Season of My Enemy by Naomi Musch

Book description:

 Only last year, Fannie O’Brien was considered a beauty with a brain, and her future shone bright, despite the war pounding Europe. With her father’s sudden death and her brothers overseas, Fannie must now do the work of three men on their 200-acre farm—until eight German prisoners arrive and, just as Fannie feared, trouble comes too. Someone seems intent on causing “accidents,” and Fannie is certain the culprit is one of the two handsome older Germans—or possibly both. Can she manage the farm, keep the prisoners in line, and hold her family together through these turbulent times?

My Review:

    This was a new author to me, never even hearing of her before to my knowledge. The book description intrigued me enough that I requested it to review.

    This was a slower paced book than I usually read, and it did take me a while to get into it. Once I did catch my interest more, I was able to get into it and enjoy it. The setting for the book was a great one: a busy Wisconsin farm, and the author came up with some great and likable characters....American and German.

  Not only is the book interesting for entertainment value, but it really brought home the realities of being around the enemy, and how Christians still need to abstain from hate when it involves people from a country they are at war with.

  The feelings of different characters are all over the map throughout the book. Fannie is totally against the idea of using German POW's to help out on the farm, and has severely intense feelings against them. Her feelings go back and forth some throughout the book. Some of the German soldiers hate Americans and having to work for them, while others were unwilling participants in their country's war, and were thankful for the chance to get out of the prison camp and work. 

 I feel the author did a great job of portraying the struggle in different characters on both sides of the war to forgive and not hate.

 The relationship between Fannie and Wolf was a long slow process, and I will not say how that ended....but I was happy with the ending of the book, and did enjoy reading the book. I am already looking at the author's other books, and am considering reading The Love Coward next.

 After I finished the book, I Googled what happened in the book. We did indeed have prison camps in the US for German soldiers, and they were used to work for pay outside of the camps. There were very strict rules on how they were treated.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Naomi loves stories rich in American history, but occasionally writes in other genres as well. She pens stories from the pristine north woods, where she and her husband live as epically as God allows near

their five adult children and passel of grandchildren. She has worked as an editor for a small press, a staff writer for an EPA award-winning newspaper, a ghost writer, and has published dozens of magazine and internet articles for the encouragement of homeschooling families and young writers. Naomi is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, Lake Superior Writers, and the Wisconsin Writers' Association. She loves engaging with others and always discovering kernels of a new story. She is available for speaking and book groups. Her newest novel is Mist O'er the Voyageur, and she anticipates re-releasing several of her back-list novels in 2019.

Connect with her through her website: http://www.naomimusch.com

FB: Naomi Musch - Author

Twitter: NMusch

  Season of My Enemy is available from Barbour Publishing.

Thanks to Barbour for the review copy.

Elysium Tide by James Hannibal

Book description:

Dr. Peter Chesterfield is the top neurosurgeon at the Royal London Hospital. He's also a workaholic, and after a blow-up with a colleague, his boss orders him to attend a medical symposium at the luxurious Elysium Grand on the island of Maui. During a midnight walk on the beach, Peter pulls a woman with a skull fracture from the water. Despite all his skill, she dies in his arms, leaving him with only one clue to what happened to her: the word "honu."

Obsessed with finding the cause of his patient's death--discovering what or who ripped the power over life and death from his surgeon's hands--Peter becomes entangled in an ongoing investigation. He also becomes a source of deep irritation to detective Lisa Kealoha, who has jurisdiction over the case.

The reluctant pair join forces, diving deep into Maui's evolving gang culture, and unearth a conspiracy that runs deeper than either could have imagined. Knowing too much is deadly--and they must catch the killer before the killer catches them.

My review:

  I have been a fan of James Hannibal's books since I read his squeaky clean and curse free Nick Baron books written for the secular market. I was excited when he began writing for the Christian market, and have devoured every book he has written since. He is one of the most interesting authors when it comes to his personal life that I have read. (Read his bio!)

 And every book he writes is different. Elysium Tide is kind of a whodunnit, with the police detective trying to figure that out with the help of Peter.

 Peter is the character who made the book. At the start of the book, he wasn't very likable, and was basically a jerk. Fortunately, he becomes more likable as the book progresses, and is somewhat amusing with his unwanted help he keeps giving Detective Kealoha.

 The plot is an excellent one. Everything is tied together, and there are plenty of bad guys. This is the second book in a few months that had a lot of Hawaiian customs and words used, and I found that interesting as it played into how Lisa had to approach working on the case.

  Elysium Tide was a faster paced book than some Hannibal has written, and that made it a definite read in one sitting book for me. Once I started it, I kept at it, happy I could read it and not have to put it down. The exploits of Peter as he determinedly helped work the case kept me on the edge of my seat until the satisfying ending.

  There were a couple of loose ends, in my opinion. I won't give any spoilers, but I expected more on the spiritual aspect for Peter, and was hoping for a romantic angle. The book still had a great ending, and James Hannibal can add this to another of his great works of Christian fiction. Hopefully he writes many more.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. This former stealth pilot from Houston, Texas, has been shot at, locked up with surface-to-air missiles, and chased down a winding German road by an armed terrorist. He is a three-time Silver Falchion Award winner for his children's mysteries, and a Carol and Selah Award winner for The Gryphon Heist and Chasing the White Lion. His latest spy thriller is The Paris Betrayal. James is a rare multisense synesthete, meaning all of his senses intersect. He sees and feels sounds and smells, and hears flashes of light. If he tells you the chocolate cake you offered smells blue and sticky, take it as a compliment. Connect with James at www.jamesrhannibal.com.

Elysium Tide is available from Revell, part of the Baker Publishing Group.

Thanks to Revell for the review copy.

Also available by James Hannibal from Revell Publishing:

Sunburst, Sky King Ranch #2 by Susan May Warren

Book description: 

When former Navy SEAL and lifelong bachelor Ranger Kingston is called upon to take part in a rescue mission to save his brother Colt from terrorists in Nigeria, he is shocked to find among the hostages a woman he could never forget.

Noemi Sutton was attempting to return a young girl to her family in Boko Haram territory when she and the girl found themselves taken hostage, along with several others. And while Ranger Kingston may be able to get the hostages away from their captors, he'll need Noemi's help if he ever hopes to get out of Nigeria alive.

Her solution? Pose as husband and wife. But when her uncle discovers the union, he insists on a traditional Nigerian wedding--which would bind Noemi to a man destined to break her heart. Worse, the trouble they're fleeing has found them--again. It's clear anyone around Noemi is bound to be caught in the cross fire. Including her potential new husband.

She'll need to figure out a way to leave the man she loves if she wants to save his life.

My review:

     This is probably the most anticipated book of this year for me. It isn't just because Warren is such a great author, but she ended the first book with a major cliffhanger to set up this book. I have very eagerly waiting for this book to come out, often thinking "how could she do that to her readers?!"

   The wait was definitely worth it. This was mostly a fast paced read, with at least half of it taking place in Nigeria. I learned a lot about Nigerian customs and food, and I will say if it came down to dying or eating some of it - i.e. a fish head - I might choose dying. 

   Book #1 featured Dodge, and this book features the second of the triplets: Ranger. This book also brings all three brothers together for the first time in ten years, and they are a force to be reckoned with.

  Sunburst is classified as a contemporary romance, but it is definitely more of a suspense novel with all that goes on in the book: Muslim kidnappers/terrorists, Russian bad guys, several narrow escapes, hospital visits, and more. And of course romance. Ranger and Noemi were such an awesome team and couple, though it took pretty much the whole book for them to admit it, which just made the story all the more entertaining.

   I waited until I could read Sunburst uninterrupted, and finished it in almost one sitting - took my three nephews out to lunch - then it was back to Ranger and Noemi. It was definitely hard to put down.

  In addition to a great story, the author hit on themes of trusting God, and of God truly seeing us and caring about us. Those points gotten across in a very non-preaching way.

 The book had an awesome satisfying ending worthy of such an awesome read, and then the author set up the next book with another cliffhanger. I am definitely looking forward to the third and final book, Colt's story.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of nearly 90 novels with more than 1.5 million books sold, including the Global Search and Rescue and the Montana Rescue series, as well as Sunrise and Sunburst. Winner of a RITA Award and multiple Christy and Carol Awards, as well as the HOLT Medallion and numerous Readers' Choice Awards, Susan makes her home in Minnesota. Find her online at www.susanmaywarren.com, on Facebook @SusanMayWarrenFiction, and on Twitter @SusanMayWarren.

Sunburst is available from Revell Publishing, part of the Baker Publishing Group.

Thanks to Revell for the review copy.

 

                                                                          Book #1

Book #3, Coming November 2022