Series Finale that Got it Wrong

By Kelly Bridgewater

Every read a book that was so fabulous that you honestly could not wait to get your hand on the second, third, or even fourth book. BUT when you actually read the book, it did not live up to the previous book in the series. Today, I am going to share some books that I loved the first or second book in the series, but the ending of the series did not capture my attention as much as I hoped it would. (All covers and synopsis come from Goodreads.)

Blood Secrets by Morgan Busse

The Last Con by Zachary Bartels

Deadly Shallows by Dani Pettrey

The Blue Diamond by Leonard Goldberg

The Mozart Code by Rachel McMillan

Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund

How about you? Ever come across a final book in a series that just did not live up to the hype. 

Jody Hedlund: Never Leave Me

 By Kelly Bridgewater

In the last stages of a genetic disease, Ellen Creighton has decided to live out her remaining days at the estate of her longtime friend Harrison Burlington. Harrison cares deeply for Ellen, but as a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, he's never allowed himself to get serious in a relationship. However, he's desperately trying to save her by finding the holy water that is believed to heal any disease.

When he locates two flasks, Ellen refuses to drink one of them because she believes the holy water killed her sister and father. In an effort to convince her to take it, Harrison ingests the contents first, and when Ellen witnesses the effects, she can no longer deny the power of the substance in the bottles. Dangerous criminals are also seeking the holy water, and Ellen soon learns they will go to any lengths to get the powerful drug--including sending her back into the past to find it for them.

 

My Thoughts:

Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund is a unique time travel novel while hunting for Holy Water. I believe characters should read the first book Come Back to Me or much of this story would be hard to follow. While the story does continue the first story and feature the same main characters, the plot pretty much mirrors the first story. A forced marriage. Confused about deciding what time period to live in. While the first novel does feature more sexual tension than this novel, there is some of it, but not as much as in the first novel. While the story is a little farfetched of an idea, but then again, any fiction novel could do this, I wanted more of the suspense element. In the present day, Ellen is running from a certain character who wants her to chase down the holy water and bring it back to him, but it is really only one scene. Not that important to the story. I wanted more of this suspense. Hedlund left it in the air that he is still on the run, and it was the end of the story. The story seemed kind of shallow, even though the plot was interesting and different. I guessed I wanted more action in the present and more explanation of the how things work.

I received a complimentary copy of Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Jody Hedlund: Together Forever

By Kelly Bridgewater

Marianne Neumann has one goal in life: to find her lost younger sister, Sophie. When Marianne takes a job as a placing agent with the Children's Aid Society in 1858 New York, she not only hopes to give children a better life but seeks to discover whether Sophie ended up leaving the city on an orphan train.

Andrew Brady, her fellow agent on her first placing trip, is a former schoolteacher who has an easy way with the children--firm but tender and funny. Underneath his handsome charm, though, seems to linger a grief that won't go away--and a secret from his past that he keeps hidden. As the two team up placing orphans amid small railroad towns in Illinois, they find themselves growing ever closer . . . until a shocking tragedy threatens to upend all their work and change one of their lives forever.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Together Forever is Jody Hedlund's second full length novel in her orphan train series. With historical romance, I expect to be taken for a journey through some historical event or element and follow two characters as they fall in love. With Hedlund's story, Together Forever, she definitely does that.

The writing is clear and concise. I had no problem visualizing the settings and roaming around the countryside with the main characters and all the orphans. She does allow me to understand and see the character's different emotions and internal dialogue as they work through situations.

At the beginning of the story, Hedlund spends a little time giving backstory. She starts the story with action then explains the life of the orphans to lead them to their current situation, then she jumps back into a little action, then repeats the same backstory, a little action, more backstory before jumping into the forward moving story. This took me out of the story instantly. Delete the first couple of chapters and weave in the backstory as they story moves along. Only once.

As for the characters, Marianne and Drew, I really didn't empathize with either character. The characters you meet at the beginning of the novel are the same at the end of the novel. No transformation at all. They didn't learn anything or change at all. They were static characters. Marianne is a sweet, loving woman who desires to find her missing sister and tries to look for clues in the opening chapter. But after that, she really doesn't do anything in the rest of the novel to keep looking for her missing sister. Similarly, Drew knows how to put enough force to keep the orphans in line, but he also has a tender heart to show them he loves them.

The romance bothered me the most. Marianne and Drew got engaged pretty quickly in the book and the sparks fly all over the page, confusing me and probably Marianne and Drew too. I found their courtship really unrealistic even though there were a number of obstacles in their way throughout the rest of the novel.

The historical element of placing orphans outside the city to learn skills and to be educated is a neat idea. I have never heard of it. But the way the story was written, I wasn't really interested in what was going on with the orphans. They didn't appear to be the main part of the novel. The story centered around Marianne and Drew and their unbelievable romance.

Overall, Together Forever by Jody Hedlund surrounds a historical element I didn't know happened. While the synopsis gripped my attention, the plot, characters, and romance fell short for me. I really had a hard time paying attention and couldn't wait for the novel to be over with, so I could read something better.

I received a complimentary copy of Together Forever by Jody Hedlund from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Jody Hedlund: A Daring Sacrifice

By Kelly Bridgewater

Description (From Amazon):

In a reverse twist on the Robin Hood story, a young medieval maiden stands up for the rights of the mistreated, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. All the while, she fights against her cruel uncle who has taken over the land that is rightfully hers. Forced to live in the woods and hide with the poor people she's grown to love, she works to save and protect them, but she never anticipates falling in love with the wealthy knight who represents all she's come to despise.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Jody Hedlund is a great writer who really captures the essence of getting into the character’s head for the readers and describing the setting. Saying this, I did download An Uncertain Choice, her first young adult novel because of the cover and enjoyed that story. With her second installment of A Daring Sacrifice, I feel torn about how I really feel.

First, the way that Juliana and Collin meet feels like Once Upon a Time. In the widely popular and wonderfully written television series, Once upon a Time, Snow White is running from her step-mother, the evil queen and is hiding in the woods. She jumps from a tree and steals from Prince Charming. There is an instant connection. In Hedlund’s book, Juliana jumps from a tree and steals from Collin, not realizing it was the man she met when she was younger. I’m not saying Hedlund took the idea from Once Upon a Time; I’m just drawing the connection. Trust me, I loved it Once Upon a Time, so it worked for me here too.

Besides liking her writing style, I did enjoy how Hedlund showed that true love should be about sacrificing our own comfort for the sake of the other. Jesus showed the ultimate sacrifice and love for us when he died on the cross, so Collin showed the same love for Juliana when he offered to take her place before she was about to burn at the stake. Sacrifice and giving of oneself is important to any successful relationship.

As for the movement of the plot, it was okay and moved along at a nice pace, but I still felt like the story dragged at times. I would have liked to see more of Collin as he spent the week living with the peasants on his land. Hedlund spent a good chunk of time showing us how Juliana viewed all the expensive parties that Collin threw her, but I felt cheated at seeing Collin work along the lower class.

A word of warning, this book might not be good for kids under sixteen years old to read because of the passion running through Juliana and Collin is very descriptive. I would have a hard time allowing my fourteen year old, who is learning to cope with his new hormones to read this novel.  I could just be overprotective. It is okay to disagree with me on this. I think parents would need to talk with their teen after reading this book. It would be a good discussion to talk about the emotions running through Juliana and Collin.

I received a complimentary copy of A Daring Sacrifice from Zondervan Publishing and the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Jody Hedlund: Hearts Made Whole

By Kelly Bridgewater

Back Cover Copy:

From Amazon

1865
Windmill Point, Michigan

Can She Forgive the Hurting Man Who Costs Her the Role She Loves?

After her father's death, Caroline Taylor has grown confident running the Windmill Point Lighthouse. But in 1865 Michigan, women aren't supposed to have such roles, so it's only a matter of time before the lighthouse inspector appoints a new keeper--even though Caroline has nowhere else to go and no other job available to her.

Ryan Chambers is a Civil War veteran still haunted by the horrors of battle. He's secured the position of lighthouse keeper mostly for the isolation--the chance to hide from his past is appealing. He's not expecting the current keeper to be a feisty and beautiful woman who's angry with him for taking her job and for his inability to properly run the light. When his failings endanger others, he and Caroline realize he's in no shape to run the lighthouse, but he's unwilling to let anyone close enough to help. Caroline feels drawn to this wounded soul, but with both of them relying on that single position, can they look past their loss to a future filled with hope...and possibly love?

My Review:

I have heard a lot of good things about Jody Hedlund’s writing, but I haven’t gotten around to reading any of her books yet. Some of the covers for her books like the one for Unending Devotion really grabs my attention. I love that cover. So when Bethany House offered the chance to read and review one of her books I jumped on it.

Jody Hedlund’s writing is great. I really felt like I was in a Lighthouse, looking out at the ocean on a daily basis. I understood Caroline’s and Ryan’s struggles as they learned how to deal with the dilemmas from their past. I felt move by all the problems Caroline and Ryan had to overcome to succeed. I enjoyed watching their journey of Transformation.

Hedlund’s research into the lifestyles of 1865 and 1866 rang true for me. Caroline’s struggle as a woman lightkeeper proved true. The clothes, customs, and the values floated off the page, wrapping me in the time period. One of Hedlund’s strength was allowing Ryan to experience PTSD. This is an issue that has come to light with the warriors from Iraq, but like Hedlund, I believe this would affect any soldier of any war. She allowed Ryan to live a solitary life, avoid relationships, and overdose on pain pills to deal with his choices during the war. This was unique, and I really enjoyed the perspective.

No offense to Hedlund, but I had a hard time staying focused on the book. Not that she isn’t a great writer because I believe she is, but I have a hard time following historical books, which is why I stay away from Amish books and frontier books. There isn’t enough action on the page for me to follow. I get bored easily. That is why I enjoy mysteries, suspense, and thrillers.

In short, Jody Hedlund’s Hearts Made Whole is a good addition to the historical fiction genre with its realistic characters, memorable settings, and a current dilemma affecting the hero. Fans of Karen Witemeyer and Lori Benton would love this book.

I received a complimentary copy of Jody Hedlund’s Heart Made Whole from Bethany House Publishers and the opinions stated are all my own.  

Jody Hedlund’s Writing Bio:

Jody Hedlund is an award-winning and bestselling author of inspirational historical romances for both youth and adults.

As a busy mama-writer, she has the wonderful privilege of teaching her crew of 5 children at home. In between grading math papers and giving spelling tests, she occasionally does a load of laundry and washes dishes. When she's not busy being a mama, you can find her in front of her laptop working on another of her page-turning stories. 

She loves reading almost as much as she loves writing, especially when it also involves chocolate and coffee.

From Hedlund's Amazon Author Page

Where to connect with Jody Hedlund:

Author’s Personal Website

Facebook

Goodreads

Where to purchase Hearts Made Whole:

Amazon

Christianbook

Barnes and Nobles

Your Local Favorite bookstore

What is your favorite aspect of Jody Hedlund’s writing?