Friday, September 27, 2019

Review: Anointed

Anointed

"After a terrible car accident, sixteen-year-old Rachel awakens with no memories and is shocked to discover she’s become the newest resident of a mystical Cloaked City called BethEl. She quickly begins to feel at home in the mysterious town with her supernaturally gifted neighbors, especially Cohen, the handsome boy who found her. But Rachel’s new life is haunted by disturbing nightmares. 

When her new Mentor hears of these horrific visions, he believes they are more than mere dreams. They are the key to finding the long-promised Anointed—the one who will prepare the way for the return of the Messiah.

As the quest for the Anointed ensues, Rachel and her new friends are thrust directly into the center of a spiritual war. But as Rachel learns to use her dreams and newfound spiritual gifts, she begins to distinguish her memories from the nightmares that plague her. And what she discovers is even more terrifying. Now, as her past collides with her present, Rachel must fight to not only find and rescue the Anointed, but to save herself."

Author: H.R. Hutzel
Genre: Spiritual Fantasy
Series: BethEl (book 1)



"A mysterious car accident. A mystical city. 
She can’t remember anything, but they need her to remember everything."


This is a very tricky genre to navigate. There is a stigma around it, as much as there is around biblical fiction. Here's what I want people to know...this stuff they write about, is REAL! The spiritual warfare they write about it so real. 

This genre is normally a hit or miss for me. I don't gravitate towards it on a normal basis, but I'm glad I gave this book a try! I was instantly drawn into the world every time I opened the book. Time slipped away and I was sad when I would have to set the book down. 

I definitely felt the inspiration of Frank Peretti throughout the story, though the story line was still unique. 

Each plot line had another deeper meaning behind it, and they slowly untangled through the process of the story and the final connection was GREAT! This book handled so many topics beautifully. It dealt strongly with spiritual warfare, and the fight between Light and darkness. It also handled topics of your past not defining you, and God calls who He calls no matter their past.
There were even themes that were so relevant to today's real world, it was a bit freaky.
*This is a heavily "end time" based book, so if that makes you uncomfortable this probably isn't the series for you.*

The characters were GREAT! Even the villains were developed. There was the perfect amount of character development for Rachel in this book, it was paced well and written in a way that seemed realistic without making her too annoying. I'm hoping Cohen gets his character growth in book 2!
Elias was hands-down my favorite though! (Really hoping she doesn't kill him off)

The world was built nicely as well. Though there is a LOT of story, I never felt bogged down with words or information. The author did a great job painting a vivid picture of every new place she took us. As someone who really doesn't visualize when I read, this was incredible.

There was ONE thing I had a big problem with, the use of curse words. The bad guys use them a few times. They pulled me out of the narrative because I was surprised that they were there. So reader, please be aware.
That is honestly the only reason this book isn't getting a five star rating.

It was a very powerful book though, it brought tears to my eyes a few times.
I'm rating it a 4/5 stars.

*I received this book from the author**All opinions are my own*

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