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Spent Lives
François Laurent grew up in the shadow of what happened all those years ago and his life hadn’t been the same since. He tucked the memories of that day away in a dark corner of his mind, but hurtful things don’t stay hidden for long. His painful secrets resurfaced when a crime fragmented their charming town and François Laurent found himself in the midst of it all. As a result, he pursued Maureen Leatherby, the town’s kooky foreigner. She was always willing to assist patrons when the occasion arose, but it always came with a price.
108 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 20, 2014
7 people want to read
About the author
Mila A. Ballentine
15 books18 followersTo learn more about the author, visit http://milaballentine.blogspot.com/
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 26, 2014
Madame Leatherby was the character that spoke to me the most in Spent Lives. I felt that I could relate to her. She willingly gave advice but no one seemed to listen and when they did...well things often went awry. Another thing that I enjoyed was how the author connected everything together so perfectly. I love this author’s way of tricking the reader, yet she plants clues to help the reader uncover the truth.
April 30, 2014
Absolutely wonderful! Read my full review http://readingisawayoflife.blogspot.c... ~Happy Reading :)
August 30, 2016
Mila delivers a tale steeped in mystery; eerie happenings and most surprisingly romance that’s blended superbly. You’ll remember this book long after you’ve read it. It’s that good.
June 18, 2017
When I started reading this book I was not impressed at all. In fact, the influx of characters and what they were doing made my head dizzy. But I trudged along and I am glad I did. After a few pages when the character grip you, you find yourself in a small town with its hidden secrets and character flaws. To whom does this story actually belong to I am still confused. But on the whole I might say it is a story of a small town where the characters are all affected by a medium/tarot reader/fortune tellers prophecies.
A young girl goes missing and her brother, Francois grows up bearing the sibling guilt of why not him. A woman kills her fiancé because of being forewarned by Madame Leatherby that her fiancé would kill her in the future. But Madame Leatherby’s character is very fascinating. I felt she is the one who is like a string –tying all the characters together in this story. And then there is her own guilt, her own questioning of whether what she is doing is the right thing or not. Being a medium, she can see the future, but after telling her client that, they try to change the future and this changes the course of many lives.
The disappearing girls is also a mystery which makes you want to turn the pages of the book. And the biggest asset for me in this story was I FINISHED IT IN ONE READ AFTER TELLING MYSELF AGAIN AND AGAIN THAT THIS STORY IS NOT FOR ME.
A young girl goes missing and her brother, Francois grows up bearing the sibling guilt of why not him. A woman kills her fiancé because of being forewarned by Madame Leatherby that her fiancé would kill her in the future. But Madame Leatherby’s character is very fascinating. I felt she is the one who is like a string –tying all the characters together in this story. And then there is her own guilt, her own questioning of whether what she is doing is the right thing or not. Being a medium, she can see the future, but after telling her client that, they try to change the future and this changes the course of many lives.
The disappearing girls is also a mystery which makes you want to turn the pages of the book. And the biggest asset for me in this story was I FINISHED IT IN ONE READ AFTER TELLING MYSELF AGAIN AND AGAIN THAT THIS STORY IS NOT FOR ME.
May 7, 2014
I loved this book! I read it in 3 sittings because once I started I had a really hard time putting it down. Francois is this mysterious character who returns to his son Wesley in the small town where his wife passed away and where many years ago his sister Fran disappeared without a trace. The memory of his mother haunts Wesley but Francois is haunted not just by his wife but his sister and he seems to blame himself for her disappearance although we don't know until the very last pages of the book what happened to her and neither does he.
Madame Leatherby is this awesome psychic but no one seems to like her, and even though she KNOWS things about Fran and other characters, she is creepy and people avoid her. But she is without a doubt central to the story :)
It's a very nice story set in a sleepy town, and I love how the bike on the cover is also part of the storyline because it is basically how Wesley and Patience meet. But of course I am a literature major so when I saw the bike and read the blurb my first thought was that the bike could be seen as the past because it looks older but it can also be seen as the future or what is to come for them all. And the title "Spent Lives" is perfect because that is exactly what most of these people have done - they have spent their lives doing nothing, living in and dwelling on the past. But it is nice to see them start to live again in the book and begin moving on :)
Overall I give this book 5 stars! Definitely a must-read if you get the chance! I can't wait to read Milas other books!
***I had my own copy of this book for the review and all thoughts are my own***
Madame Leatherby is this awesome psychic but no one seems to like her, and even though she KNOWS things about Fran and other characters, she is creepy and people avoid her. But she is without a doubt central to the story :)
It's a very nice story set in a sleepy town, and I love how the bike on the cover is also part of the storyline because it is basically how Wesley and Patience meet. But of course I am a literature major so when I saw the bike and read the blurb my first thought was that the bike could be seen as the past because it looks older but it can also be seen as the future or what is to come for them all. And the title "Spent Lives" is perfect because that is exactly what most of these people have done - they have spent their lives doing nothing, living in and dwelling on the past. But it is nice to see them start to live again in the book and begin moving on :)
Overall I give this book 5 stars! Definitely a must-read if you get the chance! I can't wait to read Milas other books!
***I had my own copy of this book for the review and all thoughts are my own***
May 5, 2014
Madame Leatherby lives on Reignier Island where many people come to spend the summer's. She is the local fortune teller and her predictions come true. She's given many predictions over the years, but all in one summer they seem to collide with one another.
This story didn't grab me right at the beginning. It did however draw me in and once it got me I couldn't let go and had to know what would happen next. I was happy and sad at the end of this story and wanted to read it again! I would love to some day meet up with Madame Leatherby, but at the same time would be scared to death! This story has romance, horror, suspense everything I just love! I can't wait to read more from Ballentine.
This story didn't grab me right at the beginning. It did however draw me in and once it got me I couldn't let go and had to know what would happen next. I was happy and sad at the end of this story and wanted to read it again! I would love to some day meet up with Madame Leatherby, but at the same time would be scared to death! This story has romance, horror, suspense everything I just love! I can't wait to read more from Ballentine.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews