Book Review: Unknown (Grace Sufficient #1) by Vanessa Hall

About the Book:

He knew there was a cost. He just didn’t know how great it’d be.

Gabriel Kelly returned to Russia for one reason—to bury his parents. After ten years in the United States, he hadn’t expected to return to his childhood home in the face of tragedy. However, after short days in Moscow, he begins to consider if the same call that cost his parents’ lives is now upon him.

Sofia Rykova’s dreams finally came true when she became a principal soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet. One night, though, an old crush walks back into her life, making her wonder if there is more to life than ballet. Gabe Kelly is just as she remembered, just as she longed for—yet religion stands between them.

Unknown to Gabe and Sofia, danger lurks closer than either would have guessed. The deaths of Gabe’s parents grow more suspicious by the day, and Gabe and Sofia are drawn into the midst of a plot neither can escape. Will obedience to God’s call—in spite of their fears and desires—result in a price too steep to bear?

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My Review:

Unknown by Vanessa Hall
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 331
Published: August 13, 2021
Series: Grace Sufficient

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.

Unknown was a solid 4-star read for me, and I honestly loved the easy flow this book has. It wasn’t as gripping and emotionally demanding as some Romantic Suspense titles I read, but still made me want to keep reading and I did end up liking many of the characters along the way.

I honestly might have fallen for Evgeny a bit more than Gabe while reading (and Daniil is such a good friend!) but I also loved meeting Gabriel & Sophia as well, and I enjoyed seeing their story play out and learning how they would handle the difficult surprises thrown their way as their story unfolds!

I also tend to have a soft-spot for the older grumpy characters, and I loved seeing Gabe learn to care for Gregor despite his gruff exterior! I thought Gregor’s role in the story and how he became both a friend of sorts, and a chance to Gabe to gain confidence in talking to strangers and others in the area now that he didn’t have his parents to rely on for the tough questions and difficult topics resulted in a few of my favorite conversations in this story!

I also loved how welcoming Ana and Sergei were! Not only welcoming Gabe into their life after his loosing his parents, but also opening their arms & home to Sophia and the rest of Gabe’s church friends, and seeing them effortlessly offering the supportive love of parents and mentors to both Gabe and Sophia was so heart-warming!

I know ‘church families’ are supposed to support each other and “bear each others burdens” but it’s still refreshing to see them offer a refuge and safe-place for the younger members in the church, and a trusted friend to the older members who lived a more shady lifestyle before becoming saved. Their steady confidence and open acceptance is the perfect balance of protective and compassionate, and I love seeing them offer such a good role-model and foundation to the church Gabe’s parents worked so hard on.

The mystery and suspense were interesting and well balanced with the rest of the story, and I enjoyed seeing Sophia’s love of dancing and Gabe and Daniil joking about workouts between the more intense scenes. It added a nice balance and also made the characters more relatable that they had their own hobbies and passions that they enjoyed sharing with friends!

I can see where this one might come off as ‘preachy’ to some readers. It’s definitely a Christian fiction, and as such not something everyone will enjoy. I did feel like it felt natural to happen the way it did, but also felt like Sophia’s conversion and back-and-forth were a bit rushed in places, but after finishing the story, I can see why it happened when and where it does in the story. I also know that as she had talked to Gabe and his parents before he’d moved to the States, that it might have been more natural for her to accept in only a short time after reuniting with Gabe, rather than for some of the other characters who hadn’t really had that previous exposure to church and scripture beforehand. Still, to each their own. This is very much a Christian book which also means it includes some Bible verses included throughout, and that is a central theme in their story.

Overall, I really liked reading their story, and look forward to reading more of this series in the sequel: Unworthy when it comes out!
I highly recommend this to fans of Christian Mysteries or Romantic Suspense stories!

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

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