#revellbooks

Book Review: The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson

The Christmas Swap
by Melody Carlson
Rating: 4/5

I’ve been a fan of Melody Carlson for a while and I absolutely devoured this story. It was beautifully written with lots of humor and romance. This lighthearted and charming Christmas story was just what I wanted to escape for a few hours.

Emma Daley finds herself in the Colorado Rockies to celebrate a white Christmas with her friend’s family who decided to do a house swap for the holidays. Instead of hot Arizona, Emma gets to see snow for the first time for Christmas. She is a part-time substitute teacher and struggling singer-songwriter who is not interested in getting involved with her friend’s brother or his friend. After arriving at the house, Emma meets West who says he’s the caretaker of the house but he’s really the owner of the house and award-winning songwriter, TW Prescott. He offers to teach her to ski and the rest is history. Sparks fly and shenanigans ensue to make a perfect holiday story come to life.

This story definitely reads like it could be a Hallmark holiday movie, so if you love those, then you will love this story. It’s not super deep but it has heart and is a quick chairlift view into a Christmas romance where two souls find each other. I found myself rooting for Emma and West. I really wanted the book to be a movie so I could hear both of them sing and play together. Haha. I enjoyed the setting and am now eager to start skiing again. Maybe. 😉

Although the timeline is short (like almost every Hallmark movie) the romance doesn’t feel too rushed. As a musician myself, I understand the connection that occurs between creatives, so the short timeline actually didn’t bother me as much. Fun times in a Christmas setting.

I definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a cute, clean Christmas romance.

My thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

September 13, 2020 by Kim Book Reviews

Book Review: Don’t Keep Silent by Elizabeth Goddard

Don’t Keep Silent
by Elizabeth Goddard
Book 3 in the Uncommon Justice series
Rating: 4/5

Wow. That was an intense read! From the very beginning you get swept away into this world where the reader cannot stop reading until the end. I have not read the first two books in the series but I need to now that I’ve had a taste. It’s been a while since I’ve read anything by Elizabeth Goddard but this book did not disappoint.

Rae Burke is an investigative reporter with a heart for justice that is desperately trying to find out what happened to her sister-in-law, Zoey, who recently went missing. Her search leads her to Wyoming where Zoey’s mother lives and also where her favorite former DEA agent, Liam McKade, lives. They met while she was on assignment overseas and unfortunately, things ended when Liam got shot saving her life and blew his cover. She hopes she can explain what happened and win back Liam’s trust. Rae knows she needs his investigative help and protection if she’s going to find her sister-in-law before it’s too late. Can Liam learn to trust Rae again after she used him and broke his heart?

From the very beginning, I was hooked. This story is fast-paced and full of action and intrigue. I loved the characters and their motivations for what they did. Since this book was from a Christian publisher, I was expecting more faith aspects to be incorporated but they were nearly absent. Some of the scenes with Rae’s brother could have been better with a faith aspect but that’s only my opinion. This absence is why I rated it one less star. Everything else about this story is very well done and well written.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy clean romantic suspense.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

June 29, 2020 by Kim Book Reviews

Book Review: The Heart of a Hero by Susan May Warren

The Heart of a Hero
by Susan May Warren
Book 2 in the Global Search and Rescue series
Rating: 5/5

So I definitely lost some sleep over this amazing ride! I love how Susan May Warren keeps outdoing herself. This is the second book in the series and I highly recommend reading the first but it’s not necessary to enjoy this thrilling adventure. While her first book dealt with blizzards in Alaska, this one deals with hurricanes in Key West. We continue getting to know the main characters after she introduced them in the first book, The Way of the Brave.

“Funny that when skies were clear, he was the storm. But in the middle of the storm…He was the calm.”

As a former sniper and Navy SEAL, Jake Silver was born to help people, and being a part of Jones Inc rescue team was only the next logical step. After helping save Dr. Aria Sinclair and her friends in Alaska, Jake knows that he and Aria have formed a connection that he can’t get away from. He shared things about his past with her that no one else knows, and she shared things with him that only made him want to protect her more. Too bad she doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him. Why does she seem to be running away from a relationship with him?

While Aria can admit that she and Jake have a connection after the traumatic events in Alaska, she is not that girl in real life. On vacation was different. She could be more adventurous like her twin sister, Kia, used to be, but when she returns back home, she has to be back to skilled pediatric heart surgeon with everything under control. There’s no room in her life for Jake and the risk he has on her heart. After a difficult patient loss, Aria’s boss sends her to a medical conference for some R and R. However, things get cut short when she finds herself stuck in Key West when category 4 Hurricane Lucy hits. A misdirected text also brings Jake to her rescue but can she find it in her heart to give their relationship a chance? Can these two heroes find a way to heal from their pasts and find their true identities?

The author has such an authentic way of incorporating her faith into her stories and I love how she is not afraid to deal with hard issues regarding PTSD and all that entails. Her writing always feels so genuine and well-researched. Her characters have their strengths and weaknesses that seem to only draw the readers into their world. The action and suspense force the reader to keep going until they reach the end.

Warning: The author also has a substory with characters from her next book who are part of the rescue team, but that story arc ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.

All in all, I couldn’t put the book down and I highly recommend reading this action-packed suspense thriller with romance and a message about forgiving yourself. I also recommend reading the first book in the series before to get the full effect.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.