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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What I Thought of The Tempering Agent

by Chautona Havig · 4 Comments

Victorville. 1981. My parents and I went to the movies just a few weeks before I turned eleven. They wanted to see Clash of the Titans.

It sounded boring to me.

I opted, instead, to see Raiders of the Lost Ark. Mom and Dad thought it sounded ridiculous. So, when we met up again outside the theater after the movie was over, guess who loved the movie and who didn’t. Yeah. My raving worked, though.

The next week, they went to see my movie—the one that made me fall in love with the idea of archeology.

Yeah, I wasn’t alone. Half the kids I knew went from aching to be missionaries to determined to be an archaeologist adventurer that summer.

In some ways, that dream never died. But, as I grew older, I learned to live it out in safer, cleaner, and more exciting ways—through books.

Egypt—the ancient tombs. Archaeologists. Intrigue. Suspense.

As I read the synopsis of The Tempering Agent, I knew I had to request this book to read and review.

What I Thought of The Tempering Agent

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What I thought of The Tempering Agent

As you can see from the synopsis, the concept of this story is fabulous. I loved the idea of a grieving woman working through that grief to find justice for her murdered fiancé as well as the new crimes that seem to be putting her in danger.

Unfortunately, the book didn’t live up to my hopes.

The Tempering Agent opened with a choice of words that made dating the book confusing, but I figured out it was contemporary soon enough. Little things bothered me—things like how Priscilla is a Brit, but she speaks with American syntax and diction. Inconsistencies in behavior and descriptions made things a bit difficult to swallow at times.

However, I have to give her props for usually keeping descriptions interesting, not overloaded, and without info-dumps. She also did an amazing job of writing a third book in a series without making you NEED the first two to understand it.  Not all authors try to do that, of course, but those who do rarely do it as well as this author did.  I didn’t even know there were more until I went to look up something.

Unfortunately, she does have her characters tell stories as if she’s writing them. At those times, there are unusual sentence structures and diction.

I wish that was all.

There is also a bit of repetitive telling, run-on sentences, and a few other editing issues. For those bothered by those things, you won’t be able to miss them. I purchased this book last night, so I’d suggest to the publisher to take another look at it.

The worst part of the book for me, however, was the romance. Now, I don’t usually read books for the romance, but the “Hi, I’m Donnie, and I’m going to flirt with you because I already decided that I like you.” Followed by the, “I’m in love after two meetings” from her… Ugh. It can work. It can. Sometimes “insta-love” is the point of a novel, but if you’re going to do it, just be upfront about it. And she didn’t. She wrote it as if it was normal to do that. And well, it’s not.

I really wanted to love The Tempering Agent, but by the 44% mark, if I hadn’t given my word, I probably wouldn’t have finished it.

For what it’s worth, I’d have missed some of the best parts of the book. A lot of the action was there and exciting, although one of the most exciting events happened off the page.

One of the strongest elements was the spiritual content in the book. Ms. Craine really did make most of her spiritual truths beautifully presented and without too much preachiness. And in one section, there was this little gem of a quote.

The Tempering Agent quote

Look, I’ve seen reviews for this book. A lot of people really liked it. A few others, like me, were frustrated by it. So, please. Check out the other reviews. I truly hope you enjoy it more than I did.

 

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Comments

  1. anxious58 says

    March 27, 2018 at 6:27 am

    Like the cover. Sounds like a good read.

    Reply
  2. Paula Shreckhise says

    March 26, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    Thanks for the heads up. I guess I have too many other books to read right now to take a chance on this one. The premise does look good. Thanks for an honest review.

    Reply
  3. Vicki Caine says

    March 26, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    Chautona, thank you for having me on your blog.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      March 26, 2018 at 3:40 pm

      Thank you so much for the opportunity to review your book. I forgot to mention that you did a fabulous job of making the third in a series not feel like it. I didn’t know it was a series until I went to look up more about them. I’ll go add that.

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 448: A Chat with Nancy Naigle
byChautona Havig

 I fell in love with Nancy’s writing with The Shell Collector. Imagine my joy when I discovered she has a SEQUEL! Eeep! Listen in and discover which characters you’ll find in To Light the Way Forward and what’s coming next for one of America’s favorite authors!

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

It’s been three years since Nancy and I had a chance to talk, and in that time, she’s been BUSY.  So in addition to falling in love with her character, Tug, and wanting to give him his own story, she’s written a small-town duet (and maybe we talked her into a third?) as well as a romcom duo!  Think we can talk her into a third of that series as well?  Because… SPOILER ALERT… we’re getting a third Shell Collector Series book, too! EEEP!

To Light the Way Forward by Nancy Naigle

A novel of overcoming deep loss, taking risks, and learning that life—and love—often surprises you when you least expect it, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Shell Collector. “Bringing to life characters you can’t help but fall in love with, Nancy Naigle goes straight to the heart with this story of tragedy turned to triumph. A poignant reminder to never give up hope.”—Sheila Roberts, author of The Best Life Book Club Feeling adrift after the loss of her husband, Rosemary sets out to visit an old friend on Whelk’s Island, undeterred by the threat of a hurricane. Before the storm hits, she finds herself at Tug’s Diner where she quickly connects with the owner, Tug. But the storm destroys the diner, compounding Tug’s grief from losing his love the previous year. The longer Rosemary stays, the more she sees Tug’s deep sadness and resolves to help him. Together with Tug and friends Amanda and Paul, they all pitch in to help the close-knit community recover and rebuild. As Amanda and Paul reconnect after losing touch during the storm, their plans to take things slow seem increasingly impractical. While Rosemary and Tug help the young couple navigate their relationship, they also find themselves building a friendship that begins to restore them both. But can that friendship convince them that love is possible for anyone who’s willing to take a risk—even those who never hoped they’d find it again?

Learn more about Nancy on her WEBSITEand follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

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