GROUNDS TO BELIEVE by Shelley Bates

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.11.2005

From the back cover:

He'd find Kailey someday. One assignment at a time. One prayer at a time . . .

Ever since a cult took his daughter, police investigator Ross Malcolm's mission has been to protect children. So when a secretive sect in Hamilton Falls, Washington, comes under suspicion for child endangerment, he's on the job, seeking evidence from the latest recruit's aunt, Julia McNeill. Though disdainful of her restricted lifestyle, Ross finds himself wanting to teach Julia the truth of God's love.

Accustomed to living in her sister's shadow, Julia is unaware of her own strengths. Though she's been taught to fear outsiders, conscience compels her to risk everything to help Ross protect her nephew and find his daughter. But Julia's actions unleash a dangerous chain of events. And now Ross must save three lives from the evil that threatens them . . .

Camy here:

I had started reading Shelley Bates’ “Grounds to Believe” a few days ago and got only a little ways into the book when I had to stop. I took it up again when I was eating a solitary dinner tonight, and it was so riveting that I finished dinner and kept reading.

This is a bit different from the normal fare from Steeple Hill, in a good way. The author never writes about body parts or sexual innuendos, but the chemistry between the hero and heroine is almost tangible. What a rush to read some of their scenes. This is a hero I can swoon over (don’t let the pastor-lookalike on the cover fool you, the hero is rough-and-tumble and sexy as sin . . . well, in a Christ-like way. LOL).

The heroine is a bit like Jamie from “A Walk to Remember,” sweet and innocent. But Julia is also real--struggling to understand the paradoxes between the teachings of her “Shepherd” and the Truth in the Bible.

The topic of cults and toxic churches is very appropriate in these days when many churches deviate from the Bible and follow man-made rules. Julia’s church talks “church speak” but doesn’t act as Jesus would, and the members ultimately care only about themselves while professing to be sacrificing the world for God. There is no room for grace, no service for others. It is all appearance, not Christ’s love. It’s frighteningly like the modern world.

The prose flows seamlessly and I got sucked into the story. The writing is masterful--each character is unique and distinct, there are no clichés or stereotypes here. Despite Julia’s sheltered upbringing, I found myself liking her and relating to her as she fought to gain her self-esteem, her identity in God.

I have already pre-ordered the author’s next book, “Pocketful of Pearls,” which also discusses toxic churches and other tough issues. This is totally refreshing Inspirational Romance.

Comments

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

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Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

A List of my Free Blog Reads

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Update

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.10.2010 Hey guys, So yeah, I've been offline lately. Been busy. Teaching an online class on synopsis writing and working on a new proposal. And no, I can't tell you yet. But every so often I'm on Twitter and Facebook , so be sure to check out my Twitter feed (it's also on the right sidebar) or find me on Facebook. Lately, all I've been tweeting is my shock at finding so many gray hairs all of a sudden...and I don't even have children as my excuse for having so many. Then again, Captain Caffeine says I'm the reason he has so many gray hairs, but I know he's just kidding because he had tons of gray hair when I first met him. Or at least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Merry Christmas! Enjoy The Spinster's Christmas

As a Merry Christmas gift to all my blog readers, I’m going to be posting my Christian Regency romantic suspense, The Spinster’s Christmas , for free on my blog! I’ll be posting the book in 1000-1500 word segments every Tuesday and Friday. (When I do the calculations, it’ll finish around the end of May.) Why am I posting a Christmas story when it won’t be Christmas in a week? Because I can! :) The Spinster’s Christmas is the prequel volume to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . Right now I’m editing volume 1 of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, and it’s on track to release in 2020. (If you’re on my Camille Elliot newsletter , you’ll be sure to hear when it’s available for preorder.) I anticipate that the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series to be about ten volumes. I think the series story will be a lot of fun to tell, and I’m looking forward to writing up a storm! Below, I’ll be listing the links to the parts of The Spinster’s Christmas as I post them. (I created the html links by hand so please ...

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Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter