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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
2.0
In Another Life by Julie Christine Johnson is a romance novel. Lia Carrer is a widow and she is returning to France to start again. Her husband, Gabriel died under mysterious circumstances (he was a professional mountain bike racer). He was in the Tour D’Arques (in France) when he was hit by Mercedes. The car that hit him was never found. Lia quit working on dissertation, and her work as a professor suffered as well. Lia lost her job at Cascade University. Lia decided it was time for a new start. She will be staying at Le Pelerin, a cottage belonging to a friend. Lia meets Raoul Arango who draws her into an old mystery dating back to 1208. Lia and Raoul will have to research the past to unravel the mystery.
In Another Life is a good novel to help you go to sleep. The novel contains quite a bit of history as well as many descriptive sentences on scenery, country, food, house, etc. I was just not drawn into In Another Life (I did not find it entertaining, engaging, nor enjoyable). I have to admit that I had to work to finish this story. I give In Another Life 2.5 out of 5 stars. It just went on for too long. Some writers have a knack for combining history with fiction and making it interesting and magical. Unfortunately, it did not happen in this novel.
I received a complimentary copy of In Another Life from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
In Another Life is a good novel to help you go to sleep. The novel contains quite a bit of history as well as many descriptive sentences on scenery, country, food, house, etc. I was just not drawn into In Another Life (I did not find it entertaining, engaging, nor enjoyable). I have to admit that I had to work to finish this story. I give In Another Life 2.5 out of 5 stars. It just went on for too long. Some writers have a knack for combining history with fiction and making it interesting and magical. Unfortunately, it did not happen in this novel.
I received a complimentary copy of In Another Life from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
utahmomreads's review against another edition
4.0
Read my review : http://utahmomslife.blogspot.com/2016/02/in-another-life-book-review.html
kdurham2's review against another edition
4.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
An interesting twist of history, fantasy and romance in this book. Lia Carter lost her husband and now her job and has decided to go back to her roots to finish her research and recenter her life.
This book centers around a religion that has real historical roots and the book is based on a historical fact - an assassination and the fall of this religion to Catholicism. As a religious studies major in college this book did it for me - I loved it. The part of religious studies that I loved was the study of how religion fits into history and how much history and religion go hand in hand, no matter the religion you practice you can enjoy reading how the rise of Catholicism affected this "heretical" religion from the past.
An interesting twist of history, fantasy and romance in this book. Lia Carter lost her husband and now her job and has decided to go back to her roots to finish her research and recenter her life.
This book centers around a religion that has real historical roots and the book is based on a historical fact - an assassination and the fall of this religion to Catholicism. As a religious studies major in college this book did it for me - I loved it. The part of religious studies that I loved was the study of how religion fits into history and how much history and religion go hand in hand, no matter the religion you practice you can enjoy reading how the rise of Catholicism affected this "heretical" religion from the past.
bahoulie's review against another edition
3.0
The story was excellent. The writing was just fine, though she's never met an adjective she didn't like.
stevenlink17's review against another edition
4.0
Great imagery, great imagination, great storytelling. Rooted in history, this novel asks the reader to suspend disbelief, like the protaganist, in order get at the truth and resolve unresolved issues. The storytelling is handled deftly, and the plot continues to advance as quickly as the reader can turn the page. It is a good read and offers a little bit of something for many different genre-lovers.
littlelarks's review against another edition
2.0
There's a good book residing somewhere in the mess that is In Another Life, but it's lost in the stilted dialogue, wooden characters, and Johnson's abhorrent choices in plot structure and pacing. But the bare bones - a time-travel/reincarnation romance - is so appealing I kept reading hoping my gripes would be resolved. As soon as our main 'villain' pulled a Snape I was done. Alas.
lindacbugg's review against another edition
3.0
In Another Life I wanted to love this book with comparisons to Susanna Kearsley having been made but I was confused too often so it loses half a star. Glad to have given it a try.
jfl's review against another edition
3.0
Julie Johnson is a Goodreads friend. She was among the first readers/reviewers that I started to follow when I joined Goodreads in 2012. We shared an appreciation for the writings of Tim Winton and I found her reviews of her readings insightful. I also quickly learned that she was an aspiring writer.
In Another Life is her first published novel. She has given us a journey into the past, built around a Gnostic revival known as Catharism and its followers who lived in the southern region of France, a region known as Languedoc. The action shifts between 1208 and present day. It is a fanciful work--a type of magical realism and historical whodunit.
The story easily engages the reader. Julie gives us a new world largely unknown but certainly intriguing. And she envelops that newness in a style that is, for the most part, natural and flowing.
Great to see that Julie is actively moving ahead with new works.
In Another Life is her first published novel. She has given us a journey into the past, built around a Gnostic revival known as Catharism and its followers who lived in the southern region of France, a region known as Languedoc. The action shifts between 1208 and present day. It is a fanciful work--a type of magical realism and historical whodunit.
The story easily engages the reader. Julie gives us a new world largely unknown but certainly intriguing. And she envelops that newness in a style that is, for the most part, natural and flowing.
Great to see that Julie is actively moving ahead with new works.
booksavvyreviews's review against another edition
4.0
"And yet, eight hundred years after his precious Paloma, Bertran, and Aicelina had burned alive in a church in Gruissan, eight hundred years after a fever had burned him alive in a cave not far from where he now stood, Raoul had returned. If only he could understand why."
You are not alone, Raoul! I also wondered. I wondered a lot of things as I read this book. A very slow, leisurely book. A book that can and should be read next to a crackling fire as you sip tea. This wasn't a fast read for me, it took me a bit to get into it and I found it rather difficult. Here is why.
A majority of the first half and into the second part is all a historical info dump. It's rather intriguing but it reads more like a well-written history of France and the Crusades than anything. If you're into history reads then this book is definitely up your alley, as for me, I require a little more story than just history.
This is an eloquently written tale about how several lives during such a horrible point in time are twined together by fate, guilt, and setting right to wrongs. There is a love triangle of sorts that is rather interesting from an adult perspective, but there is nothing childish about it.
I wasn't too keen on the characters or at least I would have been if the historical info drops didn't interfere with my developing feelings for the characters. The switching to and fro, the bringing up of history made any and all relationships feel a little... off to me. At points it felt rushed and not eased into.
The overall plot was touching, beautiful and the book itself is beautifully written. All of your questions you form as you're reading are answered as the book goes on, and trust me there are a lot of them...
The ending left me feeling unfulfilled for my own selfish reasonings, but it was a beautiful book. So it is well deserving of 3.8 stars!
You are not alone, Raoul! I also wondered. I wondered a lot of things as I read this book. A very slow, leisurely book. A book that can and should be read next to a crackling fire as you sip tea. This wasn't a fast read for me, it took me a bit to get into it and I found it rather difficult. Here is why.
A majority of the first half and into the second part is all a historical info dump. It's rather intriguing but it reads more like a well-written history of France and the Crusades than anything. If you're into history reads then this book is definitely up your alley, as for me, I require a little more story than just history.
This is an eloquently written tale about how several lives during such a horrible point in time are twined together by fate, guilt, and setting right to wrongs. There is a love triangle of sorts that is rather interesting from an adult perspective, but there is nothing childish about it.
I wasn't too keen on the characters or at least I would have been if the historical info drops didn't interfere with my developing feelings for the characters. The switching to and fro, the bringing up of history made any and all relationships feel a little... off to me. At points it felt rushed and not eased into.
The overall plot was touching, beautiful and the book itself is beautifully written. All of your questions you form as you're reading are answered as the book goes on, and trust me there are a lot of them...
The ending left me feeling unfulfilled for my own selfish reasonings, but it was a beautiful book. So it is well deserving of 3.8 stars!