Thursday, February 19, 2015

Twisted Innocence {a Litfuse Book Tour review}

I love reading books by Terri Blackstock, but apparently, I haven't reviewed any of them yet.  That changes today.

Twisted Innocence is the third book in the Moonlighters Series, and it makes a great final chapter.  This series features a group of adult siblings (a brother and three sisters) who keep ending up in the middle of criminal investigations, and Lenny Miller seems to pop up repeatedly.

This time, the many storyline relates to the youngest sister, Holly, who is trying to go straight after a pretty reckless lifestyle.  But you can read how the publisher describes it:
Holly Cramer's past choices have finally caught up to her, but she never expected them to endanger her baby.

Though Holly's stumbled through most of her adult life as a party girl, she longs to live a more stable life for her daughter. Then police show up to question her about the whereabouts of Creed Kershaw, Lily's father. She has kept his identity a secret from friends and family---she never even told him about the pregnancy. Now he's a person of interest in a drug-related murder case.

Determined to keep him out of their lives and turn him over to police, Holly uses her private investigating skills to search for him. But her bravado backfires when he turns the tables and takes her and the baby hostage. As desperate hours tick by, Holly realizes his connection to Leonard Miller-the man who has gunned down several members of her family. Creed claims he's innocent and that Miller is after him too. His gentleness with Lily moves her, but she can't trust a man who has held her at gunpoint . . . even if he reminds her so much of herself.

Dangers old and new threaten Holly and her baby, and lives are demanded as sacrifices for love. Through a complex web of mistakes and regret, redemption is the one hope Holly has left to hold on to.

My thoughts:

This book was fabulous, but don't start here.  The book does stand alone, so I guess you can if you must.  But really, go get Truth-Stained Lies and start at the beginning.  This book is so much better if you know the backstory.

One major message in this story has to do with past mistakes and past events, and how you have to work from where you are now.  You can't keep going back to the "if only's" and wishing you had made different -- or better -- choices.

It isn't just choices you make either, it is also the choices made by the people around you.  Holly, the baby of the family, was the one most hurt when their family was abandoned by their pastor father, and then basically betrayed by their church.

Holly is told at one point that, "God knows where you started and how you got here." 

That really hit me.

The other thing that really hit me in this book is at the very end.  Don't worry, this isn't a spoiler.  The author talks a bit about persecution and how in "the West" we don't usually have to actually be worrying about things like being beheaded for our faith.

But that doesn't mean that we don't endure tough times and refining fires.  It is just a different thing here.  We are pruned, and God can use that to deepen our faith.  That is happening to various people in the story.


Now I need to find another Terri Blackstock series.



In Terri Blackstock’s third and final book in her Moonlighters series, Twisted Innocence, readers are in for a story of suspense and redemption. Dangers old and new threaten Holly and her baby, and lives are demanded as sacrifices for love. Through a complex web of mistakes and regret, redemption is the one hope Holly has left to hold on to.


Celebrate the series' final release by entering Terri's Nook giveaway!


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One grand prize winner will receive:
  • A Nook GlowLight
  • The entire Moonlighters series
Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 8th. Winner will be announced March 9th on the Litfuse blog.


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{NOT ON FACEBOOK? ENTER HERE.}
 
 
Disclaimer:  I received this book through LitFuse Blog Tour.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own.  
 

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