Also by this author: Sacrifice, Surrender, Solemnity, Salvation
Series: The Chronicles of Servitude #1
Published by BHC Press on November 2, 2014
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Suspense
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Bobby Roland knows things he shouldn't.
Plagued with premonitions of disaster, he fights to save others’ lives. What Bobby doesn't foresee is that rescuing a stranger from death will place him in the line of fire.
He discovers a world of evil spirits and tormented souls when he becomes entangled in a madman's plot to kill the Servant, a man chosen by God to exorcise demons from the possessed. When Bobby falls under spiritual attack following the encounter, he must choose between saving others and saving himself.
Servant was my first exposure to J.S. Bailey’s work, and I must say, I am impressed. From the very first page, Bailey drew me in and had me asking questions. Who were Bobby, Phil, Randy, and Graham, and how did they all fit together? And why was “Servant” capitalized? What did that mean? I had to find out.
The Positive: An Intoxicating Plot & Strong Characters
It took me a while to read Servant, which I think contributed toward any negative feelings I had toward it. It’s a thrilling and suspenseful novel. Full of heart-pounding action and mystery that is so thought-out that my mind barely wraps around it. Writing suspense successfully is very hard to do, but Bailey does it almost flawlessly. I enjoyed the characters and how Bailey revealed their traits. There was no “bar talk” where all the characters sat down and verbally told their stories. Instead, snippets slipped during different scenes in the novel. And by shoving so many characters into one situation, that also effectively displayed how different all the characters in the novel were.
The story kept me guessing, all the way till the final few sentences. Just a warning, though…you’ll want to have book #2 handy, because Servant ends in a cliffhanger! When I read the last few lines, I almost threw my eReader across the room. Not exaggerating. I texted friends, saying, “Don’t let me start the next one. You can’t let me start the next one.” And I haven’t…yet. The only reason why I haven’t opened Sacrifice is because I don’t allow myself to start another book until I review the last one!
The Negative: Too Many Questions, Not Enough Answers
All of that being said, however, there are a few things I didn’t like. The main one was that I feel like Bailey waited too long to explain concepts that were the whole foundation of the book. When I picked up the book to start it, I hadn’t read the synopsis recently. With that information in mind, I had no idea what a “Servant” was until finishing about 40% of the book. Bailey mentioned the title but offered no explanation. I didn’t like how I didn’t truly understand the antagonist until the last couple chapters. I still don’t know the whole situation with Bobby’s roommate, Caleb.
━━━━━━━
Overall, though, I enjoyed T.S. Bailey’s Servant. It was unlike anything I had ever ready, and I mean that in a good way. Creative, fascinating, and mind-bending. It had a strong–although not well-explained–plot line that has definitely tethered me to the series. Bailey’s reeling me in with every sentence, and she’ll probably do the same for you.
And now…I go! Onward to Sacrifice!