Book Review: The Star in the East by John Adcox

     Knowing she didn't have long left, Beth was determined to give her husband one last Christmas mystery that would allow him to have something he had always wanted: his family. Leaving clues like breadcrumbs for him to follow she carefully laid the course. Along the way Gaspar will be forced to make friends, find family, and uncover a secret over 2,000 years old. 

    I received a physical copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This is one of those times that I have some regrets. Not because the book wasn't good. It was. There was just so much religion and I genuinely can't stand reading religious books. I received a lot of review requests at the time I received this one and was skimming blurbs. I should have taken my time and ended up declining this book as a result. Nonetheless, it isn't the author's fault that that isn't my preference and I didn't catch it before beginning to read. Given, having read the blurb now it is only implied that it will be religious in the vaguest sense considering it says "goes all the way back to the very first Christmas." Still, I have said my piece on it and will move on. 

    This book is extremely sad. Gaspar is an absolute wreck for most of the book after the loss of his beloved. As the book progresses he is slowly able to become more person and less a ball of grief, which is good. I don't think it would have been possible without the help of the "amazing" Ana and Will. They were great supporting characters to the story and the perfect opposition to the big bad in it. 

    This book is a standalone and everything seems to be wrapped up nicely in a pretty little bow. Everything within the book has a detailed conclusion and the reader is not left with any "what happens next?" thoughts as we already know. 

    I will say that although the book is sad and religious I enjoyed it. Primarily the first 3 quarters as that section isn't very religious at all. Minor references to his father studying nativity and estimations on the star in the east with astrology. Nothing major and didn't take away from the story. I genuinely couldn't put down the book for the first 3/4ths of it. 

    This book is available on Amazon for $7.49 by clicking here.