“FBI agent Collin Sullivan arrives at Broken Chains Ranch with Ollie Callahan--a foster teen and sole witness to a mob hit. The ranch, started by Collin's cousin to provide a trauma recovery facility for veterans, should be a place he can keep Ollie safe until the trial. But what was meant as a peaceful haven becomes a battleground when armed attackers surround the property.
Survival expert Elena Thompson teaches wilderness skills at the ranch and coaches Ollie in self-defense, but soon the series of attacks on the ranch escalates into a full siege. The question is, Who are the attackers after? Ollie, the young witness? Or Elena, with her mysterious past? Cut off from help by tech skills superior to their own, Collin and Elena fight to keep everyone alive as secrets and danger close in.”
Series: Book #1 in the “Soldiers in Shadows” series.
Spiritual Content- A Scripture is quoted; Prayers & Thanking God and Jesus; A couple talks about God and His grace; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Ollie asks God why He hates her (because of her life), but isn’t sure He is real (nothing else is said about this or her having a change of thought about it); Mentions of God, Jesus, & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God and Jesus; A few mentions of God’s/divine intervention and peace; A couple mentions of believers; A mention of memorizing Bible verses; A mention of a godly man; A mention of a military chaplain (who is female);
*Note: Mentions of luck & being lucky; A mention of someone driving like the “devil himself” was after him; A mention of aliens.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, two ‘idiot’s, two ‘dumb’s, two ‘shut up’s, four ‘wimp’s, and fourteen ‘stupid’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Car accidents and being ran off the road, Being shot at (also by drones and stun guns), Shooting at others, Being held at gun-point (multiple times), Gunfire, Explosions, Using a flash-bang, Stabbing someone, Being grabbed, Being attacked, Fighting in self-defense, Being chased, Being locked in a room (*Spoiler* and being “reeducation” in a cult which involves hearing people scream *End of Spoiler*), Being trapped in a partial cave-in, Being drugged, Injuries, Pain, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone shot (barely-above-not-detailed); Helping someone who has been shot (with medical terms and items used, twice; up to semi-detailed); Elena grew up in a compound of preppers (that some call a cult due to the controlling mindset of the leader who was called “Papa”; *Major Spoilers* Her mother got her out when she was around age fourteen, but because her sister didn’t say she wanted to leave, the mother had to leave her in the group; The sister was punished for Elena escaping and since then has risen to the top of the group’s leadership; Elena’s sister, Iris, wants to kidnap her to get revenge on Elena and make her suffer; At the end, Iris goes to shoot Elena, but their father shoots Iris first to protect Elena and Iris is arrested *End of Spoilers*); Many mentions of murders, a teen girl witnessing a murder, a mafia/mob, killers, & hit men (including hit men planning to kidnap a young teen and kill her; up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of attacks, threats (including of killing), & violence; Mentions of deaths (including from murder, cancer, and natural deaths) & grief (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of wars; Mentions of people disappearing in a cult and never being seen again (some believe the people were killed); Mentions of weapons, guns being aimed at people and used to threaten, bullets, being shot and shot at, shooters, bombs/explosives, & flash-bangs (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of car accidents & injuries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of someone being drugged & knocked unconscious; Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of a ruptured appendix & pain from it; Mentions of “reeducation” in a cult (which includes torture and brainwashing in a cult through being locked in a jail, exposed to loud music, fluctuating temperatures, and being told to submit to the leader); Mentions of criminals; Mentions of hostages, kidnappings, & someone being threatened with a loved one being killed; Mentions of stealing, stolen medication, & possible thieves; Mentions of jails/prisons & arrests; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hatred; A few mentions of being trapped an avalanche (Book .5); A few mentions of drug addicts; A few mentions of parents fighting (verbally); A few mentions of hunting and skinning animals; A couple mentions of alcohol & drunks; A couple mentions of cigarettes; A mention of serial killers; A mention of domestic violence; A mention of a stalker; A mention of a man possibly being a psychopath; A mention of blackmail; A mention of rumors; A mention of a tattoo; A mention of throwing up;
*Note: Elena almost has a panic attack (barely-above-not-detailed); Ollie has been in and out of the foster care system her whole life and longs to belong somewhere and be loved (also a couple mentions of some foster parents using the government money for alcohol rather than taking care of her); Ollie has Addison’s disease and takes medications for it; A couple scenes of main characters trying not to be claustrophobic in tight spaces; Sully has learned that because bad guys ignore the rules, he sometimes has to do the same or at least bend the rules to catch them; Mentions of PTSD (including veterans facing it and going to counseling for it); Mentions of brand names & items (Jell-O, Gatorade, & iPads); Mentions of fictional characters (Spiderman & Wonder Woman); A few mentions of car brands; A few mentions of counseling after traumatic events; A couple mentions of someone who was kidnapped needing therapy after being traumatized; A couple mentions of apps/websites (Google & the Food Fleet app); A couple mentions of TV Shows (America’s Got Talent, The Andy Griffith Show); A mention of a store (Costco).
Sexual Content- Two head/forehead kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, two border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses, and three semi-detailed kisses; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Flutters, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of kissing; A mention of a married couple sharing a kiss; A mention of mooning over someone; A mention of crush; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: When Elena is teaching Ollie self-defense, Ollie accidentally pulls Elena’s yoga pants down and it reveals that Elena is wearing Wonder Woman boy shorts underneath (this makes Ollie laugh; Sully sees a glimpse of Elena’s underwear and snickers, but it is not a sexual scene).
-Elena Thompson
-Collin “Sully” Sullivan, age 33
P.O.V. switches between them & Ollie
352 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
This was a different kind of romantic suspense! I’m not one for books featuring cults—they might not be serial killer creepy, but they’re creepy in other ways—so I was a little hesitant about this book when I found out the FMC had escaped from a cult upbringing. It definitely added a different dynamic to this book and the plot compared to most suspense books I’ve read. I can’t say I loved those parts or some of the ending regarding it (mainly about her sister) but it was still suspenseful and my heart was in my throat for most of the book anticipating the worst to come.
As far as things I liked:
- I really appreciate that both FMC and MMC had Christian faiths and it was naturally worked into the plot. Often times one character is mad at God and the other half of the main couple isn’t, so it was refreshing to have them both be believers. That said, I would have loved to see more discussions about their faiths with each other.
- The pacing was believable and well done with everything that was going on. I was shocked at how fast this book went by as I was reading it.
- The romance was on the lighter side—partially because the couple had previous met*. The main focus was keeping everyone safe and alive, not their feelings, which I appreciated.
- The scenes of FMC teaching self-defense to Ollie. There’s been too many female characters in romantic suspense books that don’t know about breaking out of someone’s grip via the break at the captor’s thumbs, so it was good to see it highlighted in this book for readers to learn.
As a strange note, there’s a scene where Ollie accidentally pulls down Elena's yoga pants when they are practicing self-defense and her Wonder Woman boy short underwear is shown. Sully sees a glimpse of this happening and it’s laughed off, but while isn’t not sexual, I did think it was strange to have in a Christian Fiction book.
*I didn’t know the novella by this author “Snowbound Secrets” (which was in the novella collection titled “Whiteout”) was a .5 for this series, so I wish I had read that story prior to picking up this book because it did feel a bit like I was missing certain information and backstories. Nothing too major, though, so I was able to follow along well enough. I assume that’s where Elena and Sully meet for the first time? Sparks have obviously flown prior to this book starting, which is a bit of a pro and con for me. Because of this, I felt more like I was jumping into the middle of a series than the first book.
This novel wasn’t super creepy or about a bunch of murders, so it’s one I think could work for older/High School aged teens interested in suspense books. It might have not been a new favorite, but I am interested in continuing the series as the books release.
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.
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