As I began reading this book, I quickly found myself caught up in the story. Direk, the crown Pringle of Sunland needs to gain some maturity and understanding of his parents’ past.

King Philip and his wife make the decision to send their son on a journey as a woodcutter’s son. I love this journey of discovery. Direk learns to draw closer to God and discovers his faith means something. The plot and characters kept my attention. The ending made this book worth reading. The adventure and danger add excitement to this story. So check it out for yourself.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, but this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own. ( )

The story is a journey of a young man who needs a lesson in humility. Being a Prince has made him arrogant and prideful. His father has a plan to humble his son and thus the adventure begins. I found myself immersed in the story and forgot everything around me.

Dierk is quite a character. He can be charming, even nice at times, but when he is taken on a journey through different villages as a mere commoner, his lessons will be many. The Sisters were perhaps one of my favorite times in the story. They each are gifted and follow the teachings of God. As Dierk finds out not everyone like them he is surprised at the reason why. Think about the times in the Bible when Jesus was not liked and others wanted to harm Him. This story really emphasized the importance of Prayer warriors. When you find yourself in a battle, what better way to fight then with prayer warriors surrounding you? “He doesn’t prevent all hard-ship because then people might serve Him only for what He would do for them.” “ But He gives us grace sufficient to handle whatever comes.”

The story is filled with adventure, faith, and a lesson in giving your heart to Christ. I enjoyed reading how Dierk seemed to mature as his journey encounters many characters. As I read the story I kept thinking about a journey my husband went on several years ago. He and other men from the church decided they would travel to a place where a conference was going on. Along the way, they broke down, had people help them and allowed them to stay in their home. Just as my husband returned with a new love for God, Dierk takes a similar trip. This would be an excellent book to have in church libraries and available for the youth to read.

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

I didn’t know what to expect when the author sent me this book to read. Having loved kingdom fantasy, as I feel like this book is, I knew I’d likely enjoy it—but I didn’t expect the strong Christian theme in here. That was a delightful discovery!

This book is well written, easy to read, and keeps moving very well. I was quite impressed by the writing style, especially when it came to the necessary backstory here and there—they are told as flashbacks. The theme of learning to be responsible and trust the Lord also came through very well in here.

Though I grew up with a Mom who does not like fantasy books, I somehow inherited a love for them. This book ticked all the boxes for me—sweet, but serious, thought-provoking, but fun. It’s the kind of story I dream of writing, actually, the kind that pulls you in and then lets you go at the end with a sigh of contentment. I was also impressed with the content—the main character is a boy, and he stays in character fairly well. Also, while many young adult reads (and that’s what I think I’d classify this as) have a lot of romance in them, this one did not—or very little, and that only came at the end of the book. This main focus was on learning to be responsible, and that came through well.

The Christianity in the book both delighted and annoyed me. It delighted me because all of the characters had a desire to do what was right before God, and lead others to the Lord. But once I realized almost everyone they met was supposedly a very strong Christian, I was somewhat annoyed—that seemed highly unlikely to me. There were a few doctrinal things I didn’t agree with either, but this book did show some great truths about what we get when we follow the Lord as opposed to following Satan.

Overall, a very good read—recommended! If you enjoy fantasy, or are looking for a book for young adults that doesn’t include a lot of mushy romance, I think you’d enjoy this. It’s got some threads of allegory in it, which I really appreciated, so it isn’t just a story about a boy learning to be responsible. A fun read!

I requested a free review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it. ( )