"Final Approach" by Lynette Eason

About this book:

  “Air Marshal Kristine Duncan is not on duty when a hijacker attempts to seize control of the plane she and her friends are on as they head out on a much-needed vacation. Jumping into action and aided by FBI Special Agent Andrew Ross, Kristine thwarts the attack and the plane lands safely. But as the investigation into the incident gets underway, Kristine and Andrew are confused at every step. Nothing about the investigation goes as it should, and each layer they peel back just reveals another layer of perplexity.
    As the two work together to navigate a web of deception, blame, and personal reckoning, they find there's more to this story than meets the eye--and more to love and admire about each other. They'll have to put their skills to the test--and their hearts on the line--to unravel the truth and ensure that justice prevails.”


Series: Book #4 in the “Lake City Heroes” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here!, Book #2 Here!, and Book #3 Here! (Also connected to the novella “In The Dark” by this author.)


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is remembered; Prayers, Thanking God, & Talking to Him; Talks about God; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Kristine knows she should honor her father and mother, but wonders where the line is (because of her father’s behavior); Kristine isn’t sure that her father could change, but still prays for a miracle about him; Kristine talks to her brother about their mother being the spiritual head of their family rather than their father, adding that she gets it because “it’s what a lot of women have to do these days if they want to raise kids who love the Lord.”; Andrew says to Kristine that it feels like his prayers are hitting a brick wall and she tells him that they are not (which he knows that in his head, but it’s hard to convince his heart); Mention of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches & church going; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of godly role models; A couple mentions of being blessed; A mention of a Bible & Bible reading; A mention of a godsend; A mention of a Christian Fiction Suspense author (Kate Angelo); 
             *Note: Kristine has a conversation with her mother at her grave and asks Andrew to not think of it being weird; A teenager thinks the people at his church are all hypocrites.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘screwup’, a ‘what in blazes’, an unfinished ‘what the—‘, three ‘stinking’, four ‘idiot’s, four forms of ‘shut up’, six ‘stupid’s, and seven ‘dumb’s; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Some lying (due to work & to avoid telling another about feelings); Eavesdropping; Dealing with a plane hijacking & hostage situation (up to semi-detailed); Fighting, Gunfire, Shooting, Being shot/shot at (x3), Being held at gun-point, Being stabbed, Car crashes (x2), An explosion, Being kidnapped & tied-up (x2), Being drugged (x2), Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (semi-detailed); Seeing someone killed, fights/fighting, someone who overdosed, someone stabbed, a bad car accident, held at knife-point, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); All about & many mentions of plane hijackings, deaths and almost deaths, hostages, weapons, & threats of killing loved ones and harm; Many mentions of gangs, criminal bosses, deaths, identifying gang tattoos, & a sting; Many mentions of gunfire, being shot, being shot at, & the shooters; Many mentions of injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & passing out (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths (including of loved ones), grief, & guilt; Mentions of a terminal cancer diagnosis & death; Mentions of slit throats, a snapped neck, & brain matter showing after someone was shot in the head (all bluntly said and/or written); Mentions/hints of suicides, possible and planned suicides, suicide attempts, & an accidental overdose; Mentions of terrorism & terrorists; Mentions of car accidents, deliberate car crashes, major injuries, & a death; Mentions of crime scenes; Mentions of break-ins, robberies, stealing, a mugging, & thieves; Mentions of arrests & prison; Mentions of gas leaks & an explosion; Mentions of nightmares (of seeing deaths of others and other pas events); Mentions of blackmail; Mentions of parental abuse (emotional & manipulation); Mentions of DUIs & drunks; Mentions of drugs, drug use, & drug dealing; Mentions of gambling & addicts; Mentions of a teen running away; Mentions of divorces; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hatred & a teen daughter telling her mother she hates her; A few mentions of a drive-by shooting & deaths; A few mentions of a killer & events in Book 3; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of bullying/bullies; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of torture; A mention of arson; A mention of rumors; 
             *Note: Kristine feels guilt over her mother’s death; Kristine and her siblings have very strained relationships with their father due to his controlling behavior and manipulation (this is a big part of the book and is shown in different ways: Kristine notes about her father wholeheartedly believing in the “spare the rod, spoil the child” philosophy and they would earn the belt for the littlest thing; Because of his controlling, Kristine and her siblings had sparks of defiance and rebellion from growing up to now (which is mentioned a few times); Kristine prepares to defend herself (verbally and physically, if needed) against her father when he is angry; Kristine talks to her brother about their father’s emotional abuse they faced growing up; *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, Kristine finds a letter from her mother to her father about her plan to divorce him if he wouldn’t go to counseling; Because of her saying this, Kristine’s father organized a hijacking to make her mother realize that she needs to stay home with their family, but it went farther than he wanted and ended in her death (he blames her mother for everyone dying, not himself); Kristine wonders if her father is a psychopath or has antisocial personality disorder; He shoots Kristine with a drugged dart and kidnaps her with the intent for their family to live in an island together; He was a cop and Kristine points out what he is doing is criminal, but he says he is protecting his kids from the world *End of Major Spoilers*); A teen says her mother doesn’t abuse her, but is controlling and doesn’t let her do what she wants, Mentions of brand names & items (Canon, SIG, Glock, Airbnb, iPad, FaceTime, Narcan, Percocet, Motrin, Keurig, Coke, Jell-O, Band-Aids, Xbox, & FedEx); A few mentions of mental health (when referring to Kristine’s father); A few mentions of car brands; A few mentions of Uber; A few mentions of superheroes (Iron Man & Captain America); A couple mentions of a sports team; A mention of a movie (The Maltese Falcon); A mention of Thomas Edison; A mention of McDonald’s; A mention of the Weather Channel; A mention of Google Earth.
 
 
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, an almost kiss, two not-detailed kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Wanting to kiss, touch, & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of affairs & cheating; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of dates, dating, break-ups, & exes; A couple mentions of an ex-boyfriend of Kristine’s wanting to sleep with her before they were married (which she wouldn’t do); A mention of a married couple kissing; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
- Kristine Duncan, age 32
-Andrew Ross, age 31/32 (?)
                                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- 

The bittersweet end to another Lynette Eason series is here! As a reading suggestion, I think this series would be best to read close to together as the friend group is quite large and some of the later couples first meetings happen in the first books. 

 

I did like some elements of this book, but some elements also fell a bit flat to me. I think it was mainly because at the beginning, both Kristine & Andrew harped on their baggage a bit too much and how they couldn’t ask someone else to deal with it for my tastes. Besides that, it was more of a slow-burn romance and I liked the two of them together. 

 

While I don’t think I actually have too many thoughts on this book, I think it would be fair to say that I did overall enjoy it. It’s not a new favorite by this author or in this series, but I really liked seeing the friend group again and seeing all the different ties of the mysteries in this book come together. It was also a nice change of pace of some classic suspense tropes being turned on its head and not the normal layout—I have to be vague for spoilers, but it made the book feel different. Like normal, however, I guessed the culprit halfway through. This fourth book had some similarities to the prior book in the series because of both Kristine & Jesslyn’s family background, though, which made me think I was reading Jesslyn’s story in a different font. Which brings me to wondering, again, how much trauma is too much trauma for main characters to go through? Both Kristine & Andrew have gone through a lot personally and also through their careers. It’s not graphic, but would be a book I would only suggest to older teens who have read and enjoyed other suspense 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.

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

"Serial Burn" by Lynette Eason

About this book:

  “She's out for justice. But the arsonist she's tracking is out for retribution.
    Now the fire marshal of Lake City, Jesslyn McCormick is determined to find the person who started the fire that robbed her of her family when she was just seven years old. As the twentieth anniversary of the tragedy approaches, a string of fires--including at Jesslyn's church--brings up all those old feelings and offers new evidence.
    Because church fires are considered a hate crime, FBI Special Agent Nathan Carlisle is called in to work with local law enforcement. Nathan has his own past--one he'd prefer not to revisit. And focusing on helping Jesslyn track down the arsonist is a great distraction.
    As both the case and the chemistry between Jesslyn and Nathan heat up, memories will come flooding in from the past to bump up against hopes for the future. And when Jesslyn comes face-to-face with her worst nightmare, she'll have to confront her fears and rely on Nathan and her community of friends in order to survive.”


Series: Book #3 in the “Lake City Heroes” series. Review of Book #1 Here! and Book #2 Here! (Also connected to the novella “In The Dark” by this author.)


Spiritual Content- Isaiah 55:8 at the dedication; Scriptures are quoted & mentioned; Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God, Him not stopping bad things from happening, believing in Him even if bad things happen, & accepting the forgiveness God offers; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; Nathan tells Jesslyn about when he was young and after a traumatic event, he decided he hated God and stopped believing in Him because God didn’t stop the awful thing from happening; Nathan also shares that he did start believing in God again, but when things go bad, he falls into old patterns again and believing the old lies, which Jesslyn knows that feeling and reminds herself that nothing is “going to be perfect until he [Jesus] comes back”; Jesslyn says that something wasn’t luck, but God; A woman tells about a wife that “never got the green light from God” about leaving her cheating husband; Many mentions of churches, churches going, & pastors (mostly because of the fires); Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, praising/thanking God, & blessings over food; A few mentions of having peace from God answering prayers; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of those & events in the Bible; A mention of God’s plan; A mention of God “allowing evil” to take Jesslyn’s family, but giving her friends to love and love her; A mention of a sermon at a funeral; A mention of a blessing; A mention of a Christian Fiction author (Elizabeth Goddard);
             *Note: A few mentions of evil people (including someone deliberately burning a church nursery and someone leaving another to die in a fire); A couple mentions of superstitions & not tempting fate; A mention of Pandora’s box.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, an ‘ever-lovin’’, a ‘for the love of—‘, an ‘oh my word’, a ‘shucks’, a ‘stuff it’, a ‘what in the world’, three ‘rats’, seven ‘idiot’s, eight ‘shut up’s, nine ‘dumb’s, and twelve forms of ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Shooting & Killing someone in self-defense (and some grief over having to do it, barely-above-not-detailed); A car accident, Gasoline-filled bombs, An explosion, Fighting/Self-defense, Being kidnapped, Being tied-up, Being injected with a sedative, Being shot at, Being held at gun-point, Being threatened, Having a stalker, Chasing criminals, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Almost passing out and passing out, & Throwing up (up to semi-detailed); Setting a fire, Going through fires, smoke, fire damaged buildings, & seeing how the fires started (semi-detailed); Going to a funeral and seeing a grieving family (up to semi-detailed); Nightmares (up to semi-detailed); *Major Spoilers about Jesslyn’s family* It’s said that Jesslyn’s father had a “lot of issues” stemming from his childhood and it made “living with him hard sometimes”; Later, it’s added that he grew up with alcoholic parents who neglected him and he was in and out of the foster care system; Because of her father’s affairs, Jesslyn’s mother said she would leave him and did but not permanently; When she tried to get a job, he figured out she was planning a future without him and gaslit her into not taking a job (she decided that their marriage was her priority and they did work it out and were better with counseling before their deaths); The fire that killed Jesslyn’s parents and sisters was set by the other women when her father wouldn’t go back to her and then she committed suicide *End of Spoilers*; *Spoilers about Nathan’s childhood trauma* When he was eleven, Nathan and his best friend started a fire in a storage building in his backyard and were trapped in there, leading to his best friend’s death which Nathan feels to major guilt and blame for happening; *Major Spoilers* It’s revealed later in the book that Nathan’s older brother was supposed to be watching them and trapped them in there as payback for not listening to him, he didn’t hear their screams until it was too late; After telling Nathan about his part in it, Nathan later finds his brother thinking about committing suicide while holding a gun; Nathan arranges his brother to stay with him after that and others to always be around him because he can’t be alone for a while after the close-call; Nathan’s brother says that he know that suicide wasn’t the right answer, doesn’t want to die, and wasn’t thinking clearly *End of Spoilers*; All about & many mentions of fires, arsonists, arson, how the fires started, damages, & crimes (semi-detailed); Many mentions of Jesslyn’s family (parents and younger sisters) dying in a fire & her grief and anger over it (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a suicide, a supposed suicide, many not believing the person would kill himself, how it happened (gunshot & jumping off a roof), & grief (*Spoiler* One was murder as the person was pushed *End of Spoiler*, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of suicidal thoughts, possible attempts, & someone holding a gun while thinking about it; Mentions of abusive parents, alcoholic parents, & a sibling becoming physically abusive (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kidnappings, an attempted kidnapping, being held at gun-point, being threatened, gunshots, & guns/weapons; Mentions of a sibling’s plan for their sibling to be killed (genders are written vaguely due to spoilers); Mentions of bombs & possible explosions; Mentions of thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of blackmail; Mentions of threats, hate crimes, & hatred; Mentions of injuries, blood/bleeding, burns, a medically induced coma, pain, & the concern over someone dying due to smoke inhalation (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of kids and teens coming from violent and broken homes with abusive and alcoholic parents; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, alcoholics/drunks, & liquor stores; Mentions of drugs (medications); Mentions of a father leaving his family (Jesslyn calls him a “loser”); Mentions of parents fighting; A few mentions of a sister responsible for the death of her brother (due to a trick gone wrong) and her turning to drugs and alcohol; A few mentions of prisons & jail time; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of deaths in a car wreck; A couple mentions of an eighteen-wheeler accident crashing into a tour bus & pile-up involving many cars; A couple mentions of someone being majorly injured in a car accident; A mention of a husband leaving his wife and kids (the reason is not said); A mention of a possible overdose; A mention of rehab; A mention of jealousy; 
             *Note: *Spoiler* Jesslyn learns about her father’s “mental health issues”, which are later said to be “PTSD, fear of abandonment, and so on” *End of Spoiler*; Nathan’s partner asks if a suicide victim was seeing a doctor for mental health issues; Jesslyn had years and years of therapy after the deaths of her family members; Nathan comments on each person having to decide for themselves about going to therapy; Nathan and his older brother have a strained relationship due to childhood trauma and his brother pushes for them to go to counseling together; Nathan thinks of his older brother as selfish and only cares about himself; Mentions of physiatrists, therapy, & counseling; Mentions of car brands; Mentions of brand names & items (Band-Aids, Keurig, Motrin, iPad, & Post-it notes); Mentions of a fictional character (Superman); A couple mentions of Airbnb; A couple mentions of Uber; A mention of a movie (Casablanca).
 
 
Sexual Content- Three not-detailed kisses and a border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss; Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes & Racing hearts; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); *Major Spoilers about Jesslyn’s family* About half-way, Jesslyn finds out from her aunt that her father was having affairs and seeing multiple different women, which started shortly after her parents were married; Jesslyn’s father bought her mother a new piece of jewelry every time to buy her forgiveness and while she never wore them, she kept them as an escape plan, but never felt the “green light from God to leave him”; Jesslyn is told that her mother always loved him and forgave him before they died and he broke it off with the other woman (they also went to counseling together and he wasn’t sneaking out at night); The night of the fire, the other woman begged him to come back to her *Major Spoilers* and when he wouldn’t, she came back and set his house on fire with him and his family in it and then committed suicide *End of Spoilers*; Nathan stays the night at Jesslyn’s house for her safety; A form of ‘hot’; Many mentions of affairs, infidelity, cheating, & a wife being prepared and planning on leaving her husband; Mentions of dates, dating, asking someone out, & boyfriends/girlfriends; A few mentions of kisses & kissing; A few mentions of acting like a lovesick teenager & crushes; A few mentions of blushes; A mention of a guy kissing his fiancée on her hand; A mention of Nathan pushing away woman “quite frequently” when they want something more than just a date; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: When he is injured, Jesslyn almost asks Nathan if he needs help getting dressed, but doesn’t as she figures“that might take things way past awkward”.
 
-Jesslyn McCormick, age 27
-Nathan Carlisle
                      P.O.V. switches between them & then someone else in the Prologue
                                                        320 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

After meeting Jesslyn in the prior books of this series, I’ve been looking forward to reading her story as soon as it released. Unfortunately, this book had some elements that kept me from really enjoying it. 

 

Let’s first note that I would say that this series would be better to binge read because of the friend group and how they all meet and know each other happens in the first book. Which is nice because it’s not a classic “we’ve only known each other for three weeks and someone was shooting at us during that time but we’re in love anyway” plotline, but it also can feel lacking in “sparks” between the main couple’s first meeting or soon-after events. Because of this and the large friend group, I was lost at times and trying to remember what happened in the prior books to the prior couples. Binge reading this series back-to-back would probably cause better enjoyment of the series, I would imagine. 

 

This book is actually connected to the author’s recently released novella “In the Dark” and that couple is mentioned in this book. I don’t think they were mentioned in the prior books of the series, but it’s been a while since I’ve read them, so I’m not sure. 

 

“Serial Burn” struggled to keep my attention, unfortunately. It felt a little off at times to me? I think it was because the characters are talking in a very modern, around-my-age kind of way and it was throwing me. It almost felt unprofessional at times, but that sounds odd to say. I’m not sure if the author was trying to make these characters “hip with the times” (which I’m aware is *not* a current phrase) but that’s what it felt like to me, and a little heavy handed too. 

 

I was bummed that I figured out the culprit pretty quick, around 50% in and even made a note then of my suspicions, which turned out to be broadly correct. It was messy, to say the least, and I didn’t really like it. It brought my rating down. 

 

I could understand where Jesslyn was coming from in the way she was determined (some might say obsessed) with finding out who her family’s killer was. Which made some of the romance elements feel poorly timed (a complaint I often have with Romantic Suspense books) and then some sappy comments and conversations between her and Nathan had me rolling my eyes at times. By the end of the book, I still didn’t feel like I knew either of them outside of their childhood traumas. 

 

Overall, I’m disappointed in this third book, but I still plan to read the fourth (and final?) book in the series when it releases.

 

 

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.

"Target Acquired" by Lynette Eason

About this book:

  “Tough-as-nails Kenzie King has finally earned her place as a tactical medic on a SWAT team. But not everyone on the all-male team accepts her. Rumor is, she didn't get the position because of what she could do but because of who she knew. Which means she has to work harder and longer than anyone else to prove herself.
    Cole Garrison is a man with deep faith who is finally ready to settle down and build a family of his own--if he can find the right person, that is. Kenzie sure has set off his interest meter, but trouble seems to follow in her wake. Since she joined the team, someone has begun to ambush and pick off team members, one by one.
    It's all hands on deck to discover the culprit and end the killing. Can Kenzie and Cole put aside their differences and work together as a team? Or will their budding attraction be snuffed out by a sniper's bullet?”


Series: Book #2 in the “Lake City Heroes” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; ’H’s are not capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; A few mentions of churches, church going, & church events; A couple mentions of those & events in the Bible; A mention of Heaven; A mention of faiths;
             *Note: A couple mentions of VeggieTales; A couple mentions of some not believing in jinxes; A mention of someone who has passed not being at her grave, but in Heaven.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: A ‘good grief’, a ‘oh my word’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘ticked’, two ‘dang’s, three forms of ‘heck’, four ‘dumb’s, eight ‘idiot’s, ten ‘stupid’, and eleven forms of ‘shut up’; A mention of someone working her “tail” off; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Lots of Attacks/Ambushes, Fighting back, Hostage situations, Being shot at, Gunfire, Explosions, Being stabbed, Being attacked, Being hit, Being kidnapped and tied-up, Being held at gunpoint & threatened, Nearly being hit by a car, Being drugged, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding (semi-detailed); Seeing someone shot and killed by a sniper (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing a criminal attempt to commit suicide (with a gun, but is stopped, barely-above-not-detailed); A SWAT K-9 attacks a shooter on command (up to semi-detailed); In the flashbacks, there is a young woman being held at a mental hospital against her will (she is told she tried to commit suicide and has bandages on her wrists; She has to go through shock therapy (barely-above-not-detailed); *Spoilers* She recalls that her sociopath father was actually trying to kill her and tries to escape from the hospital with help from a doctor and a friend; She eventually leaves under the guise of being submissive so her father will take her back home and is kept in their home like a prisoner until she is later successful in later running away from him *End of Spoilers*; There is a comment from Cole and Kenzie about people not knowing how to deal with mental illness back then and that a lot of people don’t know how to deal with it today either); Many mentions of an attempted murder, suicide attempts, a mental hospital, it being a terrible place with abuse and shock therapy, screams from those there, & someone being held there against her will (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of hostage situations, explosives/bombs, fires, weapons, gunfire, shooters, people being shot, attacks/ambushes, concussions, pain, injuries, stitches, & blood/bleeding (semi-detailed); Many mentions of the car accident that killed Kenzie’s mother & made her father paralyzed (including mentions of possible foul play, her grief for her mother; *Spoiler* The brakes were cut and while her mother wasn’t supposed to be in the car, she was a victim of the murder attempt *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of World War II, deaths of brothers, & grief; Mentions of other car wrecks, deaths, & injuries; Mentions of other deaths (including from a heart attack, fires, cancer, & a hunting accident *Spoiler* The last one was not an accident and was murdered *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of domestic violence; Mentions of being drugged & kidnapped; Mentions of someone nearly being hit by a car & a slashed tire; Mentions of fires & arsonists; Mentions of a break-in & and intruders/burglars; Mentions of stealing & stolen items; Mentions of crimes, crime scenes, criminals, prison/jail & arrests; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & drunk driving; Mentions of drugs, drug overdoses, dealers, addicts, & rehab; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of jealousy & hatred; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of Kenzie’s parents having marital difficulties & sleeping in separate rooms; A few mentions of battlefields & tours overseas; A few mentions of bullies; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of lice; A couple mentions of stalkers; A couple mentions of blackmail; A couple mentions of a man leaving his family; A couple mentions of teens sneaking out & parties; A couple mentions of urine; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of possible internal bleeding;
             *Note: Kenzie and her father have a very strained relationship due to his bitterness and how he would always put her and her brothers against each other when they were growing up (verbal abuse included) (When she thinks of her father, it’s said “now there was a subject worthy of a multitude of therapy sessions” and while she loves him, she spends as little time as possible with him for her own mental health; She also does not do well with apologies because they would be thrown back in her face growing up as it showed weakness; She tries to avoid thinking about how she always felt she had to earn her father’s love; She comments that it took her five years of counseling to understand that nothing is wrong with her); Eliza in the historical setting thinks about how she used to relish her father’s approval; Kenzie has a team member that doesn’t like her because of her gender (he makes comments and snide remarks towards her and her abilities; Others and herself stand up for her, but it does get to her at times as she feels she’s proven herself over and over again); Mentions of crime in areas where people are “poor and desperate” and the SWAT team wanting to show that police officers can be good (also a mention of kids being trapped in their situations and some kids being leery towards the police); Mentions of a child battling anemia & needing blood transfusions; Mentions of brand names (M&M’s, Hershey chocolate bar, Snickers, Jell-O, Coke, Band-Aid, Motrin, & Scrabble); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of a movie & an actor (Tom Cruise & Shemar Moore); A few mentions of apps/websites (FaceTime, Zoom, & Google); A couple mentions of Alzheimer’s & dementia; A couple mentions of Uber; A mention of Kenzie using a picture of someone on her punching bag for her type of therapy; A mention of HGTV.
 
 
Sexual Content- Two cheek kisses, an almost kiss (up to semi-detailed), three barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Staring at another’s lips & Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Cole says he’s not a player because he doesn’t lead anyone on, but Kenzie says he “plays the field”; Cole doesn’t want to cross the line with Kenzie as he is her supervisor; A guy is called “hunky”; A ‘smoking hot’; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, dating, break-ups, & exes; Mentions of flirting & blushes; Mentions of attraction; A few mentions of guys stealing other guys’ girls; A few mentions of crushes; A couple mentions of kisses & kissing; A mention of a couple kissing; A mention of jealousy; Attraction & Longing; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Kenzie thinks that she has great legs thanks to exercise & a friend compliments her on them; A couple mentions of a man being interested in a woman who is fifteen years his junior.
 
-Kenzie King, age 34
-Cole Garrison
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Six Flashbacks to 1947
                                                        304 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Trigger Warning: Scenes at a mental asylum & mentions of suicides

I really enjoyed the first book of this series, so I’ve been excited to read this one as soon as it released. I would definitely say I liked the first book more, but it was neat to see behind the scenes of a SWAT team as I’m not sure if I’ve read about one of those before. 

 

I’ll admit to when I opened the book and saw a long list of the cast of characters and how everyone was connected, I got a little nervous for this book. Thankfully, I was reading a Kindle edition so I was able to search for names to keep track of them all as I read, but it did take me out of the story because I couldn’t keep everyone straight. 

 

The historical parts of this book felt a little shoehorned in and dramatic. Not that it couldn’t have happened—this is fiction overall—but it pull me out of the contemporary setting where all the action and suspense was happening. I knew both times would eventually intersect together, but for the first half of the book, I felt kind of meh on those parts. 

 

I will say that the dialogue and pacing felt a little off to me at times, but I still mostly enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the third book when it releases next year!

 

 

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.

"Acceptable Risk" by Lynette Eason

About this book:

  “Sarah Denning is a military journalist with the Army in the Middle East when her convoy is attacked and she's taken hostage. When former Army Ranger Gavin Black is asked by his old unit commander--Sarah's imposing father--to plan an extremely risky rescue, he reluctantly agrees and successfully executes it.
    Back in the US, Sarah is livid when she's discharged on a false psychiatric evaluation and vows to return to the Army. Until she learns of her brother's suicide. Unable to believe her brother would do such a thing, she puts her plans on hold and enlists Gavin to help her discover the truth. What they uncover may be the biggest story of Sarah's career--if she can survive long enough to write it.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Danger Never Sleeps” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; Sarah tells Gavin about the time her mother encouraged her to let God be her Father and her role model; *Spoiler* At the end, Sarah realizes the anger and rebellious attitude she’s had for a long time has cost her the peace that God had promised her *End of Spoiler*; *Spoiler* When a drug exiting her system, Sarah has suicidal thoughts and thinks that she doesn’t deserve God’s love *End of Spoiler*;  Mentions of God; Mentions of praying & prayers; A few mentions of a cross tattoo of Gavin’s representing divine intervention; A couple mentions of being Blessed; A mention of seeing a loved one in Heaven (Sarah for her brother); 
             *Note: The phrase “Thank God” is said four times and are implied to be sincerely said by our main characters; A man calls Afghanistan a “godforsaken country”; A mention of playing devil’s advocate.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: A ‘bull’, ‘heck’, a ‘stinking’, a ‘tick off’, a ‘what the heck’, a ‘dumb’, two ‘crummy’s, three ‘blasted’s, five ‘idiot’s, twelve forms of ‘shut up’ (need shut its), and eighteen forms of ‘stupid’; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; A car crash/chase, a Fire/smoke, Being held at gunpoint (multiple times), Being shot at, Being drugged, Being kidnapped and tied-up (a couple times), Jumping out of a plane, Fighting, Shooting/killing others (self-defense), Gunfire, Injures, Pain, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Recalling & Nightmares (over the prior events listed, up to semi-detailed); Grief over the suicide of a loved one (Sarah for her brother, up to semi-detailed); Seeing others killed, nearly dead, shot, kidnapped, injured, & bleeding (and helping those bleeding out, up to semi-detailed); The first chapter starts with someone committing suicide by jumping off of a building (semi-detailed); Two scenes of suicidal thoughts include the person feeling as if they are a burden to their family members and the world would be better off without them (one on-page and one recalled about someone else); Gavin asks Sarah if she’s having suicidal thoughts and Sarah says she’s not, but can see “why people who struggle with PTSD can be pushed over the edge to spiral into that pit”; Sarah thinks about stealing an item (and plans to give it back) but feels guilt over it and does not; Sarah almost feels guilty about lying to someone, but realizes she wasn’t lying about her PTSD (she does feel guilty about taking an appointment away from someone else that could have needed it and confesses to the psychiatrist); *Major Spoilers but Important Content Note about Suicidal Thoughts* A company is making a drug to help those with suicidal thoughts and it works until the person is off of it and then they crash so hard that they are determined to kill themselves in whatever way possible to stop those thoughts; Veterans are the guinea pigs for the drug and many have died after their withdrawal symptoms; Sarah is given a dose against her will and when having a withdrawal, she has very negative thoughts (thinking about all the negative things that’s happened to her & that she doesn’t deserve God’s love and is worthless) and tries to run out in front of cars to end the thoughts *End of Spoilers*; In her opening chapter, Sarah is being held hostage in an Afghani prison with other women and girls; Sarah eavesdrops on a conversation; Gavin has tattoos (all of them have meanings); All about suicides, loved ones committing suicide, grief, suicide ideation, the causes, how the people did or attempted it (gunshot, jumping, hangings, overdoses, & self-harm like cutting and running through a glass door), veterans being diagnosed as a danger to themselves, self-harm, grief from family members, & many, many mentions of and discussions of it all throughout the book (semi-detailed); Many mentions of attacks, raids, kidnappings, being tied-up, hostage situations, deaths, being shot/being shot at, gunfire, injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of drugs, deadly side effects, drug rings, drug addicts, someone being high, & addictions (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of the Taliban driving a van with explosives into an orphanage & many of the children being killed or seriously injured (mentions of the adults who were there living with the strong memories of it happening and guilt for surviving, border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed on the injuries); Mentions of terrorists organizations & their violence and murdering others (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a car crash & a death; Mentions of the possibility of being killed; Mentions of Sarah’s mother who died from stomach cancer and her pain (quickly and Sarah is very upset at her father for how things happened, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of kidnappings; Mentions of threats & being threatened; Mentions of prisons & arrests; Mentions of a patient at a hospital screaming, being afraid for her life, & being restrained and bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a car crash/chase, gunfire, & being shot at; Mentions of a helicopter crash; Mentions of a school locking down because of a nearby killer on the loose; Mentions of crimes, crime scenes, & a crime-infested area; Mentions of burglaries, break-ins, & stealing; Mentions of a fire, smoke, & someone planning the fire; Mentions of a missing child (*Spoiler* which was a ploy for someone to kidnap Sarah *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of nightmares (including of killing someone, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hatred (including hating someone and hating yourself); Mentions of an alcoholic, the person’s addiction, getting sober, & a bar; Mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of an attempted murder with a parachute being sabotaged; A few mentions of a shootout where the shooter being killed, & two officers wounded; A few mentions of potential torture; A few mentions of comas; A few mentions of an ill mother having good and bad days; A few mentions of a deer being hit by a car; A couple mentions of an organ trafficking ring (Book #1); A couple mentions of an attack on a terrorist that killed the man’s family (including young children); A couple mentions of a body burned to a crisp (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of bombs/explosions; A couple mentions of a gas station tank exploding; A couple mentions of carjacking & vandalism; A couple mentions of someone stopping horrible memories with alcohol or some drug; A couple mentions of cigarettes & smoking; A mention of a possible attempted murder-suicide; A mention of a suicide bomber; A mention of a drone strike; A mention of someone becoming paraplegic after a car wreck; A mention of terminally ill veterans; A mention of stalking; A mention of a rumor; A mention of eavesdropping; 
             *Note: Sarah has PTSD and bad nightmares (some of her nightmares were interpreted by medical staff as her wanting to die, but she says she does not; She does not want to take medication because she doesn’t want to get addicted to it on top of everything else); Gavin doesn’t suffer from PTSD like many of the people he’s served with; Sarah has a very strained relationship with her father & this is a major part of the book (she feels guilt over finding satisfaction in riling him up and thinks that forgiveness for what he’s done isn’t an option for now, but doesn’t think she actually hates him; He disinherited her for going into the Army; Caden also tries to swallow his resentment towards their father; Sarah, Gavin, and Caden all try to talk to Lewis about his actions and that he is being a dictator towards his adult children; Lewis says he never wanted kids, but had Sarah and her brothers because their mother wanted kids (he adds that the kids eventually grew on him; Sarah recalls asking her father why they had them and he said “I agreed to shut your mom up. Kids were her idea. I just went along with it because I was tired of hearing her whine about it.”; Gavin believes that the General loves his kids, but Sarah disagrees; Sarah comments that if someone killed her, he would probably have some “weird relief”; *Spoilers* The General’s own father wasn’t a great man and he realizes that he’s turned into him; Sarah’s father says that he respects her and wants her safe, which we see actions of that towards the end of the book; Sarah’s mother grew up without a father in the picture and wanted Sarah to see that she could grow up with her own father and encouraged her to let God be her Father; Gavin asks Sarah if she’s ever tried to get past what her father’s done and she honestly responds that no, she’s been too busy being angry with him; Towards the end, she regrets how she’s acted towards him and wants to make it right; They apologize to the other at the end of the book *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of people (particularly veterans) being mentally ill (PTSD, panic attacks, anxiety, bipolar, hallucinations, & paranoia); Mentions of therapy; Mentions of brand names & items (Tylenol, M&Ms, iPad, & FaceTime); Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of kissing someone’s rear end; A mention of someone having a seizer; A mention of Uber.
 
 
Sexual Content- Four forehead/head kisses, a not-detailed kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, and a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Nearness, & Warmth (up to semi-detailed); Noticing (including his muscles, up to semi-detailed); *Spoiler* Past the half-way point in the book, Sarah shares with Gavin that she wanted to hurt her father’s reputation, so in high school she slept around with anyone who would ask (She says she had a lot of nicknames, some that began with the letter S and that the least offensive one was “Sleep Around Sarah”; Sarah wonders if Gavin is repulsed by learning this about her, but he doesn’t think any less of her because she’s not that person anymore; Caden refers to it as her making a “lot of lousy choices that resulted in consequences she can’t shake to this day”) *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of thinking a student being “involved” with her professor & sexual harassment (*Spoiler but Important Content Note* It turns out that the professor is soliciting s*x for As and that a different girl complied, so the student put herself as bait and recorded their “…interaction” but he did not touch her; The professor is caught and facing changes of sexual harassment *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of dates, dating, boyfriends, being dumped, & broken hearts; A handful of mentions of cruel men in Afghanistan selling women and them using the women as s*x slaves and punching bags (when Sarah is kidnapped, she’s aware this is a possibility of happening and/or being trafficked); A couple mentions of lewd looks and comments from men towards women (in Afghanistan); A mention of hitting on a girl; Some Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Sarah believes that Gavin deserves better than her; Sarah wears a burqa while in Afghanistan; A couple women are told to remove their head coverings by their captors’ orders (one man says he will take a teen girl with him, but the girl says she would rather die); A mention of a man coming out of the bathroom in just a towel; A mention of a pair of boxers.
 
-Sarah Denning
-Gavin Black
        P.O.V. switches between them, Caden, The General, & someone else in the first chapter
                                                        320 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{ Trigger Warnings: suicides, suicide ideation, & grief over deaths of family members (all are both on-page and many mentions of them throughtout the book). }

I didn’t realize Sarah had two brothers, so I was in a false sense of security with thinking the brother that was mentioned on the back cover of this book was actually the brother we meet in the first book and would later see just fine in the fourth book. But no. It’s her younger brother discussed and it really hurt to read. Suicide is highly discussed in this book with the grief of siblings left behind. I cried. Let’s just leave it at that. 

 

It was interesting dynamics in this book because not only do we see Sarah and Gavin’s points of view, we also see her older brother Caden and her father. Now, it’s the father that’s a problem and Sarah is completely game to push his buttons—hard. Now, I honestly can’t blame her at all. Her father was a jerk and I was very upset at his actions towards the end of the book, but he redeems himself and discussions happen, which was good to see. 

 

I did totally see the plotline (not really a twist? The aim of the book and the villain would be more accurate to say) coming and I figured I wouldn’t be completely satisfied by the ending because there would still be the deaths of loved ones. I was right. It’s a bittersweet ending, for sure. 

 

Like the first book in this series, I wouldn’t recommend this book either to those in BFCG’s target age range. This is definitely shaping up to be a harder series with rough topics heavily featured. I’m a bit scared to see what the next two books will have in them. The first book was hard because of the terrible and horrible topic of children being killed; this second book just hit hard to me personally because of the grief and suicide topics. Even with the content in the first book, I definitely liked it more than this second book because of the main chapter, humor, and while it tugged on my heartstrings, it didn’t make me cry like this book did. I’ll read the next two books in the series, but I’ll admit I’m a bit nervous going into them. 

 

(I’m also confused as to why Ava has suddenly been added in, though? The friend group in book one was four girls and everyone is getting their own story except Kat because book four is Ava instead…? I couldn’t find that Kat is featured in a novella by this author, so I’m not sure what happened there.)

 

 

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.