The Unchosen Life by Danka V.

Title: The Unchosen Life

Author: Danka V.

Release Date: 8/30/11

Pages: 238 

One soul mate… One true love… And the fact that they are not the same person!

People believe that every soul has its other half somewhere in the world. A soul mate or so I’ve been told, and they spend a lifetime seeking that other half, hoping to find it… I don’t need to hope anymore because mine found me… And tried to take my life! Today, twenty-four years since I was born, I finally do believe that there is a true love in life and that somewhere out there, there is that other one who will, once they show up, complete your own soul. But I learned much too late that they are not the same thing! My name is Elena Wolchek and this is my story.

My Thoughts

The Unchosen Life is a love story with a small touch of supernatural. Elena has always felt that there was something mysterious about her, even the people she's with had noticed from the beginning. A series of strange dreams and an encounter with her other half, help her realize her power. Instead of being satisfied, she's terrified and wishes to have a normal life. She just wants to be happy with her loved one, not get killed by her soul mate.

Elena is your headstrong, tough girl, who can sometimes be too stubborn for her own good. She desperately tries to distance herself from falling in love because she's not only afraid that they'll get hurt, she's also afraid of the pain that comes after it. She's a wonderful character at times and it was nice to see her heart finally opening up.

The pacing was a little slow, along with the plot. There are some info dumps that cause the story falter and be unbalanced at times, but I loved the concept of the story. Bittersweet moments and missed chances filled the pages. The Unchosen Life is a nice read that I would recommend for those of you who love humor and romance. Hopefully, the next book will have more action and focas on the paranormal side!

My Memories of a Future Life by Roz Morris

Title: My Memories of a Future Life

Author: Roz Morris

Pages: 336

Reviewed by Sabrina


If you were somebody’s past life…

What echoes would you leave in their soul?

Could they be the answers you need now?

It’s a question Carol never expected to face. She’s a gifted musician who needs nothing more than her piano and certainly doesn’t believe she’s lived before. But forced by injury to stop playing, she fears her life may be over. Enter her soulmate Andreq: healer, liar, fraud and loyal friend. Is he her future incarnation or a psychological figment? And can his story help her discover how to live now?

A novel in the vein of The Time Traveller’s Wife, Vertigo and The Gargoyle, My Memories of a Future Life is much more than a twist on the traditional reincarnation tale. It is a multi-layered story of souls on conjoined journeys – in real time and across the centuries. It’s a provocative study of the shadows we don’t know are driving our lives, from our own pasts and from the people with us right now. Like Peter Shaffer’s plays The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Equus, it asks questions about what we believe, what we create and how we scare and heal each other.

Above all, it’s the story of how one lost soul searches for where she now belongs.

My Memories of a Future Life was originally published in 4 episodes. This is the complete novel.

Roz Morris is a writer, journalist, fiction editor and the author of Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books and How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence. She has a secret identity as a ghostwriter and is the author of several bestsellers under other names.

My Thoughts

My Memories of a Future Life is about Carol Lear, a woman who spent practically her whole life so far dedicated to playing the piano. To her, everything falls apart when she's forced to stop playing after the years of stress she's put on her hands. After another check-up at the hospital, she meets Gene Winter, a face that she vaguely remembers from her past . She falls under his spell of hypnosis and begins to see through the eyes of Andreq, her future self in the next life, who teaches her about herself and how to move on from a world outside her piano. Is Andreq real-or is he a trick? Who is Gene Winter under all the secrets and deception?

I could really feel Carol's sadness and pain-especially her wish for her life to go back the way it was. Carol is easily a likable and, for most, relateable character. Carol's obsession with Andreq may have scared me a litt-okay, a lot.The story does get darker (and maybe a bit confusing) as it goes on.

My Memories of a Future Life is well-written story, with certainly interesting characters and themes, that hooked me into the end. When I was finished, it definitely gave me something to think about.

Coffee at Little Angels by Nadine Rose Larter

Title: Coffee at Little Angels

Author: Nadine Rose Larter

Publisher: Katalina Playroom

Pages: 188

Reviewed by: Sabrina

Phillip, Sarah, Kaitlyn, Caleb, Maxine, Grant, Melanie and Josh grew up in a small town where they spent their high school years together as an inseparable clique. But high school has ended, and they are all living their own “grown up” lives, each under the impression that their group has basically come to an end. When Phillip dies in a hit and run accident, Kaitlyn summons the others to all come back home, forcing a reunion that no one is particularly interested in partaking in.

Coffee at Little Angels follows how each character deals with the death of a childhood friend while at the same time dealing with their own ignored demons after years of separation. Events unfold as the group tries to rekindle the friendship they once shared to honour the memory of a friend they will never see again.

My Thoughts

Coffee at Little Angels are one of those books that make me lie down on my bed, stare at the ceiling, and quietly absorb what I just read. I myself had come from a closely knitted group. It was sad to see that when I met with all of them again, we were almost strangers.

I was curious on reading how each character reacted to Phillip's death. I sobbed during the interactions between Sarah and Phillip. It was so heartbreaking to read them. My favorite character would have to be Grant. Or Maxine. Grant is like the funny, nice guy that's always there for Maxine. Maxine is a girl trying to hide behind her emotional barrier. Every other character has done something that made me dislike them.

It took a few pages to remember all their names. Things got briefly confusing at pg. 132. In the end, there are some loose ends that I wish were tied and confusing personalities I didn't get. I'm starting to think Kaitlyn is an evil psycho who keeps it all in. Ahem. This book officially gets five cups of tea...or in this case, coffee.

Quest of the Demon by M.L. Sawyer

Title: Quest of the Demon

Author: M.L. Sawyer

Publisher: Equilibrium Books

Pages: 277

Reviewed by: Sabrina

Darci is your average every day sixteen year old girl who plays basketball and lives in an ordinary country town. Her life changes forever as she is 'accidentally zapped' to the land of Nahaba by the apprentice wizard Taslessian.

Within hours of her unexpected arrival, both teens are thrust into a dangerous journey to the cave of Grisham the Great, who will hopefully be able to send her home. When they get there however Darci soon finds out that there is no such things as accidents and that their journey is only just beginning.

My Thoughts

The Quest of the Demon starts right away and doesn't stray. Darci is magically transported to another world by a young wizard apprentice named Taslessian. Taslessian had somehow brought her here and doesn't know how to put her back. Domati, an evil wizard, senses her arrival and comes after them. Taslessian's master tries to buy them time, losing his own life in the process. They escape and are brought to one of the last great
dragons, Grisham. He sends them on a quest, along with a warrior, an elf and a knight. They are sent to stop a war that is coming between the North and the South of Nahaba. Darci is important to this mission and is their only hope to stop the war. The thing is that she doesn't know how.

I'm not quite used to third-person omniscient point of view, or is it just third person? I was confused at some parts and I had to read back to figure out what was going on. Other than that, it was very well-written. Quest of the Demon is rich with vivid descriptions. The creatures in the world are interesting. I liked reading about the life there. Quest of the Demon had just enough action and a grand adventure.

I liked that Darci didn't freak out that much when she was transported to another world. She sort of accepted the responsibility on her shoulders. Her relationship with Taslessian was great at first but I need more sparks! Lief did much more than him!

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Title: The Undomestic Goddess

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Publisher: Random House Publishing

Pages: 401

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewed by: Sabrina

Samantha is a high-powered lawyer in London. She works all hours, has no home life, and cares only about getting a partnership. She thrives on the pressure and adrenalin. Until one day… she makes a mistake. A mistake so huge, it’ll wreck her career.

She walks right out of the office, gets on the first train she sees, and finds herself in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she is mistaken for the interviewee housekeeper and finds herself being offered the job. They have no idea they’ve hired a Cambridge-educated lawyer with an IQ of 158 – Samantha has no idea how to work the oven.

Disaster ensues. It’s chaos as Samantha battles with the washing machine…the ironing board…and attempts to cook a cordon bleu dinner. But gradually, she falls in love with her new life in a wholly unexpected way.

Will her employers ever discover the truth? Will Samantha’s old life ever catch up with her? And if it does…will she want it back?

My Thoughts

I have greatly enjoyed Sophie Kinsella's Can You Keep A Secret? and Remember Me?, so I decided to buy another one of her books. I also enjoyed The Undomestic Goddess, but not as much as the other two though.

I was really interested on how Samantha would react to these turn of events. She was a very likable character and I felt I could relate to her in some ways.

Sophe Kinsella's books are really humorous and enjoyable to read, this book was no exception. I'm still not sure if I should keep reading more of her books though, since this one hadn't drawn me in fully.