≫ Download Onyx Heart Donna L Campbell 9781463790424 Books

Onyx Heart Donna L Campbell 9781463790424 Books

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Onyx Heart Donna L Campbell 9781463790424 Books

I gave this book two stars only because I was able to make myself finish it. The premise of a Christian fiction vampire novel interested me, and I was curious to see if it could be pulled off. I'm sorry to say, it was not, at least by this book.

The writer attempts to span a time period from the Civil War to modern day. I had high hopes as well for the historical side of the novel, but was disappointed again. The conversions to different time periods are abrupt, and at times even confusing. There is very little description of the time frame that the character finds himself in. For example, the Great Depression is touched on, but WWII was never even mentioned. The most descriptive time frame was of modern day, which makes me wonder about the level of research. There was also lack of attention to detail in moving through time. For example (spoiler), the main character fought in the Civil war, which ended in 1865. He is 23 at the time of this book, so to be liberal, you could place the beginning of this book in 1870. He revisits his original home 'seventy plus years later', and notices all the computers and telephones. This would have made the date approximately 1940.

(Again, spoilers in this section as I attempt to use examples) The book begins with our character trying to learn his way after being blinded by a life changing event, and struggling to come to terms with this perceived weakness. A woman shows up, whispering that she can heal him, but that she's not human and he will have to serve her. He accepts. That sums up the entire first quarter of the book. The conversation did not flow, there was minimal depth to the characters, and it was very unbelievable. This persists throughout the book, with the character accepting horrifying or life altering changes with very little depth of emotion, and very little elaboration. When he first discovered he had fangs, he casually commented on it as if discussing the weather, then goes on to say he almost ate his housekeeper. And that is the end of the conversation. Also, later in the book, he says he never really contemplated that there might be more to God than just religion, yet he easily accepted a strange woman appearing and telling him she was not human.

Our vampire character struggles through his existence until he reaches modern day. Finally, he finds a church that feels like a warm, inviting place (before this, in all other periods of time, all the churches he encountered were selfish places filled with mean people). He asks for forgiveness, then considers himself a Christian and proceeds to hang out with all his new Christian friends, with only an occasional 'drink' on the side. He meets a woman who explains that he has to do more than just believe in God. I won't spoil the ending, but it's predictable. Throughout the novel I was frustrated by the lack of details. Was he dead? If so, how could he go pale when he was frightened? A thirteen year old vampire in the novel was destined to stay that way forever, but when our character runs across an eye doctor, the doctor can tell that he has been blind for a really long time because his eyes have become more sunken in from disuse. So he could change? He had only been blind a few years before he was 'turned'. Did he have to breathe? No answers to these questions.

In addition, there were some serious editing, grammar, and punctuation errors, as well as misspelled and misused words (reigns for reins, idol for idle) that added to the difficulty in reading this book. I applaud the author for attempting to break out of the mold, but I could not enjoy this book.


Tags : Onyx Heart [Donna L Campbell] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Luke Logan, the wealthy young owner of The Double Jay Ranch, lost his wife and his sight in one tragic day. But a seductive and enigmatic vampire offers him eternal life,Donna L Campbell,Onyx Heart,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1463790422,Christian - Fantasy,FICTION Christian Fantasy,Fantasy,Fiction,Fiction - Religious,Fiction : Fantasy - Paranormal,FictionFantasy - Paranormal,Religious & spiritual fiction,FICTION Fantasy Paranormal

Onyx Heart Donna L Campbell 9781463790424 Books Reviews

Onyx Heart carries the reader through many decades of the life of a wealthy rancher who becomes blinded during a tragedy that also takes his beloved wife. In his desire to win back his vision, he makes a pact with an alluring vampiress who deceives him at every turn, including the denial of sight.

The symbolism the author so aptly portrays throughout, takes its reader into the deception of sin and its lies for a more fulfilling life and culminates with the true freedom of Christ's redemptive blood and immortality in peace.

I hope to read more from this great new author!
Wow! This author certainly had a great story in mind when she sat down to write this book. I found it so interesting to see how she somehow worked Christianity into a normally secular subject! I rated this book as a 4 star rating for some grammatical errors but other than that it's pretty darn good!
I gave this book a 3 stars simply because it is not my typical genre choice, that being said this book was not your typical anything! A Christian novel that centers around vampires, unheard of!! I loved how the story spans so many years! The author does a great job of relating our spiritual sins to the hopelessness of being a vampire. The promise of eternity without the pleasures of Heaven and the promises of joy, peace & love is simply a place I don't want to be. The author had a huge task with blending these two worlds (vampires & Christianity) but I think was successful at her attempt. An interesting, thought provoking read.
Not many books are daring enough to span more than a hundred years of time - Gabriel Garcia Marquez' "100 Years of Solitude," for instance, or "The Bridge Over the Drina." In "Onyx Heart," time itself is a character, and it, as much as any of the other characters in the book, drives Luke Logan forward.

The author's style is subtle and understated as she describes the effect of time on Luke, bringing up aspects of immortality that most of us might gloss over - having to constantly make new friends as your old ones age and die, being forced to master unending new technological developments, and things of that nature. Luke's quest for something meaningful, which can make sense of his immortal life, is understandable and well-presented, and the answer, when it comes, is a natural development. In the end the reader can see with his or her own eyes why immortality, without something eternal, would be one of the worst curses imaginable.

I gave the book four stars instead of five due to the sporadic grammatical errors, misused or just plain missing punctuation, and various other rough edges that could easily be massaged out by a competent editor. In spite of those, if you value substance over style - and I believe you should - then you will find "Onyx Heart" to be a thought-provoking and rewarding read.
Great book! All the ingredients are there to make it a great read! I will read more from this gifted author.
I enjoy reading this book. I liked the character Luke. I didn't expect the twist at the end, it was interesting not predictable.
I gave this book two stars only because I was able to make myself finish it. The premise of a Christian fiction vampire novel interested me, and I was curious to see if it could be pulled off. I'm sorry to say, it was not, at least by this book.

The writer attempts to span a time period from the Civil War to modern day. I had high hopes as well for the historical side of the novel, but was disappointed again. The conversions to different time periods are abrupt, and at times even confusing. There is very little description of the time frame that the character finds himself in. For example, the Great Depression is touched on, but WWII was never even mentioned. The most descriptive time frame was of modern day, which makes me wonder about the level of research. There was also lack of attention to detail in moving through time. For example (spoiler), the main character fought in the Civil war, which ended in 1865. He is 23 at the time of this book, so to be liberal, you could place the beginning of this book in 1870. He revisits his original home 'seventy plus years later', and notices all the computers and telephones. This would have made the date approximately 1940.

(Again, spoilers in this section as I attempt to use examples) The book begins with our character trying to learn his way after being blinded by a life changing event, and struggling to come to terms with this perceived weakness. A woman shows up, whispering that she can heal him, but that she's not human and he will have to serve her. He accepts. That sums up the entire first quarter of the book. The conversation did not flow, there was minimal depth to the characters, and it was very unbelievable. This persists throughout the book, with the character accepting horrifying or life altering changes with very little depth of emotion, and very little elaboration. When he first discovered he had fangs, he casually commented on it as if discussing the weather, then goes on to say he almost ate his housekeeper. And that is the end of the conversation. Also, later in the book, he says he never really contemplated that there might be more to God than just religion, yet he easily accepted a strange woman appearing and telling him she was not human.

Our vampire character struggles through his existence until he reaches modern day. Finally, he finds a church that feels like a warm, inviting place (before this, in all other periods of time, all the churches he encountered were selfish places filled with mean people). He asks for forgiveness, then considers himself a Christian and proceeds to hang out with all his new Christian friends, with only an occasional 'drink' on the side. He meets a woman who explains that he has to do more than just believe in God. I won't spoil the ending, but it's predictable. Throughout the novel I was frustrated by the lack of details. Was he dead? If so, how could he go pale when he was frightened? A thirteen year old vampire in the novel was destined to stay that way forever, but when our character runs across an eye doctor, the doctor can tell that he has been blind for a really long time because his eyes have become more sunken in from disuse. So he could change? He had only been blind a few years before he was 'turned'. Did he have to breathe? No answers to these questions.

In addition, there were some serious editing, grammar, and punctuation errors, as well as misspelled and misused words (reigns for reins, idol for idle) that added to the difficulty in reading this book. I applaud the author for attempting to break out of the mold, but I could not enjoy this book.