I’m at it again! I’m trying to finish series that I started but still haven’t gotten a chance to finish. Here are the final reviews.

Circle Series by Ted Dekker

GREEN – 3 Stars

Oh. My. Gosh.
I didn’t think this was where this book would end up and wowie it went into some very dark places indeed. It towed a very razor sharp line spiritually for me, almost like CS Lewis described when he wrote the Screwtape Letters (apologies if you don’t know the back story on that but I won’t go into detail here.. check the forward on his SL book from Lewis if you’re interested).
The parallels with some of the Old Testament Bible stories were interesting. It was pretty clear for Elijah and the alter competition with the priests of baal, but honestly it was so descriptive of some pretty dark things in the entire book that I felt quite icky a lot. The pagan world would have been something else to behold for sure. I don’t like or do vampires, but here we are. Warning for graphic self harm and injury detail… it was a lot.
Having said that, the way things were woven in was incredible. I randomly picked up a book from the Paradise series a while ago and turns out it was the best thing I could have done before reading this, as I feel like some of the things in this book wouldn’t have made as much sense if I hadn’t.
If not for a few really good connection points, I definitely could have skipped this one. Definitely for a fan of darker or more horror like books, but that’s not me. Nice to have the conclusion of the official Circle books, but I don’t think I would read this one again.

Elite Bodyguards (Lynette Eason)

WITHOUT WARNING – 3.5 stars
I enjoyed the story and characters for this book. There was a lot of action from the get go and it was well done. Characters were good, and it was nice to see things like PTSD handled relatively well. I thought the plot flowed pretty well, and while it was interesting and full of action, it did feel a little bit static. I wasn’t desperate to find out what was happening next, maybe because of the break beats in the book, or maybe just because I wasn’t as invested in the plot. It felt a little like a slow investigation, that was partnered with very fast paced action. You couldn’t turn around any corner without something action happening, but at the same time the investigation was moving really slowly. I think that was maybe why I didn’t enjoy it as much. I did like it, but not as much as others. A pretty good read, a pretty good adventure/mystery, and some interesting characters as well.

A Time To Die (Nadiene Brandess)

A TIME TO RISE – 3.5 stars

Mixed feelings for this one.
The characters are supremely annoying for majority of the entire trilogy and the final book was no exception. Their world may be dystopian but people act the same across all changes in society. That said, when people make odd choices or feel strangely in moments that they shouldn’t, when they don’t make sense it is frustrating. Making silly choices vs unrealistic is different. These ones made unrealistic in my view.
That being said, the plot was way more interesting and engaging than the other two books. I actually liked the plot progression in this one quite a bit, and found myself caring what happened. Unfortunately, that was one of the only saving parts of this for me. It was written quite well too.
This book has a lot more pushy messaging. I love Christian fiction, but… this wasn’t preachy as such, it was more….. smack you over the head every few pages so you didn’t forget that this was Christian fiction. It was a lot more insistent with the messaging than the other two. It makes sense as that’s been the characters journey, but it fully leaned into pushing it quite forcefully in this one.

A little spoilery (so fair warning):

Scully’s storyline made zero sense for me. I see what was attempted but it came so far out of nowhere that I did not buy it whatsoever. The ending also felt too… easy. Not earned.

So, it was hit and miss I suppose.

Danger in Shadows (Chapman)

LIGHT OF THE DAWN – 2.5 stars

Pretty well written but it was basically a book full of side quests. It was one problem on a journey after another. This series was a bit like this throughout. It made it feel disjointed for me. There wasn’t a clear plot driven story, more a character review of how people would react in a blanket destruction. Characters were fine but not too engaging. Stories were good, some more interesting than others but nothing largely fascinating.
I was bored quite often.

---

So glad to finally have these series finished off! It was difficult for some, a lovely conclusion for others, but either way it’s done! !

See You in The Adventures!

Christy Grace