Andrea Aarons

Taken from the beginning of this book: "In Book 4 we meet another Merriweather sibling - Dale. An unconventional Christian, Dale always the good guy; a great father and loving husband is targeted by the authorities for smuggling contraband onto the Greek isle of Kerkyra. Why do they want his grandmother's carry-on bag? Everyone is seeking Dale including Mac and Merry sailing the sloop, Serendipity to rescue him and his family. The island nation of D'Almata is their short-term goal but in a world turned upside down and driven by dark forces, will they succeed?"

This was what I thought was the final story in this series, but I see now where there is another book coming out as a conclusion to it all. This for me was my least favorite of all the books so far. I just didn't connect well with the characters in this story or the story line. The rest of the family and the cast of characters you have come to know from reading books 1-3 are very much a part of this story. There were also some rather strange occurrances in this story that were too "science fiction" for me to be true. Although I know this is taking place near the end of time as we know it now, it just didn't flow that well for me. I would be interested to see how the author finishes this series with her final story in book five, "Scenic Route to Paradise".… (mehr)

Times are not normal. The United States has been bombed plus there has been major earthquakes in the Midwest. Kate Merriweather is in South Africa during this time, taking a small detour for some much needed soul searching before she heads for the island of D'Almata to attend her widowed mother's wedding. Now catastrophe has struck the U.S.A. and it is reeking havoc all around the world. Kate finds herself needing to get out of the country, but with no money and traveling by plane hard to come by, Kate does her best to make her way towards D'Almata. She eventually hooks up with her sister Merry and her husband Mac and they find themselves resting a few days with a bachelor friend of Mac's named Roger. Although Roger is attracted to Kate, Kate doesn't feel she is ready for any commitments. When Kate's life is in danger and she finds herself captured by sea pirates, Roger comes to her rescue and things between them slowly start to change.

Although you could read this series of books by themselves, I strongly suggest you read them in the order they are written to fully understand what is going on. Each book picks up shortly after the previous one and includes the same characters throughout the series. This was one of my favorite stories in this series of books. This series is all about the Merriweather family with book one (Cynic, Surfer, Saint) being about Toni Merriweather the widowed Mom, book two (Merry's Mauraders) being about the youngest daughter, and this story being about Kate the older daughter; (book three, Desperado Dale is about the son). They are written with not a lot of "filler" but very concise and to the point. I believe the author would have us experience through these stories what the world will be like right before the tribulation in the Bible. It is an interesting take on things. With each story she leaves you hanging on how it ended. There is romance, but you have to use your imagination on what takes place because the "romantic scenes" are few and far between. I am off to finish this series with "Desperado Dale".… (mehr)

As the book description says at the beginning of this story regarding this series of books, "Scenic Route to Paradise Reality merges with the realm of faith in this almost-could-be story." This story has some adventure, romance and a lot of "almost-could-be" things happening in it. There is raiding empty houses, taking over a convalescent home, becoming a "wartime bride" all wrapped up in this story that takes place during a time in America when an earthquake and then a military strike by an unknown emeny drive the town of Santa Fe, New Mexico into an area where each man for himself makes living very dangerous.

This story takes place shortly after book one leaves off. Merry is the daughter of Toni Merriweather and runs a Christian halfway house ministry. She is getting ready to go to the country of D'Almata to visit her Mom and Mac from that country arrives to take her there. When he arrives everything breaks loose and it is like a war torn town. Mac steps up and helps everyone organize and stay safe. It is quite a different group of people who come together and work together to stay safe and alive. It is an unusual scenario and this author has a different style of writing, but I must say at the end of each story she leaves the ending with enough interest to want me to keep reading to see what will happen in the next book. So I am off to begin "Catching Kate" next.… (mehr)

This was a story written slightly different from a lot of authors I have read. I can't put my finger on it, but I think it lacked the emotion that I usually feel with a story. It started off with Toni, a lady in her fifties being hired out for the evening to babysit for some guests on vacation. While she is watching a little girl men break in and try to kidnap her. Toni, who is a widow and former missionary, is able to foil their plans, which leads her to a job with the family protecting their teenage son while teaching him how to surf. With the son comes his bodyguard, Rifta, and his uncle, Hugh. These folks are from the country of D'Almata and the son, Mishael is about to take over as ruler. The odd thing is, Toni has never surfed, but her late husband was very good at it and tried to teach her when he was alive.

The characters in this story are all very unique, with interesting life styles. Toni tries to share her belief in God with them and it was interesting to see her beliefs through their eyes. It was a story I found myself interested in, but it took awhile to get used to the style of this author. I was pleased with the ending sort of, because it kind of left you hanging, which was one of the reasons I want to pick up book two in this series, "Merry's Marauders", and see if it will tell me how I think things will turn out. Get your surf board out and your imagination on and try "Cynic, Surfer and Saint".… (mehr)