Happy Friday! I hope you’re all staying healthy and doing well after another week of quarantine/isolation. I know I’m looking forward to diving in to a good book this weekend! 🙂

Today I’m linking up with Hoarding Books for another First Line Friday, and featuring Cara Putman’s upcoming release, Flight Risk. Keep reading for the first line and my review below!

Monday, December 7

“‘Savannah, call for you on line one. Says he’s a reporter. Never heard of him.'”

Flight Risk by Cara Putman

The Basics

Title: Flight Risk

Author: Cara Putman

Publication Date: April 7, 2020

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

From the Back Cover: Savannah Daniels has worked hard to build her law practice, to surround herself with good friends, and to be the loyal aunt her troubled niece can always count on. But since her ex-husband’s betrayal, she has trouble trusting anyone.

Jett Glover’s father committed suicide over a false newspaper report that ruined his reputation. Now a fierce champion of truth, Jett is writing the story of his journalism career—an international sex-trafficking exposé that will bring down a celebrity baseball player and the men closest to him, including Savannah’s ex-husband.

When Jett’s story breaks, tragedy ensues. Then a commercial airline crashes, and one of Savannah’s clients is implicated in the crash. Men connected to the scandal, including her ex, begin to die amid mysterious circumstances, and Savannah’s niece becomes an unwitting target.

Against their better instincts, Jett and Savannah join ranks to sort the facts from fiction. But can Savannah trust the reporter who threw her life into chaos? And can Jett face the possibility that he’s made the biggest mistake of his life?

My Thoughts

This book is part legal thriller, part suspense, and full of high-stakes action! With complex characters and an intricately woven plot, Cara Putman has cemented her position as one of my go-to suspense authors. The main characters in the story are a lawyer and an investigative reporter, allowing the story to be told in a unique way. The development of their relationship – from antagonistic, to begrudgingly working together, to friendship and eventually more – feels genuine and natural. I appreciated that they are a little older than main characters typically are in this genre; their life experiences and past struggles make the story much richer, and their romance is based on a foundation of friendship that makes sense with their story.

As with any good suspense novel, there is much more to the story than what meets the eye, and the discovery at the end of who was behind it all was just as shocking to me as it was to the characters!

Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below, and don’t forget to head to Hoarding Books to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Happy Friday! It seems like our world has completely changed since last Friday… how are you doing with all the craziness? On the bright side, if you’re social distancing or self-isolating, hopefully you’ll have some extra reading time! 🙂

For today’s First Line Friday post, I’m featuring Before I Called You Mine by Nicole Deese. It doesn’t come out for a little over a week, but when it is available, I think it will be the perfect hope-filled book to lighten your heart in these strange times!

“If Obsessive Email Checking Disorder were a disease, I was likely already in the final stages: trigger thumb, mindless refreshing, aimless scrolling, and, of course, an inability to focus on anything else in the entire world.”

Before I Called You Mine by Nicole Deese

The Basics

Title: Before I Called You Mine

Author: Nicole Deese

Publication Date: March 31, 2020

Genre: Christian Contemporary Fiction

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

From the Back Cover: Lauren Bailey may be a romantic at heart, but after a decade of matchmaking schemes gone wrong, there’s only one match she’s committed to now–the one that will make her a mother. Lauren is a dedicated first-grade teacher in Idaho, and her love for children has led her to the path of international adoption. To satisfy her adoption agency’s requirements, she gladly agreed to remain single for the foreseeable future; however, just as her long wait comes to an end, Lauren is blindsided by a complication she never saw coming: Joshua Avery.
 
Joshua may be a substitute teacher by day, but Lauren finds his passion for creating educational technology as fascinating as his antics in the classroom. Though she does her best to downplay the undeniable connection between them, his relentless pursuit of her heart puts her commitment to stay unattached to the test and causes her once-firm conviction to waver.
 
With an impossible decision looming, Lauren might very well find herself choosing between the two deepest desires of her heart . . . even if saying yes to one means letting go of the other.

My Thoughts

“We aren’t powerful enough to mess up God’s plan. Can we deny it? Yes. Can we delay it while we chase our own way? Absolutely. But sometimes our character needs time to catch up to our calling.”

This story had me feeling all the feels! I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster ride with Lauren, through the anticipation, excitement, and heartbreak she felt during her adoption journey. Ms. Deese did such a great job of introducing us to the characters, slowly letting us see more of their motivations and hearts, making them deeply engaging and relatable.

Joshua was such a swoon-worthy hero – seemingly a perfect match for Lauren, except for the timing of when they met, making her question God’s calling on her life. I loved that the story centered on adoption; that’s such an important topic to see portrayed realistically, especially in faith circles. It all added up to an engaging, impactful story that I finished the book in 48 hours; I just had to know what would happen! This was the first book of Nicole Deese’s I’ve read, but it definitely won’t be the last. 

Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below, and don’t forget to head to Hoarding Books to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Happy Friday! If you’re looking for a good book to devour this weekend, look no further than Chasing the White Lion by James R. Hannibal. I’m sharing the first line of this international spy thriller for First Line Friday, hosted by Hoarding Books, as well as my full review below!

Volgograd, Russia
Wharf District
Present Day

“The cabdriver cast a nervous glance at the alley’s unlit streetlamps and blacked-out windows.”

Chasing the White Lion by James R. Hannibal

Title: Chasing the White Lion

Author: James R. Hannibal

Series: Clandestine Service (Book 2)

Genre: Christian Suspense/Thriller

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

From the Back Cover: Young CIA officer Talia Inger has reconciled with the man who assassinated her father, but that doesn’t mean she wants him hovering over her every move and unearthing the painful past she’s trying to put behind her. Still, she’ll need him–and the help of his star grifter, Valkyrie–if she hopes to infiltrate the Jungle, the first ever crowdsourced crime syndicate, to rescue a group of kidnapped refugee children.

But as Talia and her elite team of thieves con their way into the heart of the Jungle, inching ever closer to syndicate boss the White Lion, she’ll run right up against the ragged edge of her family’s dark past. In this game of cat and mouse, it’s win . . . or die. And in times like that, it’s always good to have someone watching your back.

Former tactical deception officer and stealth pilot James Hannibal takes you deep undercover into the criminal underworld where everyone has an angle and no one escapes unscathed.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, The Gryphon Heist (read my review here), and this one is even better! The action is nonstop from the beginning, as Talia and her team try to identify a traitor in the CIA who’s trying to have her killed. There’s a lot going on in this book, and sometimes it can be a little difficult to keep track of all the players, but it’s worth the effort to reach the high-stakes, thrilling conclusion! The plot is full of twists and turns, moments that make you hold your breath and keep you guessing. I loved watching Talia grow in her faith throughout the book, as she learns to trust God and her team, and is able to share her faith with her team in a natural, beautiful way.

James R. Hannibal’s unique brand of suspense and thriller is sure to be a hit, with heists and cons around every corner and a cast of quirky characters unlike any other in Christian fiction.

Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below, and don’t forget to head to Hoarding Books to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Revell!