Review of Sustainer’s Smile by Erika Mathews (Write for Life Blog Tour)

Suffering suffocates her soul. 

How can she ever smile again?

A helpless newborn…that’s exactly how twenty-four-year-old Liliora Ellith feels in her efforts to speak up on behalf of the youngest members of Taerna’s pleasure-driven society. Her tender heart for the defenseless and deep aversion to conflict throw Liliora’s soul into turmoil when tragedy opens her eyes to the quiet yet heartrending war on Taerna’s babies—both born and unborn. Adon Olam’s Word coupled with a secret in her own past fuel her determination. All she wants is to make peace with her past and discover her future among the cradles of unwanted babies. However, the challenges ahead of her threaten to send her spiraling into hopeless depression time and again. Saving innocent lives from the crush of the destroyer and raising a generation in the ways of Adon Olam seem more impossible than ever. At the very end of herself, will the sufferings of her and her babies prove to be anything less than the catalyst for complete disaster?

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More info!

• It’s Book Four of Truth from Taerna but it can easily be read as a standalone.
• It’s a prolife novel.
• It tells the story of Liliora Ellith, who makes peace with her past and discovers her future among the cradles of Taerna’s unwanted babies, born and unborn.
• It’s a kingdom adventure fiction novel.
• It’s clean and family-friendly, though it’s recommended for teens and up due to dealing with the issue of abortion. 
• Its launch date is October 21 but it’s available for preorder right now!

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Find it here!

Add to Goodreads

View or Buy Sustainer’s Smile on Amazon

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My Review

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


When I pick up a book, I want to be able to gain something from it. I want that book to address real issues, to tackle tough topics, to spread truth. And that’s exactly what this book intends. Abortion is a terrible evil, and I am so thankful to see authors standing up and showing the truth through fiction.

First off, the characters. Liliora seemed a little bit “perfect,” I suppose, at the beginning of the book. However, as the story progressed, Liliora encountered struggles and really did grow through the book. So my earlier fears were unfounded – yay! Liliora had the predominant POV, but a few other side characters also had some scenes. Rita was … interesting, and while she made some bad mistakes, it was nice to see her character arc beginning by the end of the book. Now, Trig? Not a fan of that dude. He was okay up until a certain point in the story, and after that, I really disliked him. (view spoiler)[ I’d forgiven him for the deal with Rita, but when he threw out the whole thing about another kid out of wedlock – while dating Rita, no less – it was just a bit much. (hide spoiler)] Anyhow. Liliora’s brothers seemed like nice guys, and I appreciated their kindness and support of their sister. And that Madame Togni person? Ugh. She doesn’t even deserve commentary, so we’re moving on.

The plot wasn’t action-packed, but there was enough character development and happenings that the story moved at a nice pace. Some expected things – some really hard things – happened in the middle to end of the book which I was not prepared for! There also times I needed to shake the characters and tell them to make better decisions, but everything came together pretty well in the end.

And now, the theme. I loved the solid pro-life stance Erika took in this book. We need more pro-life books on the market! While exposing the evil of abortion was a very main theme, there were other great lessons throughout the book. I really liked how Liliora knew she had to do something to stop abortion, and she actually did something about it at her own expense. Other themes included trusting the Lord’s Will, the importance of prayer (so imperative!), and God’s sustaining grace for what He calls us to. This book wasn’t one of those Christian fiction stories that are hardly Christian, and I was thankful for that!

Overall, this book did well exposing the evils of abortion and the importance of doing something about it, whether that’s praying or helping women in need or literally saving babies. Although this book was technically fantasy, there’s no magic or anything weird – it actually felt a lot like a historical novel in some ways, but just in a land with a different name. For some reason, I think it’s easier for us to look at a different place, a different world, and see harsh reality even more clearly. I am so thankful for an author who has written a book standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

Thanks to the author for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a review.

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Giveaway!

Win a signed paperback of Promise’s Prayer (Truth from Taerna #1) and other fun prizes! Enter here.

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Write for Life Blog Tour Schedule

October 1

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – tour intro

Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness – Why I’m Prolife

October 2

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – Read the First Chapter for Free

Grace A. Johnson at Of Blades and Thorns – Thank You For Taking a Stand

Katja Labonté at Little Blossoms for Jesus – Why I’m Pro-Life

October 4

Joy C. Woodbury at Discipleship With Joy – Because of His Death, We Live

Joy C. Woodbury on Instagram, Goodreads, and Pinterest

October 5

Madisyn at Madi’s Musings – Responding To Abortion Arguments, Part 1

October 6

Jen Rose at Living Outside the Lines – Sustainer’s Smile spotlight

Akira Rodriguez at With Joyful Praise – Five Ways to Get Involved in the Pro-Life Movement

Grace A. Johnson on Goodreads, Pinterest, and email

October 7

Eva-Joy Ruth Schonhaar  – Sustainer’s Smile review

Katja Labonté on Instagram, Goodreads, Pinterest, and email

October 8 – To Save a Life Cover Reveal

Kylie Hunt at Kylie Hunt – The Film Director’s Wife – Sustainer’s Smile spotlight

Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness – One Life At A Time

Kylie Hunt on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest

October 9

Grace A. Johnson at Of Blades and Thorns – Sustainer’s Smile spotlight

Kylie Hunt at Kylie Hunt – The Film Director’s Wife – To Save a Life post

October 11

Joy C. Woodbury at Discipleship With Joy – Sustainer’s Smile review

Katja Labonté at Little Blossoms for Jesus – Sustainer’s Smile character spotlight: Liliora

Joy C. Woodbury on Instagram, Goodreads, and Pinterest

October 12 

Madisyn at Madi’s Musings – Ten Responses to Common Abortion Arguments Part 2

Lauren Compton at Novels That Encourage – prolife post

Madisyn on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and MeWe

October 13

Jen Rose at Living Outside the Lines – Sustainer’s Smile character spotlight: Carita

Akira Rodriguez at With Joyful Praise – Sustainer’s Smile review

October 14

Vanessa Hall at Vanessa Hall – Sustainer’s Smile review

Stephanie Agnes-Crockett at Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase – Sustainer’s Smile post

Katja Labonté on Instagram, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Email

Stephanie Agnes-Crockett on Facebook

October 15

Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness – Sustainer’s Smile spotlight

Kelsey Bryant at Kelsey’s Notebook – Sustainer’s Smile character spotlight: Rita

Jen Rose on Instagram, Goodreads, and Email

October 16

Brianna Burden at Singing in the Rain – prolife post

Grace A. Johnson at Book Nations – guest post by Erika

October 18

Joy C. Woodbury at Discipleship With Joy – To Save a Life review

Katja Labonté at Little Blossoms for Jesus – Sustainer’s Smile review

Rachel Lautermilch at The Christian Thinker: pro-life post

Joy C. Woodbury on Instagram, Goodreads, and Pinterest

Esther Filbrun on Facebook and Twitter

October 19

Rebekah Morris at Read Another Page – Sustainer’s Smile review

Lauren Compton at Novels That Encourage – Sustainer’s Smile author interview

Martha Abilene at Beyond the Literary Horizon – prolife post

Madisyn on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and MeWe

Hope Ann on Instagram and Facebook

October 20

Kristina Hall at Kristina Hall – To Save a Life review

Jen Rose at Living Outside the Lines – Sustainer’s Smile review

Akira Rodriguez at With Joyful Praise – To Save a Life review

Vanessa Hall at Vanessa Hall – prolife post

Vanessa Hall on Goodreads

Faith Blum on Instagram and Facebook

October 21 – Sustainer’s Smile release day!

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – Sustainer’s Smile special author post

Kristina Hall at Kristina Hall  – Sustainer’s Smile review

Grace A. Johnson at Book Nations – author interview with Erika

Kellyn Roth at Lilacs & Reveries – Sustainer’s Smile spotlight

Martha Abilene at Beyond the Literary Horizon – Sustainer’s Smile review

Katja Labonté on Instagram, Goodreads, Pinterest, and email

Lauren Compton on Goodreads

Jen Rose on Instagram, Goodreads, and email

Grace A. Johnson on Goodreads, Pinterest, and email

Kellyn Roth on Instagram and Facebook

Faith Blum on Instagram and Facebook

Kelsey Bryant on Facebook

October 22 – To Save a Life release day!

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – To Save a Life release post

Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness – TSAL spotlight & author interview with Ryana

Grace A. Johnson at Of Blades and Thorns – To Save a Life spotlight

Kellyn Roth at Lilacs & Reveries – To Save a Life spotlight

Martha Abilene at Beyond the Literary Horizon – To Save a Life review

Katja Labonté on Instagram, Goodreads, Pinterest, and email

Lauren Compton on Goodreads

Jen Rose on Instagram, Goodreads, and email

Grace A. Johnson on Goodreads, Pinterest, and email

Kellyn Roth on Instagram and Facebook

Faith Blum on Instagram and Facebook

Kelsey Bryant on Facebook

October 23

Grace A. Johnson at Book Nations – To Save a Life spotlight

Stephanie Agnes-Crockett at Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase – To Save a Life review

Abigail Harris at Read Review Rejoice – To Save a Life spotlight and SS character interview: Claera

Stephanie Agnes-Crockett on Facebook

Abigail Harris on Facebook and MeWe

October 25

Courtenay Burden at Sheep Among Wolves – prolife post

Katja Labonté at Little Blossoms for Jesus – To Save a Life review

Tara at Tower in the Plains – prolife post

Tara on Instagram, Facebook, email, and Goodreads

October 26

Tara at Tower in the Plains – Sustainer’s Smile review and character spotlight: Tae

Lauren Compton at Novels That Encourage – To Save a Life review

Rebekah Morris at Read Another Page – To Save a Life review

Tara on Instagram, Facebook, email, and Goodreads

October 27

Tara at Tower in the Plains – To Save a Life review

Jen Rose at Living Outside the Lines – To Save a Life review

Tara on Instagram, Facebook, email, and Goodreads

October 28

Kaitlyn Krispense at Kaitlyn Krispense, Author – Sustainer’s Smile, To Save a Life, & prolife 

Vanessa Hall at Vanessa Hall – To Save a Life spotlight

Tara on Instagram, Facebook, email, and Goodreads

October 29

Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness – Author Interview: Erika Mathews

Kelsey Bryant at Kelsey’s Notebook – To Save a Life post

Jen Rose on Instagram, Goodreads, and email

October 30

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – tour wrapup

Grace A. Johnson at Of Blades and Thorns – To Save a Life review

November 1: Memory’s Mind (Truth from Taerna #5) cover reveal