Review: Made me think - as you can tell from my long review :)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 20, 2013
Where do I start with this without giving too much away.I should start with I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.I loved this book.It made me think.I don't know if it will make you think the way I do, but I do have my reasoning behind spending so much time analyzing my own thoughts regarding the subject.You can see that this book brings in some of the old gods, it also brings in Wicca, and with the Templar Knights, Christianity.  I'm a Christian who has always studied other beliefs.  It's not because I doubt what I believe, but because I want to know why someone else might believe what they believe.  Without going into my testimony during a book review, I know why I have my faith.  What about other spiritual beliefs make people believe in other gods or in nothing at all. Why do people believe in Diana, Pan, Brahman, HaShem, Allah, Jupiter, Zeus, Aphrodite, and the list of gods people have worshipped throughout time goes on and on.I have always wondered about the ancient gods, the Greek gods, the Roman gods, the gods that people believed in before Jesus Christ walked the Earth and Christianity was spread all over the place.  Why did they believe in those gods?  Did they have their proof for their faith? I don't know if I'm going against my own beliefs by saying this, but I've always wondered (since I believe the Christian God created the heavens and the Earth) did he create other powers as well?  I know there are things out there we can't see with our own eyes.  Why not that as well.  There is a scripture (Jeremiah 10:10 and I know there are other scriptures that say it as well) that says that God is the only true LIVING God.  I've always questioned that one word - living.  Did he create other powers and when people started to worship them.....?There is also the scripture (Exodus 20:3) that says thou shalt have no other gods before me.  I've always wondered if that meant that there were other powers out there? He could have just said thou shalt not worship false idols and left it at that, but he specifically said no other gods. Just a thought I have had in my time of studying the Bible.My other question is what if we are all truly serving the same God, we just call him different names?  I'm Pentecostal, my husband is Catholic, we both believe that Jesus Christ is our savior but we follow different rules to get to the final place.It's how my mind works. I am constantly wondering these things.  I really should have been a religions major in college rather than vocal performance.  I might have used it more.See what a novella brings out in me?Anyway, when you read this book, you'll see why my mind went through all of these questions.  I don't know if having all those thoughts while reading Shadow Of Hope is natural for everyone or just for me because of my fascination with religion.Obviously, I loved the book.  I like how Tina and Elizabeth somehow brought everything I have ever wondered together and made it work.  It was a fairly fast read, I had no problem getting through it in a couple of hours.  It was definitely an enjoyable story with bringing the god Aries into our current millennium.  There was scheming, and fighting, and a love story that was the icing on the proverbial cake.I have to admit, even with my desire to be nonjudgmental and open minded towards everyone, there was one part at the end of the book that made me uncomfortable.  It wasn't bad, or evil, or illegal or anything.  There's just one part that gave me a little bit of guilt and made me feel like maybe I shouldn't enjoy that one little section. That's because of my own beliefs and knowing I'm a Christian, I bet Tina can figure out what part I am talking about.  It was that ay, should I really even consider this to be a plausible possibility? moment.It's a good book if it makes me think and squirm a little.Awesome job Tina and Elizabeth! Thank you for letting me read this!