Customer Reviews

This Fire Down in My Soul

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This Fire Down In My Soul by J.D. Mason is a literary departure from her earlier books. This novel has a contemporary, erotic edge. The story focuses on four women who attend Hope Filled Christian Church. Faylene Watkins, the pastor's wife is a sanctimonious sister with a psychology degree who provides counseling services at her husband's church. While she counsels other women, her husband, Reverend Teddy is involved elsewhere. Elise Clayton is a real estate agent, and choir member, embroiled in an affair with a married trucker. Though Elise should know better, she believes her married lover is the one. Renee Turner, an interior decorator and lead of the singles ministry, is not looking for a man, though she surely wants one. She discovers that decorating can have fringe benefits. She also finds there is no `Free Love', there is always a price. Tess Martin has been faithfully married to Deacon Jesse for over twenty years while he has had a series of affairs. Tess has played the long-suffering wife for years too long, now she is interested in getting her groove back. What she discovers is revenge is not always sweet.

This Fire Down In My Soul explores how easy it is for a man to get caught up in an outside relationship, and how easy it is for a woman to follow her heart when her mind is telling her otherwise. This age-old story does not have many new twists, but being told from the angle of the women as being involved church members, explores new territory. It proves people are just people, in the church or out. I enjoyed The Fire Down In My Soul, but I would have loved male characters who were not cheating or a female character who listened to her head, and not always her libido or heart.

This Fire Down In My Soul is a recommended read for J.D. Mason fans, and readers interested in a contemporary, fast-paced, contemporary read, with an unexpected ending.

Angelia Menchan
APOOOBookClub

This was my first read by J.D Mason, and immediately after I finished This Fire Down In My Soul, I wanted to purchase and start another by J.D.
While reading I found myself laughing, and screaming with and at the
so-real characters. She created characters so believable that everyone will be able to relate to, seeing themselves or someone. J.D has a way of taking you into the minds, heart and souls of these characters making you believe (while reading) you really know them.
You won't want to put this one down.

Fast, entertaining, thought provoking read!

I absolutely enjoyed this book. JD Mason has become one of my favorite authors. I love her style of writing.
This book is about the complexities of marriage, relationships, and choices. It's about 3 married couples and their mistresses and mister. It's hard for me to write a review without mistakenly telling the story. This book, as well as the author's previous books are well worth reading.

THIS FIRE DOWN IN MY SOUL chronicles the lives of the women of Hope Filled Christian Center Church. Dr. Faylene Watkins, the first lady of the congregation, has begun a counseling ministry for the women of the church. Elise Clayton is a full-figured, successful realtor who believes she has found her soulmate. However, his wife and two children stand in the way of their happy ever after. Tess has been married to Deacon Jesse Martin for 25 years. After withstanding his philandering ways for the majority of their marriage, Tess is ready to take responsibility for her happiness, even if that means leaving him. Renee Turner is the ambitious and arrogant leader of singles ministry, who becomes caught up in a tangled web of deceit with a newfound friend's husband. Dr. Watkins serves as a sounding board for all three women but is immersed in her own drama with the pastor of the church.

THIS FIRE DOWN IN MY SOUL is a thought-provoking, deeply moving novel. Mason has effortlessly managed to weave the lives of these four different women into a story that highlights their similarities. The conclusion of this novel is surprising and will definitely elicit strong opinions from readers. While the subject matter of the novel has been written about before, it also shows the dark side of the church hierarchy and the dilemmas single and married Christian women face during their walk with God. J.D. Mason writes with a depth and passion that comes from her soul. I have read her entire collection and in my opinion, THIS FIRE DOWN IN MY SOUL is truly a masterpiece.

Reviewed by Katrina
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I purchased this book based on a book club read and because we previously read One Day I saw a Black King. I was very disappointed in this book. It was not like her other books "One Day...." and "Don't want No more Sugar". The story line had nothing to do with the main character and her woes. It was about other characters (too many to name). It was all over the place. I still am perplexed about the conclusion and the reasoning behind the cause. I will give Ms. Mason one more try because this book was a fluke and perhaps it was an off day.

Faylene Watkins is the first lady at Hope Filled Christian Center Church. When Faye starts counseling three women in her husband's congregation, she gets a lot more than she bargains for. Elise is a choir girl who thinks she's found her true love with a truck driver name Jay. Elise is ready for a happily ever after ending but Jay can't just walk just walk away from his wife and kids. Will Elise be able to let him go? Renee is an interior designer and leader of the singles ministry. Renee's world is about to be turned upside down when there's a steamy mutual attraction between herself and her client's husband. Will Renee cross the line? Tess's twenty-five year marriage has revolved around her unfaithful husband, who sits on the deacon board, and their two sons. Now that her sons are grown and out of the house, Tess is ready to break free with a new job and social life. Things get complicated when Tess meets a forbidden man that satisfies all of her needs.

This Fire Down In My Soul is an engaging novel by J.D. Mason. Mason does a wonderful job of creating multi-dimensional characters. You will sympathize with these women as they go through their various trials and tribulations. Readers will also see just how difficult it is for Faylene to counsel these women without injecting her own personal beliefs. There's plenty of raw emotion in this story that will keep readers glued to the pages. This Fire Down In My Soul is fascinating, and emotionally charged. This novel is definitely worth the wait and will keep J.D. Mason's fans begging for more.

Reviewed by: Radiah Hubbert
of Urban-Reviews (Rating Scale:4 Books=Impressive)

In, This Fire Down in my Soul by J.D. Mason, you're taken into the live of Faylene Watkins. She's the counselor at her husband's church in Texas. The story isn't more so about Faylene, but about three women she's counseling.

First, there's Elise. She's fallen in love with a married man that she's had an affair with for the past several months. Like the story you get from most men, he loves his wife and kids, will never leave, but the woes of work, taking care of kids and home has worn on him and he finds solace in the arms of another woman. Elise feels if she is everything Jay says his wife isn't, he'll eventually leave her to be with Elise.

Renee is successful and fancy free. She's all about her interior decorating company that is quite lucrative for her. She has a man in her life here and there, but nothing serious. When she wasn't looking, she found herself having an affair with her latest client's husband. Lewis loves his wife, but he can't deny the chemistry between him and Renee

Tess has always been the faithful wife to her deacon husband. They have been married for over twenty years, and although she's stuck with her husband through all the infidelity, she's finding she's ready to live her life, and be happy. She finds herself interested in someone other than her husband, and she tries to fight temptation, but she's not sure how long she can hold on.

All the while, Faylene counsels these women, sometimes looking down on them to allow themselves to become caught up in such scandalous affairs, but she has scandal in her life that would make these ladies lives look like child's play.

This Fire Down in my Soul is a wonderful story. I easily got caught up in all the character's lives, impatiently waiting for the last page to see how it all plays out. At first, I thought there were a lot of characters, but the author did a great job of making sure you knew them all and didn't get lost in the story. It was a very interesting read that gave a perception of infidelity from all aspects of the people involved. Kudos to the author!

5 stars
Reviewed by Leila J.

I liked the book as far as the writing goes, but the plot was limited. In a nutshell it was ONLY about cheating! I was expecting more of Waiting to Exhale meets the church. I just wished the book had given me more subjects to read about instead of cheating...that's not the only drama-filled topic. Reality has enough of that as is!

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that there were so many different characters with different but similar stories going on. There was one couple's story that I felt was unnecessary but it didn't drag on too much where I was bored with it. I recommend this book and I hope there will be a sequel.

This book is a "real" read. The charactors are just like some people that you talk to or interact with on a daily basis. We all know someone who has experienced some of the happenings from this book! I enjoyed it, although sometimes I felt some information could have bee left out which made it longer than it should have been.