Hi, everyone!
It is my turn to share my Feature Post and Book Review on the Blog Tour for Terri Blackstock’s new Christian contemporary second chance romance SMOKE SCREEN. Realistic characters with a mystery subplot made this an entertaining and intriguing read.
Below you will find a book synopsis, an excerpt from the book, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Synopsis
One father was murdered,
and another convicted of his death. All because their children fell in love.
Nate Beckett has
spent his life fighting wildfires instead of the lies and rumors that drove him
from his Colorado home town. His mother begs him to come to Carlisle now that
his father has been released from prison, but it isn’t until he’s sidelined by
an injury that he’s forced to return and face his past. But that means facing
Brenna too.
Fourteen years ago,
Nate was in love with the preacher’s daughter. When Pastor Strickland
discovered Brenna had defied him to sneak out with Nate, the fight between
Strickland and Nate’s drunken dad was loud—and very public. Strickland was
found murdered later that night, and everyone accused Roy Beckett. When the
church burned down, people assumed it was Nate getting even for his father’s
conviction. He let the rumors fly and left Carlisle without looking back.
Now, Brenna is
stunned to learn that the man convicted of murdering her father has been
pardoned. The events of that night set her life on a bad course, and she’s
dealing with a brutal custody battle with her ex and his new wife where he’s
using lies and his family’s money to sway the judge. She’s barely hanging on,
and she’s turned to alcohol to cope. Shame and fear consume her.
As they deal with the
present—including new information about that fateful night and a wildfire
that’s threatening their town—their past keeps igniting. Nate is the steady
force Brenna has so desperately needed. But she’ll have to learn to trust him
again first.
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Excerpt
I woke up in a blinding bright room, my clothes off and something clamped to my face. I tried to reach it, but I couldn’t bend my right arm, and my hand stung. An IV was taped to my other hand, but I moved carefully and touched the thing over my face.
An oxygen mask. I tried to sit up. “What happened?”
T-bird came to my bedside, a sheen of smoky sweat still soiling his face. “Nate, lie back, man.”
“The fire,” I said. “Need to get back. My men.”
“They’re still there. Making progress. But you’re not going anywhere near a fire for a month or so.”
I took the mask off and coughed a little, but managed to catch my breath. “A month?”
“Yep. Second degree burns on 20 percent of your body. Some of the burns are deep.”
It came back to me, the event that had gotten me here.
“The family. Were they injured?”
“Not a scratch or burn. Turns out it was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. He says you’re a hero.”
“You know I had no choice. They were in the path—”
“Take the praise where you can get it, man. We don’t get that much.”
I looked at my right side. My right arm was bandaged, and so was my side and down my right leg to the point where my boots had stopped the flames. Second degree wasn’t so bad, I told myself. Third degree would have been brutal. I’d be able to leave the hospital soon. I’d heal.
“I won’t need a month,” I said.
“Yes, you will. They can’t let you go back. Doctor’s orders. You’re grounded until he releases you.”
I managed to sit up, but it was a bad idea. The burns pulling on my skin reminded me why I shouldn’t. “I can’t be grounded during fire season. Are you crazy? I need to be there. You don’t have enough men as it is.”
“Sorry, Nate. It is what it is. Why don’t you go home to Carlisle for a while? Take it easy.”
Go home? Pop had just been pardoned, and he and my mom were trying to navigate the reunion. Though she would love to have me home, I didn’t know if I was up to it. My father could be challenging, and fourteen years of prison hadn’t done him any favors.
Required text: Taken from “Smoke Screen” by Terri Blackstock. Copyright © 2019 by Terri Blackstock. Used by permission of http://www.thomasnelson.com/.
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
SMOKE SCREEN by Terri Blackstock is her new standalone Christian second chance romance. This is an entertaining and intriguing easy-to-read romance with realistic characters and a mystery subplot.
Fourteen years ago, while in high school, Brenna Strickland, the pastor’s daughter and Nate Beckett, the son of the town drunk fell in love. When Brenna was found to be defying her father and sneaking out to meet Nate, Pastor Strickland confronted Nate’s father in the local bar. It was very loud and very public. The pastor was later found killed in this car and Nate’s father was accused and sent to prison. When the church burned down, not long after, Nate was rumored to have set it because he left town the next day, but he was never charged.
Nate has spent his life as a hotshot fighting wildfires. After being burned while rescuing a family from a wildfire, Nate is put on leave just as his father is coming home after being pardoned by the governor. His mother asks him to come home and he decides to return to face his father and his past.
Brenna is now divorced with two children and living across the street from Nate’s brother. Brenna is in the middle of a brutal custody battle and has lost her faith. She uses alcohol to cope when her children are with their father and his new wife. She is shocked to learn of Nate’s father’s pardon and does not know what to do with her feelings of guilt and anger.
Nate reconnects with Brenna and they easily fall back into their old feelings. Nate wants to help Brenna get over her need for alcohol, fight for her children and find her faith again. When new information on the pastor’s murder surfaces and an arsonist sets wildfires that threaten their town, Nate and Brenna must rely on each other, fight for the truth and be willing to believe in a future together.
I loved Nate and how he turned his life around. He is definitely BBF material and his life as a hotshot was interesting. I felt terrible and frustrated with Brenna. She was a great mother, but her alcohol abuse, while realistic, left me so frustrated. She was giving up and not fighting for her children until Nate showed her how. I was also not aware of the author’s previous books and that this book was a Christian romance, which I would not have read if I had known and I would have missed out on a good story.
The mystery from the past of the pastor’s murder and the church arson where both written and integrated well into the story and tied to the present day wildfire and Brenna’s custody battle. The solution was easy to figure out, but still satisfying.
Overall, I recommend this second chance romance.
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Author’s Bio
Terri Blackstock has sold over seven million books worldwide and is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. She is the award-winning author of Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall, as well as such series as Cape Refuge, Newpointe 911, the SunCoast Chronicles, and the Restoration Series.
Social Media Links
I have seen so many great things about this book and so want to read it!
I hope you do, Cheryl. I’m sure you would enjoy it.