Book Review: Altercation By Tamara Hart Heiner

First of all, I have to say, Altercation is so much better then the cover leads you to believe. So in this case don't judge a book by it's cover.

Altercation picks up where Tamara's last book Perilous ends. Jaci and her friends  are safe for now, but there is trouble brewing ahead. 

summary :

  The FBI promises Jacinta Rivera and her friends that they are
safe. Jaci wants desperately to believe them but weeks of hiding from
their kidnapper, alias "The Hand", have left her wary. Hidden from the
public eye in an FBI safe house, Jaci must reconcile both the mysterious
disappearance of her father and the murder of her best friend.

A betrayal lands Jaci back in the grasp of The Hand, shattering her
ability to trust and leaving her to wonder if she will ever piece together
her broken life.

My take:

I felt Atlercation kept you intrigued, wondering what next, and where they all really safe? Jaci and her freinds are trying to come to terms with what happened to them with out the support of their families. As they work through what happened they are told they are to be separtated adn this creates greater anxiety in them. Jaci, Amanda and Sara won't be together and neither will Sara's brothers Neil and Ricky.

Thinking everything is safe they find that they are anything but. And soon they are in precarious circumstances again, and it takes new found friends  along with the reuniting of old ones to find unseen answers.

I felt Jaci was strong in the midst of great danger. That she was smart in protecting herself. It was great to see her brother Seth take action to find his sister along with the help of Megan, the daughter of an FBI agent.

I thought Altercation kept you wondering if time would run for Jaci and Amanda. You could feel the  terror and horror they felt at being forced into certain circumstances and the despartion that those left to look for them as well. It was a quick read that kept you turining pages.

Altercation is definitely a book where the bad guys are really really bad, and the good guys risk everything to see that they don't win.


To take part in Tamara's celebration of the release of Altercation check out her website here

Prizes: EVERY DAY she will randomly select one person who made a comment on
that day's blog. The winner will then get to decide if they would like an
ebook copy of PERILOUS or ALTERCATION. There's just one catch: there must
be AT LEAST ten comments on that day for her to do the giveaway.

But if that's not enough, leaving a comment also gets you entered into the
PRIZE DRAWINGS. This won't be random; it's cumulative. Every comment you
leave counts as 1 point. If you are a follower on her blog, you get 1
point. Every time you tweet or share on Facebook about the tour, it's one
point.She'll even add it up for you; just include her in on the tweet
@tamaraheiner or on Facebook @tamarahartheiner (unless you don't trust her
math, and then feel free to tally it up and send it to her).


THIRD PRIZE: 50-page critique of something of your choice (if you're not a
writer, a $5 amazon.com gift card)
SECOND PRIZE: lot of five YA books
FIRST PRIZE: $20 gift card to Amazon.com

(You may also offer a giveaway, if you wish!)

You can get your copy of Altercation and fall into the suspense and action too by clicking on one of the options below
Altercation $15.95 link on Amazon: click here

ebook for $4.99: click here

Life's Unexpected Twists and Turns

I am amazed beyond compare how it is that unseen hands work in our lives everyday. How they save us from ourselves. I find I am humbled at the power they possess and the way they intervene when necessary.

As a mother you never want to get a phone call letting you know that your children are hurt. Usually it means a scrape or two or in some cases a band aid or a visit to the doctor's office for a little extra TLC. But last Sunday I got the call that my second oldest daughter, 20 years old was just home from the hospital where the ambulance took her in the wee hours of the morning.

She had been in a terrible car accident where the car she was traveling in smashed up against the mountain side. Where you ask? Logan Canyon of all places. That she was sleeping in the passenger seat upon impact may be the very thing may have saved her life.

She is scraped up, bruised up and battered. She is just now getting back to normal activities after a week of extra sleeping, painful eating and difficult moving. There wasn't anyway to ignore work so she returned four days after the accident.

But what amazes me most is that the driver who fell asleep at the wheel woke up just before impact and was able to turn the wheel so that the brunt of the force hit the left front corner instead of straight on. That she went to the mountain and crashed instead of diving head long into the deep frigid river that ran along the opposite side of the road. That no one sustained more than a few cracked ribs, and that only because that particular passenger didn't have on his seat belt. Funny how I can be happy that she crashed into the mountain, but the alternative is way worse.

I know  God lives. I know He watches over us, loves us and preserves us for the things we were sent to this earth to do. I know that the reason this accident wasn't as bad as it could be was because there are things I know my daughter must still do. That she was kept whole for a reason. That she has work to do on this earth. That she is needed by Heavenly Father.

I am grateful that my daughter could call me and tell me that she was injured and sore, grateful that it wasn't a doctor informing me she was in ICU or worse yet an officer of the law informing me that she had moved on to the spirit world. I am grateful for those guardian angels who watch over her when she 10 hours away from home in another state when I can't be there to protect her. I am glad that they do the protecting for me.

And I am so grateful for my oldest wonderful 21 year old daughter who upon hearing about her sister's accident while here in Colorado with us, decided that on her way back to Utah that same afternoon of her sister's accident, she and her dear friend would stop in Logan and pick her up and bring her down to Sandy where she could be watched over and cared for by my sweet wonderful daughter and my mother. 

Life gives us unexpected twists and turns. Things we don't anticipate, but at the same time there are silent guardians who guide us and nudge us and keep us safe. They create amazing miracles and show us that life is indeed very fragile, but there is a much bigger power that holds it in reserve and keeps us moving forward upon the pathways we take.

That through these events we grow and learn become amazing and truly great. I am so glad that my daughter called me today to tell me how much better she feels. So much so that she was going to try long boarding with her friends for the first time since she got hurt. I told her to be careful. I think she still believes she is indestructible... but at the same time has a healthy respect for life's fragile grasp on this world.

Book Review: The Most Important Catch By Jaclyn M. Hawkes

Book Blurb
Run or die!
She knew too much, and she’d seen too much.
And the police refused to help.
Knowing that she was to be the next scheduled death, Kelly Campbell hid under head to toe black leather and a tinted motorcycle helmet and ran for her life.
When the weather turned cold, she turned south.
She ended up in North Carolina, home to one of the most famed and eligible NFL football stars in the whole league; only she didn’t know that. She thought he was a businessman.  Not being a huge fan, all she knew was that he was incredibly attractive, kind, generous, and that she was safe with him.
 Or was she?
His brand of fame proved to be all but deadly, but his fame wasn’t nearly as lethal as his attraction. He kept her safe and protected. Except for her heart.


My take:

First of all the idea of a beautiful girl on a bike and in black leathers who is also kind and giving and strong was a huge draw for me. I loved the concept of it all. Then to pair her with a hunky built generous NFL player, kept me turning the pages.  The way their world's collide was wonderful to see, as they struggle to deal with their own personal insecurities. And growing feelings for each other while keeping important secrets from each other.

I fell in love with the characters instantly. I didn't want to put The Most Important Catch down, not even to sleep, I loved it that much! I felt the contrast of who they were on the inside and what they looked like on the outside played well with the challenge of trusting each other and then through that protecting one another, even when that meant hurting themselves to keep the other safe.

There are so many things in The Most Important Catch that will make you laugh out loud and make you appreciate that sometimes beauty and fame have an extremely high price tag. And that it isn't often you can find those who don't allow the world they are a part of be part of them.  Robby shows us how he manages to stay beyond the reaching effects of being a highly recognized wide receiver.

Kelly's deep abiding faith and strength help her handle the fact that she is being hunted. Through the turmoil of not being able to go back home, she learns to find the wonderful things life can offer even when faced with insurmountable obstacles. I found Kelly's ability to grow beyond the things she was faced with an inspiration.

To me, Kelly's incredible striking and very recognizable beauty worked perfectly in creating the need to hide it and to disappear, but the juxtaposition of that with the high profile life of Robby's position with the Carolina Panthers puts that in jeopardy because of the media following him. Out in public he was a camera magnet, and Kelly doesn't exactly blend in with the crowd unnoticed. I felt these character aspects were integral to the story line.

I am a huge huge fan of Jaclyn M Hawkes. I have read all of her books and find that I love each book more. The Most Important Catch takes it's place as my new favorite. She can't write fast enough for me. Her writing style pulls you into the story and you feel as if you know the characters so well, they could walk off the page and be real people. The sweet way in which she allows her characters to grow to love each other makes your heart warm and you feel their emotions as deeply as they do.

There is fun, laughter, adventure, intrigue, mystery, and evil villains all together. The character arcs are wonderfully written and the plots and themes weave together keeping you on your toes until the very last page, when you realize you don't want it to be over yet.

Don't miss out on this wonderful LDS romantic suspense! You won't be sorry you entered Robby and Kelly's world. I am confident you will love this book as much as I do.
You can get your copy at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and The Book Depository
e book depository. Visit Jaclyn's website here where you can also view a fun book trailer and learn more about her. The Most Important Catch will keep your heart singing long after you finish the last page.