Search This Blog
April Reviews Link-Up
May Reviews Link-Up
June Reviews Link-Up
July Reviews Link-Up
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (1)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia (1)
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Friday, July 01, 2016
Lighthearted LDS Romantic Suspense Doesn't Take Itself Too Seriously (Thank Goodness!) [With a Giveaway]
7:27 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Navigating the singles dating scene in the Provo/Orem area can be a killer—it can murder a girl's nerves, her self-esteem, and her faith in both God and men. Jacklyn "Jack" Wyatt should know. A 25-year-old Utah Valley University (UVU) student, she's considered an old maid. At least by her mom. And her meddling aunt. And her married siblings. And her nieces and nephews. Not to mention every decent guy in her LDS student ward, apparently. It's no wonder Jack's sister decided to take drastic measures and make her a profile on Eter-knit-ty, an online dating site. It worked, too. Not only has Jack's profile attracted the attention of some potential disasters dates, it has also brought a handsome FBI agent to her door.
Jack is no 007. She cashiers at Forever 21, for heaven's sake! Still, when Agent Damon Wade asks her to help with the case of a local woman who went missing after meeting several men from Eter-knit-ty, Jack can't say no. Scoping out potential killers is way more exciting than writing essays for English lit—even if she doesn't get to drive a sleek Bondmobile. Jack's survived countless bad dates. What's a few more? Especially if her sacrifice helps the FBI find out what happened to Natalie Paul. At the very least she'll get some free food out of the deal.
As Jack meets with the men who also asked Natalie out, she realizes just how desperate the singles scene in Utah Valley really is. She's been bored to death, groped by a human octopus, suffered the side effects of a major sugar coma, and still, she's no closer to finding out what happened to Natalie. Sure, Damon's annoying, buttoned-up personality is growing on her, but that's a relationship that's clearly going nowhere.
Jack's convinced the mission's a total bust until she, herself, is threatened. With the FBI now determined to pull her off the case, Jack has to up her spy game and find Natalie before she, too, vanishes off the face of the earth. If she wasn't convinced before, now she's certain—dating can be murder.
You've probably noticed by now that LDS romantic suspense does not top my list of favorite genres. Despite the number of such novels that are published every year, I've yet to come across one that feels even a little bit realistic. Too often, they're not just ridiculously far-fetched but terribly written as well. Biased as I am, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from A Date With Danger, a debut novel by Kari Iroz. The generic Sandra Bullock-y cover didn't bode well for what was inside. And yet, I was pleasantly surprised by the story. Not because the tale is super realistic (it isn't) but because it's light, funny, and more entertaining than I expected it to be. The novel doesn't take itself too seriously—it's more rom-com than mystery/thriller. Unapologetic about it, too. I liked that as well as the lighthearted fun-poking at LDS dating culture (which, thankfully, I never had to suffer much through). These things make the novel entertaining, even when Jack and her adventures get a little too absurd. Sure, I saw the big reveal coming from several miles away, but still, A Date With Danger remained a fun, satisfying read throughout. To my great surprise, I quite enjoyed it.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for violence and mild sexual innuendo
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of A Date With Danger from the generous folks at Covenant Communications. Thank you!
--
Want more opinions about A Date With Danger? Check out the other stops on the book's blog tour:
June 28th: http://lisaisabookworm. blogspot.com/, http://www. rockinbookreviews.com/, http:/ /bonnieharris.blogspot.com/
June 29th: http://www. singinglibrarianbooks.com/ index.html, http://heidi- reads.blogspot.com/, http:// www.wishfulendings.com/
June 30th: http://ldsandlovinit. blogspot.com/, http:// literarytimeout.blogspot.com/, http://melsshelves.blogspot. com/, http://empowermoms.net/
July 1st: http://mybookaday. blogspot.com/, http:// littlelightdesigncollective. com/, http://www. blogginboutbooks.com/, http:// booksaresanity.blogspot.com/
Want to score a copy of A Date With Danger for yourself? Enter to win below:
5 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
Time Travel Thursday5 hours ago
-
THE ROMANOV BRIDES Blog Tour8 hours ago
-
American Zion8 hours ago
-
-
Digging Up Trouble by Kitt Crowe9 hours ago
-
-
Love on Camera13 hours ago
-
-
-
-
The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro17 hours ago
-
Mistimed Meal: A Review of Vampire Fly17 hours ago
-
The Silver Swan: Benjamin Black22 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Thank you1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
One in the Chamber by Robin Peguero2 days ago
-
Top 5 Tuesday ~ Female Authors2 days ago
-
What's up?2 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
Review: Beartown1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?5 months ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra9 months ago
-
-
-
Sundays with Sam – The Sunday Post11 months ago
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ▼ 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
I'm not a huge fan of LDS fiction. I honestly also don't always read your entire reviews because it usually contains too much of the plot so I don't feel the need to read the book, but I might give this a read.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's hard to know how much to divulge when writing a plot summary. I often err on the side of too much :)
DeleteThis book is pretty fun. A good fluff read. If you want to read it, I'm happy to send it to you. Just let me know.
Sounds fun! And yes, I totally thought that was Sandra Bullock on the cover! If Aunt Joan isn't interested, you can send it my way! I just ordered Little Black Lies (wait, is that right?!) it will be here tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHa ha -- the cover is very misleading. Makes the book look more mystery/thriller than rom-com. If Aunt Joan doesn't want the book, I'll send it your way.
DeleteLITTLE BLACK LIES -- yes! I love it.
I'm relieved to see it didn't take itself to seriously. These books can often turn out so bad.
ReplyDelete