Caught by Surprise (Apart From the Crowd #3) - Jen Turano

This is the third book in the series.  First is a novella, At Your Request.  Then the first two books of the series are Behind the Scenes and Out of the Ordinary.  This book wraps up the series in a neat little bow with an epilogue at the end, so if you’ve read the first two, you’ll get resolution for everyone.  If you haven’t read the other two, you’ll still be able to read this one and not feel lost.

Temperance Flowerdew has been abducted.  Trapped in a coffin, she discovers that her bumbling kidnappers have the wrong Flowerdew.  Apparently, her cousin has taken it upon herself to trap Temperance’s good friend, Gilbert, into marriage.  Now that Temperance and Gilbert have been thrown together again, and in such circumstances, Gilbert insists that they need to be married.

Gilbert doesn’t just want to marry Temperance to save her reputation.  His feelings for her are growing, but she keeps insisting they aren’t suited and would kill each other within a few weeks if they married.  Lives are in danger, and unraveling this mystery will involve not one, but two, families.

I liked this book.  As usual, the characters are quirky and lovable.  If I had to pick a favorite for this series, I’d have to say it was Out of the Ordinary.  I just really loved the tale of Harrison and Gertrude.  Back to this one, it’s a good tale and definitely worth reading.  Good Book!

*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dead Drift (Chesapeake Valor #4) - Dani Pettrey

This is the fourth, and final, book in the series.  The first three are Cold Shot, Still Life, and Blind Spot.  If you read her Alaskan Courage series, you might remember that series had a total of five books.  I'm not sure why this one had only four, but I'm always excited to read something by Pettrey.

In this book, Griffin and Finley are on their own, chasing down a serial killer.  The rest of the team is working together to try and stop Ebeid for good.  Luke is going to have to do something he hasn't done for quite some time: work on a team.  He's also trying to win back the love of his life, Kate, all while dodging explosions, bullets and death.

You're definitely going to want to read these in order.  I think you'd be more than a bit lost if you started the series here.  It hadn't been that long since I'd read Blind Spot, but I needed those little reminders in there of "previously, in the Chesapeake Valor series..."

I enjoyed this one, but I almost wish is had been possible to break up the two main drama story lines so that things didn't feel so rushed at the end.  It is what it is, though, and I did like the book.  I'll still be on the lookout for the next series, Coastal Guardians.  Not my favorite, but still a good book.

*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Formula of Deception - Carrie Stuart Parks

Dakota “Murphy” has been in hiding.  She’s pretending she knows about law enforcement so she can make a few bucks, but she gets wrapped up in a series of seemingly unrelated events and murders.  She has the feeling they’re all connected, but she doesn’t know how.

Between Murphy trying to stay hidden from her sister’s killer and the mystery surrounding the past, she’s constantly on the run.  She’s not sure who she can trust, and everyone around her ends up injured or dead.  Everything points to a connection with WWII, but she just can’t figure out why it’s important.

This book confused me for the most part.  There’s memories mixed in with the present, but without any transition or indication I’d jumped to the past/dream, I was left feeling lost and confused.

The writing was good, but I didn’t connect with Murphy.  Had I been able to do that, I think I would’ve liked the book better.  The ending was unexpected, which is good, but it was also a bit confusing as well.

The end was my favorite part, but it felt a bit rushed.  There were a lot of coincidences that came together at the same time.  I’m used to that in the suspense novels I read, but this one had a ton of things happen at once.

I seriously wanted to like this book.  I’ve loved the Gwen Marcey series and was so excited to read this.  In the end it wasn’t for me, and I’m saddened by it.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The House at Saltwater Point (Lavender Tides #2) - Colleen Coble

This is the second book in the series.  The first one was called The View from Rainshadow Bay.  When I read that one, I wondered if the series would have something to do with Shauna’s siblings (Shauna is the heroine from the first novel whose siblings disappeared when she was a child).  I was right.  Probably the third one will be about Brenna, the final sibling.

Grayson is trying to find a dangerous man named Nasser.  His long-lost sister shows up and turns his life upside down and coincidentally, exploring his childhood home brings him closer to catching his nemesis.  If you’re familiar with Coble’s work, you’ll recognize where he’s been living, Hope Beach.  And there’s mention of Rock Harbor as well with regards to Brenna (the third sibling).  Anyway, he meets Ellie and their lives become intertwined.

Ellie’s sister is missing, presumed dead.  All the evidence points to her being up to no good, but Ellie refuses to believe it.  She’s lived with guilt and shame for years about the death of her other sister, and tries her best to prove herself worthy.  She even wears glasses as a shield though her eyes are perfectly fine.  She’ll do what it takes to clear her sister’s name, even working with Gray.  He seems to think Ellie refuses to accept the truth about her sister, and Ellie accuses Gray of not keeping an open mind.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as most of Coble’s other books.  I wasn’t able to connect with these characters much, especially Ellie.  She didn’t seem to grow as a character at all.  At the end, she’s basically the same person she was at the beginning: plagued with low self-esteem and insecurity.  The plot was a little too out there for me as well.  It reminded me of a James Bond film, complete with incompetent villains.  You know, the ones that claim to want people dead but refuse to actually do anything about it – even when given the opportunity.

I wanted to like this one.  As it was, I put it down more than once and left it for quite some time before picking it back up.  Don’t get me wrong, Coble is one of my favorite authors, and this is the first semi-dud I’ve read from her in a while.  I believe most other people won’t have the issues I did with it, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped.  I’m still looking forward to the third book.  I want to know about Brenna.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.