Tag Archives: Gina Marinello-Sweeney

New Release: The Rose and the Sword

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New inspirational novel just released by award-winning Catholic author Gina Marinello-Sweeney!

The Rose and the Sword (The Veritas Chronicles, Volume 2)
by Gina Marinello-Sweeney

Can a rose survive in winter?

Rebecca Veritas is a new college graduate, eager to pursue her dreams as a clinical psychologist. As she adjusts to her new surroundings in the big city of Los Angeles, she finds solace in a mysterious antique bookstore. Yet, as her thoughts still linger on someone from her past, she is unaware that the present has the potential to haunt her the most.

As time passes, a growing sense of unease quickly transitions into more disturbing events that make her question if all is as it seems. When circumstances take an eerie turn, Rebecca will find herself a player on a larger scale than she had ever anticipated, a scale that could cause one to pay the ultimate price.

In this riveting sequel to I Thirst (2013 YATR Literary Award for Best Prologue), the adventures of Rebecca Veritas, the young, introspective dreamer with an inclination towards random insanity, continue.

The Rose and the Sword is available in paperback.

Book Review: I Thirst

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I Thirst is a poetic, unique first novel by Gina Marinello-Sweeney.
The writing is fresh, lyrical, and literary. The novel is definitely more character-driven than plot-driven. Twenty-year-old Rebecca meets an interesting young man and they instantly connect. They share a love of writing and embark on a writing project together, through which a deep friendship grows.

While the story moves with it’s own flow, I found it a bit disjointed in places and somewhat random. As I read, I kept hoping for more story tension. Symbolic and poetic as it was, some parts were a tad too abstract for me. The story didn’t always hold my interest, particularly the play within the play.

This is just my honest opinion, and tastes differ. From the raving reviews I’ve seen, there are certainly others who love this book. You might be one of them! I suggest reading the first several pages in Amazon’s “Look Inside” the book feature to see if I Thirst draws you in.

Catholic readers will appreciate the Catholic aspects, which are tastefully included and not overdone.

Marinello-Sweeney has quite a way with words and is certainly a gifted writer. I enjoyed her use of the first person voice and the writing is lively, descriptive, and contains zany touches of humor. The author did an excellent job fully fleshing out the characters and making some of them off-beat and eccentric. I also enjoyed her depiction of the true passion of a writer. The author’s own passion shines through in I Thirst, and I’m sure we will be seeing more of her work in the future.

I Thirst is available in paperback.