Blurb:
Dottie thought she had it all: a successful singing career, a handsome fiancé, and a starlet’s wardrobe. Sudden betrayal brought it all crashing down around her. Those she trusted most played her as nothing more than a pawn. One misstep while fleeing the scene trapped her in another world alone, save a mysterious visitor.
Guatimozin, an eagle shifter, has spent ages assisting people through the realm between life and death, leading them to join loved ones on either side. No one had ever made him want anything for himself until he discovered this city girl.
Forces plot against them and time is short. Soon, their chance for a happily ever after will be too late.
Excerpt:
Making her way back onto her feet, she dusted off her dress in a mindless motion. The fabric passed beneath her strokes smooth and dirt free. She studied the once vibrant red dress she’d worn on stage. The satin now appeared drab and colorless. Her bare feet peeked from beneath its hem, as clean as the moment she’d dabbed them dry from her bath. The blind sprint from her dressing room, across town, and up the hill, should have left them covered in filth.
In exasperation, she threw her arms in the air. “Swell. I mus’ be dead and I’m . . .”
She moved away from the tree to scrutinize her surroundings. As much as Dottie hoped she’d end up in heaven, her mother always insisted that, as a willful child trying to pass as something she wasn’t, her final destination would be a bit further down.
The sensation of electricity passing through the air made every hair stand on end as a matter-of-fact reply came from behind. “No, you aren’t dead, but you’re not exactly alive either. You’re in a realm known as the in-between.”
Spinning around, Dottie came face to face with a stranger. Like the tree, he appeared in color, only he wasn’t pink and purple. Instead, a tall man with reddish tan skin, swirling silver eyes, and waist length striking black hair, stared at her as though regarding a ghost. Thick muscular arms crossed over his chest as his shocked expression ease into a slow smirk, highlighting the defined beak-like nose, high cheekbones, and strong chin framing his mouth.
Nervously licking her lips, she couldn’t help but muse, Di Mi. Well hello, sailor.
My Review:
3 stars
Diesel-punk, romance, and the supernatural. What’s not to love?
While this book held a lot of promise, it didn’t quite deliver. The plot was enjoyable, but predictable. My favorite part was the realism of some of the characters, especially when it came to their dialogue and motivations, and I loved Dottie (aka Sassy McSassy). However, Tim just seemed boring for most of the book. I was disappointed to have a hero that didn’t seem to match up to the heroine.
While this book held a lot of promise, it didn’t quite deliver. The plot was enjoyable, but predictable. My favorite part was the realism of some of the characters, especially when it came to their dialogue and motivations, and I loved Dottie (aka Sassy McSassy). However, Tim just seemed boring for most of the book. I was disappointed to have a hero that didn’t seem to match up to the heroine.
Also, this book is woven into an existing world the author created, so while it worked as a standalone, I could tell I was missing things because I hadn’t read other works from the author, which was a bummer. As a result, I felt like this affected the character development because since some of these characters were in previous books, they weren’t fleshed out as much here.
Overall though, this was a fun read that I would probably have enjoyed more if I'd read the other books in the author's series that are interconnected. However, if you're into diesel-punk and sassy heroines with amazing dialogue, I would recommend giving this a try.
Overall though, this was a fun read that I would probably have enjoyed more if I'd read the other books in the author's series that are interconnected. However, if you're into diesel-punk and sassy heroines with amazing dialogue, I would recommend giving this a try.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
Don’t forget to visit the other stops on the tour.
Author Bio and Links:
Writing under Mikea Howard, we are actually Mindy Howard and Kelly Smith, sisters-in-law who share a love for romance, usually paranormal. We have spent the last several years reading and sharing books as well as authors, often making comments about how we'd love to write our own when we ran out of things to read.
While based on our TBR piles, we have not run out of reading material, yet we decided to write when the muse hit Kelly with a dystopian diesel world and an opening scene with the heroine running out into the woods. Mindy then saw her hero step in, and The Diesel War series was born.
Mindy is an IT professional at a telecom company. She is married to a musician and teacher, who also happens to be Kelly's brother. She has one adult son and is living out west.
Kelly is a Registered Nurse working in maternal-fetal medicine. She has a great husband, who happens to be Mindy's husband's best friend. She has one son in high school, one daughter in middle school, and is living on the east coast.
Thank you for reviewing us!
ReplyDeleteI would love to read your book.
ReplyDeleteWe’d love for you to read it!
DeleteWould you ever like to see your book turned into a movie? I hope the book is a success. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteWhen we built this world, we always talked about how incredible it would be to see it on a screen... but we’d want a whole series😉
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