Official Review: Hallowed Ground by Cindy Ziperman

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 27 Feb 2021, 15:30

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Hallowed Ground" by Cindy Ziperman.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Samantha (Sam) Paige got fired from her job as a nurse for punching an arrogant and callous surgeon for causing the death of one of her patients. Subsequently, she decided to move to her uncle’s farm in Tennessee for some peace and introspection. Upon arriving, she found out about a proposed shopping mall that was to be built on her uncle’s property and on land that was important to American Civil War history. Her uncle had no intention of selling. Soon afterward, Sam met TJ Carter, a handsome young man who started Western Theater Battlefield Preservation Association to prevent the Civil War battlefields from being lost to construction. He was currently battling the upcoming shopping mall. There was an instantaneous attraction between the two.

Harold Roberts, his son, and his financial backers are unwilling to give up their plans for the shopping mall and are determined to move ahead—legally or illegally. Sam doesn’t realize how dangerous coming back to Tennessee is going to be.

Hallowed Ground by Cindy Ziperman is a thrilling romance novel listed in the C/T/M/H genre. The author is a nurse, but she also possesses a love for the history of the American Civil War, which she has spent much of her life studying. I appreciate the attention she brings to the fact that land important to American history as well as farmland are both being gradually swallowed up by construction. Her expertise in both fields makes this an authentic and credible story. It kept me enthralled from the first page until the last. Her descriptive prose, narrated from the third-person point of view, was simple and easy to follow. The unexpected thrills and surprises in the story had me on pins and needles numerous times.

Although it was only 167 pages long, it was packed full of gripping suspense, and the characters were wonderfully developed, surprising for such a short book. Because she never felt loved by her parents, Sam thought she could never get someone to unconditionally love her. Therefore, she was determined not to get involved emotionally. She was a strong and fascinating protagonist, being a compassionate nurse who was also proficient in Tae Kwon Do. She was not one to sit around, expecting someone else to take care of her. TJ was an avid fan of the history of the American Civil War. He was loyal to his friends and desperately wanted to protect Sam. You could sense the attraction Sam and TJ felt towards each other.

I would love to give this book a perfect rating. Sadly, I encountered several grammatical and punctuation errors. A recurrent mistake was missing quotation marks around dialogues. Although the flaws were minor and not distracting, there were too many to ignore. It could use another round of editing.

Because a star had to be removed due to the editing problems, Hallowed Ground achieves a rating of three out of four stars. I hope the mistakes are corrected because, in my opinion, this book would then deserve the highest score as I found nothing else to dislike.

I enthusiastically recommend this story to readers who enjoy crime dramas, mysteries, thrillers, and romance novels. Sensitive readers need to be aware of profanities, violence, and attempted rape in the tale; in addition, there are several rather steamy sex scenes.

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Hallowed Ground
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NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 05 Mar 2021, 05:54

Romance is not my thing but this novel seems to have intriguing ramifications connected to the historical element. With another round of proofreading, it might be excellent. Thank you for your great review!

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 05 Mar 2021, 08:32

NetMassimo wrote: ↑05 Mar 2021, 05:54 Romance is not my thing but this novel seems to have intriguing ramifications connected to the historical element. With another round of proofreading, it might be excellent. Thank you for your great review!

I think it will easily deserve 4 stars if the errors are taken care of. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

GreatReviews · Post by **GreatReviews** » 05 Mar 2021, 16:17

This book seems one of my favorite. The character development and the griping suspense despite the very short pages sounds great. This review is enjoyable to read

Rayah Raouf · Post by **Rayah Raouf** » 06 Mar 2021, 04:09

I guess with another round of editing, this book will be so much better. Thank you for your review.

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 06 Mar 2021, 08:24

GreatReviews wrote: ↑05 Mar 2021, 16:17 This book seems one of my favorite. The character development and the griping suspense despite the very short pages sounds great. This review is enjoyable to read

Thank you so much for the kind words. I hope you get a chance to read the book!

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 06 Mar 2021, 08:24

GreatReviews wrote: ↑05 Mar 2021, 16:17 This book seems one of my favorite. The character development and the griping suspense despite the very short pages sounds great. This review is enjoyable to read

Thank you so much for the kind words. I hope you get a chance to read the book!

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 06 Mar 2021, 08:28

RayRuff wrote: ↑06 Mar 2021, 04:09 I guess with another round of editing, this book will be so much better. Thank you for your review.

It is a good book now, but another round of editing would definitely make it better. Thanks for the comments!

Post by **Kirsi Cultrera** » 07 Mar 2021, 02:51

Sam sounds like an interesting character. I am really picky with romance novels but this book seems to have so much more stuffed into it that I might give it a try. I think I’ll be chreering for Sam every step of the way because of her attitude

Thanks for a great review!

SamaylaM · Post by **SamaylaM** » 07 Mar 2021, 03:24

The elements of suspense and romance, combined with Sam's character already seem like a very intriguing and satisfying read. Thank you for writing such a wonderful review of this book. Enjoyed reading it!

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 07 Mar 2021, 08:39

Kirsi_78 wrote: ↑07 Mar 2021, 02:51 Sam sounds like an interesting character. I am really picky with romance novels but this book seems to have so much more stuffed into it that I might give it a try. I think I’ll be chreering for Sam every step of the way because of her attitude

Thanks for a great review!

I know what you mean about romance novels. I don't think you will be disappointed with this one. Thanks for stopping by!

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 07 Mar 2021, 08:45

SamaylaM wrote: ↑07 Mar 2021, 03:24 The elements of suspense and romance, combined with Sam's character already seem like a very intriguing and satisfying read. Thank you for writing such a wonderful review of this book. Enjoyed reading it!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you get a chance to read it!

Joy Phill · Post by **Joy Phill** » 07 Mar 2021, 14:54

A thrilling plot indeed. I'd love to see the end of this. Thanks for a detailed and interesting review.

Josephe-Anne · Post by **Josephe-Anne** » 07 Mar 2021, 16:52

I often wish that I could go and live on a farm too.

I like that this story contains the element of historical preservation because we shouldn't forget the past and how we got to where we are. Apart from the sexual situations, this sounds like a great story about kindly countryfolk vs greedy developers.

Thank you for a fabulous review.

zainherb · Post by **zainherb** » 08 Mar 2021, 02:38

I would love to read this book.
I love books with strong female characters and there seems to na a lot more to the novel besides the romance.
All packed in less than 200 pages.

Thank you for an amazing review!