"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.

BFCG's 10th Birthday & Celebration! (Open Internationally!)

It’s been ten years.

Ten years since the start of ‘Books for Christian Girls’. 

Ten years of content reviews.

 

It’s amazing to see how the Lord has grown this blog into a passion and a ministry for girls ages 9-19. It’s amazing to see how many girls and families care about the content in a book. That’s truly been the most encouraging thing to me over these years; to know that I’m not alone in wanting good, clean, faith-filled Christian fiction. 

 

It’s so funny to look at our 5-year anniversary post and note where this blog was at then. I said “To be completely honest, I never even imagined doing this site for so long. I was 13, turning 14 soon, when I felt called to start this ministry, and while I didn’t think I’d be doing it for a short amount of time, I definitely didn’t image doing it this long.” Look at what the Lord has done. This blog is just shy of 1,200 reviews and getting closer to a million views everyday. That’s unbelievable and it’s thanks to His blessings and y’all’s support. Thank you!

Thank you to those who appreciate these reviews.

 

Thank you to those who support this site by sharing with others.

 

Thank you to those who have Philippians 4:8 values.

 

Thank you for being here. 

 

With this being a big birthday, I wanted us to celebrate in a bigger way. Here’s the details: There will be 10 winners (8 on this site and 1 each on Instagram and Facebook. Check out our Instagram post and Facebook Page for the info on those giveaways!) You are welcome to enter all three ways to win! 

 

For this giveaway, I wanted to give some options of books we’ve loved for a long time and also some more recent favorites in hopes that there maybe a few that interest everyone. I wanted to share some BFCG favorites for all ages with these book options! Reviews are linked and make some notes on which ones interest you because that will be important! ;) 

 

This giveaway is open internationally as long as Book Depository or Amazon delivers to your country! :) (Book Depository actually closes on 4/26, but all orders will be available until 6/23, so we should be covered!)

 

 

“A Match in the Making” by Jen Turano

 

“A Spy’s Devotion” by Melanie Dickerson

 

“Anomaly” by Krista McGee

 

A “Camp Club Girls” collection (which one will depend on what is available to your country!)

 

“Deadly Devotion” by Sandra Orchard

 

“Dog Days of Summer” by Kathleen Y’Barbo 

 

“First Date” by Krista McGee

 

“Ignite” by Jenna Terese

 

“Heirlooms” by Sandra Byrd

 

“Katie in Waiting” by Erynn Mangum

 

“Off the Chain” by Janice Thompson (or another one in this series)

 

“Once I Knew” by Victoria Lynn

 

“Porch Swing Girl” by Taylor Bennett

 

“Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek” by Jill Osborne

 

“Seeing Voices” by Olivia Smit

 

“Sketchy Behavior” by Erynn Mangum

 

“The Librarian of Boone’s Hollow” by Kim Vogel Sawyer

 

“The Mandie Collection” Vol. 1 by Lois Gladys Leppard (or another volume in this series)

“The Debutante’s Code” by Erica Vetsch 

 

“The Uncertainty of Fire” by Stephanie Daniels

 

 

 

On the Rafflecopter below, you’ll see the first requirement is to list what your top three book options from the list would be. This is to give me a bit of wiggle room for our international friends, but also if two of the winners want the same book, there’s no sadness about there only being one copy! 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

This giveaway and the ones on our Instagram and Facebook are open from 8^th-19^th (ends at midnight on the 20^th) and you’re able to gain an extra entry each day on each one, if you’d like to do so!

 

Thank you once again for supporting this site and I hope you have an absolutely wonderfully Blessed day!

"A Gem of Truth" by Kimberley Woodhouse

About this book:

  “Julia Schultz has a reputation for being a storyteller--or as others see it, a liar. But with a dark and painful past, stories were all that kept her company and made her interesting to others. Longing for a fresh start and a second chance to earn real trust, Julia takes a job as a Harvey Girl at the El Tovar hotel, where she's challenged to be her true self.

    Learning the trade of a master jeweler is hard work, but Christopher Miller takes pride in running his family's small shop and earning the respect of the people around him. But when he discovers that he has six weeks to buy his shop from his landlord before it is sold, he must find a way to save his grandfather's legacy.

   United by the discovery of a legendary treasure, Chris and Julia find hope in each other. But when Julia's past catches up with her, doubt creeps into Chris's heart. Can he really trust her and her stories?”


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


Spiritual Content- Many Scriptures are read, remembered, quoted, discussed, & thought-over; Being witnessed to (Julia) & witnessing to others (Ruth); Many Prayers & Thanking God; Many talks about God, Jesus, believing in Him, Him loving us, & faiths; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Ruth witnesses to Julia often; Julia doesn’t think she is worthy of God’s love & that God is too busy for her (at one point she thinks God is laughing at her); *Spoiler* Towards the end, right when what Ruth has said to her about God makes sense, there’s a spiteful voice in Julia’s head telling her that she’s a worthless orphan; She tries to cover her ears and tells God that she needs proof that He cares for her; Once she reads Scriptures that she’s been told before, she prays to God *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of God, Jesus, believing in Him, His will, His creation, faiths; Many mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & those in the Bible; Mentions of witnessing & being witnessed to; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of churches, church going, a study group, & a preacher; A few mentions of miracles; A few mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A couple mentions of a Franciscan priest; A mention of someone saying that the biblical flood carved the river in the Grand Canyon; A mention of a godly marriage; A mention of sinners; 

             *Note: A mention of some people believing an orphan is from the devil. 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah, blah, blah, blah, blah’, a ‘dagnabbit’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘sucker’, a ‘tarnation’, two ‘blast’s, four forms of ‘idiot’, eleven ‘dumb’s, and twenty ‘stupid’s; Seeing others who have been shot, attacked, injured, & bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Being tied up, Being beat-up, Injuries, & Pain (up to semi-detailed); Beating someone up & killing another by shooting him multiple times (done by Bobby, bluntly written, barely-above-not-detailed); A bit of sarcasm & eye rolling; Julia’s parents died when she was young, which caused her to go from home to home (*Major Spoiler* Her parents were hanged because they’d killed two people while robbing a bank *Major End of Spoiler); Because of Julia childhood (the deaths of her parents and then adoptive parents), she thinks that she’s worthless (also due to people making comments about her) and not deserving of love, so she’s sought attention and affirmation from others by telling lots of stories/lies (she’s told in the first chapter that it isn’t right and plans to do better from then on; she messes up once, but does well the rest of the book); Bobby smacks & later kills someone (barely-above-not-detailed); Bobby plans to kill anyone who gets in the way of finding the treasure (including Julia, barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of jail, arrests, crimes, criminals, robberies, thieves, stealing, stolen items, beating someone up, deaths/murders, & hangings; Many mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of deaths & grief (including Julia for her biological parents and adoptive parents & Chris for his grandfather); Mentions of planning to kill others to keep them away from the treasure (including trapping mountain lions to release on others; Bobby’s plans, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of stories about others’ deaths (Julia with her parents so she doesn’t have to tell anyone what really happened to them); Mentions of gunshots, almost being shot, others being shot, & attacks (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & mountain lion attacks (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of hatred; Mentions of gossip, rumors, peer pressure, & a mean girl; Mentions of wounded animals, animals killing their prey, & a carcass (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of threats; A few mentions of a child almost getting hit by a train (a story, did not actually happen); A few mentions of pipes & tobacco; A few mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of hunters & hunting; A couple mentions of a fire & deaths; A couple mentions of a woman running for her life (Book #1); A couple mentions of someone passing out; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of a family being evicted; A mention of a kidnapping (Book #1); A mention of a child putting a snake in his adoptive mother’s bed & her getting sick (it’s implied the child is no longer with them); A mention of loan sharks coming after a person’s family & taking everything; A mention of seeing the life draining out of an animal (that attacked someone); A mention of someone’s glare being able to skin a cat; A mention of poop; 

             *Note: Mentions of a young Julia facing prejudice because she’s an orphan. 

 

 

Sexual Content- Forehead/Temple kisses, a not-detailed kiss, and a borderline barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace; Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of an engaged couple struggling with their passion, but wanting to honor the Lord with their bodies, so they promise to only share one kiss a week (he says it’s hard to restrain himself); A couple mentions of couples kissing; A mention of a wife telling her husband that he took “too many husbandly privileges”; A mention of Chris aiming to keep his mind and body pure; A mention of flirting; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.

 

-Julia Schultz

-Christopher ‘Chris’ Miller 
                                P.O.V. switches between them, Ruth (x6), & Bobby (x9) 

                                     Set in 1907 (Prologue in 1889)
                                                        320 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This book had quite a bit of lessons! 

Our main girl, Julia, oh, goodness. I felt really bad for her. All she wants is love—unconditional love—and to have others care about her. Julia’s childhood taught her that lying and coming up with stories about herself would make others interested in her. I was glad to see someone tell her that that isn’t how she should live very quickly on in the story because I don’t think I could have handled waiting for that discussion. Like in the first book, I do think that Julia’s change of believing happened a bit…not rushed because it was towards the end of the book, but perhaps sudden. 

Chris was fine. A little too perfect at times, but they were cute together and this book reminded me of a book I probably would have loved as a tween/early teen. Clean, sweet romance, and a little bit of a mystery. It did few…juvenile at times, but that might be because of all the exclamation points and the writing style. I will overlook that easily though since it’s very clean with good lessons. So far, both this second book and the first book are ones I think ages 13-15 would really enjoy. 

We see Ruth’s point of view more in this second book, so I’m looking forward to finally learning her story in the third and final book. This has been an interesting series so far. I think I enjoyed the first book a bit more, but this one was good too. I definitely plan on reading the third book (Ruth’s story) soon.
 
 

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. 

"In Her Sights" by Karen Witemeyer

About this book:

  “He's sworn off love, but she has his heart in her sights and doesn't intend to miss.
   Stained by his wastrel father's legacy, Jackson Spivey lives on the fringes of society. Townsfolk tolerate him since he keeps the local hotel supplied with fresh game, but mothers coach their daughters to avoid him. After tasting consistent rejection, Jackson spurns all attempts at courtship. The only things he can count on are his guns and his God.
   Tessa James has been secretly in love with Jackson for ages, but trying to gain his favor only pushes him further away. When she learns Annie Oakley is traveling through Texas, Tessa seeks lessons from the famed markswoman. If Jackson's life revolves around guns, taking up shooting might help her engage his interest. Too bad she can't hit the broad side of a barn.
   When Annie loans Tessa a custom pistol, however, things begin to change. The lore behind the mysterious weapon fosters hope that Tessa might finally hit the target of Jackson's heart. But when danger threatens, she might be forced to use the pistol for something other than finding love.”


Series: Part of the “Pink Pistol Sisterhood” series. Mentions characters from the author’s other books, “Stealing the Preacher” (review Here!) and “A Tailor-Made Bride” (review Here!). 


Spiritual Content- Galatians 6:9 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are remembered; Talks about God; Mentions of God & faith; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of church, church going, & a pastor; A few mentions of blessings & being Blessed; 
             *Note: Mentions of Cupid & his bow (mythological creature); A mention of something sounding like “hocus-pocus”; A mention of someone looking like an “avenging angel”; “For Pete’s sake” is said once.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘biddies’, an ‘idiot’, a form of ‘screwed up’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘rats’, four forms of ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); A bit of eye rolling; Shooting someone (self-defense and feels bad afterward, up to semi-detailed); Fighting, Being held at gunpoint, Getting shot (accidentally), Pain, & Blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of thieves, a robbery, outlaws, threats, & prisons/jails; Mentions of gunfire, being held at gunpoint, getting shot, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & drunks (Jackson’s father); Mentions of hunting, hunters, & shooting animals for food; A few mentions of grief (a daughter); A few mentions of cigarettes & tobacco; A few mentions of lies; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of poker & playing card games; A mention of manure; 
             *Note: Jackson faces prejudice & rude comments because his father is a drunkard and a felon (he is in prison); Jackson’s father used to belittle him with insults which causes Jackson to wonder if he really is worthless.
 
 
Sexual Content- A bit of staring at someone’s lips; A forehead kiss, a border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; Remembering kisses (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, & Shivers (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (up to semi-detailed); Jackson feels a hunger and desire for Tessa; Book ends on a wedding night & a passionate kiss (in Jackson’s point of view); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of reputations; A couple mentions of touches & embraces; A mention of a married couple kissing often; A mention of jealousy; A mention of a crush; Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A mention of a dress hugging a woman’s figure (said by a dressmaker to a client). 
 
-Tessa James, age 20
-Jackson Spivey, age 20
                                P.O.V. switches between them (first chapter in someone else’s)
                                             Set in 1893-1894
                                                        122 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’m willing to slightly overlook the few parts with a lack of gun safety and then Tessa jumping into a dangerous situation, because the rest of the story was really cute. Tessa & Jackson were really cute together. Plus, it was neat to hear about the characters from two prior books by this author—especially Joanna & Crockett. 

The book does end on their wedding night with a passionate kiss, though, which docked my personal rating half a star. Because it didn’t allude to them doing more than kissing, it could be an okay read for older high school girls.

 

 

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 Author for this honest review.