Weather the Storm is the book within this series that is not to be missed. Some heartbreaking news starts to fray the image of a perfect family. Lisa Mondello is one author that takes heartbreaking situations and creates stories centering around characters in situations that are prevalent throughout the world today. The feelings of denial, inadequacy and self blame at this moment could be happening to anyone who is dealing with similar circumstances. I received an ARC of Weather the Storm by Lisa Mondello in exchange for an honest review. Weather the Storm is a moving look at a family in crisis. ( )

3.5 Stars

This episode focuses mainly on Tara, Bryce and their family. Though Dakota has a few great scenes as well.

What I loved:
• Dakota's scenes were written fantastically. She was in perfect form in this book... for Dakota, that is.
• Some long awaited events are starting to unfold which is awesome.
• Mondello wrote Tara and Bryce well. I could feel that what they were going through and how it was taking a toll on their relationship and themselves personally as well.
• Also I enjoyed how this was dealt with.

What I liked less:
• This novella took me a while to read.. While overall it was good, I felt a lot of time was devoted to Tara and her mundane activities to get her mind off what she's dealing with. Personally, I didn't feel these activities needed to be written in as much detail as they were.

I am very excited to read (what I believe is) the last episode of the series! It has been a totally unique series for me and I recommend it.

** I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review **

Original review posted at: http://paragraphsandpetticoats.blogspot.ca/ ( )

Bryce Daniels, the pastor for all citizens of Storm has been a pillar of strength and guidance for all in his community. But now struggles to find balance in his faith in God and the reality of his life. Never having had a normal family or childhood, he is plagued by insecurity and tries to escape the troubles of his own family but focusing on the troubles of others. But he soon realizes that if he wants to save his family and be the kind of father he never had, he is going to have to faces his problems head on and he will have to ask for the help he so badly needs, before all is lost. A test of Faith of what he must face.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Emotional and touching story about a family dealing with a child with autism.

Opening Sentence: A bad night for EMT Patrick Murphy was when a call turned into a DOA.

The Review:

Weather the Storm is the penultimate book in Season One of the Rising Storm series. This installment was a much heavier and slower read than the other novellas in this series so far. The Autism storyline was very emotional and impactful. Even though reading this installment felt slow, some crazy stuff happens in this novel that makes reading this series so worth it.

This episode focuses heavily on a marriage that could be potentially falling apart. Bryce Douglas and Tara Douglas haven’t had much page time until now. Bryce and Tara have been growing distant from one another and from their own children. Their youngest child has been diagnosed with Autism. The entire family is having the deal with the impact of the diagnosis. Tara tries talking to her husband about it but he won’t give her the time of day. He keeps brushing her off. Tara has her family to fall back on but Bryce has a dark family secret that weighs heavily on him. Bryce is a minister and is having a hard time with his faith and himself in this dark time. I was amazed how this story played out. The author did a great job with conveying emotions and how to deal with Autism in such an educated way.

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe how this story ended, although I wasn’t surprised. I figured it would have been the Season One finale instead of the book before. No spoilers here, but I can’t wait to see how this plays out. It’s not going to be good for anyone in the town of Storm!

I think I found the first continuity issue with the series. Take the Storm ended with Marisol giving Patrick her decision, but at the beginning of Weather the Storm Patrick said he was still waiting on her decision. “The ball was in her court.” Or maybe he’s just still waiting for her to change her mind about her decision.

Weather the Storm was a deeply emotional journey. I wasn’t exactly happy with how people were treating each other but the emotional outcome was worth it. I can’t wait to read about the hurricane that is about to land in Storm, stuff is certainly going to be stirred up in the final novella in the Rising Storm series.

Notable Scene:

She sat on the sofa and lifted the curtain just enough to see if there were any cars coming into the lot. Nothing. Didn’t he know how much she needed him? Her arms ached for him now. Wasn’t it bad enough that Dakota didn’t have her daddy around to give her affection? Jacob was gone. She wasn’t going to lose Sebastian too.

Sebastian didn’t love his wife. He loved her. He’d proven it to her countless times. He hadn’t exactly said the words before. But he loved making love to her. Every time his gaze raked over her body, it made her tremble deep inside. He feasted on her like it was his last meal. She was his. How could a man do that if he wasn’t in love?

FTC Advisory: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc./InkSlinger PR provided me with a copy of Weather the Storm. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )