CATCHING KATE by Andrea Aarons

Times are not normal.  The United States has been bombed plus there has been major earthquakes in the Midwest.  Kate Merriweather is in South Africa during this time, taking a small detour for some much needed soul searching before she heads for the island of D'Almata to attend her widowed mother's wedding.  Now catastrophe has struck the U.S.A. and it is reeking havoc all around the world.  Kate finds herself needing to get out of the country, but with no money and traveling by plane hard to come by, Kate does her best to make her way towards D'Almata.  She eventually hooks up with her sister Merry and her husband Mac and they find themselves resting a few days with a bachelor friend of Mac's named Roger.  Although Roger is attracted to Kate, Kate doesn't feel she is ready for any commitments.  When Kate's life is in danger and she finds herself captured by sea pirates, Roger comes to her rescue and things between them slowly start to change.

Although you could read this series of books by themselves, I strongly suggest you read them in the order they are written to fully understand what is going on.  Each book picks up shortly after the previous one and includes the same characters throughout the series.  This was one of my favorite stories in this series of books.  This series is all about the Merriweather family with book one (Cynic, Surfer, Saint) being about Toni Merriweather the widowed Mom, book two (Merry's Mauraders) being about the youngest daughter, and this story being about Kate the older daughter; (book three, Desperado Dale is about the son).  They are written with not a lot of "filler" but very concise and to the point.  I believe the author would have us experience through these stories what the world will be like right before the tribulation in the Bible.  It is an interesting take on things.  With each story she leaves you hanging on how it ended.  There is romance, but you have to use your imagination on what takes place because the "romantic scenes" are few and far between.  I am off to finish this series with "Desperado Dale".