Review - "Hidden Agenda" by Lisa Harris

 

 

Hidden Agenda

by Lisa Harris

 

Southern Crimes series, Book #3

Published by Revell

320 Pages

Target Audience: Adults

Genres: Christian Fiction, Suspense, Mystery, Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary

 

About this book:

 

"His cover is blown. Now his enemies are on his heels and closing in.

Michael Hunt is alive--and on the run. Presumed dead by friends and family, the undercover assignment he's been working for the past eight months has just been blown. With a hit out on his life and corruption inside the Atlanta police department, Michael finds himself hunted by both the cartel and the law. His only hope is Olivia Hamilton--the daughter of the man who wants him dead.

This nonstop chase from Christy Award-winning Lisa Harris will leave you breathless."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 



Hidden Agenda is a good suspense novel that definitely kept me enthralled in the story to find out what was going to happen next. I haven’t read the first two books in the Southern Crimes series, and while Hidden Agenda is the third book in the series, it read well as a stand alone novel. I could easily follow it without needing to read the first two books.

The crime part of this book revolves around the cartel. Because it revolves around the cartel there are a lot of descriptions or mentions of things the cartel is involved with such as murdering (there are murders in this book), drug dealing, and money laundering.

I can’t say much about this book without giving away spoilers. It was a suspenseful book with good characters and I liked it. It was a nice change of pace from the genres I’ve been reading lately. I would now like to read the first two books in this series to find out more about some of the characters. Overall, I think it’s a good book for those who like crime and suspense books as long as you don’t mind that this book involves the cartel and murders. I would only recommend this book for older teens and adults.

*I received this book for free from Revell in exchange for my honest review.

Review - "Love Unexpected" by Jody Hedlund

 

 

Love Unexpected

by Jody Hedlund

 

Beacons of Hope series, Book #1

Published by Bethany House Publishers

352 Pages

Target Audience: Adults

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian Romance

 

About this book:

 

"1859
Presque Isle, Michigan

What Is the Secret That Could Shipwreck Both of Their Lives?
All Emma Chambers ever wanted was a home, but when her steamboat sinks just outside Presque Isle, she's left destitute and with no place to stay.

An unlikely solution arises when the lighthouse keeper arrives in town. He's just lost his wife and is having a difficult time caring for his child. So a traveling preacher gets the idea that the keeper and Emma might be the answer to each other's dilemma. After a hasty marriage, she finds herself heading to the lighthouse with this handsome but quiet stranger. Nothing in her aimless life, though, has prepared her for parenting a rambunctious toddler, as well as managing a household.

Emma soon suspects Patrick may be hiding something from her, and then she hears a disturbing rumor about the circumstances surrounding his late wife's death. It seems as if her wish for a home and family of her own could end up leading her once more into turbulent waters."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 



**Note: I don't recommend this book for those who are under the age of 18.

Love Unexpected is a story with good themes such as redemption, forgiveness, and hope. I thought the author did a good job with Patrick’s character, showing him as a man who became a Christian after living a very sinful and depraved life who, after becoming a Christian, worked hard to repay those whom he had wronged and he started living for Christ. However, he still struggles with memories of things he has done in the past and he is also worried about how others would treat him if they knew about his past. I thought his character seemed realistic.

I also thought the setting of the book revolving around a lighthouse and a small Michigan town was interesting to read about.

Unfortunately, this book was too sexual for my personal reading taste and comfort and, in my opinion, was too sexual for a book published as a Christian book. There were a lot of sexual references in the story and the romantic parts were rather detailed to the point where I ended up skimming over some of the pages.

Overall, because of the excess of sexual related content I can’t recommend this book, especially to unmarried young adults.

*I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.