A little bit about what you'll find reviewed here

A little bit about what you'll find reviewed on this blog: I believe the best books involve characters you wish you could read more about long after the book is finished. Recently, I've been searching for hidden gems from the past. I read mostly fiction, and I'm a bit of a prude. I don't normally enjoy books with sex or excessive language.

Who I am:
I raised two wonderful girls, and I'm super proud of them. I enjoy reading (of course), sewing, cross stitching, photography and writing. I live in the high desert portion of Washington (which I didn't know existed until my husband and I decided to move here) and have really enjoyed my time out here. I am excited to see what God has next in store for my life!

Thursday, June 16, 2016

By Your Side (Crisis Team #1) - Candace Calvert

This is the first book in the series.  The second is called Step by Step.

Macy is a nurse with a troubled past and just wants to find a place where she feels like she belongs.  She tries to hide her past and is determined not to touch the money her "father" gave her.  A traffic accident throws her in the path of Fletcher, a cop from Houston.  When bullets start to fly, he protects her.

Fletcher is only in California until his mother is better.  She's beaten cancer once, but it seems like it's come back, and he's willing to do anything to save her.  He's intrigued by Macy and finds himself wanting to spend time with her.  He also has some unresolved feelings about a woman back home.

There's a lot going on in this book.  In the first half, we read about the effects of leukemia, a recent widow, a sniper who is determined to kill, the death of a dog (sorry I hate those!), making a decision about life support, a car accident involving a pregnant woman, and a character with a drug problem and a rape.  And this is just in the first half.

To me, this was a lot of trauma, especially for the first half of a book.  Every character seems to be dealing with some sort of tragic experience (past or present), and if they don't, then by golly, the author gives them one.  I know everyone has their own problems and things they deal with, but for ALL these people to have something so major going on at the same time was a bit unrealistic.

The relationship between Macy and Fletcher is an okay story, but it didn't draw me in as much as I had hoped.  With all the other "stuff" going on, I found myself almost reluctant to pick the book back up to see what would happen next.  At the end, even with many of the threads wrapped up nicely, I wasn't as satisfied as I had hoped.  Overall, it was okay.  3.5 stars.


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