Footnail Book 1: Genesis Awakens by Howard Haugom and Akorede Adekoya

​Review 4 star

Find It on Amazon

This review was done for an older version of this book, which was titled as Footnail Book 1: Genesis Awakens. That book is still on Amazon in paperback. The more recent version, released later in the same year, is the one linked to in the Find It on Amazon. 

Gen Isherwood has fallen away from God recently, but an epic spiritual adventure awaits when she returns to her family’s ranch in Footnail: Book 1: Genesis Awakens, a fantasy series for young adults authored by Howard Haugom and Akorede Adekoya. Part of the story is set in present-day Canada and follows Gen as she takes on her family’s magical destiny of protecting three nails that have immense spiritual and historical significance. A subplot set in the Roman Empire shows Empress Helena, mother of Constantine and ancestress of Gen, becoming entangled with the same powerful nails. The two plots are linked by Gen’s flashback visions, by a family of bodyguards who protect the women through the ages, and by a wise old man with unimaginable powers who guides both the Roman and contemporary characters. 
 
Footnail: Book 1: Genesis Awakens is well worth reading and Howard Haugom and Akorede Adekoya have successfully created a thrilling and layered story. I was drawn in by the premise of a brave girl fighting dark elements and Gen really delivered on that angle as this book is a coming-of-age story about a very interesting girl in a situation that is quite fascinating! Empress Helena is also a strong character and both she and Gen exhibit vulnerability and unexpected strength on their paths to becoming spiritual warriors in a plot that spans centuries. The villains, undead soldiers who originated in Roman times, appear in a veritable explosion of well-described fantasy battles, and the backstory about how they have always hunted the nails had me amazed and intrigued. An intense feeling of catastrophe overcome by light pervades this exciting take on Christian motifs and themes.