The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it. ~ James Bryce

For three years, Kati Walsh has hunkered down at a new place of worship to dab at church-inflicted wounds. Her one outreach is to her kickboxing friends at the gym, but she’s been praying for God to stir her heart again. But she’s not sure that the new assistant pastor and his friend Reece Jernigan are what she asked for—because Assistant Pastor Josh Corbin plans to win the hearts of the north-side neighborhood, mostly described as “the hood.”

When Josh plans a prayer walk in the neighborhood, both the congregation and the police are wary, but Josh insists that prayer works. He believes in spiritual warfare—prayer, praise, and the Word of God. Reece, on the other hand, has been on the streets before, and his weapon of choice is a 9mm Glock. Two close friends with differing perspectives and both with an eye on Kati. But they’re not the only ones—the gang leader from the north side has taken an unexpected interest in Kati, too.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this story. The characters were believable. The plot was plausible, ripped from today’s headlines. And the spiritual warfare was perfect. Not overdone or underdone for this story.

The setting is a local congregation. There are two heroes, one heroine, and several supporting characters. My favorite scenes were the church services. During the preaching, I wanted to stand and shout, “Yes! Praise the Lord!” The call to service, I cried, “Lord, help us.” And during the prayers, I whispered, “Yes, Lord.”

One of my favorite quotes came from Pedro.

“Are those in our neighborhood not worthy of your love and concern? Where is this Christianity you talk about? Is it only for you? Your family and no one else? Or is it for everyone, as Jesus has said?”

Although the suspense and the spiritual threads were more than satisfying, I wasn’t crazy about the romance thread. However, I am incredibly picky when it comes to this subject. As a reader, I know what I like and don’t like. As a writer, I struggle in this area. I suggest reading the book for yourself.

This review is based on the suspense and the spiritual threads alone. And for those two threads, I give the book 5 stars because it made me question my love for others and my willingness to share the gospel. Am I doing enough?

We’ve all lived so long with Satan’s attacks that we no longer see them as such. We possess weapons of divine power that can demolish strongholds, and yet we don’t use them. Prayer, praise, God’s word. The name of Jesus. Weapons. He’s calling us out of our comfort zones, out of our safe zones, and asking if we are willing to take up the fight for our families, our neighbors, and for Him.~ Josh Corbin, assistant pastor at New Life Church

See what I mean?

In Warrior, Linda shares the truth of the Word and explains how to wield the weapons of the Spirit. Through her characters, she teaches us how to love the lost in our communities. I seldom find a book that challenges my heart and mind as much as this story did. It’s been two weeks, and I can still hear several quotes.

To you, dear reader, I apologize. I know I have to be the weirdest reviewer ever. I tend to judge a book by what I take from it, not on what I like or dislike about it. If it touches me emotionally and spiritually, well then, the writer has done her job. And in the case of Warrior, Linda did a great job.

Now . . . if you’d like to read an awesome review of this book by someone who knows what she’s doing, then please visit readingismysuperpower.

Warrior is free! That’s right! From today 10-26 until Monday 10-29. Check it out.

Linda’s Christian romantic suspense novels can be found on sale at Amazon. http://amzn.to/2rcrWHK Author website and blog: http://lindarodante.com/ Personal Blog: Writing for God; Fighting Human trafficking: https://lindarodante.wordpress.com/