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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Sometimes the Second Time Is the Charm

by Chautona Havig · 7 Comments

In the Cradle Lies offers geneology, mystery, and a blend of historical and contemporary fiction in one, impossible-to-put-down book. Can't wait for the next. via @chautonahavig

“Wait, you didn’t like the first book so you asked to read the next one in the series?”

Look, I get it. My mother’s incredulity fit.  Who does that, anyway?

Apparently, I do.  I tried to explain. “I knew before I finished the last book that I would be reading the next.  The author is excellent with words, I loved this historical part of the story, and I loved the genealogical premise. I think it just took a bit of work to kick it off well.”

Still, I had a tiny bit of trepidation as I grabbed my book and hiked off to Denny’s for a good read and a book review.  I had to go back in for my box of Kleenex.

Yes, I am sick (sinus infection). No, it is not appropriate to spend your night at a restaurant when you’re sick.  Thankfully, Thursday nights at Denny’s are pretty dead, and I knew they’d keep folks far away from me.  I needed that distance from home so I wouldn’t be tempted to give up and crawl in bed.

Just keepin’ it real.

With a glass of Coke in one hand and a Kleenex in the other, I began reading.  For the record, you don’t want to borrow that book.  Or, if you do, spray it with Lysol first.  You’ve been warned.

Never has not plowing through a book from beginning to end been more difficult.  I kept reading and reading… until my sinuses said, “NO MORE.”

I looked at the clock.  It was only 2:00.  For me, that’s FOUR MORE HOURS until bedtime.  Oh, and get this.  I was only on chapter twelve.  I’d been reading for three hours.  The book should have been done.  But I was only on there????

That’s when I realized that I’d never make it.

I’m sitting here with my eyes barely open, my nose is threatening to put Ridgecrest on the map for volcanic eruptions now, and I’m trying to tell you guys why you want to read this book that I haven’t even finished yet.  #becausefiction

In the Cradle Lies review

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Sometimes the Second Time Is the Charm

One of the best things about a great premise and a series is that if one of the books doesn’t do it for you, the next just might.  While I didn’t love The Inn at Hidden Run like I wanted to, I loved the premise and the author’s writing.  Something told me that the next book would knock it out of the park.

In one of those rare, lovely times that I enjoy so much… I was right.

In the Cradle Lies corrects everything that I didn’t love about the first book as well as standing alone as a great story period.  I sat glued to every page and wanted more even when I had to put it down to get that important little thing we sometimes call “sleep.”

Excellent characterization, interesting plot lines, and dual-time story that keeps you riveted to every page, there really isn’t too much to quibble with.

If I had to find any fault (and I may amend this review later to reflect this) it would be that it has a similar root to the first book’s story.  Additionally, the spiritual element dances along the lines of someone being “good at heart” when Scripture makes it clear none of us are good at all.  Still, I get what the author meant by that, and I chose to see that–that people sometimes make decisions that aren’t right because in the moment, they think it is the right option.  It’s a fact of life, not the author’s recommendation for how to behave.  She showed it well.

Tucker is a bit melodramatic, much like Meri in the first book was, but this one it seemed to fit more somehow.  I don’t know. It just didn’t bother me like it did in the first.  I’m thrilled to have requested a free review copy, to have read it, can’t wait for the next, and recommend it for anyone who loves light romance, a good mystery, and dual-timeline stories.

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Comments

  1. Olivia Newport says

    December 13, 2019 at 7:35 am

    Thanks for giving the series a second chance. Hope you feel better.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      December 13, 2019 at 11:21 am

      So excited for the next!

      Reply
  2. Melissa Wenger says

    December 7, 2019 at 5:25 am

    I like a good suspenseful book as long as it’s not spooky enough to keep me up at night. This one sounds great!

    Reply
  3. James Robert says

    December 7, 2019 at 4:31 am

    Your book sounds like a great read and thank you for sharing it with us.

    Reply
  4. Emma says

    December 6, 2019 at 11:43 am

    I read this one a month or two ago, and could hardly put it down. Of course, I had most of Tucker’s mystery figured out long before the end, but loved seeing the changes in him and how everything was worked out.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      December 6, 2019 at 10:32 pm

      That’s exactly my experience. I think. 😉

      Reply
  5. Amelia says

    December 6, 2019 at 10:43 am

    Thanks for the review!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

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Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 231: A Chat with RomCom author, Shannon Sue Dunlap
byChautona Havig

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t new to rom-coms, and her first book in the Sweetheart Series promises to be a literary riot, and it lives up to that promise. I’m only halfway through it and am thinking mean, ugly thoughts of everything keeping me from being able to escape into the crazy small-town politics and quirky characters. So far the com far outweighs the rom, which makes me thrilled to bits. Listen in to discover what makes Lone Star Sweetheart so much fun.

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Why Did This Author Write a Rom-Com about a Loveable Shrew?

Well, I think we can safely blame Shakespeare for that. Shannon Sue Dunlap has taken inspiration from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in her Katherine, but unlike Katerina, Dunlap’s character is actually trying to learn to tame the tongue. Maybe someone should send her over to the book of James. There’s that whole bit about not being able to tame it, being an “unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

Kate’s isn’t that bad, but not for lack of trying. Or something.

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t joking when she says that her Katherine is a “loveable” shrew. Seriously, I love this character. She’s forthright, no-nonsense, and “what you see is what you get” in her approach to life. I respect that. Add to that her boss who has shaken up the town of Sweetheart, Texas, and you’ve got the makings of a great story. I’m loving Lone Star Sweetheart.

But this isn’t all Dunlap has written.

Under the pseudonym, Shannon Kent, you can find her sweet and clean romances (including one Christian romance) inspired by Korean dramas. If you said I’d be not only chomping to read a sweet and clean romance about Korean tour guides and all that entails but also ready to watch a Korean drama on Netflix… Okay, I might not have laughed in your face, but I’d’ve been laughing on the inside.

Best part… one of them ties into her Sweetheart Series

Lone Star Sweetheart by Shannon Sue Dunlap

Katherine Bruno’s passionate, unfiltered temper makes her the shrew of small-town Sweetheart, Texas. When she’s drafted to help the mayor’s wife run against her own husband, Katherine meets opposing big city political consultant Ryan Park. The good-looking, flirtatious campaign manager gets under her skin, but fraternizing with the enemy is off-limits.

Katherine must battle her lack of experience, campaign sabotage, and her growing feelings for Ryan as she strives to succeed. His unprejudiced acceptance of her strong-willed character beckons her heart, but his jaded rejection of God is an insurmountable barrier. Will Ryan return to his faith and stay with her in Sweetheart or leave when the election ends?

You can find out more about Shannon Sue Dunlap AND get that first novella in the Korean Crush series free on her WEBSITE.

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