Thank you, Helen. I am deeply grateful to you, and to all reviewers, for the thoughtful comments about this book.
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Full disclosure: I’m a sucker for anything about angels, redemption, universal love and honour. So The Contract, by John Howell and Gwen Plano, had me ‘at hello’ – or ‘chapter one’ as they say in the literature world.
This is a truly unique book – a cross genre meeting of spiritual, action, thriller and romantic minds. One part evocation of spiritual growth and destiny, one part thrill ride through a rollicking mystery and political action rampage, one part one of the loveliest and most affirming romantic stories I’ve read in years. I’m not giving anything spoilery away by noting the story is about two souls that willingly contract to go to earth and avert a political disaster. But how this all unfolds is delicious and should be read by the reader, not told by the reviewer here.
I must say I’ve been a long time fan of John Howell’s writing. It is fun, fast paced, warm and engaging – much as I suspect the author would be. The fascinating thing here is how seamlessly his style and Gwen’s mix. I truly couldn’t tell which parts were written by which, so well did they merge from one to the other. It was very much like a harmony of two perfectly attuned instruments in a symphony.
They are the ideal writing partners to tell the story of two other perfect partners – of a different kind - as they fulfil their heavenly contract. ( And I loved the meta tip of the hat to this at the end of the book -very clever!) This makes me want two things: that they quickly do the sequel they promise at the end, and also I want to check out some of Gwen Plano’s other writing too now.
I thoroughly recommend this book to one and all – its genre mixing offers pretty much something for everyone, and by the end you will have enjoyed a wonderful, action packed, politically on point thriller that is also a romantic and life affirming ride.
As I said at the outset, I’m a sucker for honour and the spiritually uplifting, so I shed a few happy tears indeed in the final chapters. If this isn’t what the spiritual world is (and I for one hope it is) then it should be! Don’t miss out on a sublime experience – get your copy now!