A Matter of Trust by Susan May Warren

• Series: Montana Rescue (Book 3)
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Revell (July 4, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800727452
• ISBN-13: 978-0800727451

About the Book:

Champion backcountry snowboarder Gage Watson has left the limelight behind after the death of one of his fans. After being sued for negligence and stripped of his sponsorships, he's remade his life as a ski patrol in Montana's rugged mountains, as well as serving on the PEAK Rescue team. But he can't seem to find his footing--or forget the woman he loved, who betrayed him. 

Senator and former attorney Ella Blair spends much of her time in the limelight as the second-youngest senator in the country. But she has a secret--one that cost Gage his career. More than anything, she wants to atone for her betrayal of him in the courtroom and find a way to help him put his career back on track. 

When Ella's brother goes missing on one of Glacier National Park's most dangerous peaks, Gage and his team are called in for the rescue. But Gage isn't so sure he wants to help the woman who destroyed his life. More, when she insists on joining the search, he'll have to keep her safe while finding her reckless brother, a recipe for disaster when a snowstorm hits the mountain. 

But old sparks relight as they search for the missing snowboarder--and suddenly, they are faced with emotions neither can deny. But when Ella's secret is revealed, can they learn to trust each other--even when disaster happens again?

My Thoughts:

There's one thing I really dislike about Susan May Warren's books, and it's been a consistent complaint of mine across the board: you cannot read them slowly, savoring the experience, knowing that the wait for the next novel is going to be excruciatingly long.  

Oh, no...you read them at an insane rate of speed, and before you know it you've turned the final page, your cheeks are soaked from tears, and your eyes are so bloodshot that a fellow reader knows, "Oh, you read the new Warren novel too, huh?"

We really need to start a support group: Hi, I'm Deena, and I'm a Susan May Warren book addict.

Enough of the silly...let's get on to the serious.  And "A Matter Of Trust" gets serious very, very quickly. We meet Gage in the opening pages working a dangerous rescue in the snowy Montana hills.  He's a champion snowboarder unable to shake his past, and it haunts him with every rescue, at every turn.

So, when Ella reappears in his life, worlds get rocked, and NOT in a good way.  She still holds him responsible for being a hotshot.  However, Ella also cannot escape the past, and her secret holds serious ramifications for Gage and his self worth.

I really don't know how Warren does it: did she learn to ski just for this book?  Did she embed with a rescue team to understand the dangers of the powdery slopes?  Because every single adventure rings with authenticity, and every single character walks off the pages and into your heart--forever.

I can honestly say I remember every single imaginary person Susan May Warren has ever introduced me to and I've loved them all.  I've cried over them, prayed for them (remember: these are NOT real people!), and I've devoured all of their stories from cover to cover---reading them far too quickly every single time.

I'm seriously thinking about that support group, reading friends!  I'm grateful to my friends at Revell Publishing for my advance copy of "A Matter of Trust" via NetGalley, with no services or obligations in exchange.  I'm even more grateful to Susan May Warren for continuing to craft such epic stories, and secretly praying that God increase her writing speed just a smidge.

So, I'm giving "A Matter of Trust" my golden seal of approval, marking it as top, must read fiction.  Period. And guess what??  IT RELEASED JULY 4TH, so go grab a copy today!  You'll be so glad you did! Until I turn the final page on my next read...

Mark Your Place,

Deena

Crisis Shot by Janice Cantore

• Series: The Line of Duty (Book 1)
• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (September 5, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1496423704
• ISBN-13: 978-1496423702

About the Book:

Tess O’Rourke dreams of becoming the first female chief of police in Long Beach, California. As commander of the East Division, she is well on her way . . . until the night she responds to an officer-needs-assistance call and fatally shoots an unarmed teenager. Despite being cleared of wrongdoing by a grand jury, Tess is so hounded by the public that she takes a job in Oregon to escape the bad press.

Winning over the residents of Rogue’s Hollow might be more difficult than adjusting to her new role as police chief in the small, backwater town. Especially when her closest friend, the pastor’s wife, goes missing and the woman’s cousin is found shot. Tess finds an ally in sheriff’s deputy Steve Logan, but as they track down Rogue’s Hollow’s first murderer, she worries that she’s breaking one of her rules and getting too close to him.

My Thoughts:

I have loved Janice Cantore since I picked up her first novel, "Accused", so I always get excited when I know she has a new book coming soon.  I was able to get an advance copy of "Crisis Shot" from Tyndale Publishing via NetGalley, with no services or obligations in exchange.

She used to be a great writer.  With "Crisis Shot", she has moved to the level of genius writer, and has sealed her spot on my 'must read author' shelf for all eternity.  The opening scene alone is worth the price of the book.

Police officers are under attack in our society.  No denying that.  But there's also no denying that we think we know more than we actually do.  With a liberal media, a sound-bite attention span, and social media posting everything inflammatory that can be found, our men and women in blue are getting a bum rap.

More than that, they are dying in greater numbers than ever before.

This is why you MUST read "Crisis Shot".  Cantore puts flesh and bone to the sensational headlines of today.  She paints with words and crafts characters who are openly flawed, but also misjudged and maligned for just doing their jobs.

Your heart will ache for Tess.  If it doesn't, go see a cardiologist.  You will rage against the imbalanced press coverage...if you don't, then quite possibly you're part of the problem.  And you will get an insider's glimpse into the world of the badge.

Because, you see, Janice Cantore is a retired officer.  So she knows her stuff, and it shows.  She's crafted a gripping, relevant criminal procedural that every person who loves books and loves truth needs to read.

That's why I'm posting my review so far in advance.  That's why I'm giving "Crisis Shot" my "For Such a Time as This" vote of high recommendation.  And that's why I wish I had money to burn, because I would buy this book by the case and hand them out everywhere I went, and I would treat every law enforcement officer to lunch on me to say thank you.

Please, whatever you do this year, don't miss the September 2017 release of "Crisis Shot".  It could be the most important work of fiction you read.  It's that good.  And it's that important.  Until I turn the final page on my next read...

Mark Your Place, 

Deena

Taking a Holiday....

The Thing With Feathers by McCall Hoyle

• Series: Blink
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Blink (September 5, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310758513
• ISBN-13: 978-0310758518

About the Book:

Emilie Day believes in playing it safe: she’s homeschooled, her best friend is her seizure dog, and she’s probably the only girl on the Outer Banks of North Carolina who can’t swim.

Then Emilie’s mom enrolls her in public school, and Emilie goes from studying at home in her pj’s to halls full of strangers. To make matters worse, Emilie is paired with starting point guard Chatham York for a major research project on Emily Dickinson. She should be ecstatic when Chatham shows interest, but she has a problem. She hasn’t told anyone about her epilepsy.

Emilie lives in fear her recently adjusted meds will fail and she’ll seize at school. Eventually, the worst happens, and she must decide whether to withdraw to safety or follow a dead poet’s advice and “dwell in possibility.”

From Golden Heart award-winning author McCall Hoyle comes The Thing with Feathers, a story of overcoming fears, forging new friendships, and finding a first love, perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven, Robyn Schneider, and Sharon M. Draper.

My Thoughts:

I don't like to do this normally, but when you've just finished one of the most gorgeous YA books of the year, it's impossible to remain silent until release day!  "The Thing With Feathers" by McCall Hoyle is a "can't miss book", and I so adore Emilie.

Being a teenager is painful without being different from everyone else.  Of course, as an adult, you realize we're all different in some way or another.  So I had no problem understanding why Emilie didn't want anyone to know her secret--that she had epilepsy.

For once in her life, she just wanted to be normal.  And at great risk to herself and her friends, Emilie was able to keep her secret far longer than I'd expected.  Fortunately, she learned--as every teen should learn--that we all have something we wish we could change about ourselves.  It's just easier for some of us to hide that one thing.

"The Thing With Feathers" most definitely gets my "Oh, The Feels!" vote of approval.  Seriously, this might be one of the best YA novels to hit the shelves this year!  I'm a lifelong fan of McCall Hoyle, and I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

My thanks to my friends at Zondervan Publishing for my advance copy via NetGalley with no services or obligations in return.  "The Thing With Feathers" releases September 2017, so get your pre-order in now. Oh, one last thought: when you discover the meaning of the title, prepare to swoon with literary delight! Until I finish the next book...

Mark Your Place,

Deena