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Book Review: Storm Warning

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Storm Warning
by Elizabeth Goddard

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Christian romantic suspense

Remi Grant has come to Hidden Bay, a remote resort where visitors come to watch storms on the coast, to try to recover memories lost during a traumatic event that seems to have left her a target by unknown persons. Hawk Beckett has come to Hidden Bay to forget a recent tragedy that cost him his job and the life of a friend. When a masked menace seems to be stalking Remi and Hawk saves her life multiple times, they realize that they may already be more connected than they realize.

The thing I liked most about this book was the setting—the descriptions of the ocean, forest, and storms were all really immersive. Unfortunately, I found the characters and story only okay. I didn’t get much of a feel for Remi’s character at all, and the only real personality I could ascribe to Hawk is that he’s protective (which is fairly standard fair for the MMC in a book like this). I do like that he’s trying to track down a certain person (don’t want to spoil anything) to try to turn him around (from the “dark side” as is so often said by different characters). The book takes place over only about 4 days, and by the end of the first day, which is quite a ways into the book, Remi and Hawk are already trying to talk themselves out of wanting a future with each other. It’s just too fast of a connection like that for my taste, though I understand that a romance book with such a short timeline would require a quick connection. I didn’t see that connection as natural, though, and besides, maybe in a case like this, it doesn’t always have to involve romance that is actually acted upon by the end of the book. 

The writing is a bit stilted as well, both in the prose and in the dialog. I struggled a lot with the flow and pacing and ended up skimming a lot to get past multiple paragraphs that rehashed the same musings about Remi’s missing memories or Hawk’s difficulties. The book is billed as Christian, but it’s barely that. Not that I need every Christian-genre book to have some kind of strong message, but it’s mostly silent, single-sentence prayers every once in a while, pleading with God for other characters to be all right. Hawk, at least, does have a bit of a progression of his faith, but it’s fairly meager as well.

I don’t think the book was bad, exactly, but I’m learning that this sub-genre of books may just not be for me. It’s clean overall—no language and light on the violence—and though the Christianity in it is a little light, based on other reviews, I think it’s safe to say that if you’re interested in this type of book, you should check it out. There are plenty of reviews in favor of it, so be sure to read some of those too.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.
Publication date: February 18, 2025

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Book Review: The Seat Beside Me

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The Seat Beside Me
by Nancy Moser

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian suspense

The five survivors of a place crash deal with the survivor’s guilt and other difficulties in their lives as they try to understand why they lived when others died.

My husband bought this book on a whim, and I really didn’t know what to expect or even what the book was completely about, given the official synopsis. The book starts like a 90s disaster movie, in which we’re introduced to various people who are going to be on the plane and shown a glimpse of their lives pre-disaster. By the end of the first quarter, I was crying, and not just a little. Moser does a great job keeping the suspense and emotions high during the tragedy and immediate aftermath. At that point, I wasn’t really sure what the rest of the book was going to be about, but following the survivors as they tried to process the trauma and get back to life was more interesting than I expected it to be. And it all came together beautifully in the end.

There are probably more Christians or people who believe in God but haven’t given their lives over to Him than would normally exist in a sample group of this size, but I can accept that the author is exploring different dynamics with the people who survived, those they shared their last minutes with, and those they talk to or meet afterward. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes Christian fiction that explores trauma, loss, and guilt.

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Book Review: Last Girl Breathing

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Last Girl Breathing
by Court Stevens

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Suspense, mystery

Eight years after heavy rain caused a dam failure that swept away her younger brother, Lucy’s step-brother Martin has gone missing in the same expanse of land that was under water all those years ago. Lucy can’t help but wonder if Martin’s allegations that someone was behind the dam break are related to his disappearance, and soon she’s swept up in an escalating mystery that involves multiple deaths and disappearances.

I found myself really caught up in the suspense of this book—the search for Martin, the questions about the dam break, the obvious suspicious behavior of Lucy’s ex-boyfriend. Every once in a while, there’s a brief glimpse into the day of the dam break, and the impending disaster in those sections added to the suspense for me. There are a lot of characters, basically all of whom could be involved in either the dam disaster or the current tragedy. It took me a little bit to understand the dynamics of this group of families who are said to spend a lot of time together, but once I did, I had no issue keeping them straight.

The thrill ride comes to an abrupt halt, though, a little past halfway, when part 1 ends and part 2 is basically just a page saying that time has gone by. Then part 3 picks up 2 years later. It was a bit of a jolt, though I understand the need for a time jump. I definitely didn’t expect it and wonder if there was a better way to do it, but I was still invested and wanted to find out the truth of everything. However, my real issue comes with the ending. The ending is usually pretty make-or-break for suspense/thriller novels, and this one was…okay. It felt a little too much like a twist was thrown in just for the sake of having a twist. By the time we find out who’s behind much of the events, I don’t feel very connected to that person, so it probably doesn’t hit me as hard as it should. And by that point, to be honest, I was half expecting it anyway. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book more than not and have already recommended it to my suspense-loving teenage daughter. I like that it’s fairly clean overall, with no language that I can remember and only side references to affairs or other things of that nature (including a fairly uncomfortable mention of a first kiss when Lucy was 13). Though I think the pacing could have been better, I feel comfortable recommending this book to any fan of suspense novels who is interested.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: A Dream within a Dream

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A Dream within a Dream
Coffey & Hill #3
by Mike Nappa

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Thriller/suspense, Christian

Private investigator Trudi Coffey and her ex-husband, ex-CIA agent, ex-private investigator, now Atlanta cop, Samuel Hill are separately pointed to a man known as Dream, who has knowledge highly prized by multiple different agencies. His well-being is in danger, possibly his life, and he is suffering from PTSD that has left him with holes in his memory.

This book delivers excitement, suspense, and intrigue like the other two in the series. The trend of involving writings of Edgar Allen Poe also continues, including another character in need who is named after a Poe work, this time the troubled and much sought-after Dream. He provides the first-person, present-tense perspective throughout this story as he relates to us various different events from his past that led to him being in his current predicament. The issue, though, is that these different events are jumbled together in the telling. This is indicative of the way he is processing his past and current events that bring up difficult memories, but I kept waiting for things to clear up and make more sense, and they never completely did.

Trudi and Samuel provide the other perspectives (3rd person, past tense), and while Trudi’s is familiar and provides the clearest narrative, Samuel’s is the other main reason I didn’t like this as much as I did the previous 2 books in the series. There’s just too much going on. The storyline about Dream and some stolen artwork was complex enough, to my mind, that adding a family from the Middle East coming after Samuel because he was involved in the death of one of their own was unnecessary. In the end, it seemed to only be in there to give us a particular ending, which wasn’t really my favorite kind of ending anyway. It doesn’t really leave it open for more books in this series, though some feel that it does and I’d certainly love to see more Coffey & Hill someday.

This book may not have quite held up to the high standard set by the previous 2 books in the series, but I still enjoyed it overall. And I am so glad I found this series in general, as it’s a new favorite for me. I definitely recommend it to fans of suspense and thriller novels, especially with a Christian leaning, and you don’t necessarily need to read them in order.

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Book Review: As Good As Dead

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As Good As Dead
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #3
by Holly Jackson

My rating: 1.5 / 5
Genre: YA mystery, suspense

Well…I’ve put off writing this review as long as I could. I don’t know how much I can say without giving spoilers, but I’ll try. I’m really disappointed by the turn this book took from the series before it. Not only does Pip cross some major ethical/moral lines (which she also did in the previous book, but not nearly to the same extent), the mystery is nearly non-existent, is not solved by Pip at all, and is wrapped up halfway through the book. The second half is given over to the stuff I can’t talk about without spoiling it.

During that first half, while the not-very-mysterious mystery is unfolding, Pip is suffering some severe PTSD from what happened at the end of the previous book. While I can’t really say that her trauma is unrealistic or too extreme, since I’ve never gone through what she did, it definitely feels overdone. It’s certainly a preference thing, but my preference is to not have a book like this so bogged down by a main character who is falling apart and dealing with it in all the worst ways. 

As for the spoilers, I don’t want share them here and risk anyone accidentally seeing something they wish they hadn’t. If you want to read the spoiler part of my review, follow this link to my review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6243264646 (Once there, click on the spoiler tag midway through the text.)

Not only did I not enjoy this book, but it also seems likely to me that the author planned this ending from the start. Though I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, I don’t know that I’ll ever want to re-read them, and I also don’t think I’ll be able to trust another book/series by this author. As for a recommendation, it’s difficult to recommend any of this series, knowing how it ends, and knowing that the books are connected enough that stopping at #2 might feel incomplete. Plenty of others weren’t bothered by what I was, both the spoiler and the non-spoiler parts, so maybe you won’t be either.

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Book Review: Payback

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Payback
Masterminds #3
by Gordon Korman

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi adventure, suspense

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series,  starting with Masterminds.

Split up and suffering the sting of betrayal, the four teens from Serenity, New Mexico, the happiest town on earth, have to decide whether their own freedom is worth risking to try to save their fellow clones from Serenity.

This is an exciting and satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that I have enjoyed all the way through. Though nothing can quite match the reveal in the first book, there were still some surprises in this one. It was maybe a tiny bit anti-climactic, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing in a book like this, especially one written for pre-teens. Like the previous books, each teen’s perspective is shown at different times, all in 1st person, and by now they’re all familiar voices. I especially appreciated Malik’s arc, which I was really starting to think was going to go a different way. I highly recommend this book, and the entire series, for teens and even adults who enjoy suspenseful teen books (though definitely start at the beginning).

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Book Review: Criminal Destiny

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Criminal Destiny
Masterminds #2
by Gordon Korman

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi adventure, suspense

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the first books in the series, Masterminds.

Broken out and on the run, the four teens from Serenity, New Mexico, the happiest town on earth, have to learn about the real world that their “parents” kept from them all their lives if they want to stay free. 

This book continues the action-packed story started in the previous. The angle of the kids trying to get a handle on the outside world while also figuring out what they want for their lives is often humorous. Not knowing who they can trust, but needing to trust someone, makes their plan to shine the light on Project Osiris all the more difficult. But at least they know they can trust each other…or can they?

Like the previous book, each teen’s perspective is shown at different times, all in 1st person. While I don’t usually appreciate that kind of storytelling, Korman pulls it off much better than most, as their voices are all unique enough to keep me from being confused (for the most part). This book takes the teens all over the Rocky Mountain area of the US (or somewhere in there) as they question their own actions and motives. This is turning into one of my favorite middle-grade suspense/adventure series, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out in the final book. I highly recommend this book for teens and even adults who enjoy suspenseful teen books (though definitely start at the beginning).

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Book Review: The Raven

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The Raven
Coffey & Hill #2
by Mike Nappa

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Thriller/suspense, Christian

When a street magician (deception specialist), who calls himself The Raven and tends to pay his rent with what he can steal out of the pockets in his audience, gets in over his head with a local politician and his enforcers, he finds himself in the middle of a mysterious plot code-named “Nevermore.” Private investigator Trudi Coffey and her ex-husband, ex-CIA agent, ex-private investigator, now Atlanta cop, Samuel Hill race to uncover the details of the plot and stop it before it, whatever it even is, can happen.

For as much as I liked the previous book in this series, I liked this one even more. It kept me in suspense all throughout, with high stakes, real danger, and well-developed characters. Nappa made me care about people on both sides—good guys and bad guys alike. Though Coffey and Hill are the overall focus of the series, The Raven was really the protagonist in this story, with his attempts to turn his life around and some backstory that culminated in a couple of very emotional moments. I didn’t care for Raven’s insta-crush on Trudi, but overall, it was downplayed enough to not be a problem. 

Like the previous book, this one also has three perspectives: Trudi Coffey, a woman named Bliss that is connected to Nevermore in some way, and The Raven (whose POV is in 1st-person, present tense, while the other two are 3rd-person, past tense). There is also a lot of jumping around in time, which seems to be one of the biggest issues for other people. Even when a chapter starts in “present time,” it will sometimes jump back and tell something that happened minutes, hours, or days earlier, before getting back to “now.” I didn’t have a problem with that flow; in fact, I think it really added to the suspense.

This book had a little more Christian content in it than the previous, which only took the form of Trudi recently becoming a Christian and trying to filter her life through that newish lens. The Raven brings more of that into the story, struggling with an upbringing as a pastor’s son and his guilt over some particularly bad things he’s done in his life. That and the lessened violence and gore (compared to the previous) are probably the biggest contributors to my higher rating of this book. Needless to say, I loved this book and recommend it to fans of suspense and thriller novels, especially with a Christian leaning.

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Book Review: Good Girl, Bad Blood

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Good Girl, Bad Blood
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #2
by Holly Jackson

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: YA mystery, suspense

After solving the mystery of Andie Bell’s and Sal Singh’s deaths, Pip and Ravi create a limited-run podcast to share their discoveries. Due to the podcast’s success, when Jamie Reynolds, the brother of one of Pip’s close friends, goes missing, his family asks her to use her audience to try to find him. Pip is resistant at first, not wanting to get caught up in another investigation, given how damaging the last one had been for her and those around her, but since the police don’t consider the disappearance a priority, Pip knows she can’t leave her friend and his family without answers.

I liked this book a tad more than the previous, I think because it felt a little more focused than the first one, with so many paths Pip went down to get to the real truth. I liked the merger of the updates from the previous investigation with the new case at hand. I have to admit that I pegged the main bad guy really early in the book, which is not normal to me, but I honestly don’t know if it was majorly telegraphed or if I just took a guess based on tropes of the genre. I think there was at least one thing that happened that wasn’t explained, which I wish had been. And the reader is definitely not given a chance to figure out the motive in advance, but then again, this isn’t exactly a cozy mystery, so I think that’s okay.

I still get serious Veronica Mars vibes from this series (in a good way). I take issue with some of the ethical and legal lines Pip is willing to cross in this book, with no consequences, though they may come about in the next book. For those who want to know about content, there is some language and references to drug use and rape, though nothing explicit. If you’re concerned, I’d definitely recommend reading it before your teen does (especially a younger teen). I’ve enjoyed this series thus far and look forward to the conclusion.

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Book Review: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

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A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
Book #1
by Holly Jackson

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: YA mystery, suspense

Using her senior school project as a guise, Pip decides to dig into the cold case of a girl that was supposedly murdered by her boyfriend, who then killed himself, five years in the past. At first, she just wants to come up with reasonable doubt that Sal Singh killed his girlfriend, and it’s not long before she comes up with quite a few potential suspects. But the more she digs into her town’s secrets, the more someone doesn’t like what she’s doing, and Pip and her loved ones might be in danger.

I don’t know exactly what I was expecting from this book—something more shallow, maybe, or full of teen angst—but instead I found it to be an enjoyable, fast-paced mystery that kept me guessing! There was a major Veronica Mars feel to the story (a show that I love), though Pip is much less jaded than Veronica Mars. Pip’s progression through the clues, adding suspects to her list, and re-arranging those suspects all coincide with her attempt to maintain her friendships and get a college application and essay done on time. There were some decisions that Pip made that I thought were pretty terrible, all the way up to the end, though I don’t know if that’s a fault in the writing or in her teenage decision-making skills. And I have to admit, at some points along the way, I was worried the ending and reveal would be anti-climactic, but it was anything but. Even when you think you know what’s going on, there’s a little more to uncover.

My 13-year-old daughter read this book as well; she might be a little on the young side for its target audience (not even being in high school yet), but she loved it! For those who want to know about content, there is some language, including 3-4 f-words, and plenty of references to teen sex and drug use, though nothing explicit. If you’re concerned, I’d definitely recommend reading it before your teen does (especially a younger teen). In the end, though, I’m glad I read it and look forward to continuing the series.

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