Suspense/Intrigue
The Restorer: The Sword of Lyric Series, Book 1
By Sherri Myers
Jun 1, 2007 - 11:54:00 AM

  Susan Mitchell was just an average soccer mom and housewife wishing for something a little more glamorous than dirty laundry and dirty dishes when she was actually granted her wish.  Susan longed to be like the Biblical Deborah in the book of Judges, a female leader whom God used to save Israel from destruction.  After her Bible study one day, alone in her attic hideaway, Susan picks up a pretend sword, causing her to be pulled through a portal into a strange dimension. Somehow she must figure out who her friends and enemies are before she can even begin to find her way back to her family.  

Susan quickly learns that she has touched down in the land of the Children of the Verses, a group of twelve tribes who believe in the One.  She discovers they have been waiting for a Restorer to come to save them from evil forces trying to conquer and destroy them.  When some unusual powers become evident, it isn't long before Susan realizes that it is SHE who is actually the one they have been waiting so long for.  Is it possible she can really be the one to save them from destruction--or does she need to be rescued herself?  

I must first admit that I am not usually a big fantasy reader.  That being said, I was quite pleasantly surprised by THE RESTORER, a new release from Sharon Hinck.  This is a bit of a new venture for Ms. Hinck as she is best known for her mom-lit, but one which I feel was very well done.  The characters and the world in which Susan finds herself quickly grow on the reader and I found myself feeling a kind of kinship with these people in their struggle for survival.  Being a soccer mom myself, it was even fun to pretend that perhaps I could play the part of Susan personally.

After devouring this first book in THE SWORD OF LYRIC series, I am excitedly waiting to find out what will happen in book two, THE RESTORER'S SON, releasing in September, and also book three, THE RESTORER'S JOURNEY, which will follow a few months later.  For an exciting escape from the real world, step into the shoes of Susan Mitchell and travel to a fantasy world where a soccer mom can be a heroine who saves the day.