The Soul Ajar, A Love Story

by Kiana Davenport

From bestselling Hawaiian author, Kiana Davenport, comes 'The Soul Ajar,' a riveting political thriller and love story. Set primarily in contemporary Russia and the United States, here is a novel that brilliantly knits together four seemingly unconnected lives: Adam, a CIA intelligence operative who suffers from albinism, and searches for the Russian assassin who killed his mother, an act he witnessed as a child; Lily, a young Hawaiian-Chinese journalist who falls in love with him; Bazil, an Indian intelligence operative from Mumbai who befriends Adam; and Zahira, a beautiful Afghani girl mutilated by the Taliban. In this searing and multi-faceted novel, Davenport reveals the paths these characters travel as their lives become intertwined in a haunting and timeless story of the love that binds humans together, and the wars that continue to tear us apart.

~ Praise For Kiana Davenport's Novels ~

THE SPY LOVER

"A great love story written in beautiful prose. It's been a long time since I cried while reading a novel. Davenport is a brilliant writer." -- The Huffington Post

"Beautiful writing. A page-turner. I could not lay it down. It will likely become a classic like 'Cold Mountain.' " -- The Washington Times

"Davenport is ingenious. A powerful story of love and war. A novel you are unlikely to ever forget." -- Book Reporter

HOUSE OF MANY GODS

"A powerful and moving experience." -- The Washington Post

"A lush, ambitious novel that offers a fascinating glimpse into the beauty and contradictions of Native Hawaiian culture." -- Publisher's Weekly

"Davenport mines the depths of emotions. Readers who enjoy a Doctor Zhivago-like saga will appreciate the broad scope of this novel." -- Library Journal

SONG OF THE EXILE

"Deeply moving. She possesses the qualities all great writers have: deep compassion for their subjects. You can't read Kiana Davenport without being transformed." -- Alice Walker

"Incredible. Haunting. A powerful tale of love and loss." -- Booklist (Starred)

"What separates 'Song of the Exile' from popular novels is its intensity of feeling, its sensuous detail on every page, its dedication to a level of writing few bestsellers possess." -- Norman Mailer

SHARK DIALOGUES

"Great storytelling! An epic feminine saga. Davenport's prose is sharp and shining as a sword. Yet her sense of poetry and love of nature permeates each line."
-- Isabel Allende

"Torrid, yet intelligent. Compares with the fiction of Toni Morrison." -- Glamour

"A giant, image-fevered, luxuriant saga of a Hawaiian family...powerful, memorable, intoxicating." -- Kirkus Reviews.

~ Praise for Kiana Davenport's Prize-Winning Pacific Story Collections ~

HOUSE OF SKIN (VOL. I)

"Haunting, hypnotic and beautiful." "Astonishing writing!" "Magical and powerful stories about Hawaiians and the people of the Pacific." "Brilliant and scary."
-- Amazon Reader Reviews

CANNIBAL NIGHTS (VOL. II)

"Stunned by the power of these stories!" "She is a master tale-spinner." Great stories about obsession, loss and love." "Her stories are exotic, vivid, beautiful and intense. I am a huge fan!" "Extraordinary." -- Amazon Reader Reviews

OPIUM DREAMS (VOL. III)

"Hair-raisingly beautiful! I learned so much about the people of the Pacific Islands.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2014

About the author

KIANA DAVENPORT is descended from a full-blooded Native Hawaiian mother, and a Caucasian father from Talladega, Alabama. Her father, Braxton Bragg Davenport, was a sailor in the U.S. Navy, stationed at Pearl Harbor, when he fell in love with her mother, Emma Kealoha Awaawa Kanoho Houghtailing. On her mother's side, Kiana traces her ancestry back to the first Polynesian settlers to the Hawaiian Islands who arrived almost two thousand years ago from Tahiti and the Tuamotu's. On her father's side, she traces her ancestry to John Davenport, the puritan clergyman who co-founded the American colony of New Haven, Connecticut in 1638.

Kiana is the author of the internationally best-selling novels, SHARK DIALOGUES, SONG OF THE EXILE, HOUSE OF MANY GODS, THE SPY LOVER, and most recently, THE SOUL AJAR, now available in paperback and on Kindle

Reviews

[Val Wilkerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks Kiana Davenport for another good read. Adam is a Russian born albino whose mother and grandparents were brutally killed right in front of him when he was only 3 years old. He has spent his life alone, waiting and watching for the day he and kill his mothers killer. Lily is a young woman from Hawaii who has moved to New York and who falls in love with Adam. Lily does not know what Adam does, only that he has to leave the room to take phone calls, and when he "no shows" for lunch one day and she sees a blond woman entering his apartment she figures he is finished with her and she takes off. Later on theirs paths cross again and she finds herself doing things she never thought she would do.

Kiana I watch for your new books and I love your old ones.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the author's previous novels' Hawaii themes. This one is completely different. The story is contemporary and intriguing and the writing is as great as ever. In my local public library this book is filed under "Romance" and I guess it does contain a couple of steamy vignettes. To me it's more a story of Love, Loss, Redemption.

[Debra Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

I rated this storyline low because of the way it was ended. Kiana built the story up in great detail, weaving a story that kept me interested, and then abruptly ended it without wrapping things up. It felt as if she had just quit writing.

[Petie Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kiana Davenport is a favorite author. I am sorry for the low rating. Her writing is impeccable. I just did not care for this story. The plot was not believable. The characters were OK but the storyline wasn’t realistic at all

*update. I just found out that it is a background book for another novel. I will update again after I read Shark Dialogues.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Kiana Davenport’s writing. It was interesting to experience her branching out into a spy novel—I enjoyed it.

[Kathleen Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detaile review is coming.

[Sarah Feary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of Kiana's better works. This novel tried too hard to make a political statement, and just didn't possess the brassiness of House of Many Gods, or the magnitude of Shark Dialogues.