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Rating: 
Summary: How did this get even 3 1/2 stars?
Review: I came onto Amazon after reading (as much as I could handle of) it, and honestly, I was quite surprised that it had gotten even 3 1/2 stars.
Mostly it just seemed like someone had gotten a trite, poorly written book of Christian prayers (which are usually better than this) and done a find & replace on the word "God". But don't take my opinion, just use the 'search inside' feature to read the excerpt before you buy it, maybe you'll like that style.
Oh, and definately search on the word "Larry". *shudder*. That was a shocker.
It's a pity, because the 'idea' was nice. As an alternative, I'd recommend the two "Book of Hours" : Prayers to the Gods/Goddesses by Galen Gillotte. I've also heard A Book of Pagan Prayer by Ceisiwr Serith is good.
But onto something *much* worse, and a *much* more serious problem with this book. On Amazon anyway.
Once I'd gotten over the shock that it'd even managed 3 1/2 stars, I noticed it had gotten *42* reviews. What?!?
Take a look at other, even more popular wiccan books published at around the same time. That's a *lot* of reviews for this book to be getting.
I started reading them.
And the ones for his other books.
And I know this is a horrible allegation to make, but someone's been ballot stuffing. On *all* of his books.
There's many very similar (positive) reviews for his books which say very similar things, with very similar gushing praise as to personal attributes of the author, and even similar spelling/grammar mistakes.
Just for this book, there are at least 8 *named* reviewers who have *only* reviewed Ventimiglias books - Lady Sabrina, Jimmy Durgan, mary zues, kathy McMillian, Moab, Greg, Lord Goth, and Joy Bennett.
One of two may be legit, but I doubt all of them are.
I'll be contacting Amazon staff to inform them of this, and ask that *something* be done about it, because it shows just the most shoddy ethics and moral principles on the part of "whoever" is doing this.
:(
Rating:
Summary: So bad, words fail to describe how bad it is -
Review: I did my research. Other authors casually promote this book in their reading lists. It has four stars here on Amazon, with 42 reviews!I was hoping for something like the book Earth Prayers, with a Pagan / Goddess-oriented theme. Or, I thought, if it were more formal, I might find written prayers for those times I'm asked to comfort the dying, or the sick or bereaved. The author, after all, is an ordained minister who has reportedly studied many religions. The prayers in this book, almost all written by Ventimiglia, are trite, soulless, and boring, beyond the ability of those words to convey, and I would never dishonor the Gods or myself with them. He even "Adapted" the much-loved Charge of the Goddess to the point of making it unrecognizable, editing out everything that makes the Charge beautiful and True and leaving the reader with dross. It's like a bad practical joke. It's just - unbelievable. And where is his head? He prefaces the book with a sick little parable about a ten-year-old getting hit by a car while playing ball, and hearing the voices of the God and Goddess as he DIES, presumably as a reward for telling them every day that he loves them! Religious sadomasochism much? It reminds me of the kind of made-up morality tales I heard as a Christian kid! And this description makes it sound better than it is, because the man can't even write a parable! Let alone a prayer! Here's a taste of the philosophy of the book: "The first thing you should do to create a lasting bode between yourself and the God and Goddess is to set up a daily schedule of prayer." Again it's like bad Christianity - mouth these words at your deity at nine o'clock every morning and you'll experience true spirituality. His prayers themselves show a similar sad shallowness (after awhile the revealed prejudices in such prayers as the one written to pray for parents-in-law, or before housekeeping, get kind of funny, they're so unbelievable) and no feel at all of Wicca's basic idea of immanent deity. This man is somebody's high priest? You have GOT to be kidding me! I've read every word of it, and this book has no, zero, redeeming characteristics. I'm not going to re-sell it, pass it on, or give it to charity - I'm going to rip out the pages for recycling and give the rest to the dumpster. There are 42 reviews of this thing out there already - mostly favorable enough. I put this out in the hope that someone, doing better research than I did, will come across these unflattering words and NOT BUY THIS BOOK. I'll repeat it: please, friend, fellow-traveller: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. I understand the desire for Pagan prayers, but this particular well is bitter and polluted. Rider, pass by.
Rating:
Summary: So bad, words fail to describe how bad it is -
Review: I did my research. Other authors casually promote this book in their reading lists. It has four stars here on Amazon, with 42 reviews! I was hoping for something like the book Earth Prayers, with a Pagan / Goddess-oriented theme. Or, I thought, if it were more formal, I might find written prayers for those times I'm asked to comfort the dying, or the sick or bereaved. The author, after all, is an ordained minister who has reportedly studied many religions. The prayers in this book, almost all written by Ventimiglia, are trite, soulless, and boring, beyond the ability of those words to convey, and I would never dishonor the Gods or myself with them. He even "Adapted" the much-loved Charge of the Goddess to the point of making it unrecognizable, editing out everything that makes the Charge beautiful and True and leaving the reader with dross. It's like a bad practical joke. It's just - unbelievable. And where is his head? He prefaces the book with a sick little parable about a ten-year-old getting hit by a car while playing ball, and hearing the voices of the God and Goddess as he DIES, presumably as a reward for telling them every day that he loves them! Religious sadomasochism much? It reminds me of the kind of made-up morality tales I heard as a Christian kid! And this description makes it sound better than it is, because the man can't even write a parable! Let alone a prayer! Here's a taste of the philosophy of the book: "The first thing you should do to create a lasting bode between yourself and the God and Goddess is to set up a daily schedule of prayer." Again it's like bad Christianity - mouth these words at your deity at nine o'clock every morning and you'll experience true spirituality. His prayers themselves show a similar sad shallowness (after awhile the revealed prejudices in such prayers as the one written to pray for parents-in-law, or before housekeeping, get kind of funny, they're so unbelievable) and no feel at all of Wicca's basic idea of immanent deity. This man is somebody's high priest? You have GOT to be kidding me! I've read every word of it, and this book has no, zero, redeeming characteristics. I'm not going to re-sell it, pass it on, or give it to charity - I'm going to rip out the pages for recycling and give the rest to the dumpster. There are 42 reviews of this thing out there already - mostly favorable enough. I put this out in the hope that someone, doing better research than I did, will come across these unflattering words and NOT BUY THIS BOOK. I'll repeat it: please, friend, fellow-traveller: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. I understand the desire for Pagan prayers, but this particular well is bitter and polluted. Rider, pass by.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed...
Review: I was hoping for something that sparked my imagination and gave me a spiritual feeling. What I got was something that left me flat...no spark, just a few things thrown together and printed in a book. I didn't get the feeling that this writer even felt anything when he was writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Required reading for every witch, wiccan, and pagan!
Review: Mr. Ventimiglia's book is the best addition to the Occult marketplace in years! This is a no non-sense book dealing with worship of our God and Goddess. You will not find the "how to make a million dollars by manipulating the gods" in this book. What you will find are moving words and heart warming prayers for every possible occasion. While Wicca, witchcraft, and even paganism in general doesn't go in for reciting things parrot fashion, there are times when one's mind is a jumble of emotions and outside help in finding the right words are a blessing. There is even a section on how to craft your own personal prayers. In my humble opinion every pagan should have a copy of this book because it is written with unbias to all pagan tradidions (the title being somewhat misleading) in the true spirit of "perfect love and perfect trust."
Rating:
Summary: This book scared me.
Review: Reading through the table of contents shows a wide variety of prayers on topics from Prayer to the Dawn to Prayer to Save the Rain Forests. Unfortunately, the prayers themselves are dry and contrite. They state the spirtual need in a matter of fact, textbook way. No sense of artistic flow. For the Star Trek fans out there a good example of a poem Data might write.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Ideas, Bad Writing
Review: Reading through the table of contents shows a wide variety of prayers on topics from Prayer to the Dawn to Prayer to Save the Rain Forests. Unfortunately, the prayers themselves are dry and contrite. They state the spirtual need in a matter of fact, textbook way. No sense of artistic flow. For the Star Trek fans out there a good example of a poem Data might write.
Rating:
Summary: Bigot alert.
Review: Some reader from VA is angry at Mark. But this reader failed to place her (or his) name. Can the person even read? Beware of Beware of false imitations! Jealousy is a bad thing, and this bigoted hate lashed out at Mark is sickening! These people claim Mark knows nothing, but it is they whom are ignorant. They sacrifice animals to their so-called gods, and others sodomise themselves! Such practices are not wiccan. This book is your shield against such evil. It is well written, edited, and thought out!
Rating:
Summary: This book scared me.
Review: While the title of my review is a complimentary comment for a horror novel, it is not so for a prayer book. I bought this book when I became one of the heads of the pagan group on my campus, thinking it might be of help. However, upon receiving it, I found it to be like a very fundamentalist children's prayer book with the names switched! While I certainly won't deny anyone the right to their beliefs, I would be hard pressed to say that the prayers in this book are Wiccan in spirit in any way, shape, or form. The most disturbing aspect to me was the introduction, which told the story of "Little Larry", which reminded me more of a twisted horror movie then of a story about faith. If Cunningham, Amber K, Telesco, Valiente, McCain, Buckland, heck even Silver Ravenwolf...if that's your type of thing, then avoid this book like the plague. If you're a beginner to Wiccanism, I personally would suggest other titles such as Amber K's "True Magick" [for those looking at their wallets while trying to buy books] or Starhawk's "The Spiral Dance" or Cunningham's "Earth Magick" series. Even Silver Ravenwolf (who is very hit-or-miss for me) is a better choice if you must. Honestly, I got rid of the book. I didn't feel right in selling it online to someone unknowing of it's contents (as I did when buying it) but I didn't want it around me. If I may say, it had the worse vibes of any such piece of literature I've ever seen. As I said, my opinion is to avoid it like the plague. And even if you like the content, the actual writing and the poetry for the prayers is doggerel.
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