Review: Dead Drift by Dani Pettrey

It has been much too long since I've read a Dani Pettry story! I'd forgotten just how amazingly good she is at keeping me on the edge of my seat. From each nail-biting moment to the next, I was anxious for the good guys to win. Which I was in no doubt of! But still. With my heart in my throat, I'd push on to the next chapter full of anxiety and hope. Because that's what so much of this story is full of! No matter what terror may be happening on the page, hope permeates every paragraph.

Even having not read every book in the series prior to reading this final one, I found myself fascinated with the frienships that make up the story. This is undoubtedly Luke and Kate's journey, yes, but all the characters get to have their moment. Character relationships is where Ms. Pettrey's writing truly shines, in my opinion. I love the way they all take care of each other and the love that flows through every interaction (both frustrating or not, because goodness knows they can frustrate each other! ;). More than friends, they've become a family of sorts. Whip-smart, always-willing-to-go-into-danger-for-each-other-no-matter-what type of family!

The intriguing push and pull of the romance in this one is, naturally, a favorite of mine. Luke and Kate's fractured history makes for disappointment, irritation, and constant chemistry-laden interaction! Forced to deal with all the secrets and the unsaid things hovering under the surface of their conversations, they both struggle to work through their emotions. At times I wanted to shake them, at others I wanted to hug them! The way they clearly love each other, but deny it for all their worth, just made me all the more anxious for their eventual reconciliation. Yet I could understand all the hurt that they had to let go of, which wasn't easy. I loved watching them slowly open up to one another again! So that by the time the real sweetness between them arrived...ah my heart!

With just enough tension to keep her readers on their toes, yet enough hope for the future, Ms. Pettrey pens a story like no other! I was completely invested from the first pages until the last and quite happy to get my just reward (especially the chance to finally relax! ;). I'm now planning to go back and read the rest of the series. And soon, I hope! Because after seeing where so many of the characters end up, I quite want to find out how they got there. It's a keeper, friends! As any Dani Pettrey book always is.

**I received a complimentary copy via Bethany House. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Katie was a starlit night filled with the bursts of fireflies. She was the pummel and front of a waterfall booming in his ears, the surge of a plane netting into the bright blue sky, pressing him back against the seat, his chest tightening with excitement.

To Luke, home had become far more than a physical dwelling. To him a home was where his heart resided, and she was sitting three inches to his right. 

"I didn't know.... You've been gone so long, I didn't know-"
"If I still had a relationship with Christ?"
"I knew you did. To what extent is what I wondered."
He raked a hand through his hair on an exhale. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's not where it should be on my end, but God has held on tight and never let go."