Enlightened

I love this book because it's the story I searched my whole life for. ❤

Behind a confusing start, there is a good story <br /><br />This is an unusual paranormal reincarnation-type love story, in which Harmony is a student soul who returns to Earth to learn more about herself as Veronica. In fact, she has had many lives on Earth as part of her education. I liked the concept although I found the start of the book confusing until it became clear what had happened. Just when I was about to give up, the story started to make sense, and I'm glad I continued. The drive in the book is the characters. They are interesting and the plot certainly poses thought-provoking questions about spirituality, life and afterlife.<br />

3.5 Stars<br /><br />Harmony is a soul, and like her classmates, she travels to Earth, leaving her memories of home behind. While on Earth, she and her classmates are born into humans to learn their lessons. For them, Earth is school. But Harmony has just figured out something about herself and the connection she shares with Kaleb, another student. For as long as she can remember, she and Kaleb have always found each other on Earth. If only Kaleb would discover their bond before something terrible happens. <br /><br />I was immediately intrigued by the unique premise of this story. And the following quote within the first few pages caught my attention “A wise person once told me: All good things must come to an end. Respectfully, I have to disagree. All stories have a beginning, but the best stories start at an end.” The story is well-suited for young adults, and there are few spelling or grammatical errors. Chapters are short making for a quick read. <br /><br />While I enjoyed the story, there were some technical issues which interrupted the flow. There were two or three chapters devoted to Harmony and Kaleb expressing their love for one another. I felt one chapter was enough to get this point across. About three-quarters through the book, the POV changed from first person told from Harmony’s perspective to first person POV told through Kaleb. The change was a bit jarring, and I had to keep reminding myself that I was in Kaleb’s head and not Harmony’s. This change was only for one chapter and reverted back to first person as told by Harmony. <br /><br />Despite these issues, this was a sweet story with likeable characters and good world building. I will read the next book in the series as I need to know what happened.

Harmony has lived many lives, but one thing that was constant in every single one of them was Kaleb. But for the life of her, she dosesn't know why...<br /><br />Oh. My. Days. I had to take a moment after reading Enlightened by Billie Kowalewski just to gather my thoughts. This book was amazing. From the opening chapter to the very last sentence I was utterly enthralled. To say I loved it is an absolute understatement.<br /><br />Harmony is such a well-drawn protagonists. She is one of those characters who feels deeply, loves deeply, and hurts deeply. She was so believable and so brilliantly written. And as for Kaleb... Oh, my giddy aunt... I will tell you something, Billie Kowalewski has got herself a new fan.<br /><br />I could go on about this book all day. It was Brillant. This book has made it into my top 5 reads for 2017. I am hoping, very much, that there is going to be a sequel.<br /><br />I Highly Recommend.

I don't even know what to say about this book. The concept of this book would've seemed better if it was executed properly. Everybody is intrigued about afterlife if they believe in any and the concept of Earth as school where we go to learn our lessons to be able to come home finally as a redeemed person sounds all good. But there was no depth to this story. It had the worst world-building. There were so many repetition of words that I wanted to throw my tab at someone. <br /><br />Sometimes good ending make up for the bad plot but this wasn't even the case here. It ended on a cliffhanger. Suffice to say, I didn't like anything about this book. <br /><br />My Rating: 1.5

‘All stories have a beginning, but the best stories start at an end.’<br /><br />Connecticut author Billie Kowalewski is a refreshing new voice on the literary scene. Though she has published only two books – ENLIGHTENED and its sequel DIVIDED her imprint on the mind of those fortunate enough to read her work is indelible. She appears to have a very strong future. <br /><br />The afterlife – or the before life – is a topic that has fascinated poets and philosophers and lovers for centuries. Most authors deal with the subject as a time travel genre but Billie allows us to actually FEEL the difference between this life and the afterlife to the extent that the flow is ingratiating and welcoming and wholly credible.<br /><br />The novel opens with the same delicate sense of light humor that makes Billie’s writing such a joy to read. ‘MY WORLD IS YOUR WORLD, only you can’t remember any of it. A barrier exists between what you think is real and what you know to be. It was put in place during the transition into the world you currently know, and will be removed upon your return. In other words…this is not your real life. My name is Harmony, and I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. I am a student at the biggest, most famous school ever known. And so are you! Earth. Yep, Earth is school. Are you shocked? If you are, it’s okay. This is the most common and expected reaction to this news. I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in… Just kidding! Based on the fact that you’ve chosen to read this, I’m gonna bet that you’re a lot like me. You’re probably fine, and not shocked by this at all. If you do, however, find this news to be at all surprising, perhaps it would be best if you stopped here. This story is based on an alternative viewpoint, and I’m not looking to upset anyone’s beliefs. I do understand that this story may not be for everyone. Our extreme diversity is an important part of what makes up who we are. So this may be where we will agree to disagree, and possibly part ways. Hopefully as friends. For everyone else, we will move on. Yes, life is about learning, and Earth is the school. I’m sure you’ve heard someone on Earth say this before. I know when I’m there I hear this often. People know, and it’s not because they remember that it is. They know because you cannot get through a single day there without learning something, somehow. It was set up to be that way. On Earth, learning some type of lesson is unavoidable. If you’re sitting there right now searching your mind for a tiny clue that this is true, you’re wasting your time. You won’t be able to find anything. Please don’t be mistaken––your memories are there. You carry them along with you, buried deep within your subconscious, hidden by a special barrier. This barrier will remain in place throughout your entire life, and it is what is keeping you from being able to remember the world from which you came. Not to worry––you’ll get your memories back, along with your new ones, once you…ahem…return home.’<br /><br />The plot of Billie’s novel follows: ‘When Veronica lost the love of her life in a horrible accident she was sure he was gone forever, and she would never love again. Then, five years later she meets her own tragic demise leading her back to the man she loves, but, with an unexpected twist...Imagine waking up to discover that the life you thought was real never was. That your real life is actually lived somewhere else, and the love you thought was lost will go on forever.’<br /><br />Radiant and mesmerizing and uplifting ENLIGHTENED is. Pleasure yourself with this very fine novel.

I am always intrigued by the afterlife and the different variables that each person has to say about. So, Of course, I said yes to this book because da need to check out this author view on and how she weaved it to a story. <br /><br /><br /><br />I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by the story. My mind had gone to a different concept before I started this book and I was yet again wrong. Which is brilliant because I love to be surprised by books. <br /><br /> I had a talk with my husband of a similar concept that came from another guy was doing a podcast I don't remember who but he was doing an experiment of doing DMT that drug puts you to sleep and allegedly gets you in touch with your subconscious and possible the other you in the afterlife. Anyway, probably most of you think I am talking jibberish right now So I get to the review.<br /><br /><br /><br />So the concept of this book is that earth is a school and we go there to learn; the afterlife is actually our home and we go there when we "die". Of course, we follow a group and within this group, we focus on our two main characters were the story slowly starts to unfold and explain the whole concept of this afterlife.<br /><br /><br /><br />I loved the story and the concept. I thought it was really nicely put together. I felt that the author took the concept of dimensions and structured the afterlife on that. I believe the 10th dimension is where it has infinite possibilities were you can imagine anything and it happens, i.e, a house in the forest with a beachfront. <br /><br /><br /><br />The book had some repetition in words and feelings which annoyed me, but towards the end, I realized why. I think the author wanted to establish the feelings of our main characters and ingrain it in our brains. Then she did the unthinkable finished the book of a bloody cliffhanger. Like WTF I am very angry about it. I didn't expect it. I didn't realize it finished. In all honesty, it could have finished a little more soft not so abrupt. I had to email the author ask her if it's meant to finish mid-sentence or it has been an error. It turned out it hadn't. <br /><br />Well, am I suggesting this book for people to read?<br /><br /><br /><br />A BIG FAT YES. Although it finished the way it finished I didn't feel angry after I realized it was a cliffhanger. I am looking forward to reading the second book as well. <br /><br />

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review, and honest I shall be!<br />I realised that I'm not the exact intended audience for this book, but I flexed my imagination and BAM! I was a teenager again!<br />The beginning was a lot to take in at once, but I think that's mainly because Billie has put so much into creating this world. Once we got into the story I found that I felt quite invested in Harmony and was loving the tale unfolding as to why she kept experiencing all of these dramatic deaths!<br />Kaleb was everything that I would have wanted in a boy as a young teen, and I liked the beginning of their relationship; I said it in my video review, that if you have the time and the energy to repeatedly argue with someone over something, then it's indicative that there is some kind of deeper dynamic or relationship being hinted at... and I have a soft spot for love-hate relationships &lt;3<br />I will say though that there were 3-4 chapters in the middle of the book that were hard to get through. There was a lot of repetition ('sweet honey-like scent' was used 17 times from chapter 12 til the end) and the plot didn't move. <br />However, when it picked up again... it was great!<br />I loved the premise of Artopeia, and especially the courtyard scene. The world and the concept was a fresh and unique take on some pretty awesome and ancient beliefs on reincarnation (i.e. native American and Hindu), and these links did make me geek out a little bit. <br />I'm also personally a fan of cliffhangers too, so the ending worked for me - and it was a nice surprise to discover that this was going to be more than one book about Harmony and her journey.<br />Overall, even after a few speed bumps, it's a nice teen romance with a good dose of high school drama... well, if the school was the planet Earth...<br />I've also purchased Divided, and based on the reviews that I've seen, I'm looking forward to devouring it!

Sometimes there's more to life than what we're able to see, and that's exactly what life is like for Harmony. She keeps getting sent back to Earth as someone new, and she keeps dying early. There's a reason for these premature deaths, and there's a reason there's always a special someone in her Earth life, she just doesn't know the answers yet. <br /><br />Each life is meant to teach you what you need to move on. If you don't glean all you need to, then you need to go back. Harmony and her friends are in class together, and they always meet up on their return trips, each of them with their own home bases if you will. <br /><br />Enlightened is an interesting and unique concept that Kowalewski has thought up and she's created Harmony and Kaleb as deep characters. They are fierce in their emotions and they love hard. Aside from some repetitive word usage and a few spots that I stumbled over, there's a good, enjoyable story underneath, it's just a big disappointment to end on a cliffhanger with no warning, as the book is not labeled as a serial.

I received Englightened from the author Billie Kowalewski in exchange for an honest review. <br /><br />Despite struggling with the beginning of this book, I really enjoyed it once the initial confusion made sense. The story is brilliantly written and the theory makes you sit and think about life and the things that happen to you. You do find yourself thinking that some of these things make sense and could happen. <br /><br />There were a couple of chapters about 70% in that did become a bit repetitive, which unfortunately had me wondering if I would actually finish the book. However, I did finish it, and I'm so glad that I did. The story picked back up and continued to wow me. <br /><br />The ending leaves you on a massive cliffhanger, ensuring that you will no doubt pick up the next book, Divided, to find out what happens to Harmony and Kaleb. I can't wait to read Divided and see what happens next. <br />