Mystical Embrace: Our Rekindled Bond is the third book in the "Bond" series. Prior fans familiar with the characters and setting of its predecessors will find that this new addition vastly expands the story, adding further developments that profile the results of a romance between NHL hockey player Y, who has a family in Sweden but tours the world, and Geneva, an emergency room doctor who falls in love with him.

Now Y has two families—and when the media exposes his affair and the child which has resulted, lives are changed and hearts are broken. Can love emerge victorious from such adversity?

Mystical Embrace's special talent lies in its ability to closely examine not just the choices of its characters and the consequences they face on many fronts, but the added challenges of a health crisis and the social issues that swirl around them.

It should also be noted that events and mysticism are steeped in First Nation references right from the start, from Cloud's crushing grief and discovery of a farewell note from Raven Sings to Geneva's 'mystical home' and connections to not just her child and lover, but the world.

Marlene Cheng's voice is evocative throughout as the characters view their world, return to their roots, and steep themselves in their chosen lives and cultural inheritances: "...in keeping with Island ways, I shared with them what had happened to Krys and how I was handling it, in bits and pieces, at opportune moments: while walking the beach, keeping an eye for interesting drift-wood garden statues; over warm, buttered, lemony scones and lattes while waiting for the moon to be eclipsed, hoping for the clear night to hold; when thoughts were triggered. They never pushed, realizing that some details were difficult in their coming. Some were even too sensitive for their empathetic ears."

With her slow, lazy prowess at painting scenes with words, Cheng draws readers into lives unexpectedly entwined not just by life circumstance and choice, but by mysticism and fate.

Because multiple lives are explored in the first person, Cheng is careful to include the names of each character when changing perspective. This makes it easy for readers to follow their evolution and changes.

Warm, psychologically introspective, culturally and spiritually revealing, and filled with the gentle flow of interconnected lives, Mystical Embrace: Our Rekindled Bond enhances the series by pursing the threads of previous books as it contrasts the life and adrenaline rush of a NHL hockey star with the gentler perspective of characters who move beyond the lure of considering life as either a win or lose proposition.

Under Marlene Cheng's hand, everyone wins in different ways. And so does the reader, for pursuing an evocative story of magic, change, and the concurrent challenges of ALS and a legacy of love.

4 stars for A mystical Embrace by Marlene F Cheng

Five Stars for A MYSTICAL EMBRACE - a upcoming Comtemporary Romance Novel by Marlene F Cheng... Destiny Brown Goodreads Author.

Reviewed by Maria Beltran for Readers' Favorite
A Mystical Embrace: Our Rekindled Bond by Marlene F Cheng tells the interwoven story of a number of persons, many of them women.
The story unravels with Krystian, an illegitimate son of
Geneva, an emergency room doctor, and an NHL hockey player exchanging casual banter with Ryan, a farm boy turned military man. What follows is a series of chapters told from the intimate points of view of the various characters such as Cloud, Geneva, Venice, Y, Shelly, Karin, Ellie, Tree, and others. Set in different countries like Canada, Ireland, Sweden, and Africa, A Mystical Embrace is a fantastic journey that takes readers to the innermost corners of the human heart.
Marlene F Cheng's A Mystical Embrace: Our Rekindled Bond is a gripping novel that explores the depths and dimensions of human life itself. The main protagonists of the novel experience myriad events like love and betrayal, true friendship and death, crippling diseases, relationships and a host of other deep emotions. And because it is told from the character's very own point of view, it becomes very real and palpable. Author Marlene F Cheng is a master storyteller, capable of shifting her voice from one character to the next. Certainly, a feat that many writers would like to have.
And in spite of all the trials that come together with life itself, A
Mystical Embrace offers something in the end that perhaps makes everything worth experiencing, and this is what makes the novel a must-read for everyone.

Although A Mystical Embrace: Our Rekindled Bond is categorized as a romance, I felt like it was so much more. This book was filled with tears, both happy and sad, as the reader follows the lives of an extended family, all brought together by one brave soldier, Krystian.

In the prologue, this book begins with a conversation Krystian has with a fellow soldier named Ryan. He explains that he changed his name from Krystian to Raven under the influence of Cloud, his surrogate father. Y, Krystian's biological father, was not a part of Krystian’s life growing up because he was a married man. This prologue explains so much of the story that as each character is introduced after Krystian/Raven’s death, the reader understands the connection between all of the characters.

Because each chapter is narrated by a different character, the reader is able to change perspectives throughout the book. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. The beginning of the book is quite sad since all of the characters are mourning the loss of Krystian. It really takes a toll on the health of Geneva, Krystian's mother, because it leads her into a deep hole of depression. I enjoyed the part where Geneva and Shelly, Krystian’s wife, take a trip to Hawaii together to heal.

Before he died, Krystian had given each of the special people in his life a little box with something in it. He had told them to only open the box if something bad happened to him and was no longer around anymore. Because the story is written from each character’s perspective, the reader is right there to see first-hand what each character received in their box. Marlene Cheng does a wonderful job of personalizing each box to its character, and it made my eyes well up each time a box was opened.

One part of the book that I really enjoyed was the two trips to Ireland. I don’t want to ruin the story; however, I do have to say that it was so easy to picture Ellie and Collin with the sheep, laughing as they inoculated them one by one. The picturesque description of the farmland was gorgeous as could be with its greenery. And while in Ireland, I could feel the true happiness and also a bit of closure for Karin, Y's wife.

Overall, this book was well-written and told a beautiful story about a family brought together by one special soul.

Reviewed by Kristi Elizabeth