Terri Blackstock

I picked up If I Live, the third and final book in the If I Run series, expecting to only read a few chapters before putting it down for the night. I knew I shouldn't have started this book so close to bedtimes. Several hours passed and as I put my Kindle down all I could utter was, "Wow, now THAT is the way to end a series."

In March 2017 I read and reviewed the first book in the If I Run series. I was blown away and knew this series was going to be an incredible ride. Terri Blackstock has show more an amazing gift of pulling her readers in from the very beginning and If I Live is no exception. I fought to tear my eyes away from the pages, but I was instantly hooked, hungering to see how everything would turn out.

Casey Cox is on the run for her life, having been indicted for the murder of her best friend, Brent Pace, whom she found dead at the beginning of the series. Though she is innocent she continues to flee from the men who actually murdered Brent, and who now have their sights set on her. The twist is that the murderers are Louisiana detectives, making it easy for them to cover their tracks and commit the perfect murder, if they can only silence Casey for good.

Dylan Roberts is the detective that was hired by Brent's parents to find the fugitive. Dylan knows of Casey's innocence, and is working to not only keep them both safe, but to also help unveil the truth about the real killers.

You see the drama unfold through the eyes of both Casey and Dylan, and you also get to see part of the story through the eyes of the killer. Don't let the "clean and wholesome" tag fool you either. There is a lot of action and suspense, and quite a few times I was growling out loud in frustration at the direction of the story. I personally appreciated how the author included Casey's journey to discovering her faith throughout the action in the book and did not think that it took anything away from the story as a whole. I also enjoyed the little bit of a love story that was sprinkled in there as well.

If you like action-packed, page-turning goodness If I Live is the book for you! I would strongly urge you to read the first two books so that you can get a better feel for the back story, though the author does do a decent job of catching the reader up if you were to read this as a stand-alone book. If I could give more than five stars I would! The writing is exemplary and I promise if you pick up this book you will not be disappointed. show less

Smoke Screen is a story about Brenna Hertzog, a recently divorced mother of 2 young children, and Nate Beckett, a smokejumper who is recuperating from injuries sustained while fighting a fire. Nate returns home to the town of Carlisle, Colorado for some rest while he’s healing and is reunited with his former love, Brenna who in the midst of a custody battle with her ex-husband and his new, much younger wife. The two have a complicated past that has driven their families apart, and show more Brenna’s life seems to be spiraling out of control, until Nate steps in to remind her of her once-strong faith and of how strong she really is.
I really loved reading Smoke Screen. The story offers excitement, mystery, and unexpected twists, and it’s a touching example of second chances and redemption. I appreciated how the author incorporated Brenna’s struggle with alcohol, her need to medicate her pain, and Nate’s desire to help her, not enable her addiction, but also not be codependent and try to fix her. I found the struggle between Brenna and her ex-husband over the custody of the children to be especially compelling. As a mother, I could easily identify with Brenna’s need to protect her children at any cost. Overall, I felt the story was well-written and very enjoyable.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. show less

When you pick up a book and the first line is, "There's blood on the bottom of my shoes," you know it's going to be good. From the first sentence I was hooked and completely immersed myself in If I Run by Terri Blackstock so much that I finished it in one day. Yes, it's that good.

One of the biggest draws to this story is the writing. This is the first book I've ever read by Terri Blackstock and I promise you it won't be the last. She is a wonderful writer! By the time you read the first show more paragraph you are intrigued. I found myself craving to know more about this character. Who is Casey Cox? Why she is at a crime scene? Why is she washing blood off her hands? Who's blood is it? Did Casey Cox commit this crime?

Since If I Run is written from Casey's point of view, it really draws you into her dire situation. At first you don't know what to think (did she really do what she's accused of?) but as the story progresses the truth begins to emerge and things are not what they seem. Dylan Roberts is the other first-person point of view in the story. Dylan is hired to find out the truth and bring justice to his best friend's family but the more he digs the more he realizes that he might be after the wrong person.

What really spoke to me about this story was how true to life it was. This could really happen to any of us which is a scary thought that sticks with you throughout the story. The character development is also wonderful! You fall in love with Dylan and Miss Lucy, the Godly older woman that befriends Casey, and you start to hate the people that you realize are responsible for this entire ordeal.

I couldn't put this book down even if I had wanted to! You feel what Casey feels all the way up to the end which had my heart-pounding. Incredible writing!

This book is part of a series but if you choose to read If I Run as a standalone book I don't think you would be disappointed. The main story line is not quite finished but there is a subplot that has resolution. I think if the author would've left the subplot a cliffhanger I would've been less satisfied. Still, I would recommend picking up the sequel, If I'm Found which was just released March 21st, to see what happens to Casey Cox. I do plan on picking it up myself. I want to see if Casey Cox is ever found! show less

I was looking forward to a feel-good Christmas romance, even welcoming some sap and cheesiness. What I got was a sad story with an emotionless romance and flat characters.

The book goes back and forth between Finn's and Sydney's 1st-person points of view, which I still don't really get, but realize might just be Terri Blackstock's style (the other book of hers that I read was like this too). Fortunately, most of the time it was from Finn's POV, because at least him I could stand. His show more characterization was weak, as the type of person I thought he was supposed to be didn't jive with how he talked and acted in the 2nd half of the book. But Sydney barely had any characterization. She was a weak female stereotype, despite stating once near the end that she wasn't the weak type. But she let everyone walk all over her, and everything happened to her. She didn't do much of anything herself.

Callie would have been my favorite character, as a cheerful, friendly woman who believed so strongly in God and Heaven that her only regret about dying some day was that her granddaughter would be alone. Except that she tended to say really mean things about other people, things that were laughed off because she's just an old lady with no filter (fat shaming, for example). On a positive note, I would love to pass on the kind of legacy that Callie strives to, pointing others to the God that I serve even in casual interactions.

I don't read pure romance novels all that often because, though I love a good romance, I prefer subtle, slow builds, and of course in a romance novel, the genre itself tells you that the male and female MCs are going to end up together. I'm okay with that to a point, but that makes it too easy for the author to get lazy. So yes, it's clear that Finn and Sydney are destined to end up together, but at least make it make sense! They barely had any interaction in the first half of the book, and the romance that developed between them made no sense and was flatly written.

Between the cute cover, the promise of a "feel-good Christmas book" and the other Blackstock book I read being pretty good (Smoke Screen), I was excited about this one. Unfortunately, I feel like I wasted some of my limited Christmas reading time on this book. Thankfully, it was short. I wouldn't really recommend this book to others, but if you don't have a problem with the issues I mentioned above and are looking for a Christian romance, you may want to give it a try. show less