Five heroes, three villains, the apocalypse and a curse, can the heroes save the worlds in time, despite the impossible odds? Miracles of the Swan’s Reflection is an epic quest through romance and worlds. As the shattering rocks the worlds, our heroes, Taj, the king, and Neriah, the warrior, Audry, the dark beauty, Roei, the peacemaker and Joshua, the guardian, must do everything in their power to protect the worlds. Following on the heels of Blessings of the Firebird’s Light, Bartholomew and Apollo, fallen angels, have placed their plan into motion. By acquiring the shards, the hearts of the worlds, Bartholomew can create a holy weapon. A weapon so strong that it threatens the balance between good and evil.To prevent our hero’s from succeeding, Bartholomew casted a curse on Taj and Neriah. In this life changing Christian fantasy, join Taj, Neriah, Audry, Roei and Joshua on their perilous holy quest to save the worlds from evil. Will our heroes succeed in thwarting Bartholomew and Apollo’s plans in time? Or, will the world’s fade into darkness?
I loved the first book in this series, and I was super excited to get into this book. Even though this book is a direct sequel to the previous, it focuses on only a few of the old characters while introducing many new characters. The author jumps back and forth between the past and the present, and the present in different worlds. The characters that I came to know and love were weaved into the story for the past and different worlds, and the new characters that I grew to love were a part of the present storyline.
My favorite story arc in the book was with Anthony and Odette. They were soulmates from childhood, but they had grown apart as the years went on. Then Odette got into a bad relationship and needed a place to stay, so Anthony came back into her life. I rooted for the two the entire novel, constantly hoping for a good ending. I wasn’t expecting the big secret of the two characters to be what it was, but I definitely liked where the story went with them. I finally understood how the different timelines connected.
I could understand what was happening in the present storyline, but it was a bit hard to keep up with the characters from the previous novel. I felt that I didn’t know everyone, even though I had just finished Blessings a week or two before I started this book. I found myself backtracking to the previous book just to figure out who certain characters were, and how they played out in the new setting. Even though I liked the new characters, I think I would have liked them more if I could have figured out what was happening with the old characters before jumping into the new. It was never confusing which “time” we were in, as the author always labels if it is the past or the present. But it was confusing trying to keep up with what was going on in the past, and then linking it to the present.
Out of all the characters, I think I connected with Taj and Neriah the least. I just didn’t quite understand what was happening in their storyline, and every time something big would happen, the story would switch back to other characters that I could keep up with. By the end, I could kinda understand what was happening, but I was confused for most of the middle of the novel.
I have mixed feelings about the ending. I don’t always like when books end on a cliffhanger, but I will see how well the cliffhanger does when I read the third book in the series. If I feel that it flows well from one book to the next, then the cliffhanger was a good choice! If I feel that the cliffhanger chopped this story off short and then the next book picks up at a completely different part of the story, then I will feel as if the cliffhanger didn’t do the entire book justice. I’ll simply have to wait for the next novel, but for now, this doesn’t affect my final rating.
The last thing I have to say about this book is that I love that it is Christian fantasy. I feel that it definitely included more Bible verses than the previous book did, but this was necessary for Anthony and Odette’s storyline. The single time it felt a little “preachy” to me was when Odette was talking about the college party. I’m a college freshman and I am a Christian as well. I probably wouldn’t go to a college party, simply because I’m not a party person. Not because it isn’t the “Christian” thing to do, but just because I don’t like them. When Odette went to this party, she seemed quite judgemental of every single person there. I didn’t quite like this scene, but it wasn’t the focus of the novel. Most of the time, Odette was using her faith to get through tough situations, and Anthony was returning to faith with her. It really strengthened their overall friendship, and I wish more Christian romances were written in this way.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this novel, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new Christian fantasy series to start. It has beautiful romance scenes, it isn’t too “preachy” but it does include the Bible in the story, and the characters are all enjoyable to read.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 books
