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Series: Informal Romance
Genre: Christian, Contemporary, Romance Publisher: Ladybug Lit Publication date: May 2, 2016 Number of pages: 229 Lily Ziminski is an ICU nurse near the nation's capital where politics are a regular part of hospital policy. Assigned a series of high-profile patients, she finds herself an unwilling focus of the media. Lily would much rather do without all the attention... except where one cowboy-hat-wearing state trooper is concerned. Caleb Graham runs into the same captivating nurse twice in one day, and he's not a man who believes in coincidence. When problems at a local impound lot force him into the middle of a bizarre case that threatens Lily, Caleb will stop at nothing to protect her. |
From a stranger in a parking garage to Secret Service agents, surprise
chases Lily around every corner. In the midst of the chaos, she has two
constants - her longtime faith in God and her growing attraction for a
silver-eyed trooper.
The Books in the Series
Heather
Gray loves coffee, God, and her family – not necessarily in that order!
She enjoys people who embrace God even when life is hard and who aren't
afraid to laugh out loud. Like her, the characters she writes are
flawed…but loved anyway.
Book 3: An Informal Introduction
As
if the flashing lights in her rearview mirror weren’t enough, the
trooper turned on the siren, too. Lily cringed and slid down in her seat
like a teenager hiding from prying eyes. Of course, her teen years were
long behind her, and any eyes intent on prying would need night vision
goggles to see her. The sun hadn’t yet kissed the eastern horizon.
She slowed and sought a place to pull over, no small feat on this narrow stretch of Lee Highway. Spotting a patch of grass to her right, she steered her silver two-door sedan as far over as she could and cut the engine. Her fingers drummed a rhythmless beat on the steering wheel as she waited for the trooper. He was probably busy checking with dispatch to make sure she wasn’t a mass murderer. Because, clearly, rampaging homicidal maniacs drove nondescript cars on the way to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning.
In all her years traversing this road, Lily had never seen a state trooper on this particular stretch. Until today. Good thing she’d left early for work.
Thank you, God, for getting me up and out the door when You did.
The trooper climbed out of his cruiser and approached her parked vehicle. She hit the button and listened to the almost imperceptible hum as her window slid down. The grey of his uniform would have blended into the night were it not for the illumination of his headlights and his car-mounted spotlight. As it happened, they blinded her enough that she couldn’t catch much more than the color of his clothes and a hint of his shape.
“License and registration, please.” The voice was impatient. Tired, too. He was probably at the end of his shift, which meant she had little chance of winning the argument, but she wouldn’t let that stop her from trying.
“I wasn’t speeding.”
“License and registration, please.”
So much for the serve part of public service.
“Can you at least tell me why you pulled me over?”
“Give me your license and registration, ma’am.”
Heat swept through Lily. It’s not like she’d asked a difficult question. “How do I even know you’re a state trooper and not some crazed rapist who’s trying to get my address so he can break into my home?”
The trooper’s shadowed mouth hinted at a smile, and his eyes morphed from intense pinpoints to… Hm. Eyes couldn’t be huggable, could they?
Who was she kidding? She couldn’t even see his eyes. Her imagination had to be on overdrive.
“Well, ma’am, most people consider those flashing red and blue lights as proof enough that I’m one of the good guys, but if it would make you feel better, I’d be happy to go turn the siren back on, too. I doubt crazed rapists announce themselves with police sirens.” Now that he was speaking in actual sentences, Lily picked up a hint of honeyed Southern drawl dancing along the edge of his words. She never could resist Southern charm — real or imagined.
She slowed and sought a place to pull over, no small feat on this narrow stretch of Lee Highway. Spotting a patch of grass to her right, she steered her silver two-door sedan as far over as she could and cut the engine. Her fingers drummed a rhythmless beat on the steering wheel as she waited for the trooper. He was probably busy checking with dispatch to make sure she wasn’t a mass murderer. Because, clearly, rampaging homicidal maniacs drove nondescript cars on the way to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning.
In all her years traversing this road, Lily had never seen a state trooper on this particular stretch. Until today. Good thing she’d left early for work.
Thank you, God, for getting me up and out the door when You did.
The trooper climbed out of his cruiser and approached her parked vehicle. She hit the button and listened to the almost imperceptible hum as her window slid down. The grey of his uniform would have blended into the night were it not for the illumination of his headlights and his car-mounted spotlight. As it happened, they blinded her enough that she couldn’t catch much more than the color of his clothes and a hint of his shape.
“License and registration, please.” The voice was impatient. Tired, too. He was probably at the end of his shift, which meant she had little chance of winning the argument, but she wouldn’t let that stop her from trying.
“I wasn’t speeding.”
“License and registration, please.”
So much for the serve part of public service.
“Can you at least tell me why you pulled me over?”
“Give me your license and registration, ma’am.”
Heat swept through Lily. It’s not like she’d asked a difficult question. “How do I even know you’re a state trooper and not some crazed rapist who’s trying to get my address so he can break into my home?”
The trooper’s shadowed mouth hinted at a smile, and his eyes morphed from intense pinpoints to… Hm. Eyes couldn’t be huggable, could they?
Who was she kidding? She couldn’t even see his eyes. Her imagination had to be on overdrive.
“Well, ma’am, most people consider those flashing red and blue lights as proof enough that I’m one of the good guys, but if it would make you feel better, I’d be happy to go turn the siren back on, too. I doubt crazed rapists announce themselves with police sirens.” Now that he was speaking in actual sentences, Lily picked up a hint of honeyed Southern drawl dancing along the edge of his words. She never could resist Southern charm — real or imagined.
*I received a copy through Singing Librarian Book Tours in exchange for an honest review*
4 Stars
I haven't read the other books in the series and I wasn't lost--these can stand alone.
This story starts out with a bang, as a first meeting goes awry, but that first meeting makes the second meeting all the better. My attention was immediately captured and I found myself drawn into a story with a bit of mystery and suspense, as well as a darling romance.
Lily is an ICU nurse and a really good one. I really liked watching her at work. Her bedside manner and professionalism is admirable, yet she really connects with her patients. Because of this, she is assigned to a couple of high-profile cases that leave her in a bit of danger. If I ever need a nurse, I hope to have one as good as Lily.
Caleb is a hard-working Southern cop, who has just moved to Virginia to help his mother. She's such a sweet, meddling busybody and he's very methodical and adorable. When he decides to go for something, he jumps all in. It took me awhile to figure him out. He claims to be a very patient, easy going, and slow moving man, yet when it comes to Lily, he can't move fast enough and that scares her off. I guess he's both extremes.
The meat of the story is pretty good. The mystery/suspense angle is just enough to engage the reader, but not enough to overpower the romantic element, which is gradual. I enjoy Christian fiction because I know the books will be clean, but I sometimes feel a little bogged down with every word of their prayers written out and this happens on several occasions. I like when characters have faith and rely on God, but I believe that we all worship and pray differently and that's something more personal. All in all, this is a good, clean story that is very enjoyable.
Content: moderate religious elements; mild romance; mild violence, moments of peril. Clean.
4 Stars
I haven't read the other books in the series and I wasn't lost--these can stand alone.
This story starts out with a bang, as a first meeting goes awry, but that first meeting makes the second meeting all the better. My attention was immediately captured and I found myself drawn into a story with a bit of mystery and suspense, as well as a darling romance.
Lily is an ICU nurse and a really good one. I really liked watching her at work. Her bedside manner and professionalism is admirable, yet she really connects with her patients. Because of this, she is assigned to a couple of high-profile cases that leave her in a bit of danger. If I ever need a nurse, I hope to have one as good as Lily.
Caleb is a hard-working Southern cop, who has just moved to Virginia to help his mother. She's such a sweet, meddling busybody and he's very methodical and adorable. When he decides to go for something, he jumps all in. It took me awhile to figure him out. He claims to be a very patient, easy going, and slow moving man, yet when it comes to Lily, he can't move fast enough and that scares her off. I guess he's both extremes.
The meat of the story is pretty good. The mystery/suspense angle is just enough to engage the reader, but not enough to overpower the romantic element, which is gradual. I enjoy Christian fiction because I know the books will be clean, but I sometimes feel a little bogged down with every word of their prayers written out and this happens on several occasions. I like when characters have faith and rely on God, but I believe that we all worship and pray differently and that's something more personal. All in all, this is a good, clean story that is very enjoyable.
Content: moderate religious elements; mild romance; mild violence, moments of peril. Clean.
June 13--Colorimetry
June 14--Faithfully Bookish
June 15--Singing Librarian Books
June 16--Getting Your Read On
June 17--Simple Harvest Reads
June 20--Toni Shiloh Prayerfully-Lifted Romance | Bukwurmzzz
June 21--Wishful Endings
June 22--Zerina Blossom's Books | Katie's Clean Book Collection
June 23--Red Headed Book Lady
June 24--Smiling Book Reviews
June 14--Faithfully Bookish
June 15--Singing Librarian Books
June 16--Getting Your Read On
June 17--Simple Harvest Reads
June 20--Toni Shiloh Prayerfully-Lifted Romance | Bukwurmzzz
June 21--Wishful Endings
June 22--Zerina Blossom's Books | Katie's Clean Book Collection
June 23--Red Headed Book Lady
June 24--Smiling Book Reviews
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