Customer Reviews

Vicious Cycle (Intervention, Book 2)

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Since I first started reading Christian fiction, Terri Blackstock has always been one of my favorite authors. I love the intensity in her novels, which causes me to furiously turn the pages. She has begun a new series about the struggles of drug addiction, and she doesn't tone down that intensity one bit.

Vicious Cycle is a novel about a young girl, Jordan, who is caught up in a web of drug addiction. Not only is she an addict, but her mother and half-brother are as well. In the very first chapter, she is pregnant with a child and forced to have the baby in her own bed because her mother will not take her to the hospital. Jordan does not understand that at first, but as the pieces fall into place throughout the book, Jordan's realizes she has a mother who does not care about anyone but herself.

Lance (featured in book one, Intervention) becomes friends with Jordan through school. Because his sister is a recovering drug addict, he recognizes pretty quickly that Jordan is on the road to a bad life, not only for herself, but for the baby that she's carrying. He convinces her to start treatment at a local rehab center, New Day. Lance visits every weekend to see his sister while she's recovering, and seeing Jordan is an added bonus. When Jordan voluntarily leaves New Day so close to her delivery date, he knows Jordan will return to her drug-infested home. He takes it upon himself to drive over to her house to check on her, not realizing that he's about to be in the biggest trouble of his life.

Leave it to Terri Blackstock to create a novel that sucked me in from page one!! Not only did I get a glimpse of the world of meth, I also got a small glimpse into the world of baby trafficking, and neither one was a pretty picture. This book was so realistic, possibly more so than the book before it, Intervention. I can't wait to see what's in store for Barbara, Kent, Emily, and Lance with the remainder of the books in this series. Highly Recommended!!

To say that I was Anxious to receive this book would be a HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT! I read the 1st book, Intervention and could NOT put it down! Knowing how very personal this storyline is to Terri Blackstock only made it that much more meaningful to me. This 2nd book, A Vicious Cycle, isn't just a novel, to me, it is a story that needs to be told! There are so many who struggle with addictions of many kinds, and in A Vicious Cycle we also learn more about baby trafficking. It is beyond heartbreaking and so very unbelievable. In this story, I am so amazed at the strength in which Barbara Covington, who is Lance and Emily's Mom, shares as she deals with all that life throws at her. She will inspire you and so will this book! Her Son Lance, a young man who wants nothing more than to help his friend come clean, not only for herself, but for her unborn baby too. He tries to help and becomes caught up in a family who thinks of nothing else, but how and where they can get their next high. The Covington's continually find themselves intertwined with this family and just when they think they can walk away, their paths connect once more and this time, it just might prove to be fatal for all of those involved.

Just one WARNING though:
When you sit down to read this book you may not be able to put it down until the VERY LAST PAGE HAS BEEN TURNED!
Seriously, IT IS THAT GOOD!

I have read all of Terri Blackstock's books and have never been disappointed. She is such an amazing author! I read Vicious Cycle the day it came. I just couldn't put it down.

While nineteen years old teenager Emily Covington completes her year long stay in rehab thanks to the Intervention of her mother Barbara and her fifteen year old brother Lance, another teenage meth user Jordan gives birth to a daughter in her home. Jordan hates herself as she was too high to go to a hospital and has spent nine months buying meth instead of vitamins. To her chagrin her mom sold "it" for forty thousand dollars. Although afraid of her mom and her brother Zeke, Jordan leaves her newborn in the car belonging to Lance who has been trying to help her kick her meth habit.

When confronted by her dangerous family, Jordan accuses Lance of kidnapping her daughter. The cops arrest Lance. A desperate Barbara, preoccupied with Emily coming home, asks Atlanta police detective Kent Harlan who she met during her daughter's Intervention, what she should do. He says he is coming to Jefferson City to help her and her son. Kent drops everything even a case he is working on to fly immediately to the woman he loves.

The second Intervention Christian thriller is an action-packed tale that looks deeply at the impact of drug abuse on the user and their families as well as what happens after an extended rehab; to a lesser degree there is also a glimpse into illegal human trafficking. Some of the action is over the top of Kennesaw Mountain especially how easily Kent leaves Atlanta and gets to Jefferson City (without beam me up technology). Still, fans will enjoy Terri Blackstock's Covington family drama as the widow must think she is a modern day Job because of all that has happened since her husband died yet she keeps the faith. This author has written writes some of the best inspirational thriller books of the last decade.

Harriet Klausner

Terri Blackstock has done it again!! I picked up one of her books a few years ago and have since read everything she has written. This book was not a let down for sure. The characters are real and believable and have issues!!! Terri always gets us to God and his plan for every single individual no matter where they are in life - offering hope to all who read her books along the way! Can not wait till the next book!!!
And selfishly so thankful she has her books on KINDLE!!!!!

Another GREAT book by Terri Blackstock!! I read it in one night... unable to put it down. I can't wait to read the third "Intervention" book, due to be released later this year!

Some books take longer to finish and others don't. This is one of those books I found hard to put down, so it was completed in just a couple of days.
The issue of addiction is a very complex problem in America. People of different ages and backgrounds fall victim to the temptations, seeking refuge from many different illnesses and/or problems.
This book riveted me from the beginning because there is always hope...as long a a person lives and breathes, there is hope in this world.
Vicious cycle is written so that the reader hopes right along with Emily, Lance and Barbara for the life of a baby and her 15-year-old mother. I wanted the mother to find her life worth living and I prayed beside the family that showed she is valuable.
Vicious Cycle also provides insight into a world many of us cannot even fathom. A world filled with danger around every corner. A world where predators lurk, seeking to ravage the victims of despair.
Terri Blackstock never fails to deliver...writing about the issues many of us often would like to turn a blind eye to.

I've read most of Terri Blackstock's books but this has got to be the best yet. It is a look into the lives of many young people's drug problems as well as adults use of drugs to make them "feel happy and pain free". Readers are kept on the edge of their seats throughout this book determining the next step as a graduate from a rehab attempts to help a 15-year-old pregnant friend much in need of "help or drugs?". You think you know the outcome, but the episodes leading to the end is very intense, exploiting the lives of the addict and how families are affected. Almost any family could benefit from reading this wonderful book.

Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock is an amazing sequel to Intervention, the first book in the intervention series. Sequels aren't always as good as the first, but this book is an exception!
I was immersed in the world of Barbara, Lance, and Emily Covington once again. I was reminded of my love for the characters, and who they were as people.
Blackstock is extremely good at character development. She created character's that weren't boring at all. Usually, after a first novel, character development goes down the drain. Not with this novel. Blackstock continued developing characters that stick in your mind for a long time after you close the book. Lance Covington, for example, is one of those characters that was continually being added to.
The book overall was amazing! I was not letdown in my expectations. I had very high expectations for this book, and Terri Blackstock delivered it with a smack down.
This book opened my eyes even more to the world we all live in. Again, I didn't want to accept our world but sadly, I had to. I had to realize our world is not so perfect and it is filled with evils that most of us can't even imagine.
Blackstock unveiled a wolf in sheep clothing with Vicious Cycle. I admire her work as an author, and as a Christian.

**This book was provided by Zondervan Publishing in exchange for an honest review**

When fifteen-year old Lance finds out his friend Jordan has left drug rehab, he goes to her house to check on her. After being threatened, he leaves, only to find a newborn baby in his back sea. Jordan's baby. Thinking he will have his mom help figure out what to do, he takes the baby home. When he's arrested, the family finds themselves involved in a baby smuggling ring in addition to drug abuse. Can the family work together to prove Lance's innocence as well as protect a helpless baby?

As always, Blackstock tells a thrilling tale of adventure, but what stood out to me most in this book was the honest, realistic look at drug abuse and human trafficking. Lance's sister is finding it hard to cope after graduating from a year-long rehab facility. The storyline of baby traffickers getting drug abusers pregnant in hopes of selling their babies is a real issue, and Blackstock handled it with grace while still sharing a intriguing story.

Fans of Christian fiction will enjoy this book. I know I look forward to more books in this series.