Wednesday, February 3, 2010

CFBA Tour and Book Review: Beguiled by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand





This week, the




Christian Fiction Blog Alliance




is introducing




Beguiled




(Bethany House March 1, 2007)




by




Deeanne Gist




and







J. Mark Bertrand


ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Deeanne Gist, the bestselling author of A Bride Most Begrudging and The Measure of a Lady, has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People magazine, Parents, and Parenting. With a line of parenting products called "I Did It!® Productions" and a degree from Texas A&M, she continues her writing and speaking. She and her family live in Houston, Texas.




J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her... Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston's wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.

Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything. As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Beguiled, go HERE

Check out their video:



My thoughts:
I've never been disappointed in anything I've read by Deeanne Gist. Every book I've read by her has always gotten a 5-star rating simply because I am incapable of putting her books down! I have to keep reading them....even if I should be doing other things. :o)

Well, Beguiled did not disappoint one bit, and I didn't mind that it wasn't Deeanne's usual historical fiction. Placing the story in Charleston, SC with all it's own personal history made up for it being written as a contemporary novel. Also, the fact that the book was a mystery helped me enjoy it even more, and it began right in the very first chapter....wow! There was no worrying with trying to get into the story at all because it just takes off on its own with very little build-up, character development, etc. Those things came into the picture gradually throughout the book, and it was just one more reason why I couldn't put it down.

The only qualm I had with this book was some of the conversation in the beginning. There were a few places where it seemed to be very clipped and stilted, which I can only contribute to Mark Bertrand's style of writing since I've never noticed that with Deeanne's. After awhile, it started to fade away, and the dialog began to flow much more naturally.

This is one book that you can't go wrong with even if you've never read a single Deeanne Gist book. Don't get me wrong--her historical fiction is second to none, but it's always nice to see an author go outside their norm every now and then and write something different. I would love to see this author combination again, particularly if they choose another location that is rich with history like Charleston.

5 Stars

Southern?  Yes
Sass?  No

**This book was provided to me by the publisher for free to review.

4 comments:

  1. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I hope they are busy writing more books!

    I see you read Love Finds you in North Pole Alaska. I'm reading it now. This is first time the word "sweet romance" has ever popped in my mind. Normally, I wouldn't read a sweet romance, but this one I like.

    P.S. Do you like the LinkWithin feature?

    ReplyDelete
  2. CeeCee~

    I thoroughly enjoyed North Pole, and everything I've ever read by Loree has always been a fun read. Her books are so full of personality...you can't help but love them! :o)

    As for LinkWithin...it's okay. I find that half the time, the links that are posted are not even remotely relevant to the posts they're connected to. I may end up getting rid of it, but I haven't decided yet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is on my desk now, and I'm anxious to see how I'll like it. Thanks for the great review and the video.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lee~

    If you like Deeanne's other books, I think you'll enjoy this one, too. :o)

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments!! They make me happier than cold sweet tea on a hot summer day! :o)