Thanks for stopping in for my day of the Saving Mary blog tour, hosted by Virtual Book Tour Cafe! I am reviewing the book today and will have a guest post from the author, Deidre Havrelock.
Welcome Deidre Havrelock!
From Goodreads: If you’re a fan of supernatural fiction then you will be captivated by this true story about a spiritually sensitive girl and the path that led to her possession. Part one of a two-part series, Saving Mary is the story of a modern-day Mary Magdalene—the woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons.
My Review:
I don't even know for sure where to start...
The whole time I was reading this book, I thought, wow.. I used to do a lot of these things! I played with the Ouija, until it got really bad, now I won't touch them! I'm just glad I got out of it before things got really bad!
I didn't realize until talking with Deidre that this was an actual memoir, a recounting of her own life.. I thought it was just a fictional story. That made this book even more enthralling!
We follow Deidre throughout her very bad childhood, learning of the abuse and neglect she endured when she was supposed to feel safest. Then, we watch (and I say watch, because it almost feels that way) her in her most impressionable years, the teens, as she finds her way into the mystical realm of Transcendental Meditation and other like things. All of this leads to an understanding that she must make a choice, between God and Satan, and as she's always believed herself to be married to Satan (unwillingly), she finds it very difficult to make that decision.
This book has a lot of excitement and mystery. The writing and language of the story seems so real, as if you can almost see and hear each scene. She actually uses words she used at the different age levels, making the reality even more clear. I don't like to give spoilers, so I'll just say that there's a huge cliff-hanger at the end, making me attempt, to no avail, to continue to flip the pages of my e-reader, just hoping that I'll somehow magically manifest the next book.. I simply must read it to see how things turn out!
I give this book 4 stars..
Guest Post:
What is your favorite scene(s) in the book and why do you love it?
My favorite scene is at the beginning of the book when I’m in my room playing barbies and suddenly my dad screams out bloody murder, making my mom sprint down the stairs to save him. I like this part because my dad remembers the event so well. While lying on the couch, a tall and extremely thin man appeared to him; the spirit pointed one of its long bony fingers at my dad as if to say, “You’re coming with me.” My dad says he had never been so terrified in his life. The spirit he describes, by the way, sounds exactly like the spirit I call Fred (in the book)…who appeared to me in my dreams. Even though this isn’t a great memory for us, my dad and I feel connected through the event. The fact that we both saw the same spirit helps us to feel not so odd…or crazy. Actually, my dad saw two spirits in his life.
Once, when sleeping over at my mom’s aunt’s house, he saw a little boy, plain as day, walk into his bedroom. He said he talked to the boy saying, “Hi there, who are you?” The boy said nothing and left. Later, he asked my mom’s aunt who the kid was and she said, “There’s no kids here!”
My other favorite scene is when I go and toss all my teddy bears and dolls out in the trash bin. I think I like this scene so much because it really captures the intense fears I had as a kid. I mean, seriously…I snuck all my toy dolls and teddies out of the house and threw them into the trash bin so they wouldn’t stare at me or (heaven forbid) kill me! I remember hoping that they wouldn’t come sneaking back into my room at night. I was always terribly afraid that they could come to life.
Am I afraid now? No. Things are drastically different now.
I don't even know for sure where to start...
The whole time I was reading this book, I thought, wow.. I used to do a lot of these things! I played with the Ouija, until it got really bad, now I won't touch them! I'm just glad I got out of it before things got really bad!
I didn't realize until talking with Deidre that this was an actual memoir, a recounting of her own life.. I thought it was just a fictional story. That made this book even more enthralling!
We follow Deidre throughout her very bad childhood, learning of the abuse and neglect she endured when she was supposed to feel safest. Then, we watch (and I say watch, because it almost feels that way) her in her most impressionable years, the teens, as she finds her way into the mystical realm of Transcendental Meditation and other like things. All of this leads to an understanding that she must make a choice, between God and Satan, and as she's always believed herself to be married to Satan (unwillingly), she finds it very difficult to make that decision.
This book has a lot of excitement and mystery. The writing and language of the story seems so real, as if you can almost see and hear each scene. She actually uses words she used at the different age levels, making the reality even more clear. I don't like to give spoilers, so I'll just say that there's a huge cliff-hanger at the end, making me attempt, to no avail, to continue to flip the pages of my e-reader, just hoping that I'll somehow magically manifest the next book.. I simply must read it to see how things turn out!
I give this book 4 stars..
Guest Post:
What is your favorite scene(s) in the book and why do you love it?
My favorite scene is at the beginning of the book when I’m in my room playing barbies and suddenly my dad screams out bloody murder, making my mom sprint down the stairs to save him. I like this part because my dad remembers the event so well. While lying on the couch, a tall and extremely thin man appeared to him; the spirit pointed one of its long bony fingers at my dad as if to say, “You’re coming with me.” My dad says he had never been so terrified in his life. The spirit he describes, by the way, sounds exactly like the spirit I call Fred (in the book)…who appeared to me in my dreams. Even though this isn’t a great memory for us, my dad and I feel connected through the event. The fact that we both saw the same spirit helps us to feel not so odd…or crazy. Actually, my dad saw two spirits in his life.
Once, when sleeping over at my mom’s aunt’s house, he saw a little boy, plain as day, walk into his bedroom. He said he talked to the boy saying, “Hi there, who are you?” The boy said nothing and left. Later, he asked my mom’s aunt who the kid was and she said, “There’s no kids here!”
My other favorite scene is when I go and toss all my teddy bears and dolls out in the trash bin. I think I like this scene so much because it really captures the intense fears I had as a kid. I mean, seriously…I snuck all my toy dolls and teddies out of the house and threw them into the trash bin so they wouldn’t stare at me or (heaven forbid) kill me! I remember hoping that they wouldn’t come sneaking back into my room at night. I was always terribly afraid that they could come to life.
Am I afraid now? No. Things are drastically different now.
May 23 - Guest Blogging at Mass Musings
May 25 - Interviewed & Reviewed at Black Diamond's Book Reviews
May 30 - Interview & Review at A Book Lover's Library
June 4 - Interviewed at Reviews & Interviews
June 6 - Interviewed & Reviewed at Books, Books, and More Books
June 8 - Book Featured at Louise James' Blog
June 12 - Guest Blogging at Wise Words
June 14 - Interviewed at Books Are Magic
June 19 - Guest Blogging & Review at My World
June 21 - Interviewed by Margaret West
June 21 - Book featured at The Book Hoard
June 25- Reviewed & Interviewed at The Writing World
June 27 - Reviewed at The Lucky Ladybug
June 29 - Guest Blogging & Review at Indie Writer's Review
June 30 - Reviewed at Self Taught Cook
Fantastic review and post!!!! Thank you so much for hosting Deidre today.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fascinating read! I am not one for cliffhangers, but I will keep an eye out for if the book becomes available as a package of part 1 and 2 :)
ReplyDelete