The Mirrored World by Debra Dean (Giveaway Included)

Synopsis From Dust Jacket: 

Born to a Russian family of lower nobility, Xenia, an eccentric dreamer who cares little for social conventions, falls in love with Andrei, a charismatic soldier and singer in the Empress's Imperial choir.  Though husband and wife adore each other, their happiness is overshadowed by the absurd demands of life at the royal court and by Xenia's growing obsession with having a child - a desperate need that is at last fulfilled with the birth of her daughter.  But then a tragic vision comes true, and a shattered Xenia descends into grief, undergoing a profound transformation that alters the course of her life.  Turning away from family and friends, she begins giving all her money and possessions to the poor.  Then, one day, she mysteriously vanishes.

Years later, dressed in the tatters of her husband's military uniform and answering only to his name, Xenia is discovered tending the paupers of St. Petersburg's slums.  Revered as a soothsayer and a blessed healer to the downtrodden, she is feared by the royal court and its new Empress, Catherine, who perceives her deeds as a rebuke to their lavish excesses.

Most of you already know that I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, with few exceptions, I normally can't connect with the approach the author chooses to take with the subject.  So you may be surprised to see that I agreed to review The Mirrored World by Debra Dean.  If I don't like historical fiction, why choose a historical fiction book to review.  My friends, that's a good question.  So let me try to explain it to you.

Since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by the men and women who have been so revered, that they are called saints.  I was intrigued by the happenstances and situations that could place someone in a position to be considered a actual saint, anointed by God to do good works on Earth.  Whether they came from the Roman Catholic tradition or not, saints have always fascinated me.  St. Xenia is from the Russian Orthodox tradition, and while I had never heard of her before this, I was hooked on the synopsis.  I was ready to delve into her life and find out, even if it's only a fictional account, what happened in her life to lead her down the road to sainthood.

So now, I get to explain why this book was no different than almost every other historical fiction book I've read.  I was wanting to learn about St. Xenia, her life and her beliefs.  Instead I got a puff piece told from the viewpoint of a cousin who shared Xenia's life from childhood to old age.  And when I say share, I really mean they were around each other all the time until Xenia went out on her own.  After that we only glimpse Xenia when the two come together again, often times years go between those meetings.  I didn't get to see Xenia at work in the slums, except through the cousin's eyes, and that was just a little glimpse.  I didn't get, from Xenia's viewpoint, why she took this path or what she was personally feeling at the time.  Everything I learned about Xenia is secondhand knowledge.

Now I know The Mirrored World is historical fiction, not a history book.  I get it.  If I really want to learn about St. Xenia, I should read nonfiction books about her life.  I shouldn't rely on a fiction book to sate my curiosity.  But is it wrong to expect more from a fictional account of a real person's life?  Shouldn't the subject of such a book get to tell her own story, instead of it being told from the viewpoint of someone else, someone who isn't around for much of her life?  I get that an author has the prerogative to tell a story from any viewpoint they want, and honestly, the writing was quite good.  It was a well crafted exploration, and I'm glad I read it.  I just wish, like I do so many times when I read historical fiction, that there was more meat on the bones.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

The wonderful group at TLC Book Tours have generously offered my readers the chance to win a copy of this book for themselves.  The giveaway will last until 11:59 pm, CST, on 8/19/13.  You must be a resident of the United States to enter, and all you have to do is leave me a comment with your email address.  

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

Synopsis From Back Cover:

A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton, KC, to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator.  As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that he aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but also to the doors of those who practice the dark arts of commune with the spirit world.  Determined to prove Ralph Lawton either dead or alive, Maisie is plunged into a case that tests her spiritual strength, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche.  The mission will bring her to France and reunite her with her old friend Priscilla Everden, who lost three brothers in the war, one of who has an intriguing connection to the case.

Since I started reading this series with the seventh book, I've since read the first, second, eighth, and ninth in the series.  By this time I feel as if I have a good feel for who Maisie Dobbs is, but I've made a goal to read the rest of the series by the end of the year.  With Pardonable Lies done, I can now check off the third book.

It was nice to go back and actually experience for myself some of the events and relationships that are mentioned further on in the series.  I enjoyed getting to see her relationship with the doctor develop and then fall apart, though I could have handled a little bit less angst about it.  And now that I'm thinking along those lines, it dawns on me that when it comes to men, either in this book or further along in the series, Maisie Dobbs does not seem to have it all figured out.  A lot of her self doubt and internal struggles seem to revolve around the men in her life.  And it's just not with her romantic relationships, she seems to have issues with her father and her mentor as well.  Since I'm not a psychoanalyst, I'm not going to explore that theme any further, but it's something to be on the lookout for later on.

It was also a treat to meet Priscilla Everden again, she is such a fun character, that it was nice to see her from the start.  On the surface, she seems to be the opposite of Maisie in so many ways.  But when you get to know her, see her with her family, and witness the effect she has on Maisie; Priscilla is more like Maisie than I think either of them are aware of.

When Maisie realizes that the side investigation into what happened to Priscilla's brother will lead her to the fate of Ralph Lawton, it's one of those odd connections that Maisie seems to draw towards her.  The way in which the two cases become tied together, and with the way Maisie comes across that connection takes upon itself an almost take on a cosmic force feel to it.  When you throw in the spirituality aspect of the story, including one medium who has true power, spiritual health is explored in a few different ways in this book.

The mystery of the missing aviator wasn't all that hard to figure out.  I was able to figure out why the man would choose to remain "dead", rather than go home, fairly quickly.  Between his father's attitude towards the young man, the pictures Maisie finds, and the reaction of the former friend, it's fairly obvious why Ralph Lawton would choose to play dead, if in fact that is what's going on.  I also have to say, it is a rather sad choice to make.  Ralph proved himself in the war, undertaking missions that most men would not only be scared to do, but physically unable to do them as well.  He was a true war hero, maybe under different circumstances, his father could have come around to see that.

I've already read the fourth book in the series, Messenger of Truth, and that review will be coming up in the next few weeks.  Now I just need to get my grubby hands on books five, six, and ten.  I can't wait.

Challenges: A-Z

Bless The Child by Cathy Cash Spellman

Part Of The Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

What if your drug-addicted daughter left a newborn baby on your doorstep and disappeared?  What if she came back three years later and took the child you love into a satanic cult?  And, what if that child turned out to be mankind's last hope in the war between good and evil? 
Would you risk your soul to save her?

Maggie O'Connor is about to answer these questions...maybe with her life.  A vibrant, attractive, recently widowed partner in a Manhattan antiquities shop, she is too young to be a grandmother.  Yet the love and the bond between her and her little granddaughter Cody is deep and rare enough to make her fight - not just for custody, but for the child's life itself.

The law won't back her up.  But the exorcist priest believes.  And the rabbi who practices Kabbalah knows too much not to believe.  And ancient, raging memories of an Egyptian prophecy are rising within her own terrifying dreams.

When I saw this book at the Friends of the Library Bookstore, sometime last year, I knew the title was familiar but couldn't remember why.  I went ahead and bought the hardcover, for $1, and took it home.  It's been sitting on my shelves ever since, but since this was Halloween month, I wanted to get it read.  Once I started reading it, I realized why it was so familiar.  This was the book the Kim Basinger movies, of the same name, was based off of.  Luckily for me, the book was way better than the movie, which was mediocre at best.

I'm going to be honest with you right up front, this won't be a very detailed review, I have been trying to figure out what I can say about the book without spoiling the surprises, and I've decided that's not very much.  If you have seen the movie, which for your sake I hope you haven't, you'll know the basic plot points already.  If not, I apologize now for what will probably being a boring review.

What drove this book for me were the characters.  Lead by the strong willed, Maggie, the entire cast seems to be ready made for the big screen.  There is the fiercely loyal cop who not only falls for Maggie, but is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her and Cody.  There is the priest who was sent into exile for his views, he too falls for Maggie, but it's the memories of the past and a crisis of faith that help him put that into context.  The white witch, bookstore owner, proves to not only be a powerful ally for Maggie, but a good friend as well.  Maggie also has a martial arts master, her friend and business partner, and her housekeeper that will do what needs to be done to rescue Cody.  I'm not even getting to the FBI agent, the rabbi, or the various international agents that all, in some way, help Maggie along the way.  It's a large cast of characters, not one of them was weakly drawn.

What I was really impressed with is that Cathy Cash Spellman manages to mix in Christianity, Satanism, Egyptian Mythology, Kabbalah, and a few other disciplines and make it work.  Nothing feels forced or out of place.  She was able to create a seamless narrative that allowed me to believe in the Isis Messenger and the amulets.  I actually was hoping they were true, but alas they weren't.

I'm not sure what else she has written but I'm curious enough about her writing style to do a little more digging into her other books.

Adam & Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund

Synopsis From Back Cover:

By decoding light from space, Lucy Bergmann's astrophysicist husband discovers the existence of extraterrestrial life; their friend, anthropologist Pierre Saad, unearths from the sands of Egypt an ancient alternative version of the book of Genesis.  To religious fanatics, these discoveries have the power to rock the foundations of their faith.  Entrusted to deliver this revolutionary news to both the scientific and religious communities, Lucy becomes the target of Perpetuity, a secret society.  When her small plane crashes, Lucy finds herself in a place called Eden with an American soldier named Adam, whose quest for both spiritual and carnal knowledge has driven him to madness.

I have started, deleted, started again, and deleted again more times than I think you really want to know or I am willing to admit to.  I have even wasted an hour on Facebook, avoiding this review.  For some reason I'm having a damned hard time reviewing this one and after about 2 hours of this, I think I know the answer why.  I loved the first 2/3 of the book, the last 1/3, I could really do without.  My problem is that last 1/3 is tainting my whole view of the book.

I loved the way the characters are introduced, especially  Lucy and Adam.  Lucy is happily married art therapist, who get to travel the world with her husband as he attends conferences.  After his tragic death, by a falling piano, her world is turned upside down for a bit.  A year later, when she is attending a conference in Cairo, being held to honor her deceased husband, she is still consumed by grief.  When her plane crashes into a sea, she climbs out, shedding her burning clothing as she goes.  By the time she reaches land, she is naked, hurt and searching for the naked man she saw as her plane was going down.

We first meet Adam after he has been abandoned by his captors who have stripped, raped, and beaten him repeatedly.  He is mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically broken.  Because of the setting he wakes up in, he thinks he is the Adam of the Bible and has been personally created by the hand of God.  He has decided living in a religious haze is better than dealing with the truth.  It doesn't help that he was already traumatized by the war itself.  Once Lucy joins him, he thinks God has finally sent him his Eve.

When these two characters come together I loved it.  Their interactions are fascinating to read and their story is told in a wonderfully quirky way that I find compelling.  Even when another American soldier joins them in Eden, I love the way all three of them work together.  There is a wonderfully drawn out examination of the themes behind the original Adam & Eve, but it's not done in a literal manner.  Everything is done in metaphor and comparison, and all of it in such a subtle manner that you could just choose to ignore it all and enjoy the story for itself.

It's when Lucy and Adam are taken out of that setting that I started to not appreciate what it was I was reading.  Out of that context, I found the religious explorations to be a little too heavy handed and not all that interesting.  There was no longer a smoothness about the story that I had been enjoying and the themes felt a little too forced at times and a bit boring on top of it.  I don't think it helped that the bad guys were one dimensional and took away from the story. I would have either liked a bigger, meaner villain or no villains at all.

If I was forced to give an answer to the question of whether or not I liked the overall story, I would have to say yes.  But it would be a hesitant yes, that could just as easily been a no.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other opinions on this one.

Afterlives of the Rich and Famous by Sylvia Browns

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Get an All-Access Pass to the Other Side

For decades—on television, in consultations, and in packed auditoriums across the country— renowned psychic Sylvia Browne has been asked one question again and again: “What is my favorite celebrity doing on the Other Side?” Now, for the first time, you can follow the red carpet into the heart of the spirit world. Browne reveals intimate details of how some of our most cherished actors, musicians, and public figures have fared since their deaths, giving us one more glimpse into the personalities we loved and lost. Both moving and rollicking, this is one book that’s truly impossible to put down!

Afterlives of the Rich and Famous features intimate afterlife accounts of Princess Diana, John Lennon, Heath Ledger, Marilyn Monroe, and other charismatic celebrities. By channeling her longtime spirit guide, Francine, Browne gained unrestricted access to a dimension most of us can only imagine, one in which telepathic communication is the norm and everyone occupies their healthy, thirty-year-old beautiful body. In candid reports, these stars reveal fascinating details about their new lives and the work they’re doing on the Other Side, many even sharing whether and where they intend to reincarnate.

With accounts written entirely in a trance state, Afterlives of the Rich and Famous offers an unprecedented look at life on the Other Side. You’ll find detailed descriptions as Browne brings the spirit world vividly to life and explains how we get there, from what transpires at the moment of death to the extraordinary welcome spirits receive. Afterlives of the Rich and Famous is a book that no one else could have written and a must-read for every fan of this extraordinary assembly of celebrities.

I'm not sure how much of Sylvia Browne's vision of the Afterlife is one that I personally belief in.  Probably not much of it at all, but what I appreciate is that she believes it.  This isn't a woman who is making stuff up to give false hope and  make a ton of money.  This is only the second book of hers that I've read, but the fact that she truly believes in what she writes is evident and welcomed.

This book, like the last one I read, is easy to read and she doesn't come across as thinking that she is better than us for not knowing this stuff to begin with.  The book itself is broken up into four sections that allowed me to quickly get a grasp on the material.  The Introduction, is simply that.  It gives a quick glimpse into her background and what the book is going to be about, the current happenings in the lives of celebrities that have passed away.  The second section is titled, "Death...and Then What?"  It simply gives a quick introduction to the Afterlife and what happens as someone departs from this world and goes back home.  The third section is the glossary and it came in handy a few times.  While nothing is too terribly technical, it's helpful to have a reference point for certain terms and ideas that the author talks about as she relates the afterlives of the celebrities.  The fourth section is the good stuff.  In it Sylvia recounts what some of the most cherished celebrities are now doing with their lives.

What I loved about this section is how she broke it up.  The first part of each celebrities bio starts off with who they were and what they accomplished on Earth.  After that, Sylvia lets us know what they are up to now.  She does this by going into a trance and channeling her spirit guide, Francine.  Francine then shares what information she has about the given subject.  If found the recap of their Earthly life to be helpful as it reminded me of some of the great movies and accomplishments they achieved before they passed.  It also recounts, briefly, their personal life and manner of death.

The second though gives the reader what they picked this book up for to begin with.  Sylvia lets us know that who met them on the other side (it was nice to know that animals are always the first ones to greet them), what their mindset was when they arrived, and what they have been doing since.  She reveals that Anna Nicole Smith has begun, once again, to study Buddhism and is training to teach meditation.  She has also reunited with her son and couldn't be more content.  Francine let Sylvia know that John Ritter along with Lucille Ball are taking studying cardiovascular genetic disorders in order to someday prevent them.  Natalie Wood, Dean Martin, Eva Gabor, and Gregory Peck are a few of the other celebrities that Sylvia allows us to know about.

Whether or not I believe in the vision that Sylvia Browne puts forth in this book doesn't really matter.  What matters, at least to me, is that she gives us something to believe in.  She gives us an account of the afterlife that is both reassuring and in a few cases dark at times.  Not everyone passes from this world into a perfect afterlife, Bela Lugosi being one of those.  No matter what though, Sylvia gives us a recounting of those afterlives as she sees them.  It's an unflinching and at times personal glimpse into the lives of those that we cherished while they were here with us and still miss since they have left.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.  You can read more thoughts on it by visiting the tour page.

The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World by His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, MD

Synopsis:

Blending common sense and modern psychiatry, The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World applies Buddhist traditions to twenty-first-century struggles in a relevant way. The result is a wise approach to dealing with human problems that is both optimistic and realistic, even in the most challenging times.

How can we expect to find happiness and meaning in our lives when the modern world seems such an unhappy place?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has suffered enormously throughout his life, yet he always seems to be smiling and serene. how does he do it? In The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World, Dr. Howard Cutler walks readers through the Dalai Lama's philosophy on how to achieve peace of mind and come to terms with life's inherent suffering. Together, the two examine the roots of many of the problems facing the world and show us how we can approach these calamities in a way that alleviates suffering and helps us along in our personal quests to be happy. Through stories, meditations, and in-depth conversations, the Dalai Lama teaches us to identify the cultural influences and ways of thinking that lead to personal unhappiness, thereby making sense of the hardships we face personally as well as the afflictions suffered by others.

Back in my college days I would have loved this book. I would have poured over it's pages and gotten lost in the words. They would have been soaked in my brain and soul to be quoted for years to all my friends until they got sick of me saying them. Now this was when I was devouring books like The Celestine Prophecy and Mutant Message Down Under and could occasionally be found deep in thought taking myself way too seriously.

Now that I'm a little older, OK a little more than a little but not too much, I found myself fading in and out while I was reading it. I wanted to take it seriously and ingest the knowledge being offered by someone who is not only smarter than me but more at peace with themselves than I am. I just couldn't connect with it. I'm not sure if it's that I'm not in the right place in my life, if my mind was preoccupied with work (retail over Thanksgiving weekend), or if I'm just not that interested in the subject matter anymore. Whatever the reason I found myself wanting to enjoy it, but I couldn't.

I would highly encourage everyone to read this book because it may be the right fit for them. I may keep it around for a while and try it out again at a later date.