The Book of Love (The Magdalene Line) [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Kathleen McGowan (Author), Linda Stephens (Reader)

Book Description

Series: The Magdalene Line | Publication Date: March 10, 2009

Once there was a gospel written in Christ's own hand: a treasure of almost unimaginable magnitude, referred to by the Cathars of medieval France as The Book of Love...Fresh from her successful search for the long-hidden scrolls written by Mary Magdelene, journalist Maureen Pascal now finds herself on the trail of the legendary lost gospel known as the Book of Love. But just as there were those who would stop at nothing to seize and suppress the Book of Love seven centuries ago, so there are those today who are equally determined that its radical message should never be revealed. In a race across Italy and France, new dangers await Maureen and her lover Sinclair as they begin to uncover secrets and shine new light on the hidden corners of Christianity. Combining expert research with dazzling plot twists, The Book of Love is sure to thrill readers as they follow Maureen's search for clues through some of the world's greatest art, architecture and history, until a potentially fatal encounter reveals the Book of Love to her -- and to us.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Maureen Paschal, last seen discovering the secrets of Mary Magdalene in The Expected One, returns in this overstuffed sequel. Haunted by dreams of Jesus telling her to search for the Book of Love, Maureen, now a bestselling novelist, takes off for France, where her estranged lover, Bérenger Sinclair, reveals that the mysterious manuscript is supposed to be a gospel written by Christ and whose existence is merely a rumor. Both Maureen and Bérenger receive strange clues pointing them toward the story of Countess Matilda of Tuscany, an 11th-century noblewoman and an early champion of the Book of Love. With the help of Maureen's cousin, a Jesuit scholar at the Vatican, Maureen confronts dangerous forces bent on covering up the truth and follows Matilde's trail though Belgium, Italy and France, culminating in a stunning sequence within the Chartres Cathedral. However, Matilda's hefty story line exists uneasily next to Maureen's contemporary narrative and relies too much on long-winded narration to explain Christian esoterica. Series fans and readers into Da Vinci Code–style church intrigue will enjoy the hell out of this. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Kathleen McGowan is an internationally published writer whose work has appeared on five continents and in at least fifteen languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three sons. You can visit her website at www.theexpectedone.com.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (March 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743568907
• ISBN-13: 978-0743568906
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Books on CD > Literature & Fiction > Religious
  • #15 in Books > Books on CD > Religion & Spirituality > Fiction

More About the Author

Kathleen McGowan's dynamic publishing career began with the debut of her novel, The Expected One, on the New York Times bestseller list. The sequel, The Book of Love, followed with a similar NY Times bestseller list debut and has developed a fierce cult following around the world. The latest novel in the series, The Poet Prince, tells an unprecedented story about the birth of Renaissance art and the secrets hidden in the greatest paintings in history.

Kathleen's unique style of historical fiction combines unprecedented field research with inspired storytelling. Her books have sold over a million copies and are published in almost 40 languages while appearing in approximately 80 countries.

Her first non-fiction work, The Source of Miracles, is a life-changing handbook about prayer and spiritual practice which was influenced by Kathleen's studies of Catharism in France. It was chosen by Oprah's book editor as a holiday gift selection in 2009.

In 2010, Kathleen teamed up with European bestseller and investigative journalist Philip Coppens to create a revolutionary radio show which they co-host on BBS Radio, "The Spirit Revolution." She appears with Coppens as an expert historical advisor in Season III of the History Channel's highest rated series, Ancient Aliens.

Kathleen is currently at work writing her fourth novel, The Tudor Heresy, an explosive and previously untold account of Anne Boleyn's heretical education in France. These lost years of Anne Boleyn have been thoroughly researched in multiple languages, using sources inexplicably ignored by most Tudor scholars, to provide an exciting and controversial account of the infamous queen who changed the world.

Kathleen is a dedicated activist, and commits a portion of her time and royalties to organiations that protect women and children from the horrors of human trafficking and sexual slavery. She has teamed with The Emancipation Network and Made by Survivors to fund and participate in programs which provide shelter and safety for victims of abuse, and raise awareness of this global epidemic.

She shares her time with her partner, Philip Coppens, and her three sons in the US and Europe.

www.KathleenMcGowan.com
www.AnneBoleyn.com
www.TheSpiritRevolution.com
www.MadebySurvivors.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars *SIGH*, June 4, 2009

By 

Co-Conspirator in Things Divine "Zoe" (Telluride, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Love (The Magdalene Line) (Hardcover)

Okay, I finally finished this book - but it took me 4 weeks. As an avid reader, I can easily read a riveting book within a few days. However, this book is slow and plodding. Yet I did have high expectations since I enjoyed the author's previous book, The Expected One.

The majority of the book is about Matilda of Tuscany rather than the heroine from the prior book (Maureen.) For me, TEO promised to delve into the alleged Cathar's "Book of Love" and its contents in this second book of the trilogy. Unfortunately, very little further information is revealed on that 'lost' book. Maureen supposedly finds the book which she cannot translate due to its undecipherable language. Then she magically absorbs light from it, and it glows, and she is able to understand the contents. Weird, huh? Yet we still don't learn what the BoL contained since it's never really explained.

Other than that silliness, it was difficult to keep up with all of the flashbacks. The reader has to contantly flip back-and-forth to try to keep track of characters, time-frames and events. For me, this is just too much work since I want entertainment from a good novel! It just got too exasperating and was a very fragmented read.

I honestly could not recommend this book to anyone unless they are suffering from insomnia- this book is the perfect remedy. I'm generously giving it a 2-star since I can tell that the author worked diligently on her new novel. But overall, it reads like a cheap modern romance - not a historical novel but instead a modern story set in medieval times. If you're looking for an experience of medieval immersion, get another book. However, if you're looking for a 21st century "emotion-fest" set in 12th century clothes, this book is for you.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fearless and Uncompromising, March 5, 2009

By 

peej (Cape Cod, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Love (The Magdalene Line) (Hardcover)

I was floored by this novel.
At a time when so much of what I read is grave and bleak and hopeless (the Dow dropped below 7000 today,) Kathleen McGowan has managed to lift my heart and spirit to a new and enlightened place. As epic as this book is in its breadth, there is something about it that feels so personal - as though the author were whispering an enormous secret right in my ear.

And did I say epic?
Here are just a few of the fascinating concepts/topics McGowan tackles in this novel:
Matilda of Tuscany
Pope Gregory VII
The Song of Songs
Solomon and Sheba
Hieros-Gamos
The Libro Rosso
The Order of the Holy Sepulcher
DEMORI
The Unicorn Tapestries
Ariadne and Theseus and the Labyrinth
The Pater Noster
The Volto Santo
...and even Good King Wenceslaus!
(As you can imagine, I did a lot of Google-ing along the way - so fun!)

In addition, as an avid traveler, I enjoyed all the exotic locations in the book such as Orval, San Benedetto Po, Lucca, Galamus and the beloved Chartres Cathedral to name but a few. Plus, as a lifelong student of art and architecture, I loved all the references to the works of Lippi, Bernini, Brunelleschi, Ribera among Salvador Dali and many others.

All at once, The Book of Love is a secret adventure through history and a deeply moving love story that spans the centuries. Seriously, I can't remember when reading one novel has inspired me more. Inspired me to read more, investigate more and travel more.

Ultimately, there are lessons in this book that are fresh and profoundly relevant to our world today. Kudos Ms. McGowan, I can't wait for The Source of Miracles and The Poet Prince.

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Low Three Stars, April 2, 2009

By 

apoem "apoem" (Bosque Farms, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Book of Love (The Magdalene Line) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I really enjoy reading books about conspiracy stories and alternate histories and about the Marys in Jesus' life. This looked like it would be a good combination of the three. I fully expected to enjoy this book.

The story itself was interesting. The plot was interesting. The story about the women in history; such as Matilda de Canossa, was interesting. In fact it was fascinating and left me wanting to learn more.

Here were some of the things that I think needed to be shared with others reading this book.
1. It is not a fast moving novel. It moves fairly slow. IF you have read DaVinci Code (Dan Brown); while this book is marketed and seems like it will be similar to that- it is not. This is a fairly slow moving book with much less drama. Even the climatic point of the novel seemed to be somewhat flat.

2. The book was overly melodramatic at times. This was the biggest problem I had with this book. Other reviewers have used the word cheesy. I think it is an apt discription of some of the dream sequences.

3. The other big problem I had with this book was the phrase that is repeated over and over again. Almost every third or fourth page is the phrase 'for those with ears to hear..' For me it became this hammer that kept hitting away and saying 'you don't get it because you don't have ears to hear', if you really read it, really understood this book, really believed, you would hear the truth. It became very old very quickly.

I have rated as high as I have because despite the three problems I had with this book- it is an overall interesting read with a fascinating concept behind it. It was not a complete waste of time to read this book. I simply believe it could be better written without the overly melodramatic language and the push through repitition to force you to believe, as this author does, that this is truth embodied in fiction.