The death of her king changes Karina’s life forever. Fleeing the royal house, she must leave her life behind to seek out the Armor of the Creator—to save the very people who now hunt her.

Faramos, the evil warlock waiting to unleash hell, knows the Creator has already chosen his warrior, so he sends his bounty hunter to retrieve her. After Tristan abducts her, he witnesses Karina’s gentle nature and strong independence, and he finds he can’t complete his assignment.

Together, they set out to retrieve the armor and defeat the hordes of creatures sent to destroy them. But is Tristan’s heart secure as he faces certain death for defending the queen? And will Karina have the courage to become all the Creator intends her to be? Failure will condemn the world to eternal darkness.

Book 1 of the Sacred Armor Trilogy series.

In only two days, Karina becomes queen of Aletheia and prophetess of the Creator. She begins a divine quest to find six holy relics and use them against a powerful warlock—a lot of responsibility, especially for a seventeen-year-old young woman. Ralene Burke’s Armor of Aletheia gives readers classic fantasy suffused with spirituality. Its world is built with elves and griffins and goblins, and the heroine’s quest leads her through colorful landscapes. The author creates settings with particular skill, vividly and efficiently evoking a sense of place. Both established religion and individual spirituality are prominent, driving the characters and forming the world. Although some challenges are easily defeated, especially after the discovery of holy relics, Armor of Aletheia finishes as sweet, colorful fantasy.

Best for: YA audiences, female readers, fantasy fans.

Discern: Mild violence; villain murders a close family member; drunk ruffian sexually harasses a young woman (someone else intervenes); and a kidnapper implies, to his female victim’s embarrassment, that they are renting a room.