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| Reviewer: Joseph H Pierre from Salem, Oregon Romance fiction is not my cup of tea, usually. Nor do I favor mixed-racial marriages. The price the offspring of such liaisons must usually pay is, in my experience, far too high. This is a story with a message: the author is against intolerance, especially racial intolerance, which apparently she has experienced while living in South Africa. Whether she portrays it accurately, I cannot say, not having lived there. I am, however, sure of one thing: love is not an unstoppable force. It is not necessary to follow one's glands wherever they lead, or give into every "passion" that one experiences. There is such a thing as reason, and modern belief to the contrary notwithstanding, it is possible for it to be the directing influence in one's life, while controlling emotion and random glandular messages. All that said, I have corresponded with this author. She is a good person, who loves to write, especially fiction. If you like fiction, which after all is supposed to be entertaining, why not give this book a try. Martine has perseverance, and has been writing all her life. (She's a grandmother.) It's time she had a break. Judging from the reviews on Amazon, this book might be the one that gives it to her. Joseph Pierre author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS, reviewer for Amazon.com Martine Jardin, author of “Yesterday's Tears” has struck her pen
again, in this fast-paced, romance-adventure, “Unorthodox Proposal.” We
are introduced to flight attendant Marina Dubois, who during a flight from
Johannesburg to Vancouver, Canada, is proposed to by a passenger, a
complete stranger. Feeling a little down on the love stakes, with her
broken engagement, she believes it nothing but a cruel joke. But is it? Victor
Jamieson, the proposer, is a non-fiction writer, with a dilemma. His
editor has requested that he incorporates romance and adventure within his
fictional pages. Desperate as to how to achieve this end, he figures a
proposal of marriage, a legitimate arrangement, is the only way. But is
it? When
Marina scoffs at his proposal, he leaves one of his books on the seat with
an invitation to dinner written inside the cover. Marina takes the book
home but what she was not prepared for, was the impact the author would
have on her world. She meets Victor for dinner, and seals her own future
when she suggests he hire a secretary. Of course, to Victor, Marina is
perfect for the position. Weary of her ex fiancé’s harassment, Marina
accepts his proposal. Accompanying him to Africa as his secretary, her
goal is to start a new life. But does she achieve this seemingly innocent
objective, or does she discover herself and her soul mate? Jardin
ensures that we are presented with a rich canvass of culture, colorful
geographical imagery, African customs, romance, adventure and a dash of
humor. As we follow Victor and Marina on their journey to Africa, we
discover not only the elements to these realistic three-dimensional
characters, but also are plunged into a plot with suspense, intrigue and
danger. A book guaranteed to keep you entertained from start to finish,
Jardin ensures that no stone is left unturned, no outcome predicted, and
restores your faith in the term “soul mate”. Review of Blueprint for
Revenge by Martine Jardin
Dr Bob Rich http://bobswriting.com/
A beautiful girl is
trapped in a puppet-like body that reacts to external commands, but not to
her own volition. She is fully aware of everything, but can say nothing,
do nothing. This is the heart-wrenching start to Martine Jardin’s Blueprint
for Revenge. The first several
chapters are a flashback: we trace the story of how Johanna got that way.
Completely without warning, she inherited a castle in Switzerland and a
fortune to go with it, and the media got hold of the news. Paul Blake
managed to charm the heiress, and by the time she met journalist Tristan
MacDonald, it was too late: she had agreed to marry Paul. And Johanna
never changes her mind, even though she and Tristan had instant feelings
of what would have been love if she hadn’t been obligated to Paul. The plot twists and
turns, and the tension builds up until the terrible event that will trap
Johanna in her wheelchair. And, back at the scene depicted in the
Prologue, the story really starts. Tristan uses his research skills,
imagination and courage to find a way of snatching Johanna out of her
immobility, and they can at last declare their love for each other. But
Johanna needs revenge, and a blueprint of the castle gives her an idea.
She and her three friends go there, and the real tension starts… Blueprint for Revenge is an exciting book. I had the pleasure of editing it for Martine, and feel that we have ended up with a very entertaining story. Blueprint For Revenge door Gerard Het verhaal is er een van een vrouw die door een erfenis eigenlijk een ander leven moet beginnen waarbij de verwikkelingen op het pad van samenleving en liefde voor de medemens zodanig bij haar tot ontwikkeling komen dat voor haar het verschil tussen haar waarden van het oorspronkelijke leven en het omgaan met de haar toegevallen rijkdom moeilijk te interpreteren is. De emoties die zij op haar pad naar volwassenheid meemaakt zijn als lastige klippen die genomen moeten worden. De hoofdfiguur stelt zij ons voor als een jonge vrouw die de gevaren en gevolgen van haar ondoordacht handelen met vallen en opstaan moet oplossen. De relatie met haar knappe maar onoprechte man beschrijft ze op een manier dat je deze geschiedenis ook in het dagelijks leven in een wat zwakkere afspiegeling best tegen zou kunnen komen. Hier blijkt ook duidelijk dat haar positieve streven dat duidelijk gericht is op eerlijkheid en gerechtigheid, wat in de moderne maatschappij eigenlijk voorrang zou moeten hebben ten opzichte van de hedendaagse enkel op profijt en efficiency gerichte realismes. Dat de knappe hoofdfiguur soms ondoordacht enkele niet zo logische stappen onderneemt is spijtig voor die figuur, maar het siert haar dat dit gegeven ook in het normale leven vaker voorkomt dan wij denken. Dat de kastelen geesten hebben die nog onverwerkte verledens en emoties nog te boven moeten komen middels de tussenkomst van de hoofdpersoon is een signaal dat ook wij niet moeten afgaan op alleen de uiterlijkheden zoals die zich heden ten dage aan ons voordoen maar onze geest moeten openstellen voor alles wat de kosmos voor ons is. Kortom een boek wat de lezer boeit. Embracing The Skull Author: Martine Jardin/Diana Kemp-Jones Genre: Sci-Fi / Paranormal 5 Stars ***** Paranormal/romance novelist, Martine Jardin, and science fiction author, Diana Kemp-Jones, have teamed up to bring us the Destiny series. Embracing the Skull, their first literary work in this science fiction/paranormal series ‘explores the duality of good and evil set against two worlds, Earth and Nirvana’. In the year 2008, earth as we know it ceases to exist. The catastrophic war of all wars has left earth ravaged as evil once again rears its head in an attempt to defeat all that is good. So few remain, but among them are the young woman Destiny van Kampen, her soul mate Brett Young, a child from Rome and a few others chosen to guide them to their goal. Born of earth parents prior to this final nuclear holocaust, Destiny and newfound love Brett become aware of their true identities and the frightening duty before them. Before midnight, December 31, Destiny and Brett must open the portal for Earth’s chosen to escape to the safety of their home world Nirvana. Their journey is fraught with death and destruction as all that is evil attempts to stop them.
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