Customer Reviews

Ransomed Dreams (Defenders of Hope Series #1)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Gracie Lang was driving behind her family when they were killed in a terrible accident. She's run from the memory ever since. Now she's determined to bring the hit and run killer to justice. It's a cold case. The police don't give her much encouragment, but she has to try.

FBI Agent, Stephen Kessler's wife walked out on him when their son was just a baby. He's an agent with the Crimes Against Children Unit, and spends his working hours trying to rescue other people's children and his nights being a single father to his son James.

Then both Gracie and Steven are caught in a battle with an unknown, mutual enemy. They struggle to learn the name of the person determined to destroy them before he can strike again. Amy Walace knows her stuff. Ransomed Dreams is a fast paced story of danger and intrigue seasoned with romance.

Amy Wallace takes you on a wild ride in her new book Ransomed Dreams. It held my attention from page one to the closing of the book!!!!

The story centers around Gracie Lang, who experiences what a person might call their worst nightmear ... watching her family killed right in front of her.

As Gracie tries to heal she moves to a different place and begins working as a teacher at a special school. It's at this special school she meets the father of one of her students. FBI agent Steven Kessler works in the Crimes Against Children Unit and struggles with many heart issues, such as, how could God let terrible things happen to children as well as resentment toward an ex-wife who walked out on him and their infant son several years earlier and guilt for the times he didn't solve a case in time which resulted in a victim rather than a victory.

As Gracie continues to seek justice for her family's death and Steven tries to solve a major case, their paths come dangereously close.

This story is their journey through some very painful issues. Steven and Gracie felt very real. They were not saints but very much struggled with things you and I struggle with. Their feelings and emotions were completely realistic.

The secondary characters were ones you want to know better. Clint and Sara were a great couple. Clint makes a great partner and best friend for Steven.

I highly recommend this page turning novel. It will be a tough wait for book two (Clint and Sara's Story)... due out April 2008.

[...].

Get the book...you won't be sorry. Thanks Amy! Great work!

"Her quest to see him pay, the anger that still simmered below the surface, gave her more strength than crumpling in her sadness...She wasn't ready to give that up." (p. 256)

When people face tragedy, they look for someone to blame. Gracie Lang didn't have to look far, because she witnessed the hit and run that changed her life. Now she's obsessed with finding the man who took everything from her. She rebuilds parts of her life, but her heart is far from healed. Her path keeps crossing with FBI agent Steve Kessler who has his own past horrors to deal with.

Their struggle toward wholeness is set against a tense kidnap and murder plot.

Ransomed Dreams grabbed me by the throat in the first few pages, and kept me entertained with a complex interweaving plot. I was especially impressed with the authentic feel of the FBI interactions.

But beyond the external storyline, Ransomed Dreams also whispered themes of healing and hope. The characters wrestle with honest questions and face the limits of their own attempts to deal with pain. The author's core focus of "heart healing" is portrayed with compassion and power. A great story that challenges the reader to let go of bitterness.

Ok, so the prologue is great. It really gets you, but thats where this book left me, in the very beginning. After that I had a real hard time staying interested in the ridiculous plot, The English Criminal, the FBI Agent, The exs wife, the Villain drunk driver/stalker.... I read this book twice. The first time it took me several weeks, because I like to finish what I started. Nothing inspiring happens, nothing truly spiritual. I felt that this was thrown together by the author. Really, if you read this and give it a positive rating you must love crazy fiction and un-realistic mysteries that have a lot of different things going on. I mean, really, at some point the "villain" tracks her and gets a job at her school as the principal, C'MON PEOPLE, the principal!!!!!! Thats not even the most ridiculous, it just goes on and on. Very disappointed and I love to read, but this one is 100% thumbs down. Dont waste your money, borrow it if you really want to read it. I know this is supposed to be a spiritual book but even that angle was off the mark. In my book club 90% of us hated this book! Not disliked, we hated it. It was a difficult read because you, I mean me, just got lost right at Chapter 1. The book never kept us interested because it was so ridiculous with the plot and totally far fetched. Good Luck

Gracie Lang's life is shattered by the hit and run death of her family and is consumed by her desire to find the man responsible. Teaching first grade at the exclusive Hope Ridge Academy and her golden retriever, Jake are the only things anchoring her in this life.

FBI Agent Steven Kessler has been flying solo as a parent since his wife's betrayal and desertion nearly five years earlier. Becoming the Crimes Against Children Coordinator has kept the guilt of his failed marriage and his rejection of God at bay - just.

Amy Wallace takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through the emotions from the heart-wrenching grief of a young widow to the torment experienced by an FBI Agent when an investigation fails to the hope birthed through forgiveness. Gracie and Steven are fascinating and authentic and the author does not shy away from the hard realities of life which gives her characters a depth and purpose the reader can relate to. Her minor characters and the "bad guys" are also well-developed. The suspense is tight and the romance captivating reminding me of Dee Henderson's O'Malley series. I have no doubt Amy Wallace is an author to watch and I eagerly anticipate the sequels which tell the stories of Clint and Michael respectively.

Never has a novel been so equally heart wrenching and uplifting, all at the same time! Amy Wallace has composed an amazing story that deeply touches the hearts of her readers, offering an inspiring message of hope in the face of tragedy and forgiveness in the face of justice.

Join school teacher Gracie Lang as she seeks to find the man responsible for her family's death, and in doing so, becomes hopelessly tangled in a web of deceit, mystery, and...attraction for the cop working the case! =)

You'll laugh, cry, cheer, shriek, and find yourself reaching for a taste of your own "heart chocolate" - read the novel and check out Amy's website to discover more of those much-needed morsels!

"Ransomed Dreams" is one you DO NOT want to miss!

Ransomed Dreams has a gut-wrenching beginning. I cried when Gracie's family was wiped out in a tragic car accident. In fact, I needed a breather from the story because it made me so sad. Then I picked up the story again and the action pulled me right back in. Gracie's quest to determine who killed her family intersected with Steven's case--the plot to kidnap the British ambassador's daughter. Several points of view showed a variety of perspectives, all of which increased the tension in the story because you knew what certain people were thinking. The "bad guys" were twisted, yet believable in their perspectives. The author did a great job creating further intrigue that way. And the romantic element between Gracie and Steve was delectable.

Steven's ex and the subplot involving his son really grabbed my heart and my attention. I felt the hopelessness that both Steven and Gracie experienced at times, ultimately resulting in them having to do some soul-searching in regards to their relationship with God and His will for their lives. The theme of forgiveness was also very well done and believable. The reader will wrestle the characters' pain right along with them. There are no quick fixes and this story doesn't offer any, but it does give you a glimpse into the pain and struggles of the characters, and it shows the tender love and firm grip that God had on their lives, and has on the lives of all of His children.

Amy Wallace has a subtle voice. Like the first line of Ransomed Dreams, Amy draws you into the world of Gracie Lang. It's New Year's Eve and "Gracie's night overflowed with promise. . ."

Little did we know, her worst nightmare, any mother's worst nightmare, was about to happen.

Two years later, living hundreds of miles away from the safe haven Gracie shared with her late husband and two children, she's a lonely teacher, with a spic and span house, longing for her family and the cluttered house again. While FBI agent Steven Kessler is the first man to have caught her eye since her husband and although her parents and sister tell her it's time to start dating again, to move on, she can't. "The past held her captive."

Only Gracie has no idea the hold the past still has on her.

***

I truly enjoyed this book. Amy's excellence with prose is so keen you feel you know Gracie Lang and Steven Kessler. You're walking in their shoes. You're angry when they are. You're feeling their pain. You're fighting the bad guys right along with them.

This isn't just a romance. It isn't just a suspense. It's a parable of God's faithfulness and love. It's about trusting in Him.

I loved Amy's candid way of writing, her ability to draw me in from the first sentence. I put this book down only when I had to, but it was never far from reach. It was in the car with me so I could read it at traffic lights. I read it while I held my daughter and laughed with her at cartoons.

And then, it was just me, Gracie and Steven til the end - an all-nighter - because I had to see this story through. I couldn't let another day pass without knowing what happened.

Well done, Amy.

I can't wait for Book Two

Ransomed Dreams takes you away with a captivating setting and plot, with characters that touch your heart and who remind you how God is always at work in each life. It is entertaining and easy to get into. Perfect for the lazy days of summer and beyond... BUY THIS BOOK!!

Gracie Lang has lost everything. She watched in horror as someone plowed into her family's minivan - with them inside. She watched as her husband and children were taken away under white sheets. As Gracie struggles to rebuild her life she is plagued by the thought that she should have been in the van with her family. In an effort to move forward, Gracie begins a search for her family's killer. Will she be able to bring justice to the tragedy or will her search bring only more pain?

Steven Kessler, FBI agent and the father of one of Gracie's students, befriends Gracie and wants to help her in her quest. Steven, however, has his own problems in the form of an ex-wife and a job that requires full devotion. Can Steven help Gracie or will his current investigation get in the way of any possible connection?

The kidnapping of the daughter of a British Ambassador affects both Steven and Gracie's lives in way they never expected. Are Steven and Gracie willing to work together or will the issues that divide them prove to be more than they can bear?

Ransomed Dreams is the first novel in the Defenders of Hope Series. Amy Wallace, who is a police academy graduate, brings suspense to the next level. Each twist and turn will keep the reader wanting more. Wallace skillfully incorporates faith and fiction in a way that makes the reader want more of both.