Litfuse Blog Tour - Missions of Mercy Series

Susan May Warren is thrilled to
announce the release of her 3 book Missions of Mercy series!

Three heroes, all on missions of mercy, who discover that God not only saves us
from evil, but from the darkness inside.

Point of No Return: Can God deliver us from our mistakes? This question is posed to Chet and Mae as they race to save Mae’s nephew from an evil warlord in the Republic of Georgia. More here.

Mission: Out of Control: Does God turn his back on us when we fail? Brody
and Vonya discover the answer as they conspire to capture an international smuggler and
free a child soldier from war. More here.

Undercover Pursuit: What if we deliberately sin and harbor bitterness in our
hearts? Is there a rescue from the dark places inside? Luke and Scarlett find out as
they work to protect a bride-turned-informant whose courage could dismantle a human
trafficking web. More here.

To celebrate the series, Susan is giving away a Missions of Mercy Prize Pack worth
over $200! One grand prize winner will receive:

* A brand new FLIP HD Camera
* The entire Missions of Mercy series

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. You may enter once per email,
facebook, and twitter. The contest ends on May 31st. Tell your friends! Winner will
be announced on June 1st at the Litfuse Publicity site and at Susan May Warren's website. (While you're there, check out her rockin' new
website!)

The Review:

My Ranking: 6 out of 10

Ages: 15 & up

These were my first Love Inspired Suspense books, and I was looking forward to reading three suspenseful books with unexpected twists and turns along with a sweet romance. While there was some suspense and action, the romance was so intense that it over shadowed any of the excitement. I was amazed at just how much romance was in these books. While I enjoy a sweet love story, I prefer it as an add to the plot – a side characteristic, if you will. In these books, it was the plot. I cannot number the many times I read about longing to be kissed or pulled into a warm embrace while reading these books. I confess to only skimming the third – Point of no Return – as I was so displeased with the other two. The romance was so unbelievable, too. I could not justify myself reading another one of these books when I disagreed so strongly with the other two. That being said, take note that I am basing this review off of reading the first two and skimming the other.

While Scarlet and Luke did make me chuckle more than once in Undercover, the romance just was so strong that it ruined the book for me. I liked Mission: Out of Control more than Undercover Pursuit. There were less mentions of "longings" and more adventure.  There also was some actual lessons in it. While I give Undercover Pursuit only 4 out of 10 stars, Mission Out Of Control gets 6 or 7. I actually almost enjoyed that one - the romance was a lot more subdued. Still, it was more romance than I usually like, but it was definitely better than Undercover. Between the two, though, there was enough romance to make me not read the third.

As for the general content, Undercover Pursuit made me most uncomfortable. Both of the two I read had crude descriptions of women's minimal clothing, including bikinis. Both times mentioned, they were said in a negative light, but I still didn't see the need for it to be pointed out or mentioned. There was also lots of desire on both sides of the relationship - often for kissing or embracing. Kisses were very present, along with warm embraces and the like. Those were the main things in these books, but there were several other minor things that make it a not so great read for the younger generation.

To sum it up, I would only recommend these to those who like intense romances. For me, it was too much. But I'm sure there are many out there who would love these books! Make sure to stop by Susan's site, and don't forget to enter her contest! :)