OnlineBookClub.org

I think that Angela's connections to Fioretta and Sophie could be both a gift and cures. That is because she is in a form living out the words that Giuliano said to Fioretta on their wedding day. "This life will never divide us. I will love you today, tomorrow and into eternity. This wedding picture will speak of our love long after we have passed." Within this book, Angela has gotten to experience that love three different times or feel a love so strong that it was immortal though coming back in form of different people yet still have that bond so strong. Though the first two times the men were killed right in front of her is a curse in itself but the last time she did get it right.

She seems to be a lot troubled by it so it is a curse. It all depends on how you look at it. A problem would not be a problem unless you look at it as a problem. Besides why run after visions they may tend to leave messages but that does not mean you should go after it and land in unwanted trouble.

I would think it a gift if I could see my past lives. I would like to know who I was in a past life. I do understand why Angela believes it a curse. It caused her a lot of problems

Amcdanel86 wrote: ↑14 Jun 2018, 13:33 I would think it a gift if I could see my past lives. I would like to know who I was in a past life. I do understand why Angela believes it a curse. It caused her a lot of problems

I think one of the key aspects of the curse versus gift debate is that they were completely uncontrollable. Angela couldn't choose when, how, or for how long the visions would over take her, leaving her physical self potentially in harms way. Even if they were limited to being dreams that she saw when she slept, that for me would have shifted a little farther away from being labeled a curse because her safety wouldn't have been in so much jeopardy.

thaservices1 wrote: ↑06 Jun 2018, 18:24 Well, I'm going to go with they were a blessing in disguise. Angela is whisked away from her humdrum daily life of art, overbearing peers and pervert boss into a life of adventure, love, fabulous wealth, great sex and professional recognition. Sure she passes out, freaks out, and almost gets raped and killed, but hey life ends up grand in the end.

Hahaha I love the positive attitude displayed in this review. Heck she even got to witness Sophia and Gerhard sharing an intimate moment. Are you a peeping Tom if it's a past version of yourself you are watching????

I wonder if Alex would have declared her to be worthy as an art detective partner if she had actually had to research and find real clues about the location of the painting. Every valuable piece of info came from the visions. Without them, she would have pretty much been useless to Alex.

lesler wrote: ↑13 Jun 2018, 12:54 I think it made the story. It was not fully clear to me how the artwork transferred from Fioretta to Sophia-I must have missed that part.

Fioretta told Giuliano's mother, Lucrezia, to take care of her son and take the painting when she knew she was going to die in childbirth. The painting was kept in the Medici's collection until that collection was donated to the Uffizi where Sophia worked. The Medici Collection was at the Uffizi since 1769. That's how her and Gerhard came across it. Gerhard chose to smuggle it out during WWII because he didn't think it would be preserved due to it not being contributed to a great artist.

kfwilson6 wrote: ↑15 Jun 2018, 09:28

lesler wrote: ↑13 Jun 2018, 12:54 I think it made the story. It was not fully clear to me how the artwork transferred from Fioretta to Sophia-I must have missed that part.

Fioretta told Giuliano's mother, Lucrezia, to take care of her son and take the painting when she knew she was going to die in childbirth. The painting was kept in the Medici's collection until that collection was donated to the Uffizi where Sophia worked. The Medici Collection was at the Uffizi since 1769. That's how her and Gerhard came across it. Gerhard chose to smuggle it out during WWII because he didn't think it would be preserved due to it not being contributed to a great artist.

Thank you!

I think Angela connection is a curse because it causes her problems and wears and tears on her.
I think her visions of Fioretta and Sophia are credibly portrayed.

I have to agree that her connection with her past lives is more of a curse than a blessing. I value free will very highly, and I can't help but believe that Angela's situation holds her back from living her life, even if she did get to meet Alex because of it.

It's completely unbelievable, of course. But if such a gift was possible, I would say this one manifests as a bit of a curse because of the blackouts that are caused by it. If her past lives/psychic visions came in the form of evening dreams or even just a few flashes of insight here and there, it would be a much better gift. The blackouts pose quite a danger. After all, during one of them, a complete strangers kisses her passionately, and she doesn't remember it happening. One can imagine what other things could happen to her without her knowledge.

The visions that Angela has are merely another tool at her disposal, although in this case, we are talking about one that not many people possess. In the end, it depends on how she uses these visions or how much she feels tormented by them to determine whether they are a gift or a curse. In my opinion, these visions are a gift to her, since they allowed her to find both the painting she was looking for and the love of her life.

Past life regressions were definitely a curse for her. It put her in a series of trouble. The only thing she found through it was her love. But this was also possible without getting through this hectic effort in the wake of those past life regressions.

Dael Reader wrote: ↑18 Jun 2018, 15:00 It's completely unbelievable, of course. But if such a gift was possible, I would say this one manifests as a bit of a curse because of the blackouts that are caused by it. If her past lives/psychic visions came in the form of evening dreams or even just a few flashes of insight here and there, it would be a much better gift. The blackouts pose quite a danger. After all, during one of them, a complete strangers kisses her passionately, and she doesn't remember it happening. One can imagine what other things could happen to her without her knowledge.

If it had been Scordato who kissed her I don't think she would have been saying "I wish I could remember it." The story would have taken a completely different turn had it not been Angela's "perfect guy" who kissed her when he didn't even know her.

KRay93 wrote: ↑19 Jun 2018, 18:38 The visions that Angela has are merely another tool at her disposal, although in this case, we are talking about one that not many people possess. In the end, it depends on how she uses these visions or how much she feels tormented by them to determine whether they are a gift or a curse. In my opinion, these visions are a gift to her, since they allowed her to find both the painting she was looking for and the love of her life.

Maria seems to have some insight about this tool of Angela's so I wonder if Maria will be able to help her control the visions. I also wonder if Maria knows of another/others who have this ability.

The series could really go in quite a few directions. Angela could have more past lives that she can "visit." Ami may be able to provide an avenue for Angela to have visions of people who were not her past selves. Angela may find others who have visions and the series could follow them instead.

SABRADLEY wrote: ↑06 Jun 2018, 10:16 I think Angela's past life regression is distinctly a curse! The experiences are traumatizing at times, confusing, and has changed who she is as a person. Even though she meets Alex, I feel like the bad outweigh the good.

I also feel its a curse, but was at times a gidt for sure....i agree that the bad outweighed the good however