He knew there was a cost. He just didn’t know how great it’d be.
Gabriel Kelly returned to Russia for one reason—to bury his parents. After ten years in the United States, he hadn’t expected to return to his childhood home in the face of tragedy. However, after short days in Moscow, he begins to consider if the same call that cost his parents’ lives is now upon him.
Sofia Rykova’s dreams finally came true when she became a principal soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet. One night, though, an old crush walks back into her life, making her wonder if there is more to life than ballet. Gabe Kelly is just as she remembered, just as she longed for—yet religion stands between them.
Unknown to Gabe and Sofia, danger lurks closer than either would have guessed. The deaths of Gabe’s parents grow more suspicious by the day, and Gabe and Sofia are drawn into the midst of a plot neither can escape. Will obedience to God’s call—in spite of their fears and desires—result in a price too steep to bear?
Series: Grace Sufficient, book #1
My rating:
Gabriel Kelly returned to Russia for one reason—to bury his parents. After ten years in the United States, he hadn’t expected to return to his childhood home in the face of tragedy. However, after short days in Moscow, he begins to consider if the same call that cost his parents’ lives is now upon him.
Sofia Rykova’s dreams finally came true when she became a principal soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet. One night, though, an old crush walks back into her life, making her wonder if there is more to life than ballet. Gabe Kelly is just as she remembered, just as she longed for—yet religion stands between them.
Unknown to Gabe and Sofia, danger lurks closer than either would have guessed. The deaths of Gabe’s parents grow more suspicious by the day, and Gabe and Sofia are drawn into the midst of a plot neither can escape. Will obedience to God’s call—in spite of their fears and desires—result in a price too steep to bear?
Series: Grace Sufficient, book #1
My rating:
So, I have conflicted feelings over this one. On one hand, it's well-written and I enjoyed the narration, it has an excellent message, and is super, super clean. On the other hand...I'm waffling between 3 and 4 stars for various reasons (yes, it was well-written, but it also seemed to kinda drag on a bit). (I'll decide after, I write up the review, haha) Prepare for a long review, y'all. *sheepish grin* Let's dive in, shall we?
We start with Gabe Kelly, an American that grew up in Russia with his missionary parents, moved back to America for school and to start his career, but then has to go back to Russia after his parents' sudden and tragic deaths. He wasn't your typical lost-his-parents-and-blamed-God-so-he-walked-away-from-his-faith kinda guy; actually, he admirably stuck to his faith, despite the tears and the days that he felt like he couldn't handle the heartbreak. Gabe was really, really sweet, and I really liked his character. But, he was also...perfect. Perfect characters are kinda my pet peeve, y'all *hesitant smile* and while I did like Gabe, he was just...ever the gentlemen but never flawed. And that just kinda bugged me a bit.
Enter stage right: Sophia Rykov, ballerina (Get it? Stage right? Ballerina? *cackles*). Not a christian, But an old friend of Gabe's that never quite got over her childhood crush. Cute, right? (It was cute.) I've never personally had any experience with ballet, but I actually loved reading about it and the pointe shoes (you know those tiny elements in books that you like reading about because they're just sooooo satisfying for absolutely no apparent reason? Pointe shoes, y'all). And I could practically feel the sweat glistening on my forehead as she pirouetted her way through Romeo and Juliet with Evgeny (I actually really liked that dude). Her ankle injury also just really added to it, as it was well done and wasn't glossed over like so many injuries in fiction.
Speaking of injuries, I can't say too much without giving spoilers away, buuuut there was also another major injury in the book that I feel, though I'm definitely no medical expert, was also well-done. A gunshot wound that immobilized the victim's arm, caused nerve damage, and essentially rendered the arm useless. I really, really, really appreciated the fact that the author didn't suddenly have him back to full health within a week, or having him use the arm with superhuman-like strength when danger lurked. The dude was mortal and couldn't a whole lot without needing a break and I just...yes. The injuries were superb (wow, look, my priorities are incredible).
As far as characters go, I'd say that Daniil was my favorite. I loved his protective heart and his addiction to exercise (I'm not as committed as he is, but I could still relate and appreciate it). Such an epic dude. I also loved Sergei and Ana, and, of course, who could forget Gregor? The grumpy old codger is lovable, what can we say?
Sophia and Gabe together made a sweet couple, but obviously, it couldn't work because she wasn't a christian. This is a point brought up several times by Gabe and while I appreciated his struggle with his attraction toward her while holding back because he knew that they could never be together as long as she wasn't a christian...I also felt like it maybe should've been done a little be differently. I'm not just saying this because of personal preference; Gabe was strongly attracted to Sophie, but as he wasn't at first sure whether or not she shared his faith, he held back. And then when he found out for sure that she didn't, he first was disappointed, but then it was later stated that he didn't just want her to convert so he could have a relationship with her, but more importantly because she was a sinner that needed Jesus. And while I know that it wasn't intended to be an afterthought, it kinda seemed presented as one, honestly.
So, anyway, shall we talk about the message? I did like how clearly and concisely the salvation message was put...but (there's always a 'but', isn't there?) the book was...kinda preachy. This isn't generally something I'd dock points for (don't get me wrong—I'm all for a strong message), but honestly, it was hard for me to get through some of it because, even though I've grown up around and am used to all the lingo used (hello, baptist here), it was...a lot. And it kinda made me feel disconnected to the story and characters. I felt like the message could've been mixed in better, and I think it's partly because of this that it took me two months to read it. (granted, this was definitely not the only reason it took me that long—I just didn't do a whole lot of reading over the past couple of months—buuuut it partially contributed.)
And, lastly, I'll talk about the suspense. It wasn't a mystery; as a reader, you'll know very quickly who the villain is. But I thought it was extremely well done in how oblivious the characters were; they weren't just ignorant of what was in front of their noses—there was genuinely just nothing to point to the culprit. He was very careful in his methods, and while there were a couple of things that could've clued in our protagonists, since they had no reason to believe he was the bad guy, there was no reason for them to think anything of it. So tthat was done really well. And y'all already know that I loved all the injuries. (That climax toward the end? Superb. Slightly drawn-out, but still superb. Definitely had me hooked.)
So. After typing all of that up (and editing it to make it shorter...sorry, guys, didn't work very well *cough*), I'll land on three stars. This book is perfect for people that love a super clean Christian romance with a good dose of suspense and a very strong message, just not totally my thing. I'm definitely planning to try more from this author in the future, though!
We start with Gabe Kelly, an American that grew up in Russia with his missionary parents, moved back to America for school and to start his career, but then has to go back to Russia after his parents' sudden and tragic deaths. He wasn't your typical lost-his-parents-and-blamed-God-so-he-walked-away-from-his-faith kinda guy; actually, he admirably stuck to his faith, despite the tears and the days that he felt like he couldn't handle the heartbreak. Gabe was really, really sweet, and I really liked his character. But, he was also...perfect. Perfect characters are kinda my pet peeve, y'all *hesitant smile* and while I did like Gabe, he was just...ever the gentlemen but never flawed. And that just kinda bugged me a bit.
Enter stage right: Sophia Rykov, ballerina (Get it? Stage right? Ballerina? *cackles*). Not a christian, But an old friend of Gabe's that never quite got over her childhood crush. Cute, right? (It was cute.) I've never personally had any experience with ballet, but I actually loved reading about it and the pointe shoes (you know those tiny elements in books that you like reading about because they're just sooooo satisfying for absolutely no apparent reason? Pointe shoes, y'all). And I could practically feel the sweat glistening on my forehead as she pirouetted her way through Romeo and Juliet with Evgeny (I actually really liked that dude). Her ankle injury also just really added to it, as it was well done and wasn't glossed over like so many injuries in fiction.
Speaking of injuries, I can't say too much without giving spoilers away, buuuut there was also another major injury in the book that I feel, though I'm definitely no medical expert, was also well-done. A gunshot wound that immobilized the victim's arm, caused nerve damage, and essentially rendered the arm useless. I really, really, really appreciated the fact that the author didn't suddenly have him back to full health within a week, or having him use the arm with superhuman-like strength when danger lurked. The dude was mortal and couldn't a whole lot without needing a break and I just...yes. The injuries were superb (wow, look, my priorities are incredible).
As far as characters go, I'd say that Daniil was my favorite. I loved his protective heart and his addiction to exercise (I'm not as committed as he is, but I could still relate and appreciate it). Such an epic dude. I also loved Sergei and Ana, and, of course, who could forget Gregor? The grumpy old codger is lovable, what can we say?
Sophia and Gabe together made a sweet couple, but obviously, it couldn't work because she wasn't a christian. This is a point brought up several times by Gabe and while I appreciated his struggle with his attraction toward her while holding back because he knew that they could never be together as long as she wasn't a christian...I also felt like it maybe should've been done a little be differently. I'm not just saying this because of personal preference; Gabe was strongly attracted to Sophie, but as he wasn't at first sure whether or not she shared his faith, he held back. And then when he found out for sure that she didn't, he first was disappointed, but then it was later stated that he didn't just want her to convert so he could have a relationship with her, but more importantly because she was a sinner that needed Jesus. And while I know that it wasn't intended to be an afterthought, it kinda seemed presented as one, honestly.
So, anyway, shall we talk about the message? I did like how clearly and concisely the salvation message was put...but (there's always a 'but', isn't there?) the book was...kinda preachy. This isn't generally something I'd dock points for (don't get me wrong—I'm all for a strong message), but honestly, it was hard for me to get through some of it because, even though I've grown up around and am used to all the lingo used (hello, baptist here), it was...a lot. And it kinda made me feel disconnected to the story and characters. I felt like the message could've been mixed in better, and I think it's partly because of this that it took me two months to read it. (granted, this was definitely not the only reason it took me that long—I just didn't do a whole lot of reading over the past couple of months—buuuut it partially contributed.)
And, lastly, I'll talk about the suspense. It wasn't a mystery; as a reader, you'll know very quickly who the villain is. But I thought it was extremely well done in how oblivious the characters were; they weren't just ignorant of what was in front of their noses—there was genuinely just nothing to point to the culprit. He was very careful in his methods, and while there were a couple of things that could've clued in our protagonists, since they had no reason to believe he was the bad guy, there was no reason for them to think anything of it. So tthat was done really well. And y'all already know that I loved all the injuries. (That climax toward the end? Superb. Slightly drawn-out, but still superb. Definitely had me hooked.)
So. After typing all of that up (and editing it to make it shorter...sorry, guys, didn't work very well *cough*), I'll land on three stars. This book is perfect for people that love a super clean Christian romance with a good dose of suspense and a very strong message, just not totally my thing. I'm definitely planning to try more from this author in the future, though!
*I received an e-copy of this book from the author for promotional purposes. All thoughts are my own.
Will I ever learn to write short reviews? Maybe. Probably not.
Great review, Kaitlyn!! I also think there’s a fine line for Christian fiction to be too “preachy.” On one hand, you want the message to be solid, but at the same time, you don’t want to feel like you’re reading a self-help book. Lol. The right amount of faith content can be awesome tho. Some of my favorite fictional books have given me great food for thought! <3
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