It has been a few weeks since I finished reading The Barley Break. I wanted to wait because I was not sure how I felt about the story. Isn't that the mark of a unique book? It made me think. It had me thinking about the nature of good and evil weeks after I finished reading.

The Barley Break is about a succubus, a human entity that does not die. When the body dies, the spirit can move to another body and continue living. Maude, the succubus in the story, is centuries old and now inhabiting the body of Sara. Mom Jennifer realizes that something is different about her daughter. Finding out about Maude raises concerns and questions for Sara's parents. Is this still Sara? Reading about the different lives Maude lived throughout history was interesting. Maude lived as a good person in the different bodies she used. But she did use the bodies of other people. The spirits of those other people, their personalities and uniqueness, are subsumed by the succubus. The body becomes a shell with talents and abilities used by the succubus. Is this good or evil? Even if the succubus uses for good purposes the body of another soul, is that justification? Is it evil? I have come to my own conclusions. Thanks, C.A. Hope, for making me think.

A compelling start and an exciting finish, but the middle was a little slow and slushy. This story read more like a romance novel...not what I was initially led to expect.

Thanks to Troubador Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.