"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.

"Before You Meet Your Future Husband" by Robin Jones Gunn & Tricia Goyer

About this book:

  “Bestselling author Robin Jones Gunn teams up with author and teen advocate Tricia Goyer on a devotional for young single women to help them establish God-honoring thinking and beliefs that will lay a firm foundation for their future marriage.
   Movies, television, and novels feature glamorous portrayals of dating and marriage, giving us unrealistic expectations of what true love looks like. A beautiful counterpoint to those dreamy fantasies, Before You Meet Your Future Husband focuses on three areas you, as a young woman, need to address in preparing for 
    • your heart —nurturing a place where healthy love can grow
    • your head —realigning your thoughts with biblical truth
    • your hands —learning to make the most of your God-given potential
   This uplifting, interactive devotional helps you approach dating from a place of peace and strength, whether you’re in a relationship now or simply hope to be married one day. With a focus on your own transformation, Before You Meet Your Future Husband offers biblical guidance, real-life stories, thought-provoking questions, and intentional prayers to help you prepare now for the future God has in store for you.
    Discover the freedom and contentment that come from preparing for a God-honoring, life-giving relationship.”


Series: Connected to the book “Praying for Your Future Husband” by the same authors. 


Spiritual Content- All about, many talks about, & many mentions of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Him loving us, being our Bridegroom, having plans for us, His love for us, & trusting Him; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Each of the 30 days start with a Scripture and ends with a prayer; Many, many Scriptures are quoted & listed (a variety of versions are used, NIV, ESV, MSG, TLB, HCSB, etc.); Prayers; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings; Mentions of churches, church going, youth groups, camps, worshiping, & ministers/pastors; Mentions of missionaries & mission work; Mentions of Christians; A mention of the book “Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby and Claude King; 
             *Note: A mention of some TV stars and musical artists being called idols.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘screwed up’; Mentions of lies; A few mentions of a derailed train & deaths; A few mentions of bullies & being bullied; A few mentions of cussing & “mild cussing”; A couple mentions of gossip; A mention of beer; 
             *Note: Quotes from Jane Austen, Corrie Ten Boom, Willa Cather, Christina Rossetti, John O’Donohue, Lewis B. Smedes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, & Robert Louis Stevenson; A couple mentions of Barbies; A mention of an abusive and manipulative relationship; A mention of a Hallmark movie; A mention of a singer (Todd Tilghman).
 
 
Sexual Content- Both authors share their story of wanting to be loved and cherished by a guy as teenagers and wanting a guy to fill their heart (which lead to a lot of brokenness); Many, many mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends, & break-ups; Mentions of some girls watching movies that has sexual content (one of the authors explained to a group of girls that those scenes were demeaning to the woman and didn’t “model the kind of love and sexual expression God has designed for a man and a woman” (one of the girls excuses it as a little bit of the dirty stuff sprinkled in with the good stuff won’t hurt them as it’s the real world. The author disagrees with that statement and gives an analogy); A few mentions of songs and movies showing “love” through physical intimacy and two people sleeping together (the authors explain the word as allowing someone to know the deepest parts of you (on a personal level, not just physically) and say to be able to prepare yourself for intimacy with your future husband, open your heart to intimacy with Jesus); A few mentions of wondering about being kissed & holding hands; A few mentions of crushes & flirting; A couple mentions of calling to God to help you if you find yourself being caught up in a rush of emotions and possible physical intimacy; A couple mentions of intimacy in marriage; A mention of wanting to kiss someone; A mention of the author Tricia Goyer finding herself pregnant by a guy that didn’t want to be a part of her life; A mention of a fiancé being with his ex-girlfriend the night before breaking up with his actual fiancée; A mention of being obsessed with boys; 
             *Note: One of the authors (Tricia Goyer) shares her story of longing for a boyfriend to love her & giving her“whole self away in [her] search for “love”” which lead to pregnancies—one that she chose to have an abortion and one that she decided to have the baby (the fathers did not stay in the picture); A few mentions of hormones. 
 
                                             {Non-Fiction} 
                                                        224 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ll be honest, it’s hard to review non-fiction books--especially when they’re about someone’s actual life--in this content review format…which is a main reason why I don’t read or review many non-fiction books. 
But I wanted to try this one, mainly because I’ve enjoyed another non-fiction book by Robin Jones Gunn and gained from it. With Tricia Goyer joining the writing team for this book, I had pretty high hopes! And overall, I liked it. 

Even though this book is all about preparing yourself for your future husband, I really appreciate that one of the authors mentioned a couple times about marriage possibly not being on God’s list for you, even saying “You are loved and worthy, and God has good plans for your life. Those plans may include finding your future husband, or He may lead you on another path”. That last part is something I think is often skipped over as a possibility for Christian young women, and I appreciate seeing that mentioned—especially in a book like this one. 

It was a lot of the authors telling us, the readers, about their past experiences, different young women they know, and how God worked through whatever was going on. Personally, I would have preferred a little less stories and more Biblical references, but that’s just my preference, though, I did enjoy a lot of this book. It was good and I think many teen girls could start reading this one, depending on the girl and her thoughts on boys and marriage. 

I really appreciate that the main message of this book wasn’t “how to get a good husband”, but that Jesus should be the most important relationship in your life. 

 

 

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 (Multnomah) for this honest review.

"The Lady of Lanaria" by Michaela Bush

About this book:

  “A kidnapped princess, a promise, and a kingdom cursed with mysterious plagues. 
   "Mark my words, Evangeline; if you set foot outside this tower, you will surely die."
   Evangeline has spent her entire life hidden in an ancient watchtower, gazing through a window as the world passes her by. She heeds her mother's warning closely, the truth hidden from her always. When a young guard stumbles upon the tower, Evangeline's life is changed forever. As she strikes up a secret friendship with the guard, she learns about the Kingdom of Lanaria and the mysterious plagues that haunt all who live there. But as she delves into the world she barely knows, not everything her mother says adds up. Will they find the truth before it's too late?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Legends of Lanaria” series. 


Spiritual Content- Three Scriptures are listed at the beginning (Psalm 112:4, Micah 7:8, & John 1:5); A few Scriptures are mentioned/quoted; Prayers & Thanking God; Bible reading; Talks about God; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Evangeline found a Holy Book and reads it (which Mother is very upset about and wants her to destroy it as it will only fill her mind “with lies and fairytales of archaic deities who somehow care about you”; *Spoiler* Towards the end, Mother burns the Bible *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of God & His will; Mentions of a Bible & Bible reading; A few mentions of prayers & praying; A few mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A couple mentions of the king being a believer of Christ; A couple mentions of not being able to serve two masters; A couple mentions of a priest & him performing a ritual prayer for health; A couple mentions of the fallen, sinful world; A mention of a God-given talent; A mention of a cathedral; 
             *Note: Prior to the story starting, it’s said that witchcraft took a hold of the kingdom and it spread along with evil and darkness; Mother is a witch, practices dark magic, calls it her religion, & wants Evangeline to learn it as well (but she does not want to as something inside of her tells her it’s evil and sinister); *Spoiler* The “curse” is actually poison because Mother is not strong in the “dark magicks” so her “spells” are illusions and the “curse” is poisonous fruits and plants *End of Spoiler*; Mother says the Bible is all about angry armies going to slaughter others and people being murdered because of what it says (Evangeline disagrees); Many mentions of the Witch who cursed the kingdom, curses, spells, witch-hunts, a book of spells and dark magicks, chanting, & witchcraft apprentices; Mentions of evil people; Mentions of Evangeline’s fate being “written in the stars” and that it’s her destiny to be the heir to the witch family (said by Mother); Mentions of blood bonding between Mother and her witch apprentices (she teaches them the wrong enchantment so they aren’t actually bounded to her); Mentions of nymphs, lost spirits, ghosts, fairies, & such creatures (teasing about seeing them in the forest or being under a spell by them, but none are actually seen); A few mentions of wicked people; A couple mentions of enchantments; A mention of Mother saying Evangeline’s God condemns liars; A mention of some believing that the witch killed the princess and used her blood to enact the curse; A mention of a sorceress; A mention of someone being called a “cheeky devil”; A mention of a devilish cackle; A mention of someone keeping a rabbit’s foot around his neck; A mention of a booth selling fortunes; A mention of a group wanting others to see them as great saviors; A mention of someone being “otherworldly” (Mother). 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘hush up’, three ‘blasted’s, five ‘bloody’s, and six ‘shut it’s; A bit of sarcasm; Seeing someone fall to their death (up to semi-detailed); Seeing a murder (barely-above-not-detailed); Fighting, Being stabbed, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Being hit, Being held at knifepoint, Being drugged, Being almost drowned, Passing out, Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (from Mother’s abuse, barely-above-not-detailed); At one point, Evangeline savors the idea of death because she knows where she would go; Mother belittles and verbally abuses Evangeline; Evangeline keeps Gabriel’s visits a secret from Mother & lies to her; A bird’s nest is destroyed and it’s babies are killed (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Many mentions of Evangeline being told that she will be killed if the guards or king find her (told to her by Mother); Many mentions of poison & deaths; Mentions of a plan to kill someone & holding someone at knifepoint; Mentions of a fire & family being burned alive (including the person who set the fire committing suicide by going into the fire); Mentions of deaths, sicknesses, rat bites, & grief (for parents, sisters, a daughter, and an infant granddaughter); Mentions of a kidnapping; Mentions of violence, crimes, criminals, arrests, & prisons; Mentions of threats & blackmail; Mentions of someone threatening to burn a house down with someone in it; Mentions of Mother whipping Evangeline and smacking for disobeying (physical abuse and Gabriel is concerned for her, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of thieves; A few mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of vomiting; A couple mentions of animal abuse; A mention of some royal men killing their wives to marry another; A mention of an abusive husband; A mention of a grotesque death; A mention of some believing that a witch ate the kidnapped princess; A mention of someone being drawn and quartered; A mention of a widow used for cannons and “other killing contraptions” towards someone’s enemies; A mention of Gabriel recalling the foster homes where the families would beat him; A mention of nightmares; A couple mentions of drinking & wine; A mention of betting.
 
 
Sexual Content- A cheek kiss, three forehead/head kisses, and two border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses; Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Hand holding, Nearness, Smelling, & Butterflies (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); A man asks if Gabriel used or forced himself on Evangeline (he did not and is disgusted that the man would ask that); A couple mentions of kisses & kissing; A mention of lustful men;  A mention of some of the guards having “less-than-honorable attitudes toward women”; Some love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Mother does not have a high opinion of men (she says they are hypocritical and awful beings who lie and cheat those around them); All Mother has told Evangeline about her father is that he was awful and not to trust men. 
 
-Evangeline “Eva”
-Gabriel, age 19 
                                P.O.V. switches between them & a couple others
                                                        321 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Sensitive animal lovers might have a hard time during one scene}

Oh my goodness, that was such a good retelling! 

Here’s the thing about retellings: It doesn’t matter how many times we read the same concept of a certain fairytale, it always pulls you in while you wait for a favorite classic moment and, personally, I love to see how each author makes it their own. For this Rapunzel retelling, it was so neat to have faith content mixed in and while, yes, my brain did go to Tangled often, there was a lot of differences that made this book stand out. Especially with Gabriel…he’s as different from Flynn Rider as you can get (a guard vs a thief) but he was so well done and perfect for Eva. She was a dear and so sweet. Really, this book was such a sweet retelling! 

I did notice a couple errors in the Kindle edition I was reading (such as a paragraph being repeated in the wrong place), and there was some head jumping between characters in the same chapter. (Which did confuse me at times, but I was quick to be fine with it because most of those additional POV parts were so cute!) Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book. 

There was "magic" content (kind of), but it was only used by the villain and her minions. There were many mentions of curses and spells, but it’s all explained at the end. (*Spoiler* The villain doesn’t actually have any powers, though her family is said to have had them. She has come this far by using poison and blackmail, rather than any spells or actual magic-related elements. *End of Spoiler*). One thing I really liked about this story was that the line of Good vs Evil was clearly drawn and Eva wanted nothing to do with Mother’s evil intentions. The magick/witch content was clearly shown as wrong, no doubt or wiggle-room about that. I liked how the author incorporated faith content and how everything played out. I’ll definitely be picking up the second book when it releases! 

 

 

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.

"R.E.M." by Ashley Schaller

About this book:

  “Gwendolyn Gonzales would do anything for her best friend. Even allow herself to be dragged through Macy's dreams by a British coffeeholic who claims to be Macy's Dream Guardian. The rules of the Dream are simple: blend in and don't die. When Macy's dreams take a turn for the worst, following the rules may be harder than it seems. And may end in deadly consequences.”


Series: As of now, no, a stand-alone novel.


Spiritual Content- Mentions of prayers (including Gwen correcting herself that instead of hoping something goes well, praying that it goes well as they need something stronger than hope); Mentions of a pastor at a funeral & him reading from his Bible; A couple mentions of Bibles; A couple mentions of churches; A couple mentions of a Designer & Heaven (both are capital); A couple mentions Dream Guardians who have died going to “dwell with of the greatest Guardian of all”; A mention of blessings; 
             *Note: Mentions of a Santa toy; A mention of someone’s “sermons” on a topic they are passionate about; A mention of a ghost that haunts someone’s dreams. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘freaking’, a ‘jeesh’, an ‘oh my gosh’, a ‘shut up’, an unfinished ‘what the—‘, two ‘dang it’s, two forms of ‘drat’, two ‘suck’s, three forms of ‘blast it’, six forms of ‘heck’, seven ‘crap’s, nine forms of ‘dumb’, ten ‘idiot’s, and twenty-three ‘stupid’s; A handful of mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Seeing a death & Thinking a loved one died (twice, in a dream, up to semi-detailed); Fighting wolves, giant spiders, shadow-like creatures, monsters, & Nightmares (semi-detailed); A car crash, gunfire, & seeing someone shot (in a dream, up to semi-detailed); Earthquakes & Fires (including someone being burned, up to semi-detailed); Almost drowning, Being thrown off a cliff, Being held at gunpoint, Being shot, Being choked, Being attacked, Being drugged, Being held hostage, Injuries, Pain, Passing out, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone jump off a building & Gwen follows her (in a dream; Gwen prays that her family will be all right without her as she steps off the edge, up to semi-detailed); Gwen thinks she’s been kidnapped & might be killed (she’s not actually been kidnapped, but thinks through how to safely get away from the “kidnapper”, up to semi-detailed); Gwen has to herself out of a panic attack (being unable to breath and panicking, barely-above-not-detailed); The book opens at a funeral & has a lot of grieving (for a friend); There are Nightmares (villains) that feed off of the dreamer’s fear (described as creepy & one uses winged skeleton heads to aim hateful words at Gwen); *Big Spoiler* Gwen was in a car wreck and is actually in a coma for the majority of this book, there are a couple scenes of her being resuscitated) *End of Big Spoiler*; All about many mentions of nightmares & the possibility of someone dying in their dreams (including by drowning and choking, up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of fighting, attacks, passing out, pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of grief & grieving (for a friend, a brother, a son, and a father); Mentions of deaths, car accidents, a coma, & sirens (including Gwen being concerned about someone possibly being in a car wreck, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of Dream Guardians being killed in action & having to retrieve the bodies (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of gunfire, someone being shot, & dreaming of someone being held at gunpoint and being shot (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of being kidnapped, a kidnapper, & being drugged (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of wolves attacking someone (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of a bar-like place & drinking non-alcoholic drinks; Mentions of bullies & gossip; A few mentions of a nightclub & clubbing; A couple mentions of a prison; A couple mentions of a drunk driver; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of horror movies (not named); A couple mentions of cigarettes; A mention of the mafia; A mention of someone stalking Gwen; 
             *Note: *Big Spoiler* Gwen’s father is deployed and it’s said at the end of the book that he was killed in action *End of Spoiler*; A Nightmare (villain) threatens Gwen that if she doesn’t listen to them, they will make her become “a vegetable to rot” in her world; Dream Guardians are able to shift their faces or wear a mask to look like someone their Dreamer cares about; Being stung by bees & mentions of someone being allergic to bees (up to semi-detailed); A couple mentions of a car brand; A mention of vampires; A mention of a movie (Pride & Prejudice). 
 
 
Sexual Content- A hand kiss, a cheek kiss (in thanks, not romantic-based), and two head/hair kisses; Touches, Dancing, Hand holding, Tingles, & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Gwen has to stay at Solomon’s place (they sleep in separate rooms and nothing happens); Gwen falls into Solomon’s lap (once, not meant to be romantic and no details); Mentions of seeing couples kissing & cuddling; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends/girlfriends, couples, & cheating; Mentions of crushes & flirting; A few mentions of catching someone making out with another & cheating on the person they are dating; A few mentions of jealousy; A mention of a blown kiss; A mention of ogling someone; A bit of fove, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A few mentions of butting into a conversation, butting heads, & wanting to kick someone’s butt. 
 
-Gwendolyn “Gwen” Gonzales
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Gwen 
                                                        414 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This was a wild ride and a very interesting plot! 

This book was kind of all over the place, but that’s how dreams can be, so it fit the concept well. It kind of had an Alice in Wonderland feel because of the dreams. Dreams can be crazy and this book definitely showcased that element. I do think I would have enjoyed this book more if it was in third person, but I did really like seeing Gwen’s sass through the first person point of view. I felt for her, though, because she couldn’t catch a break in the dream world. 

The ending really caught me by surprise and I definitely like it. It was a good test to see if your heart can feel emotions, haha! ;) This book is over 400 pages, but it went by so fast. 

While I would consider this book to be more of Clean Fiction than Christian Fiction, it was nice to see bits of Gwen’s faith and family throughout the book and the ending worked so well.

 

 

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.