Beyond the Horizon by Jesseca Wheaton

Title: Beyond the Horizon
Author: Jesseca Wheaton
Genre: Fairytale Retelling/Christian Fiction/Romance
Age-Range: 12+ (upper middle grade/young adult)
Era: late 1930s (pre-WW2)
Setting: Austria
Publisher: Jesseca Wheaton
Source: from author (in exchange for honest review)
Rating: 4/5 stars
Content: 1/5. I can’t think of a lot. I, personally, had no content problems whatsoever. I guess the ‘evil stepmother’ of the story is mean. And then there is romance, but no kissing or anything. Mentions of the Nazis’ hatred of Jews (and peoples’ hatred of the Nazis), the oncoming war (I think), etc.

Beyond the Horizon by Jesseca Wheaton

Eliana longs to see the world beyond the mountains that tower above Salzburg, Austria, but knows that dream will never see such adventure- and neither will she.

Surrounded by a world of cruelty, she lives for the weekly visits of Aron, a boy she met on one of her rambles through the countryside. But as the years pass and she begins to grow older, a new and unwelcome world is opened up to her. On a fateful night at a party she vowed she’d never attend, she comes face to face with a shocking truth.

As the world around her teeters on the brink of war, Eliana struggles to figure out just where her loyalty lies; a decision that will drastically change the course of her life. Will she ever be free to see what lies beyond the horizon?

Buy on Amazon ~ Add on Goodreads

Before we go any farther, I just want to say … that cover. Wowza. It’s so gorgeous. It’s also super professional. I just adore it! I know who I’m going to go to for future covers! (Although … I know so many good cover designers!)
That was really a fantastic story! It’s a unique, interesting way of retelling the Cinderella story. I especially liked the little mystery! Absolutely fantastic. She totally had me going for a while! 😀
This is definitely one of my favorite eras! That’s partially because a lot of my favorite movies were made around this time period. Cary Grant, anyone? Anyone!? It’s just such a great era. The manners, the outfits, the sense of honor … amazing. I don’t care about the war; there were ‘good old days.’
However, this is a new setting for me to some extent. I really enjoyed it. It was hard for me to remember that the characters weren’t American sometimes … and other times I couldn’t remember this was the 1930s, not the Victorian era or some fantasy world. So there was that. It didn’t bother me a lot, though.
So … the setting could have used a little improvement, but, after all, this was a novella. How much can you fit into a novella? The answer is “not a lot.” You can only write as long as you have a plot to write about, and so it’s hard to pack in all the other stuff you need to in order to make a great story. I know I have difficulties doing it!
The characters were very well-done. I liked Eliana a lot, but Aron was my favorite. He was so sweet and kind and perfect … ack! I mean, perhaps he didn’t have faults … but I don’t care. Some characters don’t need faults to be perfect. Aron is perfect, and whoever doesn’t like can … can … eat their umbrella! 😛 Wilhelm is cool, too.
How the characters interacted … gosh, it was fantastic. I especially like Wilhelm and Elly’s interactions. Of course, Elly and Aron were adorable together (and I love how they supported each other), but Wilhelm and Elly were so much fun. 🙂
I loved SPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERS Eliana’s conversion. END OF SPOILERS It was realistically done and really sweet.
The description in this novella was amazing! The writing was, overall, really fantastic.
I’d recommend Beyond the Horizon to any lover of (fantastic!) fairytale retellings, WW2 in Europe, intricate characters, and plot-twisty plots.
~Kellyn Roth

The Blog Tour

Today and tomorrow, Jesseca is having a blog tour for the release of this novel!
Here’s the schedule, so you can know which blogs to visit when:

Friday, December 16th:

• Rebekah Ashleigh @ Rebekah Ashleigh — Review
• Soleil @ Thoughts from a Daughter of God –- Review, Book Spotlight
• Rebekah Eddy @ Rebekah’s Remarks –- Book Spotlight, Author Interview
• Kaitlyn K. @ Twin Thoughts –- Review
• Liv K. Fisher @ Whispers on the Wind –- Book Spotlight
• Faith Potts @ Stories by Firefly –- Review, Book Spotlight
• Kellyn Roth @ Reveries Reviews –- Review

Saturday, December 17th:

• Anika @ Anika’s Avenue — Review, Book spotlight
• Rebekah Morris @ Rebekah’s Reading Room –- Review
• Deborah C. @ Reading in June –- Book Spotlight
• Natasha H. @ Looking through my Lens –- Book spotlight

About the Author

Jesseca is an 18-year old daughter, sister, and a child of God. Her days are spent reading, cooking, spending time with siblings, or playing piano.  And writing, of course! At an early age words fascinated her, and her love for the printed page has only grown. She lives with her parents and seven siblings in the sunny state of Kansas, and she’s convinced there’s no place like home.

Connect with Jesseca:

Blog: Whimsical Writings

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14241334.Jesseca_Wheaton

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pacitosenoritaj/