Book Review Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Disclaimer: Reading is all about exploring new worlds, but this Book Review does not shy away from spoiling specific scenes as this is more of a look inside the good and bad of a book.

The Analysis:

The cover on this book is largely responsible for why I picked this book up. However, I’m also in love with the romantic suspense genre and I think that’s a big part of it too. Let’s get into this Book Review. But first, follow me on Goodreads.

Here’s The Blurb:

Sara is terrified. She’s doing the one thing she cannot afford to do: fall in love with former pro-football player Adam Black, a man everyone knows. Sara’s been hidden away in the witness protection program, her safety dependent on staying invisible—and loving Adam could get her killed!

Introducing the O’Malleys, an inspirational group of seven, all abandoned or orphaned as teens, who have made the choice to become a loyal and committed family. They have chosen their own surname, O’Malley, and have stood by each other through moments of joy and heartache. Their stories are told in CBA best-selling, inspirational romantic suspense novels that rock your heart and restore strength and hope to your spirit.

Cover Critique:

This cover is old school and I love it. It has a vintage feel to it. This matte, well-worn but loved look to it. It is simple since we’re just focusing on the face, but unlike most readers, I’ve never been afraid of a model on the cover.

Now The Story:

Book Info:
Pages: 320
Author: Dee Henderson

Available: Google Play

There are Christian elements in this story, but it comes across as very natural, matter-of-fact (it’s not their whole personality, it’s just a part of them), and not preachy or forced.

This meet cute starts with the heroine and hero getting stuck in an elevator together. A trope I love. But it does take a darker tone when the heroine is revealed to have severe triggers that being trapped elicits. The hero, however, is great at handling it.

Side note: The hero is a celebrity due to being a football player. I didn’t grasp whether he was active or former, but that might be reader error. He’s certainly popular enough to have some epic play that everyone knows.

But the elevator stint is short-lived. The heroine is under witness protection (of sorts). Her brother is over her case (overprotective to the max). And the hero is just this average guy, who wants to take her out for lunch. He just can’t because finding her is proving to be impossible. And it’s kinda cute, the notes he leaves on her car, etc. But it’s also getting frustrating and I chuckled with him when he finally got his big break and said something to the effect of, we gone say Hello, finally. It was just so innocently sweet and I felt his pain because the hoops were a lot.

It didn’t help that information was slowly trickling out as to what the danger was because it made it hard to be sympathetic. At points, I was genuinely thinking, sis ain’t worth all this. Why? They were leaving notes back and forth and Agents were making it sound like he committed a criminal offense. I wanted him to cut his losses. Now, one could say, well, he should’ve accepted no for an answer and respected her choices. The agents mention it’s harassment. But with that response, there would be no book. I’m going to take a point off because while I find the whole thing realistic, the hero’s reactions to it all aren’t necessarily plausible. He should’ve been put off by the whole situation even if he was remorseful. And harassment/no harassment maybe that section could’ve been written differently.

Back to the rest of the story: Dave (heroine’s brother) straddled the line between overprotective brother and FBI Agent. It was too blurry for me. He would make statements like, she can’t get engaged because it’s too complicated. Dating is alright, but she can’t get married. I don’t want him doing this with my sister or doing that. Then he would turn around and be supportive. Their first date outside the confines of her office/home prison was due to him setting it up. We didn’t get much of a villain in this story antagonizing our couple, but he was it for me. A walking/talking roadblock.

I also feel obligated to mention the classism issues on display. The heroine was kidnapped when she was 7 (maybe younger). She’s been in witness protection for 15+ years (guessing). I find that incomprehensible. Frankly, for a regular person, they would have given up on the man surfacing and dumped her somewhere in the midwest and told her to keep a low profile. The scenes depicted in the book amount to light stalking. I’ve heard horror stories of women going through far worse on the daily and can’t get a cop to drive by their house. Of course, they would stop such surveillance to save money and resources. In the heroine’s favor, her father is well connected and some ambassador. So, he’s why we’re supposed to believe they’re still looking for this guy. That’s plausible I suppose.

Which is when I notice my second qualm. Here’s a quote:

I’m petrified….she wondered if she would ever be anything else.

This quote really sums up the plot and the heroine’s whole personality. I’m sure somewhere between the ages of 18 and 21 if the guy hadn’t shown up on his own, I’d be looking at the FBI sideways. Flush him out. What are we doing here? Allowing him to low-key stalk her. Sending packages, while they shrug about the origin. This the best they got.

I think part of the complacency was because she was practically raised under this system. She didn’t know any different and thus didn’t push the system to give her different. This made me sad for her whenever I thought about it. Maybe that’s why I expected more confidence and fight as the story moved to the end. The JLO moment (think movie Enough) when she decides to take her future into her hands. But it’s not as spectacular. More sedated, quaint. She had been blocking out his image and once she remembered and faced her trauma, it served as a breakthrough. After some time away, it’s not the novelization ending, but it is a realistic one. Either way, I did love her happily ever after. I was so rooting for her to live a life without fear.

This book also sets up the romance for Dave. He’s in a relationship in this book, but we’re getting cracks in the foundation. This is important as his romance takes center stage in book 2. And it appears as if someone new steps in.

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Book Review At A Glance:

Recommendation:  3 out of 5

Book Cover Appeal:

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

Story & Narration:

🍓🍓🍓

Romance:

🍓🍓🍓

Character/(s) Personality:

🍓🍓🍓