Kindle Edition Amazon Divinitas eXtasy Books Kobo Category:  Fantasy Publisher: eXtasy Books Type: Fiction Pages: 278 Copyright: January 1, 2009 ISBN-13: 9781554872152 Price: $3.99 (eBook) Love, betrayal, destiny, the ingredients connecting two men's lust to their quest of the divine as Spirit, defeated by Flesh, falls short of creating Divinitas. Genre Erotica, Gay LGBT, Menage à Trois, Dark Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical, Deities, God, Gods, m/m, m/f/f, m/m/f   Blurb Through time and space, there's a lot of love. But love gone wrong can turn to betrayal and seal one's destiny forever. And destiny has the bad habit of repeating its pattern lifetime after lifetime as two men, caught in their passionate love, struggle eternally in quest of the divine. From the ancient walls of Egypt, Us-Yri's sexual obsession for Set gets in the way of his destiny to ascend from ruler to god of the underworld. His Spirit returns as Mitra, prince of the ancient Persian empire, to continue on struggling against his lust for Vayu in order to become the new shiny god of rebirth, judging the souls of the deceased. But only Shaun and Halifax in Celtic England will finally reveal the truth about Divinitas.   An unusual promo In looking over my other promos for Divinitas by Laura Tolomei, I realize I've just been following the usual trend. Sure, I told you about blurb, characters and excerpts, the sexiest ones of course, carefully chosen to attract your attention.   But never once does the power of Divinitas get through to a potential reader, especially the one looking for something completely different. If I had to give a definition, it would be of an erotic book with an intellectual content that addresses central themes in our beliefs about life, after-life and our connection to the divine.   In my writing, I try to communicate, not just entertain with a story, however sensual, dramatic, fantastic or emotional. I'd like to make people think, not just escape reality because can be ugly. True, society as a whole is making life difficult, but society is the sum of its individuals so maybe if we change, it changes, too.   I don't pretend to have all the answers or magically solve problems. Rather, I offer alternative points of view to interpret life differently and…who knows? indicate new paths for individual growths.  That's why my characters in Divinitas, just like in all my books, learn to grow along the way thanks to important lessons that will help them lead better lives in the end. And even if I tackle ancient myths or legends as in Divinitas, I still talk about real life people struggling through the same battles we all face everyday. Us-Yri has to learn to master his uncontrollable passion for his friend Set in order to understand his spiritual side. Mitra, too, tries to fight against his lust for Vayu only to find that total acceptance of his love is the only thing that will make him free of earthly ties.   But Divinitas goes even further. Its greatest message is perhaps that everyone has a divine connection within as long as they don't lose touch with their spiritual side. And analyzing the succession of religious myths, it becomes crystal-clear that spirituality is a force man's been reckoning with ever since he walked the Earth. True, times, spaces and even names change, but the tale they tell is always the same, a love so great that even if betrayed, it will find the strength to save himself and mankind.   It's not an easy concept to grasp. That's why it's finely embedded in what apparently seems like just another erotic book about ancient myths. I made it more interesting by using a sensual format, but my promotion so far failed to get the message across. I hope now I set things right. Facebook: Author Laura Tolomei - Goodreads: Divinitas       Excerpt "You're crazy to submit to these tortures," Vayu scolded bitterly as he passed the healing lotion on the blistered skin. Wherever he looked, the Aryan saw tiny bubbles bursting with water. Underneath, the defenseless red and raw flesh throbbed relentlessly, sending fresh pain waves to the entire body. For days, Mitra could neither lie down nor wear clothes. His tortured body hardly withstood the air circling on the raw skin and the mere thought of anything brushing against it, even by accident, caused him untellable pains. Now the worst seemed to be over, though it still stung whenever Vayu's hand spread the soothing lotion. "You don't understand," Mitra said, trying to ignore the pain. "What's there to understand, Varuna? You all seem mad to me, including your father. What have you proven with this insane act?" Mitra sighed deeply. If he had to explain it rationally to someone who did not believe in his faith, it would probably make no sense. "It helps the mind control the body," he said at last. "Why do you need your mind to control what lives of material passions? The two travel separate ways and it would be foolish if one controlled the other." "You're wrong, devil," Mitra argued patiently. "We are a combination of soul, mind and body. They seem separate to a neophyte, yet they are one single entity," he explained, revealing the mystery of the Three joined as One. "The soul's journey is what's really important because it is everlasting, but the mind and body both contribute to its travel." "Your Magi is fucking with your head, sweet Prince. They taught me that mind, body and soul are each a part of us and we should explore their potentials, not limit anyone in particular. They define us as human beings," he pressed harder on the raw skin to mark his point, "made of flesh and blood. If you try to deny that part of yourself, you'd be wasting the essence of life itself." "I don't deny it," Mitra retorted hotly, wincing from the pain. He remained silent for a while. "I just think there has to be something more than immediate material satisfactions. When I'm dead and my soul has to face the final judges, whoever they may be, what will it tell of my life?" "That you fucked a lot and with increasingly higher satisfaction," Vayu teased, his hand playing with Mitra's ass. "Fuck you, devil. Would you give such an answer?" Vayu bent down to brush his lips against Mitra's, his tongue gently tracing the thin edges. "I'd be proud to give such an answer, knowing who my lover was."

Rainbow Reviews
In ancient Egypt (Kemet), Us-Yri must strive to fulfill his destiny, despite his lust for Set. Destiny involves producing heirs, which gay sex with Set won't, so he must face the choice of fulfilling his calling or of following his personal desires. His dilemma continues through multiple incarnations, and always the choice must be made between his chosen destiny or his true feelings. Betrayal of his friendship always results in betrayal of his own true nature, yet throughout many incarnations fate gives him another chance to make the right choice.

Laura Tolomei easily relates the historical contexts of the periods in question, including ancient Egypt and ancient Persia, as well as Celtic England. The plotting is fairly well-paced. However, I found it difficult to elicit empathy for the protagonist, specifically in his incarnations of Us-Yri and Mitra, as he continues to demonstrate failure of character and lack of integrity, both within himself and toward his beloved. I also took exception to his conviction that only heterosexual sex is valid, as it is the only "productive" (i.e., procreative) sexuality.

Cerebral Reviews
Chapter one starts the book off to a great start—in my eyes—due to the literary bent. Lovely word usage pulled me in, and the ideas brought forth here are fascinating. Ms. Tolomei has a wonderful imagination, and she set the stage well. I enjoyed her style very much. She has a way of stringing words together that bring great images. World-building was excellent, as was being shown the characters’ traits so that I invested time caring about them and what happened.
For the story itself, I have no complaints. It’s rich, the sex scenes are good, and without the gripes below, it would have scored a 5. However, the editing let Ms. Tolomei down. Such a shame. Here are some instances:
1. Father not capped when it should be.
2. Palace capped when it shouldn’t be. I realize maybe the author wanted the palace named as such, but an actual name would have pleased me more, because every time a capped palace appeared, I wanted it lowercase. Pet peeve, call it what you like, but it spoiled the read for me.
3. Likewise, prince was capped when it shouldn’t have been. These three points occurring throughout the book was a recipe for much jaw clenching and sighing from me. This, again, is a shame, because Divinitas deserved a much better edit to make it shine brighter.
4. 111 uses of ‘when’ (inc whenever). Too many are sentence starters, and this overuse of adverbs also annoyed me. The majority of the rest are used to join actions, and with a reword they could have been omitted, giving stronger visuals.
I do understand a writer’s journey, an editor’s journey, that both learn new things along the way, so I hope Ms. Tolomei can take my findings and erase them from her next books—because they really do need erasing!
Cover comment: I dislike it. The colours and font are…not very appealing. Sorry.
Heat level: (Bonfire not added to final grade)
Storyline/plot, characterization, and dialogue: 5
World-building, mood: 5
Overall structure, grammar, punctuation, spelling: 2
Final Grade:
No


CTR rated it 4 Cups
With an open heart and mind, this story can send a message much greater than the sum of its parts. Equality and balance is imperative to a healthy life, but even more so for spiritual well being, and what you read here really brings that truth home. Yes, this is an erotic tale of men loving men, but that is what makes their story so much more intriguing. Their love and desire for each other is unconventional and all consuming, affronting societal and spiritual beliefs, but it is that struggle that allows them to transcend beyond their human boundaries.