The Rules in Rome by A.L. Sowards — Blog Tour/Giveaway

 Posted by  Book Reviews
Feb 142015
 

23596707The Rules in Rome

Author: A. L. Sowards

Published: February 2015

Publisher: Covenant Communications

ISBN13: 9781621088820

Paperback: 291 pages

FTC FYI: Received a PDF from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodsreads Summary

With Hitler’s forces firmly entrenched in Europe, countless heroes seek to end the madman’s reign. Bastien Ley is one of the best. Working in Italy for the Office of Strategic Services, he’s been tasked with sabotaging German convoys. When his team kills an officer headed for Rome, the man’s similarity to Bastien is undeniable, and seeing an opportunity to turn the tide of the war, Bastien makes a bold decision: he will assume the dead officer’s identity. He becomes Dietrich, an Iron Cross–wearing German officer—an ideal position from which to infiltrate the Nazi ranks in Rome. To help with his stressful assignment, his superiors send him a reinforcement in the form of the lovely Gracie Begni, an intelligent and eager radio operator with absolutely no undercover experience.

With a gulf of resentment between them, these two agents must find a way to portray a couple in love. Soon their reluctant alliance becomes much more as Bastien and Gracie find themselves getting lost in their feelings for each other. But as they engage in battle against the deadliest foe the world has ever known, the pair quickly realizes their love may be doomed. As the Rome Gestapo threatens to destroy all they’ve worked for, will Bastien and Gracie survive their charade?

My Review

This book was amazing.  I absolutely loved it!  Every page was a mystery and lead to more suspenseful situations.  Bastien and Gracie are fabulous characters.  I loved how we were able to see them from the other’s point of view.  I also enjoyed how the story was told from other characters too.  WWII is a fascinating subject to take on, and Amanda does an incredible job with this story.  Gracie and Bastien both are thrown into an almost impossible situations.  So many thrilling events take place, I was turning pages eagerly to find out what was going to happen, but honestly, I was almost afraid to know what was going to happen next!

5 out of 5 stars.  I know I can count on Amanda for an exciting book that is well-written and a clean read.

Author Links

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Purchase Links

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Deadly Alliance by A.L. Sowards

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Sep 022014
 

DeadlyAllianceDeadly Alliance (Espionage #3)

Author: A.L. Sowards

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Published: April 2014

Genre: Historical

Softcover: 317 pages

ISBN# 9781621086901

Reviewed by: Shanda

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

Summary (Goodreads)

When Peter Eddy and his commando team inadvertently upset the Soviets during their most recent mission, they never imagined the diplomatic nightmares that would ensue. They have one chance to redeem themselves: tasked with destroying a bridge in Nazi-occupied Bosnia, Peter and his war-weary team reluctantly agree to drop behind enemy lines. The assignment should be a simple one—were it not for the fact that they are being deployed on a suicide mission.

Genevieve Olivier is devastated by the news of Peter’s disappearance. After all they’ve endured in this war, the determined OSS worker is unwilling to simply let go of the man she hopes to spend her life with. Desperate for information, her work as a courier soon escalates into a counterintelligence duel with a Fascist assassin—and Genevieve is his newest target . . .

Review

Deadly Alliance, the third and final installment of the Espionage series, takes place during the final year of WWII. Peter and Genevieve are the main characters, who both have way more war and espionage experience than any young person should. Almost as soon as they are reunited, the war separates them. Their duties take them far from each other, and one circumstance after another makes it almost certain they will never survive, let alone find each other again.

Peter has several of his closest war buddies with him, but Genevieve is very alone. She stays busy at the hospital, but the war has taken too much for her to feel happy without Peter. He is determined to do his duty for his country and the men that are serving with him. While he hopes to be united again with Genevieve and live the rest of his life by her side, Peter knows that sometimes the only option is to make the ultimate sacrifice.

The story is told mainly from Peter and Genevieve’s points-of-view, with a large focus on events occurring in the fight between the Serbians and Croatians, the Partisans and Chetniks, located in Yugoslavia. The characters encounter several battle scenarios and devastated villages that show the face of war in that area of the world. The author’s style isn’t flowery or roundabout but straightforward, intended for an audience of men and women who enjoy reading WWII fiction and prefer a hint of romance.

Deadly Alliance takes the reader along as the characters move from one seemingly insurmountable circumstance to another. I haven’t read a lot of WWII fiction but I can see that Deadly Alliance and the other books in the Espionage series are well-researched. I follow A.L. Sowards on Goodreads so I see how many WWII books she reads. This knowledge comes through in how easy it was to slip into the time period each time I picked up the book.

I appreciated Peter and Genevieve’s devotion to doing whatever they could to end the war, even at the risk of their own lives. They go through some emotional experiences, however, they have been at war for some time now and witnessed many things no one should ever see. At times they are simply resigned to their circumstances, or hardened by previous events. I was anxious for both the war to end, and to find out what would ultimately happen with our heroes. Just when I thought all was said and done, the author threw in a twist that had me in some serious suspense.

Overall, Deadly Alliance is an enjoyable and satisfying conclusion to the series. I would recommend the Espionage series to anyone who enjoys clean, well-researched historical fiction, particularly WWII fiction. While LDS elements are present, it isn’t a major theme of the book. I look forward to more from A.L. Sowards, and can’t wait to see what she has in the works.

Visit A.L.:

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Sworn Enemy by A.L. Sowards

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Jun 272013
 

Sworn EnemySworn Enemy (Espionage #2)

Author: A.L. Sowards

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Published Date: April 2013

Softcover: 281 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

ISBN# 978-1-62108-476-1

Reviewed by: Shanda

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

Summary

June 1944. As World War II rages, the people of Eastern Europe are hopelessly trapped between two formidable forces: Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union. In their midst, a band of heroes works to defend against the inevitable Communist takeover.

After narrowly escaping her Nazi captors, French Resistance worker Genevieve Olivier has fled to Allied territory with the help of American Lieutenant Peter Eddy. Their connection is undeniable, forged in the crucible of danger. But despite their blossoming feelings for each other, they must both finish the work they began . . .

In the safety of England, Genevieve hopes to find purpose as a nurse—all the while unaware that the Gestapo still seeks the woman who slipped through their grasp. When she is called upon to resume a life of danger as a French spy, will her desire to prove herself be her downfall?

Recruited by an elite special-ops team intent on thwarting the Nazis, Peter finds himself engaged in a personal battle as well—there is a traitor among his comrades. Deep in the Carpathian Mountains, Peter combats an unknown foe. The stakes are high as he fights to save the lives of his teammates.

They are miles apart, yet as Genevieve and Peter fight for their own survival, they find a common well of strength in their faith—and their determination to be reunited.

Review

Sworn Enemy begins as Peter and Genevieve (introduced in Espionage) are trying to stay ahead of the Gestapo, making their way out of occupied France. While Sworn Enemy can be read alone, reading Espionage provides a richer history of the characters and makes reading Sworn Enemy an even better experience.

Peter and Genevieve are great characters. While Espionage focuses mainly on the beginning of their story and the events leading up to their escape from occupied France, Sworn Enemy finds them facing separation as Genevieve goes to nursing school and Peter leaves as part of team assembled for a specific mission in Romania. There are several other characters I enjoyed as well, especially a certain Polish soldier who I liked just as much as Peter. (Maybe a tiny bit more after that one scene in Bucharest, but you’ll have to read the book to see if you agree with me.)

Peter and Genevieve’s romantic relationship is not at the forefront of the novel. There is plenty of spying, captures, escapes, as well as a battle. Those who enjoy a little romance will like the side story of two other characters in the novel. For those of you who aren’t big romance fans, don’t worry. It’s a nice addition to the story but it is not the focus.

There was a stretch of chapters that focused on Peter and the events he was involved in and the reader doesn’t know what is happening with Genevieve for quite sometime. I would have liked a chapter somewhere in there to update me with Genevieve’s activities, because I was in suspense wondering about that for what felt like a long time. The nature of Peter’s mission (13 team members and some civilians, plus the German & Romanian soldiers and officials, along with occasional use of both first and last names) made for a lot of characters to remember at first, but as I read, it became easier.

What I like about A.L. Sowards’ writing is that the reader can tell that she has done her research and knows a lot about the events and time period, but not because she beats the reader over the head with facts. They are woven into the story and dialogue and it never feels stilted or like a history lecture.

Sworn Enemy is well-written, full of action and suspense, and an enjoyable follow up to Espionage. A.L. Sowards is one of my new favorite historical authors and I definitely look forward to reading more from her in the future.

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WEBSITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

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AMAZON (Paperback & Kindle) | DESERET BOOK (Paperback, ebook, CD/MP3) | SEAGULL BOOK | GOODREADS