Today I am featuring Julie Lynn Hayes and her book Revelations. I was really surprised and quite impressed by this book. It will turn your opinion of the stories in the bible on their head. Be sure to check out the rest of my review after the book blurb.
Book Blurb: (courtesy of museituppublishing.com)
Judas has never been very popular, not in any incarnation that he and Jesus and the others have lived through. But he doesn’t care about that. All he cares about is following the instructions of God as set forth in the script that they follow. And Jesus. For Judas has secretly loved the son of God for over two thousand years.
But now he decides that enough is enough, and he’s tired of watching Jesus die far too early, and for what? This time Judas is determined to see that Jesus lives a long and happy life, no matter what price he has to pay to accomplish it…no matter if he has to make a deal with the devil himself.
Revelations is a story of what could be, told by those who play it out, time after time after time, unbeknownst to the rest of mankind. They’ve come back again, for yet another round. But this time is going to be different.
Review:
Revelations by Julie Lynn Hayes is an imaginative and quite controversial read. It is probably one of the first books in a long while that I had a hard time reconciling what I have always known to a new idea of what could have been. This is a perfect read for this day and age. It will challenge what you have always believed and make you think twice about the relationships between the Disciples, Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary, Lucifer and God.
What would happen if Jesus didn’t have to die, but was able to live a long life and be able to love whomever he chose? What would happen if Judas wasn’t a betrayer but the love of his life? What if Mary Magdalene was more like a sister to Jesus? This is what Revelations tackles. I know what your thinking. These are really crazy ideas considering what most of us have been told and learned growing up. Julie Lynn Hayes takes on these questions and does it in such an inventive way it makes the story ebb and flow very naturally. In the end you are rooting for the happiness and ever after that Jesus never got to experience.
Revelations is written in such a way that you fall into the story. Each chapter is a different point of view. It is primarily taken up by Judas, but the love story threaded in the ever repeating story of Jesus’ eminent demise is unique and probably something not many of us would come up with. This unique story and familiar character with unfamiliar traits is a treat to read. You will at first find it a bit trying to wrap your mind around your preconceived notions of the characters versus what the author is trying to portray. But, once you over come that you will find a sweet story that ebbs and flows in such a smooth and almost lyrical way.
Author Bio: (courtesy of Goodreads)
Julie Lynn Hayes was reading at the age of two and writing by the age of nine and always wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Two marriages, five children, and more than forty years later, that is still her dream. She blames her younger daughters for introducing her to yaoi and the world of M/M love, a world which has captured her imagination and her heart and fueled her writing in ways she’d never dreamed of before. She especially loves stories of two men finding true love and happiness in one another’s arms and is a great believer in the happily ever after. She lives in St. Louis with two of her children and two cats, loves books and movies and role playing on the Internet, and hopes to be a world traveler some day. By day she does payroll and accounting, by night she writes and is also a copy editor and reviewer for comicsonline.com. Her family thinks she is a bit off, but she doesn’t mind. Marching to the beat of one’s own drummer is a good thing, after all.
I really must get this book. It looks way too fascinating! My imagination is spinning around.
Thank you so much for the lovely review! Much appreciated!