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While Russia and China plan an attack on the United States, a young woman in Alaska finds herself caught in the FBI’s cross-hairs.
Sierra Forester returns home for a wedding – and finds herself in the center of an FBI investigation. She discovers her university friends are not who se thought they were… and they’ve left her in a perilous predicament. Soon, she learns it’s hard to hide in today’s interconnected, wired world. Her nemesis resides in her cell phone, her computer, and even in the satellite eyes in the sky. How can a person totally disappear?

A quiet, reclusive stranger has moved to the tiny Southeast Alaskan island she calls home. Can Sierra trust him? Or anyone?
Meanwhile, Russia and China prepare to launch a war against the United States. A sleepy administration is slow to respond. Will they wake up in time to save the country? Or will the nation collapse into the waiting jaws of the Russian bear and the Chinese dragon?
THE BEAR is the first book in Jamie Lee Grey’s thrilling post-apocalyptic Mystery Babylon series. Begin this clean, faith-based adventure today!

Jamie Lee Grey is the author of numerous Christian novels, including the Band of Believers series, the Daughter of Babylon series, the Tribulation series and the Mystery Babylon series. She and her husband live in the northwestern United States.

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2021

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Jamie Lee Grey

29 books132 followers

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5 stars
580 (63%)
4 stars
206 (22%)
3 stars
85 (9%)
2 stars
26 (2%)
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11 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
Profile Image for Brittany.
1,316 reviews209 followers
September 14, 2022
5 Stars ✨

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”
Matthew 24

Fantastic start to what I’m sure will be a great series. I’ve read Greys books before and she’s always in tune with the happenings around her. I love her stories, her writing is not deep yet simple and delivered in a simple way that gets you to thinking. Especially if you’re a reader and believer in biblical prophecy. This is totally a scenario I could see playing out in Americas Future especially with today’s political climate.

“The United States had morphed from the policeman of the world into a deaf and blind giant. Their doom was inevitable. The Chinese dragon crouched to slay them.”

Highly recommend- Those with eyes to see and ears to hear, this one is for you, for such a time as this.
Profile Image for Joleen.
2,681 reviews1,226 followers
July 27, 2022
4.5⭐️
The book doesn’t say what year it is but since there are future events about to happen, I’ll assume it’s a date not far from right now.

Because of how similar it sounds to what’s going on right now in the world, I had to look at the copyright date. Sure enough it was just 3 months ago, December 2021. The antagonists describe a feeble doddering president, easily manipulated, incapable of making proper decisions for his country. It describes how communism has infiltrated all aspects of the United States. It describes how China has accumulated as much as it can, and controls vast amounts of what we purchase or consume. That if we were to cut off all products we import from China, we would be in a world of hurt, especially with regard to medicine.

The story is told from four perspectives:
— Sierra, a college nursing student in Anchorage, Alaska
— Austin, a Christian hermit who suffered a terrible loss not long ago
— Ivan Alexandrovich Orlov, Major General in Russian's military
— Mao Wu Ying, Major General in Beijing

This story really surprised me. It was written from an extremely conservative and Christian point of view, looking at the possibility of what China and Russia united together could do to our country.



It’s a cliff hanger at the end which is why I dinged it half a star. But the book is so fascinating, I intend to get however many more Ms. Gray has in the works. They are brief continuing-story books.

Book two was released less than a month ago (February 2022) and it’s next on my reading agenda.

Good book!
422 reviews56 followers
May 10, 2022
Escape or not

The author shows us the different outcomes whether we are Chinese, Russian or American . Sierra is trying to escape a terrible outcome.
Profile Image for KK from KY.
169 reviews
January 13, 2024
4.5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. Now I’m on to the next in the series. Intriguing is the word that comes to mind. I must know how this story ends, yet I think, as a Christian, I already do.
This one is interesting, faith based, clean and exciting. I recommend it, but only if you can invest in a series. It seems to be worth the investment.
44 reviews1 follower
January 10, 2022
Absolute junk….

So after 18% of this stupid junkie book, that could have EASILY been surmised in one stupid chapter, I happily scrolled through all of the other crap to leave this review. Seriously, it shows the lack of depth and of the story when it takes pages upon pages to convey a simple thought. The authors view of their readers is insulting and indicates a high possibility that they are actually a 13 year old girl writing a story for their creative writing class. I do not mean to be insulting to any 13 year old girls, just the author, lol.
420 reviews2 followers
March 11, 2022
propaganda

This was actually an interesting story with interesting characters, and I enjoyed the Christian aspects. However, the paranoia is as far too over the top. While I am not a fan of bureaucracy, I do not think federal officials have time or inclination to harass common people.
21 reviews
May 31, 2023
This book is poorly written at best. There's no other way to describe the writing other than it felt like a high schooler's creative writing assignment. The characters are caricature-ish Christians (think super cringey and stereotypical) and the plot is nonsensical and ridiculous. Every plot point is very convenient and there are more holes than swiss cheese. For the love, I cannot figure out why this girl matters to anyone at the start of basically WWIII as the country is being attacked. There doesn't seem to be any reason for her being "on the run" other than the FBI wants her for some unknown reason. She seems to genuinely fear for her safety because she dated a guy who may be a Chinese spy and was roommates with someone from Russia who was called home right before the attack. Suspicious, yes. Should you fear for your life or think you're going to spend the rest of your life in prison... no. There is literally no indication to anyone that she was involved in anything nefarious -- just associated with those two -- and yet, while the whole country is being attacked and overrun by China and Russia, the FBI is dedicating their time and energy into apprehending this college girl.

The timeline and pacing also seems off. I was 85% of the way through before I realized it had only been one day since the attack started. It seemed much longer. The flip flop between the Russian and Chinese perspective add little to the story and really made me want to skim those parts. Something particularly frustrating was that those chapters were so short, it never felt like a completed scene.

Meanwhile, the main character and her ultra-Christian companion (the supposed hermit - who is very unclear if he wants to help her or if he wants nothing to do with her because she may be a criminal and is battling an internal war on this issue throughout the book) are traipsing all over town dodging FBI agents. I found the structure of the writing irritating, primarily the way that each chapter/perspective break ends. Imagine a soap opera where something dramatic happens but you don't see the immediate next scene. It's just like that. Like a huge, suspenseful moment, and then you cut to a commercial break. Over and over again.

Overall, it was pretty bad. But, it was fast paced and a quick read. I was in the mood for an end times dystopian and this didn't quite do it. There's potential here with some better editing and several more rounds of revision. If the plot holes were patched up, the characters toned down to be less eye-roll inducing, it could be a solid read.
5 reviews
June 26, 2025
This book is well written, the story is smooth...

however...

...the author knows absolutely nothing about the American military and doesn't take into account the 2nd amendment (armed civilians - 120 guns per 100 people; including veterans who know how to organize and fight) on mainland America. It makes me laugh just thinking about the free-for-all that would befall any enemy combatant on American soil; there would be public service announcements about "taking souvenirs like fingers; ears and teeth is a war crime!" There would be contests and challenges from the inner cities, the suburbs and the farmlands everyone would participate in some form. The American Military might not even get to the battlefield before it was over. Clearly American gun culture is something the author is unfamiliar with.

Additionally, I'm not sure why the main character is running/hiding from the FBI considering mainland America was invaded. One would think: a) I did nothing wrong b) how can I help my country overcome this. It's cute though that this author thinks that China could literally ship soldiers here in containers through our ports.

What I also found curious was the "hermit" went into town once a week; went to church; shopped at the store; went to the library, got on the internet and knew lots of the residents. That's not the traditional definition of "hermit" but.... whatever.

Before you read this, go on the YouTube and search "how do I think it would go in a conventional war" by Habitual Linecrosser, who says "America can put more hate in the air at any given time than anybody else..." or "When Russia's Wagner Group took on US Special Forces" by Sandboxx or "Why the U.S. defense Plan is Unbeatable" by Map Pack. Also, we have a cool thing called Rapid Dragon where we can literally drop ship up to 45 cruise missiles to whoever we're annoyed with.

I would also suggest that Biblically, it's conceivable that the U.S. will be the last to face judgement only because there has always been somewhere for the persecuted to flee. For the last 250 years America has been that place. While we do have our problems we are still supporting Israel and according to the Lord "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you." We're still in the "bless" part of that particular directive.
Profile Image for Lynne Tagawa.
Author 10 books223 followers
February 5, 2024
I wasn't sure about this book--a new writer and not my typical genre. But I was surprised! The story drew me in right away. It's dystopian, which means we see a dark future, but it's got elements of hope that keep it from being a dark read. It's Christian, but it's not a "left behind" story, Rather, it's a book about what choices Christians have in very difficult national situations. And there's a character who's an unbeliever, and I'm hopeful for her--but I don't know what will happen yet, because each of these books ends in a cliffhanger. It's one long epic story, and if that's a deal-breaker for you, oh well.

We get peeks at things happening in other countries as well--kind of like Tom Clancy lite. The story is clean, recommended for all ages.
636 reviews5 followers
June 22, 2024
Oh. My. Goodness! This was the most interesting fiction I've read in some time. I love reading so I love too many books, But this one really stood out. It is full of events that realistically could take place in our future. The characters are wonderful; it is full of adventure and suspense that makes it hard to pause the iPod. I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series. Warning! This ends with a cliffhanger. I'm on the hunt for the next book! Good clean reading!

The narration is outstanding! Brings the characters to life and opens their thoughts and fears to the reader. Cannot say enough about how good the performance is. Do hope she narrates the whole series.
123 reviews
January 10, 2022
Fast paced, intense and nailing some points about the state of the US

Is it the end of America? Russia and China are poise to attack. The plans are in place. Meanwhile Sierra is home from college for break and for her cousin's wedding. Austin is a hermit living in a remote area only accessible by boat or plane. How is all this coming together? Read and see. Jamie Lee Gray makes some interesting points about the current state of our country in this book. It's a bit scary and a lot accurate.
Profile Image for Jay Williams.
1,718 reviews33 followers
March 10, 2022
A Beginning but no Story

The story is written in easy reading. Most of this takes place in Alaska on a island. The main characters are Austin and Sierra, but in this book they are just meeting. Austin is a convinced Christian and seems unable to handle without God to guide him. The story doesn't go anywhere, and the people are hit with the beginning of a war and dense FBI agents. Slipping on a steep hill is the most exciting to happen. I read the beginning of the second book, but gave up.
Profile Image for BrendaLee .
433 reviews19 followers
August 13, 2024
Oh my! INTRIGUING!! I’m talking about a page turner. Russia and China against the United States. Sierra in the middle of it all and seems like there is nobody to help her. Wonder who will or if anyone will help? So many things happening that it was hard to quit listening.
A great narrator and a great story. You do not want to miss this one. I can’t hardly wait to get the next audiobook.
I received this book from a different narrator but was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
171 reviews
March 10, 2023
Fast Read

I was interested in this book when it was recommended to me by Amazon. It was a good book with a promising plot start. The religion didn't bang you over the head, but was evident in the characters lives or lack thereof.
While I liked the split of the four different characters points of views, sometimes it cut off too quickly. Maybe the author thought that was a good place to stop.
Overall, a good and fast paced book.
Profile Image for Dan.
21 reviews
April 6, 2023
I saw how good the ratings were and wanted to give this book a shot. Hoping to get sucked into the series.

However, the universe had other plans.

The concept for the story is great, the characters on the other end are quite annoying. They either are causing more trouble than solving issues or are boring/stupid in how they speak, what they do, etc.

Then the undertone of the book being thrown in everywhere throughout the book while the main problem is ongoing made me dislike the book further.
97 reviews2 followers
October 21, 2023
Jamie Lee Grey does not disappoint!

I had finished the Band of Believers series and saw this. It didn't sound like my style but I enjoyed the author so much I decided to b give it a try. I'm glad I did. The way she brings the characters to life is wonderful. The style of moving from one scene to the next makes for a "can't put it down" read. The story intriguing and brilliantly lined with christianity.
Profile Image for Lifescore.
50 reviews
March 7, 2024
Good read of Christian fiction based on current events

This is a good read. It does seem to take a rather lengthy trip around the events. It is clear that this was written with the intention of being a series so you can’t read this book without continuing unless you simply don’t think it is worth continuing. I would likely have given it 4 1/2 stars if I could, but I enjoyed the read and will keep moving on.
7 reviews
February 19, 2025
A need to read

This is an eye opener and a need to read. It is so well written and awakens the thought process of what will happen if America doesn't wake up and stop the communist/Marxist infiltration. I think this book needs to get in the hands of every person in government. Jamie has written a very compelling book that makes you think. May God bless America and may she turn back to Him.
184 reviews2 followers
January 2, 2022
a new series with Jamies familiar brilliant touch

I read this book the first day it was available . All except the last few chapters ,I didn't want it to be over ,now I have to wait until April . I love everything about this series so far and once again Jamie bids for a vote for my favorite author
739 reviews5 followers
January 11, 2022
Scary

Scary only because you could see the scenario really happening. Especially with the way things are today. The decline in morality, increase in crime, the lack of commitment to man and country. College students just having a good time and not considering all the possible outcomes. Great job. Thank you.
15 reviews
January 25, 2022
Where do you take a stand?

I had a hard time putting this book down and getting back to what I should be doing. I have studied Bible end time prophecy and what would become of the USA. This is a novel not a prophecy but it is a possible outcome. Well written, exciting, and thought provoking.
410 reviews6 followers
March 12, 2022
Book 1 proves to be a great beginning to a new series

Invaded by Russia and China seizing military and power stations to bring the United States will be devastating for the citizens. Earthquakes and more to follow. FBI hunting for a young college student Sierra who has a Chinese boyfriend and a Russian roommate. Coincidence or is she a spy? Read book 2 to find out more.
Profile Image for Deanna Mosier.
502 reviews14 followers
July 10, 2022
Russia, China against America…what could go wrong?

Very interesting, edge of your seat first of trilogy. Looking forward to the next books. Good author…makes you feel like you’re right there in the midst of it all! I like that her books are clean and she keeps you turning pages!
5 reviews
September 12, 2022
very Spiritual and Interesting

I enjoyed this book. It appears to be spiritual correct and gives us a preview of what may happen if we continue to have a President without any love for Jesus or any backbone. It is sad to say the least when we look back at what we had and presently now have. Our Churches schools and government no longer look to Our Father God for answers.
Profile Image for Patrick Cox.
245 reviews2 followers
January 20, 2023
It's a future America where socialism and totalitarian rules the day. America is weak and Russia and China knows it. This is a really good story. Easy to read and holds your attention. It leaves you hanging so you have to purchase book 2 to see what else happens. I don't have the money to buy book 2 so I am kind of stuck where the story ended.....
Profile Image for Tom.
223 reviews3 followers
March 25, 2024
What I have read I have enjoyed

This book focuses on what might happen in a great War... like World War iii. Two Nations gang up on the United States with a surprise attack. The focus in this book starts with several key characters. One of them is being searched for by the FBI because they think that this girl is associated with either the Russians or the Chinese.
32 reviews3 followers
July 29, 2024
Just Wow

This was a awesome book. I can see how this happen In real life with the way our country has been especially the last four years . Son many illegal aliens have come to this country its unbelievable. I can't wait to read book two. Could put this one down fall. Great story line and well written. Thank you for this amazing book.
Profile Image for L.V. Jones.
Author 2 books7 followers
September 28, 2024
Very good!

I was very curious about this series and I'm so glad I started it! It opened my eyes to many world events that tied unto scripture. It caused me to pray for the US like never before and also world peace. This book had enough action and suspense to keep me engaged. Looking forward to the next book!
14 reviews
January 17, 2026
Could world war 3 actually
happen? In this book we learn that forces are already in place. People are ready. Actions are taken. God is center in some people. Russia, China and the United States are all using their forces to change the world as we know it. This is a very intriguing perspective of what can happen. God uses his people in all the right places.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews

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