Intriguing premise but for me the promise is not realized as the execution is lacking. The quality of the writing is patchy - fairly decent when good, bog standard when it's not. It is repetitive in places and feels like it would benefit from a more rigorous editing. The author does set a good scene and create an interesting character (Astara) but frustratingly the narrative is more concerned with the less interesting Evie and Astara's story is not fully developed. I do not appreciate the moral tone that accompanies certain issues in the book - in fact, I'm unsure of the overall message and of what the MC actually does with her experience. I found it disjointed and faux profound and didn't really enjoy it at all. Sorry to say, this is not the book for me.

What an intriguing and original premise for a book. Well-written and with good plotting and pacing, the book held my attention from start to finish.

When 67 year old Evie has a massive stroke, she is drawn back in time to a past life. As Astara, a young woman living in an ancient tribal civilization, she stuggles to come to terms with herself. As a "three face " being, a blend of man , woman and animal, she is outcast by the tribal elders. Evie soon learns that her soul has lived numerous times., making mistakes and learning from them along the way. Her soul is still on that journey ,and only by learning from her past will she be able to return to the present.
I thought the concept of the book was really good, and loved the idea of a soul or being living through multiple life experiences , though I do wish we had even one more cycle described in the book. It is clear that the author has done a lot of work and research into the historical aspects of the story and her passion and interest shines through.
Unfortunately my enjoyment of the book was marred by a strangely moralistic turn in the last section, which frankly felt poorly handled and left an unpleasant taste in the mouth,
I read and reviewed an copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this story, and was drawn in from the beginning pages. The author truly takes the reader on quite an adventure with different characters, changing scenery, and events that make you think. Excellent book, I can't wait to get a copy of my own!

Evie Doesn’t understand where she is first. When she finds herself melding with a young girl named Astara, she realizes that she is experiencing a past life. It appears strange to find herself in this past life. She wonders why she is there. As time passes and she gains different experiences, she needs the help of Guadians to understand what she was suppose to have learned from that life. Eventually Evie must decide what she wants to do with her life. What will she do?

I found it to be a very intriguing novel for me as this involves reincarnation. I’ve always been curious about it and have read this story with great interest. It is not a story that I didn’t relate to asi did! I’ve always believe that it is important how you treat others and what you can learn from the people in your life. This is a book not to be missed! Read it!

Returning Souls by Ernestine B Columbo

This is initially set in the present day and Evie collapses at home. Her soul leaves her and she can see all that is happening.

She then ‘wakes’ as a young girl, Astara, the daughter of a holy man and different to her tribe. Astara is Evie’s first life.

This is a wonderfully written tale of reincarnation, on how past lives and events, happy and sad form the person you then become.

Evie is then in the white place, with her oversoul and many questions and answers. Meeting family and pets helping her with a decision....does she return to her life as Evie? Move on ? Or try again.?

It’s a moving take of life, love and loss. I loved it and will definitely be giving it a second read.

I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Returning Souls is a sci-fi fiction story about Evie, an elderly women who finds herself in Astara, a 12 year old's body from the past. The story has an interesting plot line and very insightful ideas. However, I found the writing difficult to relate to, which detracted from the experience. This was an interesting read nonetheless, something that I usually wouldn't read.

DNF @ 41%

This is definitely a case of right book, wrong reader. This is an interesting story that looks at the multiple lives one soul lives and bounces between Evie and Astara. Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with either perspective and the overarching narrative, and found the writing to be a bit disjointed. Looking at the other reviews, it seems to come together in the end very nicely but this isn't a story that I am compelled to finish. I definitely recommend this book to those who love coming of age stories and strong women that balk at gender roles of society, what I saw of Astara's life was promising!

Many thanks to the publisher for providing me an electronic advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn’t too sure about this one as I started reading it. The writing seemed a bit disjointed but as I read on I realised it was written this way to add to the character. I ended up really enjoying this book. I loved the idea of our soul finding different hosts & I felt for the characters. The meaning behind it all at the end was beautiful and it makes you look at life a little differently!
Defiantly worth a read

This book has a great resonance for me. A lot of the soul statements are ones that I believe and it was exciting to find a novel so close to my heart. It didn't let me down either. Not everything is in sync, but it is a work of fiction. I look forward to reading more by the author

I was captivated by the sensory language I found in Returning Souls. The writing is of an absolutely literary nature and the prose is poetic. Beautiful writing and clever plotting form a narrative that deserves notice.

Love how the author smoothly connected between Astara and Evie between incarnations. There were subtle similarities in both girls' life such as Astara losing her child premature and Evie getting an abortion. Throughout the incarnation, the spirit is observant and learning of its experiences. One that amazed me was author's expression of cultural expectation of submission to authority and genuine love.

Sci Fi is not my favorite genre of read but this one was worth the read. I give it a 4.5 star!

Reincarnation has always been an interesting idea to me, so when I saw that this book may be about that I was excited to read it. Returning souls exceeded all of my expectations!

Evie was a normal, cat loving, 62 year old when one day she takes a spill. She wakes up in the body of 12 year old Astara, far in the past. She goes on the journey of what that life was like and learns new lessons. But Astara is not the end of the line for Evie.

I have not cried at a book in a long time, but this one had me ugly crying at midnight, trying not to wake my husband up. I love the message and highly recommend.

This book was different from what I normally read, but I’m really glad that I did.

It was a story of a soul currently living as 67 year old Evie, going back and forth between this life, the place between, and the life of a young Mesolithic girl Astara. It’s hard to choose which part of the book was the most magical. I really loved to see how Astara lived and her journey through life deeply connected with nature. It was absolutely fascinating. I was little sad there wasn’t more of this, I wished to see how her life continues, but I guess Evie learned what she needed from her. I also really liked the next parts where Evie remembered herself and her life and when she was “in between” and met loved ones from the past.

This book touched me somewhere deep inside and left this undescribable sensation in me. It radiated love and care with witch it was written. It was more spiritual read than I’m used to, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.