SEDUCTION by M.J. ROSE

Publisher:   Atria

Date published:   May 7, 2013

ISBN:  978-1451621501

Genre:   Suspense

Book format: Netgalley Ebook

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

 

Jac L’Etoile has turned to her lifelong mentor, Malachai Samuels and the Phoenix Foundation to come to terms with the death of Griffin North, the man she loved Malachai takes her to a special place he hopes will help to heal her grief, but Jac remains sunken in her grief. Life without Griffin seems desolate and pointless. When they return to Malachai’s home she is at first surprised and then stunned to find a letter from a childhood friend inviting him to Jersey (England) to study some artifacts he believes may be not only Celtic in origin but a link to the Druids Jac is drawn to study. Malachai does all in his power to keep her from going but Jac cannot help herself. She is drawn not only to the possibility of learning more about the elusive historical Druids, she reaches out for the opportunity to reunite with a friend from long ago. Theo was more than a friend—as a lost teen he was in many ways her other half. In his way he inspired her and drew her out of the sorrow-filled depression of her youth. She never quite understood while one day Theo just disappeared. Now he’d made an overturn to come back into her life and she welcomed the chance. When she arrives in England the twosome quickly rediscover each other. The comfortable companionship of their youth is still very much a part of their present. Upon her arrival, more than the chance to learn more about the Druids Theo tempts her with a missing journal written by Victor Hugo.

When they discover the journal the story of Hugo’s despair with the death of his daughter is revealed in the pages. Even more pressing are the steps he took to be reunited with her not in death, but in life. Slowly but surely not only the story of Victor Hugo and the emotional devastation of his daughter’s death are revealed in the pages. The journal reveals something more of his journey to find her again. As the story is revealed Jac and Theo are faced with the reality of what truly happened so long ago at Blixer Rath, the clinic where they met so long ago.  Can they survive the truth? Or will it once again plunge them into devastating despair?

I eagerly awaited SEDUCTION, the fifth book in M.J. Rose’s Reincarnationist series. Despite the fact that THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES was published only a year ago I felt like far much longer had passed before this latest story. Ms. Rose does not simply tell you a good story—she draws you into the lives of her characters to where you feel you are part of their hopes, their dreams, their very existence. With each book in this series I’ve sat down and read the book cover to cover, stopping only when I absolutely had to only to pick it up again as soon as a free moment presented itself.

SEDUCTION was very much like that—that I couldn’t wait for each free minute to disappear into its pages. But somehow the book didn’t quite measure up to the others in this series. It is not a bad read; it just seems to lack the uniqueness and spark of the earlier books.

In each book of the series a different memory tool meant to bring forth memories of past lives is revealed. Until SEDUCTION Malachai Samuels has been in the forefront searching for those tools. The stories are told not only with the characters in the present day but there is an interweaving with people from other times and places. Ms. Rose weaves the lives of four to six individuals, all from different times, into a story that joins them in a dramatic turn at the end of the story. Each time she arrives there by a different, surprising and thrilling path.

SEDUCTION is a much darker story than the others. You are caught in a web of gloom and seeping darkness that leaves you feeling chilled. There is little light in this story. Malachai is noticeably missing. With only rare appearances at the beginning and end we do not see him yet his personality permeates the story. Through the prior four books and now in SEDUCTION I am still not sure if he is one of the good guys or if he is evil incarnate. His desperation to take possession of the tools not only to prove reincarnation but to uncover his own past lives drives him to the point that you question if he is truly seeking to help his patients or if it is only façade to give him what he wants. Does he truly care for his patients? Or is he merely manipulating them to meet his own ends.

The parts of the book that dealt with Victor Hugo were depressing. They were dark and often boring. It was in those segments and of the Owain and Brice where I felt like I had read it before—not in another life but in one of M.J. Rose’s earlier books. There were points where the different characters’ stories converge I felt like they were merely reworkings of the earlier books. By my count there are 7 more tools to be revealed. I hope this is merely an anomaly in an otherwise brilliantly done series.

There is an interesting twist at the end of the story you will not want to miss. That said, I highly recommend the entire series. The books are written such that you can either read through for the sheer pleasure of a good story or take your time and consider the “what if” implications of reincarnation.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.