My review of The Delusion by Laura Gallier

About the book:

By March of Owen Edmonds's senior year, eleven students at Masonville High School have committed suicide. Amid the media frenzy and chaos, Owen tries to remain levelheaded--until he endures his own near-death experience and wakes to a distressing new reality.

The people around him suddenly appear to be shackled and enslaved.

Owen frantically seeks a cure for what he thinks are crazed hallucinations, but his delusions become even more sinister. An army of hideous, towering beings, unseen by anyone but Owen, are preying on his girlfriend and classmates, provoking them to self-destruction.

Owen eventually arrives at a mind-bending conclusion: he's not imagining the evil--everyone else is blind to its reality. He must warn and rescue those he loves . . . but this proves to be no simple mission. Will he be able to convince anyone to believe him before it's too late?

Owen's heart-pounding journey through truth and delusion will force him to reconsider everything he believes. He both longs for and fears the answers to questions that are quickly becoming too dangerous to ignore.

My review:

I haven't read many spiritual warfare/ fantasy novels so I can't say how this is similar or different to other authors who write in that genre. I did find the plot interesting and the premise held my attention I especially liked the subtitle "we all have our demons." This captured the heart of the story. I am more of a fan of historical fiction, but the hero in this book was likeable enough to make me want to see how he'd turn his life around. His sudden ability to see the spiritual realm kept the story moving along.

The novel had a YA feel to it and the author had an interesting way of storytelling. The high school had darkness surrounding it that dated back to the occult group that lived in the area over a hundred years prior. Spiritual strongholds were a big part of this story. The illustration of bondage and chains weighing people down made me think about the trappings in my life.  I liked how the author showed that even people in churches have bondage sometimes, and yes, even people who have the light are susceptible to the enemy's schemes. Prayer was the one thing that called the good guys to action. The author also showed that there is always a larger story or plan beyond what we can see. Sometimes it doesn't make sense to us how things turn out, but that doesn't mean God is not aware of the situation. Good message. Good book. If you like novels about spiritual warfare then this book is for you.

The Delusion; We All Have Our Demons was published by Tyndale and released in Nov. 2017 Movie production has already begun on this novel (based on the media alert included with the advance review copy of the book.) Than you, Tyndale, for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication.

What I've been up to lately

Okay, so here is the thing... I haven't been reading a whole lot lately because I've been reformatting books I wrote years ago and putting them on kindle myself. I asked for the rights back because it seems more people borrow my books through kindle unlimited than actually buy them. I don't mind that, but if I have publishers that don't use kindle unlimited then the books are not available for my readers. That said, here are the buy links to the books I recently posted...

It's Not About Me

It's Not About Me, Him or Her (3 book bundle)

My review of Risen by Angela Hunt

About the book:

A Powerful Novelization from Bestselling Author Angela Hunt
Epic in scope, yet deeply personal, this novelization offers a unique perspective on the story of the resurrection. Roman Tribune Clavius is assigned by Pilate to keep the radical followers of the recently executed Yeshua from stealing the body and inciting revolution. When the body goes missing despite his precautions, Clavius must hunt it down.
His investigation leads him from the halls of Herod Antipas to the Garden of Gethsemane and brings him in touch with believer and doubter alike. But as the body still remains missing, Clavius commits to a quest for the truth--and answers that will not only shake his life but echo throughout all of history. 


My review:

I loved this story. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I wanted to read the book first anyway. It was well-written and made me think about some of the events that happened from other people's perspectives. And the coolest thing about this story was Rachel's part in the Roman's understanding of Jewish history and how it all fits together with the Messiah. I loved how she even thought while making of the unleavened bread with it's stripes and holes and remembering what they meant. Everything tied back to the Messiah and Jesus fulfilling the prophecy that she grew up hearing about from her family's study of the Torah. 

The author says at the end of the book she was not actually part of the movie due to time constraints, but Rachel was in the original screenplay. She was my favorite character. Even though she knew she was living in sin by allowing Clavius to visit her house, she still talked with him about the prophesies of her people and answered his questions when when he came to visit her at night. I found it fascinating how God still used their relationship to open his eyes to the possibility of God coming to earth in the form of a man and redeeming us all. I loved how she shows through his perspective that Jesus was utterly and completely dead, and then when he examined the tomb it didn't look like it was broken into but that something inside the tomb snapped the ropes, etc.  Anyway, I can't wait to see the movie. 

Risen was published by Bethany House and released in December 2015

My review of Daughters of Rome by Kate Quinn

About the book:

A.D. 69. Nero is dead.

The Roman Empire is up for the taking. With bloodshed spilling out of the palace and into the streets of Rome, chaos has become the status quo. The Year of Four Emperors will change everything—especially the lives of two sisters with a very personal stake in the outcome….

Elegant and ambitious, Cornelia embodies the essence of the perfect Roman wife. She lives to one day see her loyal husband as Emperor. Her sister, Marcella, is more withdrawn, content to witness history rather than make it. Even so, Marcella has her share of distinguished suitors, from a cutthroat contender for the throne to a politician’s son who swears that someday he will be Emperor.

But when a bloody coup turns their world upside down, Cornelia and Marcella—along with their cousins, one a collector of husbands and lovers, the other a horse-mad beauty with no interest in romance—must maneuver carefully just to stay alive. As Cornelia tries to pick up the pieces of her shattered dreams, Marcella discovers a hidden talent for influencing the most powerful men in Rome. In the end, though, there can only be one Emperor … and one Empress.

My review:

I love reading novels set in first century Rome. The culture of that day seems almost parallel to the 21st century. While it isn't the first book I've read about the Roman Empire, it's one of the better novels set during that time period. This novel had very realistic characters, and while there was some sexual tension at times, they fit the story and was not there to merely titillate the reader. It reminded me of how much I adore Francine Rivers's writing style and how much I enjoyed reading her "Mark of the Lion" series back in the mid 1990s.

The unique thing about this novel was that it took place during the year of the four emperors. I've read historical accounts of the ancient Roman Empire and some were set around 69 AD, but this is the first book I've read that fictionalized true life events. The perspectives shifted between four cousins, all women, who grew up together and were from prominent families. The politics of the time period were intriguing as were the parties (where people ate so much they had to throw up in order to indulge in more food,) chariot races and gambling, arranged marriages for political gain, and hostile takeovers by people craving power. I found it interesting how fickle the people of Rome were, but how they also had to shift alliances each time their was a new Emperor in Rome.

This author put and interesting fictional twist to this historical tale and suggested that a scheming woman may have been behind the changes in power. I found that intriguing, especially how in the end she was caught in a trap of her own making. That part of the theme made me think of monarchies in England and how people were often afraid for their lives when the king changed from one blood line to the next. Those were intriguing times as well.

I loved all of the characters in this novel and the tension in their relationships. I also loved how women had power, and at the same time, they were ruled by men. A woman's only hope for true happiness would be to have a good man in their life because an evil man could use and abuse them and other than possibly getting divorced, there wasn't much they could do to protect themselves. Anyway, I love this author's voice and style, I got a copy of Mistress of Rome, which is her first book, and plan to read that next. The back cover description sounds like my kind of story. 

Daughters of Rome was published by Berkley Books and released in 2011.