THE HUNGER GAMES SOUTH AFRICAN RELEASE DATE

So I just started making my weekend plans, which was to include a trip to the cinema.  With great anticipation I had been awaiting the weekend of March 23, only to be disappointed.  Bad news, fellow South Africans: The SA release date is April 13th!  The rest of the world will be watching... we've got three more weeks to go.



NOW READING: TRUE DEVOTION ~ DEE HENDERSON

I love Dee Henderson books, so much so I'm diving right on into my next one.

True Devotion (Uncommon Heroes Book 1)

She was going to drown...

Lifeguard Kelly Jacobs watched the sun go down and knew time for her rescue was running out.  The naval base glittered in the fading light, like a jewel she could not reach.  The sea surged and pulled, stinging her with cold.

Until he came.

Navy SEAL Lieutenant Joe "Bear" Baker plucked Kelly from the raging sea when she had nearly given up hope.  She'd known he would come  - he was her best friend - and she clung for all she was worth to the safe haven found in his arms.

Then she said the wrong thing...

Kelly had already paid the ultimate price of loving a warrior; she has the folded flag and the grateful thanks of a nation to prove it. She didn't dare risk loving another man in uniform.  But held close in Joe's arms, Kelly said the wrong thing, and their friendship suddenly hung in the balance.

Now they're both in danger.

The man responsible for Kelly's husband's death is back and closer than either of them realize. They're about to discover that God is a refuge, because this time there may be no rescue.

REVIEW: KIDNAPPED ~ DEE HENDERSON

FBI agent Luke Falcon and fifth-grade teacher Caroline Lane meet when his cousin marries her sister. An immediate connection leads to a relationship even though Luke withholds a part of himself, and Caroline has her doubts about getting involved with an FBI agent. A year into their relationship, just as Caroline starts considering breaking things off with Luke because he hesitates to let their relationship turn into something more serious, their collective family vanishes. As it becomes clear that Mark, Sharon and Benjamin have been victims of a kidnapping gone wrong, evidence points to the involvement of Frank Hardin, a serial killer Luke has been chasing for years. With their family’s lives on the line, Luke and Caroline are placed under the kind of pressure their fragile relationship might not be able to survive. When a stalker’s obsession with Caroline merges with the kidnapping, a ransom delivery goes wrong and bodies start piling up, Luke faces the most daunting case of his career; and when the kidnapper also sets his sights on Caroline, Luke is forced to face his emotions and admit his feelings for her. The only question is, with everything that’s been happening, might he be too late?

Dee Henderson never disappoints. As always her writing is very realistic. Her detail to the operations of a profession (in this case FBI agent) places the reader firmly in that world, creating an exciting reading experience. She painstakingly follows the kind of procedures the FBI would have to follow in a case of this nature, with the result that the reader gets to tag along for every aspect of solving this case. Henderson doesn’t hesitate to kill off characters, which causes a certain suspense to hang over every page. A good outcome is not guaranteed, so as Luke races to save those he loves, you can be sure the readers are holding their breath. 

What I love most about Dee Henderson’s books is that she manages to build intense, gripping stories on a foundation of faith. Without it ever becoming preachy she effortlessly integrates characters’ reliance on their faith to carry them through, as well as legitimate concerns believers might struggle with under certain circumstances.

Any fans of detective novels will love her work. Her writing is precise, thorough and perfectly executed. In Kidnapped, Dee Henderson has delivered yet another thrilling suspense novel which is sure to keep you turning the pages just as fast as you can.

Product information:

Title: Kidnapped

Author: Dee Henderson

Number of pages: 368

Publisher: Tyndale House

Year: 2008

ISBN-10: 1414323638

ISBN-13: 978-1414323633 

NOW READING: KIDNAPPED ~ DEE HENDERSON

It's gloomy, rainy and cold.  Perfect weather for my next read!

Dee Henderson's Kidnapped (Previously published as True Courage).

FBI agent Luke Falcon has a dead woman on his hands, a fresh victim from his old adversary Frank Hardin.  This time, Frank won't walk away.  But even that case will have to wait when Luke's extended family disappears over Labor Day weekend.  Is there a harmless explanation?  Or could they have been victims of a sordid crime?

Fifth-grade teacher Caroline Lane cares deeply for Luke, but she's not certain she can handle the pressures of dating someone in his line of work.  When foul play strikes his family, she gets a far closer view of those pressures than she ever wanted.  She's grateful that God brought Luke into her life.  But will they share anything more than tragedy by the time the storm passes?

Luke has never worked on a case involving family.  It's tempting to let his hardened exterior weaken, given the circumstances.  But he has to be strong if he's going to bring them all home.  When the ransom delivery doesn't go down as planned and the bodies start piling up, so does Luke's frustration.  He fears that innocent people may not survive this crisis... and neither will his relationship with Caroline.

REVIEW: WILDFLOWER BRIDE ~ MARY CONNEALY

A little unobservant this time around, I only discovered that Mary Connealy’s Wildflower Bride is book 3 of a series after I started reading it. Though I missed the preceding events, Ms Connealy kindly made mention of previous events, and it was no hardship to follow the story. I understand Wade and Abby have been mentioned in book 1 and/or 2, although they were not the main characters at that stage.

The story goes like this: At ten years old, Abby’s family dies from fever and she is left alone in the wilderness. A Flathead tribe of Indians discovers her, renames her Glowing Sun and adopts her as their own. Living with the Flatheads, Abby starts forgetting her former life and even her native language. Years later cowboy Wade Sawyer rescues Abby from a kidnapping, befriends her and helps her rediscover her command of the English language as he helps her find her Flathead family. Although Abby feels connected to Wade, she rejects his advances as she has already been promised to Wild Eagle, the next Chief of the Flathead tribe. A year passes and Abby’s village is attacked, her people slaughtered and Abby again taken by the assailants. Once again Wade comes to her rescue, though she handles herself pretty well. When the surviving members of her Flathead family blame Abby for the massacre and evict her from the tribe, Abby has nowhere to go. Having had two families stripped from her life, Abby is convinced that God has created her to be alone and determines to live in the wild by herself. Wade, also living by himself and unsure of his place in the world, having finally left his abusive father to run the ranch alone, is contacted with the news that his father is dying and wishes to see him. When he refuses, Abby lashes out saying that he should be grateful he still has a father, and admonishes him for not honouring his father. Refusing to leave Abby to her own devices, Wade agrees to go home if Abby joins him. Planning to ditch Wade just as soon as she can, Abby agrees and they head for Montana, unaware that the men who slaughtered Abby’s people have recently been hired to work on the Sawyer Ranch. With danger surrounding them at every turn, can Wade and Abby survive long enough to realize that God has placed them right where they should be: with each other?

I decided to read Wildflower Bride as I was in the mood for something old fashioned and romantic, and that’s exactly what I got. It’s a lovely story about an unlikely pair falling in love despite their reservations about each other. Abby has been raised to hate and fear white men (even though she is white herself!), yet Wade is kind and protective instead of cruel and sadistic. Wade has spent his life praying for a gentle, submissive wife, yet Abby is hostile and independent. She pulls a knife on him every chance she gets! Even though neither is what the other wanted, they can’t fight their growing attraction.

Layered on top of the love story, the book deals with Abby’s doubts and fears and journey to discovering who she really is, and Wade’s unresolved feelings towards his abusive father and the mother figure who stood by and let it happen. The book beautifully deals with a Christian’s struggle with hate and resentment, and Wade’s attempts to help his father accept God. Abby’s untamed ways is also quite comical, and Connealy’s humour provides welcome reprieves from the darker side of the story.

The only thing that slightly annoyed me was that the story often moved away from Wade and Abby to focus on Silas, Belle, Red and Cassie (characters from the previous two books). Readers of book 1 and 2 may have appreciated this approach, but honestly I just wanted to read about Wade and Abby. Other than that Connealy’s writing is fun and a pleasure to follow. At the end of the day, Wildflower Bride was a joy to read.

Product information:

Title: Wildflower Bride

Author: Mary Connealy

Number of pages: 320

Publisher: Barbour Books

Year: 2010

ISBN-10: 1602601445