Always Ready

by Susan Page Davis

Semper paratus. Always ready. Caddie Lyle strives to live up to the motto of the Coast Guard—and her father’s legacy—as she carries out rescue missions. But when she discovers other career opportunities and meets Guardsman Aven Holland, her heart begins to pull her in different directions.   Aven is drawn to Caddie, too, but their duties allow little time together. As danger from Alaska’s coast and a secret from the past threaten their newfound love, will they be ready to trust God for a possible future together?  

Genres: Christian Fiction, Contemporary, Christian, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Christian Romance

176 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published August 19, 2009

About the author

FROM AUTHOR'S WEBSITE: I'm a native of central Maine, and grew up on a small farm with a wonderful mom and dad, three sisters and a brother. Most of my books take place in small towns, many of them in Maine.

My husband, Jim, and I moved to his birth state, Oregon, for a while after we were married, but decided to move back to Maine and be near my family. It allowed our six children to grow up feeling close to their cousins and grandparents, and some of Jim's family have even moved to Maine!

Our children are all home-schooled. When Jim retired from his vocation as an editor at a daily newspaper, we moved from Maine to Kentucky.

I've always loved reading, history, and horses. These things come together in several of my historical books.
Another longtime hobby of mine is genealogy, which has led me down many fascinating paths. I'm proud to be a DAR member! Some of Jim's and my quirkier ancestors have inspired fictional characters.

For many years I worked for the Central Maine Morning Sentinel as a freelancer. This experience was a great help in developing fictional characters and writing realistic scenes. I also published nonfiction articles in several magazines and had several short stories appear in Woman's World, Grit, and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Always Ready was a bit of a disappointment. I found myself bored with the story quite often and was looking forward to being done with the book. I didn't care for the characters and I think that had a big part to play in why I didn't like the book. I did like the setting, though.

[⚜️XAR the Bookwyrm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a couple of books by this author, and they always seem to be hit or miss for me. Unfortunately, this one was more of a miss for me than a hit, even though it wasn't that bad of a book!

I had a hard time with the character's romance. Caddie and Aven seemed to be apart more than together, and yet we're asked to believe that a couple of dates and attending church together a couple of times is enough for them to fall madly in love with one another. It didn't ring true for me! Likewise, I think the author missed an opportunity to go into more detail about the Coast Guard, a branch of our military that isn't widely explored in novels. I would have loved to know more about that life! The suspense angle was also not explored in depth enough for me. It's like the author took these little dabs of themes and wove them into a book, without delving deeply into any one of them, and that left me rather unsatisfied with the book overall.

I did love the Alaskan scenery that was mentioned in the book, which helped push it from a 2.5 star rating to a 3 star one, but I'm honestly not sure I would continue with the series.

[Rymington Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit of a struggle to get into but once it finally got going it was pretty cute. Caddie's and Aven's story was definitly unique with them both being in the coast guard and the danger of the drug smugglers lent a certain tone to the story even though the face off was fairly tame.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ginger Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story but...

I bought this book on discount and it's been sitting in my kindle for a while. I decided to read it today and completed it in a few hours. It was a nice story that rolled along calmly, almost too calmly. No real climax to the story. Good and clean with a strong Christian perspective which was nice and not overly done. If you need a good relaxing story to occupy your time than this will do.

[Aly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really disappointing. The story is less about the relationship of Aven and Caddy and more about their adventures in the coast guard. It jumps from casually dating to getting married in 1 chapter. There is very little relationship development, which is really needed. It seems like the author was so busy with the plot and adding in their spiritual development that she forgot that Aven and Caddie are is the beginning of their relationship and it wasn't grown as well as it should be.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two Coast Guard folks on two different ships in Alaska meet and fall in love. They encounter many adventures with criminal activities, she is trying to live up to her father's Coast Guard legacy and they find an interesting connection with that. You'll enjoy the book. Susan Page Davis writes well.

[Kathi Early · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast, easy read, sweet book. Special interest since my daughter is in the Coast Guard. Not entirely sure of the accuracy of the job duties of the rates, not sure if a BM3 would be doing the things this young lady was doing.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written look at two people in the Coast Guard. Caddie and Aven are on two different ships but they manage to develop a relationship anyway. Very much enjoyed reading something about the Coast Guard. Highly recommend.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick read. two coast guards on different ships fall in love.

[Randy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and predictable.

[Terry Yaceyko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just couldn't connect with the characters or the setting. Ok read.