Dark Halo

Monday, September 9, 2013
“Try it and Jake is yours, with or without heaven’s consent. You can expect me in Stratus before this war is over. You can tell me then how you like my gift.” And then he disappears and I’m left alone in the cruelest place on earth with Canaan’s halo on my right wrist and the Prince’s on my left.

Book: Dark Halo (An Angel Eyes Novel) by Shannon Dittemore, Thomas Nelson Publishers 2013


Genre: Speculative Fiction/Supernatural
Target Audience: Girls 15+
Subjects: Faith, Loss, Angels, Fear
Summary: Jake is gone. He’s been taken by the evil one and all Brielle can do is pray and desperately keep seeking to worship as the battle between good and evil rages over Stratus. Then in a desperate attempt to save Jake, Brielle too is captured by the evil one and offered what she most wants: a guaranteed future with the one she loves. The trouble is that the one offering it is a liar and a thief. But he offers something else she wants: relief from the seeing. The fear is thick, oozing out of everyone. It’s hard to have faith when that’s all you can see everywhere you look. Suddenly she’s back in Stratus with Jake and the rest of the people she loves. But she’s not the same as she was. She bears a second a halo, a halo that represents a terrible choice.
Notes: The third in the Angel Eyes Trilogy, Shannon Dittemore speculates on what a halo might be and what kind of experience someone would have if they could see the spiritual realm. The story began in book one with a retelling of the story of Elisha praying that the eyes of his servant would be opened to see the angelic warriors surrounding the enemy army and how the servant saw the spiritual realm (Found in 2 Kings 6:8-23). Then it introduced the story of two eighteen year olds, ordinary humans who are given a special gift from God. When wearing the halo of his angel guardian, Jake was given the gift of healing. When wearing the halo after Jake gave it to her, Brielle is given the gift of seeing the spiritual realm – the angels and demons and the physical manifestation of feelings such as fear and love. In book two, Jake was captured and the ring from the Throne that seemed to promise them a future together is replaced with a sword that was used to kill Brielle before God restored her life. A battle begins to rage over Stratus as angels start tearing the veil that hides the supernatural from human’s view. Now in book three, Brielle is faced with a chance to get back all she wants – loved ones, guaranteed future with Jake, and relief from fear. She has to decide what matters most to her and then make a choice. This book also focuses heavily on the story of two side characters who are also being drawn to Christ even as evil fights to retain the hold on them. As with the other two books, the big issue dealt with is fear. Brielle can actually see the fear on people no matter how deeply they hide it. And the fear combats her faith every step of the way. It shows just how powerful of an enemy fear truly is. It also shows how powerful God as faith conquers fear.
Overall – this series is speculative, but in it’s speculation it does not contradict Scripture in any way, but rather supports and even quotes it. I highly recommend this one!
Recommendation Scale: 5/5
Reviewer: J:-)mi

Romans 8:37-39 – No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thank you to YA fiction blog group/Thomas Nelson Publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book!

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