Ascended by Debra Ann Miller

Title:  Ascended

Author:  Debra Ann Miller

Series:  Fallen Guardian Saga #2

Published:  January 7th 2013 by Debra Ann Miller

Page Count:  246

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction/Romance

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Vie and Carter set out to complete their mission, neither could have ever imagined being separated from each other.

Vie is feeling completely alone in The Gates, just barely going through the motions. Gabriel, her closest friend, tries to distract her with the news of a possible traitor in their own backyard. While Vie longs to be back on Earth with her love, she knows the danger that this traitor could bring, and sets her mind to drawing them out to protect the people she loves.

Carter is left alone on Earth clinging to the empty vessel that used to contain his love, unable to let go and move on. Carter starts putting the events of the past few weeks together and realizes something more is going on.

All the while Lucian is working up a plan to keep Vivian’s soul and get everything he's always wanted, including revenge against Vie and anyone she’s ever loved.

With both Vie and Carter working to find out what is going on in their respective worlds and defeat Lucian, will they ever be able to find their way back to each other.

My Review:

What an awesome sequel to Descended. Miller picks up this story right where the prequel left off and really filled in some of the holes left from the original while spinning an awesome tale for us to read.

I love how the author works Native American rituals and customs right into the story. It may not be super detailed, but the details present are accurate. It adds a brilliant undercurrent to the main story. Miller also seamlessly ties two belief systems together to create a cohesive whole. It’s very interesting to see the similarities when brought together in this manner.

Miller’s smooth, flowing writing style allows her readers to immerse themselves in the storyline. Her writing style also changes minutely to match the tone of the story, evoking emotions and reactions in the reader. It combines to create a very unique ride for a varied audience.

The characters in this novel are an interesting mix of divine and human. No one is infallible, even if their biggest fault is not accepting anything less than perfect in those around them. The main characters are also quite well developed as individuals. Miller took the characters from the first novel and continued to make them even more well-rounded. You cannot help but love them. They are also such diverse individuals that everyone can relate to at least some of them.

This fast paced and entertaining novel kept me guessing and wondering throughout. I was impressed throughout and can’t wait to catch up with these characters again.

Buy your copy online here today!

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Descended by Debra Ann Miller

Title:  Descended

Author:  Debra Ann Miller

Series:  Fallen Guardian Saga #1

Published:  October 13th 2012 by Debra Ann Miller

Page Count:  294

Genre:  Young Adult Christian Fiction

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Destiny has two ways of crushing us…by refusing our wishes…and fulfilling them.

Vie had no idea when she descended into the small town of Newcastle, Wyoming that she’d find herself mesmerized by the mysterious and alluring eyes of one Carter Stone. And Carter believed he knew everyone that lived in his rural town until the day he locked eyes with Vivian Thorne. He couldn’t help but wonder what was different about this girl he had known all of his life.

He was right, Vie was the beautiful young Guardian that had been sent to their world looking for Carter and she did so merged in the vessel of the Thorne girl. Their meeting sparks a passionate romance between the two and soon after they embark on their journey to uncover the secrets of a past that they begin to realize they both shared. Their forbidden connection unleashes a war with disapproving parties and the lovers find themselves on a mission to uncover the truth of their not wholly human existence and their unbreakable bond. Darkness falls as Lucian returns to settle a score with them and their lives take a thrilling and terrifying turn. The only way for Carter to stop Lucian and save the one he holds most dear is to unlock the secrets of his past and unleash the powers within him. What are the chances that two raindrops, flung from the heavens, will merge on a windowpane? Gotta be fate!

Deeply passionate and extraordinarily suspenseful, Descended captures the struggles between doing what is expected of you and unleashing your destiny, between fulfilling prophecies and desires, between loyalty and love.

My Review:

This was such a very heart-warming story. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside while at the same time keeping you quite intrigued. Miller has mastered the art of suspenseful narrative. She provides all information necessary for the advancement of the story, while keeping back just enough to keep the reader intrigued. Rather than just plonking all of the information down in one long narrative, she feeds it to us bit by bit.

The story itself is also fairly well written. The descriptions are concise, to the point, but provide you with a sense of what or who you should be looking at. I did find that the actual purpose of the story didn’t become completely apparent until about midway through the novel, but it was still quite enjoyable.

Some of the characters in this novel were quite well developed. You knew where they came from, or at least as much as the characters themselves did. You also got to know a bit about their personalities. However, some of the characters were a little one sided. I also found that the dialogue gets a little stilted at times. Not a lot, but just enough to break the flow of the story. The cast as a whole was quite intriguing and pulls you in to this world.

At the end of the story you find yourself wondering, who in the world are these people? What’s going to happen to them and what is their purpose? You find yourself wanting to reach for the sequel to continue on this journey.

Buy your copy online here today!

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