The Saturday Six

One.

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One of my friends sent me the link to this blog post, which pretty much just nails the feelings of singleness. Not all the time, of course, but when it's really hard and you're struggling to put words to why it's hard, this post gives you the words. {And if you're not single, but you have single friends, read it anyway. It will help you understand their hearts.}

Two.

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I know it FEELS like Valentine's Day is a long way off, but it's under a month away. Whether or not you have a Valentine in the significant-other sense, this is a great day to tell the people in your life that you are grateful for them! I have been pilfering through my Valnetine's Day Pinterest board for some inspiration, and I thought I'd share it with you in case you need some too! {Some ideas I've already done, and on those, I left comments for reference of how I liked them or didn't!}

Three.

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I really appreciate this post by Kristen Welch, because I think everyone can identify in some way. We all need reminders that God sees the big picture and reminders to look in this very moment for ways He's present and working.

Four.

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Sometimes I just like a good instrumental hymn to calm my soul. My friend Brent Vernon shared one this week that will give you a moment of heart-respite. You can hear it here.

Five.

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Waiting is hard, and there are four million things you could read {and find helpful!} about surviving a season of waiting. But yesterday this post spoke to me particularly loudly, because it gave me specific prayers to pray in the waiting. If you're waiting for ANYTHING or discouraged by delays and continual no answers when you ache for a yes, check out this post.

Six.

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Last Sunday, I picked up Irene Hannon's latest novel, Thin Ice, to begin a leisurely week of reading. A few hours later, at one in the morning, I was frantically turning the last pages. I could not sleep until I knew how it ended. And she kept me guessing until the end!

I first read Irene Hannon last year with her small-town, feel-good novel Hope Harbor. I am now freshly aware of her talent as an author, because Thin Ice is the opposite of Hope Harbor! This book is the second in the Men of Valor series, and I asked to read it for two completely unrelated reasons: I love figure skating, and I love FBI/crime shows on TV. Those two worlds collide in Thin Ice, making it a good choice for me.

Christy Reed is a former world-class figure skater, who could have medaled in the Olympics, had she not been injured right before they took place. And that was just the beginning of her life filled with too much heartache. In the span of six months, she lost both her parents in a car accident and her sister to a house fire. She'd been working through her grief well until an envelope arrives addressed to her in her sister's handwriting - the sister who died in the house fire.

Convinced something is beyond not right, Christy contacts the FBI and brand new Special Agent Lance McGregor takes her case. His investigation reveals an equal amount of new questions and dead ends where he hoped to find answers. Convinced that Christy's life is on the line, and forced to divide his time among multiple cases and his own family's needs, Lance hopes he can find answers before it's the ultimate kind of too late.

This book is suspenseful from the beginning; the kind of heart-stopping suspense that really would encourage you NOT to read this at one in the morning before trying to sleep, though I did just that {and would do it again}! While Christy is a believer, and there are strong mentions of faith and the Gospel woven throughout, the story is not void of extreme {and sometimes disturbing} violence. Unfortunately, the type of crimes investigated in this book are too common in real life, but if you are jumpy about violence, I wanted to warn you that this book holds a lot of it. Having said that, if you normally watch TV dramas that include this kind of content, this book gives you that without unnecessary side stories.

I appreciated being able to read a story like this without the interruption of foul language, and while there is definitely a strong love-story line woven throughout, there is no inappropriate sexual content either. {Desire, yes. Sex, no.}

Irene tackles hard scenarios and portrays them well. Her characters are well-developed and I didn't find her storyline predictable, which made the suspense {obviously} all the better! I completely forgot to breathe as I read, which in my world, is the mark of a great book.

Thanks, Irene, for a compelling suspense novel, and thanks Revell, for sending a copy my way in exchange for an honest review!