"Blind Trust" Natalie Walters

About this book:

  “Lyla Fox knows she has a reputation at the SNAP Agency for impulsivity, but when she receives a threatening letter from a man she helped put in prison, she can't stop herself from going all in to find out why he's coming after her. Unfortunately, she's going to need the help of the one person who questions her reckless choices more than anyone else.
   Explosives and weapons specialist Nicolás Garcia agrees to help Lyla in order to keep her safe, but her recklessness continues to be a major concern, especially when her investigation into a conspiracy puts a target on her back. Dealing with bombs is dangerous. Working with Lyla is proving to be just as treacherous--to both the mission and his heart.”


Series: Book #3 in “The SNAP Agency” series. Review of the prequel novella Here!, Book #1 Here! and Book #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are said, quoted, & remembered; Prayers & Blessings over food; A few talks about God; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; Lyla says that while she doesn’t avoid prayer, she just doesn’t do it often; Mentions of God & Him being in control; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles & those and events in the Bible; Mentions of a men’s Bible study & a person discussed (Elijah); Mentions of blessings; A few mentions of church going, a sermon, & a pastor; A couple mentions of a chaplain;
             *Note: A quote by Corrie ten Boom is repeated; Mentions of evil people; A mention of Kekoa wanting to be called a “Hawaiian cybergod”; A mention of a woman being called “the devil”.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘ever-loving’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘putz’, a ‘screw up’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘sucker’, two ‘bah’s, two ‘dumb’s, three forms of ‘ticked off’, and six forms of ‘stupid’s; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Finding a body & the smell (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing someone shot (up to semi-detailed); Being shot, Being shot at, Being held at gunpoint, Being attacked, Being kidnapped, Being kicked off a horse, Fighting, a Bomb, Pain, Blood/Bleeding, & Injuries (up to semi-detailed); Lying; A criminal asks to be able to commit suicide (which Lyla says is the “coward’s way out” and won’t let him); A man wants to murder an evil person; Nic goes to the gun range and does all Kill Shots on the target (later, when upset, he wants to go to the range again to kill a paper target); Nic & Lyla go to a rage room & destroy things (Lyla finds it therapeutic); All about many mentions of money laundering, stolen money, counterfeit rings, crimes, criminals, arrests, jails/prisons, & deaths; Many mentions of wars, terrorist groups (including Al-Qaeda), terrorism, terrorist attacks, & deaths; Many mentions of bombs/explosives, bombings/explosions, deaths, & injuries (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of threats, vandalism, & break-ins; Mentions of deaths, finding bodies, & apparent suicides (or possibly murders, all up to semi-detailed); Mentions of gun smuggling, someone being shot, being held at gunpoint, gunshots/gunfire, hostage situations, & deaths; Mentions of a kidnapping; Mentions of a bad car accident & major injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of being knocked out & concussions (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of nightmares (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of drinking, drunks, grabbing a drink with friends, alcohol, & a DUI (a main character got a ticket for DUI a few years prior to the book starting after drinking a couple beers after a break-up); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hunting & hunters; A few mentions of a mother putting drugs in her baby’s bottle to put her to sleep & the baby having violent withdrawals (the child is no longer with the mother); A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of drugs; A couple mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of tattoos; A mention of someone wishing that he was dead; A mention of criminals locked up for murder, domestic violence, & child abuse; A mention of a gambling problem; A mention of smoking; 
             *Note: Lyla feels insecure about the love from her family & tested the limits while growing up (*Spoiler* It turns out she was adopted, which she a surprise to her and she is hurt by it being kept a secret, but has a few discussions with her parents about her being their daughter no matter what *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of TV shows, movies, fiction characters, actors/actresses, singers, & songs (The Jetsons, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, Princess Bride, Shrek, Tomb Raider, Cars, Planes, Charlie’s Angels, Mission: Impossible, Carmen Sandiego, James Dean, Matthew McConaughey, Angelina Jolie, Sandra Bullock, Rascal Flatts, Don Ho, John Lennon, the Beatles, Zeppelin, John Mellencamp, Justin Timberlake, Elvis, Carrie Underwood, Donny Osmond, & The Carpenters); Mentions of brand names (Carhartt jackets, Ralph Lauren, Vans, Nike, Pop-Tarts, Starbucks, Dove chocolate, M&M’s, Cheetos, & AirPods); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of restaurants (Denny’s & Chick-fil-A); A couple mentions of some male criminals believing that women are too dumb to do anything if they confess; A couple mentions of football teams; A couple mentions of a kid liking the poop emoji; A mention of Botox; A mention of social media (Facebook); A mention of Google; A mention of Uber. 
 
 
Sexual Content- Staring at another’s lips (barely-above-not-detailed); A finger-to-lips kiss, a head kiss, an almost (semi-detailed) kiss, and five semi-detailed kisses (two by a married couple); Wanting to kiss (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Butterflies, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Remembering touches & embraces (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (up to semi-detailed); A ‘babe’ and a ‘baby’; Mentions of kisses, kissing, & seeing couples kissing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of feeling the “va-va-voom” feeling when seeing your spouse or future spouse; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends/girlfriends, exes, & break-ups; A few mentions of desire & longing for someone; A few mentions of women who found out their husbands are cheating; A few mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of teenaged crushes; A mention of criminals locked up for rape; A mention of a regime that oppresses and violates women; A mention of Nic not doing one-night stands as he dates with marriage in mind; A mention of a girl having to avoid her “new daddies” that her mother brings home; A mention of a woman recalling her Spanish boyfriend who would kiss her and say “yummy” in Spanish; A mention of a brothel; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A few mentions of a bachelorette party; A couple mentions of picture of women showing off their enhanced features with scant clothing; A couple mentions of hunky guys; A mention of a loincloth; A mention of a married couple trying for a baby; A mention of the death of a pregnant woman in a terrorist attack. 
 
-Lyla Fox 
-Nicolás Garcia, age 32
                                P.O.V. switches between them, Tom (x3), & Brooks (x2)
                                                        313 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

While the first two books in this trilogy might not have been my favorite cup of tea, I did still have higher hopes for this one because I really liked the Lyla & Nicolás from the prior books and was really looking forward to their story. 

I do wish we could have learned more about Nicolás, as I don’t feel like I really know much about him except for his protectiveness for and also denying his feelings for Lyla. She was a pistol and while I’ll admit to her frustrating me at times, I did like both of them. Especially how well they worked together and got the job done. (Also there was no awkwardly-timed/bad-timing kisses like I’ve seen so many times in suspense books, so props to the author for eliminating that trope!)

When I reviewed my fourth/fifth book (one was a novella) by this author, I had said that this book was going to be the book that would decide if I’ll be continuing on with this author’s books. Well, I did like this one, so I guess I’ll be seeing what the author writes next. 

I will say that the ending felt a little bit rushed and I’m impressed by the fact that I didn’t see a certain twist coming. (If I’m being super honest, I’m also annoyed that I didn’t see it coming.) 

I really like the concept for this trilogy—a special law enforcement agency that doesn’t have to wait for approvals and be held up because of red tape—so while I’m still sad that I didn’t enjoy the prior two books, I did enjoy this one.  

 

 

See y’all on Monday 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.

"Fatal Code" by Natalie Walters

About this book:

  “In 1964, a group of scientists called the Los Alamos Five came close to finishing a nuclear energy project for the United States government when they were abruptly disbanded. Now the granddaughter of one of those five scientists, aerospace engineer Elinor Mitchell, discovers that she has highly sensitive information on the project in her possession--and a target on her back.
   SNAP agent and former Navy cryptologist Kekoa Young is tasked with monitoring Elinor. This is both convenient since she's his neighbor in Washington, DC, and decidedly inconvenient because . . . well, he kind of likes her.
   As Elinor follows the clues her grandfather left behind to a top-secret nuclear project, Kekoa has no choice but to step in. When Elinor learns he has been spying on her, she's crushed. But with danger closing in on all sides, she'll have to trust him to ensure her discoveries stay out of enemy hands.”


Series: Book #2 in “The SNAP Agency” series. Review of the prequel novella Here! and Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are mentioned & remembered; Prayers; A hymn is sung; Talks about God & letting go of something/someone; Elinor’s grandfather would pray Scriptures over her, but when she went to college to pursue a science degree, “she ran into more opposition than her mustard seed of faith could handle, and so she let it go—walked away” (she does still pray); Kekoa is upset at God for something that happened in the past but does pray for God to help him, if He’s there;  Mentions of God (some can come across as slightly flippant) & trusting Him; Mentions of those in the Bible; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, a pastor’s sermon, & a youth group; Mentions of a hymn; A couple mentions of Heaven; A mention of a blessing; 
             *Note: A villain walks into a church for a funeral & thinks that if God was going to punish him for his blasphemy, it would have happened when in walked into the church (his mother would take him to church as a child but he believes that God doesn’t care about him); A villain crosses himself & kisses a Saint Barbara medallion, believing that the saint protects him from the dangers of his job; A mention of a username containing ‘goddess’. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bah!’, a ‘blah, blah, blah’, a ‘duh’, a ‘dumb’, a  ‘heck’, a ‘holy hydrogen’ (replacing ‘holy crap’ or something else, fits the context of the story), a ‘shut up’, a ‘stupid’, two ‘drat’s, two ‘OMG’s (as a science joke), and two forms of ‘ticked off’; Mentions of curses (including Kekoa almost cursing, said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Seeing people shot (two), Being held at gunpoint, Being attacked, being choked, being slapped/hit, pain, & injuries (up to semi-detailed); Shooting/killing someone, Being shot, Pain, & Passing out (by villains, up to semi-detailed); Seeing a beaten body & killing (in a villain’s point of view, up to semi-detailed); Causing a car wreck that rolls a car & injuries (semi-detailed); Being stalked/followed (up to semi-detailed); Elinor goes to a bar with a co-worker (Elinor does not drink, but a drunk man there is handsy); Kekoa tells a few lies (because he doesn’t want to share something); Elinor felt rejected by her parents growing up because they left her to her grandfather to raise; Elinor is grieving her grandfather & Kekoa is grieving a sibling and feels guilt; All about many mentions of deaths, murders/killings, murderers, & nuclear bombs/weapons (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of bodies, how they were killed, & finding the bodies (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a drowning (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of torture, an attack, blood/bleeding, pain, & injuries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of gunfire, being shot at, & being held at gunpoint (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a fire & a found body (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of terrorists, treason, jail/prison, & arrests; Mentions of heists, crimes, criminals, thieves, thefts, break-ins, & stolen items; Mentions of bombs, bombings, & threats; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, a hangover, & bars (side characters drink or act like they are drinking when undercover); Mentions of tattoos; Mentions of grief (for a brother, a grandfather, & a son); Mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of rumors; A few mentions of a messed-up stomach from spicy food & being in the bathroom a lot afterwards (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of a suicide; A couple mentions of an assassination attempt & an assassin; A couple mentions of (historical) treason & a beheading; A couple mentions of a woman’s children being threatened; A couple mentions of bullies; A mention of a helicopter crash; A mention of an internment camp; A mention of someone being high; A mention of a cigarette; A mention of a death of an infant son; 
             *Note: Both Elinor & Kekoa have tattoos; Mentions of movies, TV shows, & fictional characters (Independence Day, Cinderella, Starsky and Hutch, Grey’s Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory, Blue Bloods, & Miami Vice); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of Uber; Mentions of singers, songs, actors, & celebrities (Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Taylor Swift, Kool and the Gang, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Stephen King, Jason Momoa, Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Don Johnson, & John Travolta); A few mentions of Apple products (iWatch, iPad, & FaceTime); A few mentions of brand name items (Spam & Coke Zero); A few mentions of stores & fast food places (Neiman Marcus & McDonald’s); A mention of GQ; A mention of Disney World; A mention of social media (Instagram); A mention of a baseball team; A mention of a man saying a company wants to be “culturally progressive” and promote a woman; A mention of someone saying Elinor can be his wingwoman (as opposed to a wingman because it’s more politically correct); A mention of prejudices in the 1940/1950s; A mention of someone being a pain in another’s behind. 
 
 
Sexual Content- Two forehead kisses, a blown kiss, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Staring at someone’s lips; Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Nearness, & Flutters (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Flirting; Noticing & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); A villain tells Elinor that if she does not give him want he wants, she will be raped & beaten until she wants to die (bluntly written, barely-above-not-detailed); Elinor is close to punching a drunk man at a bar that is handsy (barely-above-not-detailed); A man get uncomfortably close to Elinor (three times); A co-worker asks Elinor “what’s the harm in a little fling?” (Elinor does not answer but knows she does not do flings);  A form of ‘hot’ and two ‘sexy’s; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends/girlfriends, & exes; Mentions of jealousy, flirting, blushes, & winks; A few mentions of a child being born out of wedlock to a woman of the night (a man’s mistress); A mention of seeing a couple kiss; A mention of a woman having her eye on a man for a position at her company and maybe in her bed; A mention of a man leering at Elinor in a way that leaves her feeling sick; A mention of a crush; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Kekoa blushes seeing a female co-worker take off her top to reveal a bulletproof vest; A few mentions of figures & curves; A mention of a bra. 
 
-Elinor Mitchell, age 30
-Kekoa Young 
                                P.O.V. switches between them & a few others
                                                        309 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Like the first book in this series, I really wanted to like this one. 
But, well. Hmm. 

I did like the friend group more in this second book and Kekoa grew on me. Not gonna lie, the aerospace/nuclear stuff was lost on me, but I tried to keep up as well as I could. I did really like Kekoa and Elinor together and figured there would be a third-act break-up because of The Secret of his job. It was settled quickly and the overall pacing was good. The romance was definitely the lightest from the books I’ve read by this author and I really appreciated that. 

There was a comment that I wasn’t a fan of. A villain threatening Elinor with gang rape and because she’s part Korean, the men will make her want to die because of what they’ll do it her. It goes into a bit more and it honestly shocked me to see. It was disgusting and, yes, it came from a bad guy, but it was unsettling. In addition to that, because we see some of the villains’ point of views and them killing without remorse, it added a heaviness to the story that I wasn’t expecting. 

A more minor thing, but more frequently mentioned, is casual drinking and though neither of our main characters drink, other side characters do and it’s looked upon as a normal thing. 

Due those elements, I felt like I had to drop the ratings.  

 

 

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.

"Lights Out" by Natalie Walters

About this book:

  “CIA analyst Brynn Taylor developed a new program to combat terrorism, and she invited members of foreign intelligence agencies to America to foster cooperation between countries. Now one of them, Egyptian spy Remon Riad, is missing.
   Jack Hudson has been working for the Strategic Neutralization and Protection Agency (SNAP) for almost nine years and takes the lead in hunting down the missing spy. But he isn't at all pleased to find out Brynn is involved. It's hard to trust a woman who's already betrayed you.
   Every lead they follow draws them dangerously deeper into an international plot. Kidnapping, murder, explosions, poisoning--the terrorists will do anything to accomplish their goal of causing a digital blackout that will blind a strategic US military communications center and throw the world into chaos.
   Can Brynn surrender control to a man who doesn't trust her? And can Jack ever get over what she did to him? The fate of the world--and their hearts--hangs in the balance.”


Series: Book #1 in “The SNAP Agency” series. Review of the prequel novella Here!


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is quoted & remembered; A couple talks about God & trusting Him; Jack’s parents raised him knowing about the Lord, but after trying events, he started to question everything (thinking that it’s “easy to believe God was on his side when thing went the way he wanted”); Brynn makes a comment on why is God doing something to her (regarding to her life seems to be on tract, but then gets derailed); Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of God, trusting Him, & peace; Mentions of having faith; A few mentions of the armor of Christ & a Bible study; A few mentions of a man being Coptic (indigenous Christianity from Egypt) & has a cross tattoo; A mention of a missionary; 
             *Note: Mentions of Allah; Mentions of Allah blessing someone & Seif wondering why he isn’t blessed as he’s done everything right (memorizing the tenets of the Quran, fasted for Ramadan, and never missed a call to prayer), but is working two jobs to provide for his family; A few mentions of phrases meaning “God willing” and “If God wills” (regarding to Allah); Mentions of Muslim terrorist groups & Islamic extremism; Mentions of mosques, going to one, & an imam; A couple mentions of a prayer to Allah (by Seif); A mention of an American man giving his allegiance to a terrorist group and saying that “Allah’s will won’t be stopped”; A mention of Islam; A mention of someone reading the Quran; A mention of becoming a martyr (as a suicide bomber); A mention of someone believing that religions can coexist peacefully; A mention of making a deal with the devil; A mention of a group of people being like “cybergods”; A mention of a Neanderthal; A mention of aliens. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘how in the—‘, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘shut up’, and a ‘stupid’; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Being held at gunpoint, Being held hostage, Being attacked, Being stabbed, & Fighting back (semi-detailed); Explosions/Bombs, A broken bone, Injuries, & Pain (up to semi-detailed); Finding bodies (barely-above-not-detailed); A car crash & Seeing car crashes (up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone pass out (up to semi-detailed); A near panic attack (barely-above-not-detailed); Seif smokes a cigarette; All about many, many mentions of terrorists, terrorism, violent extremists, traitors, plans of attacks, threats to national security, & cyber crimes; Many mentions of suicide bombers, bombs, explosions, victims, & deaths (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of 9/11 (including mentions of Brynn’s father being a firefighter on that day and seeing extreme grief from others); Mentions of wars & war zones; Mentions of deaths, murders, how it happened, & bodies (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of heart attacks, a death, & being poisoned/drugged, & drugs (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths of loved ones & grief (Brynn for her father and mother); Mentions of human trafficking (men and women for work), illegal immigrants, & a sweatshop; Mentions of attacks, fighting, stabbings, being held at gunpoint, being held hostage, gunshots, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of crimes, violence, & protests; Mentions of extreme hatred; Mentions of car crashes & injuries; Mentions of a missing person; Mentions of children playing in a street almost being run-over; Mentions of cigarettes, tobacco, & smoking; Mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of torture & a picture of someone tied up and beaten; A few mentions of arson; A few mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of kidnappings & killings; A couple mentions of the smell of burning hair, flesh, and bone; A couple mentions of a man slapping a young girl and her bleeding; A couple mentions of stealing; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of mass shootings (at concerts, churches, and schools); A mention of a boating accident & death; A mention of a burglar; A mention of a young woman looking like she spent all night at a club; A mention of substance abuse; A mention of bullies; A mention of rumors; A mention of jealousy; A mention of flesh-eating bugs; A mention of an eyebrow piercing; A mention of urine; 
             *Note: Mentions of cancer, treatments, & recovery (*Spoiler* Jack was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma before joining SNAP *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of actual terrorist groups (ISIS); Mentions of equality in the workplace & Brynn being subject to old-fashioned opinions on it as she works in a male-dominated environment (including mentions of other women also having to prove themselves in a man’s world); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of a designer brands & brand name (Louis Vuitton, U-Haul, Colgate, Reese’s Pieces, Eddie Bauer, Tupperware &Tylenol); Mention of TV shows, movies, & characters (Gunsmoke, Grey’s Anatomy, The Love Boat, Dateline, The Princess Bride, Harry Potter, A Christmas Story, The Sound of Music, Independence Day, James Bond, Jason Bourne, & Jack Ryan); Mention of actors/public figures (Ryan Reynolds, Jason Momoa, Houdini, Groucho Marx, Jack Kennedy, Anna Wintour, & Will Smith); A handful of mentions of Uber; A few mentions of a sonogram showing a baby has a deformity & the doctor suggesting about abortion to the parents (the mother is distraught and the husband promises to do whatever he can); A few mentions of places/stores (Starbucks & Whole Foods); A few mentions of a baseball team; A couple mentions of Timothy McVeigh; A couple mentions of GQ & Vogue; A couple mentions of Google; A mention of someone feeling like they’re walking into the next Stephen King novel. 
 
 
Sexual Content- Staring at someone’s lips (twice), two hand kisses, a chin kiss, two almost kisses (one semi-detailed), and a borderline semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Wanting to be kissed (up to semi-detailed); Discussing a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Remembering kisses, almost kisses, & touches (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Hand holding, Electricity, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (including muscles, barely-above-not-detailed); a ‘hot’, a ‘sexy’, and two forms of ‘hunk’; Many mentions of dates, dating, girlfriends/boyfriends, exes, & break-ups; Mentions of kisses, kissing, & another’s lips; Mentions of flirting & winks; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of Jack’s parents instilling in him to date intentional (which he thinks is “a difficult task given the dating world he lived in where singles liked their dates like they liked their food—fast and unfulfilling”); A mention of someone’s boyfriend constantly having a new boyfriend; A mention of a crush; A mention of Lyla wanting to find a “McDreamy”; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A couple mentions of guys’ muscles (noticed by Brynn); A mention of “love [knowing] no age these days” in regards to relationships; A mention of a woman’s figure. 
 
-Brynn Taylor
-Jack Hudson
                                P.O.V. switches between them & others
                                                        322 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Hmmm. I love the idea of this agency and plan to continue the rest of the trilogy, but I did struggle with this book for different reasons. 

A main reason would be the main characters: Brynn & Jack. 

I’m not a big fan of Brynn. She’s keeping a possible clue to herself because of the implications it could have for her if it is a national security concern. Her comments about working in a man’s world—while not frequent—were a bit much. 

I didn’t like that Jack was sort-of-kind-of-somewhat-just-friends dating a girl, but started to be re-attracted to Brynn at the same time. He and the other girl weren’t serious, but it still felt kind of weird to me. (I have to add that I don’t think it helps that I was unconsciously comparing him to the Jack Hudson from Sue Thomas: FBEye that my family recently binged and I much prefer that Jack Hudson.)

I was more interested in the other characters, which speaking of side characters, can there be a side story of Dr. Payne? He amused me.

Secondly, there wasn’t really any Christian faith content until pg. 164, beside a few mentions of praying earlier. I was expecting at least a bit more Christian faith content, honestly, so I’m disappointed in that. There’s some mentions of trusting God and Him being our anchor in a storm, but at one point Brynn feels like God was giving her an anchor in the chaos when she sees Jack’s gaze towards her, which kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Our anchor in a storm is God, not a handsome man you like. Later, she still feels that peace and says it’s the hope that only God could offer, but I wish the prior part had been clearer. I would be more likely to mark this as a clean read than a Christian one because of the lack of faith content. 

Overall? I’m pretty bummed. I had high hopes for the start of this series, but this first book definitely did not make them. 

 

 

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.