Book Review // The Healer Of The Brigade By Michaela Bush

Title: The Healer Of The Brigade

Author: Michaela Bush

Series: Legends Of Lanaria Book 2

Genre: Christian Fantasy

Age Category: Adult

Blurb

A mysterious healer and an injured soldier, both caught in the crossfire of war.

Aurelie was exiled to Absricht at a young age, cast away by a father who swore she was cursed. Now, with no one to trust but herself, her life is thrown into upheaval when war approaches. But Aurelie knew the war would come.

Word of Princess Evangeline’s return has swept the globe, and a mysterious enemy soon emerges, bent on conquering Lanaria and its surrounding nations. Horace is the first to board the warship sent to aid Absricht, determined to find out why the little country landed in the crosshairs so soon.

When Horace arrives injured at Aurelie’s doorstep, she has a decision to make. Does she hold the key that will end the war? How many secrets will she need to sacrifice in the process? Meanwhile, Horace is quickly flung into deeper waters as he realizes there is more than meets the eye behind the war: as both prophecies and traitors emerge surrounding Lanarian soil, will he unravel the enigma in time?

My Review

I was so excited to return to this series because I absolutely enjoyed the first book, The Lady Of Lanaria which I read and reviewed back in 2021 here. The first book was a Rapunzel retelling and the main characters were Evangeline, the lost princess of Lanaria and Gabe who was one of the king's guards. In this second book in the series, we follow new characters Aurelie and Horace while still getting updates about the previous couple in book 1.

Aurelie who was born with a disability has gone through so much pain and rejection in her life. Her mother was sexually assaulted by a soldier and later forced to marry him, but after Aurelie's mother is killed for her gift of foreknowledge, Aurelie's father casts her out because he believes her disability is a curse and he abandons her in Absricht- a country that borders with Lanaria. Left on her own to survive, Aurelie, who also has a God-given gift of healing, learns to live a life of seclusion in her cottage with her horse, Stumps. The only other friend Aurelie has is an elderly man called Ben, who helps her with getting food. But soon, Aurelie's life is disrupted when war breaks out in Absricht and brings an injured soldier right to her doorstep.

Horace is close friends with Gabe (the main character in book one and now prince consort of Lanaria) and he also works for the royal guard. When a mysterious enemy threatens to conquer Lanaria and the surrounding nations, Horace is the first to board the ship to Absricht and he is given a special task to figure out the reason behind the war and who the enemy is. After taking thirteen-year old Robby under his wing, Horace sets off on his mission, but soon gets injured by the enemy and Robby takes him to Aurelie's cottage for help.

At first, Aurelie is skeptical about these two soldiers because she doesn't want to be taken advantage of, but the more she gets to know Horace, the more she realises how kind and well-meaning he is. Aurelie finally uses her gift to heal Horace of his wounds and he promises to keep her safe from the war, which means she has to abandon her cottage and her private life and go with them before the enemy gets to her.

I loved the relationship between Horace and Aurelie. He was so kind to her, never judged her and always encouraged her to see her worth in God. Aurelie had a lot of internal battles to deal with which came about because of her upbringing and everything she had been through, but God used Horace and even Robby to help her realise that in spite of her disability, she was still precious in God's eyes and God was still capable of using her for His glory. The romance between Horace and Aurelie is slow-burn but I enjoyed every bit of them getting to know each other first and then transitioning from being friends to being betrothed. Horace was an absolute gentleman and he treated Aurelie with so much respect it was impossible not to like him.

I loved that the gift of healing was explored in this book and it was specifically portrayed in a good light as a gift from God. I also loved that even though Aurelie had this gift, it was still shown that she was just a vessel and God was the One who was working through her to heal others and it was always His will that prevailed in the end. In this series, there is a mention of magic but it is always portrayed as dark and not of God.

I also loved the friendships depicted in this book--particularly that between Horace and Robby and how they looked out for each other during the war. I also loved the role Ben had to play in Aurelie's life and then subsequently in Horace and Robby's lives. Even Aurelie's horse, Stumps was a great addition to the book and a good companion to Aurelie. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story and with Horace finding some clues about the enemy behind the war, I'm excited to find out more about that in book 3, which I will be reading very soon.

I definitely recommend the first two books in this series if you are looking for Christian fantasy books with solid friendships and cute romance. The books are available for purchase on Amazon here. You can also connect with the author on instagram here.

If you are looking for contemporary Christian romance books with multicultural characters whose stories explore deep themes, then check out my books here.

Thanks so much for reading.

God bless.

Joanny 💕