The Gift of the Seer

Spirit Keeper #2

by K.B. Laugheed

Katie O’Toole’s epic adventure began in The Spirit Keeper (Plume 2013) when she was rescued from a 1747 frontier massacre in Pennsylvania only to find herself chosen as the “Spirit Keeper” of a dying Indian Seer. She hesitated to accept this mysterious obligation until she fell in love with the Seer’s bodyguard, an Indian man she called Hector. In The Gift of the Seer, Katie and Hector continue their journey across the continent, but the more Katie learns about the peculiar ways of her husband’s people, the more she dreads arriving at their destination. Will anyone believe she is the Spirit Keeper she pretends to be? Equally troubling, Katie knows the Seer expected her to prove his Vision—a Vision which foretold of infinite Invaders coming to his world—but to prove this prophecy, she must give his people the great Gift he also predicted. The only problem is that Katie has no Gift to give. Years pass as she desperately searches for a way to fulfill her promise to the dead Seer, but when his former rival threatens to expose her as a fraud, Katie finally understands that her life and the lives of all the people in her new world hang in the balance. That’s when she knows she must give a Gift—she must—before it is too late.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Indigenous, Fiction, Native American

303 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 9, 2019

Reviews

[Kari Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

This story captivated me, made me laugh, stress, cry and rejoice with Katie. She made a new life for herself and slowly found who she was meant to be in it. I will remember the story of the Spirit Keeper forever as a book that touched me. To think these things really happened to the Indians as they lived their lives , one with nature, is so very sad.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book! Different and captivating. I accidentally stayed up all night reading this one.

[M.A. Koontz · Rating 5 out of 5]

K.B. Laugheed has captured the raw emotions of a young woman's tumultuous journey that forces a collision of her two worlds - one with demons she can't escape, the other with spirits she can't understand. A sequel to The Spirit Keeper, this story will leave you spellbound and contemplating life's lessons through the vision of Katie O'Toole.

[Susan Vesecky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book. The second one; however, seem to lack the punch of the first. The story line was a bit rambling & repetitive.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great subject matter and scenario.
Good 'bones' but it gets tedious and repetitive.
Could have been much better. A bit depressing!

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was provided this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read in many ways because I enjoyed the history and detail; but in all frankness I found the language issues disconcerting and distracting from the story itself.

What language issues am I referring to? Well, in all fairness it's something that the author does warn the reader about at the beginning of the book. K.B. Laugheed uses a style of writing where he main character Katie O'Toole speaks in stunted English as though she is a Native American Indian trying to speak English rather than a former pioneer settler of Pennsylvania who spoke English fluently.

Apparently Katie doesn't remember how to spell words, or even what tense to use much of the time. I understand she is supposed to have lived with the Indians for 30 years at this point and I can believe that recalling such things could be a difficulty for her, but this style of writing drove me bonkers and made reading this book work for me rather than a pleasure; it really interrupted the flow of the story.

Speaking of the story...that reminds me, this story is not meant to be read as a stand-alone. It is the second book in this series. That's fine, I like a good series. But this one throws the reader right into the story with very little background; it really begins very abruptly. Perhaps had I read the first book in the series or even if this book would have had Prologue for a new reader I would have been more acclimated to this story, but it didn't have those things. So, I was often a bit lost.

There are many things I found that I liked about Katie too. Their journey was interesting, her love for her husband was evident and I really enjoyed the historical aspects as well. So, there are many things within this story that I did enjoy, although the pacing of the plot often felt off to me.

But would I recommend it? Wow that's kind of a tough one for me without having read the first book to know if it would make an impact on reading this one. I wanted to write a glowing review, but I just couldn't quite do that. I just didn't love this one. Even though I am going to rate this one at a 2 star for me, I'm going to go ahead and recommend it because what distracts me may not distract you. However, I will say that you should read the first book (The Spirit Keeper) in the series first.

If you do read this book and have a different opinion please let me know, I'd love to discuss it.

If you'd like to see more of my reviews visit me at my blog.... Green Eyed Irish Lass's Book Reviews & More

[Lauren P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okayyyy so I’m slightly disappointed.

I am so in love with the first book and the concept of the story. I even emailed the author asking about a second one, so you can imagine how excited I was when I find out she wrote a second book. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t as great as the first book. It was much longer than it had to be, I wasn’t a fan of the “language” and grammar issues in Katie’s “writing” (although the author does warn us about this), and I wasn’t a fan of how repetitive the book was in general. It just dragged on a lot longer than it had to.

And finally, I didn’t like the gift. I was really hoping this would be one of those books that would change the course of history (but not really cause thats the fun of fiction) and it didn’t. For all of the fun maybe-maybe-not magical aspect that KB was able to add to the first book, that fun element was lacking here. For all of those “coincidences” and magical moments, the gift was kind of anticlimactic. Katie also had so many “I got it!” moments throughout the book that I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. While I understand how special the gift could be and the idea behind it, I think the book could’ve been as short as the first one and probably have been just as or even more effective.

However, I do love the story in general and Spirit Keeper will always be one of my favorite books.

[Cindy Marsch]

No star rating because K.B. Laugheed is my editing client. The novel for which this is a sequel, The Spirit Keeper, was published by Plume in 2013, but the author wanted more artistic control and has independently published this fine work that gives us the "happily ever after" that is often more complicated than the romances suggest. Laugheed needed only light editing (as we all do), and it was very satisfying settling into this rich account of a red-headed Irish girl from Pennsylvania making her adult life in the company of a tribe in the Pacific Northwest. Laugheed explores the deep and complex things of "romance," the realities of a long marriage, the decades of motherhood, and the heartbreaking realities of history. This is fine literary fiction.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

As good as the first one, maybe better, as it now describes life among Native Americans. It is just a little bit too long (I lost interest for a tiny bit around the 75% mark). Writing this must have been a colossal piece of work! It makes for a fascinating and surprising read, which I could not put down.
My only negative: the book cover. After the beautiful cover of Spirit Keeper, this one is disappointing and makes it look like a children book.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this because I love the first one so much, but this one just kind of dragged on and on and on. A lot of repetition. I will say that the author did bring everything together at the end, and it's a solid book, but the style of writing (as though the MC was trying to remember English after years of speaking her indigenous language) was quite distracting even though I get the author's intention.

[Elin Ruyter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as much as the first, if not, even more as the characters had become to me like family. This story was incredibly moving, and there was just so much profoundeness and so many little nuggets of wisdom. This is such a special story, and I'm ready to read it all over again. Katie is one character who will stay with me for a long time. Thank you K.B Laugheed for this beautiful and profound work of art.

[Debi Murray · Rating 2 out of 5]

I truly loved the first novel in this series, but it had been years between the first and second and I'm not sure if it was me or the writing, but I didn't love this one. It was far too repetitive and the main character did far too much whining. Will I watch for the third in the series? I doubt it.

[Jami Allyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy to have the rest of Katie's story and liked that it spanned her whole life. I was getting tired of her self doubt and believing she was a lier. The point was clear early in the story but rehashed too many times over the whole novel.
Overall great book and I like the authors writing style.

[Debra Gafnea · Rating 5 out of 5]

So very captivating

I read a lot and enjoy sinking into a good story. This story specifically was so very easy to get lost in. The writing technique was part of what made it so captivating. Mostly it was the many relatable messages that were imparted throughout the pages. I would recommend this to any fan of reading. It’s so much more than just a romance story.

[Stephanie Hettman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book filled with truth, insight and emotions

So well written bringing to my heart all the emotions possible. I enjoyed the family dynamics hand how the story made me want to keep reading until the end. I am Cherokee, Irish and French so the book was extra fun for me to read

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating. Emotional. Amazing. Read it on 4 days. Almost nonstop cuz I couldn't put it down

Amazing..Captivating. Emotional. Deeply touching.. Amazing. Read it in 4 days. Almost nonstop cuz I couldn't put it down...I became party of the story

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie has problems adjusting to her husband’s people. Eventually white people come bringing smallpox with them. Since she already had it, Katie is able to nurse these people. Was this the gift she was supposed to bring these people or was it something else?

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good! There are happy parts and sad parts, but it was such a beautiful book. I loved learning about their culture and how Katie grew as she got older and how life turned out for her and her family. I loved watching the story progress and learning little lessons from the book about life.

[Rosalind Barrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful--In?inlighttening-- revealing-- understanding


Having read -- understanding. Can it be so? It is historically so . We need to see it's best to see and feel the emotion .

[HRH Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great sequel! I thoroughly enjoyed it and will put it on my favorites list. Not as good as the first one but still excellent. Thanks to the author for getting this published on her own!

[Kathy Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Balance

I loved the story of how we all must keep the balance by giving and receiving in the correct amount.

[Kathleen Boyden · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful story!

I absolutely loved this series! I have been reading nonstop and it has been wonderful to the very end. Highly recommended!

[Lucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the first book in this two book series and this one provides us with a much needed ending and some closure. Well written and engaging. I truly loved the theme of "balance" throughout.