book review

If you’re a fan of Amish fiction, you won’t want to miss Shelley Shepard Gray’s The Protective One.

The tragic and untimely death of her old friend has made Elizabeth rethink not only her priorities but her relationship with David, the man her parents have been encouraging her to see. Desperate for a change, she breaks things off with David in an effort to just focus on herself for a while.

But when her family becomes upset with her decision, Elizabeth turns to her friends for support. One of her most supporting friends is Will, who has long secretly harbored feelings for her. And when Elizabeth’s ex unexpectedly raises some trouble, Will decides to step up to the plate for his long-time friend. Can their friendship survive this difficult time or will it actually change for the better?

Gray has mastered the ability to write sweet stories with real-world problems. It’s a fantastic element of this story, and I don’t know how she does it. Although there are elements of harsh problems – abuse, stalking, family conflict – there’s not a part of the story that is too harsh or scary to read.

That’s not to say that I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. I was completely invested in E.A.’s story and couldn’t wait to find out how resolution would be found. I read the second half of the book in one fell swoop, reading super late at night, because I just couldn’t put it down.

I haven’t read the other books in the series, but that really didn’t matter. Although I certainly want to know what happens, and I’ll definitely be seeking the first two books out, I didn’t feel lost or confused about the characters or their plot lines. The characters felt realistic and interesting, and I liked the way that they interacted.

Their situations sometimes felt less than realistic, however, but maybe that’s just for me. Having Englisch, Amish, and Mennonite kids being super close doesn’t feel totally real. There were Amish kids in my elementary school, but very few, and the vast majority went to their own schools. I lived near one of the purest, most conservative Amish communities in the world, though, so maybe their communities have different types of interactions in other places. This didn’t make me want to put the book down by any means; but it did make me pause to consider whether it felt realistic.

All told, I really liked The Protective One. I like the way that Gray was able to address current, modern, edgy issues from the perspective of young Christian adults. I like the way that she considered life and priorities and relationships in ways that felt both realistic and sweet.

I don’t want to miss the rest of the series – I’m seeking them out now.

If you like sweet stories with a touch of suspense, be sure to look up Shelley Shepard Gray’s The Protective One!

I received a free book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Interested in Gray’s other books? Check out Her Fear and His Risk!

Will they still be alive when this case reaches it’s End Game?

When elite members of the military are murdered on the streets of Washington, DC, FBI Special Agent Bailey Ryan and NCIS Special Agent Marco Agostini must work together to bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately, all evidence points to a Navy SEAL sniper whom Bailey refuses to believe is guilty.

When Bailey and Marco start to connect the dots between the victims, including a link to a powerful defense contractor, they wonder if there’s a deeper cover-up at play. Then Bailey is targeted, and it becomes clear that someone is willing to kill to keep their dark secrets.

With the stakes getting higher by the moment in a twisted conspiracy, there’s a rush against the clock to determine whom they can really trust. As allies turn to enemies, the biggest secret yet to be uncovered could be the end of all of them.

End Game takes you on a high-speed chase through mystery, intrigue, and your favorite crime-solving agencies! It’s a must-read this winter! I love ‘NCIS’ – as in, I’m watching the series through for at least the sixth time since I discovered it a few years ago – so imagine my giddiness when I found out that Rachel Dylan was writing a book that featured an NCIS agent! Whoo-hoo!

Bailey Ryan isn’t working this case alone, but NCIS has a prominent role – and I love the inter-agency cooperation that is highlighted in End Game. The skill and pace is reminiscent of my favorite TV show, while the plot and storyline are all Dylan’s – and are just as fantastic.

Dylan keeps you on the edge of your seat. The action never slows, even as the characters struggle to solve the mystery and to find peace with their own personal insecurities. I loved the balance between personal journey and professional work that Dylan writes into the plot – and the intensity between Bailey and Marco plays right into that.

Not only was I caught up in the action, but I couldn’t predict ‘whodunit,’ either. Usually I have a hint, at least, but I was rather blindsided by this one – and I love when I can’t tell where the author’s going with the story! That totally adds to the excitement, and it’s definitely here in End Game.

End Game is the first book in the Capital Intrigue series, and I can’t wait to see where Dylan is going with the next books! My fingers are crossed that they’ll feature Bailey’s boss and her besties from college – but I’d love to see Izzy more, too. Isn’t it great when the characters feel like friends?

If stories about the crime-solving agents in the FBI and NCIS are your thing, snag a copy of End Game today! You won’t want to miss this one.

I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are my own.

Against Every Warning, She’s Drawn Ever Closer to the Man Known as “Black Heart”

All of England thinks Major Phillip Camden a monster–a man who deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But he would have preferred to die that day with his men rather than be recruited to the Admiralty’s codebreaking division. The threats he receives daily are no great surprise and, in his opinion, well deserved.

As nurse Arabelle Denler observes the so-dubbed “Black Heart,” she sees something far different: a hurting man desperate for mercy. And when their families and paths twist together unexpectedly, she realizes she has a role to play in his healing–and some of her own to do as well.

With Camden’s court-martial looming, an old acquaintance shows up, intent on using him in a plot that sends the codebreakers of Room 40 into a frenzy. With their fragile hopes for the future in the cross hairs, Arabelle and Camden must hold on to hope–and to each other–if they want to survive.

On Wings of Devotion has certainly earned my devotion!  White pens a thrilling story of love and intrigue stirred up with secret agents and spies.  It’s such a great backdrop for a love story – for several of them, really – that you won’t be able to put it down.

I love the elements of the series:  that codes and codebreaking played a pivotal role in World War I.  While On Wings of Devotion mentions the main characters from first story, it introduces new main characters for this one, and they, too, play fascinating roles in the war.  Black Heart himself is a pilot at a time when that was still a fairly new thing to be, and Arabelle Denler is a nurse.  While for a time nursing was considered a woman’s field, that was a pretty new belief during this period, and the social constraints for one trained in that way were very strict.  Put those two professions together, throw in a huge fortune, some unusual extended family members, and a few personal hang-ups, and you’ve got a formula for a really exciting story.  

Black Heart wasn’t the kind of main character I expected at first, and it took me a bit to get a feel for him.  I felt as if his description was a bit contradictory, but I soon understood why that was, and those very contradictions helped make him a more exciting character – and one I’d like to know.

Arabelle was interesting for her very sweetness – at least, the sweetness that she let people see.  The fact that she struggles so hard to do what she’s called to do makes her come alive on the page, and that’s one element of her character that I enjoyed.  Another is her appearance, for White describes her as plain, not beautiful, and it’s just plain nice to read about a main character with whom someone falls madly in love who has a normal face.  Not everyone’s a supermodel, and all those books who describe everyone that way feel unrealistic.

The further I got into the story, the faster I found myself turning pages.  The pace definitely picks up as you get further in, and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen!  White even set her hooks well for the next book in the series by introducing the main characters there and giving you just enough of a teaser to intrigue you.  The next one might sound even better!

Reading about the real people upon whom White based characters is really cool, too.  If you think about it superficially, it might sound as if the events of this story could never happen; except her research proves that it does, and that makes the whole thing that much better.  I love reading about fascinating people in history, and now I need to go find out more about these people.

I read this book in a single day, and days later, I’m still thinking about it.  The characters are still floating about in my mind, while I consider the events of the story and what it must have been like to be there.  The real history part adds a really exciting element – I’m getting a lot of mileage out of this book, and I’m sure you will, too.

If you like historical fiction or romantic suspense, head for your nearest bookstore now – because you won’t want to wait any longer to dig into Arabelle and Black Heart’s story.

I received a complimentary copy of The Number of Love from the publishers. I was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Want to know more about the first book in the Codebreakers series, The Number of Love? Read my review here!

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

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