Wednesday, June 13, 2007
CSFF June Tour presents: The Restorer, by Sharon Hinck
I'm so glad we're featuring Sharon's new fantasy novel. It's great and I think everyone will enjoy it. I've already read the second book in the series, The Restorer's Son. Woohoo! I loved it as well.
Sadly, I will be out of town during this tour and will only be able to post once and a few days early at that. I had hoped to list this month's participants at the bottom of this post, but I had to leave town before I got the correct list. I've listed participants from past blog tours--hopefully most of them will be correct. Please go visit some of their sites and forgive me if some are incorrect. Thanks heaps. :)
MY REVIEW:
Susan doesn’t think she can cope anymore. Playing wife and mother to four children has sapped her energy level to zero and sky-rocketed her stress to the moon. Where is the meaning in sorting laundry, cleaning the kitchen and providing incessant transportation? So much for joy.
But hubby Mark comes to save the day. He creates an attic retreat/no kids zone for Susan’s refreshment. During her first visit she sees a shadow, hears voices, and is suddenly sucked up into a swirling vortex of energy. What she finds when she regains consciousness will changer her forever.
No longer just a soccer mom, Susan is thrust into the role of a lifetime—in another world. Tristan and the People of the Verses are looking for a Restorer, one who can help them battle the evil that has pervaded their land. But how can a woman unfamiliar with the ways of a strange world help at all?
From murder to treason to poison to sword-fighting to war strategy—this plot will have you cheering for the good guys and snarling at the bad ones. You will make friends along the way, some of them unlikely ones. And though the ending is satisfying, the story is far from over.
It’s hard to compare this novel to any others out on the market, although several fiction titles dealing with parallel universes or time travel may coincide in some manner. The only book series I can think of that even remotely parallels this one concerning modern life vs. a medieval-type alternate world is Ted Dekker’s Circle Trilogy. But that’s a very sketchy comparison. The Restorer starts out with a “mom-lit” feeling, but quickly changes into pure fantasy. As such, it proved to be one of the best novels I’ve read all year.
Like me, readers will relate to Susan’s lethargy and depression in regards to real life. If only we could learn lessons and overcome obstacles as she did without adventuring into a new world to do it. I think the author begs us to realize that we can find meaning and purpose in our lives, no matter what our station in life or how ill-prepared we think we are. God is for us and with us, no matter what the circumstance.
I highly recommend this book for its extraordinary writing style, lovable characters, thematic content and elements of suspense. It’s like fantasy for people who don’t read fantasy. And for those of us who do.
The book link
Sharon's website
Sharon's blog
Participant list:
Dawn King
Rebecca Grabill
Jill Hart
Nissa Annakindt
Wayne Thomas Batson
Jim Black
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Frank Creed
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
April Erwin
Kameron M. Franklin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Christopher Hopper
Heather R. Hunt
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Karen
Tina Kulesa
Lost Genre Guild
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Shannon McNear
Caleb Newell
Nicole
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
Robin Parrish
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Tsaba House Authors
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
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Karri-delete my comment. I called you Karina--I'm sorry!
ReplyDeleteBut I did highlight your blog today!
Thanks so much for posting early. I know you're missing the fun chatter of the blog tour, so I decided to drop by even though I know you're out of town. :-)
ReplyDeleteI LOVED what you said about the book being hard to compare to others. That's been a challenge from my days of pitching it to editors to explaining it to potential readers. :-) Thanks for helping give a feel for the story in your eloquent way!
As always, Kari, you give great insight. I was curious to see how the views of this piece varied between the sexes and you support my theory that women will definatley enjoy this more. It was a little too "chick lit" for my tastes, though everything you've pointed out as likeable rings true.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting,
God Bless,
Daniel I Weaver
www.danieliweaver.com
This is a very nicely written review of the book! Glad to hear the sequel is good!
ReplyDeleteKari, this is a wonderful review. You give all the pertinent infor regarding the opening but don't spoil the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't get the updated list of links in time, but I know I for one appreciate your special effort to post the ones you had.
BTW, Daniel, I don't think your idea about men's reaction versus women's is across the board, largely because of what a couple other novelists had to say. Check out the quotes at Spec Faith.
Becky
I felt it was more mom-lit than fantasy. I couldn't identify very deeply with the character although I could appreciate her struggles at a surface level.
ReplyDelete