Books for Christian Girls: "Always Watching" by Brandilyn Collins & Amberly Collins

Monday, April 18, 2016

"Always Watching" by Brandilyn Collins & Amberly Collins

About this book:

“This daughter of a rock star has it all—until murder crashes her world.
The exciting and suspenseful Rayne Tour series features sixteen-year-old Shaley O’Connor, on tour with her mother’s popular band. Shaley lives in a whirlwind of backstage secrets, hotels, and limos. With beauty and fame of her own, Shaley wants for nothing … except the one thing she can’t have. During a concert, sixteen-year-old Shaley O’Connor stumbles upon the body of a friend backstage.
Is Tom Hutchens’ death connected to her?
Frightening messages arrive. Paparazzi stalk Shaley. Her private nightmare is displayed for all to see.
Where is God at a time like this?
As the clock runs out, Shaley must find Tom’s killer—before he strikes again.”

Series: Book #1 (of three) in “The Rayne Tour”.

Spiritual Content- A few prayers; Talks about God & Jesus; ‘H’s are not capital; Carly talks about God openly & prays aloud over Shaley twice; Carly witnesses to Shaley; Shaley isn’t sure what Jesus can do for her, since He’s in Heaven, but she does want to believe in something bigger; *Spoiler* Shaley asks God to help her 20 pages till the end *End of Spoiler*; A couple mentions of sin; Mentions of prayers;

*Note: Brittany can sense the future (mainly when something bad is going to happen), but it’s never said if it’s a gift from God.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’, two ‘dumb’s, three ‘shut up’s, and eight ‘stupid’s; Many mentions of curses (said, not written); Murders, the bodies, blood, hand-prints of blood & a missing facial feature (semi-detailed); Shooting, Blood & a gun to aimed to Shaley’s head (semi-detailed); Hating & Wanting to kill; The Killer’s POV (he’s obviously messed up, the actual murder parts are not in his POV, though); Nightmares (semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths, bodies, blood & accidents (semi-detailed); Mentions of killing & having to kill someone; Mentions of shooting & debris; Mentions of jail; A few mentions of crime shows & corpses (up to semi-detailed); A couple mentions of an alcoholic who later robbed a bank; A couple mentions of drugs; A couple mentions of gangs & gambling; A couple mentions of vomiting; A couple mentions of tattoos; A couple mentions of hunting; A mention of a lamb to the slaughter;

*Note: A mention of Starbucks; A few mentions of & shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch.

Sexual Content- Shaley doesn’t know her father (Her mother was 17 and the father didn’t know. Shaley wants to know about him & mentions of him); *Spoiler* Tom was obsessed with Shaley & had a wall covered in pictures of her *End of Spoiler*; two ‘hot’s; A mention that Shaley’s parents’ love created her; A mention of a tabloid that shared fake story about Rayne’s “wild s*x parties”; A couple mentions of cheaters; A couple mentions of Rayne being lenient about Shaley dating; A couple mention of men ogling Shaley’s mom; A few mentions of jealousy & boundaries; Mentions of stalkers & men obsessed with the O’Conner ladies.

-Shaley O’Conner, age 16
1^st person P.O.V. of Shaley & 3^rd person of the killer
214 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Intense? Yes.

Suspenseful? Definitely.

Did I like it? Somewhat.

It’s the first book by Brandilyn Collins I’ve read, and she’s definitely got the whole suspense/action parts down pat. I’m not really a fan of seeing/reading the point of view of the villain, so those parts were not really enjoyable for me. While I understand the authors wanting to give the serious of the situation, all the blood and gore got to be more than a bit much in my opinion. The ending left a great intro into the next book, though, and I’m curious about what will happen. :)

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!