Customer Reviews

Loved To Death

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Loved To Death, A Different Kind of Love Story is the debut novel by Rosa Elmore Ferguson. It is the story of Morosa Denise McKinley - a 23 year-old corpse. Morosa is trying to find out what happened to her and why her parents loved her so differently. Detectives Nettles and Wells have been assigned to investigate what has become the worst crime in the history of Gaston City, Indiana.

Ferguson tackles a lot in this story which was only 72 pages long. The story is about adoption, abuse, love, abandonment, and hopelessness rolled into a murder mystery. As each character is introduced, they added pieces to the confusing puzzle. A few times, I had to read a passage twice in order to figure out who was speaking. Just as I began to get settled into the story, the mystery had been solved and the story was over. All in all, I think this was a good debut novella but it needs more plot and character development as well as more pages to be a full novel. I also feel uncomfortable recommending a book for $12 that is not a complete novel.

Priscilla C. Johnson

APOOO BookClub

Morosa Denise McKinley was adopted when she was five days old. The day she went home with her parents, Morrow and Rose, her spirit died and she failed to connect with them. As Morosa grew up, the lack of connection along with strict rules in the home robbed her of friendships and eventually her life. Enter Matthew Taylor, a friend and sex partner was the only person she could freely express herself. Their relationship infuriated her parents and may be her downfall.

Ferguson has penned a unique novella about adoption and the issues that can arise if a connection is never made. Morosa's ghost tells the details of this distinctive love story with each chapter giving another point of view and clues about her death. The supporting characters leave breadcrumbs to the mystery with each turning page leaving a certain CSI/detective feel to the book. At times you have to read several sentences before realizing a different character is talking but the flow of the story is consistent. This is a quick read which is great for a beauty shop appointment, waiting in line to pick up the kids, or a lazy evening at home.

Deltareviewer

Reviewing for Real Page Turners

Loved to Death is a good debut book, though short. I like the way the author has worked with point of view to let one in on the thinking of each major character. After reading, it makes me think about adoptees and how they must always carry the burden of unknown parents with them, for a lifetime. Such was the plight of Morosa, the main character, a 23 year-old adoptee who tries to explain her life after her death, along with each of the main characters perspectives on who she was. Though fiction, it rings loudlly the theme that is carried with many adopted children and the author shares those feelings in ways that nonadoptees can begin to understand.

Adoption was the answer for Morrow and Rose McKinley. They brought five day old Morosa Denise McKinley home and made her their own. But for the now twenty-three year old Morosa, was adoption the right answer?

Loved to Death is an unconventional ghost story with a hint of who-dun-it told from the viewpoint of multiple characters. Loved to Death is a very short and quick to read story. In this case, I believe its length worked against the story. There was not enough time for character development or for the plot to build and grow on readers. Before you know it, the story is over. I think this would be better as a full length novel with more exploration of characters and the plot. And my advice for the author with her future releases would be to limit the narratives. Readers bounce from one character's narrative to the next without introduction. You have to read a sentence or two or three to realize which character's viewpoint you are now reading from. Despite a few editing quirks, Loved to Death is a decent debut effort.

Reviewed by: Toni

LOVED TO DEATH with a woman basking in the afterglow of making love. The rest of the book, however, is definitely unlike any love story you've ever read before.

Rosa Ferguson's book has complex, intriguing characters, and an interesting plot. Her main character, Morosa Denise McKinley, is discovered dead at the beginning of the book, and Ferguson takes the reader on a very interesting journey as two detectives attempt to solve the crime and uncover Morosa's killer.

After the first three chapters, which are written from the main character's point of view (and I had no idea a corpse could be so eloquent!), the rest of the chapters are from the prospect of the other characters. Ferguson not only advances the plot with each chapter, she gives you a little background on each character, so you can understand the connection and relationship of the characters. The ending of this book completely surprised me, and yet, once I sat and reflected on the book, I realized Ferguson had been building up to the ending all along; I just ignored the clues she provided!

LOVED TO DEATH is a quick read, only 84 pages, and it would make a great beauty shop read, or even a good summer vacation read as the book is small enough to tuck into a pocket on your carry-on luggage. I enjoyed this book, and I hope it is the first of many offerings to come from this talented author.

Reviewed by Rowena Winfrey

for the RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Loved to Death is not the kind of book that you start then put down for later. Once you've started, you MUST finish. Author Rosa Ferguson takes you on a journey that will keep your mind trapped in trepidation line by line.

This book shows the mental anguish of what a child goes through during the process of adoption, right from the child's perspective. Loved to Death is exquisitely written with a tale of tragedy, love, mistakes and forgiveness.

This is a must read to say the least. I am amazed at the power within the pages of this book!!!

Author Katrina Gurl

Steamy Trails Promotions

[...].

"Loved To Death" will take you on a roller coaster ride you will not believe. This is an Author to be reckon with, she takes the reader through emotions you may have never known you had, from the beginning until the end. Your eye will be open like never before regarding adoption, and will never..."

Adopted as an infant, Morosa was supposed to be a blessing to her parents, Rose and Morrow McKinley. For this family, the bonding period wasn't as simple as it should have been, and a wedge formed between them.

Morosa wanted to be a typical teenager, but her mother had other plans for her precious daughter. Morrow fought for his daughter to have the right to just be herself, but as the bread winner in the family, he was not at home often enough to help make this happen. Growing weary of the tug-of-war at home, Morosa decides to do some things her parents don't approve of or appreciate. From that point on, disaster strikes.

LOVED TO DEATH is a very unique love story that takes a turn that you don't expect. The "who done it" plot keeps you thinking and wondering, but you'll never know what happened until the very end. Kudos to Rosa Elmore Ferguson for this intriguing story. I hope there are many more to come.

Loved to Death will grasp your mind and pull you into a paranormal woolgathering that will make this short book stay in your thoughts. I found the beginning chapter to be written in a childs perspective, but as you read on, you understand Ferguson's mind to pen. It is a very short novel, with very short chapters, but one you won't be able to put down.

Rosa Ferguson can only ameliorate in her future novels.

Loved to Death; the story of an adopted child, a young lady at the time of the storytelling who never knew true love, never "fit into" her life, never felt completely "right" or genuine about the charade she considered herself and others thought of her as. Until the very end; when misguided love kills her, releasing her into peaceful re-union with God.

Artfully written by author Rosa Ferguson, this compelling, biting tragedy-of-love story is a fast read. You can't put it down once started, it's not all that long, and it's certainly not the kind of book you can just nibble at. You have to swallow the whole thing all at once, and in many ways, most of them emotional, it's a tough pill to swallow. Very entertaining, plenty of plot twists and intrigue, gripping, Ferguson has an expert command of writing about the dark side of the human psyche. She puts you inside the heads of troubled people, lets you feel their pain, understand their decisions. Both thumbs up and the hats-off from this reader ... I highly recommend it.

Marvin D. Wilson, author, I ROMANCED THE STONE (Memoirs of a Recovering Hippie)