The Love Of My (other) Life by Traci L Slatton.

My love of both sci. fi/fantasy and romance novels led me to review this book. A quirky fantasy-romance novel, gentle on the fantasy realm with sufficient helpings of modern day romance.

Tessa is a loveable character, caring for the elderly at her local church, foregoing payment in favour of looking out for those less fortunate. This doesn't curry favour with her landlord who wants her to pay up or kick her out.

Brian has come to Manhattan from a parallel universe where he locates Tessa, who is how wife in that other universe.
Of course Tessa doesn't believe him, thinking he is some loony stalker. He tries to convince her he is telling the truth by showing her a photograph of the two of them alongside Tessa's best friend in what is supposed to be their wedding photo.
Tessa rings her beat friend, a guy called Ofee, who is out of the country. Brian has knowledge of Ofee and this startles Tessa. But rather than putting her mind at rest Ofee tells Tessa that Brian is indeed a Professor, but has also had some kind of breakdown after stalking a woman he was obsessed with.
Eventually they learn that Ofee has got his wires crossed and they end up meeting the Brian of this universe.

Instead of running a mile, Tessa ends up falling for Brian an they end up stealing a piece of art, becoming a hit on YouTube and having a run in with a notorious criminal.
Tessa ends up in jail where she meets three prostitutes who have also been arrested. They give her some good advice and she manages to negotiate her release, set up a business deal and a sting-operation to ensnare the criminal.

But all good things must come to an end me Brian's limited time in this universe is at an end. Tessa doesn't want to lose him, but he insists he must.

After Brian has returned to his universe, Tessa gets her life back on track and plucks up the courage to meet up with the Brian from this universe.

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

**** 4 stars.

Recommended. ( )

This book was like nothing I have ever read before. It’s a story of a young boy left homeless on the streets of Florence. The boy, Luca, is stolen away from his parents and deserted to find his way into a brothel where he struggles for many years in the early 1400’s. As he stays in the brothel, he begins to notice that he is not developing like the other boys his age. After many months and years, he realizes that he is immortal and should be about 25 but looks like he is 12. This makes him more mature and wiser than many boys his age. After escaping the brothel, he is haunted by his past. Luca runs away from his history and travels the world for a century meeting many famous authors, painters, and politicians only to return to the city of his past. A story of love, hardship, pain, and wisdom, it is a wonderfully interesting story.

This book is also a very historical book. It depicts the history of Italy and the story of Florence. I thought it was really cleaver how the author intertwined the history along with fiction. At times it got to be a little slow and hard to follow when it covers over a hundred years, but in the end I really liked the story and the character of Luca. I wish she would have focused a little more on the love story and developed the other non-protagonist characters. It was still a beautiful tale. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you are interested in art, philosophy, adventure, and like to read.

Sarah H.

This is a very impressive debut novel from Traci Slatton. The main character Lucas, goes from an orphan living on the streets of Florence to befriending Leonardo da Vinci 140 years later. His lifelong quest is to find out what happened to parents and how it is he has lived so long without aging. The novel moves a very good pace considering all the ground it covers. Slatton does a remarkable job of depicting the time of Rennaisance Italy and cleverly including Lucas in some important historical changes. Slatton obviously has a true passion for the art and history of Florence. This only furthers what in the end is a wonderful novel about love, hope and salvation. ( )

Meh. It wasn't awful, and it wasn't stellar. A lot of the dialogue is stilted and the men sound like women. (To explain myself, I was very conscious that I was reading male dialogue from the mind of a woman...) I did find myself skipping portions that did not seem to add to the story (mostly tidbits of Slatton's research that she found enthralling), but it was an interesting plot, and the search for Maddalena was vaguely intriguing. Not a stinker of a first effort. ( )

It's pretty rare that I don't finish a book I start - but I had to put this one aside. I had high hopes for this book and kept thinking it would take a turn for the better - but it didn't and I'm terribly disappointed!A few weeks after I wrote the above review, my dog perhaps really said it best - he took out some pent up rage on the book and chewed up the front cover and first few pages. And I really couldn't yell at him for it - this book deserved it. ( )