For millenniums, angels like Captain Jediah had waged war against their former the demons. As Keeper of the Abyss, it's his duty to ensure Appolyon's army remains imprisoned until the end of the age. Unfortunately, despite all that God had entrusted him with, Jediah is plagued by an unceasing guilt. It drives him to thirst for Christ's redemptive power, but there's one glaring problem. He's not human. God's gift of salvation is meant for mankind alone.When God appoints him to lead a task force of five wildly different angels to capture two dangerous demons, Jediah ponders if his return to earth might be his only chance to learn what the core of human salvation truly is. However, one of Jediah's angels hides a secret agenda, and Jediah's dark past is hellbent on hunting him down too.Can Jediah risk everything for the relief he's desperate for? Or should he even bother chasing what he cannot have at all? What does living redeemed mean?- Winner of the ACFW "First Impressions" Award for Speculative Fiction! -
A born again Christian, Hannah Mae uses her wide variety of interests to show how a saving relationship with Jesus is no limiter to creativity, fun, and wonder. She's a dance studio owner, runs FlyingFaith.org, and is a 1st place recipient of the ACFW "First Impressions" Award. From her love of Marvel movies to studying Scripture, Hannah absolutely cherishes all Jesus gave her and eagerly awaits her eternal life with Him to come.
I am always wary and hesitant when I read supernatural books, as there is a delicate line the author must walk to avoid incorrect theology. Angels and the supernatural are both mystifying and something not to treat with levity. The majority of authors who approach this topic can neither deliver a solid, theologically accurate story nor do well in portraying the angels, demons, and other supernatural elements.
Miss Mae is not one of those authors.
Supernatural is not a genre I usually prefer to read. I can count on one hand the books I've enjoyed in this genre; books that are actually worth rereading. Celestial is now included among those few.
The most appropriate word I would use to describe this story is unique. The story's beginning is intriguing; the second chapter, captivating. And the ending...well, I may have been a bit teary-eyed. So simple, so poignant, and such a perfect end to the book.
There were multiple things about this book that I enjoyed. The overall tone is serious, but there is much humor interwoven. Akela is hilarious and the angels' attempts at blending in with humanity was where I really laughed out loud. And the weapons! I'm a sucker for quality, unique weapons, and boy are there some good ones in here.
Miss Mae infused her story with excellent descriptors, humor cleverly woven in, well-written battle scenes, and a beautiful faith element. And Jediah. I love his name. It's perfect for him. He and Alameth were my favorite characters. Speaking of characters, each possesses a unique personality that really makes them vibrant, three dimensional characters.
There were a few rough spots that are the type that some will notice and others won't, so this is personal opinion. At times the book told more than showed; that tripped me up a little as a few parts were confusing due to this. A few other times it seemed like we jumped into a different angel's POV for a few sentences before reverting back to the original. Again, however, like I said, that's personal and certainly something that won't bother everyone.
The author has much potential and a lot of blooming talent. I look forward to seeing how she continues to hone her writing and what type of tale she'll treat us to next.
Well done, Miss Mae. You have delivered a captivating debut.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Celestial follows a group of angels given a mission by God to capture a particularly dangerous demon. But the heart of the story is found in their captain, Jediah, and his search for peace. He longs to know what salvation is like and hopes to see a human child, Chloe, saved. It turns out he isn’t the only angel in this group that is haunted by the past in their age long struggle of spiritual warfare against Lucifer and his demons. The story opens with a moving Prologue that should not be skipped and a matching Epilogue, like two perfect bookends.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect before I read Celestial. Usually stories about angels do not appeal to me. I think it’s because they often elevate angels almost to a place of worship, or because the angels are giving extra biblical revelation. Of course, I read several of Frank Peretti’s books back in the day that incorporated the behind the scenes spiritual warfare into the story. In his stories, however, the spiritual beings were distant and mysterious.
In Celestial, I think readers will be pleasantly surprised. The angels in this story have real feelings, desires, and challenges that make them relatable rather than mysterious. Though the Bible is designed to reveal to us our Savior and doesn’t go into great detail about angelic beings, what the Bible does tell us about angels should not make us imagine that they are emotionless beings that never face any trials.
The author of Celestial does an excellent job bringing to life the nature of angels. Of course, the fallen angels emotions and desires are twisted. In addition, she takes some of the biblical descriptions of what we find angels doing—worshiping around the throne of God, delivering messages, fighting battles etc. and creates several “classes” of angels. There is some creative license taken here, and she doesn’t claim these classifications to be fact. After all, I think it’s important to remember this is fiction, and as such you have to “fill-in-the-blanks” in order to have a fleshed out story.
Finally, Celestial is different from any other spiritual warfare book that I have read in that it focuses on the story from the perspective of angels rather than humans. Yet, because of the points I mentioned, it doesn’t fall into the trap of glorifying angels or putting them in any way above God or the Bible. Just the opposite, the story is really not so much about the angels as it is about salvation. Again, angels rejoice to see a human saved, they desire to look into the gospel, and they are fighting a spiritual warfare on God’s—and our—behalf against the devils that want to keep us from the good news of Jesus Christ who came to save us from our sins.
My favorite quote: "My weakness becomes His strength and my guilt an example of His Grace. For He does in me, what I cannot do for myself."
This is an ARC review and my honest opinion. I was not paid for a particular response.
It’s no wonder this was the first prize in the ACFW first impressions contest. It sets a new standard for the Christian spiritual warfare genre.
For the characters, none of them slow the pace of the story and they all have deeply integral parts to play. Not only that, but there are some genuine, funny, charming moments with many of them.
The plot is phenomenal. I haven’t encountered many fictions where the author managed to create a genuine feeling of “all hope is lost” in any genre, despite the fact that my genre of choice (fantasy) is probably the easiest genre to do it in. But so few stories manage to achieve it, so when it’s actually done, it really impresses me. As much as fighting for Chloe’s soul was compelling to me, that part of the story was the only part that sagged for me. It makes for a great vehicle to explore the theology of salvation and justification, but it’s competing with Lucifer literally breaking the gates of Hell open. Despite that, the epilogue with Chloe was heartwarming and ended the book on a wonderful note.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Celestial does a wonderful job of exploring angels from a Biblically sound perspective. Imagine being God's first creation, able to fall or even make mistakes, but outside of His salvation. This, plus questions like what have angels been up to for thousands of years, and what are the Fallen busying themselves with are addressed in this action packed adventure. Highly recommended!
If you want to read a well-crafted new series about angels, look no further!
I was surprised by how much this book impressed me. Most novels I’ve read about angels have quite frankly disappointed. I’ve found far too many to be theologically compromised by cheap political conspiracy or romance plots.
Not Celestial. Hannah has done her theological homework to tackle creatures whose powerful and mysterious ways have intimidated top religious scholars for years.
This happens to be an area I’ve done some digging in myself and her creative conclusions are remarkably sound. She manages to paint a vivid and engaging portrait of beings who are simultaneously benevolent, supernaturally powerful, and at war.
But how does she pull this off while crafting an exciting story mere mortals like us can relate to?
The genius of her intricate plot structure is reminiscent of the creativity of today’s Marvel stories which have defied all expectations with their talent for super-hero tales that appeal to mature audiences.
In many ways, Hannah’s team of angels are the Avengers of the heavenly kingdom, bent on intricate missions with multi-layered purposes and crafty, powerful foes.
The “team” of angels themselves, though a plane above our realm, are drawn with a compassionate insightful hand that even make characters such as the distant, mysterious Alameth relatable to the spiritual struggles and wounds Celestial’s mortal readers carry.
So in addition to an engaging plot structure fans of Marvel will applaud, Hannah draws insightful characters with their own struggles and personal battles to fight. In addition, her portrayal of Satan is the most masterful I’ve seen in fiction.
Finally, the best part of this book is the hopeful message it brings to readers, a new perspective of the priceless treasure of salvation and how many forces are fighting to bring it to us.
This is a must-read in Christian fiction! I agree with Matt that this has surpassed all predecessors in the genre.
Finally, if you have time to pop over to her website, I recommend taking her angel type quiz. Not only was it fun to find out I’m a “ministry angel,” but I was lucky enough to get this beautiful hand-crafted bookmark in a prize drawing!
Angels and demons. An ages-long battle of good versus evil. The Abyss. When we read words like this, we tend to think of supernatural beings who are aloof, whom we cannot understand or relate to. Hannah Mae, in her debut novel, Celestial, presents a team of very relatable angels called together for a mission to capture some very powerful evil demons.
Two story lines intertwine throughout the book. One involves the hunt for the demons and the other the redemption of a dying young girl, Chloe. As the story progresses and things heat up, the two threads come together. The action moves forward at a page-turning pace and though gruesome in places, the battles between the angels and demons kept me on edge.
For me, the true strength of the writing was in character development. Each of the angels chosen to be part of the company is unique and well rounded. I loved Captain Jediah’s heart and strength, his need to understand redemption; Laszio’s and Eran’s enthusiasm and friendship drew me in; Akela’s fervor and sweet, clumsy character made me laugh; Nechum’s wisdom and compassion brought a level of deeper strength; and Alameth, the haunted and mysterious Destroyer, his pain touched my heart. Hannah developed great tie ins to the ongoing war and yet grounded her story squarely in our present reality. And through all, God’s divinity and control were never an issue. Trust figures strongly in our heroes’ journeys.
Though I noted some grammatical errors, the writing on a whole was well done and the errors did little to pull me out of the story line. If you are looking for an exciting, clean read with strong spiritual themes, and a well-developed spiritual realm filtering in and out of the mortal realm, I recommend Celestial. A highly enjoyable read.
Celestial was quite interesting and well-written. Some areas felt a little in-your-face preachy, but I suppose as this was a story about angelic beings, it fit in with the story world. I guess my biggest problem with the sttory as a while was the extremely ambiguous line between how much sin/disobedience angels were allowed before they fell and became demons. That was never explained properly and felt a bit like a plot hole especially since the main character, Jediah, kept on about angels not being able to be redeemed once they fell, and worrying about whether he and his angelic team would fall. While still doing "not-quite-allowed" stuff.
This is the first time I have ever read a story with Angels as the characters, including some who are fallen. This is an unexpected foray into realms unknown with a great deal of warfare, both physical and spiritual, made even more captivating by characters with some astonishingly human traits. Akela brings a delightful bit of humor to the mix. The worldbuilding is as solid as the characters and I highly recommend it! I received a free early review copy in exchange for an honest review and I honestly love this!
The angels preparing for a battle that is coming. The doubts, the hopes, the choices that need to be made. I found this book riveting from beginning to end. At times I found it difficult remembering who was who and if the character was demonic or angelic, but by the time I was half way through the book, my head started remembering who was who. Over all, I found this a thoroughly enjoyable book to read that was hard to put down.
Want good entertainment and conviction? Read Celestial! You'll want to look more into the things of spiritual warfare and marvel at God's glory all while being on the edge of your seat!
Hannah Mae doesn’t shy from intense nature of angels. This is not your sweet Valentine’s cherub type of book. It never slows down. You will have to read it in one go because there is never a good time to put it down. I can’t wait for the next book!
Interesting perspective on spiritual warfare. Seeing angles as individuals, describing/showing their personalities. The story was more captivating because of the human traits. Never a dull moment.
A hidden past causes doubt and pain. The enemy is many and even though you can’t die, you can still suffer. What does it look like for angels who aren’t perfect? When all seems lost, can the least become the heroes?
Celestial is a type of story you won't read in many other places, especially in the Christian market. For whatever reason, the supernatural isn't a subject Christians tend to write about which is odd. Hannah Mae does a nice job introducing the reader to that other side. With concepts of salvation, good and evil, and a good amount of action on a cosmic scale, this is an interesting book that gives a glimpse into the angels on the other side and what they may be doing in the modern age.
Each character has a specific role to play and the interactions are interesting to watch play out. With doubts surrounding past errors, the question of redemption is explored. What does it look like for angels who have no hope of God’s salvation? This can go in many directions and appreciate how it’s handled. With many callbacks to biblical verses, the angels on the front line fight the war of human souls.
What do you do with two angels in the midst of an emotional crisis, two angels who struggle to master their martial training, one who is firmly fixed in his sleepy English village, and one who can’t sit still? You assign them to a single team and send them on a Mission: Impossible style spec-op mission. What could possibly go wrong?
Hannah Mae begins with the premise that angels are not so different from humans in their emotional limitations and personalities. They just have a more direct and definite spiritual experience. And authority over certain natural forces.
The piece that makes this stand out is the realization part way through that holy angels can still fall from grace, and some still do. It’s a chilling bit of storytelling that leaves us wondering- humans have done horrible things motivated by pride, grief, or love. How far is an immortal angel willing to go?
This was a fun and interesting story. It took me to some very interesting places that I didn't see coming and the adventure was top-notch. This story had a little bit of everything. There were heartwarming moments, moments of sadness, fear, elation, silliness, the list goes on. I really enjoyed it.
This exceptional Biblically accurate story has been painstakingly researched and refined to bring you an angel story unlike any other. The covert black-ops-style operation takes place between the spiritual realm and the mortal realm and brings together an unlikely group. A dark brooding angel of death with a past nearly as dark as the captain of the team, Jediah. Along with a clumsy but loveable messenger angel, a wise and kindhearted ministry angel, and two soldiers from Jediah’s troop, the company stands up to Satan himself. Score sheet. Spice/Romance: None. Angels are respected biblically and so the only mention of romance is when an angel disguises himself as a husband to another undercover angel pretending to be his wife. As both angels are male this is for humor purposes only. Violence: mild/high. No excessive gore but angels have regenerative powers and often lose limbs and their version of blood, which is glowing power. Morals/Worldview: Christian/good morals Recommended reading age: 18+
I found the book to be quite enjoyable, sucks you in and holds the writer's attention. Her style of prose and her descriptive phrases are extremely well done. I was quite impressed. While I like Hannah's book, there were two issues that I had: One is that it contradicts Biblical cosmology, which she probably didn't realize. Most Christians wouldn't. The other is portraying the angelic characters. While she made them very relatable, they seem too human, which is a difficulty that any human would have. How can we as imperfect beings write holy angels which have no sin? It's not an easy situation to deal with, but I think Hannah pulled it off well. I would certainly recommend it to anyone and I look forward to reading her next book.