Armor of God Review and GIVEAWAY!

About the Book

Book: Armor of God

Author: Allen Brokken

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Release date: November 19, 2021

In a battle to possess the armor of God, Lauren, Aiden and Ethan stand against their father as he fights for the enemy.

The Dark One has a foothold in the Iron Mountains, and his steel warriors have corrupted the giants. With a formidable army behind him, he fights to secure power over the heathlands. Darkness pervades Zoura’s frontier.

Reunited with Mother and Uncle, twelve-year-old Lauren and her younger brothers, Aiden and Ethan, must light the Tower of Light in Blooming Glen to save Zoura. But the enemy stands in their way. They need the lost Armor of God to overcome the forces of darkness.

As the children search for the armor, the enemy raises a new champion—their father. Knowing the power of the armor and the children’s plans, their father dispatches the Steele Brothers to retrieve the armor for the Dark One.

Zoura’s last chance for salvation will be lost, if darkness corrupts the armor before the children can take it back. Lauren, Aiden, and Ethan have prevailed against the forces of darkness before, but do they have the faith to stand firm against their father as he fights for the enemy?

Click HERE to get your copy!

About the Author

Allen Brokken is a teacher at heart, a husband and father most of all. He’s a joyful writer by the abundant grace of God. He began writing the Towers of Light series for his own children to help him illustrate the deep truths of the Bible in an engaging and age appropriate way. He’s dedicated 15 years of his life to volunteer roles in children’s ministry and youth development. Now that his own children are off to college he’s telling stories and sharing clean humor on social media @allenbrokkenauthor, and through his blog https://www.allenbrokkenauthor.com

More from Allen

Armor of God is the fourth book in the series, and it takes a significant departure from the others in that the children’s mother has joined them in their journey. After rescuing her from the Iron Mountain in Fear No Evil, she is ready to take charge of the group to save Father. However, things are a lot more complicated than they appear, and her children have grown used to making important decisions independently.

This book challenged my writing skills. On the one hand, middle grade so often sends the parents away to give the kids agency to be the heroes of the story. But what happens when the parents are active participants? Most middle grade goes one of two directions. The parents are incompetent fools who the wise all knowing children must save, or the parents become wicked antagonists working against the children’s best interests.

As a parent, I cringe when those stereotypes come up in a read-aloud. The parents I know are not bumbling fools and generally work hard to provide the best for their children. So stories that emphasize something else tweaks something in my mind as I’m reading. After talking to a lot of parents, they feel the same way.

So I worked hard to give Mother a very specific objective, save Father. At the same time, the children have concerns that could take them off that path. With the help of my editor and critique partners, I was able to cast Mother in a good light. Armor of God provides readers a realistic portrayal of the family working through conflicts in a positive way, which makes the surprise ending all the more powerful.

So if you are looking for a middle-grade story to read to your kids where the parents aren’t bumbling fools or wicked abusers, you should check out Armor of God.

My Review

In an increasingly digital and secular world, it is encouraging to see books still being written that engage children’s imaginations and take place in the great outdoors rather than in front of a screen. There is still much to be said for creating adventures, both indoors and out, that stem from the dreams and imaginings of a child. So many wonderful hours that allow minds to grow and learn from experience. Narnia, Middle-earth, the American prairie…and now Zoura. As a series, Allen Brokken’s Towers of Light combines the delights of fantasy with the morals of Christianity to craft a continuing tale that gently teaches while taking readers on an exhilarating journey of rescue and discovery. Despite a middle-grade target audience, more mature readers will enjoy picking up on nuances and more profound meanings throughout the story, making Armor of God appropriate for anyone age 8 and up. The discerning reader will also notice Biblical allusions skillfully woven into the narrative.

There are a plethora of gems to be found within Armor of God, book four of the Towers of Light series by Allen Brokken. Reading the books in chronological order is imperative because each builds on the former to make one complete story arc, and as such I appreciate the brief summary of each preceding book that the author places prior to the narrative. This is a nice refresher that I would love to see other series authors adopt! Also, Brokken makes note that each book focuses on a specific Christian value, with this one’s being faith. Hebrews 11:1 instantly comes to mind, as the Scripture tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In Armor of God, all is not as it appears, and just as in real life, sometimes the line between good and evil, friend and enemy, blurs. This is such an important concept for children to learn, and sometimes in Christian literature this distinction can be sidestepped.

As with the previous three books, the characters constitute the heart of Armor of God. Continuing on their quest to save their father and light the tower at Blooming Glen, siblings Lauren, Aiden, and Ethan remain endearingly true to character. They are overall responsible and thoughtful, but I think that it’s important that Brokken portrays them as normal children who still act their ages and make mistakes. What’s more, they learn from their mistakes. Likewise, the adults are far from perfect, even the ones on the side of goodness. None of the books in this series come across as preachy, and the author incorporates witnessing on the part of the children in a natural way that demonstrates how what they’ve been taught and have heard has born fruit within them. This serves them well in the ongoing trials that they face in their battle against the Darkness. As Lauren reminds herself, and all of us, “With God on their side, who could stand against them?”

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 stars ♥♥♥♥♥

Blog Stops

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 4

Sodbusterliving, December 4

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 5

Texas Book-aholic, December 6

Inklings and notions, December 7

For Him and My Family, December 8

deb’s Book Review, December 9

Spoken from the Heart, December 10

For the Love of Literature, December 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 11

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 12

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 13

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 14 (Spotlight)

Mary Hake, December 14

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, December 15

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 16

Lights in a Dark World, December 17

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Allen is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/14198/armor-of-god-celebration-tour-giveaway