Robbie Cheuvront

The Guardian is written as a straightforward suspense novel with Christian elements added in. It is first and foremost a great suspense novel. I don't normally like Christian fiction, but The Guardian is not preachy. Anna's unbelief at the beginning of the story makes the story less sappy than traditional Christian fiction. In fact, her unbelief should make her unqualified for this task and I was surprised that she would be chosen by God for it. The authors crafted a novel that I could not show more put down. I had some trouble with the suspension of belief (pun not intended) that put Anna and Jason together. The non-stop action overrode this for me as did the evil, power hungry church leader characters. The ending was ingenious. The Guardian is a fantastic religious thriller. show less

In The Guardian, agnostic Anna Riley discovers that God created her with a special purpose: to guard the scroll that the apostle John received on the island of Patmos 2,000 years ago. The scroll holds a powerful secret and the forces of evil, led by the mysterious Prince, will stop at nothing to steal it. What follows is a riveting thriller that will take the reader across Europe, to North and South America, and into the holy lands.

I found this book to be exceptional. I couldn’t put it show more down. First-time authors Robbie Cheuvront and Erik Reed wove a suspenseful story around biblical truth. The characters are well-developed and the story is very well-written. I found myself identifying quickly with the characters and truly being immersed in the story. I laughed when they laughed, and I cried when they cried. I love how the authors emphasized the importance of faith in God without getting preachy. I was also pleased by how “clean” the story was.

I encourage you to read this book if you like suspense. Just make sure that you have time to read it all in one sitting.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a digital galley proof of this book free from Barbour Books via netGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” show less

I love a good religious thriller – and this one does not does not disappoint. Ever since the success of the DiVinci Code, religious thrillers have been a dime a dozen. Many of them rehash the same old story line. The Guardian has some unique twists on the run of the mill religious thriller and it also has many of the elements I love in a thriller – it is fast paced, there is plenty of action and intrigue and I did not figure out the ending. The premise is similar to other religious show more thrillers in that the heroine is a descendant of the Apostle John. Her family has spent the last 2000 years since John wrote the Book of Revelation protecting a scroll that God gave to John. Now Anna and her protector Jason must unravel the riddle of the scroll as they flee from the forces of evil. I think that this is the first religious thriller I have read that was written be purposefully Christian authors. The characters took time to pray throughout the book – which is something I don’t remember in other books I read. And the love interests never did hop in the sack together, something that you rarely find. In fact, my major complaint of this book is that when Anna and Jason had romantic moments together, the dialog was very amateurish. No one talks like that – surely you can maintain your Christian morals and not sound like you are in junior high. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The authors did a great job keep the story moving. I found the ending very clever and very cool and I never saw it coming. This is a great first novel, I will look forward to the next. show less

Cheuvront and Reed are Christian ministers who relate the tenets of their faith through their novel, The Guardian. I enjoy good mysteries and thrillers despite their point of view. I do not particularly like to be preached at when reading to relax, but every author injects something of themselves into what they write. I do not even mind the devil entering the story, vampires have been doing it for years. The Guardian, however, is not a great work. The story is good and the suspense holds show more until the end. It would be a better book if the writing was more complex and the characters better developed. In my opinion, the authors need to make a choice between ministering and writing a mystery. Walking the middle ground has not served to strengthen either mission. show less