Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

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All good things must come to an end: Review of Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey {plus giveaway!}

Sigh.

I knew this day was coming, the day we’d bid farewell to the McKenna family and this crazy amazing series of romantic suspense books by Dani Pettrey. Sabotaged, the fifth and final book in the series, releases this month, and it’s just as heart-pumping as the rest. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the author in exchange for my review.)

SabotagedSM1This book centers around the Iditarod and a missing dog sled driver who is also the uncle of Kirra, a local veterinarian who grew up around the McKenna family. Reef, a McKenna sibling with a sketchy and troubled past, is working search-and-rescue with Kirra when her uncle goes off course. They’re then thrust into a mystery that has them traveling to points along the race path and fearing for their lives.

Each of five books follows one of the McKenna siblings and a crime/mystery they find themselves involved in solving. If you want to catch up and start from the beginning, you can. You could read each book separately but the background helps, I think.

Here’s the order, with links to my reviews:

Submerged. (Sadly, I didn’t actually review this one, but it hooked me enough to want to read and review the books that followed!)

Shattered.

Stranded.

Silenced.

Sabotaged.

Pettrey’s books are so well-written I find myself wanting to hang out in Alaska, no matter the cold, and re-read the whole series (a rare act on my part). They’re full of action, suspense, romance and deep truths. Now that the series has ended, I’ve been thinking about which story or character was my favorite and I have a hard time choosing. It’s a toss-up between Submerged, which introduced the series with Cole and Bailey, and Stranded, which focused on Gage and Darcy.

Overall, these stories are like a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys mash-up for grown-ups if those main characters were related and each had love interests.

I’m sad to see this series end but thrilled and excited about the next series Pettrey is working on. It’s set on the East Coast and will revolve around the Chesapeake Bay area.

But you know what makes the ending of a series better? A fun giveaway! Click the picture below to enter the Heart of Adventure sweepstakes. Prizes include a gift certificate to Hotels.com, a donation to an animal shelter or veterinarian, and a sweetheart survival kit (chocolate included!). You can find everything you need to know about the giveaway here. The contest runs through Feb. 22, so head on over and enter!

Enter the HEART OF ADVENTURE Sweepstakes from Author Dani Pettrey!
And if you want to get a glimpse of what Pettrey’s stories are like, check out her amazing Pinterest boards for each book. If that doesn’t get you interested in an Alaskan adventure, nothing will!

War changes everything: Review of Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

SecretsOfACharmedLifeCOVERI hope last week’s interview with Susan Meissner piqued your interest in her new book, Secrets of a Charmed Life. Today, you’ll get to read more about it and what I thought about the book, as well as enter for a chance to win a copy! (I love free books, don’t you? I received my copy free in exchange for my review, but my opinion is my own.)

The one thing I love about every book of Meissner’s I’ve read is how she blends a contemporary story with a historical one. I love the connections between two stories from different eras that on the surface seem to be unrelated. She always weaves them together with such skill that I’m as awed by the storytelling as I am by the story.

In this book, her newest release, grad student Kendra arrives at a cottage in the English Cotswolds to interview 93-year-old Isabel McFarland about her experiences during the London Blitz of World War II. But the interview takes a turn when Isabel reveals two secrets she’s been keeping for decades. Thus begins the story of Emmy Downtree, a teenager in 1940s London with dreams of opening a bridal shop. She’s the daughter of an unmarried mother with a younger half-sister she looks after. Just when Emmy glimpses a chance for her dream to come true someday, London’s children are evacuated to the countryside. Emmy and her sister Julia find refuge at Thistle House, but Emmy can’t let go of her dream. She plans a return to London on the very night the Blitz begins setting off a series of events that will alter her future and change the lives of those she loves.Thistle House

I couldn’t be exactly sure where the story was going or how it was going to turn out, which is one of Meissner’s storytelling strengths. She keeps the story moving in a way that’s hard to step away from. And this particular circumstance, children being separated from parents during a time of war, was one I didn’t know much about. It’s both heart-breaking and inspiring because it was true for thousands of families.

Are there secrets to living a charmed life? Emmy believes there are if she can only discover them. As Isabel tells the story, she presents Kendra with the same question. Though it’s not the interview she expects when she walks into the cottage, Kendra leaves with something far better.

You can’t go wrong with a Susan Meissner novel, and if you’re a fan of fiction set in World War II, this is a not-miss book.

And guess what? I get to give a FREE signed copy to one of you, (if you live in the U.S. or Canada) if you leave a comment on this post.

Tell me this in your comment:

What is one sacrifice you’ve had to make for your children or that your parents made for you?

(Could you send your kids away to the country for months, maybe years, if it meant they would live in safety? I don’t know!)

If that’s too deep then tell me your favorite World War II book, fiction or non-fiction, and why it’s your favorite.

I will choose one random winner on Tuesday, Feb. 3, the official release day of Secrets of a Charmed Life. Good luck to you!

And if you missed the interview with Susan from last week, click here to catch up!