Brent: The Heart Reader [Kindle Edition]

"I believe that nothing in life is coincidence, everything that happens to us is part of our destiny. We meet the right people at the right moment in our lives when we need it. It does not happen before or after; it just happens at the right moment." ~ Lilly

For Brent, of 'Brent The Heart Reader' by Wynn Wagner, life doesn't seem all that fantastic. In fact, it seems downright awful, yet Brent holds on to the truth that things will turn out for the best. As his past is cleared away, literally in some instances and figuratively in others, he struggles with his purpose. Brent attracts wonderful people who chose to travel with him as Brent journeys toward a better understanding of himself and his true purpose. After serious soul searching, Brent is able to put things in perspective and accept the gift of love which the Universe is offering him.

I identified with Brent right away, probably because I've been through some of the spiritual dilemmas that he's experienced. He's a wounded healer, able to help everyone but himself. Even though he complains a lot, he does so with a great sense of humor; it's his way of processing life. Brent is a good friend, he has a good heart; and he's continually giving of himself without receiving. Brent is trying to find his balance in a very confusing world, which often seems to be conspiring against him. I admire his strength and his tenacity as he goes against the grain; Brent is true to himself. He strives to always choose the high road, even though he knows it will be more difficult.

Wynn expertly weaves the mystical elements into the story, illustrating the concepts by examples, in Brent's, his lover, Takota's, and the other characters' emotional, physical, and spiritual reactions to them. This approach enables the reader to be able appreciate and join in their experiences, rather than merely having educational but emotionless words explaining the concepts.

I guessed from the subject matter, and the gorgeous cover, that I would like this book, but it was even better than I had imagined. Wynn's style is fast, witty, cheeky, sensual, intimate, and informative. It's a very fulfilling story with lots of emotional ups and downs, suspense, intrigue, spirituality, balance, and love. It reminds us that everything, especially the Universe, requires balance and that every cause has an effect. If you're up for a sensual love story which is very pleasurable, but very informative as well, 'Brent the Heart Reader' may be for you. Wynn, thank you for sharing your talent and wisdom with me and making me think.

NOTE: This book was provided by Mystic Ways Books for the purpose of a review on [...]

A strange, and oddly, funny book about a young Tarot reader and his discovery of true love. While reading this book, a sometime even complex book, mostly played inside the mind of Brent, I had this idea of the author, a retired archbishop who writes explicit gay romance novels, in a committed relationship since the 1990s: I was imagining a good-tempered, kind man, in body and mind, and then I turned the last page and saw the picture of a long-haired blond Viking, better suited for a novel about pillaging than a new-age story like this one. But even if it sounds strange, that gave me a new perspective on the novel, making it a little more biography than pure fiction.

At first Brent seemed too odd to be true; now it's true that I know people who are 100% in communication with their inner soul and living according to the same rules Brent is, but to my very grounded persona, it's always difficult to admit they are real people. Not true, and I think Brent is a little bit a fictionalization of the same author.

Brent's love interest is hunk Native American Takoda; perfect in everything, inside and outside, Takoda is a wet dream comes true, and he really loves Brent, from day one. Again, until last page, this sudden bond seemed rushed, and indeed I was thinking that Takoda was replacing his lost lover, another man with Swedish origin like Brent, with him, but again I was wrong, and everything was in the plan of God, the tarots, or the Sioux's spiritual guides (it depends from whom is reading the signs). Sometime I wondered if some event had some deeper meaning, like the tale of the dollar bill and Brent's adopted ancestor, and the only explanation I could find was that everything was in a complex thread, nothing was superfluous.

I wanted to highlight the funny core of this story since I think it's deliberate; sincerely, when I start this book I was not expecting it; on the contrary, from the blurb, I was ready for a little dark mood, a mourning hero, maybe even some tragedy. Nothing of that in this story, and while there is emotional involvement, everything is seen through the eyes of Brent, who manages to turn all of that in positive signs, and the outcome as well is more than positive.