The Way of the Prince

By: Maria Isabel Pita

Narrated by: Maria Isabel Pita

Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Seemingly abandoned by her parents on a dark and lonely road during a freezing rain storm, Abby desperately seeks shelter before losing consciousness. She wakes in a strangely beautiful place, a modern yet castle-like building powered by an AI more advanced than any she has ever experienced.

One of hundreds of residents mysteriously suffering from severe memory loss, Abby is assigned a roommate and guardian so beautiful and kind, she accepts that he can't tell her where she is. And then there's the Virtual Reality Hall provided for everyone's entertainment, which is so realistically immersive it's hard to keep worrying about where she came from.

But when Abby begins remembering, the flashbacks are so vivid, she loses all sense of her surroundings reliving them. Disturbed by what these memories reveal of her former life, she begins exploring the vast and beautiful lands surrounding her new home. Then one day, she meets a young man who tells her he has come in search of her. Surprised, intrigued, and instantly drawn to him, she lets him begin leading her down a thrilling path of discovery, marred only by the growing sense of a dreadful danger waiting for her at the end.

Abby must decide whom she trusts and how far she is willing to go in search of the truth and her freedom.

©2019 Maria Isabel Pita (P)2019 Maria Isabel Pita

She does it again!

Once again Maria Isabel Pita weaves a story that keeps you captivated! Here Abby finds herself with memory loss and confused on how she got to where she was and finding her way back home. There is no surprise that this story has a combine spiritual and dreams factor to it, which is what makes it a fascinating story. This is a must listen to or read, whichever is your preference. You will not be disappointed.

extraordinary

I received a free code to listen to this book and I did so willingly.

This book is truly the most memorable book I've read this year. It paved a way for me to connect with my Lord and Saviour.
The emotions and awe that was part of this experience is something that I think will always be a great part of my life.
This truly was the most beautiful way to experience the life and death of God's children.

Maria Isabel Pita thank you for this awesome way of connecting with our innermost thoughts and prayers and making this experience worthwhile... You are really talented.
May God bless and keep you.

An amazing story and writer

Maria Isabel Pita is an outstanding writer whose works I have come to treasure even though the material she covers generally isn't in my wheelhouse. I'm a more R rated popcorn movie fella that rarely travels into spiritual areas, but I found Maria, who pretty much made the earth fall out from beneath my shoes before I knew that she was taking me on a wild ride of rich prose and verbiage that I would never see from the theaters of the mind that I usually perused. No, I had to make an accommodation and accept that there was more to life than space ships, people being trapped in video games, and that most mummies were just your average run of the mill deceased individuals that didn't lay out curses or staggering around trying to choke people to death with one hand. No. She made me see that sometimes reality can be richer and deeper than that, and that spirituality isn't something to be shied away from. Her words have actually helped me embrace issues in my own life that I would never have been able to deal with without accepting that faith is not pointless and that spirituality can be a manly thing to express.

I want to start by saying how great it is to listen to her read her own words. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and I always get a little gunshy when I see an author reading their work. I wasn' always that way, but experience has shown me that most authors write amazingly, but few can speak very well. Maria as a wonderful voice, almost angelic in its own right, and is so pleasant to listen to that once she starts you completely forget that her main job is that of a writer. She has a distinctive manner of delivering her lines that makes you think that she does the voices as she is writing so that she will know how to voice act them later. She has a great emotional range and can fuel her character's "lives" in a way that feels natural and not acted. So I give her top marks in her narration.

As for her writing ability, well I have to say that once you start one of her stories you will not be able to stop, and then you will seek out more of her works. The Way of the Prince is something that she has been building to for some time. You can see that she has truly applied everything she has learned so far and delicately crafted an intense and intriguing story.

Oddly, Maria seems to have filled my need for other genres, as more sci-fi aspects that appear than I had expected. In fact, she seems to blend numerous genres together in one amazing story, and as a man's man I am not ashamed to say that one of those things was romance. The book flits through fantasy, romance, sci-fi, and her trademarked spirituality as well as several other story types without feeling like she Frankensteined them all together in a forced way. No, the story flows like the river Nile, powerful and overwhelming but with twists and turns you don't see coming. Hence the whole mystery aspect of the book.

The MC is an amnesiac named Abby, she hasn't much of a clue about what is going on. I will say that Abby has a talent that allows her to recognize the face of evil, or at the very least feel it in others, and in an unknown world that makes Abby not have to wonder whom she can and cannot have faith in. Again I don't want to spoil anything, but Abby does struggle to get to where she needs to go in spite of her abilities. The tale does sometimes feel like you've fallen into a dream, something Maria is very familiar with, in the way things occur and it often made me wonder where Abby really was.

The truth is that is doesn't matter, because where she ends up and who she becomes is what is important and MIP makes her journey so enjoyable and relatable. Even a guy like me can appreciate Abby as a lead and the journey she takes. I can totally relate, empathize, and sympathize while following her through her trials.

The writing is superb and powerful, the story emotional and moving, and the narration spot on. I really debated going into more detail, but this is one book where it is better to not know what is coming, and in that way you can hope for the best at the end. The wrap up was excellent and touching and while it was everything I would expect from MIP I didn't see it coming. Revelations! I also suspect that this might be a BOOK ONE in a larger series. I sincerely hope so. Don't miss out on this story!!

A Clever and Unpredictable Fantasy/Sci-Fi Story

I've read quite a few books from Maria Pita. As you get to know an author’s style, there tend to be less surprises. So when I began listening to this story, it was not surprising that spiritual issues and dreaming were integral to the story. What was surprising and very welcomed was the new direction and genre that the author pursued.

The Way of the Prince would best be described as one part fantasy, one part science fiction. It's set in the not too distant future. It follows the happenings of an adolescent girl named Abby. Abby is seemingly abandoned and stripped from this reality and finds herself in a sanctuary along with others who are suffering memory loss. At first, all is seemingly wonderful, as this sanctuary is peaceful, beautiful and safe. She is being cared for by people who have her best interest in mind. And a sophisticated artificial intelligence provides all the entertainment one could desire. But the lines between what is "real" and what is virtual reality blur rather quickly. As does the issue of who is to be trusted and who is not. It would seem that Abby has an inherent ability to sense evil. But she does not understand why. Nor does the reader. Until well into the story.

Ultimately what I liked the most about the story was being so caught off guard by where Abby was and what was really happening to her. I took my time with this book. Enjoying the detailed writing that Ms. Pita is so good at. Easily immersing myself in the story, the sights, sounds and feelings of the characters. But while I was picking up on various clues, I must say my projection of where the story was going was quite incorrect. I say that happily. As for me, the mark of a great story is often the surprise as to where the author was going with it. This payoff is well into the book. And made me reflect on various clues I had missed along the way. But when I had that voila moment, it was really quite fun. A very clever twist that I did not see coming.

As the story progresses, there are a few threads that are unresolved until the end of the story. Without giving anything away. One thread neatly ties into a familiar past. Another ends exactly the way I was hoping. And yet another is rather bitter sweet. But as I reflected on how the author tied up that final thread, I realized this piece was more sweet than bitter. And a necessary and smart way to end a beautiful story.

Weaving lucid dreaming, science and faith

A cast of young adult characters searching for answers in a strange but believable situation, in which Romance is an integral part of the mystery, makes this a lovely and entertaining blend of fact and fiction. I look forward to any future work that involves this cast of characters and how their futures may unfold. It's a great story and, as always, enhanced by Maria's enchanting voice.

The ultimate love story

This breathtakingly unique novel swept me away on a series of emotional roller coasters that made it hard to take my headphones off. From the first sentence, the story pulled me in and kept me guessing because the experience was so vivid. The quality of the descriptive writing is sometimes breathtaking, without being overly wordy. On the contrary, it is sometimes cinematic. I often found myself able to picture the scene as clearly as if I was watching a movie, but better, because I was completely immersed in it.

I will remain cryptic about the plot because if I really get into it, I risk spoiling the enthralling nature of the journey. And thanks to the mysteriously powerful Artificial Intelligence at the heart of the book, there's even a trip to Regency England thrown in! This is truly a Romance like no other.

The Way of the Prince

I thoroughly enjoyed this story written and narrated by Maria Isabel Pita.

Such a unique storyline. I was drawn right in from the very beginning... as Abby is abandoned and dealing with her memory loss, to finding her way back and her faith. A beautifully presented story.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

A vacation not a trip!

I don’t understand how this Author has all these things living in her head.

Although I think the author should get a professional narrator to read her books, I still thought the book was very entertaining and she did a good job. I just think a professional narrator would be that much better. I think this is my favorite story so far from this author. I have to say I was really surprised by the theme of this book. I don’t know how Maria Isabel can have so many things living in her head. I recommend this to anyone who likes romance inside by or one or the other. You will totally enjoy this book as I did. I gave it five stars I could not find any fault with the storyline, although as I said I wish you would’ve use a narrator The overall storyline was very interesting she always comes with a new take on familiar story’s.

not for me :(

Sorry to say, I tried to get into this one but unfortunately, it didn't float my boat. There were too many cliques, and common similes. There were also some odd descriptions that if the author had thought things through she would have modified them... e.g. as the car disappeared into the distance, the headlights dimmed until they winked out... My objection to that is... was the car disappearing in reverse? I don't think so. The 'tail lights' would have dimmed until they winked out. Also, at this point in the story I did not even know the age of the protagonist... was she a child, or adult?
I'm sorry for being so harsh but as an author and narrator myself, this was not as enjoyable as I anticipated.
Narration too, was not 'in the moment'. Unfortunately, it was mechanical and 'read', rather than flowing and being 'felt'.
I suggest that the author has a great base for a story, but should really be encouraging some 'beta readers' to go through this first, to give her honest help and feedback.
This audio book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, but it needs some more work.