Reviews (XVIII)

Terri Talley Venters's review Posted on Goodreads and rated 5 of 5 stars 
This review is from: Shadows of the Past (Kindle Edition)

Read from September 22 to 24, 2013

In the prologue of Shadows of the Past, we meet the young, medieval nun named Genevieve who lives in an Abbey in rural England. The remote Abbey is only accessible via the cursed forest. We also meet a young visiting priest named Andrew and catch a glimpse of their dire circumstances. 


In a parallel love story, we fast forward to modern day England and meet Anne and Neil. They’re attempting to rekindle their love affair after suffering a brutal, two-year hiatus. After getting lost in the woods, actually the cursed forest, they battle the elements, starvation, and ghosts of the past.

Carmen takes us on a journey of the young nun, Genevieve. Starting from her childhood, we follow Genevieve’s path to the Abbey. We experience her hardships in her childhood, and then again at the Abbey where the corrupt convent leader, is out to get her with her abusive power and evil worships.

In the modern day setting, we follow Anne and Neil’s journey through the cursed forest. Led by ghosts haunting Anne’s dreams, she discovers an old skeleton wearing a bejeweled cross. Anne senses the skeleton and the tormented ghost are one in the same. The modern day and medieval stories weave together to rekindle love and triumph over evil.

Carmen’s fantastic writing paints vivid pictures, transporting you to the medieval Abbey and the cursed forest. I felt like I was right there with the wonderful characters she created.

I loved reading two stories at once. The modern day characters, Anne and Neil, and the star-crossed lovers of the past, Genevieve and Andrew. I couldn’t put this book down because I needed to know how the two stories truly connect over five-hundred years later.

I loved her creativity with the wood anemone, bejeweled cross, and past lives. I highly recommend this fast-paced, page turning tale and can’t wait to read more of Carmen’s stories.
Buy links
 Wildchildpublishing
Amazon

Me

I am back!

I want to thank all my friends, fans and readers who sent, in a difficult period for me, their prayers, best wishes and positive thoughts. Obviously they worked. THANK YOU! Thank you ! Thank you!

Carmen

 

 

 

Reviews (XVII)

Cassandra Ulrich's review   
Posted on Goodreads and rated 5 stars
This review is from: Shadows of the Past (Kindle Edition)

“Shadows of the Past” by Carmen Stefanescu is a riveting story about souls reborn in a plight to overcome evil. Genevieve, a nun living at an abbey in the 1400s, did the one thing she promised would never happen. She fell in love. What’s worse, the man, Andrew, was a priest. Even more surprising is that he had also fallen in love with her. He promised he would return for her so they could renounce their vows and marry. Fear gripped her heart when he didn’t show up on time, especially after finding the resident gardener dead in a small house on the premises. She had to get away from Sister Clementa, the Abbess who only meant her ill and the cursed forest that brought death to anyone who entered.

By itself, this plot spiked my interest, but the next chapter introduced another couple, Anne and Neil, with their own drama in the present time. Anne separated from Neil for two years after she caught him with her best friend, Gillian. In an effort to reconcile, Anne agreed to join Neil on a special trip to the country where they could rekindle their love. Wandering around the side of a mountain, unable to find the hotel where Neil had made reservations, they set up camp for the night. That was when Anne experienced her first dream of a mournful Genevieve. Soon after Anne attempted to help this sad nun from the past, the mean Sister Clementa arrived in spirit form to destroy anyone who dared connect to the man she could never have – in this case, Neil the reincarnate Andrew.

With each chapter, the story revealed more secrets which kept me turning each page. I enjoyed that each era had its own chapter, helping me connect how the past events affected the present day relationships and supernatural occurrences.

I recommend “Shadows of the Past” to anyone interested in a meaty story with twists and shocking turns. Genevieve’s story does not leave one’s heart untouched. The cast of characters are definitely memorable.
Buy links
Amazon 
wildchildpublishing

Reviews (XVI)

Review by Kit Wylde   Posted on Goodreads and rated 4 stars
This review is from: Shadows of the Past (Kindle Edition)


Anne and her boyfriend Neil are on vacation in England to reconcile. What is supposed to be a quick hike to a romantic inn turns into a nightmare. One night next to a forest that emanates evil draws Anne into a tragedy that played itself out over 500 years before. Genevieve, a 15th century nun, visits Anne and beckons her to follow. Anne cannot resist and finds herself in the forest, drawn to a giant oak tree. This vision proves to be a dream, but now Anne is compelled to discover the story of Genevieve and set her free, if she can. Caught in a freak, violent thunderstorm, Neil and Anne seek refuge in an abbey ruin. But the ruin is not without secrets, secrets that could see both of them killed. For an evil stalks what should be blessed ground, and it seeks to prevent the two lovers from reconciliation and Anne from helping Genevieve.

Stefanescu has done her research. The 15th century was not a romantic time period, and Stefanescu brings it to life in all its “glory.” Beginning less than ten years before the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition, superstition and fear ran rampant and being branded a witch meant certain death. The corruption in the church at this time is legendary and eventually led to Martin Luther, his 95 Theses, and the Protestant Reformation in 1517. The plague still cropped up randomly throughout Europe and England, wiping out entire villages. While the Renaissance had begun in other parts of Europe, it was just filtering into England as the War of the Roses was ongoing, only ending with the death of King Richard II at Bosworth Field in 1485.

In short, this was not an easy time to live.

Against this backdrop, we meet Genevieve, whose life is not surprisingly filled with desperation, sorrow, prejudice, and struggle. We follow her life through its many tragedies and few triumphs. As we do, we can only marvel at her resilient spirit, her ability to continue to love even though she has lost so much, and her desire to live despite it all. Finally, when all seems hopeless, she finds true love. But it is a forbidden love doomed from the outset as she is a nun and he is a priest. What will become of them?

The author does an excellent job seamlessly toggling back and forth between the story of Anne and Genevieve. I am more drawn to Anne’s story than Genevieve’s. This is because of the flowery prose in Genevieve’s section. Although this type of prose is indicative of the time period, it is not to my taste. That would be my only quibble with the book, even as I understand the reasoning behind it.

Still, this is a compelling story. I read it quickly and wanted to find out what became of Genevieve’s spirit and Anne and Neil’s relationship. I would gladly read a second book, if there is to be one. (The author certainly left an opening for a sequel.)

I would recommend it to people who enjoy atmospheric stories of the paranormal, love, passion, and history.

Book Reviews (XVI)

Book review: Glad Tithings by R.E.Wood

My Review

Glad Tithings is chilling and atmospheric. The plot and characters, especially Jill and Rick, are very well developed.  Jill and Rick the fifty-year-old city slickers leave behind the bustle of the big city and seek a quiet retirement life. They buy a country house, whose former owners are said to have died in a car crash six months before.

Jill taught school and tutored math for extra money. Rick worked as an insurance broker and also brokered leasing and financing deals for commercial clients. They’d spent twenty-eight years in a four room apartment, and now their dream of rural life was coming true with a spacious home that sat on ten acres of land awaiting them. It seemed a world apart from the life they knew, but it was their dream and they were making it happen.

But aren't appearances deceptive, most of the time? Parrish is far from being the peaceful, idyllic rural area as Jill and Rick think at first. It won't take them long to realize something is a bit odd about the community. The waitress Connie, the preacher and the sheriff behave in an unusual way towards the two new inhabitants of Parrish. Their every movement is watched and controlled. Little by little, the most desired retirement peace turns into nightmare. Tension builds slowly and gradually, as Rick tries to unravel the secrets and dangers hovering over the small town, at the same time making great efforts to save his twenty-eight years of marriage as Jill falls an easy prey to the evil trying to seize them.

The subject is one of my favorites and it kept me captivated the entire time. It is, definitely, a fast paced and gripping read. I can't tell you more as it means spoilers and I hate them. I will only quote the author.

As the author, R E Wood, states in the last lines of the story:"keep an open mind. Accept certain truths that you never thought that you would. Accept the awareness of how little we truly know about the world and the universe around us."

I can tell you that after finishing the story I felt like a kid who gulped his cake and was disappointed the cake's gone as he wanted more. I highly recommend this to fans of suspense and mystery! 

 

One more thing I'd like to add: Glad Tithings isn't just a gripping story; it has a message. It makes you think and wonder among other things, "Isn't it already happening?"

An electronic copy of the book was offered to me by the author in exchange for an honest opinion.

Giveaway

Today you can find at Amanda's blog a Mother Daughter Duo Reviews a latest Spotlight & Giveaway

More information about the book and the Rules of the Giveaway you will find here:    The Magical World of Sebella by Thea Berg 






a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Reviews (XV)

Book review: Along Came Pauly by Chris Redding

 
Book Description

A contemporary romance about a dog that brings two people together who don't want to be. She's a vegetarian veterinarian who needs cash for a no-kill shelter. He's the heir to a hot dog fortune who must give away money before he gains his inheritance. Sounds like a perfect match. It isn't.

My Review

The main characters in this story form a special trio:

Daria, a veterinarian at Happy Valley Vet Clinic, whose only social life is fundraising as she runs a no-kill shelter for animals. Like a modern Cinderella, Daria's pump falls on the stairs just as she enters the hall where a charity will take place.  

Another character enters the scene - Prince Charming, none other than Paul Gabagool Vincenzo the third who finds her shoe. Pauly tries to hide the fact that he's got filthy rich after the death of his father, and has to find a charity and donate a high sum before getting his inheritance. Running a business empire would not make him happy.  Pauly's wish is to fix classic Mustangs just like he’d been doing making money for the last ten years. He's simply 'gobsmacked', as his butler Jeevees would say, at the sight of the gorgeous redhead, that is Daria.

And another important character comes in the limelight, Spike - a black dog with the head of a lab and the body of a hound.

Daria's worries are piling up as she has to visit her new discovered father in jail. Her life gets further problematical but you'll have to read the story to find out why.

Both Daria and Paul have complications in their lives; they are both so different that few of the people around them would imagine them together. And they need each other, the reasons obviously different, while the dog tries to give them together.

An amusing read, Along Came Pauly is, in my opinion, a contemporary romance that offers several hours of delight. The dialogue and smart remarks are beyond funny. I don't think there's a message to the readers in it. Just an easy story for an enjoyable pastime.  Like in the movie Along Came Polly, in Chris Redding's story people also change their opinion and expectations of the other person.  My rating: Four Stars.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.