"Red Rover, Red Rover" by Perry Elisabeth Kirkpatrick

About this book:

  “He's a spy, and he needs her help...

   Emily Abbott is working hard as a coffee barista in downtown Phoenix, keeping one eye on her tiny college fund and the other on the mysterious new guy with his profound lack of coffee-making skills.

   Just when she thinks they might be getting the hang of working together, she's abruptly thrust into his world of espionage and danger. Brent Peterson needs her help to keep Red Rover safe and the information he carries out of the wrong hands. But she's just a barista—what can she do?

   Much more than she thinks.”

Series: Book #1 in “The Accidental Cases of Emily Abbott”. 

 

 

Spiritual Content- Prayers; Mentions of churches & church going; A mention of thanking God. 

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘oh my word’, a ‘sheesh’, and two ‘dumb’s; A few mentions of curses (including Emily almost saying one but stuffing it down with a silent prayer of apology, other ones said, not written); Lots of eye rolling; Seeing fires, explosions, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of fires, smoke, explosions, gunfire, a fight, injuries, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of a kidnapping & potential death and/or torture; A couple mentions of a car crash; A mention of someone flipping off another; A mention of the lottery; 

             *Note: Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of Uber; A mention of the song “Santa Baby”.  

 

 

Sexual Content- A little bit of Noticing (not necessarily in an attraction way, though); A couple mentions of crushes & a young teen hitting on Emily. 

 

-Emily Abbott, age 19

                                P.O.V. of Emily

                                              167 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I’ve had this book my TBR for a while due to hearing some book friends rave about the series and this first book was quite fun! Was it realistic? No, probably not, but it’s a fictional spy agency, so who’s to say it can’t be that way? (I would have preferred a mention of someone flipping other another not have been mentioned, but elsewise, it was quite clean.) I smiled a lot during this short story and am definitely interested in reading the rest of the series.

 

 

 

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.

"The Prince of Spies" by Elizabeth Camden

About this book:

  “Luke Delacroix has the reputation of a charming man-about-town in Gilded Age Washington, D.C. In reality, he is secretly carrying out an ambitious agenda in Congress. His current mission is to thwart the reelection of Congressman Clyde Magruder, his only real enemy in the world.

   But trouble begins when Luke meets Marianne Magruder, the congressman's only daughter, whose job as a government photographer gives her unprecedented access to sites throughout the city. Luke is captivated by Marianne's quick wit and alluring charm, leading them both into a dangerous gamble to reconcile their feelings for each other with Luke's driving passion for vital reforms in Congress.

   Can their newfound love survive a political firestorm, or will three generations of family rivalry drive them apart forever?”

Series: Book #3 in the “Hope and Glory” trilogy. Review of Book #1 Here! and Book #2 Here!

 

 

Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned; Prayers, Thanking God, & Blessings over food; A talk about honoring your father and mother; Luke talks some about his faith & Marianne is surprised that he is a church-goer (as she thinks that the Bible seems like a “weighty, convoluted book”); In a tough situation, Luke prays all the “passages of comfort” but thinks that God isn’t answering him; Towards the end, Marianne says that her mission now was to learn to live in a world in a way that “extended forgiveness to other fallen people”; A pastor is blunt to Marianne about her looking for a stronger faith;  Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, Thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of churches, church going, sermons, a pastor, & a minister (mostly for a wedding); Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of monks & matrons in a convent/Mother Superior; A couple mentions of swearing or lying on a stack of Bibles; A mention of someone who was disowned from her family and her name being stricken from the family Bible; 

             *Note: Luke tells Gray he has three ghosts on his shoulders which Gray asks if they’re good ghosts or bad ghosts (Luke answers that they’re “The kind who wake you up at night and steal your joy and make you pray to God for forgiveness”); A couple mentions of Luke’s inner demons & another man not having any; A couple mentions of Marianne being compared to “forbidden fruit” for Luke; A mention of a husband worshipping the ground his wife walks on; A mention of a devilish smile; A mention of talisman. 

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blast’, a ‘damning proof’, a ‘darn’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘witch’ (when referring to another woman), and three forms of ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling; Being punched & bleeding (which Luke says he’s turning the other cheek, which upset the other man a lot, up to semi-detailed); Going to prison & running away from/fighting with an officer (both as a visitor and being arrested, barely-above-not-detailed); Headaches, Pain, & Being ill (up to semi-detailed); Marianne is shoved by her brother when he’s angry; Marianne’s father goes through her stuff and kicks some of it in anger & grabs her face forcefully; Throwing glass items are others in a fit of anger (common in Marianne’s family and she does it once); Luke struggles with claustrophobia & has “attacks of panic” (semi-detailed); To meet the weight requirement for something, Luke drinks a gallon of water to up his weight; Both Marianne & Luke have been raised to not like the other’s family & there are barbs against each other’s family; Trying to help a dog that fell in a frozen lake (& someone else falling in, the dog is okay, up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of jails/prisons, prisoners/criminals, treason, a spy ring, & a rebellion (Luke in Books #1 & #2); Many mentions of deaths (allergic reactions), poison, chemicals being in food, & human and animal test subjects; Many mentions of eavesdropping, gossip, & rumors; Mentions of wars, fighting, & losing everything; Mentions of a little boy’s dog being shot and killed because of his actions (the father was proud to get rid of the dog because his wife didn’t like it and was able to punish his son, barely-above-not-detailed but is very bluntly written; Marianne is very sad and disappointed that it happened; The young boy becomes very fearful of many things after & his father shows no remorse); Mentions of child labor; Mentions of a break-in & vandalism; Mentions of counterfeit items; Mentions of throwing glass items at others in fits of anger & Marianne’s parents argue; Mentions of a dog that fell in a frozen lake, his struggling, & a rescuer falling in as well (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hatred; Mentions of smoking, cigars, & pipes; Mentions of alcohol/wine/champagne, social drinking, & a bar; Mentions of throwing up; Mentions of children cheating on a test; A few mentions of prejudice towards an Indian (Native American) man; A few mentions of insurance fraud; A few mentions of bribery; A few mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of backstabbing; A few mentions of using the bathroom; A couple mentions of an assassination of a president (Book #2); A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of hunting & skinning animals; A mention of the Ku Klux Klan; A mention of someone being accused of theft; A mention of being robbed; 

             *Note: Marianne shows her smallpox vaccination scar & says “People were once terrified of getting vaccinated, but they’ve been doing it for more than fifty years, and I thank God for it!”; Mentions of the book Don Quixote; Mentions of paintings & artists.

 

 

Sexual Content- Two fingers-to-lips touches, two hand/palm kisses, a neck kiss, jaw kisses (barely-above-not-detailed), a forehead kiss, an almost kiss, a not-detailed kiss, four barely-above-not-detailed kisses, a border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss, and four semi-detailed kisses; Recalling a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand Holding, Nearness, Warmth, & Electricity (up to semi-detailed); Wanting & Longing for someone; Blushes & Winks; Noticing; Luke says Marianne is pretty enough to tempt and monk & that he’s no monk; Many mentions of Marianne’s fathers infidelities, affairs, mistresses (including his grandson’s nanny, which he tried to hide from his wife by kicking out the woman saying that she was a thief), his illegitimate children, & others in the family being mean/rude/hateful to those children (Marianne says that her father does love his wife *Spoiler* Marianne’s “real mother” had an affair and was then paid well to hand her over after the birth; Marianne is very thankful that her father didn’t abandoned her; Marianne’s brother makes snide comments about her birth & later tells a reporter the secret to hurt her; Marianne’s (adoptive) mother also makes slips about not wanting to raise another illegitimate child; Marianne’s (adoptive) mother get very mad at her husband and throws things at him when he comes home late from the city where his illegitimate son and his mother live *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of blushes & winks; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of a couple showing their physical appreciation of the other (mostly her: her sitting on his lap and tracing his neck, barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of men not laying a finger on a woman; A couple mentions of a wife wanting her husband’s secretary to have the face like a bulldog; A mention of a secret meeting between lovers; A mention of the slang about a child being “born on the wrong side of the blanket” (illegitimate); A mention of a tramp; Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: Luke compares Marianne to a beautiful Botticelli (painter) nymph, which she replies that they’re all naked (he says “not all of them”); Mentions of a man’s bare chest (no details); A couple mentions of Marianne’s mother’s figure and having her corset tight to “put other women in the shade”; A couple mentions of a painting of a woman with a low-cut dress (Nell Gwynn, the mistress of King Charles II); A mention of going as a half-naked strumpet to a themed ball; A mention of bosom buddies.

 

-Marianne Magruder, age 26

-Luke Delacroix, age 30

                                P.O.V. switches between them

                                             Set in 1902 (Final Chapter set in 1906)

                                                        352 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Not for those sensitive to animal (dog) deaths and/or affairs, cheating, and hatred towards illegitimate children.}

The final book in a trilogy I’ve been eager to finish.

Unfortunately, It was nowhere near the first two for me because…well, I’ll get into that in a moment, but I did like a few different aspects.

I find the topic of chemicals used in foods to be fascinating and that’s truly what pulled me into this series. I quickly fell for the sibling dynamics between the Delacroix trio. Seeing a certain couple’s wedding in this book was particularly sweet.

When the reveal of their last names happen, I did really like how it was handled—like adults. They still kept seeing each other, though, which added the Romeo and Juliet-ish trope. For the first, oh, 40% I was very interested and smiling like a fool at parts—even if it was insta-love. But my enjoyment started dwindling as it continued.

While it could be refreshing to have a main girl not be super strong-willed (like most in the Christian Fiction Historical genre) or very being a wallflower (like many others in the genre), Marianne was in-between those two in terms of her personality. And I really struggled with her.

Because Marianne and Luke are fictional (I would never say this to a real-life couple) and I viewed their relationship from a not-involved point-of-view: I don’t think Marianne was good enough for Luke. He was constantly showing his loyalty to her, but all she cared about was her family’s stats on things and their approval—even when certain members of her family are just absolutely hateful and evil. She had an opportunity to do something very important for Luke, but instead she doesn’t do anything until she receives something sweet from him that finally kicks her into gear.

Speaking of her family’s evil actions, a beloved dog is killed (technically off-the-pages, but is mentioned often) and it about tore my heart out to read it. As a sensitive dog lover, I truly think that every time I see this book I’ll be reminded of those parts. It was completely unnecessary and used just to make the reader hate a certain character even more (when he didn’t need help in that regard).

There’s also a lot of mentions of cheating, affairs, illegitimate children, and hatred towards those children.

The faith content was…interesting. I really enjoyed Luke’s parts with his faith, but I wish there would have been more on Marianne’s parts other than a quick skimming towards the end about giving forgiveness in a fallen world. (Particularly after her comment about the Bible always seeming like a “weighty, convoluted book” closer to the beginning. I wasn’t satisfied at all with her faith parts.)

The ending was odd for me. I knew that it wouldn’t follow the typical “normal” route, but it still felt like a strange and random way to end the book.

I’m a bit sad, because I was so looking forward to reading Luke’s story and seeing all the photography elements. Unfortunately, there were just too many other parts that took away from my enjoyment.

 

 

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.

 

"Heart of a Royal" by Hannah Currie

About this book:

  “Brought to the palace as a newborn, the royal life bestowed upon Mackenna Sparrow was never meant to last forever. With Princess Alina engaged to be married, Mackenna's presence as companion is no longer required and, like it or not, she must return to the birthright which should have been hers - that of a commoner.

   But not everyone at the palace wants her gone. When the truths she's based her life on start crumbling as fast as her future, will she find the courage to trust, both herself and the prince she's fallen in love with?”

Series: Book #1 in the “Daughters of Peverell” series.

 

 

Spiritual Content- Talks about God & faiths; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; It is illegal to worship a higher power in Peverell; *Spoiler* Towards the very end, it’s revealed that Rebels (a “terrorist group”) are those who believe in God; At first, Kenna believes there is no god and that those who believe in one are fools, but she is witnessed to by others and starts asking questions (because she doesn’t believe, the ‘G’s for God are lowercase); She prays to commit her life to Him and feels peace afterwards (she doesn’t quite understand all the details about it, but wants to trust and believe like her loved ones’); Her parents hid their faith because it was illegal to share it (they could answer questions, but not directly witness) and always hoped that Kenna would ask questions and believe *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God, believing in Him, trusting Him, a statement of faith, & being willing to die for your faith; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of chapels, worship, & persecution; A couple mentions of a song about a kind lord (the ‘L’ is lowercase, but it’s from a couple Scriptures); A couple mentions of thanking God (one is cut off and replaced with ‘goodness’); 

            *Note: A mention of someone being idolized (not actually). 

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: eleven forms of ‘stupid’; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Having something similar to a panic attack; Pain, Injuries, & Blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of terrorists, attacks, threats, & deaths (towards the royal families, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of exile & treason; Mentions of pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip, rumors, & eavesdropping; A few mentions of a potential kidnapping & torture; A few mentions of criminals & crimes; A couple mentions of wars; A couple mentions of prisons; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of drinking bubbly drinks & a drunk; A mention of a bomb; A mention of a tattoo. 

 

 

Sexual Content- Three hand kisses, three cheek/jaw kisses, a forehead kiss, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and two border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses; A dream with a few barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Recalling a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss; Dancing, Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness, Shivers, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed, including a bit of a guy’s muscles); Kenna quickly changes the topic in her mind when it comes to sharing a bed “and more” with a guy; A man insinuates that Kenna is pregnant (out of wedlock) and tells her to come find him later (he also leers at her and she feels filthy being in his presence); He bothers her again, hoping to get in a compromising situation with her (does not happen); Kenna is helped out of a dress by a man (they don’t meet the other’s eyes, it’s more awkward than sexual tension filled (about 70/30)); *Major Spoiler* Kenna and Ben are forced to get married because of rumors and a law about if you touch a woman, you have to marry her (he did not touch her inappropriately, but saw the opportunity to marry her as his father wouldn’t allow it elsewise); They both like each other, but are awkward due to the situation and do not share a bed at all *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of hinting of a wedding night, a couple sharing a bedroom (in an intimate way), & being wanted by your spouse;  Mentions of a man being known to have ruin many girl’s reputations & his leers; Mentions of a morality law that would force a man who took advantage of a woman or inappropriately touches her to marry her; Mentions of a rumor of someone seducing another; Mentions of a first kiss, kisses, hand kisses, kissing, wanting to kiss, & regretting a kiss; Mentions of touches, dancing, very close nearness, & hand holding; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of blushes & winks; Mentions of being & falling in love; Mentions of courting & courtships; Mentions of crushes, swooning, & a girl going on about a guy’s good looks; A few mentions of men not being allowed in Kenna’s room & if a man was caught there, they would both be ruined; A few mentions of assumed lovers’ trysts & love affairs; A few mentions of flirting; A few mentions of chaperones & reputations; A mention of another man possibly taking advantage of a young woman; A mention of a young woman talking about a young man’s arms and muscles and being held in them “and I don’t mean to dance” (her eyes hint to something more intimate); A mention of a hint about a couple possibly “doing other things” when alone; A mention of a maid giving Kenna the wised that men can be different when they’re alone with a lady & that not every man is a gentleman; Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions; 

               *Note: A possibility of a man taking off his shirt in front of Kenna because she’s injured (she hopes he doesn’t because her strength can only take so much, also because he is attractive and her imagination works well (he doesn’t); A few mentions of a mother dying after complications after labor; A mention of a flimsy nightgown being on a newly married wife’s bed; A mention of a girl’s dress showing off “every enviable curve”. 

 

-Mackenna “Kenna” Sparrow, age 17

                                1^st person P.O.V. of Kenna

                                                        306 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens- 

 

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating- 

 

This book surprised me. It really did.

All I knew about it was that it was a royalty story about a girl who wasn’t a.) a royal herself or b.) just found out she’s a royal. It gave the story a very interesting perspective since she’s not a royal, but has been mostly treated as one since birth.

Kenna and Ben’s banter was the absolute best and what quickly pulled me into the story. They were adorable and I don’t think I’ve shipped (that is, wanting a pair of fictional characters to be together/in a relationship) a couple so hard in a long time. They were so much fun and all the elements of a young adult story that I like to see.

I do have two smaller…not complaints, but just notes that I wasn’t the biggest fan of. 1.) There’s some alluding to wedding nights and a married couple being intimate and while it stayed right at the threshold of what I’m personally comfortable with, it does bring down the ratings for younger girls. Which is a bummer because I could see young teens enjoying this story. Nothing was over-the-top in the hintings nor was there a fade-to-black scene (the author gets my respect just for that alone, thank you!!), but it still makes me hesitate to recommend this book for those under 16. (If the girl has read secular YA books, then it would be compared as very clean, but it depends on the family’s views on such content being mentioned.)

Secondly, and this isn’t something I necessarily disliked because it fit the pacing of the story well, but a note regardless: the faith content happened all at the very end of the story. I did struggle a bit with this element because it felt rushed to me. I also don’t know if I agree with people hiding their faiths because it’s illegal and not telling their children about their faith because the whole family could be harmed if the child innocently says something. I know it happens in other countries (such as North Korea) and I honestly don’t know what my actions would be in the same situation. I could see some families not agreeing with this element.

All that said, this was an overall enjoyable book and I do plan to read the next book. This one was very entertaining and I really enjoyed the writing style and our main couple.

 

 

 

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.

 

"Crossfire" by Lynette Eason

About this book:

 

  “FBI special agent Julianna James is a top-notch negotiator who has never lost a hostage. Surely, she can manage to take care of her much younger sister, Dottie, who showed up unannounced to live with Julianna while she finished her senior year of high school.

   A former sniper with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Clay Snyder left the army after a tragic incident that he can't get past. Now he's working as a high school resource officer until he can figure out what to do with the rest of his life.

   Their paths cross when Julianna is called in to negotiate a courtroom hostage situation involving Clay's sister. Impressed and a bit intimidated by the calm, capable woman with the dark hair and blue eyes, Clay invites her to speak at his school. Dottie's school.

   But as the anniversary of a school shooting from Julianna's past approaches, it becomes clear that her perfect record is about to be tested and that Dottie is at risk. If Julianna and Clay can't figure out who's behind the attacks, more innocent people will die--and Julianna just might be one of them.”

Series: Book #2 in the “Extreme Measures” series. Review of Book #1 Here!

 

 

Spiritual Content- Isaiah 41:10 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, read, & prayed; Going to a Bible study; Prayers, Thanking God, & Blessings over food; Talks about God, Him being in control, your choices, forgiveness, & praying; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Clay is mad at God & thinks He doesn’t listen so he stopped praying (*Spoiler* towards the end, he naturally prays *End of Spoiler*); Many mentions of God, His plan, & forgiving others; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of Heaven (& a little boy dreaming that God let him see a bit of Heaven); A few mentions of Bible reading & a Bible study; A couple mentions of churches & church going; A mention of a blessing; 

             *Note: One of the point-of-views is of someone who says she has a mission to kill “those who’d been destined to die for the purpose”, hears voices inside her head and answers them, & at one time, says “the spirits were with me” in her plan (*Spoiler* Her psychiatrist groomed her into fulfilling a revenge mission *End of Spoiler*); A mention of Clay battling his inner demons; A mention of an evil woman.

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘eat crow’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘moron’, a ‘rats’, a ‘what the heck’, two ‘gah’s, two forms of ‘suck up’, three forms of ‘dumb’, eight ‘shut up’s, and twenty-one forms of ‘stupid’; Eye rolling; A handful of mentions of curses being alluded to & replaced with “so-and-so”; Hostage situations, negotiating, & going into the buildings/rooms (semi-detailed); Recalling a school shooting & seeing a death (up to semi-detailed); Fighting (up to semi-detailed); Being run off the road & a car wreck (semi-detailed); Being threatened, held at gunpoint and knife-point, being drugged, & a kidnapping (semi-detailed); Seeing others shot, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (including someone harming themself, up to semi-detailed); Grieving over a loved one’s death; Name-calling & Dealing with a bully; Throwing up; *Spoiler* When Julianna was fifteen, she stole a car and landed in juvie; Prior to that, there was a verbally abusive family member, Julianna has guilt about, because he had a heart attack after she spoke rude/mean things to him *End of Spoiler*; All about many, many mentions of hostage situations, shootings, school shootings, gunfire, guns/weapons/explosives, threats, murder-suicides, killing, bodies, & deaths (semi-detailed); Many mentions of injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & fighting (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a plane hijacking & killing passengers; Mentions of a daughter shooting her parents in their sleep (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of someone being in a psychiatric hospital for attempting suicide (by setting herself on fire) & depression (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of terrorists & corrupted team members; Mentions of ransom & a kidnapping; Mentions of break-ins; Mentions of stealing; Mentions of prisons & juvenile detention centers; Mentions of PTSD & nightmares (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of verbally and physically abusive family members & boyfriend (including Julianna’s mother and one woman says that “all men hit their women at some point, but that doesn’t mean we kick them to the curb”, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a teen getting kicked out by her parents & teens feeling not wanted by their parents; Mentions of anti-law-enforcement issues, people disrespecting officers & those having beef with law enforcement (this is discussed and mentioned in a few places often and Juliana says it’s a very small percentage of officers and agents that get jaded and don’t make good choices); Mentions of teens bullying a girl, getting her drunk, & then making her drive which made her get into a wreck; Mentions of bullies, bullying, & name-calling; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of drinks, drinking, drunks, DUIs, & bars; Mentions of drugs, poisons, & being drugged/poisoned; Mentions of throwing up; Mentions of divorces, parents leaving, a wife leaving her husband for his best friend, & a mom seeing another man before her divorce was final; A few mentions of an assassination & suicide mission; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of teens skipping school; A couple mentions of wars; A couple mentions of watching for those with suicidal tendencies or going-to-shoot-up-the-school tendencies; A couple mentions of physically abusive father & his son saying that he would shoot him if the son became a police officer; A couple mentions of a drug bust; A couple mentions of cheating; A mention of an abuser killing his girlfriend; A mention of a tattoo;

             *Note: Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of sports teams; A couple mentions of Google; A mention of man with GQ good-looks; A mention of wanting to kick bad-guy butt.

 

 

Sexual Content- A hand kiss, two cheek kisses, a top-of-the-head kiss, a neck kiss, and a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Warmth, Shivers, & Hand-Holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of an obsessive, possessive, & abusive ex-boyfriend; Mentions of exes & girlfriends/boyfriends; A couple mentions of wondering if a woman is a man’s mistress & if her baby is his; A couple mentions of kisses; A couple mentions of someone being crazy in love with another (one-sided); A mention of a teen whistling at Julianna; A couple mentions of dates & dates; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.

 

-Julianna Jameson, age 33

-Clay Fox

  P.O.V. switches between them, Felicity, Dottie (all in 3^rd person), & someone else (1^st person)

                                                        291 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

 

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add a full star for older girls with an interest in the law enforcement field.}

There’s something about a book starting off with hostage negotiating that just gets your blood pumping.

I found this book to be so enjoyable and I can easily say that this is now my favorite book by this author. Possibly even her best book, in my opinion.

Suspense books with hostage negotiating always piques my interest and that was one aspect of this book that I really liked seeing. Let me list off some of the other things I enjoyed as well:

-A sister relationship, I repeat, a sister relationship. I love stories with close siblings, but this one really takes the cake because they live together and both sisters care for each other so much.

-The romance elements weren’t heavy at all. Julianna and Clay are interested in each other pretty quick, but neither of them act on it because of their pasts. Which that might annoy some people, but I was here for it because that meant the suspense part of the plot was the main focus most of the time. They’re both insecure because of said pasts, but Julianna knows that her insecurity isn’t from God and I loved that that was mentioned. Atta girl!

-Speaking of the faith content. This might be one of the best Christian Fiction Suspense books that handled the whole “if God is in control, why does He allow bad things to happen?” question. Bottom line is that we live in a sinful world and, yes, God is in control, but people have choices, including the choice to believe in Him or not and that your choices have consequences. The faith content really made this book even better to me.

-And finally: Typically when I read a suspense book, I know the formula, I know how it’s going to go. This one I didn’t and I was truly on the edge of my seat the entire time because I didn’t know what would happen next. The story was under 300 pages, but it felt like the perfect length.

I’ve read a lot of books by this author, but I don’t think I could say I had a favorite book by her—now I can say that I do. This was a very enjoyable read and I really liked Julianna and Dottie—and Clay too, I suppose. Julianna just stole the show, honestly. ;)

 

 

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.