Deliver: a book review

 Description:

Can something broken ever heal?

Martyn is broken. After torturing his best friend, he doesn’t belong anywhere in Acktar. No matter how far he runs, he can’t lose his guilt.

Leith is broken. While healing from the torture he received at Nalgar Castle, he struggles to find his new role. But can a Blade ever outrun his past?

The country is broken. Bitterness divides town against town, neighbor against neighbor. What will it take to deliver Acktar from itself?

They face their hardest battle yet.
Peace.

 

My Review: 

Can they ever be more than Blades?

One might think that with the war over and Respen the usurper gone, peace will have settled on the land and everybody lives happily ever after. Right?

Not Quite.

The new Acktar has no place for Blades. Those who were not banished struggle to find a place in a world where they can’t seem to fit, living in constant fear of being discovered for what they are, and killed. Rebuilding what they destroyed might take more than they can give.

Leith, still struggling with healing wounds, takes most of the other Blades to Stetterly to help with rebuilding, but if the villagers learn the truth, will a pardon be protection enough? Forgiveness is slow in coming, but as Rovers and the remains of Respen’s army plague the countryside once again, the Blades skill may be the only thing that saves the people of Stetterly.

Martyn, angry and guilty, has trouble letting go of what was. When King Keevan gives him a chance to get away, scouting the borders for trouble. He takes it. A chance encounter changes his plans abruptly, but is it enough to change his heart? When Martyn uncovers a sinster plot to be rid of the newly crowned King, past secrets come back to haunt him. They may just destroy him.

Deliver was one heck of a finale to the Blades of Ackar! This series is one of my favorites, and I’ve already read it several times over. Most likely I will be re-reading it again soon! Tricia Mingerink never fails to impress. The ending was a happy one, but I’m still a bit sad that the series is finally over. I still find myself wishing for ‘just one more book’! Or at least a little more about how certain things turned out. I would have loved to see the scene with a certain trial and Keevan placing his proposal before the nobles. It could have gotten interesting.

It was wonderful to see Leith and the Faythe sisters again, seeing how much they’ve changed since the beginning. Renna especially has grown a lot, stepping up from timid girl to strong leader. The new addition of Martyn’s POV adds some new tension and plenty of sarcasm. Both plots were beautifully crafted and well paced. Battle scenes were strong and faith is foremost in this story.

The only thing in the story that felt slightly off to me is that one character who was severely injured, did a lot more than he ever should have been capable of considering his injuries. I felt that the author greatly downplayed the injuries. If his wounds were not that serious, it should have been mentioned, nor should his recovery have taken as long as it did.  It’s a minor quibble though, and in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the story.

My Rating: Five Flames

    

Heat Advisory:

Romance: clean and sweet. There was one point in the plot where some men attempted to attack a girl, but it was kept very clean.
Language: clean
Drinking/Drugs: Laudanum and whiskey was used for painkiller on an injured character, making him unusually talkative!
Blood/violence: There is a lot of violence and a bit of blood, but Mingerink never goes into detailed descriptions. Though there are several battles, death and a variety of wounds from sword wounds, to arrows, rocks, and severe burns, the author still keeps it clean.

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Happy Reading y’all!

Engaged in Trouble: a book review

Description:

When a washed-up pop star inherits a wedding planning business, it’s all bouquets and bliss until a bride turns up dead.

Paisley Sutton shot to stardom as a teenage rock sensation, but ten years later that star has fizzled out, just like her bank account. When she unexpectedly inherits her aunt’s wedding planning business, Paisley leaves the glamour of Los Angeles for a charming small town in Arkansas. Thinking she’ll arrive in Sugar Creek and liquidate the moldly property, Paisley’s shocked to find Enchanted Events has experienced a major makeover and is now the place for brides. She’s got two months to keep Enchanted Events afloat if she wants to sell and rekindle her music career with the profits.

Paisley’s tossed into a world of vows and venues, but her most difficult challenge comes in the form of one demanding bride. When this Bridezilla’s found facedown in her cake, all fingers point to Paisley as the prime murder suspect. And she does not look good in prison orange.

This former pop princess will need the help of her gun-toting, ex-CIA grandmother and her handsome neighbor, Beau Hudson, to unravel the mystery and clear her good name. As she and her unruly posse dig into Bridezilla’s life, she discovers the woman had a long list of enemies. The closer Paisley gets to the truth, the more her own life is in danger.

Love is in the air this wedding season, but before Paisley can help the ladies of Sugar Creek say, “I do,” she’s got to unveil a killer. Or find herself the next target.

My Review: 

From the moment Paisley Sutton hits Sugar Creek with plans to sell off her great aunt’s old business, it’s just one mess after another. When the worst bridezilla ever (who just happens to belong to Paisley’s own very ex-fiance) is found murdered shortly after Paisley publicly threatens said ex-fiance with dire retribution – all evidence points to her. Not her wisest move, but he did wreck her career and publicly humiliate her. A little anger is to be expected, right? Too bad the cops don’t see it that way.

Loaded with heaping scoops of Jones’s trademark wit, Engaged in trouble is a fast paced ride from beginning to end.

Paisley is a fun heroine. She’s quirky, she’s flawed, she’s emotional, and doesn’t always learn the first time. But she won’t go down without a fight! Her determination is admirable, even when it’s aimed in the wrong direction.

Grandma Sylvie, the terrifying ex-CIA sister of Mad Maxine from the Katie Parker series, is probably the most fun character in the book. Though there are a lot of similarities between her and her sister, she is still her own character – and this one comes packing heat! Unable to fully leave behind the thrill of the “glory days” of her time in the CIA, she’s definitely not someone you want on your bad side, or probably even within fifty feet! Life is never dull wherever Sylvie or her stalwart partner Frannie are!

Beau on the other hand, is just meh in my opinion. Jones is great at writing zany small town adventures, and a mystery that keeps me guessing. I actually didn’t fully figure out whodunit until the characters did – which is unusual for me – but her romance has always felt a bit weak. I never connected with Beau at all, at some points I almost got a bit of a creepy vibe from him.

The only thing that kept this book from being a full five stars was some innuendo. Nothing explicit, but more than should have been seen in a Christian novel.

My Rating: four stars

   

Heat Advisory:

Romance: Beau loves to make insinuations from everything Paisley says. Sylvie and Frannie meanwhile just insinuate for the sake of it, almost all the time. Aside from that, the romance itself was clean. Unfortunately, the innuendo makes this one a book I wouldn’t recommend to anyone younger than older teen/adult.
Language: clean
Drinking/Drugs: One character was found to be supplying another with subscription drugs.
Blood/violence: Not too much violence overall. There is a fire, and a murder that  happens off-page. Some blood is mentioned briefly at the crime scene.

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Happy Reading y’all!