Review: Bound by Blood by Scott Springer

Book Description

Julia has accepted the Lord and is busy returning her life to order. She is not ready for love, especially when the new site foreman at work stirs up forgotten feelings. She knows a playboy when she sees one, but to Rick Mercado the attraction between them is surprisingly real. Other girls no longer interest him, and if she wants to play hard to get that's fine with him. Let the games begin!

What he doesn't realize is that her dangerous secret is not a game.

Julia's brother has returned from the street, strung out and in trouble with rival gangs. Loyalty to her brother draws Julia deeper into a world of drug deals and thugs. Rick doesn't understand why Julia won't simply go to the cops, especially once the bullets start flying. As Julia slips further into a world of violence, Rick realizes how easily his heart can be broken. His brain says to run, but his heart isn't listening. It may already be too late.

BOUND BY BLOOD. Love and suspense, heartfelt moments and guns a blazing.

What a killer combination!

My Review

I recently read an article on gender bias in fiction—whether men are more represented as published writers, as reviewed writers, and as characters. It got me thinking, because I predominantly read and review titles written by women. I suspect, after reading the article, it’s because I mostly read and review in two areas—romance and Christian fiction—which are dominated by women (the membership of writer’s organisations such as RWA, RUAus, RWNZ or ACFW are 80% women or more).

I’ll also make an admission: I’ve discovered I prefer novels written by women, because I like the internal conflict, the character development and relationship, and I think that on average, women write people better than men. My reading history shows men are more likely to write shoot-em-up novels with little or no character development (e.g. James Patterson, Dan Brown). Yes, they make good movies. Yes, there are exceptions.

So Bound by Blood is a novelty for me: a novel written by a man. A man who knows how to write good characters with strong internal conflict who change and grow by the end of the novel. Yes, there was a lot of action in the novel, but it was action driven by the plot, not action for the sake of filling a chapter or two.

Bound by Blood has a different setting than most Christian novels. I find most of the novels I read are set in a sanitised middle-class America, where even people whose lives go wrong have strong Christian support networks to help them get back on their feet, whether family or friends. If people have financial or health problems, it’s because it’s a plot point, not a reality of daily life.

Bound by Blood is different, in that it’s showing a side of American life that’s representative of how many people live, and it’s not pretty. It’s gritty and edgy, and offers a real insight into the difficulties new Christians can face in moving away from their old lives and on in the faith. Well done.

Release Date: September 23, 2014, from Anaiah Press.



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Author Bio:

Scott Springer spent his youth playing pretend and dreaming of being a writer. As an adult he worked as a carpenter before becoming a software developer. Having produced much, his two children remain his proudest accomplishment. His wife led him to the Lord, and he’s glad that she did. You can find him at his website, on Twitter, or on Goodreads.

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