A new author for me. While D.J. Williams' speculative novel SECCRETS OF THE HIGHLANDS (Book 2 in the Beacon Hill series), is outside my usual genre preference, I wanted to read for my teenaged grandson. Even though I jumped into the fray--having not read book 1--I was caught up in the fast-paced story.

Readers of supernatural, faith-based mystery and thrilling suspense will enjoy this book. The author's familiarity with exotic locales sometimes lost me and I wished I had a map, still there was enough action and intense "what will happen next" to keep me reading.

While I give this book a strong four stars, I suspect my grandson would give it a five. Looking forward to the final book in the series. And yes, I want to read it!

An ARC was provided by the publisher for my honest review.

I am not a fantasy buff. The analogous aspect of a fantasy novel has to be clear to me or I get lost. And I got lost in this novel. I know the Merikh are the really bad guys. The Cherubs are sort of the good guys but not totally. One character says, "There is freedom in a relationship with Elyon, but I have found that the Cherub often create too many rules and regulations. And I am not blind to the sin that exists in the Cherub either." (1675/4779) So are the Cherub supposed to represent Christians in church style Christianity with rules and hidden sin? But there is Asiklua, identified as an angel, expelled from Charis a thousand years ago because he led a fallen legion of Cherub. (2266/4479) So are Cherub angels? There is an ancient book, Eternal. Jack is told if he wants a deeper relationship with Elyon he must find truth within the pages of that book. So we have something like the Bible. There are definitely allusions to Christian faith and truths but they are murky for me.

The setting is this earth. Jack notes that they were in this world but spiritual forces were fighting for souls in this world and the others. (1887/4779) So we have helicopters, Land Rovers and Starbucks but then also a supernatural sword and other spiritual powers.

The plot seemed quite repetitive to me. Go to a new place, meet some new people, get some new information on how to get to the Valley of Grace, go to a new place, barely escape the Merikh. Repeat. Because the plot is repetitive, I felt the book is way too long. Some adventures could have been cut without losing the basics of the adventure. It is definitely a novel for people who like to get lost in an adventure for a long time. It is the second in the series and does not read well on its own. The first novel needs to be read to fully understand what is going on here.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.