A Life Without Living by S.C. AlbanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Life Without Living is a paranormal romance written from the points of view of the two main characters: Kate and Gio. The novel is a page turner, especially toward the end. Its story creates a wonderful life filled with curses and sorcery, but also brings a message relevant to life and love away from its pages.
Gio (short for Giovanni) is an Italian who has come to a small town in America in search of the woman with “...the one soul whose existence would allow [his soul] to continue instead of remaining in [an] eternal pattern...” of emptiness. Gio has been cursed with an eternal life void of any warmth and meaning. He understands this curse and the power of the man who placed it. He knows he lives in a world of witches and magic.
Kate, however, is unaware of the magic in the world around her. She's been married for nine years, to a handsome, successful man and has a good job, working for a publishing firm. She believes she is living a life worthy of envy. However, there are signs things are not the way they should be in an ideal marriage. Her husband is controlling and has a short fuse. He hasn't crossed the line to abusive, but he's close.
This mixture of two plot lines in search of each other, is what makes this book remarkable. It's a fun book, creating a world that is wonderful to think about. But it is also the story of a woman in a bad relationship who doesn't understand her own actions or lack thereof. It's about blaming yourself and your own perceived weakness for a situation that is complex and confusing. Here's an excerpt that offers a taste of this aspect of the novel:
But slowly, something was changing inside me. Something, and I didn't have a clue as to what, had began to tug on a loose thread. Gradually, cautiously, so that I didn't even know it was happening, something began to pull the strands apart. The cloth had begun to unravel.
A Life Without Living is well worth reading and the other bit of good news is that it is the first book in a series.
Steve Lindahl – author of Hopatcong Vision Quest, White Horse Regressions, and Motherless Soul
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