Book Review of Two Lives, Three Choices by K. L. Pierce

A little while ago, I interviewed indie published author K. L. Pierce and we got to talk about her writing—Two Lives, Three Choices in particular. She has just recently revised this story, the first in a faith-based science fiction series. Since I’d only read the first version, and since I didn’t yet own the book, I decided to get her revised version of Two Lives, Three Choices, and finally write a review.

First off, my attempt at a synopsis:

Krysta is just a normal Earth high schooler. Until two particular boys start going to her school, a circumstance that eventually turns her life upside down. Upon recovering her own memories which she had erased, she discovers that these two boys are not only her brother and best friend, but also aliens from a planet she had escaped from. She is now faced with a duty: to serve her King Immanuel and destroy Etans, a fallen subject of the King who has Dion in his grasp. But this responsibility forces her to leave her Earth family and friends and to choose a side. Will she join Etans to restore her relationship with her brother and save Alzer’s life? Or will she stay faithful to her calling and King Immanuel, who gave her life back?

I really love the plot of this story. It’s very symbolic of the Christian faith, with Etans (Satan) and King Immanuel (God). The story of Etans’s fall and King Immanuel’s death and resurrection is based off of the Bible. I thought that was worked into the story very well.

Following the life of Krysta and the rediscovering of her memories was a fun, creative journey and her brother, Dion, is an interesting and complex character. He loves his sister and tries to persuade her to join his side—Etans’s side—out of wanting the best for his family, Krysta included. Alzer, Krysta’s best friend, went to Earth when Dion did, with a similar mission: to get Krysta to side with him and King Immanuel in an attempt to destroy Etans; sister-brother relationship issues complicate things, however, and what follows will be a mystery to you unless you pick up the book and read it. (And there’s my transition away from spoilers. You’re welcome.)

I loved the plot and what K. L. Pierce is doing with the story, but the style of writing didn’t quite sit right with me. As much as both Dion’s and Krysta’s characters are interesting and have lots of potential for further development, there were times in the story when the narrative switches POVs—from Krysta’s, to Alzer’s, to Dion’s, and back to Krysta’s. Whoever can write a well-crafted story with easy-to-follow characters and narratives while still using this technique has impressive skill; let’s admit, switching POVs several times is challenging. I was really starting to like Krysta’s perspective and character, but then it changed suddenly to Alzer, whose background is still unclear to me (perhaps his past will be explained later on in the series!). Getting Dion’s perspective was interesting, and well done, but besides that, it was a bit confusing. And that’s just my two cents. Perhaps other readers enjoyed the POV change.

K. L. Pierce is an awesome person, and I love what she’s doing with her writing career and her passion to let Christ and His story shine through the stories she writes. You can find Two Lives, Three Choices on Amazon, and be sure to follow K. L. Pierce on Twitter and check out her blog! She not only writes, but is a biology and computer science major, which to me is pretty impressive. Thanks so much for reading! Good reading and writing to you.

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