Paranormal Elements

Use this forum to discuss the June 2018 Book of the Month"The Girl Who Knew da Vinci" by Belle Ami
Post Reply
User avatar
bookowlie
Special Discussion Leader
Posts: 9071
Joined: 25 Oct 2014, 09:52
Favorite Book: The Lost Continent
Currently Reading: The Night She Went Missing
Bookshelf Size: 442
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bookowlie.html
Latest Review: To Paint A Murder by E. J. Gandolfo

Re: Paranormal Elements

Post by bookowlie »

kfwilson6 wrote: 13 Jun 2018, 20:17
Bookmermaid wrote: 10 Jun 2018, 20:51 I am currently reading the book but not particularly enjoying the paranormal events. However, I enjoy reading about the imagined lifestyles of the great artist Da Vinci and his close friends.
I enjoyed this too. It makes me think of the movie Ever After. I think that is a major part of why I wish there had been more about Fioretta and Giuliano. I actually just wanted to see more about da Vinci. He is portrayed really well in that particular movie and it's always sort of made me imagine him as brilliant, awkward, and quirky.
I also wished da Vinci had been fleshed out more. His role was so minimal that he was almost a throwaway character.
"The best way out is always through" - Robert Frost
User avatar
Sahani Nimandra
Posts: 2045
Joined: 27 Nov 2017, 22:49
Favorite Book: Harry Potter and The Sorceress Stone
Currently Reading: Man of the World
Bookshelf Size: 698
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sahani-nimandra.html
Latest Review: I once had a Farm in Ireland by Siggy Buckley
Reading Device: Huawei

Post by Sahani Nimandra »

A use of a bit past regression adds a mystic touch to the read. I felt it thickens the plot a little. The increase of suspense of knowing what does this mean, is it true or not is present. Therefore, I think it was good.
The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid! - Jane Austen :techie-studyingbrown:
User avatar
P Reefer
Posts: 601
Joined: 06 May 2018, 08:13
Favorite Book: The Lost Identity Casualties
Currently Reading: De Facto Feminisn
Bookshelf Size: 159
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-p-reefer.html
Latest Review: The McCoys Before The Feud by Thomas McCoy

Post by P Reefer »

I understand your desire for more of Fioretta and Giuliano, they need a novel of their own.
User avatar
chelhack
Posts: 815
Joined: 16 May 2018, 08:40
Favorite Book: My Trip To Adele
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 381
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-chelhack.html
Latest Review: E-M-P Honeymoon by Dorothy May Mercer
Reading Device: B00I15SB16

Post by chelhack »

I loved the whole story and the paranormal element was a great touch and very well has written as well as, a great touch in making this book that much more interesting.
Chelsea N. Hackett
User avatar
RedLetter
Posts: 28
Joined: 22 May 2015, 09:00
Currently Reading: The War Within, the Story of Josef
Bookshelf Size: 46
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-redletter.html
Latest Review: Toxic Side Effect by Sandy Magner

Post by RedLetter »

I feel the paranormal element has taken the plot beyond the scope of reality. I also think the plot of this story would have been fine and allowed the reader to traverse without this paranormal content.
User avatar
Aohanlon86
Posts: 203
Joined: 12 Oct 2016, 04:22
Favorite Author: Charlaine Harris
Currently Reading: The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci
Bookshelf Size: 47
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amcdanel86.html
Latest Review: Diary of a Snoopy Cat by R.F. Kristi
fav_author_id: 3791

Post by Aohanlon86 »

I liked the paranormal aspect of the story. i think the author could of still told the background story with out the paranormal aspect. by putting the visions as a diary found.
Andrea O'Hanlon
Twisted Creations Home & Bath
Author
User avatar
holsam_87
Posts: 858
Joined: 03 Feb 2018, 15:45
Currently Reading: The Unbound Soul
Bookshelf Size: 1691
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-holsam-87.html
Latest Review: Herai by Aaron D Key
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Post by holsam_87 »

bookowlie wrote: 01 Jun 2018, 09:20 Did you enjoy the paranormal elements of the story? Would the plot have worked as well without the supernatural tie-ins between the three time periods? I don't usually like this genre, but the author did a good job of using it to advance the plot. I think the story would have had a more serious, realistic tone without the paranormal aspects.
I'm not so sure it would have worked without the paranormal elements. Perhaps more development would have been done with Alex and Angela's relationship? After all their relationship needed more development to be realistic.
Samantha Holtsclaw

“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

—J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Latest Review: Herai by Aaron D Key
User avatar
Dael Reader
Posts: 684
Joined: 05 May 2018, 08:39
Currently Reading: The Story of Arthur Truluv
Bookshelf Size: 53
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dael-reader.html
Latest Review: Extraordinary Stories From Everyday People (and me) by Les Clark
Reading Device: 1400697484

Post by Dael Reader »

I usually enjoy a touch of paranormal in a novel, but it seems too ridiculously overblown in this one. To my knowledge, reincarnation and past life regression does not work this way. What Angela seems to be experiencing is some type of spirit possession. Which could be an interesting take. But the thing that irritates me is that we are supposed to believe that Angela is a serious, intelligent, art historian, not a psychic. In fact, her supposed academic knowledge has nothing to do with the book at all, since everything is solved through the possession blackouts. I think it would have been a better book if we saw even a little academic work at play here. And the psychic information and/or flashbacks in time could have been done as dream sequences, not blackouts.
User avatar
bookowlie
Special Discussion Leader
Posts: 9071
Joined: 25 Oct 2014, 09:52
Favorite Book: The Lost Continent
Currently Reading: The Night She Went Missing
Bookshelf Size: 442
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bookowlie.html
Latest Review: To Paint A Murder by E. J. Gandolfo

Post by bookowlie »

Dael Reader wrote: 16 Jun 2018, 07:55 I usually enjoy a touch of paranormal in a novel, but it seems too ridiculously overblown in this one. To my knowledge, reincarnation and past life regression does not work this way. What Angela seems to be experiencing is some type of spirit possession. Which could be an interesting take. But the thing that irritates me is that we are supposed to believe that Angela is a serious, intelligent, art historian, not a psychic. In fact, her supposed academic knowledge has nothing to do with the book at all, since everything is solved through the possession blackouts. I think it would have been a better book if we saw even a little academic work at play here. And the psychic information and/or flashbacks in time could have been done as dream sequences, not blackouts.
Yes, overblown is a good word. A little paranormal goes a long way, in my opinion. Like you, I would have like to see Angela's art history expertise highlighted a little more to solve the case. Due to the past-life regression, she could have basically solved the case even if she had been an accountant. :)
"The best way out is always through" - Robert Frost
User avatar
Poppy Drear
Posts: 534
Joined: 10 Mar 2018, 02:34
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 147
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-poppy-drear.html
Latest Review: Five of Pentacles by Anna Munson

Post by Poppy Drear »

I feel like the paranormal elements may have blurred the book's identity too much. One of the worst things an author can do is make their story unfocused, and this book already starts at a disadvantage simply due to the premise of past lives.
EricaWilson
Posts: 117
Joined: 10 Feb 2018, 16:53
Favorite Book: Slated
Currently Reading: Seven Minutes in Heaven
Bookshelf Size: 26
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ericawilson.html
Latest Review: The Reel Sisters by Michelle Cummings

Post by EricaWilson »

The paranormal elements made the story a little more mysterious and added some suspense mixed in with the romance. I personally feel that they were a good addition to the story.
User avatar
Azeline Arcenal
Posts: 635
Joined: 07 Jan 2017, 14:25
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 119
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-zenalei7.html
Latest Review: Christmas in the Kingdom of Kool by Joan J. Harris

Post by Azeline Arcenal »

ZenaLei7 wrote: 10 Jun 2018, 18:10 Yes, I did enjoy the paranormal elements in the story. I feel like it added depth and mystery to the book. I think the supernatural tie-ins is what helped develop the plot, but it could have worked just as well without it.
“The only important thing in a book is the meaning that it has for you.” - W. Somerset Maugham
User avatar
KRay93
Posts: 393
Joined: 01 Mar 2018, 09:49
Currently Reading: The Bourne Identity
Bookshelf Size: 98
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kray93.html
Latest Review: Non-Disclosure by George Dapra

Post by KRay93 »

I wasn't particularly bothered by the use of supernatural elements in the story, but I didn't like their inconsistency within the framework of the likelihood of the story. It is one thing to experience the memories of a supposed past life in the first person, and quite another to see these memories from the distance or to have your ancestors appear to you with cryptic messages. I did find negative the influence of these elements in the very climax of the story (that "intervention" of these "ghosts" at the end), as well as the fact that the story only moved forward through the clues that Angela got in her dreams.
User avatar
dgallois
Posts: 81
Joined: 14 Mar 2018, 20:03
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 147
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dgallois.html
Latest Review: Betrayal of Faith by Mark M. Bello
Reading Device: B00KC6I06S

Post by dgallois »

I have almost finished the book but felt I could comment on this one. I do like the way the author has used the paranormal elements. It works for this story. I wasn't really sure I was going to like the book after the first "flashback" but I stuck with it and have had trouble putting it down. If I didn't have to work or drive or like do anything other than read, I would have finished it the day I started reading.
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn ~ Benjamin Franklin
User avatar
klwoodford
Posts: 129
Joined: 26 Apr 2018, 19:05
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 20
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-klwoodford.html
Latest Review: Pembrim by Bree Lenehan

Post by klwoodford »

I really love the paranormal events and past life regression. I feel that the author executed the visions and differentiated and connected the three time periods seamlessly. This can be difficult to do without making the book hard to follow, but the author nailed it!
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "The Girl Who Knew da Vinci" by Belle Ami”