Title: Nightshade (Discarded Heroes #1)
Author: Ronnie Kendig
Pages: 338
Year: 2017
Publisher: Task Force Press
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
There are many wonderful stories written by this author just waiting to be opened and enjoyed. Here is the first in a series about those who served in the military and came back to the U.S., though not home. In using the genre of fiction, readers will be grabbed by the tension, suspension and never-ending action of heroes who go where they are sent. These soldiers have been hand-picked, and their identity is supposed to be known by a few though as readers will see that might not be the case after all.
It’s a well-crafted tale of being chosen to serve the country again though if caught they will be disavowed by the country they serve. I read the book in short order because it was so engaging and suspense filled! Plus, I love those who serve in the military as well as the family they leave to do so. While it is true that not all have happy ever after endings, readers can begin to understand why as the characters use their skills in a setting far removed from everyday life here. They also come home at times unable to reintegrate into society or their marriages.
Ronnie Kendig’s characters are heroes who fight to live and fight to help others live. Sometimes the costs are seen on the outside though they are very real as one character named Sydney learned both at home and while traveling abroad. There is hope infused in the story many times and there is mention of a ministry to help soldiers, through a passing character.
The novel caused my heart to race and I couldn’t put the book down! I stayed up late one night to finish the book because I was so involved in the story, and I wanted to see how it was going to end. If you’re looking for a book that really grabs you the moment you open the cover, look no further. There are three other novels in the series that I hope to read and share with you very soon. Until then, read on! ( )

This is the first book in the "Discarded Heroes Series" and what a great way to begin a series! It is all about being a part of a black-ops group of men known as Nightshade. These men handle rescues that no one else will take and that no one will even know who these men are.

In this story Max Jacobs, a former Navy SEAL man joins the team while he is trying to come to grips with his war-related PTSD and trying to not fall completely apart while his wife Sydney files for a divorce. Max must learn to get his anger under control and save his marriage. When the team goes into the jungle to rescue a missionary family from the rebels you will feel as if you are there. You will experience the sorrow that happens, the suspense as they flee and hide in the jungle and cheer on the team that watches out for each other. But in the process of trying to keep their identities unknown, Max's wife Sydney, becomes part of the problem, as she does her job as a reporter and tries to discover who these guys are. It was one of those stories that was hard to put down and at times I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I look forward to reading the next story in this series. It has a good blend of suspense, action, love and learning how to let go and let God have control. ( )

Nightshade is a fast paced military thriller. I liked how the author showed that PTSD can negatively touch many areas of a soldier's life. Spiritual, emotional, mental, physical. Even relationships between friends and family. There were many complexities in this story that required solid plotting, and that was very well done. I didn't see any inconsistencies. The author did a great job with the setting as well. I felt like I was traveling around the world with Syd and with the Nightshade team. The author was not afraid to hurt the characters... a lot. Of course, that just made this reader care more. Nicely done! ( )

As my friends Renee and Rel both said, Digitalis, the next book in the Discarded Heroes series cannot come soon enough and I fully and whole heartedly agree. Nightshade is intense and real. Mixing up a team of veteran special ops from various divisions with a endangered marriage, a PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) SEAL in denial and anger, a wife reporter bent on discovering the black ops team with a group of missionaries in danger of Muslim terrorists and my goodness do not expect any slee ...more As my friends Renee and Rel both said, Digitalis, the next book in the Discarded Heroes series cannot come soon enough and I fully and whole heartedly agree. Nightshade is intense and real. Mixing up a team of veteran special ops from various divisions with a endangered marriage, a PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) SEAL in denial and anger, a wife reporter bent on discovering the black ops team with a group of missionaries in danger of Muslim terrorists and my goodness do not expect any sleep while reading this book. The pages have to go fast and as a reader you'll negotiate that it is worth a few less hours of sleep to find out what happens next.

There were so many different elements to this book that make it enjoyable that I do not even know how to begin to touch on them. Ronie Kendig is an awesome new author and I hope and pray that there will be much more to come from her in the days to come. Nightshade is entertaining and suspenseful. The romance is realistic and heart changing. This is a great book for someone from any spectrum. There is entertainment for all here. Highly recommended! More please. *wink* ( )

I received this book from another blogger participating in Unputdownables Crazy Book Swap. We were to pick a book and send it another blogger via the information given to us.

I struggled with this book. It got great reviews here on GoodReads so I was hopeful and I did give it an honest chance, but there were moments that had me cringing and as I continued to read those moments were more and more frequent.

The first was in the following text:

"For those not enlightened," an authoritative voice cut through the sufer's explanation, "my name of General Olin Lambert, I am a member of the Joint Chiefs. But among the seven of us, I am merely a citizen of the United States, just like you." Blue eyes probed each man.
Right into Max's soul.

....

At this point I realized that, no matter how seriously I try to take this book, it would just be another cheesy Christian book designed to make us Christians feel good about ourselves and provide us with a fluffy story about forgiveness. I can appreciate that there are people who love this story and I'm not knocking you if you do - but I like harsh realities literature. I like knowing what other people are dealing with on a regular basis, in a realistic way so my attention gets drawn to those same situations in life and I can plead for those people in my prayers.

There were generalizations throughout this entire book and it felt as if the author decided to use a few hot words "Islam" "SEALS" "pregnancy" to make the story more interesting but just succeeded in giving a cliche story I just couldn't get into.

I know Ronie is here on GoodReads and I apologize for the harsh review - but I promised in this bookswap to do a review on this book and I just can't give it a more positive one.

I did manage to read the whole book, I just didn't like it. ( )