Reviews (XXIII)

Susan Day  (on Dec 16, 2013)

rated it 5 of 5 stars 
 

Shadows of the Past by Carmen Stefanescu brings together two very different lives of two women. Both are our heroines - one from the 15th Century and one from our modern day. Their lives are intermingled around tragedy, boundless love and the power of good magic.

The story tells the tale of a young nun's difficult life and the contentment she finds living under the protection of a convent. Genevieve decided to join the convent because there were so little choices for young women on their own. Her life there was blissful to begin with but things don't go well when the kind hearted Abbess who has sheltered and nurtured Genevieve is replaced by a wicked, soulless creature whose jealousy and persecution of the young nun is relentless. Things are further antagonized when the beautiful Genevieve falls in love with a man who the evil Abbess has intentions of seducing herself. The man is himself a man of God and this adds to the drama of the tale.

Anne is our modern hero. She's a successful business woman who is trying to repair a damaged relationship. She heads her family's business and is intelligent and articulate. Although worlds apart, the lives of the two women are intrinsically woven together in this charming book.

Meanwhile, Anne is trying to reconnect with a past lover on a hiking holiday. Unbeknown to her she finds herself in the same mysterious forest that has haunted Genevieve. Ghosts and spirits haunt her sleep and visions worry her waking hours. They are her 'Shadows of the Past'.

Ms Stefanescu is able to bring her readers two different stories and lace them together to produce an intriguing and interesting tale. I was able to appreciate the both worlds represented here and I easy became entranced with the suspense and mystery evoked in this absorbing tale.

I am giving this five stars and I am looking forward to reading more from Carmen Stefanescu.

The Next Big Thing Book Hop

I would like to give a big thank you to Leti Del Mar author of the delightful The Inadvertent Thief, for tagging me to be part of The Next Big Thing Book Hop.

This is where one Author tags another to talk a bit about his or her current project.  So read on to get an insider's look at my newest novel and discover the work of some fellow authors! Leti, thank you for giving me the opportunity to introduce: Shadows of the Past 

  

1. What is the title of your book?

 Shadows of the Past

 

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I read a small article in a Romanian newspaper about a haunted mountain in England. The souls of two sinners, a nun and a priest who break their vows and elope, can’t find their rest. The tourists visiting that mountainous area hear agonizing moans during the night.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Paranormal - the genre I feel comfortable writing. I am attracted by everything that has a link to karmic retribution, to past lives. I believe in reincarnation and in special powers we, humans, possess even if we aren't aware of it and so can't put these powers to use. Genevieve, the leading character in Shadows of the Past, can feel if the person in front of her is a good or evil one, while Anne has premonitions and visions.  I do believe in ghosts. I consider them to be wandering spirits who can find no eternal rest, the same as Genevieve couldn't, because they have not fulfilled their mission during their existence in flesh and blood on earth.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

 Jordana Spiro, playing the leading part in The Mob’s Doctor, is the best actress to impersonate Genevieve. Jordana is fragile in appearance, looks like a kindhearted person ready to help those next to her, yet she’s determined and brave. 

The Abbess should be played by Madeline Stowe from the series Revenge, while Dan Stevens from the series Downton Abbey is the perfect Andrew.

 5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Shadows of the Past - the story of Genevieve and Anne. Jumping from past to present and back, it focuses on the lows and highs of the two, alternatively revealing the hardships, passion, truth or betrayal they meet. Their destinies seem to weave together, although they live in different epochs. 

 6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

The book is represented by Wild Child Publishing from the USA.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Not very long, I think. Around three months. Then I passed it through several beta readers, native English speakers, as vocabulary usage may become a bit tricky for me, a Romanian.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I can't really say. Every author wants to consider her/his work as unique. However, if I think better, I would say Adam and Eve by a Romanian classic writer Liviu Rebreanu. 

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I was telling you about the article I read. The moment I put down the newspaper I knew that I had to write the story of the two unfortunate lovers. I wrote a poem first, a ballad. Later, I thought that just a poem was not enough. I felt Genevieve’s story must be told in detail. This is how Shadows of the Past came to life.

10. What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

The combination of paranormal elements with history and with Wicca beliefs and suspense. The twists and turns that keep the reader guessing to the end. And above all the romantic element that is the main thread all along the story.

Check out the next stop of this Book Hop and visit Cami Skiba and who talks about her project, Born in Sin

and

Ella Medler as she talks about her book, Eternal Island. 

 Make sure to check out these great reads!

Reviews (IX)

February 21, 2013 - by Liz (http://www.thebookwranglers.com/p/who-we-are.html)

4 of 5 stars

Read from February 19 to 21, 2013

We start off with a quick look into the life of Genevieve, a 15th century nun who is meeting the love of her life, a priest named Andrew to talk about leaving the Abbey. When you start the book, you think that Genevieve and Andrew's love is the reason they decide to leave the church. But once the story really starts rolling you see that Genevieve has not had an easy life. In fact, she's struggled through more than most people could handle in a lifetime by the time she's just 14. She thought she'd found her place in the world when she arrived at the Abbey and met the Mother Superior who was "more mother, and less superior". Living happily there for four years, she learn to love her surroundings, her fellow nuns, and the lifestyle. But when a new Abbess comes to take over, Genevieve's hard-won life of peace is changed forever.
We also follow the life of Anne, a woman on vacation in England with her former lover Neil. They are avid mountaineers and we join them mid-trek through a rather ominous forest. The purpose of the trip is to reunite them after a two year separation due to infidelity on Neil's part. When Anne starts having strange visions of a certain 15th century nun, she learns more and more about what happened to Genevieve all those years ago. Anne wonders about what part she plays in Genevieve's life and death as they unravel the nun's story.

The two stories are equally compelling because something is connecting these two women who lived over 500 years apart ...the question is: Are they joined by mutual love or desperate hate?


The Best Thing: The dual narrative was done really, really well. Especially with the added challenge of flashbacks and paranormal activity. I was impressed by the masterful way the stories were melded and the seamless historical elements that were included throughout. The research and knowledge on a range of subjects that was shown in this book was impressive for the genre its in.


The Worst Thing: I felt there was a problem with the modern romance part of the story. The character of Neil didn't seem authentic. There was no real insight into who he was as a person and, instead, he seemed to be a tool for relaying bits of information and a prop to fill the reincarnation parts of the story. The romantic relationships in the story came off as a bit hokey in general, which was disappointing because the story itself was such a fascinating one. It was also surprising because the paranormal aspects of the story were flawlessly executed.


Overall: Definitely worth a read and it serves as an interesting book in terms of crossing genre lines. I'm an avid young adult, fantasy, and classic novelist, so to read and truly enjoy a paranormal, historical romance was a wonderful surprise! 4 out of 5.

Reviews (IV)

December 31, 2012 - by Josie Epping  (http://josies-haven.blogspot.com/2012/12/shadows-of-past-by-carmen-stefanescu.html) 

Shadows of The Past
by Carmen Stefanescu
Historical Fiction / Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Wild Child Publishing
Pub. Date: December 4, 2012
My Rating: ♥♥♥♥


Summary ~from Goodreads~

When Anne and Neil leave on a one-week holiday hoping to reconcile after a two-year separation, little do they know that destiny has other plans for them. Their discovery of human bones and a bejeweled cross in the hollow of a tree open the door to the supernatural realm and the anguished life of Genevieve, a nun from medieval England.

Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve her eternal rest?

The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.

My Review:

I would like to thank Carmen Stefanescu for giving me a copy of her wonderful book.

I like to read  historical fiction that is set in the Middle Ages to the Victorian Era. I also love to read Paranormal Romance. So when I read the summary I became intrigued and I definitely wanted to read this book.

Shadows of the Past started out strong and it continued at a wonderful pace through out the book. The main characters Anne in the present and Genevieve from the past were written well. Anne is a strong woman who has decided to reconcile with her boyfriend, During their trip she experiences dreams and visions of a lady from the past, which is Genevieve, whose story needs to be told to give her peace. Genevieve is from a time that being a woman is difficult and on top of that, faces many tragedies in her life. She struggles to survive with evil that keeps crossing her path. They both meet friends along their travels.

This is a story with suspense, mystery and romance. It made me cry and it put me on edge. Genevive's story became difficult to read at times. At the last chapter everything becomes full circle and seems to be heading towards a happy ending, then as I finished the last page, it left me with questions and eager to read the next book.

Check out her website:
http://shadowspastmystery.blogspot.ro/

Reviews (III)

December 9, 2012 - by Paulette Mahurin (http://thepersecutionofmildreddunlap.wordpress.com/blog/)

Excellent Story Telling

Carmen Stefanescu’s Shadows of the Past was a great read that I enjoyed from the first page through the last sentence, that I was sorry to see end; I tried to savor this one, make it last, that’s how entertaining a read it is. The author writes a tightly worded, intelligent, story, a story within a story, then and now, from a past that needed resolution in a modern day couple.

The dreams and visions the protagonist, Anne, experienced set the stage for the unfolding of a story, brilliantly told, moving through her as a past life apparition, Genevieve. The character development of Anne and her partner Neil, and other story counterparts is really well done, but the star of he story is the tragic Genevieve, as if taken from the pages of Shakespeare, one can not imagine less unfortunate issues to befall a human being, and in counterpoint is the lusciously evil antagonist the Abbess, who you read page after page hoping she gets hers.

The pages invite the reader in with a wanting to know what is going to happen to Anne, to Genevieve, and page after page as the tension builds the reader is not disappointed. This is an excellently crafted work, by an author who clearly knows how to write, who understands literature, and knows how to tell a compellingly great story. I loved this one.  (original post)