Surrender to Heaven

SURRENDER PARADISE

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Translation

He revealed my true Father to me, and in doing so, He brought me back into the family of God. Today I boldly declare that I am a child of God! Heaven is not an incentive, it's an eternal life. It's the Kingdom of God that I have been given and that currently dwells within me. Jesus brought heaven down to me and seated me in heavenly places Eph. Eternal life is not locational but a relational. Jesus said in John 17, "This is enternal life, that they may know you. For too long, the church has made the motivation of surrender based on heavenly incentives.

People everywhere giving their lives to Jesus because it offers a mansion and a better day. Unfortunately, Christians hoping for a better day will never stop hoping. He revealed my true Father to me, and in doing so, He brought me back into the family of God. Today I boldly declare that I am a child of God! Heaven is not an incentive, it's an eternal life. It's the Kingdom of God that I have been given and that currently dwells within me. Jesus brought heaven down to me and seated me in heavenly places Eph. Eternal life is not locational but a relational.

Jesus said in John 17, "This is enternal life, that they may know you. For too long, the church has made the motivation of surrender based on heavenly incentives. People everywhere giving their lives to Jesus because it offers a mansion and a better day. Unfortunately, Christians hoping for a better day will never stop hoping. I'd also say that this cover fits well with the other two books set within the Sary Society. Now to the book, this book covers a Sary called Gabby. To explain how Gabby became a Sary. To be truly honest I'm rather undecided as to whether I like the hows and why's of how Gabby became a Sary.

That she was a baby that had never drawn breath and her choice was to become a Sary or forever wander as a spirit that could not touch or feel. A child that didn't draw breath suggests a miscarriage or a stillborn. Why would such an innocent life lost be treat like a suicide and sentenced to wander forever as a spirit? I prefer to think my child is in heaven or maybe even being something like a Sary rather than the image of a spirit with no body forever wandering and not being able to touch or feel anything. Gabby is staying within a community, going to school to try and bring to an end a boy named Chad from taking his own life and any of the lives of the other students in his class.

Sadly Gabby fails to prevent an incident occurring in the school. In her attempt to block Chad from shooting the bully of the class Bobby, she throes herself at Chad and ends up being shot herself. Being shot triggers a change within Gabby and she transforms into her Sary form in front of the whole class.

The Sary clean up team turns up to try and sort out the situation. Gabby is terrified yet accepts that her punishment for revealing her form is to be "released". Being "released" is a horrible, painful process where the Sary are stripped of their powers and their wings. So when Jassen, the deputy leader of the Sary turns up she fully expects to be released, and is somewhat shocked and confused when he tells her that he is their to help the clean up team and put things right,.

Jassen is also there to help Gabby develop a very special gift she doesn't quite know she has and how to use it too. As the gift is so rare, at first Gabby denies it, until Jassen begins to teach her how to use it. Gabby is so embarassed by her mess up and kind of mortified that Jassen is staying at her lowly flat. Gabby has always found Jassen attractive, and she she learns more about the next leader of the Sary she begins to love him even more, but he couldn't possibly ever reciprocate her feelings could he? It's considered a Sary law that they do not have relationships with mortals or each others.

So when one of the clean up team and Gabby's old room mate from her training days Nathan, ends up in a relationship with her best mortal friend Bea, it is frowned upon but surprisingly allowed. Could things be changing within the Sary Society? The fact that Bea and Nathan's relationship is allowed to continue gives Gabby hopes for the future, but it's a fragile hope that maybe she could have some sort of relationship with Jassen.

We also meet Jassen's twin, Leon in this book who wishes for the Sary to take over and rule the world, and to walk around in their true forms, wings and all. Can the Sary from the Island prevent Leon and his plans for the Sary? So what I have said above is just a small part of the book there's so much more to the book and it's story.

I also think it teaches the reader that though suicides are usually viewed to be a selfish way out of life, that in most cases there is so much more going on around a suicide, such as in this book Chad being bullied. We also learn the reason why Bobby is such a bully at school too. The characters have plenty of drama and ups and downs that you can empathise with as well as ample of secrets to be discovered about the Sary. The descriptions of the different Sary's wings actually reflect some of that Sary's qualities. The book certainly makes you visualize the many scenes in the book. So did I enjoy the book?

Yes, I really enjoyed the book. Would I recommend the book? Would I read another book about the Sary Society? I'd love to know more about the other Sary we met in this book as well as catching up with Ari, Tom, Bea and Nathan. I'd also like to read more about Gabby and Jassen, perhaps a book set on the Island of the Sary. Would I read other titles by Meradeth Houston? I would certainly take a serious look at anything written by this author. I really take pleasure in Meradeth's writing style, it flows so easily and truly enjoy reading her books. I didn't realize this was part of a series until I started reading the book.

It freaked me out for a minute there, because I hate reading books out of order. But these books of the Sary Society can be read as standalones, and I really enjoyed this story a lot that I think I'll read the other two that I missed. The Sary reminded me of angels, though I'm not sure that is what they are exactly supposed to be. Sary are immortal beings with wings who are sent on jobs to try and stop people from committing the worst act imaginable: They're guardian angels who are recruited when they die Gabby herself never actually took her first breath.

When they fail, it sucks and it hurts. Then they just get another assignment. But when they show their wings, severe consequences follow. They're never, ever in any circumstances supposed to show their true forms. Unfortunately for Gabby, an unforeseen incident causes chaos in her world. After failing her assignment and showing her true form, Gabby is sure of one thing: But when the Sary leader offers her a solution, she's still unsure she'll take it.

After all, she wasn't able to save her assignment and the kids in the classroom saw her wings. She thinks she deserves to be released.

Gabby was a likable character who just wants to do her job, save her assignments, and keep her wings. She's spunky, loves her job, and has been around a long time that she's pretty much seen everything. But when both of her worlds collide, Gabby is forced to question herself, her job, and what she wants out of life. All the while dodging kids who know her secret, a rebel intent on exposing the Sary to the world, and a one-sided love with a guy who will always put duty above everything else.

I thought the secondary characters were great, as well. They added more layers to the story-line and brought on some much needed fun and comedic relief. But the romance felt rushed, between both Gabby and Jassen and Bea and Nathan which never felt that believable to me. I would have liked more development between Gabby and Jassen, a little more interactions and depth of feeling. And I never fully understood why either of them had fallen for the other. I truly loved this concept! The idea that these Sary try and help people who are contemplating suicide or straddling that line is something I haven't read before.

And I adored the concept.

Suicide is such a sensitive subject, and I thought the author handled it with such care. I felt the emotions in this story, the heart-wrenching stories and Gabby's grief at being unable to save Chad her assignment. But I thought the plot centering around Leon and his evil intent felt rushed. The scenes were sort of smoothed over, and I would have liked more action and depth surrounding him and his plans. And I would have loved more background info on Gabby herself, especially about other assignments and people she's met over the course of the century she's been a Sary.

The book was very fast-paced and didn't take me that long to finish. Gabby's voice drew me in, and the concept of the Sary and what they do held my attention until the end. I'm definitely going to be reading the first two books! May 06, Pauline Ang rated it really liked it Shelves: Originally posted at Fathomless Reveries I'm not really a big fan of stories with angels and all those things, but this one was amazing.

Right from the start, I already got sucked in to the story.

Gabby, a Sary, helps people not to commit suicide, but she failed to do so in one of her assignments. Not only that, but her identity as a Sary got exposed when her wings appeared, which was a big no-no in their society. When that happens, she gets released and becomes a mortal being again. With this ki Originally posted at Fathomless Reveries I'm not really a big fan of stories with angels and all those things, but this one was amazing. With this kind of plot, I got really hooked up and wanted to know what's going to happen to Gabby.

It was very intense. I sympathized with Gabby the moment she felt guilty with herself. It wasn't her fault, and she really didn't deserve on what was given to her. Saving people who are having suicidal thoughts is very admirable, but no one can save everybody, so it isn't really her fault. Despite her world starting to crash down on her, she still remained strong and concerned for others' well-being. At first, I thought that she would be an unrelatable character for me because she seemed flawless and too selfless, but I was wrong.

All the pain and heartache she felt got transferred to me, and my heart felt really constricted while I was reading her story. Oh, there are just so many times that I have to stop reading and absorb everything that was happening. I just wanted to cry for her. Jassen, the heir to the Sary, was so mysterious and swoony. Seeing him do a lot of things just for Gabby is just too much.

At such a young age, he was already being restricted by the rules in his society and position, which was really sad. There were at times that I just simply hated him because I really cannot understand what he was thinking, and his thoughts seemed to be all over the place. He just doesn't know what he wants and was conflicted. However, Jassen and Gabby both were so cute together! The way they'd tease each other and all those stuff were just so adorable. It taught me that the most selfless people are the ones that are really in pain. It just shows that we really cannot judge others based on their actions and words because we really do not know their thoughts.

And sometimes, it's okay to be selfish also once in a while because everyone deserves to be happy, even ourselves. I am excited to read the other books in this series, and I definitely recommend that you read Surrender the Sky! Apr 24, Faye rated it really liked it. I didn't even know this was part of a series when I started reading Surrender the Sky because it didn't mention anything.

But to my surprise it technically is part of a series. It would have been better to read the first two books but it does not mean I enjoyed reading Surrender the Sky. Although the plot was interesting wherein Gabby might have lost her wings because she failed her mission it did not happen due to Jassen's interference, the next leader of the Sary. As the story goes on we later I didn't even know this was part of a series when I started reading Surrender the Sky because it didn't mention anything. As the story goes on we later learned that Jassen has a twin brother named Leon and he wants to change the ways of the Sary and not for the better.

At the same time Gabby is given a chance to retain her wings by helping those who saw her true form. I'm not so sure where to place Gabby. Although her character was okay, I just continued reading it because what made the story more interesting for me was Leon, Nathan, and Bea. Her romantic feelings for Jassen is not one sided but it is a taboo for them to fall in love but it happened. I hated her indecisiveness regarding keeping her Sary form. In the beginning she wanted to retain them despite her failed mission but when the going get's tough she wanted to lose her wings plus she learned that she has an additional gift like Jassen.

Luckily, Jassen was able to change her mind. I like Jassen enough. It was funny and satisfying to see that he lost control of himself regaring his feelings for Gabby. And though their scenes were short it was still steamy. It's nice that he still looks out for his brother at the end even if Leon's decision regarding the Sary way's were different. Now, I understand Leon better since it was revealed why he acted the way he is but I wish there was more information behind Leon's past. It felt unsatisfying to be given just that information. I love the relationship between Nathan and Bea despite Nathan at first made the wrong choice.

They are really sweet together. I'm glad that they would be able to have their HEA. Bea's friendship with Gabby was great.

Surrender Paradise

And there is more to Bea despite her ball of energy. I liked that she accepted Gabby for the way she is and that she even cared when Gabby was shot. I would like to know more about the other Sary and I will definitely read the first two books. I also wish there would be something more about Leon.

Despite him being the bad guy I really felt for him. I received this book in exchange for an honest review LoP or Lovers of Paranormal The first time I read it, I felt shivers go up my spine! They are given a choice between being a Sary or just not existing anymore; fading away into the blackness that eventually consumes all. They are trained on an Island and their leader is referred to as th Surrender The Sky. They are trained on an Island and their leader is referred to as the Teacher. Their main task is to, well, stop people from committing suicide and help them regain their happiness lost due to the tragedies of everyday human life.

I love the concept of Guardian Angels who help people that are thinking about removing themselves from the world we know. So, Gabby is a Sary, who loses her toughest assignment, after he shoots her, forcing her to reveal her wings which violates the top rule of being a Sary. Convinced she is going to be released, or made mortal again, she meets Jassen, the future leader of the Sary. Strangely handsome and completely unattainable, he offers her an impossible bargain: Surrender the Sky was a fun book!

I thoroughly enjoyed it, from cover to cover! I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot better if it were told from the rogue Sary perspective; it would have definitely been one of a kind!

Surrender the Sky

There were a lot of exceptionally written scenes, especially when the ones where Gabby and Jassen were flying off into paradise! They just increased the level of the book for me! Oct 19, Bargain Book Reviews rated it really liked it. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Surrender the Sky is a story about Gabby, who is a Sary. A Sary is a winged, immortal creature, created from a stillborn child that was given the opportunity to become a Sary or pass on.

Their sole purpose is to save those that are severely depressed and contemplating suicide.

More By Surrender

This story was a bit darker than I had originally expected, but it worked. It dealt with some serious issues in an appropriate manner and didn't just gloss ov I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It dealt with some serious issues in an appropriate manner and didn't just gloss over them. I love the Sary race. Any time I get to read about a new creature, I get excited, like I'm discovering something new. There was a lot of information about their purpose and it felt really rounded out. For a book that deals with some darker issues, she was a ray of sunshine that helped cheer up the other characters.

The whole cast of characters seems fairly well-rounded, and their reactions were sincere and believable.

I felt for him as a character, trying to uphold the Sary traditions and roles, but his problem with showing emotions frustrated me to no end! What I wasn't fond of: For a creature as old as she was, at some moments, less emotionally mature than Bea. Especially when it came to Jassen. I understand that was uncharted waters for her, but her years of existence should have given her a little more maturity.

Also, I didn't like that once things got hard with her new gift and in her personal life, she wanted to run and argued to be released. For someone that was supposedly so dedicated to the Sary and loved flying, she was willing to give it up fairly quickly when things got hard. She also sounded like a sixteen year old, not an old immortal. I just thought her voice would be more distinguished. But, she was crucial in helping her race, so that did redeem her a bit. The only other complaint was that some of the sentences not many were phrased awkwardly and pulled me out of the story.

Jun 02, Louise Aspinall rated it really liked it. This review is also available on my blog: I went into this novel not knowing a single thing. I won this book in a giveaway, hosted by http: I was so happy that I won my fist ever giveaway from this blog, as it is amazing and I recommend every one to go check it out now!

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