HELLO MY FRIENDS! I HAVE RETURNED WITH a review of Sundown. Believe it or not this is the FIRST time I’ve ever read a book by Ms. Warren. I avoided her work for sooooo looong because I’m not huge on cliches and I felt like it was going to be the generic big rugged strong man vibe where he sweeps the girl off her feet and I just [pukes]. But. I was pleasantly surprised that that was absolutely NOT the case, at least in this book. Let’s jump right in!
Former Delta Operative Colt Kingston knows when someone is lying. He may not know the truth, but he sure doesn’t trust Tae, the woman who is caring for his ailing father at Sky King Ranch. Behind those beautiful blue eyes, he can tell there is a troubled–and smart–woman.
A few of her stories prove true–he’s found the crashed plane and the dead body inside. Still, her story of survival seems too incredible to believe . . . until the thugs she claims to be hunting her show up and threaten Sky King Ranch. Now Tae must disappear, along with her secrets.
But Colt’s not about to let her go it alone. And when they discover that her secrets include the antidote to a plague that threatens the world, it’ll take all three Kingston brothers to save the country they’ve vowed to protect.
Characters
The characters made the story for me, honestly.
As I mentioned before, I have a really hard time connecting with characters that have low self esteem that have been written badly. Not because I can’t relate but because they’re so nauseatingly obnoxious and selfish about it. Something really irks me about a character that “hates” themselves and “will never be good enough.” Waaaaaa you little baby shut up and deal with it.
But that’s not true… that’s not how we deal with low self worth or self esteem. Of course. That’s not my heart towards people who are struggling with low self worth, who think of themselves as worthless or not enough. Of course not, in fact I spend months and months of my life loving on people around me and trying to help them see how much God values them and how we are absolutely enough. Not because we did anything to earn that. In fact, all of us have completely done everything to desecrate ourselves. But because of God’s grace we are MORE than enough. Not because of anything could ever earn or pay for or do. But because He has taken ALL of our sins and failures, past present and future. He has purified and cleansed us with the blood of His holy Son, and now we are dressed in robes of HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. So yes, we are all worth so much more than we could even imagine. We are worth so much that Jesus Christ chose to give up His life and take the wrath of God for us. Because to the Creator, we were worth the pain. Worth the suffering. We were worth the price. What an incredible love.
Now, that little soap box moment done, the characters in this book… the way that the author presented the character arcs had me squealing.
Colt. Where to start with Colt. I don’t want to do any spoilers, but his arc was a masterpiece. There was NO telling only showing. Which made it 100% better. His depths of character, his motives, his actions. His personality was so strong. I loved everything about his flawed heart and mind and I loved watching him grow. He wasn’t boyfriend material. Not for me. Which was actually a plus in my book reading this because I expected him to be a swoon inducing hunk and that made me roll my eyes. But he wasn’t. A hunk, potentially. I don’t know. I was too busy loving the arc. But in either case. Characters make the stories for me, and he was a very good one.
Tae— Ok, her name put her right at the top of my list from like the first page. I don’t know why. It’s just one of those names that make things deliciously unique. Funny enough, Ms. Warren’s male character names are quite… weird for me. I am not a fan. Dodge, Ranger, and Colt? Those are nouns, not names.
Anyway! Back to Tae. Her character had a bit of an arc too, but it didn’t hit me as hard as Colt’s. She was by no means a maiden in distress, but she also didn’t push him away in a feministic need to do it herself. I loved the way that the author walked that beautiful balance and wove a complex relationship that wound them together.
Colt and Tae’s relationship was a little less show, a little more tell. But there was definitely chemistry between them. It was very entertaining watching their relationship grow and the fondness that they had for each other gradually shift into something more. Colt’s drive to protect was… personally very soft for me. I am kinda on a roll with the fiercely protective type right now in my life and I love seeing that in a character. Tae was a little like pudding as they got closer, but not in a bad way. I liked that she allowed herself to trust Colt, not because she needed him, but because she loved him.
The Plot
The plot was good. There were multiple twists and turns. The suspense was just mwah, perfect. I was sitting and reading it while waiting for calls at work, and I couldn’t keep in my reactions. I think the poor girl that was training me for the position probably heard more about this book than she ever intended to in her life. XD
It kept me hooked, made me care, and finished off with a satisfying epilogue. I was afraid it would make me sad, but it did not. Not because nothing happened, but because of the way the author made everything matter. Every little piece had a purpose.
The Content
Ok. This book was SO CLEAN. There was no language at all. There was definitely some violence. A couple of mildly graphic scenes, including when they find a dead body. Nothing overly disturbing, but if you’re not into reading suspense and you tend to be a bit more on the squeamish side, I would probably proceed with caution.
There was not anything inappropriate in the sexual content aspect. As I mentioned before, the chemistry between Tae and Colt was very real, and there were a few scenes where they kissed. Also Colt’s brother, Ranger, is married, and he and his wife speak to each other as a married couple. Nothing inappropriate. My best friend said “fades to black,” but I’m happy to report it was even cleaner than that.
In Summary
I reeeeally liked this book. The only thing that bothered me, and it had nothing to do with the book itself, was the fact that it was book three, and I hadn’t gotten my hands on the first two before! It was like being walking into the living room and seeing your family watching a super epic movie, and they’re already half way through and you missed the first half. I plan to order the first two and read them when I can. XD
Five stars for me. It’s been a while, but it’s not like I have limited amount of stars to give out as a reviewer. I quite liked it. So, thank you to the author and to Revell for sending me a copy of this book. I didn’t have to write a positive review, but this book was genuinely really good!
Take care of yourselves and each other, friends. Don’t forget:
