Customer Reviews

Wiser Than Serpents (Mission: Russia #3) (Steeple Hill Women's Fiction #62)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Susan May Warren brilliantly brings her Mission: Russia series characters to life in "Wiser Than Serpents". At the same time, she raises awareness of a serious plague attacking the world, today: human trafficking. Russian FSB (formerly KGB) Agent and IT expert, Yanna, has a problem. Her sister, Elena, has been kidnapped into the sex slavery market in Taiwan. She normally turns to her friend and American military operative, David Curtiss, when she is in need. But he is nowhere to be found. Taking matters into her own hands, Yanna arranges for her own capture by the same criminal element in the hopes of saving Elena. When she learns of David's deep undercover involvement in the operation, will it jeopardize both of their missions? Hers, to rescue her sister; his, to take down the Twin Dragons crime syndicate that deals in human trafficking.

Start this novel early in the morning on a day you have nothing to do. You will be completely swept away by Susie's narrative, caught up in the action and intertwined in the lives of her powerful - and intensely romantic - characters. David's conviction as a Christian to not be unequally yoked with a non-believer is a primary struggle in his relationship with Yanna. Susie handles this beautifully. Old friends from previous Mission: Russia novels appear in major leading roles. The horrors of human trafficking are not gruesomely described, but the tense undercurrent is very evident throughout the story. I love that part of the profits for this book go toward combating this terrifying problem. Bravo, Susie! Not only have you opened the eyes of Christian fiction readers to what horrors exist in our own backyards, you have thoroughly entertained with this novel!!! Plus, a conversation between David and Roman led me to do a Bible study on Psalm 73. This is an amazing book!

Russian FSB agent Yanna Andrevka goes under cover without back up to find her sister who thought she was becoming a mail-order bride going to America, but instead was swallowed up by an international slave trade cartel.

Yanna can usually rely on her long time friend and secret love American Delta Force captain (military undercover operative) David Curtiss, but he's nowhere to be found. She assumes he's doing something dangerous in deep cover. She's so right on that one. When she's captured, as is her plan, by the same trafficers who took her sister, David finds her with a gun to her head. He must blow his cover in an operation that took months to set up to take down the Twin Dragons (involved in drugs, arms, and forced prostitution).

Yanna is an FSB (the made over KGB) IT expert, not a field operative, so she makes plenty of tactical blunders during the course of the story. However she doesn't always need David to save her, nor is she always appreciative of his efforts or his fear for her safety. The horrors of human trafficing are not gruesomely described, but neither are they glossed over.

Although this is definitely a stand alone book, Warren constructs a plot with many twists and turns, bringing characters from former books in this Mission Russia series. Sparks fly as Yanna and David try to achieve their seperate agendas, sometimes endangering each other, sometimes rescuing each other, always dealing with the chemistry they feel for each other. David has a monumental struggle trying to handle his deep love for Yanna, as he will not allow himself to be unequally yoked in marriage.

This is a compelling story of unrequited love amidst a thrilling adventure frought with danger, some of it brought on by the character flaws of the two main characters. It's a really good read.

After the reviews about this book and looking for something written about human trafficking, I downloaded it to my iPad. What a joke. The author has an English name which implies it is her first language. You wouldn't think so after reading this tosh. I don't know what else she writes but I would suggest sticking to Stephen Leather, Andy Mcnab or Tom Cain if you enjoy any kind of action. This book starts off in an exciting place but soon the writing style has me wishing I had never bought the thing. Descriptions of situations are long winded and flowery. Words used were not emotive and I didn't feel particularly tense when reading any of it. I didn't feel like turning the page anymore after the first few. I just deleted the book. The one determining factor about deleting this book was when I saw the word "egress" for the second time in the book. Who uses that word? Escape would have been fine. Does she use a synonym dictionary to find more interesting words or does she use google translate from her native tongue into english? I skipped whole sections of the book looking for action. Nothing moved me. Total waste of time. I'm disappointed that people would give this 5 stars and mislead others into buying it.

Yanna Andrevka goes undercover to try to save her sister, who was kidnapped by ruthless slave traffickers. And who comes to rescue her? None other than David Curtiss, the American Delta Force captain she's been secretly in love with since their college days together in Russia. But now they're both in trouble, because the kingpin of this human slavery ring, known as the Serpent, knows who they are and has an uncanny way of finding where they are--and trying to assassinate them.

Yanna and David are on the run and fighting their long-standing attraction to each other. But David must resist the urge to care about Yanna, because she's not a Christian and isn't even open to discussing it. And Yanna has been hurt so many times, she's not sure if even David--if he cared about her--would be enough to heal her brokenness.

And if you're a fan of Vicktor and Gracie like I am--I admit it, I was giddily excited when I saw that there was a story thread involving my two favorite characters from In Sheep's Clothing--then you will get a glimpse of their continuing saga, as they--hopefully--inch their way toward matrimony. Oh, how I wanted them to run off to Vegas! But I shouldn't give it away.

I highly recommend this deliciously satisfying book, the third in the Mission: Russia series. Can't wait for the next one!

Susan May Warren really knows how to write suspenseful tales about unrequited love. Wiser than Serpents contained such passion and spiritual depth that it took my breath away. I loved her Josey series because it's so funny, but I really loved Wiser than Serpents because of the depth of emotion between the main characters in the book. It amazed me how much serious brutality (as in blood and guts) was allowed in this Steeple Hill book. But it was necessary to make the storyline believable. I was impressed, to say the least.

Susan's tale of romance and intrigue not only had me turning the pages, but holding my breath each time Yanna and David were together. The sparks between them were electric. I'm serious. And the deep emotional connection they had was beautiful and sacrificial, especially on David's end. He was willing to lay his life on the line so many times because of his love for Yanna. It was exhilarating. And his internal conflict was so intense because he wanted her so badly, but had to deny himself to the point it rocked him to the core. What a heroic hero! Fabulous story and incredibly romantic. I'd give this story a ten out of ten if I had a rating system. Seriously. The ending left me glowing.

I've covered the next two tags: novel and own with Susan May Warren's Wiser Than Serpents. This book is part of the Mission Russia series and kicks off with FSB (the made over KGB) agent Yanna Andrevka going deep undercover (with no back up) to rescue her sister Elena who has been kidnapped in a white slavery operation. Yanna is quickly captured as well, as was her plan, but when she's meeting the head of the slavery ring, she also encounters her long time love David Curtiss who she hasn't heard from in months because HE was deep undercover. Although their agendas are different, they end up working together, sabotaging and rescuing each other from the Twin Serpents, a crime ring involved in arms, drugs, and prostitution. Warren has a terrific grasp of Russian culture, and I always enjoy reading her books. David and Yanna's relationship is unusual in that while they both deeply love each other, David is a Christian, and Yanna isn't, so he won't allow them to pursue their feelings until she comes to trust God. An intriguing plot twist that Warren works to maximum gratification. There is lots of suspense, and Yanna's ingenuity in her escapes are terrific. More frustrating is her regular insistence in running off alone and endangering not only herself but everyone else as well. It felt a little cliched at times to me, but Warren is using this book to help shine a light on white slavery in hopes that readers will become more aware of this issue and do something to help end it. And for that, I give the book 4 stars.

Vita...Roma...and now Yenna! Agent Andrevka, and David Curtiss a.k.a. "Preach" are en route to adventure. When Yenna's sister disappears into thin air Agent Andrevka starts investigating. Finding that her sister has been swallowed whole into the human trafficking ring the Twin Serpents. Her big rescue plan...get caught by the same thugs that have her sister and pull a 007. Only problem is, Agent Andrevka is rusty in the field operation area. Soooooooo instead of rescuing her sister, she gets caught in the ring, as planned, but can't get out, I won't give away the whole story but suffice it to say, David very cool We get to see Gracie and Vita and Roma again too. Ms. Warren, PLEASE write another book in this series. I want to know Mae's story too!!!

This story was fantastic, definitely one of Susie's best and I'm one of her biggest fans =) So that's hard to say. But I was on the edge of my chair, quite literally, throughout much of the story and couldn't wait for my lunch break at work to be able to devour another 80 pages or so.

The chemistry between the hero and heroine sparked with an amazing combination of realism, purity and depth. Their love and sacrifice was heartwrenching and inspiring.

Also, the glimpse inside an awful portion of our world's trade system will sober one into prayer and research. Such horrors must be stopped!

This was an amazing story, one not to be missed - a perfect continuation to the series but it was also more than able to stand firmly on its own for new readers.

Good job, Susie!! (again!!) =)

I highly recommend Wiser Than Serpents! It's an amazing piece of work just as a stand-alone fiction, but knowing the subject is a harsh reality brings it into a whole new light. This is no casual story about a rescue. It's an on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of thrill ride. I love that it's written from the rescuers' perspective, so it's not only full of action, suspense and life-threatening situations, but it's also full of hope, courage and reliance on God. It opened my eyes to a real problem in the world today without being preachy. Oh, and just so you're not loaded down with the run in and shoot 'em up scene, there's a romantic side woven in as well.

Even though this is the third book in a series (I haven't read the first two), it feels full and complete on it's own. Susan gives enough background along the way so we're not feeling left out...and enough to pique my interest into running to get the other two books.

I loved this book!! I loved that it could stand on its own or be read with the rest of the series. I knew alot about Human traffiking before I read this book but if someone didnt this book explains alot about whats happening in our world. I will definitly read this book again and again!!