#Review - The Mercenary's Daughter by Jessica Therrien, Joe Gazzam #Mystery #Thriller

Series: Unknown
Format: Ebook, 199 pages
Release Date: March 31st 2020
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Source: Publisher
Genre: Mystery / Thrillers

When Special Ops recruit, Tara Kafee is dishonorably discharged, there’s only one place to go—Home.

But there’s more waiting for her there than she’s ready for.

It’s been four years since she’s been back and ten since her mother walked out on the family never to be heard of again. She’s determined to rekindle things with her father and keep him close. That is, until he goes missing.

Soon after stumbling upon a safe room full of weapons, fake passports, and a mission’s dossier marking a target in Cuba, she reluctantly accepts the help of her angsty teenage brother. He’s the only one she can trust, so together, the two set out for Havana.

Tara is determined to get her father back, whatever it takes, but things are never easy when you’re the mercenary’s daughter.

"People live and die. But as long as they do both things with purpose, there's never much to regret."

The Mercenary's Daughter is written by co-authors Jessica Therrien and Joe Gazzam. It is a spy thriller with a touch of romance thrown in. The story follows Tara Kafee, a former Special Ops Marine who was dishonorably discharged from the military for reasons that need to be cleared up. When she returns home to Miami, Florida, she has to deal with the attitude of her younger brother, Mitch, the strange disappearance of her father, Harry, who was also in the military, as well as uncovering secrets about Harry that has been kept secret for who knows how long.

After getting word that Harry is dead, Tara and Mitch are not too happy about the explanation that is given. Soon after stumbling upon a safe room full of weapons, fake passports, and a mission’s dossier marking a target in Cuba, the truth is revealed. It appears that Harry went on a retrieval mission to Cuba and was captured. Apparently, Harry is what's called an extractor who gets called upon when someone too extreme and off the books needs to be brought back to the States to face justice. These so called sensitive ops are formed to help maintain deniability. So, again, something went wrong, Harry was caught, and now he's disavowed by everyone.

Tara reluctantly accepts the help of her angsty teenage brother who has been holding hatred for his sister inside for the years she was in the military. Mitch is the only one she can trust, which means that Tara and Mitch have to put together a plan on the fly, invade Cuba with a stolen boat, find Harry, not get captured or killed, and bring him home. Most of this story takes place in Havana, Cuba while the rest takes place in and around Florida including Key West. 

Upon arriving in Havana, Tara and Mitch have to find Harry's contact which ends up being Andy who very much wants to get the hell out of Cuba. Tara, Andy, & Mitch face corrupt cops, arms dealers, drug kingpins, and all sorts of danger while using cable cars, zip lines, scuba gear and one beauty of a 1955 Chevy Bel Air as transportation. Yes, one absolutely needs to suspend belief while reading this book. You have to suspend belief that Tara, while trained as a Special ops soldier, and her brother who is a science prodigy, will work together after years of antagonism between the two of them to help their father come home. You have to have an idea that Tara is trying to find what she is supposed to do with her life now that she doesn't have the military after she, well, nah, no spoilers.

The problem I have with this story is the ending. First, the publisher doesn't tell the reader whether or not this is part of a series or not. Second, the authors leave a huge, shocking, head scratching cliffhanger ending which apparently means there needs to be a sequel in order to find out what happens next. So, we shall see what we shall see when it comes to an actual sequel and whether or not it will be released.

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#Wednesday Review - Redemption by Jessica Therrien (#YAlit, #Fantasy, #Mythology) @JessicaTherrien @XpressoTours

Series: Children of the Gods # 3
Format: Kindle, 326 pages
Release Date: November 2, 2015
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Lead Council member, Christoph, is dead by Elyse’s hand, and Descendants have begun to emerge, exposing their secret to the world. Some see this as the prophecy come to fruition, but the prophecy caries a heavy consequence. It was never meant to be as peaceful as most had hoped.

Humans and Descendants struggle to live together in a world that isn’t ready for such a change. America is divided. Those who glorify the supernatural race believe Descendants truly are the gods they claim relation to. Others see them as a threat.

When Elyse gives birth to the next generation oracle, she sees one final vision—war. The destruction of the country’s major cities, and the end of America as we know it.

After her daughter is born, Elyse finds herself without the ability she needs to predict the future. Desperate to save the world from such conflict, she puts her faith in the hope that Descendants are the key to survival. After all, they have the power to supply a broken society with the means to survive.

Only from the ashes can a new world be born.

Redemption is the third and final installment in author Jessica Therrien's Children of the Gods trilogy. Here's my warning to everyone; while I do my best not to spoil anything in my reviews, I might let slip some aspects of past novels that are absolutely important to what happens in this book. I do recommend that you to go back and read my previous reviews or read the books yourselves before jumping into what I have to say in this review. Redemption picks up right where Uprising left off. 

William still does not have his memories back so things are kind of restrained between he and Elyse who is expecting the next oracle any day now. Meanwhile, Elyse's allies (Mac, Anna, Nics, Sam, Paul, Rachel, Edith, & Chloe) have hidden away at the Compound. The Council has been fundamentally changed with the death of Christoph, and Adrianna has taken charge. She has her own plans that don't necessarily lead to peace and harmony. And, if that wasn't enough, Elyse, who is the last healer descendant is told by the current Oracle that things may get even more dangerous before they better. 

What's even more shocking is that descendants decide that they've had enough of being in the shadows, and go public in all their glory. This includes Elyse's supposed allies Kara and Alex. As with anything else in history, whenever something comes out of the shadows and into the light, people will feel threatened and scared for their futures. Morals are scared of change, and in this case, justifiably so. It weighs even more on Elyse's shoulders because she wants to ensure that humans and the descendants of the Gods live together in peace and understanding, and not all out war that leaves heavy casualties and an apocalyptic feel to the story. 

Redemption is a perfect title for this book. It is a word that means Elyse must do some straight up dangerous things in order to make up for the things she has lead her group to. She has to deal with William and a new child. She has to try to put the damper on the end of the world that will take away some really key players who have been with Elyse since the beginning of this series. Elyse is a character who was pretty much shoved into the role as leader thanks to a prophecy. While she has made some glaring mistakes along the way, she remained pretty true to her ideology even when there were times she could have run away.  

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#Saturday Review - Oppression by Jessica Therrien (YA, Fantasy, Mythology) @JessicaTherrien @XpressoTours

Series: Children of the Gods # 1
Format: E-Galley, 346 pages
Release Date: September 2, 2015
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Genre: YA, Fantasy>Mythology

Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than average people, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's well over eighty.

Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets.

There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning-and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules. 

Oppression, by author Jessica Therrien, is the first installment the Children of Gods trilogy. This series features Elyse Adler, a girl who appears to be Eighteen, but is much older than that. The story kicks off when Elyse loses her parents to an accident. Because of the fact that she ages slower than normal humans, she has been forced to move every Five years or so to keep the looky loos from asking too may questions. After her "second" mother passes away, Elyse meets William, who knows a whole lot about her, including the fact that she is the last healer in her line, and that she is the descendant of Asclepius, the God of healing. 

Elyse's blood is not like other healers. Her blood can heal anybody, and anybody can heal her. But, one needs to becareful of which side of Elyse's body they draw blood. The left side of her body contains poison, which comes in handy when you are forced into fighting back against the villainous Christoph and his Council minions. The Council members are all first generation descendants of Olympians. If Elyse didn't have enough problems with an instant connection to William, and Christoph chasing after her, apparently there is a prophecy that she will bring peace between the descendants and mortals. But, no pressure!

Elyse has been told that it is against Council law to heal any human. Hard to ignore that particular rule when her best friend Anna, and her daughter Chloe are both human. I think it's rather interesting how the author gets around the classic instant-romance shenanigans. Apparently this too is too big for anyone to ignore, especially Christoph. This series is big on mythology. It is also a series that you should take care not to ignore secondary characters like Kara, Nics, Rachel, Paul, and Sam who become staples of the story and Elyse's enlightenment of the world she was kept hidden from. 

One of the things that most readers will take from this story is the naivete of Elyse. Then again, can you blame her? Her parents kept her a secret. She wasn't allowed to have any friends, or attend regular school for fear of being discovered. Her parents deaths made it even more important for Elyse to remain in hiding with those like Christoph eager to get his hands on her. One can even give her a break when it comes to her insta-romance connection with William, besides the whole "other" prophecy thing.

I was provided copies of all three books in this series by Xpresso Book Tours. I will be reviewing them over the course of the next 2 weeks having already read them back to back. 

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