Book Review of 'Wasted' by Jerusha Agen

Happy Halloween Bookworms!

Or as I prefer to call it, free candy day!! You can keep your tricks, as I am all about the treats, baby!

Not only is today the last day of October, it is also the eve of my little sister's wedding! I cannot believe how quickly this engagement time has gone by! While you're reading this, I will be in a hurried flurry of activity as I will be in full-on matron-of-honor mode. While I am lost in the craziness, and most likely a mild candy coma, I also plan to be in the moment and cherish every second of this weekend. No matter what your plans are this weekend please enjoy yourself and stay safe.

I hope you enjoy my thoughts on this Christian Romantic Suspense and don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the post and enter the amazing giveaway from JustRead Tours.

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Wasted by Jerusha Agen, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Wasted
Series: Windy City Westons #2
Author: Jerusha Agen
Publisher: SDG Words, LLC
Release Date: October 23, 2025
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

She always follows the rules. But what are the rules for murder?

Victoria Weston encounters tough things as a home health physical therapist, but this is a first—a dead body. The police call the patient’s death accidental. Victoria knows that can’t be true. Her efforts to convince the police they’re dealing with a murder get her labeled a troublemaker by all but one man—the troubler of her youth.

When Cillian Doherty returns to right the wrongs of the past, he finds his high school flame in a different kind of danger than he expected. As a social worker, he’s in the perfect position to corroborate her cry of murder or give her what she wanted—to handle her problems without his help.

But someone wants to silence Victoria. When lies escalate to violence and threaten more lives, the Weston siblings join the battle to save their sister.

Yet it will take a God more powerful than all of them for Cillian and Victoria to make peace with their past and catch the killer. Before the killer catches them.

Wasted continues the thrilling Windy City Westons series that features five siblings who encounter danger, love, and God in the city of Chicago. (Each book can stand alone or be read as series installments.)

Praise for Jerusha

"Jerusha Agen once again delivers top-level suspense and thrilling action. Fast-paced suspense at its best.”

– DiAnn Mills, bestselling author of Concrete Evidence on Covert Danger

"Fast-paced, explosive thriller. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough."

– Carrie Stuart Parks, award-winning, bestselling author of Relative Silence on Rising Danger

My Review

While in the same series as Waylaid, Wasted had a different feel to me. It could be the era that I’m reading it in, but I enjoyed Wasted more. It has a darker aura, and the murder mystery kept me turning the pages from chapter to chapter.

I have recently been struggling with debilitating anxiety. It’s not something I like to talk about and choose to suffer in silence, but reading Victoria making the conscious choice to not let fear rule her life was empowering to me. Despite all of the opposition she faces, her faith remained unshaken throughout, and if Victoria can make that choice, then so can I!

This novel took quite a few directions that I was not expecting, which kept me locked in and the pages turning. I do feel like there was a lot of repetition that could’ve been omitted, as I felt like it dragged the narrative down a bit, but the slow-burning romance smolders in the best way and gives balance and light to an otherwise darker read.

McCully’s character grated on my last nerve!! I got so much ick from that man, it’s unreal. I cannot stand law enforcement that behaves the way he did to Victoria. She had way more patience with him than I think I would have.

I think with tighter editing, it could be shorter and have more of an impact, but it had enough suspense and misdirections to keep things interesting. Every character had me feeling the rollercoaster of emotions, and the Weston siblings and their interactions were some of my favorite scenes. With faith not only spoken but lived out, Wasted was as inspirational as it was entertaining.

My Rating: ★★★★★

About the Author

Jerusha Agen imagines danger around every corner but knows God is there, too. So naturally, she writes romantic suspense infused with the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ. Jerusha loves to hang out with her big furry dogs and little furry cats, often while reading or watching movies. Find more of Jerusha’s thrilling, fear-fighting stories at JerushaAgen.com.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a signed paperback copy of Wasted, a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card, and a Wasted mug, notebook, and magnet!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 27, 2025 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on November 3, 2025. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!