Before the Gate Opened

Mad Dog

Series: Seconds to Live

Written by Sara Davison

Published by On the Edge of Suspense

Release Date: 08.05.26

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense, Christian Mystery & Suspense

5 Stars!

“Always later.” Not today. Not right now. Maybe after this season. Maybe after one more victory. Maybe when life finally slows down.

How easily can a heart begin treating God as Someone who can wait?

That question took hold of me within the first few pages of Mad Dog by Sara Davison, and it keeps pressing deeper and deeper even as I write this.

From the opening chapters, the bull becomes more than an animal. It quietly stands for strength, ambition, money, fame, success, the applause of men, and ultimately the question of what we choose to worship.

Maddox Holt has built his identity around eight dangerous seconds in an arena. But before the gate opens, he is confronted with a choice that reaches far beyond one ride.

Tory captured my heart through the way she listens to God in the middle of deep pain. Her obedience is costly, compassionate, and courageous. She does not wait until her feelings are resolved or the outcome is certain. She prays, takes the next step God places before her, and entrusts what she cannot control to Him.

That opening completely captured me.

As the story unfolds, Sara Davison portrays repentance through more than words or one emotional moment. She shows it through changing desires, reordered priorities, and the difficult surrender of an identity built around achievement. The spiritual growth feels genuine because it unfolds the way God often works. It bears the fingerprints of God patiently drawing a wandering heart back to Himself.

Prayer fills these pages naturally. It appears in desperate cries, quiet gratitude, believers kneeling together, and even the simple faith of a child. Those moments beautifully illustrate that dependence on God is not reserved for extraordinary days. It is the ordinary rhythm of the Christian life.

I also loved the way peace appears before certainty. Danger remains. Questions remain. Healing still takes time. Yet God gives His people peace because His presence is greater than everything they cannot control.

Every page kept me reading, but it was the work God was doing in these hearts that captured mine. Every difficult choice quietly asks what these characters truly love, trust, and worship. That same question reached me.

Mad Dog kept pressing one question into my heart: What good thing am I ever tempted to place where only God belongs?

Dreams can become idols.

Success can become an idol.

Even worthy pursuits can quietly ask for the worship that belongs to Christ alone.

Beneath every page of this story are even greater truths. God alone forgives. God alone changes hearts. God alone is worthy of our worship.

Sara Davison has written a clearly Christian romantic suspense that never loses sight of its greatest purpose: pointing readers beyond the arena, beyond the suspense, beyond the romance, and toward the Lord who patiently calls wandering hearts back to Himself.

Five stars. I loved every word.

I received a digital copy of this book from the author. I am not required to write a positive review nor paid to do so. This is my honest and unbiased review. My thoughts and opinions expressed in this book review are my own. My review focuses on the writing and the story’s content, ensuring transparency and reliability.