Twelve Houses by Olga Soaje #ReviewShare #Contemporary #Women

Twelve Houses by Olga Soaje
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Twelve Houses follows the spiritual self-discovery of a woman named Amelia who has recently become widowed. In some ways she appears to have the perfect life, but with her husband gone she is confronted with the reality that she’s distant from her daughter, Chloe, and not as self-sufficient as she may have once thought. Nathan helped to take care of Amelia in many ways, and was always closer to their daughter than she had been. She also has a son, David, who she is closer with and he helps to provide some support for both women during this grieving process. There was some surprising drama from a named Barbara, and you’ll understand why as you begin to read. I wouldn’t call her or any other character “bad” people, but you like all humans they have faults and don’t handle each situation perfectly. The main story does focus on Amelia’s difficulty filling in the gaps in her life and working through her loss. It’s inspiring to see how she finds ways to mend her life and relationships.

Olga’s writing style is simple, succinct and the topic she writes about may be appealing to a large variety of readers. I appreciate that she did not provide unnecessary details about scenery or side stories, or try wow the reader with pretentious language. The story seemed genuine and heartfelt, and many readers will be able to see themselves in some of the characters at one point in their own lives. This book is definitely an emotional journey, and Olga really helps the reader to understand Amelia’s experiences as if they were their own. Personally, I felt really moved and I could relate to Amelia quite a bit. I enjoyed some of the flashback scenes of her relationship with Nathan, but overall I liked the development with her daughter best.

Interestingly, there is astrological theme that relates to the title of the book that the average reader may not have heard of before. The concept of the twelve houses in astrology perfectly melds with the overall theme of the book of dealing with relationships, grief, and love. For those interested, a person’s houses are determined by their birth month and date, and relate to their life experiences, relationships, ability to succeed and more. Keep in mind, a reader doesn’t need to know about this to enjoy the book, but an experienced astrologist may enjoy analyzing this theme more closely.


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