Wednesday, April 5, 2017

"Moving Target" by Lynette Eason



About this book:

  “When Maddy McKay and Quinn Holcombe don't show up for Quinn's surprise birthday party, his friends know that something is very wrong. Their search turns up little beyond evidence that Quinn and Maddy just decided to take off for a long overdue vacation. But it soon becomes apparent that they did not leave of their own accord.
  Maddy awakens in a cement room with no idea where she is. But it's not long before she realizes she's in the clutches of a madman exacting revenge by hunting. His prey of choice? Humans. Now Maddy and Quinn must run for their lives, hoping to find their killer before the next game begins. Because if they don't win this game, they die.”



Series: Book #3 in the “Elite Guardians” series. Review of Book #1 review Here! and Book #2 Here!


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are quoted, read & thought on (and twisted by the killer); Prayers; Going to a chapel; A bit of witnessing to Quinn; Talks about God, believing & getting right with Him; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Maddy has a faith, but Quinn does not; Quinn doesn’t understand why God would allow pain and suffering to happen & is still mad at Him; *Spoiler* Quinn does ask God for protection for someone & hopes He hears it; Near the end, he starts talking to God & later says he knows God is the real deal. *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God, His plans & faiths; Mentions of peace & wanting peace; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of faiths; Mentions of biblical numerology, those in the Bible & events in the Bible; A few mentions of Bible reading; A few mentions of a priest; A few mentions of a fire-and-brimstone preacher; A few mentions of Judgement Day (from the madman); A couple mentions of church going; A couple mentions of mission work & a missionary; A couple mentions of divine perfection; A couple mentions of sin; A mention of a hymn; A mention of a miracle; A mention of a religious fanatic; A mention of spiritual perfection;
*Note: The madman thinks he is God’s chosen one to ensure justice and vengeance (twisting Scriptures) and has a very twisted sense of religion; A mention of helping someone have peace in the afterlife.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘darn’, two ‘shoot’s, two ‘stupid’s, three ‘dumb’s, and three ‘idiot’s; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Pain, screams, being drugged, being kidnapped & passing out (semi-detailed to detailed); Threats, fighting, attackers, shooting and killing someone, kicking/fight dogs, blood/bleeding, being shot, injuries & fevers (semi-detailed to detailed); Watching a couple of recordings of deaths (up to semi-detailed); Finding a bleeding body (thought to be suicide, up to semi-detailed); Being held at gunpoint, knife point & crossbow point (?); Bombs, knifes, Crossbows & crossbow bolts (up to semi-detailed); Bombs at a school, children are put in danger & smoke (the killer is willing that a few children die to get his end goal, up to semi-detailed); Throwing up; All about a serial killer (who says he’s a hunter), people disappearing (his victims), his game with the victims having a high possibility of dying (semi-detailed), his dead victims, chasing him & running away from him; The thought/plans to kill evil people or bring vengeance to others; We see the Killer’s point of view (including a couple times when he wanted to kill someone, but didn’t, and later suffocating another); Many mentions of dying, the possibility of dying, slow painful deaths, cheating death, those who should’ve been dead, killing innocents & bodies (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of Quinn’s sister’s suicide that others think was a hunting accident & Quinn finding her (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of brutal serial killers, their dismembered/mutilated victims & the bodies being burned or delivered to the families (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of serial killers finding pleasure in killing their victims; Mentions of killers, a slit throat, being left to die, injuries & broken bones (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the smell of death, bodies decomposing in a mass grave & those victims and how they died (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of an ambush, a sting to rescue trafficked illegals and arrest the perpetrators, & the agents’ deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of coming upon what looks like to be another suicide (up to semi-detailed);Mentions of crossbows, being shot at, pain & blood/bleeding (semi-detailed); Mentions of a drop-off with spears & the pain it could’ve caused (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of hurting a dog (though he didn’t want to) & trying to help it later (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a hit-and-run, a girl being hit on her bike & her injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of threats & threats of killing; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of being drugged, poisons & poisonous gas; Mentions of traitors; Mentions of embezzlement, arresting someone, an attempted murder & car accident; Mentions of drinking, drinks, alcohol, a bar & (not) being drunk; Mentions of hunting & shooting animals; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of inflections of wounds & fevers; Mentions of throwing up (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of punching someone; A few mentions of a divorce; A couple mentions of a terrorist; A couple mentions of a mafia case; A couple mentions of someone killed in a car wreck; A couple mentions of prisons; A couple mentions of stealing; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a serial killer killed in a prison riot; A mention of a mugging;
*Note: A mention of GQ magazine.  


Sexual Content- two almost kisses, a cheek kiss, an ear kiss, three head/forehead kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, two semi-detailed kisses, and a detailed kiss; Touches, Nearness, Smelling, Embraces & Warmth/Heat (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a cheating spouse, an affair & her unfaithfulness; Mentions of a kiss & kissing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of noticing a couple of men’s muscles; A couple mentions of pictures of a woman with a lot of men (nothing too suggestive, but some could be questionable); A couple mentions of helping someone of the opposite gender shower that could be taken the wrong way; A mention of a serial killer raping & then killing his victims; A mention of sexual assault; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.

-Maddy McKay
-Quinn Holcombe
                              P.O.V. of switches between them, Olivia (2x), Bobby (1x), & The Killer (7x)
                                                     318 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
{Add ½ a star for older girls interested in law enforcement}
I had a feeling this one would be creepier than the first two, and in a lot of ways it was. I honestly can’t recommend it for anyone who doesn’t like insanely suspenseful or serial killer chasing the main characters kind of books. It’s definitely both. I admit, there were some times I though “Eww, gore” or “Did I really need to know that?” (because my imagination is quite active, y’all) and did lower ratings for those parts. The whole plot wasn’t a walk in the park, though. It’s all about a sociopathic serial killer trying to get revenge (in justice, in his eyes, more on that below) on Maddy & Quinn. There were some parts I didn’t seen coming, but the majority of the time, I had an inkling what was going to happen next.
I’m not a fan of books that even mention twisting Scriptures. That’s not okay to me. This one was different, however, in the fact you kind of figure out the killer is a madman and you really don’t take him at his word.
There was quite a bit of Spiritual Content (and not just from the twisted killer’s POV), which was nice and seemed realistic. I really liked Maddy and Quinn, and do plan on read the fourth and final book in this series when it comes out. But, this series really isn’t for those who don’t like suspenseful reads or books with serial killers—and nothing is wrong with that, I definitely didn’t when I was younger, but have become highly interested in Criminal Justice, so that’s why I have read (and mostly enjoyed) this 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.

Monday, April 3, 2017

"To the Farthest Shores" by Elizabeth Camden



About this book:

  “The unpredictability of her upbringing prepared army nurse Jenny Bennett to face any challenge at the Presidio Army base, but the sudden reappearance in her life of the dashing naval officer who broke her heart six years ago is enough to rattle even her.
  Lieutenant Ryan Gallagher is one of the few men in the world qualified to carry out a daring government mission overseas--an assignment that destroyed his reputation and broke the heart of the only woman he ever loved. Honor-bound never to reveal where he was during those years, he can't tell Jenny the truth, or it will endanger an ongoing mission and put thousands of lives at risk.
  Ryan thinks he may have finally found a solution to his impossible situation, but he needs Jenny's help. While her loyalty to her country compels her to agree, she was too badly hurt to fall for Ryan again despite his determination to win her back. When an unknown threat from Ryan's past puts everything at risk--including his life--can they overcome the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against them in time?”


Series: As of now, no.  


Spiritual Content- Prayers & Blessings over food; Church going; Ryan is the son of missionaries (he does not look back on his childhood as happy, though); Talks about forgiveness; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & forgiving; Mentions of prayers & blessings over food; Mentions of church going; Mentions of sins & salvation; Mentions of a missionary family; Mentions of Christians & witnessing; A few mentions of Bible reading; A few mentions of those & parables in the Bible; A few mentions of a man preaching; A few mentions of blessings; A few mentions of Catholics, sainthood & a martyr; A few mentions of monks & a nun; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of a crucifix displayed; A mention of a church pulpit;
*Note: A few mentions of pearls having magical healing properties; A mention of Zeus; A mention of a Valkyrie; A mention of bitterness being dammed up.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘heck’, a ‘prissy’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘sissy’, four ‘idiot’s, and eight forms of ‘stupid’; Mentions of curses (said, not written); A bit of Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Passing out, being shot, pain, blood/bleeding, stitches, vomit & nurse activities (up to semi-detailed); Almost hitting & kicking someone; Nightmares; Many mentions of carousing, opium, smoking opium, opium dens, addictions, tobacco, cigarettes, smoking, gambling, saloons/bars, alcohol, drinking, drunks & hangovers; Many mentions of passing out, someone shot, pain, blood/bleeding, stitches, wounds, throwing up/vomit & nurse activities (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a war, fighting, deserters, illnesses, losing limbs & deaths; Mentions of crimping, crimpers & sailors being drugged, robbed, beaten & killed; Mentions of poisons, being poisoned, being shot & murder attempts (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a mugging with a knife & the injuries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a thief & robbery; Mentions of bullies, being bullied, slurs & cruel taunts; Mentions of lying, lies & liars; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of gallows, firing squads & executions; A few mentions of threatening public flogging & ripping someone to pieces; A few mentions of threats; A few mentions of breaking in & stealing something; A few mentions of hunters & hunting; A couple mentions of cheating someone; A couple mentions of someone being getting a black eye; A mention of a soldier who tried to steal morphine; A mention of a cat killing a jellyfish; A mention of oyster poop.


Sexual Content- a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; Touches, Tingles, Embraces, Nearness & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Remembering nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing; a ‘floozy’; *Spoiler* Jenny’s mother was a dance hall girl/prostitute, Jenny recalls that sometimes she was allowed to sleep in her mother’s room and other times she would be moved in the middle of the night *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of Ryan’s unfaithfulness to Jenny when he got another woman pregnant out of wedlock when he turned to her for comfort (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of Ryan’s infidelity; Mentions of men going to brothels, bordellos, the woman there & one place that had underage girls; Mentions of men who love many women & consort with them; Mentions of when a little girl was conceived out of wedlock (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of flirting & flirts; Mentions of reputations & chaperones; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of blushes; A few mentions of sexually transmitted diseases, touches & kisses; A few mentions of kisses & kissing; A few mentions of crushes & puppy love; A couple mentions of a couple dallying & hinted to be kissing; A mention of men buying prostitutes; A mention of a man getting plenty of experience with a woman; A mention that most crimes are rooted in either sex or money; A mention of vile men following a young girl; A mention of a womanizer; A mention of swooning; Love, falling in love & the emotions;
             *Note: Mentions of a man’s bare chest (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of the fertilization of female oysters’ larvae & the male oysters part of the process; A few mentions of romance novels by a dreadful author; A mention of a bawdy story about dance hall girls (not written); A mention of bawdy limericks (not written).

-Jenny Bennett,
-Ryan Gallagher, age 29
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                              Set in 1904 (Prologue in 1898, Epilogue in 1928)
                                                        330 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
This was one of my anticipated books for the first half of 2017. Elizabeth Camden is an author I teasingly say is one of my guilty pleasure authors. She always includes different, interesting historical facts and quirks. However, there’s normally content I don’t like and normally think wasn’t needed. This new novel was no different in that regard.
This one, though, I could not stand the main guy. Jenny was okay and I liked her spirit. But, Ryan has to be one of my least favorite “heroes” ever. One of the very few times I’ve ever read a romance book and not want the couple to end up together. I honestly could have done a status update on Goodreads every other page, letting everyone know that I really didn’t like him.
If you’ve followed me on here for a while or on one of my personal social media sites (which if we’ve talked a bit before, you’re welcome to friend/follow me on which ever site) you probably know I love Asian culture. China has a huge spot in my heart with the Koreans, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and many other counties also holding dearness in my heart. So in any case, I do get a bit tense when any possible prejudice against those with Asian roots could happen. I’ve stopped reading many a books because of that fact. This book didn’t have any obvious prejudices against Ryan’s half-Japanese daughter, but there were some hints of it. Lily was a sweet girl, and I wish there would have been more parts of Jenny being more accepting towards to her. (I do understand where Jenny was coming from, though, and I can’t say that I blame her thoughts. It’s a human reaction.) Ryan didn’t look back on his childhood as a missionary kid as happy the majority of the time, and again, while I understand the logic behind those feelings, I still found it sad.
I would have to say this is my least favorite by Elizabeth Camden. That’s probably more of a personal thing (because of Ryan) than the actual content, but that doesn’t excuse the content I wasn’t a fan of. All the mentions of Ryan’s infidelity, for one. (They weren’t married, I know, but I still felt for Jenny.) Finn’s problem with opium and drinking for another. But by the end, I really liked him and his wit.
Last point for this review: I don’t know about y’all, but my head doesn’t do well with epilogues set in the farther future. I’m just saying, seeing the characters you just saw as young-20-year-olds a page ago now as 40+ year olds with grown kids…it makes me feel like I just skipped chapters and have giant question marks going on in my head.


See y’all on Wednesday 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 (Bethany House) for this honest review.