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ttaa 's review for:
The Soulkeepers
by G.P. Ching
Hmmm. Not really sure what to think about this book. I obviously liked it, as I gave it four stars, but there were some things that I really wasn't sure about, and for that I have to take off 0.5 stars and make it a 3.5 star rating.
The good:
Jacob was the main character, and at first I really didn't like him, but I definitely warmed up to him later. In addition, his relationship with Malinda was just super cute too. The other side characters were cool, and I think the book was pretty well written. I liked the idea about the horsemen, and the cool powers that Jacob had. Can't wait to see how he progresses throughout the story.
The bad:
The writing at first seemed too simplistic to me, and it was a bit hard to get into the book. However, once I did, things just kept rolling. Another thing that bothered me a bit was Jacob's relationship with Malinda. I know, I know. I just said that their relationship was cute, and it was, but I thought it progressed a bit too fast. Apart from that, their relationship really was great and I liked seeing how they interacted. But the biggest issue I had was concerning some theological topics. Now they weren't really issues, just things I was wondering about except for the issue I'm about to mention, for which I'm taking off 0.5 stars.
Firstly, there was a line in the book that said "I mean, who’s right? All of these religions on this Earth … you’ve been to heaven and back! Are you telling me that even you don’t know who is right?". Now here, the main character Jacob was talking to an angel about God, and the book said even the angels didn't know which religion was right which, to me seemed honestly weird and I definitely disagree with that. That's like telling me that all religions are either all right, which can't logically be true as all religions are fundamentally different, or are all wrong which also can't be true because there needs to be a way to reach God. I obviously hold to a Christian perspective, and I kind of assumed this was a Christian book due to the fact that the main character was dating a Christian, and so I thought that maybe more info would be revealed. However, that didn't really occur, as that sentence was given near the end of the book, which definitely gave me a pause. Despite that, I'll continue reading the series to see if the author changes what was said on that issue. If not, then I don't think I'll be able to finish the series, however enjoyable it is.
That was my biggest issue, but the other one is just something that I'm curious about, and that is concerning the role of angels played in heaven. The book certainly seems to imply that angels have a second chance at heaven (which if you read the book, you'll understand what I'm saying by this) or something of which I'm not entirely sure, but am curious about. The book also had an angel say [...]angels are servants of God. We don’t have any more answers than you. In fact, humans have been promised more from God than angels ever have." . Is the author implying that humans are more important than angels? I know Jesus didn't die for angels but for us humans, but does that mean that they are not also as loved as us by God? Those were just some questions I had floating around in my head. I find the whole idea of fallen angels interesting, although I am very sceptical of what I read concerning these issues, which is why I haven't yet touched any popular fallen angel books, simply because I don't know if I'd agree with their interpretations of angels and God.
Brief rant aside, the end of the book became really interesting, and I'm eager to follow Jacob's story. Withstanding the issues, I thoroughly liked it, and hopefully as the series continues, there'll be more closure given on the issues I raised in the above paragraph.
The good:
Jacob was the main character, and at first I really didn't like him, but I definitely warmed up to him later. In addition, his relationship with Malinda was just super cute too. The other side characters were cool, and I think the book was pretty well written. I liked the idea about the horsemen, and the cool powers that Jacob had. Can't wait to see how he progresses throughout the story.
The bad:
The writing at first seemed too simplistic to me, and it was a bit hard to get into the book. However, once I did, things just kept rolling. Another thing that bothered me a bit was Jacob's relationship with Malinda. I know, I know. I just said that their relationship was cute, and it was, but I thought it progressed a bit too fast. Apart from that, their relationship really was great and I liked seeing how they interacted. But the biggest issue I had was concerning some theological topics. Now they weren't really issues, just things I was wondering about except for the issue I'm about to mention, for which I'm taking off 0.5 stars.
Firstly, there was a line in the book that said "I mean, who’s right? All of these religions on this Earth … you’ve been to heaven and back! Are you telling me that even you don’t know who is right?". Now here, the main character Jacob was talking to an angel about God, and the book said even the angels didn't know which religion was right which, to me seemed honestly weird and I definitely disagree with that. That's like telling me that all religions are either all right, which can't logically be true as all religions are fundamentally different, or are all wrong which also can't be true because there needs to be a way to reach God. I obviously hold to a Christian perspective, and I kind of assumed this was a Christian book due to the fact that the main character was dating a Christian, and so I thought that maybe more info would be revealed. However, that didn't really occur, as that sentence was given near the end of the book, which definitely gave me a pause. Despite that, I'll continue reading the series to see if the author changes what was said on that issue. If not, then I don't think I'll be able to finish the series, however enjoyable it is.
That was my biggest issue, but the other one is just something that I'm curious about, and that is concerning the role of angels played in heaven. The book certainly seems to imply that angels have a second chance at heaven (which if you read the book, you'll understand what I'm saying by this) or something of which I'm not entirely sure, but am curious about. The book also had an angel say [...]angels are servants of God. We don’t have any more answers than you. In fact, humans have been promised more from God than angels ever have." . Is the author implying that humans are more important than angels? I know Jesus didn't die for angels but for us humans, but does that mean that they are not also as loved as us by God? Those were just some questions I had floating around in my head. I find the whole idea of fallen angels interesting, although I am very sceptical of what I read concerning these issues, which is why I haven't yet touched any popular fallen angel books, simply because I don't know if I'd agree with their interpretations of angels and God.
Brief rant aside, the end of the book became really interesting, and I'm eager to follow Jacob's story. Withstanding the issues, I thoroughly liked it, and hopefully as the series continues, there'll be more closure given on the issues I raised in the above paragraph.