If you know me, you know I don't read a lot of contemporary, suspense / thriller, or romance. But just because I don't read a whole lot of a genre doesn't mean that I won't enjoy it if it's written well. And all four books have been written well in this series. (Though I was reminded why I don't read a lot of suspense / thriller, if the suspense is done well like these books, it's pretty hard to tear myself away. While at the same time being quite afraid for the characters, so I want to look away, haha. It's an interesting tension I can only stand so much of in my reading.)
Well, here we are. At the end of this series, for now. I can remember reading Untold, the third book in this series, and seeing that there was going to be a 4th book featuring Vlad and Katya. The unexpected pairing caught my attention and I was intrigued. So, I had to wait for a bit, but I finally got the story ;) And the pairing definitely made things interesting in multiple ways.
I think, in the end, Untold was my favorite out of the series. I found Molly the most relatable and Nick my favorite male main character. Man, he's been through so much- But I still enjoyed Vlad and Katya's story, and we did get to see life for Molly and Nick after they're married ;) That is one of my favorite things about this series is, you still get to see the characters from other books in the background and be happy for them.
Vlad is a hard case, but of course he is. Despite that, I still liked him. It was good to see how, as he spent more time around the Grace Baptist people, they began to chip away at his resistance, even though he couldn't hardly stand them in the beginning. How little thoughts wove through his doubts and eventually broke his walls down. How Nick's very much undeserved kindness to him modeled Christ's grace and forgiveness <3 That might've been my favorite part, honestly. His distaste for American ways was amusing to me, haha.
Interestingly enough, I didn't like Katya as much as Vlad. She hates him in the beginning because she still loves him, does that make sense? She's just as stubborn, maybe more so than him, and it takes her longer to realize where she's gone wrong. But she's so full of spunk and fire, and cares fiercely for those she loves. (Including Vlad, though she won't admit it for like, 3/4's of the book and resents him all that time, though one could maybe argue she has good cause.) I enjoyed the banter between them, and Katya's fondness of ice cream.
Vlad's (and Nick's) past was cause for plenty of suspense, action, and mystery. It's pretty intense at times, so if you like that sort of thing, this is for you. The plot was good, but the ending had to be my favorite part. Spoilers in bold down below:
Ahhhh Vlad and Katya finally get together <3 It made me so happy lol. It took awhile, but it happened. Just the way it was meant to be <3 So satisfying.
And Vlad, when he was looking for Katya and had to wrestle with his past in the prison- that was powerful. It was relatable how he struggled to believe even after he'd been saved, especially with a past like his. I suppose that might be another reason why I liked him a little better as a character.
Also, this book was interesting in that it dealt with two older people with regrets and a past between them, rather than two young people just starting out life. But I liked the different twist, the different element it added. How they had to forgive and reconcile to each other, and discover the love they could still share.
The different setting of these books is fun to me. It's not a safe western country, this is Russia, and it makes for a different feel. While I wouldn't want to move to Russia at all, I enjoyed that the setting was someplace different than America.
In summary, if action and suspense, romance with a twist, and redemption is something you enjoy in a story, then this series could be a good match for you. I've really enjoyed reading this series all the way through and getting to see these character change, grow, and fall in love with each other.
(I've reviewed a lot of books here and on Goodreads by Kristina and Vanessa Hall. They've both written really good Christian suspense and thriller romance, so check them out if that's your thing.)
Thank you so much for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review, Vanessa! It was a pleasure.
Until the next post, may you be blessed,
Abby