Ranin is a woman living in Jericho, where she lives a peaceful life. Until, she is the victim and key witness of a crime. Then she disappears and reappears in New York. Danger isn't far away however, and she must survive and thrive.

Riveting, well written, and suspenseful! Love, loss, intrigue - this book had it all! What a twist in this story. It was a great read. Some events were horrifying, however, and I still cringe thinking about them. A fascinating story filled with intrigue and multiple scenarios that all intersect for an amazing conclusion.

From the Mideast to New York this suspense filled thriller will keep your eyes glued to the page. Excellently written and delightful to read.

This book opens in Palestine, following Rania, a young woman from Jericho, through military clashes between Israeli and Palestinian forces, some interactions with Mossad, and then immigration to New York City for an on-camera, fairy tale job. Of course, Rania's path then crosses a financial whiz and a crazy mystery involving murder and mayhem follow....many twists and turns in the story but I found it confusing and hard to follow. I thought it would be more of an international spy thriller but I did not get that vibe here....not really my genre but I took a chance.

There was a good story here, but it reminded me of the old military saying about a "30 minute briefing crammed into an eight-hour meeting."

I requested an advance readers copy because of the publisher's blurb likening it to The Kite Runner and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. My bad. I didn't notice that it was independently published, which usually means inadequately edited.

Again, some good story elements, but it so desperately needed tightening and proofreading and overall clean up of text. There were several supposed-to-be-complimentary references to the lead female's "fleshy lips," which a sharp editor would have recognized as an unflattering description.

So. Opening in Palestine, the story follows Rania, a young woman from Jericho, through military clashes between Israeli and Palestinian forces, interactions with Mossad, and immigration to New York City and an on-camera, fairy tale job.

Interspersed with this is the tale of an entitled financial whiz-kid who gets involved in the Wall Street skullduggery around short selling. Of course, Rania's path crosses this man's, and a convoluted mystery involving murder and general mayhem ensues.

There's a lot going on, but an experienced editor could have made something out of this. Not to the level of The Kite Runner or Dragon Tattoo, but an intriguing, c0hesive story.

Thanks to NetGalley and AuthorBuzz for the ARC.

Fast moving, a bit hard to follow at times. Hard to believe this is a first novel! Would be a four star, but can't think of who I would recommend it to, so that knocks it down a bit.

Interesting story of Middle East and politics. This is a very intriguing and riveting novel. It just didn't seem that the plot was cohesive or believable. however.

The main story line was interesting and the twists kept me reading. I felt the book was heavy with excess wordiness. The book was longer than needed to tell the story.

First I want to thank NetGalley for a copy of this book. A very well written story with lots of twists I wouldn't have guessed. I only can recommend reading it

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book.
The books pace was very fast with lots of great twists and turns. The ending was a bit abrupt as I wanted to have that last little bit tied up nicely which it was not.
I definitely will read another book by this author.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my review.

This book was not what I was expecting, but I'm not really sure what I was expecting. There was so much going on, it took a while to really get into the groove and read, and it was hard to pull myself out of the book once I got going. But I'm not sure this is a type of book I would normally read, either.

Honestly, the description of the book sounded a lot more interesting than the story itself. It was hard to follow from the beginning and after the first couple of chapters I gave up.

This novel takes place in Israel and in NYC and concerns two main characters: a Palestinian woman who is at the center of a major terrorist act who is rescued by an Israeli soldier. The first half of the novel is the better half and concerns some subtleties about the conflicts in Israel and tries to paint a fair picture from both sides. The two later meet up in NYC under different circumstances: the woman is now working at CNN and the soldier is now a forensic investigator, working with the FBI on financial crimes. I was disappointed with the lack of insights into the high-flying "masters of the universe" perspective, but still think the first part of the book makes it a worthwhile read.

Love, loss, intrigue - this book had it all. It started off in Jericho, so I was expecting a story of the Middle East but it ended up being so much more than that. This was a great read by a new author.

Excellent book. I love the writing. The characters are strong and well developed. I give this book 5 stars. I strongly recommend it!

A Rollere Coaster Ride!
If you've ever been on or seen a roller coaster you know that the beginning of the ride starts off nice and slow. Then when it gets to the crest of that first hill the harrowing thrills begin; speeding down hill, around corners at lightning speed. That's what happens in Black Tequila by J. D. Bernal. In the beginning the reader is introduced to the characters and given some background information on the. From then on it is "Hold On Tight" because you are in for intrigue, suspense, and thrills that only can compare to that ride after the roller coaster has reached the top of that initial hill and is headed down. Wow! What a ride!

David Ackerman has a strong sense of duty and responsibility. When he decided that his life lacked satisfaction, he joined the Israeli Army, quickly rising in ranks. Rania Abdullah was very content and enjoyed her life in Jericho, helping her mother, showing tourists her beloved Jericho. Tania was in love with her best friends brother, Abdul and always knew one day they would marry. But then the unthinkable happens and spins all their livestock of control. As each one tries to regain some semblance of a decent life events reunite them in devastating ways.
I truly enjoyed this book and love how the author used a "ripple effect" to entwine the lives of these characters.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book's plot was not relatable to me. It read like an action movie.

This is an incredibly difficult book for me to review. It has an interesting plot, quality characters - especially the strong females, a good storyline, and several twists and turns. The author builds tension throughout the story with several exciting scenes. He takes us from Jericho to New York, involves the Israeli Army, the Palestinian Forces, trading on Wall Street, and drug dealers. However, and this is where my difficulty comes in, he interrupts the tension with backstory. Several times I put the story down vowing not to finish. If I hadn't agreed to review it, I wouldn't have finished. For example, he provides a good beginning hook with, "The day it all happened..." Then it takes ten chapters to find out what "it" was. Sometimes I felt he was adding backstory only to lengthen the book.

Once again, the plot and characters are interesting there is just too much interruption of action with backstory.

This is a great book and, again, thanks to NetGalley for introducing me to an author I might not have read. Black Tequila takes the reader from the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to New York in lightening speed. A young, beautiful Palestinian woman, raised in a sheltered Islamic home, has a horrific experience at the hands of an Israeli solder setting off a calamity of a series of events. Leaving her homeland, she finds herself in New York, the recipient of help and a situation as equally joyous as the horror of what drove her to leave Palestine. Just wishing to live her new life in New York, meeting new friends and learning a culture totally foreign to her becomes impossible as those previous events begin to catch up to her. Intermingled with other mysterious plot lines, this is a story that will keep you guessing until the very end.