Title: Amity of the Angelmen
Author: T.C. Slonaker
Fantasy. YA
Genre: Fantasy. YA
Publisher: Blue Tulip Publishing
Someone has to die. It will be one of the four.
Amity David is not human, as the seventeen-year-old pastor’s daughter had thought she was. Her life has now been upturned and possibly set aright with the help of Mackenzie Abel, a young priest as conflicted about his calling as Amity is about hers. Blindly searching for answers together that will serve God’s intent, the two also struggle against feelings they have developed for one another. Can Amity trust the alleged angel who told her she is descended from a demon? Part of her hopes not because, if true, it means she is being called to help free others like her from the ties of her evil heritage through war. What happens when a being created out of evil, is called to fight on the side of good? And what if this evil being thinks she is a good per-son, only to find she is not even a person at all?
Mallory and Amity giggled at their tall friend being called little by her mother, who was clearly not even five feet tall.
Her mother seemed not to hear her and kept talking to Mallory. “Maybe I should not have saved up my money to help her pay for that car of hers. Hmm?”
She chuckled and patted Mallory’s hand. “Oh well, no matter. I’m glad to have you girls here today. Hey, I know what. Do you want to have some fun?”
Allison and Mallory smiled big and leaned in close. They seemed to know what was coming. Amity felt worse and worse, until she was dizzy and almost lost her balance. The others were so focused on their new activity they didn’t notice all the blood had drained from Amity’s face. She just wanted to get to the door and run.
“Let’s start with you,” Allison’s mother said to Mallory. “Did Allison tell you what I do?”
“Yes,” Mallory said, glancing quickly over at Amity to let her know they were getting to the good stuff. She played along with Allison’s mother, giddy like a child on her first day of school.
Amity leaned against the wall so she wouldn’t fall over. She felt like she wasn’t exactly present, like she was watching a movie and wasn’t there in her own body. It was a strange feeling, and one she hoped would soon pass.
Allison’s mother’s face dropped, deadpan.
“Give me your hand, darling. I will tell you things you may or may not know. I have a gift, and some call me the Reader because I can read… their souls.” She paused slightly before saying the last two words.
It was clear where Allison’s flair for the dramatic originated, though that thought was lost on Amity at the moment.
Amity didn’t know if she was imagining it, but the kitchen grew slightly darker. She thought the shadows above them looked like they were swirling. Was it from the headlights on cars turning at the corner or something? Amity was next to a window and turned to look for cars, but saw none. Her head whipped back around the exact second the Reader touched Mallory’s hand. Amity lost all control of her muscles.
“Eeeeee,” the eerie shriek pierced the rushing wind that had entered the room. The room went completely dark as shadows covered the windows. Two shadows that had been swirling above the kitchen table dropped like a weight and settled into vague forms on either side of Mallory. The forms leaned in Amity’s direction. The Reader didn’t release Mallory’s hand. The three seated humans didn’t notice the loud sound of rushing wind but they certainly heard the ear shattering screeches and covered their ears. They stared at Amity.
The wind, the shrieks — it was all coming from Amity.
The Angelmen’s Race to Battle
Do you remember being seventeen? Junior year in high school. Possibly the biggest problems you had were your chemistry grade and who you’d be going with to the prom.
Amity David worried mostly about her grades and pleasing her father, pastor of Dewdrop Fellowship Church. The youngest of six kids, though, she was happiest to sit by quietly as others did the talking and all the important work.
But that wasn’t what God had planned for her. As a matter of fact, what God had in store for Amity, He had planned thousands of years prior, before Noah’s flood.
That was when Satan changed the game. Knowing that God’s plan to save mankind would come from the seed of a woman, he corrupted that seed by sending his demon followers to procreate with human women. The resulting race of half-human/half demons were described in Genesis 6 as the Nephilim. His plan backfired when Jesus Christ was born in spite of his efforts.
Now, in the 21st century, few people had ever even heard of the Nephilim. The attitudes of man have seldom altered the will of God, however, God gave the Nephilim a second look. He chose to bring awake this special race and bring them into His fold. Nephilim, now called Angelmen, were called out one by one by their guiding angels and prepared for battle.
The devil reworked his plan. Demon blood put the angelmen under Satan’s command. They could be used by him in the final battle between Jesus and his saints and Satan and his followers.
But after years and years of nothing but human parents, the angelmen began to tug on the heart of God. He determined to bring them out of Satan’s bondage through a battle of their own. He chose four very special angelmen, who would work in perfect harmony without even realizing it, to lead the battle against Satan.
Working with human-like beings, whether favored by God or not, had its downfalls, not the least of which would be fallibility. The four leaders – Amity, Asher, Caedmon, and Malachi – each had their own flaws. Getting them to all work together, looking past their own needs, to achieve a goal they could barely understand – saving a race of thousands they had never even know about before – wouldn’t be easy.
Amity was called to be the Messenger. She was tasked with delivering a very important message to get the ball rolling. However, confrontation was not her strong point. Although a strong Christian who would love to please her God, she wasn’t sure just how far she was willing to go to do that.
Asher, on the other hand, loved the limelight. His athletic success as a track and football star made him feel unstoppable. Professional football, any girl he wanted, and love from the public with his winning smile were on his near horizon. His human life was way too comfortable to leave, starting over in a field where he wasn’t the top dog.
Malachi had already made way too many mistakes in his life of twenty-one years. So many, he had been trying to escape his life for years. Starting a new one was not what he had in mind. Being called as the commander of an inexperienced army would never be something in his future … unless he was bribed with just the right hope.
Then there was 10-year-old Caedmon. (pronounced “KADE man”) Still mourning the loss of his parents in an accident that should have also claimed his life, all the boy could do was try to pick up the pieces and avoid his nasty guardians. Given exciting new powers was exciting… when he could control them. But who was going to trust a kid as a leader in battle?
The four were called at the same time, because getting them to a very specific destination at the same time would be essential. Getting them to work together beyond that meant saving the race of the angelmen from Satan’s control.
Will they be able to get beyond their own problems to bring their kin into God’s favor? Thousands of others are counting on it.
A former elementary school teacher and subsequent lover of the English language in the written word, Tracy Slonaker found several new hobbies after embarking on the new career of motherhood. One hobby was running distances, which gave her plenty of time to create characters, build plots, and listen for God’s input. The result of all this thinking was the birth of a new hobby: writing the Angelmen Series, an analogy of God’s love for His people. Amity of the Angelmen is the first installment of this series.
Tracy enjoys her life as a wife and mother of three in central Pennsylvania. She has learned to love running and cycling, and has not given up her childhood fondness of sports. She gives thanks to the Lord for all His good gifts.
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Amity of the Angelmen by T.C. SlonakerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Amity of the Angelman is a young adult Christian thriller suspense novel. I had a hard time getting into it, the character and world building was slow for me. But once everything was built, I had a hard time putting it down. Amity is half human half angel and is sent on a mission to prevent war. I love that Amity turns to the Bible when she needs comfort, advice, and really anything. I look forward to more.
Review by Raychel
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