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Tag: Bombings

Book Review: Knox

May 22, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Knox – Susan May Warren – The Montana Marshalls #1 – Stonewater Books – Published 12 March 2019

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Synopsis

Montana rancher Knox Marshall’s danger years are behind him. A former bull-rider, he now runs the Marshall family ranch, raising champion bucking bulls for the National Professional Bullrider’s Expo (NBR-X). Wealth and success are his, but life is stable, expected, and…ordinary.  But he wants more from life… 

Kelsey Jones just wants a safe life, a family, a home. Onstage, the beautiful rising star of the Yankee Belles becomes the person she longs to be – vivacious and confident – burying the brokenness she carries from a violent assault. Becoming NBR-X’s next country act is key to outrunning her past and achieving the success and security she craves. 

Knox and Kelsey’s paths collide when an explosion at an NBR-X event traps them in the rubble and leaves them reeling. Kelsey’s crippling nightmares return, but for Knox, an obsession to find the bomber is ignited. 

My thoughts

Don’t you just love it when one of your favourite authors launches a new series? Well I do, so I was very excited to start Knox, book one in the Montana Marshalls series. Readers of Warren’s other titles, might have already met the eldest Marshal family sibling, Reuben, in the Montana Rescue series. Knox is the second eldest Marshall, and this is his story.

Knox loves his family home and ranch, loves working the land and building up the security of the family business, even if it wasn’t his first choice. Branching out into breeding and loaning bucking bulls for the bull riding circuit seems to be paying off. When a bomb goes off at one of the bull riding events, Knox is drawn into the action and is concerned that Kelsey Jones, lead singer of the Yankee Belles, is the target. On stage, Kelsey finds her confidence and escapes the memories of a violent attack that stole her family and her security. She’s not sure why Knox offers her his concern and protection, but she’s glad he does, especially when he’s the first guy in a long time she feels safe around. But when the threat follows them to the Marshall ranch, Kelsey and Knox will have to decide what to risk for their future.

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Book Review: Four Three Two One

October 10, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Four Three Two One – Courtney Stevens – HarperTeen – Published 13 November 2018

♥♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

Golden “Go” Jennings wasn’t supposed to be on Bus 21 the day it blew up in New York City. Neither was her boyfriend, Chandler. But they were. And so was Rudy, a cute stranger whom Go shared a connection with the night before. And Caroline, a girl whose silence ended up costing nineteen people their lives.

Though it’s been a year since the bombing, Go isn’t any closer to getting over what happened. Since Chan shuts down every time Go brings that day up, she decides to reach out to Rudy. Just like that, the two fall right back into their easy, deep connection. Facing the past head-on with Rudy has opened up a small window of healing Go never thought was possible. So she makes an impulsive decision: Round up the rest of the survivors and head to New York City. There they will board an art installation made of the charred remnants of Bus 21.

But things are never easy when it comes to rehashing the past. Uniting the four stirs up conflicting feelings of anger and forgiveness and shows them that, although they all survived, they may still need saving.

My thoughts

Take an author who is excellent at writing powerful stories about heartbreaking situations. Add a plot line about a bombing, abusive relationships, recovery journeys and the power of human togetherness. Drop in five character: four survivors and one along for the ride. Stir together and shake a little. With that recipe it’s no wonder that Four Three Two One is an incredibly powerful and emotive story of surviving, overcoming insurmountable odds, and forgiving yourself.

Golden Jennings is one of four survivors of a bus bombing. While she is eager to unpack the emotions and fallout from that fateful day in New York, her boyfriend, another survivor, won’t mention it at all. When one of the attending paramedics reconstructs the bus and creates a memorial for those who died in the blast, Golden decides to make the trip to New York again. With a new-found friend and the two other survivors, Golden begins a journey towards making new memories, facing old ones and maybe even find some form of healing.

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