Rise

by Grace Irwin

Take up your crown and lift up your eyes. God’s calling you to rise.

Emmaline has lived on the streets of Konovia for years, haunted by memories of her family’s murder. With no retention of who her family was, she can’t help but wonder why God allowed her to live if her life is now spent begging for food and running from those who want to hurt her. Then comes the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to either woo the crown prince with her beauty and spirit or become a lady’s maid for the next queen.

Emmaline’s desire is clear at first: become a lady’s maid. The last thing she wants is to become the future queen. After all, what would an orphan girl know about ruling an entire kingdom? And besides, love costs too great a price for her to pay again. But once she meets the kind-hearted prince with ghosts of his own, the thought of a fresh start is all too tempting.

But when an old enemy forces her to revisit her past and threatens her subjects from the shadows, Emmaline must rise from her family’s ashes if she’s to protect everyone she loves.

The stories of Queen Esther and Anastasia Romanov meet The Selection in Rise, a novel of finding hope in the darkness and reminding us that morning stars are not always trapped in the sky; sometimes, they live in our own hearts.

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Christian Fiction

545 pages, Paperback

Published April 24, 2024

About the author

Grace Irwin is a Christian historical romance and fantasy author. She graduated summa cum laude from Liberty University where she earned her Bachelor of Science in English and Writing. As a storyteller, her mission is to draw her readers to faith in Jesus. She lives in coastal North Carolina with her parents and siblings. When she’s not creating stories and crafting characters, she’s listening to music, shell-hunting with her sister, spending time with friends and family, watching romantic or adventurous films, or dreaming about her next trip to Disney World.

Reviews

[Moriah Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've wanted to get to this book for some time now, and I enjoyed it so much! And to think this was only Irwin's debut is quite promising! Having written my own Esther retelling, I will read anything about that wonderful lady, who is one of my spiritual heroes. I have always loved Anastasia Romanov, too, and this was such a cool mashup. It definitely was not your run-of-the-mill Esther or Anastasia retelling, and that's a good thing.

The story keeps you on your feet, and you don't truly know how it's going to turn out. Even now, as I've finished reading it, I'm still realizing the mirrored aspects of the original stories. The themes were so encouraging. I teared up in multiple places, and I loved Emmy and Nicholas so much. They were literally so sweet. And oh my GOODNESS, the plot twist! I exclaimed so loudly, my family asked what was wrong! The character growth was consistent and well-written, as well as the story structure. I appreciated the cleanliness of the story, but it never shied away from problems.

My only remotely "negative" thoughts are I was very slightly confused on small aspects, and there were a couple of editing issues, but nothing to completely ruin the story for you!

You'll want to pick this one up with no doubts or hesitation!

Content:
Language: none

Romance/ negative aspects concerning it: Someone is asked if they have ever "been with anyone". Kisses, caresses. Mentions of prostitutes, and a man thinking about having as many women as he can, etc.

Violence: Mentions of wiping out a race, women and children included. Blood shown. People are assassinated and is shown, including children. Mention of blood draining from wounds (head, hole in throat, etc) Nothing too gory or violent.
Age recommendation: 14+

[Openly_Dyslexic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the concept of this book! The inspiration was right up my alley. I also got to have some conversations with the author which was super cool. The romance was so good and clean! I loved the depiction of faith and prayer in this book. The plot was really interesting and characters were compelling. The author did a good job of capturing the mental struggles associated with the trauma in depicted in her book.
There were a few typos and one wording was a little wonky. The end of the book really dragged I feel like the last two chapters could have been cut down into like 1/2 a chapter.

A great start for an author who is self publishing!

[Joelle Carnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

This was such a fun read! I’m obsessed with the Anastasia movie, and I love retellings of the story of Esther, so it was a no-brainer for me to read it. It is a wonderful tale, full of faith and romance, with just enough intrigue to keep me hooked. I would say the only reason it got knocked down a half star was that sometimes it moved so fast it was a little hard to get truly invested in the details of what was happening, but the overall book was still quite worth it in the end! I would highly recommend this story to Christian fiction lovers of all ages!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning!
This book is such a hidden gem 🥹
For fans of The Selection, Rise offers intriguing romance, danger lurking around every corner and hidden identities with a twist!
This book holds some of the most beautiful Christian themes of forgiveness, love and overcoming past trauma and pain.

I couldn’t recommend it enough!✨

[Natalie N · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always loved the stories of Esther and Anastasia Romanov, so reading this book was kinda a no-brainer. I really enjoyed the way both stories were woven together into one. The love story is well written, and I enjoyed Nicholas as a character quite well. For me, this book was worth 3.5 stars for a couple of reasons. The first issue I had with it was several grammatical/formatting issues in the beginning of the book. I felt these detracted from the overall quality of the book. I also felt that the pacing of the book was a little off at times. For instance, the middle/end of the book moves very quickly, while the last two chapters or so seemed to drag on forever. However, I enjoyed reading this book, and I would be happy to read anything else this author published. I felt that the story kept close to Biblical truths and did a good job of walking the fine line between Scripture and embellishment. The villian is believable, and I loved Ross's character arc. Overall, this book is certainly worth reading!

[Kristi G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved stories about the Romanov family and Esther is one of my favorite stories in the Bible so I had to get this book. I don’t remember how I even found out about it but I’m glad I took the chance on this book.
I love how the author brings the two stories together. The main characters were great. I did have a hard time with some grammatical errors in the story which is why it’s only rated 4 stars and not 5. I will definitely be recommending this book to others. Thank you for writing a clean, historical-ish based Christian novel!

[Tracey Worner · Rating 2 out of 5]

You have to remember that this novel is self published and a debut. Due to that there are some spelling errors throughout.

There is a lot right with this novel but also a lot wrong with it.

The Christian undertones are a little annoying, but easy to skim over.
Grace really like her metaphors. There are a lot and they seem to come in quick succession. And repeats.
There need to better breaks throughout the book. Like the last couple chapters. It just isn't broken up correctly.

[Debbie Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rise by Grace Irwin was an exceptional book. The story line was based off of Queen Esther and Anastasia. So many books out there have to ruin their stories by putting descriptive sex scenes. This book had absolutely none of that. I fell in love with the characters and couldn’t wait to see how they handled the situations that they faced. For her debut novel, Grace Irwin knocked it out of the park. I cannot wait to read her next book.

[Molly Caylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a great idea for a book! I love the story of Esther and Anastasia Romanov. The biblical themes throughout the book were great! I think it was a little long though. The story drug on a little making it difficult to stay engaged. I wish I could rate it higher because I loved the idea, but the length and excess details made it too long for me. The characters were good, and I liked how she emphasized their faith journeys and God’s voice speaking to them at times.

[Aidan · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of the wording was very repetitive and the start of the book was extremely slow. It didn’t get interesting until 3/4 of the book. The part that really was disappointing was that the book included black magic in it. For a Christian book, I wouldn’t want to include black magic and give it any recognition. Very disappointed.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book! I loved how the stories of Queen Esther and Grand Duchess Anastasia were mixed and brought to life through the main character of the book. Emmaline has known darkness, but what gets her through everything is her faith in God. Definitely a must have book for families!

[Addyson Reinhold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating and beautiful book! I couldn’t put it down!

[Sharon Salamone · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book to read

Enjoyed this book tremendously. Would recommend it to anyone who loves to read It is so well written I had trouble putting it down

[Hannah Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing 😍

[Kayleigh Confair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!!

[Lauren Turney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rise is like a breath of fresh air. No inappropriate content or language, wholesome story, and great message. It’s wonderful for families. I’ve been following the author on Instagram for months and eagerly awaited the book release. It’s such a unique story and I’m so glad that something like this exists in the world!

However, I am giving this book 2 stars because there were a lot of typos and choppy wording throughout the book. Some parts of the book jumped without explanation. Like an officer stopping children in the street and somehow knowing they stole bread when they weren’t holding any…or how Emmaline didn’t see a frozen pond and fell through it…or how the women were selected in the first place and yet they all get along so well like they know each other? I had a lot of situational questions throughout the 546 pages of Rise. I think this book could have been much stronger with some clarifying content and a good editor. I spent nearly $18 on this paperback book, and think it should have had more professional quality. I also feel like the last few chapters were way too long and dragged on. But, I also realize this is the author’s debut novel, which is super awesome!

All that to say, it’s still a wonderful book and I’m very glad I read it. Thank you, Grace, for writing a story to point readers to Christ. I’m very proud of you for taking the leap into the book market!