Avalon: A Christian Allegory

By: Valerie Howard

Narrated by: Chiquito Joaquim Crasto

Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

A slave since childhood...

Mara awaits the death penalty.

But when the Prince she betrayed arrives at the prison, promising freedom in exchange for allegiance to him in marriage, Mara agrees to his terms.

Her hasty decision is soon tested.

The journey to the palace is riddled with difficulty, but Mara has nowhere else to turn. As she presses on in the face of fierce wolves, violent lightning storms, and the threat of being captured by the rebel army she deserted, can the unlikely princess learn to trust her lifelong enemy?

Avalon is the first book in Valerie Howard's Kingdom Journey series, and is perfect for fans of light allegorical Christian fantasy like Pilgrim's Progress.

Books in the Kingdom Journey series can be enjoyed in any order, and are great for anyone ages 12 to adult.

©2019 Valerie Howard (P)2021 Valerie Howard

Move over Pilgrim's Progress

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It reminded me of Pilgrim's Progress except from a woman's point of view. It reminded me to examine my personal relationship with Jesus to be sure I appreciate what He did for me.
It took me a little while to adjust to the narrator. It's obvious that English is not his first language but soon I started overlooking mispronunciation of a few words. He had a wonderful range of voices for the characters and his narrator voice is very pleasing.

A Wonderful Allegory

This is a very well done allegory. I like how you can totally see the storyline of Christ’s love for us and what we have to look forward to at our journeys end. Like Mara/Princess, we don’t always know why we go through what we do and sometimes we may not know until the very end.

The story was very interesting and entertaining. I would highly recommend this book, especially for young ladies, although anyone might enjoy it.

The performance was well done. I liked the accent and of course always like it when performers are able to portray the characters well.


God's Plan of Salvation

GOD'S PART

1. The great love of God (John 3:16)
2. God gave His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Saviour (Luke 19:10)
3. Sent the Holy Spirit as a guide (John 16:13)
4. Gave the Gospel as "the power" unto salvation (Romans 1:16)
5. Provided atonement for sin by the blood of Christ (Romans 5:9)

MAN'S PART

1. Hear the Gospel. (Romans 10:17, John 8:32)
2. Believe the Gospel (Hebrews 11:6, John 20:31)
3. Repent of past sins (Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30)
4. Confess faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:10, Matthew 10:32)
5. Be Baptized (Galatians 3:27, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38)
6. Be faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10)

Good Story

Well done allegory / parable of Christ’s love. The feel the author gave was good taking us to medieval times. Well done and enjoyable
Given ARC audio for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

wonderful simple but effective allegory!

This was a lovely story, and a great allegory.

Mara’s story illustrated the story of Jesus and how he loved us even when we were sinners.
It showed the love of Jesus, and how anyone can be restored, if only they would put their trust in him..

The narration was very good. I thought the narrator had a nice interesting accent.

I would highly recommend this book.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Beautiful Allegory

I found myself in so many parts of this story. It's well worth the read, and presents the gospel in a fresh way. I recommend this to teens and adults alike.

Loved!

I love a great allegory. This story shows the love that Christ has for us all.

A Meaningful Christian Allegory

Avalon is a Christian allegory.

The main character is a young woman. She is imprisoned in a horrible labor camp, and awaiting the day when the King will come to execute her from her crimes. Then the Prince comes and offers her complete forgiveness for her crimes as well as adoption as the King’s daughter and an engagement to the Prince. It seems too good to be true, but she accepts and begins a long, dangerous journey with the Prince to the royal city.

The book was short, but it was rich with depth and meaning. It was most definitely a Christian allegory, showing the deplorable condition of our souls before believing in Christ, the utter amazingness of what Christ’s death and resurrection did for us, and the continuing journey with Christ through life after salvation.

The allegory of this book was well-done. It provided wonderful reminders to me of the sins or struggles I often fall into even though I’m trying to follow Christ — legalism and pride, materialism and distraction, unbelief and fear, and others. Each one was vividly demonstrated in allegorical fashion, and as I said, they were great reminders to me not to fall into those lies but to believe the truth of Christ.

The book was short and sweet. I think it could have benefited from going into a little more depth with the various struggles, but as it was, the book was well-done. I think I will go back and listen to it again sometimes when I need more reminders.

Speaking of which, I listened to it as an audiobook. The voice actor did a good job, and it was an enjoyable listen. I really enjoyed it as an audiobook, even more than if I had read it.

I would recommend it to teens because it was written with easy language, but though it would be readable to preteens, I would caution parents that there are some difficult things dealt with, for example, persecution.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the author. I received no compensation for posting it and was not obligated to do so. All options are my own.

Fun Allegory

I enjoy Christian allegories and princess stories, and this one was definitely fun! The beginning had me intrigued and wondering who were the good guys and who were the bad guys, and I loved seeing the main character’s growth through the story. The only issue I had with the story was that there was a rather strong theme of eternal security, which I don’t believe to be Biblical.
I also really enjoyed the narration! There were a few spots where I could hear mistakes that hadn’t been edited out, but even so, the narrator was so good I didn’t mind!
This was a fun story and I think I’ll be listening to it again!

Well Written

I was excited about this one, and even more when I started listening! Well done, and very respectful of scripture while still being a fun listen and enjoyable story. I really enjoyed the character's journey, and how it mirrors ours. Well done, and well narrated!

Thank you!

Thank you for not being ashamed of the Gospel and fot writing this lovely allegory. As a believer looking ahead, the last chapter had me in tears.

Avalon

The story was written in such careful detail, that I could almost feel, touch, taste, and think the same things that Mara did