Official Review: The McTavish Regressions

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jvez
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Official Review: The McTavish Regressions

Post by jvez »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The McTavish Regressions" by McTavish & Buret.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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The McTavish Regressions by McTavish & Buret provides a historical fiction twist on the psycho-therapeutic procedure known as Past Life Regression. Past Life Regression practitioners believe that a person’s inexplicable fetish or desire stems from an experience in one of his past lives. Dr. Wallace McTavish, a Past Life Regression specialist, meets his new patient, Laura. Born with a physical disability, Laura spent her entire life stuck in a wheelchair. Thus, she could not fathom why she strongly feels she is supposed to be a dancer. She will not consider other options. She has to be a dancer or none at all. Through hypnotism, Dr. McTavish then opens the deepest recesses of Laura’s mind, leading her to unravel the secrets of her past life as a member of the Romani tribe caught in the Spanish Inquisition in 1592.

The McTavish Regressions is bound to entertain fans of historical fiction and psychological studies. The book does not delve too deep into psychological terms and technicalities, making the fundamentals of Past Life Regression understandable even to those who haven’t heard of it before. Please do note that the book includes a few scenes depicting violence, although nothing too disturbing.

The premise of this book is indeed very alluring for its clever combination of fiction, psychology, and history. The author also evidently researched some important details regarding the Romani culture, including their dances and their Italian language.

In addition, the character of Dr. McTavish invites intrigue. Readers will be compelled to analyze his theories regarding Past Life Regression. However, the other main character Dr. Genevieve ‘Vivi’ Buret doesn’t seem to fit into the story yet. To complete her thesis in Criminology, Vivi sought the help of Dr. McTavish. The two intellectuals reached a consensus that Past Life Regression may aid in understanding the mental states of criminals, especially those who committed heinous crimes. This discussion was left unexplored in the book. To be fair, The McTavish Regressions is the first installment in an intended series. Perhaps Vivi and the connection between criminals and Past Life Regression will play bigger roles in later books.

As much as I like the plot and Dr. McTavish's character, I find the book fell short in transporting readers into different times and places in history due to lack of descriptions. Past lives of the characters lead readers to places like London and Las Vegas, but the lack of descriptions didn’t make me feel like I was reading about these places. Moreover, the book is rather short with only 87 pages. More details and scenes could have been included or expounded. Instead, readers were allowed only one of Laura’s past lives. The book also failed to give a proper resolution to Laura’s condition. I understand that it is vital to leave cliffhangers for readers to look forward to the succeeding books. However, I think it would have been better to end Laura’s case in this book and then introduce a different case in the next.

I observed a few typos and some sentences that need reconstruction. The portion of the book focusing on Dr. McTavish’s past lives also used a font style that was hardly readable.

Overall, I give The McTavish Regressions 3 out of 4 stars for its promising premise that is bound to appeal to a wide range of readers. Nonetheless, the book is too short, and more scenes and detailed descriptions could have been added.

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The McTavish Regressions
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Sahani Nimandra
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Post by Sahani Nimandra »

Wow, I'm marvelled. The story line and type is something new in book though I know of this type and has search about it. The hypnosis involvement or reading other people's lives is very fascinating specially when you try to find the root cause of things. Thank you for the details. Your review definitely provoked me to have it in my reading shelf.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

The premise of this book is definitely promising. Therapy by means of Past Life Regression is an unusual idea for a historical fiction storyline. I hope the author will consider expanding this novel and developing a much more complex plot in future novels.
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Post by Laura Ungureanu »

I'm really in love with the plot of this book. Nevermind that the character has my name, but past life regression is something I heard little about and is a very interesting subject. And the way it is presented here, with Laura being in a wheelchair, but feeling like she was supposed to be a dancer, really hooked on this story. Wonderful review! Thank you!
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Post by Libs_Books »

Fascinating review, thanks. This sounds as though it has great potential as a TV series, but I have to say that I don't really fancy it as reading material.
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Post by jvez »

Sahani Nimandra wrote: 02 May 2018, 01:46 Wow, I'm marvelled. The story line and type is something new in book though I know of this type and has search about it. The hypnosis involvement or reading other people's lives is very fascinating specially when you try to find the root cause of things. Thank you for the details. Your review definitely provoked me to have it in my reading shelf.
Yes the plot is really unique for me too. I haven't heard of Past Life Regressions before this book, but thankfully, the author knows how to explain without being too technical. The idea of the hypnosis was also the main reason I liked this book. You should definitely read it, but like I said, it's a bit too short and the length did frustrate me a bit because I wanted to learn more about PLR. Nonetheless, please do give it a try. I'd love to know what you think about this book as well.

Thanks for reading my review :)
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Post by jvez »

cristinaro wrote: 02 May 2018, 08:20 The premise of this book is definitely promising. Therapy by means of Past Life Regression is an unusual idea for a historical fiction storyline. I hope the author will consider expanding this novel and developing a much more complex plot in future novels.
Thanks for reading my review :) The premise is indeed very intriguing. But yes, it's too bad about the length. The author could have discussed more details.
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Post by jvez »

Laura Ungureanu wrote: 02 May 2018, 13:21 I'm really in love with the plot of this book. Nevermind that the character has my name, but past life regression is something I heard little about and is a very interesting subject. And the way it is presented here, with Laura being in a wheelchair, but feeling like she was supposed to be a dancer, really hooked on this story. Wonderful review! Thank you!
Thanks for reading my review :) Laura's condition is truly an interesting topic. I wish the book expounded more on her case. By the way, Laura is a beautiful name.
jvez
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Post by jvez »

Libs_Books wrote: 02 May 2018, 13:58 Fascinating review, thanks. This sounds as though it has great potential as a TV series, but I have to say that I don't really fancy it as reading material.
Thanks for reading my review :) I've never thought about the TV series possibility. But now that you mentioned it, I think you're right. The TV series can also cover for the author's lack of descriptions.
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Post by Ericanielsen »

Thank you for your review! This book sounds very intriguing. The concept sounds like something that would trap you in. Even though it sounds like it falls a little short, it also sounds promising.
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Post by gali »

An historical fiction book revolving around a Past Life Regression specialist and his new patient sounds intriguing. Combining historical fiction and psychological studies should make it a good read for fans of the genre. Too bad about the lack of descriptions, the lack of resolution, and the lack of editing. Not for me, but I am glad you enjoyed the book despite its flaws. Thank you for the review!
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Post by lesler »

This book looks so different, and exciting. I already feel connected to Dr. McTavish.
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Post by desantismt_17 »

This sounded so interesting from just the description. The length, though, makes it sound as if I'd be left wanting. I really wanted to read this, as the past life regression angle is fascinating. Now, I'm not sure. Thanks for your honest review.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

This is a fast paced historical fiction novel on adventure and seeking answers from past lives. The book is free on Amazon Kindle and has an inciteful onlinebookclub review that highlighted the book perfectly. I rated the book 4 out of 4 stars. Congrats on being the BOTD.
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Post by Ruba Abu Ali »

Past Life Regression is very intriguing. There is so much promise to the premise behind the book. Thanks for the enlightening review.
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