Disillusioned

Disillusioned is Christian romantic suspense at its best, with plenty of suspense, a solid romance, and a very definite Christian theme. No, God doesn't forget us even when we forget about him. \\r\\n\\r\\nNikki is my favourite kind of fictional character-intelligent and savvy, but with a vulnerability behind her. And Kade was a great match, protective when he needed to be, but not controlling, and not protective to the point of belittling Nikki's talents. \\r\\n\\r\\nThe writing was excellent, especially the fast pace and the suspense. It was one of those novels you don't want to put down because you want to find out what happens next, but at the same time you suspect that what's coming might be a bit scary or unpleasant, so you want to put the book down. \\r\\n\\r\\nRecommended for Christian suspense fans. \\r\\n\\r\\nThanks to Waterfall Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

I was expecting to enjoy this novel much more than I did, based on previous books I have read by this author. The action starts from page one, with Nikki and her brother swamped by media as they leave the hospital Bobby has been recovering in. By the end of the chapter, they're running for their lives, and the action doesn't really let up until the end. But the whole story was weighed down by incessant telling, a tendency to explain the characters' motivations for everything they said and did, and a general lack of sophistication in the writing. The plot got cluttered by events that seemed to have something to do with the main plot, but turned out to be nothing more than convenient coincidences - convenient because they kept readers guessing and provided more suspenseful scenes. To me it felt more like author contrivance rather than a natural chain of events. There was also a very obvious example of the author failing to foreshadow something that was instrumental to the resolution. I suspect the omission was deliberate in order to keep the reader wondering how it could possibly work out for the good guys, but it felt like a cheap trick to keep the reader in suspense. The majority of the romantic tension came via the characters' thoughts, most of which were pretty clichd and even tending towards cheesy. A bit disappointing all round.