Book Notes: August 2, 2023 - Inspirational Suspense Romance

 Welcome to the scenic route! If this is your first visit, I'm honored you chose to check it out. I'm sharing a couple of book reviews from Lisa Phillips. At the end of this post, you'll find a three word prompt. If you're a creative soul in need of something to spark ideas, the prompt might help. Let's get to it, shall we?

Book Review: Last Man to Survive (Chevalier Protection Specialists #4) by Lisa Phillips

Last Man to Survive by Lisa Phillips
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kept Me Reading

I'm loving this series by Lisa Phillips. I would like it even better if the faith element didn't seem practically token. But this series is clean, filled with interesting and varied characters, and keeps me guessing. If you're looking for a page-turning adventure with a hero and heroine who are fighting their way through their pasts to achieve goals and find love, then this may be a good book to try.

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Book Review: Last Line of Defense (Chevalier Protection Specialists #5) by Lisa Phillips

Last Line of Defense by Lisa Phillips
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Good...but Long

I don't know if the book is actually long because I rarely pay attention to the page count. But it sure did feel long. That's not necessarily a bad thing. In this case, there's just a ton of things going on. It was sometimes hard to keep track and some of the scenarios seemed so convoluted as to be unbelievable. But Lisa Phillips does keep a reader guessing about what's going to happen next. This book, as the rest of the series, is clean and heavier on the suspense than the romance. It's a good series and each book can stand alone. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a clean, suspense tale full of adventure, and with a dose of romance.

View all my reviews

This whole series is packed with action and suspense. The faith element is there, but in some of the books, it shows up more than others. Honestly, that fits really well. 

When I think about it, we're not all at the same place in our faith walk. Some have come to the point where every day, it's habitual to pray often, to live joyfully, and/or to have a thankful spirit. But others are just starting out, or they're rusty in their relationship with God because the awful things of this world got them down. 

So from that perspective, this series gives a little more clarity into how a walking by faith might look different from person to person. I did find that as the series progresses, the faith element seems to diminish greatly in the characters. I think it's important to note the first hero shows the strongest faith walk. 

If a leader is a strong Christian, truly seeking to obey the Word of God, that's a really good thing. They'll be looking for good, Biblical ways to encourage and strengthen the people working under them, whether that's mentally or spiritually. They'll be setting the example of how we need to live according to God's Word. That should make them the kind of leader anyone would find desirable. 

OK. Enough of my thoughts on this. Feel free to continue the discussion in the comments below. Please do keep it courteous and clean, though. I have no qualms about blocking trolls of the internet variety. 

Just Keep Writing: Wednesday Whimsy

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (i.e. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

I already see a couple of possibilities for different stories. Aren't words fabulous? 

Thank you so much for sharing some of your time with me. I hope you enjoyed today's post. Will you come back tomorrow for another word prompt? Do you find them helpful? Did you find the book reviews interesting? What are you reading? Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time,
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