A Bookish Sarah

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Sarah
Welcome, friend! Relax & rest awhile, if you please. I'm an ordinary girl, a follower of Christ, mama to Gabriel, Heidi, & Aidan; and wife to Evan. Here in this little space of the online world, I share all manner of bookish things, including full content reviews, writerly snippets, encouragement for everyday life, and a whole collection of names & their meanings.

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Book Review || Huntress


Huntress
Life After #1
Julie Hall

Thomas Nelson | November 12, 2019
Faerietales, Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult

{GoodReads}
No one’s afterlife is as dispiriting as Audrey’s―at least that’s what she believes after waking up dead without her memories and being promptly assigned to hunt demons for the rest of eternity. She’s convinced God’s made a cosmic mistake; after all, she’d rather discuss the color of her nails than break them on angelic weapons.

It doesn’t help that her trainer, Logan, is as infuriating as he is attractive. And just when Audrey and Logan appear close to developing an amicable relationship, a decision made under duress pushes their hearts in a direction neither of them saw coming.

Despite her sub-par fighting abilities, an ancient weapon of unparalleled power chooses Audrey as its wielder, attracting the cautious gazes of her fellow hunters and the attention of Satan himself. With Satan’s eyes now fixed on Audrey, a battle for the safety of the living looms in the shadows.


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WARNING: Possible Spoilers!
I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for my review.  :]

{The Basics}
 Wow.  I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would!  Usually, with this type of topic, I tend to avoid novels like these because their versions of the afterlife are so horribly twisted.  But I don't believe that the case with these books!  However, that said, there are some things I could safely say most likely wouldn't occur---but it was quite a thrilling ride to imagine such concepts as are in this book.

For instance, our MC Audrey, is dead.  And once dead, you enter an entirely different realm.  One of beauty & wonder.  The descriptions of the settings in many scenes were beautifully easy to visualize & still left room for the reader's mind to expound on the created perfection---because, really, can we even comprehend what our King's Heaven will be like?

Anyways, back to dead.  Audrey is taken through a series of interviews where it's determined what her occupation for eternity will be.  To everyone's surprise, she is give the task of a Hunter.  Their specialty? Hunting demons.  Alongside actual angels!  (SPOILER: You meet Gabriel! The Gabriel!!) Now, Audrey is more athletically challenged & her trainer pushes her hard.  She would be one to prefer art class over P.E.---and there were many instances I would totally relate to her!  I enjoyed her character.  Training is where everything begins, but I'll leave it at that.  I don't wanna give away anything!  You should read it yourself! ;D

{Spiritual Content}
 This is the After Life.  And at some point or another, we will all meet God.  (I'm not sure we'll be given jobs like Hunter or Healer, but who on Earth really knows? ;D)  Just like Reepicheep traveled to the ends of the world in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, & at last came to Aslan's Country, Audrey enters God's Country & is blown away by the beauty & perfection of it.  She meets a man upon waking in the white nothingness that blooms into creation, and there in the soft grass of a meadow he (or He) answers some of her questions.  He calls himself Joe, but we're left wondering if he was Jesus Himself. . .

Upon arriving in the Life After, a persons memories are "taken" in order to help them acclimate to their new surroundings, their jobs, & the people there.  Only later do their memories return---those of the family they left behind & even of how they died.

Audrey questions everything: her purpose, her new job---she wonders constantly that there had been some kind of mistake, even though she knows God makes no such thing.  She questions Him, and at one point is able to do so face to face.

{Violence}
Demons are UGLY, terrible, mutated creatures---usually with multiple grotesque limbs and/or long vicious razor tails.  Our Hunters are charged to protect the people on Earth from these things, alongside the angels.  To those on Earth, Audrey & her peers are invisible to all but the demons, of course (and if a human were to actually collide with them somehow, they would simply seem to trip.  <-- I thought that was hilarious!).

A massive demon ambushes Audrey and her bodyguards, but she manages to get the upper hand.  At some point, they enter another fight and she is taken away with a nasty, excruciating bite to the shoulder.  Other Hunters are wounded by demons, and demons are hacked & beaten down.  They disappear in ashy smoke.

One Demon in particular reveals his cunning self a time or two. . . And even finishes off one of his own demons with a fiery blast from his mouth.

Some blood & gore.

The Hunters are called to a situation in a school where a kid brings a gun.  He shoots a couple of times, but no one is hit.  We see a demon practically attached to the boy, egging him on as he suffers.

A girl is hit by a vehicle saving her younger brother.

{Language // Alcohol & Drugs}
No language other than the slang uses of "dang", "oh my gosh", " what the heck", "geez", and "sheesh."

None that I recall.

{Romantic Content}
So, in this version of the after life, there is still some romantic attraction.  And Audrey finds it with her assigned trainer, Logan.  She questions if those in the After still fall in love & is told they do.  Kisses have a more different meaning---more binding, let's say---than on Earth.  This is one of those things I don't believe will be totally true in the actual Heaven, because no one is "married, nor given in marriage. . ." (Matt. 22:30)  But it still adds much to a story!

In an attempt to hide from a demon they're not prepared to fight, and in trying to blend in with the living humans, Audrey impulsively kisses Logan (surprised at first, of course, but turns kinda passionate).  After this shared scene, things become a little awkward between them.  And I wanted to at one point yell at them to USE COMMUNICATION TO WORK THINGS OUT!!!  Ahem.  

{Conclusion}
All in all, this was a totally enjoyable, page-turning adventure.  I love how the author imagined what life would be like.  The creativity of the land, the buildings, the story world was so fun!  And I related well to Audrey's emotions.  While she still felt all the anger, frustration, and sorrow (another something I don't believe will exist in Heaven), she learned to give it all up again to her Lord.  And He eventually brought back her best friend! A golden retriever (I think) she calls Bear.  (This is something I do believe will be true---animals in Heaven!)

So, that's the gist.  I would certainly recommend this series if you made it this far.  It was an easy read, and DEFINITELY leaves room for the sequel.  I've gotta start the next one now!

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Ages: 14+

Comments

  1. I'm very cautious with these types of tales too. Though a lot of these are written by non-Christians and the whole portrayal of demons and angels and such is just NONSENSE. So I'm happy to see a book like this actually written for the Christian market! This sounds kinda fun! I may have to check it out sometime.

    Thank you for the great review!

    ReplyDelete

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To each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass, and a book of rules,
And each must make, ere life is flown,
A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
-Anonymous-

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