"The Chase" by Lisa Harris

About this book:

  “US Marshal Madison James may not be sure who shot her three months ago, but she does know one thing--it's time to get back out into the field. When her partner, Jonas Quinn, receives a message that a federal warrant just came in on a man connected to a string of bank robberies, Madison jumps at the chance to get back to work. What she and Jonas find is a bank robbery in progress that's gone wrong--and things are about to get worse.

  For these bank robbers, it's never been just about the money. It's about taking risks and adrenaline rushes, and getting caught is not part of the game. When the suspects escape, Madison and Jonas must hunt them down and bring them to justice before someone else--someone close to them--gets hurt . . . or worse”

Series: Book #2 in the “US Marshals” series. Review of the First Book Here!

Spiritual Content- Talks about God, struggling, & trusting Him; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Going to a cathedral to catch a pair of criminals; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of a church/cathedral; A few mentions of faiths; A couple mentions of church families; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of blessings & being blessed; A mention of a testimony.

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’ and three ‘stupid’s; Some eye rolling; Finding a dead body (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing a death & hearing about others (up to semi-detailed); Seeing people shot & bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Being caught in cross-fire (up to semi-detailed); Being attacked, almost drowning, & pain (up to semi-detailed); Being held at gun-point for a robbery (on the street, up to semi-detailed); Car chases (semi-detailed); All about many mentions of criminals, crimes, bank robberies, stealing, raids, being held at gun-point, being shot, being shot at, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of murders, murderers, how it happened, & attempts (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of smoke bombs, screams, & pain (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of Madison being shot in Book #1 & her injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of arrests & jail/prison; Mentions of hostages; Mentions of break-ins & burglaries; Mentions of threats, blackmail, & extortion; Mentions of drugs; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of tattoos; Mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of the plan crash from the first book; A few mentions of car crashes; A few mentions of trespassing; A few mentions of drinking & alcohol; A couple mentions of a drive-by shooting; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of a possible fire; A couple mentions of vandalism; A mention of cigarettes; A mention of a bully in school;

             *Note: Mentions of pop culture (Facebook, Snapchat, Etsy, ESPN, James Bond, Columbo, & Agatha Christie); A few mentions of car brands.

 

 

Sexual Content- A barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Staring at someone’s lips (twice) & thinking about kissing/wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Some Nearness, Touches, an Embrace, & Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of boyfriends, girlfriends, break-ups, exes, dates, & dating; A few mentions of drugs & distributing them; A few mentions of kisses (including one on the cheek); A mention of a “family man” who’s had more than one mistress; A mention of flirting; Some love, falling in love, & the emotions (lighter than most romantic suspense books);

             *Note: A couple mentions of a woman’s physically abusive ex-boyfriend; (The sneak peak to the next book in the series opens with the prologue in the point of view of a married man’s mistress with mentions of sleeping with a married man and having a child with him).

 

-Madison James

-Jones Quinn

                                P.O.V. switches between them

                                                        305 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

One thing I’ve noticed about Lisa Harris’ books is that she includes red herrings into her plots. “Is this break-in connected to this case the main characters are working on, or a different case from the past, or could it just be random?” It’s an odd note, but I’ve enjoyed that because it has me questioning with the main characters and trying to figure out how it’s connected.

 

I thought this was a really interesting suspense premise and I liked how the “romance” of this “romantic suspense” book wasn’t heavy. This is more due to the reason that it’s a trilogy about Madison and Jonas, and therefore, is slower in that regard. But, regardless, I like the slower pace then them falling in love with each other within 300 or so pages. I was quite satisfied by the ending and am very much looking forward to reading the last book in the series next April.

 

 

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.

 

"Her Secret Alaskan Family" by Belle Calhoune

About this book:

  “Can she come home to a place she's never known?

  Everyone remembers the kidnapped Alaskan baby...but they don't know she's returned home.

  Sage Duncan is the only person in Owl Creek who knows her true identity: the missing Alaskan chocolate heiress. Now she's returned to Alaska to learn about the family she was stolen from--without disclosing her identity. But keeping her deep secret from gorgeous town sheriff Hank Crawford is much harder than Sage thought...especially when she finds herself falling for him.”

Series: Book #1 in the “Home to Owl Creek” mini-series from the “Love Inspired” line.

Spiritual Content- Psalm 147:3-4 at the beginning; Scriptures are mentioned, quoted, & remembered; Prayers; A few talks about God; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Hank says Addie’s birth led him straight to becoming a man of God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of church going, youth groups, & a church’s outreach programs; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A couple mentions of Bibles; A couple mentions of sins & the Ten Commandments; A mention of Godspeed;

             *Note: Sage mentions that her (adoptive) mother didn’t seem to show herself as a religious person in any way and that the kidnapping explained so much about her lack of faith; Sage wonders if her (adoptive) mother repented and found Jesus in her final days; Sage’s (adoptive) father is convinced she accepted God as her Lord and Savior, and that he prays for her everyday.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘stupid’ and four ‘idiot’s; Eye rolling; All about a kidnapping/abduction of a baby twenty-five years ago & the criminal (Sage wonders how he mother was able to steal another women’s baby); Many mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deceit/deception; Mentions of unexpected deaths & accidents (including a car accident); Mentions of con artists & scams; Mentions of gossip; A few mentions of stealing & crimes; A few mentions of going to jail; A mention of wondering if a woman is in a bad marriage & running away from an abusive situation;

             *Note: (Not necessarily Negative, but something to note: Sage comments on her mother showing signs of mental instability and that while it frightened her as a child, she knows she loved her in her own way).

 

 

Sexual Content- A hand kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, two semi-detailed kisses, and a detailed kiss; Wanting to kiss (which I’ll being noting below my final thoughts, up to semi-detailed); Remembering a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Nearness, Smelling, Warmth, Touches, Embraces, & Electricity (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing (attraction at first sight) & Butterflies; Hank was intimate with his ex-girlfriend (which he says he regrets twice being intimate outside of marriage and didn’t have a relationship with God then) which resulted in Addie, who he didn’t know existed until she was a few months old (because the mother passed away); Sage’s mother told her father that she rescued Sage from two underage teens who hadn’t been able or willing to raise her; Many mentions of dates, dating, girlfriends, & exes; A few mentions of high school sweethearts & seeing a married couple kissing; A couple mentions of crushes; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: Mentions of Sage’s (adoptive?) mother struggling with infertility & her parents separating for a time because of it; Mentions of Hank being a single father & prejudice he’s faced from people over it.

 

-Sage Duncan

-Hank Crawford

                                P.O.V. switches between them

                                                        224 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating-

For those who have been wanting more “realistic” fiction in the Christian Fiction category, this book might be something you’d be interested in. The main girl was abducted as a baby, possible mental illnesses are discussed, and the main guy of this story has a daughter out of wedlock (which he says twice that he regrets being intimate outside of marriage). Because of these things, I hesitate to recommend it for those under 16, but it was all handled very carefully and was overall clean.

There were the typical, slightly corny lines that I expect from a Love Inspired book, but because I was interesting to see the ending and reveal, I tried not to focus on the romance side of this book all that much. I did find a few different parts to be a bit odd (such as Hank called his mother by her first name when talking to Sage about her and the next paragraph’s note), but overall it was a decent story.

*Note: I wasn’t the biggest fan of Hank and his thought process in this paragraph: “He wanted to kiss her. Truthfully, he had wanted to kiss her for quite some time now, but his desire to steer clear of complications had veered him off course. His head had ruled his emotions. And why shouldn’t he share an embraced with a lovely woman with whom he’s established a special connection. This opportunity might never crop up again. Sage would be leaving town soon and he would be left with a host of regrets if he didn’t at least try to act on his instincts.” And then he kisses her. Personally, this rubbed me the wrong way.

*Note: With the adoption aspect of this book, it may be difficult for some adoptees to read. Sage’s (adoptive, though it wasn’t a legal adoption) mother told her father that she had rescued Sage from two underage teens who hadn’t been able or willing to raise her. Her adoptive father was convinced that Sage was an abandoned baby. Later says he overlooked all the red flags and accepted his wife’s story without question. Sage knew she was adopted and always felt like she didn’t belong—which she attributed that feeling because she was adopted, she now think it was because she was abducted. Words like “rescued” and “abandoned” are used often when referring to the past.  

 

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.