Paranormal Elements

Use this forum to discuss the June 2018 Book of the Month"The Girl Who Knew da Vinci" by Belle Ami
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Julie Green
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Re: Paranormal Elements

Post by Julie Green »

As my family tells me, I do not like hocus pocus or paranormal activities but this book balances it well so that it does not spoil the suspension of disbelief.
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Post by Taekwondoqueen »

Personally, I have always loved the paranormal genre, so I enjoyed this aspect of the story. I agree with you, Belle Ami tied the paranormal bits into the story in a wonderful way. I plan on reading other books by Belle Ami, including the rest of this series.
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

I loved the paranormal events. They were always a source of suspense and left me with a desire to Learn more.
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Post by Shraddha_rc »

ReyvrexQuestor Reyes wrote: 01 Jun 2018, 11:23 The regression part of the story is not a bad idea at all. For one thing, if the sleuthing magic fails, there is a back-up in the paranormal aspect. It adds something more to the mystery.
I agree with you. If paranormal stuff was not included then I don't know how this book would have concluded. Just like you said, it added more to the mystery.
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

The pararnomal events were a major boost in plot development. I was intrigued by their incorporation.
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Post by jjmainor »

Personally I was a bit confused by it. Angela and Alex were supposed to be reincarnations of those past lives, meaning the souls would have moved into their beings, but the ghosts of those past lives existed independently. I think at the end, the author suggested the ghosts were actually traveling from the past to the present, so I guess that throws another level of the paranormal on it...
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

I founded unfamiliarity in the paranormal events. I don't think the unnatural change of eyes and reincarnation are possible in real society. They surely aided the book plot.
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Post by Aditi1992 »

I think the supernatural elements is a great addition to the boo. It made the book more interesting to read for me because I like reading paranormal stuffs.
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Post by KMSingh »

I think the paranormal aspect of the story actually hindered its development. The author relied on the idea of soulmates reconnecting throughout time, rather than develop the characters and building conflict into their relationships. I mean, if Angela and Alex are soulmates then they must be meant for each other. How can they have anything that comes between them? When they meet they must recognize a connection and feel drawn to each other, so what could possibly keep them apart. I think one thing that would have helped is if Angela gradually realized that one of the men in her life was the soulmate from the past lives, but didn't know which it was. She might even have thought it was Scordato at some point. This would have built conflict into the story and given Angela something to do other than have visions and faint.
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Post by RT_offscript »

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.
Hi bookowlie -

Although I have some reservations towards "The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci," I did enjoy the story with its paranormal elements; and I do look forward to reading more of Belle Ami's novels.

However, I think that the plot would have worked as well without the supernatural tie-ins; and the story would have a more serious and realistic tone. Actually, if you remove the supernatural tie-ins, the author's work resembles a 2002 British-American film called "Possession."
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Post by ems2 »

I don't think that the story had to have paranormal events.
The couple that is in the present time could have done a genetic test and/or find a diary or book about the family.
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Post by Bon0 »

I like the paranormal, those scenes served as decorations to the book.
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Post by Theresa Moffitt »

I enjoyed the paranormal aspects of the book. It put an interesting spin on the story. I thought it was interesting to travel through time to have a first hand account of the actions
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Post by serendipity 27 »

I enjoyed the paranormal aspects of the novel. I think it gave it a certain twist and flavor to the overall genre of romance and even the genre of history. I think the author did a good job of tying in all the different time periods and she did it in a way that was not confusing for the reader at all.
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Post by Prisallen »

I don't think it would have been the same story without the paranormal aspect of it. That is how Angela was able to figure out where the painting was.
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