"Ransomed Dreams" is a Christian general fiction novel set in Mexico and in Chicago in the USA. The story switched between the current story of overcoming fears and forgiving others and the story of the events leading up to the assassination attempt. They do connect together in important ways, and I thought it was handled well.

The world-building was very good. The tension in the story was created by the strain in the various relationships, and it had a slightly slower pacing. The characters were complex and dealt with realistic struggles. However, I never really bonded to the main characters because they weren't very likable, especially at the beginning. I was more interested in some of the secondary characters.

Sheridan and her husband were Catholics with an on-again-off-again relationship with God. The characters seemed to view God as real and active but...distant?...useful to ask help from, but usually irrelevant though nice to talk about? Well, something. Sheri would usually go sit in a (usually empty) church when she wanted to "connect" with God, and she found her greatest comfort in the familiar motions of taking the Eucharist. Since family and friends (including a priest) loved to give each other snippets of advice on handling fears and relationship troubles, some readers might view this novel as "preachy" (though it's good advice). I thought it was fine since the characters' acted like real people do in such situations.

The minor amount of bad language was in the "he cussed" style. There was no sex. Overall, this novel was well-written, clean reading.

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.