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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Is the Coast Guard the Red-Headed Stepchild of the Military?

by Chautona Havig · 3 Comments

The Killing Tide has a lot going for it, but one thing I really loved most was seeing a lesser-featured branch of our military in the spotlight. via @chautonahavig

I know where I was the day I learned about the Coast Guard, although I don’t actually know how old I was.  Dad was driving me to school along Olivas Park Drive.  Just after we passed the Olivas Adobe, whatever he was saying clicked.  Something about having an honorable discharge… from the Coast Guard. As far as I knew to that point, we had four branches of military, but if what Dad was saying was what I thought he said… We had five?  Really?

You know, to this day, I hear people talking about the military… and rarely do I ever hear the Coast Guard mentioned.

Of course, when Dani Pettrey’s book, The Killing Tide became available for review, I was ready just because of her name and that gorgeous cover.  When I learned that the book was the first in the series about the Coast Guard, well… I had to request a copy, didn’t I?

And when my mom read it and said, “Yeah.  That one was good,” I couldn’t wait to read it.  I had one question in mind…

the killing tide review

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Is the Coast Guard the Redheaded Stepchild of the Military?

You’d think so with the way it’s often overlooked in books about our military forces, but Dani Pettrey plunges us into a whirlwind of a story featuring both Coast Guard heroes and a dedicated journalist who wields words instead of weapons to keep our country safe. Am I connected with this series?  Will I be reading all the books?  Oh yeah.

Still, I have mixed emotions about this particular book.  It wasn’t the home-run I expected.

Why?  Well…

The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing on The Killing Tide.

The good:

I’ve never read anything by Danni Pettrey before, but man can this woman write.  Seriously, she kept me on the edge of my seat even in parts that weren’t… amazing.  She knows suspense, she knows mystery, and she’s not afraid to write real characters that do real amazing and stupid things.

The settings were stellar; the pacing, off the charts.  By the time I got just a few chapters in, I knew.  This was a series I’d follow all the way through.

That said… there’s…

The bad:

This will sound contradictory, but Pettrey wrote some seriously compelling bad guys.  I LOVED hating her bad guys.  I mean, isn’t that one of the benefits of fiction?  It’s not a sin to hate someone who doesn’t exist?  Catharsis, baby!  But then bad guy turns… stupid?  I mean, at the end of the book, all the brilliant bad guy-ness is just conveniently inadequate to the task.  Or, anyway, that’s how it seemed to me.  It felt that rather than the good guys out-smarting the bad guys, the bad guys just got tired and lazy.  How convenient.  As much as I hate saying that, it’s true. Like I said to start off, she wrote COMPELLING BAD GUYS.  I just wished they’d stayed compelling.  It would have meant the “good guy triumph,” had some real teeth to it instead of, “Oh, how convenient. We won.”  That’s how it felt.  🙁

But then there was Gabby.  What did Finn see in her?  What are we supposed to see in her?  Because, frankly, until the very end, there’s almost nothing to like about her. She claims to care about her family and not want them hurt, but then she seriously makes every possible decision she can to ensure they are put in danger.  Her job matters more than the people she claims to love most–and that began before the story began.  You know, back when she dumped Finn for a job.

Look, I don’t mind unlikeable characters.  However, I need a reason for them to be unlikeable, and I really need a reason to change my opinion.  Unfortunately, I just wasn’t given one.  In this book. Maybe throughout the series, that’ll change.  I really hope so.

The confusing:

I was confused in chapter two.  Right off the bat.  We have heroine showing up and… who are all these people?  What connection to the story?  Why do I care about–wait, what just happened?

Mostly, it had to do with lots of people showing up all at once and no idea who they were for pages upon pages.

Seriously, though. If that was all I saw, I might have ignored it.  I mean, it happens.  And sometimes, you just need to get your cast on the page and let them introduce themselves as it fits.  I get that.

However, because of her personality, I’m still confused about what Finn saw in her.  I want to love them together.  I just… don’t.

That said, I am not sorry I requested and received a free review copy, and I am definitely planning to read the rest of the series. I’m just certain it’s going to be great.  As far as this book goes, I enjoyed most of the story.  It’s better than most suspense out there, and I recommend it for readers who love suspense, enjoy military suspense, and like complex characters who don’t fit perfect little boxes.  Danni Pettrey’s The Killing Tide will keep readers glued to the page to find out what comes next, and isn’t that the best part of suspense?

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Comments

  1. James Robert says

    June 30, 2020 at 12:17 am

    Thanks much for sharing your book and a giveaway. Sounds great!

    Reply
  2. James Robert says

    June 29, 2020 at 12:24 am

    I appreciate getting to hear about your book. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  3. Amelia says

    June 27, 2020 at 10:08 am

    Thanks for sharing! I love Dani’s books and I can’t wait to read The Crushing Depths!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
byChautona Havig

To Love a Viking by Heather Day Gilbert and Jen Cudmore has been released, and I got to chat with them about it last week. Guys, this series!  If the Christian influence on Viking history isn’t enough, what about adventure, fight scenes, and romance that won’t make you blush? How about that a damsel is in distress and… gets rescued by another woman instead of the stereotypical DUDE! Listen in!

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

Are You Ready for an Exciting New Viking Series from 2 Great Authors?

 

One of the biggest surprises I recall from researching books by different authors was that the cozy mystery and suspense author I liked and respected, Heather Day Gilbert, had also written historical Viking books! I made the erroneous assumption that they were romance and skipped them (for the time being… I knew I’d read them some day), and then something happened.

A few months ago, I saw this cover.  With Heather’s name on it.  And some other gal I hadn’t heard of–Jen Cudmore.  What is this deliciousness?  The cover was AMAZING… not stereotypical nor was it inauthentic.  It was just GOOD (not to mention gorgeous) and with the Celtic frame (the Vikings did go over to Scotland/Ireland after all), I just felt like it hit all the sweet spots.

Well… the book is here, folks.  And I’ve got a copy in my hot little hands.  No, really. It’s July. And I live in the desert.  My hands are totally hot and in totally all the wrong ways. Just throwin’ that out there.

Anyway, Heather and Jen chatted with me about To Love a Viking, and oh my!  This book sounds fabulous. We know Viking women were strong. Even those that weren’t warriors had to survive Nordic winters. Ergo, strong.  But what about strong enough to build a new society with people they’d once fought against. Oh, and rescue a damsel in distress #BecauseYeah!

I’m ready to dive in to To Love a Viking myself, and I hope you’ll grab a copy, too. It promises to be incredible.

To Love a Viking by Heather Day Gilbert and Jen Cudmore

Get swept up in an enthralling new romance series featuring women who rule the hearts of Viking men.

ELLISIF Forced into a financially advantageous marriage that spirals into a nightmare, Ellisif cannot help but imagine what might have been and ache for what was lost. The only lights in her life are her daughters and the friendships she’s forged with the household servants.

Though seven years have passed since Ellisif wed another man, Dagar still cannot forget the woman who captured his youthful heart. As the Viking warrior battles for his country’s future, he finds himself entangled in a personal war for Ellisif’s freedom that could cost his family their reputation and standing with the king. If he risks all, can he save the woman whose face still haunts his dreams? And if given another chance, will she choose him?

INARA Escaped slave Inara is determined to start a new life. Under the guidance of warrior and shipbuilder Håkon, her sword skill grows, as does her confidence that the Viking men will accept her as a warrior in her own right.

When she is selected to lead a perilous rescue mission to protect Ellisif, Inara finds herself blindsided by feelings for Håkon…and by threats to her freedom far closer than she feared. As dreams and desires collide, she wrestles against the lies holding her captive. Can she conquer her doubts before all that she’s hoped for slips from her hands?

Written by award-winning historical author Heather Day Gilbert and fresh voice Jen Cudmore, two love stories entwine in this sweeping Viking-era romance, the first novel in the Tavland Vikings series.

You can find out more about the series and the authors on Heather’s WEBSITE.

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Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
July 1, 2022
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Episode 154: A Chat with Romantic Suspense Author, Sami A. Abrams
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Episode 151: A Chat with Christian Romance Author, Carrie Padgett
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Episode 150: A Chat with Mystery/Thriller Author, Steven C Harms
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