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The Restorer's Son: A Novel Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Sharon Hinck / Navpress  
Reviewed by Karri ComptonThere are many intricacies of plot, interesting relationships between characters, and interwoven themes that make this novel a joy to read.In the first book of The Sword of Lyric series, The Restorer, we meet Susan, burned out wife and mother of four. After retreating to a small attic room her husband Mark has created for her, she accidentally travels through a portal to another world. After waking up in a foreign place and time, she tries to make some sense of her journey. Soon she finds that she is the promised Restorer for the People of the Verses. She attempts to follow the One in a battle for her life and hundreds of innocents to save their country from evil. At the opening of The Restorer's Son, Susan returns home to the attic only to discover her teenage son Jake has passed through the portal into the same alternate universe she has just left. She and husband Mark go back to Lyric in a frantic search for Jake. But things have changed for Susan-she no longer has Restorer powers-they have been passed on to Kieran of Braide Wood. While Susan and Mark look for Jake, Kieran wrestles with his own destiny. He is now the Restorer, but until he surrenders to the One and His plan, he will remain frustrated and confused. Surprises are in store for Kieran as people from his past resurface and he embarks on a mission from the One. What sacrifice will he have to make in order to fulfill his purpose as the Restorer? Will Susan be able to trust the One for Jake's safe return? Kieran and Susan learn to trust His hand in their lives-the reader sees both journeys firsthand as both points of view are presented, told in first person for each character. I enjoyed getting into Kieran's head this time, as Hinck revealed his troubles as a man called to be something he wishes to reject at first. In some ways, Linette and Jake's circumstances mirror one another. They must accept what has been thrust upon them in order to keep the faith. Both go through a difficult period of loss and confusion that could threaten their closeness to the One. Everyone struggles in their relationship with God. Many times, we must overcome our hesitation to obey, fully trusting that God will work all things according to His plan, the best plan. Rarely do events turn out the way we wish, but a lesson can always be learned and God never ceases to amaze. There are many intricacies of plot, interesting relationships between characters, and interwoven themes that make this novel a joy to read. I've read it twice, savoring more meaning the second time around. I highly recommend this book. If you like Sharon's other work, fantasy, or alternate universe-type novels, The Restorer's Son will not disappoint. |
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About Karri Compton View this review and more at: www.kcreviews.blogspot.com |
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The Restorer's Son: A Novel Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Sharon Hinck / Navpress
Reviewed by Cara PutmanThis book lived up to every one of my very high expectations.While I was at the ACFW conference, I haunted the bookstore, cautiously hopeful that Sharon Hinck's latest release would show up. After extra diligence on her part chasing down the book from the bowels of the hotel's backrooms, it appeared. And I promptly snapped up one of the few remaining copies. I have been waiting to read The Restorer's Son since the very last page of The Restorer. This book did not disappoint…unless the fact that the book ended is a disappointment. And the book leads straight into book three, which of course I now have to wait MONTHS to read. I'm thinking about bribing Sharon with chocolate to get an early copy of The Restorer's Journey. In The Restorer's Son Kieran fights with the One over his selection as the next Restorer. He's an outcast among his people, and can't imagine how he will serve as their rescuer. Then the One tells him to take the message of the One to the people of Hazor. This does not seem like a job for a Restorer. Susan and Mark are back; this time hunting for their son who slipped through the portal. The book is told in first person from Kieran and Susan's points of view. Each character has a distinctive voice - no chance of mixing them up. I could easily relate to Kieran's struggle with God…Does God love me? Why would He love me and care about me? This can't really be His call on my life. He must have the wrong person…but wouldn't He know that! Sharon paints powerful word pictures of these other worlds. I felt like I was returning to an exotic location I'd visited long ago. And yet the descriptions were rich enough to easily carry the uninitiated straight into Lyric, Braide Wood and Hazor. The author's creativity in constructing an entirely new world that is unique yet easy to picture is amazing to me. Kieran's growth as a character is real and believable. The subplot related to Susan and Mark's son Jacob adds to the underlying story and launches us into book three. This book lived up to every one of my very high expectations. If you like fantasy or want to try something new by an author who has quickly become one of my favorites, race out to buy this book now! |
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About Cara Putman View this review and more at: carasmusings.blogspot.com |
Susan Sleeman
is passionate about Christian Suspense as both a reader and a writer. She is the author of High-Stakes Inheritance, a romantic suspense novel to be released in September by Love Inspired Suspense an imprint of Steeple Hill Publishers and Nipped in the Bud, a cozy mystery in October from Barbour Publishing.
Read more about Susan's. . .
Christian Suspense
To Die For
©2006-10
Susan Sleeman
Susan Sleeman
