Cassandra Todd---part of the popular crowd and friends with those who taunted him in high school---re-enters Turner Caldwell's life unexpectedly. With her son in tow, she begs for his help in eluding her abusive husband. Entangled in the dangerous situation, Turner is forced to rely on every survival skill he learned back at a youth camp. But will it be enough?
The premise of this book is fascinating. Frog-turned-prince stumbles across the girl on whom he once had a secret crush, a girl who was friends with all of the most popular kids in high school. The same popular kids who tormented him both cruelly and endlessly. Now she's the helpless one and he has the power to choose whether to help her - or not. Only this time, the consequences aren't only humiliation, but life and death. Would you help a person in this position? It's easy to say that yes, we would help anyone who is in grave danger, but what about someone who once helped to make your own life miserable? What about if helping meant putting your own life on the line?
The setting was exquisite. As a former camp counselor and director, I love being outside, and Nelson painted beautiful pictures of nature in this book. The descriptions of the Colorado forests were made even more majestic by the simplicity of Turner's usual motel home. From extreme survival skills to cave camp-outs and man-killing mudslides, you'll want to become a scout after reading Cassandra Todd.
The suspense level is riveting. You won't be able to predict a single move in Cassandra Todd. You'll continually readjust your assumption, being sure that you know what's going on, but you'll have misjudged it each time. The obvious assumption is never right, and that's both rare and exciting. The Return of Cassandra Todd is both fascinating and totally unpredictable.
Few books can claim that they have it all, but The Return of Cassandra Todd does: danger, suspense, spiritual lessons, life choices, romance, and adventure. It won't matter which one of these is your favorite; Cassandra Todd will reel you in.
I received a free copy of The Return of Cassandra Todd from Glass Road Media & Management in exchange for an honest review.
Amy, thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked my novel, and I appreciate your kind, insightful words. It means so much to receive positive feedback. I hope you'll have a chance to review my future novel, Following Rain.
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