Jonas by Susan May Warren is a wild ride! The action is non-stop and there are some serious nail-biting scenes. Yes, again, I stayed up WAY past my bedtime reading this story. Sibba took me a while to like. I have a hard time with unbending, unyielding characters who stay closed off and stubborn for most of a story. That’s Sibba. And while it can be argued that she has good reason to be the way she is, it still doesn’t change the fact that it is hard to relate to a character who chooses not to really share herself. But I did like her. She is one tough cookie, and she is perfect for Jonas. Oh, Jonas. What a cool dude! When I learned that Jonas was a weatherman I envisioned a character like Bill Harding (played by Bill Paxton) from the film Twister. Since that is one of my all-time favorite movies, I was very eager to read Jonas’s story. One of my most favorite aspects to his character is that he constantly says things like, “I’m not brave” or “I’m not a SEAL like my brother, Fraser,” and then he runs head-first into danger. It made me laugh. OK, so maybe he hasn’t had formal military training, but Jonas definitely has the courage and stamina of any trained military figure. He is constantly doing things in this story that would make me shake my head and say to myself, “No, see, I am not brave and I am not like any SEAL. Jonas, you, however, are insane!” It was a lot of fun! And it was quite scary to read. I gasped a couple of times for real because Jonas does crazy things. In addition to the characters, I really appreciate the timely themes discussed in this story. As in Fraser, Warren picks up the topic of trusting God versus trusting self. Jonas believes he puts his trust in God, but does he really? He’s so strong and capable in his own right. But what Jonas comes to understand, and what we should understand, too, is that perhaps instead of running head-first into storms, adventures, a new job, a new house, a new anything, we should take a time out and see if God even wants us to run into these things. As Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, we must “trust in the Lord with all [our hearts], and lean not on [our] own understanding. In all [our] ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight [our] paths.” This is a great reminder for us all today — check in with God first before running into the storms of life!

Jonas is a really fun Romantic Suspense that I highly recommend. If you are a fan of Warren’s high-intensity stories filled with timely themes, then you are going to want to grab a copy of this novel ASAP! Side note though — Jonas can easily be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading Fraser first if you haven’ already done so to get the full effect. Characters and storylines from Fraser do appear in Jonas.

I purchased a copy of this novel in eBook form from the author, Susan May Warren, on March 4, 2023, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.