Review by Alicer -- Deceitful Survival by LC Lee

[Alice Festo]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceitful Survival" by LC Lee.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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DECEITFUL SURVIVAL by L.C.Lee

It is the year 1801. We meet a young girl aged 15 named Elizabeth(Beth). Her story begins on a sad note with the passing of her mother and finally being orphaned after the loss of her father and left under the custody of her two brothers Felix and Rollin. It was their view that Beth would be better of with a motherly figure, so they suggested she stays with their aunt Simone after the sale of their land. It turned out that her aunt was not as kind as she appeared. She mistreated her and delegated her a lot of house chores. The final blow was when she was forced to share a room with her aunt’s elderly driver, Bayram who tried to take advantage by holding her inappropriately. This forced Beth to flee to her friend Emma who advised her to become a nun. Beth applied for the position and was finally accepted at Saint Vivien Church in Rouen. She bids her brothers goodbye and head to her calling.


At Saint Vivien she meets Reverend Mother Saint-Augustin who took her through the requirements of a nun. She attends classes to learn more about her devotion after which her name was changed to Andre’e La Roux. Andre’e is later assigned to Haiti, where she meets father Rene’ and it is here that her journey into adulthood begins.

In Haiti she becomes friends with their cook Ana and her daughter Yahima, and makes close friendship with Hellen, James’ wife. It is a peaceful place but her stay is short lived after a disagreement between the Congolese and French about allowing Vodoo religion to be practiced alongside Christian religion. Leading to capture of father Rene’ and general L’Ouverture. With the aid of Mico, Andre’e and her friends begin search and rescue mission of father Rene’, ending up with Hellen’s capture. Later they seek help from Mico’s tribesmen who manage to rescue Renee’.


With Rene’s life in danger he is forced to run away to a different destination together with Andree’ . They manage to board a ship heading to Cuba where they were tasked to look after young Daniel, the son of a prominent Cuban minister of affairs, Carlos Nicolas de Azara. The minister was pleased with the care given to his son by Andree’ and offered her a job as his son’s tutor with Renee’ being positioned as his travel planner. Here they are offered a home and spend almost 14years of their lives. Andree gives birth to a son and names him Miguel but at the age of 13 he gets washed off by the storm while fishing with his father. Andre’e becomes depressed over her sons death and losses a lot of weight after searching for his son without success, Andre’e finally agrees to hold a burial ceremony without retrieval of Miguels body.

Father Rene’ finds himself in trouble after collaborating with the Creole. He’s taken to court and charged with treason which meant either life imprisonment or a death sentence. After his hearing he denounced being a Spanish citizen and his charge is shifted from treason to Subversion. Andree’ is exiled to Haiti to continue her duties as a nun. She meets Yahima who enlightens her about Ana’s death and fleeing of Mico due to fear of his life, before they catch up Andre’e find an opportunity to escape by pretending to be Rene’ where she is escorted by two brothers Bernard and Joseph to replace Archbishop John Marcel after his death as the bishop council. Her slender body after losing weight due to her son’s death made Andre’e more manly. She wears Renee’s cloths to disguise herself with a mission of saving Rene’ and starting a new life.


In summary Deceitful survival is a story of a young lady called Elizabeth whose name is changed to Andree’ after she decided to become a nun. We travel with her as she goes through the teachings of a nun and journeys on to different countries forced by circumstances. We experience her first love her trials, friendship and how she finds unforeseen strength through her troubles to finally putting her life back in order.

I feel the book brings out an aspect of double edged sword by leaving the reader in suspense of what happened to Anacaona, Hellen, James and Mico. It’s a source of great suspense but it would have been good to now the fate of especially Hellen and her husband James as we are informed of Ana’s death though not detailed, Whereas Mico flees for his life.

I love the fact that the book doesn't have a fairy tale end. Its end is a reality of our day to day lives.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 due to the fact that I was glued to it from the first till the last page and was eager to find out what happens next, I also love the fact that the book was short and precise and though there were other characters who played important roles it did not divert from the main character.

I recommend the book to young adults as it generally enlightens them about the challenges of growing to adulthood, life’s goals, ambition, disappointments, marriage life and commitment.

I didn't note typing or grammar errors the book was properly edited.

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Deceitful Survival
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[Emmanuel Testimony]

Quite a detailed summary. The book seems interesting judging by your review.

[Alice Festo]

Quite a detailed summary. The book seems interesting judging by your review.

Yes, it's quite interesting, thanks for stopping by.

[Caroline Anne Richmond]

This sounds like a great story. Your review gives a lot of summary information and it sounds like a really good read. I like a book that follows a character through many aspects of their life, the good, the bad and the ugly,

[Alice Festo]

This sounds like a great story. Your review gives a lot of summary information and it sounds like a really good read. I like a book that follows a character through many aspects of their life, the good, the bad and the ugly,

Yes, it's a perfect read, you will enjoy it. Thanks for your comments.