Midnight Sea by Colleen Coble

Happy Wednesday everyone! I'm still trying to recover from the LONG hotel stay we had last week. Charlotte got over 10 inches of snow!!! I'm just glad I didn't have to drive back and forth all week, especially since I have an hour commute! You would think I would have had more time to read last week, but that was just not the case. We were exhausted every night by the time we got back to our rooms, and busy all day during the day! I did finally manage to finish this book, completing my first series of the year!

Overview: "Lani opened her eyes fully, straining to see something, anything. It was as though she swam in a black sea that blacked out all light, all visual sensation. 'I can't see,' she whispered. 'I can't see!' Her shriek rose and echoed off the blackness."

A seemingly random shooting at her aunt's coffee farm has left Lani Tagama blind. Now she must learn to navigate in a world of darkness. With the help of an embittered ex-cop, Ben, and a half-trained guide dog, Fisher, Lani discovers she can regain a shadow of her former independence.

But strange and dangerous secrets lurk behind the beauty of this seaside paradise. Suspicion grows that this was not a random shooting, but an attempted murder, one with its roots in a hippie commune burned over thirty year ago. Lani realizes she is a target, and that she must find the shooter before he strikes again.

My Review: Colleen Coble does it again! I cannot say enough good things about this writer. From the first page, I was hooked. The mystery, suspense, and romance were expertly weaved into a story of deception and trust. The plot was interesting and kept me guessing the entire time.

Lani Tagama was my favorite character. After her ordeal in Black Sands, she becomes a Christian. It's nice to see the human side of someone who is a new Christian. She struggles to put her trust in someone she can't see, and that makes her more real. Ben Mahoney is struggling to cope with the accident that claimed his friend's sight. He is also struggling with trusting the One who controls all things in our lives. The author did a very good job of portraying their development in this area.

The message, as I've stated before, is trust. Learning to trust that God has everything under control, especially when you feel your life is spinning out of control, is hard. Colleen Coble does a great job of weaving that message throughout the story.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable story and I'm sad the series has come to an end. Go read it, today!

• Learn more about Colleen Coble
• Follow Colleen: Twitter | Facebook
• Purchase Midnight Sea: B&N | Amazon | CBD
• Read my reviews of the rest of the Aloha Reef series:
• Distant Echoes 
• Black Sands
• Dangerous Depths 

Dangerous Depths by Colleen Coble

Happy Tuesday everyone! I've finished another exciting book and just couldn't wait to share it with you! I know I've said this before, but I absolutely LOVE Colleen Coble's books. She is a phenomenal writer and I just cannot wait to get my hands on every book written by her!

Overview: Sometimes life's most precious treasure lies at Dangerous Depths.

Leia ditched a promising medical career to settle on a secluded island of Hawaii. She ditched Bane, too, and he's come to the island to find out why. He's also in search of a fortune rumored to lie offshore. But an act of sabotage that pushes Bane closer to Leia plunges them both into a tangle of emotion--just as a series of threatening events grip the island.

Theft, a friend's death, a bizarre intruder, hints of a second treasure...and even murder--how can they sort it all out when everyone on the island has something to hide?

The novels in Colleen Coble's popular Aloha Reef Series combine mystery and suspense with tender romance in an irresistible island setting.

My Review:  As always, Coble does an excellent job of combining the powers of mystery, suspense, and romance. However, I didn't feel as captured by this book as I have the previous three in the series. Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of things I liked about the book, but I just feel like something was missing. 

This book does address a couple hard issues that I haven't encountered in a book before. Leia, the female heroine, has a cleft lip. Her sister, Eva, has Downs Syndrome. Bane suffers from abandonment issues. I love that Coble writes her characters in a more human light. It's hard to relate to someone who's "perfect" on paper.

Overall, the message of the book was still very, very good. The message was one of learning to let go of the past and letting God worry about your future. He knows every hair on your head. He knows the number of days you will live. If He knows that much about you, why can't we trust Him to lead us and help us make decisions? Let go, and let God.

• Learn more about Colleen Coble
• Follow Colleen: Twitter | Facebook
• Purchase Dangerous Depths: B&N | Amazon | CBD 
• Read my reviews of the rest of the Aloha Reef series:
• Distant Echoes 
• Black Sands 

Black Sands by Colleen Coble

Overview:  As a volcano on Hawaii begins to rumble, family crisis brings an unlikely couple together.

Annie's the brainy type, quietly assisting her father in his volcano research. She's always admired her brother's friend Mano for his outgoing athletic ways, but her devotion turns to disdain after Mano's mistake results in her older brother's untimely death.

Mano's mistake haunts him. It cost his best friend's life. But just as he's bringing Tomi's belongings to his family, Mano discovers Tomi is alive—and in serious danger. That danger threatens to spill over to the rest of the family.

Annie and Mano join forces to discover the source of the threat against the family, even as a long-inactive volcano rumbles in the distance.

My Review:  This is another FANTASTIC book by Colleen Coble! I am seriously never disappointed in her works. The characters are relatable and very well developed. Annie Tagama is used to fading into the background. Since her mother's death, she has been the force that desperately tries to hold her family together and is under-appreciated for it. Mano Oana is the brother of Kaia, who was featured in book one of the series. He is protective, loving, and full of guilt that has haunted him since his best friend's death. He is also hiding a secret that he thinks makes him look weak. Can the two overcome their obstacles to accept what God has given them?

The plot grabs you from the prologue. The mystery starts from page one and keeps you guessing (well, it kept ME guessing) until the very end. The twists and turns the author throws in keep you captivated and furiously turning pages! The developing romance between Mano and Annie is sweet and unassuming, as both characters are. I wouldn't want it to be overwhelming or fast. I love Colleen Coble's writing style, period.

The message in this one is about putting God first in your life. For Annie, that is a really hard thing to do. She wants to feel loved and accepted, especially by the family she's given almost her entire life trying to please them. Finding out what you are putting ahead of God is tough. Putting your life priorities in the proper order is even tougher. This brought to mind the acronym of JOY - Jesus Others Yourself. God wants you to put Him first in everything you do, every day. In not doing so, you are missing out on a lot of blessings!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series soon!

• Learn more about Colleen Coble
• Follow Colleen: Twitter | Facebook
• Purchase Black Sands: B&N | Amazon | CBD
• See my review of Distant Echoes

Distant Echoes by Colleen Coble

Let me just start by saying that I absolutely LOVE Colleen Coble. Her writing never fails to captivate me from the beginning and leave me wanting more at the end. So, it was no surprise that I enjoyed Distant Echoes, the first book in the Aloha Reef series, immensly.

Overview:

It seems like paradise, but dark secrets lurk just below the surface.

When a tragic accident downs a tourist boat off the coast of Hawaii, dolphin researcher Kaia Oana is one of the first in the water, risking her own life to try and save others. She’s enlisted to help the U.S. Navy find out what really happened—utilizing her specially trained dolphins to help.

Kaia and Lieutenant Commander Jesse Matthews team up in the investigation—but as they edge closer to the truth about the incident, their own lives are threatened. Will a spirit of grace and forgiveness prevail or will it be overshadowed by the distant echoes of past pain and the imminent danger from a cold-blooded killer?

Set on the breathtaking Hawaiian island of Kauai, this novel provides an intoxicating mix of romance and suspense with the rhythms of island life.

My Review: The characters, oh the characters! I instantly fell in love with the Oana family because of their devotion to God and each other. I can connect with Kaia (pronounced KIGH-yah) and her feelings of abandonment and hurt. Her character is greatly defined by what happened to her as a child, but the ending was satisfying. The transformation was interesting to read about. Lieutenant Commander Jesse Matthews also has past hurts that define his character. Both him and Kaia are fiercely loyal to those they love and wish they could take all their pain and hurts away.

The story started with a tragic accident and flew from there! I loved the twists and turns Colleen threw in the midst. I also loved how she incorporated the Hawaiian culture throughout the book, because you can tell that it is important to the Oana family. THANK YOU for providing a list of pronunciations and definitions of the Hawaiian words at the end of the book. I highly recommend reading this list BEFORE you read the book. It will help you pronounce the words and names.

The message of the book aligns with the Hawaiian spirit of aloha. The definition of aloha is a warm Hawaiian greeting or parting; love, grace, sentiment, compassion, sympathy, kindness, affection, friendship; to show kindness or remember with affection. Isn't that what God wants us to do?  Doesn't God want us to put aside past hurts and forgive people, just as he has put aside his past hurts and forgiven us?

Overall, I highly recommend this book. I can't believe I waited so long to read it! I am starting the second book today!

• Learn more about Colleen Coble
• Follow Colleen: Twitter * Facebook 
• Buy the book!: B&N * Amazon * CBD