Sometimes the Second Time Is the Charm

“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

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.