The Intervention series will keep you reading into the wee hours! (Book Review)

I have a surprise winner to announce today! As you know, Siri Mitchell's giveaway for The Messenger ended this past weekend, and random.org selected Beth as the winner. But, since she'd recently purchased a copy for herself, she very sweetly and generously asked me to select another winner so someone else could enjoy this awesome book by Siri. :-) So that's what I've done! And that special winner is...

* Shelby Lauren *

Congratulations, Shelby!! I will be sending you an email in a few, so be looking! I hope you enjoy this book -- it was amazing!!

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Today I have 3 reviews to bring to you. Yep, three of them! It's for Terri Blackstock's Intervention series. So, while this post might be lengthy, it's certainly worth the read. This series was SO eye-opening for me, as Blackstock deals with the very difficult subject of drug addiction and the effect it has on the people around you. Not to be missed (Though I personally recommend this series only be read by mature readers!)

About the Books...

Intervention: Barbara Covington has one more chance to save her daughter from a devastating addiction: staging an intervention. But when 18-year-old Emily disappears on the way to drug treatment--and her interventionist is found dead--Barbara enters her darkest nightmare of all.

Vicious Cycle: When 15-year-old Lance Covington finds an abandoned baby in the backseat of a car, he knows she's the newborn daughter of a meth addict he's been trying to help. Blackstock offers a harrowing look at drug addiction, human trafficking, and the choices that can change lives forever.

Downfall: Despite Emily Covington's sobriety, she can't escape her past. Her years of active drug addiction have made her the scapegoat for everything, including a murder. Now she has to identify the real killer to clear her name and protect her family. 

My Reviews... 

- Intervention -

In Intervention, Terri Blackstock takes a very real and heart-rending problem that teens face today—drug addiction—and brings a message of hope to the readers…along with several white-knuckled, pulse-pounding moments as well! Be prepared—the hurt and pain expressed in this book comes across so clearly, the reader can almost feel Barbara’s pain as a mother with an addicted child.

Barbara Covington is certainly a one-of-a-kind woman! She is definitely what you’d call a “mama bear”! No one messes with her kids without messing with her—and she’ll move heaven and earth to protect them. As detective Kent Harlan very soon finds out when he meets her during a murder investigation. If he tells this woman to stay put…she ain’t gunna! But that’s just Barbara!

Lance Covington, her teen son, was my favorite character in this family. With a very good head on his shoulder for one so young, I really admired how he tried to care for his family—to be the protector and bring his family back together again.
 
Blackstock brings a lot of emotional pain and heartache to the pages with Barbara. I found it really amazing and admirable that the author took the pain of her own experience with her daughter’s struggle with substance abuse, and wrote Intervention to make people aware of this very real evil. And bring encouragement to those who might be going through it.

Not only is this a story of hope and healing, but also has suspense and tension woven throughout, making Intervention a hard book to put down! I am certainly looking forward to reading more about the Covingtons and Kent in the next book in this series!

- Vicious Cycle -

Vicious Cycle is a book that leaves you heaving a HUGE sigh of relief when you reach the end! Terri Blackstock amps up the drama and heartache as she once again ventures into the life of drug addiction…and also human trafficking. This series that focus on the emotional and physical pain of substance abuse is sure to snag people’s attention from the get-go!

While the first book focused on the missing drug addict (and prime suspect to a murder) Emily Covington, Vicious Cycle turns to her 15 year old brother, Lance. As I mentioned in my review for the first book, Lance’s character grabbed my attention early on. And in this second installment my admiration for this aspiring young man grew.

While Jordan is a hard-core addict, my heart couldn’t help breaking for her and all the hardships she had to endure. I just kept thinking, “Fifteen year olds shouldn’t be exposed to this...they should be goofing off with friends and going to the mall.” But all Jordan’s known in her few short years is drugs, drugs, and more drugs. What wakes her up is when she delivers a premature baby at home while she’s high.

The struggles—both inwardly and outwardly—that Jordan, and even Emily (once she gets out of drug rehab) face is sure to touch the reader. As Emily faces drugs for the first time in a whole year, I was cheering for her to overcome her weakness and succeed. And for poor Jordan, who always strayed back to getting “one more fix”, my heart bled for her to find the strength to resist the drugs and do the right thing for both herself and her baby.

Vicious Cycle lives up to its name! Drugs throw people into vicious cycles that seem to never stop…until God gives that person the strength to stand against the devil and drugs. Blackstock brings this issue so vividly to live, I can’t see how anyone can read this series and not have their eyes opened to this very real—and very present—danger that is breeding in the midst of teens today.

- Downfall -

The Covington family has had their share of pain and trials in both Intervention and Vicious Cycle…but it’s not over yet! Downfall revisits Barbara, Emily, Lance, and Kent as they adjust to a new life in Atlanta, Georgia…and find themselves mixed up in another murder that, once again, seems to be pinned on recovering drug-addict Emily. Has she once again reverted back to using, or is someone setting her up?

Terri Blackstock nailed this one on the head—Downfall was definitely my favorite in the series! With sporadic scenes from ‘The Avenger’s’ point-of-view and an interesting twist to a Alfred Hitchcock movie, Downfall beings strong and keeps amping up the suspense, tension, drama!

Emily has been free from drugs for about two years, but that doesn’t mean she still struggles with her past addiction. I really came to admire Emily as she fought her flesh so hard—even when she was emotionally and physically hurting, she resisted going back to drugs to help ease her problems. Instead, she leaned on the Lord, trusting Him to be strong when she could not…and He was!

I was slightly sad to see the Intervention series come to an end and say goodbye to the Covingtons, I think it is for the best—this poor family needs a break from all the trauma they’ve enduring the past few years. The ending was really sweet, leaving me contented with how this wonderful cast of characters ends up. Terri Blackstock certainly fulfills her trademark, Up All Night Suspense!! Downfall is sure to keep you reading into the wee hours!

I reviewed this book for Zondervan. Many thanks to Shelby for sending me a copy to review. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done.

Intervention Book Trailer

Vicious Cycle Book Trailer

Downfall Book Trailer