The Reincarnationist begins with photojournalist Josh Ryder experiencing memories of someone else's life in fourth-century Rome after he was injured in a terrorist bombing. Uncertain why he is having visions from 1,600 years ago, he seeks the help of the Phoenix Foundation, an organization that aims to help children plagued by memories of past lives. Josh's quest to learn the meaning of these memories leads him to Gabriella Chase, an archaeologist who helped uncover a tomb where a pagan nun known as a Vestal Virgin was buried alive. I don't want to give too much away, but the story involves the hunt for memory stones, which are ancient jewels thought to bring the person who possesses them visions of all his/her past lives. The stones are very valuable; several people are after them in the book, and some would kill to have their powers.

M.J. Rose's fast-paced writing style draws you in from the first page, and she manages to weave a complex tale involving numerous characters in different periods of time without making it difficult to follow.

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When Josh was almost killed by a bomb in Rome, it triggered a sequence of past-life memories from which he cannot escape. He realizes that he has been reincarnated and nearly two thousand years ago, he was a priest named Julius in love with a Vestal Virgin named Sabina. He feels a need to find her and save her, but he doesn’t know how. On a trip to Rome, his feet land him at an archaeological site where Sabina lies buried, leading to a murder, an investigation, and a desperate search to figure out what his memories are telling him and why.

This was a racing read and I had a hard time putting it down. I originally won it to participate in By The Chapter, so I decided I would read it over the space of the week. That definitely did not happen because I am not a patient person. By the time I was halfway through I just had to know the ending, so I ended up finishing it in two days instead of five. Oops. It’s certainly addicting.

While Josh’s version of reincarnation sounds interesting, I don’t think I’d like to experience it in the same way that he does. It sounds painful and I certainly wouldn’t want to long for a woman who had been dead for many years, knowing that I was looking for her in every face I saw. It was quite curious how many people had been reincarnated, but I suppose we’d have to take it as a matter of course. Many, many people have walked this planet before. I thought the list of sources at the back even more interesting. I had no idea that anyone studied this, and while I don’t believe it myself, I almost want to pick up one of those books just to learn more.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I did feel let down by the ending of this book. While some loose ends were tied up, it felt like something of a cop-out and diminished the appeal of the rest of the work. Despite that, I’d still love to read The Memorist, which is the sequel to this book. I think the ride to the ending mattered more to me in this case.

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I really enjoyed the premise of this book, and as an entertaining light read, a quick-fix suspense thriller, it fulfilled its purpose. The trouble is, I don't think that was meant to be its purpose. This book wanted to be something greater, more meaningful and epic, but just never quite got there. The threads of story from different eras were all interesting, but never woven together quite as expertly as I had hoped. This novel tried to push to a higher level, but fell short of its ultimate goal. I would still recommend this for people with an interest in historical fiction and/or reincarnation, though -- anyone who hasn't made a study of reincarnation will, I think, be drawn in and intrigued by the concepts, which are presented with great clarity. (Those who are already avid students, though, will find little to surprise them). ( )

What can I say about The Reincarnationist besides FABULOUS?

After an accident in Rome, photojournalist Josh Ryder begins experiencing flashes of past memories―from another life, another era. As these flashes intensify, he’s drawn back to the time of ancient Rome, Vestal Virgins and the mysterious Memory Stones. Through the eyes of Julius, he is reunited with a powerful love for Sabina, the Vestal Virgin he has sworn to protect and would willingly die for, a woman whom would be buried alive if their secret love were ever discovered.

In present day Rome, Josh assists at the Phoenix Foundation, an organization that explores and researches claims of reincarnation or incidences of memory flashes, especially in children. Led by impulse, he finds himself at the edge of a freshly unearthed tomb and witnesses a murder.

His search for answers, for the Memory Stones stolen from the tomb of the Vestal Virgin Sabina, for the truth about what happened in ancient Rome, leads him to two women―Professor Gabriella Chase and Rachel Palmer, a young woman who is haunted by her own past life memories.

Is either of these women the Sabina he once knew? And will Josh ever reconcile his past with his present? These are just some of the questions I found myself asking along the way. I found the premise of this novel intriguing. I couldn’t put the book down once I started it.

Author M.J. Rose tells a compelling story that weaves history and religion into a fateful adventure filled with intrigue, romance, murder and deception. Her writing is detailed but not overloaded, just the right mix of fact and fiction to make me a believer and her characters are ones I’ll remember for a long time. The flashes of past and present are so seamlessly woven yet clearly defined, that I was never jolted from the story, but swept along and taken on a ride that left me breathless by the end.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in the theory of reincarnation or anyone who enjoys a suspenseful, thrilling journey to the past. It would also make an exceptional read for a book club.

The Reincarnationist is the inspiration for a new television series that will be airing soon. I can’t wait to watch Past Life. If it is anything like M.J. Rose’s novel, it is going to be an adventure of a lifetime.

You can buy The Reincarnationist from your favorite bookstore or order it online at Amazon, Chapters and more.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
author of The River
http://www.cherylktardif.com ( )

It took me a while to get into this book. Moving back and forth between the past and present, the story was a little choppy and there were so many characters, it was hard to connect with any of them. But after sticking with it, I found myself engrossed and really wanting to know what would happen.

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