About the Book
Author: Jennifer Seines
Release Date: April 30, 2019
Her father’s will is clear; do what he demands, or lose everything, including guardianship of her younger sister. But there’s a force at work–an evil set on destroying her and her sister. If only she knew whether the enigmatic man helping them is friend–or deadly foe…
After the reading of her father’s will, Tess O’Shay’s panic attacks return. In death, Sean O’Shay is attempting to accomplish what he couldn’t do in life—force Tess to finish her education, a dream she abandoned after being raped on campus. Unless she complies with her father’s wishes, she will lose all claim to the only home she’s ever known as well as to the family business. Worse, she’ll have to give up guardianship of her younger sister to Jake Holland, a secretive man fleeing from his past.
Fine! She’ll show Jake and her father. She’ll muster whatever meager energy and strength she has, get her degree, and keep what matters most to her. No matter what.
Then the man who assaulted her reappears, shattering what little strength she has left. Now she must dig deep to find the remnants of her mustard-seed faith…because that’s the only way she can face the past and right a wrong in order to secure the future
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My Thoughts
Surrendered by Jennifer Sienes is a fast-paced relationship drama, fueled by events set in motion by the will of family patriarch, Sean O’Shay. I liked that the story is told from two points of view, those of Tess and Jake – easy to follow by paying attention to the name at the top of each section. Tess has been able to somewhat successfully put aside difficult events of the past, until the love she has for her younger sister forces a decision. Jake has some hidden elements to his character as well, and there’s lots of tension-filled chemistry between these two.Fulfilling the terms of her father’s will forces Tess to face a broken and traumatic past, resulting in good character and spiritual growth. I appreciated the message of hope reflected throughout.
Lots of snappy, witty dialogue propels the narrative along, but I wish the sarcasm, anger, and use of slang expressions had been toned down a little. I enjoyed the element of suspense and unexpected twists that popped up now and then, including a big one toward the end. It was also good to see Tess discover her true calling and passion in life.
I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
About the Author
Jennifer Sienes holds a degree in both psychology and education but discovered life-experience is the best teacher. She loves Jesus, writing and romance and puts it altogether in inspirational contemporary fiction.
California born and raised, she recently took a step of faith with her real-life hero and relocated to Tennessee.
More from Jennifer
Since I was twelve years old, I’ve been writing stories. I even wrote fan-fiction before it was a thing—a Happy Days episode, which I’m sure dates me. I took every creative writing class I could, starting in high school, and even declared journalism as my college major until I realized I like fiction a whole lot more than truth, because I can create the characters any way I like.Tess O’Shay, the main character in Surrendered, came by way of accident. She was a minor character in my first novel (which will be the last published in the series) and my critique group loved her. They wanted to know if she would have more scenes. She did not. In fact, she was deleted with the rewrites. But I couldn’t get her out of my mind—it was like she’d become a real person and refused to be ignored. I loved writing Surrendered because Tess O’Shay and Jake Holland ran away with the story and it was everything I could do to keep up.
The first two novels I wrote were inspired by actual events—my brother’s suicide in the first and my daughter’s near-fatal car accident in the second. These are dark themes, yet I wanted to present them with humor and hope—both of which have gotten me through some tough circumstances. I strive to create characters my readers can connect with—three-dimensional and human—but also fall in love with. I think the best books are those that leave us wanting more.
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away a grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Blog Stops
Genesis 5020, May 6
Blogging With Carol, May 7
Inspired by fiction, May 7
The Power of Words, May 8
All-of-a-kind Mom, May 9
Emily Yager, May 10
Retrospective Spines, May
11
For Him and My Family, May 13
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations,
May 14
Texas Book-aholic, May 15
janicesbookreviews, May 16
Maureen’s Musings, May
17
Inklings and notions, May 18
A Reader’s Brain, May 19
Sounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how many stories have strong slang in them. I had to stop one recently because I just couldn't take the slang and crass language any longer, and this was Christian fiction! I appreciate your letting us know what to expect in this story. Although the premise sounds interesting, it's not worth slogging through the ugly stuff to get through it. Kim
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds like a terrific read.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. Such a pretty cover.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a unique story!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting family drama. Looking forward to reading.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover with the muted colors and simple title.
ReplyDelete