From My Soul to Yours
Though Birch's sequel to Shattered Souls is crammed to overflowing with secrets, sex and anguish, lamentable prose and clunky plotting make a drag out of this hefty tome about a group of friends. Feisty, successful businesswoman Indera Fleet-Miles and stripper turned author Tee are married, and although their sex life is satisfying, he wants her to provide him with domestic creature comforts, but she's not game for that. Their friend Britton is trying to cope with his young sons while their bi-sexual mother Lina unsuccessfully tries to start up her acting career. Chyna is worried about her grown daughter, Sarina, who has psychological problems. New to the group, Celeste has a shadowy past and a desire to reunite with her former lover. Graphic sex scenes abound and provide temporary respite from the confidante role Birch places readers in. The author shamelessly plugs his previous book by forcing characters to read it (one character certifies it as "one well-crafted piece of fiction, a definite page-turner"). Even readers who enjoyed Birch's earlier work find this monotonous.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.