Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Talon: Combat Tracking Team by Ronie Kendig, and a give away

Aspen Courtland is out to find her missing brother. Only his combat tracking dog, Talon, knows where to look. Problem is, after a brutal attack that separated dog and handler, Talon’s afraid of his own shadow. The search is on, but when one mistake means disaster, can Talon muster the courage for one last mission?

My review:
    There are certain authors that define quality Christian fiction, and Ronie Kendig has quickly become one of those authors. With the exception of her first book, Dead Reckoning, all of her books center around the military and special opps, and are full of suspense, drama and excitement. She is an author who proves fiction can be clean, Christian, and worth reading.

   Talon: Combat Tracking Team is the second book in the Breed Apart series, which focuses on Military War Dogs, which is something I didn't know much about until I started reading this series.

  This book centers on Aspen and MWD Talon, who were introduced in the first book, Trinity: Military War Dog,  but had minor roles in the story. Ronie also brought back several other characters from Trinity, and added some new ones. She always has some great characters in her novels, and this book was no different. In creating Dane, she created a terrific character with tremendous depth, and although he is fictional, shows that no matter how bad things are in our past, God can still redeem us and make us into something worthwhile. I don't think its a bad thing when a fictional character inspires the reader to be a better person, and that is what the fictional Dane does.

   There is a lot of excitement, drama, romance, and military action in the book, which all makes for a great read. I loved the book, which is not a surprise, and couldn't put it down, so I read it all in one evening, and loved every single page of it. There were a couple of surprises in the book, and I was one very satisfied reader when I reached the end of the book. In addition to being a great story, the book also has a great message of hope, and helps the reader better appreciate all of our military heroes, even the four-footed ones.

  Trinity launched this awesome series, and Talon continues the pulse pounding suspense and military action that Ronie's books bring. I highly recommend any of her books to men or women, and if you have a friend or family member in the military, her books would make great reading for them.

About the author:

An Army brat, Ronie Kendig grew up in the classic military family, with her father often TDY and her mother holding down the proverbial fort. Their family moved often, which left Ronie attending six schools by the time she’d entered fourth grade. Her only respite and “friends” during this time were the characters she created.
It was no surprise when she married a military veteran—her real-life hero—in June 1990. Married more than twenty years, Ronie and her husband, Brian, homeschool their four children, the first of whom graduated in 2011. Despite the craziness of life, Ronie finds balance and peace with her faith, family and their three dogs in Dallas, TX.

Ronie has a deep love and passion for people, especially hurting people, which is why she pursued and obtained a B.S. in Psychology from Liberty University. Ronie is an active member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and has volunteered extensively, serving in a variety of capacities from coordinator of a national contest to appointment assistant at the national annual conference.

Since launching onto the publishing scene in 2010, Ronie and her books have been gained critical acclaim and national attention, including:
    • 2012 Christy Award Winner – Wolfsbane (Contemporary Romance)
    • 2012 Carol Award Finalist – Wolfsbane (Romantic Suspense)
    • Finalist in Christian Retailing’s 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards (Nightshade)
    • RWA’s Faith, Hope, & Love’s 2011 Inspirational Readers’ Choice Awards in Romantic Suspense (Nightshade)
    • Named one of the Top 25 Christian Fiction Suspense, Mystery, and Thriller Writers by FamilyFiction (Sept 2011)
    • 2011 FamilyFiction Readers’ Choice Awards – 3rd place as New Favorite Author, 8th place with Nightshade for Novel of the Year.
    • INSPY Award Shortlist final in Mystery/Thriller (Dead Reckoning)
    • The Christian Manifesto’s 2010 Lime Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Nightshade)
Thanks to Ronie for the review copy. Check out her website RonieKendig.com

Talon: Combat Tracking Team and most of her books are available from Barbour Publishing.

I have an extra copy of Trinity: Military War Dog to give away to a lucky winner. I don't usually do extra entries, but am going to do so with this giveaway. I will let it run for two weeks, then pick a winner on June 4. If there is a way to contact the winner, I will do so, and I will list the winner here on June 4.

The first entry is mandatory, a comment on this blog post. You can comment on whether you have read any of Ronie's books, or whatever you want to say, and you have to comment through blogger, not Rafflecopter. Comment on the blog post, then click that you commented on Rafflecopter. Sorry, its my first time using it.

If you're already doing what the extra entry asks for,  you can still have the extra entry.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments:

Steven said...

Looks like a great book. :)

Lori LC said...

Seeing the story from a heroic dog's view sounds like a great read. This sounds like a great story,too. I look forward to reading it.
Blessings,
Lori LC