"Better Watch Out" by Natalie Walters

About this book:

  “Leave the candy canes, take the pepper spray! 
    Nothing screams Christmas like a week spent ice skating, visiting Santa, and sharing a kiss or two under the mistletoe. Frannie Frost has crafted the perfect bucket list of romantic activities to surprise her boyfriend in the most magical place at Christmas time—New York City. When he unexpectedly becomes her ex, her plans are derailed leaving her with a choice. Wallow in self-pity at Christmas time or take matters into her own hands. 
   Former NHL defenseman turned personal protection agent, Andrew Bishop, loves his job—when things go as planned—but Frannie Frost is definitely not part of the plan. Still, when her brother, the man who saved Andrew’s life last year, asks him to deliver his sister safely to the airport, he can’t say no. 
   The only problem? Frannie isn’t leaving. She’s determined to make the most of her trip by checking off a bucket list of cliché Christmas actives that would make even Santa’s elves jealous. Andrew’s content to let her go until he learns that Frannie’s been mistaken for his client and thrust into the midst of danger.”


Series: Mentions & Features characters from “Deadly Deceit”. Review of that book, Here!


Spiritual Content- 'H's are capital when referring to God; Frannie thinks that nothing deepened her faith faster “than her brother’s dangerous career choice”; Frannie & Andrew tour a Catholic historical church (that he typically attends when he can); Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, & services (including a Mass service); A few mentions of God; A few mentions of those in the Bible (including someone being a good Samaritan & a “rob Peter to pay Paul” plot); A couple mentions of a church’s prison ministry; A mention of the Holy Spirit; A mention of a Christmas hymn; A mention of an empty manger off to the side in a church; A mention of being Blessed; 
             *Note: Going to see & mentions of Santa Claus; Mentions of superstitions & bad luck (a side character kisses a hockey puck for good luck); A few mentions of the ghosts in ‘A Christmas Carol’; A mention of Father Time.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘gah’, an ‘oh my word’, an ‘oh my jingle-jangle stars’, a ‘sheesh’, two forms of ‘darn’, two ‘idiot’s, and six forms of ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; An attempted kidnapping, Fighting/Self-defense, Being held hostage, Being threatened/attacked, Being shoved, Almost being runover, Pain, Injuries, (up to semi-detailed); Frannie goes to a bar/grill & is offered wine by another customer (she turns it down); Many mentions of threats, a ransomware attack, blackmail, crimes, criminals/thugs, stalkers, abductions, & muggings; Mentions of terrorism & terrorists (including a mention of 9/11); Mentions of hits, hitmen, the mafia, & organized crime families; Mentions of money laundering & frauds; Mentions of gambling (on hockey games and horse races); Mentions of pain, major injuries, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of alcohol & drinking (including a side character drinking wine after getting her daughter to bed, Vivian from another book by this author); A few mentions of assaults; A few mentions of an almost shooting & bullet aimed for taking someone’s life; A few mentions of identity theft; A few mentions of prisons; A few mentions of kids teasing/bullying others; A couple mentions of the death of a police officer in a sting gone bad; A couple mentions of a dying relative’s bucket list; A mention of a skiing accident & death; A mention of a body bag; A mention of waterboarding; A mention of a robbery; A mention of explosives; A mention of wondering if someone is high on something; A mention of graffiti; A mention of a hazing initiation; 
             *Note: Frannie is determined to not be her mother who let her husband walk out on their family (this is a big issue for Frannie even though her brother has told her that they were better off without him; She compares her upbringing to another’s seemingly perfect family and thinks that while she’s proud of her mother now, it was hard growing up with other kids teasing her; She vowed that she’d do “whatever it took to make sure a guy never did to her what her father did to her mom”); Frannie’s brother is overprotective and she gets upset with it, wanting to be able to make her own choices; A young girl gets overstimulation in a line (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of movies, TV shows, fictional characters, quotes, & actors/actresses and other celebrities (Apollo 13, The Godfather, The Grinch, Home Alone, The Bodyguard, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34^th Street, Die Hard, Polar Express, Eloise at Christmastime, Elf, It Happened on Fifth Avenue, It’s a Wonderful Life, North by Northwest, A Christmas Carol, Criminal Minds, The Office, Law & Order, Chris Pratt, Kevin Costner, Natalie Wood, Bruce Willis, Trudy O’Connor, Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Chris Evans, Cary Grant, Macaulay Culkin, Riggs Atwood, Whitney Houston, Michael Bublé, Celine Dion, Bing Crosby, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Nora Ephron, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Warhol, & Ella Fitzgerald); Mentions of brand names (North Face, Cole Haan, Armani, Henley, Michael Kors, & Colgate); Mentions of Uber & car brands; Mentions of other pop culture references (Vanity Fair, Barbie, Netflix, FaceTime, Instagram, McDonald’s, Macy’s, Nutella, Godiva, Sprite, Coke, Nespresso, & Candy Land); Mentions of hotel chains; Mentions of superheroes (Superman, Batman, & Star-Lord); Mentions of sports teams; Mentions of Hallmark & Lifetime movies.
 
 
Sexual Content- Three almost (semi-detailed) kisses, a forehead kiss (up to semi-detailed), a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; Staring at lips (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Hand holding, Nearness, Electricity, Butterflies, & Smelling (semi-detailed); Imagining & Wanting to touch, embrace, & run fingers through another’s hair (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (including muscles, up to semi-detailed); A ‘hot’, a ‘hunky’, and three forms of ‘sexy’ (including beautiful women being dressed like “sexy reindeer” in a Radio City Rockettes show); Frannie hoped that her boyfriend would invite her to stay in an extra bedroom at his family’s home and when he didn’t, she thinks it’s because of propriety more than anything else; When near Frannie, Andrew gets hots and thinks that he thought he outgrew those teenage emotions; Frannie gets defensive when Andrew asks if her family liked her ex-boyfriend; Many mentions of dates, dating, boyfriends/girlfriends, crushes, break-ups, being dumped, & exes; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of flirting & swooning; A few mentions of women throwing themselves at hockey players; A few mentions of checking someone out & oogling them; A couple mentions of Frannie going to her hotel room alone (without Andrew; misunderstanding but implied to have been possibly suggestive); A mention of baby daddy drama; A mention of seeing a couple kiss; A mention of a second grader trying to kiss her crush (Frannie); A mention of a pick-up line; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Towards the beginning, Andrew gives Frannie a certain smile to manipulate her feelings to get her to do what he wants (to keep her safe); When Frannie hugs him, Andrew has a thought that would “put him on Santa’s naughty list”; A few mentions of underwear (including a mention of a superstition about wearing the same underwear); A couple mentions of a man teasing another about the Radio City Rockettes being “too much women” for him to handle; A mention of a woman’s dress leaving “nothing to the imagination”; A mention of a woman’s curves (Andrew’s point of view); A mention of a doll for young girls that was “all curves, pouty lips, and in a cringe-inducing outfit” (Frannie is appalled); A mention of a fat man (Santa).
 
-Francis “Frannie” Frost
-Andrew Bishop
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        268 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’m really not a big Christmas book reader or fan, so I do feel like I pushed myself to read this one. It took about halfway through for me to get into this book and enjoy the cheesy Christmas theme, but the ice-skating rink parts were my favorite.

 

I did really like seeing a couple from a prior book by this author and that their family had grown—but it was by adopting a little girl from Korea. That was probably my favorite part of the book because that’s near to my heart. 

 

Frannie wasn't the smartest character I’ve ever read. Like the other books I’ve read by this author, there’s a lot of physical attraction and noticing the other’s body, including his muscles. There’s also a lot of mentions of brand names, celebrities, and movies that while sometimes added to the realness of the book, also pulled me out of the plot because it was a lot of mentions of all of that.

 

I wasn’t really a fan of how he was encouraging her that she could handle herself on her own in a big city—contrary to what her law enforcement brother thinks—but he’s keeping a secret from her that she actually is in danger because of someone mistaking her identity with his actual client. He does eventually tell her, but if I was in this book, I would have been an extra in the background holding up a placard that said “tell her the truth!” 

 

I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve read her brother’s story before—even though I don’t remember any of it—but I was definitely on his side with wanting to keep her safe and unaware of everything and that’s really because she was naïve. She gets upset when the truth is revealed and it’s all about wanting to have her own life and make her own mistakes, but I don’t think her brother was in the wrong. According to his wife, his love language is to protect the people he loves; which you know fits for me too, so maybe that’s why I related to his thoughts, haha. So, and all honesty, she stressed me out with those elements and her being determined not to be like her mother who “got dumped” (who, in all actuality, raised her and her brother by herself after their dad walked out on them). 

 

Honestly, it somewhat won me over by the end, but the romance content and attraction was just too much for my taste and she drove me batty. I can see why I have different friends who like it, but it wasn’t really my thing.

 

 

 

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.

"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.

"Deadly Deceit" by Natalie Walters

About this book:

  “Welcome back to Walton, Georgia, where everyone knows your name—but no one knows your secret.
    Independent and tenacious journalist Vivian DeMarco is back in Walton, Georgia, for one reason -- to do her job and get out. When her boss suddenly dies under suspicious circumstances, Vivian's only hope for finding the truth -- and the next big story -- is small-town law enforcement's lanky poster boy, Deputy Ryan Frost. But the deeper they dig, the more twisted the truth becomes. False leads, incriminating emails, and someone called the Watcher force Vivian to fight for answers -- and her life.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Harbored Secrets” trilogy. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- The villain of this novel uses a Scripture in one of his blackmail messages; A few prayers & a blessing over food; Talks about God, trusting Him, being love by Him, & forgiveness; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; At the beginning, Vivian cuts her mom off when she tries to talk about God & forgiveness; Vivian feels like God disappeared from her life about the same time her father did and that all of her prayers when she was little went unanswered (she thinks that whatever she did to push her dad away must of pushed God away too); Ryan cuts himself off from thinking that he hasn’t been blessed due to how his life has turned out (this makes him pause and think about if he’s only looking at the complications in his life and missing the blessings); Vivian thinks more about God, forgiveness, and not putting the sins of her earthly father on God towards the end; A side-character feels like God had somehow forgiven him for cheating on tests and was being blessed due to receiving good news; A pastor’s daughter feels guilt and sinful due to her actions (see Sexual Content section) and doesn’t want to go to church because she’ll have to pretend that she’s the same virtuous pastor’s daughter and hear her father preaching about the destruction of sin “when he couldn’t even keep his own daughter from it”; Mentions of God & forgiveness; Mentions of prayers, praying, & a blessing over food; Mentions of churches, church going, services, a pastor, & sermons; A few mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A few mentions of the Pope sprinkling people & baptism; A few mentions of sins & sinners; A mention of a Bible study; A mention of a devotional; A mention of a Sunday school class; A mention of a mission trip; A mention of an angel;
             *Note: A couple mentions of Norse mythology; A mention of Ryan feeling uncomfortable after hearing a sermon about the Song of Solomon and unable to stop thinking about Vivian; A mention of Vivian thinking of Ryan’s transformation as “Samson-like”; A mention of a young man saying a bully made his life hell.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah blah blah’, a ‘dang’, a ‘darn’, a ‘drat’, a ‘gah’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘screwd up’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘what in tarnation’, three ‘dumb’s, four ‘idiot’s, and nine forms of ‘stupid’; Vivian fights not to curse in a phone call with her mother (it’s added that “She wasn’t prone to cursing, but sometimes thinking those horrible, awful words made her feel better, at least temporarily.”); Mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Seeing someone have an allergic reaction & their death (up to semi-detailed); A fire, smoke, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Being held at knife-point, being held at gun-point, being kidnapped, & Threatened (up to semi-detailed); Screams, Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Knocking others out, Gunshots, & Seeing someone shot (up to semi-detailed): Hitting someone (up to semi-detailed): A boat chase, nearly drowning, doing CPR, & pain (semi-detailed); Throwing up (barely-above-not-detailed); Some lying & half-lies (most due to being undercover or trying to find out information); A side-character wants to get drunk to try to erase the guilt he feels & another side-character grabs a beer after work; All about many mentions of blackmail, an extortion ring, threats, hacking, parties, drugs, snorting drugs, drinking (including underaged drinking), getting drunk, & drunks (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of allergic reactions, deaths, & someone who killed another with what they’re allergic to (peanuts, border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of Book #1’s murder; Mentions of a drunk husband beating his wife to death; Mentions of wars, veterans, & those who come back different (mentally and physically); Mentions of gunshots; Mentions of a fire, smoke, & arsonist; Mentions of a boat chase & someone possibly being tossed overboard (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of break-ins, thugs/burglars, crime scenes, criminals, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of jails/prisons; Mentions of pain, injuries, blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of cheating on tests; Mentions of grief (a close friend); Mentions of nightmares (including ones of someone’s death, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, underage drinking, getting drunk, & a father who drank a lot (including champagne at a charity event & the bar); Mentions of tobacco, cigarettes, cigars, & smoking; A few mentions of throwing up; A mention of some journalists being insulted, assaulted and sometimes killed for pursuing a story; A mention of drunk drivers; A mention of the mafia; A mention of bullies; A mention of graffiti; A mention of the lottery; A mention of burping & fart jokes from young boys; A mention of animal droppings; A mention of a sister being on husband number four; 
             *Note: After Ryan’s father walked out on their family, Ryan has been the man of the house since he was twelve and struggles at the beginning of this book when he learns his mom is dating; Vivian feels betrayed by her biological father & resents him; Both Ryan & Vivian feel like they did something to cause their fathers to leave & Vivian particularly feels like she’s not enough; Many mentions of movies, TV shows, actors/actresses, superheroes (Marvel & DC), Star Wars characters, & other fictional characters; Mentions of cancer & someone fighting it; Mentions of car brands; Mentions of brand names & items (Aqua Net hairspray, a Lilly Pulitzer dress, Tiffany’s, Cartier, iPhone, Diet Coke, Keurig coffee maker, Axe body spray/cologne, Harley motorcycles, and Kool-Aid); A handful of mentions of newspaper companies (Times, Atlanta Tribune, People, National Enqurier); A few mentions of Prince Harry; A couple mentions of Boy Scouts; A couple mentions of social media (Facebook & Snapchat); A couple mentions of Hallmark movies & The Weather Channel; A mention of Mark Twain; A mention of a hacker motel from an Alfred Hitchcock movie; A mention of the Oscars; A mention of Costco. 
 
 
Sexual Content- Four hand/finger kisses, a cheek kiss, a jaw kiss, five head/forehead kisses, two not-detailed kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, three borderline barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses, and two border-line semi-detailed // detailed kisses; Wanting to kiss (up to semi-detailed); Staring at someone’s lips & mentions of it happening; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Butterflies, Electricity, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace; Blushes & Winks; Noticing (including Vivian noticing his muscles and chest, up to semi-detailed); Vivian’s parents weren’t married when she was born (said to be an affair that went on for more than a decade; *Spoiler* Her father is a famous actor and after gaining popularity (after Vivian was born), his publicist said his personal life needed to be like the characters he played, so he got married to another woman and had children *End of Spoiler*); An underaged teen girl is blackmailed with a video of her seducing guys at a party (the only details given are that the video shows a guy took off her clothing and the act only lasted a few minutes before the next guy came into the hotel room) and her being forced to engage in “moral depravity” by the blackmailer (being sent to motel rooms to be a “companion” to men who have paid to be with her); Vivian is grabbed by a man (who is high) and he wants he to come with him for a “good time”; Vivian gets a creepy vibe from a man and doesn’t want to be left alone with him; a ‘hot’, a ‘hunky’, a ‘sexy’; Many mentions of affairs (including one that was a “slip” when a married man was drinking and he says it was a one-time thing), a video of a man and woman getting very close, & a child born out of wedlock from an affair; Mentions of kisses, kissing, & making out; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends/girlfriends, & break-ups; Mentions of cute guys & a couple teen girls being boy-crazy and having “hot dates”; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of blushes, winks, & whistles; A few mentions of a man becoming obsessed with his ex-girlfriend & harassing her; A couple mentions of young girls being taken advantage of at parties & not wanting to report anything due to their shame and feeling responsible; A couple mentions of a man being caught with an underage girlfriend & the media calling him a rapist and ending his career; A couple mentions of couples kissing; A mention of a man saying that his girlfriend slept around and made him look like a fool; A mention of Vivian being hit on by guys at a bar who want a “sleepover where sleep wasn’t the main goal”; A mention of women lusting over an actor; A mention of a teen girl saying that she liked guys with “sexy abs”; A mention of Ryan suffering from many black eyes as he caught guys saying inappropriate things about his younger sister; A mention of a teen having “super strict” parents and not being allowed to date; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: When watching the blackmail videos, Ryan thinks that he feels like a peeping tom and wants to scrub his eye balls clean; Vivian recalls when she used to strive for approving glances from men by taking very good care of her appearance, but now the idea of using her looks to manipulate makes her feel cold; Ryan says that another woman (who he went to school with) has “nothing special about her” (she’s been trying to get his attention all of a sudden after he become attractive); A few mentions of a woman saying she’s never been “able to resist a man in uniform” & puts her hands on Ryan’s vest (she then giggles and apologizes); A mention of a teen girl’s parents being in an open-door policy, meaning that “if the door was open, trouble was less likely to happen”; A mention of Ryan’s teenage sister’s cropped t-shirt revealing more skin that he is comfortable with her showing; A mention of a thought of a guy ripping off his shirt like Hulk to protect the one he loves; A mention of a woman saying she makes all the first moves with her husband; A mention that it would have been disturbing if a set of siblings had said “I love you” in the Star Wars franchise; A mention of college-aged boys looking at Vivian differently after hearing she’s not a teacher; A mention of a college student having his hair in a bun.
 
-Vivian DeMarco
-Ryan Frost
       P.O.V. switches between them, The Watcher (x3), Preston (x1), Blasie (x1), Bethany (x1)  
                                                        322 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

After reading the first book in this trilogy, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this sequel. I’m definitely not a fan of how heavy the instant attraction was between Ryan & Vivian, though, I thought it was…interesting (not the word I’m looking for, but we’ll go with it) how it was more of her noticing his muscles and such than him noticing her physical attributes. The first book had a lot of that couple’s physically noticing and I was quickly over it. I was over the insta-love in this book pretty quick as well, but there were other parts that took over my attention that I enjoyed. 

There’s a few different things/parts that I did enjoy, so let’s discuss those for a minute. 

I wasn’t expecting the humor this book had at all and I actually laughed out loud quite a few times. The banter between Ryan & Vivian and then them with their friends were so unexpected, but I really liked those parts. 

I liked the small-town vibes, which were much more apparent in this story than the first book (perhaps due to Vivian not being from there but learning to appreciate the charm of small-town living). 

Something that might be an odd thing to note, but I also liked how unique the villain was. No spoilers here, but that person wasn’t the typical Christian Fiction Suspense villain I’m used to seeing (i.e. religious motivation which is very common in CF) and it was a unique feature of this book among a few other suspense elements that I haven’t seen before or rarely see. 

And speaking of the villain, the parts I wasn’t thrilled with understandably includes that person due all the blackmail that affects the villain’s victims’ lives. This included a high school girl being blackmailed into being a “companion” to men for money after a video is captured of her sleeping with other guys, and while the words prostitute or human trafficking is never used, it’s very obviously known what’s happening. 

On a lighter note that still affected my ratings, Vivian and Ryan were super-duper insta-attracted to each other. I already said that, I know, but it needs to be mentioned again. Sure, they were pretty cute together. However, it was a bit much in my opinion of how quick they were interested in and fell for each other. Because of both of their pasts and their fathers not being great men, it’s affected how they let others get close to them and that’s totally understandable, but I wished they had communicated more and didn’t let a misunderstanding happen for so long. 

All of those many thoughts said, I do plan on continuing the trilogy by reading the third book. We’re introduced to Pecca and she was a hoot, so I’m looking forward to learning her story.  

 

 

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.