I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel but i enjoyed it! A very unique read full of life and colour

One Sentence Summary: Leo is just a university student completing an internship in a small Colombian village when he unwittingly helps a pregnant teen and ends up wrapped up in her family’s belief she’s carrying the next Christ, all thanks to the parrot who told this to the girl.

My thoughts:

Holy Parrot heavily involves religion, but is nicely balanced by the more scientifically oriented mind of Leo, an Australian university student tasked with figuring what it is about the flora and water of a small Colombian village that leads to them living longer lives. The subject matter wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but it was interesting, amusing, and easy to read. I liked that it didn’t go overboard with the religion and that even the main character involved with that aspect of the story seemed a little terrified of it all for most of the book.

Holy Parrot is told by Leo, but it really felt more like it was Maria’s story. It starts off innocently enough with Leo and Maria, a teen girl from the village, coincidentally meeting, though Leo’s seeming attraction to a teen girl was a little disturbing. But when Maria starts to seek shelter from her father who is angered she’s pregnant and doesn’t know the father, Leo gets tangled up in her story. When Maria’s father starts to spread the news that it was the family parrot Maria cares for that told Maria she’s carrying the next Christ, things start to get a little crazy with the village and then the wider world descending on Maria’s home and the village to worship her and her parrot.

I’ll admit I thought this story was a little crazy at the beginning. Maria’s story just sounded absurd to me, but I suppose I can see a small village starting to believe it’s true as they were not highly educated and likely relied a great deal on religion for their daily lives. After that I guess it’s conceivable the world would start to tune in and the religious would be interested in knowing what was going on. Mostly, I was disturbed by the relationship between Leo and Maria, which bordered on romantic without crossing the line. But Leo’s thoughts about Maria were what made me the most uncomfortable.

I did, though, like Leo and Maria separately. Leo has a good head on his shoulders most of the time, but he shows his youth as well as his scientific background. I really latched onto his skepticism, especially when Robin is introduced. As an American who has studied every world religion, but who knows no Spanish, Robin’s relationship with Maria was more like he was her mentor and Leo was a key piece between the two of them. I liked the different approaches the guys took to her story, with Leo being more scientific and looking for the truth and Robin throwing himself into belief to the point where I think he completely threw his lot in with her. And then there’s Maria who comes from a relatively unstable household with a loving mother and an overbearing and controlling father. She sometimes felt like a victim, but it was sometimes hard to tell if she was just playing the victim. I liked her innocence, but sometimes it felt like manipulation. Put together, the three of them were quite a trio. They each had their own personality and they really played them up.

The story ended up being a blend of fiction and mystery. It tells the story of Maria and her child from Leo’s eyes, but also makes suggestions about the father and what happened to a boy Maria knew who may or may not have been the father. The mystery isn’t a strong component, but I liked how it was woven in. I also liked how the whole story took the location and played into it. Set in a small seaside village, the story takes the reader to the shores and into the jungle as well as to a further away city. It also ties up some threads in Leo’s personal life, and deals with Biblical stories about Christ’s birth. At some point I even began to wonder myself if this was possible because the details worked out so well.

Holy Parrot is an interesting story that crosses science and religion, fiction and mystery. The characters are a lot of fun and carry the story well. While I found all the religious zealotry a bit eye rolling, though I appreciated Leo’s perspective, the science nicely balanced it until the end when it felt like the religion was just taking over. There were some pieces that were less believable to me, almost as though they were jammed in to make it work right, but this was easy to read and understand. The characters and setting were perfect for the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Angel’s Leap for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Leo, an Australian investigator knows Maria who claims to be a virgin pregnant. I did not like how the main character deals with the rest of them. In one part of the book he says that Carlos, a character who study botanics wil be a drug lord.

Angel A has created a mystifying story with a viewpoint character similar to that of The Great Gatsby. While not in the same class of writing talent as F. Scott Fitzgerald (who is?), this story of a girl who claims to be carrying a Christ child, is told via an undergraduate student from Australia who is studying genetics in the Columbia village of Buritaca. Leo Lumiere is fascinated by Maria. My sense is that Leo sees her almost as another species, something/one so different from him.

So science vs. faith, clearly, but Angel A has introduced many ambiguous details that propel the story -- Maria supposedly had a boyfriend, could she still be a virgin? Maria’s virginal pregnancy is announced by her pet parrot, who repeats “every day is a good day.” Maria’s father, enraged when learning of Maria’s pregnancy is easily persuaded by Maria’s explanation that the parrot told her of her virginal pregnancy in a dream (a parrot named, fittingly, Gabriel). Leo himself watches with growing consternation, and possibly desire to believe, the throngs of people of various denominations and from around the world who come to bask in Maria’s presence.

Leo’s scientific investigations, funded by a huge pharmacy company seeking the source of the villagers’ longevity, revolve around a single goal: “discover something special in the region.” Is that actually Maria, rather than some enzyme? Told in simple language, the novel resonates with truths that may be lies, secrets potentially never revealed, and the young Maria’s unaffected simplicity and unquestioning embrace of everything she has been given.

Holy Parrot is a refreshing and compelling read. Angel A. has a descriptive way of storytelling that engages the reader in every story event. No matter what kind of belief you have, the story drags you in it and you cannot put the book down. It is about self-discovery and self-love, and truly, what is more important than that? I am thankful to the author, Voracious Readers and NetGalley.

Leonard is a student of science who lives in Buritaca in order to find out why the people there live so long. Then one day, he meets Maria, who is expecting to have a baby that will be a future leader. There is nothing like this masterclass to keep your attention from beginning to end. There are a lot of life lessons worth reflecting upon. It's a book that should be read again and again. I personally would recommend it to everyone without any hesitation. Thanks to the author and NetGallery.

This novel is about a mysterious occurrence where a 16-year-old virgin is pregnant with Christ's child and an Australian science student is working on genetic research nearby. Coincidentally, both happened to meet, and both happened to connect. Eventually both happened to keep saving each other from the chaos that surrounds them.

This is a refreshing read as opposed to the general fictions I have been reading. I have enjoyed Angel A's first novel, Mary Poser, so I was looking forward to her second novel. Alas, I was not disappointed. Although Holy Parrot was less witty and funny, it did make up with more dramatic plots. Hence it was never boring.

I did wish for it to be funnier, livelier, as the characters were less outstanding, I guess. It sorts of got drown as the story progressed, as opposed to the parrot, though less mentioned yet more memorable! This is more of a literary fiction, unlike the first one which was more of chic lit hence a different vibe here. Overall, it was eye-opening, and I did not expect that ending LOL!

All in all, it's more of a self-discovery + faith + science kinda novel. If you are looking for a different genre from the usual fiction or something unique, you should give Holy Parrot a try. I'm sure you can relate to the characters and the behavior's mentioned in this novel. The ending will seal the deal for you :-) I am ____

Inspirational and enlightening. The narrative arc of the protagonist is of a science student who meets a young, troubled teen in Colombia who is embroiled in a prophesy of the birth of a legend.