It would be five stars if the Flora novels weren't so good. Same universe, some of the same characters. I love the framing : these are fragments being discussed by a future historian, there are sources cited, and judgment of the veracity of the stories.

Library copy 

My two prophecies for 2019 are:

1. Audiobooks have become an indelible part of my reading life in the past couple of years, and have greatly contributed to the amount of books I have consumed per year.  I'm very much enjoying the ride, and discovering more and more great audiobook narrators.  I predict that this trend will continue in 2019.

2. Book hoarder that I am, I will likely continue to acquire more books over the course of 2019 than I can possibly read in that same year.  And each new book acquired is likely going to bring new pressure on my shelving situation ... not that that is going to stop me from buying them anyway, however.

The Angels-Raph, Enoch, and Michael looked at Hope who had set off with the Angels to Istanbul -Turkey- a day ago. Henri was Hope’s Guardian Angel. Nothing had gone right since Michael had come into Hope’s life in Atlanta. Hope had thought she made a new friend after she filed for change of custody from her dad too her mother. Hope was in a new school where no one knew about her being abducted as a child. Nobody knew about the mark that had materialized upon her neck during her disappearance. The mark designated as part of a ancient Prophecy - she was the Bearer Of The Key to Heaven’s Gate and being the Bearer Of The Key who according to the Prophecy, from whose hands the Fallen would get the Key to unlock Heaven’s Gate and allowing the Fallen  to overturn Heaven. Michael couldn’t love Hope when he may have to kill her to prevent that from happening. Unless they found the key and destroyed it before the Fallen Angel found it.The Fallen Angels were Michael’s rivals as Michael lead Heaven's Army. That’s why they went to Vegas to talk to Enoch who was Heaven's Librarian- an angel who had once been human.They had been playing a dangerous game talking their way into gambling with the Chinese Syndicate that was responsible for the human trafficking ring that took Hope’s friend Maria from her home in Mexico and ended up in Vegas. Hope told Michael s humans. he would willingly go to Vegas to look for the key if he would help her find and free Maria. Lucas was the chief of the Fallen. Lucas mistakenly  believed Hope was the Key.Hope had new powers of intuition that had transferred from Michael to her. Hope’s new powers helped her find and free Maria but that also revealed to Hope that the Key they were looking for wasn’t a literal key, it was the rock Cain used to kill his brother Abel. It was because Cain killed his brother that so any Angels turned against humans. It was Michael protecting Cain that so many Angels hated Michael. Hope’s intuition is getting better and she goes to an antique dealer and he explains how the Westerners raided his lands during the C and they Crusades and they tolke all religious relics when they left with them. Michael comes up with two possibilities and shows Hope two pictures of places and Hope is drawn to the second one so they go to Ireland and they make it to Skellig Michael - the monastery. They don’t find the key- the rock- but they do find Michael’s sister Gabrielle and there is a message for Hope about the Prophecy and what it now means for her.

I liked this book and will look for the third book to this series. This was a little predictable . I advise you to read the first book in this series for a smoother read. I don’t think hope was very smart taking off in Istanbul when she knew there was the possibility that the traffickers could be after her and she knew the Fallen wanted to get a hold of her. I really liked the mystery in this book . I didn’t guess what was going to happen most of the time. I loved the twists and turns in this book. I liked  Michael and Hope together how it is really not acceptable but they can’t help what they feel. I loved their determination to find the key/ rock even with all the pain God was inflicting on Michael for being disobedient. I also liked the mythology and religion in this book. I liked the plot and pace. I didn’t care for the as I felt it was more of a cliffhangers and we all know how I hate them usually and this wasn’t an exception. If it wasn’t for that it would have been a higher score. Like a 4. But with that and a few other things it came out a three but I am glad I read this and want to find the next one

The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation have been a long studied by Seventh-day Adventists and their precursors for almost 200 years; one of the most prominent writers was Uriah Smith during his long tenure with the newsmagazine Advent Review and Sabbath Herald.  Smith’s major contribution to Adventist theology was his verse-by-verse commentary of the books of Daniel and the Revelation.

This book is the most in-depth explanation of Seventh-day Adventist thought on end-time Biblical prophecies from the turn of the 20^th Century, yet even though it’s mostly over 100 years old—there are some publisher insertions here and there—it is mostly what Seventh-day Adventist still believe today.  However, the biggest difference is the focus of the Islam and Ottoman Empire—referred to Turkey—as being a major prophetic “player” in the past in particular in relation to Revelation 9 though in other places as well.  While today Adventists do see the rise of Islam as playing a role in the prophetic past, it is only in affecting the Church at a particular time and nothing more.

Though Daniel and the Revelation is not an up-to-date book on what Seventh-day Adventists believe about those prophetic books, the great majority of Uriah Smith’s text is still relevant today.  The only significant change has been an even more focused look at the history of the Church in prophecy than on another religion.

3.5 stars. Prince Jensen is kidnapped by 'bandit' Jared on his way to marry high king Morgan but all is not as it seems.