Who Decides What Is Real?

Changing Realms
by Shona Bradbury
100 pages
$.99 Kindle version

Elizabeth has lived two different lives as long as she can remember. In one life, she was diagnosed as schizophrenic and institutionalized at a psychiatric hospital in northern California, and eventually released into out-patient psychotherapy. In her other life, Elizabeth lives as the daughter of an English nobleman in the mid-sixteenth century.

I chose to read this story because I was looking for something different. It came up during a science fiction search, but I think this was more drama and suspense than sci-fi. Regardless of which genre you would call it, the story is very entertaining. I was hooked from the beginning, with the idea of a woman living two lives in two different time periods. Essentially, when she goes to sleep in one life, she wakes up in the next. She thinks her soul has been split into two by some magic spell, but with the diagnosis of schizophrenia, readers will have to decide if she is really experiencing a time shift of sorts or if she is just mentally ill.

Towards the end, the main character has a revelation in her medieval life, which, I thought, is a fantastic twist. That same revelation, when brought to light during a therapy session, twists yet again. I was kept guessing right up to the last page, and I'm still not sure what to think about the woman's predicament. However, I am certain readers will appreciate the creativity of the author.

As always,
AstraDaemon