Revenge is sweet…unless you are on the receiving end of it.“Do you know of anyone who would want…you dead?”Officer Daniel Jenkins was no stranger to the dangers his job posed but usually he knew who was trying to kill him. Being stalked was a completely different ball game, and he wasn’t sure there were any rules… describe how Kami felt with the stalker targeting her. As an FBI agent you were trained to handle stressful situations, but being the victim put the whole process in a different light.
As the killer gets closer, so do Kami and Daniel, but will they live long enough to see their love bloom?
Only God can save them from this unknown killer…
more
It’s not really fair to pick on Ms. Dawn, because so many Christian romance authors do this. I enjoyed this story. I really like her characters. (WHEN are we going to get Rick and Cassie’s story?? Geez.) I loved seeing the soft side of FBI agent Kami, struck with fear when the killer has been in her own home. Training doesn’t go out the window, but it’s such a different thing when that kind of work follows you home. I also really love the way this “family” – both the ones that are related by blood and the ones who have adopted each other – pulls together. I have a great family, but I’ve always been drawn to those stories of folks that come together and make their own families.
There are some things I don’t love – I think Ashley has great potential, but this work can still use some polish. The interagency interactions don’t always strike me as realistic (how is it that Dee Henderson can convince me in the O’Malley series?). There are some editing issues, and the descriptions tend to be overdone in some places and missing in others. But then there is this thing that bothers me, the one that I shouldn’t pick on Ashley for because so many writers do it. Even my beloved Dee Henderson. But I’m still going to bring it up because I think we need to talk about it. The thing about dating a baby Christian. And the way Christian authors so often write about it.
These stories rarely show the imbalance that happens when a mature believer gets romantically involved with someone who is brand new to the faith (or even someone who has been a “Christian” for a long time but hasn’t grown his/her faith). That imbalance creates a strain on the relationships involved: the relationship between the couple, and between each person and God. It’s not that the characters made a bad choice…its that they made a bad choice and it looks like a good one. When Christian writers have their long-time-believer character dating a baby Christian (often a few days after the person decided to follow Jesus), it can make it seem like this is the good, healthy way to do things. And it’s not – for either person. Take it from someone who has been there.
Plot-wise, there was mostly the one thing that bothered me about reading Shadows of Pain. Y’all, it is literally days from when Daniel decides to follow Jesus to the start of their “dating” relationship. (No spoilers, this is pretty much how the book starts). She doesn’t have any reason to doubt his conversion, but it’s just way too soon. He accepts Jesus, now a switch is flipped and suddenly dating is fair game. And everyone around them encourages it, too.
WHEN DOES THE JOURNEY END?
I think the reason this bothers me, aside from the discussion above about dating a baby Christian, is that there is an assumption that when someone decides to follow Jesus that’s the end of the story. That’s as sad as saying that when a couple gets married it’s the end of the story. Some things really do instantly change when we decide to follow God, but the decision isn’t the arrival point, it’s the beginning of the journey in so many ways.
As you can tell, I have opinions about this topic.
I think I’m done with my rant now :). Would I recommend this book? Yes. There is still some inexperience on the page that you might have to get past, but there’s only one way to get experience as a writer…we have to write, and get feedback, and write, and get feedback. I’m cheering Ashley on as she writes and grows. (And by the way, her other books I’ve reviewed don’t have this “dating a baby Christian” thing. Sometimes you get a believer who has rejected God and comes back to faith, but I think that situation is a little different.) I found myself wanting to know about the characters and what would happen in the next book (which I’ll be reviewing next week). If you enjoy some fun, some romance, and some suspense, you would enjoy this story.
I received a review copy of this book. All opinions are (clearly) my own.
Shadow of Pain
I am loving this series. Definitely recommend starting at book 1 and continue on. I am looking forward to the next book. This one is Kami and Daniel’s story. The book starts out with the bad guys after Daniel but no one really knows at that point for sure. The book is suspenseful due to waiting for if and when they may catch the bad guys. I loved Kami, she is smart and very brave. Definitely some exciting scenes in the book. Also, I loved the closeness of all the characters.
I received an complementary copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write an positive review. This is my own opinion.
If you haven’t read this author before, you are missing out on an author who can write suspense that sends shivers down your spine. This book is the third in a series that has kept me rushing to finish a book so I can get to the next one in the series I love that it surrounds a family who are in law enforcement in some capacity. They are very close knit and have each others backs. This story focuses on Kami and Daniel. Their chemistry is undeniable and I liked how they seemed drawn to each other. It was refreshing to read how faith was very much a part of the story. There is a few scenes in the book where I found the author able to show how someone chooses to invite Jesus into their life. I won’t say who the characters are, but it will bring tears to your eyes.
Danger is lurking just outside the realm of the Reiley family. When you have a family that lives and breathes law enforcement, it is bound to bring out unwanted attention from someone wanting revenge. Someone is out to destroy a family member or perhaps someone close to the family. The chaos goes full force as attempts on lives seem to happen at a quick rate. The author does a good job of throwing in some twists that left me guessing at what was going to happen next. There are a few times in the story, I would have liked a bit more action. It felt like too much attention was given to Kami and Daniel’s relationship. I know this is a suspense book with romance splashed in, but I was disappointed in how quickly they seemed to have feelings for each other. I guess I’m saying this part of the story was very predictable.
I encourage readers to start with the first book in the series to get to know the characters, They all travel to each new book in the series and it would be helpful to understand the dynamics of the characters. I did enjoy the book and was pleased with the ending. The author did tease readers with a bit of a hint of a new book in the series which I am thrilled about. Overall good story and a great message about forgiveness and trust. I can’t wait to read what happens next in the series.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
Another fabulous book in the Shadows series that was almost imposssible to put down! Once again this family and their friends are the recipients of stalking, accidents, attempted bombing, shootings and abduction. Who wants revenge so badly, is the question they need to answer if they want to survive. Is it even possible that Charles Deveraux could be orchestrating this from prison or have they angered another criminal so much that he/she has put this into play? When you put the LAPD, FBI and CIA together to solve a problem, things can get very exciting!
I received this book through CelebrateLit and this review gives my personal impressions and opinions.
This was overall a good story with suspense, romance and the criminal element. Kami and Daniel are both with law enforcement and find their lives in danger from an unknown subject. Why are they being targeted? Several attempts are made until they band together with friends that are also with the LAPD and the FBI. These are friends that are more like family, family that many of them didn’t have growing up. Trying to figure out who is the perp adds the suspense element.
I enjoyed the conversations, humor and bantering that went on among the characters. But not having read the first two books in this series left me a little confused as to what was going on. I was also put off some with the grammatical errors and sentence structure.
One example: “I am not sure how many of those people there are out there now. It seems like there are a lot of bad cops out there.”
Another thing that I didn’t like was how quickly I would be reading a conversation among the “good guys” and the very next line would be one from the “bad guys” with no break to indicate a change in characters or locations. I’m used to that being a new chapter or at least a good paragraph break.
This was a good read but I could only give three stars for the errors I found as well as the flow of the story.
I received a complimentary ebook from the publisher through Celebrate Lit but was not required to write a review positive or otherwise.