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Book Review: Target Acquired by Lynette Eason

September 12, 2024/0 Comments/in Fiction, My Library, Reviews /by Ian Acheson

I loved Double Take, the first in the series. And I’d encourage new readers to read that one first before diving into the second even though Target Acquired can easily be read as a standalone. Kenzie King and Cole Garrison are part of the same social group that we witnessed in Double Take. Kenzie is […]

Book Review: Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox

August 28, 2024/0 Comments/in Books, Favourites, Fiction, My Library, New Releases, Reviews /by Ian Acheson

Amanda Cox has become a must-read author for me. Her stories reflect the reality of human emotion and the gracious tenderness of God. This is a story of restoration of a physical place, a lighthouse, while we witness the restoration of relationships and characters hearts. Cox has a beautiful mastery of crafting a story that […]

Book Review: Target Acquired by Lynette Eason

September 12, 2024/0 Comments/in Fiction, My Library, Reviews /by Ian Acheson

Book Review: Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox

August 28, 2024/0 Comments/in Books, Favourites, Fiction, My Library, New Releases, Reviews /by Ian Acheson

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Book Review: Target Acquired by Lynette Eason

September 12, 2024/0 Comments/in Fiction, My Library, Reviews /by Ian Acheson

I loved Double Take, the first in the series. And I’d encourage new readers to read that one first before diving into the second even though Target Acquired can easily be read as a standalone.

Kenzie King and Cole Garrison are part of the same social group that we witnessed in Double Take. Kenzie is a medic as well as a fully trained SWAT member, so she can perform both jobs. She’s recently joined the team that Cole leads and being the first female on the team, feels like she has to work extra hard to prove herself worthy. Most of the guys on the team are happy to have her and she soon convinces them she has what it takes. Except for one, Butler, who just won’t give her a chance because his mate, Oscar, missed out because of Kenzie.

The story pivots around the stories of three families across 80 years: Kenzie, Cole’s and Oscar’s. Eason even takes us back to the 1940s to show us the beginnings. I enjoyed reading the snippets of the 1940s, and the tough time Eliza Crane, Cole’s grandmother, had with her father.

I enjoyed both Kenzie and Cole, they’re good characters. Perhaps Cole wasn’t as “Shemar Moore’ as I would have liked in terms of leading his team and he was often conflicted by his feelings towards Kenzie. Kenzie meanwhile comes across as a great team player, courageous and willing to go the extra mile to get the bad guy. She happens to be the ‘target’ in this story and for most of it, it’s a bit of mystery as to who is responsible for targeting her and why. But it gets to the point when there are no more possible candidates and one can guess who the likely person is.

This story doesn’t have the same oomph that Double Take had. It didn’t keep me riveted as much and it lacked that extreme sense of danger that a great thriller has. But it is a very good read and I’m looking forward to the final in the series, where a third member of the girl’s social group, Jesslyn, takes the lead. She’s a fire Marshall so it will have a different bent once again.

I’m appreciative having received an early ebook copy of the story from Revell as part of their Revell Reads program via Net Galley. This, however, had no bearing on my review.

Book Review: Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox

August 28, 2024/0 Comments/in Books, Favourites, Fiction, My Library, New Releases, Reviews /by Ian Acheson

Cox has a beautiful mastery of crafting a story that weaves the wonder of God’s grace in transforming characters. Joey Harris is an event planner living in a small town in Tennessee. Her business is struggling, her family is a little broken and she’s not really sure what the future holds. Her best friend, Sophie, encourages her to apply for an odd position restoring an old de-commissioned lighthouse. BTW, Sophie, in the sparing moments we see her reflects the characteristics of a special best friend.

Surprisingly, Joey gets the gig and relocates to the coast of North Carolina, the lighthouse situated on an island a 30 minute boat ride away. Walt O’Hare is an 81 year old and Joey’s employer. He’s seeking to put right a perceived wrong of his teen years. Finn O’Hare is his grandson. A thirty-something pilot who is grappling with his own brokenness while thinking he needs to take care of his grandpa.

It’s marvellous how Cox weaves the multiple layers of restoration through the story. Meanwhile, the legacy of Cathleen McCorvey or Cay, as Walt knew her, is ever present in our story. Cay was Walt’s best friend and he left her to join the war effort in 1942. Cay apparently died soon after along with her father who had been suffering from what we now know as dementia.

Not a word nor scene is wasted as the story progresses, the physical restoration of the lighthouse soon slipping into the background as we witness the beauty and wonder of broken, estranged and seemingly lost relationships lovingly being restored. It’s beautiful to read.

As I read it, I kept thinking about ‘What the Crawdads Sing’ and think Amanda’s story would make an equally beautiful movie.

Once again, I feel blessed to have had a chance to receive an early ebook copy from Revell via NetGalley and I know will treasure its memory. My review has not been influenced by this blessing and I suspect I’ll buy my own copy so it can sit proudly on my bookshelf.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Book Review: Target Acquired by Lynette Eason

Book Review: Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox

Book Review: Target Acquired by Lynette Eason

Book Review: Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox

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Book Review: Target Acquired by Lynette Eason

Book Review: Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox

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