Review of A Time to Rise

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This is a bittersweet blog post. The bitter, A Time to Rise marks the end of Nadine Brandes’ Out of Time series. I will miss this series. The sweet is that the story Parvin Blackwater’s quest to find shalom is complete.

What did I think about the final installment of this trilogy? Pretty much perfect. It was both expected and unexpected. That is, I read the series and have followed Nadine’s blog for the past two years, so I had some ideas of where the story might go. Of course, Nadine being brilliant, made it anything but predictable.

The first part of A Time to Rise was phenomenal. The story picks up right where it left off. Minor spoiler alert. Parvin is alive. I won’t give anymore details than that. Let’s just say how she survived is pretty spectacular.

My concern with picking up right after Skelley Chase tried to kill Parvin was that I’d barely get to breathe before our favorite characters were off running for their lives. I’m the person who skims action scenes to get to the relationship part. My fears were allayed. The first part of the book is well-paced with Parvin, Solomon, and the other characters in Prime regrouping and strategizing. The story is anything but slow because, of course, it doesn’t take long for Skelley Chase and crew to figure out that Parvin is alive.

Our gang is off and running but the pace is steady and not all nail-biting action. There’s a mystery and a mission to find the writings of an inventor from the past. Along the way, there’s rich description of a foreign landscape and travel by boat, plane, train, and…. Yeah, I’m not spoiling that last bit. It’s way too cool.

When Parvin, Solomon, and crew arrive at the location with the inventor’s notes, they discover something quite surprising. Two somethings really, both of which help Parvin in her ultimate goal – shalom. It’s funny, but I think I knew all along how the series would end (at least to some degree), and at the same time, it wasn’t predictable. The ending is satisfying.

Normally, I’m not a fan of a story with a strong Christian theme. I prefer subtlety. A Time to Rise is not subtle. Parvin hears from God, and it works. The story may be overt in its message but it’s never preachy or self-righteous. It’s honest, gut-wrenching dialogue that just works. In each book, this aspect grows stronger. In A Time to Rise, I have to say it’s what makes the book and the entire series so absolutely fantastic!

Parvin isn’t your typical dystopian heroine. She’s more Moses than Katniss. It’s not an eighteen year-old-girl saving the world. It’s an eighteen year-old-girl taking up the mantle of the patriarchs and setting her people free. That may sound like the same thing, but it’s not. This is what makes the Out of Time series one that I want to read again.

The book doesn’t release until October 14, but if you pre-order, you can get some really cool swag.

Click this link to find out more.

Pre-order swag – http://nadinebrandes.com/2016/07/20/a-time-to-rise-pre-order-swag/