Review: When Death Draws Near

When Death Draws Near by Carrie Stuart Parks
My rating: 💛💛💛

Gwen Marcey is a character who slowly grew on me since book one, and now I fully enjoy and appreciate her quirky personality, her tendencies to talk to herself and even have arguments in her head with people in her life.

After the prologue which kept me with a "that was weird" feeling, I was a bit cautious continuing, but glad I did. I did not find the first 70% as action packed as book two, but I was never less invested, thanks to the author's ability to have me totally confused and guessing what exactly is going on and who is involved.

The last 30% was nail-biting suspenseful. The author also has a way to describe scenarios Gwen found herself in in a very descriptive way that made this reader experience every scraping scene along with Gwen.

Looking forward to the fourth and final story in the Gwen Marcey series.

Review Book 1 

Review book 2 

View all my reviews

About the book:

Death has always been part of Gwen Marcey’s job. But when faced with her own mortality, everything takes on a different hue.

Forensic artist Gwen Marcey is between jobs and homes when she accepts temporary work in Pikeville, Kentucky. The Eastern Kentucky town, located deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, has been plagued by a serial rapist and a series of unexplained deaths. Before Gwen can develop a composite drawing, the latest witness vanishes, just like all the previous victims.

Turning her attention to sketching the face of an unidentified body, she discovers a link between his death and a Pentecostal serpent-handling church. Serpent-handling is illegal in Kentucky, and the churches have gone underground to avoid the authorities and continue to worship as they believe. Gwen is offered a handsome reward to infiltrate the renegade members, a reward she desperately needs as it seems her breast cancer has returned.

Joined by her digitally-obsessed, Generation Z daughter, Gwen goes undercover to a nineteenth century revival, planning to draw the faces of the snake handlers so they can be identified and arrested. Instead she uncovers a murderous plot and a festering evil.

About the author:

Carrie Stuart Parks is Christy, Carol, and Inspy award-winning author, an award-winning fine artist, and

internationally known forensic artist. Along with her husband, Rick, she travels across the US and Canada teaching courses in forensic art to law enforcement as well as civilian participants. She has won numerous awards for career excellence. Carrie is a popular platform speaker, presenting a variety of topics from crime to creativity.

Review: Critical Alliance

Critical Alliance by Elizabeth Goddard
My rating: 💛💛💛

Rating 3.5

Though there was a lot of action at crucial points, this book was not as suspenseful as expected or more to my preferences for suspense. I think a lot had to do with all the cybersecurity explanations which was needed, but it made the book slow and a bit boring.

I did not expect who the cyber criminal was - so I was glad to be surprised there, but the ending felt a bit resolved too quickly.

The plot about the vandalized memorial wrapped up in this book. I wanted and expected a more mysterious suspenseful plot here as well, and again this plot’s conclusion felt a slightly bit rushed.

I did enjoy the book and will read more from this author.

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.*

Review of book 1

Review of book 2        

View all my reviews

About the book:

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.

USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard weaves a tangled web of nail-biting suspense and heart-stopping romance in this fast-paced conclusion to her Rocky Mountain Courage series.

About the author: 

With over one million books sold, Elizabeth Goddard is the USA Today and Publisher's Weekly bestselling, award-winning author of over fifty romance novels and counting, including the romantic mystery, THE CAMERA NEVER LIES--a 2011 Carol Award winner. Four of her six Mountain Cove books have been contest finalists. Buried, Backfire and Deception are finalists in the Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense, and Submerged is a Carol Award finalist. A 7th generation Texan, Elizabeth graduated from North Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and worked in high-level software sales for several years before retiring to home school her children and fulfill her dreams of writing full-time.

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Last Way Home

 Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses the books we're excited about that we've yet to read. Generally, they're books that are yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

I enjoy series which focus on families and after I really enjoyed book one, I'm looking forward to this sequel coming August 2022.

About the book: The Long Way Home

"A disgraced former NHL player and a local artist are thrown together when her pottery studio burns to the ground on the day he returns to Prince Edward Island. But as they work together to rebuild, their secrets will come out, putting even their hearts on the line"

What are you waiting on this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing In the Second Half of 2022

 Join in the Top Ten Tuesday fun! Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

The following suspense is coming in the second half of 2022 which I'm excited to read:

    

Releasing July:

1.  The Deadly Shallows

2.  Critical Alliance

Releasing August:

3.  Deception

4.  Crossfire

Releasing September:

5.  Deception

6.  Honor Bound

Releasing October:

7.  Defending Honor

8.  Word of Honor

9.  Body of Evidence

Releasing November:

10.  Honor's refuge

11.  Sundown

12.  Targeted

Review: Holding the Fort

Holding the Fort by Regina Jennings
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

This is a new to me author and I found another enjoyable author who delivered a fun and humerous historical fiction, but also depth.

I appreciated how Louisa didn't go out to deceive everyone, and how she worked to be the best governess for the girls, studying herself during the night before to be prepped and ready to deliver the lesson to the girls.

I listened to the audiobook and it was very entertaining, so much that I didn't want to stop listening to the story.

*I listened to the audio on Scribd.*

View all my reviews

About the book:

Jennings Winningly Combines Humor, History, and Romance

Louisa Bell never wanted to be a dance-hall singer, but dire circumstances force her hand. With a little help from her brother in the cavalry, she's able to make ends meet, but lately he's run afoul of his commanding officer, so she undertakes a visit to straighten him out.

Major Daniel Adams has his hands full at Fort Reno. He can barely control his rowdy troops, much less his two adolescent daughters. If Daniel doesn't find someone respectable to guide his children, his mother-in-law insists she'll take them.

When Louisa arrives with some reading materials, she's mistaken for the governess who never appeared. Major Adams is skeptical. She bears little resemblance to his idea of a governess--they're not supposed to be so blamed pretty--but he's left without recourse. His mother-in-law must be satisfied, which leaves him turning a blind eye to his unconventional governess's methods. Louisa's never faced so important a performance. Can she keep her act together long enough? 

About the author:

Regina Jennings is a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University with a degree in English and a history minor.

She has worked at The Mustang News and First Baptist Church of Mustang, along with time at the Oklahoma National Stockyards and various livestock shows. She now lives outside Oklahoma City with her husband and four children.

Monthly Recap: June 2022

 

 I first saw this monthly reflections idea on: Christian bookshelf reviews

I had a great June month, and hoping July will continue the reading pace:

What I've read:

(Reviews can be found under Book Review tag)

Paperback:

What I would like to read in July:

Currently Reading:

Upcoming reads (hopeful):

Did I buy any new books?

Bought:

I managed to only buy 1 kindle book, but I did buy 10 paperbacks from my favourite bookstore (10 for the price of two).  Some of these I've already read in different formats.

Kindle:

Paperbacks:

Did I read everything I wanted too?

No, had to carry over the same list to July (and sadly apart from A Singular and Whimsical Problem, it is everything I carried over to May and June 🙀):

ARC/Netgalley update:

ARC/Netgalley books downloaded this month:

ARC/Netgalley books read and reviewed:

How was your month?

Saturday Series Discovery: The Pelican Harbor Series

Colleen Coble is a tried and trusted author in the romantic suspense genre and I always enjoy her books, and especially all the series I've read by her.

The Pelican Harbor series is the most recent series I've finished by her and another great series.

This series needs to be read in order.  The same main characters features in all three books and there is a plot line that starts in book one and continues throughout the series, and concludes in book three.

However, there is also a great suspense plot which starts and concludes in each book.

This book included all I've come to love by Colleen Coble:

A great mystery

Suspense

Danger and Action

Plot Twists

Characters to love and root for.

If this series sounds like something you would like, add it to your TBR!

Here is my individual reviews on each book if you want to see more:

Review: One Little Lie

Review: Two reasons to Run 

Review: Three Missing Days

About the Author:  

USAToday bestselling author Colleen Coble lives with her husband, Dave, in Indiana. She is the author of

dozens of novels including the Rock Harbor Series, the Aloha Reef Series, the Mercy Falls Series, the Hope Beach Series, the Lonestar Series and two Women of Faith fiction selections, Alaska Twilight and Midnight Sea. She has more than 2 million books in print.