About the Book

Book:  Realms of Light

Author: Sandra Fernandez Rhoads

Genre: Christian YA Contemporary Fantasy

Release date: April 13, 2021

From the Ashes, Spring Will Rise 

On the run from the brutal Sage and his army of Legions and Cormorants, seventeen-year-old Cera Marlowe knows the only place strong enough to protect her is the Alliance Council Estate.

Cera’s introduction to the Estate is far from welcoming. As a Blight, her dueling powers of light and darkness make her a half-breed threat to the Alliance’s sacred powers. Cera’s ability to decipher hidden messages in classical artwork buys her shelter temporarily, but the clock is ticking as she’s faced with a daunting choice that could cost her everything.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Sandra Fernandez Rhoads is the author of Mortal Sight. She is a Cuban-Colombian living in Dallas, Texas with her husband and four children. She has a deep love for the artist community, and is an active part of Art House Dallas and the Fort Worth Writer’s group. She holds an M.A. in English with a focus on John Milton and has an insatiable love for coffee, laughter, and adventure. And dinosaurs.

 

More from Sandra

What if there was an unseen war affecting our everyday world, but only a few could see the battle? And what if the secrets to this other realm and winning the war were embedded in classical art and literature?

These questions led me to the ideas that formed the Colliding Line duology, and final installment in the series, Realms of Light—the story about a select group of emerging artists called the Awakened that are given unique powers to help combat the forces of evil.

The protagonist, a young girl named Cera Marlowe, quickly took the lead in the first draft of the story. On a quest for her identity, she steps into her destiny by joining a community of unlikely warriors who would need to overcome great odds, learn to work together, and battle their past in order to defeat the enemy.

The story took more than five years to write and the first draft was over 180k words. The use of classical art emerged slowly over that time. But the verses from John Milton’s Paradise Lost fit seamlessly from the start, paralleling the fight for truth, identity, and war in our fallen world.

At its core, the story is about embracing the past to help shape our future. My hope is that readers see classical art and literature in a new way, and find their own creativity as a much-needed gift to the world.

MY REVIEW 

I was intrigued right from the beginning of this engaging story. It was easy to follow and had quite the adventure for readers. I like Cera and how much she wants to do the right thing. She is tempted several times and Sage was hard to read at times. I kept thinking how he painted this picture of harmony for Cera. Oh I think he may be deceiving her, but I had to hold my assumptions till the conclusion of the book. 

The author uses historical art to help tell the story that I thought was interesting. I did learn more about the art pieces and that alone was inspiring to me. The concept of Cera trying to free her mother and keep her and others safe was heart pounding. There are moments that I wasn’t sure who was trustworthy. 

Sage is good at taunting Cera and gets inside her head to steer her into him. I hated when he told her he knew what she really wanted. Don’t we all want to feel needed, accepted and loved? I wanted to tell her to run as fast as she could away from the trap that Sage is setting up. I couldn’t help thinking about the scripture in Romans 12:2 where it talks about renewing our mind. It is easy to fall for the trap of the enemy if we aren’t careful. I loved seeing how Cera fought Sage’s power and stood up for what was right. 

The author delivers an unforgettable battle as Cera faces the power who wants to be in control of everything. The danger is fierce and Cera will make a decision that will have lingering moments of change on others. Oh how I loved the battle at the end as Sage and Cera face off against each other. It is an exceptional ending that leaves me thinking how we should never give up. 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. 

Blog Stops

Rebecca Tews, April 29

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 29

Texas Book-aholic, April 30

Inklings and notions, May 1

Woven by Words, May 1

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 2

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, May 3

Genesis 5020, May 3

For the Love of Literature, May 4

For Him and My Family, May 5

Wishful Endings, May 6

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 7

Through the Fire Blogs, May 7

deb’s Book Review, May 8

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 9

Blogging With Carol, May 10

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, May 10

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, May 11

April Hayman, Author, May 11

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, May 12

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the grand prize package of $40 Christianbook.com gift card, custom Bookmark, custom signed bookplate, custom Realms of Light notebook, and library book pattern book / tablet sleeve!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/10b5d/realms-of-light-celebration-tour-giveaway