It's a dark, snowy night when Laura awakens at the bottom of the staircase with a horrible headache and no idea how she got there. To make matters worse, she is alone in the house, snowed in by a blizzard, with no way to call for help. While exploring the house in a desperate attempt to trigger the return of her memory, she discovers a small room beneath the basement. She steps inside, and an unknown force instantly transports her to a mysterious, pastoral land.

She finds a quaint village that at first glance seems like a peaceful place; but Laura soon learns that peace is merely an illusion. Why are terrible rumors circulating about the village's leader? Why do the villagers worship a sinister deity who bears no resemblance to her own powerful and loving God? Most importantly, will she ever remember who she is and find her way home? In her quest for answers, she uncovers a myriad of forbidden secrets that might keep her trapped in The Land Beyond The Portal. (excerpt back cover).

In the debut novel from J.S. Bailey, The Land Beyond The Portal, she eloquently weaves a magical story that draws the reader into the land beyond the portal, to that of Sparkling Falls. Here she finds that she is living in a different time frame and one that appears to be from the past. Laura is befriended by a two small children who find her wandering alone in the forest. Still not knowing who she is, she finds comfort in the Owens family who offers her a place to stay in their home. The Owens family are considered the nobility of the town and thus are still dealing with a tragic loss of their younger son who wandered away one night.

Now the town learns of rumors being spread that the Owens family wants the number of children limited to just two in each family, and people wonder if their younger child was killed or murdered by their father. Laura can't accept the rumors and stands to defend the family against those that want to remove him from power in the town. The one thing she isn't expecting is the one person the town worships, who goes by the name of Litchfield, is about to make her life very difficult since coming to Sparkling Falls. She will have to learn to trust God to help her figure out just what sinister evil is lurking beyond the borders of this land.

I received this book compliments of J.S. Bailey for my honest review and was completely drawn into the fantasy world she created in her debut novel. I wasn't quite sure where this was going, or how it would wind up and found myself second guessing the outcome before I got to the end. Boy was I ever wrong. She keeps the reader wondering just how this will all tie together before the book ends and keeps them engaged in the story and characters til the end. My only disappointment, is that I finished it. Now I'll definitely be looking for more from J.S. Bailey in the future. If you love a bit of Science Fiction and Fantasy to your reading genre, then this is not one to be missed. A perfect 5 out of 5 stars! ( )