Review of Spirits and Secrets

[Oluoma Chukwu]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Spirits and Secrets" by Barbara Ann Perkins.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Spirits and Secrets by Barbara Ann Perkins is the touching story of Stephanie, a forty-year-old struggling woman. She is married to Jeb, a teacher who decides to venture into business after inheriting some money following the death of his first wife.

However, with Jeb's new business taking almost a hundred percent of his time and attention from his family and marriage, Steph decides to take Allyson, her biological three-year-old daughter, and Lisa, Jeb's daughter from his previous marriage, to an old cabin belonging to her in-laws. Stephanie is hopeful that by moving into this cabin temporarily, Jeb could be pushed to join them as well. It is not long before they realize that the cabin is haunted by ghosts, particularly that of Olivia, Jeb's mother, and David, her stillborn son.

With time, engraved sentences with cryptic meanings would be seen in the house, the family would start to hear disturbing noise from the floors of the cabin, and Allyson, Stephanie's little daughter, would start to communicate with a non-existing David. Is there any hope of surviving this haunted house? Will Stephanie's marriage to Jeb get the revival that brought her to the cabin in the first place? Find out in this intriguing novel that reminds us of the extraordinary nature of our world.

This work had many positive aspects to it, and I loved the way the author wrote it in the first person. Initially, I thought it was a true story, but I had to go back to check for a "Stephanie" in the author's name. By choosing to give us a first-person perspective of the book, we go on a journey with Stephanie, and we see her for who she is, a confused woman plagued by indecision and a marriage that is fast falling from her grasp. Regardless of her imperfections, we still know she's a good person because of the way she patiently worked her way to gain Lisa's trust.

I also loved the simplicity of the author's choice of words, making it very easy for the reader to comprehend without stress. The book also had no errors, a testament to professional and meticulous editing.

The book produced many wonderful themes, like marriage, the extraordinary nature of life, and love. The theme of marriage is immediately shown in the marriage between Jeb and Stephanie. Jeb then takes the bold decision to boost his finances by establishing his own business, but this rids him of family time. This shows that marriage is not easy at all. It is a journey that will take a lot of sacrifice from both parties. There are lessons to learn from the trials faced by Steph and Jeb in their marriage.

The theme of love, as I have pointed out, is shown in the way Steph loved Lisa equally, even though she wasn't her biological daughter. The story itself, in its entirety, talks about the fact that sometimes life may not be normal, and as such, we have to always brace ourselves.

The book was extraordinary, and I found nothing to dislike about it. For this reason, I rate this book five out of five stars. I could not give it anything below a perfect rating because I could find no reason to.

I recommend the book to lovers of good fiction books, especially those who love horror-filled books.

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Spirits and Secrets
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[Vitalijus Milius]

I just finished Barbs book Spirits and Secrets. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns, the spirits and the glimpse into our northwoods wildlife, small town living, summer cabins, winter fun, national forests and lakes. The Northwoods history, forests history and travel, small town shopping, fishing, swimming, shore lunches, fish boils and supper clubs. I couldn’t put the book down after David appeared.