book review

Crossfire, Lynette Eason’s latest book in the Extreme Measures series, releases today! Here’s what it’s all about:

FBI special agent Julianna Jameson 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 Fox 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 Dottie is next in line.

Wow, Lynette Eason really ups the stakes in Crossfire! The action in this book starts on the first page and doesn’t stop until the very end. I love the way that she kept me guessing throughout the entire story. Every time I thought I had something figured out, she threw in a whole new twist!

That’s what I love about a good suspense story: you fall in love with the characters, get caught up in the action, and the next thing you know, you’re in for a crazy ride – and Eason is a master of this genre. I want to be friends with all of her people, but keep me away from her bad side, because she dreams up some seriously interesting things. She takes each story a bit deeper and just a bit wilder – and that only makes it better.

I love when authors write about friends who are just really fantastic friends – the kind of friends who you know will be there for each other, no matter what – because you know the author’s going to test that in crazy ways, right? That makes for a fantastic story and some really amazing characters. Eason took this one a step further. The two main characters in this book, Julianna and Clay, each had really amazing sisters. I’d love to see each of them have their own stories, but especially Dottie, Julianna’s little sister, because while we get her basic backstory in this one, we don’t really hear her side of things. Her spunk, determination, and kind heart will make her the perfect female lead in a future story.

Julianna and Clay aren’t without those qualities, either. They have just enough to overcome that you can see the mountain of difficulties and you can feel their frustration – but you also see the determination and desire to save the day. We need heroes like these. We need books that showcase that light and the desire to make the world a better place in good ways. We need to see hope and character played out in realistic situations – and while I certainly don’t want to see anyone fight the evil that Julianna and Clay do in this story, the headlines are full of similar situations. Crossfire shows us the other side of the story. In this book – in the Extreme Measures series – we see the side of the heroes who are fighting back against the bad. Crossfire is a good-versus-evil story at its very best.

Keep writing, Ms. Eason. We need more stories that are both entertaining and show us how good really can triumph.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Elizabeth Goddard’s conclusion to the Rocky Mountain Courage series was stunning! Here’s what it’s all about:

Mackenzie Hanson’s special set of skills opened the door to a successful career as a professor of cybersecurity at a Michigan university, allowing her to put her criminal past behind her. But when a long-ago partner in crime delivers a cryptic message about her father’s tech company being under cyberattack, she heads for Montana to secure exposed assets, close security breaches, and hopefully save lives.

Diplomatic Security Services special agent Alex Knight is back home in Montana to decompress from a mission gone wrong. But even as he’s trying to relax, he’s drawn into another mystery, complete with suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and whispers of espionage that all have one thing in common–a beautiful cybersecurity expert with a dark past.

When the situation turns deadly, Alex and Mackenzie will have to work together to find the answers they need–before someone silences Mackenzie for good.

The title of this book nails the major themes and issues within it – it’s absolutely perfect! It’s the question of relationships – with, of course, the danger and suspense – that will keep any reader on tenterhooks throughout this story. I love the way that the idea of whom to trust and how far to go to do what’s right form the foundation of this story.

Because that’s really what it’s all about. What are your priorities? Are you willing to put what you say you believe in to the test? Are you willing to take radical steps to live out forgiveness, redemption, honesty, and trust? Will you put the past behind you and move forward to do what’s right, now matter the cost?

These are big questions, and for most of us, we say ‘yes’ without too much thought. When you know that you could lose your family, your reputation, your career, even your freedom – you might rethink those answers. That’s what’s on the line for Mackenzie, and eventually for Alex, too. The weight of these questions and the high cost of their decisions makes for an exciting read – but so does the setting.

As always, Goddard knocks it out of the park with her descriptions of the rugged outdoors and its natural beauty. She incorporated it smoothly into the story elements, and I love the way that this enabled her to add unexpected elements of danger to her characters – even though I loved them, too, and didn’t want to see them get hurt. This made Critical Alliance even more fun to read – and despite the danger in the story, it made me want to head west to see these mountains for myself.

My favorite stories are ones that leave me flying through the pages to find out what happens but then leave me contemplating the issues within for days afterwards. Critical Alliance is one of those fantastic books – and it wraps up the Rocky Mountain Courage series in a stunning way. If you enjoy suspense and haven’t ventured into the Rocks yet with Goddard, now’s definitely the time.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own. 

Impending Strike, the latest story in Lynette Eason’s Elite Guardian expanded series is almost here! This is what it’s all about:

He loves her, but he can’t have her…

Elite Guardian Charlie Lee knows that there is no future with the woman he loves—fellow Guardian Lizzie Tremaine. And he gets it. Lizzie’s a single mom focused on protecting her daughter, and Charlie’s got his own baggage anyway. It’s easier, and safer, to keep things the way they are.

Then, the unthinkable happens. While Charlie is undercover, he’s seriously injured…and his memory of the past four years is gone. But maybe it’s the fresh start he didn’t know he longed for.

And now he’s getting too close…

Lizzie cares for Charlie, but she’s lost all the men she’s ever loved and can’t risk her heart again. Still, she’s determined to protect Charlie, and help him discover who attacked him—and why.

But in the process, she begins to discover an unburdened, impossible-to-resist version of the man she knows. And—along with the details of his attack—Charlie seems to have forgotten their reasons for keeping things platonic. Suddenly, all of their self-imposed rules are gone, and Lizzie needs things to get back to normal, stat.

It’s her heart…or his life.

Problem is, the closer Charlie gets to uncovering his memories, the closer he gets to trouble. What will protecting Charlie cost Lizzie?

I love books that let you get into the heads and backstories of exciting characters, and Impending Strike does just that! This latest Elite Guardian story keeps the action speeding past and the emotion running high as you fly through these pages.

I really enjoyed the way that Sami pulled the backstory from both Lizzie and Charlie and made it super relevant to their here and now. She kept their past experiences pertinent but kept the suspense high as she moved them towards new experiences professionally. This added a bit of an edge to the plot and made it even more fun to read.

The spiritual lessons that both Charlie and Lizzie needed to learn were incorporated in fun ways. It’s too easy for us to look back and lump things together and draw assumptions, when in reality sometimes we need to use a wider lens – and sometimes we need to talk through our experiences with a mentor or friend. Abrams draws attention to this in realistic ways – I love walking away from a fictional story feeling as though I’ve learned a good and relevant lesson.

If the Elite Guardians are bookmates of yours – or if you’re in need of a high-octane summer read – then give Impending Strike a try. You’ll be glad that you did.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Nancy Mehl wrapped up her Quantico Files series with Free Fall, available everywhere now – and it’s a doozy! Here’s what it’s all about:

FBI behavioral analyst Alex Donovan and her colleague Logan Hart have been called upon to write a profile for a missing woman, but a little digging quickly turns up more disappearances in Virginia with the same physical description.

Alex is in a race against the clock to rescue the missing victims, so when the UNSUB makes demands of her in exchange for information, Alex takes the bait. But when her life is put in jeopardy, Logan must do whatever it takes to track them down before time runs out.

Alex works to think one step ahead of the suspect, but the more Logan and the BAU learn about the serial kidnapper, the more they fear Alex may not make it out alive.

Free Fall wraps up Nancy Mehl’s best series yet – but it’s so good you won’t want it to end! The Quantico Files are far and away my favorite books by Mehl, and even within the series they kept getting better. The combination of unique crimes, crazy plot twists, and loveable characters make these the perfect books for fans of suspense stories.

Free Fall culminates the trilogy expertly. I don’t see how Mehl could dangle Alex and Logan over any more dangerous scenarios, and yet she employs a wide variety of strategies that keep the stakes rising. I couldn’t put Free Fall down – I read it in a single day! – and couldn’t wait to finish. I love the way that Mehl teaches the reader spiritual lessons through what Alex and Logan face in the story – and for me, these were very applicable.

The only problem with finishing Free Fall is waiting for Mehl’s next book. Write quickly, please.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What’s the rest of the Quantico Files series like? Read my reviews for Night Fall and Dead Fall here.

Rachel Fordham just released a fantastic new historical fiction, and you won’t want to miss it! Here’s what Where the Road Bends is all about:

As Norah King surveys her family land in Iowa in 1880, she is acutely aware that it is all she has left, and she will do everything in her power to save it–even if that means marrying a man she hardly knows. Days before her wedding, Norah discovers an injured man on her property. Her sense of duty compels her to take him in and nurse him back to health. Little does she realize just how much this act of kindness will complicate her life and threaten the future she’s planned.

Norah’s care does more than aid Quincy Barnes’s recovery–it awakens his heart to possibilities. Penniless and homeless, he knows the most honorable thing he can do is head on down the road and leave Norah to marry her intended. But walking away from the first person to believe in him proves much harder than he imagined.

Rachel Fordham’s writing in Where the Road Bends is lyrical and memorable – but it’s her characters that will have you engrossed in the story from the very first page! There’s something about Norah that made me want to cheer her on from the very beginning, and that’s not always the case. There’s much to admire about her, though, and just as many reasons why she needs a cheerleader in her camp.

Quincy Barnes has a past, and he’s a complex character. I found myself believing in him, though, too, and I wanted to see them both survive their troubles. Fordham grabs you from the beginning and gets you completely invested in these characters!

Even though this is a historical fiction, and Fordham sets the scene well, it doesn’t take over. The actions, the feelings, and the problems are all completely relevant to today. It didn’t take long for me to be so caught up in the story that I completely forgot about the time difference.

Where the Road Bends left me pondering lots of smaller life lessons, which fit the story overall very well. You’ll be considering things like:

• When should you give a second chance?
• How desperate is desperate?
• For what – or whom – are you willing to make a stand?
• What does honesty really mean?
• How far should you go to pay a non-monetary debt?
• What does forgiveness – and redemption – really look like?
• Can people really change?

This is the first book by Rachel Fordham that I’ve read, and it certainly won’t be my last! I love the way that she puts words together in this book to make even the simplest objects sound beautiful and poetic, and I want to befriend more characters like Norah and Quincy. If outstanding writing and amazing characters make your heart beat faster, grab a copy of Where the Road Bends today.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Roseanna M. White has a new stand-alone novel out, and it’s amazing! Here’s the scoop:

Sabina Mancari never questioned her life as the daughter of Chicago’s leading mob boss until bullets tear apart her world and the man she thought she loved turns out to be an undercover Prohibition agent. Ambushes, bribes, murder, prostitution—all her life, her father sheltered her from his crimes, but now she can no longer turn away from the truth. Maybe Lorenzo, the fiancé who barely paid her any attention in the last two years, has the right idea by planning to escape their world. But can she truly turn her back on her family?

All his life, Lorenzo’s family assumed he would become a priest, but he has different ideas—marrying Sabina and pursuing a career in the law. Despite his morals, he knows at the core he isn’t so unlike his mafiosi father and brothers. Has he, in trying to protect Sabina, forced her into the arms of the Prohibition agent bent on tearing her family apart? How can they rebuild what has so long been neglected and do it in the shadow of the dark empire of the Mafia?

Wow! Roseanna M. White digs deep into the darkest mafiosi mind and brings it to light in Shadowed Loyalty! This book highlights to contrast between evil and good in myriads of ways. It also exposes the slow fade that traps so many in sin and the compassion that we must have for those who are truly lost.

White excels at exploring complicated situations and examining them from every angle, and she does that masterfully in Shadowed Loyalty. This story takes a hard look at those who find themselves trapped in what our culture considers the worst of sins, seeking to understand both why people make choose to live in that lifestyle and how to love those who do.

These are weighty topics, and the story deals appropriately with that weight; but that makes it no less exciting. As always, White keeps you on the edge of your seat as the bullets fly and the danger mounts. I love the way that she digs into the 1920s time period and the ethnic neighborhoods of Chicago, combining the real history of the Italian mafia with Al Capone with her fictitious story.

More than most, I think, White settles on an answer to the ‘how’ questions that Shadowed Loyalty explores, though perhaps that’s just my mind liking the possibilities that she presents. I think that you can’t go wrong with the options presented in this book for when you’re faced with difficult circumstances, however, and White certainly shares many of them through this cast of characters.

Those characters often make bad choices, and those bad choices are really bad. While nothing in the story is explicit, prostitution is one of the crimes dealt with in this book, and several characters are caught up in that trade. It is clear when reading, even through the careful descriptions and the ’20s slang, what she’s referring to, and so while I think it has excellent lessons, fantastic potential for discussion (and great questions in the back of the book for this purpose!), and an exciting plot, teen readers should take care lest it is deeper or darker than they are ready to handle.

With that said, my seventeen-year-old loves White’s stories and is looking forward to this one – and I can’t wait to dig into it with her. It’s definitely the most exciting historical book I’ve read this year, so if that’s your style, get your copy now – and let me know what you think.

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

Willow, the sequel to Stone in The Metcalfes series by Ronie Kendig, just released! Here’s what it’s all about:

Aftercare specialist Willow Metcalfe joined Mission: Liberate Everyone to help trafficking survivors navigate the healing process. When MiLE’s Obioma Compound is attacked by the Nigerian mafia, she’s taken hostage. Against nightmarish odds, she and the victims attempt an escape—and are thwarted.

A decade after leaving his beloved homeland, Chijioke “Chiji” Okorie returns to find his sister and fight for his own country. Believing a global trafficking ring behind her abduction and a string of kidnappings across Nigeria, he goes undercover to find the head of the serpent and his sister. Chiji is stunned to discover among the hostages a familiar face—a friend’s sister, Willow. The woman he vowed years ago to marry.

The man who has interfered with her escape attempts seems … familiar, kind—but Willow knows better. He reeks of the warrior ethos that has devoured many a good man. Engaged in an impossible battle and losing at every turn, Chiji is determined to complete his missions—all of them. Even if it kills him.

For a pacificist, Willow really packs a punch – and Chiji is even stronger. I don’t know which leading character I like more, but together they’re dynamite. Kendig created the perfect scenario in Willow to showcase their skills.

Because these two have mad skills. Chiji is specially trained – an American military elite from Africa – with a heart of gold and a deep faith. The danger he puts himself in is rivaled only by that intended for the people he’s trying to save, and that contrast only highlights his moral character. You can’t help but fall for a guy who’s willing to go to such lengths to save others!

Willow, on the other hand, hates violence but believes in the value of people. She works hard to help others and sees beyond the superficial differences that divide so many. Her determination and strength of character are powerful forces against the evil and violence she faces.

I love these character types and would be a fan of Willow for these two alone – but this book is so much more than just the two of them. The action sequences in this book are unbelieveable – which is actually really tough, because the story is based on the too-real problem of human trafficking. Kendig balances perfectly the horrific reality of trafficking and a clean, God-honoring story. She doesn’t shy away from the hard things that this evil includes – but neither does she glorify or even describe it. This balance ratchets up the suspense and engagement while keeping the story clean enough for even older teens – and I look forward to discussing these issues with mine.

But back to that suspense? Kendig is a master – and she makes the most of her skills in Willow. She’s crafting one big, deep story that encompasses the entire series – and each book is only a small look, a single installment. Kendig is weaving each book together by including pieces of each story into the books both before and after – and it’s working. I can’t wait for the next one!

Willow is a book I’ll be thinking about for a long time. Between the exciting characters, the real issues, and the sky-high tension, I’m off to pencil in the sequel release date on my calendar now. I suggest you do the same.

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