All Fall Down by Julie Coulter Bellon – Blog Tour – Combined Review

 Posted by  Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Mindy's Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Nov 152012
 

All Fall Down

Author: Julie Coulter Bellon

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing

Published: September 2012

Paperback/Kindle; 225 pages

ISBN13: 9781479264858

Genre: Romantic Suspense/International Intrigue

FTC FYI: Received a PDF copy in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Mindy and Shanda

***Julie is holding a giveaway with several different prizes. See details below on how to enter!***

Backcover Summary: 

Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes we all fall down . . .

That simple rhyme turns negotiator Claire Michaels’ current hostage situation into an international incident. Claire just wants to help get everyone out safely, but as the crisis escalates she realizes she’s dealing with an al-Qaeda operative who has the means to become another bin Laden—with the potential to attack America. Claire has her own personal reasons for wanting to stop al-Qaeda, but time is slipping away as negotiations break down. Can she overcome her scars of the past in order to get the hostage out alive and possibly stop an assault on U.S. national security?

Navy SEAL Rafe Kelly is on leave to recover from a knee injury he suffered during his tour in Afghanistan and he doesn’t expect to be fighting terrorists on his home turf. But when he is taken hostage and his brother is kidnapped, Rafe teams up with a hostage negotiator in order to stay alive and get his brother back. The terrorist is always one step ahead of them, however, and the situation quickly turns from desperate to deadly. Will Rafe be able to save himself and his country without anyone he loves getting caught in the crossfire?

Mindy’s Review

Julie Bellon has written an awesome book with the perfect amount of suspense, mixed with romantic tension and great chemistry between the main characters. I was taken immediately into the story, and only out of sheer fatigue would I stop reading. I read this really fast, so luckily I only had to wait one night in between.  I loved the point of view changes. Chapters would end with such great cliffhangers, but the next chapter was a different character. I really enjoy that “author trick” as I call it, and it kept me reading, and reading, and reading …

I really liked the main characters. I love a strong female lead, with a touch of vulnerability. Claire was perfect for that role. She was smart and knew her job well, but when it came to Rafe, she developed a soft spot. Rafe was great too. By the end of this book, he is put through the ringer. I kept thinking, what else can happen to this poor guy. They both were great characters and written well.

4 out of 5 stars. From now on, I will be forever creeped out by the nursery rhyme, “Ring Around the Rosy.”  

Shanda’s Review

All Fall Down is a quick moving story with suspense, betrayal, action and a bit of romance. Julie doesn’t wait to throw the reader right into the action.

The opening hostage scene on the roof was intense. For me it was the most suspenseful part of the story. I really liked both Claire and Rafe. They go through so much and I wondered if they were ever going to catch a break. I saw one twist coming, but I wasn’t sure how it would play out. One of my favorite parts was the first time Rafe meets Clair’s father.

Those who like clean and suspenseful international intrigue, especially fans of Julie Bellon’s other books, will enjoy All Fall Down.

During the blog tour, Julie is offering both the paperback and Kindle versions of All Fall Down at a discounted price.

Giveaway Details (from blog tour host The Book Bug)

Julie is generously offering 7, yes 7 awesome giveaways for the tour!! (I want to win them myself!) That means you have 7 chances at winning! (Pretty good odds, huh?!)

The prizes include:

(2) “Book Lovers'” baskets which include a copy of All Fall Down, a hand tied lap blanket, Julie’s favorite hot chocolate mix, and a copy of Janice Sperry’s Christmas novella, The Candy Cane Queen

(3) Print copies of All Fall Down

(2) Ebook copies of All Fall Down

To enter to win these prizes, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form provided. (Each tour stop will have the same Rafflecopter form).

Open from November 12 to December 7. Must be 13+ years of age to enter. US mailing addresses only.

Earn entries by doing any/all of the following:

-Leaving a blog post comment

-Liking Julie’s Facebook page

-Following Julie on Twitter

-Becoming a fan of Julie on Goodreads

-Tweeting about the giveaway (once per day)

-Subscribing to Julie’s blog

Author Links

Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Smashwords

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle by Ben English

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Oct 292012
 

Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle (Book 1)

Author: Ben English

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: July 2011

Kindle/ebook/Paperback; 426 pages

Genre: International Intrigue/Suspense

ISBN# 1463680899

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: free digital copy in exchange for an honest review

Summary

The boy came to her out of water, unexpected. He was smart and strong and goofy, as boys are meant to be, but peculiar – he remembered everything. In the span of a single summer, she made him fearless. Now, even as Mercedes Adams is at the height of her career, forbidding changes loom over the world. That night, in the hushed calm of a spring evening, two plain-faced killers watch her home, waiting to make their approach. A few hundred miles away, a brilliant technologist returns to his childhood home in order to begin a descent into darkness . . . in London, a military game theorist finds himself pursuing kidnappers . . . outside Prague, a hacker and a thief stumble upon plans for a weapon unique to the world . . . an FBI agent faces an unpredictable fugitive in Chicago, while in Germany, a sniper-turned-schoolteacher finds reasons to take up his ancient calling . . . and a sitting United States Senator finds his life and his work invaded to terrifying conclusion. In Paris, a widowed man begins to recognize the hints and patterns of a greater puzzle that will bring them together . . . or kill them all. Mercedes Adams is about to find herself at the center of a vast, tightening knot of mystery, intrigue, and globe-spanning terror borne of her family’s legacy. Rising to her aid is a small group of specially-trained men and women. And at their center? A man who remembers everything.

First Line

“She struggled through mountains of falling rain, until her own bright reflection resolved itself on the skin of the train before her.”

Review

Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle is the first in a series of novels by Ben English. The book opens with Mercedes having an interesting discussion with a mysterious older gentleman who is more than he appears. That was enough to catch my interest and make me read on to find out if these two characters meet again.

The author has a talent for writing interesting characters of varying backgrounds. The first part of the book is a series of written snapshots of each character, giving the reader a peek into their current situations and the sequence of events that eventually lead them to meet up. Because there are several characters, this part seemed to drag a bit and it took a little while to get back around to the other characters. Jack is very likable if a bit too good to be true (a famous actor AND a champion swimmer AND an author AND a trained agent.)

The first half of the book was a lot of set up for the rest of the story so it was considerably slower than last section. Once I got past the flashbacks, introductions and history of the characters, I was pulled into the action and it was like watching an intense action film. The villain’s intentions were terrifying and immense. The scenes in the building were particularly suspenseful. There were some formatting issues in my version where a number of quick scene and point-of-view changes weren’t separated by asterisks or hard returns but I was able to figure it out by context. This issue may have been resolved by now as I have an older copy.

I haven’t read a lot of international intrigue or any books by Dan Brown and similar authors, so I’m not sure how well Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle compares to other books like it. It is a longer read (about 456 pages) and yet there is so much story yet to tell, as evidenced by the three sequels currently available. Jack Be Nimble: Tyro is the next book in the series. If you like larger-than-life heroes, interesting characters, and international suspense then there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle.

Content

Language: a few swear words here & there (dang, heck) but nothing excessive & no F-bombs

Violence: some shooting, grenade use, and hand-to-hand combat

Sex: I don’t remember any graphic sexual content, though Mercedes’ body is admired more than once

Drug Use: not that I can remember, though a minor character may have had a drink or two

 

Royal Secrets by Traci Hunter Abramson

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Jun 042012
 

Royal Secrets

Author: Traci Hunter Abramson

Published Date: February 2012

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Softcover; 288 pages

Genre: Romantic Suspense

ISBN# 978-1-60681-868-2

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: review copy in exchange for an honest review

Summary

Alora DeSanto and her sons, Giancarlo and Dante, survived the fire that killed her husband and extended family, but life would never be the same. When her friend, Janessa, needs a personal assistent with Alora’s security skills to help her plan her wedding to Prince Garrett, Alora and her sons move to the royal chateau in Meridia. Also at the chateau is Prince Stefano, on orders to relax as he recovers from a car accident and suspected attempt on his life.

Alora is awed by her surroundings and the warm welcome she receives from everyone at the chateau. A friendship soon develops between Alora and Prince Stefano, one that the prince wants to further into a relationship but Alora isn’t sure her heart can handle it. With someone out to destroy the royal family, can she and her boys risk losing someone they love again?

Review

Royal Secrets is the long-awaited sequel to Royal Target and picks up shortly after Royal Target ends. Those of you who follow the blog know that I am a big fan of Traci’s Saint Squad series and how Traci weaves romance into her suspense. Royal Target and Royal Secrets are my guilty pleasures, though, based more in romance yet with enough of Traci’s classic suspense to keep things moving at a good pace.

Royal Secrets (and Royal Target) appeal to me because for a little while, I get to suspend reality and experience something very different from my normal life. For example:

  • Meeting and falling in love with a handsome prince. (What woman hasn’t wondered what THAT would be like?)
  • A faithful LDS woman as a main character who speaks several languages, travels the world and knows how to handle a weapon.
  • A strong, well-trained security operative who can protect herself AND her man.
  • Life in a Mediterranean beach-side chateau with a closet full of ball gowns and plenty of opportunities to wear them.

Something I appreciated in Royal Secrets was that though the focus is on Alora and Prince Stefano, the reader gets enough of a continuation of Janessa and Prince Garrett’s story to tie them all seamlessly together without detracting from Alora and Stefano’s budding romance. We get to see how things go when Prince Garrett meets Janessa’s parents (though I think Janessa should have clarified with Prince Garrett much earlier the importance of keeping her CIA employment status a secret from her family), as well as how the royal family handles things when the truth of Prince Garrett’s conversion is revealed.

Because I read 100+ books a year and it’s been a while since I read Royal Target, I took the opportunity to re-read it before reading Royal Secrets and I’m glad I did. It was nice to have the characters fresh in my mind as I read through Royal Secrets. If you have not read Royal Target yet, I suggest doing so first as the characters and plot in Royal Secrets rely heavily on the continuation of events from the first book.

Royal Secrets is an enjoyable read that I would recommend to any fan of romantic suspense.

Royal Secrets is available for purchase at AMAZON | DESERET BOOK | SEAGULL BOOK

 

The Hainan Incident by D. M. Coffman

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Jan 092012
 

The Hainan Incident

Author: D.M. Coffman

Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.

Published Date: July 2011

Softcover; 277 pages

Genre: Mystery-Suspense/International Intrigue

ISBN# 978-1-59811-992-3

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: review copy in exchange for an honest review

Yi Jichun (aka Jason Yi) is a young American attorney recruited to go under cover as a Chinese judge in order to discover and eliminate corrupt judges in the Chinese system. What Yi ends up discovering is much more than corrupt judges and city officials. If events set in motion are not stopped, countless American lives will be lost.

What interested me most in The Hainan Incident was reading about the Chinese culture and geographical locations. There were a few suspenseful scenes that had me holding my breath. I’m not a big reader of political & international suspense novels, so I’m not sure how The Hainan Incident compares to national titles in the same genre. I do think that it might appeal a bit more to my husband, so I’m going to give him my copy to read.

Fans of international intrigue are going to enjoy this story full of Chinese culture and history, political scandal, terrorist threats and suspenseful action. The main character, Jason Yi, is LDS, but there is no preaching and only a few specific religious elements are mentioned. The Hainan Incident is D.M. Coffman’s debut novel.

Watch a video interview with the author.

Click here to read our spotlight of D.M. Coffman and The Hainan Incident during our Countdown to Christmas 2011.

From the back cover:

Before beginning his first undercover assignment, American attorney Yi Jichun travels to Hainan Island on the South China Sea for some much-needed respite — but finds trouble instead. Already uneasy about his charge to expose corruption in China’s court system, Yi stumbles upon a hidden computer network in an ancient island village and finds himself drawn into an investigation that tears him between his religious principles and the lie he must live.

Aided by Sarah, an esteemed fellow judge, and Meijuan, a village leader exiled by her powerful and corrupt son, Yi uncovers the Hainan Net — an international organization that targets global shipping channels in its quest for world power. But Yi loses ground when Sarah discovers his true identity as a foreign spy — and as the American military organizes a stealth assault in full cooperation with China’s government, Yi must reconcile the laws governing the land with the laws governing his honor.

 

Ribbon of Darkness by Julie Coulter Bellon

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Sep 222011
 

Ribbon of Darkness

Author: Julie Coulter Bellon

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published Date: July 2011

Softcover; 216 pages

Genre: Mystery-Suspense

ISBN# 9781463670658

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: free review copy in exchange for an honest review

First line: “Kennedy Campbell was being pulled to the bottom of the Malacca Strait, the water around her suffocating her, stealing her air, making lights dance before her eyes as her body strained for the oxygen that wasn’t there.”

When I read that first line, I felt as if my lungs were straining for air as well. The rest of the first chapter, and much of the book, is just as intense.

Ribbon of Darkness tells the story of Ethan Barak, introduced in a previous book (Dangerous Connections, if I remember correctly), and Kennedy Campbell, a journalist known for courageous reporting. Ethan is MI-6 out for revenge; Kennedy just wants to help her new friends start a new life in Australia away from the refugee camps and return home herself.

Their paths cross at a rundown little bar in Indonesia where both are at the mercy of bad-guy terrorist, Xavier Sattar. Ethan wants in on whatever big plans Xavier has in the works; Kennedy wants out of Xavier’s custody, knowing the longer she remains the less likely it is that she will survive. She hopes Ethan will help her escape, but Ethan walks away, aware that anything he does to help her will lessen his chances of infiltrating Xavier’s organization.

That is the beginning of a page-turning international adventure that involves terrorists, hostages, the Malacca Strait, human-trafficking, bombs, and sacrifice. One thing I really appreciate about Julie’s writing is that she has strong female protagonists. I like it when the heroine isn’t afraid to put up a fight and do some damage to the bad guys.

Julie was also able to capture a lot of emotion with Kennedy. From Kennedy’s relationship with her mom, the concern for her new friends, and a new level of patriotism and duty, I experienced a full range of emotions along with her.

If you like action, suspense, and international intrigue, you will definitely enjoy Ribbon of Darkness.

Ribbon of Darkness played out like a movie in my mind as I read, making for some pretty intense action sequences, especially near the end. I give it 4 stars for suspense that kept me turning pages late into the night.

LDSWBR Episode 41 and Dangerous Connections by Julie Coulter Bellon

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Apr 112010
 

LDSWBR Podcast Episode 41 with author Julie Coulter Bellon is now available for download! Search for LDS Women’s Book Review in iTunes to subscribe, or you can listen directly through the LDS Women’s Book Review Podcast website. We had such a fun time with Julie.


She’s been so patient and if I knew where to get some catsup (ketchup??) chips I’d probably buy Julie a whole case! (Podcast joke – listen to Episode 41 and laugh with us about it – you know you want to!) Don’t forget to stick around for the blooper reel.

In honor of the release of our podcast with Julie, I am reviewing her latest book, Dangerous Connections, which was released in March. So go start the podcast and then come back here and read my review while you listen ;).

Title: Dangerous Connections

Author: Julie Coulter Bellon
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Published Date: March 2010
ISBN#: 978-1-59811-919-0
Paperback; 206 pages
Dangerous Connections is a spin-off of Julie’s last book, All’s Fair, and it continues Tyler’s story. In a nutshell, Tyler and Isabella must figure out how to stop a terrorist plot while facing double agents and avoiding capture.

As soon as Tyler arrives at his hotel in Paris, things seem a little off. His father is nowhere to be found, but has left a note telling Tyler to return home to the United States immediately. Worried, Tyler opens a message intended for his father, finding only a name and phone number. Tyler decides to wait in Paris until he can figure out what is going on with his father.

When Tyler discovers he is being followed during a visit to the Musee d’Orsay, he uses his military training to incapacitate the man trailing him. Taking a chance, Tyler decides to call the number in the message left for his father, hoping to gather information. Instead he finds an attractive French agent, her wounded brother, and their mission to uncover both a terrorist plot and the al-Qaeda mole (or moles) within the French DGSE organization. Little does Tyler realize how his search for his father will connect him to their mission.

Tyler and Isabella are pursued by both the terrorists and the DGSE. Unsure who they can trust, they come so close to preventing disaster only to find themselves in the worst possible situation: captured by terrorists, surrounded by explosives, and helpless to stop the poisoning of several thousand U.S. troops.

Dangerous Connections is full of suspense and intrigue. Having spent time in France, Julie’s knowledge of the locale is apparent throughout the book. Julie’s respect for those who sacrifice to serve our country shows in the way she wrote Tyler. It’s easy to see that Julie enjoys writing international intrigue.

What worked for me: I enjoy the characters and plots Julie creates. All’s Fair and Dangerous Connections are just the right length for a quick, suspense-filled read. The ending was very intense, and I wondered how things could possibly work out.

Julie’s heroines are always strong and capable women, which I appreciate. I loved it every time Isabella kicked a little hiney. I liked Tyler and his refusal to leave Isabella to face the terrorists alone. While the focus is on the suspense, there are some tender scenes (and a couple of nice kisses, too).

Tyler comes across The Book of Mormon a couple of times, and while neither Tyler nor Isabella are members, the discussion is centered around finding peace and isn’t preachy at all.

What didn’t work for me: I like the characters Julie writes, but I find myself wanting to know more about them. I understand that there isn’t as much “time” to delve into a character in a suspense novel compared to, say, historical fiction, but if there was one thing I would suggest to Julie, it would be finding a way to let her readers really get to know and connect personally with the characters a bit more.

For example, I would have liked to have learned more about Tyler’s father, Craig Winthrop. I wanted to be as concerned about him as Tyler seemed to be, but there wasn’t much said about him, so I couldn’t relate with Craig enough to care as much as I would have expected considering he was in danger.

On the other hand Isabella’s concern for her brother, Marcus, was easier to connect with since he was more often on Isabella’s mind, specifically giving insights into the kind of man and brother Marcus was to her. We got to know the character’s character, so to speak. Getting to know Craig better through Tyler would have balanced the story out nicely.

Overall, I think Julie did a great job. I enjoyed Dangerous Connections and look forward to reading Julie’s next novel.
A little about the author: Julie Coulter Bellon is a sweet and humble woman, mother of seven, basketball coach, teacher of journalism for BYU Continuing Education, blogger on Six LDS Writers and a Frog, and lover of catsup (ketchup?- someone please help me out here) chips :).
Julie will be teaching at the LDStoryMakers Conference. Click here to view the class schedule and to sign up for the Conference. Hurry, only a few days left to sign up!

Visit Julie’s website at juliebellon.com. Follow Julie on Twitter: @juliebellon. Dangerous Connections is available for purchase from Deseret Book, Seagull Book and Amazon.


My rating: 4 stars (I liked it!)

Would I-
  • read it again? Yes
  • recommend it? Yes
  • read more books by Julie? That’s the plan!
FTC FYI: I received a free review copy which did not affect my review.
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