Customer Reviews

Ancient Whispers

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On their wedding day in 1755 in Acadie, Gabriel and Evangeline were separated by death when the Anglais raiders attack and destroy the village of Grand Pre. Heartbroken yet not giving up hope to find his soul mate, Gabriel asks for help from the sorceress Morag Callan. She agrees to assist him finding the love of his life in exchange for his becoming a Priory of Callan member.

Over two hundred and fifty years later in Providence, Morag informs Gabriel she has succeeded on his boon. He must persuade his Evangeline, who has been reincarnated as Lily Bellefontaine, that they belong together. Lily is attracted to Gabriel, but he does not fit in her life's plan. Pragmatic, she agrees to a weekend with him, but afterward plans to return to her normal life. However an odious mage and nightmares will not allow her to move on making Gabriel only a memory.

This is an enjoyable romantic fantasy starring a strong female lead, a desperate male praying for a second chance at love, and a powerful support cast to include Providence and to a lesser degree Grand Pre. Readers will relish this enjoyable tale as love is tested by reincarnation and a malevolent mage.

Harriet Klausner

In 1755, Evangeline and Gabriel are separated when British troops attack their village in Acadie. Their people are deported to the lower British colonies and Louisiana, and in the chaos the two young lovers lose each other. Gabriel spends many years searching for Evangeline, only to find her after her death. Grief stricken over the loss of his fiancee, Gabriel becomes a member of the Priory of Callan, a brotherhood of immortal Celtic sorcerers controlled by a powerful priestess named Morag. Morag and her consort, the alchemist Iain, convince Gabriel they will help him find Evangeline again, once her soul is reincarnated. In exchange, he will help Morag and Iain battle an ancient foe threatening the Priory. After 250 years of searching, Gabriel finally locates his soul mate.

In present-day, Lily Bellefontaine is an independent, practical young woman, and she is very focused on her career as a pediatric nurse. She meets Gabriel and suddenly her ordered life is turned upside down. The connection between them is undeniable. But a tragic childhood filled with uncertainty stops her from giving herself completely to Gabriel. He must somehow convince the sensible Lily that she is his long lost fiancee Evangeline. Lily has had special, unexplainable powers her whole life, gifts she has kept hidden from others. After meeting Gabriel and with Morag's help, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place. As her powers increase, she must help the Priory of Callan fight the evil mage Theuron who is bent on destroying them. Yet Lily questions Gabriel's love. Is he in love with her or the memory of Evangeline? Gabriel's very existence depends on Lily accepting him as her soul mate.

Ancient Whispers is an original and complex dark paranormal romance. The story of Gabriel and Evangeline was inspired by the poem "Evangeline" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I was drawn into the story from the opening scene - a heart wrenching description of Evangeline and Gabriel being torn apart, maybe forever, by forces beyond their control. It was a very sensual story filled with magical rituals and Celtic lore. What I liked most about the book was the strong female lead. Lily, though practical, is strong enough to take a leap of faith and finally embrace her true self. Ancient Whispers was a complex story with intricate characters. I would have liked more information about the Priory of Callan and their origins with Morag, a fascinating character herself who could have her own book.

The story begins in 1755 as Gabriel LaJeunesse is set to wed the woman he loves, Evangèline. Their village is attacked on their wedding day. The villagers are taken prisoners and loaded on ships. Gabriel is separated from Evangèline as they are loaded on different ships. Believing he'd never see her again, he joins forces with a group of immortals in hopes of being reunited with his love through reincarnation.

Then the story jumps to present day. Lilly Bellefontaine is on her way to a friend's beach house when she first meets Gabriel. The attraction is so strong, but Lily wasn't interested in getting in a serious relationship and she wasn't into one night stands either. A mishap in the woods and a bit of magic forces the two together that weekend, but would it be enough?

Lily has no idea she is the reincarnation of Gabriel's betrothed of so many years ago. He must convince her and soon. As a war is waging with an evil mage tidbits about Lily's past is revealed to make the story more intriguing.

So much is going on in this story that I had to read at a slower pace to keep up. ANCIENT WHISPERS is the first installment of this brand new series. I look forward to the second one.

I recommend this book. The characters are more real than real, the story sings, rings, and zings along at light speed, and if there have been better love scenes written, I haven't read them. The mythology is magically convincing and the story lingered in my mind long after "the end" was read and put to bed. Okay, so there are few point of view glitches that could have been cleaned up (wholly exempting the too cool rule busting love scenes), but the storytelling is so powerful that those nuances slip easily into the whipping by "who cares really" round can of never minds. Do yourself a favor and buy and read this book.

I don't like to review books when I don't finish them but I honestly couldn't get into this book. I feel that maybe if I had kept reading a little longer that maybe I would have gotten drawn in but I tried several times and found myself putting the book down.

After Gabriel's lover Evangeline is killed in 1755, he turns to the sorceress Morag Callan. Two hundred and fifty years later, Gabriel meets Lily Bellefontaine, a beautiful young woman who he believes is the reincarnation of his long lost lover. She's fiercely independent, and, despite her attraction to Gabriel, is unsure whether she is really Evangeline. RT Book Reviews called Ancient Whispers "powerful, sexy...seductive."

The story of Gabriel and Evangeline comes from Henri Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Evangeline." According to Marie-Claude, "It relates the plight of French Acadians who were deported from Canada by English soldiers in the mid seventeen century. Some Acadians ended up in Quebec others in Louisiana (the Cajuns). In the poem, Gabriel and Evangeline are put on separate ships during the deportation and spend their life looking for each others. I wanted to give Gabriel another chance. So in my story, he becomes immortal and meets Evangeline's reincarnation in modern time. I've known about this all my life because my grand-father told me how the Bourque family was deported from Port-Royal to Quebec, in the same way as depicted in the poem Evangeline."

The witchcraft elements are similarly taken from real life sources -- Celtic traditions, Zen Buddhism, and even quantum physics (plus a little Dungeons and Dragons, of course). The magical elements are a lot to digest for readers new to urban fantasy (like myself), but I'm guessing that some of the stuff is old hat for fans of the genre. The sex comes early and often (no pun intended), thanks in part to the magical attraction between Gabriel and Lily.