Official Review: Once A God by Victor A. Wilkie

sahmoun2778 · Post by **sahmoun2778** » 03 Jun 2015, 19:09

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Once A God" by Victor A. Wilkie.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Put simply, a great read!

This story focuses on the life of Jonah Atkins, a self-made millionaire. The story opens with Jonah’s young life and gives you the background on his life of abuse and what drives him to be a success. He has gone from poverty to riches by the time he is thirty. He has a beautiful wife and 2 young boys. His wife gives birth to a daughter who dies after just a few days. Jonah has now lost all of the members of his birth family and a daughter, this is where the story really starts to dig in. Jonah meets Miriam Barkley, a young lady escaping from an abusive relationship of her own, and falls deeply, madly in love with her. As you continue to read, the story takes you through the 3 years of their relationship and the affect Jonah’s choices related to Miriam have on his wife Mae, his sons, and his business. Jonah is driven and that comes out in everything he does. When Miriam’s past catches up with her Jonah’s dark side really comes out.

The characters of Jonah and Miriam are particularly complex. The author has done a great job of parsing out the complexities of the personalities and the forces that have molded them into the people they are when we read about them. I was immediately drawn into the force of nature that is Jonah Atkins. He is greatly admired wherever he goes but he is still human and prone to cruelty when he is crossed. Miriam is young and beautiful but she knows what she wants and goes after it with all she has. She wants Jonah Atkins and won’t take “no” for an answer. I couldn’t help but cheer for Miriam as the relationship deepens. Their relationship is beautiful and poignant but there is always present the knowledge that Jonah is married and the resulting tension gets very thick at times. Miriam’s relationship with Jonah’s son Charlie is also very special. They have an immediate bond upon meeting and this complicates things even further.

I liked how the author was able to make his characters feel real. At times, so real that it felt like a biography instead of fiction. I couldn’t help but like Jonah, Miriam, and all the people that surround them. I also enjoyed the way the relationship between Jonah and Miriam was portrayed with great passion but without being trite or leaving me feeling like I had seen this before. I just couldn’t help but want these two to be together. I also appreciated that the book had very few typing or grammar errors.

This book would be great for anyone who enjoys digging deep into the minds and motives of the characters. It’s not a mystery story though. There is romance and a few sexual references, but the intention of the book is not to be a romance, rather more of a literary work. I highly recommend Once A God and am giving it 4 out of 4 stars.

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Once A God
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Victor83 · Post by **Victor83** » 05 Jun 2015, 10:34

Thank you for the fantastic review! I am glad you enjoyed the read.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 06 Jul 2016, 07:08

Wonderful review, sahmoun2778! I love when an author makes his/her characters feel like real people. As a reader, it makes you care more about their stories. Congratulations to the author for receiving such a glowing review!

gali · Post by **gali** » 06 Jul 2016, 07:12

Great review indeed! Sounds like a great book for fans of the genre. I also love complex and realistic characters. Congratulations to the author on the good review!

signed · Post by **signed** » 06 Jul 2016, 10:07

Thanks for the review!

Insomniac07 · Post by **Insomniac07** » 06 Jul 2016, 10:13

I love character based novels. I love reading about different complex relationships dynamics. It makes the story so much more interesting. Great review. Congrats to the author for such a glowing review and for being the BOTM.

gaporter · Post by **gaporter** » 06 Jul 2016, 10:30

I took a look at the sample on Amazon, it seems interesting. I like when novels have characters so well developed that they seem real. Nice review.

dina s · Post by **dina s** » 06 Jul 2016, 11:20

I can relate to losing all of my birth family, so I might have to get this soon. Thanks for the review.

Joy Boudreau · Post by **Joy Boudreau** » 06 Jul 2016, 11:29

I read the free sample and wished the whole thing were free, but alas. Anyway, your review said that the book feels like a biography at times, and from the sample that I read, I would agree. I also like that you mention this is more of a work of literature instead of just a romance. There are far too many romance novels out there that really are just cheap thrills. I look for books that are good literature, so this looks like a good one to put on the list of "to read."

jungkookblog · Post by **jungkookblog** » 06 Jul 2016, 11:36

Awesome review. It does feel like a biography, I agree with you. This is a great book for romance genre lovers.

truebookaddict · Post by **truebookaddict** » 06 Jul 2016, 16:49

Thanks for the well-written and descriptive review. I also felt that it read more like a biography, but I felt it was too dry. Needed more show, don't tell. However, the story does have great potential.

MsMartha · Post by **MsMartha** » 06 Jul 2016, 17:54

I like the way this was reviewed--if it was totally a romance novel, I probably wouldn't be interested, but I do like books that do a good job with characters.

sahmoun2778 · Post by **sahmoun2778** » 06 Jul 2016, 18:01

What I appreciated about the story was that it wasn't a "romance" story but a story that included some romance. Probably all of our stories include romance somewhere along the way but I prefer to hear the whole story not just the candlelight and roses part.

MandalynnJDG · Post by **MandalynnJDG** » 06 Jul 2016, 20:34

Thank you for the review. I love to see when writers make complex characters because there are some characters that are so superficial that they are just there. Thanks for giving such a great detailed review regarding the characters!

Thimble · Post by **Thimble** » 06 Jul 2016, 20:52

Wonderful review. I don't think it's the type of thing I would be interested in, but I can see why you enjoyed it so much. It sounds like it was really well written and has an interesting story as well as interesting characters.