Book Reviews: The Lightbearers and The Wishing Tree

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

I have been in a book adding spree lately. Which is not helping the books sitting on my shelf, just sitting there saying “read me next!!”. 😉 LOL I wanted to tell you about a few I’ve read lately. Here are two book reviews and then what I’m currently reading after…

The Lightbearers by Nora M. Garcia
Goodreads.com Synopsis: THE LIGHTBEARERS is the story of an ancient Egyptian King and Queen, Akhenaton and Nefertiti, who have been reincarnating together for the past 3300 years. They have been entrusted with the mission of The Lightbearers, whose responsibility is to be guardians of the human race and to enlighten any whose path they cross. Through reincarnation, during each of their lifetimes, they strive to overcome violence, greed and injustice and in each lifetime they leave pockets of individuals with whom they have shared their secrets of life and death. They have also been ascribed with the powers of telepathy, astral projection and psycho kinesis. They are highly evolved and highly enlightened.
Discovery of their innate mystical powers is facilitated by the assistance of an alien being who introduces them to the mission of the Lightbearer. Through a series of flashbacks two of their previous lifetimes are revealed beginning in Ancient Egypt and including 17th century France where they switched genders.
The story unfolds in the 21st century where Jean Crystal, Nefertiti’s incarnate, has been kidnapped by Dr. Natas, whose plan for world domination has been temporarily disrupted by Jean and her husband George, Akhenaten’s incarnate. Jean and George have discovered a secret about Dr. Natas experimental school, a school completely computerized and robotized.
Jean is held captive on a laboratory table by a motion sensitive laser directed toward her central nervous system. Not realizing this, upon awakening from a narcotic sleep induced by the doctor, she attempts to move and is suddenly wracked by a mind numbing pain. The more she moves the more pain she receives. By astrally projecting herself she is able to overcome the pain and investigate her circumstances. George has already been assassinated and while awaiting her own demise, George pays Jean a visit in the lab, assuring her of their eternal vow to each other. Jean is very shortly, thereafter, assassinated. Upon the joyful reunion of their spirits on Petite Terre, a tiny island just off the Normandy Province of France, Jean and George plan their return. While it is possible to determine their gender and the time in which they return, they cannot predetermine their identities. They must pick a place, a time and a signal by which they can find and identify each other in their subsequent lifetime. In this particular lifetime, their favorite song was “Imagine” by John Lennon and so on the first Monday of October, 2024 at 12 noon, they decide to meet outside the computer science building on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. She will find him sitting under a tree near the building with a guitar strumming “Imagine”.
Their reunion takes place 20 years later, albeit not without a hitch. Together they set out to rescue the United States from Dr. Natas’s well-placed plans, he has already begun to execute.

My Review: I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed the storyline to this book. It definitely had me hooked from the very beginning. At times I felt it was a bit rushed with a lot of information that could’ve been spread out a bit more. I was sad to see some of the characters killed off so unceremoniously. The ones who played key roles and then died and that was that. I thought the history in the book was fascinating throughout the different time periods. But overall I enjoyed the book. Nora definitely has an amazing imagination!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

The Wishing Tree by Marybeth Whalen
Goodreads.com Synopsis: Ivy Marshall, a savvy, determined woman, finds out her husband has cheated on her on the same day her sister’s perfect boyfriend proposes on national television. When Ivy’s mother asks her to return to her family’s beach home to plan her sister’s upcoming wedding, she decides to use the excuse to escape from the pain of her circumstances.
When her return to Sunset Beach, North Carolina, brings her face to face with her former fianci, old feelings rise to the surface and she wonders if there is a future for them. However, her husband has started tweeting his apology to her and doesn’t want to give up on their marriage. As she helps prepare the wishing tree for her sister’s wedding, she must examine her own wishes for the future and decide what love should be….

My Review: 5 out of 5 stars. This one is hard for me to put into words other than to say it spoke to my heart and stirred my emotions. Full of real life and a few tears. A fantastic read.

Currently Reading:
Lowcountry Boil by Susan M. Boyer
Goodreads.com Synopsis: Private Investigator Liz Talbot is a modern Southern belle: she blesses hearts and takes names. She carries her Sig 9 in her Kate Spade handbag, and her golden retriever, Rhett, rides shotgun in her hybrid Escape. When her grandmother is murdered, Liz high-tails it back to her South Carolina island home to find the killer. She’s fit to be tied when her police-chief brother shuts her out of the investigation, so she opens her own. Then her long-dead best friend pops in and things really get complicated. When more folks start turning up dead in this small seaside town, Liz must use more than just her wits and charm to keep her family safe, chase down clues from the hereafter, and catch a psychopath before he catches her.

My Take So Far: I am hooked!! I have book #2 in this series waiting in the wings (and I’m excited to read it!) I’m 35% into this book and loving every minute of it! I do not want to put this book down. Check back soon for my review!

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Goodreads.com Synopsis: Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.
Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn’t simply about going fast. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.
A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life…as only a dog could tell it.

My Take So Far: This is the July Literary Junkies book selection. I am about 7 chapters in (give or take) and it’s such a cute story. Told from the viewpoint of a dog who only wishes he was human (and who believes that in his next life, he will come back as a human). Check back soon for my review!

What are your reading right now??