Title: The Flesh: Chronicle of Temptation
Author: E. Bacon
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1663228468
Pages: 384
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Christina Avina

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One of the hardest moments in a person’s life can come with the idea of confronting a past trauma or loss head-on in their life. Whether it is the loss of a lifelong partner or the painful memories of childhoods lost, there are moments in each of our lives which impact us all, and none more so than those formative years as a child when our views and ideas of what the world is supposed to be come to fruition.

In author E. Bacon’s The Flesh: Chronicle of Temptation, the author explores childhood trauma and lost-love through the eyes of Alina, a young Christian theology major who searches for a fresh start in a new environment. Yet as she arrives at her new school and her new life amongst her studies, the wounds of the past and the heat of temptation follow her every step. Caught up in a love-triangle, Alina struggles with balancing her goals for her life with the prospect of romantic moments with one man and the darker intensity of another. Yet what begins to haunt her is the presence of her lost first love, whose death years earlier has left her scarred forever. As he makes his presence known, her experiences with him grow darker, and soon she finds herself struggling to hold onto her sanity as this dark entity calls out to her.

The author did a great job of balancing this novel with a good amount of character development along with equal parts of suspense. The author was able to expertly craft a narrative which kept the reader guessing at what exactly the protagonist was going through. Some passages read as psychological thrillers, while other sections read as paranormal horror-style; and all of these held with an underlying theme of confronting past trauma and the pain we experience with the loss of someone close to us. The attention to detail on the characters, in particular Alina, was great to see, as so much of their personalities helped influence the path the story took in this book. This includes a special look at how faith played a role on how Alina viewed much of the book’s events, and ran along the undercurrents of sin and darkness held in the town they lived.

This is the perfect read for those who enjoy fiction, especially when the genre fiction weaves in bits of paranormal, horror ideas, psychological thrillers, and even bits of religious background into the narrative. The characters are well developed and it was Alina’s experiences which influenced how these genres and narrative paths were introduced into the overall storyline, making this novel very well-rounded.

Engaging, entertaining, and gripping in its delivery, author E. Bacon’s The Flesh: Chronicle of Temptation is a must-read general fiction genre book. The balance of character developments and everyday living in the protagonist’s life with the darker and more suspenseful narratives this story took will keep readers invested, and the shocking twist ending will leave readers with a cliffhanger which demands the need to jump right into the sequel.