Why are enemies to lovers romances so loved, so powerful? Why does the song FREE from KPop Demon Hunters and the meaning behind it, and the story of Rumi and Jinu from the same movie hit so hard? Rumi sees something more in Jinu, something more in herself besides their pasts, and the mistakes and guilt Jinu is trapped in.
Jerron in my book Survivor holds onto his guilt, and he works everyday to be a better man than he was before. Nyve learns a different way of life from him, and she sees something more in him, the way Rumi does Jinu.
But why does this message impact us? Why do we love enemies to lovers so much? Or at least romances where characters with heavy pasts and guilt end up becoming free?
It’s because of the True Story, the ultimate enemies to lovers story. God saw us in our sin, in our guilt, and He loves us enough to set us free forever by dying on the cross and rising again three days later. He sacrificed Himself for us – He saw something in us worth saving. And now, our pasts, our mistakes, He wipes it all clean. He gives us a new beginning, a fresh start.
He loves us regardless of who we were before, what we once were. He wants us to be free to have a better, new outlook on life. His hand is open, waiting for us to take it. That’s the message. Whether the creators of Kpop Demon Hunters meant it or not, it’s there.
It’s why the fall of Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side when he became Darth Vader is one of the greatest character arcs of all time. It’s why his redemption at the end of Star Wars Episode 6 is so powerful.
It’s why Damon and Elena from the Vampire Diaries TV show is one of my favorite romances – Damon starts off as an evil killer, but over the course of the show, he changes. Elena’s love changes him. He tries to be a better man, better than who he was.
In real life, people don’t always change. It’s why the enemies to lovers trope isn’t a healthy trope to expect in real life. But in real life, we still have a choice – to be better than we were the day before, to live our lives in a way that pleases the Lord. We’ll never be perfect in this life, and our works and good behavior will never be enough to save us because we’ll never be perfect. That’s why we need a Savior. But we can and should do our best to obey Him and to leave our pasts behind us. No matter where we come from, who we’ve been, what we’ve done, God’s love is enough to forgive us, to truly set us Free.
That’s the message of Survivor. That’s the message of Hunter, of Jared trying to be more than the killer he’s always been.
It’s the message of Nsi from Shifter learning to be set free from her fear.
It’s the message of Samurai, of Shinji learning the true way of honor and the sacrifice of facing his past.
It’s the message of Assassin, of Aidan killing whoever the king wants dead and a forbidden romance with a princess shows him a different life.
It’s the message of Rogue, of a mage tied to a black key trying to defeat his past.
It’s the message of this entire Valiant Series, of the Chosen heroes Radon searches for, offering them a different way, a chance to save the galaxy and make a difference. Some agree, some reject him, and others may lose their lives to save everything, but the message, the stories …
It all points to Him.
And right now, you have 65 hours left to grab Survivor and the other Valiant books. This Limited Collector’s Edition will be gone. Your chance to have your name in the book dedication page, to get illustrations and all the books together with other goodies will be gone.
In this game, players must fight to survive. The Nyclimes call it tradition. Everyone else calls it a nightmare.
Every year, the Nyclimes captures fifty humans and throw them into a twisted, brutal game of survival where the rules are simple: fight to live or die.
Contestants must battle in pairs through deadly obstacle courses, brutal puzzles, and blood-soaked combat—while relying on allies they can’t always trust. They must find food to prevent starvation at camp while navigating shifting strategies, fragile alliances, and opponents willing to do anything to win. When the Nyclime host introduces powerful crystals into the game, everyone wrestles with the temptations of lying, stealing, and joining their enemies—doing whatever it takes to live.
Every choice could be fatal.
The Nyclimes’ twisted game breaks everyone it touches. They’ll betray friends to get ahead. They’ll compromise everything they believe in just to survive. Because in this game, only monsters win.
In the end, only two will make it out.
And they won’t be the same.
✅️Multiple POVs 👫
✅️Found Family 🥰
✅️Deadly challenges💀
✅️Alliances and Betrayals 🫣
✅️Lies and secrets 🤫
✅️An evil regime 😈
✅️Romantic Subplots ❤️
And what’s so special about the collector’s edition only available in this Kickstarter that you won’t want to miss it?
✅️6 illustrations designed by @moimoi13.art
✅️A detailed character guide with 12 character sketches designed by @hapruitt
✅️An exclusive signing and numbering page
✅️A spotify playlist page
✅️A short bonus story
✅️10k words of deleted scenes
We’ve unlocked three stretch goals. So far, backers will have their names in a special dedication page in Survivor’s Main release when it launches in November. And backers will be sent a special Survivor themed bookmark and an illustration bookmark that they voted on – physical bookmarks to physical backers and digital versions to digital backers.
And now we’ve unlocked the third stretch goal!
Which means all backers will get to vote on which two prints they want – physical prints for physical backers and digital versions for digital backers!
Now we’re on our way to the fourth stretch goal!
Which means as soon as we get to $2000 pledged, I’ll contact moimoi13.art and have him design a BRAND NEW illustration. So far, we are just $375 away, so let’s do this!
This is your LAST CHANCE to be part of something special – to get all of this before it’s GONE.
And if you back, don’t forget to join my giveaway on Instagram by commenting “Backed” on the giveaway post – pinned at the top of my Instagram
