The ultimate story of redemption…Meet Emer. She’s normal. That is, until a chance encounter turns her life upside-down. One minute she’s hunting for a job; the next, she’s catching bullets and being kidnapped.Emer discovers that she is actually a reincarnated elf priestess and finds herself involved with Alex, a vampire, and Jesse, the son of the devil himself. Both claim to have loved her in … in centuries past; Jesse even goes so far as to insist that the salvation of his human soul rests in her hands. As Emer struggles to harness her new powers, she finds herself torn: between her two handsome kidnappers, between a past she doesn’t remember and a future she’s just starting to figure out, between a man who’s depending on her and her own insecurities. When sinister forces come into play and her magic goes on the fritz, Emer must come to terms with who she is and decide what she wants before it’s too late…This novel is what the author calls a “paranormal romance with a Christian twist.” Not only is the story perfect for fans of fantasy and the supernatural, but it also presents an encouraging theme of redemption – showcasing how faith is stronger than magic. Readers of romance and Christian fiction alike are sure to enjoy every magical moment!
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The Heart of Everything by Lynn Wallace
I wrote this review based on a copy that the author sent me.
At the start of the book we meet Emer Starling, relatively short and fairly skinny who lives in Boulder, Colorado. After refusing to heed her mother’s advice to become a nurse after college, she currently spends her days handing out résumé after résumé in the never-ending quest for employment.
At the age of 22 and never having had a real boyfriend, she considers herself a basically ordinary, everyday kind of person, that no one would ever give a second glance to…but repetitive déjà-vu, lightning reflexes and weird dreams like looking through shadows leave a reminiscent feeling as if watching someone else’s memories…
After passing one of her usual job-hunting days, lost in thought and minding her own business, a skinny man with stringy brown hair appears out of nowhere. WIth a crazy gleam in his eyes whilst waving a gun around he notices Emer and pulls the trigger. After the split second feeling of panic, she raises her hands and the bullet stops in mid-air, but not before the surrounding melee of people have witnessed the event as it happened…and then she fainted.
When she regained consciousness, she experienced an incredible floating feeling, as if flying, speeding through the air and realises she is being held by THE most handsome male she has ever seen who is running with her in his arms. Enter Jesse, a blond Adonis, half devil/half human and his partner in crime, Alex, a raven-haired equally stunning vampire who carries himself with an aura of style beyond compare. If it has to happen, what could be better than to be kidnapped by the equivalent of two male models?
In twenty-four hours Emer passes from potentially homeless to almost getting shot, kind-of getting kidnapped, chased by the cops, ending with two guys declaring their love for her and fighting over it!
“ It was at this point I decided that knights-in-shining-armor fighting over a damsel ( who was definitely on the distressed side ) was not nearly all that it was cracked up to be”. Their story unfolds and Emer learns they are both approximately 1,500 years old as they begin the uphill struggle to firstly convince Emer who and what they are and more importantly exactly who she is – the reincarnation of an elven priestess. Could this explain the dreams she has been having all her life?
I was hooked from page one, I’m a pushover whenever a vampire is involved and even though Alex and Jesse are obviously two very capable, dangerous individuals like Emer has never come across before, there is the feeling of trust and safety running deep even after being told they were half human/devil and a vampire, two immortals with nothing else to do but wait for the next chance to find her through time. She is faced with the overwhelming decision thrust upon her of having to choose either one of them which thrilled her but at the same time terrified her if they killed one another because of it.
My overall thoughts on this book: I loved this book from the beginning to the end. It didn’t go exactly how I thought it would and to be honest I have no idea how Emer could possibly even begin to make a choice between the two, as they are both hopelessly besotted with her and obsessed with her well-being. I have to admit I found myself secretly backing Alex but as I said, I’m a sucker for a vampire – excuse the pun! Lynn Wallace describes with emotion the desperation of Jesse and Alex as they try to recall the memories of Emer’s previous incarnations to her, as they both have their own memories in their past of the Priestess but neither wishing to force them onto her.
I give The Heart of Everything 5 out of 5 stars and to end with a beautiful quote from the book “ the end of a day, like the end of a good book, brings with it the reminder that nothing lasts forever, that we are still mortal, and some day, like the sun, our own time will set and disappear into the black. “