Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: love

  • Other Lovers

    Other Lovers

    Natalia Rachel combines heart felt, emotional poetry with enlightening prose as she places love, or what may pass for love under the microscope as viewed by the modern generation.

    In this heartbreaking, but all too real novel she, through the life of Lena and her friends explores what it means to understand real love when it finally comes knocking at your door; is a combination of sex and love or love and sex or is it something different altogether.

    Divorced after a twenty-year marriage, living in Singapore and healing after a long illness, mother of two Lena is facing the reality of being single, free and available. On-line dating seems to be the way into a new love affair or a way to meet eligible men, but is it, as all she seems to get is needy men who are just like her, looking for a new direction.

    The sex is great, the angst is terrible, disillusionment is overpowering and love seems to be further away than it has ever been. She draws on the love and care of her friends, all women who are facing their own challenges, using the freedom of their lifestyles to cope with the stress of modern life, to help her understand where she is in her life.

    Natalia Rachel draws on her own life experience which comes through in the captivating poetry which begins each chapter before it is unpacked in the almost separate life of Lena as she tries desperately to understand her life, her desires and her way forward.

    Lena eventually discovers the one singular thing that is vitally important, that perhaps to find true love, you first need to understand yourself: a sobering thought in a world that bombards with almost impossible standards encapsulated within limited boundaries.

    Emotional and in many ways cathartic, Other Lovers offers a refreshing look at the tumultuous, dependant, destructive world of on-line dating and the reality that to find the emotional stability you are looking for, you must begin with you!

    Other Lovers could be considered as therapy between the pages of life through the medium of deep, enriching poetry.

  • There Is Love – single

    There Is Love – single

    There is Love was recorded at The Tank, in Rangely, Colorado on alto flute during a much more comprehensive recording session. This gentle, subtle reminder of love is the perfect song to sit and enjoy in moments of personal reflection. The Tank has the unique ability to allow the reverberation of a single note to float freely, forming into a unique vibration, which is also achieved with the vibration that is love.

    In times of introspection it is often difficult to find love, beauty and simple happiness but, as with this song, a song that simply arrived, which required placing into a soothing and delicate form, love is always there, even in the most challenging of times.

    Soft waves of divine music reach out to sooth, restore and gentle distress and disharmony, allowing the way to be free to accept that There Is Love – always, often to be found in the most unexpected places.

    There is a most captivating clip on YouTube that captures those magical moments of pure, unconditional love which will warm the heart and bring joy to the soul.

    Sherry Finzer is well known for her delicate and enchanting music created while recording at the Tank: There is Love is a perfect example of the magic to be found within what was once an unused railway water tank.

  • Send Love To Everyone (Heal the Divide)

    Send Love To Everyone (Heal the Divide)

    Simple words, combined with a simple melody create a powerful message delivered by Song Gardeners Mary Gospe and Corrie Dunn, in their latest single release Send Love To Everyone.

    Reminiscent of the 1960’s and ‘70’s peace movement, when the folk ballad style of protest song became popular, many singers and songwriters used the power of music to send a strong message for peace and love in the world of then: it is truly a sorry reflection that there is still the need to put into the healing vibration of music, what is now a time old plea for World love.

    Mary Gospe and Corrie Dunn have created a delightful style in what could be considered a Folk New Age Pop Fusion in this multi layered single of blended harmonies and gentle instrumental additions.

    The words, ‘Send love to everyone. We heal the divide when we stop taking sides,’ are in the form of a mantra that can be used at any time of the day, with the entire set of lyrics, also able to be used as a form of longer meditation or chant.

    The first verse was sent to Mary during meditation, the second was written by Corrie to compliment the sentiment sent from the Divine. Layering and additional vocals have been added by Zach Gospe, with Mike Gospe on mandolin, James Butler on percussion and David Schreiber on synth and guitar.   

    Send Love To Everyone is a must add to your collection.

  • The Crying Room

    The Crying Room

    The Crying Room is a novel of many parts, all of which are complex but in an oblique manner come together to make a fascinating journey into the human psyche through the eyes of the feminine perspective.

    The Crying Room begins literally at ‘The Crying Room’ not far from Kings Cross Station, the week before Christmas. It is a specialised room established specifically for the purpose of crying; for letting your grief format into tears; a private place for letting go and refreshing.

    This is where we meet Suzie, who is working her way through a Medical Degree and is empathic to the tears and distress of the visitors to the room. In many ways this is her story which in the first instance appears to be one of a series of short stories.

    It is not until several chapters have been read the realization that this is only a small segment of a much longer and far more complex story becomes apparent, with Monica, Suzie’s niece joining the narrative as she begins a creative writing course. She is the writer of some of the chapters, but which is never quite clear. Is it Monica retelling a story or Suzie sharing her grief?

    Each of the female protagonists is a complex character; the mother, the daughters, the niece, each one trying to find the meaning or reason for their lives and the why of the repression they have each faced which appears to be inherent.   

    Various other threads are added to weave the complex narrative of the varying emotion of family and relationships: compassion, death, regret, remorse, control, loneliness and interestingly the concept of love; what it is and how fleeting it can be.

    Slow moving and delicate, the style allows each of the women to develop, with their innermost thoughts and feelings placed in a clear light. Even though they are not to any degree overly likeable, they are the people in our lives we meet and work with every day.

    The Crying Room is a novel of our times; careful, precise and yet complex. Throughout the narrative the destruction that can be caused by holding emotions at a distance is placed in plain view, analysed and eventually reflected upon, almost far too late.

  • Closer to Love

    Closer to Love

    How to Attract the Right Relationships and Deepen Your Connections

    Love is something that is as integral to the human spirit as is breathing, but is in many ways, perhaps the most challenging of the many emotions experienced as we travel through life.

    We fall in love, we fall out of love, we pine for love, and sadly we often use love to manipulate and control. But what is it about this single, but complex emotion that drives who we are and what we care about.

    Author and spiritual coach Vex King ventures into the many aspects of Love in his latest book Closer to Love which takes a very deep, broad-based look at this emotion and what is means to love; to love yourself in order to be able to love others to the fullest extent of the word.

    He draws on personal knowledge, as well as the wisdom of the ages and asks in a gentle but direct style, to be honest with yourself when falling in love, be it for the first time or once again. By using his personal philosophies of self-reckoning and deep honesty, he will guide you through the many steps to create and be a part of the love, laughter and tears of a healthy, loving relationship.

    Encouraging honesty when viewing your current relationship, past relationships or hopeful future relationships is, he considers, the primary and underpinning element of discovering how to survive after a relationship has ended for whatever reason or changes.  He encourages an acceptance of the truth of the situation which will not only be a healthy way to understand the why and what, but will also create a new, happier and healthier you ready to find another loving relationship in your life.

    Part life journey, part a course in relationship building, Closer to Love could be in many ways confrontational, emotional and in some cases cause distress, but as you read through the pages, a sense of understanding, acceptance and healing will be discovered.

  • Love, Oil And The Fortunes Of War

    Love, Oil And The Fortunes Of War

    Love, Oil and the Fortunes of War presents an interesting, if somewhat usual hybrid of a story based in history, at a period of time when change was of monumental proportions within the United Kingdom, characters who shaped the future of the country where larger than life and the ever present threat of War was on the horizon.

    But, as it is billed as Historical Fiction therein lies the challenge. Paul Ashford Harris says it is constructed around the lives of three larger than life characters, William Knox D’Arcy, Gertrude Bell and Admiral ‘Jacky’ Fisher and their contributions to, not only the War efforts of Britain during the First World War, but the fact that Britain even survived the First World War.

    Stepping back though, the work begins in at the funeral of Queen Victoria held on Saturday 2 January 1901, where the three protagonists are introduced and a sense of European conflict is prevalent. Their background is then established in a somewhat haphazard style, which does eventually bring them into the beginning of the Twentieth century, to the point where the three are instrumental to the next chapter, that of Britain moving from the entrench ‘class system’ to a more flexible form of governance.

    D’Arcy came from a family of privilege. His parents emigrated to Australia, when he was 15 years old. His father, a disgraced lawyer in Britain, established a law from into which William entered, before being lured by the wealth to be found in Gold, at then then fledgling town of Rockhampton. Always the entrepreneur, William eventually found his way back to Britain to become instrumental in the development of oil fired engines for the British navy’s new fleets of warships. He was the founder of what is now British Petroleum (BP).

    Gertrude Bell was from a very privileged and wealthy family, was exceptionally bright, had a gift for languages and adventure, loved deeply and was equally at home in the Deserts of Mesopotamia as she was in London drawing rooms. Her knowledge if eastern culture and languages proved to be invaluable in the first British hunt for liquid gold, Oil.  She was given the title of Queen of the Desert; her legacy was immense to both the Ottoman empire, Persia now known as Iraq and Britain.

    Admiral John (Jacky) Arbuthnot Fisher, a man of small stature, a brilliant mind, with endless energy, made it his life’s mission to push, drag, pull and use any means possible to bring his beloved Navy into the modern world. Often scorned and ridiculed, his devotion to modernising the British Navy was one of the main components that did allow Britain to eventually survive the First World War onslaughts by the German and Italian Navies. He was a vocal and strong critic of the plans for the Gallipoli landing and the failure of his beloved battlecruisers at Jutland, did not endear him to the establishment.

    Such flamboyant people make Love, Oil and the Fortunes of War a very readable book, even though the narrative of the characters are fictitious, it softens the historic detail and adds a certain definite interest to a slice of history that is still resonating today.

  • An Ungrateful Instrument

    An Ungrateful Instrument

    Delicate, sensitive, brutal and unforgettable, as is a classical suite of music, An Ungrateful Instrument from Michael Meehan is a brilliant novel set in 18th century France, in the years before the Revolution, when to be considered a member of the Court of Louis XIV was the epitome of Society.

    The powerful voice of the mute Charlotte-Elizabeth Forqueray, sister to Jean-Baptiste and daughter to the genius, if demonic composer Antoine, himself a child prodigy at the Court, tells the story of love, abuse, decadence and strength, that was the everyday life of the Forqueray family as their father forced his children to become what he once was, a Prodigy to the Court of Louis XIV.

    In his obsession he believes that violence will achieve the desired conclusion, but in his doing so his brutality sees Charlotte Elizabeth choosing to remain mute, refusing to play the viola, Jean-Baptiste taking the force of the obsession, trying to live up to unimaginable expectations.

    Their mother, Henriette-Angélique Houssou, once a talented musician who accompanied her husband on the harpsichord, is now a dreadfully unhappy, broken woman who filled their childhood with wild stories associated with the Greek Gods and other ramblings.

    It is in this setting the powerful voice of the narrator tells of the tragedy, decadence and obsessive hatred of the father for the son, who even at a young age is a fine and rich talent, who takes punishment after punishment in the hope that he will be able to live up to his father’s demands. Eventually n his madness, the father, along with a group of Court lawyers sees the son exiled from France for many years, jailed and left destitute on the streets.

     Threaded through the sad story is the beautiful balance of a woodsman, a craftsman, who crafts a beautiful Viola out of treasured pieces of wood for the young Jean-Baptiste. He is tutored in the fine art of viola construction, each segment explained in detail, each singular piece gifted with its importance to the whole instrument. This in itself is an eloquent tale of beauty in the depth of horror, a light to be held in the darkness.

    Antione Forqueray was considered a genius in his compositions but he considered each piece so unique it should never be repeated, that the work should never be written down, that the piece should only ever be performed by either himself or his son.

    Harpsichord was the only instrument to accompany these works and to this end Antoine in his later years, lusted after the brilliant second wife of Jean Baptiste, a harpsichordist of prodigious talent.

    In a supreme irony, two years after his death Jean-Baptiste published 32 of this works; apparently more than 300 pieces had been composed over Antoine’s lifetime. His work was considered as extremely difficult if not challenging to play, so much so that after his death Jean-Philippe Rameau, Francois Couperin and Jacques Duphly composed works as a tribute to the complex and violent man.

    Michael Meehan has out of tragedy, crafted a work that is exquisite, that sings, as do the strings of a Viola da gamba, voicing brilliance, tragedy, love and lust to tell a story; the words placed on the page with care and precision, so much so, the emotion has been neutralised in the retelling. The voice of Charlotte-Elizabeth more powerful for the precision.

    It is perhaps a necessary conclusion to the work, to listen to one or more of Antoine Forqueray’s compositions, even if you don’t enjoy classical music, to appreciate the magnificent obsession that created such complex compositions. 

  • Before We Were Born

    Before We Were Born

    Before We Were Born is a delightful and poignant story about what really does happen in the before or in so many case, before we were reborn back again into the life we have chosen for many and varied reasons.

    Requesting to be reborn into the materialistic world again was no easy thing to do, but as Kalli was insistent, Elia knew he would go with her, to be beside her if she needed him, protect her if he could and love her, even if was from afar.

    And so begins a beautiful love story that spans lifetimes, that carefully and skilfully crafts a tale of diversity, love, carelessness, devastation, friendship and understanding that many will relate to which will touch the heart strings.

    Elia and Kalli have spent many a lifetime together, occasionally returning to earth, which alwys came with a sense of desperate longing to reach out to someone on the earthly plane. Before they left the safety and beauty of their beautiful, white world, a world they had created with their love, their guides and mentors, brothers Moonhawk and Running Deer, come to try and get them to stay as they know, as only they can, just what is in this rebirth for both Kalli and Elia: that this journey is going to cost them both dearly and as it plays out, it surely does.

    Kathleen Ready Dayan has used the concept of reincarnation as the basis for the storyline, wrapped in never ending love, describing so beautifully through the lives of Joy and Jeremy, so many of the emotions we have all experienced, as we travel our own journeys.

    Beautiful, well written and heartfelt, keep a tissue box close as the final chapters are those that could be seriously considered as ‘tear jerking’ moments of reality.

  • The Bletchley Girls

    The Bletchley Girls

    Set in Britain in the early years of World War II The Bletchley Girls from Anna Stuart is a captivating read based on a true story. Anna Stuart tells the story of three young women whose lives are changed by the choice they all made; to join a newly formed organization located at Bletchley Park that was very secretive; so much so they were all unsure of exactly what they were going to do once they got there.

    Steffie a socialite, engaged to handsome Italian Matteo, Alisa, already a WRAN and very unsure of herself and Fran, full of confidence but out to prove she can make something of herself that does not follow the family footsteps of medicine, all meet up on the Bletchley Station; all with the same instructions, all wondering just what lay in store.

    Each of the girls has a special skill required for the establishment of this relatively new, secretive and secret operation. Steffie has a skill for languages which she has honed in a life on the Continent, Fran is a skilled logistics genius, a skill set which eventually becomes invaluable to the War effort, and Ailsa has a knack with radio learned on her tiny island home of North Uist. She can pick up a whisper on the wind with her keen hearing and nimble fingers.

    Given directions to the Manor by the stationmaster, the three set off on what was to become one of the most fascinating, revealing and challenged careers that saw them face incredible danger as each one contributed their skills to the War effort. 

    As the long years of War drag relentlessly along, the Bletchley Park team have a critical part to play in the War effort as they pick up and code break intelligence from the Enemy. Eventually Steffie is posted to Cairo and Ailsa is sent to Malta, while Fran is faced with what appears to be a budding romance with French recruit Valerie, and a frightening sense of emotion. 

    Love, heartbreak and a wonderful sense of close friendship binds the three friends together as they not only face their worst fears, but each one falls deeply in love during a time when all things in life could be and often were ephemeral.

    Beautifully told The Bletchley Girls skillfully portrays War time Britain, bringing a time long past alive once again, while paying tribute to the many men and women who gave countless hours of their lives, living with immense secrets, carrying out work that was essential to help and contribute to the War effort.

    With The Bletchley Girls Anna Stuart could be considered to be at the pinnacle of her genre of Historic Fiction. An exceptional story.

  • Love Rules, Meditations for Cello and Piano

    Love Rules, Meditations for Cello and Piano

    Wells Hanley and Noah Hoffeld have, after many years working together on various occasions, finally put their prodigious talent into a framework known as Bodhiheart and released their first album, Love Rules Meditations for Cello and Piano, a sumptuously rich series of compositions to delight and enchant.

     The addition of Mark Egan, fretless bass and Arjun Bruggeman, on tablas and world percussion lends a specific depth of emotion to the ‘cello and piano’ that takes the music out of the world of classical and places it firmly into the world of relationship with spirit; exactly what they wanted to achieve.

    Several years ago an improv session set the wheels in motion. Sometime later they realised they both had a deep and long time commitment to meditation and the spiritual life, which has led to the creation of a fusion of sound that is soothing, delicate, and deeply relaxing.

    In many ways the music reminds of the mood music created to set the scene, to entice the journeyman into a world of sumptuous bliss, where daydreaming of the impossibly possible, is perfectly natural.

    Each piece is charming in its soft beauty, delighting the ear, soothing the heart and gentling the soul. As the title says, the work is a meditation for Cello and Piano and it truly is, as without a doubt, trying to write words to fit the beautiful pieces is challenging, as one drifts off to another place where the mind remans in neutral, while simply absorbing the complex and deeply enriching sound.

    Track after track woos, entwines and reaches out with a gentle melody, each piece complete within itself but making a cycle of sensual pleasure. Perfectly perfect is the simply way to describe the complete work.

    Indulge yourself and relax into Bodhiheart’s spiritual meditation for one hour of perfect bliss with Love Rules Meditations for Cello and Piano and then push replay again.