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After reading the last page of this book I’m speechless, pondering all that I had read. Where do I begin to tell you the hope this book released in my heart, mind and emotions. The thing I LOVE about Christian Fiction is the fact that it can take you places you’d never go on your own. It can help you explain things that are just unexplainable, and put you in situations where you can see GRACE and LOVE in a very real way.

The opening scene read like the movie Mr. Destiny, where a distraught man heads to a run-down restaurant, meets a man that knows everything about him, then the distraught man makes a wish and lives his dream. No magic here — only a book filled with hope in the future and a way to live life to the fullest. What does a real loving community of believers look like? You’ll meet Andy, Hank, Carlos and Cynthia, just to name a few of the fun loving, real characters; who tell it like it is. It’s refreshing and at times painful to read because I found them talking right to my heart!

It starts with a strange ship in the village harbor. That night an old man falls ill… then the baker’s wife… then a street urchin. By morning half the townspeople are dead and more are dying—horribly. Civic order breaks down. Wolves move in from the countryside. And no one has a clue what is happening or how to stop it. Not the local priest. Not the rich baron. Not the baron’s proud daughter, nor the powerful knight who loves her. Certainly not the outcast healer whom many call a witch.

Only the Destroyer and the unseen Watchers know the real story… along with an unwilling visitor from another time. Mariskka recognizes the Black Death that will soon decimate Europe. But she has no voice to speak, no way to help… until she dares open her pain-hardened heart to the unfathomable truth.

Not only does Ginger Garrett take one of her main characters back to the past, but by reading In the Arms of Immortals, you’ll travel along as well—and it’s not a fluffy B&B excursion. As much as I personally love to view history through romantic colored glasses, the ugly side of humanity and sin is revealed through this tale…which makes the amazing love and mercy God holds for His creation all the more awesome.

What really shines through in Garrett’s characterization is that you’ll not only find bits and pieces of yourself in the hero and heroine but also in the antagonist. Panthea is a woman who slowly gives herself over to sin, and it all starts with simple little thoughts she knows she shouldn’t be harboring. How many times have I caught myself doing the very same thing? A great reminder that the path leading away from God is taken one step at a time. But though this is a dark tale, the hope God offers is woven throughout. Even until her dying breath, Panthea is offered complete and total forgiveness.

Another aspect worth mentioning is the glimpses Garrett gives of the unseen spirits around us. There’s a reason the first thing out of an angel’s mouth is, “Fear not.” You’ll understand why after you read some of the shocking descriptions of these immortals.

Their future is as wide open as the Montana sky. Juliana Brady is alone in an 1890s Montana mining town, with few prospects for making a living. But she is determined not to be dependent on the charity of others.

Josh McBride is trying to scrape up a living from his sheep herd while he builds his ranch. But when he discovers some rare stones on his property, he’s tempted by the prospect of fast money.

When their paths cross, Juliana and Josh must make a choice – the world’s riches and promises, or the eternal value of love.

Review:

Maggie Brendan’s characters make this novel stand out among the rest of the historical romance genre. The hero and heroine fast become your friends, and the supporting cast cries out for their stories to be told. Although it follows some of the predictable paths romances do, paradoxically, Brendan weaves in enough of her unique style to keep it unpredictable. I didn’t read the first book in the Heart of the West series, but I’m going to buy it, and I’m looking forward to the third book in the series. This from a reviewer who is not a fan of historical romances. If you are, you’ll love it. If like me, you’ aren’t, you’ll still love it. Novel Reviews and I give it a high recommendation.