What an interesting book! This is a wonderful work of Christian fiction that hits on a few different subjects—you have romance at the root of this series but there’s also redemption, good versus evil, and the power of music. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the music, but I won’t get into that just yet.

This is the first book I have ever read by Detwiler, so I was pleasantly surprised by the story and the writing. Forsaken is the second book in the series, I did not read the first installment, but I can’t say that hindered my understanding of the story or my connection to the characters. I enjoyed the romance between Jared and Grace, and I liked that they were tied to each other in multiple ways despite their distance. They weren’t just two kids in love, Jared and Grace were connected through music, their faith, and the battle they faced in trying to be together. Jared was a loveable character and certainly made me cheer for him—I have a weakness for fallen angels, and while Jared wasn’t exactly an angel kicked out of heaven, his backstory was similar in many ways and had a dark element of the battle in good versus evil.

Now I’d like to go back to my comment on the music in the series. Music plays a part in the book—Grace and her singing, Jared and his guitar—but there’s a message here for Christians and the music we listen to as well. Detwiler makes a clear connection between music and demonic oppression; some songs conjure evil spirits while others are harmless to listen to. The singer and the motives of the songwriter are also aspects that contribute to whether a song may negatively impact someone’s spiritual standing. While this isn’t exactly the case for every genre of music, it is certainly an interesting concept that every Christian should take seriously.

As a Believer, I don’t think Detwiler is too far off with this concept. Music is incredibly important, whether it is praise and worship or the latest Beyoncé hit, it has an effect on the listener. There are scriptures I can reference to demonstrate the importance of protecting ourselves from certain influencers such as what we listen to and what we allow ourselves to watch and read, but I’ll leave that to your next Sunday sermon. For now, I’ll say that Detwiler has opened the door on a previously unexplored concept—to the best of my knowledge at least. This part of the book is enough to keep me interested, but the rest of the story is just as satisfying.

I recommend this book to teens and young adult readers, but it will be best appreciated by young Christians. If you enjoy romance, fantasy, or supernatural novels you will certainly enjoy this series, but I’d say there’s enough here to keep any interested reader turning the pages.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*