Divergent Lives by Minnie Lahongrais
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Minnie and I go a few years back. We discovered the love of writing together, and spent many moments brainstorming, developing ideas and concepts for our stories. Then life took its turns, and the friendship thinned out… not for too long though. I’m honored and very humbled to know Minnie, and I’m deeply grateful for the second chance she gave me to be writer-friends again. You might think this review will be biased. Honestly, it would not help anyone if I gave Minnie’s book five stars and found the story absolutely horrendous. This is not my style. I like to be honest.
So here’s my honest take on Divergent Lives. The story grips you from the first sentence in Chapter One. Minnie tells you the tale of Adina and RJ, twins separated at birth, both living a life they haven’t chosen but for the decisions made on their behalf while they were only kids. The environment you live in can shape you to become a monster. Adina in her ways is a soulless Domme who likes to be in control and inflict pain so she doesn’t get her feelings hurt by falling in love. RJ suffers from a physical deformity that prevents him from having any sort of normal sex life. Sex is really what drives every human being in this world. We seek balance, pleasure, absolute control or submission – the ultimate surrender making us vulnerable and therefore easy to hurt. Minnie Lahongrais possesses this innate talent at peeling the layers, exposing the real truth about her characters one page at a time, forcing you to put up with their vices and witness their demise. There’s no redemption, no happy ending. All you will find in this story is the raw description of what a sociopath really is, and what he really does. Life at its most realistic and horrifying stage. How human beings can turn into killing machines.
I will admit that stylistically, the story possesses some beautiful passages. I noticed a few redundancies and tense discrepancies along the way, but they never stopped me from finishing the book in one sitting.
Truly magnificent. I cannot wait for the next book.
The Manicheans 
Thank you Johanna! If all reviewers wrote reviews honestly, then maybe Indie Authors wouldn’t have such a bad rap!! Merry Christmas!!