Book Review: Malicious Intent by Lynn H. Blackburn

Dr. Ivy Collins, founder and CEO of Hedera, Inc., is ready to begin clinical trials of her company's cutting-edge prosthetic. Her work has been heralded by government, medical, and advocacy groups and everyone hopes the device will be a success. Well, almost everyone. Someone is trying to sabotage Hedera and the launch, but to what purpose—and how far will they go to get what they want?

Meanwhile, U.S. Secret Service Agent Gil Dixon can't believe he's finally been reunited with Ivy, his childhood best friend. Now that he's found her again, Gil intends to spend the rest of his life with her. But it will take all his skill to uncover the truth in time to save Ivy's life's work, her own life, and the innocent lives caught in the crossfire.

Perfectly balancing chilling suspense and uplifting romance, award-winning author Lynn H. Blackburn delivers a story of revenge, greed, and overcoming that you won't want to put down no matter how late it gets.

Series: Defend and Protect, Book #2 (could be read as a standalone)

My rating:

I loved book 1, so duh, of course I'm going to request the sequel to review! Unfortunately, I didn't love this book as much as the first, but it was still enjoyable and kept me on my toes.

First of all, I loved getting back into the lives of these characters. Zane, Gil, Luke, Faith, Tessa...I adore these folks. There didn't seem to be as much banter in this book, though, which was a huge disappointment after book 1. 

I enjoyed Gil's character, and his interactions with everyone, and the way he fiercely loved and protected both Ivy and his sister, but honestly, the only character growth I noticed was him reconciling with the past, and learning how to interact with Ivy. While this could be argued that this was the only character arc he needed, I personally believe that it just...fell flat.

And then let's talk about Ivy, shall we? Super intelligent, emotionally strong (but at her breaking point because who wouldn't be after being tortured with a curling iron), and very sweet. But again, there's no...depth to her character? Like Gil, she has to reconcile with the past and learn to know Gil again. The most inner conflict we see is stress because people are trying to kill her—which is definitely conflict, don't get me wrong, I just...I don't know how to put it into words, haha!

I guess the best way to say it is that it's definitely a plot-driven story...but not really a character driven story. Which is okay, as long as you still love the characters and the plot keeps you involved. But it just...fell very flat for me.

This is a short review (for me), buuuuut honestly, that pretty much sums it up. I enjoyed it, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a clean romantic suspense novel (I didn't mind the romance, it was just pretty meh) with a good message (they trusted God, prayed, all that good stuff, and it was actually very good), I just personally didn't find myself super attached to the story, even during the suspenseful parts.

(And I think the name Daniel is absolutely epic. #iykyk)

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (this has absolutely nothing to do with anything in this post, I just didn't know what to put here)

Book Review: The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron

A prima ballerina. Two American medics. And a young Jewish girl with no name . . . At the height of the Nazi occupation of Rome, an unlikely band of heroes comes together to save Italian Jews in this breathtaking World War II novel based on real historical events.

Rome, 1943. With the fall of Italy’s Fascist government and the Nazi regime occupying the streets of Rome, British ballerina Julia Bradbury is stranded and forced to take refuge at a hospital on Tiber Island. But when she learns of a deadly sickness that is sweeping through the quarantine wards—a fake disease known only as Syndrome K—she is drawn into one of the greatest cons in history. Alongside hospital staff, friars of the adjoining church, and two Allied medics, Julia risks everything to rescue Italian Jews from the deadly clutches of the Holocaust. But when one little girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina arrives at their door, Julia and the others are determined to reunite the young dancer with her family—if only she would reveal one crucial secret: her name.

Present Day. With the recent loss of her grandfather—a beloved small-town doctor and WWII veteran—Delaney Coleman returns home to help her aging parents, even as she struggles to pick up the pieces of her own life. When a mysterious Italian woman claims she owns one of the family’s precious heirlooms, Delaney is compelled to uncover what’s true of her grandfather’s hidden past. Together with the woman’s skeptical but charming grandson, Delaney learns of a Roman hospital that saved hundreds of Jewish people during the war. Soon, everything Delaney thought she knew about her grandfather comes into question as she wrestles with the possibility that the man she’d revered all her life had unknown ties to Rome and may have taken noble secrets to his grave.

Based on true accounts of the invented Syndrome K sickness, The Italian Ballerina journeys from the Allied storming of the beaches at Salerno to the London ballet stage and the war-torn streets of WWII Rome, exploring the sometimes heart-wrenching choices we must make to find faith and forgiveness, and how saving just one life can impact countless others.

My rating:

This book hooked me from page one—and I mean hooked me. As soon as I started reading, I knew that there was no turning back or giving in to reading slumps with this one. The writing style is amazing and I cannot wait to read more books by this author.

(also can we take a moment to appreciate that BEAUTY OF A COVER.)

I'll start by talking about the historical part.

I fell head over heels for Court. I just...yes. So much yes. His sense of duty, his perseverance, his stubbornness...and the fact that he got injured. *cough* Maybe it also had something to do with the fact that he was a seriously flawed character and had to do what it would take to become respectable. I don't know. All I know is that Court was amazing and that he was my favorite, if you hadn't figured it out by now. I also loved Julia. Love love loved Julia. Loved her dedication, her commitment, and her courage to do what was right even when her legs threatened to give out from shaking so badly. Calla was adorable and rightly had everyone wrapped around her little finger. And then there's AJ, the sweetest guy ever, and one that will hold nearly as large a place in my heart as Court.

The plot was amazing. I mean, really—Syndrome K, two combat medics, a little Jewish girl, and a ballerina determined to make a difference just...floored me. I genuinely cannot say enough good about this plot line.

The other plot lines, though, are what docked it a star for me. Yes, I said plot lines. Plural. If it would've just been a dual timeline plot, that would've been fine; I'm not crazy about it, but if it's done well, I enjoy a good dual-timeline story. But this book incorporated three or four timelines, plus at least four different points of view. Three of those timelines are in the past; one is in the present. Honestly, it was just very confusing at first, and took me a bit to keep them all separate in my mind.

(also, Anton is a jerk and I cannot stand him.)

My favorite timeline, if you haven't figured it out by now, is when the majority of our cast of characters (aka Court, AJ, Calla, and Julia) are all together. I just...yes. *chef's kiss*

Court's point of view from pre-war was epic and gave good insight and made me love Penn and get annoyed with—yet respect—his father.

Julia's point of view from pre-war (and at the beginning of their traveling), again, gave good insight, but at this point I got sick and tired of Anton, and I was getting weary of all of the backstory. (if all of this had been put in the book in chronological order, it would've been fine, but I got sooo tired of jumping back and forth.)

The present-day POV...well...I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, I loved Del, and Matteo, and Italy, and everything. On the other hand, I usually found myself disappointed when I turned the page and saw a chapter with the heading "present day." We all obviously have our favorite points of view and are eager to get back to them, but I just...this one had me hooked in some places, and had me rolling my eyes at others because while I really enjoyed the characters, I didn't love the romance; I felt like the story could've been done just as well without it. (Though all the history nerds will disagree with me because of Del and Matteo's ancestors, but I digress.) I liked reading about the characters peeling back each layer of the mystery, but I also felt a sense of disappointment the original characters weren't there to tell them the story.

One last thought, though, before I end this super disjointed review: there's a plot twist at the end of the book that had me s h o o k. Like, I was NOT expecting that and IT MADE ME NOT OKAY AND I'M STILL REELING. Like...just GO READ THE BOOK SO YOU CAN SCREAM ABOUT IT WITH ME because if I talk about it anymore I'm going to give away spoilers. So.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Have you read a Kristy Cambron book? Which one would you recommend I read next?