"Heartless"

The title to this blog may be deceiving, I promise I'm not whining about the fact that it's Valentines Day (I've always loved this Holiday, it's not just about significant others) I speak of something much more wonderful. Today I finished a book that is a new favorite of mine. It is called "Heartless" by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. With today being Valentine's Day, it is very fitting, because this whole book is centered around love. And not just any love, but the love of Jesus Christ.

"Heartless" is a fantasy with incredible illustrations and parallels to Christ. I can not count how many times I read a part of it, and had to just sit back and reflect. Wow. Of course it is not a perfect example of Jesus, because it's just an illustration, but it is phenomenal. Constantly throughout the book I was reminded of Christ's: patience, love, forgiveness, mercy, perfect plan and victory. Another big thing that stuck out to me was how personal salvation is. This book reminded me of the fact that Christ died for me. No, it was not only me that He died for, but His love is and was (and always will be) so great, that it is not just general. He loves each and every one that He died for, in such a way that is personal.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy. It is for a very wide range of readers. There is not a single inappropriate thing, and the only reason it would have age boundaries is for intensity. It could be frightening to one too young, and is commendable because that's the only reason it would be. I myself am a huge fan of fairy tales- give me a good story with kingdoms, a knight in shining armor and a princess, and I'm happy..but I feel like this would appeal to a wider range of readers, because it's not all princesses and princes. There is action, romance (not the sappy kind, but the true definition of love-another commendable detail) and to top it off, dragons. I mean who doesn't love a good story with a dragon :)

It kept me on the edge of my seat, and I found it difficult to put down. It is the kind of engaging story where you have a hard time keeping priorities in check because all you want to do is read and read and read. The characters and their development was basically impeccable, and there were plot twists and surprises-but not too many as to make it confusing or distracting. I can usually predict at least some of what will happen in books and movies (so can my Mom, don't watch movies with her she'll spoil it...joking, love you mom :) ) and yes I knew what the final outcome would be once I knew that the story was depicting Jesus Christ, but I would not have guessed how it got there. I am highly impressed, and cannot wait to read more of the books from "The Tales of Goldstone Wood". So in conclusion, just go read it, you'll thank me later :) And Happy Valentines Day!