The Restorer by Sharon Hinck (NavPress) is simply too good a book for me to put up a review on my own blog. I want as many people as possible to know about this fantasy.

It’s been a long time since I inhaled a book, though of late there have been a couple I’ve gulped down pretty quickly. One such was Hinck’s Renovating Becky Miller.

Fans of the Becky Miller books will also love The Restorer books. But so will fantasy lovers.

This first in the series is a story about Susan, a soccer mom turned Restorer. The characters are wonderfully accessible and engaging. They feel like they could be the neighbors next door or the couple in your Bible study. Maybe she teaches your daughter’s Sunday school class. Maybe he is a regular on church work days. Or maybe they are you.

On the other hand, the world in which Susan finds herself is a brand new place. It is NOT Middle Earth or another Narnia. It is a place with a surprising mix of technology and primitive devices, and we see it through the eyes of soccer-mom Susan, so we understand it the way she does.

The novel is a story for Christians, without a doubt, but Hinck communicates the faith elements in a unique way. She does not use symbolism, and she does not put Christianity in the fantasy world ... not exactly, anyway. The parallel place has people of the Verses and they worship the One, creator of the world. They are looking for a Deliverer.

Susan is a Christian and recites Scripture, but she doesn’t try to bring Christ to these people. She simply concludes that in her world the Deliverer has already come whereas these people are still waiting for Him. It is as if she is with a group of Old Testament Israelites (though the world bears no resemblance to that of the Promised Land).

The bond she feels with these people is in large part because they both believe in the One who has sent/will send the Deliverer and has made Himself known through Scripture/the Verses.

The worlds may be parallel. God is the same. Very powerful!

The story is outstanding, too—full of tension, conflict, intrigue, suspense, surprises, danger, sadness, triumph, hope, fear ... I can’t begin to capture it all and certainly do not want to spoil the story by telling you specifics. The pace is fast but every step is properly motivated and understandable.

I have to qualify that statement because there is a period when Susan is adjusting to the parallel world and nothing makes sense to her. It all fits, but Hinck doesn’t tip her hand and show you prematurely where everything belongs.

I enthusiastically recommend The Restorer as a Must Read for fantasy lovers and for Christian women. I highly recommend it for every other reader.