The Coming Light

The Rodasia Chronicles, Book 2

By: Janelle Garrett

Narrated by: Jessica Mathison

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Married to a stranger, her country on the verge of destruction, can Queen Gwyneth Jada avoid catastrophe?

Charles is captured, and the Speaker of Highland has double-crossed her. Gwen is faced with mounting pressure from within and without her kingdom. Rodasia is in the brink of collapse, and the Emperor of Devin proposes a Summit to discuss the future. But when betrayal comes from all sides, Gwen doesn't know who she can trust.

Soon she is on the run, and when all hope seems lost, Gwen must find a way to not just save herself, but save her people and all those she loves. And the solution is nothing like what she thought it would be.

Step into book two of the Rodasia Chronicles, a story of trust, love, and friendship, from fantasy author Janelle Garrett.

Previous books by this author:

The Steward Saga, an epic fantasy series - Rift in the Deep, Rise of the Warlock King, and The Last Steward. Book four coming in the summer of 2019

• Justice: A Steward Saga Story Collection
• The Tale of Briton's Fury: A Steward Saga prequel novella
• The Survival Guide for Nursing Students

©2019 Janelle Garrett (P)2020 Janelle Garrett

Critic reviews

"Janelle Garrett masterfully draws you into the story with amazing characters, perfect pacing, and inventive fantasy elements that I haven't seen yet in any other work." (JE Purrazzi, author of The Malfunction Trilogy)

"The dialog is always exclusively believable, the pacing and tension always true." (Bob P, professional editor)

"Garret succeeded in making me care about the characters, drew me into her world, engaged my interest..." (Cheryl Cowtan, author of Girl Desecrated)

Such a perfect sequel to the last book

Man it's books like these that keep me coming back to Janelle Garrett. She is wonderful and the narrator is soothing. I was skeptical because sometimes the second books are not as good as the first but this one delivers in every way possible. I am stoked as hell to read the next one.

The Queen Faces New Challenges

Overall, The Coming Light is an excellent continuation of the Rodasia Chronicles. Queen Gwen has survived her initial challenges and is now working hard to defend her kingdom and its people from the evil Emperor Nicholas and his army. But that's not all. She has to keep peace within her realm and is even at odds with herself over her new marriage, her past feelings (for someone else), and whether or not to believe in Jacob's teachings about the prophet Jeremiah. And that last aspect is perhaps the most interesting part of the book. But at times, it can also be the most irritating. Gwen's youth and inexperience get in her own way more than once. Her pride and naivete make her ripe for manipulation, whether it's by the Emperor or the Inner Sanctuary. It's understandable, given her circumstances...but at times, I wanted to grab Gwen by the shoulders and shake some sense into her.

I enjoyed how "background" characters like Esther, Lacey, Charles, Nate, and even the Monarch Council were expanded on in this book. There were shocking twists for many of the characters, but especially these. Some of it seemed harsh at times. But given the circumstances, it remained understandable.

The Christian aspects of the overall story were significantly expounded on, which I appreciated. The growing influence and inspiration of Jeremiah was made clear in specific characters and the population in general. The prophet's background was also disclosed. Artistic liberties were taken, but it was unmistakable that Jeremiah serves the purpose of being a fictionalized representation of Jesus' time on Earth as the Son of God and the influence He had on the world.

The narrator managed the wide variety of female and male characters with the same deftness she used in Book One. It was an engaging listen.

The author did a great job setting up things for Book Three. It did give me some apprehension how this will all end up. But that's perfectly fine. I recommend this book!

Great

I love this story.. The narrorators voice sometimes gets on your nerves but other than that it is great.