Book Review: Before It’s Too Late (Half Circle Creek #1) by Millie Shepherd

About the Book:

Jack and Bella have been friends for as long as they can remember, yet now they want more. But will the rapist outlaw who’s cleverly disguising himself as a saddler let them have the happiness they deserve?

Arabella Askingly, the youngest daughter of Half Circle Creek’s leading midwife, is in the very beginnings of a courtship with her childhood friend and town deputy, Jack Klister. Their relationship starts out on steady footing, but everything is swiftly rattled when a labor call ends in a reeling catastrophe that causes Bella to slip into a deep depression. But just as hope begins to dawn again, another obstruction is tossed into the path of her happy ending with Jack.

Jack Klister doesn’t like Beau Smith, the new drifter in town. When Beau’s flirting with Bella gets out of hand, Jack’s jealousy unleashes. He knows Bella wouldn’t do anything behind his back, but there’s something about Beau that thoroughly disturbs the town deputy. When Jack has to go to Virginia City to get information on a man he’s arrested, he discovers something terrifying about Beau that sends him rushing back to Half Circle Creek in hopes he can get there before it’s too late.

| Goodreads |

My Review:

Before It’s Too Late by Millie Shepherd
Rating: 3/5
Pages: 339
Published: February 9, 2023
Series: Half Circle Creek

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher/author. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

I’ve had this one on my TBR for a little while, and when I saw it on KU I decided to grab it. Overall it was an entertaining story, but the few things that I struggle with made it a difficult read.

One of the first things I noticed was that for a good portion of the story the characters seemed a bit flat. With this being a debut and from a younger author, the story was an impressive start to what is hopefully a wonderful writing career. But for me personally, I’m more used to more complex and realistic characters, and the telling instead of showing always seems to be a personal pet-peeve of mine. This was excusable for the most part, since the story moved along at a fairly good pace and was entertaining enough that while I didn’t immediately connect with the characters or their story, I didn’t dislike them either.

No, it was more the face that we get the villain’s POV, which I’m uncomfortable with in cases like this anyway, but that water scene at the creek where we have to watch them swimming though his eyes? Yeah, that just about ruined the whole story for me. I hated that scene, and while I know it’s to show how bad he was…I did NOT want nor need to see and hear those things. It was borderline pornographic, and absolutely disguising. I felt as it I was reading a soft p0rn and worry that recommending this to other readers, especially younger readers (i.e. young adult/teenage readers) that it has the potential to really cause some to stumble in their faith, more so knowing that some readers seem to really enjoy Jakes’ character. *shudder*

Overall, the story was a pleasant read, but the more we see of Jakes, the more uncomfortable I was with the story, and especially with his scenes. I even considered DNFing this one a few times, and probably would have but then I realized that no one else really talked about how wicked he really is and the story’s inclusion of that one scene through his twisted POV especially needed to be warned about, in case other readers were to stumble blindly onto it without prior warning.

Here’s a few quotes from the scene mentioned, just quoting them disgusts me, but there’s a whole short scene like this and quotes will likely explain why I spoke out against it better than my own words would:

**SPOILER**
“Sneaking up on swimming girls always made him feel like a schoolboy again when he had done it the first time.”
With a silent sigh, he shook his head as he realized his peek wouldn’t be as fulfilling as he had planned.
“Apparently they don’t swim raw like most people do in these parts.
Even though she wasn’t raw, her soaking wet chemise and drawers still gave him a nice view.
His eyes drifted over Dolly, and he was pleasantly pleased to find that her wet unders gave him the same sort of view.

The scene itself is only a couple of pages long, but with his self-serving nature comments like this are common in his POV chapters, even if this is the only time he actually talks about it quite so openly. It’s clear this isn’t new to him, and later as the story reached the climax more such comments become common again as he prepares to strike his next target.
**END SPOILERS**

There’s nothing overly ‘explicit’ on page, but his character is bad enough in the first place, but having to read his thoughts and perspective every few chapters was too much. A chapter or two at the start to let readers know who he was would have been one thing, but I didn’t need a whole book with him popping up with comments like that. Ick!

Overall, I did enjoy some of the other characters, and even came to like the main characters by the end of the book. There were some important messages and valuable lessons talked about along the way, and it would have been a fairly good story, but I can’t in good conscience recommend it knowing those who read it also have to read his chapters too. I think in part that hesitation comes from the face that the FMC is only 18 and readers around that age shouldn’t be exposed to the filth that likes of Jakes’ brings to the story, not from his POV at least. I know we can’t protect everyone from everything, but exposing them to it in Christian fiction that should be uplifting and point readers closer to God doesn’t seem like the proper place for that sort of content. This could have been a pleasant sweet romance with a dash of romantic suspense and mystery without Jakes’ commentary, but I felt that was lost among all the related disturbing comments he sprinkles throughout his chapters, along the way with his obsession with ‘younger girls’ to boot. It was all just too much. A good story for the most part, but not one I can recommend or care to revisit.

There’s also mention of a death as the result of a duel (a character recounts it when speaking of a past experience), an animal death, a pregnancy that results in death and another close call, an animal death, and a death that is the result of self defense.

EDIT: I freely admit here that I was mistaken about this book. While my thoughts and reactions on the overall story itself remain the same, apparently this one isn’t Christian Fiction, and had I known that, I probably would have both DNFed it when I first started to realize it wasn’t a good fit, and moved on with my life, and even had I finished it, I might have judged it differently from the start with that in mind, but that’s not what happened, and I take responsibility that part of that is my fault.

This book has been on my TBR for over a year, probably longer. The problem is when I had first heard of this book it was listed with several others that were Christian Fiction books and that distinction wasn’t made. I in no way blame the author for this, but do also see it as a valuable lesson, to myself included. I know that it’s becoming more and more common for Christian authors to write non-Christian stories. Where the problem lies in that as time goes on, it’s getting harder and harder to tell the stories apart.

The isn’t all on the authors or the readers who talk about these stories, and is no way intended to call out or discourage anyone from sharing the stories they love! But for the sake of transparency and to help avoid this sort of confusion, I find that I personally love when authors are upfront and clear about what their story is, and what it isn’t. I also appreciate when they clearly define the kind of readers they are writing for. It helps, and even if it doesn’t seem like it, that extra effort does matter. Likewise, when readers are clear about the Christian Fiction and the non-Christian fiction in their posts and recommendations, it helps other readers make better informed choices and helps the books find their intended audience along the way. Happy readers, happy authors. It’s a win-win. 🙂

Other books in the series:
_{(Below is a list of the other books I’ve read & reviewed for this series)}

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