telling him he won’t amount to anything; *Spoilers* His mother left when he was young and his father is an alcoholic who is addicted to gambling; His father kicked him out seventeen and while Bryce has tried to help him throughout the years, his father has resented him and they do not get along; Bryce’s father also betrayed Bryce by draining his savings account; Bryce has scars from what others have said about him when growing up (such as “trailer park trash” and “hoodrat”), but mostly from never being good enough for his father and his father’s hurtful words; Bryce feels guilt for not trying harder to help his father, but Kira tries to encourage him; Bryce believes his father might be gaslighting him about the past and believes that his father suffers from “mental and physical illnesses”; At the very end, Bryce’s apologizes what he has said and done & Bryce forgives his father *End of Spoilers*; Kira comments to her friends about living in the “age of equality” but some men at Quantico still being livid to be outperformed by a girl; Mentions of painters (Cézanne, Rembrandt, Veláquez, Caravaggio, van Gogh, & Degas); Mentions of brand names & items (Harley-Davidson, Barbie, iPhone, iPad, AirTag, Glock, Spanx, Band-Aid, Clue, & Maglite); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of movies & a TV show (Indiana Jones, The Goonies, & Downton Abbey); A couple mentions of Google; A couple mentions of yoga; A mention of Hallmark movies; A mention of a vampire; A mention of a panic attack; A mention of depression.
 
 
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, a hand kiss, two cheek kisses, a head kiss, an almost kiss (semi-detailed), a semi-detailed kiss, and a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Remembering kisses & almost kisses (up to semi-detailed); Staring at lips; Touches, Hand holding, Tingles/Sparks, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (up to semi-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing (up to semi-detailed); a ‘sexy’, a ‘smoking hot’, and four forms of ‘hunk’; A married woman tries to flirt with Bryce (while he is undercover as a married man; *Spoiler* The woman was part of a ploy and did this to be able to blackmail Bryce *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of kisses, kissing, making out, & almost kisses; Mentions of dates, dating, boyfriends/girlfriends, exes, & cheating; Mentions of flirting & a married woman making moves on a married man; A couple mentions of crushes; A mention of making sure a man keeps his hands to himself (around his beautiful work partner); Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Bryce got divorced after a short marriage and is not interested in another relationship (she left him and filed for the divorce); A mention of a woman’s low-cut dress.
 
-Kira Miller, age 33
-Bryce Lambert
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        320 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Add up to a full star for Older Teens interested in the FBI, criminal justice, and/or suspense books.}

After hearing this book would be about two FBI agents posing as a married couple, I was instantly reminded of my favorite episode from ‘Sue Thomas: FB Eye’ where Sue and Jack have to pose as a married couple and live next to a couple with potential terrorists ties. I knew this book would be different, though, so I tried not to hype it up in my mind to give it a fair chance. I did really liked the plot and different elements like the art smuggling, art museum scenes, and the pretend/fake marriage, but I wasn’t a fan of our main characters or how they were written. Characters can make or break a book for me, so this affected my overall enjoyment of this story. 

 

Bryce was a little too interested in Kira right off the bat which felt a little strange because he would notice how attractive she was, but then quickly think how he had too much baggage for a relationship. This happened a few times in just the beginning chapter. There were also a few times where Kira didn’t want to talk about her past, but then would drop a very vague comment that would obviously catch Bryce or someone else’s interest so they would ask and she would explain. A lot of their dialogue felt stiff and awkward because of it. And perhaps that’s because they’ve just met each other, but it distracted me while reading because it felt unnatural. 

 

The ending was very Indiana Jones-esce—which, funny enough right after I thought that, a character also thought “what in the Indiana Jones [is this]?” and made me laugh when the scene was supposed to be intense. It felt a little far-fetched for the book. I have a few questions about some loose threads at the ending as well. Overall, this wasn’t a new favorite romantic suspense book, but I am interested in continuing the series.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Revell) for this honest review.

"Girl in the Barn" by Erica Kingsbury

About this book:

  “Maggie Hartley has a plan. A dangerous one.
    When her little sister Grace is moved to a new foster family—without warning, and without her—nine-year-old Maggie does the only thing she can think to do: she runs. Out a window. Through the dark. Alone.
    Days later, hungry and out of options, Maggie slips into a barn on the edge of a small town called Juniper Creek and hides in the hayloft. She doesn't expect to be found by Jasper Williams. And she definitely doesn't expect his family to want to help.
    But the Williamses believe in doing right by people—even strangers, even complicated ones. For Maggie, "right" means only one thing: finding Grace.”


Series: Book #1 in the“Juniper Creek” series.


Spiritual Content- ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; The group home is an old church that has been converted to house many orphaned girls; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A few mentions of the sanctuary, stained glass windows, & pews; 
             *Note: A few mentions of luck & being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Some eye rolling; Maggie lies a couple of times (to be able to get a bus ticket, which she feels bad about doing); Grief (including Maggie for parents); After Maggie and her sister (Grace) are taken to a group home, Grace is placed with a family without Maggie’s knowledge and desperately misses her; Because of this, Maggie plans to run away from the group home to find her sister (which does happen and involves Maggie sneaking out, getting on a bus, avoiding adults, and having little to eat; *Spoilers* When reunited with her sister, Maggie says all of the prior things were worth it for the moment of hugging her sister *End of Spoilers*); Maggie knows she shouldn’t leave the group home, but is determined to find her sister because she believes they need to be together; Because of not being told more about her sister, Maggie feels like she can’t trust the adults around her & shouts at a lady at the group home for keeping things from her (*Spoilers* The woman tried to tell Maggie about the couple wanting to adopt her and her sister, but Maggie wouldn’t listen and didn’t go to the meetings; The couple was only approved for one child at a time, but plan to adopt Maggie as well when approved to do so; At the end, the woman explains more of the details to Maggie and says she’ll try to get things pushed forward to reunite the sisters in their new home, but Maggie has to return to the group home until then *End of Spoilers*) After she’s been hiding in his family’s barn, Jasper finds Maggie and hears her story (she asks him not to tell his parents about her, *Spoilers* and while he agrees to wait until morning to tell them, he quickly realizes that was wrong and should have told his parents right away; He feels guilt when the truth is found out and his parents tell him he should have come to them; Jasper’s mom tells Maggie that what she did was very brave, but was not safe; When Maggie overhears Jasper’s parents talk about calling the police, she runaway again to where her sister exactly is; Jasper covers for Maggie to have time for her to get to her sister & he feels guilty again *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of missing and runaway children; Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of the deaths of Maggie’s parents (no details besides that an “accident” happened) & grief; A few mentions of “borrowing” something (like apples on the ground, which Maggie tells herself isn’t stealing); A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of a burglar & a criminal; A couple mentions of jails; A couple mentions of jealousy; 
             *Note: Maggie says she likes playing video games like Minecraft on her tablet; A few mentions of brand names & games (iPad, Pop-Tarts, Cheerios, Barbie, Minecraft); A mention of a book (‘Charlotte’s Web’).
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
- Maggie Hartley, age 9
                                P.O.V. switches Maggie, Jasper, & a couple others 
                                                        168 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

While I don’t love the AI cover for this book, I did find the story inside to be special! I wished things had been handled differently for Maggie and her sister, but the ending gives me hope for the rest of the series for the girls’ happiness. This book was set in the fall and mostly set around an apple orchard, so it was good timing to read it now! I would give a heads up for adoptees and/or those in foster care, though, as this book may stir up difficult feelings with Maggie and her sister being separated. It’s not fully resolved by the end of the story, but it looks hopeful for the girls being reunited permanently later in the series.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

"Resistance" by Jaye L. Knight

About this book:

  ““Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul.”
    Could God ever love a half-blood all of society looks upon with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when a tragic loss shatters the only peace he’s ever known, his faith crumbles as the nagging doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the bloodstained past he longs to forget, but can never escape.
    Taken from home at a young age and raised to serve the emperor, Kyrin Altair lives every day under a dangerous pretense of loyalty. After her unique observation skills and perfect memory place her into direct service to the emperor, Kyrin finds herself in further jeopardy as it becomes increasingly difficult to hide her belief in Elôm, the one true God.
    Following the emperor’s declaration to enforce the worship of false gods under the penalty of death, many lives are endangered. But there are those willing to risk everything to take a stand and offer aid to the persecuted. With their lives traveling paths they never could have imagined, Jace and Kyrin must fight to overcome their own fears and conflicts with society as they become part of the resistance.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Ilyon Chronicles” series. 


Spiritual Content- Psalm 95:3 & 135:14-18 at the beginning; God is called “Elôm” in this world and also referred to as the King; Many talks about Elôm, trusting Him, Him being with us, & having faith; ‘H’s are capital when referring to Elôm; Many Prayers, Thanking and praising God/ Elôm, & Blessings over food; Characters who believe in Elôm have to hide their faith due to the emperor’s laws about worshiping his false gods and his hatred towards other religions; Kyrin has the opportunity to witness to someone about Elôm, but doesn’t do it and feels like a coward afterwards (and apologizes to Elôm); *Spoilers* Halfway through the book, Kyrin is dragged to the false gods’ temple by the emperor and while she ponders about bowing because she’ll know she doesn’t mean it, she quickly feels strength and makes a stand for her faith in Elôm by not bowing to the false gods; The emperor orders for her to be tortured and executed (as an example to others); Kyrin never once regrets standing for her faith and prays for strength to endure what is to come; *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, Kyrin’s brother, Kaden, is a taken to the temple as well by the emperor and he also stands for Elôm, so the emperor also has him tortured for information and planned to be executed; Neither Kaden or Kyrin’s executions happen *End of Spoilers*; Many mentions of Elôm (God), trusting Him, believing in Elôm trusting Him, & having faith; Many mentions of prayers, praying, thanking and praising Elôm, & blessings over food; Mentions of witnessing; Mentions of deceased people being with King Elôm; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of the early volumes of history being missing from an academy because they spoke about Elôm and the first kings’ devotion to Him; A couple mentions of martyrs & near-martyrs; A mention of a man’s family turning him in for his belief in Elôm; 
             *Note: The emperor wants everyone to worship the male and female moon gods (called Aertus and Vilai) & orders arrests and executions of those who believe in any other religion and disrespect his gods; Those who do not believe in Elôm call Him a myth; Those who are loyal to the emperor (including one of Kyrin’s grandfathers) are also very loyal to the gods; The academy that Kyrin and her brother are at teach that the gods bring the kings/emperors power and prosperity to their land; Many years prior to this book, the race of the “ryriks” (who are known to be very cruel) led a revolt against the Creator and it changed the land’s belief in Him; Some call ryriks’ painful reaction to air pollution a “curse” that was put on them for being to first to “follow the path of evil”;  Ryriks are said to be more animal than human and some believe them to be soulless; Jace wonders if it is true that he has no soul and if Elôm even hears his prayers (he struggles with this throughout the book, but others tell him that is not true; One character tells Jace that he doesn’t believe that Elôm created an intelligent race of people without souls and that even if He did, Jace’s human part of him has a soul); Jace hears these lies in his head and it makes him doubt about Elôm caring for him; One man is very vocal about Jace being evil because of being part ryrik (due to his own past experiences and tragedies with ryriks, *Spoiler* but asks for Jace’s forgiveness at the end of the book *End of Spoiler*); *Spoilers* After feeling prompted by Elôm to do it, Kyrin tries to become friends with Jace and prays for him; After being around him, she believes he has a soul as well; Towards the end, Jace has a noticeable change in him and starts praying again *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of daily worship being required at the temples to the false gods; Mentions of evil & standing against it; Mentions of some people believing black wolves to be evil and/or possessed with a demonic spirit; Mentions of luck & being lucky; Mentions of dragons; A few mentions of superstitions; A few mentions of a devilish smirk & wicked smiles; A mention of demons from someone’s past; A mention of someone idolizing a family member.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’ and four ‘stupid’s; ‘What in Ilyon’ is also said once; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Lies/Lying (some due to hiding feelings and some to protect their faith or others’ safety); Some eye rolling & sarcasm; Killing (in self-defense), Fighting, Shooting others, Almost being killed and executed (a few times), Being attacked (including by ryriks), Being beat-up and tortured (including having a finger nearly cut-off and an eye almost injured), Being slapped and kicked, Being locked in a dungeon, Being tied-up and nearly abducted, Holding others at knife-point, Being cursed at and trash is thrown at a character by an angry mob, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Nightmares (of deaths and killing), & Grief (semi-detailed); Shooting, Hunting, & skinning animals for food (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Wanting to slap & punch others; Seeing the bodies of loved ones (who were murdered) and having to bury them (up to semi-detailed); Seeing executions, fights/fighting, others being tortured, beat-up, whipped, held at knife-point, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Seeing a gladiator fight, a near murder, & people calling for the death of the loser (up to semi-detailed); Seeing a pet (wolf) kicked and injured/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Jace was a slave for the majority of his life, forced to be in gladiator fights where he killed men while others watched, and would be whipped/beaten by his master and others; After meeting the emperor, Kyrin wonders if she and other followers of Elôm have been mistaken about him being their enemy because he appears to be friendly (Others warn her about him; *Spoiler* Later, she sees other sides of him, however, and realizes how wrong she was about this because he is evil *End of Spoiler*); Kyrin feels guilty over her part in others’ deaths (due to her abilities that are being misused by the emperor) & sobs in great grief over it (up to semi-detailed); Kyrin drinks wine at dinners/parties; A side character also drinks wine (who is a part of the emperor’s people); Many mentions of executions, deaths, murders, murderers, & grief (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of torture, beatings, being whipped, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of bodies & burying them (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of fights/fighting, gladiator fighting, men killing others for sport, & slaves being forced to fight and kill; Mentions of possible war; Mentions of slaves & slavery (including slaves like Jace being forced to fight to the death or kill their opponents); Mentions of fires, smoke, & a home burning down; Mentions of criminals, crimes, arrests, & jails/dungeons; Mentions of robberies, stealing, & thieves/bandits; Mentions of threats; Mentions of bullies & being bullied; Mentions of young gifted children being taken from their homes to be enrolled into an academy to be trained to work for the emperor (including Kyrin and her brother); Mentions of nightmares (including of deaths and killing, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of alcohol/wine & drinking at parties and dinners; Mentions of throwing up; Mentions of hunting & skinning/gutting animals for food (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deception; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of a young boy’s parents being tortured and killed in front of him by ryriks (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of suicide; A mention of tattoos; 
             *Note: Because of Jace being of mixed blood (half human, half ryrik), he is called an “animal” and a “monster” & has faced lots of prejudice and fear from others because of his ryrik side (Ryriks are known to be bloodthirsty and violent); Jace calls himself an “animal” and believes the lies others have told him about himself (including others telling him he is part animal and thus has no soul); When baited to a fight, Jace struggles to keep his ryrik side from taking over (it’s described as “energy” and “anger” flowing through his veins); *Spoilers* Towards the middle of the book, Jace starts to lose his will to live and while Rayad isn’t concerned that Jace would take his own life, he might let it deteriorate by not eating; *Major Spoiler* Towards the end, Jace starts to stop believing the lies he has been told *End of Spoilers*; Jace has bad reactions to being around smoke due to his ryrik heritage (to the point of coughing up blood); Because of Kyrin being able to remember anything she sees or hears, she often has bad headaches; Due to her ability of remembering everything, Kyrin is used by teachers as a snitch on her classmates; Kyrin can also tell when someone is lying and is able to read most people; Kyrin is not close to her mother and doesn’t remember much about her (due to being away from home for so long), but is very close to her father; A side character asks Kyrin what is is like to have a good relationship with her father (because he doesn’t have one with his father); Mentions of prejudice & hatred due to someone’s race (Jace faces this often and on-page); A few mentions of Kyrin’s grandfather belittling one of her brothers (due to his expectations for all of his grandchildren); 
 
 
Sexual Content- An couple embraces (for comfort); A bit of staring; A few moments of being flustered around someone of the opposite gender; A side character is courting another & there are glimpses of their romance (blushes and mentions of kisses); Kyrin is told that if she is found to be with child, she is required to see a palace physician to have it “dealt with promptly” (with a follow-up mention of women often taking certain drugs to end their pregnancies; Kyrin feels repugnance at this conversation); *Spoiler* When locked in the dungeon, Kyrin is told to take off most of her clothing and some of the guards peer in at her when she is removing everything but her shift *End of Spoiler*; A ryrik man leers at Kyrin and plans to take her (which she knows would be her death); Mentions of crushes & flirting; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of kisses & stolen kisses; A couple mentions of abortions (see above); A couple mentions of men leering at women; 
             *Note: Carvings and banners of the female moon god show a “shapely woman” wearing revealing clothing; A young woman wears a revealing dress and tries to get a male character to break during an interrogation (he knows what she is doing, however, and keeps his gaze on her face despite her touching his chest and getting into his personal space); Another woman forces Kyrin to wear a dress with a lower neckline than she prefers and comments on Kyrin possibly filling out one day (in regards to her figure); A few mentions of women wearing revealing gowns; A couple mentions of women not surviving ryrik attacks (which is why everyone is shocked over Jace being half human and half ryrik); A mention of Ryriks having a “poor view of women” and see them as more of a possession than a partner.
 
-Kyrin, age 17
-Jace
                    P.O.V. switches between them, Rayad, and a handful of side characters
                                                        524 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I’ve heard from many book friends over the years that if you like “The Blades of Acktar”, you’ll like this series and vice versa. After finishing that series last month, I can definitely see the similarities—more on that in a minute—but it had more fantasy elements like different races and mentions of creatures like dragons. Because of this, the intimidating size of the book, and the list of characters and other details shared at the beginning, I’m pretty sure I did a nervous gulp as I started reading. That said, I think the author did really well in describing and introducing everyone because I only had to refer to that list a few times for the whole 500+ paged story. 

 

Pacing wise, this book did feel slow to me and it took about 200 pages in for me to be more interested in the plot. Once our main characters finally met at over 300 pages in, however, I didn’t want to put it down. This looks like it’s going to be a very slow-burn romance, but honestly? I think that makes sense for the scars Jace has and the walls Kyrim has to get through—plus the whole fighting against an evil emperor interrupting any potential cute romance scenes. (Down with the emperor for making people bow to fake gods and for delaying the romance for the main characters due to his evil plans! 😠) This aside, I did really like the emphasis on family bonds like Kyrin with her family (especially her twin brother) and also Jace with Rayad in an almost like a father/son dynamic. It warmed my heart to see those scenes. 

 

“The Blades of Acktar” was a lot more straight forward in my eyes because it didn’t have another name for God and didn’t have any fantasy elements like this one, but this book had its charm and interesting moments as well. I wasn’t sure about Jace and Kyrin at first, but I did want them to be safe, have happiness, and trust in God. Kyrin’s faith was incredibly strong and definitely the highlight of this book for me. I kept thinking “Atta girl!” when she would make a bold choice for God. I love seeing strong faiths in Christian Fiction and her faith was particularly great to see. 

 

Overall verdict? So far, not bad. I’m bracing for more violence and deaths of characters that have wormed their way into my feelings for the rest of the series, but I look forward to continuing. For this first book, I would suggest ages 16+ personally, but that might change as the series continues and more violence enters into the books.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Secret Money" by Lois Gladys Leppard

About this book:

  “Adventures seem to follow sixteen-year-old Lily Masterson everywhere, especially when she stumbles into a tragic mystery.
    * Was her father really ill?
    * Why does a tax collector try suddenly to foreclose on the family farm?
    * And what should Lily make of Wilbur, who takes a liking to her, but whose interest seems motivated by something other than compassion?
     Follow Lily on this gripping adventure, and watch her not only begin to solve the mystery, but make some discoveries about her own strength and determination.”


Series: Book #1 in the unfinished “The Lily Adventures” series. Mentions Mandie from the “Mandie” series by the same author.


Spiritual Content- Matthew 7:7 at the beginning & is later quoted in the story twice; Prayers, Thanking God, & Blessings over food; Talks about God, trusting Him, & Him taking care of us; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Lily is frustrated at the end because it seems like God isn’t helping her with the many challenges and heartbreaks she has faced, but her aunt reminds her that He will take care of her and to give Him time (which Lily thinks about; *Spoilers* At the very end, Lily believe God will help her get her home back again one day and feels like her trust in the Lord is strong again *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of God & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, & church outings; A couple mentions of a missionary; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of God doing miraculous things; 
             *Note: The phrase “Lawsy mercy” is said once; A comment about others finding a man to be “ugly as homemade sin”; A few mentions of luck & being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘hush up’; A lie (that ends up becoming true); Being on a ship in a bad storm, concern about a possible ship wreck, a Fire and smoke, Fighting in self-defense, Being attacked and shoved, Being stepped on, Injuries, & Pain  (up to semi-detailed); Seeing a horse attack someone & step on the person (to the point there is concern the horse could kill the person, up to semi-detailed); Grief (Lily for both parents, including receiving the news of one parent’s death on-page; up to semi-detailed with her grief and her sister’s grief; Violet starts to wonder if everyone she loves will die and leave her, but others try to reassure her); *Spoilers, but about a death and grief* Halfway through the book when Lily and her sister arrive home, they are told that their father passed away in an accident; Later, Lily is told more details that it was ruled as an accident of a horse trampling him because of all the damage that made him nearly unrecognizable (told to Lily by her aunt who found him; she is also distraught about it all; up to semi-detailed); Lily doesn’t believe a horse killed her father and wants the truth; Her aunt tells her not to make herself sick over it all as it won’t bring her father back, which Lily knows, but doesn’t think she can live the rest of her life without trying to find out what really happened *End of Spoilers*; *Spoilers* Lily is given foreclosure papers about her family’s farm and when it looks like she can’t do anything about losing her home, she is very upset and wishes that it had burned rather than let anyone else live in it; She is incredibly angry and rude to a man who wants to buy the farm, so her aunt reminds her that God will take care of her *End of Spoilers*; Lily is told a woman’s story of her, her fiancé, and kitten getting swept away in a river and the fiancé rescuing her and the kitten, but him not making it and never being found (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths, a near-death, illnesses, accidents, & grief (including for parents, a wife, and a fiancé); Mentions of a man who fell overboard & drowned (a possible murder; Lily sees the man being rescued from the water and the rescuer workers shake their heads, implying the man died; *Spoilers* The man was beaten to death and them thrown into the ocean according to the ship’s doctor and is later confirmed that he was murdered *End of Spoilers*; barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of someone being beat to death & a fight (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a horse attacking & possibly killing people (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of suspicious and possibly dangerous men (which a friend seriously warns Lily about); Mentions of trespassing (sneaking into some’s room without permission) & someone trying to get into Lily and Violet’s room at night; Mentions of a fire & possible arson; Mentions of injuries & pain; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of alcohol & drinking; Mentions of pipes & smoking; A few mentions of jail & an arrest; A couple mentions of wars; A couple mentions of stealing; A mention of tobacco; A mention of a cat that ran away; 
             *Note: Lily has practically raised her little sister due to their mother’s illness (that made her an “invalid”); Violet says her father told her to never trust someone with “squinty eyes” and repeats it often (implying that the person isn’t trustworthy); A sheriff seems untrustworthy due to not investigating a death properly (which causes people to complain to him and others about it, including Lily); 
 
 
Sexual Content- A cheek kiss (by someone Lily considers to be a big brother); A bit of hand holding (for comforting); Blushes & Being flustered by a man’s handsome appearance; A bit of noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Lily doesn’t think a young man is “romantically inclined” towards her, but he stays around her often (someone else suggests that he is “smitten speechless” with her, but she doesn’t think so); Shortly after meeting him, Lily realizes she is attracted to him, but still thinks something is not right and wants to find out what it is, so she creates a plan to talk to him sweetly to gain information about him and his intentions (a friend is concerned, but Lily notes that she would not allow the strange man to hold her hand or kiss her); *Spoilers* Towards the end, Lily’s neighbor and friend proposes to her; He is a “good bit older” than her and is a young widow; He says that “[he has] always loved [her] since [she] was little. And then when [she] grew up to be such a beautiful young woman, [he] knew [he] felt a different kind of love for [her]” and that he has realized that he “truly loved [her] as a grown young woman, and not as a child anymore.”; Lily is shocked by this confession and while she’s never been in love, doesn’t think she’s in love with this friend and isn’t sure she could “love him as a wife”; She does not accepted his proposal and he asks her to let him know if she changes her mind (she says she will, but does care for him like a big brother); Lily says she has to be sure that she loves the marry she marries, if she ever marries *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of attraction & interest; Mentions of young men coming “calling” on Lily and her father not allowing it previously (due to her age); A few mentions of handsome men; A couple mentions of kisses; 
             *Note: When a friend suggests to Lily about her getting married rather than getting a job, Lily says she doesn’t want to be dependent on a man and get married just for the sake of a livelihood (the friend tells her to never get married for that reason because “love must come first” and adds that if a couple doesn’t sincerely love each other, then a marriage would never work out).
 
-Lily Masterson, age 16
                                P.O.V. of Lily
                                           Set in 1901 
                                                        182 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve had the only two books published in this series setting on my shelf for years to read. Unlike the author’s incredibly popular “Mandie” series, this series was aimed for YA readers. I didn’t realize this was connected to the Mandie series, though! Lily and her sister, Violet, were previously seen in that classic series which was a nice surprise. 

 

Lily has a decent head on her shoulders and her radar is flagged when a young man on the ship starts paying her extra attention. She doesn’t think it’s in a romantic way, but the man is suspicious so she tries to be friendlier to him to gain information. This could have bordered on deceitful on Lily’s part towards the man, but I personally do not think she was. She had a few moments of being…forceful that did border on being rude or short-tempered, but that was when different men came up to her and started talking like they were old friends—which she was having none of it. Her temper reminded me of Mandie at times. 

 

The second half of this book was quite sad, I will say. It felt heavier than the “Mandie” series with the grief, a possible murder, and the mystery surrounding another death. It looks like that last one will continue for the rest of the series, but because the publishing house was dissolved and the rest of the series wasn’t fully published, I’m not sure there will be a satisfactory conclusion to that element. Which reminds me of the lingering questions I’ll have forever about the “Mandie: Her College Days” series. 😅

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.